North Carolina - Tuesday

On Tuesday, I was still trying to blog everyday so go here to read the story and here are the pictures --

I didn't think to leave the camera with Scott so I don't have any pictures of the boys with Logan, Cole, and Roman.

But they were at their happiest at the salon so here's the fun from that little trip!

Renee cut Parker's hair --

Aunt Linda cut Alex's (no pic), Luke's ...

... and Landry's. Here Linda's saying "enough with the pictures already!!"

Renee and Linda opened up Generations several years ago and it is a really cool place -- very high-end with massage, facials, mani/pedis and all that other stuff that girls need to maintain their beauty!! It would have been a great place to spend the day by myself!! Maybe next time!!!

North Carolina - Monday

Monday morning, we went to Duke University Medical Center to wait while Grandma did her radiation and look around a bit. It was pretty cool to see the facility and everything that was Duke. The campus was really pretty with some really neat architecture. All the buildings are made from this stone and when looking at the campus as a whole, it's a really pretty sight!

Of course, Scott and Alex were interested in where the Duke boys play basketball! Scott had come to an exhibition game when he was up in October so he was all about showing Alex around. We did get to go into the gym which was incredibly small!! It was like walking back into a high school gym from the 50's - very vintage looking and really neat! We couldn't take pictures because the lights weren't on and we probably weren't really supposed to be in there!! But it was really cool!

Later that night, Scott and the boys (minus Parker) went with Grandpa to a NC State basketball game.

(at McDonalds after the game)

While they did that, Melodie and I did a little shopping and somehow managed to work in a little Chipotle!! Imagine that!! North Carolina has Chipotle too!! Parker stayed home with Grandma and waited for Shantel to come home from the hospital. When she got home, they really hit it off and had lots of fun together! Shantel has lots of fun stuff to play with so they played games, watched TV, and just had a ball! And I, of course, didn't take any pictures of their fun!!

On the road again, numero dos

We are driving back across this great country of ours today -- this time through the south. We are hoping to make it to Mississippi today, then on home tomorrow (Wednesday).

I had hoped to blog a little every day, but obviously that hasn't happened!! I had some issues with my camera cord, then batteries, but now I'm back on track!

For memory purposes, I'm going to start from the beginning and hopefully, catch up to the present!! Some of this I already blogged about, but I want to get the pictures in.

We started out on morning, full of anticipation!! As the hours wore on, some of that wore off!!

We saw lots of interesting sights...things you just don't see often --

From Music Square in Nashville ...

We saw some really pretty parts of the country --


The kids really liked the tunnels that went through the mountains!

And, of course, swam as often as possible!

Look how happy we look!!!

By the end of Tuesday, we really weren't enjoying each other so much! But after a good night's rest, we're ready to go again and we should get home late afternoon. Yipee!!

Merry Christmas!!

It's Christmas!!

Unbelievably, most of the kids didn't get up until 8:00!! We're waiting on everyone to get breakfast and do whatever they need to do before we open presents.

Yesterday, we left Raleigh and headed to Winston-Salem. David, Kathy, and their kids were already at Nathan and Heather's house so with our arrival, we rounded off the kid total. For those with a nice quiet Christmas, you can just imagine the fun (and noise) we're experiencing here. There is 1 one year old, 2 two year olds, 1 three year old, 1 four year old, 1 five year old, 1 seven year old, 1 eight year old, 1 nine year old, and 1 twelve year old!!

We had our "party" last night -- the traditional Christmas Eve get together with lots of food and fun. The kids all got new pj's and they watched Polar Express together.

The kids are chomping at the bit, so I better go before they open presents without me!!

Have a great Christmas!!

Cousins I never knew I had

Today was a fun-filled day with meeting lots of extended family.

We started off the day with me taking Scott and the boys to Scott's cousin, Renee's house to play with her boys. For those of you drawing the family tree, Renee and Melissa are sisters and Melissa is whose house we're staying in. So...Renee has 3 boys - Logan is 12, Cole is 9, and Roman is 4. Nice correspondence to the Bagg boys, right?? When we pulled up to their amazing house, the two older boys were on their motorcycles/bike thingies at the end of the driveway, waiting for us, totally decked out from helmets to shoes!! You can imagine the looks on the boys faces!! They played solid for 3 hours, in boy heaven!!

I went and tried to get some loose end tied up that just don't really want to be tied up!!

After I picked the boys up, we went to Renee's salon to get the boys' hair cut! They were so thrilled to have to go from paradise to a pretty swanky-not-so-many-kids-salon!! Renee cut Parker's hair and Aunt Linda (Bernadine's sister, mom to Melissa and Renee) cut the other boys. While we were there, Linda invited us over for supper.

After a little fun back at Melodie's that involved lots of baking for Christmas, playing with Shantel, playing with Molly the dog, and more baking, we went over to Curtis and Linda's house. Linda is a great cook and we had an amazing lasagna...so yummy!! We ended the day back at Melodie's where there was still some cooking going on and the boys watched a little of the TCU game.

