A day in the life of Christina

Super bowl

2012-02-05T21:11:00.002-06:00

NY won just as I predicted! That was a fun game to watch! :)

Harry Potter

2012-02-03T22:32:00.000-06:00

We saw The Woman in Black tonight. It was soooo scary! I'm not used to seeing Daniel Radcliffe not fight everything with his wand. He was great in the movie though. Madeline may possible be sleeping with us tonight....haha

photo challenge day 1 & 2

2012-02-02T19:53:00.000-06:00

I thought it would be fun to do this photo challenge for February. So here goes....

Day 1: Your view today

Day 2: Words :)

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

2012-01-31T21:04:00.000-06:00

Beauty in the Common Things: My walk and nonstop conversation with Taryn. The mind of an 8 year old is amazing. :)
Listen In: Barry Manilow playing on my ipod. haha

Supper Plans: We had hot taco pockets.

Today: work, school, unfortunately not much exciting.

View From the Kitchen Window: darkness (it's 9pm)

SOS

2012-01-31T20:56:00.000-06:00

Tonight after laughing and telling funny stories to the girls about Megan, I had an unexpected email from the Survivors of Suicide group. It really threw me. I got on to see how it felt to read around on there and after almost having an anxiety attack I canceled my account. Now for some reason I feel overcome by guilt. Ugh.....I'm finally, after all this time, at the anger part of grieving I think. I hate this and want all of it to just go away. I'm going to bed early so I can wake up to a new day and hopefully feel better.

goals...

2012-01-27T22:00:00.000-06:00

My goal (for tonight anyway) is to quit my job so I can concentrate on all of my pinterest finds. Haha...I realize this is shallow. I will never have enough hours in the day to do every awesome craft I've found on there but I'll sure have a blast working on them!

unicorns

2012-01-22T20:06:00.000-06:00

Instead of bugging me for candy at the store, the girls have been bugging me to buy corn on the cob. That's a nice change!

Corn tastes soooo much better impaled by unicorn horns!

Alice

2012-01-22T20:01:00.000-06:00

"No, I don't know what you are talking about! I didn't rip Alvin's eyes out!!"

Alice leaves her signature mark once again! Haha...she doesn't look guilty at all does she?

in case of emergency...

2012-01-22T19:56:00.000-06:00

A few nights ago I picked up Taryn's backpack to see why it was so full. She told me she had packed it in case we had a tornado or something and we had to leave quickly.

She had magazines, a bible, her Harry Potter wand, goggles, 3d glasses, toothbrush, bandaids, cotton balls and her sunglasses. She is one prepared little girl!

Seeing what she's grabbed that's important to her has really made me rethink how much I spend on Christmas presents since not one thing I bought her made it into her bag. She's such a funny kid and always makes me smile. :)

hearts

2012-01-22T19:48:00.001-06:00

I found this idea on http://www.lifeinthethriftylane.blogspot.com/ and loved it!

I cut this from a box I was throwing away.

Made lots and lots of little felt roses.

Ended up with a cute Valentines decoration to hang up! I love how it turned out! :)

pizza!!

2012-01-21T21:00:00.000-06:00

I love that when my family wants pizza, they would rather have my homemade pizza rather than ordering it out. I make the dough and Taryn usually does the rest. It's a fun way to cook together. I thought I'd take advantage of a lazy Saturday afternoon by making a couple of batches of pizza dough since I usually don't have time on a hectic weekday evening. YUM!!

I love my bread machine!! I hardly ever use it except for making pizza dough, but for that, it's the best!!

My favorite veggies :)

Our finished pizzas. They were delicious!

painting

2012-01-19T21:13:00.001-06:00

Natalie and I attended a Wine and Pallette class last night. It was at Johnny Carino's. I never knew I loved to paint so much! We ate dinner, had a drink and painted. What an awesome way to spend an evening! We can't wait to do it again soon!

Here is my finished product. My favorite part is my little owl. :)

Hello again...

2012-01-19T20:47:00.000-06:00

It's been way too long since I've been here. I've got lots to share. It's been a long day so I'll put my pictures up tomorrow.

birthdays

2009-03-25T23:00:00.002-05:00

Matthew turned 18 on Sunday the 15th and Madeline turned 11 today! What in the world??? Where has time gone? It's blowing my mind how fast the years go by....I don't like it. I'll get birthday pics up probably sometime next week.

Twilight

2009-03-21T01:25:00.002-05:00

Already watching the movie! YAY!!!

Breda Francis 6-18-94 to 03-02-09

2009-03-04T20:17:00.002-06:00

<

We lost our precious Breda Francis on Monday morning. She was 14 years, 8 months, 1 week and 5 days old. She was my best friend for every day that I've had her since she was 6 weeks old. I miss her so much it hurts. The house will never be the same without her. She has been through more with me than anyone else in my life. She was the sweetest, smartest dog and can never be replaced. I love you and miss you so much Breda.

bad day

2009-02-12T20:52:00.003-06:00

So, I just realized that we missed the PTA meeting tonight where the Kindergarten was performing. Since Taryn wasn't at school until yesterday, we didn't get the note about it until last night. This was the only time her class will do a program this year and I totally forgot until it was already over. So, I feel like a loser Mom.....again.

