Random

So, I skipped out on the trip to Houston for the cookie exchange. I am really stressed out right now and it probably would have really helped me to take a moment to relax, but just the thought of the trip was causing my anxiety to go through the roof. I know many of you can't understand this...but my anxiety can be crippling at times. So, I decided to change my weekend schedule. We were supposed to take family photos Saturday morning then take the kids to sea world. Unfortunately, my mom wasn't able to meet up with us until 4. Which meant that I took the kids to Sea World on Sunday. JR didn't want to go, and I was scared of taking them by myself, so I called my awesome sister! JR said he would go, but only if I couldn't find someone to go with me. Luckily, Vanessa and Kyle said yes!

The kids had such a great time...we may actually go again - I doubt it, but we might. I am SOOOO glad, we decided to see Santa while we were there because I was supposed to take the kids to the mall yesterday after school, but I forgot that we had JR's company Christmas party last night, so I wasn't able to take them! YUCK. I have our 10 month house inspection today, so today wont work either- grrr! Tomorrow is Logan's last day in school, so he has his Christmas party tomorrow, so I am going to spend most of the day putting together his classmate's goody bags! Maybe I can take the kids to see Santa tomorrow after school??? Who the hell knows. I still have so much to do!

Last night when we got home from the Christmas party, we watched Leno because Megan Fox and Johnny Manziel was on. I really like Megan Fox, so I was excited.

ME: I can't believe she had a baby 3 months ago!

JR: I can.

Me: WHAT? Look at how thin she is.

JR: ehh...she's got some residual...look at her pooch.

Me: JR - when you say things like that it makes me feel extremely fat. That girl had a baby 3 months ago, she's WAY thinner than I am, and the camera adds 10 pounds.

JR: Well, she's probably wearing like 8 girdles...look at her, she cant even sit.

Me: They're called spanks.


Here are just a few of our Family pics!

Holy Crap, I'm Behind!

Okay, really there is no excuse for not blogging. First, I just finished book number 440 last night, so I only have 10 more to go to reach my goal! Pretty exciting!!!

Last week, I spent the entire week disinfecting my house. I cleaned EVERYTHING from top to bottom, shampooed carpets, cleaned the walls and baseboards...EVERYTHING! I also did ALL the laundry in the house and cleaned out closets and drawers. I have a box of girl stuff and a bag of boy stuff to give to a friend over the holidays! I then went through all the toys, loaded up a trashbag full of things to donate and things to throw away. The throw away sack went out with the garbage, and the donate bag went to the drop off place in the Target parking lot. Usually I like to take the kids with me and drop them off in person, but this year...I just dont have time for that.

Right now I am trying to make some sort of plan to get everything done ASAP....so far, here's what I have.
Today - Lunch with a friend...Hobby Lobby shopping.

Thursday - HEB shopping for cookies and fill up with gas.

Friday - Bake 3 dozen cookies

Saturday morning - Christmas pictures taken...rush home, upload photos, enter photos into Shutterfly account, whip up a Christmas card, and finish up the photo books (They are complete...just waiting on our Christmas photo.) Press the order button!

Saturday afternoon - Drive to Houston for Cookie exchange.

Saturday night - Drive back home

Sunday - Take kids to Sea World...Glad I am writing this all down - becaus I just realized that I will wait to order Shutterfly stuff until after I upload pics from Seaworld!!! Duh! Gotta get the kids at Candy Cane Lane in there!

Monday - Me and two other mom's from Logan's school are taking all our kids to Austin to go get pics with Santa at the mall. I figure if we go on Monday after school the traffic wont be so bad.

Monday evening I will finalize my Christmas cart and make the purchases online. I sure hope that give amazon enough time to get my shipment here so I can wrap everything before Christmas! YIKES Geez! I don't even know if anything will be ordered in time...I swear next year, I am getting our Christmas pics done The day after Thanksgiving....I do this every year and end up stressed to the bejesus!
Happy thoughts, Happy thoughts, Happy thought!!!
Good note...I can have the photo books sent directly to my mom and grandparents...I can always go to Target and just put together a quick photo card right there for the rest of friends and family..actually I think I can do it on Shutterfly and have them print it at Target - that may actually only be prints...I need to look in to that! Grrr.
Oh man...I also need to get my niece and nephews gifts! UGHHHH AND MY SISTER! SHIT!SHIT! SHIT!

I also have to make all the kids in Logan's class little gifts and one for his Teacher...hence the trip to HOBBY LOBBY...I think I will make my sister something! Sounds good!

many strange conversations

Over the last few weeks I have had some crazy, funny, embarrassing, irritating conversations...

BRUSHING LANDRY'S HAIR -

Me - Landry sit still.
Landry - Ouch. That hurts. Ouch
Me - If you'll sit still it wont hurt so much.
Landry - (growl noise) You're pissing me off!
Me - What did you just say?
Landry - I said you're pissing me off!
Me - Umm...Landry, we don't say those words..those are big people words.
JR - Wonder where she heard that?
Me - (giving JR the evil eye) I know, I know! (growl noise)
Landry - Am I pretty now?
Me - (chuckle) Yes, you are so pretty!

ps...she hasn't said piss since then...and it was a few weeks ago! PHEW!

CHRISTMAS TALK -

Me - Logan what do you want for Christmas this year?
Logan - I want 3 things.
Me - Okay, what 3 things?
Logan - I want a 3D DS, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and a red Toad. (not a real toad but he wants a plush Toad, a character from Super Mario).
Me - Okay, well we will have to write a letter to Santa.
Logan - Last Christmas, Santa brought me a sword that has two pieces, some toy story cups, Mario Kart 7, and an Umi Zoomi game.
Me - WOW! you're right...I can't believe you remember last Christmas!
Logan - Landry wants 3 thinigs too. (It's hard to keep up with Logan sometimes because he goes back and forth between thoughts and ideas in his head!)
Me - Okay, what does Landry want?
Logan - She want's a DSi, Mario v. Donkey Kong, and a puppy game.
Me - hmmmm...well, maybe instead of Mario v. Donkey Kong she can pick a girly game, like a princess game, or a Dora game.
Logan - Yeah, she can get the Princess Peach game! It's where Peach has to save baby Mario and Luigi!
Me - (sigh!)

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE TERM "DEAD WEIGHT" AND COMING TO TERMS WITH YET ANOTHER LIE MY DAD TOLD ME GROWING UP!

Last night both kids fell asleep on the couch, so I carried them to their beds....
Me: (breathing really heavy after getting Logan upstairs) God! He is heavy! I'm a little disturbed that he is so hard to carry.
JR: Why is that disturbing? He's half you're size.
Me: Well, I know but you're supposed to be able to carry twice your body weight, and Logan is only a little less than half my weight.
JR: Why would you be able to carry twice you're body weight?
Me: I don't know, it's a fact.
JR: (Shaking his head) Where did you come up with that?
ME: My dad used to tall me that all the time. When I was in agg, my dad would always make me carry the 50 lb. feed back all the way from the truck to the pig barn. I would always have to stop, like ten times, because it was so far, and he would get onto me saying that I was supposed to be able to lift twice ymy body weight.
JR: How much did you weigh at the time?
Me: 75-80 pounds
JR: Sara, you're dad just didn't want to carry the feed bag. (still giving me the strange look as if I am out of my mind.)
Me: Great! So yet another thing my dad lied about! Just like when he told us he took the animals out to the pasture so they had more room to run and play. ( I only recently found out that this meant the animal had died...stupid me, I really thought they went out to a pasture!)

Me: I wonder what dead weight is?
JR: What?
Me: I mean, I know what it is...I mean, carrying Logan up the stairs while he's asleep is different than carrying him when he's awake, but I don't really understand why. I mean, he weighs 47 pounds, whether he's awake or asleep, so why is it different.
JR: (He's giving me the look)
Me: Let me ask you this...If you have a 10 pound bag of Oatmeal and a 10 pound block of concrete, does the concrete weigh more?
JR: WHAT? NO, they weigh the same...10 pounds.
Me: So what makes the concret SEEM heavier? Is it the mass?
JR: What are you talking about? They are both 10 pounds they are equal in weight.
Me: so maybe it's the density?
JR: Do you know what density is?
Me: mmmm...no, I don't really remember.
JR: Density is mass divided volume.
Me: That explains nothing.
JR: It explains that you should NEVER teach our children ANYTHING to do with math or science.
Me: Maybe its because of the distribution? (Now I am basically talking to myself) No, That can't be right because I can hold him in the exact same position but he still feel heavier when he's asleep.
JR: (sigh) What are you trying to figure out? (sigh)
Me: I want to know why Logan weighs more when he's asleep than when he's awake, except that I know he doesn't ACTUALLY weigh more it just seems like it, so it has to be "dead weight"? But I don't know what the definition of "dead weight" is.
JR: (He gives me the "You're out of your mind" look) When you hold Logan when he is awake He is able to hold some of his own weight because he is holding his own head up or he wraps his arms or legs around you, so the weight is dristributed between your arms and legs and back, but when he is asleep, wh isn't controlling any of his muscles so most of his weight goes to your arms and back, so he feels heavier.
Me: That makes sense.
JR (Shakes his head) That is going on facebook!

