Karen's Kraziness

Camping, or Mom's weekend alone!

2010-08-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

Clark and a friend took our guys and several of their friends camping this past weekend. They packed too much stuff and then left about a third at home! They left about 3pm on Friday and came back on Sunday around 1pm. They all had a great time and they all made it back with all their body parts, a little crispy, but in one piece.

Now.....I missed them, I really did! But, I gotta tell you, the break was amazing! Not that I did anything special, but, WOW! I was able to catch up on the laundry AND the dishes, sweep the floors, organize Lauren's school stuff, and clean my kitchen. All while listening to what I wanted on the radio, watching what I wanted on TV and reading a few book all the way through! I went to a movie on Friday night with one of my friends and another movie Saturday with another friend. I did not have to get up and go to the bathroom once! It has been so long since I have seen a "grown-up" movie, one that wasn't animated or made by Pixar or Disney. I almost wasn't sure what to do. I saw Eat, Pray, Love and Salt. Have I mentioned that I have very different friends? Looking at the titles of the movies, it kind of sounds like I have a food fixation...hmmmm.

I was so excited when the kids got home and couldn't wait to hear all about their trip. But, by the time they came in, got undressed and I got them unpacked, they were watching "Up". I did find out tidbits here and there. I heard about the skunk, Alex floating out into the middle of the lake (almost), Alex almost getting hit by the truck, Lauren and Alex having to have separate sides of the lake and the underwear they found. How it was a million degrees at night and how they DID use sunscreen. It just must have washed off. Good thing they packed so much food, because they caught NOTHING to eat while they were there. They also managed to get the pancakes they had pre-made wet, so they were all very big meat eaters. Meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Erica had made a brisket for them to bring for the first night,which was a good thing because they forgot the camp stove. Luckily both men have cooked on a fire before. And if all else had failed, there was a bait shop on the property that would have saved them. What a great and memorable way to start the new school year. I am very glad that Clark spends this kind of time with my guys cause camping is NOT for me. Been there, done that, would like to move on to something else!

Next time, I get to pick what we do and I am going for the HOTEL! Now that's MY kind of camping!

SCHOOL!

2010-08-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

School is starting in ONE week! I am excited, the kids...not so much.

Aaron picks up his schedule on Tuesday and this year, the High School will be posting supply lists! Joy of joys! I will not have to fight the crowds of all the other high school parents fighting for school supplies during the first week of school. We will all get to fight it out now the week BEFORE school! Isn't that great?

Lauren's supplies showed up this weekend and I think I am more excited than she is. We are using a new program that supplies ALL the supplies she needs...even paint for art and a jump rope for PE.

Alex is still waiting. We find out who his teacher is on Tuesday and that will determine if we homeschool him. If we do decide to homeschool him, I will have to create the program myself. The only pre-packaged programs for him at this stage require a fee. And, we are still trying to get back on our feet financially. I am not too worried. There is sooo much information out there, that I feel confident that I can do it!

I am going to try and get a few kids in to help bring in some money. My other option is to work at night while Clark is at home with the kids and he already works during the day. It would be hard but once the house is sold, we should be able to down-size things to where me working will be a short term thing, I hope!

Dad Life

2010-07-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

Get ready to laugh until you cry!! Even Lauren was laughing. Thank you Kim Thompson!

Dad Life (Father's Day Opening 2010)

2010-07-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

Lauren Bryce

2010-07-21T19:59:00.001-07:00

My daughter has so many different people inside her, all trying to get out at one time. There is the silly little girl that just goofs around, with her friends, her brothers, everyone. This small person is spontaneous and very bubbly. She will run through the house making silly noises just because. She gives her brothers giggles (both of them) so much that they hiccup. She started a thing with her dad, who is notorious for making very bad jokes and puns. She looks at him at just says "click". He is an umpire for the local baseball league and that is the sound the pitch counter makes to track how many pitches each player throws. We like to play and be silly and have a great time.

There is another person who has been showing up more and more recently.. the moody pre-teen. She can be VERY dramatic at times and just fall apart and cry. Aaron does not know how to deal with this at all! I want to tell him that this would be great practice for when he has a girl-friend. Alex likes this one because she is the easiest to get worked up. I have tried to warn him, but, as we all know, he loves to flirt with danger. I just ride the roller coaster with this one and wait for the ride to stop.

The last one affects me the most. Her angry little self. She is so smart and thinks on such a higher level, that she gets so frustrated and angry! She "knows" that she is only 9 years old but she also "knows" that she can do so much more than other 9 year olds. Sometimes, there is no reasoning with her at this point and all you can do is send her to her room until she has control again.

It hurts me to see her struggling with all of this. It helps a little that I know she will come out at the end a strong, independant young lady, but this is hard. I wish I could just wrap her up and make it easier. That, however, would be doing her a disservice. All I can do is pray for her and love her with all my heart.

2010 Haslet All Stars

2010-07-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a while...

2010-07-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been a while since I posted last, but a lot has seemed to be going on.

Aaron made it thru three levels of All Star Tournament play and did pretty well. The last round seemed to fall apart due to umpire issues. I know, I know, everyone says that. But when the head of the league apologizes to your head coach and says that he has already called and complained about the job the umpires are doing, that leads one to believe that it isn't just me! I will post a team picture next post. He has really grow as a player. 15 is a big deal. Just too hard for me to comprehend!

Alex is just very busy. Aaron and a friend hooked up Alex's PS2 after a SERIOUS room cleaning and Alex really enjoys being a bigger guy! He has a $20.00 gift card from Game Stop that he got from Grandma and Grandpa and he is excited to be able to buy his own stuff.

Lauren is trying very hard not to be too bored this summer. There were no Girl Scout camps that she wanted to go to and Camp Invention was way too expensive. So she is just hanging out with family and friends. We are looking into another online school for her but it depends on the school's TAKS scores. The one she took last year was okay but we had several issues with the "work at your own pace" promise. It turned out that it was work at your own pace as long as it was the same as ours! Not so much for us. The one we are looking at seems to be truly at her pace with the opportunity to advance to the next grade if she does well. Lauren TAKS scores were fantastic and her grades were all "A"'s. So she gets the concepts, she is just really bored at being held back.

Clark is trying very hard to not take over at his job, but it seems he knows more than his boss as well as the head of safety. He is just happy to still be employed. The air conditioning was out at work last week and I felt so very bad for him. He would come home soaking wet and go straight into the shower only to get out and have to go to a ball game or a practice! This has been a hard year for him to coach Aaron. Aaron cannot just see Clark as Dad at home and as Coach on the field. Besides, I think hormones are kicking in (with Aaron).

We have had quite a few sleepovers this summer. Just last night, there were SEVEN extra boys in my house. It was after 2:30 before I closed my eyes. When it was all said and done, there were two in Lauren's room, Aaron on the couch, Lauren in my bed, one in Aaron's bed, one UNDER Aaron's bed and four lined up on the floor like cord wood. I went thru three pounds of ground meat and four pounds of pasta as well as ice cream, kool-aid, cherries, brownies, caramel, marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, fudge, sprinkles and other assorted snacks. Thank you to whomever invented disposable plates and plastic ware. You are my new favorite!

We are off to spend Alex's gift card which means that I get to spend hours at Game stop while he tries to choose!

Examples for our children

2010-05-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the email that I sent out today:

"The incident that was mentioned in the previous email has been resolved. Prior to the resolution, I was instructed to not divulge any information and I respected all involved enough to comply. It is unfortunate that others involved in the investigation are not as respectful as I am. This morning, following a discussion, the investigation has been completed. I am still respectful enough to not got into specific details (unlike others), but know that one person's perception does not equal the truth. I cannot change what has been said to many people who have no involvement in this, but I can hope that, as adults, we can all make our own decisions based on facts and not slander. I have thought about this situation for several days and, in the interest of my family and the troop, I am no longer employed with Parkview. I will continue with the troop as I have done nothing wrong. I will now have more time to volunteer and spend time with my children without the dramas brought on by those who need to have the gossip and drama in their daily lives to keep them going. So I look forward to seeing you at the school, at the troop meetings and throughout the summer at Girl Scout events."

It is sad that people who think they are important like to spread lies and half truths. I believe that my children will see their mother holding her head high and not bowing down to petty minded, snarking parents who feel that their children can do no wrong. I am a realist and know that once crap is spread, it will take root and fertilize what you grow. I want what I am "growing" to be healthy and wonderful and make my children productive citizens who can take responsibility for their own actions instead of trying to make someone else a scapegoat. I WILL NOT be made to be the bad guy to help someone feel better about their own children.

Children like to take attention off of themselves when they are in trouble, this is a known fact! When your parents think that you can do no wrong, it is so much easier. All you have to do is LIE about it so that you don't get into trouble.

I feel that this will come back and bite them. I don't have to see it or know about it, but it will happen. I just hope that their children do not suffer for their parents' choice.

I work at helping MY children understand that they are responsible for the consequences of their actions, good or bad, as that is the definition of a good citizen of this country. Do you want people taking care of you who feel that they never do anything wrong? These children are our future. My kids will be productive, outstanding citizens, can others say the same?

I love my son

2010-03-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

You know I do...but he makes me afraid, very afraid. Not in an "I am afraid OF him" way, but in an "I am afraid FOR him" way.

Last Friday was opening day for the local sports association. Clark was basically in charge of everything and did a fantastic job, if I do say so. One of the things he organized was a skydiver to land on the field with a flag and the opening baseball. Cool, huh! It was pretty windy in our area that day and the poor guy missed the field and made the parking lot. He came down with the flag flowing behind him and different colored smoke which more than made up for it.

There were bounce houses, a parade of the teams, sno-cones, hot dogs, a playground, music and lots of other kids. My guys had a fabulous time and came home very late and way stinky. The first thing Alex said when I asked if he had fun was about the skydiver. It was so cool and neat and, and, and....... He is so going to do that! Of course, I said, Heck, NO!!

Clark, came to me the next day and said that Alex had said that he so wanted to jump out of the airplane but Mom said no, but he was going to do it anyway.

It is very comforting to know that my children listen to me....but then blow me off!

I have always said that Alex will be either a test pilot, stunt double or an astronaut, just something dangerous...

Pray for me..

WE ARE EMPLOYED!!!!!

2010-03-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks be to God for He is Great! He also moves in mysterious ways.

For those of you who don't know, Clark has been out of work for over a year. He has been on so many interviews, so many job fairs, with so many disappointments. He was told that he was the second choice, he was overqualified, or that he was not a good risk because he would not stick around. He has "dumbed" down his resume and glossed over his 17 years of experience in Human Resources. He lessened his salary requirements and even signed up with temporary firms. I am not sure what else the man could have done to get someone to take a chance on him. Thank you, Recession!