Ever have days when you just feel like you do a lot of things but they are all half way finished? Well, my day has turned into years. I'm really needing to change some things and am so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start. I just want to go to bed and not get up. :(

a few more pics...

2009-02-09T10:51:00.007-06:00

This is the sign to the bathrooms...my favorite part of the Wormy Dog!! Also, my t-shirt and me with Kevin Costner on bus after show!!

Kevin Costner

2009-02-09T10:42:00.002-06:00

So, I got to meet Kevin Costner last Tuesday! It was so much fun! I got several autographs. We went backstage at concert and watched from back there. The best part was going to the bus after the show! It was AWESOME!! He was so nice. I sat next to him and he actually touched me! I know....I"m a dork. He's no Bon Jovi but it was still really cool.

8 things....

2009-02-03T16:58:00.002-06:00

8 TV Shows I Watch

1. Grey's Anatomy

2. American Idol

3. Private Practice

4. Everybody Loves Raymond

5. What not to wear

6. House Hunters

7. House Hunter International

8. Cake Challenge on food network

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Olive Garden

2. Earls BBQ in Bricktown

3. Texas Roadhouse (this place will always make me think of Megan so that's why I love it!)

4. Panera Bread

5. Chick Fil A

Can't think of any others.....don't eat out too often.

8 Things That Happened To Me Today

1. woke up late (5:45 am)

2. ironed pants b/c I was too lazy to do it last night.

3. drove to work

4. work for 6 hours

5. MET AND HAD PICTURE TAKEN WITH KEVIN COSTNER!!!!!

6. ate a brownie worth a million ww points!

7. listened to Dave Ramsey podcast

8. went to "Wormy Dog" to see Kevin Costner and his band perform.

8 Things That I Look Forward To

1. sleep, sleep, sleep

2. finding another good book to get into reading.

3. finishing school

4. having a job I am not bored at all day.

5. my birthday...strangely enough

6. Dave Ramsey

7. being able to run a 5k without stopping.....or passing out.

8. being content where I am

8 Things I Wish For

1. a happy family

2. kids who get along

3. a skinnier me

4. to not have nightmares anymore

5. ENERGY!!!

6. my husband and I to be able to communicate better

7. no debt

8. a college diploma

Relaxing

2009-01-25T11:04:00.002-06:00

I wish I could relax like this!!

2009-01-25T10:56:00.003-06:00

I lost 3 more pounds last week!!!! Yippee!!!! :) 8 down and about 30-35 more to go! The girls and I went to Incredible Pizza for lunch yesterday. It was lots of fun! Here are a few pics of the girls playing games and Taryn with her crown that she bought with her tickets.

weigh in

2009-01-08T07:39:00.003-06:00

I couldn't stand the curiousity so I weighed this morning just to see. According to that I am down 4.5 pounds. I don't know....I'm not feeling it. I still need to get through the party Saturday night before my official weigh in on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Happy 2009 Everyone!!

2009-01-07T07:28:00.001-06:00

WW

2009-01-05T14:35:00.002-06:00

So, I started doing weight watchers online on Saturday. I am trying to lose 50 pounds. I am thinking that if I try really hard..I can do this in about 6-7 months. By the middle of summer I should be at my goal weight if I don't fall off the wagon AGAIN for the millionth time!!! My feeling fat and ugly have me motivated right now so I think I can do it! I'm sure trying. I have 9 points left for today so I'm gonna have a grilled chicken salad for dinner and maybe 2 cinnamon graham crackers for snack later tonight. That will probably be about 6 or 7 points so maybe I'll actually end the day with a couple left! :)

2009-01-03T08:44:00.001-06:00

Mollie....our own little vampire dog!! We thought this was hilarious since Madeline and I are both into reading the Twilight series right now. She thinks she is as tough as a vampire too!!

Happy 2009!

My tattoo right after it was finished.

Hapy New Year!

2009-01-03T08:20:00.002-06:00

I brought in 2009 with Sean and the girls. We (not Sean) wore tiara's and the girls drank sparkling cider out of fancy glasses....it was tame but fun. I haven't really made any resolutions. There are several things I plan to do this year though.

1- lose 50 pounds!!!
2- get back in school.
3- take more pictures.
4- be better at staying in touch with friends.

There are more right on the tip of my tongue....but not sure what they are right now. I was supposed to go to Weight Watchers this morning but I woke up about the same time the meeting started. I have been sleeping really late the last few days. I am so tired I feel like I could sleep all day...ugh.

My plans for today are:
*We are all writing our thank you notes and getting those in the mail.
*Take at least 1/2 of our ornaments off of the tree and put away.
*clean all floors in the house.
*go to vet for flea medicine for dogs.
*take girls to see HSM3.
*plan menu for the coming week.

K, I think that's about all I can handle...oh yeah..I need to get a nap in there somewhere if possible..but that's doubtful!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-30T09:28:00.003-06:00

Wow...Christmas was over in a flash. It was a whirlwind of shopping and wrapping! This year is the first time I've ever waited until the last minute to do most of my shopping. The one thing I did like about that was being able to stick to my budget and list more than I usually do. I've been sick for a couple of weeks but am finally feeling better.

