DeeDee24

The Tapeler

2008-05-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

A lot of fun things happening around here. Vic and David are out of school and I'm really enjoying just playing in the house every day with them. We can just relax and not keep a schedule. Vic had her ballet recital and 4k graduation. Her recital was really sweet and she took it very seriously. I can't wait to scrapbook the photos. Her graduation ceremony was fun as well. There were about 6 4k classes at her school. She got to walk across the stage when her name was called. She got a diploma rolled up and she was very proud of it. We went to Johnny Rockets to celebrate and then a bakery for treats. Later that afternoon, I found Vic working very hard rolling up pieces of paper and rubber banding them closed. She lined up all the kid chairs in the family room and set her dolls on them. Apparently she had set up a graduation for her dolls. She called each by name,shook their hands and gave them a diploma. I can't wait to scrapbook those photos too.

David turned 3 earlier this month. We celebrated with his favorite: Pizza and a Curious George cake. It was fun to watch David. He is not an attention seeker so he got really shy when everyone sang to him.

Pregnancy is going well. I did get shingles....not fun but that is all fine now and I am enjoying the last bit before the baby comes. I still have lots of closets to organize. Willy surprised me last week with an early birthday gift...An electric golf cart. I drove it for hours over the weekend. I love it!

The Tapeler---what is it? It is a combo tape dispencer/stapler. Isn't that cool? I'm such an office gadget geek. My uncle sent one to us this week. He is a pharm sales rep and sometimes sends little gadgets like that to us. This is my favorite so far. Tapeler....it's just fun to say and I always need them both and can't find one of them.

Fun things David is saying:
"Luff Mommy"---my personal favorite
"Luff Lammy"
He askes me often to "Go to beach, play goofy golf, see dolphins?"
"Nuggle Mommy" (Snuggle with Mommy)
If you ever ask David what he wants to eat the answer is always the same.."Cookies!"

Seeing

2008-03-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

My mom reminded me of a saying yesterday. "There are none so blind as those who will not see." We talked about Helen Keller and how she couldn't see or hear but her heart was open to see and isn't it amazing at all she accomplished. Are there things in our lives we should change but we choose not to "see" them?

On that note, Victoria got glasses today. I was on the phone with Johanna when I went to the mailbox and opened the package. I put the glasses on Vic and she said with a gasp, "Mommy, I can see you now!" She ran around the room dancing and cheering, "I can see to run now!" I had no idea that her vision was that bad. She never mentioned headaches or any other problems. It wasn't until her 5 yr old check up that the dr. did a vision screening. She didn't do very well so we got an appointment with a pediatric eye dr. I'm thankful we have this under control before kindergarten starts. She looks so grown up.

Activities

2008-03-10T14:51:00.001-07:00

I wanted to join the optimist club but I didn't think I would make it.

Isn't that funny? I can't take credit for that. Someone said it to me once about 15 years ago and I still laugh at it. Will blog and update soon.

Went to BOW (Becoming an Outdoor Woman) and had a fabulous weekend. Morning sickness is so much better and I'm looking forward to spring.

The Flu

2008-02-09T10:08:00.001-08:00

I have the flu! UGG! I started feeling tired on Wednesday and thought it was the pregnancy. I felt really tired on Thursday. I went on a field trip with Victoria's class and thought I didn't have the energy to drive home afterwards. By Thursday night, I was in full blown aches and pains. Got a positive flu test yesterday. Say a prayer for us. We need it.

Almost February

2008-01-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

I have been horrible with the blog. I have good reason. I have been the happiest "sick" person you have ever met. I am 15 weeks pregnant and super sick. After losing three pregnancies, I am very happy to have a healthy one and it makes the morning sickness tolerable. I got to hear the heartbeat last dr. visit. My doctor asked me how I was feeling and I told him "horrible" but so much better after hearing the heartbeat! It makes it all worth it. I lost 7 pounds the first few months and now I'm back to my regular weight. I am craving hot and sour soup. I can't get enough of it. It's a good thing we have a Chinese rest. in the shopping center next to the neighborhood.

Victoria and David are excited about the baby. Victoria wants to share a room with the baby. I don't think that is such a good idea. We have enough rooms for everyone so I think we will stick with that for now. David has no clue how this is going to change his life. Hopefully, this will be an easy baby like David. Baby is due is July right before the start of school.

Willy is keeping busy with his new project. www.prudentnews.com He has started a news website for "news you can use" and seems to be enjoying it. He has received a lot of positive feedback. It is a learning process so I'm sure the site will grow as he learns more about the process.

Victoria funny:
Me: "Victoria, we are going to the cheesecake factory for dinner."
Victoria: "When are we going to the cream cheese factory?"

It has been a nice, uneventful week. February and march are going to be full. My mom asked me Sunday night what I had planned for the week and all I could tell her was that the "Lost" season premier was Thursday night. I didn't have any dr. appts,meetings,or anything else I HAD to do. NICE! Next week is another story!

I will admit that I'm "out of the loop" in the pop culture world. I don't have cable so I miss a lot of reality series and music videos. I didn't think I would like being so unplugged from the media but it has been rather nice. I recently heard a song that has been out for over a year and I just love it. It's the "Cupid Shuffle" and even though it is very different than my Rockapella favorites, I love it. Check it out and the dance that goes along with it if you haven't already. I can't get it out of my head.

Ear Muvs

2007-11-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Victoria always says something that is close but not right. She was asking about "ear muvs" the other day and I thought it was cute. Yes, the socks are still "peepted" around here too. Don't even get me started on the ballet tights. Those are "peepted" all over.

We had a fun Halloween. I'm not a big Halloween type of girl. I really don't get excited about it even if it means fun photos to scrapbook. I did get a pumpkin at Wal-Mart and it was so much fun to carve it and roast the seeds. It was the first time we did that with the children. It reminded me of my preschool students back before I had my own children. The church festival was great too. It was bigger and better than ever and it was fun watching everyone have fun. Our favorite was the cake walk. I told my parents and Willy that we were all going to walk to win. I don't think my dad was really going but he did and HE WON!!! He got a big plate of double fudge brownies and that just made his night. Vic and David both won a bag of cookies. Dad shared his brownies with me and we were all happy!

Listening to Rockapella's Christmas CD. Getting in the Christmas frame of mind!

Vic had her first spend the night friend last night. Reagan stayed over and the girls had a blast. Reagan is 3 and did a great job staying over in a new bed and different room. She is a joy. When I tuck Victoria into bed I sing a song and say a prayer. I went to Reagan's bed and she didn't want a song so I just said a prayer. I thanked the Lord for this "Sweet little girl" and she quickly spoke up right then and said, "Big girl!" I held back my giggle and started over to thank the Lord for Reagan who is such a big girl! We made brownies today and painted hands on canvas for Christmas decorations. I have little pictures drying in my dining room that I can't wait to give to Wendy. It was fun. I ordered a great book with hand print ideas. I have a feeling it will be one of our favorites for gift ideas.

That is the excitement around here. Hopefully, it will be a great day tomorrow. We will just have to see how the football games turn out.

BOW-October-It's all peept-ed

2007-10-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

I had the best girl trip ever! I went to an outdoor program called BOW-Becoming an Outdoor Woman. I took classes on reading the woods, rock climbing, dutch oven cooking, and deer hunting. I went with Stacey and Sarah and let me say that I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. They are two of the funniest women I have ever met. They kept me laughing so hard I actually fell on the ground and had to let out a good belly laugh more than once. By the end of the weekend, I think Sarah knew exactly how to press my giggle button. Stacey's dry subtle comments are what kept me going too. It reminded me of 8th grade science class when Wendy G. would get me laughing. You know the kind of friend that will get you to laugh at all the wrong times like in class, church, etc. Thanks ladies! My sides hurt for days!
I am happy to say my Dad has been blessed with an awesome job opportunity. It is going to be better in every way possible for him and just a God thing that he even found out about the job. Chris was looking through some Internet listings and came across a job that sounded like Dad. He told Dad to apply and the rest is history. Dad wasn't even looking for a job change. He was offered the job on Chris' birthday which gave us even more reason to celebrate!!! Congratulations!

Vic-Chick is 5! My little baby girl is five! When did she grow up? I was looking at a baby in the mall today that was two weeks old. It took me back to holding Victoria this time about five years ago. It is a blur to me now. The sleepless nights make the time all seem to run together. I'm glad that I scrapbooked it all! It's fun to look back. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Victoria has a new saying for when her socks are crunched around her toes. "MY SOCKS ARE PEEPT-ED!!" I don't know how to spell the words. There is a definite "T" sound after the "peep" and strong "ED" sound at the end so I wanted to make sure it came across correctly. I don't know where she got this phrase. Willy and I have adopted this term for our own use. When things are not quite right for any reason....they are "peepted" and let me say that Victoria doesn't like our incorrect usage. It did come in handy when David had a stomach virus. I was trying to describe dehydration to Victoria and why David was so sick. I just told her he didn't have enough water so it made his skin "peepted" and she understood.

My migraines have been a lot better lately. I did have a bad one on Thursday but it only lasted a day. I average one every two weeks instead of two migraines or more every week! Thank you Lord!

I'm proud of myself

2007-09-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that I love to scrapbook. I enjoy it so much that it has branched out into other paper crafts. I am not the kind of scrapbooker that you see in magazines so when I create something that looks "arty" I'm really proud of it. I worked for hours on this box - soon to be purse -for a birthday gift. I just need to add the handle. This picture is pre-glaze. I had a hard time getting inspired for this project. I didn't know where to start. I didn't know what colors or theme to use. I found the "green bling" in a box and it went from there. I added all the paper and it still looked dull. I took a risk with the white pen and I think it paid off! I love the swirls, flowers, and dots. Happy Birthday Mel!

Word

2007-09-05T18:22:00.001-07:00

I am all about being real. I hope you know that by now, I have no pride and I am very open about my life and feelings. I have to be honest..... I am fascinated wtih all things Vanilla Ice.... I can't describe it other than that. I'm fascinated and I don't know why. Will and I were watching YouTube and I did a search for Jim Carrey and his parody of "Ice Ice Baby" on the old show "In Living Color". Here is the link. http://youtube.com/watch?v=fsr_lOv7A3c If that doesn't work, go on YouTube and type in "Jim Carrey Vanilla Ice" I don't remember ever seeing the real video but I'm sure that is on YouTube also. We couldn't stop laughing!

We watched it on YouTube last week while Tom was over and I just had to show it to my dad last night. It was soooo funny. Apparently the YouTube bit had an impression on Victoria. I was getting her dressed for bed tonight when she looked at me and said, "Word to your mother."

I didn't know what to say.

While I'm on the subject, I love all things Richard Simmons, Tammy Faye, and Tori Spelling too, all for different reasons...but that's another blog.

