Conspiracy Theory

So...I was on time this morning. I got up, showered, got ready (hair, make up, clothes) got the kids ready (all three) and was out the door and on my way to Ladies' Bible Class. ON TIME!!!

Now, some of you may remember my little dark cloud. Apparently,I've still got it.

I got maybe 10 minutes from the Church building and heard Hailey exclaim, "I'm dunna frow up!" I whip into the first parking lot I come to, throw the car in park, jump out of my seat, grab her towel and...I missed it! Yep, it was ALL over her and the car seat. Better yet, she tried to stop it with her hands and deflected it into my hair and onto my shirt. Fun!

I really didn't want to completely ruin the morning and after this happened, I desperately needed sympathy from the Ladies in my Bible class so I decided to press on.

After a 30 minute stop off at Target for some new clothes and a replacement towel for the car, we were back on the road and I was a mere HOUR late. (Okay, so an hour when referring to tardiness cannot be considered mere. It's a freaking hour! Of a class that is only an hour and a half long!)

HUMPH -- Like I said, I'm just not able to be on time. I think I'd rather be late on my own than late because I had trouble getting where I needed to be. I think I will just stop trying...

It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! They are all working against me. You know who "they" are. (Oh, who am I kidding? No one really knows who "they" are.)

Two Men and a Lady

Yesterday was my birthday...I am officially --- one year older. (You didn't think I'd divulge my age, did you?)

So, I had a nice day with two of my favorite men - Hot Rod and Carter-man! What a great day out shopping at the outlet mall. We were able to find coordinating clothes for the whole family so that we can get our family portrait made next weekend when we go get Carter's 6 month pictures.

I had a nice break from my crazy daily schedule with all three kids. After lunch, the girls spent the day over at their Aunt Laurie's house so that Mommy and Daddy could have a relaxing day out.

Lately, I have been handling the kids all on my own from getting them up, fed and dressed to getting them bathed, teeth brushed and to bed. It was starting to wear on me and I really needed a "stress" break.

Hot Rod has been traveling a lot with work over the past few months. It's amazing how even just having another adult in the house can improve things. I must brag on my dear sweet hubby. He does so much around here - helping me get/keep the house clean, feeding the kids, discipline, etc, etc...

I had no fancy meal, no trip to the theater, no movie...just good quality time with my very best friend. What a wonderful birthday!!

She said, He said...and he did it AGAIN!

While I was getting dinner ready yesterday for the girls and me, Carter was sitting in the kitchen just hanging out. He started to get upset and was jabbering a bit and then, he said his first word!

MA-MA!

I know - fluke, right? That's what I thought, but still I got excited and scooped him up. He was looking right at me when he said it! Did you say Momma? Totally made my day!

But, it wasn't a fluke. Nope, he said it again. After dinner, I had him sitting in the living room playing while I cleaned up the table and kitchen. The girls were playing around him and when he decided he had enough...

MA-MA, MA-MA!

Sorry, Daddy, but I won this one!!

It's awesome...except I didn't get to revel in it long.

Here's where the story takes the unfair twist.

Daddy stayed home with us a little while this morning since he had just returned from being offshore. Carter was sitting in the bed with me while Hot Rod was standing beside us talking waiting for the shower to warm up. Carter looked up at his Daddy and...

DA-DA!

Yep, and he said it again. Oh well...at least I can say he said Momma first.

WOW Wednesday (WithOut Words)

Okay, not so much without words just more pictures than long paragraphs...

One of my favorite pictures

Here is Carter's latest trick. He finally gained the perfect stability this past Sunday

If you look closely in this next photo, you can see his two pearly whites

He's growing up so fast!

Goodbye Heat & Noise...Hello A/C & Quiet

It's so great to have power in the house. Fortunately, we thought to pick up a lot of ice to store in our big freezer before the storm even headed this way.

We lost power just after 1 AM on Saturday morning. Waaaay before we expected. Really, we thought the wind would pick up more before the power went out.

Everyone was down for bed in the Master Bedroom. We figured by putting Maddie's mattress on the floor in there and Hailey's bed in the corner, we could avoid little girls flinging our bedroom door open and running into our room crying.

Wind really started to pick up around 3 AM. Boy was it loud in our room. The wind was whistling and the windows were popping. We were afraid that they were going to crack. The rain was coming down hard too.

It was really starting to get HOT!

