I'm in! I'm in! I'm FINALLY IN!!!!!

So after MANY failed attempts to get into my blog I finally gave up....I have no idea what the problem was but no matter what I did it wouldn't let me log in...I even "talked" with GOOGLE "expert" for an hour and a half one day and he couldn't figure it out either! 

ANYWAYS, looks like I can access the blog again so now's the time to start back up!

STAY TUNED FOR UPCOMING POSTS!!

Love, C

It's OFFICIAL, I'm INSANE....

Needless to say, it has been a while since I have done any blogging but when the opportunity presents itself you gotta go with it....



So, I'm on the computer Thursday night and I get a text message from a friend asking if it might be possible that I pick up her kids after school on Friday....hmmmm..."what time to do they get out?" I text back..."3:10" she replies....light bulb moment....well, yes, they do get out at 3:10 being that they attend the SAME school that my kids attend DUH! After calling her to explain that I'm not a complete idiot (I was thinking that her children still went to the private school in town) and laughing at my ignorance I agreed to watch her children until 4:30 Friday!



FRIDAY: Head to school after working to pick up the 4 little angels...."9/11" I keep thinking in my head...."what else is significant about 9/11 other than 9/11?" AH HA! It's my girlfriend's birthday....the girlfriend that asked me to pick up her children after school.....the kids load up in the car and I ask my girlfriend's girl child if they have any plans for her mom's birthday...."Well, yes, we are going to a fine dinner." she replies...."a fine dinner?" I say..."where?" Knowing for a fact that there is nowhere in this small town to go out for a "fine dinner".... "We haven't decided yet" .... Ok, so I'm really enjoying the very adult conversation that I'm having with this Kindergartner so I continue....."How old is mom today?"not remembering myself.... "35....no wait, she was 33 last year which means this year she would be 34...it's dad that's 35." Ha ha ha ha......NOT! As I'm laughing inside while driving/swerving up the bluff.....no offense, my dear friend....you look not a day over 33 but I know you are a little older than that!



We get home and of course the cafeteria was closed for the day and not 1 child got lunch...famished, they were.....snacks all around and off to the playroom.....AHH...quiet time! After a brief thought...contemplating how close to crazy I really am.... I text my friend and ask if I shall keep the kids overnight so that she can enjoy an evening with her husband.....after a few "are you sures" and "wow, what a treat" I get a "yes" out of the text conversation....."Great" I think........As I settled into my book I suddenly remembered that I had to feed the dog and the cat.....Matt's out of town on a fishing trip and I didn't want to pull Caleb from his friends (while they were being civil) to do his chore so I went to the garage and filled the can full of food....I walked through the house with Max (the chihuahua) following me as not to get wet because believe it or not it was pouring down rain.....I called for our little black kitty and as I came around the corner to fill the food bowls there he was sprawled out on the concrete....NOT LOOKING SO GOOD....foamy vomit behind him and very little life in him.....WHAT THE HECK? I immediately call Matt....with no luck....as usual....he NEVER answers when I'm in a crisis...no matter how big or small. I look on line for possible ailments.....I have no idea which one to pick.....what do I do? Call Thais (my best friend) she's got cats, she'll know what to do.....no help....go out to check on Milo (the cat) again and...he's DEAD....ah man, now what? Matt's out of town, it's pouring down rain, I have 4 kids running a muck in my house and now I have a dead cat that I need to dispose of? DEAD...just like that...I mean, DEAD in literally 10 minutes! Of course, I tell the kids not to go outside and am immediately hit with the question "WHY?" so I tell them that I think the cat is dead....."WHY?" as they rush out the back door....."Well, he's either been poisoned or bitten by a snake"......I say...."Get back inside and don't come out again!" Why a dead cat is freaking me out I don't know but my mind is blank, not a thought one.....text Courtney...."my cat's dead"...."oh no"...."what do I do"...."dig hole, bury cat"....."pouring down rain, Matt out of town, 4 kids in house"....."tongs and a garbage bag?"......"ewwwwwww"......."can u do it 4 me?..."on my way"....."you have vodka"......"yes, you have tongs?".....an hour later we (or should I say she) "bag" the cat....mix a drink and listen to the sounds of 5 (Courtney brought her youngest with her) rambunctious kids playing in the game room. As the evening progresses the third extra child realizes that the other 2 extras are spending the night....I have a sudden flashback to my childhood...it all comes full circle doesn't it? "I want to stay the night too" bellows the third extra child...."what's one more?" I think to myself (thinking if my mom could do it so could I) .....Truth be known....one more is "a handful, a headache and a hectic night, but what the HELL".....from 2 to 5 all in the matter of seconds....and I've only had 2 drinks....this, I might add is a self inflicted wound to the head.....apparently, my mom was SUPER MOM...me, not so much! Courtney leaves and it's finally ......PJ's on LIGHTS OUT!



By 11:00 pm 3 are on a pallet in the game room and 2 are in bed with me.......before you know it, it's 7:00 am and 1 of the 2 in my bed begins to stir...."lucky me" I think....about an hour later all 5 are awake and ALERT! "I want pancakes" one yells..."GOOD LUCK WITH THAT" I YELL back! I pull out every box of cereal I have, check the milk supply and find some paper bowls! "Line up and pick your poison"....they all look at me with a questioning look on their faces (might have had something to do with the fact that I told them I think the cat got into some poison)....the 5 of them sat down, gobbled up their cereal, threw their bowls away, their spoon in the sink and scurried back to the game room....I watched them scramble and immediately decided that it was time to blog...I mean with a dead cat story and 5 kids running around...what else is there to do....2 in undies (1 boxer brief, 1 tighty whitey), 2 gowns (1 perfect, 1 too big) and one t-shirt and shorts....each one of them with a head of hair that looked as if it hadn't seen a brush in weeks.....the next thing you know they've found the musical instruments and have created their own band.....a band of noisy nonsense! OK...that's my limit..."musical instruments UP I yell"......."coffee's ON" I text!



By 10:15 the extras have been retrieved and I am now left with my two sweet noisy, mess makers, a house that needs just a little attention, laundry that needs A LOT of attention and a bagged dead cat that needs to be buried.....once the rain stops.....hey, is that where the saying...."the cats in the bag" comes from?



Have a great weekend....no telling when you might hear from me again!

Tuesday's Typings.....

I have writer's block apparently! It's been over 6 weeks since my last post....kind of feel like I'm in confession and I'm not even Catholic...might have something to do with Kristi's Confession Tuesdays!!!

Watched BIG BROTHER 10 finale tonight....yeah (?) for those of you that might have missed it but recorded it for a later date in time....I personally think that the best man won!!! We'll discuss more later (possibly)...

Caleb's loving Kindergarten....oh BTW - we found a Dr. here in town to give him his allergy shots!!! Yippeeeee.....Matt took him for his first one today! How nice is that...a quick 5 minute trip to the Dr. and we are on to the next phase of life!

