Is it Friday yet???

2011-02-09T12:02:00.002-06:00

Allie and I were at a baseball practice a few months ago. I wanted to take some pictures of her but she was in a mood. Here are the results!

I think I like these better than a posed picture anyway!

2011-02-09T11:40:00.002-06:00

Allie had to write some dreams that she had at school.

A dream for my classroom: I have a dream that our classroom will always be clean!

A dream for the world: I have a dream for the world that we recycle.

A dream for my family: I have a dream that my family will not rob!

Sweet girl!

2010-09-22T18:48:00.002-05:00

Allie is 6 (and a half as she will tell you!) This is Allie the other day...

Allie informed me today that in 10 years when she turns 16 she would like this..... a minivan for her car. She says they are SO COOL because the doors open by themselves! I thought I'd write this down so we can go back when she turns 16 and complains about whatever car we get her!!!

Given the fact that she has such a great fashion sense though, she could probably even make a 16 year old driving a minivan look cool!

2010-08-19T11:19:00.002-05:00

They look like they love each other, right???

I had a shining parenting moment today! Actually two of them. I know they are just two small moments mixed in with all the bad ones that I have but I was pretty proud of them!

Allie has had a very bad attitude lately. That has been bad for our whole family but it has been especially hard on Parker. She had been bugging him all morning so he decided he was going to run away to his grandparents house. I asked him if he would reconsider and he said not unless I got rid of Allie. So he packed his backpack and grabbed his pillow and a water bottle and said he was leaving. I told him to be sure and drink a lot of water because it was hot. I asked him if he knew how to get there and he said no but he would figure it out.

So I gave him a hug and told him I loved him and for him to call me when he got there. He walked out the door and shut it. I stood inside wondering how far he would actually take it. He came back in almost immediately. He said it was too hot and he didn't know where he was going. He decided to stick it out at home for a little bit longer!

Since he was still upset I decided to try a different route. I talked to Allie and I asked her how it made her feel that her brother was so upset with her he wanted to leave our house. She told me that it made her feel bad. I talked to her for a while about her attitude and how she was treating Parker (do unto others....) and she got pretty emotional. I told her she needed to tell Parker she loved him and she was sorry for the way she had been treating him. And she needed to ask him to stay. She didn't want to tell him those things.

So I told her that if she couldn't apologize to him and tell him that she loved him, he was going to leave. (Parker had caught on to my plan by this time!) So he grabbed his backpack and pillows again. He gave me a hug and I gave him his cell phone and told him to call me when he was safe or if he needed help. He then went and opened the door and shut it and then tiptoed to my bedroom. Allie didn't see any of this. She just heard him "leave".

She asked if he had really left and I told her that he had. And that I was sad and I was really going to miss him. She started crying and then ran up to her room. I sat on the stairs for just a few minutes and she came back down. She was very emotional and crying. She said she missed him and wanted him to come home. I asked her if she would like to call him and tell him she loved him and wanted him to come home. She said yes.

So I dialed his number for her and she called Parker. She told him she loved him and that she already missed him so much and she asked him to come home. She was crying so hard that it was hard for her to even talk. He told her that he would come home. He tiptoed down the hall with his stuff and opened and shut the front door. She ran to him and gave him a huge hug and apologized to him. She told him that she would go upstairs with him and help him unpack. So sweet!

I was pretty proud of myself for how I had let that situation play out and hoping that it would really teach Allie a lesson. I was proud of myself until he said something to bother her 30 minutes later and she kicked him. Oh well. Back to the drawing board!

2010-08-09T13:17:00.000-05:00

I thought about changing my blog layout and background but now it's almost fall again so I guess I'll just leave it!

2010-08-08T15:50:00.006-05:00

Allie and I were looking at pictures the other day from when she and Parker were born and when they were babies. After looking through TONS of pictures she had a question... "Did you and Grandmama and Aunt Melissa go to farms a lot when we were babies?"

Grandmama and Parker at the ACU Homecoming Parade

Me and Parker the lion on Halloween

Melissa on Halloween (still wearing overalls even if they were a costume)

Melissa holding Allie in the hospital

Grandmama sporting the same look as Mel while showing Allie to Parker in the hospital

Me and Parker visiting Grandmama and Granddaddy in Houston

Me and Allie at the pumpkin patch (she's wearing them too!)

Me and Parker at the Alamo (me wearing short overalls due to the heat!)

Now none of us even own a pair over overalls. It's funny how something can be such a fashion trend and then be gone so quickly! I wonder what the trend with be next???

2010-06-07T13:05:00.002-05:00

First of all, my sweet husband found the camera cord for me last night before I went to buy a new one today! Hooray for him! That doesn't necessarily mean I will blog any more often but it's still good news!

Parker had a busy spring playing baseball. He played little league with the Yankees with Chris as the coach. And then he played some games and tournaments with the select McKinney league the Vipers!

I thought this was a really cool picture. Chris pitching to Parker!

And how cute does he look in all this gear?
He had a great spring playing all the baseball he could. I think we are going to take the summer off and I'm sure he will be playing again in the fall!

And by the way on Saturday he had one game at 9:45 that they won. They had a two hour break before their next game against the White Sox. So did he come home and sit on the couch and relax? Nope. He played his Wii baseball game. Yankees vs. White Sox. The boy is obsessed!!!

2010-06-06T20:23:00.002-05:00

Ok. I've been really bad about blogging lately! We've had such a busy spring. And since I have my iphone I very rarely get on the actual computer anymore!

On top of that I can't find my camera cord anywhere and my computer doesn't have a slot for the card (what's up with that?). I'm going to go buy a new cord this week and I will take a bunch of great pictures while we are in Colorado and I will catch up on some posts from the spring as well.

It's summer right? I shoud have more time on my hands... unless I am too busy at the pool!

2010-03-11T20:48:00.002-06:00

Conversation with Parker tonight...

Parker: Mom, who won the Bachelor?
Me: Vienna
Parker: Is she pretty?
Me: Not really
Parker: So she has a good sense of humor then?

I don't know where he gets these things from!

