So I didn't do so well....

So much for posting once a day for a week...that went right out the window...*sigh*. I'm ready for a break! I feel like my life is just so chaotic right now and I hate not feeling in control :/ My house is a DISASTER with a capital D! I got all my Christmas stuff out and even have my tree up (no lights or decorations yet), but now I have stuff strown ALL over the place. It's making me a bit crazy!

The photography thing is going WELL! I've had 4 sessions within the past 2 weeks and have two more before Christmas. It's very time consuming to edit and perfect the pictures and that's where most of my time on the computer is spent...editing, not blogging or keeping up with my forums :( But, I know I'll get it down to a science and get some balance at some point.

I'm off work starting Thur until the following Wed....I can NOT wait!!!! I'm Black Friday shopping with 3 of my neighbors and I'm stoked about that! I normally go with my mom, but she decided to go on a cruise this year...the nerve!!! lol

Today I have to take both kids to the doctor for their well check-ups. I'm just a little behind :p Dylan turned 5 in Aug and Sydni turned 7 in Oct....oops! They don't know it, but they are getting a flu shot today...this should be FUN...N.O.T.!!! I'm trying to decide which one to get it first. Whichever gets it first needs to NOT make a scene so the other won't be freaked out. Maybe I could see if 2 nurses could come in and they could do them together?? Double torture?? I'm sew meen!

The kids are out of school tomorrow, but I have to work. Their daycare is having a "lazy day" and they get to wear their pj's and watch movies and have a special feast. They are super excited about it. I'm praying that it's a quiet day at work. I'm planning to leave around 3 anyway.

So tomorrow night, I have a date with my hubby ;) Well, a double date, but it's a date nonetheless! My MIL is watching the kids while we go to dinner and a movie (Four Christmases) with our neighbors :) I'm dying to see this movie and just to have a night out. Should be lots of fun!!

My mom has signed me up for Corn Casserole and Sweet Potato Casserole for T'ing Day. Nice of her, huh?? :) No really, that's what I bring EVERY year, apparently I cook those well (if you know me well enough to know that I don't cook, this should be funny) and everyone always raves about them....works for me!!! My recipe for the SP Casserole is DELISH!! It's my grandma's recipe...let me know if you want it and I'll post it.

Okay, so this has gotten REALLY long...guess that's what I get for not posting for a week like I said I was going to. I will say though, no one kicked my ass or harrassed me??? What kind of friends are you?!?!!? JUST KIDDING!!

I guess I should get some work done since I'm leaving early to torture (did I say that) take my kids to the doctor today :) I'll let you know how the shot business goes ;p

Shame Shame Shame....

On me! Ugh, my world has been just nuts. That's the only way I know how to put it. I have had some pretty big stuff going on at work and that has required WAY more of my time and thoughts than it normally does :( Luckily, it's about to be done and I'll have some breathing room soon!

What's new with us? Not much, I've been taking some pictures, we had our last soccer game 2 weeks ago and have the trophy ceremony this Saturday. Sydni is still loving gymnastics :) It is prime-time hunting season in my house, so Jeremy is gone every Saturday and Sunday morning until lunch time. I really don't mind it...gives me time to get up and be lazy ;p

I'm really looking forward to the holiday! I just love Thanksgiving and Christmas...yes, I've already started listening to Christmas music...I'm a dork like that ;)

I have ZERO shopping done :( I do have a list though, so it's started. Our Christmas will be minimal this year. My kids just have WAY too much stuff and they always get SO much from the grandparents and other family. I'm just done with feeling like I have to get them so much. Plus, we don't have a ton of money to spend (who does these days??) on things they really don't need. They are planning to ask Santa for a chocolate lab puppy :) If you don't know, we had a chocolate lab that was 8 yrs old (he was my baby before the babies) and we had to put him to sleep last year, the week before Christmas :( I'm sure hoping Santa can find one ;)

So that's my update for today....I am making a commitment to myself to submit a blog entry once a day for the next 2 weeks...even if it's just a couple of sentences to say I'm tired. So keep after me!!

I'm sorry!

I haven't posted much! Ack! I've had a lot going on...so I should have a bunch to post about, right?? LOL

The kids and I have all been battling the nasty sinus infection crud :( I'm crazy busy at work and don't have a lot of time to catch up then. Soccer is almost over, that's a good thing! I hope to get on here tonight or tomorrow and do a much longer post with an update!

a whole lotta nothing

That's what I did last night!! We all got home and just zoned out. Dylan actually went to sleep on the couch at 5:45!! He woke up briefly at about 8:15 and said his throat hurt and got some apple juice. He was back asleep at 8:45 and I had to wake him up at 6:45 this morning!! He was fine this morning though. Poor guy, he had a busy weekend and he was TIRED!!!

Sydni played with her Webkinz and I read a book. Jeremy watched some TV and aggravated me...apparently that's a fun thing for him to do?!?!

Anyway, I can NOT be lazy tonight...I've got laundry to do and I really need to clean Sydni's room really good. I'm not sure whether we have soccer tonight or not. We don't have a game this weekend, so I would guess not, but you never know!

I guess I should out myself on my blog...I have a new venture. I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was really into photography. Well, I have decided to make a go of it. Obviously I can't quit my day at this point, but I'm going to schedule things on the weekends and see how it works out. I am by NO means great, but I think I have a talent and I *know* that it's something I'm truly passionate about. Hopefully those two things will be a good combination. I started a website with the help of my good friend Nikki (thanks again Nikki!!!) and am in the process of having postcards printed to get my name out there. I've got a couple of sessions lined up this weekend with my neighbors to get some photos for my portfolio. To say I'm excited about this would be a huge understatement..it's all I can think about!!! I've got a business plan put together and everything. Jeremy is somewhat scared ;p I know it will be slow in the beginning, but "I have a dream" and hopefully, with a lot of hard work, it just might come true. Here's the website if you want to check it out: www.ambersegrovesphotography.com Be nice to me, it's pretty plain at this point, but it was a free template and I'm VERY html limited :)

There aren't enough hours in the day!!