Crazy excitement

This is going to sound like I am bragging...I kind of totally am!
I have ONE pair of jeans...well ONE that semi fits. Really they are "skinny" jeans that are just too big for me, so they look like regular jeans that can be worn as baggy skinny jeans. My mom commented a couple of weeks ago,
"Do you own any other jeans?"
I said yeah, but they dont fit.
Mom: Then why don't you buy some that do and throw the others away.
Me: Because all of my other jeans are too big, and you never know when I might start putting on weight...and when that happens, I will have jeans- so I wont have to go shopping. Plus, I never really leave the house, so why would I need more jeans?
Mom: because those dont fit either.
Me: I know, but it took me almost a year to find these, and I don't want to give them up.
Mom: So keep them and get at least another pair that actually fit.
Me: But it takes SOOOO long to find jeans, AND on top of that I have to take at least one or both kids shopping with me, so I end up buying clothes for them instead of me, AND it's so hard because no one EVER has pants that are long enough for me so I just end up going to 9 different stores, never finding anything and getting frustrated.
Mom: You are so wierd!
Me: I know.
Vanessa piped in to the conversation with different stores I should try that carry longer jeans...some of these places I had NEVER even heard of. She mentions 5.7.9, and I say yeah, that wont work. I wear a size 9, and I doubt they are long
Vanessa: Ummm...there is no way you wear a 9.
Me: Yeah, I do...these are a size 9.
Vanessa: Right...and they are way too big.
Me: ughhh....okay, okay, I will look for some jeans. Geesh!

on Friday Jr and I went shopping, we had to get the kids some new jackets for the football game that night. Jr wasn't in the mood for a shopping excursion, especially on Black Friday, so we just went to JC Penney and Walmart...I had already looked at Target, but they didn't have any jackets I really liked for the kids. PLUS, Target jeans ARE NOT LONG ENOUGH...no matter how many times I try!
At Penney's we found a jacket for Logan and I found a pair of jeans...they are super skinny jeans, but they are a size 5...so yeah, that's where the bragging comes in. I still can't believe I was able to fit my big ass into those pants. I thought maybe I read it wrong, and I think I checked the tag about 10 times...I tried on about 8 different pair, all size 5...and they all fit, however, none of them were long enough except for the one pair of skinny jeans that I bought. I finally found a pair of ling pants, but they were a size 4, and while the zipped and buttoned, I felt a little "stuffed" in them, I was afraid that if I ever wore them and had to step up into the truck, there was a good chance they might split...so I decided to wait until this week when they have restocked there clothes. Next we went to Wal-Mart, where we found a jacket for Landry. I found a pair of jeans, that I don't really like...they are flare...which I hate, and in all honesty, they are a little short, but they were 6 bucks and I had to have a pair to wear to the game. I was planning to wear my long johns under them so I got them in a 7 and ended up having to wear a belt...but oh well, like I said they were $6. I probably wont ever wear them again, but it was worth it to be able to wear jeans without holes in the cold weather!

Also, Thursday night after Thanksgiving, the kids went to Galveston with JR's mom for the weekend so JR and I were able to do some Christmas shopping. We got Logan a 3DS and Mario game and we got Landry a regular DSi XL with a game. These are the Santa gifts, so it was nice to be able to get them and hide them without having to worry about sneaking it around the kids! I am ordering the rest of their gifts online, except for clothes, and stocking stuffers which I plan to get either this week or next - depends on when I get motivated enough! LOL

I am going to try to talk Jr into getting our family pictures done this weekend so I can hurry up and order our Christmas pics. I think I am going to do a photo book for my mom, grandmother, carol, and JR's grandma. Then I have to get something for the niece and nephews and JR...I am getting boots, and then I am all done with my Christmas shopping! Woohoo!

JR and I put lights on the bottom level of our house on Friday. Our extension ladder is only 20 feet, and we need about 35 feet to reach the top of the house. Jr's idea was for me to climb out Landry's window, put the extension ladder on that roof, and climb all the way to the top....so I did (because I'm an idiot), then he wanted me to lay down, hang my head and upper body off the side and staple the lights....so there I was, almost 40 feet in the air, shaking like a leaf, I tried to lay down, but I was too scared...there was just no way....so now we have to rent a 40 ft. ladder to finish those lights.

The kids and I put the Christmas tree up on Sunday...I still need a star for the top of the tree and another strand of lights. There are a couple of pinterest projects I would like to do...but am waiting on JR to bring me some 2x4's...I told him if I dont have them by the end of the week, I am going to the houses they are building across the street and taking what I need from their trash pile! LOL Also I need to make a wreath, and pick out a few indoor project's I want to do. I am hoping to add a couple each year or through out the year so that one day we can have a really Christmassy house!

Wanting to do too much

So much I want to do with the kids since Logan is out of school this week. In no particular order.
#1 - Take the kids shopping for new winter clothes
#2 - Do some pinterest crafts
#3 - finish cleaning out kids closets
#4 - Take the kids to Sea World for the Christmas Adventure (although I hate doing Christmas things before Thanksgiving.)
#5 - Bake cookies with the kids.
#6 - Do some Holiday shopping
#7 - Go grocery shopping...which is always a long and terrible thing to do with two kids.

book reviews and book clubs!

So many of you know that I have a terribly wonderful addiction of reading. As of today, I have read 397 books this year. I have 53 more to go in order to meet my goal and I really think I can make it. Recently I found a blogger (you can find her blog on the right hand side of my page) called the well read wife. On a whim, I decided to sign up for a chance to read and review a book on her page. I was selected and should be getting the book within the next two weeks, but I am super excited.

I have often thought about much fun it would be to join a book club, to be able to get together with others that share my passion for reading. There are a few problems with the idea. The first is that I read A LOT! So, for me to be in a book club that meets once a week or bi-weekly, or once a month, I would have to make sure to read the particular book the day before our meeting. I don't think anyone would be willing to meet daily to go over a book! LOL

I have also thought about reviewing some of the really good books that I read. I know you can offer a review on Amazon, but I thought about also doing some on my blog...I just don't want to bore people....but I do feel like there are books I read that should just be shared with everyone! LOL

ON another note, I sent a note to Logan's teacher yesterday to discuss his progress in his new reading group. He has only been there for a week and a half, so I don't want to push...but I wanted to know how well he is adjusting. Is he struggling? You know, basically being a worry wort! I am excited to say that his note home was wonderful. His teacher said that he is progressing quickly and after only a short time, he is at the top of his new reading group! She said he is doing great and will most likely be moved up to the green group before the Christmas break! YAY!

I know I sound like a crazy person worrying about Logan's school work, but as you can see - I love to read, I just want my children to love it as much as I do. I feel like that crazy dad who loves football so much that they force their son to start a vigorous workout schedule at the age of 5 so that he can play pro-ball later in life...except that my craziness isn't a sport- it's reading! Oh well!

I have a couple of things coming up...Thanksgiving (obviously), Dec. 15 I am going to North Houston to do a cookie exchange with my sisters-in-law and their friends, Dec. 17 is Jr's Christmas party, then we have Christmas and New Year's, and then VEGAS! We are now 62 days from our Vegas trip! So excited...my biggest problem is that I will be away from the kids for 3 days, and if I stay the night in Houston after the cookie exchange...that makes 4 days in one month that I wont be with my kids. I was thinking about it last night, and I think I have some abandonment issues! I won't go into all of the reasons for these issues, but I feel like I am terrified that if I leave my kids they will think I am leaving them forever. Landry is now a little over three and I have only spent 2 nights away from her. Logan is 5.5 and if you count the week he was in the hospital at his birth, the week Jr and I were married, plus another 10 he has stayed the night with his grandma, or my parents...I have missed 3 weeks worth of nights with my son. Of course, while he was at the hospital, I visited him every day for as long as I could...heck 4 of those days I was in the hospital with him. I have said since the day that we had to leave him there that it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Emotionally, I was destroyed. Even now, when I think about that moment of having to leave the hospital without my baby, I get choked up...which is irrational because he came home and is perfectly healthy now. The nights that he has stayed with his grandma in Galveston, or my parents...it's usually one of those things where he spends the day with us and stays the night with his cousins or Grandma Carol...so it isn't that I was away from him for a whole 24 hours...but still just to think I have missed 3 weeks of my child's life is disturbing. I guess 24 out of 2000 isn't too bad, but he is already talking about sleep overs with his friends, and as he gets older I will miss more and more time with him. Before I know it, he will be the one leaving me, going off to college and beginning his life as an adult. I need time to slow down...I don't want to miss out on spending time with my kids, which is probably why I have such a hard time leaving them. Yeah, I am kind of a psychopathic mother - It's okay, I am aware of my illness. God help my children when they start dating. No one will ever be good enough - I already feel sorry for my future daughter and son-in-laws!

mum's the word

Lately I have been listening to what I call "smooth music". Basically it's Mumford & Sons, Phillip Phillips, Alex Clare, Fun., etc. I like the beat, I don't know..it makes me happy!