2010-02-17T17:15:00.003-06:00

My sweet baby girl Allie turned six last month. And boy have we dragged out the celebration! Chris was going to be out of town on her actual birthday so we celebrated on the Sunday night before he left. Here is Allie (after going to a sugar and spice party) with her first round of presents and cake!

Then on her actual birthday, Ben, Dani, Sydnee and Finn came over to help us celebrate. They brought Allie way too many gifts but she had a great time!

So here is the cake that I bought for her party with her friends later on that week. Unfortunately she woke up sick that morning and we had to cancel the party. We still sang happy birthday and ate the cake though. We couldn't let it go to waste!

So we finally rescheduled her party and it went off without a hitch. She had a great time with all of her friends. They decorated their own cakes, ate pizza, did a craft, had a dance party, colored and watched the Hannah Montana movie!

Here are all the girls showing off their princess crowns!

And here is Allie with her last and final cake. We managed to drag her birthday celebration out for 3 weeks. But she's worth it isn't she?!!!

2010-01-20T20:11:00.002-06:00

Haven't blogged in a while. With the new baby (my nephew) and the holidays, things were kind of crazy around here! I don't have much to say tonight but I do have a few cute pictures and a funny Allie story!

Here are Parker and Allie toasting on New Years Eve. It was the first time we've actually let them stay up till midnight. We had a blast playing Rockband and then toasted at midnight! (Don't worry, it's just sparkly juice!)

Here are Parker and Allie before the Cowboys game. We are bummed they lost but at least the kids looked cute!

Here is Allie with her "Eric Carle" artwork that she did at school. It was chosen to hang on the wall at McKinney ISD's central office. There were only 5 kindergarteners chosen from her school! I'm so proud of her. (And notice her cute outfit...)

Close-up of "Buggy"!

When Allie was getting ready for her bath tonight she told me she needed to take her nail polish off because she got too much attention today. She said between her nails and her cute outfit that all the girls thought she looked great! She also went on to say: "The boys kept looking at me today... I guess they thought I looked HOT!" I asked her if anyone actually said that and she said no but she thought that's what they were thinking! Love that girl!

2009-11-10T09:36:00.002-06:00

Deep thoughts, by Parker...

I think Jesus and Santa must be friends and work together at Christmas. Only nice people like Jesus and believe in him so he must want Santa to reward those people with gifts for his birthday!

I'll leave you with a cute picture of my kiddos on Halloween!

2009-10-27T09:51:00.002-05:00

We went to Abilene a few weeks ago for Homecoming. We go almost every year and it's such a fun time with family and a great time for the kids to get excited about ACU!

Here we are getting ready to watch the parade

Go Wildcats!

Grandmama, Allie and Sydnee

We hung out in our hotel and relaxed. And ate WAY too many cookies! Melissa, Allie and Dani

We were so excited to see Mama. She came in from Nashville and it was a special treat to get to spend time with her!

Shoes

2009-10-15T18:28:00.003-05:00

These look very practical and comfortable. I think I'll get some. I can wear them when I walk the kids to school!

OUCH!

2009-10-14T10:06:00.004-05:00

I'm finally posting pictures of the house. I couldn't get them in any order so here you go....

Formal living room

Master bathroom
Dining room

Formal living room

Master bedroom

Here is Allie's room. I'm going to paint it light pink next week. Please excuse the samples on the walls!

Her room from another angle

Here is Parker's room

Another view

This blue heron keeps coming in my backyard. I thought it was really fun until I saw him grab a fish from my pond. I don't know how much those fish cost but I think it's too expensive for his breakfast!

The front view. We've had all the trees cut since this picture was taken but I don't have a new one!

The family room. We found a bigger mirror to go above the fireplace but we haven't bought it yet. We also need to decorate/organize all the shelves around the tv!

The kitchen

The breakfast area

Beautiful backyard!

We can't wait to have you all over!

2009-09-18T15:39:00.003-05:00

I wonder what dogs think when they see us sit down on the toilet to pee. We pee in the same place every time. And we don't even sniff to make sure it's the "right" place...

Sadie was sitting on my legs while I typed this so I decided to include a cute pic!

2009-09-15T20:03:00.001-05:00

The shirt pretty much says it all. If it hadn't been a medium in the junior section, I definately would have gotten it! (Remember this the next time I don't answer the phone!)

2009-08-28T17:54:00.002-05:00

I was getting to the bottom of everyone's blog lists so I decided I'd better post something!

The kids started school this week. Parker is in the 2nd grade and Allie in Kindergarten. They both had a great first week of school. Parker had a great time seeing all his friends again and Allie has made some wonderful new friends. She met a girl at soccer practice last week and they go to school together. Only little girls can become best friends in a week. They hug and hug each other after school! I love it!

Parker in his classroom on the first day

Allie in her classroom. She's smiling but can you see the fear behind her eyes. Sweet girl was a trooper. She has had a great week though. Today she walked in by herself and after school today she said, "I LOVE school! I can't wait till Monday!"

Parker and Allie

Sweet kiddos!

2009-08-08T14:48:00.001-05:00

Allie is such a natural beauty! She just wakes up in the morning looking perfect for the day! Don't you agree?

2009-08-07T11:44:00.001-05:00

My Mom loves birds. And she has passed that love on to Allie. Allie is the one who reminds me to fill the bird feeders. And she loves to see birds and look them up in the bird book.

We saw a few water birds at the lake last weekend and Allie asked for the bird book so she could look them up.

I went in the other room for a little while and this is what I found when I came back...

She is her Grandmama's little girl!

2009-08-05T13:42:00.001-05:00

Parker: "I wonder how long it would take a person to walk from the tippy top of Maine to the tippy bottom of California?"

I love how his mind works!

2009-07-28T18:50:00.002-05:00

I drove Chris to the airport tonight and dropped him off at about 5:30. That meant I had to navigate the 121/114/635 lane change in rush hour. The following conversation occured:

Me: Come on jerk! Let me over (while he speeds up to block me)

Parker: Why did you say that?

Me: Because he wouldn't let me over. But I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.