Matt's headed to the RYDER CUP this weekend....yes, home alone AGAIN with the children and the animals....I'm saying a little prayer that Matt has someone come over to take care of the animals...I have a hard enough time taking care of the kids and with 4 baby calves that need to be bottle fed, an extra horse that needs feed (that makes 2 horses), 2 dogs (one just had a litter of 6 pups) thank goodness she's got those little guys covered....you should see those pups nurse! Brings back fond memories!! Oh - we have the cat and the rabbit and yes, 2 hermit crabs from our trip to Port A over Labor Day....Oh McArthur had a farm e i e i O....

I was planning on heading to Houston for the weekend but Matt's poor mom is STILL without electricity....what a mess IKE has made for so many. Maybe she'll come to us instead! Lots of prayer going out for all Ike's victims.

Well, it's getting late, gotta work in the morning and I'm just FLAT out TIRED....catch ya next time...whenever that will be!

A girl in boys drawers.....

Hair bow, toenail polish or toe molish as Berkleigh would say and brother's boxer briefs......still cute!

Tuesday's Teachings!

So, once again, it's been a while since I've chimed in with any of my much loved musings! Life just doesn't seem to slow down or is it that I just don't seem to slow down long enough to put in a few words here or there? Hmm....

I think the real problem is that I NEVER get enough ALONE TIME at the computer! I've ALWAYS got someone in here with me....and who can muse with this one needing this and that one needing that and the other one just plain irritating for no good reason??? "WHO?" I ask you, "WHO?"

Summer's almost over and while I've enjoyed the time with the kids TODAY I was wishing school was IN SESSION....it was bill payin' day here in the Arthur house and while I tried to do it last night... after a 9 hour day of strenuous hygiene work on mouths that have OBVIOUSLY lacked a relationship with a toothbrush and toothpaste... let alone floss, I got home and settled into the office for a nice, long night of number crunchin' and BAM! MIGRAINE! Not so easy to number crunch when all you can see is a squiggly pulsating visual aura.....so, I decided to slip myself a MaxAlt and headed to bed early. After dry heaving for about 10 minutes-SUCH FUN-I drifted off to a deep, deep sleep. I woke up this morning with a "bruised" brain as I call it.....you migraine sufferers know what I'm talking about...... and a bit of a hangover from the MaxAlt.....man was I cravin' some greasy Taco Bell this morning when I woke up.....that stuff really kicks my butt (the MaxAlt)!

After breakfast I headed to the office to conquer the bills. I do much of my bill paying on-line and so the first thing I start with is my little piece of paper with ALL of my account #'s, log-ins and passwords that I have had FOREVER....I mean I've had it so long that it resembles a Kleenex with writing on it! And you'd think that since I've had it forever that I would be able to remember what was on it but NO! too many accounts, too many numbers and too many requirements for each and every password. Panicked I call Matt.....like he's gonna know where it is.....DUH!?! But worth a try....of course he DOESN'T know where it is but did mention that it could've gotten mixed in with some of the papers that he and Berkleigh shredded the night before.....admission of guilt or just trying to help? HMMMM? Frustrated at yet another set back in getting the one thing I hate most accomplished I pull up the list of account information that I have on the computer knowing that it hasn't been updated in FOREVER! Basically I have to pull up all of our accounts and reassign each account a new user i.d., password and in some cases security answers.....it took all morning just to get that done and there aren't that many accounts! Factor in that I would have to leave the computer every 5 seconds in order to play referee, nanny, nurse, direct tv guy, referee, chef, phone man, whirlpool man, referee, tent builder, weather man, umpire, maid.....AKA.......MOM! It was a long DAY!

As you can see my day hasn't ended...Matt's playing poker tonight so I've had a LONG, FULL DAY with the kids...we watched Lemony Snickets or Lamony Snickers as Caleb calls it and made some banana "cake".... both children have found their way to the office AFTER putting them to bed, Caleb for the second time..... so I'm about to FLIP MY LID.....these children can negotiate like you would not believe....LOVE THEM but JUST GO TO BED ALREADY!!!

So Tuesday's Teachings would be.... KEEP YOUR INFO. LIST UPDATED AND STASH A COPY IN A SAFE PLACE!!! ............ D U H ................!

Wii's missin' my BABES!

Well, it's another Houston work week for this temporary Hygienist and boy am I glad that temporary is the adjective describing my work! I'm exhausted and BOY DO I MISS MY BABES!



It's been especially hard this week because I didn't see them all weekend either! I had to take Caleb to the Dr. AGAIN! Yes, again.......it started Sunday night when he woke up crying b/c his ear was hurting. He had been swimming that afternoon so my first thought was swimmers ear...I "cleaned" his ear out with alcohol and dropped a few drops down in the ear canal followed by a dose of Motrin and a warm rag....off to sleep he went (in my bed)! I woke up early Monday morning and headed to work...on the way out I stopped by my bed and gave all three of my sleeping angels a kiss goodbye (yes, all three in my bed where there should really only be one) or two if I were lucky enough not to ever have to work again...or get up a 5:00 in the morning to go to work!!! UGH....anyway, kissed Caleb and checked for fever....no fever, no worries, swimmers ear! Got home on Monday night and all seemed to be fine, still no fever....no worries BUT A LOT of drainage coming from his ear.....called Grandma to find out what she thought about all of this drainage as she is officially and expert after dealing with Matt and his cigarette patched ears in his childhood years and she seemed to think that he might have ruptured his eardrum. Immediately got on the INTERNET to investigate....hmmmm could be a ruptured eardrum.....what do you do.....nothing.....it will heal on its own....BUT Caleb has had ear tubes and is actually sportin' his second pair.....can you rupture your eardrum if you have tubes? Ahhh this child is killin' me and my bank account! Tuesday, Wednesday.....no fever, no worries.....the boy hasn't slowed down or shown any sign of not feeling well aside from a stuffy nose....THURSDAY....stuffy nose, cough and copious amounts of drainage.....call doctor....come in.....OF COURSE....glad I did b/c my boy has a severe middle ear infection.....so severe that the doctor couldn't even see his eardrum b/c of all of the gunk.....it was DISGUSTING....I mean, I have a pretty strong stomach but when he stuck that Q-tip in his ear and then used his little "loop" to extract that GUNK out of Caleb's ear I thought I was going to lose it! It was gross! And then the doctor says it ...... again ......ANTIBIOTIC ..... ANTIBIOTIC again? He just finished his last round for his second case of strep......oh - the doctor forgot to put EXPENSIVE in front of antibiotic.....the darn ear drops were $45.00 and the Augmentin was $10.00......I've got to figure out how to start making this stuff at home....I mean if people can make meth at home surely I can concoct an antibiotic!!! I'll bet there's some growin' in my veggie crisper as we speak!