Then, he went back to church... First, let me explain that we are two different faiths. I am Catholic and he is Disciples of Christ, so there is a great disparity. We have always given the other the respect and understanding with our faiths that we should. I never pushed him about not going to church and he supported raising our three in the Catholic faith. Well, about six months ago, his friend, Mitch, invited Clark to Mitch's church one Wednesday evening. Clark went and really enjoyed and seemed to connect with the pastor that night and has been every week since then. After one extremely frustrating week of interviews and rejections (you are too intelligent for this position...huh?), he was feeling really down. I suggested that he might want to talk to Pastor Scott about his feelings, just mildly suggested. He did and said that he felt better after the pep talk from Pastor Scott. End of story, right? But, NO!

The next day, Pastor Scott called and left a message for Clark to email his resume to a contact he had. Clark did and was called for an interview. Again, he was told that he was too qualified and could do the manager's job. He explained to her that he just wanted to work to support his family and suggested that she hire him and he could show her.

We received a call on Friday that there was a position available..hourly and a clerk's job. Did he want it? Was she kidding? Clark said yes, of course. It is basically starting over but with three kids. We can do this! Prayers have been answered, shout it from the rooftops! What I haven't told you yet is that Clark interviewed with Pastor Scott's mother who works for a reputable company that has been around for many years.

Follow me, here...If Clark had not gone back to church, if he had not put his faith in God and spoken to his pastor, we would not have this chance. God and His mysterious ways, again!

Praise be His Name, for He is Holy!

Clark starts Monday! He will work Monday thru Friday with weekends off. This means so much juggling, but now we know that with God, we can do anything!

Thank you for all your support and prayers, you are all a blessing to us!

Spring, how I miss you!

2010-03-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

So Saturday was the first day of Spring. Here in Texas, of course, that means snow! Yes, I said it...snow!

Wet, rainy, cold snow...at night so no one can play in it, snow. I love spring break!

I really do love Spring here in Texas. It will last about a month and a half before vanishing into HEAT. What that means for me is allergies....a whole season's worth crammed into that one and a half month period. If I could just view spring thru a bubble, I would really love it so much more. Right now, I am a cold medicine commercial...sniffly, stuffy, congested with a killer headache.

Did I mention that there are two extra 14 year old boys in my house?

We have recently gone to a voucher system for electronics here at our house. During Spring Break, each child had three hours of "vouchers" in 30 minute increments. This included Wii, PS2, DS, computer, etc. They have to turn in the vouchers before they started playing and when the vouchers were gone, electronic games ended.

Of course, there are opportunities to earn time back on a two for one scale. For every one hour they worked, they could earn a 30 minute voucher. So far, we have had no takers...hmm...
Also, vouchers could be taken away for poor choices. Hitting your siblings, rudeness, disrespect, and so forth.

Having said all that, today I am feeling really yucky, so today is a "voucher free" day. There are chances to earn other "voucher free" days as well.

It seems to be working so far. There are so many other things to do in this house that do not include electronics. We have board games, LEGOs by the thousands, playsets, action figures and books, to say the least.

I am not sure what will happen when we reduce the time to one and a half hours during the week when will school starts. I'll let you know.

This is fantastic!!

2010-03-08T13:45:00.001-08:00

I received this on my school email account and thought everyone should see it. What a great job and message as well. Enjoy!!
http://www.schooltube.com/video/e9bd79d29b4d0e6a2345/Gotta-Keep-Reading--Ocoee-Middle-School

Lonely,oh so lonely!

2010-03-06T11:52:00.001-08:00

I know my blog is lonely without me. It is hanging out just waiting for me to type something on it. Well...

When I was growing up, we had a piano in the house. It was my mother's from when she was young. She tried to teach us several times, but it never seemed to take. Its not that she was a bad teacher, because she wasn't. Its not that we didn't have any musical sense, because we did. For some reason we just weren't interested. Until she sat down to play herself, that is. Then we were all over it...wanting to play, have her teach us, or whatever.

My computer is MY piano. Every time I sit down to look at emails, check out the blogs I'm reading or, heaven forbid, actually type something, here come the kids. The only reason that I am sitting here now is that I have banished them to Lauren's room to play with her new Wii. This should be good for about ten minutes...we'll see.

Let's see how much we can get in....

The house is up for sale and we have had a lot of traffic, but no buyers. It seems that a leak in your roof is not a top selling point, go figure! But having all this traffic, does make it easy to keep the house clean..HA! I have become the toy nazi! It did not seem like the kids wanted to bring out as many LEGOS and stuff until we started showing the house. Oh, well, say a prayer...

Heather has been around a few times to see us and she looks VERY tired. We are a little worried. I hope she is taking care of herself.

Aaron has been started at first base on the high school team. YEAH!!! He has gotten permission form his school to take college algebra over the summer. Why, you ask? He wants to take pre-cal in high school and does not want to double up on maths during the year. That would mean that he would have to give up baseball and/or cross country. He is doing well in all his classes...straight "A"s We are very proud!

Lauren is doing well in her school. She is top of her class and is getting ready for the TAKS test coming up in April. Translation..bored!

Alex is doing well himself. His teacher is on maternity leave after having six pound twins! We could not have been luckier with the long term substitute we got. She just loves him and he says he has a nice voice. He just went on a water safety field trip to the Natatorium last week. Need I remind you that this is my daredevil son? I was very afraid of what might happen. I could just see the call.... Ma'am? I thought you said that your son could not swim. He was doing great until he jumped off of the high dive.... sigh. The night before as we were packing up his towels and change of clothes, he asked me.." Will I be dealing with professionals?" My husband had his back to us and I saw his shoulders shaking as he held in the laughter. I explained that he would be and he seemed fine with that. The next day he came in with all kinds of stories about his day. Did you know that if you do a cannonball, water goes up your nose? But he was fine. Next he wants to work on holding his breath for 30 minutes on the bottom of the pool... We'll see how that works for him.

Clark has had several promising interviews but nothing solid yet. we are hoping that things improve quickly..we are still waiting for the recession to end here at this house.

I am still working at the school and doing girl scouts. I have been taking a religion class that is really interesting. But I am feeling like a hermit. I spoke with a dear friend the other day and she had asked my if everything was okay since I have not been around as much lately. I explained that I was feeling rather insular. I am not sure if that is the right word but it does fit!

Wow, I have been on for a while! This must be a record! But now the kids have told me that they have had no lunch and the dryer has stopped, so I am off and running again!

Fun with food

2010-02-04T19:13:00.001-08:00

These are spaghetti tacos. If you are a fan of iCarly, you know what these are. This is a picture of the ones my brother made for his family. My guys were so excited that we made some here. They taste great but are REALLY messy! Clark was looking at us like we were crazy but the kids did eat well that night.

The Many Images of Alex.

2010-02-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

Catch Up, Again!

2010-02-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems that it is time to play catch up yet again. And, of course, a whole lot has happened. Heather's wedding was an adventure, to say the least. Everyone looked fantastic. Right now, I only have a picture of Alex after the wedding. I am working on getting others. Here is a link to a little slide show that my sister made: http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4d54517a4e4449774e5446384d5445784e4441354e7a453d0d0a&sb=1

New Year's Eve was quiet, but everyone managed to stay awake until just after midnight. It was great to see that Dick Clark was able to do the last countdown. Some things never change...and then...

The house is officially up for sale. It makes us very sad to know that we will probably be having to move after over 10 years in one house. This is the only house that two of my three children have ever known. Recently, we have actually had realtors walk through measuring and all. We are praying that Clark finds a job soon and that we will be able to save the house. He has a real good prospect that we are waiting to hear on. Please keep praying. Having said all that, the house is just a thing and God will provide!

Lauren is doing great in school and is ahead of the game on her assignments. She will be 9 soon and is slowly becoming a little girl. There are traces of tomboy, but they are fading, sad to say.
Her birthday is this weekend and she has decided to have movie night/sleepover. She likes to play on Pixie Hollow and Webkinz which are wonderful sights with great security.

Aaron is trying out for the freshman baseball team and hopefully we will hear something soon. He is doing well in school and got all 'A's with only one 'B' last semester. We are very proud of him! He is also playing a rec league that Clark is coaching. He asked for baseball equipment for Christmas and Santa really came thru.

Alex is not longer on a "watch" list at school for his academics which is wonderful. He never really needed to be except he would never show them what he knew. I am not sure if it was anxiety or what, but he is really maturing .. compared to last year. We had an adventure with him the weekend of his birthday party. First, he lost a tooth. Hurray! Then, at the party, another one (loose already) was knocked out. To round out our night, we made a trip to the emergency room after he slammed his fingers in the door to Aaron's room (the heavy one)! Luckily, nothing was broken, just badly bruised.

I am feeling great frustration at work and am trying to focus on the kids and let the rest wash away... I'll let you know how that goes. Girl Scouts is a struggle right now. Get a bunch of women together and something always happens. I am just hoping that we can get back to what is good for the girls and stay away from pettiness. God sure has been hearing from me lately!

I'll post some fun pictures in the next post.

I'll try to get on more in the future!

Handsome Kids!

2009-12-31T19:13:00.001-08:00

These are the outfits that my three will be wearing to Heather's wedding. I would show you a picture of Lauren in her dress, but I am not allowed to take pictures until the wedding. This was the best I could do. But just imagine how cute she will be! I am having a hard time with how grown up they are. They are really turning out to be fantastic kids.

Yes, it does snow in Texas!

2009-12-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

This was Christmas Eve in Texas!! I know... it looks like a postcard. We were so excited! I don't have any pictures of us playing in the snow because I was playing as well. It actually lasted for a couple of days. It was amazing to wake up Christmas morning and see the snow. It snowed again today. I know some of you are sick of the snow where you live and say "so what?" But this just shows that it is your perspective on things that shape your attitudes. Here in Texas, snow is a rare, let alone on Christmas. The last time it snowed on Christmas was in the 1980's. Those of you up north will laugh when I tell you that when Clark went to the grocery store to pick up some last minute things for the house, he saw people double parked on the curb. People were freaking out trying to get water and stuff to wait out the snowstorm! (It lasted overnight!) The roads were slowed to practically a stop because we had no idea how to drive on this stuff! Clark, coming from Tennessee, was just shaking his head at the craziness. In the meantime, while here in Texas we are stressing over an inch on snow, Clark's mom still cannot get out of her driveway in North Carolina. Perspective, again.

Sorry, forgot the picture!

2009-12-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

The Bad Parent Book

2009-12-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Every parent has faced this at least once during their children's lives. You know, the times when you have to tell them no or make them do something they don't want to do....like homework, baths, eating all their dinner, come in from the freezing weather, stay out of the mud...that sort of thing. Apparently, it is Clark's turn today. Alex is working on some sight words for school. He REALLY does not want to. When Clark told him that he had to, Alex pitched a huge fit and ran into his room yelling " You are a hateful parent. Find another kid!" Right now he is sitting in his desk with his arms crossed and the grumpiest look on his face. See the picture above. We tried to explain to him that he could have been done by now. Clark was told to go to Canada, I'm not sure why Alex picked Canada. Am I a bad parent if I had to hide my laughter? I really feel for him. He had a hard couple of weeks. The week of Thanksgiving we heard that my Grandfather had passed away. We spent last week in St. Louis at the viewing and the funeral. Alex did NOT have a good week at all. He even missed out on making gingerbread houses with his class. This week is great at school and hard at home. Right now, he is asleep, under his bed, grumpy and sad. I think I will leave him there with his pillow and blanket. I guess that DOES make me a bad parent. GREAT, back to the beginning!

