First Day of Pre-school

Today is the first of pre-school for Camden. Judging by the 5:00 a.m. wake-up, I am pretty sure they are both excited. They have both met their teachers and they seem to be a good fit for each of them. Camden is in a class of 6 with mostly girls. Should be interesting! Noah is in a class of 12 with mostly boys. One word... LOUD!

They are both so proud of their backpacks and lunch boxes. Here is the low-down: Noah is sporting an "Incredibles" back-pack with a "Cars" lunch box. Camden is sporting a "Cars" back-pack with a "Buzz Lightyear" lunchbox. Are you confused? I am!

I just love these pictures. It just sums up what a productive summer we had. Noah with his broken arm and Camden with his black-eye. It should be fun to compare to the end of the year photos. Well, it is about time to take them to school. I will update on their day later.

Finally, a picture!

Here is an early shot of Noah when he had his splint.

It's a special day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I love you!

Injuries do occur in the public library!

I want to start by saying that I think all Wednesday's should be removed from our week. Good things do not happen to us on Wednesday's. Last Wed., Noah broke his wrist and this Wed. is no exception.

Now, back to the public library. Who gets injured in a library? The more I thought about it I realized they are a prime place waiting for disaster. What child or more specifically 'boy', can talk in a soft voice, not run and keep their hands to themselves? Not mine!!! When you combine the library with a Wednesday, you have a really bad situation for our family.

Camden is now sporting a lovely black & blue cheek and eye, after running as fast as he can straight into the corner of a table in the library. The impact was so great that it layed him out flat on his back. I am going to make a t-shirt that says: "No, my brother didn't do it!" Because when you see him next to Noah that is what you automatically think.

I am furious with the librarians. They will not be winning any compassion awards any time soon. They just stood there and never offered help. The look on their faces was of disgust that my child was screaming LOUDLY in a library. Well, I said a quick prayer for them and we were on our way. Thank heavens we already had a Dr.'s appt. lined up an hour later.

There is a good note for today. Camden had a speech evaluation today that was very positive. I was hoping this would be his last appt. however, it was determined he still needs some work on his "T's" and "F's". We are only meeting with his therapist once a month from now on. When Camden started speech 9 months ago, he was about 3 months behind. Today, I was told that he has caught up more than 12 months during this past 9 months. Yeah for Camden!!! He is even ahead of his peers in certain areas! We are so proud of you Camden!!!

A cool room, a cool Dr., a cool cast

Noah went to see the Orthopedic Bone Dr. today. Boy, does he talk fast!!!! It was hard to keep up. Learned lots of really interesting info. regarding kids and broken bones. Note to any moms out there: kids heal REALLY fast and bones don't have to be set perfect to heal perfect. Also, put a kid in a room where the examining table is literally a fire truck and they forget how much pain they are in when the Dr. is manipulating their broken bones!

All that to say that Noah is doing great. He is now the proud owner of a "blue cast" that he is considering having people sign. We return in 2 more weeks with another set of x-rays and hope that he has not done any further damage just by being a rambunctious 4 year old in that time.

We were given a warning to watch closely any siblings because the cast usually becomes a weapon in about a week. Great, just what we need... a trip to the E.R. for stitches on Camden! The positive if any to this is we met our insurance deductible for the year back in January!!!

Updates

Noah- As of Saturday, he is doing much better. He was pretty shocked for a couple of days and mostly watched t.v. and movies. All of which is totally expected. Saturday, he awoke to his usual spunky self and has been playing with toys, alienating his brother and even cooperating with wiggling his fingers. We see an Orthopedic Bone specialist on Tuesday, so please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Camden- Not much was mentioned about his reaction to all of this. The first couple of days he was understandably confused and scared. He lost his playmate, who also happened to be getting ALL the attention. Jealosy started to rear it's ugly head. He would pull the support pillow out from under Noah's arm or he would "bump" into Noah when no one was watching. He even told Brian that "he broke his arm and needed to go to the hospital to see the baseball man". (Every person in a uniform is a baseball man). It has to be very difficult to comprehend this situation at 2.


Whitney- Wow, since the last time I posted it has been an emotional roller coaster. About 2 weeks ago, I was certain that she had very little time left. She didn't eat for 4 days and was very weak. A call to the vet was placed and the "last possible option" was given to us. Well, I am glad to say that we did not use that option and she currently is doing very well. Don't ever underestimate the power of chicken soup. She started drinking chicken soup and it stimulated her appetite. She has been eating like a queen ever since. Homemade chicken thighs with rice or noodles, hamburger meat, eggs, etc. She has slowly gained her stamina and last night for the first time in weeks she actually ate her own dog food. Praise god! She is alert and happy to see us, and wants to be a part of the action. I know this is only short term because she does have cancer, but I will cherish every minute I have.


Brian- His start back to school has been eventful with a root canal and a trip to the E.R. with Noah. I hope this is not a pre-cursor to what is to come this year.


There truly is NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN OUR HOUSE!

"Today was boring"

Those are the words Noah spoke tonight. Today was anything but boring. It started off like any other day; breakfast, getting dressed, playing-

...and then it changed!

Noah and Camden were playing on the fort in our living room when Noah fell off and started to cry. Not the usual whine or the usual wail when he is really hurt, but a strange different cry. I was in the kitchen and did not see what had happened but knew instantly that something wasn't right. I walked in and found Noah laying on his stomach holding his arm. He said "Mommy, my arm hurts", pretty casually. I looked at it and my stomach jumped into my throat. It was plain by the "S" curve in his arm that it was broke. I picked him up and directed him to the chair to sit down.

Thats when I lost it. Not the crying, hysterical lost it, but the "I have completely lost my brain and what do I do now?" lost it. I started gathering shoes because I knew we had to go somewhere, I just did not know where yet. I picked up the phone and started going through the phone book, but who was I supposed to call? I called Brian and left a message, but of course it was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! I called R.J. (my neighbor) and said something like "I am not thinking clearly, what do I do and where do I go?" She is such an angel, in a blink of an eye she was at my door and took Camden for the morning! (Thank you!!!!!) All while, Noah sat on the ottoman and calmly told me "Mommy, I think I need the Elmo ice pack now".

"Oh yeah, that's right, I need to do something with Noah." So in the car we went, off to the E.R. In the car, part of my brain came back to me and I started functioning better. Brian met us at the hospital and we were quickly taken back and Noah had an x-ray. He broke both bones at his wrist on his right arm. One of the broken bones was also sticking up. Not good! We were told that is usually requires surgery. The doc. said he would try to set it in 5 hours after they were sure his stomach was empty. So, the waiting began.

He was giving Tylenol with codeine and morphine, all designed to put him to sleep. Not my child, still wide awake and very alert. When the time came to set it, he was given two more drugs to knock him out. Not Noah, he stayed awake but was subdued. The doctor did his thing and did not think he was successful. After viewing a second x-ray, he was suprised to see that he did indeed move both bones back into place. He credits it to "devine intervention", I credit it to an awesome god!!!

Noah was released at 5:00 p.m. tonight. He is exhausted and confused. He is having a hard time understanding that he can continue to do things when he feels better, but only with one arm. He believes that he can't do anything at all because one arm is hurt. He feels like he is being left out of all the fun things and is very confused. We go see a specialist in a few days to see if surgery is needed. Please keep Noah in your prayers.

I am thankful for a god that performs miracles, for a god who heals, and for a god who protects. I am thankful for doctors who have the same faith that I do and who took such good care of my baby. I am thankful for wonderful family and friends who put their lives on hold to help us today. I am thankful for such a caring pastor that took time to visit us today.

Today was NOT boring!

Back in the saddle again

When I was elementary school age I loved to run. At recess while most of the kids played on the playground, I was racing anyone I could find in a foot race. My dad and I even raced a "marathon" together. I was pretty active when I was little. My days consisted of swimming, playing kick-ball, riding my bike, and roller skating everywhere. I would of loved to have those roller shoes that are out right now back then.