I should mention here that we've also gotten to meet a fairly new cousin...Shantel. Shantel is a very special girl who lives with Melodie and her roommate, Deb. Through a long and interesting series of events, Shantel has found herself under the guardianship of Mel and Deb, and I can't think of a better place for her to be. Shantel suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and is waiting to be placed on the lung transplant list. She has lived with Mel and Deb for a little over two years (I think) and has thrived in every area. We've heard a lot about Shantel but hadn't ever met her until this week. She was in the hospital early in the week, but came home last night and she and Parker got to know each other while the boys were at the game. The boys have asked all day when they could get back over to Melodie's to play with Shantel. She is such a sweet girl, very kind and generous. She has definitely had her share of the difficulties of life, but has maintained such a great attitude. Her health is a huge concern so the next few weeks and months will be crucial for her. Just seeing her medicine cabinet - a full kitchen cabinet - and her daily requirements including shots, pills, treatments, pricks, oxygen, and more make me appreciate the healthy kids I have. She has been a lot of fun to get to know a little bit on this trip.

Parker said at one point today, "I've met so many cousins on this trip that I never even knew I had!!" And there are many, many more to come tomorrow as we head to Nathan and Heather's house.

Finally, we can say, YES...we're here!!

We made it...finally!!

We arrived in Raleigh last night about 7:30. We left Nashville about 10:00, so yes, the math indicates that that was more than 6 hours -- even with the hour time change that worked to our advantage.

The boys did well, but I am definitely going to have to find some new movies for the trip home!!

It was good to see Grandma and Grandpa, and Melodie too. Grandma looks great even though we arrived when she was about ready to go to bed!

After chatting and checking out Mel's dog - a labradoodle - we headed over to Glenn and Melissa's (Scott's cousin) house where we'll be staying for the next couple of days. They actually left this morning and will be gone for the week, so we'll have their house to ourselves. They were so great to let us invade as they were trying to get everything packed. I think if someone had visited me on the night before we left to come here, I would have had a nervous breakdown!!

But, in spite of all the chaos, they packed, loaded, and left while we unpacked, unloaded, and stayed!! It was really great to see them --it had been a long, long time. They actually lived in Fort Worth for a while Glenn went to seminary and their first two kids were born there. That was about the last we'd seen of them (we moved off to Houston) and now their kids are 13 (Kayla), almost 11 (Jarod), and 2 year old Sydney. So, to say they'd changed was an understatement!!

They boys had a great time and Jarod was beyond happy since he only has sisters!! He actually met us at the car when we pulled up, he was so excited!!

About midnight, everyone went to bed and we've been off again today. We went to Duke University Medical Center where Grandma gets her treatments. We took a couple of the boys around the campus and we got to go into the gym where Duke plays!! It was pretty exciting...and surprisingly small! The campus is really neat, with an old, vintage-type look, and the basketball arena was no exception. Very cool!!

Tonight, Scott is taking any boys who want to go to a North Carolina State basketball game (not UNC or Duke, but still a basketball game!) and I'm going to finish up my shopping - hopefully - with Melodie.

Are we there yet????

That question has been asked approximately 39,348 times today. Seriously!!

About 100 of them were before we even got to Dallas!!

We pulled at out exactly 7:33 this morning headed east to Raleigh, North Carolina. We pulled into our hotel at exactly 7:29 this evening!! It was a really long day, but it went as well as it possibly could have. The boys were great even though they had no concept of how far we were actually going. They saw lots of things they had never seen before - crossing of state lines, Mississippi River, random universities and playing fields/arenas, and even Graceland!!

The single thing that made the day bearable is the amazing invention that is the DVD player. We have one that has two screens and I stupidly thought it would be enough for everyone. The problem is that the kids in the very back can't hear it at all so it just causes problems to be able to see the movie but not hear it.

Thankfully, I stopped by Deneise's house yesterday afternoon and they offered their DVD player. I really didn't think we needed it, but they strongly encouraged me to take it and I am SO happy they did!! It made a HUGE difference!! So, Shane and Deneise - you totally ROCK! Thank you so much!! I owe you BIG-time!!

Anyway, we're here, we've swum, we're ready for bed!! We've got six hours to go tomorrow so we're praying for great weather and smooth sailing!!

I've got some great pics but my cord is acting up again. Maybe later!!

The big 1-2!!

Approximately 12 years, 7 hours, and 9 minutes ago, a big, fat blond headed baby was forced from his mommy's tummy out into this big world.

The name he was given was Alexander Scott. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds and 5 ounces and felt heavy when held!! Have you ever thought -- wow, this baby is heavy, right after he is born?? Well, Alex was! But he was so cute too!! He had little blond hair that the nurses combed over to the side and big round cheeks. He was born with a little ridge across the top of his nose - a deep thinker, even as a baby!

That big baby has grown into a skinny 12 year old that loves playing basketball and video games. He loves giving his brothers trouble any time he can but can also be the most helpful kid around. He asks lots of questions and thinks about things, sometimes for days before bringing it up again. He is smart enough to make straight A's but school is getting kind of old to him and he's ok with mostly A's and some B's!! His closest friends are Reagan and Braxton but has lots of other school and church friends. If you were to ask him what he wanted to be when he grows up, he is confident that he will be an NBA player and will most likely be drafted straight out of high school!! His favorite place to eat (or lunch to be brought to school) is Chicken Express tenders, okra, and sweet tea! You can never go wrong with that!!

Alex, you're a great kid and we are very proud of the young man you are growing into. You add so much to our family and you handle the responsibility of being the biggest brother well!! Let's enjoy the last year before the dreaded teenage years hit!! Love you, man!!

Crazy Weekend

This weekend was Scott's annual basketball tournament. So, it goes without saying that life was a little insane this week.

This was the ninth year he's done it and though each year is always a little different, there are some things that never change about it. Those non-changing things would be the good basketball and the crazy long hours in preparation and actual pulling-off of the tourney.