Lauren

2009-11-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

Is seems that someone has figured out how to take pictures with my phone. I found several shots of this little guy. It was actually one of those kid's meals toys that they were playing with. Pretty neat, huh?

Alex

2009-11-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

This one of those times that it is better that you do not ask. He found a strip of ribbon and somehow thought tying himself up was a good idea. The look of surprise on his face when I asked what he was doing was priceless. Was there supposed to be a reason? He couldn't tell me why because he never actually was thinking about it. I can't wait until he gets older and I can say things like " What were you thinking" and realize that he was, in fact, NOT thinking at all. When he shrugs his shoulders, it means he really does not know what he was thinking. At first I was thinking stuntman, now I am thinking either magician or escape artist. God love him! He just makes me shake my head. This is a prime example of why you need to keep an eye on little boys because you just don't know what they will get into on their own.

2009-11-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

This is his practice shirt. I think it actually glows in the dark. I guess this way you can see the team when they run in the morning. This was a good learning year for Aaron. He now knows what to expect for next year and he will be ready for the summer runs. He has decided to not run track but has been running in baseball. In fact, we think he is the rabbit for the rest of the team. The goal is to beat Aaron in the one mile before practice. So far, no one has been able to do it. He thinks it is funny!

2009-11-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

This is why I love Cross Country! What you are looking at is NOT a tan line. It is a MUD line. He did not place well in this particular meet but he did say it was the most fun he ever had. Luckily his shorts were black but his meet shirt was muddy all up the back and he even had mud in his hair! His shoes had to dry and then be banged off to try and loosen all the mud. Yes, we did have to wash them. We also had to wash the meet outfit for the next day to turn back in. Why, you ask. I'm not sure. Knowing what I know now, I am hoping Aaron grows so much that next year he has to get a new one and not reuse someone else's...yuck!!

Catch Up

2009-11-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while since I have updated, so this will be a LOONG one.

Heather: Getting married! Yes, Heather will be getting marries to Lee on January 9th, 2010. It is short notice, but it works with both their work and school schedules. I feel for her because she is trying to do so much at once. I am afraid they will spend their honeymoon wiped out! I will let you know more as I find out.

Aaron: Cross Country is over and now we are getting ready for spring baseball. He is studying and getting good grades. I just think that he is not finding high school as easy as middle school. He is working out after school and trying to bilk up more. At least he won't look like we starve him!

Lauren: School is great! She loves the new program and she and Clark are working well together. Girl Scouts is going well. Cookie season is coming up!! Starts in January. Be ready!

Alex: He still loves school. He is just having a hard time with spelling tests and stuff. He has several loose teeth and I can't wait to see the holiday pictures!

Clark: He has had several promising interviews, so we are still praying. He is working out with Aaron and trying to keep up.

Me: I am looking for full time work to try and help make the bills. We have the house up for sale and hope to be able to stay until after the holidays. I have gotten over a case of strep throat. I always though that was a sickness for kids. Guess not!

We are all still happy and together but please, keep us in your prayers!

Hopefully I will be posting pictures soon!

Talk to you later!

Aaron

2009-10-06T19:42:00.001-07:00

This is one of Aaron's knees. The scrape is not why I am showing this picture. We have become a Band aid commercial. " I am stuck on Band aid so dirt's not stuck on me!" The discoloration is from the dirt that he has accumulated over the day. He got the scrape at school this morning AFTER baseball!

Boys, you gotta love them!

2009-09-29T12:04:00.002-07:00

We had a visitor last night for the second time in the last two weeks. Alex has now lost a bottom tooth as well as a top tooth, on the same side, giving him the slight jack-o-lantern look you see here. By the way, the other top tooth is loose! Do you think he will let me make him a pumpkin for Halloween? Lauren could be a black cat and Aaron could be a teenager. All three of which are VERY scary!

KABLOOIE

2009-09-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

My computer has crashed. Gone, wiped clean, back to basics. No file, no pictures, nothing. I am sending out this plea that if I have ever sent you pictures of my family or if you have ever sent me any, could you please resend them? Of course I had no back ups, no thumb drives, nothing. I have really cried. I know in the grand scheme of things, this is really small potatoes, but it is one more straw on my back. This camel is coming close to breaking! The only pictures I have are the ones on this site. Lauren's big concern was of Elvis, our Dane. Luckily, I did post some here. Some of the older pictures are still on disc, but the latest ones were directly downloaded from the camera and then erased. No graduations, award ceremonies, etc. I really cannot list anymore because I am about to cry again. I will never forget to back up again. Everything will be in more than one place.

Lauren's life

2009-09-13T13:34:00.001-07:00

This is how Lauren is spending her day today. She was very sad that her brothers would not play with her any more. So she decided to play by herself. I am not sure why she picked the box. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Alex's first day

2009-09-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

This is really the first day of school picture that we took on the actual first day. He is so excited. It is quite pitiful. I have been trying to recreate it to get a better picture, but ultimately I thought this one would really tell his true feelings. He feels a little happier about going now. His teacher has been wonderful so far. All she says is that he is very wiggly. By the way, she is pregnant. This makes two years in a row that he will have a teacher that will be out on maternity leave. He has several friends that he knows in his class and he making more. It seems like a great fit for him.

Just look at how sad he was on the first day, though.

Aaron and Cross Country

2009-09-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Aaron had his first high school meet on Friday. He ran with the junior varsity and placed 6th for his school. Pretty good for his first one. He's been running in the afternoon with the other kids that play more than one sport. He finally beat the one boy that was in his head all of last year. Aaron just couldn't beat him. Not any more! Aaron was at the school at 5:15 Friday morning. Yes, he was up at 4am. He was VERY cranky when he came home after school. He was a major grumpus Saturday as well. Apparently he has had enough sleep because today he is back to his silly self. I think he is beginning to enjoy running now. Baseball is still his first love, though. We will see what happens, but it looks like he is going to do both. That, combined with his course load and KYA baseball will make for a very busy freshman. He is determined to do it, though.

We are actually very proud of him for his drive.

Blahness

2009-09-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

We are not feeling well here at the Welborn house. I am hoping it is just allergies for most of us. Clark is having problems with his gout in his knee and with the wet weather it is really hurting him. Aaron has pulled something in his hip. Lauren has the sneaky sneezes. Alex's face is puffy and he is really weepy. I sound like a boy. Please come visit and join in our misery. Of course it has been raining for the last couple of days which does not help at all. We are having a very quiet afternoon to say the least, which is why I am getting to update the blog! Hurray!

Fish

2009-09-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it has happened! Aaron became a Freshman

and became goofy. Here is his student ID he had made at Fish Camp. He has since had another one made that is MUCH better, but I could not resist posting this one. He has

become very silly and such a goober that he is now acting like Alex. I guess they start their maturity over every time they start a new decade. The two of them go running through the house and making noises and Clark and I just look at each other and say "huh?" As a parent, you just hope he is acting normal at school and saves the weirdness for home but something tells me that is not how this works.

As far as school goes, he is in baseball in the morning, goes to class and is off at 2:30. He then goes back for cross country at 3:45. I have been forced to do my favorite past time(laundry) more than ever just to keep up with his clothes. Heaven knows you cannot keep them around until the next day! He now changes more times than Lauren in a single day. He has gotten several compliments from the cross country coach and is actually enjoying it! He did not make the fall baseball team, but the coaches are working with the guys so they can try out for the spring team. He has a nice imprint of the stitching of the ball on his knee to show for it! Thank goodness baseball is a non-contact sport. (HA!)

As far as actual academics, he is taking pre-engineering, pre-AP geography, pre-AP geometry, pre-AP biology, Spanish, and English. He seems to be doing well. He has homework every night but since his classes are staggered, he is not overwhelmed....yet. He is also in a local rec baseball league that Clark coaches. It seems like a lot, but he seems to handling it well.

He has also begun the teenage multiple personality fun. Last night he was very silly and tonight he is MEGA touchy. AH, hormones! My Mom was saying that this would get me experience for when Lauren and Alex reach teenage years, but I think that each of them will have their own individual fun with me. I am just glad Aaron is not a twin!! (Leslie) I am never really sure who will walk through my door on a given day: the silly freshman or the hormonal teenager. Pray for me!

SCHOOL!!!!

2009-08-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

I love school. Yesterday was the first day of school for Aaron and Alex. This was hard for me because Aaron is now a freshman. Alex is also in "real" school (first grade). Lauren was set to start today but we are still waiting to get on.

Aaron is having a few problems with his courses. The school says that they never received his course schedule at all. We find it a little hard to believe because he got all his academics just not his athletics. We know they had his courses at one time because I don't know many freshmen who automatically get a pre-engineering class. Clark has been speaking with the coaches and we hope to have this taken care of by today! Aaron wants to run cross country and play baseball. He has try-outs for baseball tonight, so we will see what happens.

Alex's teacher this year is pregnant, again. His teacher last year was pregnant as well. The ongoing joke is to have Alex assigned to the class of whoever wants to get pregnant! My little fertility god! He seems to like his teacher but the getting up in the morning is hard for him! He tried to take a nap yesterday, but we managed to keep him awake!!

Lauren just actually said to me..."Can I start school yet?" I thought that I would never hear those words from her mouth!

Husbands!

2009-07-26T08:38:00.001-07:00

It is hard being a mother of four these days. Yes, I said four and I am not including Heather in that count!
Last night I made some brownies. I told the little guys that they could not have any last night because it was too late (8:45) but that after breakfast and a shower the nest day (today) they could have one. Clark and Aaron came home after midnight and I had already gone to bed. This morning when I woke up, surprise, there were brownies missing! As I was making breakfast, Clark comes in and eats another one. Of course I hear, "That's not fair!!!! I had to yell at him and explain to the kids that Daddy was in trouble. GRRR! Why does he not think of these things! To say to them "I am a grownup" does not work for me. After he left and I had to calm Lauren and Alex down, they finally ate breakfast and took their showers. Then I was happy to give them their brownies. Clark, however, will not get any more brownies until after dinner! If he is going to act like a little guy, then he will have the same consequences.

The Cool girl

2009-07-23T14:30:00.001-07:00

Lauren has now found a fashion hero! Her favorite is Selena Gomez from the Disney Channel. Here is why I am o.k. with that. Selena wears ALL of her clothes!! She is also a tomboy!! (which is o.k. with Lauren) Here are Lauren's new shoes!! They are really cool, huh?! She even went
to the girl department at Kohl's to get new shirts!! I think that she is s l o w l y becoming a girl and doesn't even know it!!

Fish Camp

2009-07-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Contrary to first impressions, this is NOT to learn about sea going creatures. This is for those students who are about to enter...gasp....groan.... freshman year in high school! This is really hard for me to type. I really remember Aaron just starting kindergarten with Mrs. Robertson and it doesn't seem that long ago. Of course it helps that Alex (mini-Aaron) was just there himself.