We are having a problem getting to eat his lunch at school, so it looks like I am going to have to figure out something to pack him for lunch. He comes home everyday acting likes he is starving. I discussed it with the teacher, she said he isn't eating! Grrr!

Landry is her usual crazy self. She alternates from a sweet heart to a whine monster with the blink of an eye. I know it's her age...but yuck! I hate whining!

I am ready for Thanksgiving! Still trying to get our plans in order...but my mouth is starting to water for some turkey and dressing! LOL

oops!

So I don't know if I blogged about this, but Logan was moved out of his tier 2 group and into tier 1. If you don't remember, basically it means he no longer has to leave the classroom for extra help with his reading. Tier 1 is the "yellow" group. When he was leaving the classroom for the extra help, their were 3 other children that went with him, and he was the only one to get moved up. The other 3 still go to Mrs. Arnolds plus another student who was in Tier 1, but still isn't quite getting it, so she was moved to Tier 2. I'm not saying this to brag or anything, I am just saying it because at first I thought it would be a group thing, sort of like if one was still struggling they would all stay until they could all move on. Apparently, that isn't the case and I am very happy that it is based on the individual child's needs and not a group. I am really proud of Logan for working hard. His first day in Tier 1 was last Monday, and so far he is doing well. I know this is going to sound terrible, but after I got the note telling me he was moving to tier 1, my first thought was YAY! My next thought was, "so, how long until he gets to the green level?" When I told my mom, she was like...omg! you should be happy for him! I am happy for him, I just want him to continue to work hard and succeed. The hard part is that Logan misses Mrs. Arnold:(

I have tried to really encourage his reading by always putting aside what I am doing ANY time he wants to read. This isn't as easy as it sounds because reading with Logan can be incredibly frustrating. I KNOW how to read, but I DON'T know how to teach someone to read. I can show him how to sound out words, but I can't make him string the letters together to form a word. It seems so easy, but that's because I already know how to do it - trying to explain why a y sounds like an "i" in the word "why" and why the "h" is silent...I don't know how to do that...it is what it is. This last week, his book from school had words like, "people", "some", "they", "where", "are", "thing", and "little". He got "people", "little" and "some" easily, the others took some time. Thing is the only word he still has some trouble with. Other words in the book were train, truck, bicycle, fire engine, plane, crane, bulldozer...but the picture was there to kind of help him work it out. I decided to take every word in each of his books and write them out into flash cards. My hope was that he would be able to recognize the words, not just from his book but in other places. I think it worked. He has 36 word flash cards and the only one he has real issues with is "bicycle". He will get two new books today, so I will do the same thing and keep going over all the words. I am goind to try to make a bingo game or something to help make it a little fun. Also, I had an idea to make a memory game where he has to find a pair of words one that is all capital letters and one that's lowercase...for ex. WHERE and where would be one pair. Anyway, he is really picking it up pretty quickly, I will be so excited when we can read a book together and I wont walk away with a massive headache!!! LOL

Some SPOOOOOOKY tales!

Okay, so here is something I probably shouldn't admit to, but what the hell...I love to judge people!
I spend 90-95% of my week inside my home, so there really isn't anyone to judge except for people I see on tv...and really? Who doesn't judge celebrities? Another way I can judge people (or at least people I know) is by looking at their facebook pages. Passing a judgement isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes I look at a picture and think, "OMG! They seriously have the CUTEST kids in the world." Or, "oh, her hair looks so good like that", or "I love that shirt...skinny bitch! I wonder where she got it?" Other times it could be, "seriously, if I have to look at one more picture of ______ showing off her nasty ass, 40 year old, droopy cleavage, I am totally going to block her." No lie, these are some of my thoughts. At halloween, things always seem to take a turn to the "OMG! Seriously?" I still dont understand the appeal for people to dress up like sluts. ESPECIALLY people that are my age (29) and older. Even more so when these people have kids. All I can think is that if my mom ever decided to be a sexy nurse when I was growing up, I think I would have run away. Living on the streets would be far less humiliating than having my friends seeing my mom's ass cheeks hang out! Ughh...seriously, things like this upset me greatly.

Saying all that, there is one department I try not to judge, which is going to completely contradict what I just said. Parenting! Parenting is something I try really hard not to judge others by, but sometimes...well, I do! For instance, when said parents have a halloween party and dress like sluts - I just wonder what they are thinking and I am mortified for their children. Does this make them a bad parent??? No. But it makes me question their ability to relate to their kids. I mean hey, if you want to dress like a slut - cool...but do your kids need to be there? And do they need to see it on facebook? I just think about Logan when he's 15, and the thought of him seeing me dressed up as a "sexy witch" with my boobs half out and my ass grinning. Then I think about the fact that I will probably want to be "facebook friends" with some of his friends (because I will want to monitor what's going on and the character of his friends..I mean, really. Am I going to let him hang out with 'Jim Bob' if his facebook photos show a collage of him smoking weed and there is a beer in his hand in every picture??? I think not.) and they will see my boobs and butt, and I can only imagine those conversations they would have with Logan. Naaa - I'd rather not!

There are a few people I know, that I actually like judging their parenting (which I am totally sure they judge mine as well) because they are just do some incredibly bad things and I can just look and say, hey! at least I am not THAT bad!

First, I want to say that I in no way, shape, or form think these people are bad parents. They just do some incredibly STUPID (in my opinion) things. I mean - I know this lady - We'll call her Saggy boobs, she has 2 young boys...we'll say they are 13 and 15...she CONSTANTLY posts pics of her boobs on FB...not full on boobs, but usually just her wearing a plunging neckline with her saggy boobs on display...a lot of the times, her face isn't even in the pic...just the boobs! While I disapprove of this thoroughly, it doesn't impact her parenting. Those two boys are EXTREMELY well behaved, well mannered kids. They are great, and since she's a single mom - SHE is obviously doing something very right...I just hate that all their friends get to see her boobage all the time...hell - I hate seeing her boobage all the time. And like I said, those boys are great kids...but I wonder what message they get from that? Next, I will not name any names, so if you are reading this and it sounds familiar - it might be you, it might not be. I will neither confirm nor deny. But please, before you get butt hurt and convinced that I am talking about you...just remember that a LOT of people make the same mistakes, so before you start sending me hate mail take a breath - it might not be you, and if you are so offended by the possibility that I am talking about you...maybe, just maybe - it's because in the back of your mind you agree with me. Also, remember that this is MY OPINION - I am not the President of Parenting...hell you could probably write a book of all the crap I do wrong - so TRUST me, I guarantee you that you could compile your own list of things you would not choose to do by just observing other parents you know. Just because I am choosing to blog about it doesn't make me right and you wrong...it just means I was thinking about it and blah...out it came. So other than the halloween scenario, here are a few things I have heard lately that just make me laugh and CRINGE because of the ridiculousness of it.

1. Posting your dildo on your facebook. (Goes along with posting 1200 pics of your cleavage, but just takes it to a whole new level.

2. Paying your kids for going to school or to play sports. CRAZY! If you have to pay them to play a sport, they probably dont want to play to begin with. Just wait a couple of years, I'm sure they will want to play in the future. Just because they don't want to play at 7 doesn't mean they will never want to play in the future. Also, paying your kid to GO to school is setting a terrible example. Think about when they get to high school. Will they demand to be paid? Seriously...think of some long term consequences for these things.

3. Taking your child out of school because their is a bug going around. Getting sick is not going to kill your child, in fact it will probably build up their immune system. I totally understand if you do this as a precautionary measure because your child has a weakened immune system, obviously - this is the right choice. But if your doing it because you have plans this weekend and you dont want to risk your kid getting sick and ruining those plans??? Ummm PRIORITIES people. You basically just taught your kid that having fun on the weekend is far more important than going to school and getting an education! Ha! wait until they get to college! Which circles back to #2...Do you have to pay the college tuition AND continue to pay your kid to go to class? Do they have to maintain some sort of GPA? Hmmm...maybe they could use all the money you've been paying them for the last 13 years to pay their own tuition. Just a thought!

