On Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 9:50 pm my father passed away. We had known for 2 years that the day was closer than we ever wanted it to be but when it came it was way too quick. His slow deterioration gave us every opportunity to say all the things we wanted to say and I can happily say I took advantage of that. There was nothing I feel like I didn't say and I don't have regrets. However, to say that I won't miss him terribly is impossible. I don't have the memories that my sister and brother have of him while we were little. The thing that rings in my ears from my childhood is... "I'm Very Disappointed In You!" (Not that I didn't give him many reasons or opportunities to use the phrase... ) The memories I have now are as an adult talking about business or football or watching him interact with my kids. To hear the memories they have of him melts my heart.

He was the best dad any girl could ever want and a day will not go by that I don't wish he was still here.

For anyone asking about his services, they are as follows:
VISITATION
Friday 1/1/10 5-8pm
Lucas Funeral Home
305 West 1st Street
Justin, TX 76247-9608

MEMORIAL SERVICE
Sat 1/2/10
Abundant Life Assembly of God
1520 West Wall Street
Grapevine, TX 76051

Look What They DiD!!!

So the other day Brian and I walked into the bathroom to find that the wall of the shower had started to collapse. So in the madness of the Christmas season we started to demo the bathroom. And as most people know, there is a small portion of me that has a little problem with germs, so you can laugh that I made the kids wear masks and gloves to their elbows but I can only imagine what kind of deadly germs live behind 25 year old walls...

They thought it was so fun and even helped me clean out phase one from the tub to begin ripping out the bench. Unfortunately under the tile that he is hitting above is, well, not much. So it appears it may add another step to figure out how to re-create the step or do away with it. They are excited to be destroying something and looking forward to picking out tile and rebuilding. I told them if we complete this successfully we may just start ripping up carpet too... I am sure Brian would be thrilled... And for anyone that knows him... yes, he was a nervous wreck that the kids were in there doing this and that we won't be able to fix it!! He did use this opportunity to pull entire sections of the walls down to show his children that he has some small part of him that is equivalent to, well, SUPERMAN! The look in their eyes as he is pulling off sections that are bigger than they are was priceless. They are convinced, beyond all doubt, that he is part SUPERHERO with super-human strength (and he loves every second of this fantasy for someday they will know the truth!)

My Birthday Month!!

I just wanted to remind everyone that my birthday month started yesterday! It is so much fun to celebrate all month long when it is the last day of the month. I want to wish my sister a Happy Birthday Month too. I guess I have always resorted to a whole month celebration because I have to share the month with her and Christmas and, well, New Years Eve! So begins the celebration.

I am working on getting my NEW tree up but can't seem to get everything else done and get motivated enough to do it. The projects in my mind seem to be outweighing the Christmas tree so today I am trying to FOCUS and get it done. I have a very long list of other things I feel like I need to do first so I am trying to cross those off. And in the midst of checking things off the list I missed the snow!! In between laundry, cleaning and working in the garage apparently it snowed.

I bought the kid's "big gift" the other day (iPod touches, THANK YOU WALMART!) and had them hidden in my shoes. I gave the kids a hint to try and find them... "When you find them you will KICK yourself." Well, they tore this place up looking for them. On Monday night, Brandon found them and I told them that if they would cheer for me to win Fantasy Football against their dad and I did they could have them. Well, I was down by 21 points and we both had QBs playing in the game on Monday night so I thought there was no way I could win... BUT I DID! So, true to my word, the kids are enjoying their Christmas gifts as we speak. Hopefully they won't be too disappointed when Christmas actually gets here and they already got it.

The Black Friday Saga

After battling a headache all day Thursday, I got out there for the "best day of the year" when it comes to shopping. We left about 10:30 on Thursday night and headed to the Allen outlet mall which was INSANE. Can I just say how lucky we were to find a parking spot at 11:15. We hit Tommy Hilfiger and the Nike store which took 2 hrs between the two of them. The lines were atrocious but thankfully with two people, one can get in line and you can take turns shopping as the line moves along. We headed to Old Navy to be there when they opened at 3 and when we got there at 1:30 there were already 50 people in line. I made an executive decision that that was too many so we headed to Grapevine Mills mall. We did some shopping there and then made our way to Walmart. BIG MISTAKE! I have never been to Walmart on Black Friday and probably never will again! It was amazing how many people managed to cram themselves into a megastore. And to top it off, they could not find what I wanted to buy. I ended up with a raincheck until they can locate the pallet.

After that nonsense, we headed to Sears and JC Penney and when we walked out the sun was up. Academy was next and was nice enough to match the price of what I wanted to get at Sports Authority as well so that saved us a trip. The lines at Kohls were crazy but we managed to time it just right and got out of there fairly quickly. We ran into Home Depot so Amy could get her washer and dryer (which she got a great deal on) and then I took her home. I ran by Costco to get a tv for a friend and stopped back in Walmart to see if they had found the elusive pallet yet (with no luck) before heading home. I crawled into bed around noon after cramming everything I bought into the storage unit. While I was sleeping the kids raided the van and much to their dismay the only thing in it was some outfits I had gotten for them. They sulked the rest of the evening thinking I had not gotten them anything until Brian spilled the beans (SHOCKINGLY!) that everything was hidden at the storage unit.

I did manage to cross quite a few people off my list and found some great deals but seemed to be two steps behind most of the people that were looking for the same things I was. After some minor adjustments I ended up with some good stuff. Now hopefully I can guard the key to the storage unit for the next month so that Brian doesn't get a wild hair and decide to take the kids for a little exploration field trip...

Getting Thankful

As Thanksgiving gets closer I feel the need to reflect on what I am thankful for. I don't think I take these things for granted but this day makes us really notice them. I am thankful for a home to live in which is big enough for all our STUFF (and a cleaning lady who cleans it for me), kids who are healthy that I get to spend more time with than most parents and food on the table. I am thankful for another year with my Dad and mother-in-law and have a real appreciation for how miraculous that really is. I am thankful for great friends who understand me, who listen and who I wouldn't trade in a million years. I am thankful for the ability to work and successful businesses that enable me to work from home. But most of all, today, I am thankful for a husband who has been faithful to me for the last 13 years, who listens and usually judges but in a loving way, who lets me cry on his shoulder, who is a great father to our two kids, who is brutally honest with me even when I don't want to hear it, who is flexible after much nagging, who supports me in whatever crazy idea I have at the moment and who loves me unconditionally and shows me with a passion that I wish I could bottle up and sell (million dollar idea, folks!).

Under the Weather

We had a great visit with Grampa. The kids schedule seemed to engulf the time that he was here and it flew by. I guess he got a taste of our "real life". I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week. It seems we have been going non-stop since Halloween (or maybe before). So it didn't help that Wednesday I started to feel yucky.

The boys had their soccer party and by the time we got home around 7:00 I crawled into bed. I ran a fever Wednesday night and last night and the strange thing is I feel ok duing the day but as the sun goes down so do I. I am very thankful for the DVR as I have been able to catch up on shows and watched a movie last night. I was feeling better yesterday than the day before so I worked on some purses too.

I have a new website that I am building that should be up soon. I will post on here so you can take a look. I think I am finally getting back into the swing of things and excited about some new ideas I have. More to come soon...

Home Again... Home Again...

It is so good to be home. We got back yesterday afternoon and it has been non-stop since then. Brian's dad is here and we are having a nice visit. I FINALLY got all my books put away with the help of my sweet husband and am working on getting the orders out the door. It was a good trip but exhausting.

Yesterday I told Brian all the funny things that happened like some old man freaking out in the book sale line because he thought McSweaty was cutting and the battery dying in the parking lot of Panera Bread because we were too stupid to realize that we were sucking all the juice by using all the cigarette lighters, having the doors open/lights on, radio playing... but he said they weren't that funny. That you had to be there! At the time, we laughed to the point of crying by some of the stuff that happened on this trip. It was nice not to hear the kids fighting, not to walk around picking up after everyone and worrying about the small stuff around here. It was girl time and we spent it well! It is so nice having a friend you can spend several days with and not get tired of :)

What's New...

