First day of summer

June 1st is here!!  Yippee, it's the first day of summer.  I'm glad after a long school year that my babies are finally mine again {even though today was rough}!!

I am loving the Keep Calm iPhone app, and made this yesterday while sitting in the carpool line for the last time of Sydney's second grade year.

Today started off lazy, we all slept in!  It was one of the best nights of sleep I have had all week.  I loved it!!  On Instagram, I am taking part of the photo-a-day challenge - I will get through this month without missing a day!  :0  Today's day was morning, so I snapped a picture of my clock, the time that I woke up!  Oh, did it feel good to sleep this late!

Since Tim's shoulder surgery two weeks ago today, the house has been a WRECK!!  Toys, laundry, stuff, everywhere!!  I'm putting all that off until next week since we have a busy weekend ahead!  It's so hard for me though, I feel so much more productive when things are organized and in their places!  First up, we had to make our first batch of summer lemonade, what's summer without it?!

Brody and Sydney wanted to go outside and swim in the little plastic pool, so we did that for awhile and enjoyed the awesomely amazing weather for the first of June.  Blue skies ruled today with the nicest breeze.  After they went in to watch a movie, I enjoyed a lil' quiet mommy time listening to the birds chirp, the planes flying overhead, the sound of kids playing outside, all without the constant hum of all the air conditioners running.  It was just the bit of calm I needed before heading back inside to the constant, "mom, mom, mom", oh and the fighting and crying!   

Unfortunately, we received some bad news today.    Tim's dad has not been feeling well the last few weeks, and went into have some tests run.  The doctor's office called and wanted him to go in for the test results.  We knew immediately that didn't sound good.  There is a 95% chance he has lung cancer.  He will have to have a biopsy on Monday to see for sure.  Poor Tim, this is too soon.  We just lost his mom to cancer 7 months ago.  We are not ready to go through this all over again!  All we can do is pray!  The doctor said it looks like they caught it early.  But, regardless, cancer.sucks.period!

Today is Stephanie's birthday.  Tim's dad told us to go to her birthday dinner, or else, we would have spent the evening with him, since he was upset about today's news.  We ate at Carrabba's, all 17 of us!  We missed Blake.  Now that he's a big 7th grader, his priority is friends and going to the movies!

This is a picture of Steph and me taken in the back of the good ole' station wagon, circa 1970 something!  It's my favorite childhood picture of us!  Sisters and best friends...I'm so blessed to have such a caring, loving, creative, talented, and funny sister!  Happy birthday Steph!  I love you!

Happy 40-months old!

When all my babies reached two-years old, I sadly no longer referred to them as a certain number of months old.  Instead it's was just two years old and not twenty-four months.  Just this week, Sydney wanted to know how many months old and how many days old she was and she's almost eight.  She was also asking about Brody and as it turns out he's exactly 3 years and 4 months old today (40 months) old, hehe!!  Well, since this is a big year of 40 for both Tim and I, I couldn't help but do a 40 month post for Brody!

40 months ago, we welcomed a fifth member to our family, our sweet little Brody!  As much as I LOVE being a mom, adding a new baby left me feeling like a zombie!  I have cried in my closet more times than I can count, I have been overwhelmed beyond measure trying to juggle it all...being a wife, mommy, maid, chef, poopy diaper changer, bottle feeder, throw up cleaner upper, homework helper, sports mom, car pool queen, laundress, and having a home business to top it off! 

I have given up on trying to be perfect, which is hard for this perfectionist!  There are days when there are dishes in the sink {shudder}, days and piles of laundry with no end in sight, dinner menus that don't always get followed, clothes on the floor that don't get picked up, beds that go unmade, toys that might not get picked up for days, and the list goes on and on.  Oh, and did I mention, these are the days where people just happen to come by my house, when our abode is at its WORST!  Of course, it's never on a day where my house is all clean and sparkly!

40 months - I feel like it's FINALLY a turning point from the last few years of all things baby and sheer nuttiness!  Brody is finally able to find his own quiet time, playing or watching a movie.  He's his own little person!  Brody has supplied us with loads of laughs and we love how he has rounded out and completed our family!   I just can't imagine that we had plans to stop at two.  It's so fun to watch how he acts with Blake and Sydney, he adores his bubby and sissy!  I feel sooo blessed that I have been given the gift to stay home with my little man and watch all his milestones since I was a working momma with the first two. 

