Randomville

~She kinda puts the cheerleaders to shame~

See the group in the middle? Sam's in there somewhere. He played on the line this week, and it's certainly where he belongs!

The kids had a great week at school. 3 week progress reports came home, and all 3 are doing good. Some better than others, haha, but nothing alarming! Sophy finally did her Egypt/King Tut presentation, and Jack is trying his best to decide if he'll be going to the Halloween party/dance at school this Saturday night. He's excited about some of the activities: pumpkin carving, pizza, twister, games, prizes. However, he's not excited about having to decide if he wants to dance with somebody. We'll see! Sam has been receiving some reading testing to hopefully get him some assistance with his reading. We'll get the results soon, I hope.
Like I promised, I had my hair utterly removed on Friday after school. Wow, not sure what I think of it, but it's certainly different. No matter, it'll be grown out in about 3 weeks (I exaggerate somewhat.) You know people that have the same hairdo year in year out. Same color, same cut. Well, I'm not one of those people. Haha. Nope, constant change of the 'do is necessary. After getting my wig did on Friday, we went out to eat with some friends. Had a nice visit and dinner, and then woke up early on Saturday to make it Tyler for Sam's big game. And what a game it was! Our tough guys were down 14 points and came back to score two TD's in the last minutes of the game.

Jack and Cousin K had their own game going. This game later grew to include about 5 other random kids that were drawn like flies to syrup.

Good friends here! These 3 have been together since kindergarten.
~Cousin K again~
Speaking of flies to syrup. Pop also joined the football game.

Sam is somewhere in this wad of players.

Sophy earned a couple of bucks and 2 Chuck E. Cheese coins by making Team Flags (out of sticks and leaves) to sell to the waiting fans. Entrepreneur!!

More football . CHARGE!

Book Club Update

The Book Club gals braved the monsoonesque rains to congregate at Macaroni Grill to discuss The White Queen & The Sugar Queen. Without providing a detailed description of either (unless you want one, in which case, let me know,) I'll cut straight to our latest assignments. Our next meeting will be in December (which was necessary due to November being a crazy month for all,) which will allow us 7 weeks to do our reading. Because of this, we will not have one primary book with 2 optional reads. Instead, we have 3 books to read with no optional books. Our next meeting will be special....yes, it's a BYOM meeting at mi casa. We'll be bringing our own giant Christmas mugs (BYOM), wearing our PJ's and fuzzy slippers. On top of all of that, we'll be exchanging gifts, enjoying hot cocoa, hot tea, coffee, cider, scones, and Christmas candy. As always, snackage is an important part of the Book Club meeting!
Without further delay, our new books are (sorry, no links!)
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak (VERY excited about this book!!!!)
Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Anne Burns
A Homemade Life, Molly Wisenberg

It's Official!

Jack accomplished his long time goal. Today, at the LC, he completed a ONE MILE swim. Amazing! Honestly, I think he could've gone another mile. Not bad for an eleven year old, eh?
For the first time in days and days, it didn't rain. Sam may actually have football practice tomorrow after school. It's been a nice break this week not having practice. Only 2 more weeks, and we'll be done with football. Sam will be so sad. I will miss the games, but not the three practices a week.
DaddyP and I are planning a Dallas trip in a few weeks to do some Christmas shopping sans kiddos. Also looking VERY forward to a fun evening with friends there, and a possible trip in a TIME MACHINE! Oh yes! VERY exciting times! :-)
Ready for Friday, and looking forward to date night on Friday night and a football game Saturday morning!

All over the place

We had such a lovely weekend. Cousin E. magically appeared for a Wild & Crazy (i.e. Squeal Filled) weekend. Here you see a "makeover" that occured prior to a quick bit of shopping. Sophy's comment after this application, "MAN! I'M GOOD AT THIS!" They were also very good at spraying themselves with various and sundry body fragrances.
I'm posting this as a BEFORE shot. BEFORE what you ask? Why, before I paint the dining room, of course? What color? Oh, now that, my friend, is a secret! If I had been thinking (haha, thinking! WHO THINKS anymore? Geez...) As I was saying before I so rudely interrupted myself...If I had been thinking, I would've snapped a better shot of my new bar stools.
After we delivered Cousin E. to the designated drop zone this afternoon, we came home and baked chocolate cupcakes while the pot roast continued crocking in the crock pot. As you can see in this photo, Honey really wanted in on the cupcake action.
Jack and Sam and Rowdy Neighbor Kid, hereafter mentioned as RNK, also enjoyed a chocolate cupcake...albeit outside. It was a Wild & Crazy weekend, but it wasn't so wild that I let them eat chocolate cupcakes in the house. The photo doesn't do it justice, or else you'd see the chocolate smeared all over RNK's cute face. RNK and Sophy aren't allowed within 2 miles of each other. They have a Love/Hate relationship to end all Love/Hate relationships. Shortly after this photo was taken, they departed to continue building some secret fort in an undisclosed neighborhood location. (Luckily, I'm a good spy, and they apparently don't know how to cover their tracks.)

In other news:

*You should buy this SOAP because it's HEAVENLY, and because I said so.

*I'm getting my hair cut off on Friday, and by cut off, I mean REMOVED. Short. Oh yes, I'm telling the truth.

*We may or may not have a date night Friday night.

*We may or may not walk in a Cancer Walk for a friend/client of DaddyP's. on Saturday evening in Tyler. It's a Light Up the Night walk, and I think the kids would have fun. Still trying to work out logistics with Sam's game on Saturday, but we'll do it if we're able. DaddyP will be there shooting the event, so we'll see. Maybe it'll work out!

*Book Club is Tuesday night at Macaroni Grill! Very excited! If you read the books, email me if you're interested in a Book Chat!

Words

Homework
Spelling
Friends
Players
Footballs
Grading
Papers
Vitamins
Bullets
Harpoons
Deodorant
Groomers
Boxers
Fur
Rain
Shopping
Boots
Packages
Morning Glories
Toenails
Smothered Steak
Laws
Students
Squeaking
Toys
Pillow
Bed
Night

Another Saturday of Football

Out with our friends, The W's, for dinner after a movie. Sam, Jack, Kye, Kameron, Sophy, and Kennedy.

This was before they climbed a light post in the parking lot.

Well, we had another wonderful Saturday of football. The weather started off very cool, but it warmed up very quickly by the time the game started. Sam enjoyed himself as usual, but this is the second game that the coaches have played him as linebacker...a position he knows NOTHING about. And by nothing, I mean Nada, Zip, Zilcho, Zero! Not to mention, I think (and I'm by no means an expert) it's a position he doesn't have the acceleration or speed for. He's a decent blocker on the line, but I guess they're moving them around to see where they play best. Let's just say linebacker ain't it! He had a ball though, so that is all that matters at this point. Of course, DaddyP gets very agitated and filled with angst over Sam's lack of skill. All I can think is, THIS IS HIS THIRD FOOTBALL GAME EVER!! That's a mama for ya. Sam is only one of a couple others who haven't played for 3 years together. He has a lot of learning to do. A LOT! And by A LOT, I mean EVERYTHING! He and DaddyP watched a college football game together today, which they have done before, but all of a sudden, it made much more sense today. DaddyP was showing him where the linebackers were on the field and what they were doing vs. what Sam did on the field today. He was like, "oooooohhhhh." So, next Saturday, our game is an away game, so we'll see what kind of improving he does. He just loves it so much, and I'm very happy about that.
After the game, we got cleaned up to meet friends at the movies and then out to supper. It's always fun with six kids in tow. YIKES!
Weather Dude is calling for 100% chance of rain tomorrow, so I plan on cleaning out the cabinets in the master bath and closet. Could take alllllll day.
Sophy and her good friend, Audie.
Jack D. How old does he look here? OLD!
He definitely has his 3 point stance down!
Sam got to be one of the team captains today, and it really meant a lot to him!

Off to watch OU lose, we can hope.