The first year of the tournament, I had a small baby and I have been pregnant twice since then! So, my role hasn't always been one of putting in many hours during the weekend, but usually before it, doing what I could do at home. This year, with the last baby being a big boy of three-and-a-half, I was able to spend mucho hours at the tourney!! Thankfully, my mom took Landry for Friday night and most of Saturday so that gave him a little break.

My job this year was to help in feeding the teams after they played. Scott has always fed the boys one meal per day, but it's usually done at a nearby restaurant. This year, a couple of companies offered to bring their grills and cook hamburgers and hot dogs for the teams and they ate in the school cafeteria. So, it was my responsibility, along with my great friends, Emily and Sherry, to feed these hungry boys. So, feed them we did. I wish I knew how many hot dogs and hamburgers we served up.

So, it was a working weekend for sure, but it was also lots of fun. I am certain that it would not have been near as much fun if I had done it without my good friends, so thanks girls, for a great time!!

And so, I'm off to do things like laundry, cleaning, ironing, etc etc etc. Not doing laundry in that many days is no bueno for a family like mine!!

And no sleep is no bueno either! I've said more than once today -- we've been up till midnight for two of the last three nights!! It's time to catch up!!

So, here's the relaxing week ahead ...

Monday - first Upward practice - coaching Kindergartners - please pray for me!!! :)
Tuesday - Alex's birthday - family coming over for Christmas
Wednesday - church
Thursday - I'm open!!
Friday - packing for trip
Saturday - leaving for North Carolina!!

It's going to be a super fun week! After all, it IS the most wonderful time of the year!!

Reason #589 why boys should not go shopping with their moms

The shopping season is in high gear and it seems, more often than not, that Landry accompanies me on my shopping adventures.

He is actually pretty easy to shop with. He doesn't mind riding in his stroller -- most of the time. Toss him some food or gum every now and then and he's good. He is usually good for some interesting conversation.

But sometimes, it's nice to just go alone.

Case in point ... yesterday I HAD to go to Kohls because I had $20 in Kohls Cash that I had gotten from my amazing shopping trip on Black Friday and it expired yesterday. So, Landry and I headed off to Kohls to find something, anything really, to spend my cash on.

I had just a little $$ left when I decided to try on some velour pants/jacket that I could always use. We head into the dressing room and Landry is looking around, not really sure of what we're doing. I guess it's been a while since I've tried anything on while he was with me.

We go into our little room and as I'm taking off my pants, he says rather loudly, "Why you tatin' off you pants??" So, I say, "I'm gonna try on these pants on."

Then he says, rather loudly again, "Why you not bring your undies???"

I bust out laughing and say (practically yelling), "Landry, I have my undies on!! What do you mean you crazy boy??"

It was about that time that I realized the pants weren't going to work anyway, so we quickly made our exit and made eye contact with no one!!


I'm still not really sure what he meant!!

Santa from a different angle

Life is semi-crazy around these parts lately. Work is busy with a pretty much full student load. The boys are keeping busy with all their stuff. And, of course, Christmas is knocking on the door and that brings a little extra busy-ness!!

I saw a student this morning, dropped off work at a student's house, ran by 3 schools, stopped by the post office to get the must-have gift that finally arrived, and dropped by a different student's house to finish up some paperwork. I then headed downtown to see one of my fave students who is battling leukemia and has been in the hospital for a week. I saw "J" on Tuesday and she was in a lot of pain, was very uncomfortable, and just not doing very well. So, while I totally wanted to go see her again today, I was a little nervous about seeing her and really hoped that she had made some progress.

When I got there and the nice little volunteer grandma/information person called up to let them know I was coming (she's in isolation so there's a little protocol to follow), she didn't get an answer. I went on up and found her in the playroom working a puzzle with her mom. She was doing MUCH better and seemed so much more herself and I was so thankful! We chatted a bit and she excitedly told me that Santa was coming that afternoon and she was hoping to get a present!! After we talked and puzzled for a while, a Child Life lady came in with a jacket and hat/gloves for her and told her she better head down if she wanted to see Santa. So, she bundled up and off we went.

When we got downstairs, there was already a group of kids/parents/nurses lined along the drive of the hospital. It was such an unusual sight to see all these kids, most of whom had masks to protect them from all the germs, and many of whom were connected to their IV/oxygen poles. They pretty much all looked very sick. From missing hair to gaunt eyes to bandages and bad coughs, they were just sick kids. We had to wait for a few minutes and the kids were growing restless as they talked about how Santa would arrive on a firetruck. Interestingly, many of them knew that Santa normally came in on a helicopter. I wondered how many of them had been hospitalized during the holidays before.

Younger kids started crying and even my sweet little J started wondering if he would really come.

Then, at last, a firetruck turned the corner with lights blazing and SANTA in the front seat!! He had the bullhorn and started hollering HHHOOO HHHOOO HHHOOO!!

Oh.my.goodness! Those kids!! They started screaming and jumping up and down and waving!! It was unlike anything I've ever seen. They simply could not contain their joy!! I wish so badly that I had had my camera!!

Santa and his convoy (2 firetrucks and lots of vans) pulled right up to where we were and unloaded themselves. He had a whole fleet of "elves" with him. These were all grandmother-ly ladies that were dressed to the nines in green dresses and red legs and shoes and bells ALL over them! Their faces were painted up, they had elf ears on, and they were excited!!

