House is on the market...

So I pushed for the house to be on the market before Christmas. I am not sure why but I guess because this whole things has taken so long that I wanted to if I could. Here is the link for anyone that is interested. If anyone knows anyone that needs to buy a house in Katy, TX I have the house for you!

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?MLNUM=68631145

We hope it gets some activity after Christmas, we will let you know.

Moms gone loopy...

So this Christmas since we are going to have our house on the market I asked the kids if it would be ok to just have lights and ball ornaments on the tree. They said yes and we then decided to string Fruit Loops to go on it as well. I have yet to find a tree topper that I love and every year seem to go with the bow thingy at the top. So tonight while I pondered this I decided I would attempt a tree topper out of Fruit Loops...here are the results. I will post tomorrow after we finish decorating it. I must say that I love it and I think it is perfect for our loopy family.

Alexism

I have been asking Alex what he wants for Christmas and he says he doesn't really know. Last week he said he would have to think about it. Today I asked again and he said, "it doesn't matter as long as Santa bring me something I will be happy!" This is so Alex, he is always happy whenever he gets something, it doesn't matter what it is.

El Camino

Emma and I were driving today and she saw an El Camino. She asked "What is that car/truck thing over there." I said, "That is an El Camino, they came out in the 70's and were way popular." Her response, "That is so awesome!" I thought that was funny.


Oh, and Dylan today said he wanted a leather jacket for Christmas and leather pants to go with it! :)

Wish list

Don't know how many of you have Qubo. It is a channel on TV that we just started getting with the DTV conversion. Basically it has kids program and infomericals. My kids see all kinds of things they want and things they think I want. Alex once told me I need the miraculous neck cream for my neck wrinkles...thanks Alex. I also needed a rotating curling iron thing because my hair gets smashed between two hot plates when I use my flat iron. So on Dylan's wish list, #9 says this:

Wandarama fun kit dubllit pleece

I am not sure what a wandarama fun kit is and it took me a few minutes to catch what dubllit pleece meant. You know if you order now they will "double it"...

HAHAHAHAHA, thanks Qubo!

MOVING...

Well, it is official, we are moving to Utah. This is both exciting for me and a little sad at the same time. My kids are thrilled and excited to be closer to cousins. I am hoping to get my house on the market in the next week and see what happens. I hope it doesn't take too long to sell as we are missing Justin and he won't be coming back here to live. He officially starts his job on the 4th of January so until then he is a temporary employee. He will be home for Christmas and we are all happy about that. This is a great opportunity for him and his career and we are all happy that this has finally happened! There are some things I will miss about Houston. I try not to think to much about it because I tend to get weepy. So here is a small list of some of the things I will miss...

* the ability to drive past my childhood home even though no one I know lives there anymore it is still a comfort

* the great family and church friends I have and have made since living here for the past three years

* the area of town we live in has been wonderful and we have had great neighbors and kids for my kids to play with

* I will be sad to leave behind my vinyl business and the contacts and customers I have made and become friends with. I know that I will still be doing this in Utah however I have several regulars that I will be sad to leave. And I am not sure to what level my business will grow there since there are so many already doing vinyl there

* I will miss my quarterly "Girls Night Out" with my high school buddies, we were very close in high school and even though we only see each other every few months it is sooooo fun to catch up and give and gain advice on marriage, parenting and life

* My house, I have really made it my own...okay I am sniffling now...and I hate to leave it since it really says who I am.

* Los Cucos but I am looking forward to Cafe Rio

* My brother, I don't see him all that often but I will miss our visits

* the ocean...I have always said people are either ocean people or mountain people...I am an ocean person moving to the mountains. I will learn to adjust.

* My sewing job. It is a no brainer and great money.

* The way I know my way around Houston...Utah has that grid system that seems so strange to me.

I am sure there are many other things but these are the things I have thought about recently.

There are things I am excited about moving to Utah and being close to my sister tops the list. We plan to stay with her a little while while we are house shopping. It will be so nice to actually see her regularly rather than talk to her several times a day on the phone. Justin also has some family there, a sister and her family and a brother and his family. We are happy to be close to them as well and be able to share fun things like holidays and birthdays and Sunday night dinners. I am anxious to see how it all turns out. I am hoping that my house sell quickly and that we can head to Utah in January some time.

We will miss you Katy, Texas (Houston) but Utah will be lucky to have us!!!

