Sometimes Life is Hard!

I have been going thru emotional turmoil.  I have reevaluated my life and everything about it.  I have decided that I make my own happiness and I am in charge of it.  Unless I am happy with me, then no one around me is happy.

I am okay with that.  I have learned thru prayer and soul-searching  that I am strong and I will always be okay.

My children are my life, I love them with every fiber of my being. I would take a bullet for any one of them.

I know true acceptance and love.  I know that God does not give us what we can't handle.  Sometimes, it is hard to see that.  Sometimes, it is hard to understand it. But, I know this. And, I know that I need to follow His plan, rather than my own.

Oil and water do not mix

A few weeks ago Trent and Kerry were in town. We did a good old fashioned crawfish boil and it was delicious!  Ryan did hot dogs and deep fried french fries for the kids.  Unfortunately, the pot with the peanut oil was still in the back yard near the grill.  And, unfortunately, Ben was outside yesterday when his impulse control got the best of him and he dumped it all into the pool.  Can you say oil slick?  

The pool looks like a vat of frying oil ready for the chicken.  So, we are trying to get it cleaned up.  

Happy Summer!

Summ...Summ...Summertime

Well, as predicted the year flew past without so much as an "I told ya so" and now we are at the start of summer!

We love summer at this house.  No alarm clock, no packing of lunches, no combing of hair.  Nope, just fun all around!!!

Wait, what??? Ummm, yeah.  I think I was thinking of how it is in the old Leave it to Beaver shows.  That is not what happens around here.  It might up until day 4 has hit but it is almost non-existent.  I will say that as this first official Monday of summer, it has been a great day! Can we cross fingers and hope that most days will be like this?

The end of the year proved to be stressful, busy and a lot of fun. We have been up to our eyeballs in baseball.  Ben had a great season!  Hayes was 39 for 39 hits!  Sam is on to all stars and we are still playing until July.  It has been a lot of fun and I love to see the boys so into it. Especially Hayes. He was a slow starter, if you remember he did not play in the fall.  Well, came back like a banshee.  He tackled baseball and sleeps with his glove on even.  Wants to play catch all the time.  The baseball bug has bitten him!

Field day was fun - Hayes conquered almost all his events with a first place ribbon.  Ben and Hayes took 1st and 2nd in hurdles with Hayes in 1st.  Ben got second in almost of all of his events. Sam placed in his events and it was fun.

End of year party was a blast - the kids had a fun time and I got a sunburn.

Awards ceremony was something pretty special for us.  Ben and Hayes got Mr. Congeniality - there was one from each class and out of 4 - my two got it!!!  Sam got the principal's award and several awards for helping others and being kind.  That's my boy for sure.

So, onward and upward to 4th grade and 2nd!  Can't believe it - time does fly by.

Now we are one week out from a certain almost 10 year olds birthday.  All he can think about is the phone we told him he could have when he turned 10.  He has been waiting 3 years for this moment.  We are having his baseball team to Hawaiian Falls to celebrate.  We leave for Florida in 3 weeks and for the first time ever, I don't feel like I will be the fattest cow out on the beach.

We really do love summer time and are looking forward to relaxation and family time.  Will check back in when I am committed to the mental institute later this summer :)

Wheelin' and Dealin'

The boys have gotten into the same things.  For example, they all love Skylanders and Trash Packs.  Well, they probably own every one of each of these but it is never enough.  Hence, the wheelin' and dealing'.  Deals have been outlawed in our house as we have seen the downside.

Nevetherless, they still happen - usually unbeknownst to us and we have to referee a showdown after.  But, I think they will be the high rollers table in vegas because of their tenacity and wherewithal.

On another note, the twins are still hilarious and speak their own little language.

We were at the ball park for Sam's game last week and when we got home, Hayes had started to develop a weird rash that included bumps like he had bites.  Well, we treat it and go on our way. Thursday, I pick the kids up from running club - yes, there is a running club in Elementary and I LOVE it - and he says he has another rash.  Well, it is definitely heat rash.  But, where and how did this rash come out of no where???  We treat it and go on our way.

We hit the twins game in the AM on Saturday and Hayes is FINE.  About 2 hours late he develops this weird bite like rash.  So we treat it and then head to Sam's game.  DURING the game, the boy breaks out into this same stupid rash again.  What the heck is it???? Chiggers???  Hives??? Bites???  I don't know!!! That is the point! We have no idea!

So, I hear this conversation happening, Hayes "Ben, I got bad news." Ben "What is it?"  Hayes "I am allergic to something." Ben "Really? mom, is he really? Thank goodness I am not."

Well, yes Hayes does have something but we will take him to the allergist and get it fixed.

So, we are waiting the allergist to see what the heck it is.   Poor dude, its like aliens invaded his body..

