Here we go again

Hi y'all!

I am really trying to keep a positive attitude and outlook right now.

As you know I along with 1/2 million other people, are smack dab in the middle of Hurricane Season.

Well this weekend I am either going to be packing up for a fun holiday weekend at the lake.

Or I will be packing my all of my memories that can't be replaced and taking them to higher ground.

Thanks Hurricane Gustav!

As I posted once before, I don't do well this kind of thing.

I am already nervous and antsy. I keep checking the weather models on the internet. And then the radio updates aren't helping the situation either.

Models all say something different. Won't know till Sunday. Gotta love Mother Nature.

So am sitting here at work wringing my hands and biting my lower lip til it hurts.

Praying till I can't pray anymore. I keep giving it to God saying it's His, only to take it back again.

Vicious cycle on my part.

Oh, gotta go...another weather report coming on the radio.

Beauty tip #2

Two tips in one week. Shocking I know.

I figured since I found another great beauty product, I would share it with y'all.

Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Soother Cooling Hydragel

This stuff is great! It leaves my lips feeling soft and silky.

There are several different shades of lip soother.

But the best part...They are flavored! Just like when I was a young girl. When Bubble Gum flavored lip gloss in the clear bottle with the roller ball applicator was the best. The glossier the better.

I purchased Shine 30.

Hubs said it tastes like peach.

Where are we again?

So my SIL called me Saturday morning around 9AM.

Calling this early wasn't a problem because R3 must be part rooster. He thinks because the sun has come up it is time for everyone in the house to be awake. Usually at this hour in the morning we go snuggle on the couch and watch Noggin.

Oh yeah back to my phone call.

SIL tells me the she and kids are in the drive thru at the bank and this car pulls up next to her.

And hanging out the window is a llama.

I said a llama? And she repeated it again. Yes folks a llama.

My first thought was how in the heck did they get it in the car. And then what were they doing with it.

But then I thought Southeast Texas weather is pretty close to the Sahara Desert weather. HOT, HOT, HOT.

So that would make perfectly good sense as to why they had a llama in their car.

The only thing better would be a picture to go with this but it was early in the AM for SIL and she wasn't on her toes using her cell phone camera.

Beauty tip

OK interpeeps, I am not one to give beauty tips because my own regime only consists of washing my face every night and slathering it in moisturizer.

But when I saw this here and here, I knew I just had to try it. Y'all I love these two ladies and I know they wouldn't give bad beauty advise.

I am usually a Clinque kinda girl but I was in need of some new mascara and I just didn't feel like driving across the highway to get to the mall. I know completely lazy.

I was already in Target picking up you know the staples...paper towels, soap, and gummy coke bottles. So I figured I would give it a try.

And I love it. My lashes have never looked better. Long, lush, and long. Did I say long.

So run ladies, well not necessarily run. But then next time you are out shopping for gummy coke bottles stop by the make department and pick up this beauty item.

You won't regret it.

Making memories

R8 and I have a tradition. I take him to school on the first day. We have several traditions during the year but this is one of my favorites. I love making memories.

I love to watch him. See the look on his face. He walks into school, totally comfortable in his skin. Talks to everyone he sees. And I do mean everyone. As he walks down the hall I hear Hi R8 or Hey R8 how was summer? I am left asking him who was that. He tells me their name and keeps walking. I am amazed.

We go to his classroom. Meet the teacher, find his seat and then I get my hug good bye.

I then make my way down to the kindergarten hall to say hi to his old teacher, Mrs. D. Stop by to say hi to his old first grade teacher Mrs. H. and then on to Hubs' room. Tell him have a great first day and I am off to work.

I have done this for the past three years. Where did the time go? When did R8 get so big. When did he become so confident. I am so blessed to have a ring side seat to watch him.

He is the most lovable little boy. He still like me snuggle with him. He still wants to sit in my lap and rock him occasionally.

These years are going by way to fast. I just want to freeze time and take in every moment. One time I was holding hands with R8 and I traced each one of his fingers with my fingers. I stared at his hand in mine. I studied each detail. He finally asked me what I was doing. I told him making a memory.

