2 "pees" in a "potty"

i like to call this one..."good grief aiden! if chase told you to go jump off a bridge, would you do it?"

i like to call this one..."chase...get your sister's head out of the potty!"

i know i wrote in an earlier post that chase and aiden are extremely close and spend everyday playing with each other...all day long...which is really sweet and cute and yada, yada, yada...but seriously?? she will do anything he tells her to. ANYTHING! this is my proof. we took aiden on her "big girl trip" the other day. we got all dressed up, and went to get a little potty and some big girl underwear. she also got to pick out a booster seat because she thinks she is too big for the highchair now. she has to sit in a booster seat like chase. only chase freaks when she gets near it because he thinks she's going to "steal" it. for crying out loud...as if she's going to stick it under her shirt and leave town. anyways...so...the potty training started with a lot of excitement and hoopla, such as aiden "twirling" in the living room in her tinkerbell underwear. however...i realized about 20 minutes later that we were just not ready. and by "we", i mean me. so...this is what we have decided to do with the potty. and by "we", i mean they.

the recovery and journaling

so, as most of you know...chad had jaw surgery tuesday morning. he was in the hospital overnight and now has been home for 5 days. they did not wire his jaw shut, thank the sweet Lord, because i would have "issues" with that. i know you are probably thinking, "you??? how selfish can you be?" but, the thing that kept going through my head was...what if he gets sick? and that thought was enough to completely give me the creeps. i would have had to carry around wire cutters and always be ready to unwire his mouth in case of some sort of emergency. luckily, his doctor trusted him to not chew, so no wire cutters here. he has to drink out of a straw and can not have any solid food. needless to say, i have made more soup in the last week than i have in my entire life. my kids hate soup. and now, chad and i hate soup too. so, we have also been making lots of smoothies. aiden and chase love smoothies and drink all of the left-overs and then go beg chad for his. chase makes up for stealing his smoothies by always wanting to take him his medicine. i only let him take the child-proof bottle to chad to get the pill out...mainly because i'm not too sure i want to see what chase would be like on hydrocodone. the pain medication they gave him when he broke his arm made him...let's just say..."jumpy". i think chad's stay in the hospital stressed aiden out a little. a few days ago, she got a tiny scrape on her knee. she sat down and said, "i need a bandaid. i need to go to the hospital." i told her that i thought she maaaaay be over-reacting just a tad. i have no idea where she gets that. :)

here's a little update on colton lloy; first grade:

his new love is writing. they get to journal quite a bit and do some free writing in most of their subject. he LOVES it. the other day when i picked him up from school, he said, "mom...i need a journal at home for me to write in. that way i could write about what i am doing. i want one with an elephant on it. like my old one with the elephant on it. you know the art spiral with the elephant on it?" (i think he might want one with an elephant on it) i said, "i don't even remember where i got that art spiral." to which he replied, "maybe yoooooou should get a journal." i opened my mouth to defend my failing memory...but how do you argue with that?

i'm ashamed...

...of my lack of discipline and patience. it's sad, really. what is wrong with me? seriously. i completely broke down today. i had just dropped chase off for his first day of preschool and i had a day of fun and errands planned for us girls. aiden and i started it off by going to starbucks and enjoyed frappachinos...her enjoying the strawberries and cream, while i decided to partake of the pumpkin spice one. she sat in a comfy chair...sipping her frap...while coloring on her magnadoodle and looking at her book. i took in a people magazine and my nicholas sparks, dear john, book that i am reading while in the car ride line, waiting to pick up colton. then...we bopped on over to the mall to pick up my brother's birthday present, dropped off my phone to be fixed, and then went to target while we waited for the phone. i had made it all the way through target...getting just what we needed; daipers and some fruit, and stuff for the boy's lunchboxes when the unexpected happened. you see, in target, you have to pass the holiday candy section to get to the checkout. as i did...i noticed that the halloween candy was already out. my basket made this left turn...i swear...on it's own, and i found myself right in front of the pumpkin candy corns. damn it!!!!! it is only september 5th. and i really try hard to not buy these until october 1st. what to do...what to do? without any prompting from my brain...my right hand reaches up to the shelf and puts 2 bags in the cart. we are nowhere near october 1st. i just could not wait. so...all of my other groceries are still sitting on the floor as we speak, but those pumpkins...already in the candy jar...displayed proudly...letting everyone in on my lack of any self control at all. here's to authenticity. and pumpkin candy corns.

just an update really

as most of you know...colton has had his first full week of 1st grade and is working on week 2. he is loving it. he says that 1st grade is the coolest. when i ask him what his favorite part of the day is, he says recess...and then proceeds to tell me about how the girls chase him on the playground, but that it works out fine because he is faster than all of them. is anyone else thinking that this is sure starting early????? seriously, they're 6. it has been really fun to watch the dynamic between the kids in the last week. the two little ones really miss colton during the day, and he misses them too. it has given chase and aiden the opportunity to become really close, so that's been fun. they literally follow each other around the house playing all sorts of things. aiden will basically do ANYTHING chase tells her to...which he loves. he's got halloween all set up. i over-heard them planning it in the playroom the other day. chase says that colton is gonna be batman...he is gonna be robin...and when he asks who is gonna be batgirl (just to make sure aiden remembers the plan) aiden raises her hand straight up in the air; her eyes get really big and excited-like; and she jumps up and down yelling, "ME!!! I'M BATGIRL!!!" i keep trying to tell them that she could be cat woman, because then i could make her a cute kitty cat costume and the theme would still work. but no. chase has it all planned out and has her convinced that she must be batgirl. we will see. chances are...by halloween...they will be on to something else. like the muppets or something. (the muppet movie is their favorite right now.) although it is not a good sign that aiden has named all of her dolls lois lane. anyhow, today it was so sweet because we had been waiting in the car ride line for about 25 minutes when chase finally said, "mommy...i neeeeed colton." then, when we pull up and see colton standing there waiting for us, chase and aiden start yelling his name and waving and colton gets really excited. he climbs in the car and i am so excited to see him that i start talking to him right away. there's not even a "hi mommy." there is only, "hi aiden and chase...i'm so glad you are awake today." (normally they have fallen asleep in the car waiting in the line) then chase reaches over and grabs colton's arm and says, "oh colton...i so missed you." to that, my heart smiled.

in other news, chase starts preschool tomorrow. he is very excited and i am a little worried about how aiden will do here without him. she will have a whole 5 hours with just her and me on mondays and wednesdays. wow. she has never had that before!! i'll have to teach her how to shop!! :) i have a feeling chase may miss her too.

WHY?

my questions for the day...

why do i hate taking out the trash so much?

why can i get the laundry folded...but not put away?

why do i love to watch cooking shows...but hate to cook?

why do i love to buy cereal...but never eat it?

why does aiden copy everything chase does, even thought she and colton are most alike?

why do people who long to have children, can't have them sometimes...while people who don't want them get pregnant?

if God knows that a woman is going to have a miscarriage...often even before she knows she's pregnant, why does he create the life in the first place?

why didn't i think of using paper plates for lunch sooner?

why...no matter how early i go to bed at night...do i still not want to wake up in the morning?

why do i love hannah montana so much?

why does aiden, all of a sudden, not want to go to bed at night?

why can i not seem to get through the entire bible?

why do i sometimes really care what people think...yet sometimes not give a rip?

why do we have nightmares?

why does my cell phone seem possessed at times?

why did we find over 30 scorpians in our house in south carolina...even though the exterminator said that they don't live in clusters, but alone? and...none of our neighbors had them either.

why do i sometimes feel queesy for no reason?

why do i not want to let colton ride the bus home from school...and instead take aiden and chase with me and wait in the car ride line for an hour every afternoon to pick him up?

why do i have such a hard time with electronics?

why do new kids on the block get made fun of...yet the backstreet boys, and n'sync usually don't?

basically...at this point, i'm not out of whys...but out of time.

If You Feel Lost...

o.k. people. this is one of my new favorite worship songs. i heard it at ecclesia in the woodlands for the first time. robbie seay happen to be leading worship the day i was there and they did this song. it is so beautiful and the words so perfect for so many of us in so many day to day situations. a friend sent it to me and i quickly copied it to my mp3 and have been listening to it ever since. I LOVE IT. very simple...and yet says it all. here are the lyrics...

SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON US (robbie seay band)

oh my God, shine your light on us;
that we might live.
oh my God, shine your light on us;
that we might live.

i've been holding on.
and i've been holding on.
all that is inside me;
screams to come back home.

and if you feel lost;
if you feel lost;
sing along.
and if you feel tired;
if you feel tired;
sing along.
and if you feel lost and tired;
this is your song.

and i've been broken down;
and i've been broken down.
but i aint givin up;
love will come back around.

and if you feel lost;
if you feel lost;
sing along.
and if you feel tired;
if you feel tired;
sing along.
and if you feel lost and tired;
this is your song.
yeah...
if you feel lost and tired;
this is your song.

oh my God
shine your light on us;
that we might live.
and oh my God
shine your light on us;
that we might live.

if you feel lost;
if you feel lost;
sing along.
and if you feel tired;
if you feel tired;
sing along.
oh...if you feel lost and tired;
this is your song.

shine your light;
shine it down;
like a rescue;
come for us;
we long to love.
shine your light;
shine it down;
like a rescue;
come for us now.

WHO'S EXCITED?

o.k. so who's excited about fall television starting up again? i'll tell you who. ME!!!!!!!! i have seriously been going through withdrawal, i think. i miss grey's anatomy; the bachelor (don't start with me...); LOST; what about brian; and don't even get me started about how excited i am about the grey's anatomy spin-off, private practice, that is going to be starting this fall. i am also looking forward to the start of survivor...but i didn't really watch the last season. so we will see if i am able to get into this one. oh...and chad and i do enjoy watching house together. so...i have barely watched any t.v. this summer and it will be a shock to our dvr come september. i'll have to dust her off and put her back in business. too many shows...too little time. we shall see.

on another note...colton starts 1st grade on monday. we get to go meet his teacher this friday. we won't find out who he has or who is in his class until then. he seems to be excited about his return to school and i am not nearly as big a basket case as i was this time last year...him starting kindergarten and all. we don't need to discuss how close i came to having an emotional breakdown at "meet the teacher" last year. nor do we need to re-hash how many tears were shed prior to dropping him off that first day of school. aaannnnddd...we won't even begin to re-visit the number of pictures that were taken. i can probably chronicle that "right of passage" walk from the parking lot to the class room with one of those, flip the pictures real fast and make a movie thing. not this year. i'm low key. layed-back. doing swell. not having a bit of trouble with my first born already being in 1st grade. not picturing his wedding day when he is going to leave me for some girl and never even call or write and spend all his thanksgivings and christmases with her family because he's forgotten all about me. and i'm definitely not thinking about this being chase's last year at home with me because he is going to make that "right of passage" walk into kindergarten this time next year. no siree. i'm great. not a problem what so ever. who's excited? i know i am.

well (sniffle and wipe a tear)...i think i'm going to go talk to chad about how great i'm doing. later.

my little traveler

i was sitting with someone...i can't remember who now...(that should tell you how my mental status is these days)...and we were talking about where we have been in europe. you know...since i am the world traveler now. :) anyhow, they were talking about all the places they had been, (and at this point i really wish i could remember who this was), and i was talking about where i had been now. colton, chase, and aiden were sitting at the kitchen table with us. i realized that colton was listening when he perked up, raised his eyebrows, and as a matter of factly stated, "well...i've been to iowa multiple times!!!!"

Back on U.S. Soil

I could have actually kissed the ground when we landed at Houson's Intercontinental Airport 2 days ago. I've been home for exactly 42 hours and 20 minutes. I've slept about 28 of those hours. Needless to say...I've had a bit of a time re-acclamating to my life. I thought missions in Ukraine would seem foreign. But what is foreign is life here without a team and a purpose everyday after being used to living everyday on a tangible mission. It's like I don't know what to do. Do I clean? Do I do laundry? Do I go grocery shopping? Do I play with the kids? Do I go to their baseball games? Do I go hang out with friends? Do I sleep? Do I stay awake? Do I drink ice water? Do I eat? I know that probably sounds weird...but it is how I have felt since I got home. I never am sure what I am supposed to be doing. Part of my mind and heart were left in Ukraine with the homeless boy and old lady and new friend and students we taught english and bible to everyday. Not that it is not good to be home. It is. I missed my family more than I can put in to words. BUT...I learned some things. One of which is that my family is going to live on mission together. My children will intimately know beyond their own circumstances. They will know their main purpose in life. They will learn to spread the word and love of our creator...or God...our Father. They will not be obsessed with themselves and their own desires...unless they are the desires of Christ. I'm not all together sure how we are going to achieve all of these lofty goals, but at least they are my goals now. Instead of the latest sport all their friends are playing and making sure they have the cutest clothes to start school. I'm speaking to myself here, because the worst thing I could do is forget the people we taught in Ukraine and more importantly...the mission the people in Ukraine taught me.

More to come...with pictures.

is there such a thing as too much baseball?

summer schedule:

tuesday night: colton's baseball game
wednesday night: chase's t-ball practice
thursday night: colton and chase have games...usually at the same time
friday night: colton's practice
every day...all day long: colton practices in the back yard

yes.

from here on out...a tighter ship

i'm aware it's been a while. there's not much i can do about that. it is what it is. i've been tired. worn down. completely apathetic. nonchalant. that's o.k. right? i guess it has to be.

since my last post, chad's grandmother passed away, and we have driven across the country (to iowa) and back, which has proven to have thrown me for more of a loop than usual. it is always hard for me to transition...which has only been exacerbated since having 3 small children. whatever that means...i don't know. but currently i am drowning my sorrows to a particularly dark pearl jam song while attempting to be of some interest to this screen.

we just had to call a family meeting. i think......yes, i think that is a first. colton and chase have been at each others throats; aiden is 2 (self-explanatory); chad and i are both tired, worn down, and generally lacking any drive what so ever. the attentive, energetic, and playful mom that i once was has been replaced by one who desperately needed a break. i always heard of the moms who had breakdowns and ended up shuffling the halls in her bathrobe while muttering softly over and over again, "i forgot to take the dog out. wait a minute...i don't have a dog." all the while her children are throwing pieces of their uneaten grilled cheese at her...seeing who can make one ricochet off her face the farthest. yep. that feels about right. anyhow, at our family meeting we talked about respect, love, kindness, appreciation for what we have, and obedience. all general stuff...yet such life affecters. i sought forgiveness for not being as "present" as they were accustomed to...and explained how i had been long over due for a break...and how from now on, i was going to take one when needed instead of letting it all build up. no grilled cheeses in my face please. chad brought down the hammer and all that jazz. we are developing a summer schedule for everyday in an attempt to curb boardom and lessen squabbling. bedtime is back to 7:30. meals are no longer whenever they start whinning. i've learned that by that point...it's too late. no more toys everywhere. i'm turning this disney cruise that we seem to be on into a tighter ship.

well, i guess i'm done for now. pearl jam has lulled me into a somewhat dreamlike stuper and the natives (whom i still love more than life) could be getting restless. well, at least chad's in there with them...although asleep on the playroom floor. i'm fully expecting him to wake up with a marker mural all over his body. who knows? i've turned up the music to block it all out. could that be part of the problem?

CRASH

o.k. so i've learned my lesson. maybe. for those of you who know me, you know that my children are some of the most photographed children in america. i take massive amounts of pictures. i had a nikon 75 (i think) and was totally happy with it. love having film that is tangible. love having pictures developed. love that i can't even make it out of the store without looking at them all. love the search for the perfect captured moment. love seeing the photo after i've gotten it. love the brown leather photo albums that are lined up on my book shelf that chronicle the kid's birth through 7 months ago. so, if i love all of that so much...why did i get a digital camera?

well, the answer is 2 fold. i could save money on film and developing, and it's a lot easier in this technical world of ours.

so...for my birthday and anniversary...(that's the way i can talk chad in to bigger purchases :))...he got me my nikon d50. we went in to get a point and shoot sony digital, and came out with the big guns. my lens was enter-changable...so it just made more sense. and...i like a manual zoom. but...i digress once again.

my big issue with going this route was the non-tangibleness of having your photos on the computer and cds instead of in albums. it took some getting used to. and, on more occation than one, i asked the question, "but what if the computer crashes?" the answer was always the same. some version of..."has your computer ever crashed before?" to which i replied..."no." so, there you have it. i made the switch. and it has been great. i don't even know how many pictures i have on the computer. lots and lots is the technical answer that comes to mind. my summer project was to get them all onto cds and organized in photo boxes. no problem.

problem. the other day, i found aiden in chad's chair with her hand on the mouse and something that looked odd on the screen. i still don't know what she did, but what i do know, is that our computer crashed. and yes, this happened before i had all my pictures from the last 7 months backed up on cds. chad talked to all kinds of computer people who all said the same thing. they were gone. i was in denial for a while, but when the reality set in...i'm not gonna lie...i was extemely upset. not angry...just really sad. i kept thinking of all the different memories i had lost, etc. etc. etc. and with each new photo i thought of, i got more and more sad. a friend helped me put it in perspective and i was slowly coming to terms with it. i even prayed that we would find them. there is this computer guy that works with chad who agreed to look at the computer for us. i tried not to get my hopes up. but this guy...this genious of a man (in my opinion)...found my pictures. every last one of them. can you believe it? i still am marveled by the fact that my God...the same God who is having to watch children die of starvation and thirst every day...cares enough about me to concern himself with 7 months worth of my pictures. well, i guess he does. and i'm glad. because if he cares about us that much...with all the other things he has going on...he must really love us. and...not only does he love us, but he really enjoys surprising us with happiness. i love that. even more than pictures.

