1st Day of School

Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 5th grade

Perhaps I should be reporting on their first quarter report card rather than document the first day of school, nevertheless, here we are 6 weeks into the school year already.... Backing up to July 26th, it was a bitter sweet Monday, not to mention a blazing 110 degrees. I had run earlier that morning and got what I think now, was heat exhaustion. I cut my 12 mile run in half and headed straight home. Thinking I had hydrated myself enough, it obviously wasn't enough. I was seriously sicker than a dog. I was burning up, my head killing and had the shakes. I was so nauseated that I couldn't even stomach making my kids their promised pancake breakfast. Thankfully, Doug was there to fill in the gaps until he had to leave for work.

The big 8th grader

I snapped a few shots of the kids and had a hard time standing up. However, Weston pleaded that I ride to school with them. Being the nice mom I am, I did. It wasn't easy, but it was his first day at the big school and I really wanted to be there for him.

Luke was so excited that he was back in class with his best buddy Magnus. Jared also scored ALL of his friends (5 to be exact) in his class as well. I was a little concerned for the teacher, but they seem to all be behaving, for now anyway. Weston followed Jared out to the playground and told me he was fine and that I could go home. I normally would have stayed, but my world started to spin and I knew I best be getting home before I couldn't even make it there.

I arrived home, plopped on the couch and within 10 minutes received a phone call from my friend Tiffany. She very calmly replied, I know you are sick, but I have Weston, he is a little upset and wanted to let you know I am walking him to class. My heart sank, I felt awful. Apparently, when the bell rung the kids ran from the playground and Weston lost sight of Jared and panicked. He somehow found his backback (which was in his line), picked it up and decided to walk back towards our house. Thankfully, Heather and Tiffany intercepted him before he got to far and got him to class. It was a rough start to a first day, but his teacher said once she was able to distract him, he did fabulous. Phew!

After the initial trauma was over and I knew he was safe in his classroom, I broke down and cried. Not only did I feel like a horrible mother for not staying at the school, but I missed my little guy. My house was almost too quiet. There was no more clanking of the candy jars, scoulding him to turn off the wii, no noise of rustling candy and gum wrappers, or complaining about being hungry. Just silence. I have since gotten used to the quiet, and I do still miss my little shadow. But, one thing for certain I don't miss is the trash that he used to leave behind. This is no joke what I found behind my couch. You would think I didn't teach Weston where the trash can was or perhaps he was just to lazy to throw it away. At first I was appauled and disgusted, but now I can't help but to laugh at how much he was able to stash and hide. Sneaky indeed! Here is to a great school year!!

Five For Friday

1. We welcomed Annabeth into our home last Monday. She seems to be healthy, strong and enjoys wearing pink. Taylor is expected to carry her around for two weeks. She must care for it, and if she breaks or cracks, has to write a 3 page report on child abuse. What's my opinion on this teaching principal of parenting? Can you really compare an egg and a human? Super LAME and cheesy if you ask me.

2. I live out of my car most days being a taxi driver to my kids. To be honest it doesn't bother me, but my car does seem to suffer now and again. The Honda van has the capablity of holding 12 drinks at one time. That's pretty dang impressive! The sad part there isn't a day that goes by that 4 of those cupholders are filled with diet coke's. If there was ever such a thing as DC annonymous some one may have to sign me up.

3. We really did luck out this year in little league. Jared was drafted to one of the best coaches. The downfall is, you don't get to pick who is one your team. For the past 3 seasons Logan and Jared have been on opposing teams and happens to be one of Jared's good friends. Logan is a great player, but unfortunately he couldn't carry his team to a victory. The Dodgers won 7-2. I am just glad they both had smiles on their face after the game.

4. Just so you know Luke is still around despite his absence on the blog lately. He continues to be my rule follower and loves to challenge his parents with his short tempers. However, he wears his heart on his sleeve and continues to be concerned about his brothers at all times. There isn't a day that goes by that Luke doesn't come up and give me a hug and kiss before walking out the door. And we also LOVE those deep brown eyes.

