Last Minute Shopping!

Shopping list – check; Good shoes – check; Cash – check; Kids at mom’s – check … In the morning my plan is to finish my Christmas shopping, then come back to mom and dad’s and wrap everything. I am excited about a few hours by myself. I move faster that way. I am just hoping that all the crazy people finished theirs this weekend.

I do get a bit apprehensive during this time of year. It seems that many people lose their minds and put all courtesy on a shelf in their closet, and just act like idiots! No one holds the door for you, especially if your hands are full of shopping bags (or you’re pushing a stroller!). Red lights mean “only two more cars can go,” just to make sure they stop traffic flow. And no one is smiling, just rushing around. The whole experience of shopping kind of takes the joy out of the giving part of the holidays – initially at least. And that brings me to tomorrow. I think this is why I have waited till the last minute.

Me and JC - 7 week update

As some of you may recall, on October 15th I started on Jenny Craig. My progress has been slow, but steady. I have lost about 11 lbs to date and have lost 5 inches all over in less than 7 weeks. And had Thanksgiving during that time! To me that is exciting! Today, I put on a pair of my sister’s “fat jeans.” They are a size 12 and look pretty cute on me. One might even consider them baggy, except around the waistline.

Some of you know that I consider myself to be built like a brick. I am as wide as I am thick. So, this leads me to wonder, does your ribcage ever go down after having three kids? My ribs/chest are really just huge. And I am wondering, will they stay that way? I have 34 more pounds to go, but if my ribcage stays blown up like this, I will look hysterical.

After I had Major I was what I call “skinny fat.” I had lost so much blood and all that I really dropped about 30 pounds in about three weeks, but I was so flabby. I don’t want to be like that. Mom thinks that if I go below that weight I will not look good. We will just have to wait and see. Christy weighed over Thanksgiving and is at my goal weight, and I think she looks good. She is just an inch or two shorter than me, so I should be ok.

Can you tell a difference yet?
This is today:

This was our family reunion on October 9th:

Baby, Its Cold Outside

We woke up this morning to find a lovely layer of snow over our neighborhood. Mark woke the boys up early so they could go out and play in it before it all melted.

We left before Major got up, so I don’t know if he saw it at all. Today was the day that I took the boys to see “Santa Clause Is Coming To Town” at Casa Manana. It was very cute, and I always enjoy going down to that part of Ft. Worth. It brings back wonderful memories!

el Tigre

Two Tiger Woods jokes:
heard Tiger crashed his Escalade on Friday...think he'll blame his caddy?
heard Tiger was changing his name...to Cheetah!

OK, I really do hate it. He made some very bad decisions, but haven't we all.

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."
John 8:7, The Bible

We've almost made it to December!

We are back home now. The laundry is almost all done, and the house is on the way to not being a total disaster! I love going to the farm, or just about anywhere for that matter, but coming home, and the first day or two back are just a beating for me. We drag a mess in just with our luggage and laundry, and getting everything put away and washed is a job. But we had an awesome few days at Mom and Dad’s!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. Mark drove over and Christy’s in-law’s joined us. We had a fantastic dinner, with lots of delicious food! When everyone settled in to watch the Cowboys win, our family headed back over to Frisco for our annual Thanksgiving evening with Wayne and Buena. We got there in time to see the 4th quarter on the big screen. Then we had a nice little visit and watched some of the Longhorns beating the Aggies. It was a great day!

I am really looking forward to December. I am trying to find things for the kids and me to enjoy and not spend a fortune! So far, our list looks like this:
1. Bass Pro Shop’s Santa Land
2. Grapevine’s Parade of Lights
3. Lewisville’s Christmas Parade
4. Weatherford’s Christmas on the Square
5. Farmer’s Branch Lights Show
6. Make Ornaments at the Arthouse
7. Flower Mound’s Holiday Stroll
8. “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” at Casa Manania
9. The Trains at North Park Mall

We will probably go spend a few days before Christmas at Mom and Dad’s too. We didn’t get everything done that we wanted to this time. When I am there I love to work outdoors. It is kind of funny, because at our house, outside is Mark’s domain. Anyway, there are fences to paint, cookies to bake, leaves to burn and all kinds of good stuff to look forward to. . . I can tell, December is going to FLY by.

A Truely Wonderful Day

This day started out with me waking up with Major in my face, just as most days do. But this day, as with the two before, we woke up at the farm. There is something about being here that is so peaceful for me. It is coming home for me. Me and the boys came over late Sunday and are going back with Mark tomorrow (T-giving Day). We have really enjoyed ourselves, but done nothing that we had planned on doing. I brought our History books and new books for the boys to read. We have done no History, and I think the boys have read just a little bit.