Parker: You should never call anyone a jerk.

Me: You're right. But at least he couldn't hear me!

Parker: But God can...

Smarty pants!

Lost and Found

2009-07-16T15:41:00.003-05:00

Has anyone seen these sweet (albeit strangely dressed) children? These well behaved, well mannered, helpful children? These children who love each other and love their parents?

These children are missing...

In other news, I found two children. They are rude and disobedient to their parents. They are mean to each other. They are not at all helpful and they are very demanding. I think I have met these children a few times before but I am sure they are of no relation to me...

If you find my other children, I will gladly trade you!

2009-07-05T22:17:00.002-05:00

We went to the Ranger game on Friday night. It was hot but the kids had so much fun. Parker had been to a few games and is "obsessed" with the Rangers (he watches every game!) but Allie had never been to one. She was very impressed by the "BIG" of it all!

Parker waiting in line to hit in the kids area

Parker and Chris watching fireworks

Me and silly Allie

Chris and I

Sweet kids. Notice how I was making him look at the camera. He was so hot in the kids area and then we sat up REALLY high and I think it made him a little bit sick. He got over it though and had a great time!

We had so much fun. But Parker said next time he'd rather not buy any hats, get less food and get better seats (that weren't so high!)

2009-06-22T17:36:00.002-05:00

Parker had his graduation from first grade during the last week of school. He is so excited to go to second grade!

Parker and Mrs. Stahl. She is moving up to third grade so we hope to get her again. She was a great teacher!

Parker with his diploma!

Me and my sweet boy!

Parker and Chris

Getting his diploma!

Allie was there too but she was in a bad mood so we don't have any pictures of her! I'm so proud of how well Parker did in first grade and can't wait to see what fun things he learns as a second grader!

2009-05-28T21:51:00.004-05:00

My sweet baby girl graduated from preschool today. She's been at that school since she was one (and Parker had been there since he was one). So we've been up there for a long time!

She was so excited this morning. I was excited and sad. It takes me at least 20 minutes to drive up there and 20 minutes back, twice a day, 3 times a week. So I was getting tired of the drive but the drive to school was bittersweet this morning! (I will save a lot of gas money next year though. We can walk to school!)

Mrs. Jackson, Allie and Mrs. B... The best teachers ever!!!

Parker, Allie and me!

Aunt Dani, Uncle Ben, and Sydnee came to see Allie...

My sweet girl and her diploma!

Allie walking in! She looks so proud of herself! (She said she thought her heart was going to explode because she was so nervous!)

Allie has said about 100 times today how excited she is and she can't believe she's a kindergardener!

2009-05-26T22:03:00.002-05:00

I was watching "The Bachelorette" tonight and Parker came in and said he couldn't sleep. He has seen bits and pieces of previous Bachelors so he knows what the premise is. I told him that on this one 30 guys were there to meet one girl.

He said, "30 guys are there to meet one girl?" I bet at least 50 guys would come to meet you! And I'm pretty sure that more than 30 would be there to meet me!"

My sweet little boy!

2009-05-26T20:06:00.002-05:00

On Sunday night, an orthodontist here in McKinney put on a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. There were several local bands. Little Big Town. Bounce houses and lots of food. We didn't go but we could hear the music from our house and we were also able to watch the fireworks from our driveway.

While we were watching the fireworks, I was explaining to Parker what a fundraiser was and how it raised money for a certain cause. Allie then piped in and said,

"Jesus raised himself from the dead. That's really good. That's why we're celebrating tonight!"

Are you noticing a theme lately in my blogs about Allie???

2009-05-23T15:43:00.002-05:00

Allie just asked why you get babertized at church...

Debil, babertized, maybe we need to work on our Bible vocabulary!

2009-05-22T21:58:00.002-05:00

Me: Allie, did you know in the Bible God tells you to obey your parents?

Allie: Really?

Me: Yes. And you know what happens if you disobey God? (You dissapoint him was the answer I was going for...)

Allie: You go to the Debil. I don't want to go to the Debil.

Me: So what should you do when I ask you to do something???

We talked about asking God for forgiveness later on in the day but I don't think it will hurt for her to obey us for a while!!!

2009-05-21T16:24:00.001-05:00

Does anyone actually read my blog that is not my friend on facebook? I feel like I'm repeating myself with pictures and stories...

2009-05-13T16:03:00.002-05:00

I just reread my previous post and realized how negative it was. Sorry. A bad trip to Walmart in the heat can do that to you!

We have lots of fun events (field days, graduations, etc.) coming up in the next few weeks... stay tuned!

2009-05-12T20:02:00.002-05:00

I have decided that I do not like ANYTHING about grocery shopping.

1. I don't like making a list and planning meals (I think I'll just copy Cori every week!)

2. I don't like getting around the store and fighting other people (It's hard to change course with a full, heavy cart)

3. I don't like paying for groceries (It's always more than it should be)

4. I don't like unloading the groceries into my car

5. I don't like unloading the groceries AGAIN into my house

6. And I don't like putting them away

The only thing I do like is having good things to eat in my refrigerator and pantry. How can I get to this step without all the other ones??? Sigh...

2009-04-29T20:23:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Allie went on a field trip with her class to the Heard Museum in Mckinney. I didn't get many pictures but here are the few I did get...

Allie, Sierra, Alana, Avlyn & Morgan

Alana, Allie and Avlyn

In other news from that day, she got a tick that attached to her scalp and I didn't find it for 5 days. She was a trooper at the doctor and even told her friends she had a little buggy kissing her head!

2009-04-23T20:18:00.002-05:00

When Chris called to say he was on his way home from work tonight, I had just gotten out of the shower and was trying to decide what pajamas to put on. Instead, I decided to put on a dress and high heels and go all out in my June Cleaver moment. The house was clean and I already had dinner made so I quickly threw on a dress and heels and an apron of course. I threw together an appetizer (cheese and crackers people... Nothing fancy!) and made him a mixed drink. When he walked in, I was standing there holding the plate of appetizers and his drink.

