yuck...

Still feeling yucky today, I have been feeling yucky all week now... NOT fun, the weird thing is I seem to feel worse in the evening... Who knows. I am being Betty Crocker right now and baking a cake to send to the Church to sell at the fish fry tomorrow. We had our Unitas meeting to go to tonight but with the way my stomach is feeling, I though it best to stay home tonight. Johnny has gone for a walk/run, and as much as I would have loved to go with him I better stick close to the house. I am just piddling and listening to my stomach gurgle and glob..ugh!

I really hope I start to feel better by the weekend, this is one of our first weekends with no major plans, I didn't say nothing to do, just said no major plans... LOL Noah has basketball practice tomorrow (I was just out there watching him practice his hoops) and a game on Saturday... in the morning (lovely).

I really want to go and watch that movie Shutter Island, maybe me and my honey can sneak away to go see it, Jay will be here on Saturday and I am sure Noah will want to spend time with his favorite Longhorn.

The washing machine is calling.... **sigh**

Okay, so it has actually been a week since I have been to my little blog, where does time go? I am getting over a stomach bug, not sure what was going on but Monday was a bad day for my stomach, but, I am feeling much better today just in time for another cold snap and some snow... flurries at least... I am so ready for a relaxing weekend because last weekend was not... at all, you ever have those weekends that just feel like you end it more frustrated than when you started... maybe I caused my own stomach problems. My family needs some quality alone time, no phones, no visitors, no nothing so we can just relax... we'll see... Noah is supposed to have his first baseball practice tonight, I am pretty sure they will cancel it because it is very cold and very wet, but hey, it's Texas, it could be sunny and hot by this afternoon! Here is a picture of my handsome guys when we went to eat at one of their favorite places, Hooter's... yes, we love those wings and fried pickles.

don't you just love that expression on Noah's face!, and you can see he has his arm around his Daddy's... That boy constantly has to hold on to his arm, even when he is sleeping... too cute, love him...

I am off tomorrow, I'm going on a field trip with Noah's class to the Majik Theater, I have never been so I am pretty excited, the only thing I am dreading is driving myself because I don't do well in San Antonio, but considering my stomach situation and the last bus trip... totally taking my own vehicle...

"T" is for Thursday...

Okay, things just kind of fell into place for Thursday's post... so here are my Thursday T's

"T" for Tyler.....

Tyler is my fish fry buddy, yes... we met and became friends last year at the OLG Lent Fish Fry and have been waiting a whole year to catch up...! Don't you just love the way his Ash Wednesday Ashes accent his hair... Love the hair , love the shirt, love the shoes.... Tyler also happens to be a HUGE fan of my code name... dare I say it... "Princess Glitter" he loves it! so my first T goes out to my buddy Tyler...




T is for Tulips....

Aren't they beautiful! I love tulips, they are my favorite flower and my honey love awesome wonderful handsome husband gave these to me for Valentine's day.... awwww, how sweet!, they were just buds (kinda like him, cept I am PAM not sissy) and we have enjoyed watching them bloom... kinda like our love.., AAAWWWW... ya, anyway... on to the next item...



T is for Teddy Bear....


Okay, this is how much I don't pay attention, everytime I take Momo to see her doctor we have to drive to his office in LaVernia, coooouunnnnttttrrryyy.... yes, like, one stop light in the whole town I believe (I am such a big city girl)... everytime we come back home we pass these grain bins (I only know that is what they are because I saw in a magazine where in some state up north people are making houses out of them), before that they were big silver thingy maboppers... anyway, some really sweet farmer stacked these up and made a huge teddy bear out of hay, and if you look real close you can see his toes are the square bails of hay just so you can get an idea of how big this bear is.... Ya, I would always hear them say something about bears and I thought momo was just playing with him... i almost hit a fence when I saw this because I JUST noticed it after all these trips from the doctor... cute teddy bear.... oooo, tall teddy bear, oooooo, tall tan teddy bear... a Triple "T"!!!!




T is for Team....

Tonight Noah had meet the coach for his Little league team, This will be his first year in a sporting group that is not with the Activity Center, they were the only group that had sports for his age but now that he is 5 he is old enough for the big leagues, practice three times a week... another T!!! Three Times.... he he he That will surely make our already crazy schedule even crazier...

