Lots of lots-ofs

First things first - we leave for Disney in 13 days. I apologize with the continuous countdown, but you only have to endure it for the next two weeks. Then, that will be quickly replaced with the hundreds of photos. See ... it gets better!!! It is a definite toss-up to see who at my house is most excited. Don is beside himself with planning which is a complete change for me who usually has to dominate all things that do with scheduling. I am completely OCD + when it comes to controlling agendas. However, I have had no time to do this and he has taken control beautifully :) Avery and Piper (thanks to YouTube) know every detail about every ride, every attraction, every parade. They have watched hours upon hours of videos with their dad preparing. I have watched none fearing that it will ruin the first-time experience for me. (I've been there before, but Avery was 6 weeks old and I have no memory of it at all. I can remember riding "It's a Small World" and that really is the only memory I have. Blame it on postpartum!)

Thanksgiving is Thursday - we are staying at our place. I'm cooking all the works and we plan to just eat and be merry all day. We're going to start with homemade pumpkin bread for breakfast while we watch the Macy's parade - then just lounge all day. Well, everyone else will lounge while I cook. Don has been out of town a lot lately, so I'm looking forward to all of us being in one house!

Winter season is starting up soon. Don's working with two groups and I'm working with one. Fun times ahead :) I can't wait to get started ... taking a year off was a good move for me. And, teaching with Drew Farmer - how much more fun could that be?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!!

It's Tuesday ...

We had a productive weekend at home after a grueling Thursday and Friday at work. I was certainly ready for the weekend, and NEEDED the weekend!

We have decided to repaint the kitchen and two walls of the den. The paint color wasn't working for us so we're trying a darker shade. I've been meaning to post pictures of the house, but we aren't quite there yet. I'm ready for every room to be finished decor-wise, although I know that it will always be a work in progress.

The season premiere of Desperate Housewives made my heart happy. I so LOVE that show. It was an amazing episode and I'm really looking forward to the new season :) I, still, as I have every season - can identify with every character:
- Bree: I love to have control over situations and I seldom let anyone see beyond my surface.
- Susan: I'm extremely quirky. I have bizarre things happen to me at the most random times.
- Lynette: I'm also the exhausted mother who takes on anything anyone throws my way.
- Gabrielle: I used to be a Gabrielle personality (pre-kids), so I identify with her via a previous life.
- Eddy - Well, I guess the only thing about her (I often forget about her) is that I love real estate!

I'm so disappointed in Britney. Kaylan, we have to push her higher on our prayer list!!! She needs us! :)

Only 65 days until Disney ----- YEAH!!!!!!!! Super excited ...

Thank Goodness It Was Hump Day!

This week has been a blur. For many reasons, all of which are valid. It seems that at work, I don't even get a chance to catch my breath. I look up and it's 5:10PM!!! That's pretty much everyday! Then, at home, ... well, lets start with by the time I fight traffic and pick up the kids - we don't get home until 6:30. Then dinner must be made and kids entertained (thank goodness for the Disney channel and Toon Disney!). By the time the kids eat - usually 7:45 - 8:00PM, I'm too tired to eat. Put the kids to bed at 9:00 PM ... do whatever I have to do (only those things that are a necessity) and get in the sack around 11:00 PM.

I know that I'm not singing a new song. I'm fairly confident that most mom's feel like this, especially if they work outside of the home. And, I am OVERLY blessed with an extremely helpful husband .... but, it's marching band season so he's gone until November.

Literally.

Monday night - Don at random school #1 - home at 8:45pm

Tuesday night - Don at random school #2, then random school #3 - home at 10:00pm

Wednesday night - Don at random school #4 - home at 11:00pm

Thursday night - Don at random school #1 on "A" weeks, or random school #5 on "B" weeks - home at 8:45

Friday - Sunday - we get to have him at home while he prepares for these 5 school for the upcoming week :)

Don leaves for work at 5:45ish every morning. It is so far beyond me - who needs 10 hours of sleep a night - to know how he is making it! Truly by the grace of God is all I say.

I certainly appreciate his sacrifice. Sacrificing his sleep, sacrificing the time with his kids, or heck, just time to do little things like watch TV or lounge on the couch.

But, we get to go on our first family vacation in December. We usually vacation wherever some various marching band or drumline contest happens to be held and then we stay a day or two on the flip side! We've been to exotic destinations like Dayton, OH and New Albany, IN to name a few :)

I have a wonderful husband. I don't tell him enough ... he's very appreciated (and loved)!

Another Monday!

Well, we made it through the weekend. Piper is feeling much better. She had a wonderful time at the doctor's office! She said that Dr. McDavitt looked into her ears and didn't see any butterflies ... so she assumes that she is cured. However, she has a bacterial sinus infection that could take 2 weeks to run it's course. So, she has some sort of medicine we've never seen before and it seems to be doing the trick. She's not as snotty and that horrible manly cough is nearly gone :)

Piper loves to swim. She asks us about it every day - "is the pool open?" "can we go the boat-slide swimming pool?" "it's not raining - can we go swimming?" Nemo should be her name! Piper fell asleep in the car the other night and Avery said, "All Piper talks about is going to the swimming pool!"

Well, yesterday was the day! We went to church, then had lunch with friends, naptime ... then pool time! I don't know where it came from, but all of a sudden Piper started pronouncing her swimsuit as her "swim soup". Something about the "t" didn't sound right to her so she changed it to a "p". We asked her all kinds of questions that would involve her saying "swimsoup" because it was so cute!

Avery was his regular good self all weekend. He is really enjoying the new church (Piper too for that matter)! He really loved the Children's worship time yesterday, so that makes me happy! The talked about sharing ... and this morning, he shared the big steps line leader privilege with his sister! That, my friends, is big time at our house. (We have two sets of steps - a big set and a little set. Avery is ALWAYS line leader for the big steps; Piper is ALWAYS line leader for the little steps!)