Good Fortune

So we are still waiting for a job offer. They have extended Justin's temporary position until the offer comes or until the position ends. So I guess that still doesn't answer the question of whether or not we are moving. But a funny things happened to us the other day. Justin was home this weekend and we grabbed Chinese for lunch. He got the best fortune I have ever seen pertaining to someones life. It read:

"A good job and a comfortable salary will be yours."

All I have to say is bring it on...and hurry.

A cute one from Dylan...

Just to start Dylan wears glasses...

The other day the kids were watching a movie with a friend. Dylan walked over to the TV and stood close to watch. The friend said, "Dylan you'd better sit down or your going to go blind." Dylan replied, "I already am blind."

Funny!
Posted by Stephanie at 9:11

Ready for an Answer!

I'm quite nervous and excited about this week. I'm expecting a job offer to move my family back to Utah. This move is a little different than the one that took us from Seattle to Houston and I've really struggled with my emotions because of the stresses involved with work and of being away from home.

Since I've been here the company has made several "organizational changes". Every one of them has affected me though. The day after I got here they let one of the 2 buyers go, so instead of working on managing inventory I had to slide back into a buyer role. That was a totally stressful situation since I was buying commodities that I wasn't familiar with and for a product that I knew nothing about. Not only that but I had been away for my family for only a week, so home sickness and loneliness only compounded my emotional state.

Then just 2 weeks ago they let my 2 bosses go, the purchasing manager and general manager....both of whom had an instrumental role in getting and keeping me here. So now I'm totally alone and confused with only an unhappy controller and a distant wife to confide in.

I've been able to escape into the confines of my brother's house, which is in the middle of the Uintah Mountains at the Flaming Gorge National Park. The drive is not the most scenic, but there is abundant wildlife and abundant time for me to occupy my mind. In driving home today I was surrounded by snow covered peaks, deer, elk, pine trees, hay fields, rivers, streams, historic markers, geological phenomenon and lots of sagebrush. The thought came to me that this was the same area that I grew up in and would love to have my children experience. I think I came to the conclusion that this is where we need to be.

So how do you determine what's best for your family, I ask? Is it fasting and prayer? Is it common sense or familiar surroundings? Or is it both? I know people get their answers in different ways and at different times. For me it seems to come as I immerse myself in daily life and activities.

With Samantha being here with me last weekend I felt impressed that she needs to be close to her sister and that my kids need to be closer to their cousins. I've been telling myself that I want to be closer to family because I feel like we've been left out and/or forgotten and right now this is where most of our family is. It isn't the most convenient place for us, but Texas sure isn't.

Needless to say I'm looking forward to spending time in the Temple this week and to finally bring this soap opera of a "short term, temporary" job assignment to a close. And as I proofread this post I can only wonder if I've already made my choice and if it's the right one.

Can't resist...Alex is the funniest kid!

So I am on the home stretch with the Super Saturday wood cutting. Alex was helping me wipe the saw dust off the blocks and then he started counting them. He made it over a hundred then quit. I told him there were about 350 blocks and he patted me on the back, then put his head on my side and said to me..."WOW, you must be one tired woman!" :)

One more...

After all our morning chores Alex says he is "poofed!" As for me I am pooped!
HaHa!

One more "Alex"ism

Today when we got in the car it was really hot and they boys asked me to turn on the air. I turned it on Hi and I heard Alex in the back say, "Now this is the life!"

I love him! He can always make me smile!

From the mouth of Alex

So yesterday was the first day of Pre-K for me. Needless to say it was terrible! Crying kids, snot, small classroom and just plan disorganized. Anyhow...this morning I was getting ready for the day and was getting my shoes on and noticed something on my shoe. Here is how the conversation with Alex went:

Alex: Gross what is that?

Mom: I think its a smashed raisan.

Alex: Gross, how was snack time?

Mom: Terrible!

Alex: Food fight???

Mom: HAHAHAHAHAHA

He is pretty funny sometimes!

1 week down, 11 to go...

