Boot Scootin'

In case you haven't seen Erin in person, these are her new favorite things in the world.  I bought her some black sparkly ones from The Children's Place and paid $40 bucks for them.  She's worn them a handful of times. 

I was walking thru Walmart with her one day and she spotted these on an end cap.  She just had to have them.  So, we now own $10.00 pink sparkle star boots.  Erin wears them EVERYDAY and with every single outfit.  I would be embarrassed but I'm not in the least.  I figure anyone who has ever had a 3 year old knows what we're going thru.  They tend to get fixated on items and wear them until they can't be worn anymore. 

Of course, the more expensive boots have been put on the back burner!

Jimmie suggested I buy a back up pair in the next size.  I think she might be on to something.  I don't see these boots going away any time soon.

Pre-Thaksgiving Blog...

Here's my pre-Thanksgiving blog.  I'm hoping we all survive the day.  We'll have enough food for an army and my house will be stuffed full of warm bodies.

We're expecting the usual suspects and it should be a lot of fun....

Momma and Daddy, Amy, Matt and Billy the Kid, Mark, Steph, Jake and Luke Duke, and Bonnie and David.

To me the holidays are a time to have everyone together.  I love that it will be loud and crowded in here and that the kids will be running around tearing up the toy room.  Tommy will get uptight and anxious and something in the house will get broken.  Amy will roll with whatever happens and Matthew will pick a very odd time to go for a run.  Steph will forget to bring something that was on her list and will have to run home to get it.  Bonnie will be late, and Daddy will fix way too much food and some of it may not be edible. Momma will be the last one done eating and will be sitting at the table alone...but we've come to expect these things year after year.  We're family and we love these things about each other.  We'll all have fun and have great memories of the day.  I want the kids to know how much they are loved and have wonderful memories of when we all got together for the day. 

I'm so thankful for the many blessings I have and I thank God every day for them.  I'm thankful that we can have everyone together and all get along.  There won't even be a cross word spoken tomorrow.  Lots of people can't say the same thing!  We're able to blend all our family together so that we have in-laws, parents, siblings and everyone included.  This is a time of year for family.

Most importantly is the blessing of Erin.  She is the blessing we weren't sure we ever wanted.  Now, I can't imagine life without her.  She is hard-headed and acts just like me most of the time, but she is the sweetest funniest little girl I've ever been around.  She makes us laugh more and more every day. I love seeing the little girl she is growing in to.  She really is the best thing that ever happened to me. 

We were given a second chance two years ago with my Momma.  Her stroke was a minor one, but it was a wake up call to us all.  It's a blessing to have another holiday with everyone here. 

I know these big family days won't always happen for us, but I relish the times we all come together.

I hope you enjoyed this blog because this is as sappy and sentimental as I ever get.  I wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving and if you're half as blessed as I am - you're in great shape.

Santa's Wonderland...

We went to Santa's Wonderland in College Station last night.  It was great.

It rained here all day yesterday and it was still dark and cloudy when we left.  I guess the weather scared enough people away that it wasn't crowded at all.  We got there and it was muddy, but not a drop of rain!

We did the hayride first.  It was 2 huge trailers full of square bales.  They were playing Christmas music all thru out the ride and there were 1,000s of lights.  Aunt Mimi, Uncle Matt, William and Gram and Pawpaw went with us.  The kids loved the hayride and lights.  There were light tunnels that you drove thru and William got so excited.  There were blue Christmas trees made out of lights and Erin loved those.  She told me last night in bed that her favorite part of the night was "my blues".  So, apparently, we now possess blue light trees in Aggieland!

Santa was there too and we got our picture taken with him.  He was the world's nicest Santa!  William and Erin didn't warm up to him for a while.  He had a glove with a finger that lit up red so he eventually talked them into sitting by him.  (Yes, we were suckers and bought the picture!)  I didn't think about the picture with Santa and didn't change Erin's shirt, so I left her coat on.  She looks like a big pink marshmallow!

Another hit was the mechanical bull!  The guys working the bull were nice enough to let the kids up there to "pet" him.  While they were up there the guy put William on the bull and showed him how to hold on.  William wasn't quite sure about that but went with it.  Of course when he got up there, Erin had to do it too.  So we got pictures of her up there.  She put her arm in the air like they told her to and loved it. 