5. Okay, so it's been two weeks since I have registerd St. George Marathon lottery. I don't know what's worse waiting to see if you get in, or dreading if you get in to have to train in the Arizona heat!

SPT

It's been literally months since I even thought about self portrait Tuesday.

Afterall, Lelly did request a funny.......

Apparently Luke is a gold digger....ha!

Many people who know me, know that when I either get bored or tired I become a little slap happy. We had about an hour to kill in the car. What were we doing in the car for so long you may ask? Doug was inside playing church ball and as you can see I couldn't seem to pull my boys away from THEIR own form of entertainment. Fortunately or (unfortunately) Taylor seems to share that common bond with me. As I was going through photos (still trying to come up with a Christmas card idea...grrrr!) I remembered about a month ago Taylor and I were seriously bored in the car and decided to entertain ourselves with some good old self portraits.

And in case you are wondering, I was laughing so hard I started to cry.

That's All Folks!

*Sniff * Sniff*

This week has been a trying emotional roller coaster. Doug and I don't leave our kids EVER. Well, we did once last year thanks to Angie. And this year will be the second. Taylor boarded her first solo flight today. She was treated like royalty from the moment we checked her in at the ticket counter.

I didn't notice the time until we arrived at the gate and the entire plane had already boarded. She had only about 10 minutes to spare! When we walked up all I had time was to say goodbye. I know a month ago she was nervous about the whole "alone" thing. But, after we downloaded her a movie to her ipod that was all it took. Thankfully she is very confident and capable when it comes to being independent.

I sat and waited for the plane to taxi away. I am not sure if I looked like a lost puppy or just sad. The pilot waved to me from the plane with a thumbs up and the okay sign. (pretty funny eh?) I left a little weepy, but know she is going to have the best weekend ever with her very bestest friend.

Just a few hours ago I got this text picture and they were on their way to Chuy's!! (so not fair!) The text from Angie read, "Taylor made it and we may not send her back now that she is back in Texas." Love and miss you Taylor!! Have a fun weekend and we will see you soon. XOXO--Mom

I guess the bottom line is I just hate to see my little girl grow up! I can only imagine what college with be like. Sigh.

Half Way Mark

Taylor riding off to piano lessons

I can't seem to get a grasp on life these days. Minutes become hours, and hours have become days at the blink of an eye. Is it really already the middle of January? I find that my organization skills are seeping through the cracks. Keeping up is now my way of functioning, forget trying to get ahead.

Taylor's New Haircut

In the past few months I have watched my daughter grow up from being a little girl who once loved the color pink, drawing flowers, Disney music and Dr. Suess books. Green is the new pink. Peace is "cool" and the logo is written on just about everything. Supporting this symbol on most clothing articles is the latest trend. The Twilight series is the bomb. Goodbye cd's, hello ipod and ipod doc, especially when you are in the bathroom showering. Talking on the phone to an individual is "old school." Texting is the new way to communicate to your friends. What happened to conversation with your mouths? Long over are the days of pig tails (unless they are super low) and french braids. (seriously sad about that one) She is definitely Miss independent these days.

Today was another milestone, she not only got her hair cut, but got a little highlights added as well. Ready or not my baby will be a young woman in less than 6 months. Deep breaths, I keep telling myself, deep breaths. **sigh**


good deed: taught art masterpiece in Luke's class

Five For Friday

1. It's FINALLY cooling off in AZ. People are now walking their dogs, riding bikes and taking strolls outside. The kids are now able to walk home without dying of heat exhaustion. Yay!! I'll admit I am a little sad that the monsoon season is over. Long gone are the heavy clouds that roll in, the thunder, lightening and these lovely rainbows. I took this while we were up at the cabin a few weeks ago. (hence the A-framed window).