I am about done with the updates for Fantasy Football... Maybe it is jinxing my luck. I played my Dad last week and he played without ANY quarterbacks. I have Drew Brees and Kurt Warner... two of the best. So I know what you're thinking... I clobbered him. Nope, yeah, you read that right, Nope. I LOST! So needless to say, I was bummed. I am 3-5 and need to be 8-5 to get into the playoffs. So maybe if I don't talk about it again, it will happen. It will be hard.

This week has been completely crazy. I have to say that I am loving the time change. I usually don't but being a night owl it feels like I am up just as late as before when I go to bed at midnight because it gets dark so early. I have been getting up easily and being very productive before noon. Funny... I never quite understood how people were like that. Anyways, with the nice weather we have been sports crazy! Brandon had a practice on Tuesday night that Brian said was really good and then he had a baseball game at 7:30 (that they won!) and Hunter had a soccer game at 8:00 (that they won and he scored another goal!). Yesterday Hunter had his last baseball game (that they won) and he got hit by a pitch. It hit his funny bone at his elbow and you can see the threads of the ball still today. He will have a nice baseball size bruise there tomorrow. He seems quite proud of it and barely flinched even though looking at it today you can tell it must have hurt. He was upset because once he got hit they wouldn't let him pitch. He got his trophy and I will post the pictures soon.

Today we are trying desperately to get caught up with everything else... laundry, errands, work... I have a few purses to make, am making Christmas lists, getting ready for Brian's dad to be here next Thursday (oh my, a week from today) and getting ready to go out of town. I leave Monday morning EARLY and head to Austin. From there I am headed to San Antonio and ending in Waco Wednesday night for a sale Thursday morning. Brian's dad gets here around noon and I should be back around 2:00. I can only imagine what the house will look like though.

So I am headed to the gym and errands... Hoping to keep the momentum of the day going.

Halloween Part 2

So yesterday the boys both had soccer games and luckily we all got to attend both. Brandon's team played at 9:00 and won 5 to 0 even being man-down. It was a good game! Hunter played at 1:30 and they won 7-0 and Hunter scored a goal (even with his Dad there!). Two great games and a great start to the day!

The boys decided to just trick-or-treat around the neighborhood and were VERY TIRED before we even left. We had all gotten up around 7:30. We left around 7, once it got dark, and we were home by 8:45. Brandon decided to be a gangster and Hunter was a vampire again.

Today they both have baseball games at 1:00 so we begin the juggle again...

Friday Night Halloween

The beauty of Halloween being on a weekend is that there were activities on Friday and Saturday. Yesterday I took the kids to Bass Pro Shops and Downtown Grapevine to trick or treat. Here is what they decided to be yesterday...

They decided to be a vampire and a "Random Guy". The "Random Guy" was apparently dead and I should have taken a picture of his mohawk from the side because it was multi-colored. Very cool... More updates later with what they decide for today...

I Beat Kirk!

I don't want to brag... too much... but I did beat my baby brother at Fantasy Football last week. It was very close and down to the last game of the weekend on Monday night but I pulled it out. I was ecstatic, to say the least, because my brother was very "braggy" (I made this word up a long time ago for the boys to know what NOT to be). He tried to get me all riled up and I was calm and collected. I focused on the game and I won.

So this week, I play my Dad. He seems to think that I was dirty about how I played this week but I think it was strategy. He desperately needs a QB and I had a higher waiver pick then him so I took a QB that I don't need. It was a strategic move and I am not ashamed of how I am playing the game (I could be on reality tv with that comment, huh?) I am keeping my fingers crossed. If I win, I am still in it and Brian would move into first place...

I am going to take the kids trick-or-treating tonight. They are so excited and I look at it like I won't have to buy any candy for tomorrow. Seems like a win-win to me.

This Week

I won at Fantasy Football this week. YEAH! I need to continue to win to make it to the playoffs but I'm feeling good about that. I play my brother this weekend and then my Dad the following weekend so I hope to maintain my winning streak (of one week in a row, ha!). Friday is Brian's birthday so we are gonna do something on Sunday for him. Dad's birthday is Sunday so we are going out there on Saturday night for a little party. We will cram two baseball games and two soccer games in before we head out there, hopefully! The boys team's are both undefeated for soccer and they are ecstatic about that. As for baseball, the boys are doing well but the teams haven't been able to pull together quite yet. They are both pretty good hitters and fielders and say they are both going to play in the Spring. It makes our schedule crazy but it sure is fun watching them learn something new. Hunter has been doing pitching every night one-on-one with a coach and is loving it. He says that he was born to pitch and Hunter is doing well learning the mechanics of it.

All in all, staying very busy... and hoping the rain will stop...

I Can See Clearly Now...

The rain is gone... So far. Of course, today it is a muggy mess outside. The kids missed all of their games last weekend and this week so far. We have games tomorrow night so we will see if it can dry up enough by then so they can play.

We made the best out of the rainy weekend by having Date Night on Saturday. This is several weeks in a row that we have gotten to do this which has been GREAT! We went to Fox and Hound and ate and played pool. Brian and I beat Amy and Daniell 9 games to 2 (not that we were counting or competitive the WHOLE time). It was a lot of fun and has been a really long time since we went and did that.

On Sunday we bought the NFL Redzone and got to see the good parts of all of the games. It is really awesome! Of course it makes the day fly by because you are only watching when a team is about to score. I will say that as far as Fantasy Football goes this season, I have been projected to win every week but have only won once so far. If I do not win this week, I am having a fire sale on all my players and will start over from scratch. It is really very sad to lose over and over and I am a bit tired of it now. In order to make it into the playoffs I need to win almost all of my games. I wish I could text my NFL players some encouragement or something so they would perform. We'll see how this week goes...

Brian and I are headed to the bookstore tonight and I am really excited to see if they have my purses out for sale. I am slipping my camera into my purse, just in case.

A State of Hysteria

I just love how when people listen to the weather here (even though they are not usually right), they panic! Today I needed to run into Walmart for a few things and it took forever as people loaded up with bread and milk for Armageddon. Seriously people?? Why are you buying milk? If the power goes out your refrigerator will NOT work and your brand new milk will go bad! I think Brian is wearing off on my because I do not like the crowds one bit.

And with the mention of mass hysteria storms around here Brian starts to panic. I try and take this as a sign that his love for me is so IMMENSE that he could not bear the thought of losing me to Mother Nature. In all reality, I am sure he would not know how to function and is thinking purely of himself. Nonetheless, I have been housebound today for fear of the impending doom that was forecasted to hit us (approx an hour ago). As of right now, not even a drop of rain. I am sure the weatherman will justify this with a stall in the weather pattern or gulf stream this or that. Either way, the kids are playing outside, Brian still has his 360 on (which of course means, he doesn't believe it either because mere raindrops usually prompt him to turn off his girlfriend and let her rest during bad weather). So we sit... and wait...

You CAN sit your studs...

During the middle of the week I had chosen my lineup for this weekends games. I caught a lot of heat for sitting my #1 draft pick. The consensus was "You can't sit your studs!" So I played my "studs" who ended up being far from "studly" as I had anticipated and I LOST! Yes, that makes me 1-3. It totally stinks! So I am going with my gut from here forward and not listening to anyone else's sentiments regarding who I play!!

While watching football all day I have continued grading the kid's work. Here is another funny thing I found:

I would like to be in a nuclear family because there would be no room in my house if it was extended. I would have to be inside more to spend time with them. They would hog all the televisions in my house and my parents would not let me play video games as much. They would play crazy stuff like crossword puzzles for hours. And the thing they would do the most is talk all day long and keep talking and talking and just more talking.

