woowoo

Today I have the attention span of a...see it's so short I can't even focus long enough to think of what animal/object I have an attention span like.

So I was going to jump on the ban wagon and write a blog about our family beliefs on Santa, but I can't focus on that today.

Also I was going to post a picture of the tree in our front yard, but I keep forgetting to load it on the computer. So hopefully I can do that tomorrow. It is a gorgeous flaming red and orange color. Living in the city most of my life, I haven't gotten to enjoy many trees with the colors of fall. It's also a fairly rare sight in Texas. By the time you notice any with such gorgeous colors, they only last about two days before all the leaves fall off. These colors are the reason fall is my favorite time of year. They are so short in lasting, they are a true treat.

OK so the attention pan is going I should go.

Little Break

From all I have to get done. Turns out we ARE going to have everyone here for Thanksgiving. So this weekend, all three of us got to work getting the house ready. And thanks to everything Larry and Holly did, I only have some last minute stuff to do such as the mopping and vacuming, and going over the bathroom one more time, and a few other odds and ends.



Right now I'm taking a little break while I wait for mom to get here. She is going to help me figure out all the food I need to get. I know most everyone did there shopping this weekend, so that may leave me hunting for everything I need, but there was no way I could handle that crowd. I love to be around people, but not ones who are shoving past you with grocery carts that often end up in your side or rolling over your toes.



The end of last week I did my observing at the different grade levels of schools at a school district over here, so I can start subtituting the beginning of December. I won't get a pay check to after the holidays, so it won't be money for Christmas. But it will be nice to get a little extra to help build the savings back up after the year we have had, and to have a little extra spending money for various wants and vacations.



On Friday evening, we went to downtown Dallas for the Neiman Marcus tree lighting, and revealing for their Holiday windows. It is only about a block from Larry's new building, and they had set up a both to advertise. So if anyone is looking to move to the Dallas area and is wanting to live in an A class apartment. Look up the Mercantile Building owned by Forest City. We had never gone before. They had all kinds of boths with advertisers passing out hot cocoa, popcorn balls, apple cider, ballons, glowing wands for sale, face painting, and pictures with Santa. Along with various people walking around entertaining. It was a long evening since Larry had to be there early, but it was fun.



ok was going to post pics, but it won't let me. I'll do it later.

Uck

Yesterday I just felt really bad. It was one of those things where your stomach feels a little ick, your head is in a little pain, and your body is a little achey. Had I had just one I probably could have gotten through the day fairly normally. But with all three I just felt aweful!!! So I spent the day just resting. Which now leaves me a huge pile to do today. I'm not 100%, but I will deal with it today. One day sick for a mom is more than a mom normal can squeeze. And since Larry was feeling uck by after lunch himself, I didn't get the whole day. The worst part of it was Larry had won free concert tickets for last night almost 2 months ago, and neither one of us was up for going. We ended up finally finding someone to give them to at about 7pm last night (concert started at 7:30). So I know they missed the opening band, but we hated having them wasted even if they were free.
Now I am stressing about Thanksgiving. It's next week and I don't know what's happening. We wanted to have it at our house this year, but it doesn't look like most of our family can make it, so we need to quickly decide if we are going to go to family's for the holiday or have a small one with just the 4 of us here. And I need to know like yesterday so I can know if I need to shop or not. aaahhhh!!!

Prayers

Please pray for my friend Kristi. She is going in today to try to find out some answers for some health issues. She could use all the support she can get right now.

In the Mood

Especially with the weather going back to warm so much right now, it's hard for me to grasp that it's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas.
For the past couple years Larry has been on call for Thanksgiving, so the girls have spent the holiday with their mom so they could be with more family. This actually let Larry and I have a holiday where we felt a little like newly weds without children. We enjoyed fixing a meal for two that could actually feed 12. We'd cook a fairly small turkey, a ham, and all the sides. This year he will not be on call since his new job is with a high rise aparment that is being built from one of the older business buildings in downtown Dallas, and no one will be living there until next March or May. And with now finally having a house, we are inviting his family over for Thanksgiving here. So I am looking forward to that.
The thing is I'm just not really getting anywhere near a Christmas mood. I'm looking forward to the music and cold weather and pretty lights, but that's it. With the new house I was hoping to get excited. But like it has the past few years, something has happened so close to Christmas time to really dampen the good, and uplifting mood. Christmas is usually a time I really enjoy, but not lately. And that's something that upsets me more. With the girls going to be at their mom's for Christmas this year, I don't have the excitement of watching them Christmas morning. (I had my very first Christmas morning with them 3 years ago. Larry and I were so excited we woke up before them and started throwing things towards their door to try and wake them up. :) )
So if anyone has some inexpensive and/or free ideas of things I could do to get in the mood, you'd really be helping me loose that "bah humbug mood"!

I was spoiled!!