Ugh, it can't be Monday already...seriously! I need just ONE more day.

Our weekend was good! Friday night we took the kids to see Beverly Hills Chiuauaha (however you spell that word?!?). It was a cute movie...Jeremy and Dylan were a little restless 1/2 way through. Sydni loved it though :) I told Jeremy that it's crazy how when we were dating and first married, we could take $20 and that would get us in the movie AND buy a drink and popcorn. We spent $50 for us to get in and drinks/popcorn...CRAZY! Oh well, it was good family time, so it was worth it, right?? Plus, we rarely go to the movies, so it's okay to splurge every once in a while.

Saturday morning we had soccer...my little man did AWESOME!! He was focused and hustled the entire game. I'm super proud of him :) I've got some good action pictures that I'm going to download today, so I'll put them up on here. After the game, Sydni and I headed to my mom's house to hang out with her for the day. We had SUCH fun, just us girls!! I helped my mom repaint her front door, we got down all her fall decorations and I got to pick out some stuff for my house that she didn't want anymore! Plus, she cleaned out her closet and gave me a BUNCH of stuff (we wear the same size and have the same taste,..lucky me). So it was like I went shopping and didn't spend a dime...WOOHOO!! Jeremy had taken Dylan to J's cousins b-day while we were gone. We got back home around 5:30ish and I was TIRED!! Not really sure why, I hadn't done anything really major. Anyway, I developed a headache, decided to take a bath and ended up in bed by 8:30..that is so NOT like me!! But, I don't remember anything until 8:30 Sun morning so I must have just been really tired. I felt fine on Sunday morning.

We got up on Sunday and decided that church just wasn't happening for us. We headed to Lowe's to get pickets so Jeremy could start that portion of the fence. If anyone ever tells you it's a breeze to put up your own privacy fence..don't listen to them. While it does save you money to do it yourself, it is HARD labor and very tedious and slow! They had some mums marked 1/2 off at Lowe's, so I got a deal on 2 HUGE baskets w/mum's in them for the porch. I got the decorations that mom had given me and got my porch all decorated. After lunch, I went over to my friend's house. They just built a new home and I hadn't seen it yet. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! I am so happy for her! Watched my Cowboys win...barely!! We went for Mexican for dinner last night...YUM!

I'll have to take pics of the front porch and all my decorations. While at Lowe's we let the kids pick out a pumpkin and Jeremy carved them last night. It was too cute, he let Sydni draw out their faces on paper and then he transferred it to the pumpkin. I think he had more fun than they did ;)

Oh, the highlight of the weekend...I sold my treadmill! YAY!! I put it on Craigslist last weekend and finally got a bite. They didn't try to negotiate the price or anything. So, I paid off a bill with that and that definitely felt good :)

Not sure if my week is going to be crazy or just normal busy this week...so far things are pretty quiet, but that can change in the blink of an eye.

I've been a busy bee!!

It's been a week...whew. I'm so glad it's Friday!! After a busy weekend last weekend with soccer, b-day party, haircut, church, cleaning house, Cowboy's game...etc, then this work week! I have had so much to do at work, it isn't even funny! Job security though, right?? That's what I tell myself anyway.

Dylan's behavior has been a *little* bit better this week...we did have another incident at soccer practice. I didn't go because apparently (according to Jeremy), I'm not allowed to go anymore. Dylan acts way worse when I'm there :( 99% of it is because he's tired...he's still struggling with the no nap thing. Last night he was asleep by 6:15 for the night!! Poor guy didn't even eat dinner or get his bath in! Okay, back to the soccer incident. So there's this ADORABLE little girl on his team, I might have mentioned her...her name is Landrie. Anyway, I get this phone call and it's Dylan..he's BAWLING! I ask him what's wrong and he said, "Daddy spanked me..WAHH". I asked him what happend. He said that he said something mean to one of his friends. After about 3 or 4 tries of him telling me what he said through his babbling cries, I got out that he told Landrie she was fat :( This little girl is absolutely adorable and she is a little on the chunky side. I was MORTIFIED!! We try SO hard not to talk about the way people look and I am very conscious of saying I'm on a "diet" or really even talking about size/weight, etc. I know how bad my self-image is at almost 30 and I know society does enough damage itself, so we are very careful in that aspect. SO, I calmly explain to him (again, we are on the phone here) that what he said was NOT okay and we do NOT say things to hurt peoples feelings...EVER! I explain to him that he gets upset when someone says something to him he doesn't like and how is this any different. Of course, he's still bawling at this point. I told him to get himself together, calm down to where he's not crying anymore and go back out on the soccer field and apologize to Landrie and tell her he was sorry for hurting her feelings. He said he would and we ended the call.

They got home from soccer and we had another talk. He did apologize to her and Jeremy said she didn't appear to be upset by the comment, but still!! I had already decided that before they got home, I was going to call her mom. She is the sweetest woman ever, so I didn't think she would make a big deal out of it, but I wanted her to know that it was NOT okay and Dylan had been talked to. When I called her, she was beyond sweet about it. She said Landrie had not even said anything to her, so it must not have left much of an impression. She thanked me profusely for calling, said it meant a lot to her, etc. Apparently, they've had to drop out of one Mother's Day out program because of kids making fun of her...these are FOUR year olds people!! It just amazes me!!

