The 12 Days of Whataburger

As most of you probably already know, I love a good deal. But I really love good deals when they involve free food, especially when there are no strings attached in order to get the free food. Enter The 12 Days of Whataburger...

Now let me just say that I really enjoy Whataburger's food. But I also want to say that I really appreciate the fact that in every single Whataburger restaurant that I've ever been to, they all have signs in their windows that say, "In God We Trust." Love it! And as if I needed one more reason to love Whataburger, every year at Christmas they celebrate the holiday by giving away free food. REALLY... free food (no purchase required)! You just walk in with your coupon, and they give you free food. And, they will give you one free food item for each person present in your party. You've just got to love that!

Here we are on the 8th day of The 12 Days of Whataburger, and I just picked up 5 free Whatachicken sandwiches for dinner. But before I threw away my receipt, the fact that I saved close to $20 caught my eye. Wow! And that got me to thinking... I wonder how much money I would have spent on all this food. So, I looked back to the past 7 days of Whataburger:

Day 1: free breakfast tacos
Day 2: free onion rings
Day 3: free drinks
Day 4: free chicken strips
Day 5: free Breakfasts on a Bun
Day 6: free fried pies
Day 7: free Justaburger kid's meals

I determined that for my family of 5, we have received close to $100 worth of free Whataburger food so far this month. Pretty cool, right? So, if you haven't signed up to get your free Whataburger food, you may just want to click on this link and sign up now, while you still have 4 more days to go.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

When it comes to Christmas decorations in my neighborhood, you've got...

The Good*

The Bad**

And The Ugly***

* I've told Hector that if this house ever goes on the market, he WILL buy it for me. I simply love it. I would sell all my possessions just to be able to call this house my home.

** Fake red and white poinsettias inside the home might be okay, but outside the home is NOT a good idea. I mean seriously, who are they trying to fool here? We all know they're fake (and a bit tacky too, if I do say so myself). Sad thing is, I bet this home owner is so proud of this.

*** Every time I drive by this poor, deflated Santa and Rudolph, all I can think to myself is that Santa and Rudolph were obviously the unfortunate victims of a Texas home owner taking their right to bear arms, and shoot to kill any trespassers on their property just a bit too far. Poor Santa and Rudolph.

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Adorable

Made these ornaments at my Mothers of Preschoolers group meeting last week. Simple, fun, and they make me smile every time I look at them. Started with a wood cube, glued down some scrapbooking paper in Christmas designs onto all the sides (except 1 side where the picture goes), glued down a picture of my kids onto each cube, screwed a little hook into the top and wrapped a piece of ribbon around it... done! Just wanted to share because I think they are adorable!

Double Take

Earlier today, I stumbled across a picture of Isaac, and right behind that picture was a picture of Samuel when he was almost right at the same age. Sometimes, the resemblance in my boys makes me just do a double take.

My 2 Cents

There's been a lot of articles, news reports, tv shows and other information all over the place recently about childhood bullying. I was reading an article one day, and saw someone leave a comment that maybe it was time parents stopped allowing their children to be victims, and that maybe parents of the children getting bullied needed to start teaching their children to stick up for themselves, and to not be so sensitive.

My oldest son is quirky and shy and sensitive and anxious around other people. I knew from a very early age that all too soon in his life, other kids would pick up on it. I tried to prepare myself and him as best as I could. I tried to instill within him a carefree spirit. But that's not my son's natural inclination. He does get his feelings hurt easily. He is a sensitive child.

Earlier in the week, we had an "incident" arise, in which Samuel had something taken away from him. It was something that he'd picked out himself, and wanted to give away to a needy child. Another child came along, saw the item, and grabbed it out of Samuel's hands. Samuel had asked the child to give it back. He'd actually asked him 3 times to give it back by the time I came into the room. Samuel explained to me what had happened, and that he was trying to get the other boy to give it back because he had it first, and he really wanted to give it away to a needy child. In the course of me trying to talk to the other child, and explain that it would be so wonderful if he could give it back to Samuel, I realized that this other child was not going to listen to me when he looked me in the eyes and smirked at me. So, I asked the teacher to intervene, but even she couldn't get the other child to listen to her. When the other child's mother came into the room, it didn't take long for me to realize that he wasn't going to listen to her either. So, I turned my attention towards Samuel and tried to explain to him that since this other child didn't seem to be changing his behavior and actions, that maybe Samuel needed to change, and just let it go, and move on. BAD choice of words, because that's when Samuel started crying and said to me, "Why should I have to change? I didn't do anything wrong. He's the one that did something wrong, and no one is making him change."