Hot Rod went to the other side of the house to check things out. He came back to report that the volume across the house was significantly lower and the temperature was slightly cooler.

It was time to move.

We drug Maddie's mattress, Hailey's mattress, and one of the swivel rockers into the hall. By this point, the kids were wide awake. Daddy and Mommy were worn out. We hadn't been able to sleep much due to the high (AND LOUD) winds and heat. The girls read through the pile of books we had borrowed from the library and still were not ready to settle back down.

Finally, we had to make them just lie still. Maddie curled up with Mommy and Carter and Hailey found a spot on the couch across from Daddy in the gameroom. Eventually, the winds died down a bit and we were able to catch a few Zzzzzz.

Saturday, we walked out to find one tree that fell over, the back fence that almost completely knocked over and some possible roof damage. We're still waiting on the contractors to come check things out for quotes. (Pictures to follow...)

Saturday night was another hot one. We went up to Hot Rod's office and set up beds in his office so we could sleep in some cool air for the night. We had been there for about an hour and were just settling in when we received a phone call from a neighbor letting us know our power was back on. Since home is more comfortable, we packed up and headed back to the house.

The house had already cooled off, so we got the kids in bed and settled in.

Just in time for the power to go back out.

And stay out.

ALL NIGHT LONG....

It finally came on Sunday morning about 8:45 AM and stayed on. YAY!!

Sunday, Hot Rod was able to get the tree back in the ground. It looked like the ground just got so soft that the roots got loose and with all the wind, the ground wouldn't hold.

We had a few scares with the electricity flickering - we were afraid we would lose it again. We didn't.

Aunt Laurie and Emma spent the day with us until they received word they had electricity.

Monday, Poppy joined us since he still had no electricity. Which brings us to today, Tuesday.

The girls had an absolute blast dragging Poppy all over the house and eventually out into the backyard to play.

It's all quiet in the house now. The kids are down for a nap and all our company has gone home. Daddy is at work and Mommy...Mommy has to go do some cleaning now!

We Have Power!!!

Whew...the power came back on around 8:45 this morning. Praise GOD! We have been in the heat since we lost power at 1:00 AM Saturday.

I'll post more later when I'm in the mood, but for now we're all okay! I've got a few pics to share as well as some stories.

P.S. If you have arrived here from a link off a friend's blog and you speak to them, please let them know that we are open to company. There's plenty of cool air and water to go around...

When you're bored and you know you should be in bed...

I can't sleep.

I'm bored.

I'm also very ready for this storm to pass. Why is it that even though watching it on TV bores me to death, I am physically incapable of changing the channel? It's like when you see a car accident and you just have to look...you can't turn away.

I know I should go to bed, but I think that deep down, I am trying to soak up every little second of electricity.

I'm totally prepared for the power outage. We've got plenty of food, water, and other supplies. (I've never seen so many batteries together outside a store in my life.) I even made sure to get over to the library Wednesday and checked out 20 books that I could read to the girls.

The weatherman is cracking me up. Apparently, I'm not the only one awake waiting for this creep of a storm to pass through. Frank (the NBC Weatherguy) said that people are saying, "Where's the storm?"

Uh, folks...it ain't quite here yet! Hold on to your hats. And if you venture outside, perhaps you should leave those hats indoors. The wind is picking up and I can hear that all too familiar whirring sound outside. eerie...

I really can't complain. The whole household is sound asleep. It's fairly peaceful (aside from the television I'm currently glued to) Best of all...my little man is curled up with his Momma! I cherish every moment the two of us spend "cuddled" - for one day, he will be "too big"

I SO DO NOT!!

So, do you remember in history class the campaign slogan "I Like Ike!"?

I sooo do NOT! (Like Ike that is.)

We enjoyed an evening outdoors with the neighbors. The weather was fairly cool with a nice "breeze"

Back indoors, the wind was just enough to knock out the electricity for a brief second which killed our U-Verse and Internet connection. I felt lost! How ever would I know when the storm would hit? It had to come back up!!!

After dinner we headed back out to enjoy a beautiful sunset from our driveway. The clouds were just perfect for an awesome reflection of the sun. (I'll try to get some pics from the neighbor - I've got my camera on the charger to make sure I have plenty of juice for the after storm photos)

Obviously, now that we are inside hunkered down watching movies and I am online...our service is back. YAY!

In just a few short hours while we sleep (all 5 of us in one room), high winds will blow over and I expect that power lines will be down. It will be dark and hot...hopefully, I will be sound asleep.