One day when he is grown. I will remember a small boy who's hand used to fit into mine and be much smaller. I will remember the softness of his skin. The out line of his knuckles. The lines on his palms. I will remember every small detail.

One day when I am old and he is grown, I will want to hold his hand. His hand will be the bigger one. I will once again trace his fingers with my fingers. I will stare at my small hand in his.

And I will make a new memory.

You are both grounded!

R8 and R3 are going to daycare this week.

R8 actually likes to go, he has a lot friends that go and has he always has someone to play with. I don't mind because he doesn't complain about being bored.

R8 asked if he could bring his Nintendo DS and ALL of his games. Normally I say yes to the DS and one game. One game only.

I have put his name on everything. And I do mean everything. The DS, the games, the stylus, what ever he brings has his name. First and last name. Printed on a label maker from work so his name is very clear to read.

But at some point he lost his wall charger, only to lay claim to another, which he is no longer allowed to bring. He lost a game, only to have the owner check every DS at the daycare to find it.

Hubs and I had a very long talk with him about bringing all of his games and the consequences that would follow if one came up missing.

I would like to say R8 did great job. But I would be lying. He did great the first day. But the second day, not so great! He lost a game. Well actually R3 lost it for him.

So the boys are grounded!

He says he put it up and some how R3 got a hold of his game case and took one game out and threw it across the room. Now they can't find it.

R8 is not allowed to bring his DS for the rest of the week. Nor is he allowed to watch TV before going to be. R3 is grounded from watching DVDs at night. This should be a great lesson in patience for Hubs and myself. I'll let you know how it goes.

R8 has accepted the responsibility that he didn't take care of his things and didn't even pitch one fit y'all. Not one. R3 well he is just that 3. He doesn't have a game system I can take away or a favorite toy, so the DVD player it is.

I hate having to ground my boys. But I want them to learn responsibility. I want them to learn how to take care of their belongings.

I hope as they grow older, they remember how it felt to be grounded. Most of all I hope they learned from the lesson.

Oh, gotta go, Hubs just reminded R3 no TV and thus a full blown body thrown down crying fit has taken place in the hallway.

The joys of parenting, aren't they wonderful?

Lazy summer days

Summer is just about over. School starts next week.

R8 will be in third grade. Where did the time go? I still remember walking him to his kindergarten classroom on the first day of school. Mrs. D giving him and me a big hug and telling us both it was going to be a great day. R8 hugged my neck and off he went. Me, I walked down the hallway, told Hubs bye, he teaches at the same school. And then getting into my car and crying my eyes out.

R3 will be in his first year of pre-K. No crying there. Not the real thing. But I must admit he looked so cute trying on his backpack. I have two years to get myself geared up for my baby officially starting school.

I would like to say that I we have some big plans for the last week of summer but we don't.

I would like to say that I made a mad dash to the mall this past weekend to take part in the tax free holiday Texas has every year. But I didn't. Kinda glad I didn't, the mall is always crazy tax free weekend. Worse than Christmas time.

No excitement here. Just enjoying the last few lazy days of summer vacation. For right now, no homework. No rush to get to baseball lessons, no rush to eat dinner. No rushing period.

But ask me next week. I just might not have any hair left.

Rainy days and Saturdays

I know the song title is Rainy Days and Mondays but it was Saturday.

I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately. My throat feels as if someone took sand paper and scratched the you know what out of it. It sounds like a bullfrog has been lodged in my throat. Hubs actually told me ribbit the other day when I asked him a question.

Anyway, it rained all day Saturday. Which was just glorious for me. It was like a permission slip for me and the boys to stay in our pajamas all day. Which is exactly what we did.

Hubs left early in the morning for football games and wouldn't be home until around 5 pm. I took my sweet time doing the laundry and cleaning up. I took so long it took me until 4pm.