Justin has been in Utah for a week now and we have been without a dad for a week too. Yesterday when Justin called and talked to Dylan, Dylan said he had forgotten he had a dad until he saw a picture of him on the refrigerator that morning. It made Justin sad but I thought it was funny. Dylan says funny things. He didn't really forget he just has been too busy to remember that Justin is gone. Emma said it is like he is just playing tennis every night. We actually have had a great week. We were gone every night except Monday so there really hasn't been much time to think about Justin being gone. Busy, Busy, Busy. This week will be no exception. I start Pre-K tomorrow and my class has 16 3 year olds...about 5 have turned 3 within the last 2 months. They are young, I am not sure what were are giong to do. Lots of playdough and stringing beads. Tactile stuff. I am not sure how much of the other things they will be interested in. It is a little scary for me since last year our classes were combined ages 3-5, so if you had a few three year olds in the class and they weren't interested in the activity they would just kinda do their own thing. But with them all being so young it will be interesting. Good thing it is only 2 days a week. The kids are doing well in school...Emma is having a hard time getting her homework done. Tonight as I was putting them to bed she said she forgot to do it. Maybe I am a bad mom but I can't remember to remind her. I have told her that this is her responsibility. I remind her when she gets home from school but Friday she said she would do it over the weekend...mistake. Anyway if they don't have it for school they get detention. This scares her to death. I said to her what if I can't come get you from detention...if I am working. Oh...tax payers dollars at work...there is a special bus that takes all the detention kids home. No wonder my property taxes are 3.5% aarrghhh! All in all we doing fine without Justin. We miss him and hope that he does a great job with this assignment. We hope that the loud refrigerator in his hotel will not keep him awake anymore. We hope he gets his fill of nature in case they don't offer him a permanent position. We also hope that he and we will be safe will he is away!

Family Update...

Well, it has been a while since we have updated on the happenings of our family so here are a few things...


We had a great vacation to Utah this summer and the kids were so great and played so well with cousins. The kids and I stayed with my sister and did some fun things including: the new waterpark in Draper, bowling, Pioneer celebration with the fire department and lots of foam, open house at Oquirrah Mountain Temple, decorating the babies room (my sister is expecting) and just being together. Justin came and took the kids to his brothers and they hiked and fished and had a great time with Uncle Jared, Aunt Kellie, Morlie and Porter. I had a few days to myself with my sisters, Michelle and Stephanie. It has been hard the last few years to be far away.

For us this last week it has been back to school and getting into a routine. Emma started Junior High and seems to like it, which is a relief. Dylan is in 3rd grade and Alex in 2nd, their classrooms are next to each other which they were excited about. They both like school and can't wait to get to the bus stop in the morning.

As for me I haven't had much time to chill in the quiet house. I have been busy with vinyl and getting some shows together. I have had sewing and draperies to do. I am always happy to have the work. Pre-K starts next week and I will be working two days a week. We have a new director this year and it is going to be very different from last year so we will see how it goes. I am a little nervous about it.

Justin is off in Utah working for three months. He left Sunday so it has only been a day or so without him. I am sure after a few weeks I will be tired of being alone. There isn't much time for being lonely except when 9pm rolls around and the kids are asleep...at least I get the bed all to myself. His project is set to end Nov. 20th and then they will re-evaluate the department and then they will or will not offer him a permanent position. So much to think about. I am trying not to for the time being.

So for now we are just plugging along and trying to make things work. We are all well and happy and that is a lot to be thankful for!

Kitchen continued

So I purchased a faucet off ebay a few months ago. We hadn't gotten around to installing it because...I don't know why. I guess I was waiting to decide on replacing the sink or not. Plus our old one was so corroded that it didn't look like it would be easy to remove. Well last night I turned on the faucet and the handle broke off in my hand. I guess I was tired because it too a few seconds to register what happened...I had a somethings not right about this feeling. So Justin and I pulled out the new one and got to work. It was hard to get the old one off, there just isn't a lot of space down there to work. The new one was easier to install that I thought. All in all I love the new one and I think the kitchen is coming along great. I think it will be a while until we do anything else but I am happy with the progress so far.



New facuet



Old faucet

Another phase of the kitchen

After the floor was done I got to work on the island. I added beadboard to the island and painted it. I love it. I was never a fan of my backsplash and countertops but they look better with the black on the island and it ties it all together better. So even if I never get around to painting the rest of the cabinetry it will be ok. I am taking a break for now, it's too hot to do anything! Here are a few photos:

Infomercials...

We do not have cable but since the digital conversion we have had some new channels to watch on TV. One of the kids channels has lots of infomercials. My kids favoritea are the ones for the Hover Disc, Bump Its and the "Instyler". So this morning I was fixin my hair for church and Dylan comes in and this is how the conversation goes...

