Polka Dots

I feel like I am seeing spots!! With all the changes going on right now, I decided that part of the changes that we were going to make would be the kids decision. I asked them if they wanted their rooms painted. Of course they did!! I asked them what colors. Ella informed me her room would be pink and purple. Tanner said he would be happy with one blue wall. I'm thinking an entire room bright pink and purple, there has to be an alternative. One blue wall I can live with, but bright pink and purple? She concedes and says one wall pink and one purple. Ok, options are getting better, but how do I make it work? Then an idea hits me, how about stripes or polka dots? Polka dots it is!!

Last weekend I started on painting and scraping ceilings. I knew the kids would be gone that weekend and thought I could have it done by the time they got home Sunday. Friday night I moved out furniture, scraped ceilings. Saturday after work I painted everything white, trim, door frames, walls and ceilings. Perfect, paint polka dots on Sunday and the room back together by the time the kids get home.

Well, the kids came home early on Sunday and I was not finished like I had hoped, but they got to help me paint. Ella actually helped me draw the dots on the wall and then we began painting. I outlined one dot and turned my back to outline one for Tanner. I got halfway through and Ella had taken it upon herself to finish painting the one I had outlined.

I left her dot that she painted by herself there. As a reminder of her helping me!!

Tanner painted about 4 dots and was through. Ella had to help me paint all the dots on the lower half of the walls. 4 hours after we started painting, we finally finished dots. I was very thankful that I didn't draw as many as Ella wanted. By 8 Sunday night, we had a new room with pink and purple polka dots.



Next task, blue and green striped walls in Tanner's room!!

A Season of Change

This fall is bringing not only a change of seasons, but also of other changes in our life. We were fortunate enough to celebrate my mama's 90th birthday a few weeks ago. We were all able to be there and all had a wonderful time celebrating. It's amazing that she is still living in her own house by herself. I hope that I will be as strong as she is when I grow up!!





Then we started flag football. I love to watch the kids play. Tanner has enjoyed it more this year than in the years past. He loves blocking!! I'm hoping one day he will not feel bad about hitting or blocking another player :/ Ella loves to watch too. She wants to be a cheerleader one day so she can cheer for him!!




My dad did get on with AEP and is now going to be moving!! This is something that I knew was coming and is mixed with bitter sweetness (is that a word?). I am so excited and happy for my dad and mom but at the same time sad for the kids and them that they won't be here like they have been for the past 9 years. Wow! 9 years. That doesn't seem possible. Tanner has had a few worries, but are hopefully eased now that he realizes they will only be 30 miles from here.

More changes abound as I started a second job!! Yay! I was so excited when I got this that I feel like a weight has been lifted. It is only going to be a few nights a week and a weekend here and there and is a really awesome opportunity for me.

More changes are on the horizon, but mostly we are adjusting to new things. Taking care of the right now and TRYING not to worry about the future. However, I am excited about what the future holds for us!! It is going to be AMAZING!!

End of a crazy two weeks

This weekend marks the end of a crazy two weeks. School started for Tanner on the 23rd. I had to be in Panhandle for court that day. Then I had court and treatment placement to get done by the end of the week. All of that mixed in with back to school night for Tanner and Ella on the same night, getting back in to the routine of homework, supper, and bed times made for a tiring first week.

This past Monday was Ella's first day of Ms. Angie's. Oh how we have missed her, but sure do not like the attitude in the afternoons. That tied with allergies kicking Ella's tail have not made for a fun week.

So, how do we end a crazy two weeks? By having a little fun ourselves!


We hope everyone has a great school year! It may get a little crazy for the kids and I, but we will have fun doing it!!

Vacation 2010!!

WE HAD A BLAST!!!

We started off our trip to Castaway Cove before driving on to Burleson. We had a super time. Tanner loved the wave pool and Ella loved the lazy river!! A girl after my own heart ;) We would have stayed in the lazy river all day had it not started raining. It rained a little bit and then moved on and we got to play some more. We went down some slides and played in the water and floated the lazy river some more. We left and headed out to Burleson, but not before stopping at The Olive Garden to eat!!