We both had a good laugh about it. Let's face it. Most of us just don't live that way anymore. And while I don't think we need to have on our pearls and high heels every day, I am making it a point lately to have my home ready for my husband to come home to. I try to have the house clean and something made for dinner. I try to have the tv off and the kids somewhat reeled in. (Not that this all happens very often, but at least I'm trying!)

As Chris walked in today, the dog was barking, the kids were both talking to him at the same time. Allie trying to explain to him that I was doing something funny (by getting dressed up) and Parker complaining about the dinner I made him. And to top it all off, Chris told me he liked coming home to Ward Cleaver! (If I wanted him to come home to Ward, I would have kept on my sweaty workout shorts and baggy t-shirt!)

Life never goes quite the way you plan it but as I stood and watched the chaos tonight, I had to smile and be thankful for the life that I do have!!! (Even if I'm not the perfect June Cleaver!!!)

2009-04-05T18:30:00.002-05:00

We had our Easter carnival at church this afternoon. Bounce houses, petting zoo, train rides, balloon animals, food, and of course, an Easter egg hunt! The kids had a great time. And Dani did an AWESOME job of planning it all!

The kids and the Easter bunny!

Allie and the green chick!

Parker and a green chick!

Uncle Ben, Sydnee, Parker and Allie on the train!

The kids and their balloon creations!

Always a great time! Thanks High Pointe for a fun afternoon!

2009-03-29T06:31:00.003-05:00

We finally got our new puppy on Friday. She is so sweet and seems to be adjusting well to her new home. She is only getting up once at night and then going outside and going right back to sleep!

We still don't have a name for her. We've decided we have to pick one today. Allie tries out a different name every time she sees her so we're going to end up with a pretty confused dog if we don't pick one! (Update: We named her Sadie!)

The kids absolutely love her. Allie carries her around like a stuffed animal and would do that all day if I didn't make her put her down!

She only weighs 3 and a half pounds right now. She looks bigger than that because of all her fur. But I gave her a bath yesterday and she looked like a drowned rat! I'll have to take pictures next time!

(By the way, she is a shichon. Half shitzu and half bichon frise)

2009-03-25T14:29:00.002-05:00

Remember when you were 15 and 16 and you were SO excited to drive? You just thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate driving. If I could hire someone to drive me and my kids around, I would do it in a second! I am so ready for my kids to both be at the same school next year. We can walk there!

On that note, I had several "driving" related things that I saw today...

1. Realtor driving around in his car with his picture and all of his information on it. He was yelling very loudly (not that I could hear him, you can just tell...) and waving his hands around. He was not very happy. He seemed to have some anger issues... Don't think I would hire him based on that. Lesson: if you are advertizing who you are, you'd better act appropriatly!

2. It rained yesterday. It's going to rain tonight. But it was not raining this morning. Yet this woman was driving down the road with her windshield wipers going at full speed... I guess preparing for what was to come? Wouldn't that drive you crazy???

3. As long as you have the ability to drive, I think you should be able to drive. But I also think that once you reach a certain age, you should have to take a drivers test again every few years. It's just dangerous.

There are my thoughts for the day. Any time you want to give me a ride (in the front seat of course because I get carsick!) give me a call!

2009-03-20T15:42:00.001-05:00

We were supposed to get our puppy today but the breeder decided she needed one more week with her litter before she was shipped. We are dissapointed but he did send us a few new pics to help ease the pain!!!

We will get her next Friday. We are SO excited!

2009-03-10T17:22:00.002-05:00

I don't really have anything important to say but I'm tired of looking at my lice post (glad to report nothing else in that department!)

My parents were here this weekend and we celebrated Sydnee's first birthday party. She was so sweet and excited to be the center of attention. Such a sweet little girl.

Poor Parker got sick again on Friday (with the flu again and strep) so he was in bed all day Saturday and did not get to join in the festivities. He's finally feeling better though! And he is having his tonsil surgery on Friday so hopefully he can finally start feeling great after that! And not miss any more school. This has already been a long week with him cooped up in the house and I'm pretty sure next week is not going to be any more fun. Until Friday next week. On Friday we are going to pick up our new puppy! We are so excited to meet her. We are still trying to come up with a name and are open to any suggestions!

That's all for now. I will update after his surgery and let everyone know how it goes!

2009-03-03T19:14:00.002-06:00

We are officially (hypothetically) deloused!

No. We didn't have lice. I got an email from Allie's teachers today saying that a child in her class had a confirmed case. They checked all of the other children this morning and none of them had any sign of it. And the child in question hadn't been at school since last Wed. So hopefully it wasn't spread anyway.

But just the mention of lice sent me into a tailspin. My head itched all afternoon. I went to the store and bought lice spray and shampoo. I washed all my sheets and blankets today and sprayed all of the pillows and mattresses with spray. I sprayed the carseats. I went crazy. I checked both kids (any myself) thoroughly when they got home and didn't see even a fleck of dandruff. But I still washed all of our hair with the shampoo tonight. I stopped at going through everyone's hair with a nit comb since I didn't see any and it is a very timely undertaking.

Hopefully we won't get it and we won't have to go through this again. But if there was a live lice in this house, it's definately not alive anymore!

Yuck.... my head is still itching!!!

2009-02-22T20:10:00.002-06:00

This weekend we had a lot of plans. Chris got home from Charlotte on Friday afternoon. I was supposed to go to the Ladies Retreat at church and Parker was supposed to have a sleepover at his friends house. So Chris and Allie were going to have a fun date night.

Instead, I end up with a sinus infection. Parker comes home from school with a fever. Chris get's off the airplane with a terrible sinus headache. And Allie has a fever and terrible congestion.

But sweet Chris kept his promise. Allie came down in the new dress, shoes and jewelry we had purchased for the date. She was so excited to be with her Daddy. So he took her out to dinner. He got her dessert (even though she didn't eat all her dinner!) and he bought her flowers. Even though they didn't feel great they had a good time and it is something she will always remember!

