Last Day of Spring Break

We finished off 20lbs of Crawfish from JT's Seafood. then to chase them down we had a dozen cupcakes from Baked by Becca. Mmm! Good Food for a Great Friday.

A cat's life

Wouldn't it be nice to be a cat for just a week... Lie around wearing tiaras

Or sleep all day.......every day while someone gives you something to snuggle with.

Static

Houston Rodeo 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Yard Work

As you can see our front flower beds have been suffering for quite some time. There is a whole lot of flower bed and lots of sizes of shrubs. Mostly Azaleas. So this spring we set out to take control of the yard.

Here's the Before: (of the largest flower bed)

The first order of business was to take up all of the landscaping rocks. It was apparent they had been down for quite a while and needed to be re-stacked. Before we restacked them we pressure washed both sides of them.

We had lots of helpers. And amazingly enough these two pulled more than their share of the load.

And here's the after

A few new Agapanthas and lots of Boy Scout Mulch that Zane delivered last weekend.

Now we just have to level out the rest of the dirt and get some grass growing.

This is another bed that we re-did. It had several old holly bushes there before.

And look who is peaking out, even after being transplanted....looks like an Apple Blossom Amaryllis to me

I can so relate

This made me laugh... after listening to everyone tell me they are hungry at least 3 times a day times 5 (or 6 ) I feel like pulling my hair out. Then I read this and it made me really laugh.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/2009/02/a_universal_struggle.html

Bonding...YES

I remember when Mia was home for only 6 months the social worker asked us if she had bonded with us. I immediately said Yes. But it wasn't until over a year later that I thought back. No we weren't really bonded then. Bonding is a big word in the adoption community. It happens slowly over time and a child might not be completely bonded for a few years. Do they know who makes the food? Yes, Do they only want you when they get hurt? yes, do they give hugs and kisses? yes. But true and lasting bonding takes TIME lots of TIME. It's something you take for granted with biological children but with adoption it means EVERYTHING.

Well all that to say... Mia and Kaylee have really been fascinated with newborns lately. They ask me at least twice a day if I can have a baby. I always say, "you mean go to China and get another baby." No Mom a baby from your tummy. I always tell them," no that's probably not going to happen again." What I really want to say is Fat Chance sisters....

But anyway after several pleas for a sister, I was rocking Ty before bed and he looked up at me and said, "I don't want you to have a baby" I replied, "Oh, because you're my baby" "No I'm a big boy" "Yes you're Mommy's big boy"
He looked me straight in the eyes and said "I love you Mommy" and gave me a big kiss and hug.

This was the first time he had said he loved me without prompting. It was a moment....a really sweet moment.
Bonding? Yes we're on a good road.

Maybe it's time

........for a new computer chair. The seat has been holding on by one set of five original screws. The kids thought it was probably time for a new chair weeks ago but I really didn't want to spend the money on a new chair. So we all just balanced very carefully and tried not to make any sudden moves. Sudden moves lead to finding yourself on the floor and the seat dangling next to you, (Trust me I know)

But it finally gave up it's battle and the screws succumbed to the pressure, on Friday night. Zane brought me both pieces and said, "MOM, now it's time, don't you think?"

And it knew exactly when to finally let go because Mom and I went to some Garage Sales on Saturday morning. Oh what joy when I spotted this chair in someone's driveway. I quickly examined it and said I"ll take it, because the price tag was a whopping THREE DOLLARS. After I paid I wanted to tell the man, "Buddy, I"d have given you at least $15 for it." But who am I to nose into his pricing strategies. It was a little dusty, and I"m sure he was just glad to get it out of his garage or attic. And I was OH so proud to help him.

Happy Mardi Gras

We've had a fun time this year with Mardi Gras. In the past we've never really celebrated, since we aren't Catholic or heavy drinkers. But this year we've had fun with the beads, King cake and parade. James Odom brought us this king cake today. It was shipped from New Orleans and very tasty.

If you are wondering about the bear. He was the white elephant Christmas gift from the Walling's last year. He's been around for 3 years now and I got stuck with him. He will show up a lot this year until it's time to pass him on to the next un-suspecting owner next Christmas.

The Quote of All time...

Mia has been infatuated lately with being a Mommy. Like most little girls she likes to play babies and pretend she's the Mom.
And she often says, "Mommy, I want to be the Mommy"

So Friday, I was changing a Battery in Trent's MP3 player, Pouring Ty some Apple Juice AND holding the freezer door open for Kaylee while she got something out... Mia saw this and said "Mommy, you're so lucky, you get to do EVERYTHING for EVERYONE..... All at the same time."

Yes, Mia you're right. And someday you'll have the job (I mean Joy) of doing it all too.