Last but not least was the petting zoo.  What kid doesn't love a petting zoo.  We were all okay until Erin noticed Momma Camel pinned up in the corner and her baby running around with all those goats and kids.  She was pacing and making camel noises and showing her displeasure.  It scared Erin because she had her back to it when the camel started.  She turned around and told her to stop and told her that wasn't nice!!!  Erin did her normal petting zoo thing and ran from goat to calf to goat touching them all on the back once and then running on to the next goat.  Not sure what that's about, but she does it at every petting zoo.

A good time was had by all and I see a new tradition in our future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Couple of Sickos...

Once again Erin brought home cooties and shared them with us.  Of course, I get it and have to go to the doctor for an arm full of prescriptions and Tommy doesn't get so much as a sniffle.

I started coughing last weekend so I went to the doctor on Monday.  I think I caught it in time for it to be a mild case of bronchitis, but I sound terrible.  I missed 2 days of work because I couldn't stop coughing and it's hard to talk on the phone when you're coughing.  I think I sound like a truck stop waitress with a deep gravely voice.  I wanted to get the meds so I wouldn't be sick over Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, Erin is back to business and running around like a wild woman.

Officially Old...

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.  Angela Mize has learned to knit.

I bought a scarf kit at Wal-mart for $5.00 bucks along with a set of knitting needles.  I just wanted to see if I could do it.  I saved it for Saturday when my parents took Erin.  I got the stuff out and read the instructions on the label about 10 times.  It made no sense to me because I'm not a knitter. 

So, I did what any Gen X'er would do and looked it up on YouTube.  There it was Red Heart Boutique Sashay scarf.  So, I taught myself to knit!  It's much harder then I thought it would be.  The homosexual guy narrating the video made it look so easy!  The first scarf looked just like a first scarf would look.  Needless to say, that one went to Erin for dress up time.  (Or Pretty as a Princess time as she calls it.) 

I have a terrible cough, so when I woke up at 3:00 coughing my head off I decided to get up and go to Wal-mart and buy another kit.  I had to take Mae with me because she barks when I leave her in the morning and Tommy was naturally still asleep.  Off we went and I came back with 2 more kits.  (BTW, she barked the whole time I was in the store according to the workers out front who were smoking.  They were laughing about it, but I'm sure it was annoying.  I parked right up front since I was like the only customer there!)

My second attempt is still a little rough around the edges (literally) but wearable if tied just right in a loop around your neck.  My third one came out perfect!  Yay me!

The black one is my second attempt and the grey one is the 3rd. 

I see ugly Christmas Reindeer sweaters in my family's future...

Sorry, I forgot...

In my busy life, I forgot to post pics from last weekend in the country.  We were there for Jake's 6th birthday.  It was a country camo themed party.

I didn't get any pictures of Jake because we have a cooperation situation.  He was too busy with his friends and running around for me to get any pictures.

They fed the bull, rode every tractor, 4 wheeler and golf cart multiple times.  They had marshmallow gun wars and I bet we picked up over 1,000 miniature marshmallows when they were done.  (We picked them up because Pepaw has an ongoing war with fire ants.  I'm not sure he's winning.)

Erin tried her best to keep up with the "big kids".  She ran after them with everything she had.  Of course, there was no nap so she was very tired on the way home.  (Momma and Daddy were tired too from chasing her around.) 

One of the highlights of the day was the piñata.  The kids has a blast hitting it with the bat.  They also loved the swings.  Granny for sure has a hit on her hands with those.  They decided the higher they could swing the better.  I'm pretty sure Mark and Pepaw had to ice down their shoulders when the party was over.  They pushed and pushed and pushed the kids.

Erin had a tough time sharing her swing.  When we go up there the grandkids each have a swing.  THEY decided which one was theirs on the first day and never looked back.  Kids would get on her swing and she was very confused.  We learned a little about sharing that day, but I don't think she was happy about it!

We also took the family Christmas pic.  You have to wait for that one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Better Yet...

Erin is back to normal now and bossing everyone around! The antibiotics kicked in on the 2nd day and she was almost as good as new. 

Today is Jake's birthday party so we're headed to the country (Centerville- Mize Ranch) to have a "Camo" party.  Jake wanted a country/hunting/camo/tractor theme this year so I think there's a lot of camo and a little John Deere in the decorations.  I can't wait to see what the cake looks like.  (Okay, yes, and to eat the cake!)