Anyway, that's my big saga of the week. I've been praying for God to give me the strength to handle these things with the right amount of calm and sternness that is needed AND my kids still knowing that I love them regardless. Seriously, there should have been a parenting manual!!

This weekend looks to be a pretty good one. Saturday we have soccer first thing. Then, the kids and I are going to my mom's house to help her get her fall decorations out and put up...should be fun :) Sunday, we'll go to church and then just hang out, watch some football...good ole Fall Sunday...love it!!!

It's Friday!

And after the past two weeks at work, I'm am SO glad the weekend is here!! Today shouldn't be TOO bad and I'm planning to scoot out a little early :) I started the day out with a Non-fat White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks...YUM!! Great way to start the day ;)

We had Open House last night for Dylan's school. He got GLOWING reviews and his teacher said he's just doing great. She said he has the BEST manners (who would have thought??) and is so polite. I guess he just acts bad for me, huh? Nice. Anyway, he was so cute! He showed us all around the school, music room, gym, cafeteria, etc. He was a proud little guy!

Tonight we have Homecoming. I'm a little less than thrilled to go for some reason. I think it's just the fact of dropping $20 on tickets and who knows how much on food while we are there. Dylan will probably be ready to go 5 min after it starts anyway! BUT, Sydni is WAY excited about it and we have this mum that we've made. I'm half-way considering asking my neighbor if she can just go with them. She's a coach's wife and it's just her and her daughter (she's Sydni's age). Would that make me a bad parent to ask?? *sigh*

We have a busy day planned for tomorrow. Soccer game at 10, then we have a b-day party in town at noon. The kids are thrilled because it's at Chuck E Cheese. Jeremy, notsomuch! LOL! Then we are going over to my grandmother's house. You see, my uncle (mom's brother) is scheduled to be at my grandmother's.

Gotta get to a meeting...more updates later!

Full tummy

Ahhhhhh! That's what I'm saying right now. We just got back from eating Mexican and can I just say it TOTALLY hit the spot!! I left work around 4:30, got the kids and then Sydni and I headed to Cheernastics. Afterwards we met Jeremy & Dylan there. I actually got in 30 min of reading while Sydni was doing her thing. And for those who are curious, I wish I could say I was reading something of worth and intellect...BUT I'm a sucker for trashy romance novels, so that's what I read ;p

I've got a HUGE project that I've got going on at work and my day was just beyond crazy today. The project is due by 8AM tomorrow morning....I haven't even started on my part yet. Luckily, another colleague did a lot of the work, but I've still got at least an hour or two to spend on it. It's gonna be a late night here....which means I need to get off the blog and focus on the eye-sore of an excel spreadsheet!

I'm addicted...

to reading other people's blogs. I admit it. I could (and have) sit for HOURS reading blogs. I'll click on one person's and then another's from that persons blogs. I have this thing when I'm reading, I transform myself into that scenario or situation. So now I feel like I know all these people I've read about and experienced their life happenings with them. Strange, I know. I never claimed to be normal.

Anyway, I'm somewhat obsessed with photography as well. If you notice by the new list of "Blogs I like to Read", you'll figure that out ;)

If you read the blog from Monday, just to update you, Dylan seems to be acting as normal as a 5 yo can be. He was the angel child when I picked him up yesterday...funny how that works, huh?

This Friday is our school's homecoming. My mom came over last night and we made a mum for Sydni. It brought me back to my high school day's when my mom and I would spend hours (usually because we waited until the night before) making my mum's and those of my friends. It was a neat time :) Dylan had soccer practice, so it was just us girls and our hot glue gun!! Gotta love it!

Tonight is gymnastics, or as I'm calling it, Cheernastics. It's actually a Cheer class, but she's learning tumbling in it. I called Jeremy today and told him that we were either eating Mexican for dinner or I was eating it for lunch. My body is telling me today that if I don't feed it Mexican food, it will hurt someone. I think I'm going to listen to it.

Watched "The Biggest Loser" last night. It's the Families edition. LOVE that show!! Apparently, it isn't motivating me as well as it usually does since I'm wanting to eat Mexican today. *sigh*

I'm finally over the fact that my man, Favre and The Jets lost BIG time on Monday night :( I really want him to do well this season. Of course, my Cowboys are doing awesome and I'm super happy about that!!

I'm on a mission to figure out what to do for Sydni's birthday. It's October 28th. She, of course, has LOTS of ideas stemming from a sleep-over (NOT sounding fun to me!), Dazzling Diva's dress-up party, Jumpin Jacks Party-Shack (way too much $$), etc. I'm leaning towards a HSM (High School Musical for those of you that don't know :) ) party. I'd like to have the CD playing and maybe let them do karaoke? I don't know. We could do a Halloween party also. Hmmm....

I think I've done enough rambling for the moment....until later....

Parenting is SO hard :(

So today wasn't the best day, parenting-wise. The kids did great getting up this morning...especially considering that Monday's are always rough on all of us getting back into the swing of things. My day was super busy at work, I had 3 conference calls and it just flew by. I'm still knee-deep in dealing with Hurricane Ike related issues with our employees. I left work right at 5 and headed to daycare to pick the kids up from after-school care. The kids are downstairs in the "after-school" room, so they have to call for them when I get there. I waited probably 2 minutes for them to come up. I see Dylan first. Sydni comes meandering behind him pouting because he didn't wait on her....this happens every-day except you never know which one will not wait on the other *sigh*. That is LEAST of my problems as I will soon find out.

Dylan spots a plastic baseball bat and foam ball and immediately picks it up. The conversation goes like this:

Me: Dylan, please put the bat and ball down. You know we don't play with things like that inside.