How many times should I tell my child to shrug it off, let it go, or walk away? How many times should I tell my son to try to change HIS behavior simply because another child won't? Sometimes, I just want to scream, because Samuel's right. He didn't do anything wrong. So why should he have to change?

When we got in the car after that incident, with my son still in tears, I told him that sometimes in life you can do everything right, and still get the short end of the stick. He was trying to do something nice for someone else, and in the process, he was treated unkindly. But that he had a choice in that situation, as with every other similar situation in his life. He had the choice to become angry and vengeful, or he had the choice to let it go and not allow someones negative behavior to impact him negatively. He had the choice to not allow their behavior to change who he is... a wonderful, caring, loving, kind-hearted, respectful child. He made the choice to not become angry. He made the choice to walk away. He made a choice that he can be proud of.

My son is not a victim. And I feel sorry for anyone who labels him or any other child like him as such. He is a sensitive, respectful, caring child who one day will become a sensitive, respectful, caring man. And that's just my 2 cents on the matter.

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PS - Later that same night, as I was putting Samuel to bed, I said a prayer and then I said Amen. But before I could say goodnight he said, "And please help ________ (boy's name) to make better choices and to be nice to others in the future. Amen." That's it, folks, right there!

Girl Talk 2

I went to the doctor this morning to check on that pesky cyst that I have on my right ovary. And well, I'm not quite sure which one of you prayed that it would shrink, but that's exactly what happened! It has shrunk to half it's size from just a month ago, and the doctor told me that as of today, I should not need surgery (assuming it continues to shrink, it should go away naturally on it's own). She wants to see me again for another sonogram in 2 months, just to make sure it's gone.

Last month, when my doctor discovered the cyst, I asked her to not rush me into surgery that same week like she wanted to. I asked her to please give me more time to think about everything. And she did give me more time... And I just can't help but think about how differently things could have been right now, if I would have rushed into surgery that same week a month ago, and had that cyst removed and possibly had one of my ovaries removed in the process as well, not to mention the recovery I would have gone through afterwards... Just feeling very thankful for answered prayers right now! Thanks everyone, for keeping me in your prayers over this past month."

It's a start.

I recently made a bold decision. I decided to make a true effort to start shopping for better/healthier food options for my family. I will admit, in the past I've tended to purchase items based on 2 factors: price and taste. If it tasted good and was within my grocery budget (and my family would actually eat it), then I would buy it, over and over again. So, you could say that I've been in a rut for several years now, buying the brands that have proven themselves tried and true for my family. With 3 kids, there just wasn't a whole lot of time for me to go to the store and look around for new/better/healthier brands of products. Plus, I typically would not read labels because I just couldn't stand in an aisle in one spot for more than two seconds... total mayhem would ensue.


Back to the point. I have a few things I'd like to celebrate. I realize that in doing so, I will also be admitting how horrible my kids' diets have been up until this point*. But here I go anyway.


About 2 months ago, I made the switch from white bread to wheat bread. I was raised eating wheat bread, and I really love it. So, I honestly don't know why I served my kids white bread all this time. Regardless, I made the switch without any big fuss... just offered it to them one day, and my kids didn't even seem to notice. Seriously! Not one of them said anything about the bread changing color or texture or taste. I think they actually prefer the wheat bread. Crazy, right?!?!

I also decided to buy fresh or fresh frozen veggies (and not canned) whenever possible. I love fresh veggies and I eat them all the time. But my kids never really seemed to like them all that much, and I got tired of wasting money buying fresh veggies and then just throwing them away because my kids wouldn't eat them. For the few veggies they would eat, I would buy canned veggies because it was just easier somehow in my mind to open up a can of something. But I never really thought about the outrageous amounts of sodium in canned veggies. Not to mention the fact that canned veggies lose most of their nutritional value in the canning process. So here's what I decided to do. For the few veggies that my kids will actually eat, I started making the effort to buy those veggies either fresh or fresh frozen. Instead of throwing some canned corn in front of them (which has 310 mg of sodium per serving!), I am now putting fresh corn on the cob or fresh frozen kernel corn in front of them. And they love it! They will also eat frozen peas, as well as fresh broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. So I've got a pretty good variety going. And seriously, it is not that much harder to steam some broccoli than it is to cook something out of a can. By the way, I wonder why broccoli and squash don't come in cans. Everything else does...

Another switch I've made is with the juice I buy. My kids like juice. There, I said it... I'd been sending juice boxes in their lunches. But, two big changes I've made since school started up again this year are that I bought my kids reusable bottles for their lunch boxes. Most days I send them with water, milk or un-sweetened tea. But for those times that they really want juice, I found this...