4. Parents, your child is NOT perfect. No matter how well behaved you think they are, they still screw up. I promise! One of my biggest pet peeves is listening to a parent talk about what an angel their child is. Or that said child would NEVER do this or that. Bet you a hundred bucks your kid has or will do whatever "that" is.
Oh my little Johnny is just so wonderful. He is so kind, and such a great big brother. He just looks after his sister. He is so smart, the teacher's say he's a genius! Oh and we have been approached by modelling companies because of how handsome he is! Oh, my little darling!
TRANSLATION: Johnny just fell asleep and isn't being hell on wheels, therefore, he's wonderful. Little Johnny played nicely with his sister for a while without bashing her over the head with a toy. His teacher said he was doing great in class. Oh, and while out to dinner the other night the waitress talked about how cute little Johnny was...she may have mentioned we should put him in some sort of modelling.
Maybe I'm a cynic...but here's my deal. I have two kids of my own. I love my babies more than life itself, but sometimes - they drive me bat shit crazy. I think my kids are great, but that doesn't mean everyone else does...although, if you ever say anything negative about my children I will rip your face off..just fair warning.

Look, I am NOT a perfect parent, I make mistakes on a daily basis, and for those of you that know me, I am sure you have looked at something I have done or will do and thought, "WOW! I would never do that with my child." In a way, that's great...I just taught you what not to do. You're Welcome. The thing is, every kid is different and what may work for one may not work for another. That's why I like seeing other parents make what I call "mistakes". It's like they just taught me a lesson on "what not to do." So, Thanks! See, it all comes full circle, I'm teaching you, you're teaching me! YAY!

Happy Halloween Everyone

oh my blog!

If you haven't already seen it on my facebook, I would like to take the time to open your eyes to the awesomeness that is Thebloggess.com Check out this woman's blog, I have laughed and laughed and laughed. I can't stop reading it, and I am on pins and needles wondering what the hell she will post next!

My little angels!

I finally took the kids to the pumpkin patch. It wasn't a spectacular farm or anything like that, basically they just bring in pumpkins and cover the courtyard of one of the local churches. So, while it wasn't the big pumpkin patch, it was enough...the kids picked out a few pumpkins and I got some pics of them.

This is my favorite picture of them....they were so cute together. It was one of those moments where they get along so well, and I treasured it. I was so happy I was able to capture it. Sometimes these two can be so loving towards each other and it just makes my heart smile.

All I have left of Landry's costume is to make her bracelet. I should finish it today, but I have been pretty lazy lately. Really it will only take me 10-15 minutes to make it, which is probably why I keep putting it off! LOL

I don't know what it is, but lately I have been looking at my daughter and thinking she is the most beautiful thing in the world. I know, I'm the mom so of course I find my child beautiful, but I just can't stop thinking how pretty she is. I know...I'm wierd! LOL

Party with the Family

Planning a get together is difficult with my family. My mom works 11am -11pm Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday each week. Wednesday nights are usually my dad's night with his coaches and Margarita night for my mom and her friends. My dad works every day...but he works Thursday nights and of course Friday nights and all day Saturday. The only day to really get together is Saturday evening, but I didn't want to wait for Saturday to celebrate Landry's birthday with them because we were already making plans for Saturday and last Saturday both my parents were busy. So, my parents decided to forego their usual Wednesday night get togethers and meet us in San Antonio at Chuck E Cheese's.

My mom was funny because when I told her we were going to Chuck E Cheese's, she cringed. She really doesn't like those types of places, but I told her it's where the Princess wanted to go, and she would just have to bear it for a couple of hours! LOL She ended up having a great time watching the kids! We decided to go to the San Antonio location so that Vanessa could join us too. She and Kyle just moved into a new house so finances are a little tight for them, so it was nice that she was able to come. Logan is pretty much in love with her. They are so funny together. Landry is in the stage where she doesn't really want hugs and kisses - unless they are from mom and dad. She is constantly on the go and doesn't like to stop to "hangout"!

We had such a great time! We ended up buying 130 tokens and each game only requires ONE token, soooo - yeah, the kids played their hearts out. The adults played a little too! LOL Mom and I pretty much just chased everyone with out cameras! Ha My mom had text me earlier in the day to ask for suggestions for a gift. I told her to get some 4T clothes so Landry could grow into them...HA! I put an outfit on her this morning...yeah, the pants are a little long and the sweater shirt is a little long, but I'm guessing after a wash or two they will fit perfectly. All her 3T shirts are sooo small, and her 3T pants are small...except her jeans that I just bought - those are 3T and fit pretty well. I did one of those height calculators for both the kids yesterday - if they are correct Logan will be anywhere from 6'3" to 6'6" and Landry will be anywhere from 5'10" to 6'1". Geez! It doesn't surprise me at all - but WOW! Anyway, they also got her a little baby doll that sings, I suggested a girly toy since Landry likes to play with trucks and power rangers and mario characters! She also loves art, so I suggested coloring books. My mom ended up texting me a picture of a jewelry set. IT HAD 7,500 BEADS. I responded with, "I don't know if you are being serious, so I am feeling incredibly guilty saying this, but please dont get that..it's great in theory, but in reality - there will be beads all over the house. Maybe when she get's older." The evil witch responded with - "GOTCHA!!! ROLTFLMAO" Thank goodness it was a joke! Ha

We had such a great time, and the kids were out like a light on the way home! I felt bad because it was a school night, and they are usually in bed by 8:30 - we didn't even leave until 8:30 and it was a 40 minute drive. Luckily, they slept the whole way and I carried them inside...they never woke up! LOL

I finished Landry's costume. She is going to be Audrey Hepburn for Halloween. I still have to find some sunglasses and finish her bracelet. I am still contemplating the elbow length gloves....I just dont think she will wear them, I was also going to do a little black purse...but again, don't think she will carry it around since she will have her trick or treat bucket to hold...so I am thinking of lining the whole bucket in black satin...maybe - don't know yet. Anyway, it's done.

JR and I watched the Aggies kick some butt last weekend and I commented that it would be awesome to go to the game against LSU. It's the Maroon Out game and if you have ever experienced a game at Kyle Field, I think you can understand the awesomeness of it. I have only been to one game since college. While I was in school I went to every home game! I have missed it. Anyway - I looked up the tickets, you can ALWAYS find some on stubhub...the problem was they were $200 for one ticket....yeah, wasn't paying $400 so Jr and I could go to a football game. On a whim, I called my dad and asked if he could get us tickets. My dad is good friends with Jackie Sherrill. If you don't know who that is, you should look him up, but basically he was the Aggie football coach in the '80's. He is the founder of the 12th man, a tradition we aggies hold dear. Anyway, we got the news yesterday that Coach Sherrill was able to get us tickets...so instead of taking the kids to Howl - o - Scream at Sea World tomorrow, JR an I will be driving to College Station. We are so freaking excited. Win or Lose, just to be there is amazing! I am already pumped! The kids are going to go home with my mom tonight after the football game. JR and I want to get on the road by 5:30 in the morning, so the kids will stay the night with my parents, and we will pick them up tomorrow evening when we get back! SERIOUSLY so EXCITED!!!!

Time capsule

Every once in a while I like to go back through the past few years and compile some comparison pics. This usually happens on major holidays or birthdays....Since Landry turned 3 yesterday I did this again..so this is a blog of photos.

I haven't done anything over the last week except shop for costume stuff, and work on making Landry's costume.

Pumpkin Patch 2009 - Landry was 9 days old

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Pumpkin Patch 2011...I don't have a picture of the whole family :( I'll have to be sure to get one this year!

9 day old Landry with her Daddy...they have both changed soooo much - 3009

Me with my pretty girl...I know I just had her, but geez I was LARGE! My one boob was larger than her head! - 2009

At the pumpkin patch in Austin - still loving her daddy! - 2010

One year old Landry enjoying the pumpkins. - 2010

So much difference a year can make. Pumpkin patch in Kyle. -2011

I seriously can NOT believe this was only last year. -2011

Logey Bear with Daddy. -2009

Playing in the hay. -2009

Evergreen Farms pumpkin patch. -2010

Finding pumpkins in the Christmas Trees.. -2010

Kyle Pumpkin patch. -2011

My babies! -2011

Halloween 2010...I can't find pics of Logan from 2009 and I have no memory of what he dressed as! OOps! So we will just have to start in 2010..Landry, 1 year, Elephant. Logan 3 years, Spiderman. -2010

Logan, 4 years, Super Mario! - 2011

Landry, 2 years, Minnie Mouse! She was also a pink butterfly but most of those pictures are of her back! LOL -2011

Stay tuned for some pumpkin patch 2012 pictures and well as the Halloween pics! I may just come back and edit this post, so I will let you know!

