The first day of kindergarten

is now underway.

Jacob got up, ate about 4 bites of oatmeal, got dressed in all his Batman finery, and carried his backpack around while the rest of us got dressed.
I was feeling pretty positive about the morning.
He even brought me my keys as soon as he saw me fully dressed!

We got to the school, circled for 20 minutes looking for a parking spot, and then finally hopped a curb and parked in the grass with all the other pickup driving parents. Lol.
Lucy and Jacob were a bit freaked out at MOMMY driving in the grass.
We walked in quickly (half an hour trying to park made us slightly late). I tried to quickly snap a few pictures- Jacob wasn't having it.
Stood in line for 10 minutes to sign in as visitors, before we could walk him to his classroom.

FINALLY got him to his room, hung up his backpack, got him in his chair...

and he lost it.
I had to quickly pull my sunglasses down before I started bawling right along with him.
A couple of quick hugs, and we rushed out- followed by screams of "DADDY! DADDY!"
Cotton was so flustered, he couldn't even find his way out of the school. :-(








Is it 3 o'clock yet? :-(

Darn spammers!

Someone was spamming from my address, so for safety's sake- my ISP shut me down for a couple of days. Hence the 3 day absence...

So, here's what you've missed:

We met Jacob's teachers- both his official kindergarten/homeroom teacher and his Spanish teacher.
Both were very sweet, and eased a few of my fears.
He'll have art class twice a week. Computer lab once a week. Music. PE. All the good stuff. Afternoon snacks in the classroom. Rest time, but not nap time.
I'm still nervous as all get-out, and downright WEEPY for the past few days. But I am feeling slightly better.

I've also come to a very guilty realization.
In all of the hullabaloo about kindergarten- Lucy and her preschool are really on the backburner.
She keeps reminding me "I'm going to school too, momma!"
Yes, you are, my angel. And I have vowed to make a bigger fuss about it from this point forward!
I have a "day of beauty" all planned for next Monday, and a HUGE deal will be made over laying out her outfit- right down to sock and bows. A mani/pedi for her. I may even see if I can get her in for :gasp: her first haircut. (meaning, teeny little trim of the dead ends, and following the natural shape that her gorgeous curls grow- I am not ready for any change!)

I've been saying this whole time: I am not really upset over sending her. I'm ready.

While I am ready, and not upset- I may be fooling myself. I think actually letting go of her and driving away will hit me pretty hard!
We've been attached at the hip for 3 1/2 yrs. I know this will be really really good for both of us- but dayum. She is my baby. My little sidekick. I won't know how to do anything without her!
I certainly don't plan to run errands or have any fun while she's at school. It just wouldn't feel right! I can come home and clean (or nap) and save the shopping trips for when I have someone to talk to. ;-)

I've been SO focused on kindergarten. On Jacob growing up and being gone so much... 6 hours a week of preschool seemed pretty insignificant. But it is a HUGE step for Miss Baby (who ADAMANTLY denies being a baby of any sort- "Your BABY is in your tummy," she tells me, "I'm a BIG kid now."). Ouch. Right through the heart.

the answer is yes

I did get my range rattlers!

Thank you to all who were concerned.
The very next morning after that post- we got dressed, loaded up, and went to Saltgrass for lunch!
I was in jalepeno and shrimp heaven. Mmmmmmm.....
I could actually stand some more of them today.

What's up today?

I feel really sick. Nausea and a headache. Wheeee....
I wanted to take the kids to the park before it got hot. Yea, umm.. too late.

Kindergarten starts in 5 days. 5 DAYS people!

Our bento boxes are in. Must send Cotton to get them, so that I can hopefully be half as cool as Shannon.

I finally went back to Michael's and bought the gosh darn cookie cutter that pregnant-brained idiot put back. Yep, the bat shaped one. Actually, I got 2 different bats. Jacob will have the coolest, outfit-coordinating sandwich in all of kindergarten!

I'm waiting on a very important phone call from Michelle.

Rebecca promises to blog. I'm checking soon. It had better be there!

Brooksy loves her shirt, and has a shirt in mind for me. Heehee.

John has decided to love me. I love her back. She has been climbing the furniture and sleeping on my chest. Awwwwww!

Josephine has decided to love Emmitt. Emmitt loves him back. What a pair they make!