Christmas morning the girls woke me up early. They were out in the living room with the light on (that's what woke me up) at 4:30 am!! So, I let them finish going through their stocking stuff, then sent them back to bed for a little while. It was a good day. I guess none of us will ever have a Christmas without missing Megan so much it hurts. She would've loved it with everyone here and playing.

I have been off of work since Christmas Eve and have to go back tomorrow...UGH!! Not looking forward to that at all! I have enjoyed my time with the kids to just hang out and not be rushing around doing something all of the time. Yesterday the girls and I went to see Twilight...it was really good! Today I am taking them to see Bolt. I told Taryn that she could pick something today since she had to watch Twilight yesterday.

Anyway, I spent yesterday afternoon going through some of Megan's things and moving boxes out of my room and out of the garage into a closet in the office. Most of her things fit in there. It's weird to see this empty space where her stuff has been sitting for a long time but I thought it was time to not see it everyday when I get up. So, that was one thing checked off my list for the day that I completed. The rest of the day I watched a movie and played Mario Cart with the girls! :) Not super productive but SUPER fun!!

tattoo

2008-12-07T10:54:00.002-06:00

I finally got my tattoo yesterday! It took about an hour and a half. It didn't hurt too much until towards the end so that part was better than I expected. I got it on my left shoulder blade. (I'll put a pic of it later) It is a little bigger than I had orginally planned but I love it! It's about 4 inches long...so not just huge. I am just not used to seeing this bright spot on my shoulder! It needed to be bigger so Megan's name could look just right. I was so excited when Madeline recognized it as Megan's writing...just what I wanted. So now, I am crinkly with saran wrap. I am relieved to have it over because I was pretty scared of it hurting. Ready for another one....look out Kat Von Dee!!! (just kidding..ouch!)

Got quite a bit of Christmas shopping done yesterday so that's got me a little more excited about the holidays.

My plans for today are:
clean kitchen
vacuum and sweep/mop all floors
laundry
put outside lights/decoration up

I'd better get busy! :)

earthquake

2008-12-02T21:14:00.002-06:00

We had an earthquake in Oklahoma City last night. We felt it at my house around 8:30 pm. It sounded like something hit the back of the house and then the whole house vibrated enough to shake the beds and couch. It was very strange. Matthew and I went outside to see what was going on and we couldn't figure it out. This morning on the radio they were talking about the earthquake. Apparently the starting point was in North OKC. The side of my house that sounded like something hit it was the north side. Weird. It was a 2.5 I think...can't imagine what a huge one would be like...very scary I'm sure.

Let's see...what else...we survived the one year anniversary of Megan's death. Started creating a memory garden for her that day. It is at Mom and Dad's house. It is beautiful. We planted a rosebud tree, dogwood tree, tulip bulbs, pansies, 2 different hydranga plants (sp?) and a few other things. It will be so pretty in Spring when everything is blooming. Megan would love it!

Thanksgiving was okay I guess. Felt very strange. Shannon came home so it was good to see her. Haven't seen her since August 14th. Taryn has been very clingy since Shannon went home. It's driving me crazy a bit....I'm trying to be patient.

We have our Christmas tree up and it looks pretty. Nat and I went shopping Friday morning (4am) and I bought a new coat but no Christmas presents.

Oh---getting my tattoo Saturday afternoon. Can't wait!!

I've got breakfast in the crockpot. It will be ready at 7 in the morning. The kids won't know what to do having a hot breakfast. I'm feeling very productive getting that done. Go me!!

2008-09-02T14:36:00.001-05:00

School

2008-08-12T17:04:00.002-05:00

Well 3 of my kids started school this morning. Ds17 started his senior year. He is so excited! I have a feeling that it's gonna be a super long year for him and us!! Dd10 started 5th grade. She wasn't too excited about school but I'm sure it'll be a good year for her. Dd5 started Kindergarten. Her class has a pet rabbit named Bella. That is, of course, what she's most excited about. I'll put a pic up later.

more tiger safari...

2008-06-21T19:13:00.002-05:00

Yeah, notice the look on my face and the girls faces with the snake! It's the funniest thing ever!

Tiger Safari

2008-06-21T19:06:00.001-05:00

6 months...

2008-05-19T09:33:00.002-05:00

Today is 6 months since we lost our precious Megan. Can't believe it's been that long. I wish I could just stay home and not get out of bed.

2008-05-18T10:05:00.003-05:00

I am feeling so bad these days. No one understands what I go through everyday. I have never been this lonely in my entire life. :(

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T09:38:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to my sisters! Sorry it's a day late. Was afraid if I talked about it yesterday that I would start crying and I knew if I started I wouldn't be able to stop. The kids tried so hard to make it a good day so I didn't want to sit around crying.

Anyway, hope you both had a great day! I love you!

2008-05-02T14:40:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I've had a sinus infection and finally went to the dr. about my hair falling out. He thinks maybe a thyroid issue?? Hopefully he'll figure it out. I go back on Wednesday. Dd5 has fifths disease. I have never heard of it before now. She has just been covered in an ugly red rash over most of her upper body. The doctor said it's only contagious for 2 or 3 days before the rash shows up. So, sorry to Julie because dd5 was at her house for at least one of those days. But it hasn't been a big deal. It's not itchy like poison ivy....thank goodness. Anyway, gotta get back to work.