The next day was the Fort Worth Zoo. This was Ella's favorite place. She got tired of walking and decided that she would ride the rest of the way in the stroller. We got to spend a lot of time walking around and looking at all kinds of animals. Ella made sure cheetahs were the last thing we saw and Tanner made sure the reptile house was the first.


After that we went to the American Airlines museum. It was really neat to see. I didn't realize passenger planes were around as early as they were. The kids got to fly a simulator model which Tanner liked and Ella could have done without.
She saw the big plane and wanted to get on it. Now Ella wants to get on a plane and ride it somewhere!! Tanner, not so much (he's not a fan of heights).


Our third day was to the Dallas Aquarium. The kids got to feed some of the birds berries and see lots of big fish. Ella liked the manatee and flamingos. Tanner saw a guitar shark (?) and thought that was cool. (I'm probably not right about that, and he will correct me I'm sure). Then that afternoon we went and watched Despicable Me in 3D. It was a great movie. Of the last 4 movies I have seen, I have loved the kids movies better! Ella kept trying to reach out and grab the characters in the movie.

The next day was Dinosaur World. Tanner was in heaven and so excited he could hardly contain himself. We walked through the walk and he knew everyone of the dinosaurs on the path and what they were all about.

Ella was "leading" the way. She was having more fun showing us which way to go than looking at the dinosaurs. At the end of the walk we got to do a fossil dig. Ella calls them her shiny things that she got. Tanner had such a hard time deciding what to keep and what to put back. He wanted to keep all of his fossils, but finally decided on which ones to keep. We then headed to my sister's house and spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and swimming!!





On our way home I asked the kids what was their favorite part of the trip. Ella said the zoo. She said she would have liked the water park more if the big waves wouldn't have crashed in her face. She said she liked the little waves, but not the big ones. Tanner's favorite was Dinosaur World. Said that the next would have been the water park because of the wave pool. I on the other hand felt like the little girl in Despicable Me when she finally gets her big unicorn and says "IT'S SO FLUFFY!" about my new car!! I LOVE IT!!!! I LOVE IT!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

The one wish I have after all of this: to have my vacation kids back instead of my home kids. They were so good while we were gone and once we got back home, it's fighting, arguing and yelling to get out of the others room!?! So much fun though!!

Happy Birthday ELLA!!

My little girl turns 4 today!! My goodness how time has flown and what an experience and ride she has taken us on!!

My little girl has an opinion and mind of her own. I am not complaining because I love it and hope she continues to not be afraid of what she thinks and expressing her opinions. She is very vocal about what she wants and cries when she doesn't get her way. She can go from being extremely happy or excited to mad and feelings hurt in the drop of a hat. There are times when I am not used to her roller coaster of emotions and sit at a loss of what to do and worry that one day I REALLY won't know how to handle it all. She has a very sweet and loving side. She is a caretaker like her brother, but really doesn't want anyone to know. I love to listen to her sit and play with her dolls and tell them that she will love them and take care of them til the day she dies! She can also play with dinosaurs and dragons with her brother. However, she likes to be the princess in distress and have a prince come and resuce her from the mean dragons!!
She loves playing dress-up and changing clothes a 100 times a day! (if I would let her!) Ella loves putting on make-up, wearing jewelry, carrying purses and wearing hats and sunglasses when we go out.


She has been a blessing just like her brother. We wouldn't trade her and her sassy, frassiness for all the world! I love you Ella, Happy Birthday!!!