Dylan: I will mom, just a minute.

At this point, he taps the ball with the bat.

Me: (more sternly) Dylan, put the bat and ball down NOW.

Dylan: doesn't verbally reply, but proceeds to hit the ball with the bat again. Granted it was NOT hard and it didn't hit anything, but that's beside the point.

Me: DYLAN! If you don't put the bat and ball back where you got it NOW, you will get a spanking!!

Dylan: Do you want me to hit you with this bat??

Me: EXCUSE ME?

At which point, I go over to him and wrestle the bat and ball away from him. I don't say anything to him because I'm just trying to get out of the place at this point.

Dylan: (after I put the bat and ball up and head to the door) I hate you. You are the meanest mommy ever.

Me: Tight-lipped, I say nothing except "Dylan, let's go NOW." In my mind, I'm wanting to beat him. BUT, I don't beat my children and really, what would that solve at this point anyway?!?

Dylan: He continues with his ranting that I'm the "meanest mommy ever" and I'm "so rude" and he "hates me".

Honestly, I wanted to curl up in a ball in the parking lot and cry :( I know this is just part of childhood and Dylan has always been much more challenging that Sydni is this aspect.

We get in the car and I proceed to tell him that he will not EVER talk to me like that again! EVER! I explain to him how hurtful it was and how sad it made me. I told him that when you get angry, there are other ways to express your anger than saying mean things that you do not mean. He's BAWLING at this point and I'm 95% sure that he's reacting this way because he's tired...NOT an excuse, but I know that's the reason. My little man is STILL struggling with no naps in Kindergarten and Monday's are rough on him as it is.

I told him that when we got home, he could have no TV time and that he had to sit in his room and think about his behavior.

We got home and he comes barreling in the door screaming and crying about how "mean his mommy is". Jeremy is already home and is like, "WHAT is going on here?!?!"

I proceed to give him the details. Jeremy goes in to talk to him and he comes out to apologize to me. I told him I Loved him and how BADLY he hurt my feelings when he said mean and ugly things to me.

I pray that the way I (we) handled it was the right way, but really, who knows the right way when it comes to parenting.

So, on top of a long day at work, I'm tired mentally and emotionally. Pray for me that I have the strength to handle this strong-willed child that God has blessed me with.

Until tomorrow....

Good weekend!!

We had a good weekend in the Segroves' household!! Friday night, as soon as we got home, we loaded up and went to the Fair. The kids had a blast, we spent WAY too much money for such an event, and had some super YUMMY food! Fair food is the best, I tell ya!

Dylan had a soccer game on Saturday morning. He did SO SO awesome!! I'm super proud of him. He scored 5 goals and just hustled the entire game. This is FAR from where he was 6 months ago when he played in the spring. He pouted everytime he didn't get the ball and generally just followed the group instead of actually trying to get the ball. It's amazing how much he's matured in that time period! After soccer was over, Dylan went with the IL's for a little bit and Jeremy and I took Sydni in to town. She needed some new tennis shoes in a bad way...as in, she didn't have any period! So, we went to several places and I was being picky, of course!! Had lunch, finally found her some shoes, picked up a few chairs (oustide) from Gander Mountain and headed back home. I was so tired at this point!

Didn't do a whole lot on Saturday night. Jeremy and our neighbor had went and got some wood for the winter, so they were unloading that. We ordered pizza and just chilled. Jeremy and I watched some TV after the kiddos went to bed and then I watched Step Up 2 for the 2nd time on PPV. Love that movie!!!

Sunday, got up and cleaned house. I got about 6 loads of laundry done, so all that's needed is a load of towels and one set of Dylan's sheets. Got my floors done and bathrooms. Our other neighbors were coming over to grill burgers and watch the Cowboys game...how bout them Cowboys!!!!! I was all decked out in my Tony Romo jersey ;0 Jeremy cooked the burgers and we just had fries/chips with it. I had made some cookies earlier in the day, so that was dessert :p The kids had a good time playing while we watched the game. I was SO tired last night! Normally, I can/want to stay up later than Jeremy, but I don't really even remember going to sleep last night!

It's going to be a busy day for me at work today...I can already tell!!

I'm tired

*sigh* It's been way too long since I've updated. I'm sorry!!! Let's see, where to start. We've had a busy past month or so. August was filled with birthday and our anniversary. Jeremy's b-day was 8/18, Dylan's b-day was 8/27. Our 9th anniversary was 8/21. My b-day was 9/1. LOTS going on in that 2 week time period. We had Dylan's b-day party over Labor Day weekend and it was GREAT! Dylan and Sydni both started school and are LOVING it so far!! I was really nervous about Dylan starting Kindergarten, but he's just doing awesome!! He's struggling somewhat with being tired. He was used to taking a 2 hr nap EVERY day at daycare and went to NO nap at all :( There have been several days that he's come home and by 6:30 pm, he is asleep for the night! Poor guy!

The extra-curricular activities are definitely an adjustment too! Dylan is playing fall soccer and has practice twice a week. Jeremy is the coach, so we HAVE to be there. He has his first game this Saturday. Sydni just started Cheer/Gymnastics last week and LOVES it so much! She's really a natural when it comes to the tumbling, etc. I'm excited that she's getting to do this.

Work has been BEYOND crazy! I've got several projects going on that are very sensitive in nature and are just stressful! Couple that in with Hurricane Ike...watch out!! Luckily, we didn't have any damage here where we live, but in my job, I support people in Houston and Beaumont. I can't even tell you how much work is going into getting the facilities and people back to work and their living situations, etc. It's just mind-boggling and I can't imagine being in their shoes right now.

