It's that time of year again.... LSU Football!!!!!

It's our first game of the season. LSU vs. Appalachain State~~ "Let's GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!" JB and HC are getting into the Tiger Spirit! "Here we geaux Tigers Here we geaux!!"
JB - waiting for kick-off. Every play JB sets the ball like this and either kicks the ball or picks up the ball to run with it. He waits for the team to make a play and then he makes his play. This is how JB enjoys LSU Football - it is a physical experience. I love that he still does this!
After kicking or throwing or running the ball - JB then tackles.
We are thrilled to welcome in the 2008 Football season! Let's GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

A Week in the Life of a Busy Mommy

Tonight I sit here with droopy eyes and a slightly alert mind. There are times I look at the things that I've allowed to back up on myself and I get so mad at me. Why do I do that to me? Why don't I just get to work on those things when I have the time? How do I allow my time to be so poorly managed?

Then I thankfully have a week like this one to remind me that it isn't always due to my error that things are still left undone. Life has little surprises that set us back when we least expect it.

Saturday I finally got myself motivated to get sewing. I have 3 'jobs' promised to 3 different people. I have 2 almost complete smocked dresses I've made for HC. I have several items I can no longer wear until I mend them. I have piles of books here and there that I need to put in a safe place. I have paperwork and no place to properly sort it and the undone piles grow and grow.

So back to this week.. Saturday was a rainy day and I was finally able to devote my first free Saturday to sewing. I wanted to lie around and relax with everyone but I KNEW I had to get going on job 1 because I find myself wanting to finish the smocked dresses for HC but all the other jobs weigh me down. My energy for the things I want to do is overshadowed by what was promised. I finally completed one piece (out of the 7 pieces in job 1) and cut the 2nd piece and had plans for Sunday to try and make 2 more pieces and cut one more out. My goal is to be done before next weekend. My personal goal.

Sunday at 1AM the electricity went out and so the night was not a restful one. The electricity was out until 9:30 AM Sunday and we missed church. We were all tired and had a few errands to run and we came home to collapse for our mega nap! Wake up from our naps and decide (last minute) to invite friends over for dinner. This was quite refreshing but - no sewing progress made. Go to bed with the hopes that tomorrow will be a good day.

Monday - Steve left for a business trip and I awoke in a fog. Not a headache, just a fog. As though I was dragging through my day and HC began complaining of a tummy ache. Sometimes a tummy ache is not a true tummy ache so we tried to really understand what "my tummy hurts" meant this time. No clarity - night one over!

Tuesday - fog lifted and we played catch up on some of our school work. Great day but it ended with HC once again complaining of a tummy ache. I realized she hadn't had a b. movement in a few days so I began to ask more questions and found it wasn't a nausea but a cramping ache so I think .... constipation. B. movement done - HC still cramping. I hope she'll feel better tomorrow.

Wednesday - decent day.. errands to run... HC more grumpy and more visibly lethargic. The ants came marching in. All night Wednesday HC was up and down complaining of pain and crying and doubled over. So Mommy had little rest again.

Thursday - impromptu doctor's appointment to check out the belly ache. Doctor says she thinks HC may have caught a small version of the latest virus and she should be fine soon. Come home - rest a little and off to ballet. (HC is fine per the doctor and wanted to go so... we went) JB wanted to go inside HC's class and watch her dance. He was unhappyb but finally settled down while I read books to him. HC finished her ballet happily and we went home. The kids are now in bed as I wait for Steve to walk through the door.

Friday - I hope to recover and sew at least 2 pieces so that I can regain my momentum and hopefully have my first job complete before next weekend - as originally hoped. Meanwhile we've had school days and will finish up week 7 of school next week and have our first school break of the year! Quite a busy little week with many things thrown in there that were unexpected and the surprises really wore me out. It's a shame that we have finished 6 weeks of school this year and I am not celebrating such an accomplishment. I am beating myself up for one neglected thing.

Now I will remember that I should give myself a little grace when I think about the jobs that are still incomplete. They are not incomplete due to my procrastination. They are still incomplete due to the busyness of life. I was asked to do the jobs at the end of the summer. I then had a summer full of traveling. I did not have the specifics for job 1 (like the pattern/fabric) until a month ago. Finally when I had time to sit down and do the job - I had to adjust to the grind of each day.