My last T is for Tired... which is what I am so I am signing off.... Toodles!!!!

Vacation Day... oh Yeah!

I woke up a little fussy today... (really? me? I know, your thinking....no way!) I took a day of vacation today because Momo had 2 appts. Noah has a dr. appointment and Mom is under the weather too... and Noah hasnt been sleeping well the last few nights so I feel like I haven't slept at all... I am about to overdose on Coke Zero! I am home in between appointments and really should be picking up the house a bit but I just don't feel like it, I really should bake a cake for the Church fish fry (yummo!), but I don't feel like it, I really should go and get the oil changed in my car... BUT I don't feel like it, and I just got off the phone with Noah's school and now we have to help with some kind of competition on Saturday, makes me even more unwilling to do anything today... Even though, I have been to LaVernia and back for Momo's first appointment and taken lunch to mom and stayed with her for a while which was really nice. Yesterday I finally got my car in to get the tire checked because it felt like it might have a ball on it, spent two hours at Wal-mart because I had to get a new tire, and my son was wonderful (yesterday that is, had a total meltdown today when I picked up prescriptions, bad mean mommy). Ya, so I am thinking how glad I am that we bought the warranty until she tells me, nope... steel is showing not covered by warranty! UGH.. of course not.. and of course my car has special sports radials or something like that and the cheapest tire is $140 dollars, and did I want to add the warranty on to that for an extra $15? (of course it did me so much good this last time!) LOL... she then informs me that I really should buy 2 tires because it is best to replace them 2 at a time. Really ? you don't say? WELL I'll be buying ONE tire thank you for your help... My friend Randolph told me that one tire is better for the budget right now (Randolph Brooks that is...). Ahem, so... We'll be packing lunches for the rest of the weeks but won't I look spectacular with my one new shoe on my car! And my son was so mad about one little game I would not get him, hello, it was only $39.95 (um, 1/3 of my 2nd new tires cost) and why can't he get it because I didn't get him anything for his birthday (really?). I had to tune him out and go to that happy place Mom's have where kids can scream and cry and pull on your clothes and act like complete brats in front of people and make you look like you are a complete loser as a parent for raising such horrible children (sure wish they had seen us at Wal-mart yesterday)... but what they don't realize is that I have total control because what i want to do is start screaming right back at him that right now I don't like him either and he is way meaner than me and maybe he can find his own ride home! But I don't, because I am in control...and there are cameras everywhere now....LOL and we are off to our next appointment.

Tuesday ....

