Syd's First Tech Game

Yesterday was Syd's first Tech football game. She had a great time, and was very well behaved. She did alot of eating, as did her father and mother. She had M&M's, Teddy Grahams, peanut butter crackers, popcorn, pizza, two cokes and a box of apple juice. She showed a whole bunch of spirit and we were awful proud.

We hope to take H-Dub to his first game next year. He spent a fun day with Aunt Morgan. They went out to dinner at Whataburger and everything. He was in a very good mood during and afterward. The poor child really needed some one on one attention, apparently, and has been in a better mood since.

With her ticket and her guns up before we went into the game.


All dressed up in her cheerleader uniform and H-Dubya's coat. Little short in the sleeves but it matched!


Get your guns up! Doesn't Gigi look comfy?


Loved sitting on Poppy's shoulders.


Syd spent alot of time looking in the binoculars.


The fam.


Sydney and Dimple Jane. The times they had together. DJ's brother Dubya, was also there. He was about 5 or 6. He tried so hard to get their attention, until DJ pushed him and he fell down onto the next row of bleachers. He was real ticked. Got up and smacked poor Dimple a few times. She wasn't the same after that. Boohooed and wanted her daddy to hold her.

Thanksgiving

We had a yummy Thanksgiving at Gigi's again this year. Going on year four. Granny and Aunt Missy were the other guests. Here are some pics that were taken with Aunt Missy's camera. I didn't even bother to bring mine. I contributed sodium filled green bean casserole, a new cheese dip with french bread, found the recipe on the internets, and sausage balls. I plan to make more sausage balls today for us to enjoy as we decorate the kids' tree and take pictures of them all dolled up for our Christmas card.

Syd looking darling and Daddy looking crazy at the table.


Poor, sad, sick H-Dubya. He was woken from his nap to go to Gigi's, and as I mentioned he also has a cough, terrible congestion, and some sort of rash on his face. Miserable. In further pictures if he looks extra pale it is because I put Desitin on his face to try and help with the rash. Didn't do much for it.


Resting after the large T dinner.


Playing with Trixie and Granny.


Aunt Missy, Granny, and Gigi lookin' loverly.

10 Random Thoughts

I will be posting about Syd's first Tech game later on today. I must download them, first, but know that I will be back with tales of she and her BFF from the game, Dimple Jane. That's right. Too clever of a name to make up, this was the precious child's given name. On to the thoughts:

1. I am beyond angry that we have somehow lost all but four sippy cups in the house, and they are very expensive to replace. I am going to check ebay.

2. If you want to put your daughter's hair in ponytails, braids, or updos of any kind, your best bet is to get it soaking wet with a spray bottle, first. This goes for hair of all lengths and textures.

3. Deep, plot driven Christian fiction is VERY hard to find.

4. The groceries are too expensive, and/or I am too poor to currently afford organic milk and produce. I can remedy the produce with a citrus wash I bought last year, But there is nothing I can do about the milk. $6.50 a GALLON?

5. Hayden has a cough and rash on both sides of his mouth and I will have to take him to the doctor. Prayers that we can get in on a Monday!

6. After putting up my Christmas decorations I have decided I need more. Hobby Lobby anyone?

7. I am working through OU beating OSU last night and the fact that we will indeed NOT be going to a BCS Bowl. Sadness. Disappointment.

8. I have let the laundry pile up, yet again. I have a system where I do a load a day or two every other day so I can't get too far behind. Once every couple to three months I fall down on the system. And chaos ensues. I have always been this way about laundry. Ask my old roomates. Anywho, it will take me all day to get it done, I am sure. I can't see the bottom of my closet.

9. Christmas shopping online is a really good thing.

10. What can I cook for an early dinner tonight?

Kiva

I read about this organization on another blog. I think it is amazing.

We are all in a pinch financially. The stores are feeling it, but the poor will feel it, also. Many don't feel comfortable giving to others without knowing about their situation. Kiva is a microlending organization that funds entrepenuers who are considered poverty stricken all over the world! For example, a group of women from the Congo opened a restaurant a couple of years ago. They want to upgrdade to electrical appliances so they won't have to use coal hotplates, etc. They are asking for a $2000 loan, which they plan to pay back in 3 months. The default rates on every loan I have seen is 0%. The deliquency rate is like .18%. Once they pay back their loan you get to give that money to another entreprenuer of your choice. Genius!

