The House & Memories

Starting last weekend, our mission has been to fix a lot of this little problem areas in our home that we ignore. The nursery was changed into a normal bedroom; no more Winnie the Pooh wallborder, no more blue ceiling and no more baby green walls! Now the ceiling is white and the walls are the pale yellow of the rest of the upstairs. It was a little difficult to change it all out, I remember picking out the paint colors and the wallpaper so clearly! I remember how excited I was and that we picked it all out while I was still in my first trimester! Being pregnant is always exciting but the first time is just so full of anticipation and joy for a whole new chapter in life.

OLD NURSERY

NOW:

We also finally hung Heather's new curtains and the pictures she got at Christmas in her room. Her room really is cute. We even found purple plate switches at Target that match her curtains!

We also pulled the baby gate supports out of the walls, patched up the holes and painted them. We've done a lot of touch up painting and are almost done except that we are having a hard time finding the paint for the trim pieces. We have also ordered slipcovers for the couches. I still have some more junk to go through but I have gone through some of it and even taken an old computer to a recycling place.

We also bought the XBOX Kinect and everyone loves it! Caleb has been having a ball playing Kinectimals and Heather got a dancing game that I really enjoy and Paul got a sports game. The only one who doesn't like is Zachary because he gets in everyone's way.

Heather went to a beading glass with Becky today and made a beautiful bracelet. We paid for Heather & Becky to go as a birthday present for Becky but Heather really enjoyed it too. Here is a picture of her bracelet that she made.

She is also going to have some friends spend the night tonight. Last night, Becky & Mr. Doug came over for dinner because we were celebrating Becky's birthday. I made Fettuccine Alfredo from scratch and it was awesome!

We are planning on joining the YMCA soon and are looking forward to being able to exercise regardless of the weather. I am still honoring my commitment to be a healthier me but sometimes have difficulty when it is too cold or wet outside. Last summer we were members of the YMCA and all the kids really enjoyed it. We are looking forward to doing this again.

Wednesday, January 26th, was the 10th anniversary of the day Paul and I met! TEN YEARS!! AMAZING! Friday, January 28th, was the 10th anniversary of the day I met Heather. It seems so long ago, she was so little back then. This picture was taken a few months after I met her, but it is one of the earliest ones I can find from after I met her. This was when we went to San Antonio for her 4th birthday and she was learning to skate. Such a little doll! Caleb is now 4, seems hard to believe.

Here is a picture of Heather and me in August of 2001. She and I both look so much younger! This was taken at the same Chuck E Cheese I now take the boys to!

One last picture for old time's sake, this was taken in February 2001, not too long after Paul and I met.

The Kids

HEATHER
Heather is my "little momma", she loves to be in charge and is a wonderful helper! There are days when I am not sure how I would make it without her. She is always willing to jump in and help with very little complaining. I know I was not so good-natured as a child, I remember whining quite a bit when I was asked to help. She just seems to have been born with the knowledge that families have to work together to make things run smoothly. I am so thankful for her!
Heather has been struggling this year in school, especially in French, but has really been putting her nose to the grind stone to get her grades up. We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming! Through her hard work and diligence, she managed to bring her grades up so that her semester grades were all A's & B's.
She seems really happy lately, we think she is really enjoying having a boyfriend. Though we STILL have not met him, he seems to be a nice young man. Heather really crack us up with how embarrassed she gets about Jacob. Paul and I were picking on her just a little about not wanting us to meet him and she started to cry and ran upstairs. Of course we both apologized for upsetting her, told her we would not talk about it if it bothered her and reminded her how much much fun she was having just a second ago making fun of both Paul and me! It is easier to dish it out than to take it, but really, our teasing was quite mild. Paul teases more than me, and if I am doing it, I try to be very sensitive (though not sensitive enough this time, I guess!) The Middle School years really are hard, everything is so much drama. We have tried to tell her that it is fine that she has a boyfriend. We expect her to be interested in people romantically and not only is it normal, but we have had boyfriends/girlfriends and even gone beyond that and gotten married and had kids! We understand that she likes this boy and it's OK. Yet, she persists in being embarrassed whenever we mention him. I don't remember too much about the Middle School years, I think blocked them because they were so traumatic. At least Heather is almost out of this super emotional time, though who knows what High School will bring! She is a smart, beautiful and well grounded kid, so I'm not too worried about her. I know the drama will continue (she is a girl) but I think she will be just fine! I suspect the embarrassment about boys will lighten as time goes on. She really is a much better Middle Schooler than I was. Most of the time, she is comfortable in her skin and pretty sure of herself. That is a big thing at her age! I have often felt that is mature beyond her years.