Since the party is up there it's going to mostly be family.  Gram is going to ride with us and come up for the day/party.  Pawpaw is being a stick in the mud and wants to work on his bookshelf project for his neighbor. Boo Pawpaw.  Erin can't wait to get up there and "feed the cows".  She loves going to Granny and Peepaw's house.  It's all she's asked about for days now.

We're also going to take our family Christmas card picture while we're up there.  Wish me luck!  You'll see the end results come December - maybe...yikes!

Pics of the day to follow.

Home Almost Alone...

We're starting Day Two of being home with Erin while she's sick.  It all started Sunday night when I picked her up from Momma and Daddy's.  She was really clingy and told me she was tired.  (For Erin to admit she was tired, I knew that tired = sick!)  She was acting okay, but didn't have much appetite.  I attributed most of it to the time change and getting up WAYYYY before the crack of dawn.

We sent her to school on Monday because she acted like normal Erin so I didn't think to check her for a fever.  The school never called and we left her there all day like normal.  When I picked her up she was sitting on the side of the playground with 3 other kids.  I thought at first that she was in trouble, but found out they were sitting there watching a big stink bug!  She saw me and ran over like normal, but I could tell by looking at her eyes that she didn't feel good.

We got in the car and she told me she was cold.  I turned the air off and sweated my butt off on the way home.  I took her temp when we got home and it was 101.9.  All she wanted to do was sit in my lap and watch her Disney Princess DVD.  So, that's what we did.  No dinner, no bath, just Disney Princesses. 

We had a rough night Monday night because she was running fever the whole night and very fitful in her sleep.  (Yes, she got to sleep in Momma's bed.  It was just the two of us after she ran her Daddy from the room.  The kid is all elbows and knees when she sleeps.)  She woke up several times and we had to keep giving her Tylenol/Advil to keep the fever at bay.  She practically slept on top of me she was so close.  It was sweet, but she was on fire and I way dying of heat stroke.  I finally ended up sliding out of bed on my side and getting back in bed on Tommy's side.  It only took her about an hour before my little heat seeking missile found me and snuggled back up!

I called the doc yesterday morning and they got her in.  She has Strep Throat and Bronchitis.  So, we're on the breathing machine and antibiotics.  The kicker is that the antibiotics she's on are not what they normally prescribe for Strep Throat.  Since Erin is allergic to 4 of the major antibiotics we got a less strong one.  I think it will just take a little longer to nip this in the bud.  So, I'm home again today with her.

I think she should start feeling better after her second dose.  She was already perking up a little last night.  I think we watched the Lion King and Princesses about 1,000 times yesterday.  It's amazing how many times they will watch the same shows over and over and over!

Maybe today I can get her to watch Beauty and the Beast...it's Momma's favorite!

A Bad Example...

We've set up a bad example for Erin by letting her quit ballet.

The last 3 times she cried really hard and said she's scared.  When we get there she doesn't want to go in the door and I have to push her in there.  She does okay in the class once she gets in there, but she really, really doesn't want to go.  I'm not sure what is scaring her, but she NEVER acts like this any other time.  She's usually so outgoing.  Something is definitely wrong.

Based on all this, we made the decision yesterday to pull her.  I called the school and the lady I spoke to was very nice and understanding.  She said sometimes with the little ones they start out okay then change their minds and hate it.  If she was older and this was her decision, we wouldn't let her quit.  Ballet was all my idea, but I think it was just too early.

Next year we'll try a tap/ballet combo.  We'll probably pick a different school too since this one was a haul from work and her school.  I had to leave early every Monday to pick her up and then get her dressed and to class by 5:00.  The halls at Ms. Boni's are very full and busy and there is a lot of commotion with people coming and going.  I think that part made her a little nervous before class.  Next year, we'll pick a smaller school.

So, there you have it.  Ballet school was not for Erin!

From Erin...

Almost every morning Erin climbs in my lap and wants to write "her family" an email.  She is very insistent and I end up giving in.  She tells me who she wants to include in the list and I set up the email for her.

She sits in my lap with her little fingers on the keys very carefully selecting exactly which ones she pushes.  She talks it thru and tells them about her day and that she loves them.  It's too cute.

I'm sure the recipients might not enjoy the garbled message they get, but I sure love her doing it.