With everything happening, I never got to post about my afternoon with my friend on Oct. 30 that I mentioned.
Being the wonderful, best friend that she is, she turned it into a surprise birthday lunch.
She called me on my way there to let me know she got to the resturant early and was going to run a couple errands close by so she might be a couple minutes late. I did get there before her, but since it was so early there was no need for me to go in and get us a table where I would have to worry about missing her come in. So I just sat in my car and read my magazine.
She surprised me at my door shortly with presents! I was only expecting to hang out for lunch. Her "errands" had been stopping at one of the stores we shop at frequently to get me a shirt I really wanted. I had seen it on a maniquine, but could never find it anywhere in my size to purchase. She also gave me this adorable, unquie charm necklace with my first charm a friendship charm.
We then went in and enjoyed a fabulous lunch topped off with her treating us to their new peanut butter fudge deserts that came in these adorable mini peanut buckets. They were like cold reeses peanut butter cups (one of my favorite treats) in a bucket. I'll definately be returning soon for another one of those!!
We finished with a great deal of time left before either of us had to get back to our kids, and since we were close to the mall we decided to go look around for a bit.
We were walking through Dillard's near the makeup counters when she commented she'd never gone to one of the sales clerks and let them do a make over on her. She thought it would be nice to let someone else pamper her. So we stopped and let her get a little pampering while they did their best to sell her a fortune in products.
I don't think the sales clerks liked having me there though. They kept putting various colors on her that just didn't look good. Looking at how they wore their makeup and how they put it on her, I think these woman were ones use to working with younger girls who think more is better. There was no way I was going to let them put anything on my friend that took away from her natural beauty or that would have her uncomfortable, so I spoke up quite often. Kristi agreed with me, but being the one they were holding the brushes up to her face, she wasn't saying much. In the past, I was always a person who just stood back quietly and agreed with everyone else. But my husband has taught me to stand up for myself, so I am now able to do this and I do it for those I care for too. There is no walking over me anymore!!! So I voiced my opinion no matter if I thought the sales clerk liked what I said or not. It's my friend's face!!!
I was also having a problem with the other sales clerks. It was during a time of day where they only had a couple of customers, so the clerks were bored. One girl kept coming over to the one helping us and would just start talking to her about what was on her mind, not allowing our sales clerk to help us.
When my husband got home that evening, I kept telling him over and over how much fun we had and what all we did and happened. I told him how nice it was and how good it was to have someone other than him treat me so kindly and really spoil me. He said he was pleased too that I had such a great friend who treated me so great.
So thank you Kristi for your kindness and for your wonderful friendship!!! You mean worlds to me!!!

Airing out the House

I am so thankful today is a cool, yet not too cool day. I can finally get the house opened up and aired out. There have been other days good for this, but I could never remember it. Today it was a must. Our dog, Ruby, had a stomach bug or had gotten into something. So yesterday I spent the whole day crawling on my hands and knees cleaning the carpet and washing her bedding and my daughter's comforter. Poor thing couldn't get to me fast enough sometimes to let me know she had to get outside NOW!! She's old so I couldn't just put her outside to fight it, and I couldn't find the gate to put up to block the hall way to the carpeted area of the house. The carpet is good and clean thanks to A LOT of elbow work, but now I need to get the house aired out do to all the cleaner smells and sick smells that seem to linget in the air. (no one else smells anything but cleaners, so it may just be me, but openning the house should do the trick at least for my mind)


And except for one more follow up on me due to my most recent perscription change (due to the removal), the last of the family went for their eye exam. My husband had fabulous insurance benifits at the company he just left, so I schedualed check ups for everyone so we could take advantage of all of it before we lost it and are without for the 2 months. I took them all to the doctor I've been seeing 'cause he's done fabulous things for me, and my husband really liked him when he met him last Feb at my first appointment with him ( and it's really hard to find any kind of doctor he likes).


Once again, he proved why I like him so much. Haylee was first. She has glasses, but we found out not the kind she needs. Dr. Kurtin suprised me when he asked if she struggled reading. I told him yes. Not enough that she fails, but enough to keep her frustrated. And the teachers have always been at a loss. Turns out she has slow focus (where it's hard for her to go from reading to looking far away if she glances up and then to go back to reading). So he put her in progressive lenses and said to see if that helps her. If not he has a specialist he will refer her too. So I am very excited for her. She just got them this weekend, so I am looking forward to calling her tonight to see how the last two days of school have gone.


Larry was next. He can see better than 20/20, but turns out he has an astigmatism no one has caught before. So he got glasses to help him to not have to work so hard on focusing on things like the computer.


And Holly was today. Lucky for her and my bank account, she has good eyesight and doesn't need any glasses.

Well that's all for today off to freshen a few more things up. To all those stopping in to read...God Bless!!

Just over this mountain...

is one more mountain. At least that's what it feels like for us. Larry and I were greatly looking forward to this weekend. Holly went to her mom's for the weekend, making this the first one we could enjoy alone since June, before I got the news of my tumor. Holly's mom lives in Austin, so we meet half way in Waco. I had just gotten her dropped off and was on my way back. I stopped in Hillsboro about 30 miles north of Waco to get gas. I was just getting back in from paying when my phone started ringing. It was Larry. I figured it was him calling to see if it all went ok with the girls' mom. Shockingly it wasn't. He called to tell me he just got rear-ended. It hit hard enough to make him hit the car in front of him (which he had left a car link in between the two of them), and hard enough to knock him out. He told me he wasn't able to see. He was speaking calmly, but I could hear the panic behind it. And since my husband is the much, much calmer one of the two of us, I went into panic and took off to get back to him in Dallas.


