My kids are growing up!

Tomorrow is the twins' last day of preschool. EVER! They will never go to preschool again. How did they get so big already?

Here are a couple of good pictures my friend, Dana, took of them at the Pirate Park on Saturday:

I've always said that Nicholas is going to be bigger than his older brother... he's almost there!

Sydney brought home a new pet the other day... a pill bug or roly poly. This is about the only bug she's not scared to death of! She kept it in her little cup, she let it walk all over Nick's train table, she even named it... Hoppy. Hoppy was her new best friend! Hoppy was carried around in her princess purse & was treated like royalty. Then, he escaped! Sydney walked in the backyard & was showing me how happy Hoppy was climbing all over her shirt. So, she decided to take him for a skip around our patio table. And, yes, as you can imagine, Hoppy fell off her shirt & into the cracks in between our pavestones on our patio. She was devastated!! We couldn't find Hoppy anywhere. But, I am glad to say that yesterday, Sydney found a new Hoppy. This one is Hoppy, Jr. We'll see how long he/she lasts...

Face Painting Fun

I bought some face painting markers a while back for Samuel's birthday party, so the boys could paint their faces camoflauge style. Those markers have continued to be a big hit at our house. Almost every day, the kids want to paint something different on their faces.

Here is the latest face creation, painted by Daddy:

This is who Samuel wanted to look like:

Birthday Party Photos

Here are a couple of pictures of Samuel's & Sydney's birthday parties we had at the end of March. (We just got our camera back from the repair shop... unrepaired! That's a whole other post. Ugh!)

Samuel's Army Party

Jackson, Bryce, Uncle Jake (a.k.a. The Sarge), Samuel & Braeden

Sydney's Unicorn Party

My friend, Kelli, made Sydney's beautiful unicorn cake! She teaches at the same preschool Sydney attends & was talking to her one day during their play time about making her cake. Kelli said she was describing to Sydney what her cake was going to look like... a pretty white unicorn with a pink mane & tail. Sydney interrupted her & said, "No, I don't want a white unicorn. I want a pink unicorn with purple hair." So, that's what she got! That's Sydney for you... she definitely has a mind of her own!

Speaking of shoes...

have you seen this new shoe? My sister, Jonetta, told me about these & I think they are just about the strangest things I've seen. I don't even like having a toe separator in-between my toes after a pedicure. I can't imagine what these would feel like.

Jonetta, I totally dare you to wear a pair when you move back to Bastrop & see what kind of reaction you'll get from those East Texas folk!

My New Favorite Drink...

I seem to go through these phases where I find a drink I love, then devour it for days, weeks, months until I can't take anymore. It used to be a Cherry-Lime Slush from Sonic. YUMMMM!!! Since high school, that was what I would order in place of a soda with my meal deals. Then, I tried a Cherry-Limeade one day & fell in love with it. I would call Sammy & have him stop at Sonic to bring me home a Cherry-Limeade every day from work. They are so good!! Then, while we were in-between homes this past summer & living with Carolyn, she made this great mixed drink... half Cran-Grape juice, half Citrus Fresca. (It's funny to see people's reactions when I tell them our elder's wife introduced me to a great mixed drink she makes at home!! LOVE IT!) It's delicious!! And, much cheaper than buying a large size drink at Sonic every day! Seriously... you need to try this concoction!

However, I am now hooked again on a new Sonic drink... the Tropical Mango Tea. It totally hits the spot! I've tried their Peach Tea & their Raspberry Tea, but they just don't compare to this delicious Tropical Mango Tea! It is truly so good! You gotta try it!!

Stupid Shoe

While I was having a breakdown in my closet yesterday (a whole other story...), Nicholas was lying in there with me playing with my shoes. He was pretending they were talking to each other. I was turned away from him, but was listening closely to him whisper this shoe conversation:

Shoe #1: "Stupid shoe."
Shoe #2: "Don't say that."
Shoe #1: "But it's a stupd shoe."
Shoe #2: "But we don't say that."

He just might make it to Broadway some day...

Baskin Robbins - 31 Cent Scoop Night!