2008-04-23T22:30:00.002-05:00

For the first time in my life I have thin hair (for me anyway). My hair is falling out like crazy. I thought maybe it was just stress and would slow down. But I think it's getting worse. I am now having to get it off of my pillow in the morning. And I've gotten three mysterious bruises since last week. They just appear and really hurt. Don't know what's going on. So, definitely making an appointment with the doctor tomorrow.

Walked for the third night in a row and feel great about it!

2008-04-23T09:33:00.002-05:00

Let me just say this today....I don't like it when people sneak around and check my email and stuff like that. I mean, I have nothing to hide, I just think it's rude. It makes me feel like a kid. I don't go anywhere or do anything without my kids. What could I possibly be doing??? No idea what people think I do since I'm always either at home or work or driving in between. Oh yeah, sometimes I go grocery shopping...maybe that's where I"m getting into mischief.

2008-04-18T21:10:00.001-05:00

Some people just amaze me. It's been a frustating day. I don't understand how mothers can just leave their children. I don't understand why I'm good enough to raise children for 13 years now but still not good enough to be acknowledged as their mother. You can be someone's mother without giving birth to them. I've done it now for many years.

Don't understand why such a double standard where child support is concerned. I'm sure if my husband had ever missed child support he would have been in jail....much less not paid any for 5 years now.

It also pisses me off that certain people who haven't even been around for years seem to come out of the woodwork when someone dies. I'm amazed that no one from the other side of the family even asked about funeral expenses or how we would pay the thousands of dollars that it cost yet felt entitled to call the funeral home to tell them what kind of funeral they wanted. People are just unbelievable!

The funeral home called and want us to come by Monday. They said they have things they didn't give us. UGGHHHHH! I don't want to go there again. It's awful. I detour so I don't even have to drive by it, I sure don't want to walk back in there. I think the smell might make me sick. I can smell it now when I think about it.

Tomorrow is 5 months without Megan. The most horrible time of my life. Megan was the greatest daughter. I don't get how God can let her be in such pain like that when such terrible people live. I miss her so much. I will never be as close to anyone as I was to her. I am so lucky that I got to have her in my life.

Okay, enough with my random thoughts......off to watch a movie with the kids.

2008-04-16T22:28:00.001-05:00

I LOVE this picture of Megan and Becca. Megan looks truly happy. I miss her so much it's hurts everyday. Who could've ever predicted 5 months ago that they would be together in Heaven?

2008-04-16T22:24:00.002-05:00

Someone asked me today how many kids I had and for some reason I didn't really know what to say. I guess I'll just say what I've always said and hope they don't ask where they all are or anything like that.

2008-04-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

funerals April 8, 2008 •

I went to Becca’s funeral on Saturday. It was really pretty. There was one of my favorite pictures of her and Megan in her slide show. That made me happy. Megan would’ve loved that. I did okay except when I looked at the casket. It was exactly like Megan’s and all I could think was that I wished it was Megan’s in front of me again just so I could touch her one more time. I think maybe I”m losing it…..

2008-04-16T22:22:00.000-05:00

This is on my birthday (March 28th) after dinner.

2008-04-16T22:21:00.002-05:00

My 10 year old birthday girl!!

2008-04-16T22:21:00.001-05:00

March 1, 2008 •
It’s been a busy week. Dd4 has been sick with a kidney infection since Tuesday. I have never seen anyone have one that bad. She was laying in the bathroom floor doubled over crying. It was AWFUL!! She is feeling lots better now.

I am waiting on the copy of Megan’s file to get here from the police dept. They said either today or Monday. Kind of hoping for it to come today so I can quit worrying about it getting here. It’s making my stomach hurt today!

2008-04-16T22:20:00.000-05:00

February 26, 2008 • I got a call from dd4’s teacher around noon today that she wasn’t feeling well. Went to pick her up and she layed around watching movies all afternoon. I thought she had perked up but now is feeling worse again. So, since I couldn’t get an appt with her dr. until 8:45 in the morning…..we are headed to urgent care. I am going to try to get a urine sample. That should be interesting. The nurse thinks she has a bladder infection. Yuck!!

2008-04-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

February 24, 2008 • This is what I did today (Sunday). Finally got dd9’s “new” bed set up. It was mine growing up. It’s neat for her to have it now. She is very excited to not have a twin bed and be able to spread out. Mollie thinks the extra room is just for her…..she’s excited too!

2008-04-16T22:18:00.002-05:00

February 24, 2008 •
We decided Saturday morning to try the ear piercing thing again. It’s been almost 3 years since the first time so I think it’s going to go better….hopefull

2008-04-16T22:18:00.001-05:00

February 23, 2008 • Our first daffodil bloomed last Monday. We were so excited because they usually mean Spring! Tuesday it got cold and icy again……UGH!

2008-04-16T22:17:00.002-05:00

This is ds16 taking pics of himself with his new phone. Yes, he always looks this excited!!

2008-04-16T22:14:00.000-05:00

Hair disasters… February 21, 2008 •
So, we went to spend the afternoon with dd18 last Saturday. She had been attempting to dye her hair back blonde from dark brown. Well, it didn’t work AT ALL. So, we spent all Sunday afternoon at the hair salon trying to salvage it. Not sure about the end result…..see for yourself.