Yesterday, Christy and the babies come over. My big thing for the day was bricking our fire pit. It sounds like a much bigger deal than it actually it. Out in the back we have half of an old metal trash can sitting on the ground. It was so old and rusted that it actually rusted in half. We have the top part sticking up out of the ground and have burned in it only one time before. That time, the ashes came out around the rough edges. So, Mavrick and I moved about a hundred broke-in-half bricks around our old rusted half trash can. It really looks fantastic. We had a late lunch yesterday afternoon and cooked some hot dogs on it. It really was a lot of fun, and cooks some good dogs!


Today, after straightening up things just a enough to move around, me and Michael and Mavrick went outside. Mom wanted them to clean out the gutters. Mav was all about climbing up on the roof and going for it. We carried the ladder around front from the back, propped it on the roof and Mavrick climbed up. Then it was Michael’s turn. He went about halfway up the ladder and got scared and came back down. Mom and I were both telling him to go back up, and he turned to me and said “you go!” So, I did. After about three minutes he was up there with us. We blew off the roof and then they cleaned out the gutters. After a while I had to remind them that if they were going to be on the roof they needed to be working and not playing.


During the roof excursion, Mom was burning leaves out front. So when I got down I started raking leaves in the back yard. It was probably about 11:00 when I started. Finally, about 3:45, I stopped because it was time for me to go to yoga. I don’t know why, but it was so fun and felt so productive to rake those leaves into piles and then to burn the piles. I have recently had just too much on my mind, and it was so nice to spend a whole afternoon focused on something else. It was amazing what a difference it made in the backyard also!

Then tonight after dinner, we went back out to one of those areas of burning embers and cooked us some marshmallows and made s’mores! What a fun day we have had. This really has been a wonderful day and wonderful trip to see Mom and Dad.

A Couple of Yogi

So, I have really gotten into Yoga lately. I am going to my gym on Saturday mornings and Monday nights. I really do enjoy it. You really must focus on your body for an hour. It is always fun to see if I can push myself to the next stage. There is always one step further to go, and you can’t think about anything else and do the poses too.

When we decided to come to the farm for the days before Thanksgiving, I decided to try to find a place in Weatherford to take Yoga. I looked on the internet and found a cute little shop right on the square called “Heartstring.” (www.heartstring.org ) They do yoga and beads. I went last Tuesday night by myself to see how it was. You never know what you are going to find at a new yoga studio. It was pretty normal, but nothing like the sessions I have been going to at LA Fitness. At my gym there are always at least 20 people there and it is HOT. They turn off the air! At Heartstring, there were 4 of us, including the instructor.

Feeling safe about it, I asked the instructor if I could bring my kids. She said that would be fine, and recommended the 4:30, because sometimes no one else comes. Yea! When it was time to go today, Mavrick wanted to go. He did really well and said that he LOVED it! He probably told me 20 times on the way home how much he enjoyed it. He can’t wait till we come back at Christmas so he can go with me again. I am thrilled that I have found a studio in Weatherford that I like and that will allow my kids to join us. We are both hoping that Michael will join us next time!

Little Pumpkins

We had two really good trips to pumpkin patches last week. On Wednesday we went to the Flower Mound Pumpkin patch. The boys loved it. It was nice weather, with just a little chill in the air. On Friday we went to the Pumpkin Express in Argyle. It was fun too. They had a train ride, so Major got to ride on a train for the first time. He did really well, and seemed to enjoy it. It was way wet out there though. The owner said that they had been closed 13 days of October due to rain! Everyone had soaking shoes and mud all over our jeans! It was a really good time!

Insurance sucks!

The last few weeks I have been having major depression issues. It came on slowly, and got real bad last week. My mom thinks it is raging hormones due to out of whack woman parts. I think she is right. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. If I am looking at two weeks of this every month than that is not going to work. I have started looking for better insurance and will probably plan a trip to the hospital early next year.

Last Thursday afternoon I spent several hours talking with insurance people and still didn’t come up with anything better. Private health insurance sucks. Really, all aspects – looking for it, paying for it, using it. It all sucks. I said something about it on FB and someone responded not to worry about it because Obama is going to take care of it. I am not holding my breath.

Michael's 10th Birthday

Tuesday, my first baby turned 10. Maybe that is why I have been a little depressed lately. WE took the day off of school and did what he wanted to do. He wanted to go to the five story mall? We went to the Galleria. They wanted to walk through the whole thing. We did. They wanted to ice skate, so I let them. They actually both did really good. They would skate over to the wall where Major and I were sitting and talk to Major thru the glass. He would go over and touch the glass. It was really very sweet. On the way home we went by Toys R Us. Mavrick bought him a guitar, so we had to sneak it into the car while he was in the store. Then when Mark got home, we went to eat at Chili’s. It was a very fun day!

