Emilie Graduation & Zoo

Yeah, I know I am way behind, but better late then never. I thought that I would let everyone see a couple pics of Emilie graduating pre-school in May. She was so adorable!

The week before Elementary got out, Jalynn and I took the girls to the Zoo, they had so much fun!

Vacation

We left for vacation the day after school let out and drove straight through to Florida. The drive was really not too bad, the kids had so much to do that they left us alone for the most part. That is until they fell asleep. Justin slept non stop for 7 hours or so, but Emilie cried in her sleep, that was not fun. We got through it tho and we made it there in one piece. We did stop on the way at Destin Beach to let the kids see the ocean for the very first time. To be funny, Justin says that was one of the best parts of our trip. We met up with more family after we got there, the kids were so excited to see grandpa and grandma. The day after we got there, we took the kids to a really large McDonalds where I lost track of Emilie for a few minutes. Man o man that was scary for me. Cody, Heather, & Cameron arrived a bit later, then everyone went to bed. The first day at the parks we went to Magic Kingdom. You should have seen Emilie's face when she saw the castle, pure joy! We did and saw so many things, but still we did not see all of the park. In the following days we went to Epcot, there Justin loved test track. We also went to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, they were both fun and refreshing. The kids loved the lazy river most of all! We did go back to Magic Kingdom to watch the fireworks, and let me tell you, they were the best fireworks show I ever saw. Our last day there, Aaron got to not feeling to well, but we still went to Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekends! Justin had a blast and of course got to go on the Star Tours ride, that was his highlite of the trip, mine was when I got to go to bed! After a long week of walking around we started our way back home, but this time we did not drive straight home. We had an awesome time and we plan on going again.......in about 4 years or so! But here are some pictures for everyone to look at in the mean time!

New Hair Cut

Before my family went on vacation, I decided to get my hair cut and I was going to let Hazel do whatever she wanted to my hair. She took over 6 inches off of my hair and highlighted and lightened and the ending result is awesome! I love my new look, it is so easy to take care of and it looks really nice. She did an awesome job!

BEFORE:

Oh my, is that gray hair???

AFTER:

Out of the Loop-Easter info and pics

Okay it seems I just can't seem to catchup anymore these days, so bear with me! Since the last post, nothing real major has happened, but I will update as much as possible.

We had a nice Easter, we colored eggs, really the first time on our own. We had a special kit our friend Natalie gave us, where you could make your own stickers to put on the colored eggs. The kids had a blast.The finished product!
The next morning, they woke up to what they really wanted......Tennis rackets in their Easter baskets!
We also attended our church's Easter egg hunt, the kids had a blast!

Emilie Got a Haircut

A few weeks ago, Emilie wanted to get her haircut, so we did! Our friend cut over 6 inches of hair off. I thought I would miss it, but really it looks really good. Her hair is also much easier to take care of! She said that she did not want mommy fixing her hair all the time, well I of course still fix it, but it does not take as long. No she is not crying in the picture, her eyes were watering from a cold.

Bye Bye Bye

Well, we have been getting high electric bills for awhile now, so we emptied the hot tub and cleaned it out a couple months ago. Sure enough, our bill went down some. I suggested to Aaron that maybe we should put it up for sale and to my surprise, he said yes. So I put it on Craigslist about 11am on Thursday and by 2pm I had hits on the Ad! The second person that came by to look at it said we have the money and we will come pick it up. They are coming tomorrow at 1pm to come and get it. Meanwhile I am still getting responses, because silly me did not delete the ad yet. Someone e-mailed me and asked if I would go like super low on it, I was like no way! Anyway, bye bye bye hot tub, maybe we will put chairs and a table where the hot tub is!

Spring Break

Last week was spring break and boy did it seem like a long week. I had my two plus Jewels and Eric across the street. We went to the Library, had movie day, and the fun of the whole week is I treated the kids to the DART train. They were so excited. We went with our neighbor and her friend and their total of 4 kids (total of 8 kids). The ages ranged from 3-8! We took the train to West End and then had snack, took a potty break, then went and got back on the train to head for home. They did have a lot of fun. All in all, it was a good week, all the kids were very good! I was extremely happy when it was time for the kids to go back to school on Monday!