Now here's something worth blogging about...

31 Cent Scoop Night in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

Wednesday, May 2nd
5 pm - 10 pm

We'll definitely be there!!

Museum of Nature & Science

Here are some pictures from our visit last week to The Science Place & The Dallas Museum of Natural History...

They all thought it was so cool that they were sitting on a "hand" chair:

Sydney playing in the waterworks area:

Samuel & Sydney riding a sheep in the "Little Urban Farm" exhibit:

Learning about different animals in their habitats:


And, last but not least, Sydney trying to climb a rope:

Mom My Ride

My friend, Christy, said this is my car. Unfortunately, for the most part, she is right!

Thursday Thoughts...

We took the kids to the Museum of Nature & Science today. (Formerly the Science Place & the Dallas Museum of Natural History.) We had so much fun!! We went through the children's science museum first, which the kids always love. However, so much of it was cut off by the new Body Worlds exhibit that is going on right now. We originally wanted to go to that exhibit, but the ticket prices are pretty steep ($21.00/adult - $18.00/child), plus the line was incredibly long. It would not have been fun with 3 kids in tow! And, they love playing at the science museum, so we were happy doing that. After going through the museum, we watched Sharks at the IMAX theater. Sammy & I have been to the IMAX theaters in San Antonio & a different one in Dallas. However, this was our first experience at the IMAX in the Science Place. It was AWESOME!! The screen is domed, so you have to look completely up & backwards a bit to be able to see the very tip top of it. This theater was so much better than the others! The kids were in total awe & they even loved the sharks movie. We all agreed this was the highlight of our day! After the movie, we grabbed some lunch & ate outside by the (nasty) water. Then, we hit the Natural History Museum where the kids were fascinated by the dinosaur bones. By this time, they were getting a bit crazy, so we knew it was time to head home. I commented to Sammy how we have had such a fun spring break with the kids, without having to leave home & pay for a hotel! It's been a great week!

I'm going to share my new favorite food... Bertolli's pasta mixes. You know those commercials where the Italian chefs are all sitting at an empty restaurant table moping because they have no customers? And, they don't have customers because of the Bertolli frozen meals you can buy at a grocery store? Well, I tried one of their "Dinners for Two" the other day & there really is no need to go to an Italian restuarant. This stuff is excellent!! I ate the Chicken Florentine & Farfalle... WOW!! So delicious!

One last thought...

It felt good to walk through my neighborhood Albertson's tonight & hear another customer say, "This Albertson's has never been laid out well." THANK YOU!!! I have complained to Sammy & to a few friends that live over in this direction that the two Albertson's closest to me are both laid out so screwy! I can't stand to go shopping there & avoid them at all costs, when I have the time. Unfortunately, the closest Kroger is about 10 minutes away... quite a bit further than these crazy Albertson's. Anyway, I turned to this man & probably scared the heck out of him when I said, "I completely agree with you!" It honestly takes me forever to find one single item in that store. I have complained to an employee before, because I walked the length of the store several times looking for a tube of cookie dough!!! So frustrating! Now, I don't feel so alone in my frustration, though. Misery loves company...

Signs of Spring

Spending a fun day at Pirate Cove Playground!

Getting dizzy on the tire swing:

The boys can't get enough of it:

Happy Brothers!


Enjoying Spiderman popsicles from the ice cream truck!


Dirty mouth!

Samuel loves anything Spiderman!

Zoo Animals

Here are some of the animals we saw at the zoo yesterday:

Sydney, Samuel & Nicholas

Proud to be a Texan!
I took a picture of this drawing for Sydney. She is currently obsessed with unicorns!
And, last, but definitely not least... I could not pass up this photo opportunity!

Nicholas appropriately named it "Hippo Booties"!

FIVE!!

It is really hard for me to believe that Sydney & Samuel turned 5 yesterday. REALLY hard! Five years ago, I gave birth to two babies. Five years ago, I cried the first time I saw how tiny Samuel was. Five years ago, I underwent my first & only natural birth and then a c-section 20 minutes later. Five years ago, I had some of the worst night nurses imaginable! Five years ago, I marveled at how much thick, black hair Sydney had. Five years ago, I witnessed the miraculous hand of God who formed two very perfect babies inside my tummy and allowed them to enter the world free of health problems.