Taylor with her hip/hop hat

2. Taylor is enrolled in three dance classes which consumes her entire Thursday after school. I opted to trek her into Mesa just so that she would be able to go to a "good" studio. People have their different opinions on what "good" is, but for me I prefer the technique side to be good. Plus she has some of the same instructors I did as a youth along with a few of my friends teaching the classes there. Her favorite class is hip/hop. This doesn't at all surprise me and she LOVES her teacher (House). The bummer part is his dance crew is in the process of trying to make it onto the Randy Jackson's Best Dance Crew. This is a great opportunity for him, but means that if they make the cut he will no longer be able to teach and choreograph at the studio.



3. The other day I couldn't help notice this piano at Claudia's house (she does my nails). I asked her if she played and she said she used to but is looking to sell it. My ears immediately perked up when "sell" came out of her mouth. I know nothing about pianos, but we have been wanting to start our kids with lessons. She is selling it for a little higher than the price of a keyboard. (like the ones at Costco) After talking to a few people, they said I would be crazy not to take it, it's a steal! We are still weighing the idea or deciphering between this or a piece of furniture. But, isn't it beautiful?

4. Little League has been a little different this season. Last spring the games tended to be on the more exciting side due to having it machine pitch. Jared has now bumped up into the "kid pitch" age, which DRAGS on and on. I know they have to learn at some point, but 2 hour games? Seriously, it's painful especially when some games start at 7:30pm. Did I mention these are on school nights?

5. It seems along with blogger another craze besides my-space is going around. One of my friends briefly told me about facebook a few weeks ago and since then I have found TONS of people from high school not to mention people I haven't thought about for years. Who needs a reunion when you can find them online? Crazy. Have you gotten on?

Top of The Mornin' To Ya!

AZ morning sunrise

Back when Doug and I were very first married I was a morning person. I loved to get up early to start the day (unless of course it was freezing outside). It was a guarantee that my eyes would pop open and be awake at the latest by 7:30am. (even on the weekends--it used to drive Doug insane). I am not sure when the tables turned. In our household Doug has been known to create and say some of the craziest things. One of his more popular sayings is...... in the most high pitched Irish voice, "Top of the Mornin' To Ya!" It can be quite obnoxious, but it has now become a joke in our house. Perhaps having to get up early to be at the hospital at the crack of dawn has done it. At any rate Doug is definitely WAY more of a morning person than I am. Despite my constant battle to stay in bed my alarm goes off at 5:30am whether or not I would like it too. Eventually I find my self rolling out of bed about 15 minutes later (after a few snooze smacks).

Some may think that is a little early, but in order for me to fit in my exercise regiment for the day I really don't have a choice. I really miss loading up my boys in the double stroller and doing my 3-4 mile walk each day. I am afraid with our schedules those days are long over. I have found that running 3-4 times a week isn't as enjoyable as walking.

Our first step

We have been wanting to put Taylor on some sort of exercise regiment for a while. Kids just don't "play" the way they used to. Things such as bike riding, running around, and being outside is becoming a thing of the past. Blasted electronics anyway! Don't misunderstand, I don't think my daughter is fat or needs to loose weight, I just think that getting outside and being in the fresh air does wonders for your soul. I am hoping it will also teach her the principal early to bed/early to rise. Cheesy, but I think Taylor struggles with going to bed much too late, causing her to be dragging ALL day long.

The moon was full and heading up as we were leaving.
Very cool!

We struck a deal with her that if she walks three times a week (MWF) with me for the next month she would in return be able to have a chef party with 5-6 of her friends. (Something that she has been REALLY wanting to do). I think it's a win/win for all. I not only will have someone to go with, but I think it will be a fun time to bond with her. Another bonus is she will also be passing off something in her Faith in God book. Wish us luck!

Fellowship Crawfish Boil

I didn't realized we matched until I looked at this photo.
Too funny.

You would think after living in New Orleans for 4 years I would have grown to love seafood. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The physicians that Doug work under have an annual crawfish boil each year for the staff. The other fellow with Doug (Adam) happens to be from Louisiana and offered to cook all of the food. It's held out at Dr. Delee's ranch which has breath taking views of the Texas hill country. Dr. DeLee isn't known to smile very much, but he can definitely tell stories, upon stories. The man is not only extremely educated, but pulls things out of his head you wonder how the heck he knows it!