I am crossing everything I have that Jordan and Fiona go live with Brooksy's SIL (who wants a BARN cat). I cannot handle cleaning up Fiona's mess, and Cotton is going to kill her and me both.

The kittens are eating food and drinking water! They grow so fast. :sniffle sniffle:

I would love a donut right now.

After a poll of my friends, 44 out of 44 voters agree. It is time for me to start wearing maternity clothes.
But I don't really have many shirts. Man!! I hate that I'll have to shop. DAMN IT!

Tomorrow I get to meet Jacob's teacher. I really want Cotton to get off work and come. He is struggling with it. Just DO IT honey!

Before meeting Jacob's teacher- we have to go buy his school supplies. (Oops. Nothing like a little procrastination) That will be a tonight or early tomorrow trip- depending on how this headache goes.

I have found the funniest mom alive. I'll link her blog up later. Here's her eBay auction. OMG- I can't even breathe when I am reading her stuff, I am laughing so hard. She is AWESOME!

funniest mom EVER

I think I am getting penis vibes from the baby. This is a good thing. A girl would be good, too, of course. But another boy would be just... fitting.
I am also getting quite the belly roundness. It's nice. I can't wait to feel some kicking!
I felt Lucy at 12 weeks, and I'm 11 weeks with Bean today. Yes, I did. No, it is not impossible. Shut up. I know what I felt.
I didn't feel Jacob until 21 or 22 weeks. Talk about scary. Beany won't do that to Mommy, will ya baby? ;-)

Alright, folks. That's all the randomness I have at the moment.
I got a really cute picture of John that I'll try to upload later. I love her.

I'm off to pop some tylenol (aka PEZ), and park my hiney on the couch.

this one almost hurts

it is such a strong craving!
I am practically drooling, my tummy is rumbling... aaaaaarrggh!

I've had a very complex love/hate relationship with food so far this pregnancy.
I am nauseated. I don't want to eat. I eat to feel better, but I hate it.
Than BAM a craving hits. I get whatever that food is- binge until I can't breathe... and go back to the nausea a few hours later!
It pretty much sucks.
It's better than puking all day, and not eating at all, mind you. I know it could be worse: been there, done that, got a gorgeous daughter to remember it by. ;-)

So Cotton told me this Mexican resteraunt he sometimes works security at serves breakfast on weekends. I begin to drool.... mmm... Mexican breakfast. Aaahh.. we used to go to this place in Irving that was delicious! I demanded that we go the very next Saturday (yesterday) and try it.
So, we all get up and ready yesterday. Load up and go to McKinney expecting the best breakfast ever...
Ugh. Not so much. Not at all what I remembered. It was *good*, but not spectacular. Not worth $30, that's for damn sure!
Luckily- that took care of that. No cravings.

Today- a pregnant "friend" tells me she is craving jalepenos. That she got a Sonic burger with fried jalepeno strips... which reminded me of cheddar peppers, which I ALMOST started craving.

Then BAMBAMBAM. It hits me harder than any before.

I NEED some Range Rattlers from Saltgrass.
I will most certainly die of I don't get them.
Shrimp and cheeses stuffed in a fresh jalepeno, and fried. Served with their heavenly homemade ranch dressing. (hold on, let me wipe the keyboard from my drool...) It may not sound good to you- but I have always loved the little buggars. And thinking of them tonight- omg. OH. MY. GAWD. It's not a craving, it's more of a dire need.

If it weren't an hour from bedtime, and I wasn't dog-tried, I'd be calling in a takeout order as we speak.
It will have to wait until lunch tomorrow.
I may not sleep, I'll be fantasizing about Range Rattlers all night!

I've been tagged!