I'm not sure what happened after the 5th grade, but it changed. Exercise is the last thing that I want to do. I am one of those people who can work up quite a sweat and it is not a pretty sight! So, why do it? Also, the pain and physical exhaustion associated with it did not appeal to me.

Then, I hit 30. I got back into working out and felt great! (For those of you who have turned 30, you know what I mean, beacause everything starts falling apart.)

Then, I had kids... are you nuts, I don't even have time to go to the bathroom myself. How am I going to find time to work out?

With lots of encouragement from a good friend and guidance from my brother, I am back in the saddle again. I am fulfilling a New Year's resolution that I set for myself and I am glad to be doing it.

Since I have started back, I have so much energy and mentally I feel stronger. Did you know that the more that you walk the more it makes you want to run? O.k., maybe I'm just strange, but it does. Who knows maybe there is a 1/2 marathon in my future!

cleaned the:

bathrooms,
kitchen,
dusted the house,
vaccumed,
cleaned the mirrors,
hung pictures,
cleaned out Camden's closet,
ran errands,
read books to the kids,
did 3 loads of laundry...

it's only 12:03 p.m.

Wow, exercising sure makes a difference!

They say it's your birthday...

... and they were right. I turn 34 years old today. On the inside I still feel like a young'in, but on the outside I can tell I have aged. The year I turned 30 everything started to hurt, and each year since something else has been added to the list of pains. (See what you guys have to look forward to!)

I have always loved birthdays; mine, yours and even complete strangers celebrating in a restaurant. I love the excitement that I feel knowing it is a day to celebrate, I love the anticipation of cake and ice cream and of course, I love giving and receiving gifts! Since I have gotten older and had children, the emphasis has shifted from it being "all about me" to watching the joy of others celebrate their birthdays. I don't want big attention-getting celebrations but rather cherish the company of my family and a few close friends.

I will enjoy a nice dinner out with Brian's family this evening and will remember the wonderful evening Saturday night that I celebrated with my family. They served all of my favorites, lasagna, salad, garlic bread and of course, brownies and ice cream for dessert. It just doesn't get much better than that!

Thanks for making me feel so special on this special day!

Just a few accidents today...

1. Backed out of the drive-way this morning and I knocked over the neighbors trash can. (not the first, second or even sixth time) It wouldn't have been that bad except that ALL the trash fell out! YUCK!!! After cleaning up the mess and getting back in the car Noah politely tells me that "Hey mom, there is a trash can behind you." Duh!

2. You know a play date is going well when 2 of the 4 children end up with bloody lips. One of the victims was Noah and he cut his lip in the exact spot that he hurt it 3 weeks ago. Ouch! All of the booboos were accidents and the play date was actually a success. No one yelling in the restaurant today!

3. Did you know that Oxi Clean disguises just about every stain there is? I won't mention what I'm hiding, too much info.

Riding a bicycle

Noah has expressed an interest in having his training wheels taken off of his bicycle. I have no doubt that with a little bit of patience (on our part) and lots of practice, he will be riding a bike solo very soon.

I don't remember riding a bike solo at the age of 4. At what age do you remember riding a bike by yourself (minus training wheels)? Does anyone remember any tricks to learning this monumental task?

What's to come?

My 4 year old just ate 3 GIANT slices of pizza for dinner.

I am afraid of what's to come later on tonight! It can't be good!

Medieval Madness

The kids and I spent the morning at the Dallas Children's Museum. What fun we had. On Wednesday's during the summer they have a different theme, and todays theme was on the Medieval times. The kids had fun making a family "coat of arms" and a crown to wear on their head. Noah also enjoyed making a stained glass window out of tissue paper. They both enjoyed using glue sticks, markers and the always favorite GLITTER!!! I think we will be wearing glitter for at least the next week, it is everywhere!

They have a kids grocery store to shop in and a hospital to play in. Both boys loved driving the ambulance. We read several stories in a HUGE chair and planted herbs in their own pots to bring home and watch grow. The highlight of the morning though was watching Camden parading around in high-heeled princess shoes while wearing his crown and covered with glitter from head to toe!!! He was very proud of those shoes and threw quite a fit when he had to take them off.

After the museum we headed off for some lunch and ended with a ride on the carousel. It was very magical day!

________________________

I just thought this conversation was cute today.

Noah to Mommy: "Daddy's not home yet."
Mommy: "No, he is at jury duty"
Noah: "Yeah, he had to go to jail today."
Mommy: (laughing) "He's not at jail today"
Noah: "Yes he is, he told me last night that he had to go have a BIG TIME OUT!"

I won't argue with that!

Good news and Bad news

We've been busy enjoying the last few weeks Brian has off.

Thursday, I took the kids to the mall to play and ride the train. They also enjoyed going to the train store and playing with the train set. We also explored the Disney store, had lunch and came home.

Friday, we took the kids to Main Event to go bowling. The kids loved it! Of course, Brian scored the highest with Camden scoring 105 next. His first three frames were spares and he even had a strike. Way to go Camden!!!. Noah also did great, he tried out all the different colored balls and is really developing his swing! He also scored a strike and his final score was around 60 with the bumpers, while Sharon scored in the 50's without the bumpers!

Saturday, my parents came over and we took the kid to Planet Pizza. They loved riding the bumber cars, roller coaster, rocket ship planes and pirate ship. Sharon had the pleasure of accompaning Camden on several of the rides and quickly found out that she will not be going to Six Flags any time soon. The pirate ship ride had to be prematurely stopped to allow Sharon to get off before she got sick! I think her head may still be spinning today (Tuesday).

Monday was not a great day at our house. We found out that Whitney, our oldest dog, has tumors on her spleen that are a high probablitily of being cancerous. I knew this day would come but was not prepared for it none the less. I am confident that she will spend the rest of her life being loved and well cared for here at home.

Tuesday has just begun, I'll blog about our adventures later.

Hot Temperatures = Hot Tempers

For those of you readers not from Texas, this has been the week that we Texan's dread ever summer. Monday's high was 103, Tuesday's high was 107 and Wednesday's high looks to be around 106 degrees. There is some temporary relief in sight this coming weekend.

This week started out hot outside and inside our house. Tempers have flared at our house and the only thing I can seem to pinpoint as the problem is the rising mercury. I thought Monday would never end. Noah & Camden were constantatly antagonizing each other and trying their hardest to hurt each other every time I turned my back. Noah has 2 bite marks on him and Camden has several cuts and bruises to prove their love for one another. Brian came home Monday night to find me in the living room crying and emotionally spent.

Tuesday wasn't much better. We did change things up a bit and had two different sets of friends come over and play. I thought playing with friends would keep the peace. However, lunch out proved to be a nightmare. It ended with a man in the restaurant yelling at Camden to "Shut-up the crying", not once but twice! This guy was literally on the other side of the restaurant shouting across all the patrons. He is really lucky that I have never taken karate!!!

Wednesday, just like the previous two days started off with time-outs for both kids at 6:45 a.m. I had not even made it out of bed before the fighting started. It is never good to hear a "SMACK" followed by a "Did that hurt?" and then followed by another "SMACK".

So far, it has proven to be a little better today. We ventured out with several families to see "Curious George" at the movies and then off to lunch at Chik-Fi-La with at least 50 other people. What fun!!! The boys did have a great time playing on the equipment with their friends and I am enjoying the calm (as they take naps) before the next storm.

We are in need of lots of prayer, rain and cooler temps!

Keller's, an institution!

A week or so ago, I blogged about the best fried chicken in Dallas. Today, I am going to tell you about the best hamburger, hands down, in Big D.

We ventured out of our comfort zone Friday night and drove down to Northwest Hwy and Abrams to the famous Keller's Drive-In.

Keller's has been around since the 1950's and is famous for beer and burgers. You flash your lights to let the carhop know you are ready to order. After ordering, you sit back and people watch.