Crawfish anyone?

We ended up getting there a little late and the food was already cooked and ready. Doug told Taylor he would give her $5 if she peeled and ate a mudbug. She was a little hesitant at first, but surprisingly did it with out a fuss along with a few oysters. Which apparently are one of her favorite foods. Who knew?

Doug, Adam Perry, Dr. Huff, and Meg Jacobs

My boys refused to touch any (as did I), but I did eat the potatoes and corn. The seasonings they cook the crawfish in are SO yummy. I think my kids devoured at least 3 Popsicles each that night. What ever keeps them happy right? They also had a blast running around the ranch and playing with the dogs.

Dr. DeLee (in white), Dr. Jacobs and Doug

I really didn't want to ask for a "posed" photo of Dr. DeLee, but I was at least able to grab a snapshot of him with the guys. As you can see they are in deep concentration eating crawfish.

Hannah Jacobs and Taylor

One of the doctor's daughters (Hannah) is also in Taylor's dance class. I was completely amazed how much Taylor enjoyed the crawfish. After eating her "earned" one, her and Hannah seriously ate a ton of them! My picky little girl who once ate NOTHING, will now try things her mom won't even eat.

This is why I need a SLR,
You can see it hidden in the trees.

The DeLee's property is on the highest point in Bexar country. This was the view from the back deck where we ate. Just across the way you can see Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's home. At first I thought it was the one on the right, but after clarification it was the one hidden down in the trees. I believe it is still under construction. I definitely had more fun than I originally thought I would. For some reason, I dread staff parties or being around people I don't really know. (Dr. DeLee's wife isn't the warmest woman you will meet) Ironically, I ended up chatting with her most of the night. Perhaps the first encounter with her was just a bad one. We ended up being one of the last one's to leave. All and all it was a great night!

Motherhood: A Matter of Perspective

Resorting dinner to a restaurant in order to keep the kitchen clean.
BWW is one of our favorite's.

It's that time of year when your children recognize and tell you how you do as a mother. It makes being a mom worth it just to hear three little words from your child. I. love. you. This week I thought my plate was a tad emptier, but apparently I was wrong. Monday appeared to be open besides the two showings we had. Tuesday was a repeat of Monday and then Wednesday came along. I swapped with my friend so that I could attend a temple session. I also agreed after picking up Weston that I could help Angie (since she was getting her hair done). I had a great session was sitting and chatting with my friend and my phone rang.

Luke's Mother's Day Card
I love they used finger prints for the flowers.

It was Luke's school. I thought it was odd since I have yet to receive a phone call from them. I was immediately worried he had gotten sick. The program director said, are you coming? I was clueless. To what? The mother's tea? It's going on right now. My heart sunk. I quickly grabbed Weston and was at the door. Umm.. I suck. Strike one for mom. Who misses or forgets about a Mother's Day program at their son's preschool? Me. Just when I thought I was being good by going to the temple, I immediately took two steps back. Luckily, one of my other friend's happened to be there and Luke was sitting with her. It didn't seem to bother him, except for the fact he said, "mom you took forevber." After apologizing over and over, he replied that's okay, I ate a cookie.

Jared getting ready to recite his poem.

I am in complete awe of how resilient these little people are. Adults can hold grudges for years and 4 year old's for 4 minutes. We know who we should be taking the lessons from! Today I redeemed myself and REMEMBERED Jared's program at school. It was so sweet. They sang about 5 songs and each student got up and read a letter they personally wrote about their mom. In Jared's eyes I can cook and buy him cool things.

I love Mother's Day. It's not only a time you feel extra love from your children, but the meaning you are in their lives. I am by no means a perfect mother. In fact right now, I feel like a horrible one. I am determined to work harder and keep trying. Last night before bed, I reread Elder Ballards talk. I was left feeling touched and realized we can all change for the better. He asks us three questions. One in particular I liked was: What can you do as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more? First recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in the moments.