Busy Week

What a whirlwind of a week last week!! The kids,my mom and myself made an impromptu trip to the metroplex. I had found a few vehicles online in searching and went to go check them out. Came home with a new car for me! I'm excited and the kids were too. Actually I think they were more excited about the road trip than anything. We left Wednesday night and got 15 miles down the road when I heard, "I'm hungry, when are we stopping to eat?" Are you kidding me? We just left? I make it to Quanah and realized I didn't pack my pajamas! What? What in the world was I thinking? I got the kids, but not mine?! Ok, so it's obvious we are stopping to eat and find me some pj's. We stop at Braum's to eat and I let the kids drink chocolate milk shakes instead of cokes and then a scoop of ice cream comes with the combo meals, so the kids then each had ice cream. I didn't think that much about it til we are in Bowie and they have not calmed down yet! We finally made it to my aunt and uncle's in Irving and put 2 kids to bed. Up early the next morning to go look at cars! The kids loved test driving all the different cars, Ella would say "Look mom, my seat will fit in the back!" We took a break and went to eat at Cheddars when my son decides to try something. For what ever reason he decided to sip some tea through a straw put his finger on the end of it and then shoot the tea in the air thinking it would come down in his glass. Uh no, it landed on top of my head and the rest in my lap. I don't know who had a more shocked look on their face, Tanner or I. Tanner immediately starts apologizing and saying "Mom, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would do that. I didn't mean to mom." Needless to say, his experiment didn't work and why he decided to try it in a restaurant of all places I don't know. I sopped up with tea and told him that the next time he gets an idea, to try it at home first. We continued shopping that day and the kids were awesome! They didn't fuss and fight and by the time it was over we were exhausted. We head back to Irving and I go back to the dealership the next morning by myself to pick up our new car. Finally get the vehicle picked up and head home, but not without incident. We get about 15 minutes from Bowie and the low tire pressure light comes on. Are you kidding me? Pull over and thank goodness we pulled over where we did because there was a Motorcycle machine shop on the side of the road. The guy comes out and says that we can try to put air in and see if it will stay up til I can get to the tire shop in Bowie. The tire wouldn't hold air so we had to change the tire. This nice man helped us get the tire changed. The crazy part, he knew some people from Childress. Anyway, we got the tire changed and the bad one loaded. He wouldn't accept any money from us and said that he was just doing what someone has done for him, just to do something nice for someone else. We stopped in Wichita to eat before coming on home. Made it home and started the weekend.

Saturday was busy but fun. I got up early and took my bad tire to get fixed and got breakfast for the kids. Made it back home to get the kids ready for the parade and lots of candy!! The rest of the day was spent doing what I should have been at home doing instead of car shopping! The kids got to play with some cousins and had fun doing that!

Sunday, we went to what I consider my home church. I know that sounds kind of crazy and weird. We went to Shamrock for church. They were celebrating 100 years. We went back and it felt like home. It's the first church I really remember going to and have always felt at home. The singing was beautiful and we got to hear the preacher that was there when we were. I wish I would have listened more or paid better attention to his sermons when I was smaller. He is a wonderful speaker and would love to hear him again. They even had some pictures up and I enjoyed looking at them. It was funny to go back because everyone recognized my parents and when they looked at Ella they knew who I was. They said that she looked like me when I was her age. So many people had changed and yet others hadn't. It felt really good to see everyone and to be there. I really need to go back more often. We even showed the kids where we lived and the school I went to and the hours that were spent at the softball field my dad help build and play on. It was a fun walk down memory lane with lots and lots of great memories!

So now, this week, I am getting everything together for our vacation next week!! The kids are counting the days down and we are super excited!! Water park, zoo, dinosaurs, aquariums, airplanes, etc, we are ready!!

Happy 4th!!

Hope all had a Happy 4th of July. The kids had a great time popping fireworks in between the showers of rain we had. There hasn't been much exciting or new going on with us. We are enjoying summer, saying prayers for future events to work out as planned and gearing up for a little time away.

The kids have enjoyed going to the library this summer. Tanner of course, is checking out every dinosaur and dragon book available. They each get three and he has yet to come home with the same dinosaur or dragon book. Ella, who knows what her fancy will be when we get there. She does love Dr. Seuss and winds up finding some we haven't read before.

Tanner is also trying to teach his sister science. I'm having a hard enough time trying to teach her numbers and letters, but who knows, maybe he can!! At least he is teaching her how to make things like volcanoes erupt and I really don't want to know what else!! I guess I will be finding more science stuff for Christmas!!