Santa started walking down the line of children talking and being so sweet. He spent time with each one of those kids and knew exactly what to ask or say to them. J waited patiently for him and when he finally got to her, he gave her a big hug and asked her how she was feeling. She answered his questions and then before he left her to go to the next child, he asked her, "Has anyone told you lately that you are beautiful??" She thought for a minute, and slowly shook her head "no". To which he said, "Well, you ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!"

I almost cried right there!! I wanted to hug Santa and tell him that he was one amazing Santa!! She was so proud to talk with him and he could not have chosen anything more perfect to say to that sweet girl who has not one strand of hair on her head.

So, today I was reminded that it didn't matter what else I had on my agenda (because I had a few things to do after my visit with J that didn't happen) and with all the little stuff that worries me, I have four HEALTHY children. No masks, no oxygen, no IV's, no bald heads, no constant worries about germs and infections.

And to those people who made a little magic for those sick kiddos today, you ROCK!!

Overheard

Today's quote comes from Parker when asked if his room was clean . . .


"Mom, your idea of clean and my idea of clean are T.O.T.A.L.L.Y. different."


Ya think??

ADD

My thoughts are scattered...not really much to say...I feel certain this will be an ADD-esque post!!


For the third time in about 6 weeks, a child of mine has run a 103 degree fever on Saturday and woke up on Sunday feeling fine!! This time it was Luke and since Scott hasn't been to church in what seems like forever (due to being out of town/games/staying home with kids who had 103 fever), I offered to stay home and let him go.

It really worked out for the best since I had a pretty wicked headache.

So, Luke and I did nothing all morning. Except I did take a shower because I got my hair cut yesterday and I really needed to wash it and see that it would return to normal. I have waited FOREVER to get it cut since my hair girl had a baby and has been out FOREVER!! So, I had high hopes for this haircut. I suggested one thing which she did and I could tell immediately that I wasn't going to like it. She went ahead and finished it, just to make sure I wasn't going to like it, which I didn't. So, after flat ironing it, she cut it again and flat ironed it again! It was started to look like I had no hair at all. I dealt with it during the day, but by last night, it looked BAD. I pulled it into a little-bitty ponytail and hoped for the best.

I felt better after I washed it and flat-ironed it today. Even though I really didn't want to iron it, I did and boy was I glad later. For the record, when left to air dry, my hair does terribly! Ugly, ugly hair!

Back to the random/ADDness...

Luke and I ran up to the corner store to get a paper so I could see if there were any amazing sales. I have on worn out yoga pants, long-sleeve tee, totally non-matching hoodie, no make-up, hair done, of course, and the best part, you ask?? I wore Scott's slippers!! Well, I had on my super thick/soft socks that my Grandma just bought me from Bath & Body (soooo comfy) and I didn't want to put shoes on with them because they're so thick!!

And because I'm so nice, I decide to buy Luke a popsicle to help his throat feel better.

So, I'm looking good! I get the paper, I pick out a popsicle and head to the cash register.

When who should walk in but just an assistant superintendent of our district!! Here's me...totally mismatched, slippers, no make-up with my paper and a popsicle!! Couldn't have been any worse timing!! My only consolation was that I had flat-ironed my hair!!

So, I get back to the car and it hits me that I never checked to make sure Luke could even have the popsicle I bought him. I check really quickly and, of course, he CAN'T have it. Big ol' word WHEAT on it...plain as day. Thankfully, I realized it before I had told him I bought him a popsicle and I managed to sneak it in once we got back home.

That makes me SO mad. It's like my brain turns off and I forget about his food issues. Why is that?? So, so so frustrating!!

Anyway, that is about the level of excitement we've had around here today. Luke seems to be feeling better...no more fever but still complaining a little about his throat.

The best part about this week???

No school and no work!!

Yay for Thanksgiving!!

What to do??

I have nothing to do today. Any ideas??







An interesting note ... this is my 200th post!!



And look how exciting it is!!

Seeking a crown

This morning, as I was taking Parker and Luke to school, we were listening to my ipod. I got to choose the first song because I was the first one ready!! :)

I got to pick the second song too because I was still the only one ready after the first song!!

Anyway, after we listened to one of my new favorite songs (Slow Fade by Casting Crowns) I choose an old song that I was pretty sure the boys had never heard. It was Oh Lord, You're Beautiful by Keith Green. As we listened to it and to Green's unique voice, I explained to them that Keith Green had written a lot of songs but I knew that he had died somehow tragically.

They had some questions, of course, and I really couldn't answer them because I really didn't know that much about him. So, I did some research on the life of Keith Green and was really impressed with his life and the legacy that he has left behind after living only 28 years. Though he struggled spiritually at times, his faith and his ability to consistently turn any praise he received into praise of his God is amazing.

Here is a part of the song I have been singing pretty much all day...loudly at times!!

Oh Lord, you're beautiful,
Your face is all I see,
For when your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just, live it Lord.
And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to you.

How would life be if, when we were doing well, we would never seek a crown, but instead give glory to God and count that as our reward??

Radically different, I'm guessing!

Christmas anyone??

So...who's started their Christmas shopping??

I have a super cool pair of Batman socks for a special boy. That's about it!!

I'm holding out for some awesome Black Friday shopping!!

Go Rot!!

This is the last politics post...really!!

We have a picture of John McCain and Sarah Palin on our fridge that we got in the mail. They were thanking us for our financial support of them!! Funny, because I'm pretty sure we didn't send them any money.

Anyway, it's been on the fridge for weeks now. Landry walks in the kitchen after waking up this morning, catches the picture in his eye, and stops to look at it.