Dylan: Mom, you really don't need to use your flat iron anymore, you need to get an Instyler.

Mom: Dylan, I like my flat iron.

Dylan: But with the Instyler you have evenly polished hair...it has a heated cylinder.

Mom: Oh.

Dylan: With yours your hair gets crushed between 2 heated metal plates and gets damaged.

Mom: I'll have to think about it. Then I made him repeat the info to Justin.

Then we laughed as he went out of the bathroom.


Here is one more. Alex was just talking about the "BumpIt" which is a hair device that you use to give you a bump in the back (like they did in the 60's) . Alex just told me that "you take your hair and tease it and then insert the BumpIt and lay your hair over it. It gives you extra high volume."

I think if they had access to a credit card they would have purchased these thing already. It is funny how convinced they are. FUNNY!

Kitchen Remodel Part 1

About 2 weeks ago we decided we were going to tile our kitchen floor. We had nasty linoleum that always looked dirty and Samantha had saved up enough money to have it done. We started by ripping up the linoleum and that was no easy task! I hurt my knee and to this day it is still swollen and quite painful.

It took us about 1 full week to get the linoleum up. We had so much glue to scrape up. I think if we had used the toxic glue remover when we first started it wouldn't have been too bad, but SOMEONE said it wouldn't be too hard because they did it and it was easy. HA!

After we got the linoleum up we had the friend of a friend come over and lay the tile. What a great choice that was! He did an outstanding job and I would highly recommend him to any of our friends. So enjoy the pics. We love our new floor! The next project we tackle is going to be the cabinets. The Golden Oak doesn't look too hot with our new floor.

Here are some before, during and after pics.................

Shooting Down the Street

I found out that living in the suburbs of a city with 11 million people doesn't exclude us from crime.

I went to go rent a movie and grab a refreshment beverage at the gas station down the street from our house Friday night. It was about 7pm and as I pulled into the gas station I noticed a commotion. A guy had just come running out of the store and ran over to this woman that was on the ground next to a parking space. I pulled in and parked my car.

When I got out the lady was screaming bloody murder. The boyfriend was leaning over her asking what happened and trying to calm her down. I asked if she was okay and he said that someone stole her car and had been shot.

Apparently the couple parked their car on the side of the building, but still in plain view of everything and everyone. The man got out and left the woman in the passenger side of the car while he ran in for a beer. He said that as he was going in the store the would be robber was coming out. The guy then ran over to the car, got in the driver side and told the woman to get out. The lady got out just like the robber demanded, but as she was getting out the guy shot her in the back/upper buttock.

So there I was, suddenly mixed in with the mayhem. The boyfriend was kind of in shock and he didn't know what to do. All of a sudden it was like all of my ER training, First Aid, and scout training took over. I told the boyfriend to hold the lady's head still, to keep her calm and not to let her move. I got the nearest bystander to call 911, which was kind of a regret because he spoke with a heavy indian accent and I could tell that the operator was having a hard time understanding him. I was able to get a clean rag from one of the store clerks and I applied pressure to the gunshot wound.

Within about 2 minutes, there were close to a dozen cops. A few of them took off down the road to see if they could find the guy, but they didn't really know where to look. The lady was starting to go into shock, so it was hard to understand her even though she was calming down. Finally the EMS people arrived and took over, gave her oxygen, neck collar and we put her on a backboard.

There was no exit wound and she had swelling and bruising in her belly so they called in Life Flight. I ended up being there for nearly 3 hours. I gave my statement, which wasn't much because I didn't really see anything happen. I guess I was just in the wrong place at the right time?

Having worked in an E.R. I've seen lots of stuff and been around a lot of different situations, but that was always after the event. I've never been in a situation where the event has just taken place. With that said, the gunshot wound was remarkably clean and very little blood coming from the wound. It looked like someone put a cigarette butt on her back. The edges of the skin around the wound were burned. It was very surreal. Needless to say I didn't sleep well that night.

So yesterday we took the kids to a play over where my wife teaches pre-k and the sister of the lady happened to be a volunteer over there. From what she said, her sister wasn't doing too good, but had made it out of the operation okay. She had to have her spleen fixed/removed, her uterus removed because the bullet had perforated it and she had some of her small intestine removed because of damage.