It's half the calories of regular juice, 40% less sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and provides 100% of their daily vitamin C. Awesome!

Okay, and perhaps my biggest food change and source of excitement has come from this new product that my mom told me about last weekend. My kids like lunch meat. They do... I know lunch meat isn't all that great, but seriously, they like it. I mean, Isaac can down 4 slices of ham in 1 sitting, and he asks to have it pretty much every single day for lunch. So, I was thrilled when I found that my local grocery store actually sells this brand of lunch meat. Hormel Natural Choice. I found it right next to the other lunch meats. This brand has no preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no trans fats, no nitrites, no nitrates, no MSG, and they are gluten free. And they have a lot less sodium than the other brand (Oscar Mayer) that I've been buying all this time (260 mg of sodium LESS per serving, to be exact!). And Isaac couldn't even tell that I switched brands on him. He still gobbled up his 4 slices yesterday for lunch!

Anyway, I know that my kids' diets are still far from perfect. I mean, they still love their Little Debbies and Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. But it's a start. And we all have to start somewhere.




* I would just like to say in my defense that my kids eat tons of fresh fruit on a daily basis. And I've been giving my kids organic dairy products for over 3 years now. I also only use real butter and not margarine. There, I feel better...

Girl Talk

Last week, I went to my Ob/Gyn and got some not-so-great news. I have a type of recurrent ovarian cyst that I've dealt with in the past, and it seems to be causing me problems yet again. I had a cyst removed in 1996 when Hector and I were trying to start our family. And I had cysts removed during all 3 of my c-sections. When I was pregnant with Isaac, my doctor told me that he more than likely would need to remove the ovary too along with the cyst when Isaac's c-section was performed. But at that point in my reproductive life, I just simply was not ready to have that done. So I begged him to try to save the ovary, which he did. After Isaac was born though, my doctor warned me to be aware of the typical symptoms I had experienced in the past when a cyst was forming and growing, because a cyst would eventually start to form again.

So here I am, 3 1/2 years later, completely shocked that another cyst has formed. I don't know why I'm shocked, but it took me by complete surprise when a sonogram last week revealed it's presence. Maybe I was shocked because I've not had any of the typical symptoms like I had in the past. Regardless, my doctor told me that this time the cyst has formed on my right ovary. They've always formed on the left ovary in the past. She thinks this might be due to the fact that my left ovary is "shutting down" due to all the scar tissue that's formed from having multiple cysts removed 4 times in the past. So the cysts are now starting to form on my right, "healthy" ovary. Not good...

When I got the phone call from the doctor's office, I was told that my doctor wanted me to have the surgery done immediately to remove the cyst, but I asked for more time. I'm not sure why I asked for more time. But my doctor asked me to get some blood work done this coming Friday to make sure that the cyst is not poisoning my system. If my blood work comes back normal, I can go ahead and wait 6 more weeks. But if the blood work comes back abnormal, she will recommend I get the surgery to remove the cyst (and possibly one or both of my ovaries) within a few days after that.

But, as I am an eternal optimist, I am assuming that the blood work will be normal. So I have gone ahead and scheduled my next sonogram for Monday, November 8, at 8:30 a.m., at which point I will need to tell the doctor what I want to happen; surgery to remove just the cyst and have the doctor try to save my ovaries, or surgery to just go ahead and remove the cyst along with my ovaries. If I decide to have just the cyst removed, there is the possibility that once the doctor gets in there, she might need to take one or both of my ovaries anyway. Of course, having the surgery to just remove the cyst even if I get to keep both of my ovaries will mean that I will be looking at having yet another surgery within the next few years, because a new cyst will almost inevitably, eventually form.

Needless to say, all this talk about ovaries and reproductive craziness has stirred up some questions and emotions within me that I simply don't want to deal with right now. I don't do well under pressure or under time restrictions, especially when it involves making potentially permanent, life-altering decisions. But as I've learned in the past, nothing is REALLY up to me. My life is in God's hands, and He has taught me in the past (especially when it comes to all this reproductive stuff) that He is definitely in control (even though from time to time, I like to try to fool myself by thinking that I am the one in control).

So, for now I would humbly request your prayers for good lab blood work results (I would assume that I will get those results some time early next week). And for guidance and clarity of thought as I try to make an informed, rational (unemotional) decision about the future of my ovaries (which may wind up not being my ultimate decision at all). But here again, I'm going to try my hardest to at least act like I have some control in this matter... :-)

Thank you, my dearest family members and friends.