He points and says, "Hey, that's Rot Obama!"
I say, "Who??"
He says, "No...that's not Rot Obama."
I say, "Well, who is it???"
He thinks and thinks....
I say, "John..."
He says, "MaTain!"

So, from Landry's point of view, Rock Obama beat out John MaTain!!
Never too young for politics, I suppose!!

Politics, schmolotics

DISCLAIMER --
This is not an attempt, in any way, to force my political beliefs on anyone. This is for Alex and Parker to read 20 years from now and crack UP at the way they saw the election of 2008.

I like the way my friend, Marla, said it...I didn't vote for the guy who won. 'Nuff said!

But the boys, especially Alex and Parker, have really gotten into the hows and whys of the election and here are a few of their thoughts.

Parker has always been pulling for Obama. He likes the color of his skin, he has a really cool name, and he really can't put his finger on it, but there's just something about him that he likes!! He always cheers when he sees an Obama sign on the road and looks for Obama signs when he sees a McCain sign! He was totally pumped this morning when he realized that his man had won!! Oh yeah!! Way to go!! Awesome!! You'd have thought he just won his eighth gold medal! And, of course, he voted for him in his school election.

Alex, on the other hand, is more prone to stay with the common beliefs and ideals of the household. He has learned in the last few days that Obama is in favor of abortion (which is just "not right") and he's ok with men marrying men. But his biggest problem with Obama is that he's going to make the government decide which doctor you see. And he was pretty much convinced that that would start today!! He understands that Obama doesn't really share all of our beliefs and I think he has really been thinking a lot about it. Always one to be a fairly deep thinker, I think he's worried and that makes me a little sad. I know that since the election is over, things will settle down and there won't be quite as much hype. I'm sure his concerns will settle then too.

One of my favorite lines of the day was when the boys realized who had won and among Parker's whooping and hollering, Alex says with a tone of disgust, "Parker's probably going to grow up to be a Democrat!!"

Good times, indeed!!

For the love of guacamole

I have never been a big guacamole eater.

I do have memories of my mom slicing an avocado, putting it on bread, and calling it a sandwich. That still grosses me out!!

But at some point, I must have grown up (even though I still can't eat tomatoes). Either that, or being introduced to Chipotle and their amazing guacamole changed me. I think I have mentioned my love for their chips & guac a time or two. I also love the fact that when I eat there, which is just semi-regularly, I am always there with a friend, or two, but no kids.

That all changed when Emily and I went to Chipotle on Saturday. The older three boys all had plans (Alex at a lock-in at church and Parker/Luke with my Dad) so I just had Landry. I knew it was going to be a great dining experience when I told Landry that we were going to Chipotle and his response was "OH, yeah!!" I'm pretty sure he's never even heard the word "chipotle" but he was pumped!!

I got him a taco, but he was really interested in the dwatamolee. I must say that I've never had LESS guacamole than I had that night! I kind of felt like I was with Deneise!! He was a total guac-hog and because of his double dipping, I don't think Emily had hardly any at all!!

Remind me not to take Landry to Chipotle anymore!! Unless, of course, he gets his own dwatamolee!!

Time for a visit from the fairy

Luke lost his first tooth today...

...eating corn on the cob at Spring Creek!

He was so excited...didn't hurt at all...didn't even bleed!!

It seems like just last week he was crying hysterically when Parker lost a tooth and he learned that a "fairy" would come while we were sleeping to take Parker's tooth.

"I don't want a lady to come while we're sleeping!!"

"I don't want my teeth to fall out!!!"

"I want to keep all my teeth!!!"

And look at him now!!

Candy Fest '08

Halloween 2008 has come and gone!!!

This year we had a Spiderman, a Clone Trooper, a Dark Knight, and an Alex! The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time! My great friend, Shellee did an amazing job of pulling off the Harvest Festival. Here are the pictures of the boys and comapany.

Luke, John Wesley, and Landry

Landry, sliding

Brevin and Parker (who takes his role as the Dark Knight very seriously!)

Landry, JW, Luke going Trunk 'r Treating

Meagan, Alex, and Reagan

Parker, Hayden, Abbee, Brevin

(Look how happy everyone looks!!)

Luke, Alex, Spiderman

On the hayride

Baby Gap Bear, Brody

(does anyone remember Luke being this?

Probably not...it was too hot that year!)

You gotta love Texas...one of the few places where you can trick or treat bare-footed!!

The irony abounds

UPDATED AT THE END!!

Scott left very early this morning to go see his parents as they get a second opinion at Duke.

Not wanting to be a half-empty kind of girl, I will in no way suggest that it's going to be a long 10 days just because the school boys were tardy and Landry tested positive for strep throat today!! I had the amazing privilege of taking my first sick day in about 10 years and get to take my second tomorrow!! I'm hoping to have a very productive day tomorrow!!

As I am always able to pull the good out of not-so-good situations, :) can I just say that when I went to get Landry's prescription for his strep, the girl sent it out to the car and never asked for my debit card. I thought that was a little strange so when I got the medicine, I checked the receipt and it said $0.00. I wanted to ask her what that was about, but I didn't really want to know, in case it was a mistake!! So, I waited for a minute and when she didn't return, I left!! The receipt said my insurance covered all of it!! How crazy is that?? I've gotten a lot of prescriptions filled in my day, but I have never gotten one for free.