Aaron has his own phone now and has been getting around on his bike to his friends' houses. I am really trying to give him his own space, but I need more work. He has been to the convenience store down the street on his own with a friend. (I actually cheated on this one. I could look over the fence and watched him the whole way.)

He is too young to go to high school!! By the way, he is now officially 6ft tall and 14 years old. You know it is sad when the little guys are calling him for help with their fans and lights.

We went to register for the camp and I almost cried.. He is really growing up fast!

Girl Scout Camp

2009-07-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I spent a week recently at the local Girl Scout camp. It was a twilight camp which means that you only came in the afternoon to early evening. We had a great time! Lauren actually was able to learn archery this year, which she LOVED! I was with a group of the younger ones and Lauren was in her group. Things tend to work better this way for us. We ate lunch together, though. This was really the only camp that she wanted to go to this year, so the rest of her Cookie Bucks will go towards a special something at the Girl Scout shop. Cookie bucks are received based on how many cookies the scout sold in January. This year, it was the only way she was able to go to camp. Camp can run from $20.00 up to hundreds depending on the duration and location.

We came home dirty, sweaty and smelling of bug spray. Just a bit of a hint....have someone else put on the spray. When you do it yourself you tend to leave areas uncovered. You find these areas later by the number of bites that show up. It seems that my upper calves are a great feeding ground if you are a mosquito or two or million.

The guys had guy nights and if I am not mistaken, they ate take out every night! Alex still got his shower, and read his book, so life did continue somewhat normally.

As soon as Lauren and I got home, we showered and scraped off the gunk. But it was a fabulous time!

Summer Fun

2009-07-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

Summer here has been sooo much fun! It is HOT, HOT, HOT, just like a lot of places. However, ask my children it does not mean that you cannot go outside. I mean, really, just because it is 104 and an orange ozone alert day. Here's where my title of meanest mommy comes in. So I decided to let them go out. Alex never made it, he couldn't find his shoes (you don't love me! They are not my shoes, Alex. They should be in the shoe closet. You don't even care about me.....) Lauren was out for about 10 minutes (Why aren't you outside? Its too hot...). Aaron stayed out the longest, but even he was in several times for a drink. But you can't wimp out when your friends are down and you are playing a wiffleball game.

I have invested in Dixie cups. My new favorite. I even have names on them for the guys in the neighborhood. At one point I had to run the dishwasher with JUST cups! I had none!! Just because your cup had koolaid in it before does not mean that you cannot rinse it out to put water in it!

I just know I have earned the meanest mommy title so many times, Leslie. Last night was the latest when I made Alex clean his room. I actually had two trash bags full of toys that he refused to clean up. Lauren even got in on it and told me that she was going to help him clean up. It finally got done around 7:30. I decided that I was too worn out to cook and we had pizza. Oh I still had the title because I made them go to bed around 9:30 (Mommy, its summer, we get to stay up late! Honey, this is late.) Imagine, if you will, all the people in China looking up at the loud stompings as they headed to their room. I am surprised that it did not register on the Richter scale. We tried to make cookies as well, but when you don't have chocolate chips, you just have cookie dough. ( No, you cannot just eat the dough.) The ensuing fit is what prompted the 9:30 bedtime... and the sky quake in China. I am about to earn another notch in my crown by making them clean up the mess they made this morning in that room. I saw the floor for only one night!

Aaron has a friend spending the night tonight, maybe. It's hard, he has such a social calender. NEWSFLASH!!! We have begun to notice girls with a vengence. We went to a Fourth of July pool party, and there were two girls there and they were all trhee getting along VERY well. I found out the the girls were 16 and going to be juniors. One was valedictorian, they were both in art and honors classes. One was blond and one was brunette and they were both in bikinis. When I asked if Aaron had asked for their numbers, he said that they were older and he didn't know if he should. The girls were really responding to him. There was a lot of mutual splashing and teasing going on. I am so trying to be enlightened and allow him to walk free in the world without blinders. I think that locking him in his room for the next 10 years would be great, but for some reason, Clark has an issue with that...go figure!

We were thinking about have Lauren test out of third grade, but have rethought it due to the pressure it seems to be putting on her. We are looking for new schools for her or just homeschooling her. Her options at her school are not good at all! We are looking into evaluating her for a sensory issue to see if perhaps that is why she has breakdowns so easily. They are getting better now that summer is here and she does not have school throwing stuff at her. Its not the education, it seems to be the social and administration expectations. She is far and away above her peers academically and has been bored to tears for most of the year, hence the misbehaviors.

Alex has had a friend over several times this summer. At the end of the year, we handed out him number to all of his friends. He has had two call him. That is okay with him. As long as someone comes over to play. We are practising walking this summer. You would not think that would be a problem, as he started walking at a normal age. However, he has skipped walking and gone to running everywhere. He has been rewalking his running paths three times each. For example, he runs from the living room to the kitchen (I know they are next to each other, but he still runs). He then has to walk back and forth three times. He has not been happy. (mean mommy crown) .

We have been doing the library, park, sprinkle pad, backyard sprinkler, etc. Lauren has girl Scout camp next week (in the evening), Alex has reading camp(in the mornings), and Aaron has sleeping late.

Aaron turned 14 on the 7th and family and friends got together and we had a baseball game at the local major league's youth ballpark. He was so surprised! It was great. We had an announcer and concession stand and everything. Afterwards, we had a tailgate party. Thank you to everyone who pitched in. We could not have done it without you!

Heather has a pretty serious boyfriend and is doing great on her own! She has been around a few times to play with the little guys and to visit. She is still working and has taken the summer off from school.

Clark is still looking for a job and has had a couple of promising interviews. Please keep us in your prayers as things are getting really serious around here. I am going to try to get a full time job myself to get some money in. When school starts, I will be working at the school, maybe. If we are not homeschooling Lauren.

I think that is it. Is this enough, Leslie?

Oops!

2009-05-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I know I said that I was not feeling well, but...... Just as I was beginning to feel better, I made a visit to Lowe's. I was supposed to pick up some flowers that they were donating to my daughter's Girl Scout troop. As I was walking up to the Outdoor half of the building, I tripped over the tongue of a trailer that they had chained to a lamp. The trailer was for sale and the tongue was sticking out in front of the lamp itself while the rest of the trailer was behind the post. I never saw the tongue and tripped right over it. I tried to save myself and stumbled several steps. I then promply took a face plant. I banged up my nose, teeth, lip, chin and knee. I actually had my first nosebleed. Granted, it wasn't very big, but to have my face dripping blood really made me shake. A customer gave me some wipes and got the manager for me. We are waiting to see what Lowe's claim department has to say, but in the meantime I have been to the doctor and at this time nothing seems to be broken. We are waiting to see the results of my nose x-ray. I am aching so bad that I can barely move my arm and my knee is giving me some problems. I have to be really careful about eating as well because my front teeth hurt. "Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?" Is anyone else wondering what else can go wrong?

Blech!

2009-05-14T07:00:00.001-07:00

I am really feeling sick. My allergies are having fun with my body. Welcome to cottonwood season. I may not be posting for a while. Coming up we have awards for all three kids as well as end of the year events. I'll let you know later how things later. moan, sniff, cough

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

My husband rocks in so many ways.

This is what my family gave me for Mother's Day. These are the shoes from each of my children. Clark spray painted them and put their names by each one and mounted them on a plaque to put on the wall. I almost cried! I really think that it wasn't that long ago that they were this small. They are, in order, from left to right....Aaron, Lauren, Alex.

My morning really started at 5ish when Lauren woke me up with.."I think I'm going to throw up!" We spent some time on the potty and then I set up the "sick couch" for her. She never did throw up but she did not improve. As a matter of fact, she got worse. Her head began to hurt and then her body. All along she had been complaining of her throat hurting. By about 5 pm she was running a fever. So we went to the doctor today and, yes Virginia, we have strep....again. She is sleeping now and has been all afternoon. I need to give her the antibiotic, but I do not want to wake her up. She will be out until Wednesday and we had to get a note from the doctor saying what she had so she can get back into school. Let's pray nobody else gets it.

My Sister Rocks

2009-05-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

My sister rocks cause she is the coolest. She created this Smilebox video of Lauren's First Communion and even convinced Lauren to allow people to see it. It was so neat. At the reception, Leslie worked very hard to make sure that everything went perfect. I owe her a lot of thanks!!!

Lauren's Day

2009-05-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blogger Challenged

2009-04-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

It seems that I am bloggerly challenged today. The text actually reads :" Here's a bigger picture. It looks like she fell asleep petting him. It also shows you how big my cats are." But have fun deciphering it if you like!!

2009-04-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a bigger picture. It looks like she fell asleep petting him. It also shows you how big my cats are.

Very sad :(

2009-04-27T06:20:00.001-07:00

When you are sick, its nice to have someone to cuddle with and Simba is always up for some loving. When they are still, that is. He stayed on the couch with her all afternoon while she took that nap she wasn't tired for.

Welcome to stomach bug central

2009-04-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have germs!! The last week or so, we have been battling a stomach bug around the house. I started it mid week last week and it has travelled the family. Lauren had it on Sunday and had to miss the Girl Scout Day at the ballpark. The whole troop went and got to walk the bases. We gave our tickets to a few boys from Aaron's ball team so they did have fun with them. This friendly little bug only seems to last a day so she was good to go for Monday. Monday night, Alex started getting sick so we were up all night with him. We have a "sick" couch that we use because it is so much easier to clean up hardwood floors than carpet. Tuesday, we had planned for Alex to stay home, but Lauren began with the loose bowels and so did I (again). In the meantime, Aaron is still going to school fighting it and Clark is as well. So, don't come to visit!! Stay away, far away!! But we love you!

Over due

2009-04-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

And no, Leslie, I am not talking library books!!

As some of you know, Lauren has been having a really hard time in school recently. Her grades are excellent, she has just been having some behavior issues. We are trying several things both at home as well as at school. We went to a two day evaluation at UNT that really gave us some great information as well as a few strategies to help. At school, she is on a behavior chart where she gets a mark for each time she has trouble with her four goals. It has been going really well the last several days, and then Monday we had a setback. It may have been all the stimulation from Easter, etc. I am hoping that the school takes into consideration all her good days when deciding on a consequence. We have been butting heads with the administration over some issues and hope that things will go well. There does seems to be a disparity with consequences. But, through it all, Lauren's teacher has been great with working with us. We LOVE her!

The boys have started baseball. Alex is in t-ball and Aaron is in city ball. He is too old for Little League. Alex has had two games and there is nothing funnier than t-ball, unless it is peewee soccer. We have one little girl on our team that just bypasses home plate. She rounds third and goes straight into the dugout! I mean really, it IS on the way. Why have to backtrack? Alex is the best dirt digger on the team. There is not a pile of dirt out there that he has not dug at! He has made a couple of great stops, but it is so much faster to run the ball in rather than throw.