Please let me be sound asleep......

The Calm Before the Storm

It's here, that calm before the storm. Earlier today, there were several places that it was not. Like for instance, Walmart, Randalls, HEB, etc, etc...you see where I'm goin' right?


Fortunately, we had bought most of our supplies early in preparation for Gustov, but we got low on a few things (mainly milk and just our everyday supplies) and so Hot Rod stopped off to get those items on his way home from work around noon today.


Earlier(around 9:30 AM), he ran out with his boss looking for a window a/c unit to go with their generator to keep at least one room cool in their house should they lose electricity. (Hey, Bill, if we lose electricity, we're comin' over!!) The sights he described in the stores did not surprise me. Full parking lots, empty shelves, lines that stretched from the front of the store to the back...


So, I decided to join in on the fun. Crazy, right? I HAD to get the kids out of the house before we were stuck at home. If you've never had cabin fever, you don't want it, trust me! Anyway, I loaded up the kids, held my breath, and headed over to Chick-fil-A. (Yes, I am THAT crazy!)

And you know what we found? A line at the drive though that I always dread waiting in. Still holding my breath, I pull into a front row parking spot (odd) unload the children and go inside to find...

A Ghost town! I am not kidding. There were about 5 other families. This was noon straight up folks! I can only guess they were out doing some last minute shopping.

Uncle JMike and Aunt Laurie, Cousin Emma, and a Friend met us there for lunch. We played for hours. It...Was...Fabulous!!

Sometimes, it IS Golden!

Dear Imagination Movers ~

I think (no, I know I do) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you! Your new show started today and frankly, I was worried it might flop. But to my surprise...it was fun. See, my daughters (5 and 2) pause when your "music videos" come on between shows on the Disney Channel. Then, they just start dancing. All over the place. They "jump up, get down, turn around" and so on...It's just pure excitement. I must admit, I've been known to join them a time or twelve.

Well, I had forgotten about the debut of your show (which I was extremely excited about) and I also forgot to set the DVR. In my defense, Daddy left early Friday morning to go hunting and wasn't set to return until noon Saturday which left me to hold down the fort on my own.

Then, this morning, it happened again. My boy all trying to grow up too fast for Mommy again, decides to wake up crying his eyes out cutting yet another tooth, I'm sure. Maddie comes in wide awake and then all the commotion wakes up Hailey. So here I am half awake with 3 kids ready to face the day. Three teething tablets and one dose of Tylenol later, I decided to climb in the shower.

I don't know why, but for some reason, my girls are LOUD. Like they have only two volumes extremely loud and asleep. So this Momma was really needing a break from it all, and then, I heard it! YOUR SHOW...in the distance.

"The Imagination Movers are on!" I exclaimed. The girls ran to see...and then, something wonderful happened.

I...HAD...PEACE!!

I finished up getting ready and went to check on the girls - because anyone who has children, or who has even been near children, knows that silence (although golden) could be a sign of trouble.

What I found was the most amazing thing ever! My two precious little girls snuggled side by side in my bed, quiet as little mice, glued to the TV watching your show.

For my twenty minutes of silence, I thank you! You are my new heroes.

Your biggest fan,

We Do Love Our Friends!

Yesterday, we spent some time with our good friends, the TD Family. (well, 3/4's of the TD Family - Mr. TD was @ work)

What's so great about this family for us is all the things we have in common.

Maddie and Princess TD are about 6 months apart (although, to see them, you'd think that Princess TD was a couple years older - she's actually the younger of the two) and Hailey and Little TD are only two weeks apart in age. We have the best play dates!

Hot Rod, Mr. TD and Mrs. TD are all Engineers. I'll admit, the three of them are the most organized, detail-oriented people I know - I like to think I'm somewhat organized, but I know that if I forget something, one of them for sure has remembered it. (Especially Mrs. TD, she thinks of everything!!) And sometimes, these Engineers actually let me win at cards!

Hot Rod and Mr. TD both enjoy fishing, grilling and frankly, I don't really know what else since I lose interest (sorry Honey!) don't always pay close attention.

Mrs. TD and I, well...I think we just "get" each other. We're night owls - apparently, neither one of us enjoys getting up early. We're not your typical girly-girls. Don't get me wrong, we'd both jump at the opportunity for a full day at the spa, but we can survive an extra month without getting our hair done.