The hospital they took him to was far, far less than any proper standards. I got to the hospital an hour after they brought him in. I went to the ER reception to request where to go for him. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WAS!!! THEY TRIED TO TELL ME HE WASN'T THERE. I called his cell phone to double check the hospital, he put a nurse on the phone to try and tell me where to go. Finally got to him and asked what they had done. NOTHING!!! HE WAS IN A BED IN THE HALL!! He told them he needed to use the restroom, so they gave him a urinal and told him to use it in the hallway!!! I went to the nurses station to ask when a doctor would see him, and they tried to tell me that he had only been there for 6 minutes!!! Now I'm usually a very calm person especially with doctors, but this time I was full on Mama Bear at her fiercest!!! I won't get into everything, but after waiting over another hour to have a doctor see him and listening to nurses talk about bra sizes instead of taking care of patients and after he told me that before I got there nurses were standing by his bed asking who was suppose to look after him, not knowing and each one saying they wouldn't take him, I requested the paper work to have him sign to be released so I could take him to another hospital. After almost another hour of waiting, we walked out. Or I should say I walked out almost having to carry him. We went to another hospital, who took him straight back and took great care of him. Thankfully all is fine. Nothing broken, and the CT scan came back good. They aren't sure what made him have numbness and blindness. Larry thinks maybe it just gave him and instant migraine. All I know is I'm glad he is ok. And I will be dealing with the director of the first hospital, 'cause so much of how he was treated was unacceptable. I would totally understand the wait if they were taking care of people more hurt than him, but I consider (along with most other doctors and hospitals from past experiences) being knocked unconscious something serious...at least a lot more serious than bra sizes.

To top that mountain off, the guy who hit him had no car insurance. Thankfully we have full coverage on both of our cars, so our insurance will cover it. But we have to wait for the police report, up to 7 business days, to prove he had no insurance before they will start the work and paying for his time missed from work and all medical bills.

After sitting in the house sore all day Saturday, Larry had to get out and do something. So on Sunday after we got back from picking up Holly Larry worked on Holly's go-cart and got it working safely. It still needs some adjustments, but she can finally ride it. We took it across the street to the High School Parking lot and let her tear it up! he he Here are a couple pictures from that.





Well I guess that's all for now, have a great day!! I'm going to try and get a little done. It's a lot harder to get things done when he's here wanting me to keep him company. :)

Halloween

So this year Holly decided to go scary for the first time and was a vampiress. The cape turned out not too bad for just cutting it and adding some iron adhesive to keep it from riping. It needed to be a little shorter so she didn't step on it, but she wouldn't let me cut it anymore.

I have to claim some bragging rights on her makeup, but I'll get into that later.

Larry unfortunately is having some rough days with work, trying to get things perfected before he leaves (today is his last day with the company). And his tooth was cause him pain again, so he ended up staying home. This was even more sad since it was such great weather for Halloween. The best we've had in a few years. But I wasn't about to take her door to door on my own. So we ended up meeting my parents, brother, brother's girlfriend, and her little girl at the mall to take them trick-or-treating there. This was disappointing due to so many people and so much of having to watch out on not stepping on other kids. There also was very little candy. The girls mostly received sweet tart, a couple pieces of bubble gum and some tootsie rolls. And by the time we all made it, it was almost time for them to put away. So we hurried back to my parents' neighborhood (the one I grew up trick-or-treating in), and were able to go down the block and let the girls fill their bags with some chocolate for the moms. ;) And of corse my parents had stashed away bags of the "good" candy so they could give them a bunch.

So it was a fairly mild Halloween, which turned out to be fairly good. Holly was just starting to get a cold. And the start is always the worst. So she was dragging pretty good fairly early. She also had had a costume parade that morning at school that I had to miss. (When I scheduled Larry's eye appointment with my eye doctor that day we originally thought he would be off from work, and I didn't know then that there would be a parade. And with the job move there was no way I could reschedule it for before we lost our current health insurance. ) So Holly was being extra clingy and ready to finish before she got much candy. And with the blacked out eyes I did, she looked like she felt really, really awful. I kept asking her if she was ready to go long before she was. I had to wash the makeup off at my parents house before we went home, so I could really see how she felt.

So I brought my camera with me, but I got so busy watching out for the girls, that I forgot to take any pics of them together or while trick-or-treating this year. My brother did get some of them together, so as soon as he sends me those I'll post them. Olivia (his girlfriend's daughter) was Jasmine. I think that is so cool 'cause she is in 1st grade, and when Holly was in first that's what she was for Halloween. I'll have to post some comparison pics too.

Off to see if the grass is finally dry enough to mow. Have a fab Friday!!

Suggestions for getting out of a rut greatly appreciated

This morning I am getting ready to have lunch with a very close friend at one of our old hang outs from back before either of us was married with kids. It's just a simple steakhouse that we could actually take our family to, and I have been there a couple times with my husband. But it's just a tradition for the two of us to go on our own. There were many meals shared their by two single girls admiring the cute waiters and talking about personal (aka private) girly things.
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So in honor of this I am spending a little extra time doing my hair and makeup. Doing this has brought up a thought that I think about often, but never do anything about.
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I have never been one to keep my looks of great importance. I have never had high self esteem when it came to my looks, so I never put much effort into it unless I was doing something special. Now with being a stay at home mom, I have fallen into this even more. I can't seem to justify doing my hair and makeup to basically stay home or just for running to Walmart/Target or the library. I then end up not doing much for going anywhere and often feel inadequate compaired to the other women out and about. When I do choose to fix myself up some, my husband comments on it. His heart is in the right place because he says he prefers me without the makeup. I don't over do it, and never have the desire to put on much. But I do think a little helps to brighten my face (lets face it, I don't have that perfect, even complexion from youth). But when I hear these comments, I feel like I'm trying to put on a show and shouldn't do that. Which has me falling back into my norm. I think this also leads to me not putting in the effort I need to to get back in shape and have to body shape I desire. I just can't get inspired to get into the routine.
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So my question is for my stay at home mom readers. What are your thoughts? What do you do? Do any of you have this same problem or feel the same way? Do you have any suggestions on what I can do or another way to look at things? Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Early and Late