Wish Lists

Several years ago, I started a little "tradition" in our family. Every year right before Christmas and then again in the summer time right before Samuel's and Avery's birthdays, I have the kids go through their toys and collect everything they no longer want or play with. The basic concept is that since they are about to receive more toys, they should get rid of the toys they don't play with all that much first. Then I make a point to take the toys to a women's shelter and give them away to the children there. Most (if not all) of the toys are in near perfect condition. You know, it's those awesome toys that they simply had to have, and then they never got played with?



The first time I did this with the kids, I did it out of a shear lack of space for the new toys they were about to get. We lived in an 1100 sq. ft. house at the time. We needed to get rid of some things before bringing more stuff into the house. The kids did NOT want to get rid of some of their things. They didn't understand why they had to do it. But they were young toddlers, so of course they struggled with it. The second time was a little easier. And now, here we are some 6 years later, and it's a piece of cake for my kids. They've learned how to go into their rooms and pick out the items they want to give away, and they completely understand that the toys are going to children in need.



So today, Avery asked if she could have a specific toy for Christmas. And she told me that she wanted to get together a Christmas wish list. The girl is ALWAYS thinking ahead... I told her that she could absolutely start a wish list, but that she knew what needed to happen first.

About 15 minutes later, she came out of her room with all of this:

We give in other ways throughout the year as well. Just this past summer, we donated close to 12 bags of clothing to the women's shelter as well. But this is just one way that I have tried to instill a giving spirit in my children, while also helping them to be aware of the fact that they have so much, but there are children in our community who have nothing.



If you're looking for ways to give back this upcoming holiday season, I would encourage you to contact a local women's shelter and simply ask what might be on some of the women and children's wish lists this year.

Reading Vocabulary

Reading Vocabulary... Uggggg! Where do I even begin?



Avery's in 2nd Grade. She's doing great in school. But things just don't always come as easily for Avery in school as they do for Samuel. And this is where my frustration begins for my poor daughter. She's so smart. She got her 3 week progress report sent home last week, and she's making straight As, except for a 74 average in Reading. Arg!



Ask anyone who's spent any amount of time really listening to and talking with Avery, and they will tell you that she has an amazing ability to remember the finest details of a situation. She can remember what someone was wearing on a specific day, how that person looked and what the mood was of their encounter. Her earliest memory is from when she was 18 months old. Hector accidentally caught a little bit of her tummy in the zipper of her flannel pajamas. Almost exactly a year later, we were in our new house, and Hector went to zip up a new pair of pajamas, and Avery started screaming about how she didn't want Hector to zip up her tummy like he had before in the other house. We both just stood there, shocked... She remembers names too, which is a gift that I wish I possessed. When Avery was 3, she broke her collar bone. In the ER, I couldn't go into the x-ray room with her because I was pregnant with Isaac, so I had to call Hector to come to the ER from work. Months later, our entire family was going to see my sonogram done for Isaac at the hospital, and Avery asked me if I thought Scott would be there. Who's Scott? She proceeded to tell me that he worked at the hospital and was wearing a white shirt, white pants and white tennis shoes that day. You know, Scott? And that's when Hector told me that in the midst of all of her own pain, Avery asked the lab technician what his name was, and whether or not he was scared. His name was Scott, and no, he wasn't scared. Scott, the lab technician who comforted my daughter in a time when she was scared and in pain. And she remembered his name and what he was wearing. But while Avery's ability to remember a name and a face and the mood of a situation is simply amazing in my opinion, it doesn't really help her all that much in school.




Some of you may remember that I blogged about the 2nd Grade Reading Vocabulary words last school year when Samuel was in 2nd Grade. This is a list of words that gets sent home on Friday. The student is supposed to memorize the list of 20 words over the weekend, and should be able to read them to the teacher on Tuesday at school, while also possessing a general knowledge of what the words mean. Samuel struggled with them a bit. But if he could read through them once with my help, by the 2nd time, he could read through them on his own.

Poor Avery... I suppose it doesn't help that her birthday falls during the last week of the school year, so she is one of the youngest children in the class. And she really doesn't like to read either. She loves to be read to, and she loves to talk about what the people in the book are wearing and feeling (sigh), but she doesn't like to do the reading herself. I read to her every night in bed. We are a reading family. So, 2 weeks ago on Friday the Reading Vocabulary list came home and I started going over them with her that same night. By Monday night, she was doing really well with the list. She only missed 2 words the next day when she read them aloud to her teacher. But this past Friday night, this is the list that came home from school:

These words have left both of us feeling defeated. She read through the words twice on Friday, 4 times on Saturday and 4 times yesterday, and she's still missing half of them. She can't remember the SH sound in machines. Europe completely throws her for a loop. And you can just forget about successful, canals (which she pronounces Can-Les), and earned (which she pronounces Ear-Ned).



