Kyle's first game went GREAT!!!

Kyle had his first baseball game today at 12:30. HE DID GREAT!!!
He had 3 at bats and hit the ball (WITHOUT THE T) all three times.
We are soooooo proud of him.
Funny----
He was playing outfield and if the ball was hit, he would just run to
whichever base was closest. Paul thinks so he could be part of the
action.
One ball was hit right at second (which he was playing that inning) and
he ran, got on the base, put his arm out waiting to catch the ball.....
it went right through his legs. It was soooo cute. :)

It's a wonderful day for some yard work.....

The kids are soooo upset with me for saying that we HAVE to clean the front and back yard up.. but if it has to be done, it has to be done. Then, Meredith and I have to make an Italy flier for tomrrow's Thinking Day along with about 120 cookies. :)
Then she is off to a HOTEL SLEEPOVER for 11 year olds. (I KNOW!) And Kyle is on his official "Mommy-Daddy-Son Date". He is loving that he gets to pick what we do. So we are heading to the mall with the Lego store to spend a gift card. Then he wants to go to Barnes and Noble to read. Not buy books, read. I am loving it too!

KYLE LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!

Finally, Kyle has lost his first tooth. YES, at 6 years and 10 months. FINALLY! As funny as that is, (or maybe just sad) he fell asleep with Meredith and somehow it ended up IN HER FACE! She woke up last night at about 10:30 and came up to tell me something woke her up and preceeded to tell and then show me what it was.... HIS TOOTH!
He woke up and was soooo excited.
After school today, he was running around to EVERYONE, teachers, parents, other students, telling them about losing his first tooth.
He could not have been prouder!

The kids are now depressed

Meredith and Kyle are so sad that Mama is gone. :(
Kyle was sooo unhappy that Mama was not waiting for him when he got out of school.
Meredith thought for a second when I picked her up that Mama was still here. She just got this look of "what the heck, where is my Mama?" on her face.
Poor things!!

THE MAMA IS COMING, THE MAMA IS COMING!!!

Kyle is telling everyone at school "My Mama is come on Firstday and I like her and I love her. She is going to play with me and watch me on my new bike." It is SOOOO cute!!!

ALERT-- Kids do clean!!!

My two wonderful kids are in Kyle's room cleaning for the upcoming "Mama trip". They did start in a relatively clean room and DUMP the bookcase to organize that. :)
Mama is coming up for her quarterly visit and we could not be more excited. Meredith is just happy to have her to listen to and play with. Kyle cannot wait to show her "his moves" from Tae Kwon Do. :)

Kids are now Rogue and Wolverine!

I am listening to Kyle jump up and down as Wolverine saves someone and Meredith watching Storm make snow go everywhere. They love the X-MEN movies. Kyle is constantly asking me what a non-mutant is. :)
That is really hard to explain.
He still does not get it.
They chase the poor dog around the house pretending he is the "bad one" mutant. Poor Barkley just freaks and scrambles.

ALL COVERED IN MUD!!!!

Paul and I wanted to spend some family time together... so we decided to go to the canal and walk around and skip rocks. You know, good old FREE fun. We even brought Barkley.
Get there and it is soooo muddy, my UGGs were going INTO the ground. YUCK! It was all over our shoes and the dog's paws. We decide to go the the part people kayak through-- it was almost solid ice across. I could not believe it. It was 60 degrees out and still there was ice. So we tried for about 20 minutes to break it up-- throwing rocks and random things. Paul made a hole. The kids threw rocks towards that and tried to score a goal like in soccer.
We ended up get grocery bags and tying the kids and Paul up in them. One per foot. It must have been hilarious when they got out of the car. I can only imagine what people thought.

The Octuplets in CA

Let me start by saying that I am happy that there are 8 more precious and innocent babies in this world. How blessed is that mom.
Here goes my confusion....
The doctors should NOT have put in 8 embryos. That is outrageous. Then the mother for choosing to carry ALL of them, while she already had 6 kids at home.
This is the part that angers me. She is now looking for a handout. From Oprah and others. She has hired a PR firm to handle offers. SHE chose to have those babies. SHE should have realized how much it would cost to raise them. It just angers me so badly. "I can have them and someone else will pay for it and then volunteers will come in to take care of them."
What is wrong with this picture? Am I alone in this or am I crazy for thinking this is wrong?