Before leaving for Houston I called Grandma to see if she MIGHT be interested in watching the kids for the weekend.....we were headed to Houston to see the doctor and were in desperate need for a babysitter Friday and Saturday night.....OF COURSE she said she'd love to have the little angels for the weekend which meant Matt and I had a whole weekend to ourselves! It was really nice just hanging out and actually getting to have an uninterrupted conversation...and we'll leave it at that! Sunday came soon enough and off to Houston we went to pick up the off-spring....we met Grandma, Randy and the babes at the new Chuy's on 290....yummy! Matt's birthday was Monday so this was his early "birthday dinner"! I decided that a Wii would be a great gift for Matt's birthday...a perfect way to create some family time! Grandma agreed too and said she go in half with me so a Wii it was!!! What a great surprise! Did I say SURPRISE???? Unfortunately NOT! Grandma decided that Caleb could keep a secret.....ugh.....he's six.....with an unintentional BIG MOUTH....she pulled the Wii out so that she could wrap it and it was all over after that! Needless to say as soon as we called Matt to tell him goodnight on Thursday the word "Wii" flew out of Caleb's mouth! He didn't exactly say....Dad wii got you a Wii for you birthday. Instead he said....Dad when wii were at Target wii were looking at the Wii's.....looking at the Wii's? What were you looking at the Wii's for? Oh! Wii got a game to play at the Fitzpatrick's!!! Quick thinking I might add but unfortunately Matt's a little quicker!!!! Laughing hysterically - I tried to play along with Caleb but in the end MATT KNEW! Whether hii knew or not wii are having a blast with the Wii!!! Such fun - you should try one!

Allergic to Fire Ants....what's a boy to do?

So, as most of you know, Caleb is severely allergic to fire ants....yes, fire ants! After our last episode when he woke up with his eyes swollen and the first episode including an overnight stay at Texas Children's we decided, without question, the we needed to visit the allergist again! What a day that turned out to be...an all day ordeal of poking and prodding my six year old and scaring the crud out of me....he had his first blood draw since birth and another series of allergy tests.....we had to watch another video on the correct way to administer the EPI-PEN Jr. if needed and strict orders to do this before that and that before this.....poor guy! After a full day in Houston going from the office to the lab and back to the office we got in the car to head home and all my poor boy could say was...."Mom, I am warned out!".....and my reply...."me too!" -- though the news about his severe allergy was expected I didn't foresee that we would have to make an hour drive once a week for him to get allergy shots....as no doctor here in town will administer them nor did I realize that we might have to sell Berkleigh in order to afford them! I've come up with a solution to the problem....sell the house and move North where it's too cold for these pustule formin', edema causin', pain in the A$$, pocket book breakin' DAMN FIRE ANTS!


P.S.

He's allergic to horses too....you think we might sell the horse too?!?! Uhhh....NO!

GO ASTROS!!!!!!!!

We finally made it to an ASTROS game....of the major league variety, that is, and a great family time was had by all. It was the beginning of our 4th of July vacation series and what a great way to start it off....We met Matt's cousin, Russell, and his family at the stadium and though OUR seats were undesirable (as this was a very last minute idea) Russell's seats (or should I say the seats behind Russell's seats) were just to the left of home plate!!! Score!!! As soon as the coast was clear we headed down! The stadium is just awesome and we parked right across the street! It really was pretty easy for us to all go and enjoy ourselves without it being such an ordeal as it often can be when trying to attend such entertainment. It was especially fun to see the kids get so excited!!! They really had a great time! We all scored a little ASTROS lute thanks to Grandma....we've actually worn our ASTROS caps quite regularly since we got them...especially Berkleigh! I think the actual merchandise is cheaper than the food...The kids wake up every morning and request that their cereal be served in the Astro Cap bowls that came with a mound of ice cream in them that cost a whopping $6.00.....WOW!.....$6.00? You can get a 1/2 gallon of blue bell for $4.89!!! And water? Well, $4.00 for a bottle of water is just ridiculous.....needless to say there wasn't a whole lot of snackin' goin' on at the game or we wouldn't have had any money for the remainder of our vacation! Good grief!!

Anyway, as I said this was the first part of our 4th of July vacation series....I'll send more pics and humor at a later date!

Family FUN!

Okay, okay, okay - I realize that I'm completely behind on my blog but I just can't seem to get a spare minute to sit down and hash it all out! I've just had so much going on these last couple of weeks...tee-ball, work, end of school parties, the necessity for sleep, MOPS, girl's trip, the need for more sleep and so forth and so on. Did I mention I have two kids that require a lot of time and sitting in my lap while I blog isn't on the top of their "fun list"? Anyways, I was SO reminded by a dear friend that "my other friend" (who actually peaked my bloggin' interest) has two kids, a full time job, regular doctor visits and a very fun and festive lifestyle yet she can keep her blog updated! Well, if that's not pressure then I don't know what is!

This is the LAST WEEK of school so my blog should be updated more frequently and just might be updated so often that you will no longer care to hear "all about the arthur's" -- though we are a fun and active bunch things are sure to slow down over the summer -- with gas prices rising we are sure to be somewhat home bound. Therefore, there is only so much I can blog about that is of much interest unless you'd like a synopsis of our daily routine...I didn't think so!

So, with summer officially starting next week I'm sure to start popping the PROZAC! Summer and Prozac go hand in hand especially if you have a strong willed child like my girl! She practices everyday and boy is she good at it! I'm pretty sure that the reason I'm losing all of my hair is b/c of the stress this child puts me through! It's sure to be to her advantage when she gets older but come on give MOMMA a break! They say it gets easier....I'm still waiting.

Last week I hosted my first CAbi party - as many of you know I sold CAbi for the past two seasons but with our first season of tee-ball and the temporary hygiene schedule I've been keeping it was getting impossible for me to "do" CAbi during the week which took away from my weekends with the family so I had to make the very tough decision to give up CAbi for the time being. Well, if I'm not selling it I've got to get it in my closet somehow so I hosted a party. I'll have to say that one of the funnest family weekends I've had thus far was the weekend prior to the party aka "preparation weekend". Don't forget I'm very OCD and things have to be just right for my 15 guests!!!

Preparation Weekend: It's been about a year and a half since we moved into the house and it seems that once we signed the closing papers one spider told the next spider who told another spider that the house was ready for "move in" - I'm not kidding I think every spider this side of the Colorado decided to move in when we did! What does that mean? It's time to pressure wash the house! That's right - we rented a pressure washer and took the necessary measures to rid the exterior of the house of all spiders and webs....it took a whole day mind you! And it is truly amazing how different the house looks without subdivisions of spider webs attached to every surface available. I hate SPIDERS! (scorpions and snakes too....both of which live out here as well!) Funny snake story came to fruition about a week after moving in....I'll share that one at a later date!!! I'm sure to be reminded!!!