Oktoberfestivus

Well, who can believe that October is here? I surely can't. October and November are always such a blur, so it won't be long until it'll be the true Festivus season. To celebrate the season, I'm taking a mental health day tomorrow, and I plan on making things very fall festive by purchasing a couple of pairs of boots, maybe a sweater, and possibly a pair of jeans. 'Tis the season!!! Sadly, I was supposed to meet up with another fellow mental healther tomorrow, but she won't be able to meet now that her kiddos have come down with a germ. Such sadness! Luckily, there is always another pal waiting to improve their mental health! Looking forward to lunch with a friend and some shoe shopping and toe health improvements also. In other Oktoberfestivus news, we'll soon be planning Sammy's 9th birthday party, Jack is considering attending his first school dance, about 3 weeks after that, Sophy will turn 8....followed shortly by my geriatric debut at the old folk home. Yeehaw~

Losing Stinks Like a Terd

The title is a quote from my football playing red head after his game today. The little Wildcats lost today....and when I say lost...well....I mean they stunk it up good! We could easily say the other team was much larger, physically and in numbers, and were probably older too. But that would smack of bitterness, and well, I'm just not one to get wound up over third graders chasing a football. Still, in all fairness, #91 for the little Mavericks was a head taller than everyone else. And apparently he had a brother, and several cousins, on the team who had all been corn fed as well. Sam had to get a piece of #91 once and decided he didn't want no more after that. #44 though, that's a different story. Sam and that kid tied in throughout the whole game. Lets just say I can tell by body language when my child is talking smack. Even when I'm a good distance from the verbal exchange. The good news is that the ref didn't see Sam's "after the fact" tackle of #44. Yeah. He's still learning. Most of the game he was incredibly lost, and I'm thankful for that. Once he figures this game out, I think we're gonna have to address his red headed ways. He sang "Who Let the Dogs Out" all the way home. Hahhaa, I don't think he even cared that we lost.

It was hotter than a fat lady's arm pit out there, and my feet and legs are sunburned. Pmac had to leave the game early. The heat was just a bit much for her and several others, maybe we'll have some football weather soon.
We're headed to Outback for dinner tonight. Sam wants some steak, and we're gonna give it to him. I'm certainly not complaining. My stomach and my spine are rubbing together.
(Side note: We watched Ghost of Girlfriends Past last night (Matthew McCaughney and Jenn Garner,) and it is pretty cute. You should Netflix it if you haven't already.) Sam has a birthday party tomorrow afternoon, and I drew the short straw which means I have to take him. Joy!!~~
Better scoot..

One, Two, Three, Four...

One: The big news of the week....Sam's coach dropped one of their weekly practice sessions, so now we only have practice twice a week! Wwwwwhheee! Isn't that the most amazing news ever? I'll answer that for you!! Yes, yes it is!! Couple that with the fact that we found out the season ends in October, and the game is in town this week, well...you can just color me happy! Actually, I'm looking forward to his game this week.
Two: Speaking of Sam, a yellowjacket got a piece of him this evening and left a hole in his tummy. For a brief moment, when he ran into the house screaming like he was on fire, we thought something horrendous had happened while he practiced repeatedly crashing his scooter into the gate. But no, just a gaping hole in his side. Yeeouch.
Three: DaddyP is the proud owner, finally, of his long awaited new television. I'm not a techie person, but who knew that a person could get sea sick while watching Pirates of the Caribbean? The new television technology is amazing.
Four: I'm starting our second book club book tonight. This month, we opted for 6 weeks to read two books instead of four weeks to read one. I've heard great things from the other girls about The Sugar Queen, so I'm excited to get started on it. I'll update about both once we meet.
Five: We're hoping to meet friends for dinner Friday night. The kids have planned a sleepover at Meem's, and DaddyP actually has the night free! Yahoo~

The Week Ahead

#45 in the blue shoes! That's our guy! What a kid! He'll be deadly once he figures this game out! Heaven help the other team.

Of course we have more football practice this week! If Sam had his way, he'd have a game every day of the week. Now that he has played one game, he's even more in love with the sport than before. What a kid! Sophy has gym Monday night, and most of our TV shows are back on this week, plus a few new ones! Whhheeee! The DVR is working over time. We may, or may not, be able to sleep this week with all of the shows we'll have to watch! We'll try to get Jack to the pool this week one extra time since Sam's game cut into his swim on Saturday. Next Saturday, Sam's game is in town, so Jack should still be able to swim on schedule this weekend. At least, that is the plan.
We took the kids to see the movie, Shorts, on Friday night. It was ridonkulous, but the kids loved it. Sophy wanted to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and I'm thinking we should have. I was trying to avoid animation at all costs, but it might would've been better. The kids thought Shorts was hilarious, though, so I guess that is all that matters.
DaddyP finally got his TV! Who knew that the latest and greatest TV technology was so insanely awesome? Wow! I'm sorry I ever doubted him! Wow again! We've been waiting and watching the weekend sales at Best Buy every Sunday, and my dad called today while passing through Dallas that his fav tech store there was having a colossal sale. Needless to say, there is a HUGE tv in our living room now, and I must say....it's amazing. Truly, it is. The new LED technology is unreal. DaddyP is in Man Heaven now. He may never leave his recliner. HE WISHES!
The week ahead is fairly typical, but the kids are happily planning a sleepover at Meem's this Friday. DaddyP and I are hoping to go out to dinner, if possible.

I HEART YOU!

Sophy's BFF, Cousin E, has The Dreaded Germ. When Sophy heard this news, she was "horrified." She wouldn't rest until she sent Cousin E a message. It didn't take her long to come up with what that message would be.
From miles away in another state a reply was sent from Cousin E that made Soph's heart melt.

Is there anything sweeter than two BFF's in their PJ's sending hearts through the wires?

Monday Musings

(I left school by 8:15 this a.m. with a migraine that had me in bed until about 7pm this evening. One of the worst I've ever had. I'll probably be awake until 2 a.m. now.)
I spent the weekend getting my dining room decorated for fall. It's my favorite time of year, I think. At least, it's my favorite until Christmas rolls around. And Christmas is my fav until Spring rolls around. Can you say fickle? Anywho, my dining room is mostly decorated. DaddyP has picked out his new tv, and now I have to pick out a new tv cabinet. I'm so getting rid of our armoire, but I'm not of fan of media cabinetry. This could be a difficult choice. The tv will be coming to our house soon, so I better decide quickly. We're kicking around our next project list. With the kitchen being finished, we're thinking that instead of starting on the master bath, we'll be diving into the pool bath demolition and rebuilding in order to have the construction completed by next summer. DaddyP is on the search for a landscaper to draw up some plans for a backyard area that he can begin minimally shooting outdoors at our house again. I'm very ready to revamp our backyard. It's the ugliest backyard I think I've ever seen. The biggest problem is it's size. My little garden is in for a face lift too, as soon as the weather cools off. It takes me a while to get things where I want them, but I like playing with things and changing them when I don't like them. I've got some changing and moving to do, but not any time soon.
We're making plans for the upcoming months, and I'm looking forward to some of our holiday plans. Can't believe we're within spitting distance of October. October always flies by. Before we know it, it'll be Thanksgiving! TURKEY! Drroooll...