On the way to the mall, I looked at Michael and saw a pimple on his nose! OMG! I realized at that very moment that I am not ready for puberty! And lately, he has had this “man stank” thing going on. My baby is growing up! He is almost as tall as me and already weighs 110 lbs! WOW!

He is a great boy. He tests me a lot, but he is a wonderful little man, a great son, and a fabulous BIG brother. We have been so blessed!

Me and JC (written 10/14)

That’s right. I joined Jenny Craig (again) today. I realized just a few weeks ago that in a mere 17 months I will be 40. I don’t want to be fat and 40. I want to be HOT and 40.

It doesn’t help that the media has jumped in their new bandwagon of “40 is the new 20.” It is getting to be as difficult on the 40 year olds as it has always been on the younger women. Shows like Cougar Town and women like Madonna, Valarie Bertinelli and Demi Moore don’t help either. All those skinny women of my youth are now skinny women of my late 30’s! This aspect of being a woman sucks.

What really sent me over the edge was a picture that was taken of me last weekend at our family reunion. I was tagged in a picture on Facebook from over the weekend. I am huge. It was heart breaking! I have literally been depressed since I saw that picture. I removed the tag because I didn’t want anyone else to see me like that! So I am hanging it here, in the hall of shame!




I chose JC because on Sunday, my mom said “That is what I would like to see Michelle do. She did really well on Jenny Craig before.” Sunday night Mark asked me what was up, why now? I told him about my turning 40 thing and that I felt like if I turned 40 weighing what I do now, I would wake up the next year and weigh 30 pounds more and 30 pounds more the next year. That is so not what I want. On Monday, Mark brought up JC. I took it as a sign and called on Tuesday. I went in today, and start tomorrow… which happens to be the 15th, which is exactly 17 months till my 40th birthday.

I am not overly excited. I know that I can do it. I have done it before. The keeping it off is the biggest issue. I will admit, I never learned the “lifestyle change” part. I may be eating their food forever. I am probably more cautiously optimistic than I have been before. Maybe I will be excited in the next week or two.

Another Cube Story

So I have another story that some of you may be able to appreciate. In the Cube last Friday, I was with the Kindergarten and 1st graders in the first hour. The kids were standing in a line playing “Mother May I.” This one little girl starts moving … kind of swaying back and forth. Next thing we know, she is hurling on the floor. Those of you who know me well know what I started doing…

I have a very weak stomach, and a very high gag reflex. So, when she is barfing I start choking. I ran and got some paper towels to throw over the mess, then I got the garbage can. The lead teacher took her out of the room. I put chairs around it so the kids wouldn’t step in it… but I had to leave it there. The lead teacher got back in the room and I told her that I have a weak stomach and couldn’t clean it up.

Wonder if they will put me in a K/1st grade class next semester.

Girl Crazy

We all know that Mavrick is girl crazy. He came home from the first day K4 in love. He is a charmer. He admits that is how he got through the first 4 years of school. So, it should be of no surprise that he has a crush at “The Cube.”

The Cube is a Home Schooling Co-op that we attend on Friday’s at our church. There are about 70 member families, and each family has anywhere from 1 to 10 kids – really! This was our third week to attend. But, I am sure as you have guessed by now; Mavrick came home with a crush on the first week. Her name is Isabelle. She is one of 6 or 7 kids in a family in the co-op. Mav and Isabella have three out of their four classes together.

Each Friday we start off with praise and worship, all together in a big room at the church. This morning we had just started singing when I saw some movement to the right of me, where my boys were sitting. I turned and looked and it was Isabelle. She had walked over five kids to get right beside Mavrick and said “Hi.” Then, she sat down right between Michael and Mavrick. I told Mav that I thought that she might have a crush on him too!

This afternoon, on the way home, I commented on worship this morning and Mavrick laughed and said “I Know!” Then he told me that when he left fourth hour, she followed him out and said “Hey, Hey, Hey.” And when he stopped she gave him a hug. He was telling me that he wants to ask her to be his girlfriend. I asked him what would change if he did…nothing… so I don’t know what exactly his plan is for now.

20 Years Ago

WOW! A month has passed since my last blog entry. And so much has happened… we cruised, started our home school, started at our co-op, and now, this weekend is the first of my two 20 year high school reunions!

Saturday morning Mark and I will travel to Texarkana, Texas, for my 20 year high school reunion. I missed my 10 year because I was about twelve months pregnant with Michael and couldn’t travel. So, many of these folks I have not seen in a good 18-19 years. I am a ball of emotions right now; excited, nervous, even sad thinking about the friends we have lost and who won’t be there.