This is something I struggle with on a daily basis. The whining, the fighting, etc can totally take a toll on me. Some days I am left raising my arms in the air feeling helpless. The thing that struck me even more was that we only live with our children 1/4 of our life. If you do that math that really is no time at all! It definitely makes you rethink how you do things and how very little time we get to spend with them. 18 years may seem long, but I am coming up to living with my husband longer than my parents. Weird.

Taylor modeling her medals

My kids continue to make me proud with their outstanding efforts in school, citizenship, and extra curricular activities. I sometimes have to ask the teacher, are these MY children you are talking about? Taylor entered into a solo competition for orchestra and walked away with two first place medals! Motherhood has it's highs and lows, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

SPT--What Was I Thinking??

This post could obviously be more than one thing. As I sat and thought about my week in general things popped in and out of my brain like crazy. My over scheduled calendar, picking the wrong collision center to fix my car, choosing not to eat and then inhaling a package of chips ahoy in one sitting at 10pm, making two trips to pottery barn outlet in one day, screaming at my children to stay off the "freshly vacuumed" carpet so that some "person" could tell me they hated my vinyl flooring. We all have things we wish we could have or should have done differently, but most importantly we learn from them and move on. My hair has been standing on end over the past couple of months. The littlest things have bugged me. Not for any apparent reason, it's just something I wish would go away! Bad mood be gone. I can't change the past, so rather than rehashing the things I wish I could change I decided to take a different approach. Here are some things that have been going on over the past week or so..........

Jenny, Julie, and Cheri

I have met some super nice parents on little league this year. It has made Jared's baseball games a lot of fun. These gals are new to SPT, but they were great sports about taking a photo. Funny, Cheri offered to take this photo, but I explained that self portraits are more fun.

This isn't anything new or out of the ordinary for me. I do have to document that I am still going strong doing a morning walk/run. I can't believe it's been close to 6 months without Angie. It's definitely hard on some days to make myself go, but I am always glad I do. Weird to thing 3 years ago I had absolutely NO exercise regiment in my life at all.

Yesterday, Angie and I drove up to San Marcus to the Pottery Barn outlet. I had a gift card from Christmas and wasn't expecting to find anything. And really went up to "window shop" It is such a crap shoot when you drive up there. This happened to be one of those times I found a deal I couldn't pass up. Doug and I have been saving here and there to buy furniture for our next house. I wasn't planning on getting Taylor a bedroom set for a while, but this was 60% off. Unheard of really. Two trips later she now has a "real" bed. I must say I was pretty pleased with the look and how incredibly easy it was to assemble. No tools required, just my style!

Trends New & Old

The wheat thin peanut butter sandwich

It's interesting how trends come and go in our household. I think the biggest influence is due to friends. It's often monkey see monkey do. Obviously the Gordon's are like family to us, hence our children often act like siblings to one another. (the love/hate relationship) Backing up a bit, my kids (well my boys) live on PB&J sandwiches. Literally. I have been waiting for the day they wake up and totally refuse to eat them. Unfortunately, this occurred for Weston a few months ago. My simple life of making the same sandwiches has come to a halt. Maryn (Angie's little girl) has NEVER liked bread, even from the small age of six months and still refuses to eat it. However, she has somehow concocted a method of what we call the "Maryn" sandwich. You take peanut butter and spread them in between to wheat thins and you have a mini peanut butter sandwich. (These are not to be confused with the prepackaged peanut butter crackers) Weston has now decided this is his meal of choice for lunch. Long over are my assembly line days of sandwich making. We are now the cracker sandwich folk around here. I will say, they are pretty tasty though.

Such a ham!

Our family has a trend of taking photos pretty much every where we go. (I'll blame blogging on that one) Taylor aka "camera lover" also enjoys taking and acting out videos with my camera. You would think she would use her own more often, not so. Like me, my kids enjoy dancing and singing to any "groove" music. Right now the family favorite is Flo Rider. It's hilarious to hear Luke singing it, Taylor actually happened to catch him dancing along the other day.