Aaron has hurt his knee. We are not sure if it is from baseball or from track. He has been wearing a brace to help. The Dr. took an x-ray and did not see anything, but we are being careful anyway. He is now 5' 11" tall and is still only about 110 lbs. We really do feed him, a lot! He likes being able to almost put his chin on top of my head. There are several young ladies who think he is cute, but he has very little interest in any kind of romance. Which, as a mom, I am o.k. with! One brave young thing actually asked him out yesterday. Well sort of!! She asked his friend to ask Aaron if he (Aaron) wanted to go out with her. Aaron, being the kind of guy he is, just said no. Now the young lady in question is not speaking to him and won't even give him a chance to explain that he only likes her as a friend. This poses a problem because she comes to my house for after school care. I stepped in and told him to talk to her the next time she was at the house and if she did not want to listen, then I would step in. She then came by the house later that afternoon and I spoke with her then. She said she was upset because she had never been rejected before. I felt like telling her "you are only 13. Get a grip" But I refrained. Aaron is still going to talk to her and we will see what happens. I think this is a great learning opportunity for him. He already knows that he does not want to date her because she has a new boyfriend almost every week. He also knows that he does not want a girlfriend who is all "prissy" or into makeup and hair and "stuff". He knows that he wants to be friends more than girlfriend, which as I have said before, is o.k. with me! He has plans for MIT. Lets hope he stays focused.

Heather has apparently been in China where there are no phones. She has moved out and is still going to school and working. We have seen her once, maybe twice to pick up her mail. I imagine if she was missing we would hear from someone. We know her phone is still working, because we call her regularly. She just must be so deep into the mountains that she does not get the messages! While I am glad that she is doing so well on her own, a middle ground would be nice.

I am listening to my cat snore next to me and I have to get ready for work, so that is all for now!
XXOO

Hidden treasures

2009-03-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

You never know what you will find in my house.....

This happens to be the biggest LEGO in the world!

Princess Lauren

2009-03-26T19:54:00.001-07:00

here are some great pictures of Lauren taken this past week. There is hope yet of a little girl!

2009-03-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been a while since I have posted anything, but we are in the middle of something and I promise to catch you all up soon.XXOO

Dad got me, again!

2009-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here is another little something from my dad. It is really fantastic!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNK6h1dfy2o

A two kleenex!

Milestone

2009-02-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

We have reached a HUGE milestone here at the Welborn house. Lauren has sucked her thumb since about two weeks old. She never wanted a pacifier and would only suck her thumb. We knew this would be an issue when she grew older as far as quitting, but as we all know, Lauren is VERY strong-willed (even as an infant).

Well, we told her that when she was eight, she would have to stop. We even gave her the option to cut down at the time (about 4 months ago) or quit "cold turkey" on the day of her birthday. She chose the night of her birthday. That night we started with "Thum" which is a solution to coat her thumbnail. It is spicy and does not taste good at all. She did NOT like it. She even tried to snow Clark into painting the wrong thumb. (It only worked once!)

Lauren actually accused Clark of painting her tongue at one point. We tried really hard not to laugh at her. She was serious. We would catch her running to the nearest sink, followed by the sound of rapid spitting. Woe to anything that may have been in said sink at the time.

Tonight, however, we have reached the end. She has not tried to suck her thumb for several days and had not realized that we had not painted her thumb for several days as well. She is not feeling well and asked if she could suck her thumb just for tonight. I told her to give it a try and see how it felt. (with ulterior motives, knowing what would happen) She tried and took it out and tried again. It got really quiet and here's what happened:

Me: What's the matter?
Lauren: It does feel right.
Me: You don't want to suck it?
Lauren's Thumb: But I want her to suck me.
Lauren (through tears): It doesn't work anymore. I want to suck it, but my mouth has grown up but my thumb has grown down.
Me: I guess you don't need it anymore.
Lauren: Why didn't you put me on a pacifier or stop me earlier. This way I wouldn't remember it.

It was really hard not to feel sad with her at this point. We snuggled a bit and she ultimately did go to sleep.

Sometimes its hard to grow up and be a bigger guy..

The Cave

2009-02-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

Now that Heather has moved out, Alex has gotten his room back. Clark and Aaron built a bed to end all beds. It is tall enough for Alex to sit under it and not hit his head. There is a nightlight under there so they can play. The entrance to the "Cave" is made form two pillowcases hung on end. Lauren and Alex play under there and sleep under there. Today, Lauren had two friends over and the next thing I know they are telling ghost stories under the bed. My nephew was here earlier and the three of them were very funny. One of them was under the bed, eating the others (pulling them under the bed). The ones being "eaten" were being VERY dramatic, yelling and moaning. It was hilarious. The only incident so far was the leaping from the LEGO box to the bed and not making it. There was some pain involved then so maybe a lesson was learned. (I can hope, can't I?). We need to make one addition. We need to get stairs so Alex does not have to leap in, though I do think he likes that part!

Fire

2009-02-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

So, I am not able to use my oven yet. Several days ago, we had tacos (homemade) and my husband decided to heat up the crunchy shells in the oven on the racks. It seems that the bottom rack was too close to the burner. When we saw the flames, we became concerned. We, of course had an extinguisher and were able to put it out without any damage. However, it has taken us several days to get all the extinguisher residue out of the oven. I am not comfortable with cooking in there while there is even the chance of something being left. All our meals have been on the top of the stove or bought. What fun. I am not griping, but my husband is home. He is not working. He could be taking care of this stuff. I am working, part-time mind you. Then, picking up carpool kids and snacking them, separating them, homework, etc. Keeping up with the laundry, dishes, and on and on and on. GRRRRR! Oh, well...deep breath and back to the business of life.
XXOO

Tag, I'm it

2009-02-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

8 TV shows i watch
1. House
2.In Plain Sight
3.The Today Show
4.Phineas and Ferb

5. Hallmark Movies
6. Lifetime channel

7. Do I have time to watch?
8. I don't have TIVO
8 favorite restaurants
1.sushi

2. hibachi
3 .Abuelo's
4. On the Border
5. Chili's
6 .Taco Bueno
7 . Arby's
8. Braum's
8 things that happen to me today
1. See previous blog

2. Scheduled a 504 meeting for tomorrow
3. Went to work at the school
4. got homework for Valentine's party
5. blogged the tape story
6. printed off some colorblind info
7. picked up carpool kids
8 . sent my husband out for dinner. (see next blog)
8 things i look forward to
1. bedtime
2. my husband getting a job
3. spring break
4. being able to take my little guys to Disney
5. things to slow down
6. the end of girl scout cookies
7. baseball season to start
8. my laundry to be ALL done
8 things i wish for
1. full time school
2. patience
3. a stress- free house
4. my children's happiness
5. enough money to retire
6. Lauren to find her way (in life)
7. Alex to be safe (from everything)
8. Aaron to get through teenage years with as little angst as possible
8 people i tag
1. Leslie ( who already tagged me)
2. Renee (who won't blog anymore)
3. I
4. don't
5. know
6.anyone
7. else
8. to tag

If you want to answer back, blog, or email, or respond to this and copy, paste

Question of the Day

2009-02-12T14:51:00.001-08:00

So I look up and ask: "Lauren, why do you have a ball of blue tape?"

Answer: "I had to take it off Alex."

LOONG pause.

Big sigh...Shake of the head

Background: When Heather moved out, we decided to move Alex back into his room. Aaron is VERY excited!! It seemed to be a perfect time to paint the walls now that the room was empty. Clark is in the middle of painting, so there is blue painter tape laying around.

Back to the fun....

It seemed that Alex thought it might be fun to tape himself up. It was him... he did admit it. When asked why on earth you would want to tape yourself up, he just shrugged his shoulders.

I don't think that he taped himself to anything, but Lauren did have to peel tape off of him. Now, to be honest, I am sure that she had a certain amount of fun peeling him.

Why do I think that this will not be the last time that something strange like this happens in my house??

Hey, you wanna buy some cookies?

2009-01-24T16:08:00.001-08:00

We got a bunch of different kinds.... Just let me know and they ship well. Lauren is trying to sell 2000 boxes. The troop wants to go to Sea World with the money we earn. I'll let you know how close we get.

2009-01-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here we are at Grandmommy's house. Lauren, Alex and Bryson are all playing Kirby on Lauren's new DS lite. It was very cute to see the serious faces as Lauren explained how to play. Grandmommy did not seem to care that she had no idea what they were talking about, but she seemed to enjoy herself.

Catch-Up

2009-01-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have been able to blog, so let's play catch-up:

Christmas was great. Nobody was sick and Heather even made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner with the family. The kids received what they wanted from family and Santa and even Mom and Dad each surprised each other with a special gift. Some tension at G'ma's and G'pa's but we moved on. New Year's was spent quietly with just us. Right after, we went to Grandmommy's and had a good visit with her. Clark's brother and his family were also there and after a few minutes of typical working things out, the cousins were great friends. I hope to post pictures at some point.

My birthday was fantastic. Santa had brought a fondue set for me and Clark and Aaron went out and got a whole lot of stuff for dinner. Lauren and I went to a Girl Scout meeting that night and the girls made cards for Mom and I and the troop got us both gift cards. It was very sweet. When we got home, we all had cheese fondue and then seafood, beef, and chicken with stuffed mushrooms. Clark made several different sauces and dips and it was FANTASTIC!! He is amazing. As if that was not enough, the following Saturday, he sent my mother, sister, sis-in-law and I to a spa for a haircut, manicure and pedicure. It was sooo nice.

Also in January, we started selling Girl Scout Cookies...... want to buy some?? I am also planning a Star Wars Clone Wars birthday party for Alex, a Webkinz party for Lauren and coming up is First Confession and First Communion for Lauren. So as you can see, I may not be one much during the next several weeks. I promise pictures at some point. Until then, XXOO

Love

2008-12-22T20:47:00.000-08:00

These are my little guys. This is the sweetest little picture. Clark had the kids snuggling in our bed while I finished up the laundry, dishes, lights, etc. He called me in and I had to snap this shot. She has had a rough day being off of her schedule and Alex has tried to love her several times. I guess this time took. It is times like this that help me realize that they will always be there for each other even when they are mad at each other.

My Dad

2008-12-21T07:42:00.001-08:00

This is my dad. He looks a little grumpy and like he might be hard to live with. I know sometimes my mom thinks so. Growing up he was VERY different with us than he is now with our kids. He has invented the "Grandpa Clause" which basically means that when we parents say no to our kids, Grandpa can come in and override us. He has been through a lot in his life and I am sure my brother and sister and I have put him through a lot more since then. ( More them than me, of course)

Underneath the gruff exterior, he does have a huge heart. Most recently, Lauren and Alex's school has started a WATCH D.O.G.S. group. This is for dads, grandpas, uncles and other father figures to be at the school during the day to be a positive role model for the kids. He signed up for two days, not just one. This way he could be there for both of the little guys and they could have their own special day with Grandpa.

He also will never play Santa even though he has the beard (and the belly). He said that he just can't take the heartbreak when a child comes up and asks for something that is serious like making a sick person well or bring a parent back.