This weekend we were able to pop some fireworks at my grandmother's. She got such a big enjoyment out of watching the kids light their fireworks and run for cover. Ella isn't a big fan of ground blasters, but loves the spinning crystals. She is getting a little bit braver when it comes to them. I'm hoping I'm not turning her into a pyro!! Tanner just loves to light anything up. Give him a punk and something to light and he is happy. Wait, I think I may be worrying about the wrong one?!



The funniest so far has been the two of them fighting. Which gets old after a while. The other day, they eventually got mad at each other and put signs outside their bedroom doors. Instead of hanging them this is what I found...




Vacation is just a few short weeks away. I can't wait!! The kids are excited and Ella is already packing. She's my planner. She already has her snacks in the bag, her water and capri suns packed. She has a backpack full of toys and if I would let her, her clothes already in her suitcase! Tanner will wait til the last minute and wind up being upset that something was left behind.

We hope everyone is having a great summer!!

Catch Up!

I can't believe the last time I posted anything was Tanner's birthday!! But so many things have happened and we have been so busy. I'm really glad summer is here and really wish I was at home with the kids playing in the pool.

April was a pretty quick month. We had Easter weekend, then Tanner's birthday the next weekend. Recoup from the previous two weekends the next weekend and then start gearing up for end of the year stuff.

May was even more hectic. We lost an AMAZING lady!! Granny Irene always had a smile on her face and never a complaint. She has an amazing family of which I'm so blessed to be a part of. Tanner got to hear some stories about his Poppa and Great Uncles that had him rolling in the floor. He loved hearing the story of Granny riding on the back of Buck's motorcycle and falling off, how Terry had hit a baseball through the neighbors window and didn't know it, Debbie saying that they could play in a neighbors yard because he wasn't home and the neighbor coming out noting otherwise! Oh, the stories could go on and on and it's all because of Granny and Grandad. Their legacy lives on and they are both missed greatly.

May was also Mother's Day Tea, which I didn't get to be a part of, but someone just as wonderful to Ella was able to be there and she was so proud that her Nesey was able to be there for her! I am too. Then we had end of the year party and graduation for Ms. Angie's. And let me tell you, she does an amazing job with those kids!! I was laughing at Tanner because he was singing along with the little kids at Ms. Angie's graduation, he didn't remember the songs at first, but they quickly came back and he was singing right along. That same week we had Tanner's playday at the football field and baseball field!! Then school is out! It seems like May didn't even happen!!




Now here we are in June and all is going well so far. The kids are swimming and slip 'n slidin' and I'm planning a trip for the kids and hopefully, we will get to go and have a good time!! Tanner is wanting us three, my parents and my sister and her family to all go on vacation like we did when Tanner was little. He said he had a good time and would like to do that again. So my sister and I are working on details of that. I'm excited about it, because we will be getting out of town!!



Ella didn't like the idea of running and sliding on the slip 'n slide, so she would lay down and wait for someone to push her down it!! I loved watching them do that!!





That was quick, but in a nutshell!!

Birthday Weekend

We had an awesome weekend!! We got to celebrate Tanner's birthday on Sunday and had cookie cake, candles, drinks, and several boys having a great time. It seems so surreal at times that he is 9 years old. I remember him being born and not knowing what to name him. (I know, I'm a terrible mom!) The thing is when he was born, I had no idea if he was going to be a boy or a girl. So, I had no boy names picked out. Finally, after many suggestions, he was named Tanner. He was my surprise and continues to surprise me to this day.

Tanner is a protector, a friend, a son and amazing! To this day, he is very over-protective of his sister. He panics when she cries, and worries when she is hurt. Even though they act like brother and sister, anytime something happens to her, he is the first there. He has many friends and loves to be around them all. It is so neat to watch the way he interacts with everyone, because it is different with each of his friends.





God gave me the best gift he could have ever given me, not only Tanner, but Ella as well. They have made me laugh when I didn't know if it was possible. To live life full each day with them.


This is one of the many pictures we take before we can get a good one...


and finally a good one...