I got tagged by Pink Drama Mama so I guess I have to fill this out... (who am I kidding- I'm thrilled to! Haha)

4 things about me you may not have known: (if you read this blog- there's not much you wouldn't know, but I'm trying)
1. I have a bathroom phobia, especially public ones. Poop germs are my biggest fear.
2. I am a packrat.
3. I hate my hair
4. I have a big new set of gel pens... oooh all the pretty colors

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. grocery store clerk
2. waitress
3. Department mgr at a dept. store, lol
4. EMT

4 Movies I can watch over and over again:
1. Something About Mary
2. Spanglish
3. Shrek
4. Big Daddy

4 Favorite TV shows:
1. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. American Idol
4. Dancing with the Stars

4 Favorite Hobbies:
1. Playing on the computer
2. designing/creating clothes for my girl
3. Reading
4. shopping

4 Places I have lived:
1. Lewisville, TX
2. McKinney, TX
3. Irving, TX
4. Anna, TX

4 Favorite Foods:
1. mexican- GUACAMOLE
2. pizza
3. chocolate
4. ceaser salad

4 Places I would rather be right now:
1. in bed
2. on a boat
3. in the sand
4. on top of a mountain

4 Websites I check daily:
1. My blog
2. DFW Area moms
3. myspace
4. your blog ;-)

4 People I tag:
1. Brooksy
2. Rebecca (maybe she'll actually blog if I prompt her!)
3. Shannon
4. Nicole

He's in!

They posted the class lists for Jacob's school.
Out of 5 kinder classes, he's in one of the 2 dual-language groups.

I'm SO proud of my smart little boy.
This is the first thing he's ever had to "try out" for, and he made it!
I'm also incredibly stressed and nervous.

Wish us luck! 9 days until school starts....

Chinese gender predictor says

this baby is a ...

...


...


GIRL!

I used the dates on my other 2 babes for an idea of accuracy (lol).

It said Lucy would have been a ..... GIRL!

and it says Jacob would have been a ....


...


...


...


GIRL!

So all girls for me. I guess at this point it's still, well...

50/50.

I'm glad we narrowed that down. Ha!

How many tickers is too many?

Well, hopefully not 2- because I like them both quite a bit.

It's MY blog, right?
Y'all can all just deal with it!

Muah!

to cheer me up

A new skip-hop diaper bag, and a white minky blanket.
YAY!

It's quite difficult to get my shopping fix when I don't know the gender of this baby.
It's too soon to buy the big stuff, and the nuetral "little" stuff isn't as cute as the gender-specific.

But red and white are good! Yellow, eh... not so much.

Oh, and I am way too excited about the green Kecci mommybag Shannon promised me! I remember drooling over it about a year ago, while toting Lucy's pink one! Woohoo! I think I actually liked it better than the pink...

Between the bag and the spanking new car seat, the baby shower, and the lunch type goodies- Auntie Shannon is moving up the ranks in this baby's list of friends.
And NO- it isn't really anything to do with the gifts!
I value her friendship and support more than anything. Her blatant truths, and her sarcasm are so endearing, lol. The baby gifts are just great perks! I think the best part is- she seems almost as excited about this little one as ME! ;-)
But feel free to stop at any time- I will love you just the same!
In the excitement of talking about baby stuff- I never think to say "Oh you shouldn't have," or "don't put yourself out." I just get too darn giddy!

re: comments

SORRY!
I was messing with the comment settings, and I guess I made it where no one could comment at all!
OOPS!

It should be fixed, now... I think...

A teeny vent, and tooting my own horn

I hate judgmental idiots. I really do.
If you feel like this applies to you, then take some time to think about it. If not- then you are probably right!

There are things I don't know, and things I am not good at.
(I'm not really sure what these things are- but they must exist, right? lol)

I am very good at being a mom. I work my ASS off to ensure it.
I am in tune with my kids. I know them better than anyone else does (seems obvious, right? you would think). I do things the way I do things, not just out of randomness or stupidity. FOR A REASON.
I do my research. I ask questions. I stay up to date on health issues. I understand a good bit about child development.
I am not some dumb hillbilly that just pops out babies willy-nilly, and lets them run crazy.

I put an immense amount of thought into EVERY decision.
I believe in letting my kids be who they are. I guide them with a gentle hand through life. I don't believe that children should be trained like dogs, or treated like pets in any manner. I treat mine as little PEOPLE, who think and feel, and are entitled to their opinions.
I let them explore their world in whatever way is comfortable to them- as long as they are safe.

I can NOT stand for someone to not respect my mothering.
Especially people who don't have a clue themselves. Honestly.
You may not agree with my parenting style- but if you know anything, you can at least RESPECT it and see where I am coming from.

Not only am I a kick-ass GOOD mom. I am a cool mom.
We do fun things. We have what all the other kids have, within reason. (I also try to teach them that they don't need everything the other kids have)
My kids have name brand clothes- not because I care about brands- but because they are good quality and they actually fit Lucy!