It's a seedy little place that has you looking over your shoulder, but what you will find is usually pretty entertaining. There are always men on their motorcycles drinking a cold one. I personally enjoy watching the waitresses slide across the restaurant from all the grease on the floor. Typically, you will see 2 or 3 old classic cars as well. Brian even saw a carhop that has been working there since he was in elementary school.

The burgers are served on a bun that is loaded with poppy seeds. (Don't take a drug test after this meal). The burgers are greasy and loaded with toppings. They have the best tater-tots with cheese as well as onion rings. After eating at Keller's, you feel like you have taken a bath in grease! It's the BEST!!!

Check it out sometime, you won't be sorry.

"Mommy, you are not allowed to sit in my chair... EVER!!"

Noah spoke these words after walking into the kitchen and finding me in a heap on the floor.

Yes... I sat in his chair, breaking it into 5 unfixable pieces.

A more subtle situation would have been nicer to tell me that I need to lose weight.

Oh well.

Gracie Dog - Gotta love her!

I have to give her credit... she knows what she likes.

She passed up the white bread, wheat bread and bananas and went straight for the white powdered sugar donut. (Which was not an easy task, she had to open a plastic container.)

I thought she was prematurely grey in her muzzle, it really was powdered sugar.

A rainy day = Bubba's and Boat racing

If you haven't been to Bubba's, down in Snider Plaza in University Park, you are missin out on some heavenly chicken!!!! Brian's Aunt Tish treated us to a chicken tender lunch with all the fixins today and I don't want to put anything else in my mouth for a long time. I want to savor the taste of the chicken and mashed potatoes forever. It truly is the best chicken on this planet.

The rain settled in today and I am not complaining because it is much needed. I only hope there is more to come because everything is so dry.

About 4 p.m. though, boredom set in at our house and Brian decided a boat race was in order. At first I was the pessimist and thought this "is dumb". We all put on our rain coats and headed outside to the alley with our "bottle" boats. I brought the flag and when the flag dropped the race was on. The boats floated really well down the alley. They encountered some obstacles (acorns, rocks, etc.) but the kids had fun cheering on their boat to the finish line. The big winner was Noah, followed by daddy with a close second, Mommy came in third and Camden brought up the rear. The rain tapered off and we all headed inside. I have to admit, it was a blast.

With a lull in the rain, Brian went to work on the boats to make them sleek and fast. Currently we have Noah's boat a.k.a. "The shark fin", Sharon's boat, a.k.a. "The original speed boat", Brian's boat, a.k.a. "The pickle fork" and Camden's boat, a.k.a. "The Low-Rider". We also have two "unsponsored" boats that we are currently recruiting drivers for. Brian checked the rain forcast for this evening and the next boat race has been postponed due to "no rain".

Stay tuned.

Car Surfing... a new extreme sport?!?!

That's right folks, Sharon is doing her best to find a new sport for the X-Games. She has tried skim-boarding and now she has tried car-surfing. Luckily, no injuries were incurred while car-surfing.

It's really not as exciting as it sounds, but it was a whole lot of fun!

We spent Monday evening at my parent's house where we set up our tent down by the lake. Everyone helped "pitch" the tent and Camden did his best to put as much dirt on his body as possible. First stop, the fire pit where he fell into. (Not burning, of course)

About an hour later, the Park Ranger came by and told us we could not camp overnight on the property so we had the daunting task of moving the tent and 2-air mattresses up the hill to my parent's land with a 2 & 4 year old in tow. I might mention at this point, that the wind had picked up quite a bit!!!

We drove the Tahoe down to the site and loaded the sheets, pillows, fans, lanterns, etc. into the back of the car. Brian and I then wresteled a queen-size-double-stacked mattress onto the top of the SUV. It was tied loosely to the top of the vehicle and it was then decided that I would ride on the back of the bumper holding down the mattress.

Good news to report, the mattress did not "fly" away and nobody was injured during this "sport". It was a whole lot of fun though!

Next the four of us had to carry the 24 x 10 tent up the hill. No easy task, but it was accomplished. Noah led the way singing "what's going to work? Teamwork". Camden brought up the rear touching everything green that we told him not to touch. He also sang the "teamwork" song. More good news to report, no poisin ivy on Camden... Halleluia!

Camden then found the dirt on my parents screened porch. After pressing his face against the screen he was pretty well covered. So, off to the tub for a bath. Taking a bath in my parent's tub proved to be quite a challenge for Camden. They have a jacuzzi tub that is very deep. Camden thought that the back of the tub was a slide and kept trying to slide down the tub. Maybe we just found another new X-Games sport.

Camping was fun. We had a great breeze which made it pretty cold by 2 a.m. No animal sightings... that is always good as well.

Tuesday morning, my parents invited their neighbors over for a "get to know one another breakfast" that was a success. The food was awesome and it was great to meet each of their neighbors.

We headed home and all had a 3 hour nap. We are now ready to go watch the fireworks. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day!!!

How far can a roll of toilet paper reach?

Let me set the scene:

Noah is in the bathroom with Camden watching (Yes, he is taking it all in and learning to use the potty by himself), Brian is on the other side of the house in the kitchen when he hears Noah yell:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Brian peeks out of the kitchen to see Camden running with the toilet paper in his hand.

This would not be such a bad thing except that the other end was still attached in the bathroom on the other side of the house!

Captain Memo's Pirate Ship Adventure

Clearwater Beach and Passe de Grille Beach

Florida Pictures

The Aquarium and Noah surfing.

Quote of the Day

Courtesy of Noah-

I had just towel dried my hair and was getting reading to blow it dry when Noah says:

"Mommy, I like your hair."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh,

"You look like a dog."

Thanks!
(Later he explained that when it was hanging down in front of my eyes, I looked like a shaggy dog.)

FLORIDA

First of all, I have to thank Peggy for the week of vacation in Florida. Our trip would not have been possible without her! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I also have to thank my mom and dad for the use of their car (which gets much better gas mileage than ours), for the use of their cell phone (Yes, we don't have a cell phone) and for taking such good care of our dogs at the "resort" for the week! THANK YOU!!!!

We drove 20 hours to enjoy a week of vacation staying in a lovely condo right on the beach in Treasure Island, Florida. We drove through LA, MS, AL and FL, states I have never been to and can now add to my map. The trip to and from was pretty uneventful with a 2 & 4 year old, and for that we are grateful. The kids did great in the car and even napped and slept all night in their seats. Noah enjoyed driving over the L-O-N-G bridges spanning the ocean and driving through a tunnel in Alabama. We drove through pretty hard rain on the way home and were optimistic that Texas received some of that rain, but we were told not a drop was shed at home. The only negative to the drive, was listening to game 4 of the Mavericks vs. Miami game in spanish!?!? What's up with that????

Brian's mom, Sharon a.k.a., Tutu also joined us for the week. We are thankful to her as well for all she did for us this week. We were so happy that she could join us and get a much needed vacation as well.

The week was filled with visiting different beaches. We spent a day at Fort Desoto Beach, which was ranked #1 in America last year. It was a beautiful beach with white sand and shallow water as far as you can see. The kids loved it because the waves were non-existant.

We also visited Clearwater Beach, # 4 in America and for good reason. Again, the sand is white and soft, the waves are at a minimum and the kids loved playing in the water. We ate at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill on the beach and had awesome shrimp and a Grouper sandwich!!! In Clearwater, we also took a ride on Captain Memo's pirate ship. We were treated to a good old fashioned water fight between the adults and the kids. The kids went on a treasure hunt for coins and everyone got a surprise out of the treasure chest. Next, we heard a pirate story, got our faces painted like pirates and shot the cannon at a hostile ship. I haven't had this much fun since I was 5!!!

We also visited Passe de Grille beach. Again beautiful!!! Noah and Brian saw a stingray swimming by their feet and we all saw a giant sea snake at least 30 feet in length!!! It's body was about the size of Brian's thigh (HUGE!!!). It was only about 50 yards from us swimming in the ocean along the shore. Occasionally it would lift it's head and slither its body. Pretty cool!