He also sends things thru e-mail that ALWAYS get to me. He very rarely forwards on stuff and I mean, rarely. Here is a copy of one he just send. It is a two hankie. My Dad was in the service and whenever we see a person in uniform, we always make sure we say "Thank You".

http://www.kluv.com/pages/3506599.php

Please enjoy and remember why we have the freedoms that we do.

May the Season bring you joy and peace.

Monster Cats

2008-12-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

These are our cats. I seem to grow everything big in my family; dogs, cats, kids, messes.

This is Midnight. He is VERY mellow, o.k. he doesn't really move much.

This is Simba. He is called the "no, no cat" He is slightly psycho and tends to attack, maim and/or destroy for no reason at all. He will let you pet him and then thank you with a chomp.

I have put the remote next to them for sizing purposes. I really don't feed them alot. They don't get treats or people food and they are on dry food for old, overweight cats with hairballs. Though you wonder how they get hairballs when they have such a hard time rolling over. When Elvis was alive, they did get more exercise. Maybe I can convince Clark that we need another dog for health reasons. What do you think??

Love

2008-12-03T20:50:00.001-08:00

Time Travel Tuesday

2008-12-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

I know my sister had another picture on her blog, but I happen to like this one better. It fits the theme because I traveled back in time to get it from last time we tried this!!

I remember when we used to all go out on the coldest day of the year (my mom always seemed to pick THE coldest day) and cut down a Christmas tree. When we lived in Florida, I remember climbing a fence and getting a tree from someone's field (yes, we had permission and no, we did not just leave a big tip). Now we would have to go to a tree farm and a big field to do this. Of course, we have had to resort to a fake tree due to allergy issues, but back then we would finish the day with a visit to Santa or a parade. I am just hoping that we get our lights up this year. With Clark's casino parties, there is not enough time for him to do it. I wonder if he would get upset if I ask my brother and brother-in-law to help. Probably, but the last two years we have not had lights and I know my children miss them! Lauren has already said something about decorations.

I hereby promise to try and do better about blogging even though I was the only one for a while!!

Updates

2008-11-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I blogged, but I have an excuse! November 4th, I had to bring Alex home from school early. Because our school was a polling place, lunch was in the classroom that day. As I was taking lunch to another kindergarten class, I looked into his classroom only to see him at his desk, asleep. His teacher said that he had been falling asleep all day and when she tried to stand him up, he would not wake up. When I got him home, he was very hot, about 103 degrees! The next day, we went to the doctor. After 3 tests and two x-rays, we were told that it should be a virus that had to run its course. It lasted until Saturday!! Lauren went camping that weekend with the Girl Scouts (more on that later) and came back early with a cough. It lasted through Sunday and she work up Monday with the same bad cough, so we went to the doctor to see about something to stop it. ( OTC meds were NOT doing anything) We were given two inhalers to try to stop it. Tuesday, she woke up with the fever. She has had it since. Yesterday, she threw up three times as well as coughing and fever. The doctor has prescribed an antibiotic and thinks she may have just come down with a combination of things. This morning at 3 am, oh yes 3 am, she had a fever of 103.1. So far today she has not had one (thank you meds), but we will see. I am VERY tired and if anyone else gets sick, I think I might be fired from my job!!

The Mom Song

2008-10-24T20:08:00.001-07:00

My friend sent me a link to this and it is hilarious!! I laughed so hard.... I know I have said all of these with the exception of maybe two.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1197846&fr=yvmtf

The many faces of Heather

2008-10-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

Cool Shoes!

2008-10-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

Speaker shoes.

She thinks these are the neatest shoes. She waited two weeks to get these.

Heather's room

2008-10-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

The clean section

The pile to be cleaned.

100 Post!!

2008-10-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is my official 100th post!! When I first started, I thought that I would be just messing around. I don't usually stick with this kind of stuff, but look at me... 100 posts.

It has been past due, but this blog is dedicated to Heather. I have not written a lot about Heather because, well, she is not really home very much. She works one full time and one part time job, she goes to school, and she plays hockey (ice hockey). She studies and hangs out with her friends. Well tonight she hung around for a little bit and I thought I would commemorate this with some pictures.. She is going out later, yes with a guy, but just for a soda. Is that what they call it? It's not really a date or anything. Yeah, right. Oh, well. I can't complain and I shouldn't tease her, but it is sooo much fun!! She is a great kid and the little guys love having her around.

Chiggers

2008-10-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

my sister found a link that was really informative.....in a gross sort of way!

http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/arthopo/chiggers/

Alex, again

2008-10-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

When you are bored and are trying to hide from your brother and he takes too long to look for you, this can happen. Its really quite sad.

My sister

2008-10-13T21:10:00.001-07:00

My sister, Leslie, has a way of coming into your house and leaving notes that you find much later in unusual places. I was recently going thru a bag of stuff that I have just had lying around and found this.....

My La-La Loves Me Way Too Much!

I told her one day that I would really like a piece of the moon-so she built a spaceship in her backyard and blasted off! She came back with a piece in the shape of a heart.

My La-La loves me way too much

I told her one day I wanted to pet a dino so she built a time machine in her garage and back to the Stone Age and brought back a T-Rex-he ate my mom's car!

My La-La loves me way too much

I told her one day I'd like to have a robot-so she got back in her time machine and Zap! went to the year 3000 and came back with Z-Bot 200, my very own robot butler. He even feeds my dog for me!

My La-La loves me way too much

But that's o.k. I love her that much, too.

One day she told me she wanted 40 kisses and 40 hugs----so I let my T-Rex take care of that.

How cute is that!! She must have written this while ago. I found it in the middle of a small spiral notebook. Just tucked in where Lauren or Alex or Aaron could find it later. It is so very sweet! I can just see it in a children's book with some really great illustrations. I love her!!

The Things I learned About Camping

2008-10-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Mom and I spent Saturday learning how to camp the Girl Scout way. Actually, we learned how to camp, period. I used to camp with my Dad when I was young, like 10 or so and Mom, well she has NEVER been camping. About three years ago, I went camping with Clark, Lauren and Aaron and the Boy Scouts. I decided then that the Hilton was the closest I would ever come to "roughing it". Now that we have the girl scout troop, Mom and I needed to be officially trained in the Girl Scout way of camping if we ever wanted to take the girls camping. We spent the entire day at a Girl Scout camp and really learned a lot. I actually started a fire, well sort of. We learned how to cook over a fire, coals and a propane stove. We learned about knots and what to do if there is a lost camper. We learned fire safety, camp safety, and the various ways to cook. We learned all kinds of things together.

Mom, however, learned something extra that she has taken home with her......CHIGGERS! Yes, that camping fun that just keeps on giving. I am not laughing at her in any way, shape, or form. I think it is amazing that she was willing to do this. I am just so very sad that she got this experience as well.

We came home tired and gross, but it was great fun. Well, more fun for me than Mom....

Girl Scout Training

2008-10-13T20:27:00.001-07:00

Special Visitor

2008-10-07T05:36:00.000-07:00

Smile, Big!!! Our first Tooth Fairy

We had a special visitor last night. While I was at Girl Scouts, Alex lost a tooth! He was messing with it all day at school and it finally came out yesterday! Daddy had to get the tooth lasso to help with the last bit. Clark said it was sticking out at about a 90 degree angle, so it was soo time. Alex got a crisp one dollar bill under his pillow. Its amazing how fast he got up this morning!

You gotta see this!!

2008-10-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

This is unbelievable!!

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:153548fa-f57e-4059-b069-e302972a3332&showPlaylist=&from=IV2_en-us_v11HP&fg=gtlv2

2008-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Does this mean he has too many toys?

See, they do love each other and I have proof!!!

HEY!!!

2008-09-23T20:08:00.001-07:00

There is a new reality show on called Last Blogger Standing. WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!?!?!

I win!!

Slug Bug

2008-09-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know or have been in a bubble, there is a car game called "slug bug". Basically what you do is look for Volkswagen Beetles and call them and then you get to hit your friends in the car with you. Since we thought that was just asking for someone to get beaten on all the time , we have changed the rules up a bit. Rules, you ask? Oh, yes there are actual rules for this game. Check out the website http://www.geocities.com/jaredperi/beetle/buggy.html.

Anyway, we don't allow hitting of any kind. We are on the point system and the one with the most points when the car reaches a destination, wins. Actually, my husband and son made up this point system.

1. A new model: one point
2. A convertible new model: two points
3. An old model: three points
4. A broken down slug bug (any model): 4 points
5. An old model convertible: 5 points
6. A bug with a logo of any kind or crazy decorations (mouse ears, pizza sign, etc.) wins the game automatically

We work on the honor system. You only have to prove a logo bug. If you call a non-bug, you lose a point. And, yes, you can be negative.

This game works great on long trips and works well in teams. Little guys get some leeway, because there are other cars that mimic a slug bug front, etc. There have been disputes and Clark says he is the Commissioner and all disputes need to go through him. We don't think so.

We had a lot of fun when we went to San Antonio on Friday with Clark.

Looking at that statement made me realize that I am a great big liar!! We tried to have a lot of fun. There, that's better. We decided at the last minute to head with Clark when he went for an interview. We were going to spend the night in the hotel and head back on Saturday morning. It seemed like a fantastic idea at the time. Someone should have hit me over the head to wake me up. Here's a recipe for stress:

Three kids who had just spent all day at school.
One Dad who had spent all day trying to get things set up for the baseball game Saturday.
One Mom who had been on her feet for three and a half hours dealing with 700-800 kids in a lunchroom and then come home to help the other crankies pack.
Please stir up and stick in an enclosed space for 5 hours. Add no DVD players that work and only one radio. To add spice, throw in bathroom breaks at different times and a Mom who gets carsick. Store in the oldest La Quinta in the world. The next day, start with a Dad who has to get to an interview bright and early and add kids who realize that there was NO pool. Shake up some more and stick back in an enclosed space that has gotten smaller somehow and drive for another 5 hours to get back to a baseball game. Please run me over now!!

There were some fun parts:
Clark had Alex pack himself. Guess how that went!! Alex had one shirt, his swim trunks, two snuggle friends and ALL of his Star Wars toys.

Lauren packed VERY well and remembered underwear. She just brought about 10 snuggle friends and then wanted to bring her body pillow, boppy, car pillow and two blankets.

Aaron was very close as well, just forgot the baseball pants he was supposed to change into for his game.

Clark just brought his suit and the clothes on his back.

We made a pit stop at the cricket capital of Texas on the way. Clark chose to park under a lamp post, which basically said "Let's do a remake of "The Birds" but with crickets"!!! AAARGH!

It was just too much to ask. We went to bed and tried to start over. This morning I woke up with a little guy on either side of me snuggling hard. Both Lauren and Alex have had a nap and we are going to go to bed early tonight as well.

This just lets me know how far from making a car trip to Disney we are. We are going to practice between now and next summer.