The boys just chilled out and I watched way to many episodes on the Food Network. And strangely enough I didn't even feel the need to run to the nearest HEB and buy food that I normally wouldn't know what to do with, to make some amazing dish that Paula Deen or Sandra Lee made look so easy to make.

I know something must be wrong with me.

I have to admit I completely enjoyed staying at home. It was nice not to have some sort of errands to run or some place to be at a specific time.

The best part of the day was when the boys put on their rain boots and all three of us went to play in the rain in the back yard in our pj's. I know, I know, not such a great idea with my sore throat.

But I felt like Debbie Reynolds with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in the movie, Singin' in the Rain. Oh what a glorious feeling....

The new mommy

Sunday morning Hubs and I were laying in bed and R3 climbed in to snuggle with us.

I was complaining how my legs were stiff and felt heavy. I had push mowed the lawn Saturday evening. In the 458 degree heat. I know what was I thinking.

Clearly I wasn't.

So I continue with my I am so old tirade and Hubs is just laying there with no comment.

R3 tells him that they need to trade me in for a new mommy. One that isn't old.

Hubs asks him where are they going to get this new mommy.

R3's reply....HEB.

For those of you not from Texas. HEB is a grocery store.

So ladies beware, Hubs and R3 are prowling the grocery store isles in search of new mommy.

And the winners are...

Here are the winners from Friday's give away...

Sonya, Genny, and The Roost

And here is the proof...

Random Number Generator: Date stamp/time 08/17/08 21:10

1 5 7

Thanks for participating and congratulations to all who won!

If you will all email me your addresses, I will get your tiles to you in the next few days.

Have a great week!

My 100th post give away

So in honor of my 100th post, I am having a bloggy give away.

A few weeks ago I won a give away from Yvette at the Charm House. I loved my "chatter tile" so much I contacted her and ask her to send me another one so I could give it away. See this post for a picture of mine.

And guess what? Yvette didn't just send me one, she sent me three! She is such a sweetie.

In order to win a tile all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite bible verse. On Monday I will have the random number picker thingy pick three numbers to win. I will close the comments on Sunday at 9 pm.

So to start you off here is one of my favorites.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Shopping with the boys

Most of my friends have girls. So when they say the are going shopping with their daughters I get this mental picture of them walking through the mall with and arm full of packages. Smiling, trying on clothes, shoes, and stopping by Bath and Body Works for a plethora of good smelly stuff that would make anyone want to buy the entire line of Brown Sugar & Fig products. All the while having a great time.

Me, I have boys and we know boys grow up and become men. Most of whom hate to shop.

Most of the shopping expeditions with the boys are rushed. Get in, get out. Don't look around. They start in with are we done yet or my feet hurt. So Usually if I feel the need to spend some quality time at the mall, I either go by myself or take R3 who is still to young to know the difference. He thinks going to the mall means getting some pretzel bites and a lemonade.

But a few weekends ago we needed to do some back to school clothes shopping. We had a serious talk with R8 about him trying on clothes and shoes. And if he didn't gripe it might not take as long. I also had the same talk with Hubs.

Thank goodness when shopping for them I have this ability to walk into a store look around and determine if there is anything on the racks worth looking at. That cuts out a lot of time that would other wise end in a total and complete melt down by all boys.

So Hubs and I made a plan, start early get it done, go eat lunch and the home.

I was so impressed, we made it to the mall at 10:30AM! We made our scheduled stop to get our pretzel bites and lemonade. Then we hit the stores we always have luck with. Boy did we have luck. Most of the stores were having sales. I got shorts at the Children's Place for R8 for only $4.49. Gotta love that.

Anyway we made our way through the mall and were completely finished by 2 pm. We stopped by Chik-fil-a for lunch. I was sitting there thinking about all the great deals we found. And how not one time did the boys or Hubs loose it in a store. Well there was one time Hubs went to sit down and take a stress break. But other than that it was perfect.

When all of a sudden R3 spots the trampolines with the bungee harnesses. He starts in with how he wants to try this and he needs to try this. I could see the kicking and screaming coming. I stood my ground and told him no. He was to little and that he needed to be at least five before I would let him be hooked up to that contraption.