Okay so our week got off to a really rough start, Sunday night I was putting Noah to bed and was half asleep myself and I hear this crumbling sound, almost like a tree falling, and it got louder… I jumped out of bed and started yelling for Johnny and he was already there and we couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from and then he saw it, our floor in the kitchen…the tile was coming up. We started checking for water thinking a pipe had busted and Johnny put pressure on the tiles and it was dry and no sloshing underneath. So far there are no cracks on the wall which would indicate the foundation, I am going to call the house insurance today but in my heart, I am a natural worrier and I was completely absorbed by panic and was so relieved that my honey was home because I don’t know what I would have done if it had happened when he was gone. Right now we have had so much rain for over a month it seems like everything is wet, our backyard looks mushy and with the news reporting houses falling because the ground is saturated all I could dream about was my house being swallowed up by some huge sinkhole. Monday was not a good day, I was so down in the dumps about the whole thing… Johnny and I both were because we are just constantly thinking and worrying about it. Makes me really think back so much on being a kid, and realizing now how my Mom and Dad must have struggled with seven kids, it changes your perspective, wondering how they made it then and to know the innocence of childhood when you cannot grasp the responsibilities of providing for your families needs. I can remember wanting the Nike and Kaepa (I know I just aged myself) tennis shoes and wishing I had the ‘in’ stuff to wear, I was lucky just to get new clothes and sometimes not even that. I imagine looking back through my Mom’s eyes and feeling her anxiety knowing school is getting ready to start and having no idea what to put on her kids or whether or not there will be money for clothes or more importantly school supplies. I remember getting free lunch, but I don’t remember being embarrassed about it… I do remember that everything they made had onions and I hated onions (oh the priorities). I remember not buying pictures on picture day or taking envelopes with change, my mom was famous for saving change and stocking up on cans. I remember that every Christmas my mom bought me the same thing for the gift exchange at school, one of those books with lifesaver candies in it… I can’t even look at those today, I do remember trying to put mine under the tree quickly so that when whoever picked that present got it I could play dumb when they complained about it not being a toy, and secretly excited that I would get a toy from someone else! I used to think that I had a really bad childhood, now I know that God had a plan all along… he has opened my eyes to see things more clearly, to not look back with sadness but to be amazed at the love our parents showed by doing the best they could, just like we do now. So last night was our night to go to adoration, and it was surely needed, I needed to be in the presence of God so that he could remind me to focus on the blessings and not the trials, to keep my eyes on him despite the bumps in the road. Because you see, everyone is fighting battles, we each have our crosses that we carry no matter the size… I visited a friend who had to ask me to help her fix her clothes, she couldn’t even pull up her pants or adjust her shirt because she has been through so much chemo she has no muscles left, very little strength and she is still here by the grace of God. And she smiled, and wanted to know how I was doing… because you see, despite everything she has been through, she keeps her eyes focused on something greater than her own crosses, I left feeling ashamed for the insignificant worries that I held on to, and remembering that visit reminds me to be grateful for every moment and adventure life brings our way because in the end… All that matters is God.

a few pics

This is my little dribbler, yes, my baby finally got it down! He is making shots and everything.... my little Ginobilie...

Go Tigers!
Just us grinning, I sure hope my baby is always a snuggler...

Okay seriously, this is one of the side streets that I take a short cut on to go home, can you seriously believe these potholes! I had to drive up and down the street twice to get the perfect shot... I mean really, hello, Sonic is right there, i totally risk my tires to get a cherry lime sprite...

Can you see the old bridge, this is the view from the front of one of my fave restaurants, it was cold, misty... reminded me of bridges of madison county....

Fabulous Friday!!!

I love Friday… woo hoo! Noah and I stayed up late doing his Valentines for school, we started them at the beginning of the week but with a 5 year old, you have to pace yourself because they get pretty bored with things fast… too cute.

In production:

Happy Helper...

I have been going crazy because he got a lot of different games for his birthday and I love to sit and play with him but he is already losing the pieces! He is making me crazy it is like the broken crayons… I know, Johnny keeps telling me to chill out he is a kid and I ought to know by now it just isn’t going to happen.

Oh well, last weekend we were all at the house for Superbowl and I was cracking up because Noah gets a report card from school and he got excellent on everything except skipping, no joke. Don’t even remember how this came up in conversation but so then everyone tried to skip and half of us couldn’t do it either! We laughed all afternoon with everyone trying to skip, Momo won the prize because she has to lift her hands and looks like she is riding a horse, Patty almost broke her face because her feet kept sticking and Cathy was hilarious! Can you skip, bet you have to try it a couple of times before it comes back to you!

I am looking forward to a nice weekend, just living and loving… Noah has practice tonight and a game tomorrow, then we are headed to candlelight for the guys on retreat an Sunday they come home, love the Men’s return mass, it is so touching. And my Valentine will be home, a little time apart is a good thing sometimes, makes you miss eachother… I made the boys heart shaped sandwiches for their lunches this week, even my brother in law Jeremy got his that way (yes, I pack lunches for everyone) and it was cute because they all got a kick out of it… Your never to old to want to feel special!

“We live, we love… we forgive and never give up… for the days we are given are gifts from above so today we remember to live and to love!”

And the Weight Loss Journey continues

Today's weigh in... I lost 5.6 lbs! calm down, that was for two weeks because I didn't go last week because of Noah's bday, but that brings my grand total up to 47.4 lbs, AGAIN, calm down, I still have 3 lbs of my holiday weight gain to take off!

Look out, cause this train might just be getting back on track!! Chooo Chooo....

What day is it?

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say… it’s alright…..