More Funnies...

These are cracking me up...

Brandon : If i had a pet dino, I would feed it cheerios. I would ride him to school. I would train him to eat cats. it would be fun to have a pet dino.

Feb 26, 2009 Dear Dad ,I love you so much more than mom cause she has to many boundaries. Plus you buy me video games all the time. P.S you are better than mom at singing.
Sincerely,Hunter

March 3 , 2009
Dear Dad,
Today I had to do part of a lesson with my snot nosed little brother and he wouldn't stay focused. I told him to pay attention to the lesson and every time he said "I am I am". Then you did questions with him and he sucked.
Sincerely ,Hunter

March 11, 2009
Dear Mother of the dead bunnies,
I am sorry my retardo cat is taking your babies and playing with the severed heads. We do not like finding their bodies all over our home. We will punish our stupid cat, we are sorry for your loss(es).
Sincerely,
Hunter Klinko

These are just a few of the things they have...um...learned.

Playing Catch-up

Today I decided to put my nose to the grindstone and go in and grade the kids work from the last YEAR. We know they are learning so we continue on with the lessons but have not put much work into grading it because we are doing it together with them and know how they are doing. We have moved on to the next grade so I decided to go in and take care of the old stuff... I found this as the rubric for one of Hunter's assignments... I am wondering if he had some help...

February 19, 2008
Dear Dad,
I enjoy learning and receiving my daily lessons so much from you. You far surpass mom's skills in the educational department and I am thankful for your liberal sharing of your vast array of knowledge with me. I only can hope to one day attain your superior level of intellect and I hope one day I will have the opportunity to pass your wisdom down to my children as well.
Your humble son,
Hunter.

Really?? More Rain??

We were so excited that Hunter was going to get to play his first game tonight! And then it started to rain... He has missed all the games so far because of rain and then he got sick. He is totally well now and was so excited for today all week long. Now he is sad... and I hate it when they are sad. I told him with any luck it will stop so that he can play on Saturday. The schedule works out that we have 4 games between 9 and noon. Should be interesting...

I forgot to mention that Brian went to the Cowboys game on Monday night. He said that the Dallas Palace is just that and could barely put into words how impressive it was (which is unusual for him since he LOVES to use big words). A friend invited him who has a suite on the ground level. Brian said that the field is at your knees and you are about 10 ft off from the players running by. When someone went out of bounds you could have reached out and touched them. Also, the suite includes the first 6 rows on top of it which is where they enjoyed most of the games from so they could see over the cheerleaders (I have to admit, I'm a little surprised they would move to NOT look at cheerleaders). Anyways, he said it is more mammoth than words and at the end they went to the bar that the Cowboys players go through to get back to the locker room and said they ran out high-fiving the fans, etc. He said Tony Romo came though grinning from ear to ear after the win. He was so glad he went and so appreciative that his friend would take him (even though he missed Brandon's first baseball game).

Here's to hoping the rain will eventually stop...

Let's Play Ball...

So Brandon had his first baseball game last night and it was a lot of fun. He was so excited he could barely stand it...

He did really well and was up to bat twice and got two base hits. He managed to score once but in the end they lost. I think he was glad to be well and get out there and play.

I haven't mentioned the Fantasy Football weekend because, well, I lost... to Brian. It was sad for me but his undying love for me gushed like a geyser. He was so happy to get a win after starting the season at 0-2 that in that moment he could not have loved me more. If I had played some of the people on my bench I probably would have beat him and my last minute decision to play Derrick Mason against his former team, the Giants instead of Julius Jones (while Hasselback is out). It was a bad call along with the fact that Drew Brees took a vacation day in Buffalo which led to my defeat. I play Jason this week and have notoriously been terrible against him but hope to turn it around this season. That leaves me 1-2 for now but feeling like I am on the up-n-up.

In other news... well, there really is no other news. Hunter has a soccer game and a baseball game at the same time Thursday night so we are hoping it does not rain so he can FINALLY play in his first game this season.

And so it goes...

That once we have a bug around the house it has to pass through everyone before its through. Brandon has now come down with swine flu. I think because we anticipated it coming we were prepared with Tylenol and fluids and all the necessary sick items. He seemed to be a little sluggish yesterday afternoon and when I took his temperature he was running a fever. I started him on his full does of Tylenol and have given it to him every 4 hours since. I have even woken him up. He went to bed around midnight and is still sleeping 13+ hrs later so I am hoping that is his way of shaking it. He is not coughing nearly as much as Hunter so I am waiting for that. All in all, it is not nearly as bad as the news makes it seem. They are doing ok and Hunter seems to be coming around today pretty well. That means we still have a ways to go for the rest of us...

As a side note... Brian and I feel fine... so far

Swine Flu Found Us...

I thought that since the kids didn't go to public school we could hide from this. They have quite a bit of exposure to other kids but in, what I thought to be, a cleaner environment. Namely outdoors. However, I was wrong. Hunter developed a cough Monday night and Tuesday night starting running a high fever. I took him to the dr yesterday who confirmed that swine flu is going around and that looks like what he has. We also found out that another neighborhood kid and a few kids from Hunter's baseball team all have it as well. He is doing ok, drinking lots of fluids and we are managing the fever and cold symptoms with Tylenol Cold and Triaminic. He is really being a trooper about the whole thing and says it is not as bad as the regular flu. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

The First Day of Fall Feels Like Fall

I LOVE THIS WEATHER!! I was telling the kids yesterday that today was the first day of Fall and it was 95 degrees yesterday. They just laughed like I was crazy so when I woke up to cool air, I was ecstatic! I actually don't even mind that Brian is complaining non-stop that he is cold. It's ok with me. I have the windows cracked and the doors open and I feel the summer heat and stale air-conditioned air flowing out of the house. It feels fresh and crisp. I hope we can hang on to it for awhile.

I Lost :(

So I lost at Fantasy Football this week. It was sad and had the guy I was playing not played Chris Johnson, who scored 45 points on his own, I would have won. Anyway, I play Brian next week so that will be exciting. He is 0-2 going into next weekend so we'll see how that works out. I think it is a double-edged sword. I really want to beat him but I don't want to live with him if I do.

We went up to the baseball fields for Brandon's first game tonight and just as we got there the lightning sirens went off. So, no game. Our next chance is Thursday night. We'll see if the rain can dry up by then. This is really kinda crazy!

Could our Season Start Already???

So this week has been plagued with rain which, in turn means, RAINOUTS! We have had a quiet unrushed week of rainouts. We have missed 7 games so far because of the rain and the soccer and baseball seasons should have started last weekend but didn't. And so far, this week doesn't look any different. The rain has picked back up after a short break and looks like it will rain out this weekend too. The kids are so anxious to play they can barely stand it! Hopefully we can get a lot of wind and a little sun and be able to play this weekend.

Other than that not much is going on. I am revelling in my win from last weekend in Fantasy Football and hoping to keep the streak going. The only nice part about the rain is that we can get everything we need to get done on Saturdays and hang out all day on Sundays in our PJs watching football. I have been thinking about football traditions and trying to think of fun things to get the kids involved. Of course, if the weather is nice they are outside and miss all the excitement but I want to have a football Sunday tradition. Before the kids, Brian and I used to eat chili on Sundays while we watched football. It wasn't always cold but it seemed to fit. I have been thinking about doing "Football Finger Foods". We are good at snacking all day and so I think we will try it this weekend. Maybe fruit, veggies and dip, chips and dip, homemade bread, queso, fondue... Just a few ideas. I'll let you know what we decide...

Nothing Better...