2009-02-19T20:06:00.002-06:00

We've had an empty field behind our house ever since we moved in. It's been rezoned several times and we always knew they were going to build something back there eventually. So they started working back there yesterday. I don't know what they're building (rumor is medical condo type offices) but I do know what they are doing. They are making a mountain of dirt behind our house and driving tractors back and forth all day long... Maybe they'll landscape it and we'll have a mountain veiw?

2009-02-19T10:30:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I had a meeting at 2 (right when I'm supposed to pick Allie up from school. Not sure what I was thinking!) Anyway, my sweet sister in law picked her up for me and watched her for a while. When I picked her up, I also picked up a shotgun that my brother had brought back from my grandad for Chris. So I put it in the car and went on my way.

I then went to Parker's school to pick him up. As I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for him to get out, I looked over and realized that I actually had a huge shotgun sitting in the front seat of my car. I pretty sure there is a law against that! I quickly covered it up and I don't think anyone saw it, thank goodness. Not a great idea to bring guns to school (especially after you've been stuck at home for 3 weeks with a sick child... people may have questioned my sanity!)

2009-02-15T16:13:00.001-06:00

I walked outside to get the mail yesterday afternoon and the clouds in the sky were absolutely incredible. I had never seen anything like it. It was so beautiful and actually a little unsettling. Hope you enjoy the pictures that I'm sure don't do it justice!

I have to eat what????

2009-02-09T19:01:00.003-06:00

Allie has been very whiny and throwing fits lately. She had gotten past that phase so I'm not thrilled that she is back in it...

Tonight she asked what we were having for dinner. Among other things, I told her we were having corn on the cob. She immediately dropped to the floor and was crying and throwing a fit about this. I sent her to her room and told her she could come down when dinner was ready.

I called her a few minutes later. She came down the stairs still sniffling and whining. Then she saw the corn.

Allie: "That's what we are eating? That's just regular corn... I LOVE that!!!"

(Insert me rolling my eyes)

She wears me out but I love her!

2009-02-04T20:02:00.003-06:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. We haven't done much the last few weeks. Last Monday (on Allie's birthday) Parker started running a fever and not feeling very well. So I took him to the doctor on Tuesday and he tested positive for strep and flu. So we did the full round of antibiotics and stayed home until now. He had a fever for the last 10 days and it got worse today. So we went back to the doctor and she said the antibiotic didn't get rid of the strep and it was back. Hopefully this new medicine will get the job done. We are ready to get out of the house and Parker is ready to get back back to school!

Here are two random pics. Parker playing outside during our ice storm last Wednesday (yes this is when he had strep and flu!)

And I just love this picture of my sweet Allie!

Here's to hoping my next post is more interesting and germ free!!!

Happy Birthday

2009-01-26T15:15:00.002-06:00

My sweet Allie turned 5 today!!! I can't believe she's so big. She's such a little lady now and such a sweet little girl... I love you Allie!

Age 5 - Today!

Age 4

Age 3

Age 2

Age 1

I love you so much my sweet Allie. Happy Birthday!!!

2009-01-19T16:27:00.002-06:00

We went to the Science Place on Saturday morning. We had a lot of fun. After that, we went out and had lunch down in West End. It was a fun day!

Parker and Allie going into the dentist room!

Allie riding the tractor at the farm!

Parker milking a cow...

Waiting for the planetarium show.

On the bridge outside. It was a beautiful day!

Digging for dinosaur bones. Doesn't Parker look happy!

Allie striking a pose!

Allie the astronaut!

Look out!!!

That was a HUGE 10 foot polar bear. Wouldn't want to run into one of those!

2009-01-10T10:17:00.002-06:00

The kids and I slept till nine this morning. That's always a fun way to start your weekend! (Chris is out at his lease this weekend...)

So Allie asked if we could go get donuts because, "We haven't gotten them yet this Christmas..." (Whatever that means!)

So we all went to get dressed. Allie came down dressed up really cute as usual. I was in my closet pulling on sweatpants and she walked in.

Allie: "Are you REALLY going to wear THAT?"

Me: "I was planning on it, we're just going to get donuts. Would you rather I wore something else?"

Allie: "Yes, you should wear jeans. Jeans ALWAYS look cuter than THOSE pants!"

I love being told what to wear to the donut store on Saturday mornings! Watch for Allie's name at New York fashion week in a few years!

2009-01-03T09:31:00.002-06:00

We went to Taos last week to stay with Chris's brother Matt and his wife Brooke. It's her parents house. Thanks Blackbirds. It was wonderful! We went skiing, played in the snow, went shopping and just hung out with family. We had a great time!

Chris and Parker had fun playing tackle football in the snow!

Allie

Nice sunglasses Parker!

Brooke and I went hiking at the gorge. It was breathtaking. You're just driving along and all the sudden it's there...

Parker, Allie, Scarlett and their new friend that they made while we were shopping!

Parker skiing down the "big" hill with his teacher for the first time!

Parker going up the lift for the first time. He was scared but excited.

Parker learning how to stop!

Me and Chris on the lift.

Me. We skiied for two days and I was so sore after the second day I could hardly walk. It was so much fun but that's what happens when you haven't skiied for 8 years!

Chris on the slopes!

Allie's teacher running to catch her. She had a blast. I don't think she really cared about skiing. She did what they told her to and then she ate snow! She wants to go back though so I guess that's good!

Parker playing in the snow. He got altitude sickness the first afternoon and had to take a break.

Cute Allie. She should be an advertisment for ski school!

Allie having fun!

We had a wonderful time but we're glad to be home. Can't wait to go back!

2008-12-18T09:03:00.000-06:00

My kids were in the other room watching "Mary Poppins" the other night. I heard the usual songs coming out of there. Then I heard the kids singing, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

Did I miss a new hip hop version of "Mary Poppins"? Somehow I can't see Julie Andrews singing that song!!!

2008-12-16T11:30:00.002-06:00

Allie had her Christmas program at church last week. These aren't the greatest pictures but they are cute of her and her friends!

Here are Parker and David. He always loves getting to see his friend!

Avlyn, Allie and Sarah

Allie, Alana and Avlyn

Morgan, Alana, Allie and Sierra

Parker and Allie with Santa!