Here's to a quick week!

This AMs Prayer

We always pray in the car on our way to school. This morning, after I said my prayer, Avery informed me that he only wanted to pray for one thing. No problem.

Avery - "Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for my teachers."

Piper, because of Avery, also just prayed for one thing ...

Piper - "Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for my friends."

How appropriate that they pray in their true personality styles. Avery - always the smartest tree in the field - prays for his teachers. Piper - the future Homecoming Queen - prays for her friends. I'm sure that God was NOT surprised.

Cruddy Thursday

Piper has had the crud since Sunday. She's all snotty and has a cough that sounds like a grown man! Well, now I can feel it coming on too. I think it's just allergies, but I hate being sick.

I've been busy making curtains for the house. Don hung the first set last night, so that was fun. Avery had his Home Depot (plastic) tool kit and was working right along with him. I took lots of pictures that I'll post soon.

I'm ready for the weekend. We have no big plans which is why I think I'm ready! I'm looking forward to doing things at our own pace.

Funny Little Kiddos

Last night, they seemed to have a lot on their mind!

Car conversation:
Piper: "I think they are building another swimming pool right there."
Avery: "I just don't know what they are doing in this world."
(ditto to that, by the way, was my first thought ... )

At home ... Piper was looking through the files where we keep all of our bank statements, receipts, etc.
Me: "Piper, what are you looking for?"
Piper (very promptly): "I'm looking for 60-dollars."
Me: "Why do you need 60-dollars?"
Piper: "Because I'm gonna go to Mickey Mouse's house!"

I don't know what I thought was funny before these kids. Their little outlooks and out-takes can make me smile on the saddest day. I love to hear them talk to each other about "who knows what" in the car. It's hysterical ... they are so funny communicating with each other. Piper is definitely the dominant personality and Avery just tries to reason with her as best he can. Sometimes, he just shakes his head. Actually, sometimes we just shake our heads too ...

Monday

Why am I always so tired on Monday? Could it be that we never stop to rest on the weekend? Could it be that God just automatically makes every mom of preschoolers overly tired on purpose? Is it for some reason that I'll find out years from now? Well, I have a good attitude today and at least, I have that.

We received word today at work that Pat's daughter Allyson has been found FREE from cancer. I seriously wanted to run into the street and shout "PRAISE GOD!" It was purely, purely, purely a first-class, God-only miracle for their family.

I've never met Allyson, by the way. But, she has a blog and from her first post which is a description of herself, I could tell that if I HAD ever met her - we would have been FAST friends. I ended up reading every post that she's uploaded, not because I'm nosey (which is my usual reason), but because I could completely relate to all that she was writing ... that is up until the cancer part. But, I could put myself in her place to imagine how I would deal with telling my children, not wanting to be succumbed by it all, etc.

Well, it's a HALLELUJAH day! Praise the Lord ... he is good :)

My Birthday

Today's my 34th birthday ... I really don't know where the time has gone. It certainly does fly by, and it's seeming to get faster each year :)

Today, the first words I heard were a whisper of "Happy birthday, Mom" from little Avery. What a sweet little child, and sweet little words to wake up too!

I don't think I've ever been really materialistic. I'm a pretty low-maintenance type of girl, but I've always loved getting a birthday present. Who doesn't, I guess? But, I can honestly say, that since the birth of my kids. Anything from them is more present than money could ever buy. Avery's words this morning were worth gold to me! "I love you" words from them are diamonds. Their sweet smiles and the sound of their laughter is more precious than rubies.

I am rich ... the richest 34 year old you'll ever see.

Britney

Seriously ... why do I get so worked up about these things? I'm so disappointed in her VMA performance. I'm so upset. At one point, I thought I might cry.

I still have hope for her. I still think she can do it - performer, wife, mother - the whole package. Maybe I feel sorry for her because she's so young. Perhaps she's the younger sister I never had.

Realize, too, that I know that this is weird. I'm not obsessed (well, maybe slightly). I just want her to live the life that I know she can.

Why do I always feel compelled to root for the underdog?

Busy Times

Quite a bit has happened since I last posted. We bought a house (actually, we closed on a house that we built). It's been a whirlwind of activity.

The kids had a good time on their "Tour de Grandparents". I hope that this is something that they can make a yearly event. It's a good and welcome break for them and for us.

Dinner with Rick Rodriguez and Joe Fant tomorrow night. Good times.

PS - Piper has informed us that when she's a mommy, her baby's name will be Barbie Redford. (That is Barbie's real name for all of you non-collectors.) Don is horrified.

United 93

Avery and Piper are safe at Nonna and GDad's house. They'll be there for another 10 days before heading off to KY to stay with my parents. I'm so happy that they have the chance to visit this summer. I know that they are having a ball, but I really miss them.

Don and I watched the movie "United 93" last night. I know that it's been out for ages, but we're just getting around to Netflixing it. If you haven't seen this movie, I HIGHLY recommend it. I really feel like my take on Sept 11 is completely changed and influenced by what I saw in this movie.

I have always agreed with the war that we are engaged in now. I don't always agree with the President and his decisions regarding it, but I do feel that the stance that we've taken is the correct one. In a time where I'm usually the first to think that "we just need to bring everyone home", seeing this movie made me think that perhaps we do need to stay until we can take out Bin Laden and all of his partners. The fear that the people on United 93 (as well as the other flights that were hyjacked that day) must have felt is uncomprehendable to me. I can't imagine being in that same position, or knowing that my child died with the fear that these people felt in their final moments.

I thank our troops for what they are doing so that I don't have to live in fear every moment of every day.