Parent/Teacher conference

Yesterday was our parent teacher conference. I told myself not to be disappointed if the teacher didn't immediately tell me what a GENIUS my child was. I know my kid, and I had a pretty good idea of what we would be hearing and I was pretty much correct. I have said before, Logan is very strong in Math (or numbers). Letters have been a little bit of a struggle for him, although he has come sooooo far. Just a little background. Logan has been counting to 20 since he was 2, counting to 100 since he was 4 and has been working on writing his numbers since this summer. He recently used the sidewalk chalk to write his numbers 0-100 on our driveway. Basically, he has his numbers down, so I was not at all shocked to find out that this is a strength for him. When she showed me his "testing" score of 9 out of 11, I simply stated, "Let me guess, he got his 6 and 9 mixed up." YUP...again not a shocker.

Moving on to his letters...this was SHOCKING 13/26 he could identify....this is crazy to me, because he knows all his letters although he does get his "u" and "v" confused here and there. Next shocker sounding out his letters 4/26. The only reason this was shocking is that he is constantly sounding out letters. When we read, he will say the letters and each sound the letter makes. I won't say he knows what each letter sound is, because that would be lying. He has an extremely hard time with vowel...such as, he knows the short a such as alligator or apple but when it comes to ape (the long a) he gets confused. Yesterday, we had a discussion over the word "cake" and "queen". Why isn't "Cake" spelled "CaCe" or KaKe and why does Queen start with a Q when it very clearly make the "ca" sound. I am not equipped to handle the questions, because I don't know the answer..it's just how it is! UGhhh...ask your teacher! Anyway, while I know he struggles with it, I know for a fact that he knows more than 4 letter sounds AND I know for a fact that he knows all 26 letters. I don't want to be "that" parent, but I told his teacher I was a little shocked by these results. She smiles and says, well - that's good, because these were the results from the test he took in the first week of school. AHHHHH! They used these results to place the kids into levels. The kids that score in the green mean that they are on the "normal" spectrum. Logan was in the green for math. Then their is the yellow, which they call the "tier 1" and then the red zone called "tier 2". Logan was in the red for letters and reading skills. So he leaves with a 2 other students for specialized help for 30 minutes a day with the other kids in the "red zone." ***I'll state my issues with this in a minute*** I asked if he had recently been tested, and she whips out another paper...
Letter recognition: 26/26
letter sound recognition:18/26
number recognition: 11/11
These results were taken from last week.
She explains that Logan is an extrememly fast learner...I'm thinking, OR ***maybe he already knew some of this stuff and was a little overwhelmed with the whole...starting school, being surrounded by kids. I don't want to baby him, but seriously, for a kid that has stayed at home his whole life and then went to a MDO (Mother's Day Out) program for 2 days a week, then went back home for 3 months is probably going to be a little bit more overwhelmed by the institution of school than kids who have been in day care and preschool their whole lives. But hey, what do I know. Also, I feel like I should have been told immediately that my kid was in a "red zone" or was "at risk". I feel like that is pretty important information that a parent should know. While I do read to him every night, I feel like I could have done much more to help him.

Moving on to behavior. On a scale of 1-5 one being the best. She said she went back and forth on 1 and 2. She gave him a 2. She said he is very respectful, that he listens and follows directions very well, but she gave him a 2 just to show that he could always improve. She said he does need a few reminders as far as talking. For the most part he does great but every once in a while she will have to remind him not to talk. As far as following directions he does really great as long as she only gives him 2 or 3 steps to follow. For example, "Okay, it's time to clean up our stations. Put away your supplies. Put your work in your back pack and get out your math folder." He does great (that would be three steps...1- put up supplies. 2-put your work in your back pack. 3- get out your math folder.) But if she asks for 4 or 5 steps he has a little trouble. Example, "Okay, it's time to clean up our stations. Put away your supplies. Put your work in your back pack and get out your math folder. Turn to page 8 and get out a pencil." She said one of his greatest strengths is that he really WANTS to do well, on the opposite side of that his biggest weakness is asking for help. She said it's like he is scared to ask for help or to let her know that he doesn't know something. When he doesn't know the answer to something he gets really upset. She said he is one of the sweetest kids and that if another student gets in trouble he gets sad...awww my kid has empathy!

Social skills...She said the first 3 weeks of school, she could tell he was really overwhelmed. He kind of stayed to himself, he barely talked to anyone (hmmmm....could this have had any impact on his early testing???) But he has really come out of his shell. His two favorite playmates are Peter and Nolan, but he engages easily with all the kids. Great!

She said, again...he picks things up very quickly. Once he figures something out, he soars. I asked about the "tier 2" placement and where we go from there. She said that they don't want to move him out too quickly, so he will stay there until November then move him to "tier 1". Tier 1 he will stay in the classroom and get extra help in a group of four with her during the review time of their day. This is where the "tier 2" kids leave the class room and no new material is learned...that way no one gets any further behind. She said they will notify us when they move him to tier 1 and again when he moves to the "green" level. I asked, "according to this latest test, where would he score?" She said he was already in the green level. hmmm...Look, I worked as a teaching assistant for 3 years, I know that some kids need extra help and I think its great to test the kids to make sure that they are retaining the information and that they dont fall behind, but I'm having a hard time with the fact that my kid (who is testing in the "green" level, is being held at a "red" level status because of how he tested during his first week of school. I don't really see why he needs to stay in the red zone for another month. I totally get moving him up slowly...going to first the yellow and then the green. But why can't he move to the yellow now and if he is doing "green" level work a month from now, then you can move him up. I feel like if you leave him...or any kid...too long where he isn't being pushed, he is just going to get bored.

Finally, let me just say that at the end, she talked to us about working with him on his fine motor skills. He has had some trouble holding his pencil. I frown at this, because I haven't noticed this AT ALL at home. I know I hold my pens and pencils a little differently so I ask her to show me the technique she uses so I can work on it at home...sure enough she rests the pencil on her middle finger - I rest mine on my ring finger. I mention this to her and she says...oh that's no problem, but he holds his in a fist. Hmmm...I'm stumped again. Then the kicker, "Is Logan by any chance left handed?" UMMMMM, Yeah! "Yes. Yes he is." She says, "Oh. Mystery solved." I smile, all the while thinking...ummm, he's about to start the 7th week of school and you're just now figuring out he's left handed. No wonder he's holding his pencil wrong...you keep putting it in the wrong damn hand! Maybe YOU should be in the red zone! Geez! Last night, Logan and I worked on math and letters. We worked on writing and understanding sounds. Seriously, he can construct his own sentences. He knows how to recognize and spell these words...I, like, am, to, see, cat. I told him to write a sentence and he chose "I like to sleep." He knew the, "I like to..." so when he got to sleep, he started sounding it out, he figured out S - L - E - P....pretty good. I told him that it was awesome, but that sleep has two e's....this is how the whole short vowel, long vowel discussion started. He said, "oh, it's kind of like see...it has an s and two e's."
"That's right, just like see."
Anyway, that's about it for the conference. I am a little disheartened by it, but there isn't really anything I can do except keep working with him at home. I told JR he needs to get more involved as well. It's not enough to just come home and say Hey, how was school? He needs to read to Logan too, it can't be just me that does it. But I learned something important too. It isn't enough to just read to him...I have to let him try to read, practice makes perfect, so he needs to try to sound out the words and put it together. I am going to schedule another conference with her in another 6 weeks to see what his progress is like at that time! I guess, the only thing I can do is wait and see!

migraine headaches...

So, here's the deal. I have suffered from migraines since I was about 5. I don't remember a lot, but I do remember being sick A LOT. I remember missing school and spending countless days in the nurses office. I remember having to go to the doctor all the time. I remember getting a CT scan more than once...trust me, being 5,6,7 years old and going through that dang machine was really scary. I also remember my sisters being pretty good about leaving me alone during a migraine. I would crawl under my bed and sleep on the wood floor because it was the darkest place I could find and my mom would keep my sisters out of the room. I had to get shots quite frequently, at one point I was getting them once a week...I think I was 8 or 9. I couldn't eat or drink anything and I threw up if I moved, I threw up if I tried to eat, or drink. It was terrible...and worse was that my parents would usually yell at me if I didn't make it to the bathroom in time. Sometimes I would have the migraines 2-3 times a week. As I got older they became less frequent. By the time I was in 7th grade I got them about once a month. By my freshman year I learned some preventative steps to fight it off a little. Now, I get them about once a year.