I may not dress myself like a fashionista, but I see nothing about Gymboree or Hanna Andersson to turn your nose up at. I like cute clothes, not flashy logos. We seek comfort and quality, and I pay well for it. Yes, I try my damndest to get it on sale, lol, but that doesn't make it cheap!

What you see my kids wearing at the grocery store or the park is nothing to judge us by, much less what they wear in their very own home. We save the "good" clothes for school and parties. Why risk ruining them with a Popsicle?
The rest of the time, they wear what they want- be that a Spiderman costume, a pajama top, or just underwear. That is called "letting them be in control of their environment," and "letting them be comfortable." It's not called "Lazy mom."

I actually feel assaulted when I can see "that look." When I can hear that tone of voice saying "your mother shouldn't let you do that" or "your mother should dress you better."
Why waste energy judging and critiquing someone else's child?
It gets you nowhere. All it does is piss me off, and make me want to shut you out.

My kids are "handled," despite what you may think.
We have a *controlled chaos* type of theme, and it works for our family.
Our loving, HAPPY, thriving little family.

You will never understand what works for our family, because you really don't know us at all. And you don't know as much as you think you know, either.
Once you figure that all out- you'll live a much happier life!

because I can- baby clothes

I have always loved these for little boys!
We're going to ahve a couple of these, provided I can find them for the proper gender!


I LOVE this. Maybe minus the bib.
I'll probably buy it soon, lol, because it can go either way!


This is possibly the cutest thing I've seen for a little girly girl.
Why do I love it so? I'm not sure. But I do!

I love the whole tomato collection, actually. But this outfit is my favorite. Comfy AND oh-so-cute! IF this baby is a girl, by the time I find out, this line should be marked down. Lol.

I can NOT wait to start buying baby goodies!
I need new slings, a mei tei, robeez...
Of course I have bedding to plan, and hopefully make.
I actually bought a diaper bag last week. I saw one I loved and couldn't resist!
Ooooh.... and dipies and wipes things! those are SO cute!
And more of the super-bibs that I discovered late in life with Lucy. Okay, toddler-hood, which was good. But we could've used them sooner!

I am so excited to baby-shop!
And even better- besides my baby, 2 people very close to me are pregnant too! That pretty much guarantees me at least one boy and at least one girl, right?

Only 8 more weeks until I can find out the sex of my own bean. Woohoo!!!

(oh, and don't start feeling sorry for the "old" babies. Trust me- I have run out of things to buy for them. That's all. Lol)

as seen on TMC

(and if you don't know what TMC is- you are missing out, sista)

"I'm sick of taking the high road. It's covered in bear shit."

Hahahahahahahahaha!

the countdown

Over to your right.
Okay, yes. I have a while to go. But not as long as you may think!

Dual language kindergarten= stressful

ALREADY!
We applied. He's been tested.
School starts in 2 weeks, and we haven't heard ANYthing.

I chatted with another mom about the program, and she told me something that kind of made my stomach churn.
Firstly- there is a LOT of homework.
More troubling, though is that it seems that they cut out most of the arts and crafts, so that the DLK kids can "keep up" with regular kindergarten.

Arts and crafts are EXTREMELY important to me. They were the only thing I actually loved about school.
Arts, and creative writing.
Jacob is a VERY artistic child. He will THRIVE in creative classes, just like I did as a kiddo.

So, honestly- I am scared.
I am also kind of pissed.

IF my kid gets into the DLK, will I even want him in it?
I feel like I am flying blind here.
They have given us ZERO information on the program.
School starts in 2 WEEKS. 14 days from tomorrow. And I know diddly squat about where my baby will go and what he will learn. Much less do I feel like I am making choices that are best for him... I don't even know if I CAN make the choice. We did apply for the program. Does that mean if he gets in, he's just IN!?

And speaking of my irritation with the school- I got a letter on Thursday- Aug 9. The mail came at 1pm.
As follows:

To the parents of Jacob C.
We will be having a new student orientation at the school on Aug 9, from 11am-12pm.

WTF!?
Thanks for the warning, jack asses!
Obviously, we didn't make it. I was seriously steamed.

I think I hate this school already.