Happy birthday to my sweet twins!

We had a very fun day yesterday! Samuel chose to go to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, so he could look for a toy he was convinced came from there. (A little boy in his class has a toy that he apparently told Samuel came from Ripley's.) However, we couldn't find that particular toy, so he picked out a bow & arrow set he had been asking for. And, Sydney found a unicorn doll that she had been wanting. Hard to imagine that we found both gifts the kids had been asking for at a Ripley's gift shop!
Afterwards, Sydney's choice was the Fort Worth Zoo, so we headed there. The zoo was so much fun & the weather was perfect!! We saw all the animals & exhibits. (Except the birds... I DO NOT like the bird exhibit! It reminds me of that old Hitchcock movie.)

And, for dinner, the kids decided they wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's. But, I thought of a better plan. (Mainly for Mom & Dad's sake!) So, instead, we took them to The Rainforest Cafe & had a great time! We all agreed the food & the atmosphere was so much better!

They had a wonderful birthday yesterday!

Now, I just need to finish planning their parties... ugh!

Christmas Photo...

I'm really late on this, but I wanted to share the cute Christmas photo of the kiddos that we used for our family card.


(My camera won't work with my fossil of a computer, so we always have to download them onto Sammy's laptop first, then transfer them to my computer. By the time we actually get around to doing all that, it's been several months!!)

Love/Hate Relationship

I have a love/hate relationship with Daylight Savings Time! I'll start with the positives first:

In the fall, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting an extra hour of sleep! It's wonderful! And, sadly, it's probably the only time of the year when we're actually on time to Bible class the next morning.

In the spring, I like that it stays lighter outside longer. And, that's probably it.

Now, for the negatives:

In the fall, I hate that it gets dark so early! It's a hard adjustment for our family.

Now for the spring negative... LOSING AN HOUR OF SLEEP!!!!! I can't afford to lose any more sleep. Add that to the fact that it's light outside until after 9 pm, which makes it incredibly hard to get my kids to sleep on time. It's just plain not fun in the beginning. I love springtime, but I dread Daylight Savings Time!

So, remember to set your clocks forward one hour before going to bed tonight! And, good luck in the morning...

I Love Saturdays!

YEA!! It's Saturday & the kids let me sleep in a little later this morning! I love it that cartoons will keep them happy for a bit while I get more rest!!

And, I always find that I sleep better & more soundly when I know I'll be waking up to a clean house. Is anybody else like this? Last night, after I put the kids to bed, I finished the laundry, I swept & mopped our entire first floor (which is all tile... ugh!), I cleaned the kitchen & I put fresh sheets on my bed. Climbing into my bed never felt better! And, knowing that I didn't have tons of housework waiting for me when I woke up made me very happy! Today, I'm working on the upstairs. The kids' sheets are already in the wash and I think we'll clean out some more toys today. It seems that children's toys multiply overnight! My rule is that all their toys must fit into our one large toybox we keep in the guest room. However, they have quickly gotten out of control. We have some work ahead of us...

Yesterday, the kids & I went to the Library. We went straight to the kids' section, as we always do. I figure they're a little more lenient there with kids that don't whisper & don't always obey their mommies. Which is the case with Nicholas. I never remember the twins being so loud & disruptive in the Library when they were his age. For the most part, they were obedient & would quietly sit down to read a book in the children's department. Nicholas is an entirely different species! He can't remember to whisper & he likes to run around playing with all the different toys. I can threaten, I can use a mean whispery voice, I can swat his leg... it doesn't matter! He is a spirited kid! (Isn't that a nice way to say "stubborn & loud"?) However, my whole point of telling the Library story is to share the good news that we had a very friendly librarian check us out! Maybe it's just me, but most librarians I come across in the public libraries do not seem very happy to be there. (And, yes, I made this observation even before I brought my rowdy kids with me...) But, this librarian was so sweet & helpful. She was patient with the kids & smiled at them the entire time. I was completely impressed with her attitude. It was so refreshing!