Back at the beach in Treasure Island we built sand castles, watched the sun set , and enjoyed the ocean. Brian and I saw a crab out for a stroll in the ocean until it was attempted to be caught and then he stuck his pinchers in the air and became quite animated and headed back out to deeper water. Too cute to watch! Camden was a just a little fearful of the waves. I think because of the noise they create. He was fine once he knew Mommy or Daddy was holding his hand. Noah enjoyed riding his "surf" a.k.a. boogie board in the waves and I attempted the X-games sport of skim boarding. It was more like attempting to cause great bodily harm in shallow water. I came out of it with a bruised hip, cut hand and elbow and wounded pride. Noah will not be trying that for several years to come! The kids also enjoyed chasing and watching the Egrets, Pigeons, Gulls and Pelicans. We all had great fun collecting the sea shells on the beach and came home with quite a collection.

On Father's Day, we visited the Tampa Aquarium. It was a beautiful aquarium that I would recommend to anyone visting the Tampa area. Part of the aquarium had a mini-water park for the kids. There was a pirate ship where they could shoot water guns, a cargo net to climb up, a water slide, etc. We all had a good time enjoying the marine life and getting wet.

We took in the movie "Cars" one day and loved it. If you haven't seen it, again I would also recommend it. Brian spent half a day deep sea fishing and caught a handful of fish. Tutu and I had a massage and enjoyed ourselves a little too much at dinner. Good food and bad jokes, it doesn't get better than that sometimes. Brian and I also enjoyed an evening out to ourselves, while Tutu spent valuable time with the boys. The adults even watched some good old fashioned movies at night to unwind.

I just want to mention some tidbits that I want to keep for the kids later on.

*Noah was a master at running the elevator. He always knew what buttons to push and what button not to push (The alarm button). Way to go Noah, I think we have found him a summer job for next year.

*Brian and Tutu were great at reading a map. We never went the same way twice, always an adventure.

*Whoever slept with mommy was in for a long night. Brian has always said that I take up most of the bed, and that was proven on this trip. Whoever slept with Sharon ended up on the floor with a thud at least once sometimes twice a night. Noah and Camden were glad to come home to their own beds.

*After hearing a loud thud one night Brian came in to find Sharon holding Camden, rocking him and yelling "get the thermometer, get the pacifier, hurrying up and put it in his mouth." Brian calmly told a sleeping Sharon that Camden hasn't used a pacifier in a LONG time.

*Brian, Sharon and Tutu played shuffleboard most nights and we had fun teaching Noah how to play. Camden was a big helper moving the disc where he thought they should go on the board. That always makes the game much more fun.

We did not think a vacation would be possible this year. We are grateful to all those that made it possible. Thank you again.

Ok, the BIG NEWS...

a 30 foot sea snake,
held hostage on a pirate ship,
X-Games failed initiation,
an attacking crab (No, not Camden)
and 20 long hours...

what else but...

F L O R I D A!!!!!!!!!!!!


Will blog about it when I am conscious again....

Enjoying the summer

Nothing overly exciting has been happening at our house. I guess that is good in some ways. There is good news to report, Camden is over tonsilitis and Noah is over the Stomach virus. Yeah!!! Brian had a mishap yesterday that thankfully did not require stitches, but hurt pretty bad none the less. His head is healing and he feels better today.

This week both boys have continued swim lessons and we have headed to the "neighborhood pool" to play in the water and ride down the water slide. One thing about our neighborhood that I wish we had was a neighborhood pool. Instead, just 2 minutes down the road is the city pool and I am going to call it my "neighborhood pool". The pool has a water slide just for toddlers/pre-schoolers, it has steering wheels to turn and water shoots out of pipes as well as a rope to pull that showers you with water. There are also 3 tall "mushrooms" that water cascades down from, all this in a pool that is not much deeper that 2 1/2 feet. The kids love it and I am so thankful. It shouldn't be a surprise that they love the water, because I was in the pool daily from 8 am to 8 pm, it seem like growing up and their Dad was water skiing by the age of 5, on one ski!!!

We have something BIG next week that I will blog about later. For now, I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Summer is in high gear...

I love summer-time. After Christmas, it is probably my favorite time of year. Swimming, popsicles, ice-tea, and barbecues are some of my favorite things.

This week has been filled with Vacation bible school and swim lessons. Both kids are loving VBS. I got to watch Camden for a little while yesterday while he was in the music room. He marched right in and sat in the front row. He followed the directions and was interacting verbally with the leader. I was so proud of him. Noah is having tons of fun with his friends, singing and making crafts. Noah even did his daily challenge that was asked of him today.


Swim lessons are going great. Noah is so willing to try everything that is asked of him. I think it is only a matter of Noah practicing and we will have a swimmer in our midst. That will make mom and dad's job just a little less stressful at the pool. He is putting his head under, holding his breath and swimming through a hula hoop. Yeah Noah!!!

Camden equally loves the water and is reaching his arms, kicking his legs and blowing bubbles. I would not be surprised if by the end of the summer he is also swimming on his own.

Not much more to report.

Surprise!!!

I don't typically like surprises. However, today was an exception.

You gotta love it when you are digging around in the freezer looking for dinner and you find COLD, HARD CASH!!!

SURPRISE!!!

Family Camping Trip #2

I was waiting to post about our Memorial Day weekend because I wanted to post pictures to go with it. Well, we have lost our camera. We are not having much luck with cameras these days.

We left Friday morning and headed to T.S.P. where we set up our tent along with several of Brian's relatives making 16 total campers. Friday evening, Noah and Brian went swimming in the lake and had a refreshing time. Noah told his dad that "he liked swimming in the lake but not the seaweed". (I'm not sure what that was about) We cooked burgers, hot dogs and s'mores over the campfire and then headed off to find a shower.

Getting everyone clean while camping is more difficult then you would think. There is some logistical planning that has to go into it. First, I took Noah. The first shower we went into only had cold water. Lets just say there was lots of screaming and arms flying around. I somehow managed to stay dry because after all I had another kid in the car waiting to be washed. Next was Camden's turn. I tried shower stall # 2 and it did have hot water (please don't mention this to Noah) I managed to wash Camden and myself and after turning the water off and drying off, Camden who was sitting on the handicapped seat looked at me and then proceeded to pee all over my legs. So, we both had another shower. Off to the car where it was Brian's turn.

We had a perfect night to sleep in the tent. Noah was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Camden proved more challenging. After testing the boundaries of his air mattress by jumping and landing several times on the floor of the tent instead of the soft air mattress he finally fell asleep. It was beautiful to look up at the sky and see what God has created but at the same time I was a bit uneasy knowing that I could look up and be staring into the eyes of some wild animal. Luckily that didn't happen and the animals went for the food in the trash bags outside the tent and left us alone.

Saturday was spent visiting 70+ people from Brian's family reunion. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, eating some interesting food, and seeing who could not go to the bathroom the longest. You see, there were lots of spiders and bugs in the bathroom. Most of the young cousins, including Noah loudly protested using the bathroom and fought with all their might not to go.

We headed to Brian's dad's lake house for the evening where we enjoyed a boat ride on the lake. Both boys got to drive the pontoon boat (with Dudu's help). We are all thankful that they do not hand out licenses until you are older because it felt like you were being driven around by a drunk driver.

Sunday, the boys both caught a catfish with Gigi's help and then we headed to Jefferson to ride the steam train. The excitement was lost on Camden who slept through the train ride as well as the 2 1/2 hour ride home. Camping wore all of us out and we seem to be still catching cat naps as much as we can.

We spent Monday at my parents house celebrating Mark's birthday. Were has the time gone? Can he possibly be 32? I don't think he has aged! He is so young at heart and I am proud to call him my brother. Happy Brother Marky!!!

Wednesday's big fish, a walk, an Aunt and a fever?

2:30 a.m. - I meet Camden in the hallway and he says to me " Mama... Drink"

After a cold drink of ice water and tylenol for a 101 degree fever, he was off to bed.