WHOA...

so. i hate snakes. i hate them alot. they make me squeemish. i could really do without them. do you get how much i despise snakes?

well, chad has been in colorado for a couple of days. he got home late last night. anyways, tuesdays are trash days...and since he was out of town...i had to take the trash down to the curb. i hate trash duties too. but, that's neither here nor there. i went out to the garage to get the trash can to walk it down. as soon as i opened the man door, i noticed, what looked like a tail of some sort. it was a brick reddish color. i immediately thought snake for some reason. i froze at first, but then decided that it was not the right color for a snake. so, i bent down to get a closer look. i was not sure. it could be a snake, or it could be...well...i really don't know what else it could have been. i was just in denial. so, i stood there for a minute and then decided that the trash looked great just where it was. i went inside and called chad in denver. he was in a meeting and texted me back that he couldn't talk. so, i texted him..."SNAKE IN THE GARAGE." he texted back, "how big?" like that matters. i went back out to look again. i could only see a little of the body, and the tail. colton and i were bent down looking at it...wedged between the garage slab and wood side panels. i asked colton what he thought it was. we were not sure. then...IT MOVED! i freaked at that point. then, i went and got the neighbor, and he came over with a flash light and looked at it for me. he said that he thought it was poisonous. GREAT. then he told me to go get a coat hanger. i did and was none too thrilled about what was going to happen. he tried to get it out, but it was gone. in hiding, if you will. so, i did not set foot outside again yesterday and was prepared to live a life without ever setting foot outside the house again. i had everything i needed within the 4 walls of my house anyways. i liked it in here. so, this morning...chad went outside to start taking everything out of the garage to see if he could find it. i said, you are never gonna find it and i am never going out there again. he was not out there 30 seconds before he came in to tell me he found it. it was outside the garage...down in a crack between the garage and the pavement. so, he told me to take colton to school and that he would get it. THANK YOU SWEET JESUS. my man was there. here he came to save the day. no more snake to worry about. i did not ever have to see it again. i wash my hands of the whole situation. sweet relief. i did not have to see him chop it to bits. i did not have to see it wiggle. bye bye snake. so i told colton to come get in the van. i stepped in the grass between the house and the van and tuned around to make sure colton was coming. (he was not as eager to miss the snake masacre). he reluctantly followed me, and the rest of the story is somewhat of a blur. all i know is that colton yelled..."MOM! THERE'S ANOTHER ONE! WATCH OUT!" in what seems like one hurried motion, i looked at where he was pointing; looked down; saw another snake right next to my flip flop wearing foot; and nearly passed out. chad, who over-heard the whole exchange, was at my side in 2 seconds flat; pulling me behind him; and hoed it to death while i watched with mouth opened wide. "my eyes. my eyes." and...my hero.

now, i'm sure that there is a mama who has set up house in our garage...probably in the kid's ball bin...and her millions of babies are crawling all over our yard and making their way into our house.

who thinks i'll sleep well tonight?

3 Strikes and You're Funny...

The other day, Chad and Colton were playing baseball in the backyard. Chad was pitching and Colton was batting and running the bases. Each time he would bat, he would be a different Astros player. Once he was Brad Ausmus (yeeee). then, he was Craig Biggio. Then, he was Lance Berkman. Then, he was Brandon Backe (and yeeee again). He was hitting great. Chad was really pitching too. He would hit the ball...usually the first pitch in...and run to first base. Then ghost runner on first. You get the drift. So, the last batter was Morgan Ensberg. He takes a few practice swings; steps into the batter's box; and prepares to hit the ghosts home. And then, the unexpected happened. One. Two. Three. Struck out! What????? Then he shruggs, drops the bat, and says, "Dad. I'm thinkin Morgan Ensberg is not that good."

On The Day You Were Born...

...You were wanted. You were loved.

...You were special. You were beautiful.

Today; you are still all of those things. Forever.

Happy Birthday to our Aiden Annee-Grace, who turned 2 years old this morning at 1:47 am. This last picture was her answering me when I asked her how old she was. "Twoooo."

We love you baby girl. Happy, Happy Day.

JUMPING THROUGH HAPPY

The other night, I was at a friend's house. The kids were playing in the backyard and we were all sharing a meal in the comfort of the patio. There is nothing like your kids having good friends. The kind that they always want to be with. The kind that you love because they love. Kids know how to love. They know how to be friends. They are innocent. They have not been corrupted by rejection, deceit, insecurity, or manipulation. They just love. They play. They can argue one minute and hug the next. They can be crying at the drop of a hat, and all it takes is a glance and an apology from their friend to make it all better. Tenderness. And off they go. Running. Laughing. Playing. Happy. They pray for each other nightly. They don't forget. They are genuine. Dear God, please help my friend to not be sick or sad. I am learning about being a friend from watching my kids and their friends. Colton is planning on having 6 kids with his little Anna Marie. After they get married, of course. (She is not so sure. Her face was priceless when Colton gave her that little piece of information. Marriage fine. 6 kids. What???) Anyhow, innocence. At it's best. We decided that I would bathe my 3 over there because they would, most likely fall asleep on the way home from the sheer exhaustion from happiness. In the bathroom was a plethora of different perfumes on the counter top. Now, me being a detail person, obviously loves smells. I, in an attempt to not get bored while the kids had their little bit of play time with the soap, began smelling all the perfume and carefully examining the different bottles. Funny how the bottle does it for me...more than the smell. It could be a great smell, but if I don't like the bottle...it's a no go. I spotted a bottle off to the side. It was a simple shape. Perfume a simple clear. There was a pink flower on the front that caught my attention first. It was the color of Aiden's walls. I love Aiden's walls. So...naturally, I love the flower. It was a simple daisy. The kind I doodle. I popped the top off and closed my eyes to take the smell in. It was a good smell. I looked at the bottle to see what the name was. I finally found it on the bottom of the bottle. Very small. Very...um...innocent and surprising. Its name was Happy. I sprayed it up into the air and then proceeded to jump through the mist of spray. Then I thought to myself...I just jumped through happy.

Inspired by a friend. A friend who, when I'm with her, always makes me feel like I'm jumping through happy.

Finally. Better Late Than Never.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

they had a ball. actually, they had a "field day"

holloway's class...first place, baby

anna marie is thrilled to be doing this relay. can't you tell?

like father...like son

like mother...like son

sweet kisses from my son

today, chase and i had such a tender mother/son moment. he was eating lunch, and had proceeded to get food all over his face. shocking. anyways, i went over to clean him up and after i wiped his face, i took his face in my hands and looked him right in the eyes and said, "chasers...i love you so much." to which he smiled and showed me those, oh so cute, dimples and said, "give me a kiss." of course i gave him sweet kisses all over his even sweeter face...which was a catalyst for giggles from both of us. then, he reached up and took my face in his hands...which i was sure to cap off the tender moment...and said, sweet as sugar, "let me touch your eyeball." not quite the comment i was expecting, but chaser non the less. and boy, do i love that kid.

DREAMER

You know it's bad when your almost 2 year old says to you, in a somewhat sing-songy voice, "Youuuu Whoooo," to get your attention. That, she's learned from her 4 year old brother. 4 year olds talk ALOT. Sometimes, as much as you don't want to, you begin to tune them out...especially late in the day...when the attention span is just not quite up to par. Several days ago, I started getting snapped back into reality by Chase with a far off "Youuu Whooo" that would get louder until I had returned from wherever I had been. Today, after Aiden began the "Youuu Whooo" form of getting my attention, I began to ask myself; one: why were they having to youu whoo me back and, two: where was I going to need youu whooing back from? It made me realize the place in my head that not too many know of. The dreamer place. In the dreamer place, really fun and amazing things happen. I began to make a list of the things that happen to me in the dreamer place. I needed to write them all down...because although a lot of them I know I will never do...some of them I could...and should...and will.

