My Big Boy!

I thought I would take advantage of having high speed internet right now because I don't know how long my computer will last! I took these more than 2 weeks ago, but look how big he is! He's been a little tired lately, but that's attributed to the low iron. We're trying to get him as fortified as possible. We're hoping he's as good as new soon! Can you believe he's already one year old?

Stupid Computer!

Our computer is 5+ years old and it's an off-brand cheap one we got at Fry's. Well, it is finally dying and it's driving me nuts! The USB ports work one day, and the next they don't! Which means we don't have high speed internet when they don't work and we have to revert to dial-up (oh, the horror!!!). It's frustrating! Even more so because I can't take ANY pictures off of my camera! Our card reader refuses to work, and when the camera is connected to the computer, it doesn't recognize it anymore. I have tons of pictures from Eddie's 1st birthday to Tommy's first soccer game! Sigh... I wish I didn't have to buy a new computer, but it's time.

The First Day of School!

Tommy and Anna were both up and dressed at 7am! We didn't have to leave until 8!
Tommy kept asking me if he could go to the car. He couldn't wait. I swear, he went to the garage about a million times. I finally turned on Spongebob to distract him. I promised the kids a yummy, but not so healthy, breakfast of doughnuts. They ate in the car on the way to McGowen to drop Tommy off.
I thought the 100% juice would help off-set the not-so-healthy food.
Anna and Tommy both picked out their outfits, and Tommy chose how his hair would be cut (I wanted it shorter, but as long as he got SOME kind of haircut, I was happy!). Anna's messenger bag is almost as big as she is! She had a great first day and loves her new teacher, but I think she's re-thinking the bag! It's a little bulky and hard to carry!

I am SO FRUSTRATED!!!!

The first day of school is supposed to be fun and exciting, right? Mine was frustrating and chaotic. Tommy's PPCD class changed schools and teachers this year. I was hoping for a great change and a smooth transition. Boy, was I wrong! First of all, I didn't find out about where his class would be and who his teacher was until last Wednesday! Then, I get to school to drop him off, only to find out that I have to park, unload everyone, fight through the huge crowd of parents waiting in front of the school, and try to get Tommy to his class! His bus schedule was all messed up and they weren't sure about when he would start, so they told me to go ahead and plan on picking him up today, and if there was a change, they would let me know. They didn't. I woke Eddie up from his nap, put him in the car, and headed to McGowen to pick up Tommy. I get there and NO ONE is there where they told me they would be. I wait FOR 15 MINUTES! I finally turn off the car, go inside and TRY to find someone who knows what's going on. The aide comes out and tells me that they PUT TOMMY ON THE BUS! 15 minutes ago!!! She said, "Oh, I'm sorry for the confusion, but maybe you should have called first." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! They told me that THEY would let me know! So, I run to the car, get Eddie back in and head home hoping to get there in time. Then, my cell phone rings. It's the bus driver, and they've been waiting outside the house for 10 minutes! I told her what happened, and she was VERY nice about it, and said she would wait for me. Tommy was fine. He had a great day at school, but he was very happy to see me, and I was relieved to see him. I almost started crying. It's so upseting when the teacher drops the ball, and even more upsetting when you don't know where your child is! I had a good talk with the bus driver and she worked everything out for me so that this won't happen again. If it does, some heads will roll.

Ugh...what IS that smell?!

If you have a weak stomach, read no further. On Monday morning, I walked into Tommy's room only to walk right back out, with my nose plugged, and said "what is that smell?!" It was awful! It smelled like REALLY stinky feet, and yet it smelled so...familiar. I went back in and smelled it again. Yep. I've smelled that smell before. Rotten milk. It was overwhelming, but I couldn't find the culprit! Tommy had lost his sippy cup sometime last week, and we thought it was empty, but apparently it wasn't. I asked him and Anna if they knew where it could be, and almost immediately, Anna crawled under Eddie's crib and came out with the offending cup. Poor Eddie was sleeping with that awful stink right underneath him! I prompty stuck it in the sink, grabbed my Clorox and went to the bedroom. The cup was on its side, leaking, so the carpet was nasty. I cleaned with the Clorox to kill the smell and whatever else might be growing, and finished off with the steamer. I sniffed the air and was satisfied that it smelled much better, and left the room. I came back 2 hours later, only to have the awful smell hit me right in the face! The carpet that I had cleaned was still fresh, and stink-free, but the smell was somewhere else! I had washed all the bedding, looked in every nook and cranny for something that could cause a stink, but the room STILL stinks! I even told Anna I would pay her if she could find the source of the smell. Of course, she hopped right on the job with the thought of earning money, and sniffed every inch of carpet and even she couldn't find it! It's horrible! So, I will try again. I HAVE to find the source of the stink! My poor boys don't deserve to sleep with that smell!

Dangerous Territory

Anna has discovered the dangerous side of the internet. I know. She's only 7, and I didn't expect her to discover this side of the world wide web for many years. It happened one day last week. It was horrible. Now, she is scarred for life, and she is forever changed. The site? Target.com. Sigh...why did she have to discover the horribly addicting side of the internet so soon? WHY!? She used to love to play on Disney.com, Webkinz, My Little Pony, and many others. Why did she have to learn about internet shopping? I blame only myself. I should have been more careful. Now, she has branched out to other sites like Toysrus.com! Oh, the humanity!