____________________________

Camden awoke feeling great, so we decided to spend the morning at the Dallas Aquarium located in Fair Park. The kids were fascinated with the BIG FISH and mom and dad were fascinated with the BIG Alligator Snapping Turtle that was swimming around. Noah let us know that he is "sorta scared of the plant things", so we didn't stop and look at them much. (coral, algae, etc.) We left the Aquarium and headed outside to walk around Fair Park.

We just happened to be in the right place at the right time and were given a morning snack of Apple Dippers that were left over from a morning walk/run that was held at the Park. We found a nice spot by the lake and ate our snack while watching the turtles jump off the tree limbs into the lake. We strolled around the lake and enjoyed the wonderful weather (low 80's). There is a really cool sculpture at two ends of the lake that resembles an octopus or sea fan or whatever your imagination may be thinking. You can walk on the sculpture over the water and watch the turtles and bull frogs in the lake. The kids had a blast.

Off we went headed for home. After realizing that we don't get to this part of town often, we decided to stop and surprise Brian's Aunt at work. We all went out to the "Pea" for lunch. Camden slept through lunch and awoke with another fever.

Camden is having a very difficult time cutting his last (2) two-year molars. He is pretty miserable and not himself. He doesn't want to eat, his sleeping patterns have changed and he is feverish and irritable. One tooth is 1/2 way in and the other still cannot be seen. Keep Camden in your prayers for the next few weeks.

Under or Over the Hedge?

Today was the big day. Noah has been talking for weeks about "Under the Hedge". Once we figured out that the movie is actually called "Over the Hedge" we took the kids to see it today. Noah loved the movie. We never know how he will react to a new movie because he gets so excited about seeing them and then after we watch the movie he is scared of some part of it. I am proud to say that today he was not scared of the movie.

Brian wins the "awesome daddy" award today for handling Camden during the movie. Camden hasn't read the memo yet on movie theater etiquette. He tries to talk louder than the movie and doesn't understand the one chair per person rule. I'm not sure how Brian did it, but Camden was asleep after 15 minutes and everyone in the theater enjoyed the movie.

If you get a chance to go to the theater, "Over the Hedge" is a cute summer movie.

Tidbits...

Noah: Do you know who is in charge?

Mommy: Yes. Mommy is in charge.

Noah: No, you are not in charge.

Mommy: If I'm not in charge then who is?

Noah: God is in charge.

All right then.

_____________________________________

Mopped the floor. (This is not something that gets done very often, I was quite proud of myself for getting it done)

Breakfast this morning:
Noah: starts screaming because he spilled his whole cup of milk on the floor.

Mommy: "It is not necessary to yell when you spill your milk, it was just an accident."

Noah: "o.k."


Lunch this afternoon:

SPLASH!!!! (You guessed it, a second FULL cup of milk is on the floor)

Noah: "It was just an accident, you don't have to yell"

Mommy: "o.k."

Car ride

Took the dog for a ride today. Yup, the crazy one. She was so excited to go. Once we got going, I started watching her and started wondering WHAT is going on inside her head? Does anyone else do that?

Why is she so fascinated with having her snout shoved up against the A/C vent?

Why, once she is in the car does she looks terrified? Always sitting sideways leaning against the seat with her head wrapped around the seat looking at the back of the car. Isn't it more interesting to look out the front window?

Why are her ears plastered against her head and the look of panic on her face? She was just happy two minutes ago before we got in?

Why all the drool on the seat, isn't the A/C on cold enough?

Why after trying unsuccessfully to lay down on her seat (because she is too large) does she think she can come over to my seat and lay on my lap? I am occupying this space and have a steering wheel in the way. Not to mention when she tries this, I can't see where I am driving or breathe because she is so large.

Just wondering.

Casa de Floato

The pool is officially opened at our house. I finally drug out the pool from the garage, scrubbed it down and added some COLD water and we were in business. The kids had so much fun running and splashing, shooting water guns and playing "duck, duck, goose" in the pool today. Of course we had our sunscreen on, used the outdoor bathroom and flooded the yard.

Note to self: when more water is spraying out of the hose/wall connection then flowing into the pool, that is not a good thing! I am not looking forward to this months water bill. The grass however, was very appreciative of the water. Of course, I did not notice this until an hour after the water had been turned on.

Another note to self: you can not fix a hole in a vinyl pool with super glue. However, super-glued on grass to the hole did make a nice patch.

A play date, pictures and shopping

In honor of turning two, it is imperative that we capture this stage with a decent picture. What Camden, I and the photographer went through to get that decent photo was heart wrenching at best. You can not tell it by the photos but the apple at times was a projectile object and these were the only two smiles handed out during the entire session. In all honesty, I would not expect any thing less. I am quite pleased with the finished product.

Noah spent the morning having a play date at a friend's house from church. They had great fun playing trains, playing outside in the backyard and completely unloading his friends toy boxes. A high compliment was paid to Noah when I was told that he is "very polite and has good manners". Hats off to Noah! Having two boys, I struggle to make sure they are being raised with a balance of having a good time and being disciplined. There is nothing scarier then to see how easy and quickly boys can be turned down the wrong path because they weren't loved, nurtured and disciplined enough.

Off my soap box... while Noah played, Camden and I shopped. I have not had a good shopping experience without distractions in a LONG time. Camden was an angel while I shopped (maybe he knew he had to redeem himself after the photo shoot). There are some great deals out there and I left feeling satisified that things fit AND looked good. Can't wait to show them off.

Timeline

The last few weeks have included some sleep deprivation on my part. Camden has mastered opening his bedroom door and is waking up at all hours of the night ready to play. With that being said last nights fiasco didn't even involve Camden.

11:00 p.m. Lights out.

1:24 a.m. I am awakened by Whitney (dog) trying to dismantle the blinds from the backdoor in a not so subtle way. She got my attention and after trying to figure out where I was, I got up and let both dogs outside.

1:30 a.m. I let both dogs back inside.

2:45 a.m. I am awakened again by loud water splashing. Someone, I hope one of the dogs, is drinking quite loudly from the toilet. I did not go investigate who.

3:52 a.m. Once again I am awakened. This time by Noah. He and his sheets are completely soaked. After changing him and his sheets on the bed, I get Noah back to sleep.

4:10 a.m. Still awake and trying to figure out how Brian has slept through all of this.

Mother's Day is officially over!

Mother's Day Weekend

I had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. It was filled with lots of activities and time with my family.

Thursday: Brian had his end of the year concert at the Outdoor amphitheater in our town. I took a blanket and dinner for the kids and I. We enjoyed sitting on the lawn with Duane and Peggy in the 70ish degree weather, eating and listening to four different Orchestra's play. It was a wonderful way for Brian's students to end the year.

Friday: This was Noah's last day of school. He was soooo excited for it to be the last day because he can't wait until August when he gets to go back and have a different teacher. You see, he will be one of "the big kids", a.k.a. the top dogs at the pre-school and he is pumped up about that. He is also excited that his brother will be joining him at pre-school and they will get to play together on the playground. His teacher this year was incredible. She has two boys of her own and really has a special bond with the boys in her class. Noah learned all the sounds of the alphabet, reinforced his knowledge of numbers, colors, shapes, etc. He learned about the weather, how to read a calendar, got to know about dinosaurs, transportation vehicles, insects, etc., he did countless art projects, got tons of practice cutting with scissors and just had a great time playing with his friends.

Friday afternoon while driving my car pool I finally figured out what Camden was yelling about at a certain stretch of road. Each time I drive my car pool, we would get to a certain stretch of road and Camden would yell "ice-cream, ice-cream". All that is there is a field with a house. No ice-cream store, no bill-board with ice-cream on it, etc. Well, mystery solved... it is a water tower. It just so happens that to Camden the water tower looks like an ice-cream cone!

Friday evening we went to our adult Sunday school party and enjoyed eating great Mexican food and playing games. I look forward to the next get together.