I must admit that at my current weight, I am not happy with myself. We are talking 47 pounds in 20 years… WOW! But, seeing that I haven’t done anything about it, and I have obviously know for 20 years that this day would come, it is what it is and I have no one to blame but myself. So, rather than dwell on that, I will just drink and act like I was still young and cute!

If you know me at all, you know that what I will wear has been at the top of my OMG! List. Last week I had my hair colored and highlighted, mostly to cover the grey. Now, that is not something I just do, and spending a small fortune on my hair was difficult. But, my great friend, Angel, who does my hair was everso helpful in helping me decide what I would look for to wear. So, over the weekend I found a “stunning” (as Michael called it) blue dress to wear. Of course I got Mark a new tie to go with my dress, as coordinating is of the upmost importance.

On Monday, I started looking for the invitation to get things straight in my head. Well, I couldn’t find it. So on Tuesday, I started asking around… found out that my 20 year high school reunion is going to be a BYOB, held on a farm, in a barn, in Hooks, Texas. People are wearing jeans. Needless to say, the stunning blue dress would be a bit too much for this venue. The worst part is that I can’t bring myself to return it!

I spent the rest of the day, and all night trying to decide what to do now. Woke up on Wednesday and we finished school as fast as we could, then the boys and I hit the mall… As a sidebar, my boys are going to make great husbands. They know when to compliment and just what to say. They are patient when I want them to wait outside the dressing room, and Michael and Mavrick took great care of Major. We shopped for several hours and they were fantastic!... I found an outfit that I can feel good about. Not casual, but definitely not the blue dress. I also had to find Mark something, and seeing how I have the coordination issue, I had to find him something that would look nice with what I was wearing. I think we will look great!

Now, on the Thursday before the reunion, I am kind of excited. I have chatted with several friends and I am so looking forward to seeing everyone! I will let you know how it all went.

This was us back then!

Really?

This time next week, I will be on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico with the love of my life. To say I am excited would be an understatement! When I booked the cruise, Mark sent me to local tanning salon to get a month’s membership for both of us so we won’t burn to a crisp. I have a picture in my head of my B-I-L with a hand print on his chest and a sunburn all around it. Anyway, so we have been tanning for the last month.

We used to tan all the time before kids. Since kids we stopped tanning, my hair has gone back to being dark and I have basically fallen apart. That is not the point I am trying to make, just a side bar. Mark and I tanned for years. After a while we noticed that there was a place on my face that seemed to get more tan than the rest. Unfortunately for me, it was right above my lip, right below my nose…just where a mustache would be. That’s right my friends, I looked like I had a mustache. Not pretty. Splotches are not unusual. I had to start alternating covering my face and not covering it. You couldn’t see it when I had make-up on. Oh, but it was there.

That brings me to tonight. When I got home Mark was sitting in one of the living room chairs and I sat in his lap. This is what we do, not often enough, to talk about the day. In the middle of our conversation he said “I see your mustache is coming in really well.” My eyes and teeth simultaneously fell out of my head! I said “OH NO! Really?” Then he said, “Honey, I am sure those people at your reunion won’t even notice it.” He was so sincere, but totally joking. I laughed till I nearly wet my pants. I guess that means I will be wearing makeup for the cruise… and hoping it is gone by my reunion!

Just Another Day

My sleeping habits have gotten so bad over the summer. Last night I was up till about 2am with my mind racing in a thousand different directions at a hundred miles an hour. All the stuff I need to do before we leave! Between making sure the house is livable for my in-laws, packing for me, packing for Mark…I think my mind is on overload.

One thing I thought about last night was Gretchen Wilson and that song “Red Neck Woman.” In it she talks about Victoria Secret and that she can buy something at Wal-Mart for half price and still look as good. Well, I want to know what Wal-Mart she is shopping at, because yesterday doing my grocery shopping, I wheeled through the ladies undergarment and nighty section. I will stick with my 10 year old wife beater t-shirts and boxers. Thanks, Gretchen.

Today was a beating though. I started out tired. Then I had to take Mark’s samples to the Dr.s office. You see, he had his vasectomy last JUNE! But took the samples to be tested, so if you know Mark, you know he is not the risk taker… poor guy. Anyway, me and the boys loaded up and went to Baylor Plano. Parked. Walked to one of the buildings, and of course it was not the correct one. Went to the correct building and up to the 6^th floor office. “Ummm, we don’t take those here, you’ll have to go to our Medical City office.” Goody for me, must be our lucky day. Did I mention I am walking across their campus with a 25 lb. baby on my hip? So, everyone back in the car, we are going into Dallas.