Later that afternoon, Samantha and I went to the mall and we stopped at the store. I showed her where everything happened. As we were leaving the boyfriend showed up and I talked to him for a minute. He sounded more positive than the lady's sister did and it sounds like she'll be okay. The cops did find the car about 10 miles away in a bad part of town, but no sign of the suspect.

People have been telling me that I'm a hero, that I saved her life and I think that's a little overboard, but I am glad that I was able to help. I'm sure that the lady would have been okay even if I hadn't been there. I was talking to my little brother and I was telling him that I always mentally put myself in these "what if" situations.....what if my house caught on fire, what would I do? What if someone broke into my house, what would I do? What if I saw someone robbing a store, what would I do? I don't know that you can ever account for the exactness of a situation because there are so many variables, but I realize that if you use common sense and can remain calm, most things will turn out okay.

Definately an evening to remember.

Dedicated to My Wonderful, Talented, Compassionate, Charitable, Selfless........

This is a little early/late, but never too early, or late, to brag on your spouse. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, beautiful, talented wife. She is such an amazing person. For anyone who reads this and hasn't gotten to know my wife better, you're missing out. She really is the quintessential wife and I don't even know what that means!

On top of being a mom, she has been working so hard at her several jobs......sewing, vinyl signs/lettering, pre-k teacher and most recently, painting. She has sewn draperies, pillows, bedroom stuff for an interior designer. She started her own vinyl lettering business. She took a job teaching pre-K two days a week. She started faux painting with her friend during the day and evenings who needed some help, which has led to other "home improvement" jobs.

And NOW? She has saved her money to finally get something for herself. For the last 12 years she has dedicated her "fun-dage" to our family. She has met the temporal needs of others first and herself.........hardly ever. So now she is getting herself/us a new kitchen floor! She saved her money and she'll begin the remodel soon! I am so excited for her. Nothing gives me greater joy than to see my wife and children happy.

I only wish I could give her more. She really is the most wonderful, talented, compassionate, charitable, selfless, dedicated, diligent, hardworking, loyal wife, friend, mother anyone could ever ask for.

I'm Blogging for Leslie

Leslie,

This post is for you. It is hot in Houston. It rained 11 inches in 24 hours. It is flooding in Houston.....STILL......2 days later. Mosquitoes are out in Houston. And those stupid 2 cycle sprayers still drive around at 2am spraying mosquito food.

It is hot. I am not hot. Brad Pitt is hot.

Justin.

The Illustrated Book of Mormon

Growing up we had the set of The Illustrated Book of Mormon and I have always wanted a set for my kids. A few years ago I looked into buying a set but never did it. Then while I was at Time Out for Women this weekend these books were mentioned again. Sunday I got on ebay to look at them again but still decided not to buy them. So today after getting home from errands I sat down to check my e-mail and there was just junk mail...but I hit the refresh button for some reason and there was a new e-mail from a woman in our ward saying that she had this set and that she wanted to pass it along to someone who wanted them...I called immediately and got in my car and drove straight over....I can not contain my excitement!!! I can't wait to sit down with my kids and start looking and reading!!! Thanks Sister Monk!!!

Irritations and Frustrations...

I really hate when I walk into a store at 10PM and there are kids screaming...I was at Wal-mart tonight at 10:15PM and there were at least 7 kids that I could count in the store. What is up with that? Of course several of them where screaming and/or crying, gee what could the matter be, perhaps they are TTTIIIRRRRREEEEDDDDDDD!?!?!?! Maybe it is just me but my kids are in bed and asleep by 8:30 if not sooner. They need their sleep and I need my downtime too. I keep telling Justin, when they start not being able to fall asleep when I get them in bed we will rethink the time, until then they are tired and they go to bed. They are little and need the rest, I always feel so sorry for the ones up so late.

Another thing I don't like is when TV shows you follow don't turn out the way you want. One I have been following had a bizarre ending tonight and I was really frustrated that I have been watching and waiting and then bam...not what I thought. What a bummer!

The last thing that I wanted to blog about is the problem with hard water we have in our area. About a month ago I told Justin that with some of our tax refund money I wanted to get new toilet because they were so disgusting from the hard water stains. I tried several things from he store with not much in the way of results. I even took a knife and tried to scrape off the stains only to just leave scratches in the bowl. I decided on last time to search the Internet for help...and I found it...at Dollar Tree. It is called "The Works" and it is a miracle. I was sceptical at first so I only bought one bottle but the minute you pour it in the stains just run down the bowl. I even left it in the bottom for a few minutes and a miracle occurred. No more stains, not a one. I also discovered some new kind of toilet seats that come on and off with the turn of a dial so you can clean them better and easier (this is a plus with two small boys in the house). So now I have shiny, sparkly toilets that look brand new! I am happy!