Saturday: Noah had his first T-ball game. The score was 20-17 in favor of the Cubs. There were even a few plays made at first base. That evening we celebrated Mother's day at my parents house. Mark, Tiffany and her parents joined us for a wonderful steak dinner and a good time of fellowship. If is so peaceful and quiet out at the lake and I enjoy it more everytime I go.

Sunday: I enjoyed hearing our female pastor speak about Hannah's sacrifice of her son Samuel. Our pastor ended her message with singing a song. I don't think there were many dry eyes in the congregation after that. I received some very special cards from my boys as well as Tulips, a flower pot decorated from Noah and a hand mixer. Yes, I wanted the hand mixer.

Noah had his second T-ball game that afternoon and was the lead off batter. The team they were playing always hit the ball back to the pitcher so only a handful of the kids really had an opportunity to field the ball, one of them being Noah. No matter what position he was playing, second base or left field, as soon as the ball was hit he was off running to the pitcher to get the ball! He got a wonderful workout during an otherwise uneventful game. That evening we ventured out for a New York style pizza. We ended up driving to Chicago for Chicago style pizza that was awesome. At least the drive felt like to Chicago, we ended up in the Carrollton/Addison area. Hey, for good pizza we will drive to any length! We wrapped up the weekend at my brother's place.

My nose and a Jalapeno pepper

After chopping Jalapeno's this morning for a vegetable dish, I made sure to wash my hands several times when I was done. I have had the unfortunate experience in the past of then touching my eyes with my hands and having my eyes on fire.

About fifteen minutes later, I casually rubbed my nose. A few seconds later my nose felt strange so yes, (I will admit to this in public) I touched just the inside tip of my nose with my finger. Found nothing and then blew my nose. This little act spread the little bit of Jalapeno juice further inside my nose. My nose was on FIRE!!!! Every time I exhaled the breath coming out of my nose made the sting 100 times worse! My eyes started to water, I started to breathe heavier (which only made the pain greater) and I started to panic. What do you do when you have Jalapeno juice up your nose and how do you make it stop?

Well, Elmo came to the rescue. Elmo the ice pack that is. Wow, ten minutes later all was right with my life. (Except for the fact that I admitted to semi-picking my nose)

Manic Monday, Tiring Tuesday...

Monday started with water, LOTS OF WATER. I just needed about 5 minutes to vacuum and I thought allowing Camden to play with the water in the kitchen sink for a few minutes couldn't be all that bad. WRONG! Two clothes changes, 6 soaked bath towels, a very wet kitchen floor and cabinets along with a load of laundry later... Mommy realized that wasn't the smartest 5 minutes of her life. Oh well, at least he had fun.

Next, Camden was off to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Lets just say it was a repeat performance.

Monday was also "my book club" night. I have really enjoyed being a part of this book club. Before book club I only read romance novels, the Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts variety. I have enjoyed reading books that I would not normally choose. I have not always liked all the choices but I have appreciated the discussions about them and learned more about myself and in the long run have been more open to reading other books.

Tuesday was a long day. It started off with all of us buckled in the car with no place to go. Try explaining to a 2-year old that we can't go in the car because it has a "boo-boo" (dead battery) and we don't have a band-aid big enough to fix it. I'll just say it did not go over well. In fact most of the day was spent crying from fatigue, teething, not wanting to share... You name it. We did get to play outside in the morning before it got so hot (I think 95, with a heat index of 108). The kids had fun covering themselves with sand, riding bikes and of course the all-time favorite, swinging. Brian and I even found time to put up the crown molding and do a little bit of decorating in Camden's room.

Gracie Sunshine

This is a blog about my dog. (As Noah would say... "that rhymes, Mommy") Well actually it is a blog about one of my dogs. Gracie, a.k.a. "Gray-Gray", "Honey", "Gray-honey", "big fat brown dog", "big brown", "Grace", etc. was born on August 8th 2000, the day after my birthday. That should of given us a hint that she would be somewhat on the dramatic side but we were just thrilled when 6 weeks later we brought home our chocolate Labrador. The first year was filled with LOTS of chewing. No matter how much we walked her and played with her she found time to chew the dining room table legs, the dining room table chair legs, the kitchen table chair legs and she even ate the kitchen windowsill. One two different occasions I came home from work to find an unidentifiable electronic device laying all over the house. It took days for us to figure out that it was the T.V. remote control. At night, we would push on Gracie's stomach to turn the channel (just kidding). This should have been our next clue that she was going to be high-maintenance in the food department.

Just how high maintenance is she? I have never owned a dog so obsessed with eating!!! Her only goal in life is to eat as much as she possible can and it doesn't matter what it is she is eating. She eats mud clods, acorns, dirt, sand, sticks... that reminds me of the time... she was in the backyard chewing on sticks when she started pawing at her nose. I just thought she got stung by a bee or something. After 10 minutes she still was pawing at her nose and I went out to investigate. I pried open her mouth to find the stick she was chewing on lodge between her top front teeth. I tried to pull it out and it was stuck. Brian arrived and tried to pull it out and it was very stuck! So... off to the Vet she went. The Vet had to use pliers to pull the stick out of her mouth and it left an indention in her top palette. After $150.00 later, we arrived home hoping she had learned her lesson. Out to the backyard she goes and immediately is chewing on another stick.

Gracie eats not only her food, but her sister's food, the food crumbs left in the garage by her food bag, the food that falls under the washer/dryer, the food that the kids drop, the food that the kids are eating but have turned their head away from, anything left on the counter, she even has a preference to margarita's and Corona's (long story). That brings me to my next story... I came home to find an entire pan of brownies and tin foil gone from the counter. I didn't worry so much about the brownies but the tin foil bothered me a bit. I called the emergency Vet to see what I needed to do. After swallowing LOTS of hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting she still was happy as a clam. More hydrogen peroxide and we finally had tin foil. You would think she would learn her lesson. NO! The next day she ate a loaf of bread and the plastic wrap with it. More hydrogen peroxide. It is a permanent fixture in our house and a regular part of Gracie's diet.

The most bizarre thing Gracie has eaten would have to be the star fish we brought back from Hawaii last summer. It lasted on our bathroom counter as a decoration all of 15 minutes before she inhaled it. If I didn't just remember putting it out I would have never known it existed.

A bit serious now... I have even taken Gracie to the vet to ask for a Pet phycologist and/or if there is a medication available to stop this insanity. Unfortunately there is not. His recommendation was to feed her green beans as a snack between meals. I don't have enough money or storage space for all the green beans it would take to satisfy her for one day. So that brings me to the end.

Gracie is a bit high maintenance but I wouldn't change anything about her. She is a very loveable, contagiously friendly, loyal dog who also happens to love chasing a ball until she drops (which thankfully helps her maintain her girlish figure). She is a part of our family that is also a bit high maintenance as well. We couldn't have found a more perfect dog!

The Weekend

This weekend was pretty much the usual. Friday, we went for a walk around our neighborhood and met two new neighbors across the street. There have been so many house sales in our subdivision it is has been hard to keep up with who is coming and going. I have been hoping for some young families with kids and one of the families I met on Friday fit that description.

Saturday was filled with work for Sharon. Brian, along with several teachers took 900 kids to Hawaiian Falls on Saturday and somehow managed to get sunburned even though it was gray and cloudy. It even rained twice during the day. He was wore slap out by the time he got home.

On Sunday, our church had an all church breakfast that we attended and we ate like kings!!! Nothing is better than sausage biscuits and gravy! The boys even ate like champs. One of things I really like about our church home is it is small enough that you get to know just about everyone and it feels like family. The breakfast was a huge success and probably fed about 350 people. After the breakfast our youth had a cake/bake auction to raise money for their mission trip. We of course could not pass up dessert. We bid on and won a Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake. It is delicious!!! After church and naps we headed back to church for the evening service.

The kids are in bed and Brian and I are relaxing before we start another fast paced week.

What have we been up to?

Warning: this may be a long post!