Anna's Birthday Party

So, here's the fabulous cake that I made for Anna. It was hot in the kitchen and it started to melt. It tasted a whole lot better than it looked, and the girls loved it!
Makayla dressed as Lilly from Hannah Montana, and working hard on her t-shirt.
Jane and Taytum working on their necklaces.
Mmmm! Pizza!
The girls got finished with their crafts in less than an hour, and it was a 3 hour party! So, they sat down and watched "Enchanted". We also had a pinata, but I forgot to take pictures! It was so hot outside! All in all, I think the party was a success.

Aquarium in July

So, we took our yearly trip to the aqurium in Fair Park. It's not the greatest aquarium by far, but the kids like it, it's cheap, and it's air-conditioned! As you can tell by the picture above, Eddie was not too happy to stay in his stroller!
What a smile! It took Tommy less than 10 minutes to see everything he wanted to see at the aquarium! Man, that kid is fast!
Anna is such a poser!
The kids love the trail that goes over the pond. They think it's a wonderful adventure and we even saw a snapping turtle!

Miracle of the egg

I'll post pictures from Anna's B-day party later, but I just wanted to share with you a little miracle that happened this week. I am a little crazy, and I have an order that I get eggs out of the carton. I get the ones in the corner first, and work my way inward. Don't know why, but that's the way that I do it, and I do it every time. Well, I baked 3 cakes, and used all my eggs. I remember looking in the carton on Sunday and grabbing the last 3 eggs, and telling Anna, "Oops, it looks like we're out of eggs, can you help remind me about that when we go to the store?" I was in a hurry, and the trash can was full, so I just left the carton in the fridge. Early Monday morning, Anna's birthday, Anna hops onto my bed and announces that she wants pancakes for breakfast. I groggily told her that I would make them while she was at the pool with Danny and Tommy. They left for the pool, and I went to start the pancakes. I was in the middle of putting all the ingredients together when I got to the part that says "1 egg." Crap. I totally forgot that we were out of eggs! Danny was gone, I had no one to run to the store for me, and my daughter was expecting pancakes when she got home. I went to the fridge, knowing full and well that there were no eggs left in the carton and looked, just to be sure. Well, there was one lone egg in the corner of the carton! Are you kidding me? Those are the eggs that I use FIRST, not last! How could that happen? Well, I have no idea how it happened, but that egg was there and I was able to make pancakes for Anna's birthday.

Rough Riders Game

Here's the great view of the outfield that we had. If we would have stayed longer, we might have been able to catch a homer!

We had fun, despite the fact that we had to leave early. Next time, though, will be alot better! Tommy has gone an entire week without an accident!

I LOVE IT!

Thanks to "So You Think You Can Dance?", I now LOVE Michael Buble. This guy rocks! My new favorite song is, "Feeling Good." Check him out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F2Q8oYMUBw

What do you think?

Long-time friends

My friend Beverly is in town, and last week she stopped by so we could visit. It was so much fun to see her and let our kids play together! I've known Beverly since we lived in Plano, which was about 5 years ago. She baby-sat for me while I worked and I baby-sat for her while she was at school, but she has moved out state, and we rarely get to see each other. Funny thing though, her mom is in my ward, and she always keeps me updated on Beverly and the kids. Anna and Miranda are about 2 years apart, but they love to play with each other! Beverly also has an almost 3-year-old son named William and the last time I saw him he was a tiny baby!

Below is a picture of Anna and Miranda soon after we moved to McKinney. They both loved to dress like ballerinas and dance all over the backyard! They've both grown-up so fast!

I'm a slacker

Yep, that's what I am. There's been so much going on lately, and I haven't blogged about ANY of it! Well, on Tuesday it was me and Danny's 8th Anniversary! Can you believe it? 8 years already! And yesterday we took the kids to the Frisco Rough Riders game. It was a lot of fun for the entire HOUR that we were there! They have this great playground that the kids loved to play in and they enjoyed watching the game, although they didn't understand what was going on! We had okay seats, although I won't complain because they were free, and we all got free hats. Well, after an hour there, Tommy and Anna were on the playground when Tommy decided it was time for a potty break. IN HIS PANTS! Oh, the humiliation! He POOPED and peed in his pants and I had no changes of clothes, so we had to go home. We parked about 1/4 of a mile away, so it was a LONG walk to the car! I will post pictures from the game as soon as I can.