What a wonderful thing to do for Christmas! I know several families who don't give to eachother (adults) and instead pool their money and give to entreprenuer on this site, or they buy a flock of chicks (this costs $20 and gives enough eggs and future hens to eat for years to come, people) or a cow for those in third world countries through Heifer International .

I find that the older my parents, in-laws, grandparents get, the less they want to acquire. This could be a great way to use that money to help someone who truly needs it!

GO TECH!

Mercy, I am so nervous about tonight's game. It is all I can think about. We have just got to win. Got to got to. I believe we will!

I am going to the Twilight movie at 3 so that will keep my mind off the game for a little while. Then I will help Gigi work on our Frito pies for the game. We are having the fam over to watch.

Pray for your Red Raiders! You know where my family will be tonight at 7:00!

Handprint Turkey

We did the cutest craft yesterday. The kids so enjoyed doing their handprint, even H-Dub who asked to do it again on another piece of paper. Such a big boy. He has started saying bless you every time I sneeze and is consistently using his thank yous and your welcomes. Anywho, here are some pictures from the craft.

Hayden working on handprints.



Sydney gluing some of her turkey parts on. Cutting the parts out was the most time consuming part.


So proud of her gobble gobble turkey.


I forced H to sit and display his turkey with his sister. He didn't appreciate it. You know he aims to please.


I also planned on doing these handprint turkeys, but they did them at school and brought them home as a surprise. Aren't they darling?

Big Lots!

I went to Big Lots on 82nd and Indiana yesterday. I was looking for manilla envelopes. They didn't have any but other deals abounded! I don't get to shop and browse as much as I would like due to my two little ones.

They had Dyson Animal vacuums on sale for $249! You are not going to find a better deal on those. I have had mine for over 4 years and it is the best.

I got the kids each a tub book for their stocking, Wall E for H-Dub and Disney Princesses for Syd. They were $2.50 each! And I got a princess chapstick with a large purple jewel hot glued to the top for $1.00! They had the Little People Princess Carriage for like $16.99, and a good amount of Disney Princess stuff that was probably $3 to $5 cheaper than what I have seen at Walmart!

You might want to check it out.

www.paperbackswap.com

I'd like to talk about paperbackswap.com . While talking to my pastor's wife who seemingly likes to read as much as I do, I discovered that many folks don't know about this tremendous website. I have reportedly saved close to $100 on books from using it.

You create an account for the site and put all of the books (paperback or not) onto the site. It is quite easy as you can just type in the 10 digit ISBN number on the back of the book. You get two free credits for joining and adding books. So you can immediately browse and request books.

You need to put money into your account, which you can do through PayPal. As someone requests a book from you, you go and print out the postage label for the book which includes the address of where it is being sent, etc. All books are sent media mail, which is going to cost you about $2.40. Maybe less, maybe more. If you use their service you get instant credit, which I think is worth the extra 13 cents. You may disagree. You then wrap the book in wrapping paper, wrap it in the two pieces of paper from the printer, or put it into a manilla envelope and pop it into the mailbox. It is that easy.

They have tons of titles. Over 2 million, I do believe. I of course have a wish list of 46ish books that I am fervently waiting on to come available. Many of them are nonfiction and not the kind of book you let go of unless you get past your current stage or "season" in life, as we like to say repeatedly at Live Oak, which is why I think it is taking so long.

Anyway, I spend tons of time browsing the books and compiling my wish list. If you like to read and you live in Lubbock, whose library collection is in my opinion sub-par, this may be a great thing for you. Happy Reading!

Love you too-oo.

H-Dub is having a growth spurt. He is never the best eater, partly because he is too busy drinking as much milk as he can get us to pour in his sippy cup throughout the day. For the last few days, though, he has been eating full meals. He ate a whole roll of ritz crackers today after nap. Ron ordered pizza for dinner and we knew he wouldn't eat much. Wrong. He is running around with whole pieces hanging out of his mouth.