As far as the irony goes, I find it a little ironic that I broke down and got not one, but two cats to help with the mouse population and guess what is now living in my house?? Of course...a MOUSE!! Scott and Alex have seen it, mostly upstairs, but have yet to trap it's little body and dispose of it. Interestingly enough, it manages to get the peanut butter off of the trap without the trap being disturbed at all!! How does that happen?? That thing is going to be so darn fat once we do catch him, it's not going to be pretty!! Alex is in charge now that Scott's gone, so I'm not overly confident that it will be caught. We'll see.

Finally, one of the funnier moments of the day came when I got an email from the counselor at the school Landry attends, asking me to call her. I immediately knew what this must be about even though I've never met this lady. I call her back and she hem-haws around and finally tells me that Landry's teachers think he might have some speech "issues" and was I aware of him having any "issues" with his speech?? I so wanted to say, "Why no...whatever are you talking about??!!" But instead, I laughed and told her Landry was our baby and how we all thought his speech was cute, even though I knew his teachers would probably want him to talk correctly!! So...Landry is going to start going to Speech so he will actually make the K sound instead of the T sound, and the G sound instead of the D sound. I think it will be bittersweet because I love how he talks, but I do know that he should talk correctly, especially as he grows older.

And this just in from Landry...stoot over Mom...tan you print me som-tin?? I want Diedo!

Which translates into...scoot over Mom...can you print me something?? I want Diego!!

I had to update to say that Alex ran down the stairs a while ago all excited, saying that the smart little mouse had finally gotten himself "stuck" on the sticky trap. Sure enough, there he was in all his ugliness!! Being the strong person that I am, I called the best neighbor EVER, Kris, and he came over and took the mouse away!

And yes, I am naive enough to believe he's the only one, so don't tell me any differently if you disagree!! :)

Yummy Bread!

My sweet Aunt Deb surprised me last week when she called to tell me she had ordered me a bread machine that was supposed to be able to make gluten free bread! I was very excited and even more excited when it arrived the very next day!!

It took me a couple of days to get to The Sunflower Shoppe to get all of my special flours and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to make sure I was doing everything right. So, finally, yesterday, I got everything together and made the magic happen!!

Here's the cast of characters --

(This wasn't all of the ingredients, just the special stuff I bought specifically for the bread.)

I wanted to take pictures of everything as I was adding it, but that just didn't happen! The directions were very specific and I was afraid I wasn't going to do something right and mess everything up!! After everything was added, here's what it looked like -- yummy, huh??

Here are Alex and Landry watching it do its thing!

And this is the amazing-ness that followed after exactly one hour and thirty-four minutes!!

It smelled really good and here is it, finished and cooling --

Luke tasted it and said, "Mmmm...good!!"

So, thank you, thank you, thank you Deb for making my life MUCH easier, and Luke's life much tastier!!

On another not, look who's not feeling well today...

You know it's a good day when . . .

. . . you put your jacket on

. . . that you haven't worn since last winter

. . . and you find, not one

. . . but TWO

. . . 10 dollar bills!!

SWEET!!

Quiet vs Noisy

This weekend was one of contrasts.

Friday afternoon after school, my parents came to get all of the boys to spend the night and better part of Saturday with them. (For my own memory, our great friends Mike and Sherry lost Mike's mom, Patsy this week and we had funeral things to do.)

Anyway, Scott and I went to the funeral home to spend some time with them on Friday night and ended up at Chipotle. Scott doesn't know that I frequent this place regularly (how regularly will remain undisclosed, right, friends??!!) and he also doesn't know that when I do go with friends, we always share a chips and guac (unless Deneise is with us, in which case, she gets her own and everyone else shares!!). I didn't mention to him that I usually share, so I got my guacamole ALL to myself!! SWEET!!


It has been a very long time since I have had NO kids at all! I kept reminding myself that there were no kids to wake me up early, no kids to turn cartoons on for the next morning, no kids to check on before going to bed myself. It was crazy!!


I slept until 9:00 and then spent most of the morning working on Parker's room. Let's just say it needed a LOT of work! I managed to get most of Alex's done pretty easily, along with regular Saturday stuff like laundry.


Of course, the morning flew by and it was time to go to Patsy's funeral. The service was a beautiful tribute to a truly beautiful lady, inside and out.


When we got back, the kids were home and, of course, they missed us terribly and never want to be away from us again!! haha!!


Here's where the contrast comes in . . . I know you were wondering where I was going with this, right?? Ok, maybe not!



After church today, we managed to come home with, count them, NINE boys!! Who's crazy here??! I was just a touch nervous, but I have to say, they were all AWESOME! They played so hard...all afternoon...pretty much always outside. I got so much ironing done, so it really was a win-win!!



They played a lot of football, but ended the day on the trampoline and here they all are --

(L to R) Preston, Hayden, Parker, Luke, Reagan, Alex, Landry, Braxton, Brevin

I know that most of these guys are mine on a regular basis, but still!!

It's great to have great friends!!

One of those days

Sometimes, you just have one of those days.