Happy Thursday, Okay, well ACTUALLY it is wet, cold and dreary… I have been freezing in my office all week and I have been miserable, I wore my coat all day yesterday and it was just a little on the snug side, ahem… One wall in my office is almost completely a window, huge (no view, all I see is the side of the other building and the sidewalk) and I seriously think there is no insulation around it, I can feel the wind coming into my office! UGH!

I am tired, to say the least…. Last night I went to put baby bear to sleep and fell asleep with him, fully clothed with my shoes on… I was borderline delirious because I was baking a cake and brownies to send with my SCC (small church community) my girlies that meet and pray once a month, for the Men’s retreat that is going on this weekend. Ya, my friend Cathy totally volunteered us to provide the meal for 50 men, I think she was feeling guilty because she never rescheduled our last meeting and it was her turn to host… So I have had a freezer full of cookies from the Youth Rally (did I post pictures of that yet) and I had to pack those up, bake brownies and a cake… plus I had to go to the grocery store to get sodas and buns … and of course my son has a meltdown over a Transformer toy he saw that he has been looking for ‘his whole life’… so I am stressed because I had already taken the Momo to run her errands, hadn’t been home one night this week, had both of them with me at the store and Noah telling me he wanted a new mommy because I was so so mean and crying the entire time and Momo trying to negotiate with him, I am totally ignoring him (even though I feel like I am about to have a stroke) and telling myself I am not going to react when he throws the toy in the freezer section and starts walking beside me, mad but quiet, well don’t you know the momo has to pick up the toy and bring it just to see how much it is… Ya, love my life… Okay, totally got off track here, did I mention that I dropped her off and she is practically crying because she thinks I am going to take him home and beat him… (if only LOL) I get him to the house and he calms down on his own… anyway, long story short, I fell asleep with a batch of brownies in the oven… no, the smoke didn’t wake me up because I always bake on low and so the house actually smelled really good… the brownies were a rock, and goodbye to that pan… but, I did have 8 that come out of the first batch (could have sworn when I went to bed there were 12 on that plate) but … oh well, my cake is pretty!

So Johnny is leaving on retreat today and won’t be back until Sunday, Noah has his first Karate class tonight, I have UNITAS at the same time and Momo just called to ask me if I could take her to a doctor appt. at 4 and it’s out of town but she is not feeling well so… again, I will not likely be home until close to nine tonight… oh great, I just remembered I set the timer on my washing machine so I guess I’ll be re-washing that load… just like the load that I have waiting to go back in the washer because my husband forgot to start the dryer when he left yesterday.

I just finished filling out Noah’s registration form for Soccer, I am so excited because this will be his first year playing… He has come a long way in team sports, he used to cry when I was taking him now he has a blast, hope that keeps up… I am really trying to get him into club sports, that he can stay in through High School because if we decide to keep him in Catholic school they don’t really have a competitive sports program, so he is trying everything until we find his niche… He really loves basketball and flag football and those are the only two I haven’t found Club leagues for, I think he will be sticking with the Seguin Baseball youth league now that he is old enough because I am pretty sure we are going to have to go out of town for the others. I don’t necessarily want him to be an outstanding player, of course that would be great, I just want him involved and especially understand… gotta start them young and this Momma stays on top of it, I can’t begin to tell you how many emails and calls I have made to make sure we don’t miss deadlines…

I am not sure where we are going with the whole school situation, I worry that keeping him in Catholic school will shelter him and not provide enough diversity but I can’t knock the fact that my son is already reading and doing math and has been writing since he was three, and I love the way they take care of our kids… It’s a hard choice and I think we are going to take it a year at a time, we’ll see. You want to do what is best for your child, and private school requires a lot more involvement, which is a good thing and the money is a sacrifice that I feel is worth it but knowing that his school only goes to 8th grade leaves us with a public school to stay local or a Catholic High School which will mean going out of town. Yes, I look ahead…probably too much but hey, this little boy depends on the decisions we make for him and that is a lot of responsibility… If only that Transformer was our biggest worry! LOL

Just another manic Monday... Wish it were Sunday

Wow, where has the time gone… I am trying very hard to shake off a very gloomy day, I feel like the weather is my mood today… That’s a bad way to start the week. Last week was a blur, seriously… 3 parties and all the regular weekly going on’s… exhausted… to say the least. I am feeling a serious need for some TLC but, ya… anyway… I seem to fall to the bottom of the list on a regular basis… LOL, oh well… It’s okay, I know someone who’s list I am always at the top of!