At LAST, I am beginning to get little portions of MY life back now and it feels good to finally be able to breathe again!   A happy momma=a happy family!!

Happy 40 months old my sweet lil' monkey man!  I wouldn't trade the last three years of craziness for anything!!

Another ER visit...

Since it's been forever since I have regularly blogged, I'm going to play catch-up for the month of February.  Up until last month, I had only visited the ER twice in my career as a mom for the last {almost 12 years}.  I think that's a pretty good record, thank you kids for playing it safe!  It should have actually been three times, but I won mother of the year award a few years back when Blake broke his wrist, only I didn't know it was broken until three days later :-(.

Enter, Friday night, February 10th, almost a month ago.  My sweet, grown-up sixth grader, Blake, requested to go to the skating rink with his friends.  It's the fun Friday night hangout place to be for the pre-teen crowd.  I lived at the skating rink when I was his age, the same skating rink.  Oh, do I feel old!  Of course, we let him go.  There is a uniformed police officer who stays there the entire night, so I feel safe leaving him there for a few hours.

Most weeks, we don't even get a call from Blake.  We text back and forth, just to make sure everything is ok.  Skating starts at 7pm, and we HAVE to be there on the dot!  A few hours later, he called Tim's phone crying that he fell and hit his head on the skating rink floor, and he wanted to come home.  Tim picked him up and the minute he walked in the door, he ran right to me, and buried his head as he hugged me.  He began sobbing uncontrollably.  My strong boy doesn't normally cry like this.  We talked about it and he said it really freaked him out.  I suggested that he get in the tub to relax.  I began asking him how hard he hit his head, and if he caught himself.  I don't think he liked that I was asking him so many questions.  I think it scared him. 

Kids have fears, certain fears like death.  He asked me if he was going to die {that broke my heart}!  I reassured him that would not happen.  A few minutes into his bath, he began to vomit.  Over and over.   I immediately Googled head injury and vomiting and it pulled up concussion, and to seek immediate medical attention.  My poor baby was hurting, and it killed me that I wasn't there to see how hard he hit his head on the skating rink floor due to him tripping on his skate.  Mommy guilt, check!

So, at 11pm, up to the ER it was.  I stayed home with Brody and Sydney while Tim took Blake to the ER.  They waited and waited, and waited some more.  Blake had to have a CT scan to assess the injury.  I prayed and prayed and cried for my first born, who hadn't been to the ER since he was four.  I prayed to God that he would wrap his arms around Blake and take care of him, and give him comfort.  Finally, Tim called around 3:30am to let me know that he was ok.  The scan came back good.  He had a mild concussion without losing consciousness. 

Blake came home and went straight to sleep.  I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep though.  I kept checking him so often to make sure he was breathing.  I watched his chest rise up and down, I felt so blessed that God took care of my baby!  All that was left was a nasty looking bruise on his right forehead.  He hasn't been back to the rink since then!

Sweet text Blake sent me telling me he loved me! 

ER Score

Blake - 2

Sydney - 1

Brody - 0 and hoping to keep it that way!  Although, he's a rough and tough little boy...

February Photo-a-Day a-la-Instagram

One of my most favorite things to do is take pictures!  Having an iPhone certainly helps with my obsession.  My family knows that I can't let a day go by without taking a gazillion pictures.  The most popular phrase from two of the kids when the iPhone is held up is, "Mom, not another one, please!"  Hehe, they won't stop me.  I loved the February Photo-a-Day by Fat Mum Slim.  I have to admit though, I only did the first 20 days, then busy days set in!  I'm trying to do better with March so I can collage the whole entire month.  :0

Thanks to House of Smiths for the fun Instagram February Photo-a-Day link-up!

Some of my favorites from the month of February!