First Day

2007-09-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Victoria and David had a great first day. I was so nervous for David. I was really concerned that he would cry during carpool. I got up extra early and made his favorite breakfast and packed his favorite lunch. I didn't say a word about him going to school. I didn't want to make and issue out of it so early. He did watch me make his lunch and when he saw the Thomas lunch box, he simply looked up at me and said, "No." He said it quietly in a gentle way not a panic angry way. We rode through the carpool drop off and he said, "No" a few times then got just a little sad when the teacher unbuckled his car seat. He blew kisses through the car window and made the "sad" face almost tearing up. I watched the teacher carry him inside and he watched over her shoulder as I drove away. It broke my heart. I thought about him all day and prayed he was having a good day. I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon to see David smiling and bouncing out to carpool with his teacher. He had a great day and didn't really need or want his Lammy. The teacher said he did great and wasn't upset much. He played and had a fun day. I was thrilled. He was happy the rest of the day. What a blessing!

Victoria had her first ballet practice today. I really like her new ballet teachers. I think the little girls are so sweet in their little pink leotards and ballet slippers. This school is very strict about dress code. They even want the girls to wear their hair in a bun for practice. They looked so sweet as a result. On the way to dance, Victoria asked if her recital was today. I told her that it was just the first day and she has all year to work on the recital!

David has become a total ham. It has been really difficult to take David's picture the last few months because he wants to run from me every time I get the camera out. It is frustrating this avid scrapbooker! I have just a few rare photos of David looking at the camera much less smiling at it. Something must have changed because today he walked up to me and pointed to his smile and said, "CHEESE!" He did it a few times before I finally asked, "David, do you want me to take your picture?" He said, "Yes!" I got out the camera and he posed with everyone in the family for pictures. He smiled and said "CHEESE" with every click of the camera. I got some really cute photos.

Last Day of Summer

2007-09-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Back in the day school started the day after Labor Day. I grew up in Matthews/Charlotte and they had a Labor Day festival every year. I still remember riding the carnival rides at dusk thinking about starting school early the next morning. The children start school tomorrow and I don't know what I'm going to do with two mornings a week without them. Well, I think I can fill that time rather well but you know what I mean. I have been so used to having a little buddy with me that it will be strange to be able to complete a task without "help". It will be nice to have my chores complete so that when the children are home, we can play.

Say a prayer for David. He is not happy about school. He likes being my buddy and doesn't like to be away from me. We went to meet his teacher on Thursday and he cried the whole time. I sat in the room with him in my lap and he still cried. I do love his teachers and I feel very confident leaving him there. He will have "happy feet" (music and movement) once a week and chapel. They have theme weeks with special visitors, crafts, and books. He will have two teachers that are super sweet and they were not phased a bit by his crying last Thursday. Every time I tell David about school, he says "NO!" and he shakes his head. Maybe you should say a prayer for me too. It is so hard to send them to school even when you know it is best. He loves church and loved vacation Bible school this summer. I know once he spends a few days at school he will see how much fun it is and love it too.

If you want to meet for lunch on a Tues or Thurs....give me a call.

I'm STUCK!

2007-08-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of your prayers and kind words. I did have good moments and bad ones between finding out the bad news and actually having to have the D&C. I had moments where I had just had enough and just had to cry it out. I think all women have to do that at some point. But then, God showered me with blessings and joy. I felt peace. I felt loved. I felt joy. I looked for those things too. I really focused on playing with Vic and David, I watched season 2 of the office. Laugh city! I had fellowship in the Lord with the lovely ladies at MOPS and Sunday church. My family and friends were close. I had a girl's night out and a few dates with Willy. I tried to focus on those things and remember there was so much more around me. I just wanted to thank the Lord for that and all of you who listened, prayed, and just spent time with me in person or on the phone the last few weeks. It got me through.

On a positive note:
Last Saturday night Will and I got to go to the prom. Well, it felt like the prom. We went to a formal charity event. Will wore a tux and I a formal dress. It was fun doing all the prep for the event. I did all those things that girls do before big events. Bottle tan, whiten teeth, roll hair, mani/pedi, eat lean all week, bust out the really high heals, and gab with mom/friends about the whole prep. Here are some beauty tips that I discovered...to avoid the white streaks from deo on your dress, put on cortisone cream and let dry before applying deo. I don't know how or why but it goes on clear after that. I bet it would work with plain lotion. Maybe I will try that next. Also, if you do a bottle tan, peroxide on a cotton ball will take off those unfortunate streaks.

Here is more advice: Don't even try on those dresses you wore 15 pounds ago. Just don't do it. I thought I would just see if those gorgeous formals (pre Victoria) would fit. I should have taken a cue when they were hard getting over my head. I got the first one on. It was tight looked bad but thought maybe one day it would fit. Anyway, I started to take it off and it got stuck. I got stuck in the six straps that criss cross the back. I couldn't get out. It was half off, half on. I heard a few rips and snaps and it still wasn't coming off. I didn't know what to do. I was too embarrassed to get Will and even if I wanted to, I couldn't see or walk well with this dress caught around my head, neck, torso. I managed to get my face free and while studying the situation in the mirror devised an escape plan. I was later freed but still didn't learn my lesson. I got curious to see just how bad the other formals would fit and managed to get stuck in two more dresses each requiring a different escape route. Those dresses are now safely hanging in the back of the closet. Thank the Lord for consignment dresses and spanx because that is what I ended up wearing on Saturday.

I'm Moving to Australia

2007-08-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not really moving to Australia. That phrase is code for "I had a bad day." One of my favorite books as a child was Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. I read it many times while volunteering at a local elementary school when I was in high school and college. It is about a little boy who has a bad day. Everything seems to go wrong so he decides to move to Australia. That became a quick joke with my mom. If either one of us greeted each other at the end of the day with, "I'm Moving To AUSTRALIA" that meant there was a story behind our day. Often for me it had to do with a bad date, test, or car trouble. It was a nice way to laugh about it and not take our problems so seriously. I have always believed laughter is the best medicine.

I was reminded of this story after the crazy week I had. We found out a few weeks ago that we were pregnant. The Dr. closely monitored my HGC levels since I had lost two pregnancies this year. We knew pretty quickly that my levels were not going up like they should have and a miscarriage was likely. A sono on Friday confirmed that I had miscarried and that I needed a D&C. I had the procedure on Friday and it was quick and over before I knew it. This is never easy and I keep thinking that "the next time will work" so I get a little more discouraged with each loss but, I am not ready to give up. I pray that in God's perfect time he will bless us with another child.

I slept Friday afternoon and took it easy. I always try to keep the house organized and clean. I had really worked to keep it together last week because I was expecting to have the D&C Friday. The ants that had taken over the house had another idea. It seems the warm weather had sent the ants inside. My bathroom and old office room were infested. I mean INFESTED with ants. William took everything out of our bathroom closet (where they were coming from) and put it on the floor/counter on the bathroom. It was a mess. A mess. infested with ants! I looked at that mess Friday after the surgery and though of Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. I thought maybe I should call mom and inform her I was moving to Australia. She would know exactly what I was talking about and probably have a good laugh with me!

So, If you ever had a bad day, all you have to do is email me or call and say, "I'm moving to Australia!" and I will know exactly what you mean.

We shared in Sunday school this morning about the loss. A man in the class walked up to us afterwards and shared he and his wife had two miscarriages in 2005. They quit trying after that and this week she gave birth to twins! He said the twins were a total surprise. It was so neat to hear his testimony. I am so thankful he shared that with us. It gives me hope.

Jesus Loves You and He's Coming Soon! 50th post

2007-08-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

It is funny how the Lord can speak to you anywhere. For some reason God speaks to me at Wal-Mart. The first time was in May. I was really struggling about where to send Victoria for first grade. Funny how that is two years away but I was still worried about it. I kept wishing that day that she could go to a particular elementary school and not the one we are zoned for. A woman in Wal-Mart took notice to Victoria and just started talking to me. She had a daughter named Victoria (7yrs) and started telling me about her. It was funny how similar the two girls were. She also had an "Elizabeth" (my other future girl name) and her husband was "David". She taught fourth grade at the school I wish Victoria could go to. Turns out she lives in the neighborhood across the street from me. I found this interesting because we were not at the Wal-Mart by our homes. We were across town. The more she talked, the more we had in common. I almost asked her if she scrapbooked but I bet she does! Here is how God used her....She just kept talking about how much she loved the school we are zoned for. Her three girls go there and as a teacher, she was very impressed with it. They were very happy and she liked our school better than the one where she taught. It was like God was giving me this confirmation about our school....IN WAL-MART of all places! She brought up the subject that had consumed my thoughts that day and God used her. It was so strange how much this woman's life paralleled mine that I thought maybe she was lying. I googled her and the school and sure enough, all was correct. It was a God thing. I haven't worried about the school since.

The second time God spoke to me at Wal-Mart was yesterday. I was shopping and a lady beside me just said, "Jesus loves you and he's coming soon." It was great. I thanked her and told her that I agreed with her. We both went back to our shopping. She had a lot of courage to say that to a stranger. I know that Jesus loves me but you know, it's nice to think about it in the middle of a crowded Wal-Mart with your children running away from your cart.

Sorry this post is so long, I haven't blogged in a month! Here's some funnies:

Victoria: I want a little sister.
Me: If you had a sister, what should we name her?
Victoria: Alidia
Me: Alidia? Lidia is the name of a friend so we couldn't call her that.
Victoria: No, Alidia...Like the little girl in your preschool class that never cleaned up.
Me: Oh, Olivia!

Victoria has started painting her nails and I let her paint mine this week. It was a lot of fun for her. It was fun for me too. Keep in mind it is a clear glitter Disney brand polish that evaporates off in minutes...PERFECT for practice.
Victoria: Are you ready for your beauty mappointment?
Me: My beauty appointment?
Victoria: No, not Nappointment... MAppointment.

Are you thinking I should have her ears checked again?

David has a speech delay but he is picking up new words daily. I was so proud this week when he started calling Victoria "Sissy" with confidence. He ran into the kitchen to find me and he was yelling "SISSY! SISSY!" He was pulling me to the playroom. I ran in there and all was well. I think he was telling on her! She had a guilty look then was all ready to share the toys she was playing with. I bet that surprised her! David can tattle now!

My favorite funny is about my dad. He had his 40th high school reunion last night. Mom told me that when they pulled into the parking lot of the country club he said, "I think I got the dates confused. This isn't my class reunion. The people walking in here are old. They all have white hair!" Apparently some people were going in with walkers too. Nope Dad that was the right party! I love it!

It is here again!

2007-07-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

I totally scored a rare Scott Leonard sings the Bee Gees CD from Japan on Ebay. These things are outrageous and I got it for a very decent price. It was released in the mid 90's. I got it last week. Uh, lets just say it's going back on ebay. Sorry Scott. I was warned by a fellow RP fan but I couldn't help myself. Curiosity got me. It's not for me.

Victoria is having fun at summer school. She has a new friend named Caleb. I discovered this when she asked if we could change David's name to Caleb. I'm glad she has a new friend. She is also at the age of difficult questions. Here are a few:

How did we get a belly button? -Where do I start with that? Placenta? Umbilical cord? I tried to be simple but everything I said led to more questions. There is nothing wrong with explaining all this but hey, I don't think her four year old mind to grasp it all.

