What a difference 10 years makes!

At this exact moment 10 years ago I was laying in a hospital bed marveling at the fact that something so tiny and perfect could come from me. I was in total awe of the fact that I could have a part in making such a beautiful little person. I was holding this amazing baby girl and I finally knew what it ment to be totally and completely in love with another person. I was still tring to wrap my brain around the fact that this precious little thing would be dependant on me, to some degree, for the rest of my life. It's amazing how instantly becomming a mother can change a person. Nothing in the world mattered beyond that baby girl sleeping my arms. This morning I woke up to a 10 year old! I don't know where the time went. She is growing up so fast. And still I feel all those things for her that I felt the day she was born. The tenth birthday is bittersweet for me. Actually every birthday is bittersweet to me because it just reminds me how fast my babies are growing up. Now Cheyenne is big enough that she doesn't set in my lab very often anymore. She is not totally dependant on me anymore. She has the attitude of a 13 year old much of the time. She already thinks she knows everything and that her parents are idiots. That is until she need help with her homework. She has to be told a million times to clean her room before she actually does it. She stomps and cries and talks back. I think her favorite phrase is "That's not fair!" And still every time I look at that beautiful, perfect girl i know what it is to be totally and completely in love with another person. Happy birthday baby girl! I love you bigger then the sky!

The Payoff

Jeremy gave me these before he left. Looked kinda like a payoff to me! :) Aren't they gorgeous? They are actually an early birthday present. Or so he says. ;)

Minnasota

Jeremy left Abilene at 5:40 am on Sunday headed to Missasota for 2 whole months. He will be back home Friday Nov 17th. In that time he will miss Cheyenne's birthday (she will be 10 on Thursday!), a skating party for said birthday, my birthday, halloween and Alissa's 4th birthday. That's a lot of stuff to miss out on. Then add to that the fact that we have two kids playing soccer till the end of the October and Jeremy's sister's baby is due at the end of October and you have a lot of missed moments. I know it must be hard for him being away from his family for that long and missing out on so many things but I'm on the other end of that. I am the one who is still here holding down the fort alone with four kids. I still have to cook and clean and get the kids to those pratices and games and pay the bills and bake the cake and host the party, ect, ect, ect....The list goes on forever! It's only been two days and I'm already exhausted.

Fundraiser

Of course it's that time of year. The kids all brought home their exciting fundraiser forms. Mind you that's 3 kids with fundraisers. All hoping to sell 15 items becasue if they do they get to make their very own stuffed animal. Of course we can't afford to buy 45 things and the only people we know here are from the school so their own children are selling. Yes, this is where I appeal to all my kind hearted friends and family members. If you can find it in your hearts to order from my poor, deprived children you can go here www.gafundraising.com. The school code to shop is 435107. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated. :)

How do you explain?

The kids all made banners at school to honor the fallen hero's of 9/11 and the local hero's. The will be walking in front of the school with those banners in a little parade. They wore red, white and blue in a show of patriotism. Cheyenne remembers 9/11/01 with an uncanny memory for a then 5 yr old. Dylan and Cass were too young. Dylan woke up today full of questions about what happened and why. He wanted to know all about it. I tried my best to explain something I don't even really understand. I surfed the news channels for footage from that day. MSNBC was very obliging. I talked to my Mom this morning and said "I'm not watching any of it. It's been 5 years we all need to move on." I agree that you shouldn't dwell on it but I also believe we should remember. Then you consider the fact that I have children who are too young to remember for themselves what happened. They are depending on me to teach them about the things that went on that day and the days and weeks that followed. The things that the teachers and history books aren't going to teach them...

Crazy time of year

For us things always get crazy when school starts. First, we have the homework to deal with. Then we have Chey and Dyl both in soccer. That means practices every Monday, Thursday and Friday and two games on Saturday starting this weekend. As sson as we get back on track financially I have to get Cass into gymnastics on one of our free days, Tuesday or Wednesday. Then you factor in the fact that we are waiting for Jeremy to hear how soon he will be going to Minnesota to work for an indefinite amount of time and you get CRAZY. And we also have 4 birthdays in the next 3 months. Starting with Chey on the 21st of this month. We are trying to schedule a party for her before Jeremy leaves. That's difficult since we have no idea when he will be leaving and we have to work around 2 soccer games on Saturday.... Anyone wanna come stay with me a while and help out...lol :)

Rain, rain and more rain!

We have had a nice labor day weekend. It has been raining off and on, more on really, since friday night. It has been nice and cool, too. We definantly needed the rain too. We have been in a drought scince I don't know when. Today we are under a flood advisary. What a huge change. Lucky for us we all love the rain!

First day of school

The first day of school was the 15th. I'm horribly late posting pictures because my stupid computer quit working again. So here's Chey who all of a sudden likes pink, Dylan aka Mr. GQ, Cassidy the beauty queen and Alissa the moody.