These things happened to me, or someone who lives in this house, today:

• Luke wakes me up at 5:08 to tell me he has an earache. I can't think of a better way to start the day.
• About 6:15, I ran to the corner store to get some milk. (Don't judge me if you don't do corner store milk - sometimes you just gotta do it!)
• As if needing to be out at 6:15 isn't bad enough, I got in Scott's car and it was totally, completely DEAD!!
• I run back in, change keys, and promptly run over a wheel of Landry's trike as I'm backing out. It's not totally ruined, but definitely scarred! Did I mention how much he loves that trike??
• Get back home, get everyone ready, Scott tries in vain, to start his car. Alex, who is just rolling out of bed, must now put it in high gear and go with us.
• We finally get to the car, Alex jumps in the car and promptly closes the door - ON LUKE'S FINGERS!! Luke is screaming at the top of his voice, with his hand LITERALLY in the closed door! Alex is looking around like -what?? what's going on?? I'm screaming - OPEN THE DOOR - OPEN THE DOOR! Finally, Alex's head returns and he opens the door. Thankfully, his fingers weren't as bad as you would think they would be for having just been closed in the door for what seemed like 5 minutes. Go back in, get ice, calm Luke down, try to leave again!
• Finally, we're on the road for about 5 minutes, when Alex remember he didn't bring his backpack (I was rushed!! he says). We turn around which now makes the little boys late to school. I'm not sure if dead battery/smashed fingers in door/forgotten backpack made it excused, but probably not!
• Before I can get the boys to school (late), my phone rings (7:54 AM) and I find out that student #7 is ready for my services!! Did I mention that 6 is really my capacity??!! And I'm already behind because it's a four day week??!?! Aaarrggghh!

Once I got to see my students, everything settled down and life returned to as normal as it gets!

One of my favorite parts of the day was when I was putting Parker to bed and I had a little more time than I usually do to lay with him and talk. He wanted to give me a massage (which really translates into - HE wants a massage!) He has all kinds of crazy tricks up his sleeves, but he stretched my arms straight out and was messing with my elbows.

Parker - Mom...you've GOT to do something about this!

Me - What?

Parker - This flabby stuff on your elbows!!

Me - WHAT??

Parker - You have flabby elbows. You really need to work on that!

Then, he's rubbing my back and he says, "Mom, your back is rugged!"

"Rugged??"

"Yeah, feel back here how rough it is."

"It's not rough."

"Yes, it is."

"I thought you were supposed to rise up and call me blessed."

"Huh?"

"I thought you were supposed to rise up and call me blessed!"

"I don't really feel like it today!"

So, my day didn't start so well, it got better, and the jury's still out on how it ended!!

There's always tomorrow!

The numbers are in . . .

Man, I'm on a roll tonight!!

I'm going to try and pull and Deneise and do 10 posts at one time!!

Not really!

I got Luke's bloodwork results from his doctor this week and here's the deal:

In March, his antibodies (cells that develop as a result of his eating gluten with the sole purpose of attacking his small intestine) were 77 on a scale of 0-5 being normal. This was what alerted his pediatrician to the fact that something wasn't quite right.

Anyway, after 6 months of some radical food changes, I am so happy to report that his antibodies are now a FIVE!!! He's normal again!! That is totally awesome news because it means that all the extra effort put into Luke's diet is totally making a difference!!

Landry goes to the Cir-tus

Landry's little school went to the circus on Friday. Since I'm irreplaceable at work (haha!), Scott got to go with him!


If you know Landry at all, you know he is not especially fond of anything in a costume, specifically, Chuck E Cheese, mascots at any sporting event, etc. But he was sure he was not "stared of da cccllowns!" (For some reason, he can't say his /c/ or /k/ sounds, unless it's followed by the letter L. Claire, class, clown are all said with the c sound, but with lots of emphasis on the CL, like the sound is stuck in his throat!!)


Anyway, he was very excited and while he did not love the clowns, he did well and even let one stamp his hand!! That's major progress!!


Here he is getting on the bus - a very exciting part of the day!! (Luke was very ticked about this part - he hasn't gotten to go on a field trip yet!)

Here's his whole group -

And this picture pretty much sums up how Landry feels about clowns!!

All in all, he had a great time and saw lots of fun stuff!!

To wrap up this Landry-themed post, we were eating supper tonight when out of the blue, Landry says to Scott (as he's pointing to his head) -

"Dad, this is your forehead. It's where we have hair, but you don't!!"

He was totally serious - like he was telling Scott something he didn't know!! The rest of us cracked up laughing (well, all of us except Scott!!).

The final installment of the garden

Thinking back over my summer posts, it seems my life revolved around swimming and the garden. The pumpkins were definitely a great summer project. They took minimal effort and we all enjoyed watching them grow.

Here is the last picture of the pumpkin season. Sadly, it is missing a couple of the little beauties because Mother Nature has already said "enough" for those two. I kept smelling this horrible smell a couple of days ago and I thought it was coming from the laundry room. My laundry was caught up, but I just couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

Then, Landry comes up and says, "Mom, da pun-tin is blat on the bat!" which, of course, translates to "the pumpkin is black on the back!!" And boy, was he right! One of the pumpkins had totally caved in on the backside with all kinds of interesting colors!! As I checked the rest of them, another one was in even worse shape. It totally fell apart as I was trying to get it outside.

The funny thing is that you couldn't tell at all from the front. I could have taken a picture of them all before I noticed it and you wouldn't have been able to tell that two of them were totally stinking up my house!!

Anyway, here are the remaining few -

I think we had nine when it was all said and done. They looked so big when they were growing, but looking at the huge boxes of pumpkins at Walmart, they are pretty puny!!

Oh well, there's always next year!!

Grandmas

This is a story about 2 of the world's best Grandmas.

(should that have an apostrophe?? not sure)

Anyway, let me start with my Grandma. Grandma Martin celebrated another birthday this past week. This grandma is one special lady to me. She has taught me lots during my life, spoiled me rotten lots during my life, and has shared a lot of wisdom during my life. So, a little belated, as always, but Happy Birthday Grandma!!