1. adopt a child
2. sing in a really cool band that plays really good music and has lots of fun
3. play serious guitar
4. win an olympic medal
5. act in a movie
6. snowboard
7. waterski and wakeboard in lake travis (again)
8. drink an apple martini
9. go on a missions trip to africa headed by bono
10. visit my brother in alaska
11. not worry
12. love God more than myself
13. take really great pictures
14. get a nose ring
15. fly a kite at the beach with the kids
16. take aiden to try on wedding dresses
17. hold chad's hand in the waiting room, awaiting the arrival of a grandchild
18. witness the miracle of hunger and poverty come to an end
19. see the Holy Lands
20. go to ireland
21. know my roots
22. go to hawaii with my husband and some really good friends
23. see chase and aiden give their hearts to Jesus
24. be a catalyst for the lost
25. be a voice-over for a big disney film
26. wear a tiara for a legitimant reason
27. be able to build cool things out of wood
28. watch out the window for each kid to come home from their first date, and then sit in the dark, over fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and talk about it for hours
29. own a horse named marble and be able to ride him, fast, whenever i wanted
30. see all of my lost friends found

WHY AM I SO CONFUSED?

it's becoming (shout out KL) my life statement these days. furthermore, why is it that when a mom gets sick, she just has to keep going? there is no option of laying in bed, sleeping, someone making soup, t.v. watching until she's better. i'd like to talk to the person who started that trend. it's beginning to get a bit old. i can't even take the medicine the doctor gave me yesterday becasue it causes drowsiness. i mean, it says on the bottle not to opperate heavy machinery, and i'm pretty sure children classify as such. it's just the same excact way it is when i'm well...only my apperance has a tendency to scare the kids. i find that mine just kind of look at me like....WHOA. cue the whispers..."she doesn't look so good; what's wrong with her; why is she in her bath robe and why does her hair look like that?" followed by, "MOMMY...WE NEED BREAKFAST...WE NEED OUR DRINKS...I NEED MY CLOTHES...I'M TIRED...I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL...I DON'T WANT WAFFLES...WE WANT TO WATCH A VIDEO...NOT THAT VIDEO...I NEED MY LUNCH MONEY." speaking of lunch money, i tried to send colton to school today with ukrainian money. now, i don't think this would have got him very far in the lunch line. i can hear it now..."honey, tell your mom that we don't accept foreign money here." i noticed it when i was putting it in his backpack. thank God. i'm not sure my reputation could have recovered from that one. i had already tried to buy my coffee at starbucks the other day with chuck e cheese game tokens. someone needs to talk to the people from chuck e cheese and tell them not to make their tokens look so much like quarters. it's enough to confuse a girl...which deserves a loud and proud "WHY AM I SO CONFUSED?"

so many words...so little time

updated list with a little help from my friends:

conflicted
imbecile
vagabond
asinine
exacerbate
conglomeration
tarnation
tumbleweed
passionate
serendipity
promenade
tom foolery (technically 2 words...but for this one, i'll make an exception)
imposter
bafoon
catywampus
plethora
superfluous
menagerie
fidgety
mojo
surplus
bubbies
smooch
slacker
superb
crack (as in..."are you on crack?" had to be explained!!)
miracle
meticulosity - extreme attention to detail
pococurante - nonchalant
eudaemonic - producing happiness

and the list goes on. add to at random.

So, here's one...

I sort of told myself that I would never put poetry on this blog. I don't really know why...except because. Sometimes I find that nothing follows my because. I try to come up with a good sentence to follow, but I draw blanks. Because. That's all there is. Anyhow, this weekend, I have been in a very contemplative mood...mainly due to some good music and good conversation...which typically has that effect on me. I have not been able to get this poem/whatever you want to call it...(I'm sure all the timing is not accurate, nor the punctuation)...that I wrote so, so, so long ago, out of my head. I dug through my old journal tonight to find some of my favorites, from what seems like lifetimes ago, in some attempt to connect with myself...who I've been...who I am...who I am no longer...etc. etc. etc. Why was I so confused? Why am I still confused? The funny thing is, Chad asked me what I was doing and I told him. He said to read him one. I reluctantly read him this one...to which he replied, "What's the title?" I said it did not have one. He titled it "Simple Things". Here it is:

Simple Things

She lie alone; just like every other night;

waiting and longing for the time when he has his arms around her. She's not made to be alone and patiently awaits the future.

It's the knowledge that the childhood dreams are not being fulfilled according to plan and the newfound maturity that constantly tells her that they may not be that engulfs her thoughts. That is the hardest to bear. Tears well without warning and the sad music plays over and over, telling a story not unlike her own. The simplest thing is all she wants. It's not too much to desire, but is somehow unatainable. Someone to love her and someone for her to love right back. Someone who fills her heart so much that the simpe sight of him forces a smile and a feeling so warm that only she can feel. The brush of his hand against hers would sustain life. The mental picture is enough to warm her head, but not her heart...which for the time being, beats alone.

(1996)

After I finished, Chad said, "I wish I could express my feelings like that...Roses are red; violets are blue..." It was quite funny. It is kind of beautiful and romantic that the person who ended up having his arms around me completed this for me. I guess...in more ways than one.

Happy National Sibling's Day...

we were 6 1/2 and 3 1/2 and the flowergirl and ringbearer in my aunt's wedding

getting older...

...and still as close.

...a couple of days late. So, technically, National Sibling's Day was 2 days ago but I am just getting around to posting this little tribute to my little brother, Kevin. At about 11:45pm my time, I finally got to talk to him. He had returned my phone call and I excitedly said, "Happy Sibling's Day!" To which he replied, "What?????" He, along with most of the other people in the nation, did not realize that this day was so special. He then tried to play it cool and pull the wool by saying, "Yes...that is exactly why I called...to wish you a Happy National Sibling's Day." Well, anyways, we got to talk about lots of funny memories and antecdotes from our childhood that had us both rolling. Like our favorite burt and ernie clip from sesame street, and the three amigos...we really loved that movie and quoted it for a very long time. AND...he said that he can't stop thinking about all kinds of cool words; (refer to a couple of posts ago); and that it was a good "blopic.". He would think, "Wow...I just wasted 30 minutes of my life thinking of how nicely that word just rolls of my tongue." Then we came up with some really cool words...like, dad gummit, menagerie, and superb. It was a fun conversation and I'm glad that I got to talk to him. I'm glad that there is a National Sibling's Day. I'm more glad that I have a brother. I'm even more glad that he is him.

Innocent Racial Slur

The other night at dinner, Colton made his first and hopefully last racial slur. We had been reading and discussing the Easter story being that Easter was upon us and Colton had some questions reguarding Jesus' ethnicity. Colton asked if Jesus was white or brown. Chad answered that Jesus was not white, not black, but probably more brown...and then compared him to some kids that Colton knows so that he could have a visual. You could tell that Colton's wheels were spinning. He thought for a minute and said, "Too bad I'm not brown." I was thinking, "Ahhh, he wants to be like Jesus. How sweet." then he added, "Because brown football players are better than white ones." Silence........Chad looked at me and I looked at Chad........cue the equality speech; cue the equality speech!

WARNING...LOOK AWAY IF YOU EASILY GET SQEEMISH

Colton's friend Anna Marie...controlling the blood loss

Last night, Anna Marie and her family were over for dinner. The kids were sword fightning in the living room, and Anna Marie's loose tooth decided to become a bother. Her mom gets the willies, so she told me to see if Anna Marie would let me wiggle it. I did more than that! With a couple of twists and tugs, and a whole lot of "The tooth fairy is soooo coming to see you tonight!" I got it! Colton was flaburgasted that I had actually just pulled her tooth. He has two that are loose and freaks at the thought of pulling them. I think being one uped by a girl has him a little more brave!! He's wiggling them ALOT!!

WORDS

I have a running list of words that I really like. Here are some:

sachel
waterlily
sketchy
unfortunate
trite
tinker
pajama
copesetic
yonder
galeleo
agape
incubation
petrol
sacral
satellite
xopenex
clever
perplex

Try using some of these on a regular basis. It's fun. Also, if you have any favorite words...please share! I love using good words.

Soggy Fruit, College, and Strep Throat

Yesterday afternoon, I came home from running an errand for a friend of mine to Chad laying on the couch and children destroying the living room. He immediately said, "I don't feel good. I think I have fever." In my mind I was thinking, "Oh no...you are NOT getting sick again." I felt of him; said he was fine; and told him to look alive. So, I got busy making dinner and when I called everyone to dinner, Chad shows up in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood on and then preceeds to wrap himself up in a blanket. He says his throat hurts and that his body aches. I put my fork down and said, (in a somewhat huffy tone) "Do you want me to take your temperature?" He nods yes. I took it with an ear thermometer and it read 95.5. We both knew that it couldn't be accurate, but assumed he didn't have fever. We continued to eat and talk with the kids. We asked how Colton's day was at school and he said, "Not good." Here is how the conversation went...