Aquarium of the Americas

Several years ago David and I went to the Aquarium in New Orleans. I really enjoyed it then and couldn't wait to take the kids back one day. I think the time we were there last I was very pregnant with Trent. After Hurricane Katrina I was worried it wouldn't be repaired but it looks like nothing ever happened to it.

something we all wanted to see was the Albino or White Alligator. He was really eerie looking. I always expect them to snap at us and try to eat us through the glass.

After we left the aquarium we went next door for an IMAX movie that was called "The Wild Ocean" But really it could have been called Sardines. It was entirely about Sardines and how they move and all the animals (& people) that wait to catch them. I'm not knocking it, it was pretty interesting. The kids loved wearing the glasses and seeing the 3D show. Ty loved the popcorn so everyone was happy.

There's still more to come from this trip. Next up.... Mardi Gras parade.

Got Beignets?

You can't have a trip to New Orleans without having beignets. We visited with our cousins, Todd, Amy, Gabe and Aunt Joyce who live in Slidell, LA. On Saturday morning we went to The Beignet Station in Slidell. I was worried they might not be as good as Cafe Du Monde but....They were soooo good.

They make something called Beginet minis. They are about as big as a donut hole. Which makes them much easier to eat. You don't have to worry about the powdered sugar choking you as you try to eat, inhale and swallow. If you've ever had beignets you know what I'm talking about.

It was not a great day to wear a black shirt, But Trent managed anyway. We dusted him off and he was OK.

More to come about our fun weekend trip......

Happy Valentine's Day

Big Kisses to Everyone from Mia and Ty

Kaylee's 8th Birthday

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Cookies Anyone?

This year I volunteered to be the "Cookie mom" for Kaylee's Brownie Troop. There are 15 girls and each girl sold between 75 and 350 boxes each. Which led to having to pick up 2,100 boxes ( 178 cases ) of cookies. The pick up was really easy. All I had to do was drive by the 18 wheeler trucks and volunteers loaded them in the back of the Suburban. But once we got home, we had to unload all of the cases. Then sort them by individual girl.

It was a quite a job but thankfully mom was here to help with the kids and help me sort. I am happy to say that all the cookies have been picked up from my living room, dining room, and game room. Just look at all the Thin Mints above. They are by far the most popular.

Surgeries #3,#4,#5

Yesterday was an Extreme Makeover for Ty. He had work done in all areas. Some may ask what did he have done? A better question may be "What didn't he have done?"
We checked in at 6:00 and he was scheduled as the first case of the day, in order for all 3 surgeons to do their respecitive Magic.
Up first was a circumcision, done by the urologist. It was medically needed to correct a little "problem" I won't go into detail because Ty may read this one day.
Second on the list was a thumb reconstruction, done by a plastic surgeon. To correct his polydactyl thumb.
Third and finally was dental work that had to be done under anesthesia. The pediatric dentist gave him 2 crowns, 1 baby route canal, and 2 sealants.

I didn't think about it until later but after your child goes to the OR, the parents wait in a waiting room. Then the surgeon comes in, tells you the results, and a few minutes later a nurse comes in to escort you to recovery. We were the second family in the waiting lounge, and we had 3 different surgeons come in and give us reports in staggering times. I wonder what the other parents thought we were doing to our child.

But, after it was all said and done, everything went especially well. We were in the car headed home by 11:30.
He had a rough spell during the night but other than that he is feeling much better.
He has a soft cast on his right arm to protect the thumb and that will stay on a week.

Hopefully now he will have a little "break" from doctors and surgeons.

Is it Thursday again already?

Monday once was my only "dreaded" day. It is the day for laundry, and LOTs of after-school activities for everyone, which means I do a lot of "shuttling" on Monday.

But somehow Thursday morning has now ramped up equal to my Monday afternoon rush hour.
Here's how last Thursday went...

7:20 - Trent has to be at school for extra English reading practice
8:00- Kaylee has to be at school
9:15 - Zane has late arrival so he needs to be dropped off at Chick-fil-A for his Youth mentoring group
(thankfully one of the other moms gets him to middle school on time)
9:25 - Mia has to be at Pre-school
10:00 - 10:30 Back to Kingwood for Ty's Speech Therapy
11:30 Kaylee and Trent have early relase so they have to be picked up
2:30 Mia needs to be picked up from Pre-school
4:00 Mia has a birthday party to attend
6:30 Jewelry party for Mom
Then BED ASAP

So I guess I need to get in bed now to gear up for tomorrow's running....However, I have a few less stops to make, Zane is home sick with a fever, No early release, No afternoon birthday party, and no Jewelry Party....
But I will have to factor in a trip to the doctor for Zane if I can get an appointment.