Why do I bother to blog about this?? Maybe someone out there can give themselves a break too when they realize they are not super-Mom. I know I will have another blip of life like this past summer again one day and maybe I will encourage myself. Jobs 2 and 3 still need to be begun but the fabric/patterns have not yet been selected. The perfectionist in me wants the job request, the tools, time to sew, to be done and to sit back with a sigh of relief. All this back up makes me feel like a load is on my shoulders. I feel like I am not keeping my word. A week like this one reminds me - we cannot control every millisecond of life. I now choose to go with the flow again, without beating myself up when things seem to drag behind. Sorry if this is incoherent. I feel incoherent right now.

The ants come marching in.... again.

Yesterday we had an army of ants come marching in. They were in full force and seriously - they were not there and then they were there in abundance! JB dropped some ice and I bent down to pick it up from under the table - no ants. I sat down with HC to do schoolwork and felt an itch. I bent down to scratch and saw a line of ants.

Last year the ants marched in and we were under a serious drought so I bought the story of the locals. They told us, from the first year we moved in, that the local ants do invade to find water. Nope! Not true! These ants could not POSSIBLY be looking for water since it has rained for 3 days or more - and I do mean RAINed!

When I thought about it, the ants came indoors this time last year too. It made me wonder if it were just a seasonal thing. Maybe they sense winter is near and they, like the squirrels, are storing up goods for the winter. Well, we will be studying ants later this year and I will let you know what discoveries we make then. For now - our handy dandy leftover ant poison did the trick again! It literally had them all gone within 8 or more hours. The kids had fun watching the ants march in and then march out. We even saw a few piggy back ants. It is clear to me that our Ants lesson in several months will be a huge hit!

Adios Baseball

Last week we attended our last baseball game for the year. It was a last minute decision and a fun one! One thing is for sure - this year we've learned that JB loves some baseball!!! He has always loved all sports but would float between practicing them all while he played. Maybe since he went to an actual game and maybe since he finally saw real players and maybe because a real player gave him his first official 'dirty' baseball maybe that has magnified baseball above the rest for now. He calls the baseball the player gave him his 'dirty' baseball. I tried to save his first baseball from his first game and I tried to swap baseballs with him but the one I used was too clean. He rejected the clean phony quickly and decided he lost the original... until I gave it back. Anyway, so we attended our last game and had a blast! Pre-game means HOT DOGS!!! All you can eat is the name of the game for 25 cents a piece. Our entry fee was zero due to our handy dandy Zoo membership~!! Gotta love benefits like that!
A little baseball...
A little Dora

and a lotta late night of fun! We drove home with two tired out kiddo's who had a fun filled day! Till we see you again next year baseball guys... 'Adios'!

School House Rock - Electricity

When we arrived home from lunch today this song came to mind! I am so thankful for Electricity E lec tricity!!

I LOVE School House Rock! I want a DVD of the episodes!!! This brings me back! Enjoy....

A restless night!

Last night was exhausting! I finished one item I was working on (something I am sewing for someone) and cut another one out. I felt like I had my momentum.... FINALLY!

The kids were asleep... Steve was asleep... and my night owl tendencies were in full bloom. I could hear the wind howl from time to time, along with occasional rain drops in sudden fast pace. The cable flickered once.. the cable flickered twice.. all was well.

Then 1 AM I was beginning to drift off and the power flickered. The lights came back on and then it was out for good. HC screamed in terror for 'DADDY'. A sound that breaks my heart when I think about it. He scurried to grab his flashlight and rescued her. Then JB called out and Steve rescued him too. We told them all was well but that the electricity was off. They soon relaxed and began talking away. Now we were all on an adventure together.

HC shared how scared she was and JB agreed that he too was scared at first. Then JB said "I'm not scared. I'm gonna let my wight shine. That's a song in my cwass." HC said "Heyyy.. that song is in my class at church TOO!!" We began singing that song (on the Hillsong kids CD) and they soon were wide awake!