I feel frustrated for her. It's not like she's not trying. She is! So here's my dilemma. You will notice that I have not signed the paper yet. Signing the paper "means you have gone over the words and your child can read them." Do I sign the paper tonight if she can't read all of the words to me? Do I sign it but also send an email to the teacher, so that at least she will know that Avery's trying? What do I do?



On a funny side note, last night at dinner Avery was reading through her list and when she came to the word earned, she stopped and said "Agh!" out of frustration. And Samuel said in a totally joking voice, "Wow, that's cool that agh is one of your reading vocabulary words." We all couldn't stop laughing...

These little piggies...

...turned black. Yes folks, what you are about to read is not only true, it's also kind-of gross.


Once upon a time, I bought an exercise DVD through Amazon. When I got it in the mail, I started doing it the very next Monday because I was so excited to get started. Here's the basic idea of this exercise program. You start out on level 1, the "easy" (honestly, it's intense) level of exercise. You do 20 minutes of intense aerobic and muscle strengthening activities each day for 10 days on level 1. There's jumping jacks, jogging in place, weight lifting, and so on. After 10 days, you bump up to level 2. You do level 2 (a more strenuous routine) for 10 days, then you bump up to level 3 (the hardest routine) and do that for 10 days. So in 30 days, you can expect to be healthier, more toned, and yes, you can also expect to lose up to 20 pounds along the way. Sounded great to me! Sign me up!


I took measurements and weighed myself before I started the program. Level 1 was tough, but I stayed with it. After the first 10 days, I measured and weighed myself again. I'd lost 5 pounds in 10 days and had lost 6 inches all over my body. I was thrilled! So, I bumped myself up to level 2 the next day. Level 2 was Intense with a capital I. I couldn't do most of the exercise moves. And my body ached when I was done. My feet hurt. My legs hurt. Everything hurt. But I stayed with it. Still, after several days on level 2, I noticed that my aches and pains weren't going away, they were getting worse. After about 2 weeks of trying to muster my way through level 2, I had to stop. It was just too intense for me, and my body was so sore, so I went back to level 1.


In the midst of all this exercising, I was painting my toenails one day and noticed a small black splotch on one of my toenails. It looked like a bruise, but I couldn't for the life of me remember how or when I'd bumped my toe on anything. It didn't hurt. It just looked unattractive. So, I covered it up with the polish, assuming it would heal and go away, and just went about my normal business. About 2 weeks later, I noticed that some of the polish on another toe had chipped off, and that toe nail looked bruised too. I removed all of the polish from all my toe nails, and was horrified to see that both of my big toe nails were black. Hector was on the computer at the time and I told him to stop whatever it was he was doing, and to Google "Causes of black toe nails."


Now folks, I want you to know that with just about anything in life, there are pros and cons to Googling things. Pro: You have easy access to tons of information. Con: You have easy access to tons of information...


Through my Google "research" I determined that I possibly had 1 of 4 things (way to narrow it down for me there, Google!):


1) Melanoma

2) Diabetes

3) A fungal infection

4) Bruising of the nail bed caused by strenuous exercise, very common in runners and people who do crazy amounts of aerobic activity...

Hmmmm..... I will admit that I seriously considered the possibility that I had either #1 or #2. And while none of those options really seemed all that great to me, I've got to tell you, I was REALLY routing for #4 to be the cause of my black toe nails. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep that night. Too many thoughts of things I should have done differently or could have done differently in my life were running through my mind. If I just would have worn sunscreen more often, or maybe if I just would have lost the "baby weight" sooner.

Well, I made an appointment with my doctor the next day. And I've got to say, I was thrilled when she told me that she seriously thought it was #4, and that while she applauds my efforts to lose weight and get healthy, perhaps I should consider doing something a bit less strenuous. I agreed with her.

So, I will say goodbye to The 30 Day Shred. I can't even allow myself to focus on the irony of this situation (it feels like no matter what I try to do to lose weight and get healthy, something always gets in the way). I have a new found disdain for Jillian Michaels, and I am blaming her fully for my black toe nails... It's ALL her fault! And she, along with her exercise program, have now been placed on the "Permanently Banned From My Life" list. Oh yeah, there's a list...

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts running through my brain this morning...