On the way home, I couldn't get Nick's carseat to latch closed. It worked on the way there, but for some odd reason, would not latch at all when we got back in. I tried everything to make it work, but could not get it to lock in the buckle. So, I just had to settle with the plastic buckle that fastens at his chest. However, the kids did not like this one bit. They tend to get a little dramatic if the car is moving & not everyone is completely buckled. (I guess we taught them well!) Sydney was very worried that a policeman was going to stop us because we were not "following the rules". I told her that I thought a policeman would understand that Nick's buckle is broken and he wouldn't give us a ticket. (In this area, though, that's probably not completely true. These policemen are ruthless!) Talking about policemen prompted Nick to say something that he's said before. I've explained to the kids several times how policemen are here to protect us & to help us. We talk in the car about different ways that they do that... protecting us from bad guys, helping us find our way if we're lost, etc. Nicholas has it in his head that the policemen are going to help him in the potty. I have no idea where he got that from, but he is adamant! So, yesterday, as Sydney was worrying about the police stopping us, Nicholas piped up, "The policeman is going to help me potty." He's sure of it! Maybe I need to have Sammy dress as a police officer to "help" Nick finally master the big potty!! Doubtful...

Happy Saturday!

Party Day

Today, the twins celebrated their 5th birthday at their preschool. Since their birthday is next week during Spring Break, we celebrated today! Samuel requested a cookie cake for his school celebration & cupcakes for his party at home. So, I ordered a small cookie cake from the Nestle Toll House Cafe. It was good, but way too rich!

On the way to the school, I stopped at Target to buy some party hats for the kids. Lo & behold, Target does not carry solid colored or generic party hats. In fact, Target does not have a very good party section at all! Well, atleast, the Super Target near me doesn't. I was so bummed. So, instead, I bought party horns because they were on clearance. $1.50 for 4 horns! TERRIBLE idea! When I handed them to the kids, all of them started blowing the horns at the same time. And, they are LOUD!! What in the world was I thinking? Eight kids all blowing party horns at the same time in their school classroom. TERRIBLE idea!!

Anyway, the kids loved the cookie cake & they had a great time.

By the way, do not bother to shop at Target while they are doing inventory. The shelves were so empty. Definitely not my best Target experience!

Allergy Season

Allergy season is in full swing! And, I am miserable! I never had allergies when I lived in South Texas. It wasn't until I moved to the D/FW area 9 years ago that I experienced my very first ever allergy season. Anytime the cottonwood starts blooming, my eyes start watering & my nose starts pouring! And, I always look like a mess because I have red, bloodshot eyes & a red, raw nose.

I did a study for Fieldwork Dallas about a month or so ago on this very topic. They paid me to sit & complain about my allergies. (No problem!) And, we had to tell them how we felt about a new allergy product advertisement they were testing. I realized at that focus group that my allergies were extremely mild compared to so many of the other ladies sitting around the table. Mine only come twice a year... at the start of spring & the start of autumn. I suffer for about a month or more each season, but then I'm pretty much done. So many of the other ladies suffer year round. They stay on medication daily. That has got to be miserable! I can't imagine having a headache, itchy, watery eyes & a runny nose all year long!

And, in addition to the misery of allergies, my skin started itching like crazy yesterday. This usually happens to me at the start of winter. (Something else I didn't have in South Texas... dry skin.) But, lately, my skin has been so red & raw from my constant scratching. It's hard not to scratch when it brings so much relief at that very moment. I have no self-control... I may need that karate class more than Samuel!

Karate & Heaven

Samuel went to his second karate class today. He LOVES his class, but he has a hard time being completely still. He is so excited to be there & he just smiles & does a little dance the entire time. However, I think the structure & demand for respect will be wonderful lessons for him to learn. Not that we haven't tried at home... we just haven't had exactly the results we'd like to have. I'm hoping his karate class will teach both him & me a little more about self-control & respect. We'll see...