If you don’t know where Medical City is, it is at 75 and Forest. So we go. Luckily, I know my way around MCD. We get there, find a parking spot, walk to the building, go to the 2^nd floor office. The window at the front desk is closed… well crap! Again, the three boys are with me. Two older ones are being wonderful! I slide the window back and start to explain why I am here. The lady tells me that they are at lunch and will open the window and be happy to help me at 1:00. It is now 12:25. I go and sit down with the boys and my first thought is who wants to see if they can run the fastest and yell the loudest? Rather than do that, I pulled a marker out of my purse and wrote our name and phone number on the bag then went back to the window. I pulled it open and just started talking. This time the lady was on the phone, but I made sure she heard me say, “All I need to do is drop this off. I have three kids with me and they are NOT going to make it till 1:00.” The directed me through the door to the lab where I could leave it. I would have been soooo Pissed if I had waited for 35 minutes just to walk through a door!

I just kept reminding myself that I don't want Major to be anyone's big brither!

HS moms

Let me start by saying, I don’t write this blog to offend anyone. I just write what is on my crazy little mind… sometimes it is offensive, sometimes it is funny, sometimes it is entirely too much information, sometimes it is spiritual, sometimes it is stupid. I prefer to think of myself as complex. So, with that said, lets discuss the home school community.

Most people think of the Duggar’s; the family in Arkansas with 18 kids. All the women have long hair and wear skirts and those little bonnets. The men have long beards and drive a mule to work in the morning. You know what I mean. The home schoolers that the main stream media would like for us to believe to be the only ones. I have been to three events now, and with each event, it is getting better and I am finding a whole different breed of homeschool moms.

At the first event, to be honest, I was the cutest mom there! Really. There were probably a round a hundred women there and I was definitely in the top 5. I left there kind of torn. If I want an ego booster, this is the place to be. However, there just wasn’t enough glam… not any sparkle, to this homeschooling crowd.

The next event was at a water park. There must have been a bazillion kids there. Mom and dad’s from every which walk of like. I only saw ONE tattoo that evening. But there were some little bullies on the waterslide that messed with Michael. So, that just goes to prove, if you have a brat, he is going to be a brat in public school or at home (until someone beats his little butt).

Finally, tonight, I went to a HS support group at my church. And, although I only met a few moms, I think that there are more moms out there like me. There are moms who are just trying to get through the week, the day even. There are moms whose house is a mess. There are moms who have too much laundry to do. There are moms who are taking this whole thing one day at a time. And there are moms who can help me bring some glam to homeschooling! Tonight was the best group I have met, and I am excited again!

Gotta Love 'Em

This morning I was awaken by Michael searching for band aids. Cole, our neighbor, had spent the night. He has exama and Michael said that he had been scratching and was bleeding in a few places. I really didn’t think anything of it.

At about 9:15, they all came down stairs and wanted to go swimming. Kind of early, but whatever. Then at some point Mavrick asked me when they could start shaving. I told him it would be a long time. I thought what a strange question… but Alyssa, Cole’s big sister started shaving her legs this summer, so I just assumed that he was thinking about that. Mav and Alyssa have been pretty close this summer, anyway.

So, in a little bit, Kelly calls and asked me to send home Cole. At this point, I noticed that Michael had a bandage wrapped around his ankle. I asked him about it and he said that he wasn’t bleeding, but had a bruise that he didn’t want to bleed. Whatever…I told him that it wouldn’t, then decided that this was a battle that I didn’t need to fight.

When Cole got home, Kelly sent me a text that said “did you know the boys shaved their legs?” LOL! Well, if you put all this together, I can see it. So, I called Mavrick down stairs and asked him about it. He is my little truth teller. And he doesn't want to disappoint mommy! He said they found some disposable razors under the sink in their bathroom and it was his idea. He pulled three out, and Cole wanted the pink one. Then they all three shaved their legs up to their knees. Proudly, he tells me that he only did the front of his legs and he didn’t bleed at all. The other two did. I told him that he wasn’t in trouble, but that he would probably regret it because I would “feel like this in a few days,” and stuck out my leg for him to feel. Kelly said that Cole’s legs were smoother than hers too! Then I told him that when you shave you are supposed to use soap and water, not shave dry. Then Mav says, “mom, when will we be able to shave?” Ding! It occurred to me what he was talking about! I said “Mavrick, boys don’t shave their legs, they shave their faces!” His face went blank and he said “Ooooohhhhhhhh!”

Bringing me down

Well, I am doing it again. Trying to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and I have found myself a bit depressed I think. The crazy think is that right now, my life is fine. I am in a really good and happy place. But I am letting the world around me bring me down.

My neighbor’s husband got laid off today. We got the bill for Major’s May hospital visit, and our part is about $5,000 – and that is after insurance pays their portion. The world is in the crapper, and I am not hearing anything on the news that makes me think that “change” is a comin’. And I have been in a funk for the last few days. It hasn’t helped that Major has been in a funk today too.