Jack, Sam, & Sophy

Jack is growing about an inch a day (I exaggerate), and he is doing well in 5th grade. We're having to adjust to the work load of middle school. Other than that, he's made a fairly smooth transition. His foot pain has returned with a vengance, so we're readying ourselves for the fact that he will jump 2-3 foot sizes in the near future. He recently weighed in at 89 pounds and is 5'2 or so. I had hoped he would be able to wear his size 14 jeans from the end of the cold part of last spring, but no. That will not be the case. I recently purchased size 16's, which for those of you who don't know, is as high as you can go on the boy side of the store. Not only is my boy in the men's sized shoe section, it seems we'll be in the men's clothing section by the end of 5th grade. Sniff, sniff. Still hasn't topped a mile in the pool, but he's oh-so close. He has an appointment for next month to set a date for his braces. We think we have all of our prep extractions completed, so we're on to the next step. When did this happen? My boy is a young man. He is VERY interested in cars and can tell you which one you should buy, which one has the best engine, and what year model he prefers to the current option. He's very well read on the subject, let me tell you.
Sam, after NOT growing for years, has started eating us out of house and home, and recently weighed in at 86 pounds. Yep, he is 2 pounds shy of his big brother and wearing a size 6 shoe. If we're not careful, he's going to be wearing Jack's clothes by the end of elementary school. Ha. His first football game was set for last weekend, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. We'll have his first game this coming weekend, and he is fired up about it. Practice continues to go well, and he continues to work hard. It's hard to believe he'll be NINE years old in a little over a month. He's 8 going on 28, for sure. Still my building man. Still my crazy scientist, chef, inventor, etc. School is going well for Sam. He continues to struggle with reading, but he has improved a good deal. His new favorite library book is the Diary of a Fly, Worm, Spider, etc. series. He LOVES them! And I'm just excited that he's CHOOSING to read a library book! Willingly! YAY!
Sophy is loving 2nd grade and is especially fond of her teacher. Miss F is young and fun, and Sophy adores her. So far this year, Miss F. has started off some very neat classroom projects and activities, and Sophy has really enjoyed the work. Her progress report grades were extremely good, and I'm very thankful that her year is off to a good start. She told me this evening that 3 times as many people in the US drink bottled water as drink tap water. She apparently read this in a newspaper. She reportedly prefers bottled water as well, so she feels like she is in the moral majority when it comes to water consumption. She also told us this weekend that if we ever wanted to punish her that she would appreciate us NOT sending her to Germany. She recently read about the Nazis of WWII, and frankly, Germany is NOT "a place where nice people live." So there.

Labor Day Musings

Amanda, Do you have any info/advice on Christmas activities in the area??
This weekend has been a welcome rest from the hairum skairum of our typical week. On Friday evening, we took the kids to our homecoming/rivalry game (we lost miserably!!) They had a great time watching the game and the bands/cheerleaders. Sophy was very upset about the fact that our team lost. Poor thing, if she becomes a cheerleader in years to come, she'll be weeping on the sidelines if she doesn't get over her scoreboard issues.
On Saturday, DaddyP had an early engagement shoot, so I waited until he made it home and then took Jack to the LC to swim. He blew me away by swimming 62 laps. I am so proud of him for setting a goal and then not quitting until he accomplished it. Throughout the entire swim, especially when he made it to lap 45 and 50, I kept trying to get him to stop. He would NOT stop for anything. "No Mom. I've got to do this." He wouldn't stop until he hit #62. If my calculations serve me correctly, that is just a few laps off of a mile swim. YIKES!
After his LONG swim, we headed to Shreveport to eat lunch at Olive Garden with my folks. Sam was in dire need (or want??) of a pair of boots and some Wranglers. So off we went to Bossier to the boot store to get the latest and greatest pair. This kid HATES to wear tennis shoes, so he's been waiting for a while to get his new pair. He's a happy boy now, for sure! We came home, and DaddyP had an evening appointment at a class reunion. The kids and I relaxed around the house, went swimming, and played games. It felt VERY good to spend time at home! Niceness.
Sunday morning, we headed to church then to lunch with my SIL, nieces and parentals--stopped at Kroger for some essentials for the coming week, and headed home to meet friends who were coming over to swim and eat. The kids had a blast (all 6 of them.) We stayed up way too late while the kids swam, ran around the yard with flashlights, and our friends showed us their hurricane photos from their old home (wow.)
We woke up this morning with a burning drive to get tons of yard work accomplished, and I'm afraid that DaddyP did everything on his list and is now paying the price for it! He is fried to a crisp from the sun, so sore he can barely walk, and grunts everytime he breathes. Not sure how he'll fair at work tomorrow. Haha. The kids swam this evening, while we grilled some ribeyes and veggies. I gave Soph a mani/pedi to get ready for tomorrow, and DaddyP crashed in his recliner with an icebag and some coconut pie that Meem brought over for him on her way to eat with my brother's fam. Speaking of ribeyes. I made a sauce from Pioneer woman for the ribeye called Bleu Cheese-Onion sauce. Heavens to Besty, was it good....and stupidly easy. If you like Bleu Cheese, I highly recommend it for your next grilling experience. You will NOT regret it!
Finally called and booked our Christmas vacation dates! We're heading deep into the Ozarks to stay at a mountain top cabin the days just prior to Christmas. The cabin is literally perched on a mountain top with 6500 acrees of moutainous woodlands, waterfalls, wildlife, etc. around it. We're planning to spend some winter time outdoors, and also to hit Branson and Silver Dollar City's nightime Christmas festivals. We've heard that Silver Dollar City has amazing family Christmas activities, so we're excited. We're planning on surprising the kids with the trip, so it'll be hard to keep it from them. I'm hoping to get to hit Eurka Springs Christmas village also, but we'll see. Good times! Looking forward to it.
In other news, football is speeding ahead for Sam. He loves it so much despite the fact that he is really behind all of the other kids who started playing, apparently, when they were in diapers. We wanted it to be something Sam wanted to do, and we're not ones to push our kids into something just because everyone else likes it or is doing it. However in this case, Sam was VERY interested this year, and he's learning a lot. He's still WAY behind, he's slow as Christmas, and he has NO idea what he is supposed to be doing at any given moment. Despite all of those things, he LOVES it! He's barely within 5 pounds of the Pop Warner weight limit, so he better lay off the goodies for the time being. Pop Warner, as you may know, has mandatory weigh-ins prior to EVERY game. I appreciate why they are doing this (for my child's safety.) Still, Sam is a solid hunk of kid, and he seems to be getting more solid as the days go on. Football may be a wise choice for him. He just needs to hurry up and learn how to play it! haha.
We're in the process of trying to get Sophy in riding lessons for a few months this fall. It may or may not be something we extend beyond the initial few months, but she's VERY excited. The only problem that I foresee with horse riding lessons is that...well...Sophy's gonna want a horse! We'll see where it goes, but she chose horse lessons over piano for this fall. We're waiting until the weather cools down and football is in it's ending stages, but she can't wait until we get started! I'm excited to see where it goes....unless it means me having to find a horse to stable somewhere! haha.
Well, back to school tomorrow, so we're about to start brushing teeth and getting ready for bed! Happy Labor Day~

Book Club as promised....

After gorging on pizza and homemade, REAL cheesecake last night, I didn't have the energy to post about our new books. No one really liked the last choice, Hope in a Jar. Poor Hope. hahha
Our latest pics are:
The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen (I think) and The White Queen, by the same author as The Other Bolyn Girl, but I can't remember her name. I'm pretty excited about the second book. We shall see! I've also started reading the Jane Austen mystery series. Has anyone else read that? I would really like someone's take on it before I invest a lot of time in it. It was highly recommended!
I'm off. I'll be back in a week or two. Sorry again for the let-down in blogging. I promise to do better in a few weeks!

Updating Before the Dry Spell

(I will update with our new bookclub book next week!)
I'm thinking about not updating here for a couple of weeks, but before the fountain totally dries up, I'll throw out a bone or two.

• The boys have their swim team awards ceremony this weekend. Looking forward to that.
• Football games will kick off soon (no pun intended), so that is how we'll spend our Saturday mornings/afternoons for a couple of months. There are no words to describe how much Sam is loving football.
• I'm looking forward to our upcoming Book Club meeting next week and finding out what our new book is.
• We're planning to take a trip the end of September to see the Rangers play. Would like to go watch the Cowboys this fall, but since they're paying for that new stadium, who can afford it? $80 nachos? Hahha.
• Have I mentioned here that we booked our cruise for next summer? Taking the kids with us, and possibly some other stoways!
• We're taking Sam shopping for new boots and jeans this weekend, and I promised the kids that we would order Halloween costumes next week. Darn that Halloween catalog that came to our house a few weeks ago!
• In the coming weeks, we'll be getting orthodontic appointments finalized before the Big Day in October gets here. DaddyP will be getting his new television this weekend or next, and that will surely make the universe shift or something.
• I'm gonna skip outta here for the next few weeks or so, but I'll pop in again soon.