Then the whining began. No kicking, no screaming, just the whining. I held my ground and walked right past them. Walked right out of the mall, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I walked to the car. I put him in his seat. Hubs and R8 got in and we drove off like we had robbed the place.

All I could think of hurry, faster. If I drive faster he just might fall asleep. And that he did.

No more whining.

Now if I could just explain that to the nice officer that just pulled me over.

Musical Talent

R8 comes into the living room and says hey mom do you want to see our talent?

I am thinking the boys are going to have some sort of burping contest to see who is the loudest.

But R8 picks up R3 and holds him sideways. R3 puts his hands straight out above his head. R8 then proceeds to strum R3's belly and move his fingers on R3's arm like he is playing a fret board on a guitar.

All the while belting out some sort of tune I don't recognize.

But the entire 4.6 seconds he is holding R3 the tune running around in my head was Jukebox Hero by Foreigner.

The only thing funnier would to have had my camera ready to take a picture.

When I get done blogging

Usually after I tuck the boys into bed, R3 starts in with his nightly routine of questions.

Can I get another kiss and a hug? Will you "nuggle" me? Do you love me?

The other night after I had tucked him in for the third time he asked me....

Are you done blogging yet? I want to "nuggle".

He's 3, he isn't supposed to know what blogging is yet. Smart boy if I do say so my self.

Actually snuggling with my boys is one of my favorite things to do. One day they won't want snuggle with mama. One day they will be grown men with families of their own.

I hope they remember how we used to snuggle. I hope they take every opportunity given to spend that precious time with their babies.

And one day I will cherish these memories but for now I am going to live in the moment of "nuggle" time.

A give away

Hey interpeeps!

In honor of my 100th post coming up on Friday, I will be hosting a give away.

Well actually give aways.

So have a great day and check back on Friday for the details.

See ya then!

A preacher that blogs

Cool, the date is 8/8/8

Sorry I got off the topic.

Last week our church voted in a new preacher. Our search committee has been looking for over a year for a man of God to lead our church.

I love our interim preacher, Bob, but he has another full time job which he loves to pieces. So keeping him was not God's plan for our church.

In March, God made it very apparent to our committee who he had chosen for this job.

So this past Sunday, Dr. Phil Holder preached. I enjoyed his message. I also enjoyed meeting his family.

Before we voted, the committee members each had a chance to speak about their decision. One of the members was very thorough in her research on him. But what totally caught my attention was that he has a blog. Our new preacher to be had a blog. WOW!

Well then our church voted and we all voted yes, not one no. Can I get and Amen? He and his family graciously accepted.

I asked him about his blog, and he was excited to share about it with me. He also admitted that he hasn't had the time lately to keep up with it but he assured me once things calm back down he would be back at it.

I can't wait! And for those of you who want to see the blog, here is the site.

www.newcreation-phil.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Hubs!

So Hubs is having a birthday today. Normally I would list things about him that correspond with his age. But I don't know if I have that kind of time.

So I am going to narrow it down to say 10 things. So here are a few random facts about Hubs.

1. He has the most awesome blue eyes! Very dreamy
2. He loves his family
3. He is a sports fanatic
4. He will stay up to wee hours of the morning playing World of Warcraft
5. He loves Jesus.
6. He hates to mow the grass, even with a riding lawn mower.
7. He likes to go fishing.
8. He cooks a mean steak on the grill.
9. He is very smart!
10. He loves me, he loves me, he loves me.

I am very blessed to have a husband like him. I hope he knows how much I love him.

Have a wonderful birthday Hubs!

Getting fit with Wii Fit

R8 received money for his birthday from family and friends. He was trying to get enough to buy Guitar Hero for his Nintendo DS system.

Paw-Paw ending up buying the Guitar Hero game for him so he has a few dollars to spend. Big bucks to be exact. I never got that much money for a birthday when I was his age.

So he bought a few things and then decided to save the rest for a Wii Fit. Since they just came out they were pretty hard to find.

