Life's Treasures

Like all mothers before me, the kids Christmas presents were hidden in my closet until I could have a chance to wrap them. This also meant the the closet was off limits to the kids but I also made sure that they wouldn't see their stuff even if they walked in. As I'm helping Ryles clean her room the other night, I handed her a purse that needed to go in my closet. A couple of minutes after she came back, she says to me, "Wouldn't it be neat if they had a Spongebob Memory game?" The bells in my head instantly went off and I realized that my little mess was trying to be sneaky. You see, there is such thing as a Spongebob Memory game and I know this because we bought one for our nephew Alex and it was in our closet. Apparently, this sneak had seen it and was trying to see what my reaction would be or what I would say. Oh, you should have seen the defeated look on her face when I called her out on it. I tell ya, this one definitely keeps me on my toes but oh I love her so.

As I was packing Ryleigh's lunch this morning, she comes up to me and says, "Mama, do you know what the kids at school do?" (Now before I go any further, you need to read the rest of this keeping in mind that she has her hand on her hip and is extremely annoyed) I of course said, "No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me.." This was followed by, "Ugh, they try to get you to spell up so that then you say U P (roll of the eyeballs and flip of the wrist), I just don't even know why they think that is so funny...you are just spelling a word..I mean, I know that then you are saying U P but, it's just not funny" She then walks away leaving me smiling and knowing that in her mind, she is wondering why I make her socialize with these people that are obviously below her maturity level. I am so in for it but at least I'll have plenty to laugh about along the way.

This is my life this morning: Brent - "Guess what? Ryleigh has a CRUSH on someone!" Me - "Oh really? Who?", B - "Jackson...and Jackson also has a crush on her..." (Of course this is all in a very exaggerated voice). As I walk to my closet, he shakes his head and says, "That girl...she's not old enough to have a boyfriend...(slight pause), now, I can date, I mean, I'm 10!" Hmmm, I quickly correct him and remind him that if Mama is still fixing your hair, you are definitely not in a position to date. So glad this child has a sense of humor ;-)

This year we tried a new walk/run that we had never done before. Ivy thought it would be the perfect way to be motivated a few months back and the original plan was to jog it if we could. Unfortunately, Mother Nature and everyday life had other plans. We never quite got to the point of being able to do an entire 3 miles so we ended up walking it (although we did run the last couple blocks or so ;-) but I figure just getting out there and supporting a cause is better than nothing, right?!?! The plan next year is to do what the team behind us was doing, which was to run from bar to bar, have a quick drink, then head back out...obviously, this wasn't their first time! We are also going to bring a stroller to push Lisa in because according to her she has "midget legs" and I refuse to even post what our finishing time was. All in all I am very glad we did it though and I'm so thankful for my Harte-Hanks sistas. Even though I haven't worked with them in 5 years, they have always left my spot open and I've always been able to slip right back in.

Brent's big field trip this year is a day trip to Austin...now for some of you, that may sound really neat and educational and like no big deal. For me, on the other hand, I have dreaded this event since I heard about it when Brent was in 2nd grade. For the last two years I have crossed my fingers and sent multiple requests to the man upstairs that they would change it when Brent got to 4th grade and I would never have to deal with it. Well, I guess it just wasn't meant to happen that way. I have this horrible fear of my kids riding on buses for extended periods of time and I know logically that it's ridiculous but I just can't help it. Any time they have ever had to get on a bus, even to just go 10 miles, I experience moments of panic. I'm not sure where this comes from or how to deal with it so I just try to breathe through and pray that everything is ok. This, however, is a whole new ball game. They are taking my baby and putting him on a bus for 3+ hours to somewhere that I can't get to him immediately. And to make it worse, parents are not allowed to ride on the bus or even drive in their own cars and join once they are down there which I think is complete BS. My initial answer to this was just that Brent would not be allowed to go and we would maybe keep him out of school that day and just do something fun (the trip isn't until April 1st). However, there was a slight (and I mean miniscule) part of me that also didn't want to take this chance away from him if it was something he really wanted to do. After a lot of internal back and forth, I finally turned to the one person I knew would tell me exactly what I needed to do and help me be ok with the decision. Of course, I didn't initially like her response but I think deep down I also knew that it was the right answer all along. Once she helped me to see this, we then proceeded to come up with the most fantabulous plan that makes it all ok! On the morning of the trip, Ivy and I will follow the bus, unbeknownst to them, and once we know it has made it safely, we are taking the day to ourselves to do some shopping! We will either hit the outlets in Round Rock or head down to San Marcos (or maybe even both!) and then be back in Austin before the buses return to follow them back up. This may seem a bit neurotic but for me, it is a win-win situation. I love that Ivy and I can always come up with some way to work the system to our advantage, that's why we are us.



The funny part of the story comes into play that night when after EVERYTHING I have put myself through, I ask Brent about it again. He looks at me and thinks about it for a sec and then says, "Nah, I don't think I want to go.." WHAT? Seriously? I politely ask him why not because, of course, now I selfishly WANT him to go. He then responds, "Well, it just doesn't sound very fun to have to sit on a bus for 3 hours to get to Austin, then walk around looking at stuff, only to have to get back on the bus for another 3 hours to drive back. Also, what if they sit me next to some girl that just wants to talk the whole way and I just want to lean back and relax?!?!" This is the part where I start telling him that it is a once in a lifetime chance to get to do this with his classmates and what a neat memory it will be. I tell him to just hold off on making his decision until the next day when he can talk to the teacher and to ask her if they can choose who they want to sit next to. As I hear all of this coming out of my mouth my brain is wondering when I suddenly became an advocate for this Austin trip only to finally catch up and realize, oh yeah, it was when you decided you could get something out of it for yourself ;-). We end the night like this and off to school he goes the next morning. When I pick him up that afternoon he jumps into the car and proclaims that now he wants to go on the trip. What changed his mind you might be wondering? Oh, just the simple fact that he found out they are actually taking a chartered bus, not a school bus, and that there will be tv's and video game systems. Yup, technology has won out yet again but it looks like Austin, here we come!