Where do babies sleep at the hospital? - I tried to explain the baby beds there but I was afraid to tell her the babies sleep in plastic containers. I told her Johanna was a baby nurse and she should ask her the baby questions. Victoria was concerned about how the babies got out of the beds etc. Where did this come from?

David is into legos! He wants to play with them every morning. He is also starting to pitch fits. It is kind of funny when he gets upset because he never gets mad. He is so compliant most of the time that when he has a melt down, I have to hold my smile back. I guess his fits are funny now that I have some experience with toddler fits. It is also funny to watch him turn them off and on so fast. Although, they are not funny when I have a migraine.

My LuLu shirt is clean in back in the rotation tonight!

IT IS HERE!!!

2007-06-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

The new Scott Leonard CD is here! Scott is the lead for Rockapella and just released a new solo cd. I got it in the mail today and wow! I have been rockin all afternoon. Victoria was even excited to hear it. I also got a personal note from Scott himself. I have to decoupage it to my next Rockapella purse. You may think I'm crazy for being so silly over a cd but Rockapella music brings me joy and I'm going to thank God for it.

Speaking of joy, I have been thinking about it all week. What makes me happy? What happens everyday that brings joy to my life? I should really scrapbook those things. I think God gives us those "small things" to give us joy especially when we really need it. I'm going try to be more aware of those things!
Here are two small things that bring me joy......
Bear Blanket-I have an old bear blanket that I got in 1987. It is a twin size blue blanket. It is warm and soft and just the right size. I have pretty much slept with it every night the last 20 years. I take bear blanket on vacation and I don't share it. I love my bear blanket. It has kept me warm for many nights and I am thankful for it. I have tried to use other blankets but they just don't work. Too short, too thin, too red, too big, not warm enough, or too warm...nothing works but bear.
My LuLu's T-SHIRT- Do you ever get excited when your favorite sleep shirt comes around the laundry rotation? I never did until I got my LuLu's shirt. I don't know why but I love wearing this shirt with matching shorts around the house. It brings me joy. Maybe it reminds me of the beach? I don't know. I'm just thankful for it.

Think about the little things that bring you joy this week.

I passed the general level HAM test last Saturday! It was hard but it was worth it to hear William tell me he is proud of me.

Birthday Blog

2007-06-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

My birthday yesterday was fun. We went to Chuck E. Cheese with the family. It doesn't matter how old you are, they still give the birthday "person" 12 free tokens, a balloon, and ice cream. I was playing skee ball and noticed a little girl with a birthday crown. I said, "Is it your birthday today?" She said, "Yes." I said, "It's my birthday too." She said, "I'm 6" I told her it didn't matter how old you get, you still want to spend your birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. She asked if I wanted to take her picture. I did.

I spent yesterday afternoon at the neurologist trying to figure out why I get migraines and headaches for weeks at a time. I have a headache 75%-80% of the month. It started last summer and has gotten worse over the last year. I will have an MRI in two weeks to rule out anything serious then it's wait and see. I am not worried about that at all but at least there will be no question about it. He suggests I get on a preventative medicine to prevent headaches. Since we do want another child, that is not an option for now. Hopefully these will just go away and I will not have to take anything. That is my prayer. I did have a migraine yesterday and got it under control to go out an celebrate. Today I woke up headache free and felt fantastic! It was fun to run around the house with the children and feel my best. Today was great!

Victoria had an ulcer on her eye last week. It is gone now and she feels better. I had no idea you could get an ulcer on your eye! The medicine did the trick and now she is back to normal.

So Much Better!

2007-06-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

The air is on and we are nice and cool. Will worked on the truck a little and it doesn't need a new engine yet! I am so thankful! Thank you Lord!

It's hot in here

2007-06-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

We had a great week at VBS. The children also enjoyed family night on Friday. Will had to miss because our Explorer is not running. It looks like it needs a new engine. Will is spending this next week on that project. Say a prayer that is goes well for him! It is a long process. He has a conference Tues-Wed and I know how he hates to put things off. He will stay up all night to complete a project. Interesting to see how it all works out.

We went to an IDPA match yesterday and it was fun. It seems Will is getting me into hobbies (HAM/IDPA) that consist of older males. I go and think about how much these men remind me of my dad and how much fun he would have going with us. Anyway, we got home to discover the air conditioning is out. My poor mom was stuck in this hot house wondering what was going on. Our machine is less than three years old and we have had a few problems. It is 85 degrees in here and man, that is hot! The kids are cool because we had a window unit for their rooms. David was up so many times I lost count. Will is so tired from working on the car/air conditioner so we finally gave up and put David in bed with us last night. I don't know how family beds work. It doesn't work well in our family. No one sleeps!

The basement is cool so this is my new favorite spot. I pray nothing major breaks down next!

Broadway Baby

2007-06-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome summer! We have had a busy and fun few weeks. Victoria danced in her first recital last Saturday. She did such a great job. I was so proud of her. She has looked forward to being on stage all year. ( I wonder where she gets it? : ) She liked wearing the costumes, wearing make up, and performing. Victoria was a real trooper too. A few minutes before she walked on stage, she fell. We were walking from the dressing room to the stage door when her tap shoe hit a slick spot on the floor and down she went. The worst part was that she fell in a doorway where a big brick was holding the door open. She fell right on the corner of the brick. She stood up quickly and didn't make a sound. I thought she was okay since I didn't hear a loud scream/cry. She was looking down at the floor and when I leaned over to look at her, she had huge tears welling up and her face was bright red. She was hurt but tried so hard to fight off the tears. I picked her up and put her on my hip. She looked at me and forced a smile as if to say, "The show must go on!" She never said a peep and dried her tears and went on stage with a huge smile and danced her heart out. I was so proud of her for not giving up and trying her best. My parents gave her roses and Will and I gave her a ballet trophy. She is so proud of them. After the recital, she said, "Thank you for my trophy. I have always wanted one." It made me want to go back on ebay and see what else she could get trophy's for. Is there one for cleaning up your room for a year???

While Vic was preparing for recital, I was studying for my HAM license. It is something I have always wanted to do but never pursued until now. I went Sunday afternoon to take the test. I think the HAM club was surprised to see me. One man kept walking by telling me that the test wasn't "so bad" and that they would let me take it over if I failed. This man must have had little faith in me because he came back over and sat down beside me to counsel me about the test. He told me that some people fail it 6-8 times and that they have had college graduates come in and fail. This man didn't know me at all. He didn't ask me one question but took one look at me that figured I would fail. He also told me not to "feel bad" if I failed. He got up after this but then came back around to tell me it was going to be "okay" two more times. I took the test and finished quickly. Someone came to collect the test and I sat and waited for the results. After about 5 minutes, the same man came over, got right in my ear and said, "Leave it to you to make a 100!" I was excited but I think those older men were shocked I passed let alone made a perfect score. I hope this taught him a lesson about passing judgment about people.

I am trying to read "Baghdad Without A Map" by Tony Horwitz but I don't have a lot of time to devote to it. Next on my list is "Freakenomics" by Stephen Levitt. William liked it.

David is having fun at VBS. He takes Lammy Lamerkins with him and doesn't put him down for the whole three hours. He keeps Lammy tucked under his arm the entire time. No one seems to care because David is doing so well. He doesn't cry and the teacher says he is really good. He is happy when I pick him up and blows kisses to the women as we leave the room. This is such a change from a few months ago when he cried a good bit when we left him and picked him up. He dances around the room when we leave in the morning because he is so happy to go to church!

The lead singer of Rockapella has released a new solo cd! Just in time for my birthday too!!!!! Happy Birthday to me!

Today is our 9 yr anniversary. We actually went to the movies and dinner without kids. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Where did I put my jelly shoes?

2007-05-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

David turned 2 last week. He had a 102.5 fever as he blew out his two candles on his Elmo cupcake. He tested neg for strep even though Victoria had it the week before. He was recently on antibiotics and my friend Melissa said that could have given him a false negative test. He is better now and I hope no one else gets sick.

Victoria only has two more days left of school. She is going to miss her teacher. We were blessed this year with Miss Claire. She has to be one of the best preschool teachers I have ever seen. Victoria came home from school with the coolest stories about what they did at school. I should have been taking notes for when I go back to teach. I'm sure to keep Claire's number in my address book for future reference. Friday is Luau/water day and Victoria hasn't stopped talking about it.

Will had an exciting night last night. He decided to take down a few trees behind our fence. I took the kids outside (at a safe distance) to watch. It was quite entertaining until one fell on the fence and deck. Will spent the rest of the night repairing the fence/deck. He kept saying, "One more foot and it would have missed."

I had an exciting day today. I'm involved in a mom's group called MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) that meets twice a month at church. It is a great ministry and I credit our pastor for his support of preschool mothers. This ministry has really been a lifeline for me this year. I really don't know where I would be without it. I can't believe I waited so long to join too. I am praying about being a group leader next year. I'm really excited about it. Today was our 80's fellowship to celebrate the end of the year and start of the summer. I went all out. My group leader kept telling me that she was going all out with her 80's hair/outfit so I did the same. I wore pink leopard capri tights, long black tunic, a wide hot pink belt, very large neon green star earrings, jelly bracelets, a friendship bracelet, pumps, and to top it off massive 80's hair with matching 80's makeup. I was all excited until I started driving to church. I became overly concerned about every car that came close.....What if policeman stopped me and I had to explain my clothes??? Could I convince them that I was not crazy and really on my way to church? I got even more worried when I pulled into the full parking lot and I didn't see anyone else dressed up. I walked in the door and ran into one of the ministers. He stopped in his tracks and stared at me. His reaction scared me. I said, "Please tell me there are other women here that look like me." He assured me that there were so I walked into MOPS. Yes, other women were dressed up but not to the degree that I was. I felt really conspicuous and to top it off, 1/2 the women didn't dress up at all. Most of the other 80's outfits consisted of pegged jeans and t-shirts pulled to the side with a scrunchie. It was all worth it though when I won the best outfit and got a gift card for a manicure/pedicure! I can't wait to go relax with a magazine and bottled coke at the nail salon!

Funny how when I put on that outfit and had my huge hair all the insecurities came racing back as if I were back in 1988. I was worried if my hair had fallen flat and if anyone would make fun of my outfit. Did I look really great or really stupid??? It reminded me of how hard it was back in 8th grade in a new school, new state. I thank God that the preteen/teen years are far behind and I only pray that God will help me remember what it was like so I can understand Victoria a little better when she has to go through it.

Oh.....I don't have any pictures either!

No one threw up at the beach!

2007-05-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to the beach. I just love the beach. I could easily live there and teach preschool or open a scrapbook store. I would have to do something different with my hair. The humidity and wind made it a constant mess.

David loved the water. I couldn't get him out of it. He wasn't afraid. He ran right into the water and chased the waves. The only problem was that David is way too little to be in the ocean alone and he can't swim. My back hurt by the end of the day playing goalie between him and the water. It was fun though and wow, it was probably some of my happiest days ever! I just couldn't get enough of playing in the sand/water with the kids. I just sat there and thanked the Lord for it all.