If for some reason he doesn't get into DLK- I can tell you, it will be a RELIEF! A small disappointment, and a huge weight off of my shoulders.
My child needs art. I want him to draw and paint, and make macaroni necklaces!
I don't want to start "nose to the grindstone" at the tender age of 5!
Yes- of course his education is of the utmost importance. But if he hates school- how well will he really do?
I also place a HIGH value on creativity, independent thinking, self expression, artistic release, pride in something you created...
I want these for my children. MORE than I want them to be bilingual, without question.

Jacob says

"Momma, I know jelly's not healfy, but it tastes SO GOOD!"

This was his commentary today as he made sandwiches for himself and his sister for lunch.
What a big boy!

Boohoo... poor little me!

As if nausea, high BP, and exhaustion wasn't enough to make me feel bad.
Next came the insomnia. I haven't had a collective 8 hrs of sleep in 3 days!
And then, yesterday, on comes the summer cold.
I'm just a sleepy, headachey, snotty, exhausted, feverish, queasy, shaky MESS!

Damn right I'm gonna whine about it! Wouldn't you?

I've got 8 thousand cute pictures from our day yesterday.
Once I start feeling half way back to normal- I'll go to the trouble to upload them.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! :-P

Well that was fast!

Mere hours after the discovery of his first loose tooth, Jacob is now sporting the big kid smile!

Oddly enough, he never noticed it was gone.
I was in my room, making the bed, and he came bounding in. He was chattering a mile a minute, and I noticed that there was no tooth sticking out at a weird angle.

We searched high and low for that thing. In the recliner, in the couch, under the couch, in all the bedrooms and the kitchen.
Of course, after not vacuuming for like 2 weeks (Cotton has done it- give me a break), I decided to break down and do a quick run thru tonight. Possibly after the tooth was lost, but long before we noticed.

Oh well. I told him the fairy will know that he lost his tooth. His financial gain is secure. And MAN- I never got $10 for a stinkin tooth!
Daddy is all a twitter over the milestone, and had to be talked down from a $20! Lmao!
We decided to give him the big bucks for this first one, because it is special. And because he is quite distraught over the wierdness of it all. He was barely warming up to a loose tooth, and now he's missing one!

And now the big reveal!

Don't be shy, baby!


Is this not the most adorable thing? I keep asking him to show me his smile over and over! :-D


Extreme close up. Lol!


None of his others feel remotely loose, so he may be sportin' this look for a while. That is FINE BY ME! OMG he is too damned cute! Do I make gorgeous babies or what?

Froggy fun

The kids caught this little bitty frog in the backyard last night.



I love Jacob's face here


so cute how tiny the frog is, on the cute tiny finger! :-D



Never mind the baby boobie. I didn't notice until it was too late. The cute pics were taken, and the frog was long gone...


Cupped in her sweet little hands!




I told her "Maybe you should give him a kiss, and see if he truns into a prince!"
Her reply? "Ummm... Maybe not." Lol.




There was much begging and pleading, and even some attempted sneaking- to have the frog live in the house with us.
So we had a lesson about "wild animals," and how they need to live in the wild. How little froggy would die if we kept him inside, away from the bugs and his froggy friends.

After some playing and petting, it started to get dark, and they reluctantly let their friend go home.

In other news

we were driving down the road today, and Jacob says "there is something wrong with my mouth." Well... he's 5 and 1/2, and he had his fingers on his front tooth. Is there really any question what is going on?
He's all WIGGLY! My baby is about to lose his first tooth! I can't even believe it. He seems so little. But, he'll be one of many snaggle toothed kindergarteners, I'm sure.

As you can guess- this is a big source of anxiety for the poor kid. He is constantly wiggling it, looking in the mirror, asking questions: will I talk funny with no teeth? where does the tooth fairy live? how much money will she leave me? when will I get new teeth? when will Papa get new teeth? (heehee)
He's really self conscious about it. I need to get him around some other school aged kiddos, so that he can see that he's not a freak. ;-)

And as for me, I am not doing so hot.
I am in no condition for handling milestones right now.
After a confirmation wiggle, I had to call Cotton and share the news. I burst into tears as I said "Jacob is losing his first tooth!" My baby can't possibly be THAT big, can he?
And I love those little gapped teeth. I remember when they came in- the sweet little angel never did the "teething" thing, the fussing and drooling. Not my golden child. He just smiled his beautiful smile at you, and you would go "Wow- he's got a new tooth!"