I really promise to do better about updating. I think I get overwhelmed and think I have to type out a LOT and then I just don't because it's too much. So even if I just type a small paragraph, I'm going to do it!

Jenn, I hope you this makes you happy!!!!! ;)

TGIF!!!

Well, didn't get the office/craft room cleaned out...maybe this weekend?? I've officially decided we aren't going to the birthday party tomorrow. I plan to get her a gift and have Sydni take it over to her though. I already had this painting thing planned and I'm going with it.

Not sure what other plans we'll have....if they involve being outside, it will have to be in water...if you haven't heard me mention, it's HOT here!!! Jeremy is playing golf Sunday morning and I'm not sure what plans we have for the rest of the day. I really need to comb my house and find some more stuff to ebay so I can make some more $$ for GBR :)

Sydni was SO excited this morning! At their daycare, they do good behavior field trips, and of course, she gets to go everytime :) They were going to the park and then to a local camp to use their swimming pool. We packed her lunch and she told me I had to write her a "note" to put in her sack...it was TOO cute :)

Dylan is super sad that he doesn't get to go though :( I told him that he will next year, he just has to get a little bit bigger. Sydni of course, replies to him that, "Sorry Dylan, that's just the way God made it, I was born first." LOL!!!

Is it Friday yet??

So we had an awesome 4th, I could have used ONE more day, but that's always the case :) The kids had a blast at the gathering that we went to...lots of fireworks and some yummy food! It is so flippin hot here that the only place you can stand to be outside is in water. I can't wait to get our pool next year! I will NEVER leave home! lol

I've been reorganizing the kid's closets and drawers trying to see what they need for fall/winter...even though that is FAR away for us Texans!!! Still, I want to be prepared. The way it works here is that if you wait until it gets cold, there is NOTHING left to be had!!

I've got big plans to paint Dylan's room this weekend, FINALLY! I've had the paint for like 3 months now :( He's so excited about it too, it's too cute :) My mom is coming to help me, so that will be fun! He has a t-ball game on Sat morning, and then they were invited to a pool b-day party after that. I'm struggling on whether or not to take them. It's for one of our neighbors that Jeremy nor I really like the parents :( They are rude and lazy! They NEVER watch their kids, always send them outside when we are (which is a lot)...their dog poops in our yard, they know it and do nothing to stop it :( The dad doesn't work, the kids go to daycare and the mom works as a nurse at a hospital 1.5 hrs away...WEIRD! Their yard looks like total ASS....dh gets so pissed about that...I mean, the dad doesn't work, you would think he could at least keep the yard looking nice. *sigh* That was a LOT of info about our neighbors, huh?? LOL Anyway, decision is still in the air as to whether we will take the kids to the party or not.

Jeremy and I started Weight Watchers on Monday. I'm on day 4 and have lost almost 2 lbs already!! I've done the program successfully before, so I know it works. I've had SUCH a hard time getting motivated and I really need to do this. My goal is 25 lbs. I think Jeremy is mainly doing it to help me, but he wants to lose about 15 himself. He'll probably lose it all in one week!!

I've been thinking about sewing, just haven't gotten in there to do anything. I've got some Halloween material that I was going to make a custom out of...I need to get started on it in hopes of actually having it done by then....plus, I've had this fabric since LAST year...

I really need to clean out the office/craft room too. Maybe tonight?? Or maybe not ;p

Long time, no update??

Let's see, where do I start? It doesn't seem like we've done a lot the past couple of weeks, however, they have FLOWN by!! Sydni has been sick with a cough for the past week and a half, poor thing!! Last weekend, she ran fever pretty much all weekend, so we didn't leave the house. I took her to the doc on Monday of last week, she just has something viral...UGH! Anyway, she's fine now except for this dang cough that will NOT go away!!

Dylan had his 3rd t-ball game on Saturday and he is just TOO stinking cute!!! You can tell he really loves it and is totally focused. I'm a little shocked actually! Saturday afternoon/evening, we went to my aunt's house for a fish fry. It was SO good and we had a lot of fun. My whole family was there so the kids got to play with cousins and I got to visit...good times!! Sunday, we did a whole lotta nothing! Sydni was kind of laying around and I knew she didn't need to be out getting hot and sweaty, so I just did some things in the house...plus it rained some.

Work has been crazy busy! 4th of July is the biggest holiday for us, so employees are over-worked and running around like freaks. I'm even parking myself in a Wal-Mart on Thursday and plan to help out with stocking shelves, etc. It won't be much, but I know they appreciate all the help they can get at this point. I'm sure we'll have some hot ads that will make things even crazier!

Oh, weekend before last Jeremy and I went looking at trucks. We have been talking about getting him something else for a few months now. He had an 01 Ford F150 extended cab 4x4 that had close to 180k miles on it. We have been SO lucky that nothing has gone wrong and it has been a GREAT truck. His dad was interested in buying it from us when the time came. Well, right now Ford is offering their employee pricing PLUS rebates (awesome deal), so Tuesday he bought a new truck!! It's SOOOOO nice! It's a dark blue Ford F150 crew cab (4 doors) 4x4. He is in heaven!!!

My mom is picking the kids up on Thursday afternoon and they are spending the night with her. We'll go to her house on Friday after I sleep late ;)

I'm going to *try* to be better about updating! If Jenn can do it with 6 kids, SURELY I can, right???

I suck!

It's been since last Friday since I updated....I should be beat ;p

Let's see, we had a pretty good weekend. Sat morning we had a b-day party to go to in our neighborhood, so we went to that. We already had plans to go to my mom's house and swim, so I took the kids and one of Sydni's friends there and we stayed until probably 4pm! It was so nice and relaxing and the kids exhausted themselves!! Sat evening we just hung out, Jeremy played some ping-pong and I chatted with my friend/neighbor.