2008-12-10T16:35:00.003-06:00

Parker started playing with my hair the other night. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm looking for gray hair!"

After a few minutes he stopped. I said "Well...."

He said, "Nope. Didn't find any. Guess you're still young mom!"

2008-12-08T08:28:00.001-06:00

Allie was working on words that rhyme this morning. It was all going well until she got to witch.... yes, she went there. She even sounded it out!

I'm so proud of how smart she is!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-02T15:57:00.004-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. Mother and Daddy came and we had fun being with them. We also got to spend one evening with Ben, Dani and Sydnee! Pictures are in random order. Couldn't figure it out this time!

Silly Allie!

Dani and Sydnee

Allie and Daddy trying to shoot Parker!

Sweet Allie in her Christmas sweater

Parker sledding at "Dickens of a Christmas"

Parker eating enchiladas... YUM!

My family

Allie sledding! It was so much fun for them!

Eating lunch... self timers are fun!

Mother and Sydnee

Cute Sydnee... she gets her band off for good next week! Yeah!

Sweet Allie on the merry go round

Grandmama and her grandkids!

Parker on the merry go round

2008-11-22T23:16:00.001-06:00

My future DIVA....

(And yes. It's a REAL fur coat. It was my grandmothers. I don't think people were as "green" in the 70's!)

2008-11-15T21:47:00.003-06:00

I was reading "Goodnight Moon" to Allie tonight. It starts out... "In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon..."

She said, "Mommy, where is the telephone? I don't see one."

It was an old fashioned corded telephone sitting on a table. She didn't know what that was. Is that sad?

Funny mispronuciations:

Letter Factory - Lettery Factor
Cupcake - Pupcake
Cup holder - Cup folder
Wizards of Waverly Place - Wizards of Waverly Flavors

2008-11-13T12:33:00.001-06:00

Parker said yesterday that he wanted to be a soldier and fight for our country when he grows up. He knows that he could die doing that but he also knew that if he died, he would go to Heaven so it would be ok.

Then he said he wanted to be a scientist and devlop pain medication for animals so they can live longer without being put to sleep. And after he developed that medication, he would become a vet and take care of the animals.

Such a sweet boy. I know he will grow up to do something great!

2008-11-11T21:23:00.002-06:00

I am working on Christmas for Children at our church. We help families from area schools and families that come to our food pantry and clothes closet. These are families that can't afford to give their children a Christmas. It is a great program. Not only for the people who we help but also for those who volunteer.

I am very excited about this but I do have one problem. My kids want to help this year and I think it's great for them to learn to help others. But I am just waiting for the question.... "Why doesn't Santa bring them gifts?"

Any suggestions?

2008-11-10T07:37:00.002-06:00

My brother and his wife live about 5 miles away from us. I have only seen them twice in the last 3 weeks...

The first time, we both drove to Abilene on the same night, about 45 minutes apart (They were coming back later than us) and spent the weekend with my whole family.

Three weeks later, we went to Enid to visit my parents. Once again, drove separately because they were coming back later.

Maybe next time we can actually see each other close to where we live. Maybe we can meet in the middle. Can you say Slurpee???

2008-11-05T21:49:00.002-06:00

We have gathered the beautiful fall leaves over the last week or so, flattened them in books and then we made these wonderful masterpieces. (Ok, not masterpieces but still fun fall placemats!)

They are so easy... Either buy burlap and cut it or I just bought these on sale. Then stick the leaves on and cover with clear contact paper. The kids love that they did something so cool!

Happy fall!

Halloween

2008-11-01T13:34:00.002-05:00

We went trick or treating with a bunch of our neighbors last night. It's always fun to go with a bunch of other kiddos. I didn't get too many pictures because my kids always seemed to be 5 houses in front of me!

Here are Parker and some of his friends from school. Not sure who is who!

Here are Allie and her friend Ashlyn

Allie with her scary teeth!

Allie the 50's girl and Parker the clone trooper!

Parker and some of his star wars buddies!

Allie and Abbie looking so cute together!

Chesnut Square Field Trip

2008-10-30T14:07:00.002-05:00

I went with Parker's first grade class on a field trip today to Chesnut Square in McKinney. It was really neat to see all of the old houses that were part of McKinney's beginning. The kids all really enjoyed it.

Parker's class this year

Sweet Parker

Smiling!

Looking around a parlor

Parker and his friends

Parker saying "yes mam" to the teacher!

Parker getting swats for "disobeying" the teacher!

Sitting in school

Learning about the old church

My group for the trip!

Fall Fest

2008-10-27T16:59:00.003-05:00

We had our Fall Fest at church last Sunday night. Unfortunately I was running the silent auction so we didn't get too many pictures but here are the few we did get!

Parker was a storm trooper from Star Wars. Is anyone surprised?

Parker and Allie

Allie and her friend Avlyn on the train. Look at those pretty smiles!

Allie and Avlyn

Allie and Chris

Pretty Allie. She was a 50's girl since I made a poodle skirt for Parker's dance last year and we didn't go!

Allie

2008-10-20T20:42:00.001-05:00

Allie takes her own sweet time doing whatever it is she's doing. Cleaning her room, getting dressed, buckling her seatbelt, etc.

So her new nickname is... Dilly Dalley Allie

That Sounds Like a Good Sandwich!

2008-10-18T21:07:00.003-05:00

We took some blankets outside tonight and all laid on the trampoline to look at the stars. We did see one good shooting star but it was just a beautiful, clear night to be outside.

Parker and Allie were laying in between me and Chris and I told them that they were a "Parker and Allie" sandwich. Parker then piped in and said, "I'm the ham and Allie is the cheese!"

That pretty much sums them up!

Dinosaurs Alive!

2008-10-18T12:44:00.001-05:00

We went to the Heard Museum this morning. It was a beautiful fall day with no clouds in the sky. We went on a nature walk with HUGE robotic dinosaurs. The kids were a little unsure at first when they growled at them but they got the hang of it.

Then we got to see some animals in a little zoo area. Then LOTS of snakes inside.