To answer the question... LOTS!!!

Noah wrapped up his first soccer season with 2 goals in his last game. He was on fire!!! Several of his teammates including Noah put it all together and played a real great game. They were kicking the ball, stopping it, turning it around and taking the ball away from opposing players. Hats off to the Tiger's for a great season. The Tiger's celebrated at Peter Piper Pizza with cake, pizza, games and of course a trophy! The day wouldn't be complete without one of my children using the bathroom behind an office building. (Don't ask, I have said too much already.)

Noah has now switched gears and is enjoying playing T-ball. The Cub's have their first game this weekend and will not doubt have a great time. If not they will definitely look great in their uniforms!

Brian's mom, Sharon a.k.a. Tutu, came in town for a visit last week. We enjoyed the short time we had with her. Her visit was cut short because of a medical emergency. Please pray for her and Ross as Ross is beginning his battle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. While she was here she enjoyed Camden's birthday, a little bit of shopping and Noah's field trip.

About Noah's field trip... Tutu, me and Camden all went with Noah's pre-school class to the Heard Museum in McKinney, TX. We had a great time hiking through the woods and spotting Armadillo burrows as well as 250 year old trees. The kids had a good time playing in a log house and the chaperones had a challenging time keeping the kids on the path and out of the poison Ivy! We all enjoyed a picnic in the woods and then came home and had a good nap!

Noah has only a few classes left of pre-school for the year and he is already sad to be leaving his new friends. He is however, looking forward to August and meeting his new teacher and having his brother at school with him. Mom is looking forward to that also.

Camden is cruising right along with his speech therapy and is now saying 2-3 word phrases. He was recently evaluated and is approx. 2-3 months behind his peers but is catching up fast. He is saying almost everything verbally and now needs work on articulation.

Camden has also been practicing for the X-Games. (Extreme Sports) He is sporting a new look on his face these days. Instead of an adorable little nose, his nose is completely covered in scabs as well as his upper lip. He was having truck races and his truck as well as his face LOST BADLY!!! (I just pray that it won't scar to bad.)

Camden's room is a work in progress. The last two weeks have been filled with lots of painting. The walls and furniture have been painted. A shelf has been stained. His new bed is set up and the crown molding is just waiting to be installed. All that is left is decorating and sewing a few things. That's the fun part and I am looking forward to it. The bathroom is next and in desperate need of some repair!

This should just about catch us up to the present.

The Sunflower?

Sharon occasionally talks in her sleep. Here is what transpired last night as I was watching t.v. and she was sleeping.

Sharon: (she stretches her fist out, right in front of my face) and says: "Look at my sunflower?"

Brian: "Huh???"

Sharon (again, fist in front of my face), "Look at my sunflower?"

Brian: "I don't see any sunflower. where is it?"

Sharon: (with fist in Brian's face) "In the hole!"

Brian: (I then stick my finger in the hole and Sharon starts waving her arms and tucks them underneath her body.

Sharon: (mumbles incoherently....)

Brian: "where's your sunflower?"

Sharon: "WHAT?!!"

Brian: CONFUSED!

Ice Cream and CRYING?

Who would of thought that a Blue Bell Moo bar (vanilla ice cream covered with a chocolate shell) could evoke a hysterical crying tantrum.

But it did!

As Camden was eating his ice cream S-L-O-W-L-Y, it broke apart and fell off the stick. He told me it was "broke" and "fix it plea (please)". I calmly tried to explain that I couldn't fix it and he should just eat it. That clearly wasn't an acceptable answer to him and it got ugly real quick. He was screaming hysterically while holding both halves of his ice cream in his hands. I repeated over and over to hurry up and eat the ice cream. You know what happened next. Yes, the ice cream melted and the tantrum reached epic proportions.

It was not a pretty sight! Next time we will just stick to ice cream in a bowl!

Camden's BIG, BIG 2nd birthday!!!

Wow, has it been two years already?

It just seems like yesterday that I went outside to dry our dogs muddy feet off and my water broke. Calmed panic started as I tried to contact Brian at church and was having no luck. In between making phone calls to the doctor, my parents and the church, I picked up the house and started a load of laundry. Brian was finally contacted and rushed home in a panic to find me sitting on the couch not ready to go. After unsuccessfully trying to convince Brian that the baby was not coming RIGHT NOW, we got in the car and drove to the hospital anyway.

Memories of that night: Arrival at hospital - 7:30 p.m., Labored for 14 hours, 9 of those without drugs. Brian slept 13 1/2 hours of the labor. I never slept!!! Pushed for 1 hour and was told I had at least another hour to go. I got MAD (because I was not going to push for 4 hours as with Noah) and Camden Ryan was born 15 minutes later at 9:54 a.m. on April 24, 2004.

Camden personality is a lot like his mother's two years later. He is a VERY determined little boy. He does not take "no" for an answer. You can not change his mind once it is made up. He has an infectious joy-filled laugh that makes you smile and laugh along with him. He also has a sly grin that lets you know he is about to test limits. He is adventurous and always willing to try tasks beyond his physical ability and succeeds with little or no trouble. He is loving and tender hearted. He loves his dog "Gray-Gray" (Gracie) and is afraid of remote controlled trucks. He is attached to "blue" his favorite blanket and he put his "ba" (pacifier) in the trash two weeks ago. He lays down in his bed and falls right to sleep without crying or getting out of bed. He wakes up happy and ready to go full throttle. He loves his "yo-yo" (yogurt), milk, cup with "ice", all fruits and most vegetables. His favorite words are "BIG, BIG, BIG, BLUE KRUCK!" (truck)

We celebrated Camden with a party at the park, ala "big, big truck" theme. The afternoon was filled with friends and family playing on the playground, eating cake and ice cream and watching Camden open his presents.

"Thank you Jesus for the blessings you have bestowed upon Brian and I. We are humbled that you find us worthy of parenting Camden. As we celebrate his life, we give thanks to a god who gave his son's life for us. You are an awesome god." Amen

Hot Dogs, Donuts.... What's next?

He's not divulging exact numbers but he will say it was no less than 12 donuts consumed in an 8 hour period. Breakfast, pre-lunch, lunch, post-lunch, and just because!

Say a little prayer for Brian's stomach today.

What is your limit?

Easter Egg Hunt Pictures

Here are some great pictures courtesy of Tiffany. Thank you!!!!

Easter Weekend

Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

Good Friday- We enjoyed having Brian off work for the day. Brian typically plays catch-up with the "honey-do" list on his days off, and this day was no exception. After completed, the rest of the day was spent coloring easter eggs, playing outside on the swing-set, in the sandbox, riding bikes, hitting baseballs, etc. Sharon found time to go get a new shorter, sassy, different colored hairdo. As evening rolled around, Sharon and the kids visited her parents church to hear her parents sing with their choir. It was a very moving dramatic performance that ended with all the lights out while you exited the sanctuary. Brian played with our church band at another service across town.

Saturday - Brian and my parents brought the kids to the Easter egg hunt that Sharon, Uncle Mark and Tiffany helped to put on through our church. It was a huge success!!! There were probably about 150+ people who came out to do crafts, play games, eat a snack, listen to the Easter story and then hunt for eggs. It was a great outreach project for many from the community who came and participated.

After the hunt, we came back to the house for more fun playing outside. Sharon started tackling the project of painting Camden's dresser and night-stand and was excited to see what it will look like finished. After a steak & potato dinner, we all hit the sack in anticipation of the Easter Bunny's arrival.

Easter Sunday - 6:00 a.m., the Easter Bunny had been heard on the roof hopping and woke Noah up. Noah & Camden found lots of treats left for them as well as lots of eggs hidden. The Easter Bunny actually hid real eggs and Camden had a joy throwing them on the ground, cracking them. (Mommy will be making egg salad real quick!) We all got dressed and off to church we went.

After church, we headed to my parents house, where we enjoyed ribs, brisket, potatos, salad, deviled eggs and strawberry shortcake with ice cream for dessert. We had good fellowship with my parents, Aunt Wendy, Uncle Mark and "Aunt" Tiffany.