Next it was "I'm hungry!" "Me too! I'm hungry too!" So we opened up the peanut butter crackers and HC was beginning to be scared again since it was so dark and the candles were on... it just looked different. She said "I'm scared". JB said "Sit wif me stister. I will share my wight with you so you won't be scared." The 'wight' he was talking about wasn't a flashlight or any visible light. He was talking about the light of Jesus. It was so precious! I know the understanding level wasn't fully there for either of them but the innocence of the conversation really made my heart smile!

Eventually we all found a fairly cool place to lay down and we slept as well as we could manage without our fans. I woke around 4 AM and began to worry about our packed freezer and fridge. I prayed for another layer of insulation to keep all of our perishables cold. We tossed and turned and HC woke us every half hour ready to get up. We all began really moving around at 9 AM and still no power. Finally at 9:30 the power came back on but our adventure is forever sealed in my heart. Even in the midst of chaos our kids managed to find fun - they remind me to stop and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

(This was JB's first night like this - without power. Thanks to Hurricane Katrina... HC had several nights like this when she was about 2. I have fond memories from when I was young of nights when the electricity was out. Thankfully this one wasn't unbearably hot!!)

Distractions **updated**

Today I am trying to sew... but I am doing so with MUCH distraction. I have the TV in the background and for the 1000th time I hear the 'Might Putty' infomercial. Earlier they played the 'Caulk' deal thingy. I want both! They are so cool! Will I use them?? Will they work 'as seen on TV'? Maybe but I want to see if the Mighty Putty works! Even though there is no real tile in our shower - you never know when you will need to caulk something and smoothly finish the job with those flexible scraper things.

Seee? Distractions abound for me!

What about the water globe?? I have over watered plants before. I have under watered plants. I have watered a plant that was sitting on one of those trays and it overflowed onto my table/carpet. Currently - I have no indoor plant but... maybe I'll get another plant someday and I will need a magical watering globe.

The gopher tool - the one that helps you reach things up high. I can't tell you the number of times I have been inconvenienced by having to reach for things. So totally inconvenient.

What about the sweeper that swivels!!?? Only to find that you can get 2 for the price of 1~!!! WHAT A DEAL! Umm.. I actually almost bought this one.... you paid like $45 in shipping. That isn't BOGO to me. That is your shipping is the price of 2 and the extra is the price of being dumb enough to believe you were getting a deal.

But I want the infomercial gadgets! I want them ALL I tell you! These are the things distracting me today as I try to sew. Back to the grind....

***How could I forget to mention ShamWOW!!???***

Getting Older

You know you're getting older when watching the news is actually fun. You actually laugh... OUT LOUD and can't stop watching. Or maybe it's just Fox News. They crack me up!!

Zoo Days

We met 2 super heroes and another girl friend at the zoo a few days ago. It seems most of our friends are little boys and when we meet another family with a daughter close to HC's age it is a BIG win! :) HC can hang with the boys but.... my girl is a girlie girl! We began our journey of exploring the zoo with the kangaroo's. We've seen them before but we went during feeding time and they were not hidden. There were at least 10 within easy view. There was a lady with a kangaroo hide for us to touch and the hide was surprisingly soft. I thought it would be soft but not THAT soft! HC asked the lady how they got the skin off of the kangaroo. She told her that it came from a kangaroo that had already died. But I was surprised that HC picked up on that.
I LOVED this shot of the Alligator. All that we could see were eyes and nose.
Then.. after much exploring - we came to the butterfly garden. JB was stuck with me because of a prior incident. All the others ran ahead but since JB was with me.. something cool happened...
This yellow butterfly landed on his water cup and stayed there. I told JB the butterfly thought his cup was his mommy since they matched colors. He giggled watching this butterfly. We were given specific instructions to NOT touch the butterflies. So JB had his hands back so he would be careful.
There was a baby giraffe~~ I love giraffes! And doesn't this giraffe have beautiful spots!?!
Zebras are another of my favorite animals. I know.. you've seen all these animals before but I cannot resist another picture. So bear with me!
They were feeding this White Tiger! It was so neat to see him up and about!
After all that exploring it was off to the water park!
Very refreshing!

Too bad Mommies do not have a place to cool off. Oh well. It was a nice day at the zoo and it wasn't scorching hot! Best of all .... it was time shared with new friends!

It's not going to be the same without YOU!