I am the Co-Leader of Avery's Brownie Troop. The Leader and I are taking the girls in the troop camping this weekend. Camping with 5 young girls doesn't concern me, mainly because we'll be with several other troops, and we have a cabin with ac/heat and electricity. We are a bunch of females, after all. What does concern me is the fact that the woman in charge of coordinating this camp out is bringing her 4 year old daughter camping with us. Earlier in the week, she sent out several emails to all of the Leaders and Co-Leaders, reminding all of us about the policies, procedures, rules and regulations that we need to follow while on the camping trip. We all had to sign a waiver saying that we promise to abide by these rules. Mind you, these are rules that she helped to put in place. The purpose of this camping trip is to teach girls and leaders who've never been camping before how to camp. So on the rules it clearly states that there will be no siblings or "tag-alongs" or children under the age of 5 permitted. Yet, she's bringing her 4 year old daughter with her.



I am a rule follower. This bothers me, especially because I have been around her 4 year old, and she is not a well behaved child be any stretch of the imagination. I am highly concerned that this leader won't be able to truly focus on the people who PAID to go on this camping trip to LEARN, because she will be so focused on her 4 year old. I mean, at our last awards ceremony, the entire event started almost 20 minutes late because she was in the bathroom with her daughter who was throwing an all-out fit, to the point where she tore her mom's shirt on purpose out of anger. Hundreds of people, all gathered into the church where we were all waiting for the awards ceremony to begin, and she's in the bathroom trying to get her daughter to stop throwing a fit. Trust me, I have a high maintenance daughter. I FEEL her pain! But if it were me, if I couldn't find a sitter to watch my child, I simply would not go camping. I think the real problem here is that this mother has truly over committed herself and should be focusing her attention on her child, but is instead focusing on other things that are far less important. But that's just my own 2 cents on the matter.



So, do I:


1) Take the high road and just let it go and say nothing?

2) See how it goes this weekend and say something only if this situation turns out to not be a positive one?

OR

3) Write an email now before we go, telling her superior what's going on, and that if she's bringing her daughter I'm bringing my 3 year old son and my 2 year old dog camping with us too?

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I love this time of year, and all of the smells, sights, sounds and tastes that come along with it.

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Should I be concerned that Isaac calls this his "kill medium?"
Or should I simply be impressed that he knows (and is trying to pronounce) it's a chameleon?

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Speaking of that chameleon... I have a lot of Beanie Babies. I finally decided that it was time to sell them, so I went onto eBay and started doing some research. Come to find out, it looks like everyone else on the planet has also decided that it's time to sell their Beanie Babies. There were 1665 pages of Beanies for sale on eBay, most of which were selling for a penny. A PENNY... I figured out that I have close to 500 Beanies (I know, I know...). Some of them were gifts. The others were bought over the course of several years. Each one cost anywhere from $6 - $10. I'm thinking that instead of selling them, I'll just continue to let Isaac play "zoo" with them. They have more "value" to him as toys than they do to me as a collector's item.

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These wee wee pads for dogs give off a smell that is supposed to attract your dog to do their business on the wee wee pad. I've used them in the past when I was house breaking Molly and Maisy when they were puppies, and they worked great. I suppose they would still work great if my senior adult dog could still smell and therefore would be inclined to actually do her business on the wee wee pad. But since she can not smell, she is not inclined in any way, shape or form, to do her business on the wee wee pad. In fact, she usually sleeps on the wee wee pad, and when she gets up she will do her business right next to the wee wee pad. Grrr...

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I want this bike.

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Isaac is short, amongst other things. And I say that with all the love in my heart. Two weeks ago he decided that he no longer wants to sit down when he's going potty. He wants to stand up when he goes potty, because he wants to be a big boy like Samuel. This would be fine, if Isaac could actually reach the toilet. So he stands on a stool, but he's so wobbly it makes me extremely nervous. Plus, he has horrible aim. I never thought I would cringe when I heard the words, "Oops, Mama." Seriously, I cringe when he says those 2 little words. I'd also like to add that I now know the real purpose of bathroom mats... If my bathroom mats make it through this stage, I will be extremely surprised.

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Why is it that it either doesn't rain for months and my yard gets all brown and crunchy and everything dies in it, OR it rains for days on end and everything in my yard gets flooded? Can't there be a happy medium? I'm a happy medium kind of gal...

Letters from the heart.