Post Christmas Baking

For the first time in over 15 years, I did not get around to my usual Christmas baking,  I LOVE cookies and counted a few years ago that I made 144 dozen of them.  I used to make about 7-8 different kinds and sometimes doubled and tripled the batters.  I would wrap them all up in pretty tissue papers and bows and hand out to co-workers, neighbors, friends, teachers, and whatever was left, we would eat. 

Since we were out of town for eight days over Thanksgiving, and started off with a busy first part of December, I had to give up many things on my list, and sadly, my cookie baking was one of them.  Part of me felt strange not making them, this was a tradition of ours.  But, on the other hand, it was a lot less stressful knowing I wouldn't be in the kitchen for days!!

Today was the last day of Christmas break with the kids, and a well deserved day spent in my jammies.  Now that the Christmas rush is through, and I had time on my hands today, I got the baking bug!  I was craving some sugary, and buttery goodness and thought of a recipe from my sister-in-law's mom I received last year.  The moment I tried these melt-in-your-mouth goodies, I knew I had to make them.

Super Sugar Cookies

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon almond extract

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

Combine oil, Crisco, and sugars.  Beat until creamy.  Add beaten eggs, and almond extract, beat together.  Combine flour, salt, soda, and cream of tartar.  Add flour mixture gradually.  Refrigerate dough for at least two hours.  Make walnut sized balls, and roll in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet.  Flatten with bottom of glass with sugar coating.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.



Mmm, mmm, mmmmm!

Twenty.12...Day 1

I'm ready to put 2011 behind me and start off with a fresh, new year!  Twenty 12, here I come!!  We hosted a fun family New Year's Eve at our house last night (my parents, 90-year old Grandma Jeanne, Tim's dad, my brother, my sister, brother-in-law and kids, and my next door neighbors).  With seven kids between my sister and I, home is the most fun to us surrounded by the people we love.  We had loads of food (as usual), our little ones' talent show, a game of Apples to Apple, lots of laughs, and we finished it off with fireworks.

Today was such a peaceful and relaxing start to the year!!  Yesterday, it felt like a spring day, it was foggy in the morning, then humid in the afternoon (or, shall I say, a bad hair day)!  Today, we woke up to the brightest, blue skies and much nicer temps!  Hooray for Texas cold fronts!

We knew it was the perfect day to spend outdoors with our family of five.  First, we headed to one of our favorite pizza spots - Grimaldi's (as if we need ANY more food)!  Then off to one of the prettiest parks surrounded by Lake Woodlands.  There were kids and families everywhere, it was such a stunningly beautiful day out.  I wanted time to stand still and enjoy the laugher of my kids, and the last few days we have left with them before it's back to the usual routine of school and work.  The ducks were in full force and we came with a box of cheese crackers, I'm sure they loved us!  Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees by now, but there were a few that had the prettiest orange leaves left.

As Tim watched the kids, I took some pictures and sat and thought about how blessed I am!  I am looking forward to a new year, new experiences personally and with my family, new things to learn, and goals that I want to accomplish in this last year of my 30's.  I feel like now that Brody is three, I can finally breathe a little and come off this crazy train that I have been on for years!  I'm ready to be me again.  Having three kids is HARD!!  I'm ready to slow down and enjoy life's little treasures.  I'm ready to be in the moment again.  Now that I am approaching 40 (and that was so scary to just type), I am ready to do things for me again! 
Breathe, pray, live, enjoy, learn, embrace...my plans for Twenty 12!!!

Happy New Year!

Clear blue sky...my favorite kind of day!

Some fun with the ducks!

I'm excited to see what path 2012 will take me on!

Happy New Year!

"Amy"

I'm a bad blogger, it's been almost four months since a post!  It's 9:19am and my little Brody Monster is still in his sweet slumber.  It just seemed like the perfect blog opportunity.  I was in the kitchen and he woke up a few minutes ago crying, "Amy", "Amy"!  For the longest time, I couldn't understand or figure out what he was saying.  Finally, it hit me.  He's still sooo sleepy and he wanted me to lay with him, or as he was saying, "lay with me" (Amy).  As soon as I came to cuddle up with Brody, he went right back to sleep!  I'm so glad this night owl momma has a baby who likes to sleep in! 

I'm in love with sleeping baby pictures and love to stare at my babies when they sleep!  Here's Brody this morning.