XXOO

The Bad Mommy book

2008-09-16T06:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the weather was so nice that the kids were out on the fort from about 3:00 until 5:30. They then wanted to go out front and play. We had a long talk about the fact that it was dinner time. They were bound and determined to go and play. I explained that if they went outside, they would not get dinner. They were choosing playing over dinner. We had a lengthy conversation (argument) about it. They ultimately went outside. I am not thinking that they will make that choice again. Alex got toast and Lauren got nothing. I know that this upsets my mother and my sister, but I am not a restaurant. It was time to eat and they already had played outside. It WAS beautiful, but come on! They had eggs and toast this morning and Lauren had two extra toaster scrambles. How much do you want to bet that they eat tonight?

It won't be the only mark in my bad mommy book, I am sure.

Morning Madness

2008-09-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

Here is our morning routine during the week:

Up anywhere between 6am and 6:45 am. It all depends on which child you are. Aaron is up as soon as his alarm goes off. He has put it across the room so he HAS to get up to get to it and (as Clark says) "beat it into submission" to get it to turn off. Alex varies on some yet to be determined factor on how soon and what mood he wakes up in. We are still trying to figure him out. He is usually WAY too upbeat and talkative for Lauren and I in the mornings. There are times that I have to say to him " Please let my ears wake up before you talk to me." Lauren is usually the last and slowest to get up. She is always in a bad mood until she gets to school and then the pod people take over and she becomes someone else entirely.

The kids get dressed completely and then eat breakfast. That is usually the "carrot" for them. "If you don't hurry, you won't get breakfast and we are having..." No, Mom, They don't really go without breakfast. There are times that Lauren gets toast and cheese in the car because she has taken so long, though! ( I blame her on my sister)

If they are done in time, they can watch TV until about 7:30 and then backpacks and car. So far, Alex is really the only one who has gotten TV on a regular basis.

Then, off to school and I start.

I get ready after they leave and do all the other things that need to be done before I go to work. Dishes, shopping, laundry, blogging..., you know, the important stuff! Then I am off to work at 10:00 until 1:45.

Clark has really been helping out around the house since I started working. He has also been doing carpool so I don't have to rush after work. Its great!

Sounds like fun, huh?

Just to remind you how cute they are!

2008-09-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hurray!

2008-09-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I have not been on in a while and I have a lot to tell you.

1. I am now employed. No, it is not a huge deal, but it is some money coming in. I work at the kids' school in the lunchroom as a monitor. What that means is a lot of opening packets, getting napkins, answering questions, and saying things like, " I am so sad that the red light is on. Now you have to be silent." They are winning, but I am fighting back!! I am currently by myself, but I am told that there will be another monitor soon. Teachers and staff are trying to be in there to help, but they have real jobs as well. The school has scheduled the older kids first and the kindergartners at the end when they are fresh and I am not! They are so cute, though. So many of them have been taught to clear their place when they are done and in the cafeteria, they have to wait until they are dismissed. It is hard to get across with everything else they have to remember. I have a few guys in every grade whose seats seem to be electrified since they cannot stay in them for longer than two seconds. We are working on that as well. I am thinking that Velcro is not an option.

2. Alex is trying really hard to have good days at school. We are trying to divide up his days and work on half at a time. At PE this week, he was having such a hard time being still and listening, that Coach had him exercise while the others were playing a game. I had to laugh!! We are doing pretty good with me working, he doesn't seem to mind it when I come by and give him a kiss.

3. Lauren seem to be testing her teacher this week, and me as well. I have found that it works better if someone else works with her in the cafeteria. She seems to respond better. I still go up and give her a kiss. Today, though I got a "MOM, this is embarrassing". Oh well!

4. Heather has decided to drop a class and go full-time at one of her jobs. Yes, we have talked with her. But you know how much smarter you are at 19. She is looking, again, into moving out and being on her own. Working full-time will help a lot, but we have tried to caution her about saving up first. But you know!

5. Aaron has been invited to join the National Junior Honor Society. We are very impressed. He had hit his mid 9 weeks slump. His grades have slipped a little and now he has to work hard to get them back up again. He seems to love the last minute thing. Track is going well, but it is the off season, so they are not doing much.

6. We have all (except for Lauren and Heather) had a bout with staph. It is a mild strain that is going around Aaron's middle school. What fun! We have all had medicine as well as an ointment that goes in your nose. Even Heather.

That seems to be all so far. Thanks for your patience. I'll try to keep up better!!!

C P S

2008-08-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

I love my children. I really do. Having said that, I just know there is a file on someones desk with my name on it!! Yesterday, I took the carpool to pick up the big kids. I had to turn in some paperwork for Aaron's schedule change. I left one big guy in the car with the other medium guys listening to a book on CD. I took Alex with me to the school office. While we were in the office, Alex acted like he had to go to the bathroom, so I pointed it out across the hall. When I got the new schedule and turned around he was gone. I called into the bathroom, and the lady on the bench in the hall said that she saw him go outside. I began to get very concerned. I went outside and proceeded to start the hunt. The longer it took the madder and more scared I got. When I got in sight of the van, I saw him inside. I then pulled him out and, in front of all the other parents in the carpool lanes and waiting on the grass, swatted his little hinney three times, hard. Here's how I imagine the conversation would go... Look at that little boy. Can you believe that his mother would let him wander around that little? Then, Look at that mother. She is really beating that little boy. Either way, I lose!

To top that off, last night, Lauren was very congested and woke up asking for the detonator! It took me a few minutes to realize that she meant the humidifier. Or did she? She may have really needed to loosen up that congestion.

Other Laurenisms... popsiwiggle (Popsicle) refrigilator ( refrigerator) Aggretate ( aggravate and irritate) owbie ( owwie) We can't say booboo because that is what we call Aaron. Only she had to change that as well and calls him booey. She is her own person that is for sure!!

SCHOOL

2008-08-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

Its official!! School has started for everyone. Aaron is in the 8th grade, Lauren is in the 2nd grade, and Alex is in Kindergarten. Heather will start tomorrow and she is sooo not ready. Everyone got up and going in plenty of time, but not without a few bumps. Alex decided he did not like school (even though he had not yet been), Lauren was upset because Alex was going to get to rest after lunch, and we discovered that Aaron did not have enough clothes that fit! I really thought that we had gone over that. Lunch was going to be chicken rings with a dinner roll and mashed potatoes. A winner with everyone! We all had our backpacks and has already turned in out school supplies and were ready to go. We left in plenty of time but did not take into consideration all of the thousand parents doing the same thing! Clark finally dropped us off and left to drive around. We then stood in a line to get in with a million other people and watched as some people tried to jump ahead because they had other places to be. Well, so did I!! As well as about half of those in line with us. There was general rumbling about that. Aaron took Lauren to her class while I took Alex who promptly proceeded to run on ahead! When we got to his class, I had to call him back to get a kiss! I then went to Lauren's class and on the way saw Aaron helping another mom with an armload of school supplies to her child's class while trying to keep up with a toddler. What a guy!! After saying goodbye to Lauren, we hurried to get to Aaron's school because we had to see about a schedule change. My heart was broken again when he asked to be let out first while we parked so he could go on in. We talked to someone about changing Aaron's schedule to include Track. At schedule pick-up, Clark and Aaron were pulled aside by the coach to see why Aaron was not in track. He has four pre-AP classes as well as Gateways to Technologies, Mythology and Theater 2. The counselor is looking into it for us. It should prove to be interesting. Clark and I did laundry and went to lunch twice and worked out carpool arrangements. Not much time off for us yet! No pictures from today but we will get them this week when there is less craziness....maybe!

Lauren

2008-08-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know Lauren, you know how much of her own person she is. For those of you who don't..... she is only seven years old chronologically but 20 years old mentally. Or at least in attitude. She is very strong-willed and knows that she wants things a certain way and expects tings to be that way. She is also very loving, with a great imagination and a lot of energy. She is smart and artistic and super smart. When she is older, all of these will serve her well. She will not bend to peer pressure and no one will take advantage of her. It is just getting her there that is the adventure! We are working with her on how she needs to treat others and the difference between how she talks to friends and how she talks to adults. This is kind of our fault. We have always treated her as a regular person and not a sub-person called a child.

I bring this up because we went shoe shopping for school a few days ago. Clark and I have decided that Lauren has to either make a LOT of money herself or marry someone who does. The only shoes she liked were the ones that were over $69.99! They were definitely cute shoes but I am not going to pay that much for shoes that she will grow out of before she wears them out. We finally convinced her to get some that were about $40.00 which was good because the store was having a buy one get the second half off. They only way we could convince her was to tell her that she was going to keep her old shoes which are one and a half sizes too small.

Please help me , we now have to go clothes shopping!!!

Aaron

2008-08-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

In going through all those papers that pile up from three children going to school, I have found several "keepers". Yes, I keep everything that my children do throughout the school year much to the chagrin of my husband who happens to be a "look at it and throw it away" kind of guy. I do eventually go through all of it to pick out samples to help me remember how much they change. Usually it is artwork or stories or crafts or anything that has their hand prints or pictures. This past year with all three in school, I have gotten rid of so much that all I have left is only about 6 inches high. In fairness, this includes Aaron's poetry folder, Lauren's art folder and various kindergarten projects by Alex, so it is not "just" paper. While going through things I came across these examples of Aaron's writing. I will type it exactly like he wrote it.

What Makes Me Special

I am helpful.

I wonder about what will happen tomorrow.

I hear everything around me.

I see my friends and family.

I want to make good grades.

I am happy.

I pretend that I'm an astronaut.

I feel other's pain.

I listen to my friends.

I worry about my health.

I cry when I hear something sad.

I am thankful.

I understand how some people may feel.

I am respectful.

I dream about becoming a chef.

I try to do my best.

I hope that I will suceed.

I am who I am.

Mountains

Mountains

Majestic, tall

towering, unchanging, enticing

asking to be climbed

Himalayas

Forests

A forest is vast,

always filled with animals

the trees dance at night.

Black

Black is the darkest nights that hold all our fears.

Black is the sadness we feel when there is a mournful death.

Black is the emptyness inside my heart when someone I know has passed away.

Whats inside of Me

Inside of me is a raging river fighting to do what is right.

Inside of me is a lost pet, sad and alone not knowing where to turn.

Inside of me is a leaning oak tree with no reason to be excited.

Inside of me is a dark empty place where no happiness can go.

Inside of me is a falling bridge without the will to stand.

Inside of me is a fearfull mouse scared to speak his mind.

I know these are not poet laureate quality, but for a 13 year old, I think these are amazing!

He impresses me more and more every day!!

Leaving things to God

2008-08-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

We have been really been working on putting our lives into God's hands, but our money is running out quickly. So, as hard as this is for me to say, I am looking for a job. I hate the idea of leaving my children to go to work, but Clark will be here and they are not babies. Hopefully it will not be for long, but I also believe that God helps those who help themselves. School is starting and Alex may be able to get into all day kindergarten which will help with the job situation. I am trying at area grocery stores and to be a crossing guard for the kids' school. Just say a prayer that things work out.