IT IS SNOWING!!!!!

Last Thursday, Meredith had her winter concert. She was wonderful. She sang a song that went- There will be no school tomorrow, there will be no school tomorrow if it snows. Well, there is no school today and they are predicting that will how much ice and snow will accumulate over the nighttime, there will be no school tomorrow. :)
Paul is feeling better somewhat after a long weekend of bronchitis.
Kyle and Meredith and her best friend (here) Johanna went bowling with me yesterday and we had so much fun.
Then, I dropped off Kyle at home and we (the girls and me) went ice skating. They had so much fun just being together.
Barkley woke up this morning and was "freaked" by the snow and did not know what to do. He ate some, ran around like he was on drugs and then whimpered some because he was afraid of it. It was the cutest.
I have the fire going right now and am watching it fall outside the window. It is so beautiful and I am thankful to be able to live in a place that has snow. Texas does not have much snow, mostly sludge.

Meredith thinks that I am nuts!!!

That is for the health professionals to evaluate and diagnose.
Let me set it up....
Every fall, two things happen that make my days just nicer and "happy".
1. Honey Crisp apples-- not the small ones like in Texas. The ones that way a pound, cost an arm and a leg, but taste soooo yummy.
2. Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer--- it comes out for only about 2 months a year and I miss it the other 10.
So, about late December, the Honey Crisp apples were gone. :(
I thought that the Peppermint Mocha was too. As Meredith and I were shopping for creamer at the local Safeway, I was depressed at the selection available. I picked up my chosen bottle and down the aisle I went. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see the "holiday/seasonal collection" of CoffeeMate and get a bit excited. I walk over and only see Pumpkin Spice. I look down with regret. I look back up and "OH MY GOSH!!!" There is the Peppermint Mocha. Not only the 16 ounce size, but the 32 ounce. Voila!!! Happy Days are here again. :)
Meredith thinks that I am nuts, not because of the happiness factor from my find. It is the fact that I purchased 7 of them.
She might be right.

Meredith is home!

So, Kyle and I fought this morning about how unfair it was that Meredith gets to stay home today and not him. It was rather cute.
He kept complaining that he had a headache. Then he said that he would never get sick and it was not fair. "I WANT TO BE SICK AND I CAN'T GET SICK! IT IS UNFAIR!"
:)
Meredith is in the Man Cave watching Space Chimps right now. She seems to be getting better. We will see.

Chicken Pox shots for all!!!!!

Let me start out by saying....
I MEANT TO BE A GOOD PARENT!!!
I feel horrible.
Meredith went yesterday to the doctor for her yearly checkup.
Everything went well. She got boosters for tetanus and chicken pox.
Well, today at 2:30, while I was in the school office, she walks in with a fever of 102.7.
She feels sooo awful. I can only give her Motrin and Powerade. :(
Maybe next visit we will won't get the boosters.

Not your Texas Taco Bell

I have two children who just cannot accept Taco Bueno-- the horror!!
Paul and I have been loyal consumers for years. Everytime we go to Texas, we go there. Kyle always goes nuts-- "NOT THE TEXAS TACO BELL! I HATE TEXAS TACO BELL!!"
Tonight, after Girl Scouts, to bribe the kids to go to the grocery store (we desperately needed milk and bread-- yes, jailhouse food. Wait, that is bread and water- whatever!), I told them that we could eat out. Kyle begged for Taco Bell.
On the way there, he asked me in the cutest voice, "are we in Texas or America? (He is thoroughly confused. I assume since 1)We lived in a state bigger than France at one point and 2)We currently live in a place with so many different nationalities.) Because I DO NOT want Texas Taco Bell. I want America Taco Bell." This amused me greatly. :)

Kyle coughs like a seal....

Last night, I was up until the wee hours of the night. Not because I could not sleep. It was because Kyle was coughing, and coughing, and coughing... all night long. He never woke up, just coughed. It was agony to hear. I thought he would wake up and cry or come get me. He never did. Which I guess is good for him. He slept through it all.
I am, right now, in a 12 year time warp.... I am watching Fear with Reese Witherspoon and ex-pants dropper, (Marky) Mark Wahlberg. I actually remember going to the theater in 1996 and watching it with friends. One part actually freaks me out still. The dog through the door.
Back to cleaning and book reading for Paul's dad. :)