(Just for the record, Big Pa's birthday is this week. When I was a kid, I always thought it was so cool that their birthdays were just days apart! I also remember a period of a few years when I thought Grandma was 52. It didn't matter if she had a birthday, she was still 52 in my mind.

Anyway, Big Pa, hope you have an amazing day!! You are one of the biggest-hearted people I know!! My life has been beyond enriched because of you!!)

Now, moving on to the other special Grandma - the boys' Grandma - aka Scott's mom.

I met this Grandma, though I didn't call her Grandma then, about 17 years ago when Scott and I were dating. Bernadine is an amazing mom to her five kids and an even more amazing Grandma to her 10 grandkids. Even though the distance between her and the boys is great, she is always sending little boxes and doing nice things to keep in touch and let them know she loves them. She is an incredible cook and has an impressive recipe book collection. Although, I might have been more impressed with her spice rack/lazy susan thing. I was looking for a certain spice when Scott and I were up visiting this past May, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her 2 lazy susans filled with McCormick spices!! If I have ever thought of a spice, it was there. If I had never heard of it, it was there too!!

Anyway, Bernadine went in this past Wednesday to have her gallbladder removed and what should have been a routine surgery dramatically morphed into a life-changing experience. The doctor threw out words like 'cancer' and 'Stage 4' and 'not a lot of options'. So, life at Grandpa and Grandma's house has changed. Important decisions need to be made. Wisdom needs to be granted. But most importantly, pleadings on her behalf need to be sent to the One who can heal her. We feel so helpless here - so far away. But prayer is the one thing we can do now and continually. Please pray!!

Mr. Luke

Luke had his six month check-up (after Celiac diagnosis) with his GI doctor last week. He has grown 1 1/2 inches and has gained 2 pounds!! Yay for the growing boy!!

He had to do some bloodwork to make sure his way-too-high levels from March are hopefully, back in range. He'll also test for certain vitamins to make sure he's getting everything he needs. (I'm a little worried on that one!!)

I'll try to remember to post when I hear the results from the lab.

A couple of funny Luke stories -

He got a totally generic, sugar-free lollipop from the lady at the lab when he did his bloodwork. It looked like it had been there for a while and although it was probably gluten-free, I had no way of knowing. He begged and begged for it and I kept putting him off. I even got him a Sonic blast, but he kept coming back to the sucker.

When he got home, he put it on his dresser, and came across it again a couple of days later. He comes and finds me and says, "Mom, can I pleeeease have this sucker??"

Backtracking - Anytime we are unsure about whether or not he can eat something, we usually go to the company's website and see if the info is there.

I tell him it's not that I don't want him to have it, but I just don't know if it's ok for him to eat. To which he responds, "Mom, can't you just go to sucker dot com and find out for me??"

After I finished laughing, I said, "Uh, no!" Then, when he wasn't looking, I put that darn sucker in the trash!!

No telling WHAT's on that website!!


And, tonight as I was getting Luke and Landry out of the tub, they were both wrapped in the same towel and being very silly. I said, "You know what guys?? I really love you!!" To which Luke replies, "So, are you gonna give us a dollar??!!"

What's wrong with THAT picture??

The newest members of the family . . .

. . . are Pixie and Angel!!

These little ladies joined our family over the weekend and they are so stinkin' cute!! Did I mention that I am SO not a cat person??

Well, all that changed when I got up in the attic a couple of weeks ago to get down the very minimal Fall decorations I have. When I got out a pumpkin that had some evidence of some chewing on it, I just about freaked out!! It totally grossed me out, made me feel nasty, violated and mad!! Maybe a little over-reaction, but eeewwww!!

I talked to my neighbor, Casey, because she had gotten two kitties over the summer to help out with the mouse population that crops up around here. She convinced me to buy into the idea of cats and her sister's cat had had kittens a while back and were free for the taking! Imagine that!!

It almost seemed meant to be!!

But I had to think on it for a while! So, I thought and thought and finally decided we'd try it. Casey says that cats are hard to keep where we live because they either run off or come to some untimely demise. So, I'm not sure how long they'll be around.

They will probably still be here when all the kids are grown and I'll be thinking, "I thought they weren't going to stay around??"

Anyway, as with all baby animals, they are CUTE!! They've finally gotten used to us, well, Scott and I, and don't run when we come outside...well, when Scott and I go outside!! The boys, in mass, are kind of frightening, but one or two calm boys are okay!!

I'll keep you posted as to whether they stay or go. And I'll try to get some more pictures, but my camera is acting up and the kitties are fast!!

Maybe next time

Scott and I had the privilege of taking Alex and Parker to the TCU-OU game yesterday in Norman, Oklahoma. It was a long day in the car and a not very exciting game, but we had a really great time.

Having gone to a small, private university that didn't actually even have a football program, it is fascinating to see how these big schools celebrate the tradition of the football game. We went early and hung out with Scott's secretary, Loretta's family and then walked over to the game, being four of very few people wearing purple. It was a little intimidating, to say the least!!

TCU didn't play their best game and, as a result, made for a pretty boring game. Of course, we were in the middle of our row, and can I just say that they totally pack you into the bleachers to where you can't move without bumping into someone. A claustrophobic person would not do well there!!

The band was impressive as they marched down the street and into the stadium. To see almost all of the 85, 100 people singing the same songs, doing the same motions, jumping up at the right time, shouting the same things...it was pretty cool!! (even if they weren't shouting for our team!!)

Maybe next time, they'll win!!