These are half-asleep pictures of Dylan and Chey.








And the best dressed kids in school!





Cassidy with the wonderful Mrs. Garrett. :)

Meet the Teacher

Last night we got to go meet the kids teachers. We were a little nervous that Cassidy wouldn't get Mrs. Garrett, the most awesome teacher ever. We were ecstatic when we found out that she did get her. Cheyenne's teacher seemed a bit scatterbrained and easily distracted. Dylan's teacher seems really nice and very bubbly. She was recommended by Mrs. Garrett so I know she'll be great. Then there were the parents in both of those rooms who decided they deserved the teachers undivided attention for the entire hour allotted for meeting the teacher because clearly their child is more important than any other in the class. Mrs. Garrett, on the other hand, had big hugs waiting for each and every one of us when we walked into the room. We took our video of the Yankees game to share with her and she was just as excited as we were that we got to go. She was just as impressed as I was at the footage I got of Jorge Posada making the sign of the cross over himself and then in the grass several times after the singing of the national anthem. (Really I think it was the most amazing thing I saw during the whole game. Why don't we ever see that side of the player on the news?) Mrs. Garrett actually teared up when she saw it. She's a baseball fan too! She told us that Cassidy's name was the first one she looked for when she get her student list and that she was prepared to throw a fit if it hadn't been there. :) She has an amazing way of making you feel like a part of her family. I consider it a huge blessing that we moved when we did and my children have such a wonderful lady in their lives because of it! We defiantly won't be moving till Alissa gets through first grade. Every child should have a Mrs. Garrett in their lives.

Yardwork

The fact that my kids were hard at work pulling and throwing away weeds was amazing. The fact that Jeremy was actually the ringleader and not on his ever growing heiny was nothing short of a miracle! This was however the scene when I awoke Sunday morning. Of course, I was smart enough to immortalize the event in pictures as it may never happen again.

Now I know....

EXACTLY what my Mother was feeling when she said, in desperation, "I am so ready for school to start!" I have even been know to repeat that phrase numerous times a day in the last few weeks. :) There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The kids, well 3 of them, will go back to school the 15th. That's just 10 short days from now! We ventured out Tuesday to get their school supplies. As you can see the backpacks were the most exciting thing. Note to Mother's: Dragging 4 young kids around in 100 degree heat all day is no fun for anyone.

The Price of Children

I'm sure we have all read this a thousand times. For me it was a huge reminder of my abundent blessings at a time when I am feeling totally overwhelmed and inadaquate as a mother and wife.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,

* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich" Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay or Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.



In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So . . one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren

Too weird

We went to a little chinese restaraunt tonight because the kids have been dying for chinese. We had a pretty nice meal. The kids behaved pretty well. Alissa was in a good mood and in no way cranky. Close to the end of our meal a man who had been setting behind us approached us. He said, "I just wanted to comment on how well behaved your kids are." I almost passed out and Jeremy actually laughed. The man said, "No, I'm serious. I didn't say they we're perfect but they we're very well behaved for such young kids." Now if that doesn't make a Momma proud I'm don't know what would. It's nice to have a little reassurance from a stranger that your doing a good job raising your kids. :) Eating out with 4 young kids is always a bit of a chore and Jeremy and I both get a little stressed thinking the kids are disturbing other people. When we go out to eat from now on I'm gonna try very hard to remember that my children are very well behaved and other people do notice that. :)

New obsession

I decided to take advantage of the Netflix free trial. I set up my account and started adding movies to my queue. Between Cassidy and myself we now have over 50 movies we are waiting to see. :) They have all the old Disney movies! Anyone remember Candleshoe? The Gnome-mobile? The Moon Spinners? We're also waiting on the first season of She-Ra: Princess of Power and Punky Bruster. I loved those shows when I was a kid. How cool is it that I can now share them with my kids? I know that the animation is not as good. I know that the Punky Bruster set doesn't look as real as sets do now but still I love those show! It's much cheaper and much more convenient then the movie rental places here. At almost $4 a movie they'll break you. Then there's the whole due date that we sometimes get so busy we forget about. Well now I can keep the movies as long as I want and expect to get a new one within about 2 days of sending one back. All that for one very low price. Us being movie people it's a heck of a deal. :)

Everyone needs a little spontaneity

I know the pictures look like a big blob and some grass but in fact it's The Big Unit! on some grass. For those of you who don't know that's Randy Johnson, one of the greatest pitchers the game of baseball has ever seen. In fact he's the greatest left handed pitcher of all time! And as for the quality of the picture, camera phones suck. We had not intended on driving 2 hours both ways to attend a baseball game Monday but we found out our, Dylan and my, favorite player, the afore mentioned Johnson, would be pitching in Arlington. So we got up bright and early Monday morning and headed that way. Not only did we get to see Randy Johnson warm up in the bullpen but we also got to see the likes of Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, all future Hall of Famers. We now have home video of the New York Yankees warming up before a game. Dylan even brought Flat Stanley along for the adventure. The kids had a great time, with the exception of the heat. It's good the take a spur of the moment trip sometime. :)

"Hurry before I die!"