This afternoon, I got out my bible. I haven’t been to church in a while. Major throws a fit in the nursery, and I might as well not go if he is with me. So, I just don’t go. I know this is not good for the rest of the family, and I have told myself that when “school” starts we will go and Major will just have to cry. Anyway, not even knowing where to start, I just went to Psalms 4, because today is the 4^th. This is what I found there:

“Answer me when I call to you,
O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

² How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies?

³ You can be sure of this:
The Lord set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord will answer when I call to him.

⁴ Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent.
⁵ Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,
and trust the Lord.

⁶ Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
Let your face smile on us, Lord.
⁷ You have given me greater joy
than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
⁸ In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

And of course, it spoke to me. I’ll let it speak to you without my thoughts and influence.

I decided today that I would spend some time in my bible each day. Things always seem to be so much better when I do. I don’t know why I get away from it so often. Life just gets in the way, I guess.

New Old Friends

Last Tuesday I took the boys and we went over to stay with mom and dad at the farm. There is a lot of work going on over there and it is always interesting to see what changes have been made. On Tuesday evening I had dinner with my lifelong girl friend, Marissa and her hubby Darrell.

Marissa found me on Facebook a few weeks ago. I was part of her family when we lived in Benbrook. Any Spanish I can speak is what I picked up from her mom. It is amazing to look back and see the influences that she and her family had on my life. Good times, really good times! They now live about 30 minutes from the farm, and are right on the way. I am hoping that we will be seeing them much more often.

It was so good to see them. We decided that it had been at least 8 years since we had gotten together. We just clicked back into place like we had seen each other last week. Then on Wednesday we went over to their house. I got to see their kids all grown and they got to see and meet mine. They have a 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son. Their kids are precious! And so well behaved! “A,” their daughter has the most wonderful laugh and smile. I was instantly in love with her! And their son “DJ,” is the cutest 10 yr old – all boy – and immediately hit it off with Michael and Mavrick. Marissa said that “DJ” asked when his new friends were coming back. Awww! What a little sweetie!

Marissa and little Mavrick really hit it off, too. He got her cell phone number and has called her a few times since we left on Friday. They are a lot alike, so I can totally see them being lifelong friends… I am a happy girl...Thank you Facebook!

The Fashionista's Attend a Wedding

Today was Amy’s wedding. Amy is an ADPi that I have known for 8 or 9 years. She babysat /nanny-ed for us when Michael and Mavrick were small, she was in the chapter when I was an advisor and she is an officer in the Alumnae Association that I am a member of. She is just a very special friend that I have had the pleasure of seeing grow from a college girl into a beautiful, mature woman. And she got married today.

Of course, the boys wanted to attend this wedding, so I took all three of them. I was out with another group of sorority sisters last night, so Major and I slept in. We then watched TV in bed till 10:30. At that point, we hit the ground running. Breakfast, showers, then getting everyone dressed. I don’t know if I have mentioned anything about the two young fashionistas that live with me, but when it comes to dressing themselves, the two older drama queens now know more about fashion than I do. Just ask them, they will be happy to tell you!

So, before I go to take my shower, I lay their clothes out. Mavrick follows me into his room and wants to wear a specific outfit. This is pretty much the conversation:
The one he wore to Tori’s graduation party.
Well, that was jeans and you are not wearing jeans to Amy’s wedding.
Why not?
Because there are holes in those jeans.
I am not wearing shorts.
How about these pants, do they fit?
(holding them up to himself) Yes. And I want to wear that vest.
OK, where is that vest?
I don’t know, in there somewhere
(I am standing in his closet)How about this undershirt?
No, I have to wear that other shirt that goes with the vest.

Then I go to Michael’s room, and lucky for me, he didn’t follow me AND I pretty much knew what I would lay out for him. So, I go running off downstairs telling them to get in the shower then come down and let me do their hair.

OK, between the time I go downstairs and Mav comes down, they have BOTH decided that they need to wear a tie to Amy’s wedding. This would have been fine, if they would have let me know first thing this morning, or even last night, but at 11:30, no. Michael probably does not even have one that fits! Anyway, Mav comes down for me to do his hair, and has a navy blue, striped, clip-on tie clipped to the outside of his vest! Yes, it was very funny. Yes, it was precious that it was so important for him to look a certain way for Amy’s wedding. No, there was not a snowball’s chance that I was letting him wear it!
That conversation went a lot like this:
You look very nice, but you can’t wear that tie
Why not, it goes
Not really the tie is blue and the pants are black
This looks black, and it looks good, mom
Yes, it looks good, but you are not wearing that tie with that vest to Amy’s wedding
Uhhhh, mom, you don’t know anything about fashion
I have a college degree in fashion, mister
I’ve never seen it
Go look on the wall in my office….so he goes and comes back
It didn’t say anything about fashion
You are not wearing a tie with that vest to Amy’s wedding. This is the most important day of her life and I am not taking the boys she used to babysit looking like a bunch of hooligans!