Sunday, we decided to cook out, invited the IL's (actually Jeremy did this without asking me, but hey, that's beside the point, right??) and BIL and his family. It ended up being a nice day, so we put the water slide up to entertain the kids :)

It's been a tense week at work...I've known that we are doing a reorg within the HR dept and that I would possibly be doing something different than what I'm doing now, but haven't known many details. Well, I found out yesterday that I was given a promotion!!! I'm super excited and proud of myself :) My new title is Human Resources Manager and I get more moola, that's ALWAYS nice ;)

Dylan had his 2nd t-ball practice Tuesday night and Jeremy said he's doing GREAT!! He didn't do very well with soccer, so we were a bit apprehensive about t-ball. His first game is this Saturday and I can't wait, he's gonna be SO cute ;)

So that's it in a nutshell for me. I need to write myself a note somewhere to update on a more regular basis...perhaps my forehead?? LOL

Finally updating

Dylan playing "drums" with the spoons and table decorations ;p

Wow, so I haven't posted since we got back from vacation!! Sorry Jenn ;)

We had a WONDERFUL time!!! We left Sunday morning about 9ish and stopped at the Grapevine Mills Mall first. Of course, you know the kids were filled with anticipation, so I didn't get to do much shopping....did get a cute Candy Apple outfit for $14 at the Gymbo outlet though ;) I didn't even know they had one there!! Definitely be going back! We ate lunch at the mall, then headed over to the Lodge. Not sure if I mentioned or not that we were traveling with another family. Jason & Kelly, Jordan (who is 10) and Kaleigh (6). We got to the Lodge and they already had our rooms ready, so that was nice that we didn't have to wait seeing as check-in is normally at 4 and we got there around 1ish. Got up to the room and pretty much got changed and went straight to the waterpark.

The waterpark is attached to the lodge, but you have to have a wrist-band on in order to get in. This place is PERFECT for kids 10 & under. Older kids would have fun too, but maybe not for more than 1 day as they might get bored?? Anyway, it's so neat because they keep it like 84 degrees in there, so you actually WANT to get wet and the water feels good. We rode some slide, which Dylan LOVED! I was a little nervous that he would be scared, but he did great! They had a wave pool and we hung out in there for a bit. Next thing we knew it was almost 6pm! We headed back up to the room to get changed and get some dinner. We ended up going to eat at Saltgrass...YUMMY!!! Never eaten there before, but it really was great! After we ate, we came back to the lodge and played in the arcade for a bit. We decided not to get back in the water and just hit it early in the AM.

Monday morning, the waterpark opened at 9am and we went down when it opened. It really wasn't all that crowded and we had a great morning! We played until around noon, then went up to our rooms and ordered Pizza Hut because it was there in the lodge. The kids rested for about an hour, then we went BACK down to the waterpark. That afternoon we went to the outdoor park to soak up some of the sun! They had slides out there too, so the kids liked that! We stayed out there until around 5ish, then decided to get ready for dinner. They had a Bar & Grill inside the lodge and we decided to just eat there. It was really good and we let the kids talk us into going back down to the waterpark after dinner! Kelly & I rode the one ride that the kids couldn't ride, due to their height, at dark...it was freaking AWESOME!!! FUN! We were there from about 8pm until 9:30ish. The adults hung out in the hot tub which was RIGHT by the kiddie pool while they played. It was so relaxing!

Tuesday morning, we got up and got packed. We stopped and ate a BIG breakfast at IHOP...can I just say that I LOVE their breakfast!! Then we headed home...got home around 1ish and just layed around the rest of the day. The kids were SOOO tired, so that was good, they didn't want to do anything!!

Wednesday, we all had to go back to work, YUCK!

Thursday, Dylan had his first T-ball practice...he is SO stinking excited about this!! He carries his little bag with bat & balls in it everywhere...it's super cute ;) Jeremy is coaching this year and I'm so proud of him! He's doing a great job so far and has really spent some quality time with Dylan out in the back yard working on his wing ;) I'll be sure to take some pics as his first game is next Sat.

We don't have huge plans this weekend, a b-day party tomorrow morning, but not much after that. I desparately need to paint Dylan's room since I've had the stuff for 2 months now and still haven't done it. Maybe on Sunday?? Saturday afternoon I think we may go to my mom's and hang out at the pool...I need some relaxation!

Here are some pics :)

Seriously, WHY can't he just be normal for a pic?!?!

Jason & Kaleigh

Me & Sydni (damn, I should have put some make-up on!!!)

Jason & Kelly

Me & Jeremy

The kiddos....

The outdoor waterpark (indoor pics to follow)

Sydni, Jordan & Kaleigh

Jeremy watching some TV

He was NOT happy that she didn't want her arm around him for the pic ;p

This is us before we are leaving...not the greatest pic for sure!

We're off!!

Got everything and everyone packed and we are just about to head out the door! Not sure how I'm going to deal with this much energy for the next 1.5-2hrs!!! LOL

I'll be sure to post an update when we get back with pics ;)

Busy days......

So yesterday (Friday), I was off work and spent the ENTIRE day cleaning house...kind of sucked really!! I did 10 (yes TEN) loads of laundry!!! Everything except the clothes on our backs were clean last night :) I did the bathrooms, swept, mopped, then swept AGAIN (damn wood floors!!) and cleaned MY room ;)

This morning we got up and went into town. Took the kids to my moms house while I ran some errands. They got to swim for 3 hrs, so they were HAPPY! I went to Kohl's, ON, and Target and exchanged/returned a few things. It was nice to have those few hours to myself!