Which leads me to my story: I was putting the girls to bed last night when I asked which one of them was going to say the prayer. Both girls jumped at the opportunity - which was bizarre because usually, only Hailey will do that. I'm not sure what happened, because Maddie had gotten so good at saying them. I told the girls that Maddie would go first since she's the oldest and then Hailey could say her prayer.

It was too cute, Maddie's prayer went something like this, "Dear God, thank you for today...(and on and on)... Please help 'Princess TD's' bo-bo on her forehead to get better...Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Maddie, Hailey, Carter and most of all Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen."

Wow! We do hope you heal soon, Princess TD!

(proud Mommy!)

Am I Late Yet?

Everywhere I go there is a little dark cloud that follows me around. I didn't ask for it, I definitely didn't go looking for it. It just found me....and IT...WON'T...LEAVE!!

This morning, I had plans to meet a friend for breakfast and pick up her son so that she and her daughter could make dentist appointments.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am.......notoriously.......LATE! It's not that I don't care or that I don't make my best effort at being on time. I just cannot manage to do it.

I'll admit, a good bit of it is me. I'm a night owl and don't like to get up in the mornings. When I get up, I'm in a great mood, but getting up is just....plain...hard! You won't find me staying in bed 'till noon, but I would prefer to get up @ 8 AM. I really WANT to get up at 6 or 7, eat my breakfast (maybe have a little cup o' joe - yuck!) and read a little bit of my Bible waiting for my children to get up. ((Okay, maybe that's not realistic with a nursing baby, but a girl can dream...))

Anyway, if I'm supposed to be somewhere in the morning, I struggle. Here's the kicker (remember the dark cloud...) Sometimes, I'm actually ON TIME!! Yes, I can dress four people, round up a dog and get in the car on time (like this morning when someone was relying on me). But then (here's where the dark cloud comes in) something goes wrong. I never know what it will be. Could be heavy traffic due to an accident or lights being out, could be my precious two-year-old's car sickness that I have to stop and clean up, could be a train, or could go a little like this:

So, I got up this morning around 7ish, showered, got ready, fed the baby, dressed all the kids, rounded up the dog, rearranged the seats in the Expedition (to carry 4 kids instead of 3), got everyone loaded up and ready to go, climbed in the truck, shoved the keys in the ignition and.... hold on to your seats....are you ready........?

NOTHIN'.....not a click, not a whirr, nothin' The truck would....not....start! little dark cloud

I call the hubby, and call the hubby, and call the hubby...finally, he calls me back and heads toward home to help me out. (I'm so glad he works close to home.) We couldn't jump start the Expedition, so we all hop in the Vue and head to take him back to work. (Meanwhile, my friend, yep...still waiting...)

On the way to Hot Rod's office, we encountered...A TRAIN! little dark cloud (see where I'm goin' here?) We get him to work and we're on our way.

Things were finally going well ('cept I was starving - reference above where we were meeting for breakfast)

So, I'm cruisin' along and the 2YO says, "Mommy, I'm gonna throw up!" little dark cloud I fly across two lanes whip the car down a side street, throw it in park, jump out, grab a towel, catch the mess in the towel (we always keep one in the car for this very reason) bag the now very soiled towel, jump back in the car and off we go! Whew, wears me out just typing it!

Fortunately, we made it and I was able to help my friend with her son.

Now a side note to all my dear friends out there: If ever you're (patiently) waiting on me because, frankly, I'm notoriously late, just pray that Hot Rod is not in a meeting, the train is short, and the towel is clean. Oh, and thanks for keeping me around in spite of all my flaws! And remember, sometimes, it's actually NOT...MY...FAULT!

Starts with Squash, Ends with Mush

I finally made it to the store to pick up some jars of baby food for Carter on Saturday night in preparation for his desire to grow up too fast momentous taste of something other than the same ol' (breast)milk.

Here is the little man after his first bite of butternut squash on Sunday. He had me a little worried at first with this lovely face you see to the right.

Eventually, he was grabbing my hand and pulling the spoon to his mouth.

Once it had become apparent he was done with his dinner, I gave him a little dessert. Yes, it was a biter biscuit. Yes, the box recommends 10 months. AND...Yes, he's supposed to be sitting up before he gets to have them. But what else can a boy with teeth hold and eat all by himself?

He's so independent already! He did absolutely great!! What a mess he was when all was said and done. He had biscuit mush all over his head and hands. I was so proud of how well he was able to take down that treat all by himself.