In proofreading this I realize that I sound a little depressed. That is not the case. I am not exactly overjoyed about our situation, but I trust in God so I know that things will work out. Since I do not claim to presume to know God's plan for me, I will just continue on as best as I can.

I know I am saying something...

2008-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel as though you are speaking and nothing is coming out? I have been trying to talk to my children all morning and it is as if there is only air escaping from my mouth. I must be really tired and cranky today. I would really like to vent here, unfortunately my mother reads this as well.

I went to a Girl Scout deal last night and had a great time. It was a lot of fun. We went to plan the calendar for the upcoming year. We had a lot of good ideas and some crazy ones. I did get a great recipe, though. Its called Summertime S'Mores. You take graham crackers and line them up on a plate, tray or whatever will fit in your freezer. Then get a box of chocolate ice cream and cut it into slices like bread. Put the slices on the graham crackers. Spoon some marshmallow cream over the top (like a real marshmallow) and then cover with another graham cracker. Freeze and eat. They are sooo good!!

My Day

2008-07-25T20:53:00.001-07:00

Lauren

2008-07-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

This is how people think of Lauren. Rough, tough, rather be in boys clothes (in fact, she sleeps in her brother's outgrown boxers). She wants to be a rock star general when she grows up. We have had several conversations about how she does not want to be a girl because boys get to do fun stuff. I have had to explain that she can do anything that a boy can do except be a father and pee standing up. Even then, I figure she'll work on the pee thing. We have talked about girl race car drivers and girls in the military and that soon there will be a girl President. If she works hard enough, she might even be the first girl President. We have a poster that show all the space shuttle missions that had a Girl Scout on them, so she could even go into space. We have read about Marie Curie and talked about scientists. We have also read about Sacajawea and how she was the one who led Lewis and Clark. She thought that was funny.
Now I have not tried to turn her into a pretty princess, I figure I would let her be the person she wanted to be. This, by the way, makes my sister VERY sad. She has twin boys and really needs to have a girl that she can do hair with and nails, etc. My brother's daughter loves softball and cannot stand to get her hair done. My sister is out of luck!!

Or, so we thought.

This afternoon, there was a repeat of the Oprah Winfrey show that had the Jonas Brothers on. For those of you who are out of the loop: the Jonas Brothers are the latest, greatest singing group out there for the preteen/teen crowd. Lauren Loves them. We went to the Texas State Fair to see them live. It did not matter that we stood so far back that we had to look at a screen as we melted in the Texas heat. We were there!!! We have their bonus CD that comes with a DVD of a live concert. Well, as we watched Oprah, she was talking about two young ladies who had emailed her show repeatedly asking for a Jonas Brothers segment. The message finally got through. Oprah even arranged for a surprise for the girls. At a concert the girls had gone to, the Jonas Brothers called them onstage and told them that everyone was going to the Oprah show. It was hilarious to see the look on the girls faces. As I was laughing, I looked over and saw Lauren crying! Her brother began to bother her and she kicked him. I actually had to say " if you are going to cry and get emotional because those girls got to see the Jonas Brothers and go to the Oprah show, I am going to turn the TV off!" My sister laughed at me.

I might have a girl after all!

2008-07-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I have news. You could call it good news in a way. After a lot of praying and talking and yes, crying, we have decided that Clark will NOT take the job in Kuwait. I recently went to a talk by Steve Ray, who wrote Crossing the Tiber. He spoke about showing our children that we prayed and believed in God, not just saying it. This was a great teaching moment for that. When we told the children that we had prayed about this, they asked "What did you pray?" Clark explained that he asked that if this was the job God meant for Clark to take, that some of the stress and anxiety would be lifted from us. And that if this was not the path for our family, that God would show us a very definite sign. We got that sign Wednesday night and sent the email that night to the company saying that Clark was not taking the job. I am not going to tell you the signs we received because they are rather private. We did share them with the children and that we are putting our future into God's hands and believe that He will provide for us until the right job comes along. Aaron started with tears of of relief and Alex jumped up and hugged Clark. Lauren was a little more introspective. She snuggled up and asked a lot of questions and signs and prayer, etc. All in all, I think it is the best decision for us all even though we continue to search. So, keep us in your prayers and thank you for all your thoughts.

New Job

2008-07-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Clark has been offered a job. We are happy about that part, but the rest of the story, to quote Paul Harvey, is very nervous making. It is for a company that has an office in Kuwait City, Kuwait. They have a military contract that means that Clark will have to take trips into Iraq to the bases there. He will be there for about nine weeks and then home for three weeks. It all depends on the rotations of the other employees or when his side trips are. We have never been apart for more than a week in the last 18 years. It will be quite an adjustment for all of us. We are going to wait to tell the little guys until the trip is only a week out. We are making arrangements now, though. Aaron is really being a bigger guy about this. We are going to do our best to not have him be "the man of the house". Clark and I have really talked about this. He has set up a support system of guys for Aaron if he needs to talk or hang out with the boys or whatever. We are really trying to be positive about this, but Clark does NOT want to go. However, as this is the only job offer he has to date, he is going to take it.

I have been praying about it and trying to get him to do the same. It is just hard for Clark to not be in control of everything at all times. He cannot just put this into God's hands and let it go. He wonders why I am not more upset and I have tried to explain it to him. I have to have faith that God is doing what is best for us and will always be there for us to rely on. I guess you could say that I am at peace with the idea and am moving forward to help my children adjust as well as they can. Please keep my family in your prayers as we go through this part of our lives.

There are so many other things that I can say about this, but I have a friend who can now read very well looking over my shoulder so I will have to finish this later.

Birthday Pictures

2008-07-09T09:56:00.001-07:00

This is THE edible arrangement.

The snickers cake. He even had the pieces planned so the we all got a ton of frosting.

Clark cheating at the water fight. The balloons were gone very quickly and then the hose was brought out.

Half of the crowd at my house. The other half was grazing in the kitchen.

Birthday Milestone

2008-07-09T09:37:00.001-07:00

Aaron had his 13th birthday on the 7th. Yes, I said 13th!! I now have an official teenage son. I am not sure that I am ready for it. It was different when Heather turned 13. She was living with her mom at the time. It didn't seem so hard then. With Aaron, it is hard!! He is about 6 inches taller with these HUGE feet! I think he will get to six feet easily.

We had family over on the day of his birthday and he had a lot of fun. He asked for an edible arrangement from my mom and ate it all in two days without much help. I expect a few complaints about stomach problems. He chose a Snickers cake and ice cream.

The next day, he had friends over for a day of games and food and food and food! There were 11 boys and one girl as well as Lauren and Alex in my house. We would have had more, but it was a last minute plan and we couldn't get a hold of some of his friends. He was sad that a couple of really good friends weren't there, but we told him that we could have something with those friends later in the week when it could be just the two of them. They had a pocket tanks tournament which Lauren played in. They ate a weird concoction that Clark made with spaghetti and chili. They had a water balloon fight and then they played Trivial Pursuit. Alex had fallen asleep for the water balloon fight, so we had a mini one after everyone had left for him. Aaron had one friend spend the night, which was a surprise since I thought we weren't having any. Aaron said he had a great time which was good because with Clark out of a job, money has been really tight. I was worried that we would not be able to do anything for his big day which would have made me very sad. The worst part is that Aaron would have understood.

Oh, well. He is a great kid!!

Girl Scout Summer Camp

2008-06-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last Week Lauren and I went to camp Get A Clue. It was what they called a twilight camp from 4:30 -8:30 . We had a lot of fun. Lauren said she was tortured by her unit leader because she had to do things like make SWAPs and play games and stuff like that. I was with the Junior group and Alex got to come one day and see Miss Bridget, his favorite. We actually earned the Sizzler patch which is not really fun to earn. It means we were camping when it was over 100 degrees!

This week, Lauren is at Treasure Island from 9-3. I did not go to this one because I thought that it would be too long away from Alex and Aaron and I wanted both of them to be alive when I got home. We are carpooling with a little girl who is such a morning person. She is very perky and talkative and, as we all know, Lauren is soo not! Lauren is showing great restraint and not getting too upset. She has asked for music to be on so that our friend is quiet on the ride. It helps some. The pictures above are from camp last week.

I'll get back to you with more from this week. Stay cool!!

My crazy sister

2008-06-12T08:19:00.001-07:00

My sister was without a computer for a very, very, very long time. Now she has one and is back with a vengeance!! So, let's make her happy.....

School is out and everyone did well. Aaron ended with straight "A's" for the year. We also got his TEKS scores in the mail. He was perfect on his math (for the third year in a row), commended for science and just shy of commended for writing. We are very proud of him!! He got into all four pre-ap classes for next year as well as the electives he wanted, so he is excited about school for next year.
His Little League team ended their season undefeated and won the tournament as well. Eight of the kids on the team were nominated for the All Star team and seven were chosen. We had the last team meeting at the Airhogs game and the boys were treated like kings. To let you know, the Airhogs are an independent minor league baseball team in Grand Prairie. It was a lot of fun! The boys each received a baseball and marker from the team for autographs in a bag provided by Clark. Clark also had baseball cards of each boy made up and each boy received a set. They each received a team award in a plaque. At the beginning of the game, the boys were to run onto the field with the corresponding Airhog player for the National Anthem. It almost made me cry! The middle of the seventh inning, the boys were on the field again while an announcement was read over the loudspeaker. Their accomplishments were listed and as the announcer kept going, more and more of the crowd was on its feet giving a standing ovation!! I cried again! The Airhogs players came out and applauded as well. I don't think these boys will ever forget it.

Lauren did well in school and ended her year well, also. We have decided to keep her in Parkview and see what second grade will bring. We plan to get her evaluated at UNT like we did Aaron when he was in second grade to see what we can do to make school easier for her. She has a very full summer schedule with two girl scout camps, horseback riding, Brownies To Go, as well as kids in the neighborhood. It is just a matter of pacing. She has already become my "little nut brown hare".

Alex is going on to Kindergarten despite him not showing Mrs. Robertson that he has learned anything. He has been as adventure. He has nothing planned this summer other than going.... just going. He somehow got a 24hr stomach critter and so we started out summer on the couch. He has rebounded fine and is currently running through the house with his sister.

Clark is still looking for a job and has been on several interviews. so we are praying and trying to let God guide us. It is hard to do that with the end of the month looming large and nothing coming in. But, things happen for a reason and we try to keep that in mind.

Me, well, I have had an adventure so far!! I was bit by something, we think it was a spider, and have been on antibiotics that have laid me on the couch. Clark and Aaron have been doing an excellent job around here with laundry and dishes. A couple of days ago, I had a fever that then broke an went away, or so I thought. I am now on my second day a full body rash that is making my skin CRAWL!!! Try not to be testy with that going on. I am now back on my computer and looking at the state of the rest of my house. I am really trying hard not to cry and hope that no one comes over to see me. My friend, Satia, came over one night and made me stew when Clark had the kids out and now I am really sad that she saw my house like this. Mom took the kids to see a movie and she was in my house as well. ARGH! Oh well, I guess this will just give me something to do.

I think that this should make my crazy sister happy, don't you?

In the meantime, Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!!