This seems to be Alissa's new favorite phrase. Last night she needed to go potty and of course the light were off so I had to go with her to turn them on. Apparently I was not moving fast enough because she yelled down the hall "Hurry before I die!" With much urgency. Again today she decided she wanted to read a book. She got in my lap and once again yells, "Hurry before I die!" It was too funny. Can we say drama queen?!

The Offer

Jeremy is working for a company as a temporary employ. They had every intention of making him a full time employ but wanted to get him working sooner then they would have if they had done the whole interview, background check, ect first. So he was suspose to fly to Houston Monday for his interview on the company's tab. That was great for us because we have no money to get him there. One big problem, he can't make the flight arrangements because the company never gave him a confirmation # and he didn't learn this till after hours Friday. So, on Monday he makes the arrangements to fly to Houston at 4:00 that afternoon. He comes home at noon, we rush to get him packed and everything in order. We get him to the airport with time to spare and the kids and I come home. Then he calls...The flight was cancelled! Not a big deal if you live somewhere like Amarillo where there's a flight leaving for Houston every 30 min but here....nothing! They can't get him on another flight until 9am the next morning. The exact time of his interview. So the company rented him a car, he drove to DFW, flew from there to Houston at 5am, got another rental car and drove to his interview.

The interview it's self went off without a hitch! They liked him and he had all the right experience. They said they would call him later in the week with a salary offer.

He gets back to airport to fly home at 2pm only to find out that they have him flying back into DFW! ACK!!! What a hassle. He gets back on the phone with the company and gets everything fixed with only minutes to spare before the flight to Abilene leaves.

HE got the call first thing this morning with the offer. I personally think it's a good offer. Jeremy wasn't as happy. He's guaranteed $40,000 a year on 40 hours a week plus his time and a half and double time for his overtime pay. That works out to roughly $19.25 an hour. I think that's a great offer considering we will have medical and dental insurance for next to nothing. He will also have a retirement fund, vacation, paid holidays and he will not have to worry about being laid off. Did I mention he will get that salary for 40 hours EVERY WEEK?! Whether he works them or not?! Huge plus in my book. No more worrying about him not working enough hours to pay the bills. Although Jeremy is more worried about the fact that some of the other, less experienced guys are making the same amount as he is. I can understand being a little put off but look at all the benefits! It's a start right? They said he would get a raise in January. SO prove to them that your worth a nice one, problem solved. Sometimes it just seems like nothing is every good enough for him. :(

Money Tree?

A friend of mine was recently searching for it. Has anyone found it yet? I could certainly put a few branches to good use. Isn't funny how everything seems to snowball all at once? You plod along thinking your keeping your head above water just until those brighter days show up and WHAM!!!! I think it's a conspiracy. All the people you own money too get together and decide to hit you with the disconnects all in one week. Lucky for us the gas and water are paid. So we will have hot water but no lights, stove, ect.... No phones as both the cell phones and the home phone are set to be turned off this weekend... WOOHOO!!! Can't win for losing... Saddest part is that by taking the job in Oklahoma Jeremy actually did us more harm then good. It cost more for him to stay there them what he would have made setting on his heiny drawing unemployment. Anyone need a old gas guzzling Dodge pickup? It runs! And at this point selling it is the only way I can see to get our head back above water till we get another check. Depression has officially set in. :(

Little Miss Bossy Pants

OK, Hawk is a monster. He's practialy tripled in size since we got him 5 months ago. We finally remember to pick him up a new collar today while we were at the store. Of course I haven't gotten around to putting it on him yet. It's setting on the kitchen counter. I was cooking supper and Miss Bossy Pants walks in, initials AJL. She gets on her chair to see what I'm doing, spys the collar and says to me......."Get off your butt and go put this collar on!" WHAT?! She's got to quit listening to her Daddy and we're gonna have to start putting our foot down with Miss Boss or we're in for a world of trouble when she get older.

This is Mater

Our new little motherless kitty. Yes we're pushovers. The girls brought her home from Mom's house. I told them they had to ask their Dad if they could have her. His reply to me, "I couldn't say no because Cassidy said she loves her!" Pushover!! Of curse now Alissa absolutly loves her too. She says "she's just my size!" We named her Mater for the towtruck on Cars that we went to the drive-in to see. Such a cute movie! And Alissa can say Mater very well. :)