Colton: kids at school said mean things to me.

Me: Like what?

Colton: Like I'm yucky.

Chad: Well, God made you...and God doesn't make anything yucky.

Colton: God makes soggy fruit.

Chad: silence...followed by "How do you argue with that?"

Then we were talking about money for some reason. Here's how that conversation went...

Chad: I'm trying to save for your college.

Colton: My college????

Chad: yeah.

Colton: Is that in like 4 years?

Chad: No...you have 12 years until college.

Colton: Will I have to read then?

Chad: It helps.

Chad went to the doctor this afternoon, and he has strep throat. I feel really bad about having him bathe the kids last night. Turns out, he did have fever. Poor guy.

PHEW!!!!

Whoa...! This has been quite the week. I'll try to keep this little update brief...which could be difficult, on account of all the events that transpired. First of all, Chad's mom, sister, and our 2 neices flew into town last Wednesday. We were all very excited to see them and have them spend Spring Break with us. The kids and I had so many fun things planned...and expectations were high. Since Chad was still in Ukraine, I hired a babysitter, and drove to Intercontinental Airport to pick them up. Now, they were coming from Des Moines, Iowa...and had one thing in mind. Sun. So, the fact that the airport trip took 5 hours due to flooding rain and hail seemed like just a minor glitch in the plan. "No problem", I told myself...and them...on the way home. Tomorrow was a new day. We were going to the boardwalk. We decided to wait until after Aiden's nap to go, because that just seemed smart. Always thinking. So, shoes were on; kid's were fed; potties had been used; sunscreen had been applied; and I went to wake Aiden. She had 102.5 fever. WOW. I was not expecting this. NO PROBLEM. I gave her some Tylenol, strapped her in the stroller, and told myself that the fresh air would do her good. Not so. She proceeded to come down with a horrible cold and ear infection that had us both up for the next 5 nights...but I digress. Chad was scheduled to get in from Ukraine in the middle of the night Friday night. An extra set of hands was on the way!! (Not that that's the only reason we wanted him home:).) Due to being up with Aiden, I was awake when he got in. We said our hello's, and he slept in Chase's bed, due to Chase and Aiden ending up in our bed. Since he was all messed up on time, we thought he would sleep better upastairs, while I handled the kids. Not a problem. The next morning, I woke from my 3 hours of what I loosely call sleep, to Chad saying, "I don't feel good." Then...BOOM. What the doctor calls "Traveler's Diarrhea" hit. Now, for those of you who are like the rest of us were, and have no idea what this actually is...it is a food or water born bacterial infection that causes nausea, fever, body aches, diarrhea, and other related problems. He had picked it up in something he ate or drank in Ukraine and was in bed or the bathroom for the next 3 1/2 days. Luckily, there was a gastoenterologist who happened to go to Ukraine as well that came over and gave Chad a shot and some different medications to help him. So, there we were...Chad's mom, sister, and me with our 5 children. The next night, I had Aiden (who was still not up to par) all ready for bed. I was getting her medicine from downstairs and she had already gone upstairs for bed. Katie was preparing the bath water for her girl's bath in the boy's bathroom. The boys were all ready for bed and Sue was at her post in the kitchen doing the dinner dishes. All's well so far. Well, the "Mommy instinct" kicked in and I got the feel that Aiden was somewhere she shouldn't be. I ran upstairs to find her in the boy's filled bathtub. The water was still running and Katie and the girls had left the bathroom for something. She had snuck in and was having a grand time in the girl's bath. She did not bother with taking her pajamas off either...nor her socks. Let's see...what's next? Well, I caught Aiden's cold, and my voice went out...making parenting a bit difficult. AND...the grand finale was waking up this morning with my left eye swollen shut. To quote Colton, "I'M AFRAID YOU'RE GETTING SICK...WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR EYE."

Our family went home yesterday afternoon, and I just talked to Chad's mom on the phone. Somehow we managed to have a fun visit in spite of the...well...interuptions, you might call them. We went to the boardwalk, the beach, the park, space center houston, and played outside ALOT. Katie managed to get a book read, and she and Sue successfully talked me down from several anxiety attacks during the night that Chad was so sick. Like I've said before...I don't do stomach stuff. Thankfully, HIS mommy was here and stepped up to the plate with no hesitation. I'll have to post some pictures in the next couple of days. If I have my days correct, yesterday or today was the first day of Spring. I wecome it with open arms.

Not My Greatest Day

All I want to do right now is take a hot bath; get into my pajamas and watch T.V. Only there's nothing good even on tonight for me to watch because, you know, I refuse to watch dumb-ole American Idol because of how mean they were to those kids. Anyways...today was not my greatest day as a mom. I'm ready for Chad to be home. I guess I'm not handling it as well as I thought...on account of losing it with the boys tonight at bedtime. I feel that my patience has been running thin ever since last night, and I think that the boys would agree. It's hard to not expect too much out of them. Like last night, when I had to count to 10 and let out several huffy breaths after Colton spilled his just poured bowl of cereal and milk on the kitchen floor that I had just finished moopping. And then, when I had to count to 10 again and let out several more huffy breaths after Colton dropped his little medicine cup with purple medicine in it all over the floor upstairs...not knowing how much of it he had drank. (By the looks of the floor, it had not been much.) Then on account of making a "mad face", as Colton calls it, when I was tucking him in tonight because I found evidence on his good pillow case that he had a nose bleed last night and I didn't know it. There were a few little "aggravations" earlier...like finding Colton stretching his bubble gum from his mouth to the carpet, and Chase punching Colton in the stomach for eating his cereal bar...but the kicker was when I found them scrubbing out their sink with their toothbrushes. They were using toothpaste as cleaner. That's when I lost it. That's when I actually told them to, "COME ON...GROW UP!" Can you believe it? I said to grow up. To a 6 and 4 year old!! That's not fair. That's not even what I want. I love their ages and I am terrified of the day that I look back and wonder where the time went. I don't want to be the person saying to the young mom with toddlers, "Enjoy it now honey, because it goes by so fast...and then you'll wish they were little again." I wish they were little now...and they are.

Technical Difficulties, Weddings, and Fun Dip

Something's happening here. What it is, aint exactly clear. All of a sudden, I can't post pictures on the blog. Frustrating...because I had a picture that I was going to post for a friend. It was a picture of her daughter, and after I browse and select it and click upload, it pops up that I am not connected to the webpage. Weird. I have done everything I know to do, which is not much. Mainly just clicking on different things while pretending I know what I'm doing, only to get tired of the facade and make a mental note to ask Chad the next time he calls...whenever that will be. He can't call too often and I never know when that will be. And, it generally is not the best connection. And, half the time is spent letting the kids talk to him anyway. Oh well. Maybe pictures will just have to wait another 8 days until he gets home. On the upside, my mom is coming to stay with us tomorrow night...and then Chad's mom and sister and my 2 nieces will fly in...and then my best friend Ami and her husband Robbie will get here with their 3 girls. So, fun is definitely in the future. I went to a wedding this afternoon. Seeing as Chad was out of the country, I took my friend Ian. It was fun, and Chad appreciated him coming with me so that I didn't have to sit all by myself at the reception. I was going to take Colton, but then decided that it may be too "boring" for him. He would have appreciated the wedding cake however. But none the less, Ian and I had fun, and Colton had fun staying at Granna and Grandaddy's house with Chase and Aiden. So, I guess I'll retire to my post on the couch. I need to get out of this dress and into some comfy pj's and settle in for some good T.V. watching before bed. I have quit eating ice cream every night...due to just getting tired of it. It will come back around though. I just needed a little break. Now, I eat fun dip every night. I used to LOVE this stuff, when I was little. I re-discovered it a couple of weeks ago...along with pixie sticks, big league chew, and bubble tape. I have a huge ziplock stashed in the pantry that I go to nightly!! I gravitate toward the fun dip though. I just love it. I have not introduced the kids to it as I can not even begin to imagine the mess they would make. I need to be more mentally prepared for that than I am right now. Well, I hear the fun dip calling my name. As Chad would say..."I'm out."

Caught In The Act

Caught red handed...and not the least bit ashamed!!

Unbeknownst to me, Chase left his half eaten pudding cup on the kitchen table the other day. Aiden found it. Somehow she had managed to climb up in the chair, reach the pudding and the spoon, and start eating without anyone noticing. Very resourceful; that one. So, there she was sitting in the chair like a big girl...scraping every last little bite from the cup. There was chocolate everywhere. So much for keeping her sugar-free. She's now thinking, "Fruit for dessert? Are you kidding me?"