Whoop Ass

I don't remember if I ever have told this story but the radio was on when I was coming home from dropping the kids off and what they said triggered my memory of this.  I was going thru the Taco Bueno drive thru - cuz I am healthy like that - and Sam was maybe 4.  Don't you know that every time you go thru a drive thru you are 50% likely to not  get something that you ordered.  Of course, you don't know this until you are 2 minutes down the road and don't want to turn around.

Well, of course, I order and pull out and open my bag and something was missing. It made me unhappy.  I said "they forgot my taco" and Sam said "why don't you go back and get it?" and I said under my breath "If I do, then I am going to open a can of whoop ass." Sam said "Do they serve that there?"

HAHAHAHA!! Leave it to my precious 4 year old to be so sweet and innocent and pull me back to the present and his love.  Wow.  Out of the mouths of babes.  Can't say that I don't still think of it sometimes when I see a Bueno.

And a little more from the day...

Hayes is still awake and we are trying to put him to bed and he says to Ryan "Dad, I am not talking and I am not negotiating." He wanted Ryan's IPAD.

Public Education

It is a little late on a Sunday night and we think that school might be canceled because of freezing sleet on the streets.  Since I am on my 3rd glass of wine and it is 10, I am crossing my fingers.

So, Hayes comes down stairs, because they are all in a pallet and the boys are asleep.  Ryan starts quizzing him on his numbers and math and multiplications - which I did not even learn in my day until 3rd grade.  So Hays is getting them right and Ryan says "how did you get so smart?"  Hayes said "you learn a thing or two at school."  HAHAHA, glad to know that public education is paying at this point.  We will pass judgement when they graduate :)

Happy Oscar Sunday Wine Drink-a-thon. Just trying to carry on Lauren's most fabulous 40th Studio 54 Birthday!  But.....that is another story :)

Boys oh Boy

We have had several happenings since I last posted.  Ben and Hayes have turned another year older...sniff...sniff.  The night before their big day I was snuggling my Ben Ben while tucking him in bed when he started crying.  I asked him what was wrong.  He said, "I don't want to turn seven." I said, "Why?" He said, "Because six is the good life."  Oh poor boy, seven is pretty good too I assured him.

They awoke to a 10 foot tall balloon tower that was a #7!  They loved it!  They had a great day at school and we celebrated with the grandparents that night.  So much fun!  They had their birthday party at Alley Cats that weekend where they had a blast!

So, we have settled into seven.  My babies are growing up.  Speaking of, they are no longer babies and as such they do not need to, including but not limited to: whine in a baby voice, squeal, yell talk, hit, call each other names that rhyme, for example: Sam and Ham, tattle, etc.  What? Oh, I forgot, BOYS!!! I don't know a thing about girls, except I hear they are a little dramatic, but I do know I have these BOYS that do all of the above including dramatics!  OH!!! Sometimes it can wear a mama out.

That brings us to last night.  Ryan and I had long visits with the boys about behavior and expectations.  In one ear....out the other.  Because I got a note from Hayes' teacher today regarding why he got a ledger sign.  It goes like this.  At lunch - where there are only lunch monitors - for some reason Hayes and three of his friends decide to yell, not listen to the monitors and jump like bunnies to the point of severe disruption.  Allegedly (law verbiage at use - thanks mom and dad) parents eating with their children asked the monitors to stop the behavior as it was disrupting them (kind of pussy parents but whatever).   The monitors, bless them, tried to calm them but, allegedly, they would not listen.  So, they had to sit out of recess.

Hayes said he did apologize to the lunch monitors - thank you Mrs. W - and I am glad about that.  And, I am glad that this happened in 1st grade rather than 6th.  But, when does a boy learn?

Me thinks he might have gotten his hamming it up and clowning from his Papa, who was not a stranger to classroom shenanigans.  Yes, that sweet grandpa we all know and love had a love of shenanigans while in school....all the way thru college too.

So, we are working on it.  They are a work in progress right? Jeez, I still am myself.

Tomorrow we are going to the Monster Truck Jam at Texas Stadium and I think I am the only one excited.  I am excited, not because I am into big trucks and dirt and loud engines, but because I really think the boys are going to LOVE it!  Let's see how it goes.

Happy Weekend!!!

Another Friday Morning

So, this morning started as any other morning starts.  Alarm goes off....Ben on my left...Hayes on my right....daddy next to Hayes.  Daddy does not get up early so we get up quietly and exit the room.  We get breakfast going, that is if they eat breakfast. Hayes usually will but Ben and Sam are usually a no go.  I don't know why and why aren't they starving by lunch? Weird. I digress.

The morning goes with getting dressed, getting lunches made, fixing the boys hair, Sam usually messing up at least one if not two boys hair and the following screams that go with it.  Then, get the shoes on and the backpacks and out the door.  But today not so much.