Samuel has always asked a lot of questions about Heaven. He's very curious about it. He's fascinated with outer space & he thinks of Heaven as this wonderful place up in outer space. (Who can argue with that?) However, his statement the other day totally threw me off:

"Mom, I wish I could die today & go to Heaven to be with Jesus."

Okay, I'm trying not to take this personally. But, I'm wondering if he thinks his little 5-year-old life is really that bad that he already wishes to die?!?! Surely not. I know he loves Jesus & understands that when we get to Heaven, we'll be with Jesus eternally. So, I'm positive that's how he meant it. And, truthfully, as Christians, our hope is that Jesus will come back soon for all of us. But, I have a really hard time truly wishing for that, while still wishing that I'll live on this earth long enough to see my kids grow up & have kids of their own. Maybe my son has the right idea, but it is hard for me to see it that way. I just want him here as long as possible! I honestly didn't know how to respond to him, except to say, "But, I sure would miss you!"

I can't even think about it...

So much to say...

It's been a while & I've been BUSY!! I just thought I was busy when the kids were babies. I've begun to realize that life actually gets busier as your kids get older.

First of all, happy anniversary to my great husband!! We celebrated 9 years on Wednesday. We watched Amazing Grace at the Angelika Film Center in Plano... which is an awesome theater for watching movies, but not so much for eating! Sammy thought it was like a Studio Movie Grill type place, so we skipped the whole restaurant idea in favor of eating at the movies. NOT a good idea! They have pre-packaged sandwiches. And, that's pretty much it. I ended up eating a hot dog. Ewwww! He promises he's going to make it up to me. We'll see...

I LOVE this great spring weather we're having!! LOVE IT!!! The kids have been playing outside so much lately & they are having a blast! We are finally meeting more of our neighbors, which helps me to feel more connected to this neighborhood. In fact, there are 2 sweet 10-year-old girls who come over to play with Sydney & Samuel quite often. These girls have been so great to include the twins in whatever they do. When they play hide-n-seek, the girls each take a kid & hide with them. They treat the twins as if they were their peers, which I really appreciate! I'm sure, in time, we'll find more friends in the area closer to their age. But, for now, I am so thankful for these 2 great girls that my kids totally adore!

We also recently discovered this really cool park in Wylie. It's located behind the Wylie High School. It's called Pirate Cove Playground in Founder's Park & it is great!! The first day we went, we stayed for FOUR hours!! Honestly! The kids were having so much fun & so was I. This is our new favorite hangout.

Now, for some dark news:
As I was picking up toys in our backyard yesterday afternoon, I discovered a dead baby bunny rabbit in the middle of our yard. We have rabbits all over this area since there is a lot of brush surrounding us, but I didn't know we had a baby rabbit nest (is that what you call it?) in our backyard. (In my defense, our backyard is pretty darn big & I really only walk around half of it.) So, as I'm freaking out (because it's DEAD!), I start walking backwards away from it & look to my left to discover ANOTHER dead bunny. Honestly, I'm about to lose my lunch. Sammy wasn't at home, so I couldn't call him to come deal with it. And, the whole time, Dallas (our dog), is looking at me wagging her tail. That's when it hit me that she was my sweet, little KILLER!! I've realized that Dallas must have found this poor bunny nest/hole/den/whatever & one by one took the innocent little baby bunnies out & killed them. So, all this is running through my head when I stumbled across yet another... yes, you guessed it... dead baby bunny! Three dead baby bunnies. THREE!! In my backyard. When my husband is not home. With my black Lab looking expectantly at me for praise. Losing my lunch...!

I blame this on my parents who praised her for killing 'possums (or was it raccoons?) at their home this summer! It's your fault!! You turned my sweet dog into a vicious, blood-hungry monster! I will point the SPCA in your direction!