Victoria loved the beach too. She spent her happiest times dancing around in the sand and splashing in the pool. I also have a few pictures of her just standing still facing the water with her eyes closed just feeling the sea breeze. I can't wait to start the scrapbook!

There are so many things about the water that just heal me. I love the smell of the ocean air. I love to close my eyes and listen to the waves. I love seafood! I love the outlet malls. I love asking, "What time is it?" and no one knows the answer because for one week, it just doesn't matter what time it is. I love going on the deck alone at night and watching the moon reflect on the water. Some people are mountain people and some are beach people. I am a beach person. I can't get enough of it. It is my favorite place.

My tummy hurts

2007-04-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Three little words that every mother dreads....MY TUMMY HURTS

Victoria woke up this morning and didn't want to get out of bed. She wanted to sit still, and she didn't want to talk. This is unusual for Victoria. She started throwing up around 9:00ish and didn't stop until noon. Really...she didn't stop. We packed up the farm and drove back to the after hours care in town. Turns out she has strep throat. About thirty minutes after the shot, she was like her old self. She wanted food, sprite, etc. I am sad she had such a tough morning but I'm thankful that we got her meds before we left for the beach. I'm not sure if I blogged about this before but last year David was sick the entire trip. He had a double ear infection and a virus. He had "runny poo poo" ( Victoria's words ) or threw up in every restaurant at the beach. I'm surprised no one asked us to leave. I hope they don't recognize us this year. I'm also hoping that the meds David is on for the ear infection keeps him from getting strep. We will see.....

My parents came over to check on Vic and my dad disappeared on the way upstairs. 10-15 minutes later he walked up to the living room and told me he was checking out the Van/tub packing system. He used my (packed) tubs to see how things will fit tomorrow. He also informed me that there is no room for the kid sized card table in the back of the van. He said he felt good about adding their tubs tomorrow even though we can only fit 5 back there not 6. We then spent about 20 minutes talking about where other things like diapers, totes, and pack & play will go. I love it!

Sorry to Stacey and Paul who stayed at the farm with us last night. I hope and pray your sweet boys don't get strep!

Man with the hat

2007-04-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Exciting things going on around here. Will's birthday was yesterday. Happy Birthday! It was uneventful. That is a good thing around here! It was just the four of us and we ate chicken wings and played in the yard. We played football, soccer, and blew bubbles with the kids. Note to self: Don't wear crocs to play soccer with Will. He is ruthless. We celebrated with his parents tonight and it was a nice visit.

The kids and I are going to the beach next week with my parents. I'm so excited! I look forward to this every year. I may have mentioned that this means serious packing challenges for my dad. He is super organized and a master packer. I actually caught him measuring the back of the van with a yard stick on Saturday. (made note to blog about it) He was happy to inform me that we may be able to get three tubs across the back of the van instead of two. He has just the right tubs and I'm going tomorrow to pick them up. Just for fun, I suggested taking the kid size card table and two chairs for the kids to use. The look on his face was priceless. I totally could see him repacking the van in his head. After he thought a minute he said confidently, "We can do it."

Call me crazy but I was one of the 92,000 plus people that went to A-Day. I took the kids and met my parents and brother. Will didn't go. I still can't believe I married a Yankee that doesn't like football. I justify it because he is a good husband and father. I still don't have the heart to tell my friends at the Bryant Museum (where I worked in college) that I married a man that didn't care for Bama football. Anyway, Saturday was crazy. Victoria and David wore their Bama uniforms. Victoria was a cheerleader with a hounds tooth hat and David had a Jersey. We were walking into the stadium when Vic saw the statue of Coach Bryant. She said, "I want to get my picture with the man with the hat." I was so proud! I guess she noticed they had the same hat. I think I see my next Christmas card!!! We only stayed for the first quarter. It was too packed to get a seat so we waved to the cheerleaders, Big Al, and watched the players for a minute and went to lunch. I took my digital 35 mm and it brought back memories. I was setting it up to take some photos and it reminded me of being on the sidelines in college. The energy was the same. This time, I had two kids in tow and a much better camera but with a horrible view of the field. I know the kids are too little to understand now but this is a part of my history and I was proud to share a little of it with them.

Took David to the doctor today and turns out he has an ear infection. I am so glad I took him in today. I hope he can get over this and have fun at the beach next week.

Alanis Marmoset

2007-03-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

I have let the blog go for a while. So much has happened that I need to catch up. It may be a rambling blog....that was your warning. I have to start with what I love about my dad. This may fall into the "had to be there" category but I will give it a try.

Zoo We went to the zoo a few Sundays ago with my parents. I love going to the zoo with my dad because he always has some funny comment to make about the animals and such. We get to the Bison....
Dad- "How can you tell the difference between Buffaloes and Bison?"
Me- "How?"
Dad- "A buffalo has wings."
Me - (Thinking---Oh, here we go with Dad and the zoo jokes YES!)

We enter the primate section
walking up to the marmoset cage....
Dad- "What ever happened to Alanis Marmoset?"
Me (thinking--How can he say that with a straight face?)

We leave the primate section and on the way out there is a full size mirror hidden to the right of the exit. Dad looks at the mirror grabbed his chest and jumps and says "AHH! I thought one got loose." ( Again with a straight face)

He did spare us the Kudu jokes even though I know it was all he could do not to say something. That's the one thing about dad, he doesn't reuse his material. He made a joke about the Kudus in 1986 that went over really well but he hasn't replayed it since.

My Dad and the beach
My Dad lives for his one week at the beach. Every year in February Dad starts planning his trip. He books the condo and starts talking about where we are going to eat the first night there. In March, dad starts talking about packing the tubs. Dad is a master packer and traveler. He loves totes, bags, luggage, anything like that. His new packing idea is to use large plastic tubs. We can spend hours on the phone talking about what we are going to pack and do at the beach. His new idea this year is to leave at 6:00am so we can be at the beach by lunch. I'm game! It seems lately I'm busy with the kids and Dad is busy with work. We don't get large amounts of time to sit and chat. I'm looking forward to the beach so I can talk with Dad and catch up.

New topic...
I just finished a great book "Confederates in the Attic" by Tony Horwitz. My mom had to read this book for a class at school. She loved it and gave us a copy a few years ago. I finally took the time to sit down and read it. Horwitz toured southern states to get different view points of the Civil War over a hundred years later. He talked to all sorts of people and characters. It was laugh out loud funny and times and thought provoking all at the same time. I loved his style so much that I ordered is other two books this week... "Blue Latitudes" and "Baghdad Without A Map" I can't wait to get them in the mail. I'm not much of a reader so this is huge for me.

Just got a new CD and its not Rockapella! Shocker! I got the Toby Mac "Portable Sounds" and it is great! It really gets me going in the morning. Willy hates it... What else is new? Our music tastes are really different.

Told you the blog would ramble!
Next blog topic...IDPA

March

2007-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

I love March! I really hate winter. I'm not a big fan of cold weather or snow. I love my long walks at the farm so I need it to be in the sixties to be just perfect. I'm so glad February is over.

We spent our weekend at the best birthday party ever. We went to the children's museum in T-town and wow! I just love that place. The kids could play and enjoy themselves and I could sit back and watch because everything there was safe for them to play with. Happy birthday Haley! Love you girl!

I haven't blogged in so long that I have forgotten all the funny things Vic and David have done in the last few weeks. Let me think.......We are regularly going to church on Sunday nights and Victoria really likes her preschool program. On her first night, I asked her what she learned. She was quiet for a minute then said, "Jesus turned water into cool-aide and I ate wedding cake with whipped cream on it!" I got the biggest kick out of that. David isn't as articulate yet but he still can crack me up. I was in a panic on Saturday because David slipped in the tub and busted his chin. He was trying to stand up and when he got to his knees, his face hit the side of the tub. He was lucky to only come out of it with a small cut on his chin. He wore a butterfly bandage that night to bed. When I went in to get him in the morning, it was gone. I asked him where it was and he pointed to his blanket and lammy in the crib. I didn't see it. Later that morning I looked at lammy closer and guess what he had..... A butterfly bandage on His chin. I love it!

Beautiful day

2007-02-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time at the farm. The weather was perfect and we had two long walks around the place. I love going for a long walk around the farm. Our trip was cut short last week due to a serious migraine that sent me to my knees. It was refreshing to feel perfect this weekend and have no hint of a headache.

Here is my thought for the day..
Earlier this week I picked up our engagement photo and took a good look at it. Will and I looked so young and happy. I showed it to Will and said, "Look how young we were." He said, "And so naive." I thought about it. Naive? "What do you mean naive?" That opened a new conversation. We started talking about how clueless we were about children and how much they would change us. It is so true. I was a preschool teacher and really, I had no idea how parenthood would change and shape my life. It is also neat to see how my perspective has changed too. Saturday night I put David to bed and he started fussing. I was so tired and I was ready to relax and I got a little frustrated that I would have to go back in and settle him. I picked him up from the crib and started to rock him in the dark quiet room. I relaxed and started singing and that turned into praying. I prayed for him, his future, that God would give me wisdom as a mother, and that turned into prayer for Victoria and our family and then prayers for our friends. I looked down and realized David was asleep and I could put him back in the crib. Before I got up, I looked down at his sweet face and thought about how blessed I was to have him. How wonderful it feels to rock my little boy and just hold him. I quietly placed him in his crib and closed his door. I left with a smile on my face and a sweet joy in my heart. When I started into his room, I was frustrated and tired but that crying gave me an opportunity to be quiet and pray while holding my baby just a little longer. I had never thought about it before but this happens all the time. David is unsettled at the farm so I go up to rock him and it turns into a great quiet time for the both of us. Isn't it neat how God can use anything to get us to be quiet and focus on him a while.

What's a Smurth?

2007-01-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

A few Victoria stories and David update:

Victoria is always doing something that makes me laugh. David makes me laugh by just being David but Victoria is at that fun age where you never know what she will say. Last week we were coloring and she had blue marker all over her hands. It was a dry erase marker so it was a bit tricky to wash off. I looked at her little blue hands and said, "You look like a Smurf." She said, "What's a Smurth?"

Victoria loves to eat out. She would load up on butter pats and creamer cartons if I let her. We were eating dinner with my parents on Saturday and I never noticed Victoria take a creamer carton and pull of the foil lid. I was giving the server our order when Vic looked at me whimpering with creamer splattered all over her face. She had the most pitiful embarrassed look on her face. You would have though she spilled a whole cup of milk. Her face, hair, and shirt were really wet. I wanted to laugh so hard but I controlled myself and cleaned her up. I never said a word about it. I think she learned her lesson well enough!

David is really happy little boy. He doesn't like TV unless Baby Einstein is on. That is the only show that will make him stop in his tracks. David wants to be outside all the time and he loves his bath. He is so easy!

Things that make me HAPPY!

2007-01-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

This is random.... After Midnight but I was just thinking and needed a break from moving books...My life is so exciting.