I guess that is it for now...

Facebook, Friends and Feeling Sorry For Myself

What a week or two! I guess I was a little behind the times, but finally managed to get on Facebook. It is totally addicting and I haven't gotten much done at home. Fortunately work has been keeping me occupied during the day, but my nights have been spent looking up friends on Facebook and reminiscing with my wife about all of the memories that flood my thoughts.

I have been so fortunate to find childhood friends, church friends, old friends, new friends, big friends, little friends, and extended family members. I realize how fortunate I am to have grown up and known all of these wonderful people. It has been so much fun to get a glimpse of people's lives and see how they've grown up after being apart for so many years.

In saying that I've been feeling a little sorry for myself. All of these people seem to have wonderful, great, successful lives. Many have become doctors, lawyers, mothers, fathers, police officers, military members, teachers, business owners. I look at them and am somewhat envious. I can't imagine anyone being envious of my life. I feel like I've struggled so hard to get to where I am now. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my life, but I've always felt like there is more for me, like something spectacular is waiting for me.

I don't want to sound down and depressed because I'm really not. I'm so happy inside and just ready to burst with joy to know that my friends and family are happy and healthy. I would be remissed though if I didn't express my deep concern for their eternal happiness. Many friends and family members have fallen away from the gospel, which I love so dearly. I wish there was a way that I could convince them that they can improve their lives by living the gospel.

I hope to continue to find more friends and reconnect and re-energize the friendships we shared so long ago.

"One Day He's Going to Kill Himself"

As you may or may not be aware, I shave my head. Mach 3 razor works the best. Sometimes when I'm tired or in a hurry, I lose my focus and I nick myself. I usually nick myself behind an ear (seems to be the hardest place to get).

As luck would have it the other day, I was tired AND in a hurry and I nicked myself. I came down stairs with a piece of toilet paper on my cut and Alex saw this. He proceeded to tell Samantha that if I wasn't careful, "one day he's going to kill himself".

Just another cute moment from a cute kid.

Just when I thought I could breathe.....

After Christmas I was a little bored for a few days, work had slowed and the house was clean and I didn't have much going on. Then it hit...Work is back and a friend asked me to help her paint (that is her business) and through a friend of a friend I got an order for draperies and I also pick up teaching Pre-K at KVPAC again...and I have company coming next week. My house is a wreck, the laundry isn't done, my personal drapes are draped over a chair because I haven't had time to get the rings. I am not sure what day it is when I wake up in the morning and have to take a minute to think about it and what I have to do. I just don't have the time. I guess that is the way it goes.

P.S. Even though I get crazy I am very thankful for the work!

Campout

I took Dylan on a campout last weekend with our scout troop. It was a wilderness survival campout, so the scouts were told not to bring anything except a sleeping bag. Dylan was excited to go. He loves to "hang out" with the bigger boys and like to use the word "dude" a lot.

We got up to the park late, so it was dark and the first order of business was getting shelters put together. We took the scouts about 100 to 200 yards off the trail back into the brush and left them to fend for themselves for the night. Dylan decided that wasn't his style so we went back to the main camping area.

He made a fire, with one match, and we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Since we didnt have a tent I suggested we sleep under the stars by the fire, but that didn't fly. We ended up setting up sleeping bags in the back of the van. It was cramped but fun to snuggle with my little guy as we gazed at the stars through the back window.

The next morning we ate breakfast and tried to make fire using the bow method. Key word...tried. He was very diligent in getting an ember, but it just didn't work for us. We managed just fine with matches and as you can see, he enjoyed playing with the fire, just like the rest of them.

It was a good experience for him and a fun one for me.

Oooohhhhh Tooth Fairy, where are you???

Alex finally lost his first tooth. He is 6 1/2 and has been waiting all last year and all this year for it to happen. He was feeling a little sad about it a few months ago and we checked for wigglies and found one to be the tiniest bit wiggly. So yesterday morning I checked it before school and told him it would come out soon. Well, yesterday at lunch while biting into a pizza pocket at lunch it came out. I think it is so cute because if they lose it at school they give them a little treasure box to put it in. So we put it under the pillow and guess what? The Tooth Fairy came!!! However, when Alex went to read the note the Tooth Fairy left he misplaced the money and we can't find it. He wasn't even upset, he just wanted to know what the Tooth Fairy said. So everyone be on the look out for the lost Tooth Fairy money!