Well, Friday felt like an early mini-Thanksgiving for me. Cooking wise anyway. Larry had been having some tooth pain as of late, so on Thurs he went in to the dentist. They ended up doing a partial deep cleaning and pulled two of his three remaining wisdom teeth. He was at the office for 7 hrs, and in the chair for 5 hrs!! With one of the teeth came some bone!! Just the idea of that makes my mouth cower in fear!! He called me when he got out trying to speak, but his meds had him soooo out of it. I told him I could come get him, but even on so much pain killers he was thinking of my safety and said that I would have to drive through a not so safe area to get there so he would meet me at his work and I could pick him up there (thankfully it was very close to his job). I hurried out to the van to take off to face the horrible trek throw Dallas' rush hour traffic. But Larry's fabulous property manager called to tell me not to come. She lives fairly close and she would drive him this way and we could just meet at the Costco about 5 miles from the house. I couldn't thank her enough, this gave me the chance to run to Target and pick up his prescriptions and some food I thought he could eat (or should I say just swallow). So that night he wasn't able to fall asleep till about 8am Friday morning. I called his work to let them know he'd would go ahead and stay home. When he did wake up, poor thing had chills and body aches along with all the pain in his mouth. So after the call I ran to the store to get some things to cook for him. I ended up getting a rotisserie chicken from the deli, and cooked stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin bread (I'd been craving that for the past couple of weeks).
And now for the late part...I tried to be good and get a jump on Holly's Vampire costume this year. She decided her sister's witch dress from last year would work and all she needed was a cape. So a few weeks ago we went up to Joann's and I let her pick out some fabric for it (a bright red satin like fabric with skull and bones covering it). So that was the good jump right on it and get it done part of me. The not so fabulous procrastinator took over after that, and now I'm just now sitting down to sew it. Biggest problem is the fabric is so slippery, I can't get it to stay still while I try to iron it to sew the hem much less anything else. So I think I will give up trying to sew it neatly and will just cut it into the shape we need. Hopefully it will still look ok. I don't think it will unravel, the fabric seems to be a fairly good one for resisting that.

compassion...

is a true gift from God!! I know 'cause I have it running through me right now. I believe it is God's compassion because every other fiber in me feels like I should be a little kid with my hands up going "neener neener neener!!!"

Some one I know is facing a difficult time right now. It is something that I have been facing for 4 yrs. This person has made some really hurtful and unkind comments about the path I have taken in life. And to this day I don't understand why they have said or felt these things. In no way have these choices harmed anyone including myself. They have been choices that have only brought more love and care to some people who are now very close to me.

I will be honest, I have been sitting here (well doing chores too) running through my feelings trying to find that feeling of "HA!! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!" but I truly don't have them and only wish to send prayers of comfort to them and hopes that they turn there tough times to God and trust in His plan. That is how I get through, and it is the only way!

And even though these comments have brought tears and hurt to me, I still have compassion for this person and what they are going through. I wish these problems on NO ONE!

A few pictures

Thought I would post a few pics to be enjoyed.




This is a pic. from the backyard looking across the street on one of the really, really foggy days the other week. There is suppose to be a high school, parking lot, and football stadium for you to see. So you can tell it truely was a foggy day.

This is my birthday cake. Larry and Holly had a little too much fun with the icing.

The school district Holly attends has a uniform dress code, but this week is red ribbion week . And yesterday was crazy sock day, so Holly borrowed a pair of my toe socks .

Larry's work has a company party today. Each property had to create a table center piece from thing found in the office. Larry created the one for his property. I am more than impressed with his creativeness!! (this is only one side. He made it where it had two fronts and no back.)

And this is Larry in his Greek god costume created by a coworker for the company party.

Enjoy!

28

Hard to believe as of 5:30 this morning that is my age. This is one age that really hit me as older. 25 didn't do it for me, 26 did and now so is this one.
This birthday is a lot more special to me with all that has happened. Even though my day is busy with normal errands, it still is a huge mile stone. I think every one will be from now on. Since I now know how close I was to not having anymore. If the tumor had bled out much more before they caught it, I wouldn't be around. And as I look at my daughters and continue to yearn for a child that I get the chance to carry and not have in the middle of all the fights that go on with the girls mom, the idea of not being here is one I'm more than thankful that I don't have to face, at least not due to a tumor.
Anyway...most of my celebrating was this weekend. Haylee is currently living with their mother (she is expect her 5th child and Haylee wants to be a part of it), so she was down this weekend. We did various family things. What was the most fun is they were family things I picked for us to do. Nothing real big, just hung out in some places we use to go to a lot but haven't gotten to with the last couple of moves. And just really enjoyed each other's company.
This afternoon when Holly gets home from school, we are going to run up to Michael's to get a couple birthday gifts I planned to buy myself ;) and some stuff to decorate my cake. Then we'll come home and bake.
I'm off now to go get my glasses fixed (my latest prescription has some glare problems that need to be buffed out).
Hope you all enjoy your day and to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!

recipe exchange

You've been invited to be a part of a recipe exchange.