I have to say that there is not much better than waking up to football pregame on the tv, staying in my pjs almost all day under a blanket because it is not 100 degrees outside WATCHING FOOTBALL... That is, of course, not taking into consideration winning at Fantasy Football. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE Fantasy Football. I am the only girl in a league of boys and kickin their butts makes me incredibly HAPPY (even if some of them are related to me)! So after suffering through everyone's analysis of my draft and their negative comments I was proud to win this weekend. Brian, who puts hours (that's an understatement) into research and sleepers, etc did not fair so well... SO FAR. He still has a few players left tomorrow. He was upset (to put it mildly) but I think deep down he was a little proud of me. I made my own decisions, chose my bench carefully, and stood by my team. So far I was the highest scorer of the week which would put me in FIRST place. And I actually beat the person with the second highest score so it was a close race. Anyways, you will have to deal with my posts on Sunday or Monday for the rest of football season :)

As for the rest of our weekend, everything that we had planned got rained out. Kind of a bummer but nice and relaxing...

Finally Got Haircuts

So it has been a long time coming. We were going to do it before school started but didn't get to it. I am glad they don't go to public school or they would have looked like a ratty mess for two weeks. So here is what they decided they wanted.

Football Starts TODAY!!

I am so excited that there is a football game on tonight I can barely stand it! Both of the boys have practice and I am PRAYING for rain! I know Brian won't be able to wait for me to get back to watch.

Today I am trying to spend the day cleaning, laundry and packing mail so I can sit and chill later. It feels like there are a lot of loose ends around here that have been overlooked for a few weeks but I feel like it is coming together. I am not one to be ok with my house being a disaster and it feels like I am just getting back to where I can stand it. Nice feeling!

I am planning on taking the kids for haircuts today before the sports season starts this weekend! It will be a crazy weekend!

I Heart Cool Weather!!

So where is it then... I told Brian yesterday that I thought I would be happy living in Alaska! This is just too much now. We just need a break... Anyway, we had a nice long weekend. We did a lot of nothing! On Friday night we had our football draft which was a lot of fun. On Saturday night Brian had people over for poker which was also a lot of fun. Sunday we got some work done and yesterday I worked and Brian watched the boys.

So today feels like there are a bunch of things that I should have done over the last few days that I didn't. It feels slightly overwhelming to look around and need to clean house, do laundry, pack orders and there are errands like crazy. The kids both need haircuts and then tonight Brandon has practice and Hunter has a scrimmage. That should be interesting since it is his first game experience for baseball. This weekend starts the madness with trying to figure out who goes in which direction. I know they are excited though...

The Delivery Has Been Made

A sense of relief, albeit brief, has come over me. I feel like I can breathe again. I am appreciating that I have the best friends in the world that I actually made my deadline. Today at 2:30 I unloaded 6 boxes of beautiful, original, unique purses out of the van and smiled at the possibilities. I am so excited about the future of this business and where the purses will end up. They told me that they are headed to Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Louisville and beyond....

But today I take a breath...

Chugging along...

It has been a crazy week with taxi service for the kids. Then last night at practice the lightning sirens went off so the kids had to get off the field. That ended practice #1 early so we headed to practice #2. My intention was to pick Hunter up at practice #2 and take him to practice #3. Well, when we got there he was nowhere to be found. Apparently the rain cancelled that practice early as well so he was headed back home with my neighbor. It seemed to scramble the entire evening and has now bogged down Sunday as the practices were moved to then.

They are both loving it so it makes it worthwhile. We have gotten the schedules for soccer for both teams but I am waiting for the baseball schedules to post them all at once. We have a few conflicts between the boys soccer games where we will have to split up so I am hoping that the baseball schedule fits in nicely. We'll see...

Got Some Momentum

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... I am more than 75% done with my purse order and I feel like I have that last little bit of adrenaline that is needed to finish the race. I am very excited about loading them into the car and delivering them.

The kids schedule gets crazier by the minute but they seem to be loving every second of it. We have something every night of the week but Friday right now... I may have spoken too soon. It seems like a daunting task to plan a week that is this cluttered with activities but I have to remind myself that this was the benefit to homeschooling. They can be done with their work, have some playtime and do all the activities they want to fill the rest of the time. We are now waiting on schedules to see what kind of conflicts we are looking at there. Hopefully not many.

I am enjoying seeing the boys embrace something new with charisma and energy that is sometimes lost on something they are already good at. They seem challenged and eager to give 100% and I love that. In the future I want them to be successful (in whatever definition that holds for them) and I think this is really teaching life lessons for the future. I love to see them rise above and get past the fact that they are not the best and work their tail off getting there... REFRESHING!

Here we go...

We had a nice trip out of town but it was good to be home... and of course, we brought a lot of work back with us. The kids are sad summer is ending but happy that this week will include lots of back to homeschool parties.

We have had a busy week with work, purses (deadline quickly approaching) and company. Brian had two friends spend the weekend with us and they played xbox and poker and had a good time. They brought a dog with them that Brian said the boys could keep. His name is Harry... because he doesn't have any... He is a very good dog and the boys just love him to death!

The boys found out their baseball teams. Hunter will be on the Cardinals and Brandon will be on the Cubs. They are excited to try something new but it sure is a lot more expensive than soccer. We went and had to buy new cleats for soccer and baseball and pants and gloves, etc...

Ready to start the back to school week...

Hunter's Last Game

Today was Hunter's last basketball game of the season. We were the Home Team. YEAH!! He did good and you could tell he learned a lot this past season.

He hustled!

He was basketball-ready... He hopes to play again in the Winter time competitively.

Getting Ready to head out...

Last night I had a nice dinner date with Dad. It was just the two of us and we met in his "office". It was so nice to talk to him and listen and talk and listen. We had a really nice time and I hope to do it again soon.

Tomorrow we have a busy day so today we are relaxing and trying to get everything ready to go out of town. Hunter has a game at 9:00, Brandon has a game at 1:45 and then after that we are headed to Austin. It will be a nice family trip to the book stores. YEAH! The kids are excited that we get to stay in a hotel and that's all they care about. We should be back sometime on Tuesday.

The purses are coming along and slowly but surely I will get to 200. Hopefully while we are away I can fold the last of them and finish them once we get back. Nothing else to report...

Weekend Update

We had a nice weekend but it went by fast!! Hunter had a game on Sat morning and they won. He did really well and is a joy to watch out there. You can see that he is loving basketball. We also found out what soccer team he was placed on. He will be playing with the Wombats and is ecstatic! He knows quite a few kids on the team and got placed with our neighbor, Jayson, which was really his #1 request. He is really excited.

Brandon played on Sunday and they lost... BAD. It was not a fun game to watch. The ref was terrible. He didn't score for the first time all season. The coach made some bad calls. Like I said, it was bad. This takes them out of the running for the playoffs which, I think, is the first time ever we have experienced that. They will have one more game in 2 weeks (we have a bye next week) and then the indoor season is over. Brian decided to coach his team again for outdoor so it has given him a new viewpoint of what he needs to work on by being a spectator all season. They are looking forward to getting back to the basics.

Other than that not much is new. It feels like a Monday. Hard to get going...

The News

So Half Price Books has decided to carry my bags. They will start with the DFW area but have a meeting with all of the regional inventory managers and several store managers next week and they will be presented and these folks will get to decide to carry them now or see how they do in this area and carry them later. It is really exciting because the guy I am dealing with at HPB seems to love them and is doing great PR for me. We have established a great rapport and it is nice to have someone believe in the product as much as I do.

Check out what I have done so far...

http://mag2bag.wordpress.com/

So the meeting is the end of next week and he has 20 misc. purses to show them of all types. For the DFW area they have ordered 200! Sooooo... this is all I have been doing. I am keeping up with my other jobs but barely. I have decided to try and get all the grunt work out of the way and make the pieces so that all that is left is the weaving and then have a little party and let (force) all my friends to help me! It has been exciting and I am sure it will all be worth it when I get paid but for now it feels like a beating...