He was running around eating and I said, "I love you, Hayden." And he actually answered, "I love you, too-oo," in a high pitched voice on the too. We wanted to see if it was a fluke so Brokeback asked next and he got the same response. Awwww. What a sweetie.

Visit With Santa

I hadn't posted these pics because when I did so on Facebook our early visit with Santa was met with a bit of grumbling and irritation that Santa was out and about before Veterans Day. We went to Holland Gardens for their Christmas Open House, and there he was. So of course we wanted to say hello and sit on his lap. Syd was thrilled and quite comfortable, H-Dub was not so sure. Here are some pictures commemorating the event:

Waiting in line, wondering what in the Sam Hill's going on.


Waiting patiently with an angelic look on her face so that Santa can see just what a good girl she really is.


Still waiting. We waited a terribly long time. There was a family of 4 unruly children in front of us. We enjoyed watching them at first, one of them was a 10 yr old girl who would elbow her mother violently in the ribs when she tried to correct her. Then they started taking pictures, with their cell phones, and took way to long so we didn't enjoy them so much after that.


H-Dub picks his nose when he is nervous. And blinks but you can't tell in this picture.


Egads. Not sure about this Santa person anymore. Syd however seems quite thrilled.

Thanksgiving Feast!

Syd greatly enjoyed performing for the parents of her Mother's Day Out program yesterday. The fact that Brokeback and I got there early and scored the bestest, frontest table in the joint helped, I am sure. I was a little startled by her level of decorum at times. I can understand the vibrating with glee and waving, but putting her fingers into the sides of her mouth and pulling to make a funny face was too much, and something we discussed afterward. What can I do? The last time we had this discussion and I took her into a restaurant bathroom for a beating due to her outlandish behavior, she cried and told me, "But I just want to make people laugh." Where, oh where, does she get that kind of attitude? We won't even go INTO how short her dress was though I ordered a 5T.


H-Dub and Syd were both spoiled as Gigi brought them lunch from Sonic for the event. H-Dub didn't behave in a grateful way, as he was crawling around on the floor, threatening to go onto the stage and hiding under the table. Not good.

Here are some pics. I didn't include any of myself because I am in the very end stages of a fever blister AND my roots are terrible.

Posts to come!

I am back on a roll! I will be back with pics from Syd's first live performance (I feel sure all of you are waiting with baited breath) and we actually did a thrilling Thanksgiving craft today, which even H-Dub enjoyed and participated in!

Would post now but I need my beauty rest real bad. Must go join Syd who is in there waiting for me.

Shall we dance?

We rented Barbie's Diamond Castle (Syd's choice) and they love the closing credit song, and the music video by Katherin McPhee (same song). They hold hands and dance in circles, throw each other out holding one hand, and try to bend their heads back. Here are some pictures of it. Brokeback video taped it, too, but he is in the midst of upgrading the software for our camera to our new computer. Until that is done, no video.

Big Step Towards Independence!

H-Dub is transitioning to a big boy bed! Gigi bought him a precious little toddler bed at a garage sale over a year ago. It has been just waiting for him. Daddy put it together last night and we put it next to his crib, with the idea that if he won't stay in it we will just put him into the crib.

He took a nap in the big boy bed yesterday and was thrilled to do so. He spent the night there, also. He hasn't figured out that he can come out of the room yet, I guess, because we can hear him wandering around in there but he never comes out until we go get him. This morning he was actually still in the bed.

This afternoon he was up running around and talking to himself forever. I went in I think 3X, and finally put him in the crib. He continued to roll around in there. He then woke up right after Syd, and she fell asleep before him. I think because he heard her get up.

We hope to have him fully transitioned to the bed by next week and Daddy will take down the crib.

The next transition will be after Christmas, hopefully. We will then get Syd a full bed and she and H-Dub can sleep in there together. She has decided she doesn't like sleeping alone and asks to sleep with us EVERY. NIGHT. This way she will have her own partner and we will have two to a bed instead of three!