Things that make me happy..
Laughing so hard my sides hurt-this is my favorite!
Karaoke
Prayer with a friend
New understanding of a Bible story..I learned something new today!
Playing house with Victoria (she always plays the "mommy" and I'm "the girl". She
never lets me do anything. Is this how she sees me?)
My new favorite show...The Office
The internet
Eating a good meal that I actually cooked
The song "Mexico" by Jimmy Buffett (reminds me of the beach,eating shrimp)
Long walk around the farm on a cool day
A phone call from a friend
A good sale on ebay
a clean house
Napoleon Dynamite...gosh
A cheeseburger happy meal with a coke

What makes you happy?

January

2007-01-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

This year started off great. Will shot his second deer of the season and I won something fun off the radio (trip to meals in the making) and we got a positive pregnancy test. Things were going well until Wedensday. I started having problems and miscarried. It was not easy but I am doing a lot better now. I really believe that God has his hand on my life and that we will have another child in his perfect time. Thanks for your prayers! It has really helped me through this.

We spent the weekend at the farm and that was really great. It was nice to walk in the woods and enjoy the 75 degree weather! I sat in the shooting house with Will but we didn't see anything. I am starting to love the farm more and more. It is so funny how life changes! I used to be the girl that never drove with the windows down because it messed up my hair! Now, I don't even use hairspray! I drive with the windows down every chance I get. I still wear make-up at the farm so I haven't totally gone off the deep end! : ) Don't worry.

Victoria and David are as fun as ever. Victoria is writing her name at school and got a trip to the teacher's treasure bag. She got a doll that she kept right with her all weekend. We made her a bed out of a plastic basket and a hand towel. It was funny how much she loved her prize that the teacher probably got from a happy meal! David is like Victoria in that he loves going to the farm. Every Saturday morning he brings us his shoes and socks. He stands by the door waiting for us to open it so he can explore. He is cute in his bright orange hat and John Deere t-shirts. Victoria loves to go outside but she is SO LOUD that we worry it disturbs the deer and fellow hunters. We try to keep them around the house and only take long walks when we don't plan to hunt.

Here is a little PSA for those who like to laugh. Watch The Office on NBC Thursday nigths. I sure have needed to laugh this year and this show certainly sends me laughing until my sides hurt. I've only seen three episodes so I'm new to the show. I taped it just to see what it was all about. OKAY... FUNNY!!! Set your TIVOS and watch. Let me know what you think.

Stress free!

2006-12-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. We relaxed and watched the kids play and unwrap gifts all morning. IT was fun to see them be happy and I also enjoyed playing with the new toys too.

On Christmas eve, we went to the church candle light service for the first time since having children. I have avoided it in the past because it is a family service and I knew my sweet ones would never make it. Our church has family communion where one at a time, each family goes to the alter for communion while different people sing. We decided to try it this year. David and Victoria did great for about 30 minutes and then we took them out to the foyer (with all the other preschool parents) and played until we lit candles. I tried to keep them entertained but they were distracting the others so we had to move. I did make one mistake. I gave David my large tube of chapstick. He loved pulling the lid off then putting it back on. It was only a matter of time before he dropped the lid and we heard it ping pong down the aisle and watched several rows of people look down at their feet one by one as it rolled to the front. We were in the back row too so, nice.

After church, Victoria and I made cookies for Santa and she wrote him a note with her Nanny. Will took her outside to leave the reindeer food out and we all went to bed. She was so excited to see the empty plate in the morning and a note from Santa. David liked rolling in the wrapping paper and playing with his new hammer and peg toy. I really enjoyed relaxing and cooking Christmas dinner. It was nice, relaxing, and totally stress free. It seems this year has been stressful but Christmas came together and we really had a great week. The Lord really blessed me!

Christmas Crunch Time

2006-12-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year...a few days before Christmas. I have a list of things to do and a short time to get everything done. I enjoy late nights finishing up that last scrapbook (as a gift) or wrapping gifts. I usually rent movies around this time and try to squeeze that in too.

I have our "scrap tree" finished! This year I needed a child friendly tree since it was in the play room. I decided to make all of our ornaments with the kids. I then got the scrappy idea to put photos on the tree. I scrap everything so why not our tree? I alter boxes, clocks, purses, why not the tree? Most of the photos were of Disney but my favorite picture is one of Rockapella Scott and Victoria. If it were up to me, it would probably would have been a "Rockapella scrap tree" but I don't want to push that with Willy. He has been a good sport about me going to shows and I don't want to over do it. Anywho, I love the tree!

My friend Wendy had a snake in her house this year which she caught and removed with the help of another mom friend! Her blog had a statement to the effect of "Amazing what two determined moms can do." That statement was my motto last night as I became DETERMINED to take a Christmas card photo of the kids. Willy has David's virus so he wasn't any shape to help. I got the kids bathed, dressed in Christmas best, and as usual, chaos ensued. I did get my photo, got them printed and less than 24 hours later, they were mailed today! I am proud of myself! Sorry the cards are late! If only I could clean the house and cook all the goodies I intend to make in the next 24 hours!

Are you in your pj's?

2006-12-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

David is at home and seems back to normal. He is happy and moving around fine. This virus was quick but his digestive track took a while to get in gear. The dr.'s are guessing this is why he kept throwing up for so long and not having a BM either. Poor David...his functions are the topic of my blog! This post should have something fun about him and Santa or something Christmasy. Still continue to pray for him. We go back to the ped tomorrow to check his tummy and lack of BM's over the last few days/week.

Victoria spent a few nights with Nanny and Pappa over this ordeal. Here is a conversation I had over the phone with her at about 9:00 am after a long night with David vomiting...
Me: Hi Victoria, I miss you.
Vic: Are you in your PJ's?
Me: Yes
Vic: Are you wearing your glasses so David won't throw up in your eyes?
Me: Laughing!!!

Another interchange on the way home from school. I'm driving and Vic in the back seat.
Vic: Oh mommmy, look!
Me: (looking back at her) Victoria! Is that a bugger
on your finger?
(huge bugger on vic's index finger?)
Here, let me give you a tissue.
(I hand back a tissue)
Vic: No! I don't want a tissue! I've got to give it
to Victoria Ann for Christmas!
(Victoria Ann is best friend)
Me: You can't give her that! That really isn't a nice
thing to give a friend!
The more I think about it the more I laugh!

My dad liked this story too.

David

2006-12-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

David is doing so much better! He stayed at the hospital last night for fluids and will stay tonight just to make sure he is well hydrated. It is wonderful to see him smiling, laughing, and ready to play. Thanks for your prayers.

David is still sick

2006-12-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

David slept great last night and woke up this morning asking for food and milk. He threw up after a few sips of water but kept cherios and formula down later in the morning. He woke up from nap vomiting everything we gave him until bed time. We have the first dr. appt tomorrow and we may be going back to the hospital for fluids after that. It just depends on how he improves over the night. He is still so weak. He doesn't lift his head up much and just wants to lay in my lap or on the floor. He walks only a few steps at a time. He is so hungry and cries for crackers, milk, soup, anything Victoria has or he sees in the kitchen. I keep giving him light food, hoping he will keep it down. Sometimes he will keep food down but most of the time, I see it again. I just keep trying. This afternoon, he kept refusing liquids. Say a prayer for him!

Another Crazy Week!

2006-12-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had a crazy week. Our cars needed repair and our plumbling went out. This week was similar. I came home from our Atlanta trip with a migraine that lasted all week. I didn't have a migraine all weekend (YAHOO) but I'm wondering when the next one is going to hit me. I am used to migraines but I have never had one that lasted for days! Victoria had pink eye and David has an inner ear infection and stomach virus that sent him to the hospital Sunday and Monday. David is home now and doing much better. He had to get fluids yesterday and spent eight hours in the ER without getting sick. The second Will and David walked out the front door of the hospital, David threw up! David slept well last night but threw up a few times today. He is so weak and sad please say a prayer for him. Hopefully, the kids will feel better in time for Christmas so we can see Santa and get our Christmas cards out.

Christmas is upon us!

2006-12-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

So much has happened since my last blog. It is hard to remember everything. I completed a card order, made two Rockapella purses, cleaned, ebayed, cooked new things, decorated the playroom, decorated for Christmas, visited Tuscaloosa, and Atlanta. I also went to Rick and Bubba's turkey toss. I threw a frozen turkey but didn't do so hot. Lets just say the 76 year old woman from New Hapshire gave me a run for my money.

The kids are having fun with the tree in the playroom and Victoria loves wearing her Christmas dresses. The highlight of the season so far has to be our Rockapella Christmas concert. Mom and Dad took me and Victoria for my Christmas gift to Atlanta for the weekend. Rockapella had an awesome show. They sang every Christmas song you could imagine and a few of my favorite non-holiday songs. We sat on the front row and I took over 300 pictures before, during, and after the show. They remembered Victoria from the August show. I didn't think they would but Scott came right out and pointed to her and sang to her all through the show. She sat so still and smiled the sweetest smiles at the guys as they sang. Scott was singing "Christmas Without You" and a there is a line that says "All I want for Christmas is you." When he sang "You" he turned and pointed to Victoria. I heard of lot of "Awes" from behind me. That totally made her night and mine! We were on the front row and after the last song, the guys all came by to our side to shake Victoria's hand. Scott told Victoria he remembered her from August and said, "Thank you for being here for me tonight." It was their 5th straight show and I'm sure Scott and the other guys miss their little girls. I think Vic reminded them of that.

It was really just a perfect weekend. It does me so much good to get out of town every once and a while. I also love Atlanta and going to IKEA. My parents are fun too. We enjoyed dinner at the Varsity and lots of laughs. Willy has informed me that there will be no Rockapella shows for a while. It gets pricey! That is okay considering that they only come here once a year or every two years. Twice in three months is unheard of so I can just wait it out. Maybe by the next show, David will be old enough to go or maybe they will come here and we can all go!

Turd patrol and the SK-1

2006-11-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

This week has been crazy with things breaking down. Will's truck needed a new fuel pump so Saturday night we (yes we) had to drop the tank out of the truck. This would not have been so bad but it still had about 15 gallons of gas still in it that Willy couldn't get out. After we got it out from under the truck, we lifted it to the tail gate and poured the gas out into buckets. Gas tanks are really big. At 1 am I had to go to bed. I prayed for Willy and he worked all night until it was fixed. The truck runs perfect now! Monday, the explorer needed work and my van had wires sticking out of the tires so that needed attention oh, did I mention our plumbing went out downstairs? I don't think Will knew what to tackle first. He needed the vehicles to get tools to fix the toilet. It was crazy but typical for us. I am happy to say that all of those things are fixed now. I still need to sanitize the basement but I will spare you that picture. Will had to spend Tuesday cleaning the shooting houses from bird poop in prep for hunting then came home to dig in the toilet and fix the blockage. He said, "I feel like I've been diggn' in shit all day!" I'm so glad he had humor about it. As I was writing this, Will walked up to my desk and I told him I was blogging about the work this week and he said, "Oh, your writing about the turd patrol?" Again, funny to me.