1. Lori Rodriguez lori.a.rodriguez@gmail.com
2. Toby Etheridge smileywmn@aol.com

Please send a recipe to the person whose name is listed in the number1 position above (even if you don't know them) and it shouldpreferably be something quick, easy and without rare ingredients.Actually, the best one is one you know in your head and can type outand send right now. Then, copy this letter into a new e-mail, move myname to the number 1 position and put your name in the number 2position. Only my and your name should show when you send your e-mail.Send to 10-20 friends. If you cannot do this within 5 days, let meknow so it will be fair to those participating. You should receive anice collection of recipes.It's fun to see where they come from!! Seldom does anyone drop outbecause we can all use new recipes. The turn around is fast becauseonly 2 names are on the list. Enjoy!

What people will try!!

I have for as long as I can remember, wanted an English Bulldog.

I think their faces are the cutest thing. Turns out Larry has always wanted one too.

We recently decided to start searching a little more seriously into getting one.

We started with the paper, but as normal their price ranges from $1500-$2500. And since we are just wanting a family pet, I can't see spending that much on one. We found a rescue shelter for bulldogs, and they had one that would be absolutely perfect for our family for only $400. I still felt this to be a bit much, but was considering it. Especially since once again it would be a rescued dog. (all of our pets are rescued) But while we were considering the idea of it, he was adopted. :(

Larry then started hunting through the papers classified ads online. We found one that said free puppies, only pay shipping. So we started communicating knowing there was the possibility of it being a scam. To make a long story short, turns out it was a scam. Thankfully we went in with our heads and not our hearts, 'cause they posted pictures of two girl puppies that you would have to have absolutely no heart to not fall in love with them.

I just hate to think of those people they do scam and get money out of, 'cause it's kind, trusting people who are only wanting a new family member to love that they end up hurting and stealing from.

Time to get back to it!

Things are getting busy at school for Holly, but I am trying to settle back into a routine now that all I have to do as a result of the surgery is some PT. And I need to make my blogging one of them and not just stop and read other ones.

My hair is growing back so quickly from the surgery. It will be 3 months on the 25th, and I already have over an inch grown in!! My hair normally never grows this fast.

My scar is also starting to smooth out more. It's not something that bothers me though. You can't tell it goes up to almost the top of my head. You only see what's on my neck, and all of it is easily hidden by the rest of my hair. I think of it as more of a badge of honor. It shows what a miracle God has given me, and it is a sign that I will live a longer, fuller life. It wasn't cancerous, but it was bleeding out in the past. When he got in there he discovered it had bled more than what he could see in the MRI/MRA and angiagram. More proof it was a good thing it came out.
The surgery really has changed my view of life. Larry and I have both learned to worry a LOT less, and as a reward God is taking even better care of us.

• He gave us this wonderful house a week after the surgery.


• He had the tumor found while we had insurance that is paying for all but $100 of the over $200,000 it cost for the surgery, hospital stay and tests.


• Shortly after we moved we found out the company Larry works for is moving out of Texas within the next few months, and the property that Larry works at is going up for sale 12/1. Well we haven't really started heavily on the job hunting, but he already has an offer he is taking that is better than the job he is at now (and we didn't think it was possible for him to get a better one without already being with a company for at least a year)

So it's just all proof of the wonderful miracles God has performed since we are finally learning to let Him do the hard stuff!

This is a week after the surgery right after they took the first set of stitches out (my neck didn't heal well, so they had to go in and close it again a week after they took them out.)

This one is about a month and a half after the surgery, so it's a little old, but it gives you an idea of how quickly it is healing. I'll get Larry to take an updated one soon.

All of this has made me much more aware of brain cancer. I obviously didn't have it, but this was all still a huge scare and makes me want to be more aware of it and finding a cure for it. And I want others to be more aware of it.

October is Breast cancer awareness month (another one that is close to my heart). And we all know that pink is the color that represents that. But do you know the color for brain cancer awareness? Grey. I encourage anyone reading to please join me in learning and supporting the search for a cure for brain cancer too!

So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!

absence

I know it's been a while, so I will just write a quick note to explain my absence. I will go into more detail later.
Early July-found brain tumor in left cerebellum.
End of July- had it removed
Week after surgery- closed and moved to a house....YEA!!!
Was without internet for a long time, and have spent the last couple weeks trying to catch up on things.
That's it in a nutshell!!
So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!!

A few pictures

Feeling down right now about things going on and other things that aren't going on, so I don't really feel like writing anything, but I did want to finally get some of the pics that I have loaded so far to the computer up on here.

Our Family

My greatest loves!

Haylee jumpin' in the snow

Holly in my sweater on the ride home at 2am

Holly the cave hunter

Haylee the rock climber

I'll post more when I get them loaded. Have a great weekend! And to anyone stopping in to read/look...God Bless!