I told Christine that I'll save all the baby teeth, and by the time I go through 3 kids- I can make a bracelet or something. Lol. She said I'd probably have enough to fringe my curtains!

Okay- I'm off to shop online for one of those adorable "baby teeth" boxes.
If anyone has seen them locally- give me a shout!

Good baby!

Saw the doctor today.
Basically, all they did was weigh me and take my blood pressure 3 times.
For some reason my blood pressure was high... go figure.
My weight was lower, but not really a concern, I guess, since I'm obviously not emaciated- and I am on Zofran now.

Then we stole the ultrasound room so the doc could sneak a peek at the bean.
She did a "belly" one, so we couldn't see much at all. Other than a blob that is much bigger than the blob 2 weeks ago, and after plenty of digging- that beautiful little firefly flickering heart. :sigh:
Oh, and I have plenty of fluid. lol.

Sooo... I'm 9 weeks today. I go back in 4 weeks- at the END OF THE FIRST TRIMESTER!!!
I think I'll throw a party on that day! ;-) A day I wasn't sure I'd see with this little one...
and of course, if we make it 13 weeks, chances are very good that we'll make it all the way!

Keep hanging on little bean. Mommy is getting a little bit attached to you!

He's a keeper

I may or may not have mentioned it (lol), but I've had pretty much constant morning sickness for weeks now.
As a result- I have an aversion to, well... FOOD. All food. If you know me, you know this is just not right.
I have to make a concerted effort to eat, to keep myself and the little bean alive.

Well, last night- hunger struck!
It was amazing!

I had 2 bowls of chocolate chip ice cream (shut up, it was good), and thought I was all right.
Then I saw a Wendy's commercial. Now, they didn't even show the spicy chicken sandwich combo- but that is my favorite chicken item on earth. Yummm....



I started drooling.
I told Cotton "I need a spicy chicken sandwich."
"Yea," he replies "it does sound good."
"Go get us one!" I say, playfully.
He laughs and says "Don't be crazy. You'll be over it in 5 minutes."
5 minutes passes. I'm not over it.

I have to have one. I cannot go to bed without eating one.
I tell Cotton "I'm going to Wendy's."
Now, mind you, Wendy's is about 20 minutes away. It's 10 o'clock at night.
He is seriously overprotective.

He jumps up and says "No you're not. If you really want it, I'm going."
And off he goes.
A little under an hour later- I am in spicy chicken heaven. Laughing at headlines on jay leno and scarfing that thing down like I hadn't eaten in weeks! (Oh wait, I haven't!)

So- I just want to show a little love to my darling hubby. Thanks for taking care of me!

for Nicole...

I was talking to Cotton about something or someone last night... gosh, I don't remember the exact topic.
(have I mentioned I have MAJOR preggo brain this time around? It's AWFUL!)
Anyway... I said "blah blah blah on DAM blah blah."
He gave me the "you're stupid" head shake and said "It's not DAM, it's DFW-am, or D-fwam, or da fam... or however you want to say it..."

I told him that I would HAVE to tell the girls, and that Nicole would be so proud of him. Lmbo!

"What!?!"

You know that scene in Shrek, where Prince Charming climbs to the highest room in the tallest tower, pulls back the gossamer curtains, only to find

*

*

*

The wolf lying in the princess' bed, reading a playboy?

Well, last night Lucy fell asleep in my arms, in the recliner.
She is a bit more weight than I am supposed to be lifting, so I asked Cotton to come carry her to bed.
Hours later, everyone else has gone to bed. I do my usual piddling around, have a snack, and get ready to turn in.
I hear Lucy's TV on softly, and her door is cracked. I thought "I'd better go move her to our room, so that we don't have middle-of-the-night panic mode."
I slowly and quietly creep into MY princess' room, only to find

*

*

*




I could just hear him saying "WHAT?!?!" Heeheehee.

I won't let him on the couches anymore, so I guess he thought he'd found an alternative.

If you laughed about the pool(s) fiasco

Here is the reason I did all of that. FUN!