The highlight of the week was finding my Casio SK-1 from 1986. I cleaned it up last night and put new batteries in it. The great thing about the SK-1 was the sampling feature. You could talk or make noises and it would sample it on the keyboard. It's so '80's like the Farris Bueller movie where he sampled a cough to play back to fake out his parents. I took it into the bathroom where Willy was working and sampled "This Stinks" and played it for him. I would hit the keys so it sounded like: "This..This..This.. STINKS" Emphasis on "stinks" slow and in a low key. I'm sorry, it smelled so bad down here and it seemed like the perfect phrase for the old SK-1. Willy was so focused on the pipe camera he rented to check out the pipes that he never commented on my sampling skills. I was entertained at least.

I hope that this weekend is a lot less crazy. I'm looking forward to hunting season, visiting with our friends, and some good football games. Maybe I will have time to take some outdoor photos of the kids too.

Disney Daze

2006-11-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome trip to Disney World. It really is a happy place. I don't know what it is about seeing the castle but that is my very favorite part. I love to walk up Main Street and walk right through the castle. I love the mosaics inside and I especially loved taking that walk with Victoria this last trip. She was just as excited about the castle as I was. Victoria loved the Pooh, Dumbo, and Small World rides. I rode Small World with her so many times I lost count. We ate great food and I laughed so hard my sides hurt. It was fun to watch Victoria and David (who was really clueless) have fun. Victoria liked "eggcot" and the "fily smaces" in the fireworks. I also loved the thrill rides. My parents went with us and were sweet to keep the kids here and there so Willy and I could ride the coasters. I did ride Tower of Terror once alone and really had a fun time with it. I went on the ride and sat between two others that got really surprised when we took the first drop. The two on either side of me both grabbed my arms! They were so embarassed and I just couldn't stop laughing about it. One was a lady about my age and the other was a mid-twenties guy that seemed "too cool" for Disney. Funny! One special moment was with Victoria. Disney is promoting the year of a million dreams. They pick people out of the park and allow them to do something special. Victoria and I were shopping on Main Street and a lady walked up to us and told Victoria that the fairy godmother was late and Cinderella needed help getting dressed for the ball. She asked Victoria if she would help be a fairy godmother. Victoria took the lady's hand and they walked to a Cinderella mannequin and the lady had Vic pick shoes, necklace, crown, and magic wand to decorate with. When Vic waved her wand and said, "Bippity Boppity Boo" to the dressed up Cinderella mannequin Micky Mouse glitter fell from above and the lady let Vic keep the wand and gave her a Million Dream certificate that stated Victoria was a fairy godmother in training. It was so sweet and I felt so blessed by it. We had several special moments like that this trip and I am thankful to God for it all.

I am looking forward to Christmas. I am ready to bust out the Christmas trees and get started on making our ornaments. This year is going to be a crafty Christmas. I want the kids to make the ornaments. I am keeping all the glass decorations in the attic this year. I want a kid-friendly Christmas. I got a pink tree for my office last year and I can't wait to decorate it! I have a feeling that the tree may end up in Victoria's room. We'll see. I have so many ideas. I hope I don't get ahead of myself this year.

I found it!

2006-10-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week I have been in a panic because I had lost three important things. I lost a prescription, a check, and my Marmot jacket. I have been trying to be more organized so this has been a blow to my organized self esteem. I looked high and low for the three items. I was afraid to tell Willy that I lost three such important things. I prayed that God would help me remember what I did with everything. Hopefully, I would find them and he would never have to know. After much stress and looking, I found everything. Do you want to know where everything was? The jacket was in my closet, the check was in my wallet, and the prescription was in my car. Everything was right where it should be. It seems I AM organized! I am so used to being unorganized that I figured my things wouldn't be in the most obvious place! I feel pretty good!

2006-10-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy few weeks. I found out that I was pregnant Sept 14th. After the shock set in, my life went into a spin of organizing, cleaning, and planning. On Oct 6th I found out that I miscarried. I then went into a spin of unplanning the next 9 months. In my heart, something just wasn't right about the pregnancy. I really think God was preparing my heart and just holding me close. I didn't cry when the sono tech told me at the doctor's office the bad news. I didn't really cry for few days. It has been a very tough four months and I was afraid that if I cried, I wouldn't stop. Everything did catch up with me though. I think it was a combo of hormones and stress. I had a good cry with Will and then I was on the road to normal. I really do feel back to normal now. I thank my friends and family that have prayed for me, called, and sent emails. It really did make a huge difference! I feel like God carried me right through this using all of you! As much as I love my children and the one that miscarried, how much more God loves me..His child! Wow! What a great thought. As a Christian, I do believe life begins at conception and that I will see this child in Heaven...another great thought that really helps me.

David and Victoria are as funny as always. David likes to go outside all the time. he brings me his shoes and my shoes and then stands at the door. He loves to run around the yard, swing, and play in the sand. Victoria still wears her Ariel costume everyday. She is learning a few songs and likes to sing them to me. She can sing the chorus to "Big House" by Audio Adrenaline and "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella. She gets a few words wrong but that makes it really cute. She asked me a few fun questions this week. "Does chocolate milk make poo poo?" and "Does water make tee tee?" I thought those were good life observations and also kind of funny.

I am in the middle of organizing my scrap supplies. It was the last clutter from the office move three months ago. It is so much that I kept avoiding it. I just don't know where to put all this paper, ribbon, stickers, etc. I see a huge ebay sale in my future.

Hide And Seek

2006-10-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

Victoria is doing great. She was finally line leader Wednesday and she was really proud of it. Last Friday was her birthday and Nanny and I went to her class and brought cookies. She got to pick a prize out of the teacher's "birthday bag" and got the "good apple" award that day. We went to the shoe store and to the bakery for a snack. She got an Ariel costume from her cousins and has worn it every day since. She also got a Dora sleeping bag that she now sleeps in on the floor of her room! She actually sleeps better on the floor that in her bed. She must have the camping trait from her daddy in her.

Her favorite new game is hide and seek. She loves it. I was working at my desk and she hid by my feet. She was there a while when she asked where daddy was. I realized then that she wanted to play hide and seek. Will was upstairs working around the house and I ran up to tell him that Victoria has been hiding for the last five minutes waiting for him to come and find her. He was just as surprised as I was. He ran down to find her and she was thrilled. Will and I played with her for about 8 rounds before bed. It was funny because she always gives up her hiding place by giggling. Will hid in the shower and poor Victoria had no idea where he was. She could hear him laughing but couldn't figure out where he was. It was so obvious and so funny.

David is learning how to point to his nose, eyes, ears when asked. Today he actually pointed to his nose when I asked! Usually I say, "David, where is your nose?" and he points to the ceiling fan. Either he has a great sense of humor already or he has not idea what I am talking about. He is still the happiest baby I have ever seen.

Turn around yourself

2006-09-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Victoria was excited all weekend that today she would be the line leader. She talked about it before bed and when she woke up this morning. There is not set calendar for line leader at her school. They go by abc order and according to Vic, the teacher said her turn was today. I was so happy for her and excited to see her at the end of the day and ask about all the places she got to "lead" everyone too. When I got her in carpool, she wasn't smiling and seemed kind of down. I asked about the line leader and she gave this sad face (holding back tears) and said, "I wasn't the line leader, Salita was." I felt so bad for her. Salita's name is out of oder so maybe he was abset and today they let him make it up. I don't know what happened but I knew what she was feeling. I have been there before. I think we all have. The great thing about Victoria is that she bounces back. After a snack of chips and a naptime story, she was fine. After nap, she was her normal playful self. She was beboping around the house singing, "You do the hokey pokey and you turn AROUND YOURSELF" She sang it over and over. I couldn't stop laughing at it and that made her sing it over and louder again. This is one of the things I love so much about her. She turns words around just enough to make it funny and I never have the heart to correct her.

We had outside play time tonight and it was fun. Willy got out the dollar store light up spinners that Wendy got for us and we chased those until it got dark. It was fun! David had fun too just stumbling around picking up rocks and investigating the yard.

10 things I love about my brother.....

2006-09-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Chris' birthday last night and that was fun. We went out to eat *What a treat* and had cake. I made him a book called "Ten Things I love About My Brother" and he really enjoyed it. I had a top ten list of great things about him with illustrations. I included all the times he "saved the day" for me and made me laugh so hard my sides hurt. He really seemed to like it. I wasn't sure how he would react because with a guy, you never know how they will like scrapbook stuff. One of my favorite stories of Chris was in college. Since he is a musician, he has a lot of musician friends. We often went to see them play in the small clubs around town. On one rare occasion, we went to a Thursday night show even though we had class the next day. We don't drink and we never drank. After a show, we went to a local gas station for a 40 oz diet coke. The caffeine would then wind us up so we would sit up and talk. I didn't live in the same town so when we went to a show, I spent the night at Chris' apt. On this night we were up talking and I had to use the bathroom. I went in only to realize he was out of toilet paper (There was NO type of Kleenex, paper towel, TP, nothing to use!!!) and the toilet was stomped up. It was past 2:00 am. I asked for Chris to fix it and he then notified me that he didn't have a plunger. He asked me if I could "hold it" until I went to class the next morning. After 40oz of Diet Coke????? NO! I convinced him we HAD to go to the 24 hour Wal-Mart for a plunger and toilet paper. SO here we are 3:00 am in line at the Wal-Mart with a plunger, toilet paper, and a box of twinkies. Did I mention the bearded lady was in line in front of us? The lack of sleep, extra caffeine, and being the silly heart that I am, I started laughing hysterically. The bearded lady is really what sent me over the edge in laughter. Get this...She was looking at us like we were weird! I almost knew this would be a story that I would look back upon one day and laugh. Would you believe that I got a little sleep, took a shower and made it to my 8:00 am class!

Today was kind of fun. Vic went to school and Will kept David while I went to Bible study. David had a yucky nose and I hated to share it with the church so he didn't go. We got a sales pitch for a multi-level marketing company at church. I didn't like that at all. It kind of made my skin crawl to have Bible study cut short to hear someone (not in our Bible study) giddy about signing us up to sell this product.
It just came across so fake. ICK! What a waste of church time.

We played outside with the kids after dinner and it was really fun. It was cool and nice outside. David liked the slide and Vic was doing great on the climbing wall. We got the kids bathed and put David to bed. Will and I did something we have never done together....We played Candy Land with Victoria. One of us plays a game with her at a time, never the two of us. It was great even though Victoria got tired of it and told us to finish the game without her...so we did. Willy won. (As Usual)

I made another binder and I really like it. That is the photo above.

You just got to laugh

2006-09-12T20:08:00.001-07:00

I have had a nagging pain in a tooth and today I went to the dentist to check it out. I had to have a root canal. I wasn't expecting that! I figured it was just a cavity and needed a filling. I don't have dental insurance and I have never had a root canal so I was kind of in shock over the cost. They told me it could be up to 1,400! I was about in tears! I got the procedure and then the dentist gave me good news...I didn't need a crown. He just did a filling which made the total cost only $740. That is a blessing! After the work was done, I ran to my car in the rain and decided to run some errands. Last week I got some large plastic tubs at Wal Mart. I got home and realized that the lids didn't fit the tubs so I went today to return them. Now picture this.... last week I had to put the tubs in the lower rack of the buggy because the basket was full. Every time I turned or stopped in a hurry, the tubs flew out. This happened about 6 times last week. Twice in the parking lot. With that said, today was along the same line of embarrassment. I had the four tubs and lids under one arm with a huge golf umbrella and purse in the other arm. I was a sight! I kept dropping the lids, tubs, and umbrella slinging water everywhere. I just had to laugh with my numb mouth! When I got inside the door, people were standing there watching me and laughing too. This is typical Tricia for you.