Just a little update

We have been crazy busy around here. I am trying to fill the order for 200 purses and working like crazy on that so not much time to blog. My sweet friend Amy came over almost every night this past week to help me make some progress... I LOVE HER for that! I hope I can repay her in the future. Also, my wonderful husband spent the whole day yesterday folding papers. Its a boring job but we made some headway and I LOVE HIM for that too!

Hunter's team won their game today and he did great. He is really starting to understand basketball which is exciting. Plus he loves it!

Tomorrow Brandon has his game at 4:00 and if they win it will secure their playoff spot. EXCITING!

That's about it. The kids are getting tired of hanging around the house watching me make purses so Brian may take them to Main Event this evening. They need to just get out and it is too hot to go outside! Well, back to work...

Going into the weekend

I can't believe the last time I blogged was last weekend. This week flew by! We went to Six Flags on Tuesday again and it was great. The kids rode everything at least 3 times and there were NO LINES at all. They are loving the season passes they got for Christmas. We are hoping to go back next week. It is a lot of fun when there is no line.

We went to the book store tonight and are going to try and do a rush of stores this weekend. Then next week its to the grindstone with purse making. Any volunteers? I am hoping to crank them out as HPB wants about 200. They will roll them out in the DFW area and then hope to take it nationwide. I am so excited about this opportunity. I can't wait to see the bags in a REAL STORE!

The boys both have early games this weekend which is nice because we have the whole day to do whatever but stinks because we have to get up really early. Brandon plays at 7:45 on Sunday so we will be leaving the house before 7. OUCH!

Not much else is new...

The Weekend Wrap-up

We had a busy weekend that FLEW by! On Saturday Hunter had a game in the morning and they lost for the first time 16-12. It was close and he played the whole game. He got much better in the second half too so at least he is learning. We went to Geneva's birthday party at the waterpark and I had made her a Spongebob purse that was sooo cute! The boys had a good time there and I think it was tooo hot for most people to even go to the waterpark so it was not very crowded. Then we came home showered, changed and went down the street for another party. I let the kids stay and came home to play 1 vs. 100 with Brian.

Today, Brandon had a game this morning and they won 3-1. We FINALLY have all of our baseball kids back to soccer and it was absolutely FABULOUS to have them all back together again. They looked like a totally different team and it was actually a lot of fun to watch. Of course we left there with extras so the boys played all afternoon (indoors, of course).

It seemed to fly by as I am sure this week will too. We are hoping to get to the CAC waterpark, Six Flags (again but this time for the parade) and make some new purses...

Our Anniversary

Twelve years ago today I was standing in a little chapel in the middle of Oklahoma City with a pawn shop ring in my pocket saying I would be with Brian for the rest of my life. The night before he asked me to marry him and I said yes. We looked through the phone book for chapels that needed no notice and had a minister on staff. We had decided to get married the next day and we would stop at nothing to make it happen. We went to the courthouse and got our license, went to the pawn shop and got some rings, went to the clinic and got checked for syphilis (which was apparently the law in order to get married) and went to the chapel to say "I do". It is still one of the greatest days of my life and I can remember every detail like it was yesterday.

There have been times I didn't think we would make it til now but reflecting back today there is no one I would have rather taken this journey with. Neither one of us are perfect but we are perfect for each other. In 12 years we have come to understand what the other needs and expects and we understand that it takes work to fulfill those needs.

I love him more now than I did 12 years ago and I look forward to what the next 12 years will hold. With any luck the kids will have moved out and we will be living in some tropical paradise where it is beautiful all year round! Just dreaming...

Happy 4th!

We don't have big plans. We are going to the corner to watch the fireworks once it gets dark and let the kids sell their glowsticks.

I have had a headache for 8 days now and it is really wearing on me and the rest of the family. I have not been able to get my work done and am struggling to keep the house cleaned and chores done. I am not a pill-popper but it has been bad enough that I have actually taken some medicine. It is not a migraine (which I do get occasionally) but begins at the base of my skull. I am going to take some allergy medicine tomorrow and see if that does anything. Needless to say, I am not much fun right now!

What happened to the cooler weather??

It was sad to sit outside this afternoon after have a nice day or two. It sure would be nice to be able to be outside in the summer and not wanna die! We had a so-so weekend with the kids sports. Hunter's team won 21-18 and Brandon's team lost a lot to 1 (which he scored). We are hoping for better luck next weekend. Hunter is off for the week because of the holiday so we only have one game on Sun.

For the 4th we usually go up to the corner to watch the fireworks. Last year we did that with friends and I bought the kids glowsticks. Well, they decided that they would sell them to the other people watching the fireworks (gotta love their entreprenurial spirit!). So this year they have asked for more so they can make more money so we will be heading to the Dollar Store to try and pick up bunches of them.

The Purses Have Moved...

The purses have moved to a new location online. In order to move forward with the potential sale of them I have moved them to a less distracting website... It is:

http://mag2bag.wordpress.com/

In other news, I have contacted several vendors regarding the possibility of them carrying the purses for sale. Let's just say it is going pretty well and I am super-excited! And super-nervous at the same time. I guess the worst they can say is no and I will feel like a total failure and cry my eyes out at the thought of not being able to start a successful business on my own with a really cute idea that is executed so perfectly. On the other hand, I believe it is just as scary that they will like my really cute idea that is executed so perfectly and want to order a thousand and have them delivered in the next 10 days. Either way is scary so I have resolved to roll with the punches and take whatever they throw at me.

Brandon's Indoor Soccer Schedule

Here is Brandon's Soccer Schedule at Blue Sky in The Colony. The address is 7801 Main Street, The Colony, Texas 75056.

06/21/09 01:00 PM FC Force vs. Liverpool 01
06/28/09 03:15 PM Liverpool 01 vs. TX Lassos
07/05/09 10:45 AM Liverpool 01 vs. Aces 01 Black
07/12/09 10:45 AM Pumas vs. Liverpool 01
07/19/09 07:45 AM Liverpool 01 vs. Lions
07/26/09 04:00 PM Liverpool 01 vs. Dallas Texans Academy 00B White
08/02/09 01:00 PM Gazelles vs. Liverpool 01
08/15/09 01:45 PM Liverpool 01 vs. FC Force


They lost their first game 8-6 but it was a great game and Brandon had two goals. We were missing some key players so hopefully moving forward we will rack up some wins!

Hunter's Basketball Schedule

So we finally got Hunter's schedule. He will play at CMS-North - Gym 2 (120 Natches Trace, Coppell 75019).

6/20 9:00 AM
6/27 10:00 AM
7/4 NO GAMES - Holiday
7/11 11:00 AM
7/18 10:00 AM
7/25 9:00 AM
8/1 9:00 AM
8/8 11:00 AM
8/15 9:00 AM

Purses Volume 2

I am going blog-crazy today... It is really hard for me to stop making purses and photo them all and put them up because I keep thinking, well, the next one is going to be really cute so I will do them all when it is done... Well, it never ends. I have the papers ready for 8 or 9 more which include some really cute ones but I decided to post what I have so far. If you look at Volume 1 you can see the evolution of the purses as I go along. Now several have bottoms, magnet or snap closures, buttons for character, etc. I am really pleased with the progress and direction they are going. So enjoy... and I love feedback so let me know what you think...

Book 2

So once Kim's mother-in-law saw the book she wanted one for her daughter who turned 50 yesterday. I only had a few days to pull it together but I was really happy with how it turned out. I wrote her a fairytale of looking back on her life and seeing accomplishments instead of years and successes in a job well done instead of failures. They said she really liked it. Here is her book...

She made it this far but the number’s a shock,
For 50 is old, let’s turn back the clock,
But if she did, she knew that she’d lose,
Her memories and successes, it’s so hard to choose.