Now that you know the back story, I think Logan may be getting migraines. Yesterday, he woke up at 7:30 vomiting. He said his tummy hurt and his head hurt. I didn't really think much about his head, but as the day progressed, I started noticing some things. Anytime someone would talk, he would flinch. I asked him if the noise was bothering him and he said yes, that it hurt his head. He also kept his head under a blanket for almost the entire day. He said the light hurt his eyes. He had a low grade temp. of about 100 the entire day. I gave him pain reliever every 4 hours, but to no avail. He threw up throughout the day. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't drink and I was concerned about him being dehydrated so I asked JR to pick up some pedialyte. I was able to get him to drink a little but not much. He was miserable. I asked him several times if his belly hurt and he would say no, just his head. It was only when he would throw up that he said his belly hurt, so I assume that was the nausea. I talked to a couple of people and they all sort of discounted my migraine theory...they all said they had never heard of a 5 year old getting migraines...but I was 5 and I got them, so I talked to my mom. She asked if he had been suffering from allergies lately. I said yes, the last week he has had them pretty bad. I have been giving him benedryl for it, but didn't give him any on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. She said I should probably look into giving him either claritin or allegra, and that the migraine could have been a result of the allergies. Makes sense. So, I am going to be keeping an eye on it. I really hope I am wrong and it was just a random thing. He woke up today feeling fine. Migraines are terrible and I am pretty sure that is what he had yesterday, but its hard to judge when you aren't the one in the pain, I just know the signs. The sensitivity to light and sound. Nausea brought on by the slightest movement. The terrible headache. When I asked him where it hurt he said all over. I remember when I was a kid, I could never pinpoint exactly where it hurt, but as I got older I always knew where the pain came from. For example, sometimes it was behind my eyes, it felt like someone driving a spike through my eye to the back of my head. Or the pain centered at my temple and the pain spread around my head. Anyway, like I said, I will have to watch it and document it. Then I will have a better idea of what I am looking at before I take him to the doctor! Poor kid. I know it was terrible for him, but geez, I felt so helpless watching him suffer.

Mr. Crabby Patti

OMG!!! This morning got off to a great start, then took a nose dive. I woke Logan up pretty easily. I didn't go to the store last night for Logan's favorite cereal and we were out of eggs so I couldn't make pancakes, soooo, I went with the back up plan. DONUTS!!! Today ends 6 weeks of school and in that 6 weeks, we have gone to get donuts 3 times, so as you can see...this is a special treat, not something we do often. Anywho, Logan asked for 3 chocolate donuts, Landry wanted 3 pink donuts. Great. We get in the car to eat. Logan eats two, and I tell him he has to eat the last one on the way to school. I hand him the third donut. And this is how it goes down hill...

Logan: I already ate three.

Me: No, you had two, this is number three.

Logan: No! I had the first, second, and third. This is the fourth.
He is getting really irritated at this point, and I am thinking "why am I fighting with him over how many donuts he has?"

Me: Okay, well, if you don't want it, you don't have to eat it.

Logan: I told you I wanted three. WHY did you get me four.

Me: Logan! I did buy you three, but it doesn't matter. If you don't want to eat that one, then give it back to me and I can throw it away. This is NOT a big deal.

Logan: I want it. Again, he is very irritated.

"Ughhh, so if he wants it...why are we having this arguement??"

Logan: I am NEVER going to the donut store with you again!

This is yelled at me in his pouty, irate voice. It's not that he's yelling really, its just the inflection in his voice.

Me: (Gasp) You're right. You wont be going to the donut store anymore, because I wont be taking you. "You ungrateful little brat" (I add in my mind..but not outloud). You should be saying THANK YOU, MOMMY for being nice enough to take me to the donut store instead of whining about how many donuts you got. So, that is fine with me...I wont be taking you to get donuts again.

Logan: FINE! I'll get my Daddy to take me!

Fire is starting to rise in my belly! "Who does he think he is? And where the hell does he get off talking to me like this?? Sara, stay calm...he is about to go to school - the last thing he needs is for you to drop him off crying." Oh, how I hate internal struggles!

Me: Logan, I think you need to be quiet. You are making me really mad, and you dont get to talk to me that way.

Logan: Well, you're making me mad and you aren't listening to me.

Me: Logan, I am listening to you. You are upset because you think I got you four donuts instead of three. I already told you, if you don't want the last donut, you don't have to eat it.

Logan: I don't want it.

Me: Okay, give it to me.

He gives me the donut.

Logan: I don't like you anymore. My daddy will take me to the donut store and get me my donuts. And he will get me only 3.

ME: LOGAN! Don't you dare talk to me that way. You do it again, and I swear I will spank your butt so hard, you wont be able to sit down. Do you hear me? If you EVER talk to ANYONE like that, I will ware your butt out! "Oh god, I sound just like my dad!" Deep Breath.. You need to drop it, and take a deep breath before you get into more trouble.

Logan: You can't spank me, I'm sitting down!

Holy Shit! What is this kids problem? Talk about back talking...Satan has taken over my child! This has gone on long enough! So, since I am driving, I do the only thing I can. I reach back to smack him on the leg...obviously..this is a difficult task when it comes to accuracy, and I barely graze his leg...especially since the little fart moved! Ughhhh! Have I mentioned that I am steaming mad at this point???

Logan: That didn't hurt!

Oh My God! I'm going to freaking kill him! What a little shit head. "Breathe. Take a deap breath. Don't give in, don't make it worse." By this point we are in the drop off line at school. In 3 minutes (tops) he will getting out of the truck.

Me: Logan! That is enough. I know that you are upset, but you don't get to talk to me like that, EVER. Do you understand me?

Logan: YES!

ME: Yes, what?

Logan: Yes, ma'am.

Me: Good. Now I want you to say you're sorry for talking to me like that, and then say thank you for taking you to the donut shop.

Logan: Sorry, for talking you like that.

ME: AND?

Logan: Thank you for taking me to the donut store.


Me: Good. Now, you don't talk to anyone like that. Not me, not your daddy, not your teacher...and not your friends. You need to be nice and be kind, do you understand?

Logan: Yes, ma'am. This is still being said with a dramatic sigh.

Me: Now, I want you to take a deep breath. (He does) I want you to have a good day at school, so you have to put this behind you. I want you to stay on green, but try for orange. You need to listen to your teacher. Say yes, Ma'am and no Ma'am. Use your manners. Okay?

Logan: Okay. He's starting to cheer up a bit! "Thank God! We may be able to salvage this morning."

Me: I love you, Logan. I love you, very much, and I want you to have a good day, but I need you to understand that how you treated me really hurt my feelings. I'm sorry we had a misunderstanding, but you need to learn to be kind, even when you're mad. Okay.
Hey, that's freaking awesome advice...I need to work on that myself!

Logan: OKay. Sorry, mommy!

Me: Me, too. I love you.

Logan: Love you, too. I even get a little smile from him.

Me: Love you to the moon and back, buddy! Now have a great day!

Logan: Okay, Bye! He's getting out of the truck at this point.

ME: Have a good day! Stay on green! Door shuts...I head for home! I hope he can turn his day around!

Seriously...this kid was great all morning, then BAM! Demon child shows up! I was seriously SO FREAKING MAD. This little dialogue can't even come close to showcasing how mad either of us were...it did seem like he was able to leave it behind when he went in to school! I sure hope so! I really hate to have him start his day that way. He is just so freaking stubborn. He refused to think that he might possibly be wrong about something. Stubborn, I can handle...but that smart mouth! ABSOLUTELY not, he will NOT be rude. I will NOT allow him to get away with talking to ANYONE that way. I am glad we were on the way to school because I don't know how I would have reacted if we were at home. As you can see...I am not one of those parents that don't believe in spanking. I say if the situation calls for it - then do what it takes. I will say that I believe in the punishment fitting the crime. In this case, spanking was needed - unfortunately, I was driving. I think if you spank your child over every little thing, they stop paying attention to it. It's like they think...oh well, I'll get spanked...it will hurt for a minute and then be over and I can go back to doing whatever I want. I know that when I spank my kids, they really take notice and clean up their act VERY quickly, because I don't do it very often. It's like they realize...UH OH! I pushed too far!