2008-04-16T22:13:00.002-05:00

February 21, 2008 •
This is Kitty and Mollie (our little camera hog).

2008-04-16T22:12:00.002-05:00

February 21, 2008 •
I LOVE this picture of my sweet Breda. She is 13 years and 8 months old.

2008-04-16T22:10:00.001-05:00

February 21, 2008 •
Playing with my new camera on Valentine’s Day.

2008-04-16T22:09:00.002-05:00

V-Day 2008 February 20, 2008 •
My husband got me a great new camera for Valentine’s Day. So, I’m finally taking pictures again. I’ve got lots to post so get ready.

2008-04-16T22:09:00.001-05:00

February 19, 2008 •
3 months today…….don’t really have much else on my mind.

2008-04-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

February 19, 2008 • No Comments
I am trying really hard to start a “new” life. I feel like I have to for myself and for my family. I have joined Weight Watchers and have started walking again. I have learned that life is way too short to always be waiting until tomorrow to do what makes us happy.

I miss Megan more than anyone could possibly know. I ache to hold her, hear her voice and see her smile. I wonder if that will ever go away. I wonder if there will ever be a day that I don’t wake up counting the days since I talked to her that last time…..94 days today. It feels like a lifetime already. How will I ever make it without her? I have cried a lot tonight and can’t seem to stop. Think I will just take medicine and go to sleep….maybe I will dream that she’s here again.

2008-01-09T09:38:00.000-06:00

I am having such a hard time. I try to be okay for my family but I don't know how much longer I can put on this fake smile. I feel like an empty shell, totally dead inside. I am haunted by images in my head. Images of poor Megan on her chair and how she must have felt at that moment. I can't get away from it!

2007-11-18T20:42:00.001-06:00

Dd9 has been raking TONS of leaves as you can see in these pictures. All three of my girls love to jump in the pile.

We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner Saturday night. That was a big hit with the kids. It was a lot of fun! :)

We also put up our Christmas tree and inside decorations this afternoon. Dd9 and dd4 were a big help all afternoon. Mollie was so excited when she saw the grinch doll. She just pounced on him!! We got Mollie last Christmas Eve so this is her first year to be here the entire Christmas season. She loves the tree. She was laying on the tree skirt when I put it on! She must know that if you're gonna be in my house, you have to LOVE Christmas!!! So, she fits right in.

I am sooooo excited to have the tree up! Tomorrow night we will put the ornaments on and I guess after that I"ll start with the outside lights. My foot is still bothering me a bit so I"m not sure about being up and down a 7 foot ladder to hang lights. Ds16 may be doing most of that....he does a lot of it anyway.

2007-11-10T09:26:00.001-06:00

I just finished a book called "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". It is a wonderful book. I recommend everyone read it. It is about 2 girls growing up in China and their stories of foot binding and arranged marriages. It is fascinating. The main woman's shoes were 7 cm long (the ideal length) after her foot binding. Here is a picture of what that looks like. Can you say OUCH!!!!

foot update

2007-11-08T22:03:00.000-06:00

Had my recheck appt for my foot today. The dr. thinks it is fractured. I"ll be having an mri on it some time next week and hopefully they will get it figured out and it can heal. He fussed at me for not having my boot on so I guess I'm back in it tomorrow. Yippee!!!

Hopefully I'll get some pics of Canada on here this weekend in between cleaning and shopping. The kids all need winter clothes and my house is a wreck so I have a fun filled weekend planned. :)

Canada

2007-11-04T19:04:00.000-06:00

Wow....Canada is wonderful! I don't know why I don't live there! Needless to say I absolutely loved everything about it. We had a wonderful time. Toronto is HUGE and Niagra Falls is amazing. We went to Niagra Falls last night to see it at night and to see the Christmas lights kick off show and fireworks. It was cold and crisp...perfect weather to start the holiday season. They were the biggest fireworks I have ever seen and we were right under them. It was beautiful against the backdrop of the falls. LOVED EVERY MINUTE!!!!!

So, then I got home today to 79 degree weather, cranky kids and a messy house. Welcome home Mom.

2007-10-30T22:16:00.001-05:00

We had a great time baking and decorating Halloween cookies Saturday night. There were some real masterpieces made that night! :)

I"m off to Toronto tomorrow. I'm really sad that I'm going to miss trick or treating. We did take dd4 trick or treating at the zoo Sunday night. That was fun so I didn't totally miss out.

Happy Halloween!!

2007-10-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

Here is my newest fashion accessory. It goes with everything so well!!! Man, what a mess. I had to wear a high heeled shoe on the left foot to be almost even with the boot. It was a fun day at work. LOL

2007-10-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

Mollie, as you can see, LOVES her new bed. She's quite spoiled and loves it!! While dd9 was at the pumpkin patch with the church group today I took dd4 to Michael's to decorate a pumpkin. They had something where you could buy the pumpkin for 1/2 price and use their stuff to decorate it there. The coolest thing about that is using glitter and stuff with no mess to clean up! YAY! Anyway, she did most of the decorating by herself. I poked the "hair" into the top but that's about it. She's very proud of it. I"m sure you can't tell from the picture just how sparkly it is. It's VERY glittery....her favorite thing!! She has named the pumpkin Sheridan (no clue). Anyway, it was a good afternoon of Mom and daughter time with, surprisingly, no fits or attitudes. WOW! She's such a fun kid when we are by ourselves.