So this is her story, but it’s not the end,
It’s a bit of real life and a bit of pretend,
But reminds her of all of the good things she’s done,
And how much she’s loved by her family, a ton!

It all started when she was a girl,
Her sweet baby brother became her whole world,
She was his little mama, good practice for life,
For by 19, she was a mother and wife.

Christopher was her joy and a sight to behold,
She loved this sweet angel, more precious than gold,
Her life changed forever on this special day,
And no one could ever take that away.

She loved him so dearly but he started to grow,
From baby to boy, the progress was slow,
She missed her baby and he needed a friend,
Someone to play with and pick on to no end.

So Amanda came along and was just what they needed,
A cute little girl, her hopes she exceeded.
For girls are different than boys all around,
But the love is the same, truly profound.

She thought for awhile she was done with just two,
But a few years later she knew that wasn’t true.
Jarrett arrived in the usual way,
Another amazing and wonderful day.

With each child her heart seemed to grow,
She couldn’t believe it but it really was so,
For she loved each one with all that she had,
But with two boys and one girl she started to feel bad.

The numbers weren’t even, it didn’t seem fair,
Another girl she needed so she sent up a prayer,
And got what she asked for, sent straight from above,
And Maegan filled her heart with even more love.

This time she thought for sure she was done,
With four kids in all, she could stand no more fun,
Her dreams had come true with two girls and two boys,
And the house was so full it could hold no more toys.

She raised the kids right, with lots of love,
She cherished them all as gifts from above,
But as kids do, they started to leave,
To their mama they could no longer cleave.

But the plus side to this is the family grew,
With grandkids and love like she never knew,
The kids were successful, she’d done something right,
They’d become shining stars whose light shone so bright.

So many memorable days of pure bliss,
So many things that she surely will miss,
But what she feels in her heart is sheer pride,
And love for these kids that can’t be denied.

These memories are worth every wrinkle and year,
This family is something she’ll always hold dear,
They will always have a place in her heart,
And that she has know from the very start.

She’s turning 50 but has accomplished so much,
She’s survived four kids and hasn’t lost touch,
Her heart grew bigger as each kid came along,
And just might explode from these grandkids before long.

Some would say it’s “Over the Hill”,
But “Aged to Perfection” fits the bill,
For its easier to go down the other side,
So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

New Books

So my friend Kim asked me to make an altered book for her mother-in-law because they had such a cute story which became a fairytale very easily. It was a lot of fun and even better than that, I got to be there when she gave it to her and she just cried. It was so sweet and such a great reward for the work I put into it. Here is her book.

They both thought it was just a blind date.
They never thought they'd find their mate.
But they got lucky, as not many do.
And 50 years later it’s still just them two.

So this is their story, but it's not the end.
They're still together and still great friends.
But along the way the family has grown,
And become something great that none could have known.

It didn’t take long for Charlie to see,
That he needed to get down on one knee.
He asked Dorothy to be his bride.
She said yes and oh how she cried.

They married in the year 1957.
They imagined their life, a small slice of heaven.
But just the two of them it would not be
By the end of the year, they were already three.

Jerry came along and brought them much joy,
A happy addition, their sweet baby boy.
The quiet was gone from their happy life.
They were no longer just husband and wife.

For now a family, he made them become,
And brothers and sisters, he sure needed some.
So in 1959 along Cheryl came,
And to their hearts she laid her claim.

They couldn’t stop, they were on a roll.
These two they loved, it made them feel whole.
So in 1961 they made their clan five,
Another little girl, they felt so alive.

Susan was a treasure, a true gift from God.
But the family was not complete, it felt a bit odd.
With two girls so far and only one boy,
Another boy and they could stand no more joy.

So God heard their cries and answered their prayer.
In 1964 David was born with just a blank stare.
For he entered this family a cute baby boy,
But the rest of these kids thought he was just a toy.

But with the addition of the fourth cute baby,
They thought they were done but someday maybe,
The family would grow once the kids moved away,
With lots of grandkids and that’d be okay.

The kids decided to leave one-by-one.
It was sad at first but they knew this day’d come.
They’d leave and they’d marry and have kids of their own.
The nest was now empty, the kids had all flown.

But everything changed in 1977,
When Christopher fell straight from heaven.
Right on his heels came Amanda, so sweet.
These two little ones to this family a treat.

After Jarrett was born in 1986,
The years flew by quickly as more entered the mix.
Came Matthew and Daniel and Kyle so fast,
Then Maegan and Trey but they were not last.

Cuz Alexandra and Lindsey announced their arrival,
And family meals became a test of survival.
They got lucky again when marriage brought more,
Kyle and Craig Mayfield for them to adore.

The grandkids came in so fast one-by-one.
And each one brought just a little more fun.
The grandkids had kids which made these two greater,
They’ll probably lose count, sooner or later.

As this family tree continues to grow,
The branches extend with love, to and fro.
It started with a cone of yummy ice-cream.
And became more than they could have dreamed.

Still together after all this time,
Their life has become truly sublime.
The family is bigger but better, most say.
The love is much stronger and grows day-by-day.

A rock you can lean on when life gets you down,
This incredible family is always around.
There’s ups and there’s downs, but they’ll never break.
All together forever, a family they make.

Still Going...

Well, the storms have only taken small breaks but continue to pound us. Hunter woke up with the one at 6:00 AM and didn't get back to sleep. I tossed and turned through the thunder. Brian said that it came through worse than the first one. Our neighbors behind us lost their fence and another one had a huge tree fall into their fence. It is still going and the thunder and lightning is ferocious. The rain is just pounding us like crazy. There was another tornado that hit last night about 1.5 miles from our house. It took out a Long John Silver's and a gas station. In between the intense rain showers we took some pictures of the damage.

We survived!

The storm came through last night about 7:00 full force. We had the tornado sirens from several cities going off (including ours) and Brian said it was the worst one we had seen in awhile. Luckily our fantastic fence guy did a great job and our fence is still standing which is a little unbelievable with the 80 mph winds. There was a tornado that touched down in Flower Mound just a few miles from here. There is quite a bit of damage through the neighborhood with trees broken at the base, in the middle and branches everywhere. We lost some shingles from the roof so will have to get up there and repair those. All in all, I think we were very lucky!

Purses Volume 1

It's been awhile...

So we were talking today about my lack of blogging and I started to feel some guilt... I mean, I am home all day doing basically nothing, right?? OK, not so much. Its been a week or two and I have been making purses like crazy. The kids have wrapped up school. I've been book-shopping, helping Hunter learn basketball, Brandon has soccer, 27 loads of laundry, moved my office to the addition, textured the walls, painted, moved all my stuff in, moved Brandon into my old office upstairs, begged and pleaded for him to let me paint it in the near future, made more purses, won at Bingo, cleaned up after my incredibly messy (and not-realizing it) family, had many a discussion with Hunter about wanting to go back to school to find a girlfriend and I am sure a lot more. This stay-at-home/work-at-home mom stuff is HARD!

So this morning I took the boys to a storage unit auction. There was a guitar amp in the front and a Fender bag (that may or may not have had a guitar in it). They begged me to bid but I just didn't know what I would do with the multiple sets of mattresses and junk that was behind the stuff that they wanted. So I didn't bid and it sold for $25. They were so mad that they acted out for the rest of the day (or it is at least a good excuse for their bad behavior all day). Then I went to a book sale this evening which was so-so. I'm hoping to get all our books put away tomorrow and clean again and pray for nice weather so the kids go outside and don't come in until its dark. This is the norm but the beauty of tomorrow is the public school kids get out early and summer starts!! Woohoo!!

It's a Tuesday that feels like a Monday...

I don't know why but today feels sluggish! Brandon woke me up this morning asking to use one of his coupons from Easter to have McDonalds breakfast. I crawled into the car in my PJs with my co-pilot and headed over there (thank goodness it is close!) I got them breakfast, dropped him off at home and headed to SB for coffee. It was nice to be up and at it early though but could have some bearing on why it feels like a Monday. The other thing is I just don't have my week planned out like I usually do.