So, Matt has worked all day on pressure washing the house and outside furniture and sidewalks etc. the kids are being ANGELS riding around on their bikes and swinging on the swing set while I clean the windows and work on the flowerbeds. We ate a little lunch and then went back outside to finish up. Matt had actually finished with the house and suggested that we pressure wash the four wheeler and anything else that might benefit from a extreme blast of water. During the "four wheeler bath" the kids discovered that it was fun to be sprayed by the pressure washer from afar and was quite refreshing in this 93 degree May weather?!? After soaking both kids with the suds from the bucket we were using to wash the four wheeler I hosed them down once again....did I mention that they are fully clothed and laughing hysterically at the fact that I'm spraying them AND they have their clothes on!!! They continue to play in with the water hose and I return to the windows. Seconds later I look over to the driveway and BOTH kids are BUTT NAKED riding their bikes.......need I say it...ONLY IN THE COUNTRY!

As the sun begins to go down we sit on the front porch and take in the beauty of what God has blessed us with....healthy, happy children, a beautiful home on beautiful land, a non-fighting cat and dog but most of all LIFE and LAUGHTER.....hope you too enjoy our blessings!

Catchin up is hard to do.....

Well, well, well it's been another week (again) since my last post. If I'm gonna do this thing and do it right I've got to learn to slow down. So, what has kept me from my blog?!



Let me think....as you've previously read we started Tee-ball this year and it's a two time a week ordeal...if we are here we're there and if aren't there we're here....it's been fun watching these little guys learn the "ins" and "OUTS" of baseball....there's absolutely no consistency in their game which makes each game night even more FUN! We've got one that thinks "tag the runner" means throwing the ball at him and another that likes to "twirl" in circles as he runs from base to base. It really has been a lot of fun - Buttermaker's doing a good job and even manages to hold off the cold one until he gets home....though I'm pretty sure I saw a few of them (the coaches) secretly sharin' some brew last night - it WAS really hot!



Aside from tee-ball it's been the usual for this city girl gone country and I'm happy to report that all of the animals have been tended to by Matt and the kids - thank you God! It's starting to get pretty out here again - the grasses are turning green and the flowers are blooming everywhere...I've got to work on snapping a couple of bluebonnet pics before it gets too hot and they all die....which could be tomorrow - one never knows here in Texas.



I attended a women's retreat this last weekend in New Braunfels! I've had this retreat planned since January and not two days after I send in my registration fee Matt decides to let me know that he has their annual Bullet and Bugs "thingy" at work that weekend and OF COURSE has to be there at the butt crack of dawn "probably" until dark.....where does that leave me? On a mad search for a babysitter - as always! So - I was able to get Glady's (our tried and true) to come and spend her Saturday with our kids while we are both off doing our thing.





I head to the retreat via Austin stopping at every new Marshalls and Target along the way....my how Austin has grown! As registration time gets close to being OVER I decide I'd better get a move on it and head South.....I know that the San Marcos Outlet Stores are soon to appear on my left and have to talk myself out of stopping. I'm sure those passing me think I've lost my mind as I'm talking to myself....neck cranked to the left, driving too slow in the fast lane trying to take it all in.....planning my attack for the return trip...my mouth's watering as I pass KENNETH COLE, MICHAEL KORS, WHITE/BLACK, COACH and the list goes ON and ON! So anyway, I arrive at T bar M and get my registration packet and room key. I've never met my roommate before but know that she is from La Grange. I unload my bags (you'd think I was staying 2 weeks not 2 nights) and lug them up the stairs, I find my room and knock on the door. My new roomie answers and I'm pleasantly surprised! A striking woman with blonde hair and a beautiful smile maybe just a bit older than myself - excited we make our introductions and visit for a minute before heading to dinner. I sit with my new roomie and some other ladies from La Grange - it's nice to be able to put names with faces! After dinner and the welcoming ceremony we head back to our room. AND that's when it happened......my roomie looks at me and asks the dreaded question...."do you snore?".....me, snore? No - and I'm praying to God at this very moment that YOU DON'T EITHER! She tells me that she does snore and that she mentioned it when she registered....I tell her that it's okay - thinking to myself "it can't be that bad - she's not overweight, doesn't smoke, appears to be healthy....she probably just sends out a little gurgle here and there....I can handle that - I'll just take a little more of my sleeping pill and all will be fine!" We prepare for bed and watch a re-run of 2.5 Men laughing hysterically b/c Charlie Sheen is such a pig......11:00 comes around and lights are out - all is quiet and I fall into the best sleep I've had in a while....how blissful! And suddenly I am awakened by the most horrifying sound - a sound so powerful I'm sure the walls are shaking and the pictures are about to hit the floor. I sit up completely startled and realize that it is, in fact, my roomie! How can that be? How can she make such a sound? But most importantly how am I going to get the sleep that I am so craving? I go to the bathroom and turn two wads of toilet paper into "earplugs" throw the pillow over my head and think for a split second that my problem is solved BUT no such luck. I lay there until I can't take it anymore and decide to go down to the front desk to see if it is possible for me to be put in another room. I approach this college kid that is warming up his ramen noodle dinner. With a unmistakable "bed head" and glassy, groggy eyes I tell him ... I've been put in a room with someone who snores (can't you hear her?) and can't sleep. Is it possible for you to put me in another room? Okay, obviously I am in a sleep deprived daze b/c I'm seriously asking for another room....and of course I get this response..."I can put you in another room but I'll have to charge you" DUH! ?! I've already paid for a room I just want one that I can actually sleep in!!! So then I ask the starving college student if he might happen to have any cotton balls b/c the toilet paper I tried DIDN'T WORK! He digs around searching for NOTHING I'm sure and comes up with another familiar answer...NO! By this time I'm sure his ramen noodles are cold and I'm feeling a little okay about that! (Now that's just not nice is it?) At the same time I'm feeling gratification for keeping him from his hot ramen noodle dinner I'm also eyeballing the couch in the lobby wondering if I go park it on his sofa might he throw me a blankie?? Frustrated and almost tearful I drag on back toward my room and I suddenly allow by half dead brain to "think". I go to the car and retrieve a pair of the headphones that go with the DVD system - white noise! Of course! This noise has got to be better than that noise.....so I go upstairs quietly.....trying not to wake my roomie up....as if this could actually happen, put the toilet paper earplugs in my ears, place the headphones over my toilet paper stuffed ears and top it off with my pillow! Are you kidding me? I can still hear the rumble of my roomies throat(?) At this point I don't believe there is any noise that could drowned out the sounds my roomie was belting out! Soon morning arrives and I look at my watch 6:00 - guess I could go to the 6:30 YOGA session OR I could take advantage of this unfamiliar thing called silence....I rearrange my pilot sized headphones almost tempted to take them off and doze off for about 30 seconds and there she goes again! The alarm goes off to get up (not sure how my roomie heard it) and we start to stir....of course the first thing out of my roomies mouth was "did I snore and keep you up?" I cannot tell a lie......YES! YES you did -- ALL NIGHT LONG (lionel richie?) She felt horrible, of course, but we laughed about all of my antics - I just couldn't keep them to myself! We both agreed that we will work on better sleeping arrangements for my last night there!