I just had to laugh at Victoria too. She and her inner diva had a rough day with wardrobe. She didn't like anything I picked out and wanted to wear winter clothes. When clothes don't fit to her liking, she says, "It's not working!" in a loud shrill way. I'm sorry.... today it was funny to me and no, I haven't taken any pain pills from the root canal either! First her pants "were not working" then her shorts "were not working" and then her shoes "were not working". I don't know what really wasn't working but I guess she wasn't happy with it. What a blessing that I could laugh! Some days as you can imagine it's not so funny. When I started laughing, Victoria turned it off and snapped out of her distress. I guess she knew her fussing "wasn't working" on me. Don't get me wrong. She is a delight. We just have our days like everyone else.

David is the complete opposite. He is happy about everything. He giggles when a gnat flies around his face. He giggles when gets splashed with water in the tub. He is happy to see Mr. Lamerkins at bedtime. He is the most easy going child I have ever met! I just wonder what he is thinking sometimes. It will be nice when he starts to express his thoughts. I would also like to know where he is stashing my things. He takes off with remotes, the computer mouse, phones, and flashlights. I bet he has a treasure trove of things I have yet to find.

I help Victoria play

2006-09-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do on school days is to look through Victoria's take-home folder. She is so proud of her work. Her teacher must be talking about helpers at school because Victoria had some artwork with the title "I'm a helping hand". The paper had Victoria's handprint and a place where Victoria must have dictated, "I help Mommy play!" and the teacher wrote it down. Play time is very important in this home and I do need her help! If it wasn't for Victoria, I may not get in the adequate play time that I need! I love it!

We had a treat last weekend. We had a doe and fawn come right up to the window of the house. I took some photos of them. Most were out of focus because they are quick but a few were nice. Victoria loved seeing the baby.

Krispy's shower was fun! They played some cute games and I got some great party ideas.

great day!

2006-09-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

I had a great day today. I didn't do anything really special but just did simple things with my family here at the farm. I had an awesome night sleep! I fell asleep at 7:30! I usually don't go to bed until 1:00 am and I wake up several times a night. I think a good night sleep makes such a difference! Thank you Lord for sleep! I think the lack of sleep must have caught up with me. I just couldn't keep my eyes open after the kids went to bed. I had a cola with dinner tonight so I may not get to sleep right away but we will see.

Okay, so back to the day. I cleaned the upstairs bathroom! I know that sounds silly to be happy about but it felt good to get one more thing organized. David's room is right off my bedroom so I don't get to clean it when he naps. Will played with the kids while I got to clean! I threw away a garbage bag of old shampoo, soap, etc. and put together a bag of extra baby gear for a friend. Victoria and I painted sun catchers. She really enjoyed it. Her little face was so serious. Her work table is right in front of a window so we watched butterflies too. The kids took a good nap and I helped Will with the new gutters. Later today we were all outside watching/helping with the gutters. We had the hose out to test them and Victoria had fun with that! David had a ball too. They were wet, dirty, and happy. After a while of water play, we took a bath, and drove around to look for deer/turkey. Didn't see anything but had fun looking. It was a great day!

Tomorrow I'm off to a baby shower for an old friend. She is having a girl and I'm so happy for her! I'm excited to celebrate her! I love to make baby gifts too. I usually buy a gift and make at least one for my expecting friends. Christi (I call her Krispy, or Krispito) doesn't know my blog so I can tell what I made for her. She got my old standard...baby wreath for the hospital door white with pink ribbon and pink baby trinkets attached like rattles, a bottle, nail clippers, spoon, toothbrush, etc. I also made my first actual scrapbook. It is 8 x 5 1/2 and covered with pink and green paper, ribbons, matching fabric, and a ribbon. Her baby may be named "Elizabeth" so I added a hot pink "E" to the ribbon. I will try to add photos later. Kripito is also getting a diaper champ! Had to do something practical! I started thinking about a gift that she could really use for a while and that is when the diaper champ idea hit me. I mean really, it is used for years and I love mine.

Coachwhip

2006-09-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

After some research, I think the snake I saw was a coachwhip. There are two variations. Some are brown some black. The snake I saw was black with white tail. It held its head up the entire time. I kept checking on him and he never put his head down. That fits the description of a coachwhip. It also looks like the picture on the internet. I just don't know if they are found in Alabama so much. They are not poisonous but they bite repeatedly if they feel cornered or are picked up. I'm still looking to make sure. I hope no one is scared to come out here now.

Snake!!!

2006-09-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

Rick and Bubba were talking about snakes the other day and Bubba referred to them as the Devil's hand puppet. I always laugh when I hear it but now I believe it's true. I almost stepped on one today when I was holding David. Will drove by on the tractor and I thought it would be fun to take the kids in the stroller to watch him disk the fields. Victoria stayed in the house to put on her shoes and I took David to the garage to get the stroller. As I stepped out the door, I felt the leaves rustle around me. I figured it was the little lizard that lives around the door. He doesn't bother me. I just want to make sure he doesn't get in the house so I'm always looking for him when I open the door. The garage door happened to be locked so when I walked over to the door to go inside, there he was. His head was up and he was looking at me. I could hear Victoria calling me from inside. I yelled to her not to open the door that there was a snake in front of it. I asked her to unlock the side door but that was really worthless. She had no clue what to do. I think we need to show her how to unlock/lock, open/close all doors in matters of emergency. After a few minutes of me deciding what to do, Victoria opened the door. The screen was still closed so I told her to back away and that I was going to jump inside. There was no other choice. Most of the snake's body was hidden so I couldn't see exactly how long he was. I could tell he was at least 3 feet, maybe more. She now wanted to see the snake so I just popped open the screen and made a leap inside. I made it! I also made a big sign to hang up to warn Willy. I'm sure he wouldn't see the snake at first either. I am pretty lucky. I have lived here for 3 1/2 years and have only seen one other baby snake. Dustin found one just about 6 inches or so and showed it to us. I'm really surprised after all the walking I do, that I have never come across a snake. The only time I find one is inches from my door. I went for a walk this morning with the kids and thought I heard a rattle. Will was with me but he didn't hear it. I bet it was a snake. They are out here! Yes, I was scared. Yes, my heart was pounding, Yes, I didn't know what to do. Wouldn't you be scared? Well at least surprised? My fear only lasted seconds until I realized it was a black snake and I think those are "good" snakes. I don't want to kill it, I just want him relocated. Maybe he would like being "relocated" to snake Heaven....No No I won't do that. Willy will do it. No, NO, Willy will hopefully remove him or at least sling him out of the doorway. I would have done it but I had David in my arms. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I'm not a 100% farm girl yet but I'm working on it.

Oh, Willy just walked in, The snake is gone.

What's that smell?

2006-08-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

It seems with children there is always an odor of some sort. Maybe it's food, dirty diaper, old milk sippy, etc. I walked into the playroom and the odor was there. I couldn't figure out what it was and suddenly I looked at my little tykes gym from the consignment sale. Apparently it came with a free odor.. Will washed it out before we brought it inside but it still had an odor. We started debating what to do.

1. We could leave it. Maybe it's water that soured from the wash outside.
2. We could put it outside and wash it again.
3. Give it to my parents..Okay that was a joke. I wouldn't do that to them.

Will brought up the possibility that a dog teed on it. That was all I had to hear. Even though it was a joke the thought was still there. GET THAT THING OUT OF MY HOUSE!!! We laughed at how now we know why the gym was only $15.00 I wondered why every one else had passed up this beauty of a deal. Now I know why. Have I lost my sense of smell. I have the best sniffer ever. I have an over sensitive sniffer if anything. I don't know where Will put it but it's not in the living room. We will see what happens.

I've been thinking. Yes, scary isn't it. If I could have one super mom accessory like inspector gadget, I would have a camera that would be on me at all times. I could pop it out and take pictures at any moment. I could capture a funny face on the kids, great accomplishment, or proud moment. This came to me when I was drying my hair and I looked over at Victoria sitting on my bed. She was looking at a picture of her and Scott from Rockapella. She had this sweet look on her face and all I had in my hand was a hairdryer not the camera.

Steph, our conversation inspired me to clean

2006-08-29T22:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a typical day at our house. I played with the kids, cooked dinner, played outside, talked on the phone, and cleaned. I got to talking with Steph about cleaning and organizing and realized my sock drawer hadn't been organized since May 8, 2005. That was the night before David was born! So while I talked to Steph I organized it. How exciting!!! I cleaned my sock drawer. I must be pretty boring to blog about my sock drawer. Anyway, it motivated me to clean out the basement closet. It looks great! The best part was coming across some old photos. I found an old frame and a picture of a four small children (I didn't recognize) from Will's family. One looked just like David. Same teeth, nose, legs, oval face and turns out it was a picture of Willy at 14 months. It was incredible how much David looks like Will. I think it made Willy so proud to see it!

Victoria and David had fun playing on a little tykes house/slide that I got for $15 at a consignment sale. David is so brave. He walks up and down the slide sending me into a panic that he is going to fall and bust his teeth like Victoria did at this age. We placed the ball pit at the bottom of the slide so at least there is something to fall in.

Victoria pretended to be a cheerleader at dinner. I don't know where she got the idea. She kept cheering something about "outside yeah outside" and asking to put on her cheerleading costume. She doesn't have one so that was a bit of a handle. It was so annoying that it became funny. Now that I write this, I realize I do have an old Halloween cheerleading costume from last year that she refused to wear. I bet she remembers it. I guess this means I will be cleaning her closet tomorrow.

Rockapella

2006-08-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the Rockapella concert and had a wonderful time. Victoria was a trooper considering the show didn't get started till way past her bed time. Towards the end, she kept telling me she was thirst, hungry, and ready to go. The guys do a great job of keeping the show upbeat. She would cheer, clap, and dance with the rest of the crowd when ever she got the cue. I haven't been to a show in over two years. It seemed like a totally different experience especially taking my daughter. The songs were different. Their look was different and there is even a new tenor in the group. It was fun to hear new songs and some of my favorites that I have never heard live before. I sing "Up A Lazy River" to Vic before bed every night. They sang it and she was so excited. She also loved "Carmen Sandiego" and "Papa Was a Rollin Stone" by George. I hope this was the first of many shows with Victoria. I hope we can enjoy the same things in life and that one day she will appreciate staying up late for a concert! We got to meet the group after the show and Victoria got to meet Scott. She tells me that he is her favorite and she asks to see his picture on the website almost daily. I told him that he was her favorite and he got up from the table to get a picture with her. It made her night! Such a small gesture really excited this little girl and her momma! It was the perfect day! What a blessing to sing, clap, laugh, and smile till my face hurt.