Anyway, I am hoping to get some STUFF done today and get the week laid out so I know which end is up...

Mom's book

Make sure your volume is down because Hunter was playing a game in the background.
I hope that the video does it justice...

Basketball gets a turn...

So we have been strictly soccer people all along and now the kids have decided to experiment with some variety in their sports. I am glad we are getting it out of the way now and that they have decided to do it for summer since it is less busy with no school. I signed Hunter up to play basketball and then today took him to Academy to get a portable goal. He was out there until it got dark practicing and seems to really like it. He is not half bad either. I showed him a few pointers on shooting and he was making several in a row. We started out with the basket at 8 feet but moved it up to 10 after an hour or so. He says he doesn't need the handicap... :)

I am excited for this new adventure...

This shot went in, BTW!

MY NEW HAT!!

My dear sweet mother brought me over an I love you present today! She knows me well and I was admiring her hat like this the other day... SO here it is... She bought me this super cute hat!

My camera is working again!!

It's about time! Believe it or not, Brandon fixed it for me. Not sure what he did but its working again. He said, "You can just call me Mr. Fix-it!" Such a funny little guy. So I still have to put the video up for the book but here is what I was working on yesterday.

It is a purse! I made it from a magazine and I just have to add handles. I also bought some laminate because I think I need to cover it in order to make it more durable and waterproof. It is very different and I liked how it turned out. I want to just put plain black handles on it.

That is all for now... Will try and get the video up shortly!

Mom's Mother's Day Present!!

Yeah... so I gave her the present today which was an altered book that I made. It was a fairy tale that I wrote about our family and then I customized a hardback book and sewed my pages into it. It was a lot of fun to do and I really enjoyed writing the story! She loved it! Brian prepared me the whole way out there so that if she wasn't ecstatic I wouldn't cry all the way home. It was A LOT of work but I was really proud of it once it was finished. So here is the fairy tale below and then I will post a video so you can see as I flip through each page.

It's a Love Story

There once was a boy who liked a girl,
And lucky for him she'd give up her world,
To be his wife to have and to hold,
And stay together forever until they were old.

So one day Keith Wayne got down on one knee,
And asked Kay Moore if his bride she would be.
They married in the year 1969,
And hung out together and had a good time.

Til they decided a family they really should be,
So in 1976 came a daughter, Kristi Lee.
A glorious addition to their happy life,
But boy did she bring to them plenty of strife.

A beautiful smile and those big blue eyes,
A handful of trouble it did not disguise.
They wanted to add to this bundle of joy,
Oh how they adored her but longed for a boy.

So guessing the second time was a charm,
In 1979 they bet the farm,
That a boy they would get but to their dismay,
Keri Elizabeth was born just after Christmas Day.

She was a treasure and a true gift from God.
So unlike her sister it was really quite odd.
So quiet and sweet and happy alone,
She could play with her toys all on her own.

With two girls so far they started to think,
How tired they were of all of the pink.
Prayers sent to heaven were answered the day,
In 1985, Kirk Wayne came their way.

His arrival had made their family complete,
But with three kids to chase they surely were beat.
They longed for the day they'd grow up and leave,
And be out in the world and succeed and achieve.

It didn't take long for the oldest to go,
And that she could do it, she surely would show.
She fell madly in love and started a life,
With Brian Christopher who took her to be his wife.
They thought they'd be happy just them two alone,
But God had a different plan for their home.

He gave them a surprise with a sweet baby boy,
And Hunter Wayne brought nothing but joy.
So sweet in his nature they wanted ten more,
All just like him for them to adore.

He walked and he talked and it happened so quick.
No longer a baby with red hair so thick.
They couldn’t imagine a love such as this,
How much he had filled up their life with pure bliss.

He grew up so quickly and needed a friend,
So Brandon Riley came along but that was the end.
He was a handful and boy, did he cry,
So dreams of a big family, they kissed them bye-bye.

He’d kicked in her tummy and nothing had changed.
The way that he tortured was truly deranged.
But it turned out to be just merely a stage,
An absolute sweetheart he became with more age.

Not only brothers but best friends they are.
Not one brighter or better but both shining stars.
So smart and handsome and pleasant and sweet,
To this family they are truly a treat.
There's lots of soccer and weekends are fun,
The only thing missing were cousins, a ton.

The middle child decided to leave.
To her parents she could no longer cleave.
She went to college and got really smart,
And along came Brian Wesley who stole her heart.

A perfect couple and love at first sight,
So much alike they never did fight.
They got married and decided to grow.
They lived near her parents, merely a stone's throw.

Quilting and coffee is their specialty,
And along came Catherine Ruth to bounce on their knee.
Precocious and cute and she'll love to read.
Bigger and stronger she grows like a weed.

Her face tells a story that’s easy to see.
Expressions of joy, sadness and glee.
Only time will tell if she'll be the one,
Or many will follow and bring lots of fun.

The golden boy sure did hang on for dear life
But did, in fact, find him a beautiful wife.
Michele Elizabeth was his match from the start,
And slowly but surely she won his heart.
As many wives do, she made him a man.
By giving him a daughter, his biggest fan.

This delightful angel so charming and pure,
They knew they would keep her forever, for sure.
She's sweet and she's loving Miss Addyson Lee,
And baby plus mommy plus daddy makes three.

This story's not over, there could be much more.
Another surprise could take them to four.
They're young and they're still just finding their way,
But together they'll do it, take it day-by-day.

It's not always a fairytale, this we all know.
But they always know they are never alone.
For when life throws a curve ball, as it often does.
There's someone to fetch it who's covered in fuzz.

Of course, the kids were replaced by a dog,
To keep them from being a bump on a log.
He keeps them busy with long walks each day.
The nest feels less empty in some simple way.

The family is bigger but better, most say.
The love is much stronger and grows day-by-day.
A rock you can lean on when life gets you down.
This incredible family is always around.
There's ups and there's downs but they'll never break,
All together forever, a family they make.

It's Coming Along...

The project is coming along and I know that the people who know what it is really want to see the progress and finished project. If you look at my last post you will see that my mom does read my blog so the post will go up on Tuesday with the finished product. It is coming along great and has been a lot of fun to do. I think she will really like it.

Brandon is playing in a soccer tournament this weekend as a guest so that should be interesting. He is playing up an age group in a competitive division so hopefully he goes out there and shines. The first game is tomorrow at 8:30 so that is a bit of a challenge. They will play 3 games tomorrow and then on Sunday if they make the playoffs. I am hoping for cooler weather!!

Still trying to get caught up from company so gotta get to laundry and packing mail...

A Nice Visit

We had a really nice visit with Brian's dad and gramma. They left yesterday around noon so we took the rest of the day to catch up with work and run errands, etc. I started working on my Mother's Day gift for my mom last night and was up til 4. I got on a roll and couldn't stop. It has been a lot of fun and I hope she likes it but I can't give any more hints in case she reads this. I will post it on Sunday. Wait for it...

Other than that not much is new. The boys had some friends sleepover last night since they have to go back to school tomorrow. We have enjoyed this nice taste of summer. They run out the door with their bikes around 9:30 in the morning and don't come back in until 9:30 at night. It seems like they pop in occasionally though because the contents of the pantry are dwindling.

Gotta get some work done today so more to come later...

He's Really 8!

He was so excited and so happy that everyone called to wish him a Happy Birthday. The cookie cake was a success and with some help from the neighborhood kids was gone in about 5 minutes. It was really good. He took his birthday money and went out and bought a new bike. Now he is upset that no one will come out with him at the crack of dawn to ride it.