2007-10-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe my prayers have worked some this week. I'd like to think God was looking out for us. I had a plumber to the house in sherman and he fixed everything in the bathroom for $117.00. I was soooo happy about that. The last quote I got was going to be about $400-500. I was really stressing about that. Something like that always comes up when you are trying to pay off bills and save money. So, anyway, it was nice to have one good thing happen this week. Maybe my luck is going to turn around. I listened to a new podcast today called "scream free parenting". I need to listen everyday to that. Been having a bit of a hard time with that. Dd4 is pushing every button she knows how. She must sense my stress and be feeding off of that. Not good.

Anyway, I'm off to bed soon I hope.

2007-10-01T21:09:00.001-05:00

Not much new here...just work and school pretty much. I do actually have a menu planned out for about 10 meals so that is nice. I'm sure that will help make the evenings a little more pleasant. The kids and I have been going to church every week for about a month now. We are all really enjoying it. I am glad that the kids like it so much. We haven't had one Sunday morning complaint about getting up and ready to go. SO NICE! That is one positive thing that I feel really good about these days! YAY ME!!! I know it's probably not that big of a deal to people who have always gone to church. But we haven't been more than a couple of Sundays here and there since dd9 was a tiny baby. Yeah it's been a while. I'm proud of us for doing it.

Mollie Mae

2007-09-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

We have a special birthday girl at our house today. Mollie Mae is 1 year old today. Yes, we had cupcakes, fixed her a new pillow for her bed and got her a few new toys. After our loss last December, Mollie has been such a blessing to us. She is the sweetest little thing and brightens everyone's day. It is impossible to feel bad when she is sooo happy to see you even if you are outside for 5 minutes. We love her and can't imagine life without her around here.

2007-09-23T21:15:00.000-05:00

I took dd4 to see Disney on Ice Princess Wishes show last weekend. We had a lot of fun. It was a great time for just her and I to go check out the fair and then go to the show. We've gone from spending every second of every day together to not having much time together at all. So, it was a special night. We were on the 6th row. Dd4 was so excited. Anyway, here are a few pics from that night.

2007-09-19T22:02:00.000-05:00

Life is so crazy busy these days. I'm leaving the house at 6:45 getting back around 5, then doing the usual kids stuff (by myself 99.9% of the time) until 9-9:30. By that time I barely have the energy to pick out clothes for the next day and drag myself to bed. Needless to say, I am feeling totally exhausted to the core. My house is a mess, my van is a mess...I am feeling out of control b/c I don't have time anymore to keep these things up. Yes, I know I am whining...lol!

I don't know why life has to be so hard. I am trying so hard to do things to get organized, pay off debt and just basically feel like I"m in control of my life. Everytime it seems like I may be making a little progress in the right direction, something or someone knocks me down. I just can't get ahead. Can't get dh on the same page with budgeting or much of anything for that matter, so that just makes it soooo much harder. He promises things and then the next day does another. UGGGGHHHHH!!!!! I AM VERY FRUSTRATED WITH MY LIFE!

Okay, I'm done. Hopefully I can go to sleep now....

2007-08-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

Here are a few new pictures. Dd9 and dd4 on the first day of school. Dd4 is student of the week (has been for 2 weeks now)! She's very proud of her display as you can tell!! lol. Little Mollie has spent a lot of time in the pool much to her dismay....and she's found a new hiding place (she thought).

2007-08-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

Wow!! It has been a long time since I've been on here. Let's just say that my life has become a little crazy these days. I'm about to rush out the door right now to run a few errands before picking up dd9 from a slumber party. But I do have pics and updates about school and all that good stuff so I'll be back soon....maybe even today.

work

2007-07-17T19:26:00.001-05:00

Well, I now have two days of work under my belt and it feels good. The worst thing so far is getting up at 5:30 in the morning. That is very, very hard for me b/c I like to stay up late but that is slowly changing. It is fun to see Nat at lunch and stuff and everyone has been super nice. So, I am enjoying it. The kids are doing okay with me being gone. I've been home at 4:15 both days so it's still early enough to spend time with them. Last night we went to the movies and tonight we spent an hour or so in the pool. I am worried about getting everyone where they need to go when school starts but I'm sure it will all work out. K, I"m off to put dinner away.

2007-07-13T14:20:00.001-05:00

Today has been a great day so far. Dd4 and I just got home from the Omniplex. I haven't been in about 5 years. It is such a fun place. We were there 2 1/2 hours and she wasn't near ready to come home but we had to get dd17 to work. The sun if finally out hopefully for the rest of the day. Dd4 wants to go swimming but i'm sure the water is like ice.

Oh yeah, forgot to put pics of my first garden stuff. I was so excited to eat something that I actually grew. Very cool!! Well, pics are taking forever so I"ll put them on here in a bit b/c it's naptime. :)

2007-07-11T10:31:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've been on here. Summer has been pretty busy so far. I hope I will be starting my new job on Monday. I am excited about it! It has been a long time though since I had to get up and get everyone ready in the mornings and all of that stuff so it will take some getting used to. I think the kids will be fine. My main goal is going to be to get some bills paid off and get a new car. Can't wait for that!!! :) Dd9 is at camp in Broken Bow this week. We both cried when I left her there. It was very hard. It's her first time away anywhere like that. I hope she is having fun. Can't wait to see her on Saturday. Spent last weekend in Broken Bow. I was glad to see Granny...although I don't think she really knew it...at least I did. She is not doing too well but seems to be happy. I'm glad she doesn't really know enough to realize what's going on. There are times when that is a good thing. Anyway, got grocery shopping to do so I"ll write more later.