Mav was pissed at me, but he didn’t wear the tie.

I then finish getting dressed and go into the living room and yell for Michael to come down and let me do his hair. He is dressed. Imagine this if you will…Navy shorts, Navy and white striped Polo (with a red Polo on the chest) golf shirt. The two buttons on the shirt are buttoned and he is wearing a red clip-on tie! That conversation was along these lines:
Michael, you are not wearing that tie
Why not
Because you look ridiculous
But I want to wear a tie.
NO! You should have told me that before now!
Mom, come on. If you don’t like this one, how about this one (holds up a blue striped one) or this one (holds up a green one).
NO! You don’t wear a tie with that kind of shirt. I don’t have time to iron a shirt for you and I don’t even know if you have one that fits. This is the most important day of her life and I am not taking the boys she used to babysit looking like a bunch of hooligans!You can both wear a tie to the next wedding we go to.

I’ll be honest with you; I was worn out before we even left the house. We had to go get a card and gift, and Major something to wear. Then we finally headed to the wedding. We got inside and seated and Major starts to go nuts. I took him out into the hall, where I hope people couldn’t hear him, and he ran around the entire time. There were speakers in the hall, so I was able to see and hear the ceremony. It was beautiful. Amy was breath taking.

The reception was pretty much the same way, Major ran around like a wild child, so we didn’t stay long. We all got to hug and congratulate Amy, and that is really why we went anyway. It all turned out fine.

Just to add on to the fashionistas and my day, tonight, Mark got home about 8:30 and I had to go to Wally World. When we got home today, the exhausted mom put on a tank top and a pair of boxers. Well, that is what I was still wearing when I went to WW. When I came in with my bags at darn near 10:00, Michael says “MOM! You went to the store like that!” That boy is walking a thin line.

Leta Joy and Emma Jo

My “Granny” was born Leta Joy Woodruff. She had a sister named Emma Jo Woodruff. We called her “Aunt Emmer.” To be honest, I don’t even know who was the older sister. There were five kids, the two girls, then three brothers. There are hilarious stories told about Granny and Aunt Emmer’s antics together.

Granny is on the top left, and Aunt Emma on the top right

My mom remembers being on a trip with them and Emmer’s son, Harold. They stopped at a gas station and somehow Emmer slammed the station attendant’s hand in the door. Emmer turned to little Harold and said “Harold Wilson Swain, look what you did to that man’s hand.”

I remember going to see Emmer every day, or almost every day, when we would stay with Granny and Pop-paw during the summer. I remember them as being really good friends. There are stories about them being VERY emotional, too. I remember at Granny’s funeral, someone saying that they thought that Christy and I were going to be the next Woodruff sisters.

That was all kind of brought up again when Pop-paw died last winter. We were blessed to have a girlfriend and cousin come and stay with the babies at the house. My boys sat with Christy’s in-laws, Brian was a paw bearer, and Mark was sick and sat in the back. So Christy and I held hands and walked in together. Just like when we were little girls. I don’t think I will ever forget the amount of love I felt in her hand and how much security holding my baby sister’s hand brought me that day (yes, I am crying right now, what’s it to you?). Anyway, we were both trying to hold ourselves together and not wale out, when my mom turned around from the front row and looked at us. She started laughing, and poked my Aunt Jody and my dad to turn around and look at the “Woodruff Sisters.”

They were amazing, funny, strong, vulnerable, loving, and somewhat crazy women. I can’t think of anyone else I would prefer to be compared to – or a better woman than my sister to be compared to them with.

Funny Little Man part II

So, I think I have told you that Major is crazy. In a funny way, crazy. The has these little things about him that just make me laugh all the time. He loves to put things on his head. Hats, scarves, papers, panties (when I am folding laundry anything is fair game), glasses, head bands...you name it, if he can balance it there, he will put it on his head.

He also points with his middle finger. And sometimes he just points it at you like he knows he is flipping you off. Imagine, every time a little 15 month old points at something, he is using his middle finger. That has got to mean something about the way his brain is working! So, if he flips you off (Uncle Brian) it is done with all the love in his little heart… I am not going to post one of him really using this ability because I don’t want to receive it back in a funny email in six weeks!

The Boys Are Back In Town!