Last week we had one last play time with a special friend. MAC has been a regular in our playgroup circles since we've been in this neck of the woods. In fact, although we didn't have any special one on one play time with MAC - HC and MAC always end up playing together. They just 'get' each other! I am sad to say that over the last year we didn't see MAC as much as we used to but.. he will still be missed!
Here is MAC with a few of our other great friends. Can you see they are really playing hard together??
Bye Bye Angelgirl! I hope you are adjusting well in your new land! Hugs and Hugs and Hugs to you!

Thank you MeMe and PawPaw

On Friday HC received a card in the mail. She opened it with glee and was even more thrilled to find a sparkly card inside the envelope. And then there was the money... HC had visions of spending in her head. This 5 year old birthday celebration was the longest I've seen.
HC received 2 birthday cards from toy stores that I did not give her yet but when HC had money to spend I decided to hand the cards over. MeMe wanted HC to buy dresses and clothes but HC really is well supplied in that area. I decided to let HC have freedom to choose how she spent her money. She has been begging us for tennis shoes and we've either had a busy day and no time to go or I told her 'we will buy them next week'. I thought this was the perfect time for HC to buy her shoes. So that was our first stop. HC bought a $30 pair of shoes for $20!! WooHoo!! She saved $ and had more for her next stop... she received a birthday card with a coupon inside from Build A Bear. So... she indulged and bought an outfit and 2 pair of shoes for her bears. She felt so big to have her own money and to get her change and receipts.
Then it was off to Toys R Us for the birthday treat of balloon/hat and announcement of HC shopping in the store. She had a blast - they too sent her birthday card with a coupon.
HC happily toted this bag into the van with hopes that she could open it NOW.....
The bear on her left (under her arm with the phone) has on the new outfit and both bears have new shoes. She bought her first polly pocket item and of course her new tennis shoes. She even has $ to put in the bank. (She could have spent more but... we felt she should also save a little).

I believe HC's 5th birthday is officially over now. Thank you so much MeMe and PawPaw! I only wish you could have seen her shopping. She had the best time feeling like a birthday girl all over again! We miss you!

Oh... one last detail. When HC opened her card and found the money she said "Mom. I think JB has been great to not get to spend any money. I think I should buy him a prize for being such a good friend to me." She bought him an Elmo book about Baseball and it plays the melody of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". JB was so excited. I was proud of HC for thinking of JB.. I've been telling her how great JB's been with hopes that she will have the same attitude when it is JB's turn to celebrate. :)

What's a 'Versary'?

I was greeted with the question "What's a Versary Mom?" last night. I immediately realized what HC was talking about. Monday, while running errands, I received a call from a friend. She was calling to say "Belated Happy Anniversary". During the phone call she asked if we did anything special and I told her that we had HC's birthday party on our anniversary. Since the day was so busy we left it at that and didn't really do anything special. I felt like our recent trip was anniversary enough. Obviously HC heard this and kept this question in mind until Wednesday night. Then the questions came:

HC: What is a versary?
Me: When Mommy and Daddy go to eat a special dinner alone to celebrate being married.
HC: What do people do on ANversarys?
Me: What do you mean?
HC: Do they have music?
Me: Yes
HC: Good I have music. Do they have brownies?
Me: Yes (HC giggled and hurriedly put the remaining brownies on the table)
HC: What else?
Me: They have presents and cards.
HC: Oh. I need some paper. (She quickly made anniversary cards for Me, Steve, herself and JB)

Little did I know that she and JB had secretly set the table and were busy at work. She told me NOT to look at the versary party because it wasn't ready yet.
Then when Daddy came home they sang us a one of a kind Happy Versary song and we celebrated together.
JB found it fun to cram his mouth FULL of brownies.
And HC delicately tried to be 'boy icky gross' too.
JB LOVED being silly.
And HC had a BLAST at her first versary party!

It was really fun seeing her take over the organizing of our party. She was so thoughtful and this was unprovoked too. When Steve walked in the door they both shouted out "Happy Anversary Party Daddy. It's your Versary party tonight." He looked at me bewildered and I told him the inside story.

Thanks HC for our fun Anniversary Party! 11 years is worthy of such honorable festivities as you created! We love you and JB so much! Happy 'Versary' Steve! 11 years flew by fast! I love you!