It's now 11:20pm and I'm laying on my bed, just got done painting my toenails and now I'm just chilling out! I've got the kids and my stuff all packed and together (go me!)! The plan is to leave at 9:00am in the morning, and so far, I think we'll do that. I've got snacks and stuff to take, so I'll get that stuff together in the morning. The kids were SUPER excited when I put them to bed tonight!! You'd think we had never been on a vacation before :p We've only been on one other "real" one and it was 2 summers ago.

I'm not sure if I'll have time to post in the morning before we leave, but I'll for sure be posting and update with pics when I get back on Tuesday. I'm not sure if I'm taking my DSLR or not, but I do have a couple throw-away cameras to take.

Til next time....

ahhhhh

I'm sitting in MY chair, watching "Save the last dance" and surfing...it's so nice!! I really should be in bed, but since my vacation starts tomorrow, I think I'll stay up till I feel like it ;p

The kids did NOT want to go to bed tonight! I bet it was after 10 before I finally got Dylan settled and in bed. We were outside til almost 9 though, so it was somewhat our fault. He said the ABSOLUTE cutest thing to me tonight..."Mommy, How much do you love me??" To which I replied, "to the moon and back sweet baby boy!" Uh, that kid just makes my heart melt ;) He was in such a cuddly mood tonight too...little stinker!!

So I've got this LONG list of things I want/need to do tomorrow. I'm VERY hopeful that I get at least 75% of it done. Some of it is housework and some is just errands, etc. I'm planning to take the kids to school (Sydni's last day) and daycare, then pick them up early (around 3ish) or so. I am SO looking forward to our vacation and just getting away for a few days!!

I walked with my neighbor tonight...it was SO hot and humid! UGH! Oh, and she almost stepped on a snake!!! YIKES!! We both about freaked out!! It was a baby one and after further examination we figured out it was dead, BUT it wasn't on the road the first time we had walked it, so I'm thinking it had just been run over. We'll have to be extra careful walking in that area now. SCARY!

Thursday!

So today was Sydni's end of year party at school even though tomorrow is technically her last day. Her teacher did an AWESOME job and I just love her! She has been teaching for 30 years and she is retiring this year :( She went to so much trouble and even made a DVD for EACH student to take home with them that has pictures from every field trip and holiday that they celebrated at school!!! Here's a pic of me & Sydni :)

They did some fun outside activities for about 30 min and then we had lunch...hot dogs, chips & dip, fruit, and cookies. I was SO weak and brought her back to work with me since it was an early release day...I'm already regretting that!! LOL, she is talking non-stop and I've barely gotten anything done here! I'm starting vacation tomorrow so I'm trying to get some things finished and then she and I will probably head out around 3ish. I'm so blessed to have such a great job in that I'm allowed flexibility like this! I'll log on when I get home to check email, but if someone needs me, they call my cell phone.

I've got BIG plans for tomorrow! Kids will be going to school/daycare and momma is staying HOME all by herself!!! I'm going to clean house and get things ready for us to go out of town. I'm looking forward to just doing whatever! I've got a mani/pedi scheduled in there somewhere ;)

I deserve an award!

For having 2 posts in ONE day!!! lol, I seriously crack myself up. So, we had a pretty uneventful afternoon. Kids had good days at school and were in decent moods when I picked them up. Sydni had a mini-meltdown when we got home because we told her we were NOT putting the waterslide up today :( She quickly got over it when the neighbor called and invited her to play in the sprinkler with her :) Dinner was leftovers of pizza & chicken w/veggies (kind of sounds like Jenn's house this weekend, huh??! LOL), so it was super easy! I did some laundry and picked up the playroom. My neighbor and I walked our 3 miles...I'm so proud of us! I have GOT to keep this up...it makes me feel SO good.

Tomorrow will be a somewhat busy day. Since I start vacation on Friday, I'll be trying to get a few things wrapped up at work. Tomorrow is also Sydni's end of year party. I'm not sure I'll be able to stay the entire time, but I've promised her I'll be there for the video that her teacher has planned to show :)

I have some stuff to take back to Target and ON, so I'll probably do that at some point tomorrow, not sure when. I'm about to shut the laptop down and get my stinky butt in the shower, then hit the sack. I wish I had more energy to do something else productive, but I don't!

Cuz Jenn said so....

I didn't think it had been since the 19th that I updated...I'm such a slacker!!! So let's see...we had a BUSY weekend! Friday afternoon/evening I spent helping my mom get ready for a garage sale that we were having at my grandma's house. Let me just say that we are N.E.V.E.R. having another one.period. It was SO much freaking work and it was like 95 degrees on Sat. We only made $300 and it was NOT worth it for all the work and exhaustion!!!

Sat evening, ya know because I hadn't tortured myself enough ;p, April (SIL) and I went into town and did some shopping. Hit up ON, Gymbo and Dillards. I didn't buy anything at Gymbo...shock!! Did get Sydni some cute outfits at ON though. Sunday was kind of a lazy day for us....we got up, went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I know this next statement is probably gonna make Jenn cry...then we went to Wal-Mart and got a waterslide!! The kids are ECSTATIC and we are officially the coolest neighbors in our addition ;) This is what it looks like:


Pretty much the rest of Sunday was spent playing on the waterslide...the neighbors came over (there were 9 kids on it at one point!) and my kids were WORN slap out! In fact, Dylan was in bed by 7pm! April came back over because the guys were gone fishing. We watched 27 Dresses...her first time to see it, my 2nd. I got to play with Preslie, so that was fun ;)

Monday, the kids and I went with our neighbors to the camp that she works at. They have a NICE big pool there for the interns (christian organization) to use and it was SO much fun!! My kids should be waterlogged by now! Then we came home, ate lunch, they napped and got BACK on the waterslide that afternoon.