Angry Teeth

We're in the full swing of school and only on Day 3 today. The kids have made a good start of it, and all 3 love their teachers and classes. Sophy had to write a paper about what she did on her summer vacation, and she wrote about "This weird endangered animal that came out of nowhere and took her underground to show her it's house. It was an Electric Mouse......" I think the story digressed from there, but needless to say, I don't think her story was based on factual events. Her teacher told me that Sophy found mushrooms on the playground and secretly brought them into the classroom and stashed them here and there to "attract fairies and make the class fairy friendly." Poor Miss F.
Sam is doing good and is still loving football. I guess we're just stuck with football for the duration of his school years. He wanders around the house telling me about lines of scrimmage and yards and downs. Last week was their first practice in full pads, and he was about to pop--he was so proud of himself! He has a weigh-in this weekend. Pop-Warner takes the rules and regs super seriously, but the rules are all very appreciated from a parent standpoint. No complaints here. Sam also has a super homeroom teacher, I think. Of course, the year is young, but the fact that she has grown sons will help her understanding of Sam, I believe. I hope.
Jack had a rough week, but it wasn't due to school. He had his oral appt. to have 2 teeth removed, and boy...did they remove them. He came home with 2 very angry looking teeth (roots and all) in a jar. Poor, poor boy. We had Open House that night, so we left him home alone for the first time. He didn't feel well enough to go with us, and we were only going to be gone for a short time. He's back to swimming at the LC, and I took him after school today. 50 laps later...yes, FIFTY. He's a machine. Haha.
Ok, off to the tub. It's getting late, and I still have things to do.

Breakin' It Down

(I apologize for this HORRIBLE photo. I took it with the dumpy camera in my iPhone, but when you're leaving the house at 6:45 a.m., you can't be picky.)

First Day of School '09

Day One of school was a success all the way around. All 3 kids LOVE their teachers and classmates, and the day seemed to be smooth for all involved. Jack's first day of middle school was "full of everything." He has a lot to learn, but he handled it all like a pro. Tomorrow is the first time he has to dress out for PE. Eek! I am enjoying having him on my campus. He's close enough that I can spy, but far enough removed that it doesn't appear that I'm spying! Sam loves his homeroom teacher, and his entire friend club is in his class...all except his BFF, J. We're planning a sleepover soon, so they can spend some time together. Sam is very sad he isn't in his class. We're still very thankful that he is in such an awesome group of classmates for the year! Sophy is with a pretty fresh, new group. Not many kiddos in her group from years past, but she hooked up with a "real cutey," Sophy's words, named Lilly. She totally loves her teacher, and we're feeling good things about 2nd grade! Her teacher is young and beautiful and VERY creative, so Soph is in HOG heaven.
We left Sam with Meem and Pop after leaving my class after school, so they could take him to football practice. Pop and Sam are really enjoying getting into football, so Sam was determined to not miss practice tonight--because trust me, I seriously tried to get him to skip just this once. He wouldn't hear it. After leaving him with Meem and Pop, I rushed home with Jack and Soph in order to get Soph to gym on time. PDad was shooting school pics all evening, and after he finished, he drove over and picked Sam up from practice. This was the first practice with full pads and helmets, so PDad and Sam both were excited to get it going. He had a blast, and we all made it home for the first time all evening about 8 o'clock. WHAT A DAY! Sheesh. My dogs are barking after being on my feet from 6:45 a.m. to 9pm. The only time I sat down all day was on the drive to and from school. That felt so nice.
Tomorrow, Jack has a dentist appt. in Longview after school for Phase I of tooth pulling. Then later in the evening, we have Open House at school for Sam and Sophy. Another busy day. It'll all settle down soon, so we're just hanging on in the meantime and enjoying the good start of Day One! Excited to get Day Two rolling!

Wit

I wish I had something pithy and witty to share, but these days it seems that my life is zipping past me like the chicken I ran over and sent cartwheeling down the highway. (Have I mentioned I have a VERY lengthy avian exterminating past?) Until life settles into some type of routine, you'll just have to be happy (or stop reading) with calendar cataloging.

• Today: Boys got school haircuts, and Jack came to Meet the Teacher Day at the middle school and received his schedule. It was a rather surreal moment to be showing him around the campus and introducing him to his teachers. While showing him around the campus, I was also being tailed by a gaggle of parents who were introducing me to their children. Yeah, that was fun. Or not. My class is looking VERY cute, if I do say so myself! High point of the day: I only fell off of the ladder once!
• Tonight: DaddyP took Sam to football practice while I separated and labeled all of our newly purchased supplies. Still have a few straggling things to buy, but I have most of it purchased. The next challenge will be delivering 3 kids and their supplies on the first morning while attempting to get to my classroom on time. More fun!! After the sorting, I was in the kid's closets trying to get them cleaned and organized for back to school.
• Tomorrow: More classroom work, lunch with some old teaching buddies who aren't with me anymore, and two meetings. DaddyP is taking Jack to have a large mole removed from his leg tomorrow, and then he'll be taking both boys to pick up a few things they need. Sam is getting his football pants tomorrow, so he's fired up. I think they plan to do a Boy Lunch tomorrow.
• Tomorrow night: Dinner with friends.
• Saturday: Hair appointment! Hoorah! Taking the kids to finish up the very last of our supplies and picking up a few school clothes for myself.
• Saturday night: DaddyP is shooting a federal judge (hahha, his retirement party, not the actual person, hehe.) I'm sure I'll be home with the kids getting laundry finished up and put away for the week.
• Ok, I just started talking about laundry, and that's where it gets depressing. I'm out.

Adversity

This week (and it's only Wednesday,) I've met the following adversities:

• A hacksaw with a rusty blade vs. my index finger
• 88 tennis balls in need of slicing
• Time/Schedules of other people
• People who barely have time for you but expect you to have all the time for them
• 200 ornaments and a spool of fishing line
• People who need to enroll in On & On Anon
• Early alarm clocks
• My brain/mouth which have no filter
• Allen wrench shortage
• School supply shopping fiasco (aka The Red Grading Pen Debacle)
• School shoe shopping
• Oy

Random side note: Recent school shoe shopping revealed that Jack is now in a Men's Size 9 shoe, and Sam is in a Men's size 7. Very, very alarming.

Brilliance

After the Insanity of last week, I decided to call today Brilliance (or lack thereof.) We were told we'd have meetings all this morning, and then be able to work in our classroom after lunch. Well, around 11:15, the reading teachers were told that we had a meeting to be in from 12-3. Lunch? Uhm, no. Actually, there was no time. Ggrrr. Yeah, Brilliant! Not only no lunch, but I am now one day short of what I needed to have done in my room. Probably should've stayed late today, but today is gym and football practice (yes, we're trying to figure out how to divide ourselves multiple times.) Speaking of division, I better split.

Insanity

Sorry for the breakdown in updating, but we've had quite an unbelievable week/weekend. The good news is that PDad is home (THANK YOU LORD!), the car will get the help it needs soon, haha, Sophy is feeling better, my classroom is re-assembled, and I actually was able to sleep all night last night!
Our school year starts back tomorrow with my 'official' return to school, but luckily, the kids have another week off. We have 7 nights to get them back on a school-friendly sleeping schedule, but they'll be having to get up and out the door all this week. Should be fun! I'm actually thankful to have this week as a sort of dry run. Along with the dry-run, we'll be doing gymfit, football practice 2 nights this week, and getting Jack back in the pool in the mornings before school. Oh, have I mentioned that I haven't bought the FIRST item from either of our THREE school supply lists?? Oh yes, I have to tackle that one night this week when I'm not at gym or football. Jack and Sam's swimming awards ceremony is this week also, and some friends asked DaddyP and I out to dinner one night over the weekend. Not sure if we'll go. I'm seriously hoping to have a quiet weekend to get the kids geared up and ready for The Big Day next Monday! YIKES!