So, I made a total of 42 cupcakes and 1 Birthday cake and 80 treat bags, 38 Army helmets and phew… am I tired, party with pizza and pasta at school and 37 four year olds, dinner with family, wrapped about 20 presents, cleaned a house that would be torn up in a matter of minutes washed way too many dishes to count, ate only 2 pieces of pizza at a buffet (how did that happen) and so how was your weekend? AND my son is 5, so the adventure to year number 6 begins!

He is so cute, gotta love him even when he is way overtired, very whiney and doesn’t want to take a bath. I got soap in his eye last night during bath time…. WOW, not good, okay he freaks out when it gets on his face anyway but directly in his eye, let’s just say I was completely soaked by the time we got done… He told me I burned his only good eye.. bad bad mommy.

I am really kinda fussy today so I should really stay away from the blog LOL, things at work haven’t been too good and life has been a little more hectic than usual and I really think I need to get my butt to adoration and spend some time in prayer. Because life is good and all the little bumps along the way are just part of the adventure. Sometimes we tend to get bogged down by all the little details and we lose our joy, and we need to remind ourselves about what is important and what really matters.

So in honor of “Not Me Monday” … I would NEVER get down in the dumps and feel like sleeping all day and not dealing with anything… No.. NOT ME!

Peace….

Faith if being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Day #3

Tonight make his favorite meal or dessert. (or both!) Proverbs 31:15 says, “She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls”.

You are making deposits into your marriage. During this two week period (ok, maybe a little longer) be prepared for your husband to do something unloving. You have greeted him, hugged him, & made his favorite meal, but later he yells at you for moving his keys. Ignore it. Don’t throw up your hands saying, “Respecting you doesn’t work. You are as unloving as ever.” You are fasting from complaining for two weeks (should have read this part earlier…oopsy). Lower your expectations. You can’t expect him to change in every area of his life because you did three nice things. Do this for God & not for your husband. God commands you to do this.

I invite you to take this one step further. As I sit here this I realize that I am guilty of something that I could do a little better. I am sitting in sweatpants, a tee shirt, no makeup, & messy hair. We would never have been seen this way when we were dating. Thank God our husbands still think we are beautiful when we are a mess. However, from time to time we should put a little extra effort into looking our best for him. I am going to be doing this challenge & all of the others along with you because I need to work on my marriage at the same time. I need to continue to strive to be the very best wife that I can be. I invite you to not only make his favorite meal or dessert but to also take a shower, put on a little makeup, set the table nice, & show him that you have gone out of your way to make him feel special.

Okay, while I had very good intentions, because my honey has been asking for oatmeal cookies... i haven't QUITE gotten around to it, but i bought the stuff last night and it is on the agenda for this evening... He has he team meeting tonight so it will be a surprise to come home to a nice glass of milk and fresh cookies. But... I have to say this, I do spoil my boys, if they want milk and something sweet, this momma takes it to them so they can enjoy it, I do feel and have always felt that my family is my ministry, I enjoy serving them and honoring my God by doing that. Sometimes i get grouchy and my heart isn't in it but i do it and most of the times without them asking, if johnny is working on his notes in his office, i will take him something to drink...

My husband hates a messy home, and I am by nature a messy person, if there are dishes and i am tired... leave them... at least the old me did... It may sound old fashioned to many and it is truly a part of my faith journey but I love to please my husband, I love for him to walk into the house and smell that it is clean, to have candle's burning and show him the warmth that appreciates he has worked hard for us. AND there are times I want to take my shoe and shove it down his throat...LOL yes, we all have those day but they are getting fewer and far between because my family is my gift from God and taking care of them is part of who I am. I rarely get to sit down when i am at home in the evening the challenge to me is not to show my frustration when it is there. To not snap at my son and to not make smart remarks to my husband because that ruins the good that I have done. AND to not expect him to notice or even say thank you... How much good has our good Lord done and gone unthanked for? BUT he did it anyway... Serve your family with love in your heart and everything comes full circle...