Moving on...
I saw The Holiday at the dollar movies with some of my girlfriends the other day. I wasn't really expecting to like the movie, because in all honesty, I'm not a Jude Law or a Cameron Diaz fan. But, I thought, what the heck... it's a buck fifty. Even if I hate the movie, it's great girl time. I LOVED the movie! I was so shocked at how much I liked it. I loved Jude Law, but I especially loved Jack Black! I've always thought he was so funny, but he is just wonderful in this movie. So fantastic! I highly recommend it!

I have got to go fold laundry! It looks like a clothes volcano has erupted on my sofa. They're everywhere!! And, it's always better to fold laundry when reruns of Scrubs is on...

30 Valentines

So, what did you do on your 30th birthday? It's a milestone, right? Time to do something extravagant...

Here's what I did today:

* Cleaned our sofa & recliner. You know that "easy to clean" microfiber stuff that was all the rage several years ago? Not so "easy to clean" today! After gallons of drool from 3 kids, dried jelly from peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and spilled juice due to leaky leak-proof sippy cups... it was time for a good cleaning. Not fun, but the results made me smile. Happy birthday to me!

* Vacuumed & spot cleaned our stairs. For the record, I NEVER wanted a two-story house. So, when we both fell in love with this home, Sammy promised he would take care of vacuuming the stairs. Hmmmmm... I went over each inch of each step with the vacuum hose & got in every nook & cranny with the corner tool. Then, I went a bit overboard with the Resolve to finally clean up the spilled chocolate milk & the spilled make-up Sydney got for Christmas. Lots of elbow grease, but they look new again! Happy birthday to me!

* Vacuumed & cleaned the mattress in our upstairs guest bedroom that our dog decided was meant for her. Sammy created a fun treasure hunt for me this morning, which included a clue placed on the mattress. When I found the clue, I had a hard time thinking of anything else but the black dog hair that seemed to cover the entire surface. Disgusting! I made up my mind right then & there to clean the entire mattress before the day was over. I barely made it, but the task is done! Happy birthday, dear Amberly!

* Made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for my birthday/Valentine's Day with the kiddos. We spent a good part of this afternoon drowning in multi-colored sprinkles, red & pink icing & heart candies. The kids had a HARD time falling asleep tonight, which I'm sure can be blamed on the massive amounts of sugar coursing through their veins. But, I had fun & they had fun & it was all worth it! Happy birthday to me!

I hope you all had a fun & memorable Valentine's Day! And, just so you don't think my sweet husband is completely in the dog house, he did plan a fun night out for us this weekend. I can't wait!

Grammy Night & More Croup

In honor of the Grammy's airing tonight, here is a little something to celebrate...

Click on this link: Yahoo! Music

Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Near the end, you will see the heading "GRAMMY Listening Party".

Under that section, you can click on the link that says, "Listen to full cd".

It will start playing the Grammy nominees CD for you. And, you can hear the entire album. There are some really good songs on there. I think the first 3 are my favorite:

1. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
2. Be Without You by Mary J. Blige
3. Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae

Great songs!

Nicholas is croupy... again! We just put up the nebulizer a week or so ago & it looks like we'll have to pull it back out. Poor guy. It started when the weather turned cold last week. He's had a rough time this winter. We are looking forward to spring, when he can get a break. Of course, that's when mine & Samuel's allergies will kick in! I guess summer is the healthiest season for our family!

I got caught...

This morning, after Sydney visited the restroom, she came out with her sleeper pajamas twisted around & between her legs. She said, "Mommy, I can't get my foot out." (It was hiding somewhere in that tangled mess.) So, I helped her "find" her foot & then held her pajamas out for her to stick her arms in the sleeves. Then, I got up & started walking away. But, before I got too far, she called out, "Mooooooommmm..." I turned just in time to see a smug look across her face. She continued, "you helped me!"

Sure enough! I did & she just had to rub it in!!