I was so excited when Ivy asked if I could babysit Hudson this morning because they were taking Nolan to see Curious George. Of course I said YES! I love anytime that I can hang out with the Mays' boys and Brent and Ryleigh enjoy it just as much. Ivy brought him over around 9 am and he instantly started asking for Ryleigh (who had spent the night at my mom's house) so we loaded up and went to Grandma Irma's to get the kids. We got there and before I knew it, my mom was feeding Hudson a blueberry pancake on a stick and he was chowin' down. Once we got back to the house, we had just a few minutes to play before we trekked back out to buy Gwen's birthday present. Brent got such a kick out of the fact that the entire car ride Hud kept asking him, "Brent, how's schoo? How's schoo??" Oh, and since I had a trio, I couldn't resist taking this picture:

On the way to the football game today, David put on a song that he downloaded which he and Brent thought was HIGHlarious. For reasons beyond my understanding, men and boys alike start laughing at any mention of flatulence (you see, the song was named "Somebody Farted"). So, as David continued to hit the repeat button and he and Brent were giggling like school girls, Ryleigh busted out with, "Daddy, don't wear it out" Now THAT is when I started laughing!

For the playoff game, Ryleigh was assigned to bring drinks and snacks for the cheerleaders which truly excited her. Any excuse to do a project and she is all over it. Since it was so close to Thanksgiving, we decided to let her make turkeys on the bags from her handprints and just let her have fun with it. I pulled out the bags for her and after that she wanted to be on her own. She had so much fun that it was kind of hard (but not impossible) to get mad at her when gold paint ended up on the table. Oh well, even if the paint doesn't come off, my lil' bit had a great night!

As we were heading to football practice tonight we had to make a brief stop at Wal-Mart. Since I only had to pick up a couple of things, David just dropped me off at the front and I ran inside. I grabbed what I needed, checked out, turned to leave and then proceeded to completely bust it. Turns out my foot wanted to go sideways while my brain was telling it to go forward and down I went. So with all of the graceness I could muster, I picked myself up and limped out. As I am pulling myself up into the car, David asks me what happened. I tell him all about my unfortunate mishap and explain that my knee is throbbing because not only did I land right on it, but I also have carpet burn from the rug that was trying to break my fall. As I finish my pity story he turns to me with a concerned look on his face and says, "Did anybody see you??" Wait, WHAT?? I look at him, composing myself because the kids are in the back afterall and then I can't help but laugh. After all, I usually am the first person to crack up when someone hurts themselves, but seriously, what's a girl gotta do to get some sympathy around here?

I am so excited for Ryleigh...she was picked as a Tipps Outstanding Citizen AGAIN! That's right, she received this honor this past spring while she was in Kindergarten and now for the 2nd six weeks of 1st grade her teacher picked her. What makes this time extra special is that this is something that is all hers. You see, last time her and Brent both got it at the same time, which was pretty amazing, but since she's the youngest she rarely gets to do anything first. I don't think that this is anything that bothers her or she has even picked up on yet, but I'm sure the day will come and I'm just so happy for her that she will have something that was just hers.

One of the fence slats in the backyard has a hole that isn't big enough for Sofie to squeeze through but is just the right size to stick her nose through and check out what's going on in our neighbors yard. She LOVES to go out there and just lay there waiting and watching for their beagle to come out. It cracks me up everytime I see her doing this because she is so serious about it. Here she is on the lookout (you may have to click on it to see how funny it is):



And if you are wondering why it looks like it snowed in our backyard, please say a prayer for the poor demolished toy that I swear Sofie is going to break her neck on by slinging it so hard from side to side

Ryleigh's Thanksgiving school project was to decorate Thomas the Turkey any which way she wanted using materials we had around the house. Because this is Rye and she thinks everything must be glitz and glam, she chose to make a bridal turkey. That's right, Thomas the Turkey wore a wedding dress. Her mind was set and since it was her project, who was I to argue? So we dove into the art supplies and got to work...here is her designer masterpiece:









And yes, Thomas even has a crown, veil and flowers. Truly, who is this child and where does she get this stuff?? ;-)

I was finally able to make it to a softball game! They are on Friday nights but have been at 7 and 8 so there was never time to go after football practice. This weeks game was at 9 so I dropped the kids off at Grammy's and then headed out there. They didn't win the game but I think that all of them just getting together and doing something is enough for them.

Our last stop on the trick or treating marathon was my parents house and guess what? The kids decided to spend the night! Not that that is anything out of the norm but I thought surely with it being Halloween they would want to stay home. Not so much...that's ok though because it meant that David and I could go to another party that we had been invited to! Mindy and Miguel live out in Ft. Worth and have this really awesome house. It has glass windows all along the back and their friends had come over and painted flames all over them to make it look like hell. They also had a block of ice to take shots from which was definitely a first. I'm so glad we went because it was so much fun and I'm glad we didn't miss out on all of the hilarious costumes!

Mindy & Miguel




Barack & The Pot Head


Conner


Cheech & Chong


Ivy taking a shot





After we left their house we went with Ivy & Scott over to Nick & Brittany's new house. As you can see, it was definitely the end of the night as parts of our costumes had been done away with. I would definitely say that Halloween this year was a success!