Craziness...getting ready for school

Does anyone else have a crazy time getting their kids ready for school in the morning. I do claim some fault as I am not the most organized person. There are lunches, snacks, breakfast, backpacks, water bottles, homework, books, socks, shoes, and jackets...all times 3 kids, all in 45 minutes...AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH! Kudos to those who have more kids! When they actually walk out the door I have to breathe a sigh of relief.

Dental Dystrophy Disaster

We've had our first dental disaster this last month. Dylan, 8, has had several root canals and yesterday was the last day of hopefully a long list of dental work that had to be done.

We started with a doctor closer in town that was recommended to us, but that turned out to be a joke. Dylan went in for his first root canal and only started the second.....DIDNT FINISH IT. Samantha was in there and apparently the doctor wasn't too nice to her. He said that Dylan needed some additional work, but because he was having a hard time that they would schedule another appointment to come back.

Samantha was so turn off by that doctor that she found another one here in Katy and Dylan went in 3 times this week. The doctor was very very nice and we have nothing but good things to say about her. In all, I think Dylan ended up with 3 root canals, had a tooth removed because of an abcess and had one crowned.

Some of you may think we are terrible parents, but we methodically teach our children to brush their teeth in the morning and before bed. Samantha said that while they were there the other day that there was a 4 year old that was going in for multiple procedures too. Oh the joys of dentistry.

Twilight...better late than never

So I finally saw the movie Twlight today. I am glad I waited, I hate crowded theaters. I am also glad I had a chance to digest all the things I had heard about the movie. The one thing I hate about books and movies is that you always picture in your mind the way things look and then you see the movie and it is different. The house and Bella's room where not what I imagined. Some of the characters took me a while to accept especially Edward. I still am not sure about him but by the end I was getting used to him. To me his body wasn't quite right. I liked Bella and most of the others. Alice was different than I had pictured. All in all I thought it was good...but the sparkly body was a little corny. I left feeling a let down as I think that the story doesn't really begin until book two. So I wanted more. Maybe I should wait until they are all out on DVD like I did with Harry Potter...that is the way to do it. I don't think I will be able to last though. One thing for sure is that all the scenery makes me miss Washington and the family we still have there. The drive to the Cullens house reminded me of the drive to my parents house...so beautiful.

Pot Roast Anyone?

I have never been a fan of pot roast, I think because cooked carrots are not my favorite. Growing up my mom made it but I have attempted to make it. I am sure my husband has been bummed about this for the last 12 years. So last night I tried it. I put it in the crock pot before church with some onion and garlic herb seasoning. After church I added some celery, carrots and potatoes. Let it cook for another 3 hours then thickened up the gravy and I have to admit it was so tasty. My kids ate it and there was not one complaint. I even have enough leftovers for lunch. I should have taken a picture of it, oh well.

2pm Church Hangover

I don't know what a hangover feels like, but I think I know now.

Here it is 8am, I am tired, cranky, headache, on a fast Sunday and we're waiting to go to 9am church. I'm looking forward to coming home early and getting a nap on the trampoline in.

Happy New Year

I'm sitting here at 10:45 Friday morning eating Chicago's best cheesecake from Eli's. One of my vendors flew it in for me. I'm on my second piece this morning. So I'm eating well for the start of the new year.

We have had Honey Baked Ham, cajun shrimp gumbo, funeral potatoes and green bean casserole over the past 2 weeks, but it is so good. I think my New Years Goal is to eat what I can when I can the first month of the year and then suffer until my vendors spoil us with more chocolates, truffles, biscotti, cookies, ham, and cheesecake.

At the rate I'm going it'll be 3 years before I get back into my bikini bathing suit.

We had a nice New Years Eve.......Samantha and I had Wii wars to which she beat me at golf and listened to fireworks until about 3am. Her cousins and brother came over yesterday and we had a nice traditional southern dinner with pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad, smoked salmon and cheese logs with crackers. It was a very filling evening.

But it is still lonely not having many friends and family around. Maybe this year we'll make some more friends and invite people over more.