Growth Spurt

Samuel must be going through a growth spurt. Typically, he will eat half a sandwich with some chips & fruit for lunch. That's all he's ever wanted. Lately, he has been eating a whole entire sandwich & asking for a second one afterwards. In the morning, 2 waffles have always been plenty for him. Now, in addition to his 2 waffles, he wants 2 slices of toast. He's eating an entire package of Ramen noodles by himself now. Honestly, our pantry looks so empty right now because he is eating everything in sight! This is so unlike him! But, at the same time, I'm a little relieved that he's eating more. I always worried that he wasn't getting enough nutrients & vitamins, because he rarely ate. And, even though my pediatrician assured me that he was growing just fine for his age, I still wished he would eat what I would put on his plate for lunch & dinner. Now, I wish he would just slow down a bit so I can keep up! It's time to start buying 3 loaves of bread at a time!!

More Freebies!

Next week, I will have a birthday lunch for FREE!! And, by now, you all know how much I LOVE free stuff!!

I will first stop at Sonny Bryan's BBQ restaurant for an entirely FREE meal. And, as much as I love freebies, I LOVE Sonny Bryan's even more!! Yummmmm!! You can visit their website & if you sign up to receive e-mail offers from them, they will send you a free meal just for registering. I registered a couple of years ago & I hardly ever receive mail from them. Mainly on at Thanksgiving, Christmas & my free meal on my birthday. It's a great deal & a great meal!

Then, I'll be heading to Baskin-Robbins for my free ice cream cone! Same deal there... you can sign up for their "Birthday Club" to receive a free cone on your birthday. And, you can sign up your kids, also. It's fun & free!

Enjoy!

Wade Phillips, Anna Nicole & More

Well, the Cowboys hired a new head coach. Wade Phillips will lead the team next season. Now, I know next to nothing about football & coaching, so this comment may not hold any weight at all... but, why is it that the Cowboys always hire old, white men? Tom Landry... Jimmy Johnson... Barry Switzer... Dave Campo... Bill Parcells... now Wade Phillips ?!?! Sammy reminds me that Tom Landry wasn't old when he started coaching, so I guess he doesn't count. But, come on! What about the others?? Let's expand our horizons a bit.

I am so sad about Anna Nicole Smith's death. Not necessarily because of her, but because she left behind her 5-month-old daughter. I feel so sorry for this poor, innocent baby that will never know her mother (which, in this instance, may be a good thing) and does not even know who to call "daddy". I just hope & pray that someone will raise & love that baby the way every child deserves to be treated.

The other evening, on the way home from Bible Class, Samuel was telling me about what he learned. He told me all about his lesson & when I thought he was done, I started checking the message that was left on my cell phone. As I was listening to the message on my phone, Samuel was trying to talk to me again. I obviously wasn't paying much attention to him, because I finally heard him loudly say, "One, two, three... Look at me!" He was a bit perturbed! This must be something one of his teachers either at school or church say to the class. Later, in that same conversation, we got to talking about heaven. The kids ask lots & lots of questions about heaven. They are intrigued about this awesome place "up in the sky". Sydney asked Samuel how we get to heaven. And, this was his response: "When you get old, you take lots of medicine & then you die & go to heaven." Well, I guess that's one way.

We have been desperately trying to instill some independence in Sydney lately. However, if you heard this struggle, you'd think we had been trying to cut her arms off! She's quite the drama queen! I have "babied" her for way too long & it's really coming back to bite me now. So, Sammy & I both sat down & explained to her that we would no longer be dressing her or wiping her bottom when she uses the potty. (Now, in my defense, I used to let her wipe herself, until she got a urinary tract infection... most likely from not wiping properly. So, after that incident, I took over & never let her learn to do the right way.) The first few days were TERRIBLE! She screamed because we wouldn't put her panties on... we wouldn't fasten her shoes for her... we wouldn't do this... we wouldn't do that. It was ridiculous!! Then, all of a sudden, she finally realized that all the screaming in the world wasn't going to make us do what she wanted. So, she just decided to do it herself. And, it is so wonderful!! She doesn't call me to the bathroom anymore. At bedtime, we pick out her clothes for the next morning & when she wakes up, she puts on all her clothes... all by herself! It has made school mornings MUCH easier! We've actually been on time this last week, which is a huge accomplishment for us. Kindergarten, here we come!

And, last, but not least, a big congratulations to my friend, Becky, on the birth of her new son. A new adventure begins!