(umm.. I think we know where she got that large mouth. :snort:)

We had a brainstorm, to put a pool in the middle of the circular sprinkler. Then the kids ran and jumped through the shower and got a big SPLASH!!!




Pretty baby girl


How much do you LOVE this face? Heehee!


Mid-leap, but I cut off his feet. Oopsy.


She's saying "Hey Daddeeeeee....." (my prompt for a faux smile)


And because he was out there, our furry child


Summer is almost over!
It's definitely been the shortest summer EVER. Rain for 2 1/2 months, then a wee bit of heat and sun- and in three weeks SCHOOL STARTS!
Time to really live it up before little man starts his long career as a student!

Cool.

Jacob took this very cool picture of his own eye!


It actually exactly depicts all of the colors in there. (except that they aren't coming across well on blogger. If you're THAT interested- try clicking the pic)
Please don't ever ask me what color my son's eyes are. I really don't know. Grayish greenish bluish? Depending on the shirt he wears. He was topless here- so there was no influence.

I do know they are breathtaking, stunning, and that the girls will swoon when he looks at them. I already do.
And that they are the same color as his daddy's, except maybe a smidge darker. ;-)

I'm not sure if I took this one, or if he did. We were playing around, passing the camera... But here are both of the eyes in question. lol.
(again, click the pic if you want more clarity)

The Greatest Show on Earth

So we decided that this year, Lucy is actually old enough (mature enough) to go to things like the circus.
It was time for the family to go visit old Barnum and Bailey!

I didn't take any pictures of the actual circus... I was more interested in capturing the people watching it. :-)

At the preshow- clown noses are FUN!


Here we go... getting into our seats


Just try to look at these clowns without smiling!




Mmmm... Cotton Candy

(after licking that piece for about 5 minutes- she decided I should eat it. Yummm...)

And Cotton candy fingers are pretty tasty, too!


Here's a new alternative to nail biting, clown nose biting!


I really wish I had gotten more pictures- but between two little ones that hadn't napped, someone having to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes, and actually trying to watch the circus myself...
This is all I got.

And my review:
Either I've gotten bigger, or the circus has gotten smaller.
While I really enjoyed it, it seemed very SHORT and SMALL. And very "Disney-ish," in Cotton's words.
Videos of talking elephants, a storyline of a little boy, and a female hostess singing through most of it. Definitely not the 3 ring circus I expected, or remember watching as a kid.
But there were lots of cool acts. I oohed and aahhed for 2 hours, minus the intermission. Lucy loved the music, and danced and clapped through most of the show. Jacob loved the motorcycles.
We all loved the pizza, haha.

Definitely worth doing. We probably won't go every year, though- unless they expand it back out a bit. The mini-circus didn't exactly blow us away. It was actually PERFECT for the preschool bunch- short, sweet, to the point. But for ME, I wanted MORE!

My Sunday

I woke up, felt sick.
Lucy was pulling the covers off, saying "Wet's wake up, Momma. Wet's wake up."
Ugh... I tell her to turn on the TV and cuddle with me- she happily obliges.

I get out of bed after 3 episodes of Caillou, and start scrounging for something to eat.
The dog is whining- but I don't want to deal with him yet.

I finally settle on cheese crackers, and let the kids fend for themselves. They wanted cereal. Cool.

After my crackers calm my tummy, I decide to let the kids swim.
Get them into bathing suits, sunblocked, and out in the backyard.
I also finally let the dog out, but I don't feed him yet. Dog food smells yucky.

I start looking for their new wading pool. It's not in the shed- I SWEAR I left it in the shed. Not in the pantry, not in the garage. I call Cotton, a little pissy, and ask him WTF he was thinking, throwing away a brand new in package wading pool. He says he didn't.
Whatever. We'll go buy a new one.

I put some clothes on. By this pint the MS is back, and hitting hard.
I skip the food step and go straight to Zofran (the miracle drug).

Zofran kicks in, the kids and I have lunch. I finally feed Emmitt.
I get the kids dressed to go to the dollar store, lock up the dog, and out the front door we go.
Dig in my purse for 20 minutes, looking for keys, before remembering that Cotton had them last. Herd the kids back inside, and go on a key hunt.
15 minutes later, I call Cotton- a little pissier. "Where the hell is the truck key!?" He says to look in his shorts pocket. Oh, right- the shorts I just put in the washer? Niiiice.
Luckily, the washe is done.
I unload the dryer, then load the dryer with the wet clothes.
Lo and behold, lying on the bottom of the washer- the truck key!