QUARANTINED & BASKETBALL

This last week was one for the books. My friend Heather came to visit from Atlanta with her two girls...(one is 2 1/2 years old and one is 3 months). They were to arrive at 12:30 on Monday, and at 8:30 Sunday night, we noticed that Aiden had a fever. She had a fever virus. When they got here, Heather and Elli (2 1/2) had colds that had developed during traveling. Elli started coughing on the plane and proceeded to get worse throughout the week. She had a runny nose and a wet, chesty cough. 2 kids down...3 to go. Wednesday morning, I got Colton off to school and we started our day. Aiden was still not feeling good, and at 10:00, Chase layed down on the couch and asked me to come sit by him. As soon as I saw him, I knew. He had fever. Luckily, Heather was feeling better by this point, and I joked to her that I would be getting a call from the school saying that they had Colton in the nurses office with a fever, and at 1:00, that call came. He had a fever of 103. I went to pick him up and he and Chase slept the rest of the afternoon. Ava, (the 3 month old) had begun spitting up and having "bad" diapers at this point. Now, I don't do stomach viruses. She was on her own!! All 5 down. At this point, we decided to quarantine the house and set up beds in the living room. Heather then began feeling like she had fever and was going to "pass out". This was when I had multiple children in the bath tub, trying to bring down fevers, clean them, keep them occupied, etc. etc. etc. (At one point, I looked up and saw a sopping wet rag fly across the bathroom. Colton thought he could make it from the tub into my sink...a "basket" if you will.) I felt her forehead, said she was fine, and told her to look alive. Chad said that he did not feel good and that's when I sincerely wished that I had Haz Mat suits somewhere in the house. Somehow we managed to still have a really nice visit. They left on Friday morning, the fevers had passed and I came home and disenfected the house...door knobs, light switches, floors, and everything in between. Last night, my highschool basketball team was playing in the playoffs to go to the district championships. I was planning on taking Colton to the game with my dad. I went to get him dressed, and noticed he looked terrible. I felt of him and the fever was back. 102. So, medicine, bath, and pj's it was for all three of them...and off to bed. I was upset about missing the game, but figured Chad and I could eat dinner together and settle in for a night of 24 together. We had 2 episodes left on season 3. As soon as we sit down on the couch to watch, Aiden wakes up crying. OF COURSE!! We managed to get her back down and finished season 3, two seconds before Chase walked downstairs because he woke up and realized his blankie was missing...a nice finale to the week. Actually, the finale was when I came upon Chase trying to paint Aiden's toenails with bright pink nail polish. She just happened to be sitting on our nice lazy boy recliner. Needless to say, bright pink drips smeared down the front of the sage green chair is not the added touch to the living room that I was hoping for. And, the bright pink splotches on the carpet in front of the chair don't really help to tie it all together. I really need next week to get here, although Chad leaves for ukraine and I am on my own for 10 days. Let's change the subject to something more uplifting.

Lake won the game, and they play this afternoon at 4:00 for the district championship. If they win, they go to state. We are going to try to go, and then we will go straight to the Houston Rockets game tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Chaser

So, I have this weekly planner that I live by that is kept by the phone at all times. When the kids say or do something funny, I record it in there so that I will remember it. I used to have a calendar for each kid, but they were hard to keep handy enough to be able to jot things down really fast when they happened. I would find myself saying, "now what was I supposed to remember to write?" Thus...the use of the weekly planner for these little humerous tidbits arised. Lately, it seems all of my recordings are from Chase. Here are some of Chaser's antics...

At dinner, they have to ask to be excused before they can get down from the table. This is to cut down on the up and down, up and down, up and down throughout every meal. Aiden was in the highchair and the rest of us were sitting around the table at dinner. Chase all of a sudden said, "Mommy...Aiden say I'm excused." Now I could be wrong, but seeing as Aiden only uses small words one at a time, I doubt she took the liberty of excusing Chase.

Chase uses the term "very, very" to emphasize ANYTHING. For example..."It very, very hurts." Or, when he built a tall block tower the other day, "It's a very, very tower."

If you ask him a question that he is either unsure of, or doesn't want to answer...such as, "What did you do to your sister?"...he answers very politely, "I don't know. You tell me."

He either loves something or doesn't love something. "I love pizza." If it's something he does not want to eat, he'll say, "I don't love that."

Chase was pulling my good throw blanket, (which is off limits to kids) across the living room. I said, "No Chase. Don't pull my good blanket across the room." He held up the ninja turtle he was holding and said, "The ninja turtle did it."

Whenever he hurts something, he says kiss it mommy. Some areas I just don't particularly want to kiss. I'll pretend, or get close...but he always says "no...right here." the other day, he hurt his "bobbom." (that's what he calls it.) you get the drift!!

Little Chaser...one in a buzzilion!

Especially For Sue

"The Texas Sky"

This post is especially for Sue Sue! She always takes notice of the beautiful cobalt blue Texas sky when she comes for a visit. This is a picture from today...78 degrees...but 1 lonely cloud...and a nice warm breeze. If I listen carefully, I can hear Colton's class on the playground while Aiden is walking around me on our front walk with her bare little feet and sundress on. I believe she is wondering why I have the camera focused on the sky and not on her! Well, in honor of Sue...and the cattle drive coming into town this afternoon to signify the official beginning of the Rodeo...Best Wishes from Texas...and may your insides feel just as warm.

Sock Hop

The "T Birds"

(Colton, friend Chase, and brother Chase)

Chase's first dance with his first crush...Kylee

Chase and Mommy dancing

Aiden and Mommy dancing

Colton and his cutie-pie friend Anna Marie dancing

Colton...a.k.a..."The Stud" and his date...Anna Marie

(are they a cute pair, or what?)

Last Thursday night, Colton's school had a sock hop. It was soooo fun! It was the day after Valentine's day and love was in the air!! We had Anna Marie's family over for dinner and then they got to go to the dance together. Chase was thrilled to meet up with Kylee (a little girl in Colton's class who Chase is smitten with) once we got there, and Aiden hung with me the whole time. I was super excited to get to wear my poodle skirt, which I had from when I was in the musical Grease. So, it was a very fun night. I was so proud of Colton. He really got into character, which I'm sure you can tell from the pictures. He did not give a rip about what people thought and danced his little heart out all night long. I had to drag him off the middle of the dance floor when it was time to go. So cute!!

I Got You Babe

NEW YEARS 2007

In one picture, Chad's eyes were shut. In this one, mine are. I'm here for you babe!!

LOVE BUGS...

Colton: Our Little Punkin...Valentine's 07

Chase: Our Love Bug...Valentine's 07

Aiden Annee-Grace: Our Sugar Plum...Valentine's 07

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! I LOVE Valentine's day. It makes me happy...always has. This morning started off with a bang! Colton and Chase opened their Ninja Turtles; Aiden opened her new "pretty" dress; Chad opened the 24: Season Four box set; and Chad surprised me with the best gift. He got me a mp3 player, which I have never had, and found my list of favorite songs from my lifetime in a journal from about 3 1/2 years ago. My plan was to eventually make a "Mindy's favorite hits" CD but had not ever done it. He downloaded all of those songs on the mp3 player before I opened it and I was so happy!! How thoughtful and sweet and so one of the reasons I love him. Happy Valentine's Day my love! I will list some of the songs on my player, and will list them ALL at another time.

Mindy's Favorite Hits (birth - 32 years & not in order)

• Jive Talkin (Bee Gees & my very 1st favorite song ever...i would stand up in the back seat of the car and dance!!)
• Baby It's Cold Outside
• Beat It
• Beautiful Day (U2)
• Bless The Broken Road (Selah version)
• Canon in D
• Clocks (Coldplay)
• Elevation (U2)
• God Blessed Texas (Little Texas)
• Hey Mickey (The Riplets)
• I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher...this is our family song!!)
• I'll Fly Away (My Grandpa's version...He would play the guitar and we would sing this together when I was little)
• Kryptonite (3 Doors Down)
• Last Date (Floyd Kramer)
• Leaving Town (Dexter Freebish)
• Moon River (from Breakfast at Tiffany's)
• Music Box Dancer
• Queen of Hearts (Juice Newton)
• Rythym of the Falling Rain
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow
• Son of A Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
• Tennesee Flat Top Box
• The Longest Time (Billy Joel)
• The Space Between (Dave Matthews)
• You Got It (The Right Stuff)...(NKOTB)

That's enough for now, but sometime I will list every one!