This isn't getting ready

for vacation that is. We leave tomorrow for New Mexico for the next few days, and I'm suppose to be doing all my last minute stuff. I'm actually going nutty since we had to make a last minute trip last night to East TX and back to deliver my husband's truck he sold. That took away all that time and then taking him in to work lost a lot of time this morning, but I wanted to take a minute to write. To add to my list of things that weren't able to be done earlier this week due to emergencies, I have sick fish! The fish are in our brand new 55 gallon tank. We have a few new ones we bought, but mostly it has ones from a smaller tank we have. I noticed a few days ago a couple of my fish had what looked like little bubbles stuck to them, but that was what I thought it was, air bubbles. So I thought nothing of it. Until last night when one of those fish looked awful when we got home. Poor thing had bloodshot eyes and was barely moving. He's always been a very active fish, and one of our favorites. I jumped on the computer to see what I could figure out. I think I was able to find what they had. It mentioned treatment and how long it could last (10-14 days), but not what the treatment was. So I went to the local, independently owned pet store we love to go to (they sell pigs there and we love looking at them. They also have a cat that runs free in the store that I always find watching the lizards). Thankfully the guy was able to help me. I diagnosed them correctly and he found me the proper treatment. Turns out that it should only take three treatments. Thankfully I should be able to do 2 by the time we leave tomorrow. So there is a good chance they will make it. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I hate seeing anything, even fish, suffer. I think they caught it from the live plants we bought from Petco. So you can probably guess I'm not pleased with Petco right now. We've never experienced anything like this before. We have had fish tanks for just over a year now, and my husband is starting to really get into it. He built this gorgeous stand for the 55 gallon tank.
OK I will go now and get things done so I don't have to stay up too late or get up too early. I was going to mop earlier this week, but didn't get to. Now I'm glad I didn't. I forgot to mention that that one fish didn't make it, and Larry had to send him on to the "great pond". Well, he didn't get the toilet flushed correctly, so my cats found a new toy. I came home this morning to find them digging at something in the bathroom. They had been batting the poor thing around on the floor after fetching him out of the toilet! So I'm off to mop. Hope everyone has a great weekend and a great start to their week. So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!!

Times have changed...

Technology is spreading more and more. Especially into the classrooms. This can be a very good thing. I love that my children are getting more and more education on computers. But what is really amazing me, is the lines of communication that are now in the classroom. Every teacher now has her own computer in the room and a phone. On the computer the teacher can send and receive e-mails in addition to the normal booking they need to perform. This can be a great advantage to parents like me who may need to inform the teacher of something private about her child that they don't necessarily want the child knowing is being discussed. I recently had a concern about Holly and things that were happening while at her mom's house. I e-mailed her teacher about this and asked her to please listen if she mentions anything out of the ordinary. The phone is also handy for reaching the teacher immediately in an emergency. I remember when I was in school how if the office needed to get a hold of the teacher they did it over the intercom system.
There is one problem with phones in the classroom though. The students take a little too much advantage of it. My daughters call me frequently from school. Most of the time it is very handy when it concerns an emergency or a change in afternoon schedules which will change the time I need to pick them up from school. But I'm not thrilled when I receive a call to ask me to bring something to them they may have forgotten at home (something that isn't that important) or just to inform me of something minor that really could have waited till they got home. I've told them to make a note if they fear they will forget, but that phone is just becoming too handy. I don't see how this doesn't interrupt there regular class activities. I guess I'll just work a little harder at helping them learn the right situations and needs on when to call me. So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!!

ABC's of Me

I know I already posted today, but I just found this on another random blog and thought it was cute. Wanted to do one of my own.

1. A is for age: 27
2. B is for beer of choice: none...not a fan of beer
3. C is for career right now: MOM and WIFE
4. D is for your dog's name: Ruby, Oreo, and even if he's not living with our family-Bruiser
5. E is for essential item you use everyday:Bath Sponge
6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Gilmore Girls
7. G is for favorite game: Late night Scrabble with Larry
8. H is for Home town: Born in Mt. Pleasant, grew up in Ft. Worth
9. I is for instruments you play: Clarinet, a little Sax, a little Piano, and soon the Electric Guitar
10. J is for favorite juice: Cran-Grape
11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: Let's not go there
12. L is for last place you ate: Home-leftover pizza from last night's dinner
13. M is for marriage: Fabulous! Will be 4 years next month!
14. N is for your full name: Toby Annette
15. O is for overnight hospital stays: Probably after I was born. Other than that-none *knock on wood!*
16. P is for people you were with today: So far, Larry and the girls
17. Q is for quote: "God is good."
18. R is for Biggest Regret: Thankfully don't have one yet. Or at least can't think of one right now.
19. S is for status: Married to the fabulous and handsome Larry!
20. T is for time you woke up today: woke up: 6:01 got up: 6:37
21. U is for underwear you have on now: Blue Fruit-of-the-loom Boy shorts
22. V is for vegetable you love: Right now it's the sauteed green beans at Great Wall Chinese Restaurant
23. W is for worst habit: procrastination
24. X is for x-rays you've had: most recent-about 3 years ago when I cracked my other ankle, but I've had many many through out my life!
25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: That is still to come, girls go to their mom's today, so that means Larry will take me out to dinner when I get back!!
26. Z is for Zodiac sign: Scorpio

My Funny Quirks

Today as I was in search of my hair brush, the location of it made me think of my somewhat funny quirks.

I found my brush in my magazine/activity bag. When I was a child, my family did their best to go on a road trip vacation every summer. I am very thankful for this for I have seen many fabulous places in this wonderful country of ours. But with these trips were many long hours spent riding in the car. My mom put together a summer travel bag
for my brother and I every year to keep us entertained on the ride, and to help minimize the number of quarrels in the back seat.