Dreams

Those of you who know me well, know that I have VERY vivid and many times, crazy dreams. Well, last night, shortly before midnight, Tommy came into my room sobbing. As I consoled him and took him back to bed, he told me over and over, "Mommy, I don't like my dreams!" I didn't prod him to tell me about his dream, and I tucked him in and said goodnight. But, without prompting this evening, as we played together on the computer, he proceeded to tell me all about his dream. It went like this:
"Mommy, I was in a haunted house and a ghost came and got me. A bad ghost. He took me and put me in a big pumpkin. It had hot laba (how he says lava) in it. I couldn't get out mommy. There was laba. It was hot. Then a good ghost came and got me. He got me out of the pumpkin, mommy. Then he got the got the bad ghost. He put the bad ghost in the pumpkin with the hot laba in it. It was scary mommy. I don't like the scary dreams!"
Isn't that interesting? I can see where the haunted house, ghosts and hot lava came from because he was playing Mario Kart last night, but the pumpkin? I don't know about that! Poor kid! He's plagued with my crazy dream gene!

Pictures from our vacation

We took a pit stop in Huntsville to see the Sam Houston statue. We were going to wait until Sunday to do that, but we're glad we didn't! It was raining on Sunday! I think this is our only family picture that we took from our trip, and of course, Tommy and I are being really mature and picking Sam's nose! The kids thought the statue was cool, but, of course, they thought the gift shop was even better!
Here we are on Galveston Island at a park that houses an old submarine. Anna was too scared to go on the sub, so we just went to the observation deck. The kids thought it was really cool, especially when a cruise ship passed by! Oh, and do you know what's in Tommy's backpack that we carried around EVERYWHERE? It's his potty seat! Can you believe it? He didn't have a single accident the ENTIRE trip! But, as soon as we got home, he squatted in front of the TV and peed and pooped. I think he had been holding in the poop the whole trip! I know too much information.

Our 34 Hour Vacation

I would love to post some pictures of our very FIRST family vacation! But, Blogger is not letting me at the moment. Check back for pics later. We took a trip with Anna when she was about two, but this is our first trip with all 3 kids, and it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be! We left at around 8am Saturday morning and came back around 6pm Sunday evening. It was a lot of fun! We all voted and everyone's favorite stop was the Russell Stover factory store that we went to on a whim! The beach was a close second, though. The kids love the water, so I was sure that they would love the beach, and they did. Missy took some GREAT pics of the kids that I hope to post soon. All in all, it was fun, and we're looking forward to taking another family trip! Um, just not this year. We're exhausted!

From bad to worse

Yep. That's how my day went. Tommy has been sick with a stomach bug for the past two days. Well, after 2 days of not much throwing up, and a lot of writhing around in pain, I decided to take him to the doctor. Well, my fabulous pediatrician is out of town this week, so we had to see another doctor. I took her first available appointment, and rushed to get there in time. Yeah. A lot of good that did me! I got my FIRST EVER speeding ticket! EVER. I've never recieved one in all my 28 years of life! And of all days! Good grief! So, I cried. Yep. I have not been able to sleep much these past two days because of Tommy, so I was extremely stressed and tired. My cop took no pity on me and gave me the ticket. I got to the doctor and she said that she was concerned with what she was seeing and wanted to take a sono of Tommy's tummy area, and a blood test to make sure that he didn't have appendicitis. YIKES!!! I was so freaked out. So, I dropped Anna and Eddie off with Danny at band camp, and went back to the hospital to get the tests done. Tommy was a champ during the blood test and the nurse was so fast! Tommy was in a lot of pain and had trouble walking, so I carried him EVERYWHERE. This kid is built like a tank, so my poor shoulders and back are not happy tonight. The woman who was filing my insurance at the sonogram place saw what Tommy was in for and launched her horrific tale of her daughter's burst appendix and almost dying! Great. Thanks for making me feel better lady! The sonogram took a while, and when we were done we had to wait to hear what my pediatrician thought. Well, the sonogram was inconclusive, so they had to take an X-ray of his abdomen to make sure there were no obstructions. Yeah, guess what? There was. It's called an insanely gassy tummy. Yep. 4 hours of tests and torture for my poor Tommy and $600 later, they came up with the prognosis of really bad gas caused by a viral infection. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!

Ghost Baby, Naked Spaghetti, and Mud Baths

I watched Mandie's kids yesterday, for 12 hours, and the kids had a lot of fun! While Carter napped for 3 hours, Anna, Abby, and Tommy went outside to play in the baby pool. They found the muddy yard more fun to play in though!
We had spaghetti for dinner and instead of trying to keep the kids clean with bibs, I took their shirts off so they could get as messy as they wanted!
Anna calls Eddie and Carter baby best friends. They had a lot of fun playing together! Funny thing, though, while Eddie was napping, Carter went into his room to play with some toys. Carter was doing his cute little sing-song babble while he was playing and woke up Eddie. Eddie WAS NOT expecting to find another baby in his room when he woke up, so he freaked out! When I got to him, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, beet red, and shaking! He was SO scared! Anna, of course, thought it was hilarious, so she called Carter "Ghost Baby" and it just stuck. We called him that for the rest of the day!

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Tommy turned 4 on June 7th. Can you believe it? He has become such a big boy!

Our New Piano!

As you can see, it looks pretty from the outside, but it needs a lot of work on the inside! Danny has been reading up on how to do the repairs and is ready to get to work. The bench had an accident with one of the legs and they had to replace one and it looks way different from the others, but it's not too bad. Danny was exhausted on Saturday from moving it, and he couldn't have done it without Jared's help! THANK YOU JARED!