Pout; Pout; Let it all Out

So, Chad has made up these versions of real songs that he sings to the kids in certain situations...which is really funny when you realize his vocal ability. He started when Colton was a baby, and the tradition has continued for Chase and Aiden. Whenever they are throwing a fit...he starts singing, "Pout; Pout...Let it all out...these are the things I can do without. (I believe this is from a Tears fo Fears song, if I am remembering correctly. It really goes, "shout, shout, let it all out...". Then if one of them has a "poopie", as we like to call it, he sings, "POOP, there it is...POOP, there it is." It really is quite funny. There are a couple more that I can't recall at the moment, and I'll spare you the words to read.

Speaking of pouting...Aiden has started throwing tantrums. Now, this is a first for me. Neither Colton or Chase were big tantrum throwers. I'm glad that she is my third, otherwise I would be less likely to just stare at her and laugh. It's not the tantrum itself that is so humerous, but the way that she throws it. She is very systematic in her tantrum throwing tactics. She is a pretty cautious individual...similar to Colton and the opposite of Chase. So, just hap-hazardly throwing herself on the floor is way too dangerous. She really doesn't want to hurt herself...her point is not that important to her, I guess. So, she very carefully gets on to the floor and slowly positions herself into the tantrum throwing position and then begins to kick and scream. It really is quite funny. The boys and I just watch her, and they kind of look at me with this, "is she serious?" look on their faces. She'll look up every now and then to see if we are watching. After I walk away, she gets up, dusts herself off, and comes to find me. Normally, it's over by this point. I'm waiting for it to happen in public. That should be fun.

Pancakes and Coffee

A winning combination, really. My coffee every morning consists of Folgers Smooth Decaf coffee with peppermint mocha creamer and 3 small spoons of sugar. I really love it when I remember to buy sugar cubes, and I can ask myself, "One lump or two?" I always pick two. The new smooth coffee is the way to go. It is for people who have acid reflux or stomach ulcers like myself. Well, technically I don't have an ulcer anymore, but I did...and let's just say, I don't want another one. So, I follow a "ulcer diet" that I made up myself with the help of the gastroenterologist that found the first ulcer by way of endoscopy...(not fun!) Anyways, it consists of no caffeine (so hard); no processed tomato products (kills me); no chocolate (totally cheat on this one); no spicy foods; no pepper; no high fat foods (please...it's not gonna happen); no citrus; and easy on the stress...(a.k.a...worry and anxiety). I'm really not supposed to have decaf coffee either because of the high acidity, but I just make sure I drink a lot of milk. Oh yeah...I take acifex too, which stops the acid pumps in the stomach from...well...pumping acid. So there. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. However, this does put a damper on my use of my starbucks mug collection. I drink and eat as much as possible out of mugs. My philosophy is that everything tastes better in a mug. Such as...coffee, of course; ice cream (Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla with 3 York peppermint patties crushed up in it); soup; ice cold milk; and hot chocolate or hot tea. So, the mugs are getting good use. So far, I have Alaska, Atlanta, Austin, Houston, and New York. I want Seattle (specifically from the first starbucks), Iowa, South Carolina, San Antonio, Dallas, North Carolina (Chad and I had some special dates in North Carolina), Oklahoma, San Fransisco, LA, Colorado ( I would love it if they made them from all the places I'v been skiing...but I'm sure they don't), and I think that is it so far. I will have to go more places to add to it! We'll see.

In other news...last Thursday night, John and Lindsey were getting in from South Carolina for a visit and I had some quick errands to run. I wanted to get out of the house quick and get them done, and Chase and Aiden both had colds, and Colton was being a little attitudy for my liking, so I just wanted to make something that I knew they would all eat without complaining. I decided on whole wheat frozen pancakes and fresh strawberries. Fast...Good...Just what the doctor ordered for me to get out fast. So, I had all the frozen pancakes set out on 5 plates...3 plastic and 2 regular for Chad and I. The kids were running around the kitchen and doing a victory dance because it seemed that I had given up on the healthy, veggie, yucky meal combination that was put in front of them most nights. There were 3 pancakes on each plate and I was quickly popping them in and out of the microwave. When I went to get one out of the microwave and put another one in, I noticed one plastic plate was missing from the cabinet. I did a double take...counted again...and then looked around. There was Aiden, on the floor, eating what she assumed to be HER pancakes. She was about half way through. Now, the most notable part of the story is that they were still frozen. That's right. Hard as a brick bat. I don't know how she managed to bite them, or much less chew them, but there she was...happy as a clam...enjoying her frozen pancakes. What does this say about my cooking?

Chad with Ruffles

My Prince has come...his name is Daddy.

Tom Boy she's not.

I've got my straw hat for the beach; my baby and stroller for the mall; my pajamas for my nap; and my apron in case I want to do some cooking. You just never know what may come my way...got to be ready for everything!!

GO TEXAN!!!!

HOWDY! I don't know what's going on with the layout here, but I don't have time to mess with it. Here are my little cowboys and cowgirl. I do love a handsome cowboy, and female barrel racing does run in my family! Today is officially Go Texan Day. This means that we are celebrating Texas and the coming of the Rodeo. This is always an exciting day because the kids all get to dress up. Chase is actually wearing his uncle Kevin's shirt from when he was 4 years old. Aiden stole his hat before he could say "yonder". I remember Go Texan day when I was little too. The schools have a State wide Rodeo art contest as well. I always drew horses. I never won, but I always thought that I was going to...that this would be the year that my horses out shine the silly boots and cowboy hats and amateur cattle drive scenes, but no. I think I got honorable mention once...but who wants that? Not me. Not then...not now. Anyhow...I digress. Just thought Y'ALL may want to see how the Clarksons are celebrating Go Texan day. Have a great day...and y'all come back now, ya hear?

Soap Box

Enough is enough. I have been an American Idol watcher dating back to Kelly Clarkson. (People still ask me if I am her, by the way...for those of you that don't know...my first name is Kelly.) We have always watched it as a family and rooted our individual favorites on. However, last night I had my fill. I can no longer watch these kids, in most cases, be ridiculed, mocked and made fun of for a laugh from America any longer. I understand that they are going on their own free will and signing releases and so on, but in my heart, I believe that some of these kids are being hurt and damaged by the judges. The point of the show is to find the "diamond in the rough" who would not make it big in the music industry otherwise...not to make someone feel that they are worthless. I love the idea and the process and watching them compete and get the chances of a lifetime after it has been narrowed down to the final however-many. BUT, and I feel quite serious here, what I witnessed last night was painful and heartbreaking. There was one kid who had such a sweet spirit about him, who was genuine and kind (from what I could see) and one of the judges told him that he looked like a jungle animal. After he walked out of the room, all 3 judges proceeded to laugh at him hysterically. That was my breaking point. I will not sit by and entertain that. Now, I am aware that me no longer supporting American Idol is no skin off their backs, but I have to be honest and true to myself. I see no problem with telling them that they do not have the right voice for the competition, but to insult them to the core with cutting remarks that have no validity to the competition itself is wrong. Period. No one will convince me otherwise. We try hard to teach our kids how to treat people with kindness, and we sit back and wonder why bullying is so out of control in the schools, and why kids are committing suicide, and so many girls have eating disorders, and why our country is in the shape it is in. Well, I believe that becomming desensitized to stuff like this is part of some of our many problems. I can guarantee you this...NOTHING about the way that boy was treated last night pleased God on any level. Tonight, I looked at my own children and thought about how I would feel if I had to watch them being maliciously made fun of...one hurtful comment after the other...while they just stood there with tears welling in their eyes and realized that God must feel the same way when it happens to His children. I can tell you one thing...I would not take it if it were Colton, Chase or Aiden...and I'm not going to take it for anyone anymore. American Idol just lost a viewer.