So, I decide to call Matt and wish him a "good day" as this would be the first time we'd actually spoken in the last couple of days due to some tension that has come up due to a whole different situation. And wouldn't you know it? Berkleigh has been throwing up since one o'clock in the morning...every hour! Just what I needed to hear...and where exactly was Matt's place in all of this? At the "work related" "thingy" -- of course....it's ALWAYS work related and he can NEVER miss it! UGH! So I ask him as he's traveling toward his destination and I'm preparing to head home....."does Glady's have Gatorade, crackers, bananas ANYTHING?" The response? "There's a couple of bottles of Propel on the floor in the pantry." A couple of bottles of Propel? Are you kidding me?...can you NOT think outside of YOUR box?.....so with a calmness in my voice I ask him..."don't you think you should have taken a few minutes to get Glady's the things she might need to keep Berkleigh HYDRATED for the 12 hours that she might be with her?" Frustrated, I hung up and called home to check on Berkleigh.....Gladys said that Berkleigh was fine, wasn't running fever and that I shouldn't head home....she can handle the throwing up and Matt just came back with Gatorade and crackers....hmm...way to SYA - she said she would call me if she needed me! Feeling very confident with Gladys carrying for my sick child I stayed at the retreat. As lunch approached I thought it might be time for me to figure out a way to get some sleep....the only other person I knew at the retreat well enough to invite myself over for the night was my girlfriend Tracy. So I explain my previous night to Tracy and she invites me to stay in her snore free room without hesitation. She then tells me that she is sharing her room with her mother and her friend Candra. Candra and Tracy are both psychotherapists and they are each doing a workshop at the retreat! Well, what a night it turned out to be! After dinner and dessert we head back to the room. It didn't take me long to learn that there should be a heavy emphasis on the word "psycho" when referring to these two ladies! I LOVE it! It was like a high school slumber party all over and these three smarties were throwing out words and acronyms left and right....I was trying to pick up everything I could so I could use them at a later date!! I too am SMART ha ha! We laughed so hard that night - about anything and everything. There was a picture on the wall in the room that had "buffalo bill" in it so the lead us into a "Silence of the Lambs" quote fest ... "last time I ate a man's liver, I ate it with a can of fava beans and a nice glass of Chianti....then there's that crazy tongue thing he does at the end...." YIKES! And what about "it puts the lotion on it's skin, it does this when it's told" Giggle, giggle, giggle. We really got tickled when a quote that has been around for ever was misquoted ... someone said something about being "old in the tooth" uhhhh? Isn't it "long in the tooth" - I'm not sure why but we all got so tickled at that we just couldn't quit laughing. (especially Pam aka Bathsheba) We finally all dozed off and yes, there was a little gurgle coming from the other side of the room but it didn't bother me...God had purposely put me in that room to make new friends and to build on the friendship I had already started..... and that He did!!! Until next time!

Confession Tuesday -

Man, has it been a week since my last post? Time sure does fly...

Well, it IS confession Tuesday so I'm going to give it another shot....It was very therapeutic and my "BLOG FANS" seemed to like it so here it goes...

Confession #1:

I'm too tired to confess much tonight so this liable to be short and meaningless!

Confession #2:

I love "keepin' up with the kardashians" I think Kim Kardashian is gorgeous - with or without make-up

Confession #3:

I'm not a morning person! At all!!!

Confession #4:

I'm addicted to my DVR....

Confession #5:

I watch "Girlicious" - can't stand Chrystina...love Nicole - -I wish I had any of their bodies, dance moves or singing ability....really I want all three!

Confession #6:

I despise LAUNDRY....just not my thing! It's never ending...in this house anyways!

Confession #7:

I refer to my automobile as my "dump truck on wheels" and anyone who has ridden in it will agree....it's really gross! Maybe I'm not so OCD after all - though I do have a trashcan in it...a trashcan within a trashcan? That's weird!

Confession #8:

I love Sarah Chalke's new underwear commercial...the "wedgie free" undies...brilliant!And being that I am in "confession" mode - - I will confess to one, if not all, of her "free the wedgie" moves! Nothing more frustrating than having on "Indian underwear" - - ya know? The one's that creep up on you!!!

Confession #9:

I laughed hysterically while watching my DVR'd "Samantha Who?" last night....Christina Applegate aka Kelly Bundy ... in designer clothes! Love, love, love all the characters in this one! Sooooooooo FUNNY!

Confession #10:

After reading over this I've discovered - - - I'm a complete TV Freak!!!

GOOD NIGHT!

Confession Tuesday -

Well, my girlfriend Kristi does this post in her blog called "confession Tuesday" so I thought I'd give it a try as well. Lord knows I have A LOT to confess and this might just be the best and most therapeutic way to do it without getting a bill from my therapist!!!

Confession #1....

My kids drove me crazy today! My boy child has somehow learned to demand things..."Mom! GET me some water!" not "Mom, may I have a drink of water please?" .... this was an all day ordeal with him that finally got him a spanking and no play date tomorrow...

My girl child has learned to flat out LIE....I looked over to see her scribbling all over the windowsill in my bedroom and when I asked her if she just wrote on the windowsill she said "No, I didn't Mama, I didn't" of course, when I walked over to inspect it she had scribbled in three different places with three different colors....all out of one pen! Caleb actually told on her before I could make my way over to inspect which added to my craziness! So, needless to say....she got a spanking and a time out too!

Confession #2....

I love the paddle and ball "thingy" the kids got in their Easter baskets....especially the paddle part!!

Confession #3....

I HATE hearing....."Mama I'm finished!" ... Ahhh! I've only got two kids but I'm sure I wipe their butts at least three times a day EACH!

Confession #4....

I'm very OCD - this is one reason why I still wipe my five year olds butt!

Confession #5...

Berkleigh's pacifier is my best friend!

Confession #6...

I'm getting a little upset with the results I'm getting from all of this work I've been putting in at the gym....NONE! What gives!

Confession #7...

I wish I could always be happy like my husband...never a worry in the world, ALWAYS upbeat and in a good mood....DAMN HIM!

Confession #8...

I'm dying to put my nose in my book....Eat, Pray, Love - thanks Kristi!

Confession #9...

I'm getting way too into this confession thing and need to stop before it gets out of hand...I've got to save something for next Tuesday!

JUNK - O - RAMA - PROM!!!

Well, a good time was had by all at the JUNK-O-RAMA-PROM!! As I posted earlier it was Antique Weekend at Warrenton/Round Top here in my neck of the woods and we planned a girl's night out for the Junk Gypsies "J-O-R-P" -aka- PROM NIGHT. This was the first time for most of us to attend Prom Night (this one anyways) and it was really fun seeing everyone dressed up in these crazy tutu's with cowboy boots and gaudy jewels! The more TURQUOISE and BLING ya had on the better....yet another story about country life! Good Grief!