Yesterday (tue) it rained and Sydni was SO disappointed that she couldn't come home & get on the waterslide :( Mommy wasn't though! I went to eat dinner with the neighborhood ladies...it was SO much fun!! We haven't done that since Christmas! I'll update some more tonight!

It's getting HOT in Herre!!!

Geesh! It was 97 today....NOT looking forward to this summer and the heat! If only we had that pool we've been talking about in the backyard!! Today was a pretty good day for us. Sydni had "field day" at school. Basically, they did little obstacle courses on the football field and she got a medal, so she was happy :) I can't believe school is almost out!! She got a report on her accomplishments and she has mastered everything she was tested on, plus got an A+ in comprehension....why can't she use those skills at home?!?!

We met Jeremy at Posados (mexican food) for dinner tonight....YUM! Got home and the kids played outside for a bit. Went walking with my neighbor...3 miles in this heat!! I smell good right about now...NOT!! LOL

I've got a BUSY day at work tomorrow, but am already looking forward to the weekend! My mom and I are having a garage sale, that should be fun ;p I'll spend most of Friday getting ready for that. Luckily we are having it at my grandma's house, so I won't have mine junked up! I really should get up and do some laundry, but I just don't feel like it! It'll still be there tomorrow night ;)

I have got to get my stinky butt in the shower now!

Yes, I suck!!!

I haven't blogged all weekend!! I thought about it, but just didn't for some reason. We had a busy day Saturday, my mom and I are having a garage sale next weekend, so we were getting ready for that. Jeremy came home LATE Saturday night from his fishing trip. Sunday was kind of a lazy day...after church we went to the neighbors and had lunch, kids played outside. I was having some issues with my allergies, so I took some meds, they knocked me out! I took a 2 hr nap, which I NEVER do!!

Today wasn't a bad day work wise...for a Monday that is ;) I walked with my neighbor tonight and that felt SO good! I have to keep this up! I finally found a swimsuit today...I'm just glad I found one that I don't look like a beached whale in OR a 90 yo grandma!! LOL

Now I need a shower, cause I stink! Between tanning and then sweating in the 95 degree heat, I have definitely got some funk going on ;)

Just got done watching CSI and OMG, Horatio shot...was not expecting that!! Even though I don't like him, still was shocked!!

til tomorrow...

Not much to say tonight....

I didn't make an entry last night, mainly because I forgot. I had a hard time going to sleep last night, so I am TIRED tonight. I'm missing the kids and am glad that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend weather-wise, so I'm looking forward to that.

We don't have a lot of big plans, just hanging out....I'm hoping to take some good pics of the kids and Preslie :) I've got several house projects I'm in the middle of, but we'll see how motivated I am tomorrow when I get home. I've got a conf call at 8am, 4 interviews between 9-11 and then I'm planning to be in the car by noon. It's a 4 hr drive straight through and I'm anticipating some traffic going through Dallas, so probably it will probably be more like 5pm when I get back to town. I'm planning to pick the kids up, so nothing better jack with my day tomorrow because I will be PISSED!

Til tomorrow.....

I'm tired!!!

Two nights in a row, I deserve an award ;) So today was an okay day. It started off REALLY bad with Sydni and I arguing over what she was going to wear...yet again!!! GRRR, this child of mine, seriously, I was not her biggest fan this morning :( Luckily, Dylan didn't give me any problems for once!

I went swimsuit shopping at lunch...NOT a fun thing to do! *sigh* why can't I just be 20 lbs thinner and that job would be so much easier. After that depressing feat and finding NOTHING, I went to Sonic and had a hamburger w/fries....smart, huh?? Anyway, tomorrow is a new day.

I've got to go out of town (4 hrs away) tomorrow for work. I'll drop the kids off, then hit the road first thing. I'll be gone until Friday afternoon. Jeremy will have the kids until Thursday. He's leaving Thursday with his dad to go on a fishing trip. So, my mom is staying at our house on Thursday night and will get the kids to school on Friday, etc. Hopefully I'll be home in time to pick them up.

You know what the sad thing is....I'm BEYOND excited about the thought of TWO whole nights in a hotel room ALL.BY.MYSELF!!! I'm bad, I know!

The hotel has wireless, so I'll be sure to update.

Sydni and I got her outfits figured out for the next 3 days, so cross your fingers that she doesn't wake up with a blank slate and act like she doesn't remember that ;p Would NOT surprise me!!

Update - It's been a LONG time!!!

So, when asked if I had a blog, I thought, DANGIT, I have got to get with the program and actually use this space AND keep it updated!!!

I'll start fresh today ;) Typical Monday for us, kids are always cranky on Monday afternoons. I think it's mostly because they are still tired from the weekend and trying to get back into a schedule. After getting the kids home from school and us from work, we had a "fend for yourself" night as far as dinner goes.

My neighbor and I have been talking about walking at night to try to get in shape and shed a few pounds after the HORRID experience of swimsuit shopping!! So, we went tonight and it felt SO SO good!! I'm hoping we can keep it up! Our goal is 3 times a week, so nothing too time constricting for either of us.

I'm thinking about going to eat lunch with Sydni either tomorrow or Thursday. I can't believe school is almost out this year!! Where has the time gone and I can't believe I'm about to have a FIRST GRADER!!! WOW!

I've got to sign Dylan up for t-ball tomorrow and he's SO excited about it ;) He's gonna have so much fun!!

I should feel like a bad wife because dh is ironing his own pants, but for some reason, I don't!! LOL

til next time....