Then we went to Steak N Shake to finish off our morning. It was a great day!

Allie

2008-10-13T16:09:00.002-05:00

I walked into my room the other night where Allie was watching a movie. The picture below is all I could see of her!

Here is the rest of her!

And here she is this afternoon. I bought her this hat, purse and a jumper that goes with them yesterday. She's been wearing the hat around all day and she looks so super cute! I want one just like it...

And on another note, Allie was watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks" today and said this: "Simon is my favorite. He's smart like me. And he's cute.... like me!"

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-12T18:40:00.001-05:00

2008-10-07T18:35:00.002-05:00

For all of you "Blue Collar Comedy" fans out there, I saw a truck drive by me today with the business name of....

Gutter Done!

Pure redneck genius!!!

Allie the rock star!

2008-10-01T20:55:00.000-05:00

Allie got a guitar tonight. She's been wanting to be a rock star. And of course she had to put on her "rock star outfit"!

On her stage...

Parker rockin the pink guitar...

Parker and his back up dancer!

Parker turns 7!

2008-10-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

My sweet baby boy turned 7 today!

Here he is when he was a sweet baby...

He wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning...

Here he is with his friends at his party on Sunday...

And, as an added bonus, he lost his first tooth today!

Aside from getting a flu shot this afternoon, he had a great day. I took him lunch at school and we got enchiladas tonight! Then we played baseball on his new Wii and tackle football with his new gertie ball (Thanks Dalzells!)

FAN

2008-09-29T18:38:00.000-05:00

I bought some fans to put in goodie bags for the girls at Parker's party. These were the ones that I ended up with. I love them!

Parker's 7th Birthday Party

2008-09-29T18:35:00.001-05:00

2008-09-26T12:26:00.000-05:00

I asked Allie to help me carry some groceries in from the car this morning. She screamed no and spanked me on the bottom. So I told her to go to her room and I would deal with her when I was done with the groceries.

She screamed no and ran inside and locked the door. Unfortunately she didn't know that I had a key hidden in the garage just for a situation like this. You should have seen her face when I came inside.

Needless to say, it wasn't a very fun morning at my house. Hopefully she will take a good nap this afternoon and wake up on the right side of the bed...

On another note, I am baking sugar cookies for Parker's birthday party and it smells like Christmas... Yum!

Longhorn and Ranger Game!

2008-09-22T14:39:00.001-05:00

2008-09-20T20:12:00.000-05:00

I had a stomach bug on Thursday and Friday. I was finally able to eat some toast this morning. But I pretty much wanted to die for the last two days. Glad I'm better.

Chris and Parker went to Austin for the Longhorn game and are going to the Ranger game tomorrow.

Allie threw up at Walmart tonight. Guess she caught the bug! Fun, fun.

Hope you have a better weekend than we've had! And I won't be offended if you stand far away from me the next time I see you!

2008-09-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

Parker had his first baseball game of the fall season last night. He is SO into baseball right now. He lives it, breathes it, watches it, dreams it. It is all he talks about! So he was excited. This is also the first season where it's "3 strikes and you're out" and they had an umpire. So it was much more grown up!

He looked so handsome in his uniform and looks so cute with his dad!

And cute Allie suppported her brother with her yankees hat, even though it didn't go with her pink bling shirt and pink shorts!

2008-09-11T21:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, even I was getting tired of looking at my "pee" post. And if I was tired of it, I know you were too!

Here are some pictures from this morning. You may just get pictures of Allie in her chapel uniform every week. I just can't resist her!

Allie and Me

Just put some blond braids on Chris and they could be twins!

And we don't want to leave sweet Parker out! He was dressed very nicely for picture day at school!

That's it for now... Have a good weekend and stay away from the hurricane!

2008-09-09T07:42:00.000-05:00

So you know when you take antibiotics, your pee smells like antibiotics?

And you know when you eat asparagus, your pee smells like asparagus?

I'll just go ahead and tell you, you should never eat asparagus while you're on antibiotics!!!

2008-09-05T10:58:00.000-05:00

I didn't hear from anyone that owned the dog. He was the sweetest thing. But last night he started pulling my cushions off of my nice patio furniture. So this morning, he went to the shelter. Hopefully his owner will find him or he will be adopted by someone who wants/needs a big dog right now!

My kids will miss him but life is just too hectic right now!

It's Friday. Happy weekend!

2008-09-03T19:33:00.000-05:00

This morning we were walking down to Shea's house to drop Parker off so she could take him to school. Parker was in front of me and Allie was behind me. All of the sudden, Allie let out the loudest scream I've ever heard. I turned around and there was a black lab running around her. He didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted to play with her. But she was scared to death.

So I picked Allie up and the dog ran after Parker. He ran on ahead and knocked on Shea's door. Shea opened her door and Parker ran in. But so did the dog! It was one of those things that wasn't really funny then, but it sure is now!

I finally got the dog out of her house and got back to get my car and take Allie to school. The dog had no tags on it so at that point, I really didn't know what to do.

When I got home from school this afternoon, the dog was lying on our front porch. Once again, I didn't really know what to do. A little while later, the kids were jumping on the trampoline and I heard Allie screaming again. (Our gate is broken...) The back door was open and in walks the dog. He looked at me, sighed, and layed down by the couch.

I finally decided to take the dog up to the SPCA. I didn't know what else to do. They checked him for a microchip but he didn't have one. They said he is about 5 months old and very well taken care of. They also told me they didn't take strays. And the shelter that does would be closed by the time we got there.

So we have a sweet dog in the backyard for the time being. I put up signs in the neighborhood but I asked around today and no one has seen this dog around. He sits and stays and is so sweet. I hope we find his owners. If we don't, I'm going to have a hard time giving him away (and convincing my kids that we need to give him away...)

I'll keep you updated!

2008-08-31T17:09:00.000-05:00

Where has my sweet little girl gone? She has been so mean lately. Don't be fooled by her sweet smile and big blue eyes. It's just a cover.