Anyways, the weather turned out to be perfect - crisp and cool just like I like it! And the music turned out to be better than expected as well! Michael Mach a local band and family friend ended up playing b/c the original band "no showed"...what idiots......so they called Michael at the last minute and he covered for the night! Why is that such a big deal you ask? Well......being the local roadies that we are we got to get up on stage and sing PROUD MARY with him....that's right! A live performance on Prom Night by Michael Mach and The Locals - I'm having t-shirts made for the Fall....(something about me and t-shirts....YAK!!!) Anyways, though not fully prepared for the act I "reluctantly" got up on stage a belted out "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' on the River" Keep in mind that this was NO Karaoke (lyrics? Who needs lyrics?)....this was the real thing! Live band and all!!!! For those of you who've heard me sing Karaoke (and there are only a few...Whit, Kristi, Kimberly) you know exactly how BAD I am so it was a good thing that the band (and a few of my girlfriends) completely played and sang over me! Regardless, I sure did feel special up there on that stage!

Here's a breakdown on the pics that I posted from the night:

The outhouse pics (not that you can tell that it is an outhouse)....anyways, the pic in the "gaudy junk-o-rama outhouse" was hilarious b/c I'm pretty sure Tracy (to my left) "goosed" me about the time the shot was taken hence the "Asian" expression on my face! "Don't mess with my tutu"....in my best Asian accent! And the other outhouse shot looks as though I might actually be using the outhouse! Ah Confucius say....."girl who pees in outhouse not from city"!!

And how about the pic of Thais and I.... Poor lady has no idea she's even in the shot! She sure does look mad doesn't she!

Then there's the group shot.....Bonny's got on the coolest pair of hand painted cowboy boots painted by none other than Bonny herself (damn you can't see them) and little Allie looks as if she's strangling Clifford (Bonny's $300.00 poodle purchased that afternoon in Warrenton! Sucka!) Leslie (my new friend from Houston in the cute orange top that is sure to go through severe culture shock after this whole ordeal coined the quote of the night "Let's go, I'm on borrowed time!!" Ah this is so true when you have a babysitter at home...you have to make EVERY minute count.

The funniest part of the night was coming across a "cowboy" that was wearing red underwear with Velcro sides....his buckle said "BODACIOUS" across it and I guess he thought he was....bodacious enough to show several of us his "break away" undies......now who said country livin' wasn't fun!? EWWWWW! Turned me right off BUT has kept me laughin' ever since!

So that's about all I can put in here about Prom night...without totally embarrassing several of my girlfriends!!!! And you know who you are!!

Can't wait until October....YA'LL

My Little ASTRO!!!!

We had our first official game tonight and it was quite comical! These little guys are very entertaining - especially Caleb - he's definately more theatrical than he is athletic at this point! He LOVES to slide...he slides when he's chasing after a ground ball, he slides when he runs to first, he slides into second and slides again at third and let's not forget home plate! He slides there too! That is if he can remember to go from third to home and not from third to the pitchers mound to first again! What a laugh! I wish you could have seen it - what made it even funnier is that his helmut had fallen down over his eyes...so he's pretty much runnin' blind from here to there!!!!!!

He played the field for the first inning and that was a hoot watching him dance around and then steal a ball that his teammate fielded - quite nicely I might add! Matt (aka "Buttermaker" - from the BAD NEWS BEARS -hee hee) decided to put Caleb as catcher for the second inning...he actually did a little better there I think. It was so funny seeing him try to walk in all of that catchers gear! I'm not sure if Buttermaker made him wear a "cup" or not but while I was bathing him he thought it would be funny to put the cup that I rinse Berkleigh's hair with over his "wee wee" and say "I'm wearing a cup!" so maybe Buttermaker did make him wear one! Got to protect those little jewels!

As many of you know, Caleb has a thing for infomercials and it amazes me that he can remember so much information. He came into the computer room this afternoon to let me know he was going to call Nationwide....ya know? "Nationwide is on your side! " He picked up the phone and started dialing he even remembered the number! He had only been watching t.v. for about thirty minutes while I got Berkleigh down for a nap! Who knows how many times that add ran in that thirty minutes but I figure if I make him watch a full major league game we'll have a Nolan Ryan on our hands in no time!! At least then he can act and look like he knows what he's doing!

Well, considering we've only had two practices I think we did pretty well. I think Buttermaker did a pretty good job too! It's not easy trying to teach eight five year olds how to play ball.....ya know, five year olds only have about a three minute attention span so Buttermaker has to figure out how to keep them focused for the other 57!! Until next time!! GOODNIGHT!

What a week - 2 days temping makes an old hygienist SORE! I can't believe I used to do this full time! I've been too tired to post so now I have to play catch up! There really isn't much to catch up on though just everyday life here in the country! It is ANTIQUE WEEKEND though - yipee - one of my favorite things! It's really only preview weekend but you'd never know it! There are people everywhere. Antique weekend officially starts next weekend but it's gotten so big that they've spread it over two weeks....two weeks of leisurely strolls checkin' out JUNK! Me and the kids already downed a bag of Kettle Corn - the first of many! Not lookin' for anything particular this year but there's always room for more JUNK! I think we're going to take the kids out next Wednesday to listen to our friend Michael Mach play - the kids have a great time dancin' around and come home FILTHY! Then we're going to do a girl's night out and attend the Junk-O-Rama Prom that the JUNK GYPSIES put on every year....should be a great time!

Happy Easter!

Well, it's come and gone....Easter Day at the Arthur's! It turned out to be a pretty good day! As low key as it could possibly be with 11 kids ranging in age from 2 weeks to 7 years running around like crazy - well the 2 week old wasn't running around but the others were! Okay! Then there's the extra "kid" , Randy, we won't say his age though it is WELL OVER 7! Every time I heard screamin' I'd look outside and there was Randy chasing one of the kids then throwing them over his shoulder once they were caught. The funniest thing to look out the window and see was Randy and Caleb runnin' to the back twenty chasing after the inflatable "bunny in car" that the wind sent sailing. It's actually still inflated as they are running after it.....pretty funny watching the inflated bunny in a hot pink blow up car hovering over the grass as if it has "put the pedal to the metal" until suddenly it starts to lose some of its air and the wind sends it tumbling...."wreck, big wreck"!!



I love having a house full of family and friends! Mimi and Jake even showed up with Jason and Linda and the newest of the Reichle clan....little Paige....two weeks old and SO sweet! She pretty much slept the whole time....not sure how anyone could sleep through all the screamin' but she did! Berkleigh even asked if she could open her eyes!! (I think it was Berkleigh?) Little Paige is just beautiful and has a FULL head of black hair! I never even got to hold her! I was too busy hanging out on the floor with my nephew Gavin. He's the most content child I've ever seen....he's the one in the previous posted pics with the little lamb ears on! He was hanging out on the floor with my other nephew (Matt's brother's son) Brandon aka "Brandon the Brut" he's as big as Gavin is small and they are completely different - not a thing in common other than they pee in a diaper!