Unmotivated

I have nothing to blog about, hence the extended break. I am going through some changes and trying to get somethings taken care of, which has lead to some sort of funk. I have FIVE unread books on my nightstand. Can't get into any of them, much. I have a file full of Thanksgiving (mainly turkey) crafts to do with Syd and H-Dub. We have done none of them so far. We (and when I say we, I mean me) have stalled on lesson 7 of the reading program I have been working on with Syd. Sigh. My house goes from decent to God-forbid a visitor drop in within a day. I haven't full-out cooked a meal for my family short of frozen pizza or hot dogs in at least a week. Though I went on a major shopping run on Thursday.

I HATE being unmotivated. Nothing can make me self-loathe more than unmotivated living on my part. I mean, sure, I would go through burn-out after TAKS or finals and semester end projects in college, but I am not sure where this level of confusion is coming from.

I plan on watching Desperate Housewives now, catching up on the two chapters of my bible study book that I have not finished though I have had FOUR WEEKS to do so, and making plans for the next two weeks. Day by day expectations (much like lesson plans, can't help it) will be written out on a calendar so that I can't allow this attitude/behavior to continue! I will be going to bed early. I plan on having some sort of relevant post in the morning! I am going to go watch me some Where the Hell is Matt to cheer myself up.

Thank a Veteran

It is Veteran's Day! Our American Flag is proudly flying outside the house. Of course, we have our very own Veteran of the first Gulf War here in our house. I personally thanked him for his sacrifice for our country. For fighting for the rights of our citizens, and for fighting for the rights of citizens of other countries, also. The kids and I have big plans for a Veteran's Day project when they get home from school. I will be sure to share pics later.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae

Where the hell is Matt?

Watching this is a great way to start the week. I bet it will put a smile on your face. I love it.

*It is best to go to the youtube site so you can watch it in high quality.

Halloweens Past II

Sakes alive! I just realized that I have had this blog for almost a full YEAR! Crazy how time flies. Going back to last year's Halloweens Past post proves it. This will be a yearly tradition as long as I can keep up with the blog.

Here are some pictures from the Halloweens the kids have celebrated in the past. Thought it would be fun to look back.



Syd was a jaguar for her first Halloween. She was about 9 months old. Nana and Paw Paw sent the costume before she was ever born! It was so cute and made a growling noise when the nose was squeezed.

H was only 2 months old on his first Halloween so he wore a comfy pumpkin suit. Syd was Nemo.





Syd was too proud of her Nemo suit! Wanted everyone to see a full body shot with the tail.

Halloween 2007 they were Cinderella and Yoda. Syd was going to be Princess Leia but the costume I ordered was too small. We let her decide what to be instead and Cinderella was no surprise.

A few days after Halloween LAST YEAR Syd decided she wanted to by a kitty. And she NEVER wavered. So a kitty she was, and H-Dub was a mouse. Syd desperately wanted him to be a puppy but I couldn't find a costume that fit. So a mouse he was. Syd has already decided that she wants to be Ariel, the Little Mermaid next year. We shall see if she stick to it this time.

Halloween Night

Holidays are such lengthy celebrations these days. We have been celebrating Halloween for over a week! If you count all of the crafts it has been closer to a month. This is all my choice, of course, but I must say by the time it is all over I am not sad to see the holiday go!

We had a big night. Went to see Granny at her retirement home. Trick or Treated at 3 places total. Went to our 4th annual Halloween party at the Roark's which is always so much fun. Went to our church's Fall Festival after that. It was all so fun, but I guess between the heat in his flannel costume, the large quantities of candy he ate (for him) and all of the over stimulation was too much for H-Dubya. When we left the Roark's he had a rather large meltdown. Brokeback was sweet enough to go on home with him so that Syd and I could enjoy the festival to the fullest. Gigi went with. Brokeback says after H-Dub got his costume off and was wiped down and enjoyed some milk, he was in a much better mood and went right to bed at 7:30ish without a hitch. Here are some pictures:


Sydney, Daddy, and baby Tess.


The kids and Tinkerbell enjoying the toys at Mia and DaDon's.


Sydney's moment in the spotlight, singing Itsy Bitsy Spider on kareoke.


The whole group. Wow, my group of friends have had a bunch a kids. With more to come.


Beat. Ready to call it a night.