Dear Old, Tan Suburban,

We are writing to thank you for your dedicated years of service to our family. You've taken us on many road trips. You got us all the way to South Dakota and back last summer. And you've driven us to see our family members in South Texas more times than we can count. You've taken us to several doctor and dentist appointments. You got Patty to the hospital safely when she was in labor with Isaac, and you brought our baby boy home from the hospital afterwards. You also took Isaac to the hospital when he fell and busted up his mouth last Easter. You took both Samuel and Avery to their first day of Kindergarten. You've sat in many carpool lines. You've driven us to church, PTA meetings, choir practices, MOPS meetings, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts functions, camp outs, picnics, and countless other events. You have indeed served our family well. But you are falling apart, and your repairs will cost more than you are worth. And so, we feel the time has come for us to say goodbye to you, dear old, tan Suburban. We love you, but it is time to let you go so that you can hopefully serve another family. We will miss you. We are so sad to see you go. Take care.

The 5 Aces

Dear New, Shiny, Silver Suburban,

We've only had you for a day, but we can't remember why on earth we were so sad to see that old, tan Suburban go. You rock!

The 5 Aces

Go to Sleep

We got these bunk beds for Samuel 2 1/2 years ago, with the intentions of having Samuel and Isaac share a room some day.

We set them up during the week of Spring Break. The first night we had the bunk beds, Avery asked if she could sleep on the bottom bunk and have a slumber party with Samuel. Since Isaac was just a little over a year old at the time, and nowhere near being ready to move to a big bed, we asked Samuel is he was okay with that, and he said that he was. So, Avery slept on the bottom bed all week long. But we warned her from the very first night that on Sunday night she'd have to go back to her own bed since Samuel had school on Monday morning.

WELL, Sunday night came and Avery threw an all out fit because she did not want to go back to her own bed. We forced her to sleep in her own bed though. Avery had struggled with going to bed for as long as we could remember. Most nights up until that point, she'd lay in her bed crying and screaming. Sometimes, no matter what we did to get her to calm down, she'd cry and scream for hours, literally. We knew what had triggered these sleep issues. It all started when I was pregnant with Isaac and we had to get her out of the baby bed. I mean, she was 3 1/2 years old, after all, and I felt like I HAD to get her out of the baby bed. Agh! If I had it to do all over again...

Anyway, at first we tried positive reinforcement, but nothing we tried worked. We tried a nightlight, we tried a lamp, we tried stuffed animals, blankets, music, reading books, saying prayers, everything! Nothing worked. So then we moved on to discipline tactics, but still nothing worked. Night after night, hours of her screaming in bed and making us miserable. So we moved on to punishing her when she would throw a fit and scream in her bed at night. But still, each and every night, bedtime was a nightmare. I'd watch the Super Nanny and try her techniques. They didn't work. I'd ask friends and read books. Seriously, nothing worked. So by the time we got the bunk beds, this had been going on for over a year. It was an exhausting year when it came to bedtimes. But when Avery slept in Samuel's room that week of Spring Break, she did not throw fits... she fell asleep quickly and calmly. Putting her back in her own bed, all alone in her own bedroom was torture for her. She hated being alone at night. Funny enough, I hate sleeping alone and I hate sleeping in a bed that I don't feel comfortable in. So, I could relate.

I remember questioning several family members, asking them if they thought there was anything wrong with letting Samuel and Avery share a room. And every single one of them said no... My mom reminded me that I shared a room with my younger brother for several years when we were children. And my sister told me that she knew of several people in older generations who had to share rooms out of necessity because they just simply didn't have big enough houses for all the kids to each have their own room. I realized that if sharing a room helped Avery to fall asleep more peacefully, thus making our bedtime routine in our home more positive, then why not allow it so long as Samuel was okay with it. So, we talked to Samuel and he really wanted to share a room with Avery. And Avery was thrilled with the idea too. We kept Avery's bedroom just the way it had been, but we moved all of her bedding onto Samuel's bottom bunk bed. And that's how the sleeping arrangements have been for Samuel and Avery for 2 1/2 years now. Avery still had sleeping issues from time to time, but considering where she came from, this sleeping situation proved to be a huge improvement.

So, you might be able to understand why we were so shocked when about a month ago, Avery announced that she wanted to sleep in her own bed that night. WHAT?!?! And so, she did. She made up her mind that it was time, and just went for it. I'll admit, we were not very optimistic that she'd actually stay in her own bed that first night. Once she got in there and the sun went down, we were pretty sure that she'd change her mind. But she didn't. She slept in there all night long, and she's stayed in there for the past month. And the really funny part of this story is that Avery is not sleeping by herself after all. She has a new sleeping buddy! Lid'l Lee, it would seem, has decided that she would like to share a bed with Avery at night now. It's so incredibly cute!!! And Avery loves having Lid'l Lee there.