Pictures from Kelly

Click here to view these pictures larger

The Ugly Truth About Hot Springs and Panties

There really isn't any connection between Hot Springs and panties, I just thought it was a neat title that covered all of my points today. Haha.
So, we're leaving after lunch today to head to Hot Springs. The kids are really looking forward to playing on the lake, and I'm looking forward to eating some good food. It'd be great if I had packed or even saw packing in my future. I'm just avoiding it like...like...well, like something bad. I guess I better get on it considering DaddyP will be home in an hour and thinks we're leaving then. Nothing like a cold splash of reality to wake ya up, I always say.
Went with a friend last night to see The Ugly Truth. Very funny movie, LOVED it! Very good date movie or chic flick! Gerard Butler. Go see him.
Oh, and speaking of panties, I wanted to edit my latest product endorsement about the Chiffon undies to include the latest pair that I gave a go. Jockey's Seamfree Comfies, purchase a pair and take them for a test drive. You'll like them, I think. Kohls has them offered at 3 pair for $27 which now that I think about it, isn't exactly economical. However, when one is purchasing comfy drahs, price should not matter.
Well, I'm gonna start packing now.
Maybe.

Happenings

• Yesterday I received not one, not two, not three, but four mammograms. Yep. Four. Long story. I don't think I can even make it into a funny story. I can; however, make it into graphic story, but I won't. Because I care about you. I will tell you this. I have Bionic Boobs that blew up the Mammogrammer machine. Bionic Boobs that caused the mammogrammer to have to be rebooted. REBOOTED.
• After The Perpetual Boob Smooshing, Doc smeared my pap and told me to gain some weight. Uhm, what? 121 is a problem?
• Sophy hit the gym last night. Yet again, the gym started a new group for the new school year. Luckily, we have the same coach, and I think things are gonna be good. She got a little lippy with her coach yesterday and had to do push-ups for the first time in a while. Made me laugh! We've added a couple of private sessions with her coach for some one on one work. She seemed to work really hard during the those sessions.
• I spent the morning on the phone with my curriculum director, my friend who planned to go with me to Nashville next week, and various other dignitaries. Totally will not be able to go to N'ville with DaddyP next week while he works. Seems my calendar (and that of several other folks I work with) was scheduled without our wishes in mind, although I was told today that "everyone" knew about the changes. Sadly, the "everyone" that is affected seemed to be in the dark. There are no words. So, DaddyP will head to N'ville for 6 days without me. Not that I'm bitter, mind you.
• I had scheduled our back to school visit with the pediatrician for today, so we ambled on over to Shreveport after lunch. Our appointment was scheduled for 3:00, and we left the ped's office at 6pm. Not really sure what kept me from committing bodily injury to someone during that time, but thankfully, I was able to restrain myself--even with the lady sitting next to me that was a serious, SERIOUS personal space violator. I think I will be rewarded for the patience that I showed today. I had to dig deep. The kids were very patient. God bless their bones. Sophy met a boy in the waiting room, and they conversed for an hour on topics such as rainfall amounts in Nevada, the size of their feet, the mole on Sophy's armpit, Ramses, Legos, an armpit farting contest and a small town in Illinois with a very interesting downtown area. The overly crowded waiting room occupants were enthralled, I tell you. Once we finally saw our sweet Doc, we found out that all 3 needed shots. YAY! Fun for all! Jack needed 4, and Sam and Sophy each got one shot. Jack has a mole on his leg that Doc insists must come off ASAP, so we'll see if we can't get in next week to the dermatologist that she recommended...you know, since I won't be in N'ville. Not that I'm bitter, mind you. Jack was in the 90th percentile for height and the 75th for weight. Sam was in the 90th for both height and weight (Jack is gonna be a tall guy, but Sam's looking like he'll be big and tall.) Sophy was in the 75th percentile for height and the 45 percentile for weight. Sophy has only grown 3 quarters of an inch in height since the beginning of kindergarten 2 years ago. Luckily, she had a pretty big growth spurt from age 3-5, so maybe she'll sprout again soon.
• I also got Jack's teeth extraction appointments (will take two separate appointments) scheduled with the oral surgeon that must happen in order for the braces to be accomplished this fall. Actually, the ortho wanted to get the braces on in October, but we weren't able to get his extraction appointments soon enough, so we'll probably be doing braces in late November now. Maybe I should celebrate forestalling the ca$h we'll be doling out for braces. By our calculations, Sam's braces will overlap Jack's, and Sophy's will probably be on simultaneously with Sam. We're hoping they have a group plan.
• After the doc appointment today, we dropped Sam off with a friend for a sleepover, and we took Jack and Sophy out for spaghetti and then to buy Jack school clothes. We ended up at the book store because Sophy wanted to read Yurtle the Turtle, and Jack was in dire need of a new train magazine. We're looking at getting a new television for our living room, but we're still doing a bit of shopping around. I'm thinking that I'm not going on the next fact finding mission because DaddyP is determined we need the largest, highest def, flat as paper, etc. gadget on the market. Me. Not so much. I should just leave him to it.
• We'll be birthday partying tomorrow afternoon at the bowling alley, and then a girlfriend invited me to the movies tomorrow night. DaddyP is gonna stay home and bond with his offspring.
• Thursday we're headed to Hot Springs to see DaddyP's Daddy, as the kids call him, Grandpa Arkansas. We'll fish, tube, and DaddyP says the kids are learning to ski this time. Hahaha. Oy.

School Shopping and Book Reading

Spent this weekend school shopping (2 days in a row) with my SILS. I think I have Sophy mostly finished and even managed to find her a pair of Twinkle Toes which are harder than hen's teeth to find! The boys do not need as much stuff as Sophy did this year, so I'll fill in what they're missing in the next week or so. I have a few things from this weekend to return tomorrow after my GYNO (gag) appointment and a few more things to pick up. Since I have some Kohl bucks to spend, I think it's okay. Now if I could just get myself motivated to buy school supplies. UG!
I finished the Apothecary's Daughter and really liked it. I have started reading a different book by that author, The Lady of Milkweed Manor. Maybe I should've started my book club book first to get it out of the way, but Milkweed shouldn't take me long.
Oh, an important bit of other news, I found out on Friday that I **may** not be able to go with PDaddy to Nashville! I got a letter from school saying that I have to be at school on the 12th and 13th, so I'm going to take that up with the person in charge tomorrow. We're having a faculty meeting tomorrow afternoon, so I'm going to attempt to plead my case to whichever person will listen. I'm gonna be so mad if I can't go!

Pictures Come Lately

A pic of my happy boy!

Cousins striking a pose!
My sweet honey. Ain't he purty?
Me and my Aunt No!

1,2,3

(I started reading The Apothecary's Daughter, by Julie Klassen. I am totally enjoying it! Recommend it!)

1. I spent yesterday in town getting spots frozen off of myself, meeting a friend at the tea room, getting a pedi, and doing a little shoe shopping. Bought myself a cUtE pair of heels to wear with jeans or slacks to school that are so comfy I could run down the road in them, although I promise I will not. I think they are 'Nurture' brand....or 'Nature'....Can't recall, but I got them at Dillards. So very stylish and cushy! Love them! Oh, here they are, only I got a solid black pair.

2. Sophy had a private session today at gym, and DaddyP took her while I stayed home and nursed a mild headache. The boys swam, and I floated on a floatie while I waited for my Relpax to kick in. Luckily, it did eventually kick in, and the fam went out for Mexican food which was perfect and hit the spot.

3. Tomorrow is Friday which means more during the school year than it does in summer, but I hate to neglect a proper documenting of days. If it doesn't rain, we're having friends over to swim. Tomorrow eve, I'm meeting my friend Lo for dinner. My Bro/SIL will be in this weekend, and we're having a surprise birthday party for my niece at our house for the cousins to swim/party.