You can only do what you can do...

Well, I know I know... I am behind on my days but DETERMINED to finish it so I am going to post a couple of things. here is my cutie and his brother bears...

It was bear week at school this week, they learned all about bears, read bear books and took their bears to school for buddies, Noah switched bears everyday taking one at a time, I was actually pretty relieved that he had these bears, That is one thing about Noah's school... you HAVE to keep on top of the 'Wednesday Packet" it comes home in his backpack everyweek with what is going on, the school newsletter, the class newsletter, book orders, announcements, permission slips... get where I am going? Ya, I totally freak out if I don't get my Wednesday packet.... they ended their week with the Bear Olympics... too Cute! They competed with their bears at school, I went to have lunch with Noah that day and all the kids had their medals on. I really love St. James and we have decided to keep him there because they just do so much with the kids, he gets to go this week to take cookies to all the firestations and since it is Catholic Schools week, they have a different activity for each day... Yesterday was spirit day and today was college 'Team' day so he is wearing his longhorn shirt since he kinda outgrew his jersey (hint hint for anyone who is looking for an idea on his bday).

Ya, this is Birthday week for Noah... 5 years old on Thursday, I CAN't believe my baby is so big.. i love that he loves anything he gets, so I bought him a bunch of little toys and he is going to be happy as can be opening each one. He is a lucky boy, because Birthdays are supposed to be fun according to his mommy and daddy so it is all about fun stuff and toys... Chonies and clothes are things we have to provide him... at least that's our thinking, so he gets all the fun stuff... We love playing games... even though he cheats and is a really sore loser, the only ones he likes to play games with are his momo and grandma because they ALWAYS let him win... We are having a pizza party at his school for on Thursday and I am making pasta and cupcakes AND treatbags for 37 kids... jeez, he started off with 20 kids in his class and now it is huge! His wanted GI Joe this year so i bought army helmets for all the kids... too cute... AND then we will have hot dogs, hamburgers and cake for the family at supper... His real party is on Saturday at Gatti-land so by Sunday, I will be ready to pass out. Kinda disappointed because he wanted a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting... not my favorite but at least my sister ordered a Yummy cake for Saturday so I will get my fix then.

Crack me up... When Johnny has cancellations during the week sometimes he has to see a few patients on Saturday so Noah and I go with him and then we will kinda hang out in SA, well we are driving to his patients houses and we always see Garage Sale signs and we love Garage Sales, but my son HATES them, I mean he starts complaining the minute we see one, and he will whine (not the word I wanted to use) and complain the whole time, EVEN from the car window ... ugh... so Saturday we stopped and he got it from both of us,

Me: 'noah, mommy and daddy do a lot of things for you and things we don't like, spending hours at McD's to name a few but we do it because we love you... you need to be considerate and do the same for us'

Noah: What is considerate?

Me: considerate means you take another person's feelings into...

RUDE Interruption

Johnny: suck it up Noah, and cut your whining out or we aren't going to take you to do fun things again..

(I guess my explanation was annoying him)

so... lo and behold, we see another sign, Johnny goes ' Hey it's an Estate Sale'

Noah: Oh daddy, I love Steaks... let's go... ummmmm ummm, love those steaks, do you think they will have mashed potatoes too...

Ya... he learned his lesson...

And ... Here are some pics of my precious Great Nephew Dominic... I LOVE HIM, I love my nieces kids because I really never thought I would have my own and now this little boy has just stolen my heart, isn't he precious! and guess who his God-momma is... ME... I love you Dominic... who is the precious boy! huh.... My niece is a single momma and she does an awesome job because let me tell you, pictures are cute but babies are work... have one...you'll find out!

AWWWW, I miss these pj's, i used to love seeing Noah like a little sausage in them and crawling down the hall...

Look at me at Maya, I can read so darn good cuz I'z a very smart wittle boy...

That's right my love ... you are!! precious angel child