Perhaps equally as cute, is that every single morning when Maggie hears Isaac waking up, she will stand at his bedroom door wagging her tail until I open his bedroom door. Then she will go plowing into his room and jump straight into his bed. It's the funniest thing. She gets so excited to see him. And Isaac will just sit up in his bed and start loving on Maggie, saying, "Oh, good girl, Maggie." It really is adorable, especially since Maggie takes up 3/4 of the bed...

And as for me, well in the past when Hector has traveled for business, it's been next to impossible for me to get a good night's sleep. I just can't seem to ever relax enough to actually get into a deep sleep. So I tend to stay up most of the night. But since we've welcomed Maggie into our family, I must say that there's just something about having this big dog sleeping at the side of my bed that has given me a certain level of security that I have not had up until this point. You can't ever be sure unless you train your dog to be a watch dog, how exactly your dog will respond to strangers. Well, we had an incident happen in our home with someone that Maggie perceived as a threat/stranger, and let me just tell you, her growling and barking made me feel extremely safe. All I can say is, her previous owners trained her REALLY well...

And now, I think it's time for Isaac and I to visit Miss Nappy's house! Zzzzzzzzzzz.....

Goodbye

That's all, folks! It's done. Adios, Verano. Goodbye, Summer...

Today is the first day of school for Samuel and Avery. And despite the fact that we did not take any vacations, we had a wonderful summer and were all a little sad to see it come to an end. And since I have not posted very many pictures on here of our summer, here's a run down for you of the things that kept us busy...

Avery Bridged in Girl Scouts. She is no longer a Daisy. She is now a Brownie!

Upon receiving her Brownie Sash, Avery said, "This is going to be great. I love brownies!" :-)

Samuel earned his patches and is no longer a Wolf in Cub Scouts. He is now a Bear Cub! Rock on, Big Guy!

Avery celebrated her 7th birthday.

I made a garden cake and birthday pancakes, all for the birthday princess...

And Samuel celebrated his 9th birthday, complete with a cake that looked like a pepperoni pizza, made by yours truly.

I think Samuel liked the game that Hector picked out for his birthday, but it's so hard to tell from his expression... :-)

Avery got her ears pierced, and they looked SO cute! But they got infected and closed up a few months later. :-( Boo!

Hector got a new job!!!!!!!!!!!!! A new job with lots of great perks... Go Colgate-Palmolive!

We celebrated the 4th of July with Hector's family. Look at all those kids!

We welcomed a new member into our family.

Did a little gardening...

Went to the free local water park, A LOT!

Went to the zoo with my sister and nephew. Fed a few giraffes. Rode a camel named Isaac.

Went to Six Flags. Met Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman and The Green Lantern. Played a few games. Rode a few rides. Picked the hottest day of the summer to go. Sweated like fools but still managed to have a blast.

My car said it was 109 degrees, and I was inclined to believe my car...

Did a Pringles taste test, then Avery and I made some Pringles Purses.

Celebrated my 16th wedding anniversary. Went to a resort/spa while Grandpa and Grandma watched the kids (Thanks G&G!). Sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view of the lake. Had a couple's massage. Ate some really good food. Enjoyed every single minute!

Celebrated Hector's 39th Birthday with my mom and step-father. I bought him a new car.

Paid all of 97 cents for it!

Went to the Meet the Teacher night last week. Got a good feeling this is going to be a really great school year! And today, Samuel and Avery started school!

Come on, guys! Loosen up just a bit. Act like you love each other...

That's better!

This morning, dropping the kids off at school went just about as good as I hoped it would. Avery was very excited but a little nervous too. She held my hand so tight on the walk to her classroom, my hand was all red and sweaty. But she held herself together, and really did seem happy about getting back to school. Before we left the house, we said a prayer that God would help us all to not cry, to stay calm, and to be happy. After I dropped Avery off in her classroom, I took Samuel to his classroom. He was fine until I saw on the clock that it was time for me to go. I very calmly told him that it was time for me to leave. And Samuel said, "I know we prayed that God would help me to not cry, but I don't think the prayer is working." And he started crying... I had SO hoped for no tears this morning. So I knelt down beside him and told him what could have only been words given to me straight from God. "You know, Samuel, sometimes we ask God to help us not be sad and to not cry. But sometimes, God allows us to cry so that we can get rid of the sadness in our hearts and make room for the happiness that He has waiting to give us. Let go of the sadness and grab on to happiness." And with that, I said goodbye to my big 3rd grader...