Speaking of riding in the car, we have a new obnoxious game that we play. Thanks to Grandpa Dale we now play the "yellow car" game whenever we travel to a new location (dance, baseball, etc) I will be the first to admit I have gotten a tad competitive at this game to the point we are all arguing over yellow points. Normally the person who sees a yellow car first will yell out "YELLOW CAR" and receive points for it. We have also added that buses only count if they are moving and if a person sees a yellow FJ Cruiser it's extra points. And if anyone ever finds a yellow Honda Odyssey they automatically win the entire day (this of course is NEVER going to happen) Sadly, even if my kids aren't in the car I find myself counting yellow cars while driving. Can you find the one in the photo above?

Hair trends are so hard. They come and go in so many forms in fashions. I prefer the simpler the better. Truth me known my hair is the least favorite thing about me. Don't ask me why, it just is. My friend Sara cut and colored my hair today. It has been FOREVER since it was done (August to be exact) and I decided to go shorter. It was getting super long so she added layers and cut nearly 6 inches off of it. I just hope I am able to style it tomorrow.

Angie and I have kid swapped ever since we moved here. This is an old trend for us and always works out so well. (Something I will truly miss) The other day I was able to watch Meg and Maryn for a short period of time. She is such a cutie. I really could have held her all day. We were having a stare competition as you can see. Oh, how I miss those little pink clothes!

A, A, A ........What Begins With A?

Taylor & Ms. Eakle

Young Astronauts. Taylor signed up for this program at school which meets once a month after school. It has given her so many opportunities to learn about space and science in general. This past Friday they took a field trip with several other schools to spend an evening looking at the stars.

(before)

The Attic. Saturday consisted of baseball practice and can you guess? The garage/attic. Doug and I planned on tackling the beast together, but he was on call and had to work a few hours at the hospital. Luckily I had the older kids help me and we ended up taking EACH and every box out of the attic. We no longer have one item up there (except the large Christmas tree) The funny thing was I had several people driving by asking me what I had to sale. I had forgotten that Saturday is the day people have yard sales. Doug came home later in the afternoon and helped me give each box from in the house as well as the attic a home. Our junk went from inside almost out to the curb. On the upside this is going to serve as our storage area instead of having to rent a space. The downside is we only are now able to park one of the cars in the garage now.

(after)

Attended a Name And Blessing. Today we had the opportunity to go out to the Gordon's ward for Meg's baby blessing. I wish I would have gotten a better photo of her dress. It really was darling.

Baby Meg

Attire. Angie coordinated her family all in black and white and afterwards we went over there for some yummy sandwiches and snacks. Most definitely an AWESOME Sunday had by all!

Gordon Gang

blessing: fasting as an entire family, what a powerful thing!

Visiting

Kristi, Mark, Tatum, Jenny, Doug

Kristi seriously looked amazing for having twins
(they are only 6 weeks old)

I am not too sure why but Doug and I don't get visitors very often. (I think it's because we put them to work) So you can imagine the excitement when someone actually travels to see us. Visitors?? Yippee!! My nephew and his wife recently had twin babies and decided to take a road trip from Dallas this past weekend. It was SO fun to have them over. Hopefully the noise level wasn't too deterring. My kid are SUPER loud.

Luke and Weston cracked me up they were
so intrigued by these little people.

And yes, we actually had Mark help us dissemble our swing set to give to our neighbors. Thanks Mark! When Doug's parents were here we had them help us transport a trampoline. Are you beginning to see a trend? Family comes=work! Taylor was in absolute heaven with these babies. She is a huge helper to me and I was amazed how willing she was to hold and feed these sweet things. I didn't get a good shot of her in her element, click here for more. Thanks for coming guys. Just think next time we will all be living in AZ. Yay!

Tatum not so happy while Linkin is zonked!

blessing: having family come to visit.