Please come back my sweet little Allie :)

For those of you that know Allie, you know that she WILL NOT take medicine. NO MATTER WHAT... You can't bribe her, you can't trick her, you can't hold her down. I love it when the doctors solution is to "just make her take it". I want to invite them over sometime!

But, I outsmarted her this morning. It's getting to be allergy season again and both my kids need allergy medicine. If they don't take it, they get sinus infections. And then they have to take yucky medicine. So today, Parker took his allergy medicine like he always does. I praised him and gave him a huge hug and kiss. And the kicker, I told him he could pick out a surprise because he was such a big boy taking his medicine.

Well, that pushed Allie over the edge. She let out one of the loudest screams I've ever heard. And she still didn't take her medicine. But when I reminded Parker this afternoon that we could go get a surprise, guess who walked over to the table and took her medicine???

I DID IT!!! I beat a 4 year old... and it only cost me $20. Wait a minute...maybe that's not such an accomplishment after all....

2008-08-28T20:00:00.000-05:00

Allie had her first day of chapel today and she had to wear her chapel uniform. She looked SO sweet!

Once again, she wasn't so happy with having her picture taken...

Allie, Avlyn, and Alana. The A girls looking cute!

Forced Family Fun and Green Chili Cookoff Weekend at the lake!

2008-08-26T20:03:00.000-05:00

2008-08-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had it all together. Yesterday, I cleaned my house, ran errands, made lunches and was excited about today...

Today, Parker had his second day of school, Allie had her first day of school, and I had my first day of work in the church office. I went straight from work/school to get Parker and then straight back to an hour of gymnastics for Allie. Today, I am tired. Today, I am ready for summer again. Today, I need a nap!

Cute Allie in her uniform. And she didn't even fight it! (yet)
Such a big girl and a bigger backpack!
Sitting in her class. She wouldn't let us take any other pictures.
Me and my sweet girl before our long and sweaty day!
Overall it was a good day. Allie had a great time at school. Parker had a good day. And I really enjoyed learning for my new job. I really think I'm going to enjoy being more involved in the church!

2008-08-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I only took 3 pictures this morning but here are the three I did take!

At this rate, when Parker starts 3rd grade, I won't take any pictures!

Parker so excited to start first grade!!!

Walking to class with Dad...
Not sure where to put his backpack!
I hope he had a wonderful first day of school. I'll let you know how it went!

2008-08-16T22:32:00.001-05:00

Parker: Allie, why do you kiss mom and dad and not me?

Allie: Well, when you don't take a bath you are stinky and I don't want to kiss you!"

I love how honest children are! But stinky or not, they still love each other!

2008-08-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

Dead Bigfoot.... Real or not? Discuss.....

2008-08-12T15:24:00.001-05:00

Allie just told Parker to pause his coloring while he took a break...

Do we play too many video games???

2008-08-11T19:14:00.000-05:00

We had a nice little rain storm pop up late this afternoon while Parker was playing outside. It wasn't lightning so we thought we'd just let him play. He had a blast!

My sweet little (or not so little anymore) boy!

2008-08-11T19:07:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of my parents backyard. I know they think it's too much work, but it sure is nice to go visit!!!

2008-08-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more pics from the week at my parents. I finally got them off my camera!

Here is my sweet niece Sydnee (and part of her mommy!)

Here is Allie turning 12 at McDonalds. My how time flies!!!

Playing water baseball with Granddaddy.
Parker, Allie and Syd cuddling on the couch!

2008-08-10T22:56:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while but I'm too busy watching the Olympics.

I'll be back sometime!

2008-07-31T18:21:00.000-05:00

We've been at my parents house this week. They have a great pool and the kids always have a blast when they're here. I've taken more pictures but this day seems to be all that has made it onto my computer so far!

This is the first year that Allie has actually been interested in swimming. She has had so much fun!

Isn't their backyard beautiful? And this only shows a little part of it.
Doesn't Parker look so grown up?

And of course, swimming makes you hungry!

2008-07-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what kinky stuff Ken and Barbie were doing but he looks a little scared and she looks pretty satisfied with herself...

2008-07-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

I was looking back through pictures today and I was amazed that my sweet baby girl has turned into a sweet big girl way too quickly. Here are a few pictures of her from the past year or so.

I was so scared to let her ride this because I was afraid she would get afraid and jump out. But of course she loved it!

Waiting for Parker at swim lessons.
Big blue eyes!
I loved her hair like this. Now she won't let me do anything to her hair...

Cute little ballerina!
I love her hair in braids like this!

She went through a faze where she was dressed up all the time. Chris was horrified that I let her go out of the house when she was dressed up, but I thought it was adorable!

And here is a picture of things to come. Parker strangling his sister with a sweet smile on his face!

I love you my baby girl!

2008-07-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

We've had several groups of friends over lately. It has been so much fun catching up and hanging out.

Here are Riley, Chandler, Allie and Parker wrestling with Chris. You can see Colby, Becky and Cole in the background. Such a sweet family with sweet kiddos!

Here is Parker cuddling with Sydnee. She just grins every time she sees him!
We had our good friends the M's over the other night. Here are Will, Nat, Allie, Spencer, and Parker. Such sweet kids!
Here are Gina, Thomas and Parker. They were watching a Tom and Jerry movie. They were cracking us up when they laughed at the movie! (Although it's not looking too funny right now!)
And here are the little girls watching the same movie. Emily, Alana and Allie. All cuddling together on the floor.
Thank you God for such good friends and the time that we get to spend with them!

2008-07-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

We were driving in the car yesterday and we started talking about what Parker wanted to do for his birthday party. Even though Allie's is not till January, she chimed in with what she wanted.

We went to a party a few months ago where they got to dress up, they did their hair and makeup and nails. Then they put on a fashion show.

I told Allie that I thought we could do the same kind of party at our house for a lot less money.

The following conversation then followed:

Parker: Mom, I don't think you have enough fashion sense to be able to do that.

Me: WHAT? Why would you say that?

Parker: Have you seen the way Allie dresses?

Me: Do you think I dress her? Don't you think I dress well enough?

Parker: Well......

My ego is shot!!!