Finally last week I found one and snatched that sucker right up! R8 was so excited when I picked him up and told him he had a surprise in the back seat. He looked and scream at the top of his lungs...THANK YOU MOM!!!

I don't know what he was thanking me for, it was his birthday money. Yeah I do, I spent the past few weeks driving all over town and calling every game store with in a 50 mile radius just to find this game for him.

So when we got home on Tuesday night we cooked dinner and then hooked up the Wii Fit. First let me say that I hooked it up and not Hubs. Everyone knows that he is the computer/game system guru. But I got it working just fine.

And I must say that I have enjoyed this game as much as I enjoy eating a pint of Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.

It was fun, and hard, and fun. Did I say it was fun?

R8 and I played for two hours. Our favorite things so far are the balancing games. We both love the Ski Jump and Table Tilt.

Who would have ever thought a video game would be such great exercise.

Oh by the way my Wii Fit age was...29! Go mama, go mama!
I am not reveling my weight though, a lady never tells how much she weighs.

A day

The alarm clock goes off. Push snooze four times.

Crawl out of bed.

Get myself ready for the day.

Wake up Hubs and the boys.

Get boys dressed.

Feed the boys breakfast and tell them to brush their teeth.

Give Hubs and boys a kiss and hug bye. Tell them I love them.

Grab back packs and out the door we all go.

Afternoon snack.

Cook dinner.

Clean kitchen while Hubs bathes boys.

Do homework and have play time.

Tuck each boy in bed, tell them a story, and then kiss them good night.

Tell each one I love them the most, the best, forever. (our nightly ritual)

Fold a basket of laundry.

Tell Hubs I love him and give him a kiss good night.

Then off to sleepy land I go only to do it all again tomorrow.

Woot!

Have any of you heard of Woot? Have any of you been to their web site?

It is a web site that holds one day sales on all kinds of stuff. Hubs is really into checking their stuff out.

Every now and then they will offer what is called a random bag of crap for only a $1.00.

I know sounds stupid. Some times it is and other times they have awesome stuff. This bag of said crap sells out in seconds. Seconds I tell you.

The catch you don't know what you are getting. It might be some comic books and a note pad and pencils. While other times it might be a flat screen TV or a Fender guitar.

I know! A flat screen TV!

Well last week Hubs was one of the elite that was able to purchase one of these bags of crap for the low low price of $1.00 plus $5.50 for shipping.

Here is what he got in the box:
2 random comic books, 1 carry case for stuff for your computer, and this.

Who cares that it is a little older model. It retails for about $200.00. Hubs got it for only $6.50! I have actually been looking at a new one. I dropped mine on R8's field day this past school year and broke the clasp to the battery cover. Now I have a nice shiny silver pipe clear wrapped around it to hold the battery cover on so it will work.

I immediately laid claim to it. Hubs wouldn't need it, I'm the one uses it to capture our memories. But Hubs did say I could have it.

**Note**
I would have taken it anyway and he would have never said a word.

But I owe Hubs a huge thank you for staying up and checking the web site at mid night to see what item would be on sale.

Thanks Hubs, I love you!

Mother son fun

Hello? Any one there?

I'm back from my mini vacay.

R8 and I had a great time hanging out.

I really did miss y'all but it was nice to spend some one on one time with my oldest child.

We sat on the couch ate popcorn and watched one of our favorite movies, The Sandlot.

It's a classic. It has some great one liners such as: You play ball like a girl!, or you're killin' me Smalls!, or Foreveeeeeeerrrrr!!!

We also went to Galveston for the day. We went to Schlitterbahn. It is the best water park around. I grew up going to the one in New Braunfels but that is just a little to far for us to travel for the day.

We went on vacation there last year and had blast. But since we are saving for Disney in the near future we opted not to go this year. But I thought since Hubs would be out of town and R3 at the lake, why not.

We had the best time having mother son fun.

Well the rest of the fam should be home some time today.

I enjoyed my time with R8 but I can't wait to see my other two boys. I sure did miss them.