So, after hamburgers and cake the kids headed down to the ropin' arena for the first annual Arthur calf scramble! That's what I said "Calf Scramble" - Randy (the big kid) always helps with the calf scramble at the Houston Rodeo and Caleb dearly wanted to participate while we were there last week. Leave it up to Randy and Caleb to put their heads together and - Viola! a calf scramble you shall have. Randy even made numbers for the kids to wear just like at the rodeo - they were really cute! I' would like to take a minute to thank the Arthur Cattle Company for providing the livestock for this event and please note - no animal or child was injured during this event. I'm not even sure that any of the kids got close enough to even touch one of the calves let alone hurt one of them or vice versa! It's a long way to the other end of the arena and that's exactly where those calves headed as soon as they saw all the heathen children runnin' for 'em! RUN - RUN for your LIVES!!!!



They wrapped that up and Randy grabbed every egg he could find and started chunking them around the front yard...all the kids grabbed a basket and headed out to hunt eggs! This was about the 97th Easter Egg hunt my kids had been on! Now that they've tied Spring Break into the Easter Holiday EVERYONE does an Easter Egg Hunt! We've got enough candy to fill Willy Wonka's fFactory and we've got more erasers(?) than we'll ever need.....I guess I'm going to have to start a holiday box for erasers...we've got Valentine's Day erasers, Halloween erasers, Christmas erasers, St. Patrick's Day erasers, 4th of July erasers, birthday erasers and now Easter erasers! I'll have to make sure I use the correct eraser for the correct holiday. Can you see me erasing something at Halloween with an Easter egg? As if?!



Needless to say after we wrapped up our first Easter at home we were all dead! We cleaned up, ate a little something and took a bath....oh the bath! Funny how things happen. As I'm cleaning up Berkleigh is whining - as she often does - so I sit her on the counter next to the sink. I'm busy putting stuff away and each time I look over she's got another piece of clothing removed. Before you know it she's more or less naked sitting on the side of the sink playing in the water.....so I just go with it! My back hurts too bad to bend over the bathtub anyways so I'll just do it here! It's actually pretty nice bathing them in the sink - I don't have to bend over and I have the little sprayer hose that I can rinse them with....bath.....DONE!



Matt and Berkleigh CRASHED as soon as they crawled into bed for some night time t.v. - Caleb and I started playing his DS -- the girls showed him all kinds of new things so I was trying to help him figure it all out....and suddenly we're down for the count as well.



Until next year!

Nanie's Easter Eggstravaganza

Well, we are all excited about today's event - it's Nanie's annual Easter Eggstravaganza! We've decided that we would just spend another night in Houston and wake up Sunday morning, meet Matt in Giddings and head to Round Rock for the much anticipated event!

It's a pretty uneventful morning of hustling and bustling to get everything re-packed to head home! I put the kids in the tub as I continue to get things together and decide that I'd better check on them to make sure that they haven't drowned one another. I walk into Grandma's bathroom and what should I see but a bathtub that is just on the verge of overflowing! GOOD GRIEF! Have you any brains? I'm not sure if I'm talking to myself or the kids....we get everyone bathed and dressed and the car packed and I suddenly realize that I was supposed to leave the house at 10:00 - NOT 10:45!! Ah man, we're gonna be late to Nanie's....oh how I dread to call and tell her!

We have a safe and speedy trip to Giddings where we met Matt! Hi Dad, nice to see ya!! We continue West on 290 and by some miracle make it to Nanie's only 15 minutes late! From Houston to Round Rock in 2 1/2 hours - I'll let you do the math! Oh and by the way - we called Nanie to tell her we were running about 45 minutes late and she said "okay, drive safe..." Hey lady? What did you do with my real mother? Just joking, Mom! For the record, my baby brother, Dustin, and his family did show up 45 minutes late - he does have two extra kids so better late than never, right?!!!!

So everyone arrives and we eat a great meal! Brisket, sausage, Mom's baked beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, more baked beans, more deviled eggs....you see where I'm going with this? Needless to say it was a long, stinky ride home! (no names mentioned - but there were 4 of us in the car!!!)

After eating we did our Resurrection Eggs and then the kids got to decorate their Easter eggs. Me, Nanie and Papaw helped decorate while the boys hung out in the living room. It was great having both Mom and Dad there helping and getting to enjoy the Grandkids!

Soon after all the decorating the Easter Bunny showed up and traded each kid a flower for their basket of eggs. He then went and hid all of the eggs in the backyard and the kids had to go find them! It was awesome seeing my kids run around with their cousins hunting eggs! It was even more awesome being with my whole family and their friends and family! Looks like we even snagged my little brother and his family for Easter....me and the kids are going to pick up the older girls, Ryli and Lexi on Thursday - if my kids ask one more time when Thursday will be here I think I'm gonna rip my ears off! My brother and his wife and the two small kids are going to come in on Saturday and do Easter/Easter Bunny with us on Sunday! EXCITING! The club has an Easter egg hunt Friday morning I think I'm going to take them to! SHHHH!

As the saying goes....all good things must come to an end. Nanie gave each Grand kid their Easter basket filled with goodies and Papaw brought a bag of candy for them each to pick from. Thanks, Dad! We said our goodbyes, loaded up and headed home!

Not much planned for Spring Break - I'm working in Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday - we have a play date planned for Thursday morning and then we'll get the girls that evening! Easter at the Arthur's on Sunday for anyone who wants to come out!!

What a Weekend!

Man, what a weekend we've had! It officially started on Friday with an Easter Program at the kids school! Caleb had an outstanding "lead" reciting John 3:16 and he did a terrific job....do you think I got it on video? UH, No - I didn't know that he had a "lead" part until he had already started and I was fumbling around on the church floor trying to get Ms. Deb's camera off my wrist so that I could put my camera in "video mode" while some kid was screaming his head off during the whole thing....come on people ever heard of the "cry room" ? While I'm fumbling around on the church floor I'm trying my best not to expose my crack to the whole church! These darn LOW RISE pants they make these days - what gives? Besides the waistband?! Anyways, I apologize to anyone reading this that had to witness the crack exposure if, in fact, there was one....I'll do my best to wear something less revealing next time!!!