4. There is no 4~

Birthdays in Heaven

Since I can't call my sweet Ninnie and Irene and wish us all a Happy Birthday today, and my Granny tomorrow, I'll just send them all a kiss to Heaven today. It's just not ever the same without them. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

The 19th Wife

The Dust Jacket Society, our newly named book club gaggle, met last night at Olive Garden to discuss The 19th Wife. I think the general consensus by all of the group members was a favorable one. Honestly, I didn't expect that I would read this book when J assigned it to us at our previous meeting, and I also didn't expect that I would like it. I am happy to report; however, that it's a very compelling story, and once I got started reading it, I couldn't put it down!
The 19th Wife is the story of the 19th wife (although some say more like the 52nd wife) of Brigham Young who was expelled from the Mormon faith and started a crusade to end polygamy in this country. Running parallel to her story, is the story of a present day polygamist family in Utah where a murder has occurred. I did find myself enjoying Ann Eliza's story more so than that of the current polygamist murder tale, but they were woven together nicely. I think the author tried to make this a story about faith, but the polygamist aspect of the story was so intriguing that it's all I could focus on. All of the book club gals were on the same page (no pun intended) when it came to being totally absorbed in this foreign concept. (The Mormon's called it Celestial Marriage.) This book gave us so many different topics and angles to discuss. I'm sure we were quite a sight for the good folks dining at the O.G. We thought about letting word slip out that we were "Sister Wives" out on the hunt for new sisters to add to our family. Hahha. Where was I? Oh yes, we had much to discuss with this book. The dynamics amongst the sister wives, the corruption of faith, the inability to comprehend how this idea of Celestial Marriage ever sounded moral, and what kind of person buys into such a concept? What kind of player was Brigham Young? Very intriguing.
We also discussed the case going on in our area right now of Tony Alamo, a man accused of marrying (i.e. raping) young girls as young as 9 years old who were members of his religious sect. Who allows this to happen? Who are his followers and what are they thinking? I think the story of the modern day polygamist family that the author intertwines with Ann Eliza's story keeps this story pertinent to our times. This still happens. Was it last year that the sect in Texas was raided and all of the children taken away?
While reading the book, I also found myself researching plural marriages, Brigham Young, Ann Eliza Young, etc. You can't read this book without coming away with a curiosity to know more. One of the topics that I hit on while searching for topics online was this interesting event in US history that I had never heard of. The more you look into this era and the events surrounding it, the more it boggles the mind. By the way, if you've never heard of Ann Eliza
Young, You can read her memoirs here. I did.
Note: There are some aspects to the story itself that I didn't care for; however, overall, I would recommend this book on it's historical significance alone, but with the forewarning that there is foul language and a hom*sexual character. I could've lived without either of those traits in the book, but I wasn't the author (who by the way is a VERY nice looking gentleman, I'd just like to point that out.) I'd love to hear from anyone who has read the book. Email me!
And for those interested, our newest title: Hope in a Jar, by Beth Harbison. Not sure what I think of Chic Lit, but we're gonna find out!! Oh, and our optional read this month is The Noticer, by Andy Andrews.

Word Conservation

Swim meet great job headed to beach. Pit stop Baton Rouge Cheesecake Bisto thumbs down. Sun surf water surfboards sunscreen umbrellas lasagna cupcakes. More sun surf water surfboards umbrellas chicken enchiladas add Preparation H Tucks Monistat. Hemmrhoids ouch and wow. Blackberry cobbler flop needed oil. Sharks dolphins lounging reading spaghetti meatballs. Swimming pools cousins sunscreen umbrellas. Ear ache meds prescribed Uncle Dr yay! Leave drive Jackson, Miss. Vomit thunderstorms. Home hooray! Unpacked settled resting. Book club Olive Garden tonight. Yum.

Beach 2009

Click here to view these pictures larger

I left my heart (and half my body fluids) in Lufkin.

It's quite a long story that I don't dare dream you want to hear about. But you've been around this blog long enough to know what's coming right? You may hear more than ya want. (Isn't it cute how I say you MAY hear more than you want? Hahha. Right.) Take heart. I'm omitting the part of the story where my stall ran out of toilet paper, and I was in no state to acquire more. Not to mention I was trying to decide whether or not I need to attempt tossing my cookies or finish #2. Oh wait, I said I was omitting that part. See? I'm all about being considerate to my readers.
Jack did SUPER at the meet today. He got 3rd for his age division in the 25m butterfly with a time of 19:22, and he got sixth in the division for the 25m freestyle with a time of 15:97. We are soo proud of him. That's the good news. The bad news is that I spent 2 hours in the restroom at the swim meet doing things to that toilet that are not only dastardly but also probably illegal in some countries. Apparently, I got ahold of the Ebola virus, and it spent the morning trying to turn my intestines inside out. Before ever getting to see my boy swim, I had alternated between the bathroom stall (where the walls were sweating and the floor was seeping) and the water meter outside where I hovered and contemplated my northern borders being breached in much the same manner as the southern border had been overtaken. At this point, I begged DaddyP to drive me home, and we left Jack with another swim mom/dad. Horrible. That poor kid had to swim without his mom/dad there, and he still did awesome. Not that he cared, mind you, but I did.
And what I love so much about the beach each year is checking lists, packing, finding all of our chargers, etc. Luckily, I had most of that taken care of prior to today, but still...I do not, even a little bit, appreciate my bowels running amuck in advance of vacation. Wait. That sounds like I'd rather them run amuck during vacation...which is a lie straight from the devil. No. I'd rather my bowels never run amuck. Thank you.
The end.

Shameless Product Endorsement '09.5

It's been a while since I shamelessly endorsed a product, and I promise that this one doesn't involve a FUD. You'll be happy to hear that I'm steering away from a bathroom related endorsement. Er, uhm...ok, it's ALMOST steering away from a bathroom endorsement. Today, kids, we'll be discussing chiffon. If you're looking for oo-la-la french panties that will excite and inspire delirium, maybe these aren't for you. Or maybe they will inspire delirium and make you say oo-la-la because they're so comfy. Personally, I'm not just overly inspired by crawling crotch lines, maybe you are. If so, go in peace and be racy. Myself...I prefer to not twitch and dig with every step. One word of warning, these babies are the size of a toddler when you remove them from the packge; however, there is a note to the buyer encouraging you to BELIEVE, yes, "BELIEVE that this panty will fit you. Yes, it's small but trust them, it will stretch to fit you." This little miracle has a 360 degree stretch along with being invisible. People, we're talking about the Super Hero of undies here. I intend to buy more of them very soon because their claim is true. It did fit. It doesn't ride. And it did stretch. Unlike the VS undies I recently bought with the sales girl's assurance that "Oh no!" they would not crawl or ride. Girls, those VS undies crawled like a 9 month old and rode like a pack of Banditos on a Harley. No gracias!
(*Downside: they have to be handwashed and no dryer! BOO. Hiss.--But they don't crawl and are comfy...so yay!!!)
(In other news, I'll be posting soon about the Book Club book, The 19th Wife. I'm 75% finished with it, and I've got some things to say about it...and the other books on my summer reading list.)

Updates All the Way Around

• Orthopedist says that Sam's leg is just badly bruised. Again, this is the 2nd time we've been told this, but we just have to be sure with the probs he continues to have. Swelling is still an issue, and he can't put his weight on it. Just going to take some time, I suppose.
• Got my rat killing accomplished today with the exception of a beach hat for Sam. I'll be on the lookout between now and then for one. Gotta keep my red monster's ears out of the sun.
• Cleaning house tomorrow and getting bits of laundry done. Bags are 50% packed. :-)
• Jack has his last night of swim practice tomorrow night. He'll be so very sad. I don't know what we'll do when we don't have to go sit for 3 nights a week for 2 hours. We won't know what to do with ourselves.
• Oh, and last but not least, I'm getting my wig did tomorrow and getting haircuts for the boys too.