Wicked

2007-06-15T00:13:00.000-05:00

Just got home from FINALLY seeing Wicked! I've waited for almost 2 years to see it. I was sooooo worth the wait! I wish I had tickets to go see it every night that it is here. DD17 and I waited in the pouring rain without an umbrella outside the stage door for autographs. Everyone was soooo nice. I love the girl who played Glinda (Christina DeCicco). She just made the whole show. Anyway, it was a great ending to a really bad day.

Summer...

2007-06-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

Well, summer is in full swing. Last week was the first week out of school. We all stayed up late and slept late. I would love to have some kind of summer schedule. Going to work on that this week. We have a few things going on at the library that we are going to and our movie on Friday. Other than that, not much planned. This is my first summer just being home. Well, I guess last summer was my first one not working outside of the home. We were getting ready to move at the end of July though so it definitely wasn't a normal summer. I stayed pretty busy and the kids went to the babysitter's house part of the time. Anyway, after just a week out of school, I can see that some kind of structure is going to be neccessary to survive the summer. Anyway, I"m off to plant flowers in the back yard.

Jordin Sparks

2007-05-29T11:34:00.000-05:00

Dh went to the walmart meetings in Arkansas this week. He is in charge of the musical guests for the meetings. He called this morning and told me that one of the people is Jordin Sparks! I told the girls and I'm sure the neighbors heard the screams! My ears still aren't the same...lol! Just one thing to say to him....if he doesn't come home with pictures and autographs...he probably should not come home for his own safety! I hope he doesn't tell her how mad I was that Blake didn't win....lol!

2007-05-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

Dd9 received several awards at school on Wednesday. I was so proud of her. She got a coupon for a free bowling game once a day all summer. Guess we'll be improving our scores this summer!

2007-05-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

We had fun at dd9's class on the last day of school. We had a beach party lunch. We all had a good time. I can't believe that I have a 4th grader!!
This is dd9 and her teacher, Mrs. Tilton. We really liked her a lot.

2007-05-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

Well, here are our ladybugs. We are letting the rest of them go in the garden today. It was really cool to watch them grow from those ugly little larvae into beautiful ladybugs.

diaper cake

2007-05-22T12:14:00.001-05:00

I found this picture of a diaper cake that I made for a baby shower a few years ago. It is made totally of diapers and ribbon. The flower thing on the front is made from baby socks. I had fun figuring out how to make it and I love the way it turned out. Wish I could figure out how to mail one so I could make one for Julie!

ladybugs

2007-05-22T12:09:00.000-05:00

We now have 10 ladybugs. It has been really cool to watch them change. We let a few of them go in the garden. We'll let the others go today or tomorrow. The picture of the ladybug in it's house is not too good. The big things are actually pieces of a raisin (that's what they eat). The small dot is the ladybug. Most of them have turned red now. When they first come out they are not red. It takes them a day or so to turn really red and look like ladybugs. Neat project! :)

2007-05-21T20:24:00.000-05:00

We just got home from dd4's dance recital. As far as her group goes, there wasn't a whole lot of dancing involved. They were far too worried about the snack table. It was fun anyway and they looked really adorable. :)

Limo ride

2007-05-19T18:56:00.000-05:00

Dd9 went for her first limo ride last Wednesday. She was one of the top fundraisers for their last one. They all got to ride to the pizza place for lunch. She was thrilled! What a fun day!

Graduation!

2007-05-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

I am still not sure that it's hit me yet that dd17 just graduated. When did she get so grown up?? I'm excited for her to go to college and all of that but I'm feeling kind of sad too. :(

We had a great time today. Dd23 and her husband came up last night. It was nice to see them. I think Dd17 really enjoyed herself today which was my only goal.

Blake sigh :)

2007-05-16T22:34:00.000-05:00

Go Blake!!! So, dd9 and I were watching AI in my bedroom and dd17 and ds16 were watching it in the living room. For some strange reason the tv in my room is a few seconds faster than the one in the lr. So, when they said that Melinda was going home, we screamed so loud from the bedroom that it totally ruined their moment in the lr. They were still waiting for Ryan to say the results when we screamed. We scared little Mollie half to death. So, we all need Blaker girl shirts to wear next week (even Mollie b/c she loves him too)....hehe...except ds16 of course. I swear that when Blake was singing Mollie ran over and put her nose to the tv. :)

2007-05-15T22:13:00.000-05:00

We were at dd16's soccer banquet tonight during American Idol. I rushed in the door to watch it only to discover that not only had someone turned off the recording but no one even watched it!! What is going on here???? I called Natalie and got Blake's voting numbers and voted for him several times anyway.....so there!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2007-05-13T10:57:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to Natalie and Julie! You both deserve it! :)

Yesterday dd20 walked in the door around 11. I had no idea she was coming. She drove 3 hours to spend the day b/c she couldn't get off work today. We had a really nice day.