Party On

well, we had colton's birthday party on sunday. there was a while there on sunday morning where we were unsure. colton said he did not feel good when he got up on sunday morning, and the weather was calling for freezing rain. i kept taking colton's temperature, and watching the weather forecast...going back and forth. is colton getting sick? is the cold front going to hit in the middle of pin the s on superman? how are we going to make this party work in the house? what to do, what to do? if we postpone until next weekend, colton will feel good, and the weather could be better. however, there is no guarantee of that. and, i did not have contact information for some of the kids in his class that did not rsvp...so i could not call and cancel. chad kept calling from chuch asking if we were on. i called and consulted with my mom and dad...which i tend to do in these situations. the counsel i got from everyone was to go ahead with it. so the party was on! and...it went really well and was really fun for colton and the rest of the kids. as some of you know, it was a superhero party. the kids came dressed as their favorite superhero and we were able to have it in the backyard, inspite of the ice storm that was approaching rapidly. the weather was supposed to drop 20 degrees in like an hour on sunday afternoon at some point, and the party was from 2:00-4:00. we were sweatin it, but it held out. colton dressed as superman, of course; chase was batman; aiden was lois lane; and chad and i each wore vintage style superman t-shirts. the boys were so excited. aiden was less thrilled, but enjoyed herself...mainly due to being spoon-fed cake and ice cream a lot of the time. here is what we did:

kids arrived and played in the batcave-(the fort that chad covered with black trashbags to make it into the batcave)

superhero training course-(my personal favorite!!) we made a phone booth out of a big appliance box and got clark kent glasses, an old dress shirt and tie. they had to put the shirt, tie and glasses on over their costume to start and run into the phone booth, take them off, and bust out a superhero. then, they had to climb through the spider web chad made with rope; dive through the hulahoop hanging from the swingset; climb up the rockwall into the batcave; drop the bat signal (we made that out of yellow and black posterboard) to let us know they made it into the cave; slide down the slide; run around the cones; tire jump through the batman inflatable intertubes; and then finish by completing the x-ray vision test. that was a mason jar filled with m&ms and they had to guess how many were in the jar by using their x-ray vision.

kryptonite pass-we had a superhero music cd with all the songs from batman, superman, etc. and we had a plastic kryptonite toy that you put a glow stick in. the kids stood in a circle and passed it. when the music stopped, whoever was holding it was "out".

pin the s on superman

find green lantern's ring-chad got 40 of those ring pops from sams, and hid them all over the front yard. each kid got to find 2 of them.

balloon game-we took the bat signal down, and put it on the ground. the kids stood in a circle around it, blew up their balloons and then let them go. whoever's balloon landed closest to the bat signal won. i had my doubts about this game, but the kids went crazy and loved it.

the superman and batman pinatas-these things would not break!! finally, on 2nd, or 3rd go-around, superman got beheaded. i had to run over and take down the crime scene really quickly to avoid nightmares for life. i literally threw my body in front of the pinata to keep the kids from really seeing what it looked like. let me remind you...it was hanging with rope.

superman cake and ice cream-colton got a little aggitated that one of the other kids blew out his candles before he had the chance, but decided that it was o.k. in the end.

presents-by this point, everyone was screaming...the kids, who are jacked up on cake, ice-cream, poweraide, and pinata candy at this point...and the adults who were trying to talk over the kids and keep them in line.

all and all...it was a great party. i highly suggest the superhero theme. the girls loved it too.

that was sunday. monday...colton came down with strep throat. we went to the doctor and they did a strep test which went way better than i expected...however i had to do it first to show colton that it was "no big deal". now i HATE strep tests. i would rather have a shot. but, anything for your kid...right? after seeing me do it, colton decided that he could do it better. and he did.

last night, i was making an early dinner for the kids because chad and i had a meeting we had to go to. they were having a babysitter, other than my parents, which rarely happens. colton was being a bit demanding in his tone of voice yesterday afternoon and evening and i reached my limit. i was at the stove and he came in demanding that i open something for him. i said, "i would appreciate it if you would change your tune." to that, colton SANG, "mom...would youuuuu...open thisssss...for meeee?" then he laughed and said, "you said to change my TUNE." all these commedians out of work...and he makes jokes!

expect a montage coming soon!!

Meal Time Bites...

...get it??? bites??? meal times at my house are not my favorite thing. i feel that there are 2 kinds of people in the world...those that live to eat and those that eat to live. i am the latter. i eat to stay alive, not because i enjoy it. don't get me wrong, i have a sweet tooth that wont' stop, but meals...not my favorite thing. and cooking...HATE it! well, colton and chase are similar to me. they don't particularly love eating meals, but snacks...keep em comin. anyhow, i have been having trouble getting all three of them to eat the same thing and making 5 different dinners definitely does NOT float my boat. chad likes meat; i like fruit and veggies; colton likes mac and cheese; chase likes pizza; aiden likes yogurt...and so on. i decided a while back that i was not going to be suckered into trying to please everyone, so i set rules. rule number 1...you eat what is in front of you. rule number 2...you take the number of bites of how old you are. (however, i don't make chad take 34 bites of broccoli.) january 1st, i added some new rules because, let's face it, it was not going well. new rule number 3...if you complain about the food that i prepared, you must help clean the kitchen. (this means pulling the chair over and washing all the dishes that go in the dishwasher and loading it...they already had to clear the table.) new rule number 4...you must ask to be excused before you can leave the table. making our children aware of the fact that there are many, many kids in our world that do not have food at all is important to me. i will not stand for complaining about the food that we have. chad let colton see some of the kids on the compassion international website that did not have enough food and water, shelter, clothing, toys, etc. and it made a difference for him. we had always told him that there were these kids out there...but until he put a face with it, he didn't really believe us. anyhow, here is how it is going...as soon as we sit down at the dinner table, chase says, "i clean kitchen tonight". colton says, "i'll help." then chase says, "no eat this" and colton makes some excuse about why he CAN"T eat, like it's "too spicy." while paying attention to them...trying to "remind" them about the number of bites rule...(refer to rule number 2) aiden has separated all her food in to sections and has thrown the "undesired" portion of the meal on to the floor. while i clean that up, colton and chase have managed to smear their food around and tell me that they have, indeed, taken their number of bites. how do i argue? maybe they have...i don't know. i need a video camera because i know as well as you do that i am getting played. i look to chad to see if they have eaten their bites or not and he normally just shrugs an "i don't know" shrug. he was busy eating his number of bites. i can't remember the last time i ate a hot meal. i am learning to prefer luke warm. i was thinking the other day about their different tastes and reactions to different kinds of kid friendly food. here is what i came up with...

Mac & Cheese:
Colton-loves it
Chase-hates it
Aiden-loves it

Pizza:
Colton-tolerates it (only without the sauce)
Chase-loves it
Aiden-loves it

Hot Dogs:
Colton-loves them
Chase-tolerates them sometimes
Aiden-throws them

Yogurt:
Colton-GAGS
Chase-loves the kind out of the tube
Aiden-will only eat it if she feeds herself (MESS)

Apples:
Colton-loves them (skin on)
Chase-tolerates them (skin off)
Aiden-loves them

Carrots:
Colton-tolerates them
Chase-loves them with ranch
Aiden-eats a couple and then throws them

Pasta:
Colton-only without sauce
Chase-CRIES
Aiden-throws

Cheese Sticks:
Colton-hates them
Chase-uses them for stirring his water
Aiden-throws

Scrambled Eggs:
Colton-loves them
Chase-GAGS
Aiden-pushes bowl away

Bananas:
Colton-hates them
Chase-tolerates them
Aiden-loves them

Here are the things they all eat without a problem:
CEREAL
PANCAKES
WAFFLES
BISCUITS
ANY KIND OF SNACK

i think i will title this blog...MEAL TIME BITES!!

off his back or over his head

well, we are busy getting ready for colton's birthday party this coming sunday. he wanted a superhero party so i guess the superman cake pan was worth the money. we are having the party in the backyard...i am praying for good weather, because he wanted to invite everyone in his class...and plan B is NOT inside my house. at first chad and i thought we should stick with the "1 kid per year" rule, but he was so concerned about kids in his class getting their feeling hurt that we decided to let him invite them all. i am busy trying to come up with superhero games to play and chad is developing the relay race as we speak. all the kids are coming dressed like their favorite superhero, so it should be pretty cute. i don't have anything for aiden to wear...we will have to come up with something. does super-pumpkin work??? how about super-christmas dress girl??? let's see...we have a tiger costume that i have yet to return to shannon...she could be super-tiger. well, we will see. chad was in iowa this passed weekend, so we spent saturday and sunday with my parents. that was fun. they have a game that the boys love to play. it is called A to Z Junior. it has 100 little red chips that you have to use to cover up letters, and you can imagine what chase's mission was. colton was totally into the game, and so was granna and i, and chase was too for the first 8 minutes. well, he got tired of waiting for his turn and decided to begin throwing the tiny chips all over the living room. i quickly put an end to that, but then we were all obsessively looking for all the chips so that aiden wouldn't get them and put them in her mouth. we found them all after a while. a little while later, they wanted to play the game again. i said, "o.k. but granna is in charge of the chips." colton said, "and colton...because colton is very careful." (he has started this thing where he talks in 1st person) and then he looked at chase and said, "but not chase...you're crazy...you're like a circus act," referring to chase's inability to control his impulses at times. lucky in that moment, things seem to roll right of chase's back. either that, or go right over his head.