TuTuTuesday

Tomorrow, we'll be swimming with some friends and having lunch. It's supposed to be a hot one, so it's a good thing we're planning to swim. Otherwise, we'd fry like an egg on the sidewalk. We've also made an appointment for tomorrow with an orthopedist to see why Sam is still having problems walking. Not sure what the answer is, but I just hope there is a good reason instead of a bad one. I never dreamed his pain and troubles would last this long, so I'm a wee bit frightened of what we'll hear.
Tonight at swim practice, we learned that Jack can only be signed up for 3 events instead of the normal 5. We've decided on the 100m IM and the butterfly. We're letting Jack choose his final event between the free and the back. I'm pretty sure he'll go with the free, but he's got a better chance of placing in the back. Most all kids compete in the free and are relatively decent at it. Few of them like, or want, to do the back. On top of that, he's not bad at the back, but he definitely doesn't like it over the free. SO! We'll see what he picks for his final event, but it looks like we're set for All Stars! Looking forward to the meet!

Conversations with Sophy

We haven't had a conversation tidbit lately, so here is one from the file. Last week we were discussing her birthday, and she told us,
"Mom, Dad. Listen to me. I know you already have an idea about what you're gonna get me for my birthday, but I really only dream about two things. One is a Temporpedic mattress to help with these awful pressure points that are damaging my spine EVERY night. It's starting to give me nightmares. Plus, you can jump around on it without your food and drinks spilling! Second, I'd like a microscope because I've really been wanting to see if freshwater and saltwater look different up close."

The Plans They Are a Changin'

As this is our pre-beach week, I'm trying to free up as much as I can, so that I can get the kids good and rested, bags packed, laundry 100% done, and the house cleaned. We had planned to go visit SIL this week to take the kids to the ice cream water park; however, we're gonna make that trip the last week of July when we are home from the beach and swim season is over (more on that later.) I've got a good bit of rat killing/shopping to get done this week. We've decided on what all of our families are gonna wear in our beach portrait, and I need to go find the boys some shirts and myself a sundress or something. We're also doing a Beach Birthday this year for a little funnsie with Cousin E. and C., so I'm on the hunt for some neato things to put in their goodie boxes. Plus, we've gotta get the boys' some haircuts, and of course, Soph and I are getting our beach toes on at the nail joint. In the midst of all the hairum-scarum, we've got our last week of swim team gearing up for the All Stars meet on Saturday in Lufkin. Jack qualified for All Stars in all of his events, bettered ALL of his times, and placed in the Top 10 of his age division! Not bad at all!
I think we may make a run to town tomorrow, and hopefully make it home in time for gym for Soph and swim team. We're in the Beach Countdown '09!! Whoohoo!!

What I'm Up Against

(Sam update to follow)

I'm posting this photo, so you'll see what I'm up against. In this photo, you'll see Sam, his one and only brother, and his wonderful Cousin E~. Do you see that Sam has volunteered (yes, volunteered) to go off of the diving board while encased in 3 inter tubes? I'm sure this little stunt was his idea. 100% sure. Do not blame his accomplices. However, I think this photo may help you understand what I'm up against. We live in a perpetual state of, "OH NO!" with Sam. Always waiting for the next shoe to fall. From what I understand, this is a characteristic that he may have inherited from his father. It was this type of stunt that he pulled off yesterday that left him bruised and possibly broken. So, we find out tomorrow whether or not we can ditch the crutches, etc. He has a fiberglass splint that has kept his leg from moving around which has helped immensely. After dinner tonight, he attempted to walk on his giant splint without the crutches, and he ended up having to stop because of the pain. Not a good sign, but we hope we're just dealing with a really bad bruise and not a hairline fracture. The doc said that the bone was straight, so he didn't think it truly was a break. He was a bit uncertain, since the xray does have a tweek of a line right where he took the brunt of the swing frame that fell on him. We have an appointment tomorrow to see our pediatrician to see if she recommends a trip to the orthopedist. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Once we have that nailed down, we'll be finishing out swim lessons for Jack this week and then heading to the Championship meet on Saturday in Nacogdoches. Jack is really fired up for this meet, and I hope he does great! He has been smokin' at practice this week, so hopefully that is a good sign! He was fourth in the entire age division at the last meet for the freestyle, so HANG ON TO YOUR GOGGLES!!! This could be good!

Next week, I have my yearly female visit on Monday and hopefully lunch with a friend in Shreveport. If you have to subject yourself to such, you should be able to enjoy the rest of the day at least, right? Ug.

After that, I plan on taking the kids to Austin-ish to visit my SIL and kids. We'll be doing our annual trip to the Blue Bell ice cream waterpark and hopefully to another waterpark my SIL has discovered. The kids are fired up! Can't wait to see what we'll get into!

Our beach trip is fastly approaching, and to say that the kids are ready, is an understatement! We're excited to see Cousin E~ and C~ and Aunt R~ and Uncle C~ and Pmil and Ptom.....WE JUST NEED TO GO!!! RIGHT NOW! Just 2 more weeks, right?

We're planning to get a quickie to Vegas in for me and Soph to visit with T and the M's the last week of July. I think it can happen. I think it can. I think it can. I mean, Sophy heard about M&M World there, and who can miss that? And the stars won't be aligned that weekend, so surely it's okay that M2 and Sophy are together. Right?

I think the week after that is the week we'll visit in Arkansas visiting G'Pa and G'Ma Arkansas. I'm sure we'll fish and hit the lake like last year which will make the kids happy. They love visiting G'Pa Arkansas and are looking forward to our trip.

The week following, DaddyP and I will be in Nashville, and hopefully Rachie will meet me there. DaddyP has work there, and if Rachie can meet me there, it will be super! A co-worker will be visiting a college friend there, and we're hoping to be able see the sites while DaddyP works. I've never been to N'ville. Anybody have any info?

Ok, I think the kids are asleep before 10pm for the first time in 2 weeks. I'm off for a swim and then finishing Book 3 of the Twilight series. Hopefully we'll get good info at the pediatrician tomorrow!

Topic Tuesday

Today's topic, What I Did On My Summer Vacation.

Camper lust & Other random oddities

Random:

• I've taken a liking to Hollister tees. Why? They're longer in the waist than most other tees, but they fit snugly.
• New Moon is better than Twilight. I'll start Book 3 tomorrow.
• We've been bit by the Camper Bug lately. Conveniently, there is a used camper, in good condition, for sale in our neighborhood. Hhhhhmmmm....
• Tickets to Michael J*cks*ns funeral were selling on ebay for $10,000. Wonder if the tickets to his concerts were going for that much. I mean, I'd rather pay that kinda green to see a live person, but that's just me.
• I tried a new Cranergy Green Tea from Ocean Spray, I think. I guess it was alright. If ya like that sorta thing. Which I don't. PDad thought it was good, so there's that bright bit of news for Ocean Spray.
• It rained on my house 2 days in a row. Yip. EE!!
• I wish hurricanes would start getting ghetto names. They'd be way more interesting. I mean, TS Blanca? Blanca? Whatever.
• I had a happy meal for supper tonight, and I enjoyed it immensely.
• McDonalds wants me to tell you that their brownie melts are a tasty treat that you should rush out and buy without delay. But my mama always told me that lying was wrong.
• Sam wants a video camera to start "interviewing guests" and "filming scenes" to put on his own "website." I'm giving this considerable thought because I think we could be onto something here.
• Subway has a new flat bread sandwich that I'm gonna take for a test drive eat tomorrow, I think.
• Stay tuned.

Shake it like ya did last summer, baby.

I have no idea what the title of this post means. Don't look at me. I dunno.

Jack started swim lessons today. He mostly was working WAY below what he is capable of, but he can't do Jr. Lifeguard for several more years. In the meantime, we're just refining what he knows. He did have to do a timed water tread today that taxed him a bit. It was longer than he's had to do up to this point in his previous lessons. It was good to see something challenge him, since he thought that he would just show up and skate through it all. His new teacher told him that they would be treading water while holding a brick tomorrow. Hehe. He looked worried for a second. I'll take the Flip, just in case something interesting happens.
We'll be finishing out lessons this week for Jack and doing swim team in the evenings. Saturday is the Championship meet. We had to decide this evening which events to put Jack in and what to cut him from because they can only place in 5 events. Jack has competed in up to 7 events per meet, so we cut him from the breast stroke (his least fav) and possibly the medley relay. He's excited about doing the 100m IM again. I gotta admit, it's my fav to watch along with the free relay. At the champs meet, they'll only give medals (no ribbons this time) for the top 3 places, so he better swim like he's on fire! This will probably be Sam's last meet, since the only meet after this is the All Star meet which he probably won't qualify for...but Jack will. It'll be a long, hot meet. That's for sure.