I've had a good morning. I got a beautiful hydranga (sp?) plant, chocolate, gardening stuff, a movie, necklace and tupperware. Dh didn't want to buy the tupperware b/c it was for the kitchen. I kept telling him that it is really what I wanted! Man, when did I get so old?? So, my dd20 took dd9 and dd4 shopping and they got that for me. I am wearing my new mother/daughter necklace and my tupperware is all in the cabinet. I have stuff to plant in the garden and I'm itching to get out there and get my hands dirty but have to go to Mom and Dad's for lunch and then dd17's Baccalaureate is this afternoon at 3. Maybe I'll get to plant stuff this evening....hope so.

Blake

2007-05-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well we have no nails left but made it through another American Idol. So glad Blake is still on there. Dd4 has informed us that she is going to send him a letter with her picture and a picture of our house so he can find it and come here and marry her because he's a hottie!!! :)

Movies

2007-05-09T12:33:00.000-05:00

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
ummm I can’t think of any that I’ve seen that many times. I have maybe seen Gone With the Wind close to that many times.

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
I can’t think of any at the moment. I usually only see them once in the theatre. I might rent them after that but that’s it.

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Jon Bon Jovi…would he be considered an actor since he’s been in several movies? I also love Matthew Macanahey

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
Robin Williams

5. Name a movie that you can quote from.
My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Gone With the Wind, Grease are a few that I can think of. My kids and I have gotten into older movies the last few years.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs.
Grease and of course, High School Musical!!

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
Grease (listening to the cd in my car), High School Musical

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
Gone With the Wind of course. I LOVE that movie!!

9. Name a movie that you own.
John Tucker Must Die is the first that caught my eye on the movie shelf.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Does Jon Bon Jovi count??? Hehe…can you tell I love him??

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Yes. The only one I can remember at the moment is Footloose.

12. Ever made out in a movie?
Ummm sort of, so, yes I guess so. Can you tell it's been a looong while?? lol

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Music & Lyrics

14. Ever walked out of a movie?
Can’t remember doing it.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. As I recall, my friend and I cried A LOT during this movie.

16. Popcorn?
not usually

17. How often do you go to the movies?
Every few months depending on what’s out. We rent a lot of movies.

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Night at the Museum

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Psychological thrillers for sure.

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
E.T.

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Man, there are many that after I watched I wondered why I sat through it but can’t think of a name right now.

22. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
Halloween…the first one

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
Does Everybody Loves Raymond count since I’ve been watching it on dvd? That’s one of the few things that I watch that makes me laugh out loud.

Our new babies...

2007-05-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

I had a hard time getting a picture of these little guys...but here are a few...sort of. We received our ladybug larvae yesterday. They had just hatched from their eggs. I had no idea what ladybug babies looked like. My first reaction was that we got the wrong thing...lol! I have probably squashed a few here and there over the years. They are black with a few yellow spots on their back. The example that the paper said was that they look like little alligators. That is their body shape. Weird huh?? We have had the butterflies a couple of times before and have watched them come out of their cocoons but never the ladybugs until now. Did you know that there are 600 different kinds of ladybugs?? I sure didn't! So, we are gonna have fun watching these little guys hatch out as beautiful ladybugs, or, Colleomegilla Maculata, which is their scientific name.

2007-05-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

Okay here are a few more pics from this morning!

2007-05-08T11:52:00.000-05:00

This morning we went to the Myriad Gardens annual "Bug Out". It was really fun. Each year they lets kids release 70,000 ladybugs into the crystal bridge. It is their way of controlling bugs that damage the plants without using pesticides. So, the girls got their little cups of ladybugs and we put them on the plants. We had lots of fun except for the fact that we got almost as wet inside the bridge as we did outside in the pouring rain. Can't you just see the joy beaming from dd9's face??? LOL

Sunday afternoon...

2007-05-06T17:04:00.000-05:00

We took advantage of it not raining today and went downtown for a little while. I love the gardens and the kids did also. They have never been there before. I think they have planned that we will have a picnic lunch there next weekend if the weather is nice. We had a great time and it was fun for all of us to go.

cycling

2007-05-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I was finally brave enough to go to my first cycling class. It was actually fun and the instructor was super nice. I can still walk for the moment but getting out of bed in the morning should be loads of fun! :)

Tracy Byrd

2007-05-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

I got to meet Tracy Byrd a few months ago and just now got dh to email the pics to me. He was very cute and nice. It was fun to meet him!!

2007-05-03T09:59:00.000-05:00

I am so glad Blake is still on AI. I thought his song Tues night was AWESOME!!! Bon Jovi was great of course and looking hot as always! :)

Well, dd4 and I locked ourselves out of the house this morning. Luckily my van was unlocked and I have an extra key in it and I had my cell phone in my pocket. DH was almost to Yukon and turned around and met us downtown with a key. So dd4 and I got to walk all around the canal and see the new land run statues. It is so pretty down there. We really love it! I'm gonna take both of the girls after school if it's not raining again.

So, finally planted seeds in the garden yesterday. I planted watermelon, cucumber, yellow squash and zucchini. I just hope some of them grow. I still need to plant my tomato plants. Wish me luck!