Learning About the Sun

Last week our lesson was about the Sun! We made a shadow sundial. This was after a few hours of tracking the sun.
We also created a real sundial - this was fun for the kids. They always love watching shadows or noticing them. So watching how the shadows moved every time we checked it was fun.
And HC painted a sun. JB painted too but it was more abstract. :) They both love to paint.
The scripture learned was "Jesus is the Light of the World". I was surprised at what they retained this week. Week 3 of school and our official second lesson topic. I am loving that I have a guide this year. Last year I pieced my teaching tools together. We managed fine but this year it is more fun having a topic direction to enhance the basics of reading and math.

During the Sun lesson I think the kids' favorite thing to do was go into their rooms and turn off the lights. They tried to walk without the lights on and then they walked while I held a flashlight! This was right up their alley! They loved the simple thrill of trying to walk without stepping on a toy or bumping one another! We are loving My Father's World!

HC's Big Girl Day

Wednesday was HC's official birthday and we took her to get her ears pierced. She has been watching Jon and Kate plus 8 with me in the afternoons and recently we watched as Mady's ears were pierced. Since then, HC has been talking about how she wanted her ears pierced too. We wanted to get this done on Saturday but we didn't want to exhaust HC nor did we want to end her birthday party with tears. :) So we chose to have her ears done on Wednesday.

HC was fully aware that it would sting and she may cry but she knew that after a short time she would be happy again (because that is what happened to Mady). Here is HC before the big moment: Here she is getting her ears prepped for piercing:
And here is her less than cheerful smile after it was all done. She did cry a bit more after this but once we had lunch she was fully recovered.
After lunch JB asked if we could ride the carousel and I had to say yes. (See HC is happy now!)
Here is my JB. Can I just say that my 3.5 year old little guy was a super hero during HC's birthday party on Saturday AND on Wednesday when we took HC to get her ears pierced. He stood quietly - I really didn't know he was there (except as his Mommy of course I KNEW he was there). He was so quiet and stayed close withOUT complaining or asking for anything. He was VERY concerned when HC was crying. "What's wrong with stister Momma? Is she OK? What did the lady do to her?" He was an angel!!!!! I was SOOOO proud of him!

When we checked the mail HC had a card and....
gift card waiting for her from Nana and PopPop. She had been telling them about this VeggieTale item she really wanted and so they sent her a card so she could buy it.
Here is HC making her purchase! She was so proud to have her very own money card!!!
And then later on JB fell asleep while we were on the road. With all the extras - like waiting on HC to be pampered on Saturday and waiting on her ears to be pierced on Wednesday and waiting on HC to purchase her gift - HE NEVER ASKED FOR A SINGLE THING NOR DID HE SAY "WHAT ABOUT ME?" OR "WHERE'S MY TOY?"!!!!! HE WAS SO BIG! He was glad to see HC enjoy her day! I pray HC can return the favor in February!! I hope she has it in her! We will see. At the end of it all he quietly fell asleep while running the roads.
That is the end of HC's big 5 year old adventures!!!!!!!!! No question that 5 was our biggest celebration yet - as it should be! Turning 5 is a big milestone; one that is worthy of remembering. Now back to the routine of life, but now it is with a 5 year old! :)

Her Hair was a Hit!!

HC LOVED her up-do from her party and BEGGED to sleep with her hair up. She told me that the girl who fixed her hair told her it would last a long time! I guess the teenager didn't realize that a 5 year old takes that kind of news literally! So, my HC was becoming more and more devastated as I told her we needed to take her hair down. I gave in and told her she could sleep in it and wear it to church if it lasted through the night. Although there were little pieces falling out - I still let HC show her favorite teacher her hair! This was HC's last class with Mrs. K! So it was especially special with her hair up! On our way home from church the kids enjoyed holding their hands out the window to "feel how fast we were going". That is a direct quote!

Then we ate lunch, had naps and I took her hair down. It was beyond falling apart after her nap. HC was excited to see what looked to be curls.
She was loving those 'curls'! Can you tell!!!!
Alas, the curls fell out and the hair is straight and normal. But boy was having fancy hair fun!!! This felt like the birthday party that kept on giving! :) Gotta love that!