Anyway, I hope the rest of the day gets better. We have a 3 day weekend and if that is the way he's going to behave, I wouldn't mind sending him off with someone else! LOL

sick and annoyed

So, I tried to let JR come to terms with Landry doing gymnastics on his own...but, I realized yesterday that he had no intention of seeing the good in it. SO - I informed him, he didn't really get a say. She was doing it, my mind is made up. He wasn't really happy about it, but crap, he went golfing about a month and a half ago and is going again this Saturday. The two trips together cost half of what it would cost to put her in gymnastics for 10 weeks (which is $205...really it's $270 because there is a $65 registration fee). Anyway, like I said, the decision is made. She is doing it, so that's that.

On another note, I have not been feeling so hot. It's not my tummy troubles, its more like a lingering migraine. I started Monday with a spectacular headache. It lasted all day and just got worse and worse. Tuesday I woke up, and it felt much better, but by noon it was back full force. By the time I went to pick Logan up from school it was moving into migraine status. I started getting weak and nauseous. The sun felt like needles being driven into my eyeballs. Even the sound of the engine running felt like an earthqauke in my head. I took medicine and tried to make it through. Wednesday was pretty much torture. After dropping off Logan at school, I came home and basically hid my head under a pillow. When Landry feel asleep for her nap, I took her into my closet with me and laid in the darkness. Even her breathing was too loud, but I didn't feel comfortable knowing that if she woke up, she wouldn't know to come find me in the closet. After picking up Logan, I thought I was going to die. The kids were so loud and I ended up throwing up. When JR got home we had out discussion about gymnastics, and then I felt like I was going to vomit so I went upstairs to lay down. I fell asleep at 5:30, and didn't get up until 6:30 this morning. So, 13 hours of sleep. ON a good note, I woke this morning with only a mild headache and my entire body felt like it had been put through some sort of crazy contraption because it HURT ALL OVER. The good news is my head feels so much better. I took some aleve, and my bones and muscles dont hurt quite so much as they did when I woke up, so I'm on the way to recovery thank goodness. Hopefully it just goes up from here!

Gymnastics!

So I have decided on gymnastics. I am still going to look into ballet, but maybe for next year. A lot of the ballet classes around here do ballet for 30 min and tap for the other 30 min. I don't care much for the tap, I just want her to do ballet. They have a LOT of ballet academies...which are some serious people. Some of them are an all day pre-school covering the arts. Others are structured classes, but you have to be 3 by Sept. 1 which Landry is not. I was looking into just regular dance classes, just something to get her moving and taking instruction...but, I am not super impressed with most of what I saw...but that could also be because by that point I was pretty overwhelmed...anyway, it's something to look into later. For now...she will start gymnastics at the end of the month. She will go once a week for 45 minutes until Jan. 20 and then we will decided if we want to keep her at once a week or go twice a week. The reviews for the place are great, and the cost is reasonable, so I am pretty excited. JR...ehh, he will come around. Well, maybe, who knows - either way, he will have to just get over it, because he gets his way all the time, and as far as I am concerned...Landry is doing gymnastics. The thing is...Jr has no problem signing her up for t-ball, he just balks at having her do anything like gymnastics or dance, or anything he deems too "girly" Ahem...she's a girl!

What's up!?!

So, here are some things going on. As far as my gluten free diet, I am doing really well. I started taking a calcuim and multi-vitamin on a daily basis. The reason being, with my new app, I saw that while I go above and beyond vitamins A and C each day, my iron and calcium is habitually low. I considered just doing an iron and calcium pill, but I have had some not so great side effects with iron supplements, so I decided to go with a multi-vitamin and try to increase my iron naturally. I have always heard that spinach and green leafy veggies are rich in iron..which they are, but they don't give as much of your daily percentage as I thought:( anyway, I am working on it. I have yet to reach 1200 calories a day, but I think I will today, but only because I cheated and drank a frappachino this morning! It's really hard to reach the calories when the majority of my calories are coming from veggies. I started at 135, and after 2 days I was down to 130.6, then I was up to 132, then down to 131, then up to 133, and each day it goes back and forth. Granted, my weight fluctuates about 3-4 pounds each day, but it's hard to keep track when it goes up and down each day. I decided I am just not going to track it daily anymore. I think my weight is going to be a pretty steady 130 - 133 so I am just not going to worry about that too much. It's a healthy weight and I am not all that interested in losing a whole lot anyway. The diet has really helped with the constant tummy troubles and I don't feel so bloated all the time, which has been awesome. Everything seems to be improving....even my circulation. I am going to start working out this coming Monday. I may not be taking in the calories I should be, but I am feeling so much better, and I am ready to get out there and start moving and grooving! JR has lost about 10 pounds. We are both sad that we didn't start the fitness pal app on the day we started the diet, because it only keeps track of what you have done since you started the app and not the diet...or we should have entered our pre diet weight instead of our current weight, but oh well! JR has been getting out there and running and walking every other night or so, and I am really proud of him. He has set a goal as to how much he wants to lose by the time we go to Vegas...which is 106 days! LOL If he reaches his goal weight by then, my plan is to win LOTS of money in Vegas and come home and get my tummy tuck LOL. This isn't going to happen, but, hey ...I can dream!

HEY I GOT THE SPACING TO WORK!!! HOORAY!

I bought Landry a few new clothes yesterday. She really needed some jeans, since her's are all too short and the weather is getting colder. I have been needing to do this for a while, but I HATE buying clothes just a few weeks before her birthday, because I like buying her clothes and toys for her birthday. So, I got a pair of regular jeans, and a pair of skinny jeans, a skirt, some leggings, and a shirt. There is this super cute jacket that I want to get her, but I might do that for her birthday...the problem is there are 3 jackets I want, I just don't know which one to get! LOL Landry has been SUPER sassy lately. Sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's too much. I am looking into some things to start with her. I would love to put her in gymnastics...but my biggest fear is that it will stunt her growth...not really interested in that happening. Another is dance, with emphasis on ballet. I would have loved to have taken ballet and dance when I was little, but my parents didn't really have the time, energy, or money for that...although I did do gymnastics and baton twirling for a little while. My little sister nanny's for a little girl who does ballet and she is only 4 months older than Landry, so I think it would be okay...plus I think it might give her something to focus her energy on, instead of back talking! The other thing I am looking at is the pageant world! I know, JR says I am crazy, but I really want to put her in a pageant. I don't want to go all crazy stage mom, but just to let her do one every few months. Maybe we could put the sass to some good use! Anyway...just some ideas.

Logan, oh my sweet little boy! He is getting so big, and learning so much it is insane. They just started bringing home books from the library. They have certain books that they can bring home that are designed to help them read. He is doing so well, and is picking it up so quickly. I had to catch myself last night, and force myself to go into teach mode instead of parent mode. Instead of just reading the book to him, I let him sound out the words and read it himself. He figured out about 70% of the first book. The second book was called "These are rocks" it was 8 pages of different types of rocks, and it said "These are rocks." on every single page...soooo he kinda got all of that one! LOL In science they are learning mass, so he is constantly telling me which object is larger and heavier than the other object. Mind you, this can be anything. He will tell me he weighs more than Landry. He will pick up a color and a shoe and tell me which one is heavier...it goes on and on, nothing is off limits. Last night he asked if we could buy a scale. I said we already had one, but he wants one that doesn't determine weight but mass...think of the "justice scale". In social studies they are learning about family and how we are alike and different. I had to send in a family photo for that. Anyway, you don't need a kinder syllabus. My point is that I am impressed with his learning. I guess I will learn more at the parent/teacher conference. I am just so excited to see him thriving!

So- that's about it!

Baby brother? What?