Bla Bla Bla

2006-08-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

imaginatory

2006-08-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Victoria is having a fun time this summer. She loves the piano in the play area and using the big foam mats from the basement floor for making forts and tents. Today she made a "capitol" William asked her if she meant "castle" but she said no it was a capitol. I guess that makes her the president of the playroom. I don't want to even ask what my role is. I'm sure it's custodian. To enter her capitol you had to tell the password which was "squeaky". It was funny to watch her go in and out of her capitol and casually telling David "squeaky" every time.

Victoria is going through a stage where she wants to take everything home that she likes in a store. We went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and she just HAD to have a bag of pom poms. I gave in and bought the 1.19 bag of 50+ red pom poms. I even broke down and got a green bag. (You will probably get a Christmas ornament from us this year with pom poms on it.) We used a lot of these last Christmas for ornaments so I figured it was a good deal. Anyway, there are pom poms every where! I keep finding them in the kitchen, bathroom, office, high chair, under the couch, etc. She is staying with my parents tonight so it is a sweet reminder of her every time I turn around.

Vic started Dance today. She LOVED it. She couldn't wait to wear her "ballet costune" She was the first one in the room and the last one out. After class, all the little girls came running out of the room to their parents. I turned to look for Victoria and she never came. I could see down the hall and into the room Victoria talking to the teacher. I wonder what they did and what Victoria said in class tonight. It is so hard to get that kind of info out of them at this age. I'm so glad we are doing this.

David is a free man! I decided not to send him to school this year. I signed him up but didn't feel right about it. Unfortunately the school only offers TTH or MWF and no drop ins. I would have to pay for three days just to send him one that matched with Victoria's schedule. His tuition is more that hers too! I just couldn't pay for three and only go one. I also didn't feel right about sending him yet. He is so little. If I can find an occasional "drop in" at another school that would be great. I feel so much better about officially taking him out.

The title of this blog is from Victoria. She loves the Charlie and Lola show and book series from Disney. One of the characters has and invisible friend. I was reading Victoria the Charlie and Lola book about going to school. It is a story about Lola going to school with her invisible friend. Victoria stopped me in the middle of the book to explain that the friend was "imaginatory". I got so tickled! I was also proud that she knew invisible and imaginary had similar meanings in the story. I'm so glad I'm writing this down!

Everyone Can Rest Easy

2006-08-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Just wanted you to know that the Rockapella purse is complete. I know you were getting worried with the concert right around the corner that I wouldn't have it ready. Well, it's ready.

Victoria Funnies and a David story

2006-08-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

Victoria is always saying something that cracks me up. I think most of these fall under the "You had to be there" category but I will give it a shot. Will was making chili for lunch. He added a few circle slices of onion to the bowl and was adding slices of cheese when Victoria looked wide eyed into his bowl and said, "Are you putting cheese on your worms?" Every time I see an onion slice I will think of worms.

Victoria loves baby Einstien videos. She is amost 4 and all of a sudden loves the baby vidoes. She calls it "Baby Linesteim."

Brother Mike, our pastor, passes out candy to the children every church service. He stands by the door with a embroidered denim bag lets the children pick out a treat. Victoria is still down in the preschool dept after church so she misses getting a treat. A few Sundays ago, we decided to get her so she could visit with Miss Mary (pastor's wife) and Brother Mike. She was so excited to get a smartie from the "candy bag." Later that week I was using a similar denim bag for a purse. Victoria had a good day at school so I pulled out a smartie from my purse. She looked at me and said, "Is that the candy bag?" It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about but I said, "Oh, no Victoria this isn't Brother Mike's bag. This is my purse." She looked at me like she didn't believe me then kept asking, "Did you go to church today?" I was then shocked. My child thought I took the candy bag! From church no less! I finally convinced her that I didn't.

Speaking of Brother Mike... I called their house last week wanting to talk to Miss Mary. Brother Mike answered and we chit-chatted a bit then he asked, "Well, how are the little animals?" I answered, "There taking a nap right now." He said, "No, not your children! I was talking about the animals at your farm! I would never call your children animals!" How embarrasing! My pastor asked about "little animals" and my first thought was the children! I hope some of you mothers out there feel my pain! It had just been one of those crazy days with kids.

David loves to dance like his sister. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing but every time music comes on, he spins in a circle. That is how he dances. Sometimes I just look over and see David slowing spinning then I realize he hears a commercial or a song come on the radio. It is almost like a sound activated toy. Music on-David spins....Music off- David goes back to activity. I need to take a video.

I guess that is all I can think of for now. The children are in bed now so I need to be close behind. loove

Back to School!

2006-08-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not going back to school this year but I helped a friend decorate her classroom yesterday. I had so much fun talking bulletin boards and room organization. I also enjoyed the company. I said a prayer for all of my teacher friends today. Teachers are just as nervous as parents and studens. I could never sleep the night before I began a new year. I remember going to school and talking with the other teachers about how we tossed and turned night before. We all made excuses for it but we were just nervous.

I spent the morning playing with the children and cleaning up the house. Victoria went to stay with my parents and I miss her so much. She was a sweet girl today. While David napped, we danced to 'Pella. She likes "Keep on Smilin" , "Lazy River", and "Dance with Me." I can't wait to see how she does at the concert. Hopefully, she will last the whole show. It will be her first real concert. Wiggles don't count right?

I have stalled out on my organizing. It is not perfect like I imagined. I need a organizing fairy godmother to wave a wand and Poof! make my house organized! It is workable so I guess It is fine for now. I tried on a welding mask tonight. It really wasn't as exciting as it sounds.

DeeDee24: Here, there or in the air

2006-08-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

Why am I up at night?

I have a difficult time going to sleep. Sometimes my little boy wakes up and I have to stay up with him. It seems I don't get enough sleep each night. I was rocking the little man at 3:00 am on Saturday morning and found myself praying. I was tired but I think I prayed for him, my daughter, family, etc. Then I questioned "Why am I up?" and it occurred to me that I would never have prayed that prayer if I was asleep. I started thinking about all the time I spend rocking my teething child at night and that is the only quiet time I have to pray. There is just something special about holding a baby snuggled up in your arms and rocking them. It just makes me so thankful I have to pray.

Speaking of children, I watched Super Nanny with my three year old. She gasped as the children in the show behaved so badly. I wasn't sure if I should let her watch (make it a learning experience) or if I should turn it off in a hurry (don't want to learn any bad tricks!) We didn't watch long but it was funny to hear her talk about the children jumping on beds, coloring walls, etc. It made an impression on her and she was an angel going to bed.

Here, there or in the air

2006-08-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

"Here, there, or in the air, we will meet again my friend." For some reason I kept singing this song by Dana Degarmo. It was popular when I was in high school and I loved it. It is flowing through my heart now because I just said goodbye to one of my closest friends. She and her family are returning to the mission field in Africa. They are due to return to the states in four years. They may come for a visit but maybe not. Wendy is the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. I have known her 18 years this August. That is a long history to have with a person, especially when you are only 31. I am so excited for her family to return for this exciting work but I will also miss our time of fellowship face to face. Wendy and Jeff came over for dinner and fun and we ended up talking about the Lord and I could just sit and listen to them for hours. I wish I had a tape or a pen and paper in hand when they talked. God just spoke through them and really touched my heart. We shared what we meant to each other. It was so neat because rarely I tell someone how much they touch my life and how much I love them. I think about it all the time but I don't always share my thoughts. After our time of fellowship, we prayed for each other. Will and I prayed for their return trip, upcoming birth, ministry, and family. They prayed for our families, our ministry as Christians to reach others, and for our children. It was so anointed and I felt the Holy Spirit so strong as Jeff and Wendy prayed. After the prayer, we gave our hugs and said goodbye. I smiled and blew kisses out on the porch and as soon as we closed the door, I cried in Will's arms. I will miss my dear friend but I know God has a purpose for her in Africa and I would rather her be in God's will serving him that here with me everyday. I pray for her family because I know it's hard for them too.

DeeDee24

2006-07-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a surprise party for a dear friend. My friend, Brooke, turned 30 today. It was a happy party and lots of fun. Her family had coloring books and crayons for the kids and a "Brooke trivia" game for the adults. It was very well thought out! I hope this year is full of blessings for sweet Brooke!

On a sad note, last night we went to a visitation for someone in our church that passed away Wednesday night. Troy had breast cancer and even though I didn't know him as well as most, I was still touched by his family. They are a wonderful example of God's love. Even though they were going through so much, they always reached out to me and my husband. My heart goes out to them. I pray God will hold them in his arms and they feel His love over their lives. I pray for comfort and peace and God will use people to reach out to them so they know they are loved. I hope I can use Troy's example to live for God and love others.

Blog Issues

2006-07-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

The ants are gone for the most part. I found three in the shower.

I am totally loving the new room swap. I like my nook in downstairs. Hubby can overhear all my girl conversations on the phone. It must get old after a while. Vic is writing her name (with help). David will identify his nose when asked. He likes to be chased around the room. I'll say, "I'm going to get him." and he will laugh and run (stammer) like a new walker does. It's fun. The kids love the playroom upstairs. I love it to. I guess it is a sacrifice for the family to give up the living room for a play space. It makes so much sense. I protested the move for years but I wish I had moved it sooner. Why save a room for adults that I only use three or four times a year. Since moving the toys, I have been in there several times a day. I can honestly say that I'm using every room in the house. We really live here and use the space efficently. Oh, I'm starting to sound like Willy

Getting organized

2006-04-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

My mess is getting better. I can see the closet floor. My friends know that when I clean out, they get a bag from my closet filled with goodies. I have maternity clothes for my pregnant friend, purses for another friend, and make-up samples for the first to call it. I really want to make my life simple. I want to have less clutter and collections. I want to see my closet floor and my office floor at all times. Everything needs to have a place. Lord, help me to be wise about what I bring into my home and let me be free to let go of my junk.

Wow! I've got a mess

2006-04-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is my 4th blog because I keep forgetting passwords. I hope I remember this one..... It has been a slow day. I am just coming off a great weekend. I went to scrapbook inspiration workshop and I really am inspired. It was so touching and motivating. I want to write it down so that I don't forget. My sweet hubby worked all weekend keeping the kids and setting up my new computer. I need to follow through with cleaning up my office.

God is so good. I just have to say that!! In fact, I need to list my blessings
1. My awesome parents. They are so good to me. They listen and I know I can always depend on them. They are just fun too.
2. Hubby is so great. He is so giving to me and everyone. He has a heart of gold.
3. Children are so great. When I hear "mommy" my heart just melts.
4. I have the most awesome friends. They teach me so many new things.
5. Spring days are the best of the year (besides crisp October ones)
6. I love a great Rockapella song
7. I love it when my little girl asks me to sing.
8. A night out with girlfriends are so fun.
9. California rolls
10. a cola icee in the middle of summer
11. I can go to God with anything and my heart fills full.
12. Joy
13. A day with no headaches.
14. a great haircut.
15. Hearing my pastor speak
16. a warm hug from a friend
17. giggles

I feel great for posting my blessings. Even when I am down, if I look at my blessings, I feel better.