The boys flew back in from Austin this morning. They had a blast on their trip, and just seemed bigger. Then we got in the car and they argued in the rain all the way home…aaaahhhh, there is something to be said about routine.

Major and I got to the airport about 9:00 and went to the gate. The boys were not set to land until 10:10, so I sat on the floor with Major at the window where we could see the planes come and go. He was really good, and kind of excited. At one point he jumped into my arms and head-butted me hard enough to bust my upper lip. Then he started playing “Boo” where he walked to my left shoulder and said “Boo” then to my right and said “Boo.” He did his morning business, so we went for a diaper change about 9:45. When we got back to the gate the boys were there!

Major was so happy to see them! And right after they hugged me, they wanted to take him out of his stroller! They all really missed each other! It reminded me of when me, Mavrick, mom and dad all drove to a wedding in Ft. Smith and Mark and Michael come later that day or the next day. When Michael and Mavrick were reunited they hugged like it had been weeks. So precious!

When we were waiting for their luggage a man commented to me that they were really good together – the younger one loves the bigger ones and the bigger ones really love and lookout for the little one. This gentleman was an only child and explained he thought it was neat because he never had those kinds of relationships with siblings. We are truly blessed!

Flying Solo

Thursday was an exciting day around the Pittard house. Michael and Mavrick flew to Austin to see Glenda and Marla. This was only the second time that they had ever been on a plane, and the first time alone. The first time we went was just before 911, Michael was one and Mavrick was 3 months. They were absolutely precious the whole day. They got dressed to go very early, and their flight wasn’t until 8 pm. Finally about 2:00 I broke down and told them that we needed to go run some errands on the way to the airport and that we had to be there by 6:30 anyway. I made them go bra shopping. LOL! Then we went by Christy's and met Mark there to say bye to dad.

They come back in the morning. The first night Mav called about 12:35 because he was homesick, the next night it was about 11:30. Saturday they did good and called about 9:30 and everyone was fine. Then when I talked to them tonight they were both really excited about coming home tomorrow.

Lookin' kinda Gangsta!

Watching the luggage load and eating dinner in the airport.

About to get on the plane!

Rants of a Crazy Housewife

Michelle:

Has a lot on her mind

Loves the Zac Brown Band CD.

Had a good workout today and did not have a Dr. Pepper.

Is excited that my big boys come home from Austin in the morning.

Is very happy that one of my besties from Texarkana found me on Facebook…this has been a good Facebook week

Made a delicious Taco Salad for lunch and Stir Fry for dinner – when the kids are gone we eat what they don’t like

Still has a lot of work to do on the house

Is so happy Mark finished painting the entry hall today

Thanks God for my 4 amazing boys

May be obsessed with weighing myself – I want to do it like 5 times a day

Is finding my abs

Hasn’t been sleeping well

Is glad that LA Fitness in Denton is FINALLY open

Funny Little Man

Major is really a funny little man. If you can imagine Mavrick’s sense of humor from a one year’s perspective, I think you would pretty much have Major. He is saying “boo” and “ta-da”. And he is saying “hi” and “bye” all at the appropriate time. He throws kisses, and is all around just cute. But he has a mischievous side too. Like when I tell him to “come here,” when he is running around the house with a straw in his mouth. He will look at me, smile, do a turn about and try to run away. He knows what he is doing!

Monday night I was going to put him back in his bed (he is sleeping with us again). So we go up and as soon as I lay him on the changing table for a new diaper he starts crying. Twenty minutes later, horse voice, still crying, he throws up on me. I Give In! We came back down stairs into my room, and as I put him on the bed he started to giggle! Little punk!

Tuesday I was cleaning out the dogs create. Although he has found and loves the doggie door, Major has never tried to get into the create… until yesterday afternoon. It was empty, but still not a good habit to start. Once I got the dogs blanket and bed back in, he was no longer interested. He is a funny little man!

Sad but true

This is terrible, and I can’t believe I am actually writing about it, but if you know me you know I have no shame…especially when I should.

First, let me say that I am stuck in 1999 when it comes to paying my bills. Only a few things are automated, and I do pay a few on line. Sometimes I call and pay by phone. Anywho, I am one of those old people who don’t like to give out my account number more than is absolutely necessary.

That brings us to Capital One. We have my car financed through them. I am not exaggerating, if I am one day late on my payment they are calling me. I have gotten to where I just don’t pay their bill till they call, because they will call. I hate them for this by the way.

So, tonight we are making sure the boys have all the phone numbers they need in their cell phones before they head to Austin tomorrow. Mark is working on getting them ring tones, etc… Mavrick is sitting on the counter eating a piece of cake and says to me, in all seriousness, “Mom…will capital one ever call me?” OK, that was funny. And maybe I need to start calling Cap One rather than wait for them to call me.