Justin's 8th b-day party

Yeah, I know I am real late on this, but better late then never right. Justin wanted a Lego party, but do you know how hard it is to find Lego stuff for a party. I made the invitations, which let me tell you took a long time. Heather said she could do a Lego cake (turned out nice, thank you Heather). He had several friends come over, they played pin the dot on the Lego, squish the balloon, hot Lego, & they each signed a t-shirt for his party. We also did a warm up type game where I tied certain Lego's onto helium balloons and they all had to find them, it was fun watching them run around trying to find the right one. It was funny tho later when we had them all try to pop the balloons only 2 of them really tried to do it, but most of the other had a blast just watching some pop the balloons! Overall, Justin said that this was the best birthday he ever had, so that made me happy! Stay tuned, I will have more to post in the next couple of days or so.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

I got a call from the DR office yesterday, about Justin's 8 year checkup. While I was on the phone, I asked about Emilie's results, and she patched me through to the nurses station. After leaving a message, a nurse called me back with the results (that came back on Friday) and told me they were all negative that she was fine. She asked some more questions and called another time to ask another question. Couple hours later I get another phone call and was told that the DR thinks that her good bacteria (in layman's terms) got messed up. To fix it, I was told to put her on a regular diet and give her Cultural (or probiotics also called acidophiles) 2 times a day morning and evening. By the way, the Cultural is way expensive we are talking $20 for 3o capsules which will only last for 15 days!

We started her on the Cultural last night and this morning when she woke up, it looked like her intestines got rid of a little bit of icky then she had this super long poop! I was feeling better at this point, so Heather is less stressed today.

Good Job Justin!

It was time for progress reports yesterday, and I was thinking ah man I hope it's a good one. To my surprise, he got all 3's! (3's are like getting A's & 4's are like getting super A's) He did have a 2 in writing, that came up! He has been working on it since the end of last year! His teacher said that he has been working really hard on writing to get his grade up. We found he loves writing about Bionicles, I figure if it helps him write, that is a good thing! Go Justin!!

Justin also turned 8 on Sunday. For his day of fun, he chose to go to Dave and Busters! We went to the Frisco mall, walked around, played at D&B, found his b-day candy (for the party), & just had a ton of fun! We will have his party this Saturday and I will post pics and updates later. Have a great week!

Happy Valentines Everybody!!!

Just wanted to say have a great day with all the people you love! Okay that sounds a little corny, have a great day! Not sure what we are doing, but we did have a great night. Justin's school did a dance and we went and danced and had a lot of fun, we will post pics later!

Want to cry

I feel so bad for Emilie, it all started January 21st. The kids were really good, so we went to McDonalds to get them some ice cream. Less than 2 hours later, she had a diarrhea accident. It has not stopped since then. We took her last week to the DR office and they could not find anything wrong with her. There is no other symptom at all. No fever, no loss of weight, not dehyrdrated, no tummy aches, not lethargic, just the diarreaha. They told me to keep an eye on her and let them know if gets worse, it did not, so we did nothing except change her diet a bit. Last night she went to the bathroom and everything was normal. This morning she woke up and it was back to the runny poop. UGH It looks like I will have to keep a journal of everything that she eats from now on until we figure out what is going on. I feel so very overwhelmed that I just do not know what to do.

Need to Vent Real Quick

I just need to vent about myself for a little bit. I feel I was a bit naive for the 2008 year. I watch kids before and after school and did not think that I earned enough money to pay self employment taxes, well turns out I did make enough and my taxes are hefty! I am soooo mad at myself! I now know that if I continue what I am doing I am going to have to set aside money to pay for the taxes for 2009 as well as pay them quarterly! UGH, I am wondering if this is worth the hassle!

Christmas and New Year

Well, our Christmas went well, and let me tell you it was definitly quiet. The kids got out for Christmas break and I watched the extra kids. I threw a little party for the kids the day before Christmas Eve. They all had a blast. Justin's big gift was a brand new razor bike. We bought a bag for it to cover, but found it was see through! Emile's big gift was a pink Hello Kitty TV, we covered with a bag as well, but ended up that we just threw a large blanket over it. Surprisingly enough, they did not peek and did wait till we got up. They actually waited till about 8:30 before we got out of bed. They opened their stockings first and played with all the little things first. We then had breakfast, although right now, I have no idea what we all ate. Then we opened all the gifts. Emile pulled the bag down around her TV, but it was not until we opened the box that she realized what it was. It was funny! Anyway, our family gift this year was Guitar Hero! We all love it and there are some cute pictures of the kids with it. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!Thanks Kate, the kids love their t-shirts, they wore them the very next day!Justin, Emilie, & Mrs. Pickens at Justin's Winter party at the last day of school before break!Emilie tried real hard, but I think maybe she hit 2 notes out of the whole song!Justin loved playing Guitar Hero! He thinks he is a rock star!Justin's new bike, he was real excited and it was warm enough to go outside without a coat on Christmas day!

Merry Christmas

We wanted to wish everyone out there a very merry Christmas and have a safe holiday season! Hopefully the weather person is right and we will have nice warm Christmas here. But hopefully everyone else will stay warm! We are staying home this year, Aaron even as a 5 day total Christmas holiday! Have a great one yall!