We are having a nice visit with Brian's family even with the Swine Flu hysteria! The soccer games were cancelled today because of the wet conditions so it leaves us a free day to do whatever.

Little One's Birthday Eve

So close and yet still 24 hrs away! Little One is so excited about tomorrow he can barely stand it. After yesterday's transformational haircut I think he looks 8 now. Brian's dad and gramma come into town tonight so we are doing last minute things around the house to get ready. The haircuts took a big chunk of time yesterday and I will try and post the before and after pictures here soon. Last night I took the boys to Baskin Robbins for 31 cent scoops and we saw some friends there too. It was a nice treat especially since all I had was $2 in my purse!

The flight comes in this evening around 8 so we have to make beds and do some more laundry... Looking forward to a nice visit!

The Countdown

So Little One has started the countdown and couldn't be more excited. Of course, we gave him his present a few days ago which I bought while out of town. He still can't seem to contain himself. Yesterday he wrote a countdown in ink on his arm and each day is crossing off a number. I guess he needs the constant reminder. He says he is so excited because he will finally be a "tween". Of course his wish list for his birthday does not consist of anything that is even remotely affordable but what would you expect. He's the Little One and SPOILED ROTTEN!

So 3 days and counting...

Good to be Home!

We had a nice trip and can't complain about much of anything! We laughed A LOT! The trip up there took us up Hwy 69 which was back country and by the time we got to a major highway we could not even see because of all the DEAD BUGS on the windshield. These bugs were so big you could see them coming at you and then SPLAT! We had to stop to clean the bug guts off the window which was pretty gross.

We slept in the car on Wed night in a very well-lit parking garage with people talking all night. We must have been really tired because we both fell asleep almost instantly. Around 5:20am we got up and got in line at spot #23. We hung out around there most of the day and the sale opened at 4:00pm. We did pretty well and after grabbing a bite to eat we headed to KC. We spent the next day at the book stores and stayed in a hotel that night and made our way home yesterday.

The second I stepped in the house it was business as usual. Everyone was hungry and things needed to be done. I made my bed as soon as I got home and then started collecting laundry. Brian did a good job of making sure the house was not trashed when I got home so I was able to work last night. Today will consist of packing up the things that sold and putting everything else away.

It was a long trip and those turnpikes are brutal. SOOOO BORING!! But it was a fun trip and hopefully profitable.

Brian's dad and Gramma come on Thursday so we will get ready for that this week and Brandon's birthday is Friday, not that he will let us forget!

I Love You Dad!

Feels like I haven't told you in awhile and wanted you to know... kris :)

Gotta Admit... A Little Nervous!

So I leave to go out of town in the morning and I have to admit I am a little nervous. Not about driving cross country or staying in hotels or sleeping in the car but about my boys... All 3 of them! I spent a small fortune stocking the house for them while I am gone and have not bothered to clean or pick up all day since I know it will look worse once I get back. I feel sorry for Lucy, my cleaning lady, next week!

Anyways, just wanted everyone to keep us in your prayers as I travel and more importantly, the boys stay home.

Just Not Fair!!

Today I went and got my haicut after almost a year and wouldn't you know it would be rainy!! Everyone knows it will never look as good as when the stylist does it. And my stylist is FANTASTIC!! So I had the boys take a picture. Now, I have decided we need to add a photography class to our homeschool because they were terrible. Either that or I am not as cute as I think I am! Either way here is the best photo we could get after many, MANY tries!

Another Week Begins...

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. We had a nice day. The boys hunted for eggs inside because of the weather and I had put coupons inside instead of candy. Today they are using the "No School" coupon and loving it! We went to Golden Corral with Brian's family and had a filling lunch. It was nice to see them and Brian's mom looks great! We finished our taxes last night which is a huge weight off our shoulders as well. A pretty productive day. I also got most of the floor laid in the boys bathroom. It is a beautiful hickory wood.

This week starts with high hopes. I want to be able to say the bathroom is completely finished by the end of the week and move on to the front yard. It looks like the weather will cooperate. Tonight we have soccer practice, tomorrow a game and Wed, Thurs and Fri we're going to try and get to a bookstore so it is filling up quickly.

I'm off to pack up orders so I can get back to the fun stuff!!

Fun Day!

So today I did the co-op shop for Amy and Carol since they both had other things they had to do. I asked Keri to go with me and we had a great time. Cate was so cute with her face covered with all the samples they give away down there. She seemed to have a blast. After being down there and spending time with Keri we have decided to plant a garden this season. We are going to use the little space that is left in the backyard and see what we can grow. It sounds like a good school experiment to me if nothing else.

I have the bathroom painted and the baseboards done and just need to install the new floor. I am hoping to get that done tomorrow. It is just a bathroom so it shouldn't take me too long. I started pulling weeds in my front flower beds today to plant the flowers. That may have to wait til next week since there are still a lot of weeds to go. The entire neighborhood and then some were over today and hunted through the neighborhood for snakes and geckos and whatever they could get their slimy little kid hands on. They found 6 snakes (in a matter of minutes I might add) and 1 gecko that they could actually catch. The carried them and played with them and grossed me out all day. Amy's kids took theirs with them when they left and the others left them on the back porch. After dinner they were gone so now I am totally freaked out to walk outside. I'm thinking I will give them a few days to find a new hiding spot before I go back to pulling weeds.

We have games in the morning so I am off to tuck in the kiddos...

Movin Right Along

Yesterday I got the bathroom textured and thought I would get it painted too but the joint compound was not dry when we got home from practice. The boys actually agreed on a color which is shocking so the bathroom will be "Green Twig". I am hoping to get that done today but am not feeling 100%. I have a very sore throat so I think I am going to skip the gym and just work around here today. I would really like to make more progress since it feels nice to cross something off the list everyday.

This Week's Projects

So I have to say I have been doing pretty well with getting my honey-do list done around here. Notice I say my because there is no doubt who is going to do it. This week I am doing the boys bathroom and the front yard. It is a little overwhelming as both projects are kind of large but I'm gonna try my hardest. I have their bathroom emptied and am headed in there today to texture the walls. They have grown out of the cute little fish and sea creatures so we have opted for more neutral colors and patterns (bye-bye orange walls!)

I am hoping for a nice day this week to plant the flowers in the front yard too. Our house looks so nice now that it is freshly painted and I really want to get the flowers out to make it look like a home. Some 70s would be nice...

I will post pictures when I am done and hope to be able to move on to new projects next week!!

Making Progress...

So yesterday I got to scratch two things off my to-do list. I finally finished my niece's present. It was an ABC book that the kids and I put together and it turned out super-cute! I am going to make the boys one too as I think it is something they will look back on when they are older and laugh. They were so funny with some of the photos they took for the different letters. It turned out just like I had hoped and they put a lot of time and thought into it which made me proud. I hope Cate likes it!

I also got Brandon's fan hung. He was a HUGE help and really enjoyed the progress of taking down the old fan and putting the new awesome fan up. It looks exactly like something he would like. The picture doesn't really do justice to its coolness... It is covered in graffiti and the blades look like skateboards. Today is catch up day and I have to get all the work done that I have set aside to do projects. Hopefully it will fly by so I can do some fun stuff too.

Both the boys have games tonight and the wind is blowing at about 50 mph. That should be fun!

It's Monday!!

So we are back to schoolwork and work and hitting the gym. Getting out of our routine feels like it took us another two weeks to get back into it. I am splint free and my finger seems to be starting to work again. It is surprisingly still painful after all this time. We lost both games this weekend which was disappointing and on top of that we had to sit outside in the 30 degree weather to watch the teams lose. That sucks!

This week we have games on Thursday night and Saturday. I am hoping for some SPRING weather!! Brian's dad and gramma are coming at the end of April so we have a wish list of things to do before they get here. Hopefully I can get started on that this week and get a head start so I am not trying to do it all the week before they come.

I'm off to get some work done...