On the way to school this morning, Logan was talking about the differences between alligators and crocodiles. He went on to tell me that their babies come from eggs. Landry pipes in to say that baby Donald had a egg. I say, yep! That's right, ducks come from eggs to. Logan got quiet, and I thought..."Oh God! Please don't let him ask where he came from." It was one of those crazy, life flashing before your eyes, moments. This thought was on a super fast forward reel as well as different ways to explain this to a five year old mind. Then Logan spoke and I nearly swallowed my tongue. "Mommy, when am I going to get my baby brother?" Ummmmmm. Well hell! Totally not what I was expecting. I told him I didn't know if mommy was going to have another baby and that even if she did, there was no guarantee it would be a boy. I told him he had a baby sister and he would just have to love her with all his might bexause she was probably the only sibling he would have. "What's a sibling?" he asked. I explained a sibling is a brother or a sister. "I just wish I had a brother and a sister." Okay then! Didn't know what to say about that, so I started singing row, row, row your boat! Landry joined in, followed by Logan! Crisis averted...for now! Whew! Last night was Open House at Logan's school. It was actually exciting. His teacher is a 25 year old who is perpetually happy...Usually, super cheerful people annoy me, but as far as teaching Kindergarten, I'm pretty sure it's part of the job requirement. Plus, I would rather my kid have a cheerful teacher than a grump. Plus, when I mentioned that the "color" songs were great teaching tools...but starting to get on my nerves, she laughed and said, "tell me about it" she totally won me over. Logan showed us all his stuff, his cubby, where he sits, his class library (which is different than the school library - he informed us), he showed us all kinds of stuff. The kid is almost reading. Seriously, it is shocking how much he is learning each day! He sounds out everything to figure out which letters go where. It's really amazing. I know this is just the normal prgress of things, but I am just so amazed. 2 weeks ago, Logan came home and told JR that he had to move his chair. JR told me about it and said it was probably connected with bad behavior. I asked Logan, he said he moves during math, but its not his permanent chair. I asked if he got in trouble for talking, he said no, it was just where he sits. So, I asked his teacher last night, and she said it had nothing to do with behavior. She said she likes to move the kids around randomly so that they don't get annoyed with each other through out the school year. She also said that during certain times, such as math, and reading she moves kids around according to their skills. I will learn what those skills are Monday, October 8 whe I meet with her one on one to go over his evaluation. I am really excited to see what she thinks and where he is on the learning curve. I also asked how he was in class. She said he just started coming out of his shell over the last few weeks. She said the first two weeks he was very shy and got overwhelmed very easily, but he's figuring it all out and really interacting in the classroom. Yay!

Doing Better

Today is only day 3 of my gluten free diet and already I am feeling so much better. Usually, I just drink coffee and Dr. Pepper throughout the day and then have dinner as my only meal. This is completely unhealthy...I know. I have never been much of a breakfast person. I can remember being in middle school and eating breakfast and the first thing I would do when I got to school was race to the bathroom. After a while, I just gave up on the whole breakfast thing. If I was super hungry in the morning, I would eat some apple sauce or maybe a banana if we had them at the house, but for the most part, I would just drink a soda to curb my appetite until lunch time. Anyway, the first day, I had a Kefir berry smoothie, the kefir is 99% lactose free, and I had a little bit of stomach grumbling and very mild discomfort, but no sweats, no doubling over in pain, no race to the bathroom! Halleluiah! Yesterday, I had yogurt, granola (I had to switch from my usual kind because it had wheat and barley in it :(, but I found one that is tasty and gluten free! YAY!) and a handful of grapes and some strawberries. Again, no pain! This morning I made the smoothie again, and nothing...no grumbling, not even moderate discomfort. NOTHING! I started thinking...geez, I wonder if this is what normal people feel like? Anyway, we are doing the 17 day diet plan again, because JR has put on some weight in the last two years and wants to drop it again. If you remember he lost nearly 100 pounds 2 years ago. Since then he has gained back about 25...which isn't terrible in 2 years, but he doesn't like it, so he wanted to start the 17 day diet again, and to help me...any recipe ingredient that contains gluten is swapped out for a gluten free product. I will say that on both say one and day two I had one Dr. Pepper, but now they are all gone and I am going to try to go the day without it. I figure since I dont have them in the house anymore I wont be tempted! I usually drink 4-5 a day so, going without them is a little hard. Because of giving up the soda, I have dropped 3.6 pounds already. It could be what I am eating, but I am pretty sure the intial weight loss is due to not drinking the sodas. I weighed myself this morning and was at 131.4. The diet calls for three meals a day plus a snack. I have not yet been able to eat the snack. I think it is because my body is still adjusting to eating 3 meals a day instead of just one and I am hoping to eat it today...but I really dont want to eat if I am not hungry. It's hard enough to force myself to eat breakfast when I am not really hungry. I will say my appetite has increased. Maybe it's because eating healthier has increased my metabolism. Maybe its because eating 3 meals a day has increased my metabolism. Or maybe its all in my head, and since I am not in pain after eating, it is more appealing to me now! Who knows...all I can say is that I feel much better, and I am proud of myself for finally taking matters into my own hands. I can't believe I let myself get so bad. The one thing I am concerned about is that I started a new app that I have heard about from friends called My Fitness Pal. I decided to do it just so I could track what I was eating...kind of like a food journal. the app calculates your calorie intake and I was a little shocked to see I only consumed 1020 calories yesterday. I dont think that is very healthy either, but I am being optimistic that I will increase that over the next week as my body adjusts a little more. I can add another 300 by simply eating my snack, and not every meal will have so few calories. Eventually, I want to get out there and start running again. I used to love it, but my knees dont handle it very well, so I am going to try some yoga for a couple of weeks before trying to run. Plus, Logan started this program at school where they encourage the kids to walk a marathon throughout the school year. So we are going to start walking after dinner as a family. obviously, walking with a 2 and a 5 year old isn't a strenous activity, but it gets us all up and on our feet! I think it will be a great thing for all of us! Before I start any activity though I want to consume more calories. I don't think it would be healthy to start any type of work out right now. The few calories I did consume were mainly from vegetables, fruit, and chicken so it already takes my body quite a few calories just to digest the food. Anyway, so that is how I am going so far, I am hoping to continue feeling good!!!

Fall Television

It's happening people! The end of September has arrived and with it great television. So it's time for some break down...Dancing with the Stars Fabulous, it's an all-star season, so there are so many of my favorites from previous seasons, so this makes it very exciting! New Girl OMG!! This is one of those shows that I feel slighty crazy when watching. I can literally being crying one second, then burst out laughing the next. I am constantly going back and forth between laughs and tears, which actually works out because I laugh so hard that I am in tears, so when I do cry my tear ducts are already in work mode. Seriously, I think about shows that I watch or have watched, The Office, Parks and Rec, Saturday Night Live...even stand up acts, and I can honestly say that no other show has EVER made me laugh so hard. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE "New Girl" Two Broke Girls is another show that usually has me laughing. I really like the show, but I would put it in the same category as the "The office" There are some LOL moments, but I wouldn't cry if I accidentally forgot to set my DVR and missed an episode. There are some new shows I am trying out this year..."Ben and Kate" and "The Mindy Project" I haven't watched these yet, so I can't critique them...I will have to let you know. Moving on to drama. Private Practice aired last night! They have a new format going this year that takes you through the episode with each character's own story. I like it. It's new, it's different, but I like it. I love this show. I have heard many people say it's a terrible spin off from Grey's Anatomy (coming back tomorrow!!!! YIKES, so excited), but this show has made it 6 seasons, and I am a huge fan! The season premiere has started with a bang, so I can only imagine what comes next. This show keeps me in tears as well as feel good moments. It's another emotional roller coaster kind of show. Love IT! Parenthood Whew...Love this show. I feel like I spend more time crying than laughing. It is definitely a drama series. There is just something about this show that pulls you in. Modern Family This show continues to win Emmy's, and why not? It is a comedy, but you get so attached to the characters. It comes back tonight, so we will see what they have in store for us this season! Blue Bloods starts on Friday. This is a show that I have not watched previously, but have caught a few of the re-runs and have decided to give it a shot. I will let you know what I think! Elementary This is a modern Sherlock Holmes show that starts tomorrow. I love Lucy Lu (don't know how to spell her last name) It looks interesting! The Good Wife coming back on Sunday! This is one of those shows that JR and I watch together. We both love it, so that makes it really special. Especially because during this time of year, we are usually fighting over the TV. This is when all the shows come back, and it's football season - so you can see the issue! White Collar This one has been on for a bit, in fact; we are almost to the season finale...it's more of a summer show, but I wanted to throw it in there because it is also a show that JR and I watch together. Partners a show that looks interesting, but because I have too many things being recorded on Monday, I am unable to watch it...It might be a computer watch kind of thing. Same goes for Vegas it looks good, but I have too much going on Tuesdays, and I am just not willing to give up a show I love already to try something new...because of this The Voice only gets watched on Mondays. Two other shows worth mentioning that I will probably watch online tonight are Animal Practice and Guys with Kids. I will have to see if they are dvr worthy and if so, do I have the space to do so? Revenge oh, I am so looking forwards to seeing what comes next!!! If you didn't watch the first season, tune in tonight on ABC. They will recap the first season and give a peek at season 2. Totally worth watching! It looks like Revenge has been moved to Sundays! This is really going to mess up my schedule! Grey's Anatomy as I mentioned before comes back tomorrow night! We will finally learn what happens after the plane crash. Oh, the suspense is already killing me. We already know Lexi Grey died in the season finale of last season...so what will happen to the rest of these guys?? Scandal comes on right afterward...again another interesting looking show, but will probably be watched online. I feel like I am leaving something out...but for now I can't really remember! Anyway! Enjoy! What are your favorite shows??