Christmas Tag

I saw this cute Christmas tag on my friend Audrie's blog.
1. Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real Tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When Do You Put Up The Tree? Thanksgiving
4. When Do You Take The Tree Down? Sometime between Christmas and New Year's day
5. Do You Like Eggnog? yes, in small quantities
6. Favorite Gift Received? Massage
7. Do You Have a Nativity Scene? yes
8. Hardest Person to Buy For? Men in general
9. Easiest Person to Buy For? Emilie
10. Worst Christmas Gift You Ever Received? Any gift is a good gift
11. Mail or E-Mail Christmas Cards? Mail
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Polar Express
13. When Do You Start Shopping for Christmas? I shop all year long
14. Have You Ever Recycled a Christmas Present? Probably
15. Favorite Thing To Eat at Christmas? Mashed potatoes and gravy
16. Clear Lights or Colored On The Tree? Clear
17. Favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the Bells
18. Travel at Christmas or Stay Home? Stay home usually
19. Can You Name All of Santa's Reindeer? Yes! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph!
20. Angel on the Tree Top or a Star? Neither, I have bows
21. Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning? We open one
present on Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning
22. Most Annoying Thing About This Time of Year? How sometimes people forget the true
meaning of Christmas.
23. Favorite Christmas tradition? reading the night before Christmas the night before
24. Up Early or Sleeping In? Early! Up early
25. Who Hands Out The Gifts? Whoever is closest to the tree
26. Does Santa Wrap Your Gifts? Yes
27. Do You Tell The Christmas Story? Yes
28. Do You Leave Cookies For Santa? Yes
29. Are Your Stocking Presents Wrapped? not yet but will be
Tag anyone who wants to play along.
I hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas!!!!

Facebook

I don't know a lot of things to do on facebook, but I did join. So if you want to find me there, I would love to hear from you there as well.. Somehow I do have 10 friends on their. Some of the people I know are only on facebook and some are only on blogspot, I figured if I did both I would cover a lot of friends. Have a great day all!

Santa Visit

The Learning Express here had Santa from 10am-noon. We got there early and each of the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted. Santa gave them each a candy cane and a small bag of reindeer food to spread on the lawn on Christmas eve. I even got to be nice, there was a lady there with her kids and she had forgotten her camera. I took her kids pictures and e-mailed them to her. I love technology sometimes! The rest of the day was spent running around here and there, but we finally got home and I actually wrapped a few gifts! YEAH! Anyway here are the pics!

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1...

I've been tagged to name 10 reasons why I love my children so here it goes...
10: I love my kids hugs, they make a bad day instantly better.
9: I love the fact that Justin loves to read and still likes for me to read to him.
8. I love it when Emilie sits and cuddles in my lap.
7. I really love that both of my kids are so determined to finish things that they start.
6. I love that Justin can see a child crying and want to help them or make them feel better.
5. I LOVE that both of my children use their manners quite a lot.
4. I love how quiet my kids are on the weekend so mom and dad can sleep in a little.
3. I love how Justin lets Emilie play in his room and how he helps her all the time.
2. I love how Emilie shares all the time.
1. I love it when my children still come up and for no reason will give me a hug and say I love you mommy, it melts my heart! I am so thankful for my family!

I know I should have posted this awhile ago, but I am slow. I will tag Amy & Jalynn!

Time flies.....

I realized it has been far too long since logging on and such. For some reason, I feel like this school year has left me with no time to do anything. Even now, I should be getting ready to go out of town, but I can do that later (I think). For now I will just do some updates for all.

My birthday this year was probably the best I ever had. Aaron was great, he arranged for the both of us to get a massage plus he took that Thursday and Friday off to pamper me a bit. Also, the kids and Aaron bought me a light up keyboard. Well, I know I have some great friends out there and I wanted to say thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes. Oh and just so you all can have a little laugh, I was telling everybody I was 35 ( I actually turned 33) and no one is letting me live it down! LOL it was quite funny!

Halloween was fun, let's see there were 8 kids we were walking around and 4 adults. We managed to get them all home safely. Justin was Darth Vader, Emilie was a princess fairy, & Cameron was Harry Potter. All the kids looked great, and I will try to post pics soon of it.

Thanksgiving was good as well. We went to Cody and Heather's house in Denton and spent the night there and stuffed ourselves the next day. The kids all had fun spending time together. I sure hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving as well! Well, we went home Thanksgiving day, because I had to watch kids, but Aaron was nice enough to go to the big sale at Wal Mart. We got an awesome new bike for Justin for Christmas (so SHHH do not tell him). But that was about it. Aaron is staying home this weekend to put the bike together, while I take the kids to their cousins birthday party. Thank you dear!

Well, I think that is about it. I know I don't stay in touch nearly enough, to all our family and friends, we do miss you all and we hope that everybody has a wonderful holiday season.

Heather & Family!