I continue to spend many hours in the car. My husband's family lives in East Texas. We travel to visit them frequently, so I bring my bag filled with magazines, a book, and my knitting to keep me busy during the drive. I also travel to Waco every other weekend to drop off my girls with their mom to visit her in Austin. We frequently spend up to an hour waiting for her in the parking lot of Fazolli's. This wonderful bag helps to keep me from getting overly aggravated while waiting. Due to these drives and the advancement of technology, I have added books on CD to my bag. I have been able to listen to many, many books on these drives. The reader is like someone sitting in the passenger seat talking to me and keeping me awake on these tedious drives to and from Waco. I have also added my digital camera to the bag to catch any moments I might not want to miss out on remembering.

OK, so you are asking what is the quirk in that other than my rambling? Well I have realized due to this routine, I have now become obsessed with bags to carry my activities. I am constantly finding a new, cute bag to carry my things in. I have also acquired quite a collection of magazines and books. And I seem to be a frequent visitor to the books on CD shelves at the library.

Well maybe these really aren't quirks, but just something funny I choose to think/write about today.

What is sad is the change in technology these days for my children. We are planning to go on a family trip with my parents and brother in just over a week. My mom being the wonderful woman she is, offered to make bags for the girls. Unfortunately, since I didn't come into their lives early enough to deter them from an addiction of technology, and give them a love for simple things, the girls have made their own bags filled with the latest technology for children. I don't complain cause they really aren't terrible things. Mostly CD players, a few diggy pets, and a kids Ivideo player they got from their mom for Christmas. And these items will help to ward off backseat quarrels too, I just hope they don't get too caught up in playing with these items that they run down their batteries and expect me to replace them every couple of days. I don't plan to spend my money on batteries instead of film for my camera. I know you are thinking why not buy them rechargeable ones. Unfortunately my children are not know for remembering where they place items, so rechargeables get lost, and they are a lot more money to replace.

OK so I've rambled on so much now and have to keep getting up to attend to other important activities in the house, that I have forgotten where all I was going with this particular entry, so I will go for now.

So to anyone stopping in to read...God Bless!!!

Doing the right thing deffinately isn't always easy

This week we finally accepted that we couldn't keep my dog, Bruiser, anymore. Bruiser is a 10 month old Apple head Chihuahua. He has the colorings of a Rottweiler. I am not personally a fan of Chihuahuas but I couldn't resist him when my husband brought him home last May and I saw he had those colors. (I love their brown eyebrows) Just like our other animals he is a rescued pet. Our neighbor at the time found him dumped on the side of the road. He was only about 5 weeks old and still needed to be bottle fed. So my husband's soft heart brought him home, and mine allowed me to have the energy to get up to feed him every two hours like a baby.

Now he is a very rambunctious dog, who just isn't happy in an apartment. He very much needs a home with a backyard that he can play in everyday. He also was in need of a very steady routine, and our lifestyle is often not steady. We had been trying and trying to keep him, but when he started an obsession with me that caused him to mark me as his territory, I knew we just couldn't keep him. My husband's assistant's sister took him. She has a yard and young children to keep him entertained.

I know he is happy in his new home and I can visit him any time, but the absence of him has left such a huge hole in my heart. I never knew how much my little 2 pound dog actually filled this house up. The whole family is missing him. I know my husband is feeling it just as badly as me, but being the typical guy, he does his best to brush it off. Being the typical girl I lay in bed crying for an hour every night and then off and on through the day. I do my best not to do this in front of him since I know it makes it harder for him since he doesn't feel he can show his emotions over a dog the same way he does at the lost of a human life.

Today was easier than yesterday, and I know it will get a little better everyday, but boy I sure do miss that little guy. Even if I did spend most of the day telling him no to this or that.

So to Bruiser: You will forever be loved and missed by this family!!!

Little Sleep, But Surprisingly Up-Beat

So it's been a bit busy around here. My younger child ended up getting the virus too. It developed the weekend after Haylee got it. Thankfully hers went just as fast causing her to miss only one day of school. Since then my husband and I have continued to have restless nights. We haven't had a good night's sleep in over 2 weeks now, due to one thing or another. We do think a good amount of the problem is the bed. We are in desperate need of a new one. My husband is trying to find a chiropractor he likes, and while doing this hopes that maybe s/he will suggest we need a new bed and make insurance pay for it. Neither one of us truly believes this will happen, but it is a wonderful idea. Like the title says, I've had little sleep, but I am surprisingly in an up-beat mood!

This week, I am not able to be very productive during the day. The water heater in our apartment is scheduled to be replaced. I'm not sure what day they will come, so I work to be prepared everyday. This doesn't allow me to wash dishes or clothes till after about 4pm. So I am enjoying my time reading, watching DVDs, and trying to finish my current knitting project. I am enjoying the chance to be lazy. I would love to also try and catch up on a little rest, but I'm not tired until time to head to pick the kids up from school. I think the sitting in the car for 30mins with the sun shinning in and reading is what does me in. I may need to start cracking a window and letting some of the cold air in.

Seems like I had something really profound to say today, but now that I'm typing I can't think of it. Oh well hope my post doesn't bore my readers to much then. That is if I even have any stopping in anymore.

So to anyone stopping in to read, God Bless!

Surprise!