I re-hustle the children out the door, into the car, and we head to the store.
I need a pool, razors, and something to kill flies.

We emerge 45 minutes later with 3 pools, 2 beach towels, oreos, strawberry newtons, a bag of doritos, 4 squirt guns, fun size kit-kats for ME, a jar of arnica... and some other stuff. My bank account $40some-odd lighter.
No razors. Nothing for the flies.

We get home, I get the kids undressed, blow up the pool, throw it in the backyard...
Now where is the dang WATER HOSE!?!?!?
I go look right outside the gate 3 times, and it is NOT there. GAWD!
I check the other side of the house, the garage twice... aaargh... Cotton is seconds away from a third pissy phone call.
Go back out to the gate, and *poof* There it is, but on the neighbor's side. Pregnancy brain strikes again.

Fill up the pool, turn on the sprinkler- the kids are in hog heaven. I break out some frozen go-gurt to top it off. Woohoo...
I got some really cute pictures of them splashing down, cool.

Go back inside and get ready to tackle the hurricane zone that used to be my house.
I pull the 2 remaining new pools from the bags (hey, they were marked down- and we go through them quick!) and try to think of a suitable place to store them. Ummm... I guess the hall closet will work.
Go open it, and out falls something on my feet. I say this with my head ducked in shame- it was the "old" new pool. Oops.
I call Cotton and half-ass apologize, blaming hormone induced ditziness. He laughs at me, and laughs harder when I tell him about the water hose fiasco.

I finish cleaning the house, and collapse on the couch, and watch a lifetime movie. Cotton comes home, takes Jacob fishing, and here we are. Lucy and I are vegging out and have plans to do a little more swimmin' in a minute.

Pictures to follow at some point tonight. I don't feel like loading them, and I have a whole weekend full to edit and share. So that gives you something to look forward to tomorrow. Lol.

tonight we asked Jacob

what he wants to name the baby.

He looked at me, then looked at Cotton. In a dead serious voice, he said "Harry Potter."

I love my boy!

the highest compliment

I've received in a while:

Lucy stroking my face as she says "Momma, you're my best cousin."

Awwwwwwwww......

I cried a little tonight

but don't worry...
They were very happy tears!

Like everyone, I went through a phase of not loving old Michael Irvin. I mean, come on man. Get your shit together!
BUT- I think he has. And even if he hadn't- there is NO denying that the man was an AMAZING football player. And a Cowboy from start to finish, which makes him even better.



Besides, you just can NOT call yourself a true Cowboys fan, and not love the triplets.



It's just the way it is.

And tonight- he was inducted into the Hall of Fame!
I watched Jerry Jones talking about him, and watched clips, and saw his stats- and every ounce of respect I'd lost over the years came pouring back.
I watched the play, the injury, that ended his career- and the floodgates opened.

I cried, and cried, and cried a little more.

Congratulations, Playmaker. You deserve it, and I am so glad that it finally happened!

Ive been saving these pictures...

for a special occasion. (okay, okay- my computer was messed up. whatever)
Anyway- Brooksy's big 3-1 seems like the day to share the madness!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BFF!!!!! Mucho love to you, girly!

A tribute to friendship:

Here is my girl, nearly peeing herself. Michelle and I are peeing ourselves in the background.


How big IS my mouth?


Hawtness...


More than a handful is a waste, right? (see her face? she likes it!)


"let's make a sexy face!" yea, that went well


See what I put up with?


My mistress, making her "bedroom eyes"


That dirty mistress again, yours truly, and my "new best friend" Melissa. Oh, and baby Beth- isn't she adorable?


Awww... buddies


And looking at these pictures, from about a month ago... MY GOODNESS. Cotton keeps saying I am losing weight, and I know it's true. But GAWD. I won't know for sure until Wednesday- but I'd be willing to wager that this baby has pulled 15lbs off of me in the past 7 weeks!
Amazing what not eating or drinking will do for your figure. :-P

Great news today! GREAT NEWS!

But it's a secret. Sorry folks.

But YAY!!!! Woohoo! AWESOME!!!