Okay! So off we go! We are headed to Houston....a short stop a Grandma's for a quick nap and then it's RODEO time! Yeah! So the challenge here is for me to actually get the kids to take a nap and then find Grandma (who's working the Llama show) at the show arena as quick as possible because I will be toting my 3 and 5 year old from the parking lot to the show arena BY MYSELF! (Matt's STILL in Vegas) After a successful nap at Grandma's house we head to Reliant. I've decided that the best way for me to get from here (the parking lot) to there (the exhibit hall/show arena) is to put Caleb in the stroller and throw Berkleigh in the "hip hammock" - keep in mind that it is 90 degrees outside and I'm wearing BLACK pretty much head to toe. Berkleigh is attached to me like a monkey on it's mamas back and I'm pushing the stroller with one hand across parking lot, through the very crowded carnival area (either all of these people take off of work for this carnival thing or they are all jobless - not sure which is worse - taking off of work to spend your hard earned cash at the carnival or spending cash that you don't have at the carnival....) okay, anyway - I've made it through the carnival and I'm literally speed walking toward the exhibit hall/show arena. You should have seen the looks! I even heard one guy say "man that some strength right there" which of course made me forge ahead as if my left arm wasn't about to break off and my right wrist wasn't about to snap from navigating that 50 pound of stroller and boy! Did I forget to mention that at this point I am sweating as if I did, in fact, just finish running a 5K in the Mojave Desert! We make it in indoors....AHHHH! A/C - I love A/C it is such a refreshing thing and very seems to be very temporary (still sweating) as I continue my voyage to Grandma - she of course is in a whole different area than the one we thought she was at. After all of this lugging and the horrid smell of cow poop I decide to break down and call Grandma....lucky for me has just finished up and says she'll come to us....THANK YOU GOD!

We soon find the perfect spot to wait - the Rainbow Play scape exhibit! The kids are running around playing on the tire swing when Grandma find us. I hurriedly get her moving along because if we stay there too long she will then purchase this huge play thing that the kids are enjoying....she's like that ya know! Very generous in every way! Thanks Grandma!

So we make it free and clear of the Rainbow play scape and decide that we must get something to eat before heading in to watch Clay! Pappasitos (at the rodeo) 2 chicken tacos, a chicken quesadilla and an order of nachos to go with our $12.00 worth of sweet tea (with no lids) - $4.00/tea? You'd think they'd have lids....anyways - I asked Grandma who she was feeding because it was the four of us....and you know my guys don't eat anything unless it's J-U-N-K - well, the nachos were too spicy, the this was that and the that was this...I give up....eat all the junk you want, let your teeth rot 'cause I know exactly where I can find you a job!

We finally make it to the stadium for the rodeo and the concert....countdown to Clay....THANKS RANDY! Speaking of Randy, guess who shows up? It's Randy....and what does Randy have with him....cotton candy! Great! More J-U-N-K! Darn this rodeo is long! When do I get to see Clay...the kids are doing great and have actually been sitting a while....Caleb (who's been mentioning all of these things that he wants....popcorn, glow in the dark light sabre, snow cone, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.) suddenly needs to go to the bathroom. Grandma volunteers and of course, Berkleigh (who's already gone once) has to go too.....time passes and I'm really enjoying my "alone time" though it's with 13, 0000 other people and I turn to look up the stairs to the top of the landing and what do I see???I see my troops heading down the stairs with popcorn, a glow in the dark light sabre another glow in the dark thingy and a water! DAMN! Where was Grandma when I wanted those Michael Kors pumps at Neiman's and even then how do you get her to give in so easily? Teach me your tricks children, please!!!!

Well, the time has come and they finally announce that Clay is coming on! Seems like I've been waiting forever! I missed him last year because Berkleigh was sick....so I really have been waiting a long time! Needless to say Clay puts on a great show and we stay until the very end! We make it home safely and head straight to bed as we have yet another adventure for the next day.......The Easter Eggstravaganza and Nanie's!

Another Day, DONE!

Well, another day has come and gone and today was actually pretty uneventful! The livestock is all taken care of with only a minor complication with the 4-wheeler (4 cranks to start her up)....I think it's getting low on gas?!?

Anyways, it was a beautiful day so we spent some much needed time outside! The kids played on the swing set for over an hour! We didn't end up heading in for dinner and a bath until almost after 7:00! Caleb learned a new trick - jumping off of the swing in mid-air! I can't believe I got such a good shot of it! Ahhh to be a kid again! (you know I tried it!!!)

So, the kids have their Easter program at school tomorrow and then we are headed to Houston for the Rodeo! Clay Walker!!!! Thanks Randy!

It's been a bit crazy around here trying to get their clothes together for their program and for the weekend. It was discovered while packing that we are missing one of Berkleigh's new white shoes that she was going to wear to the program....it's sitting in the airport parking lot in Matt's truck! That throws a bit of a kink into the mix...she owns 37 pairs of shoes but do you think she would have another little white pair? Uh no, but we are improvising the best we can! Guess I'll have to take all of her pictures from the waist up!!!

After a stay at Grandma's house in Houston we head to Nanie's house in Round Rock for her annual Easter Egg Eggstravaganza...this is where my Mom gets all the kids and grand kids together to celebrate Easter...we decorate eggs, eat Mom's cookin' and we even get a special visit from the Easter Bunny!! Though he's not a very convincing Easter bunny - last year all the kids figured out it was Uncle Doug-o - it's a lot of fun and a very special time! It's great to have everyone together and this year is going to be even more special because it's my Dad's birthday and he's been invited to come and celebrate with us! A good egg hunt, the Easter Bunny, birthday cake and your whole FAMILY - what could be better!?! Thanks MOM!

Well, I'd better run - I have laundry and packing to finish and the kids are in the bathroom brushing their teeth by themselves....not sure how it happens but they manage to get toothpaste ALL OVER THE HOUSE....I even thought one of them had written on the wall with a marker only to discover that it was toothpaste...how hard is it to go from your mouth to the sink? Practice, practice, practice!

Goodnight! We miss you Daddy!

We can do this........

After a short nap we head back down to the calf pens determined to get this horse back to where she's supposed to be. We load up on the 4-wheeler (only one crank this time!) and head to the back pasture. There she is strollin' around in her new shoes dirty as can be. I grab the feed bucket and the harness and head in her direction all the while Caleb is yelling that I need to "bounce" the feed bucket so that she can "hear" the feed and I do....I mean he is a cowboy and all so he's sure to know what he's talking about! We (the horse and I) begin moving towards each other and before you know it her nose is deep in the feed bucket and she's just a chowin' down....I'm beginning to think this is a pig and not a horse! The second she comes up for air I place the harness over her nose and behind her ears and finagle some sort of knot in this thing that doesn't have a proper closure device. We walk toward the 4-wheeler and Caleb holds on to her while I put the feed trough back in with the calves and secure the fence (with a piece of wire about a foot long that I have to twist and twist and twist) yet another defective closure device! We slowly head towards the front pasture....it didn't take long for me to realize how hard it is to drive a 4-wheeler less than 5 miles an hour with two kids (one in front, one in back) while leading a horse to greener pastures! We finally make it and while crossing over the electric fence wire laying on the ground we all realize by the bucking bronco act that she's doing that the electric fence is actually hot! No sooner do I get her settled down do I turn around to see that Caleb is about to go down the same path....Hello cowboy? Didn't you just see the horse step on that thing and go ape wild? Anyways, we got all the animals fed and taken care of and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!