Fix Hayes' hair, fix Ben's hair, going to fix Sam's hair and he decides to be an almost 10 year old boy who is obstinate.  He jacks his jaw and I go to fix his hair. He already has lost his "friday treat" which made him mad so when I go for his hair he gets up and runs.  Well....he gets up from his seat and his heavy backpack is on the back of the barstool and poor little Ben is sitting behind it putting his shoes on with no care in the world.  What happens? The chair falls back on Ben's face!  His face! Mind you this is the second time is as many days that Ben's face has wreaked havoc because of Sam.

Sam takes in the situation and runs like Bambi.  He goes straight to time out and then I realize we will be late to school unless all hands are on deck. So, I reassess and tell him to get his stuff and get in the car. Meanwhile, Ben is bawling and Hayes is running around with the dog. Jeez!

At this point Ryan has woken up to the "chatter" or "noise" oh I mean SCREAMING that is occurring.  Sam is down in the gallows for the count.

So, we end up making it to school by the chin of out chinny chin chin and I thank the lord that I get to be in the play that is occurring.  I am truly thankful to get to live this life and all that if brings because it brings a richness and a fullness and meaning to me.

Cheers to another "normal" Friday."

Happy Weekend to all.

January

Well, we are the thick of January.  My least favorite month because I am warm blooded and love the warmer weather. But, I am making it.  The kids are wonderful...let me rephrase, the kids are good and we are hanging in.  I say that because life with a 9 year old and twins that will be 7 in a few weeks is always crazy!

They just about put me over the edge on noise level and I really think that I am pretty tolerant of that but sometimes by 7 pm I am raw nerve.  I can blame some of that on our precious puppy Cora.   Ben and Hayes constantly have their own secret language with her that usually entails some kind of "Goo goo ... eeeewwwww." At very high decibels.

That actually starts in the morning before I have had my coffee and before I am fully awake.  That sets off the tone of the morning.  Get up...let Cora (or Goo) out...get up Sam (because he is starting on his teenage sleeping years early at almost 10) ....get the kids breakfast...."gooooooo goooooo"..... fix hair ....."gooo goooo"....make lunch...."goo goo".....get backpacks together....."gooo gooo".... get in car.  Finally silence right? NO.  Then it is....I can't get my seat belt buckled.  Why not?  A brother in the background..;"why can't you ever buckle it?" .... "it is hard"...." I will help"...."Thank you".... "ok we are good". And that is how it is done.

The other night I was on the bed watching something that does not engage the brain, like Beverly Hills Housewives, and Cora is next to me.  Here come Mr. Hayes.  "How are my girls?" he asks.  I say we are fine and he proceeds to tell Cora how pretty she is but then tells me that I am much prettier.  Can we say little heartbreaker??

Not much exciting is happening around here and I like it that way.  It is status quo.  When I say that I mean, fighting, hitting, annoying, whining, loving, teasing, happiness that comes along with being a mom of three boys.  Sometimes I tell my husband that if we just had one girl in the mix, just one, it would change the balance of the house.  You know what? I love my house just the way it is.  The fighting, whining, teasing, the touching the hair (which happens every morning after I fix Ben or Hayes' hair, Sam comes along just to make them mad and messes it up. Does it work? YES! Do I get annoyed because I have to fix their hair again after the madness that ensues? YES. Do I care? Not in the grand scheme of things, only in the moment).

2014 is shaping up to be awesome and I pray we continue to have a wonderful year.  January for all its cold, dreariness is turning out to be great because I am happy and my family is happy and that is all any mom could ever ask for.

Thank you God for giving Ryan and I this incredible opportunity to have these three precious boys.

Come on Spring!

Side trip to San Antonio this Christmas

Unfortunately, we had a sad occurance on the Walton side this Christmas with the passing of Jimmy Thrush.  When we heard, we knew we would go to San Antonio for the funeral, no question.  Since the kids had never been there, we decided to make it a fun overnight trip.

We started out on Sunday, the 29th, and made a quick side trip into Waco to see the bear.  Aunt Casey was on her way back from a no doubt weekend of drinking from Austin.  What do you know? We arrive in Waco at the same time and get to see each other at the Bear pit.  The boys were so excited.

We continue on and arrive in Georgetown to see the famous Inner Space Caverns.  They were incredible and so interesting and fun.  What neat and cool caves!  I think I was just as excited as the boys.  They got spelunking hats and had a blast.

We arrive in San Antonio and who do we see when we check in to the hotel? Oregon ducks fans and cheerleaders.  The Alamo bowl with Oregon v. Texas was the next night and our hotel was packed.  Who got a picture with those cute cheerleaders? Ben and Hayes!  Sam turned bright red and said no way.

Rocky and Sharon were there and we had fun eating dinner with them on the Riverwalk.  It was packed and full of Christmas lights and so much fun for all of us. What a treat.

The memorial service was lovely and we then made the trip back.

What a sad but such fun side trip for the holiday break when we aren't getting to go to Colorado this year.  SA was just what we needed.


Other than that, Happy New Year and a wonderful 2014 filled with happiness, love and health.

Happy 2014!!!!