Well surprise for me...it's a snow day for the kids. Well it is Texas, so ice day is what it really is. Last night I checked weather bug to see that there was a very light chance of precipitation over the night, but nothing big expected until Thursday or Friday. I realized I didn't have the van in it's covered parking spot, so with the light chance I did run down and move it just to make sure I didn't have anything to worry about scrapping off the windshield in the morning when I went to take my healthy child to school. Boy was I surprised when I went out to walk my puppy. Poor thing gave me a look that said "Are you really going to make me pee in that?" So he ran did his business and ran back up. I was right with him so I could check the school closings. And yes school is closed today. I was just upset cause I had gotten everyone up to start getting ready for the day and we could have slept for a few more hours. And after the night we had with my older one, I really could have used a couple more hours. Now I have to keep them entertained and separated so my younger one doesn't get sick.

Speaking of my older one. I believe I guessed wrong. I think she just has a virus. I'm keeping my fingers crossed she had the worst of it last night. Her fever got a little higher and she had some nightmares and trouble sleeping. My mind was going 90 to nothin' last night. It took me over an hour every time I woke up to get it calmed down where I could fall asleep again. And right when I finally made it is when she would come running in upset. After we discovered school was closed and I sent my younger one, Holly, back to bed, I crawled back in myself to try and catch a little more sleep. Once again it took an hour to relax, and right when I was dropping off Haylee came in upset because she couldn't get to sleep. I told her she must just be sleeped out and to stay awake and find something to do. So by now I realize it's not worth it anymore.
Anyway, I think she should be fine if I can keep her perked up. She seems to just want to sit and dwell on it, and I really believe that you can get over being sick a lot faster if you think positive.

Enough of that. We will enjoy our day inside. I'm just a little worried about what we will eat tonight since I haven't gotten to go grocery shopping, and I sent my hubby to work in the van so he could be better protected. Hopefully I can talk him in to stopping to pick something up on his way home since he is leaving work extra early to avoid the roads icing over again when it starts getting dark.

So to anyone stopping in to read, God Bless and stay warm!

Mystery

My 10 yr old is home from school today with a fever. What she has is a total mystery though. It started yesterday morning with a sore throat, but every time I check it, it's not red or swollen. She's been complaining of some aches, but the way she describes them, they're just normal growing pains. She complains of her stomach being upset, but I think that is due to the fever since it didn't start till she developed the fever last night and because she still eats pretty much anything she wants and eats her normal amount. So I'm completely puzzled. Since it's a fairly mild fever, and since she doesn't seem that miserable, I'm holding off taking her to the doctor. I will take her in tomorrow if it continues.

What also helps with all of this is finally being in a place where my girls don't share bedrooms. I don't have to move one to the living room too keep her from catching what the other one has. Problem is my younger one has to be the center of attention no matter what, so she often pretends to be sick when her sister is. It can be hard to handle that one. I want to comfort my girls when they are sick, but I don't want it to be so nice that they fake it. They know they have more fun when they are well, but that period of time when mom babies you a little extra is nice too. Any advice?

Now our weekend. Even with the winter weather, my family was blessed to be able to get out and do somethings. For some reason the area where we live ended up not developing much ice on the roads even though it did rain a ton! So we were able to run around to the stores and mall close to home. What was most fun was our cooking experiments. We went into Walmart to get some groceries and decide what to eat for dinner Saturday night. My husband wanted to get creative and make hot wings. So we went to look for a new fryer since our other one had to be thrown out a few months ago. We had no luck in finding one we wanted. But I did discover a food processor for a fabulous deal. I have never gotten to buy one. I'm often too picky with my appliances. So I snatched the last one. My husband decided we should make steaks and home-made salsa with our new find. So our evening was filled with playing with our new toy and experimenting with amounts of ingredients. And I am pleased to say my husband now makes a fabulous salsa.
So to anyone stopping in to read, God Bless!

Finally!

Finally! I'm getting started on this! To those who have viewed my profile and discovered I have yet to write a blog, I'm sorry! I hope everyone hasn't given up on me! I'm just not one to write about myself where everyone can read. I don't feel I may have anything profound to say, but that's one of my new year's resolutions. To gain more confidence in myself. My husband has helped me drastically in that area ever since we met. I would allow people to walk all over me, and he didn't like it. He wouldn't even allow me to let him tell me what to do. I am much better than I was 4 years ago, but could still use some work. I may be a stay at home mom who doesn't get to get out much, and who makes her kids and husband her world, but I can still be interesting. I made a few other resolutions but am doing a poor job with most. One is the one most have... exercise. I keep allowing other things to take more precedence, but end up having plenty of time to do it. I need someone to hold me accountable and not let me get away with it. Another is to read more. I have been working with that one better. Journaling is also on the list. Problem with that is I feel there is a proper way of doing that, and I don't know it so I get frustrated with what I write and don't get anywhere. Last is getting into a Bible study. I seriously need to make a specific time for that and do it, I just for some reason haven't. Since we moved I feel like I'm more busy than ever, but if I review my day I can find many times I was just lazy and plopped down on the computer or in front of the TV when I could have used that time more productively. That is another reason I need to work out more. I think it will help me to be less lazy and have more energy. OK enough for today. (Also if anyone does read this, I apologize for it being one huge paragraph. For some reason it's not allowing me to go to a new line on my own to make new paragraphs. Anyone know what will fix that?) So to anyone stopping in to read, God Bless!