Another American Moment

We had a very eventful family celebration for the 4th at our house. You see, we inadvertently set our neighbor's front and back yards on fire with the smoldering debris that rained down from the sky as DaddyP and my brother launched a barrage of firepower frightening enough to have my youngest child weeping and saying, "I'm too young to die..." She wasn't pretending to be worried for her life. She was genuinely concerned, as were we all.

Here is a photo of the children during happier times....times when they clapped their hands with glee and shouted, "Hooray for Daddy and Uncle!" Little did they know that we'd soon be soaking beach towels in the pool to toss over the fence in an attempt to not burn down the neighborhood.

And then the testosterone took over and the rest is burned up history. Much like portions of our neighbor's yard.

This was early in the evening, but I love it because Jack looks like the Silver Surfer.

We hope the 4th of July was a safe and fire free event for your family!

An American Moment

To prove how much I love America, I just removed all of the food from my fridge and cleaned and sanitized all of the shelves/drawers. Take THAT Iran!
Now, we're just waiting on some folks to show up, and we'll be celebrating America a wee bit more!

Summer Reading List & and Unexpected Bonus

Someone recently emailed me and asked what was on my summer reading list. That's a good question! I sort of have books stashed in every nook, cranny, vehicle, and website there is, and organizing my thoughts in that direction might be a good idea. Here is the short list!

• I started an audiobook while we were in NC that I don't think I will finish. The narrarator's voice just sends me over the edge with this almost fake, but very pretentious, British accent. It reminds me of Miss Jane from the Beverly Hillbillies. Don't get me wrong, I love the Hillbillies, for obvious reasons. But Miss Jane...~~shiver~~
• Once my book club book arrives from Amazon, I'll start it. It appears to be a fairly large book, so I better get started on it as soon as it arrives. Not sure how I'll manage that with the looming stack of books currently growing on my nightstand. If you've read The 19th Wife, let me know, eh?
• Ok, so Twilight. Yeah. I know what you're thinking. TWILIGHT?? I know. I know. I'm not a vampirey person. I've had no desire to even read this book, but after much cojoling from my SILs, I finally caved. Guess what? It's a good book. There. I said it. And now, I'm reading Book 2 in the series, New Moon. I'm still not a vampirey person, but I wanna know how the story ends. It's intriguing, to say the least. As far as a vampire themed novel goes, I'd say it's pretty tame and not an offensively gorey or dark story. I was actually surprised by how UNdark the story is. If you've read the books after Book 1, I'd like to hear from ya. And honestly, I think I'm one of the few that hasn't, so I should hear from lots of ya. Email me, please. EJo? Have you?
• I'm pretty excited about my latest book purchase for a couple of reasons. First, it's an Austen themed book. Hehe. The second reason I'm excited is because if you have the Barnes and Noble app on your iphone, you can take a picture of ANY book cover and get the book review, price, info, etc. My friend was showing me this as we went through Barnes and Noble last night after Tokyo taking pictures of random book covers. Definitely an unexpected bonus to the iphone, in my opinion. I'm a die-hard Amazon customer, and I prefer their reviews (have their app. too on the iphone,) but still the B&N app is a cool feature. While using it last night at the bookstore, I realized that the book I was buying, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, was actually the second book from this author. From what I understand, you don't have to read them in any order, so I'm going to start with the second book and then hit the first. Pretty excited about both of them! The first book was True Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

Ramblings on the 4th

This is one handsome boy!

And this is one determined girl!
And this is a pool FULL of nutty kids (Miss Determination would not get in the photo!)

We had a blast yesterday with Ye Olde Friend, ~T~, and her four kiddos who are visiting from Vegas--they are originally Texans, just so ya know. As predicted, Sophy and M2 are quite the pair. Several years ago when they both (without knowledge of the other) began wearing only underwear and pretending to be Tarzan, we vowed then they should never be together without serious supervision. Within minutes of meeting, Sophy and M2 were in her room with the door shut and a gleam in their collective eye. Very, very freaky. They played happily together all day, and Little R is a dreamboat, and M3was determined to NOT speak to me, and M1 was such a little lady that I was envious! LOVED spending the day with them! Looking very forward to tripping to Vegas in the near future! Thanks for making time in your CRAZY visit to come see us guys! Loved it.

C~ came over last night to watch the kids while DaddyP and I went out to eat Japanese with some friends at Tokyo. It's a nice place, but I kept wishing I was eating Italian. The sushi was good, at least. The kids had a blast, as usual, with C~. They made paper airplanes with a paper airplane kit, colored, played the Wii, and C~ and Sam looked up the solar system online and arranged the planets hanging from his ceiling in the correct formation and made a sun and moon to hang with the planets. Have I mentioned how much Sam loves C~? Have I mentioned that C~ is as cute as two buttons? Not to mention that she has them in bed at the right time with the house picked up when we get home. Uh-huh.

We're just chilling this a.m. without any plans. It's so ridiculously hot outside today, so we're just staying inside as much as we can. DaddyP has an afternoon wedding to shoot, and we'll be grilling burgers this evening after he gets home. Not sure who is stopping by, but I think the cousins2 may come swim/eat. Uncle M bought a trove of fireworks, which you may recall are illegal in Mtown. I'm sure we'll be setting them off in spite of that law. Nevermind we're a little dry around these parts. We're talking about men and explosives. I'm scared.

My friend E. and her daughter R. may be stopping by tomorrow for a visit while they are in town visiting E's family. Jack will be very upset that her daughter S. isn't with her, but I'll be happy to see E. and R. just the same!

My laundry piles aren't gonna wash themselves, so I better get to washing.

Happy 4th of July, people!

Things that make ya go hhhmmm....

Because my thoughts are all over the place, I think I'll just take the easy way out on this update.

• Ice Age was SUPER! Highly recommended! We saw it today with the cousins 2, aunt/uncle, and the Meem-Pop. I think the adults liked it as much as the kids. Very funny and kid friendly. See it without delay even if you leave your children at home.
• Sometimes ya just need to see what all the fuss is about, which is why I've decided to read Twilight. I swore I wouldn't do it, but enough is enough. My SIL let me borrow it, so now let the record show that every human on the planet has now read it because surely I'm the only one who hasn't. I am one of the few adults that I know that has not read it. I'll let ya know what I think. Speaking of books, I placed an Amazon order tonight that included my book club book and a few others...I'm very excited about one of them in particular. I'll tell ya about it later.
• Michael Jackson's children. Uhm, are they genetically his? Because, dang. Ya can't tell by looking. I'm going with no as the answer to that question.
• Wipeout. Are you watching this show on Wednesday nights? If you are not, you need to have your head examined.
• I'm excited to get to see my college friend, Terri, on Friday! Ter is in The Lonestar State visiting family, and we've planned to meet up with all of our kiddos (and what a brood that will be when they're all together) for a visit! Can't. Wait! FFUUNN!!
• DaddyP and I are going out for Japanese food Friday night with friends while ~C~ stays with the kids....which will make Sam the happiest of boys.
• No swim meet Saturday (sadness!!), but the boys did get their ribbons at last night's practice. Sam actually got THREE ribbons, and Jack got one for each of his events. They did great!
• Speaking of Saturday, we'll probably decorate the mule or the bikes for the kids to ride in the annual neighborhood parade. DaddyP has a wedding to shoot that afternoon, and then we have firework plans for later that evening.
• Another friend will be in town for the 4th, and we're hoping to hook up on Sunday to visit! Squeeeee!
• Ok. I think the things that have made me go hhhmmmm...are over.
• Goodbye.