After Lunch, the "little" boys drove their RC truck around outside and tried to fly a kite. Camden's mission was to run wild outside, which would have been fine if he had kept his hat on (it was only a balmy 95 degrees!) But noooo, he would run off and someone would have to chase after him to put the hat on. On my turn to chase, I did a not so graceful tackle of Camden that scored a nice BIG scrape on my knee and lots of dirt all over me. Afterwards, Noah watched "Chicken Little" while Camden went exploring inside Nana's house.

The "big" boys, watched as dad drove out his new tractor complete with wagon carrying shotguns and a clay pigeon thrower. They had a good time shooting clay pigeons out in the yard. Tiffany is quite a shot and much tougher than I. After watching for awhile, I thought I would give it a try. The shotgun was much heavier than it looked and took quite a bit of strength for me to hold up. After a quick lesson, I yelled "ok" to release the clay, aimed and fired. I did not hit the clay, but was close. I did however, scream, get knocked backwards and think my arm was going to be ripped off! That is the most insane sport I have ever been apart of. There is no fun in pain! One time was enough for me!

Camden sacked out in the car at 6:00 p.m. and slept until 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. Noah came home to eat everything in sight because he wouldn't eat at Nana/Papa's house because he might miss something. It was a great weekend and we wish your family a Happy Easter!

A couple of "Moments" from today

Why is it that when you don't feel well, talk on the phone or HAVE to get something done that the kids decide to forget all their manners and turn into uncontrollable strangers. I had a few of those such "moments" today, that I am trying to forget.

First, I awoke not feeling so well. Being a mom, that is not really an option and makes trying to get through the day even more trying than usual. I should have known it was going to be one of those days when Noah was already sitting in time-out at 7:15 a.m.

We drove up to the church so that I could have a short conversation with the pastor and collect a craft project that I was going to cut out for the church Easter egg hunt this Saturday. Well, I showed up in the office with two children that I know I did not give birth to. Plain and simple, they were out of control! Standing on chairs, turning the lights on & off, touching everything in sight, being dis-respectful while her and I were trying to talk, etc. I was simply not fast enough or smart enough to keep a step ahead of them today. It was a very humbling experience.

Next, we headed off to the grocery store. I just think the carts that resemble fire trucks are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They totally entertain my kids and make shopping so much easier. Today, that was not the case. As I was walking done the wine/spirits aisle, ( I was just passing through the aisle, not buying anthing) there was a woman standing checking out the different wines. Noah yells out "Move out of the way, Lady!" To say I was mortified would be an understatement. I quickly said, "Noah, we say excuse me". His reply was "whatever". I know he didn't learn that from me! At this point, I should have just bought a bottle of wine and maybe things would have been better. Just kidding.

It has been a very long day. I am looking forward to 8:30 p.m. BEDTIME!!!

I WANT OUT!

Brian and I awoke at 6:25 a.m. to that phrase being uttered by Camden, who was laying on the floor of his room peaking underneath the closed door. We both layed in bed pondering if that is what he really said or were we dreaming it. (clearly, he has never said this before)

Camden must have been reading our minds because he said even louder, "I WANT OUT". It couldn't have been any clearer, what were we thinking?

Catching up

All my shopping excursions have paid off with the kids. A big boy bed was purchased for Camden this weekend as well as his new bedding. The above picture shows the bed, however his is a wood color without the side rails. I have decided to do a wild west theme, with the above print as the inspiration. He is going to have a denim comforter with red/ecru check sheets and accented with the cowpoke pillow and a chocolate brown pillow. I have lots of painting to do in the next three weeks. His dresser, night-stand and walls of his room will all be a different color. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Noah had two soccer games this weekend, with one of them resembling an actual game. The kids were really doing great stopping the ball and turning the ball around and kicking it in the correct direction. It is fun to watch your child's personality come out in sports. Noah is a very cautious child who also happens to be a "follower". He wants to do whatever his buddy is doing and if he could, he would even try to stand in the same space that his buddy is occupying.

We have had a host of doctor's appt's last week and this week. Brian, hopefully is on the mend. He says he feels like Superman on steroids. After this second round of antibiotics, we are hoping that his throat feels better.

I have been to the doctor as well and will go back for tests this week. Hopefully I will have some answers fairly soon as to what is causing me pain.

The dogs have not been exempt from the doctor's office either. Gracie has been three times in the last week fighting allergies. After a shot in the hiney she is feeling better temporarily. She seems to be allergic to grass and pollen. Poor thing was so miserable.

Hope everyone's weekend was great. We are looking forward to Easter and spending time with family.

Shopping

Shopping with kids adds a whole different dimension to motherhood. I use to love to shop. I still enjoy it, however it is a bit more of a challenge with two in tow. I have never let having kids stop me from doing what I want or need to do to. I just wait a little longer before I have to shop and make ALL of my stops at one time. Some of you know what I am talking about.

After I dropped Noah off at pre-school today, Camden and I went shopping. I have started shopping for a bed and bedding for Camden's big boy room. I thought I had found the right bed today, however, after talking to Brian tonight I am more confused than ever. Children's bedding... you've got to be kidding! There are a thousand different options to choose from. I had wanted to get something that he could use until he was 10 or 11, but then I look at all the cute toddler bedding! My head is spinning!!!

On a postivie note... I ordered Camden's 2nd birthday cake today. It is so cute. I had no problem picking out which cake would be perfect for Camden. It is a 3-D truck cake. He LOVES TRUCKS!!! I can't wait to post pictures after the party.


I am going to venture out shopping tomorrow with both kids. I know am temporarily insane! Wish me luck.

Family Fun = Total BLAST!!!

After recovering from the stomach virus on Friday, Sharon felt well enough to venture out and try camping with the family and the church sunday school class. We all loaded in the car and drove the 70 miles to Lake Texoma. We pitched our tent and then went to have some fun. We had a TOTAL BLAST watching the kids have fun. They played on the playground, went for a hike and pitched rocks in the lake, Camden emptied the eggs out of the cooler (thankfully they were hard-boiled) and Noah tried to avoid coming into contact with any of the living creatures that the other kids were collecting. We always knew where Camden was... with the food! That child ate more than all of us combined. At one point, Brian had filled his plate with food, set it down in his chair and walked off to get a drink. Camden took the five Oreo cookies and shoved them into his mouth and Brian didn't realize they were gone for about 5 minutes. All that was left was a black mustache on Camden's face.

We settled in for the night and everyone fell asleep in the tent relatively easily for being our first time camping together. I never realized how loud it is to sleep outside. The wind blowing is louder than you think. We could hear a train in the distance, boats on the lake and coyotes howling. The second TOTAL BLAST came when at about 3:00 a.m. Noah woke Brian up to tell him he needed to go the bathroom. After much discussion about how far it is and we would have to take the car to get there, Noah just threw-up all over the tent!

Soooo... we all got in the car and went to the bathroom. At the bathroom, Brian said he wasn't feeling so well either. We made the decision to pack everything up and go home so that they could be sick at home. At 3:30 a.m. we disassembled a 30 foot tent, air mattress, pack & play, sleeping bags, chairs, bags, toys, games, etc. and loaded everything in the car. During the loading process, Sharon had an encounter with a living creature in the woods that she will not soon forget. We also managed to pack and leave without waking any other campers up.

I wish I could say the trip home was uneventful, but I can't. Noah was sick about every 15 minutes, Brian left his stomach some where along the highway in Van Alstyne, Texas and we shared the car ride with lots of living creatures we picked up in the State park.

Some good news to report... Noah is feeling better as of 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Brian, on the other hand is not doing so well. He is having trouble getting out of bed and is very weak. He also is not thrilled with nurse Sharon telling him he "must drink more fluids". This will not deter us from future camping trips. We will be sure to pack lots of extra clothes and towels on our next trip.

We had a TOTAL BLAST!