CALEB
Ah, my Caleb, our family comedian. The other night at dinner, Heather was angry about something that seemed insignificant to Paul and me and Caleb was asking why Heather was angry. We told her that it's because she is a teenager and teenager's are just emotional. Later that evening, we were all in the living room and Caleb announces "Heather is always angry because she is a teenager." This kind of made us smirk because that conversation had been a while ago, but we humored him and asked why he was angry sometimes. He responded "Well, I'm just a 4 year old teenager." He is right, he really is. When he gets angry he rolls his eyes and slams doors and has to have the last word. I am not sure my sanity can survive 2 teenagers!

This morning, we were getting ready to go to pre-school and Zachary was getting into my stuff and I told him that that belonged to Mommy and he needed to play with his toys and leave Mommy's stuff alone. Caleb immediately adds "Zachary, you need to play with your toys and not mine! And, mommy is my toy!"

Last week, we were all sitting at dinner and Caleb got tickled at something and just started belly laughing. He has the best laugh and it is so contagious! Before I knew it, we were all sitting there cracking up and none of us were quite sure why! He is constantly entertaining us with the silly things he says and does. If I am sad or upset, I can count on him to cheer me up. He is starting to show signs of becoming a little helper, too. Occasionally, he will offer to help me clean up. He knows that I don't like the house to be dirty and when he wants some mommy praise, he knows how to get it. Yesterday morning, Zachary was being a bear (see below) and Caleb grabbed a bag of trash I had tied up and just took it out to the garage for me without even being asked! He sometimes picks up his toys spontaneously and most of the time, doesn't mind pitching in when asked. He does have days where he thinks it is horribly unfair, but I try to explain to him that being part of a family means you have to help out (and I usually offer him chocolate chips) so he's generally pretty agreeable about doing his share.

ZACHARY
It is a good thing God made Zachary so stinkin' cute! He gets into EVERYTHING and charms his way out of trouble. Caleb may have the best laugh, but Zachary has the best smile. When he has done something he shouldn't, he gives me this little look that is usually accompanied by a little dance and it is almost impossible not to laugh at him. He knows how to work Mommy, that is for sure. Though, yesterday morning, he was in a mood and driving me crazy! He woke up grumpy and had a really bad morning. He started off by getting into my make-up brushes and my lotion and "painting" the bathroom sink! He would not leave his brother alone and was constantly scratching him, hitting him, sitting on him, and being very mean to Caleb. As soon as I handed him his breakfast, he was pelting us with food and he got it taken away. The kid has a great arm, he can throw things far and with pretty good accuracy. At the grocery store, he wiggled out of the seatbelt, turned around and grabbed a carton of eggs from the basket and threw them on the floor! I wanted to leave there so badly! Luckily, another mom was on the aisle and went for help and very nicely came and told me that someone was coming to clean it up. She was very kind and I'm glad because I might have gone off on anyone who had anything negative to say at that moment. To make things worse, Zachary kept reaching into the cart to get things and I was already furious with him. It was not a good day at the store! On, the same day, he also managed to get into the diaper pail and get some poopy diapers out and make quite a mess! I don't really understand how he did that because it's sealed and difficult to get to the diapers. The little doll also loves to climb our book shelves and grab books and throw them on the floor; he's even torn up a few. He climbs on everything, even bicycle helmets, to get to the things he wants. He is constantly in the sink, on the counters, in the trash, etc. I do recognize that he is curious and determined -- those traits will serve him well if I can get him through toddlerhood! He wants to know about everything and will not give up! Every night I am thankful that we have made it another day without a trip to the E/R. I know it's coming, I just want to delay it as long as possible.
He is my cuddle bug too, he loves to be held and petted. He constantly asks me to sit on the couch with him and just hold him. It is so precious and almost impossible to say no. Caleb likes affection, but he can't be still long enough to just sit and cuddle.

I am blessed to have 3 wonderful kids, whom I dearly love! I will try to do a post next time with pictures, but this time I really wanted to write out some of the funny things the kids do while I still remember!

A NEW YEAR!!!

This was a rough Christmas for us, my Papa was in the hospital for 5 1/2 weeks (November 29 - January 6) and during that time he had 5 heart attacks and 1 mini-stroke. He got to go home for a week and had a massive stroke with brain hemorraging on January 12th. Right now, we don't know what his brain function is going to be like. For several days he was on life support but now he is able to breathe on his own but he has not talked or done much yet. It is a very sad and emotional time for our family. I have found myself with very little patience and am not being the mommy I want to be, but I am trying to hold it together. Other than my grandfather's struggles, we had a nice Christmas. We got to see our family and the time in the car went really well. The boys were very well behaved and we are so glad! Heather is always good in the car and she has her ipod and cell phone to play with if she doesn't like the movie the boys are watching! We did come home in time for Christmas so Santa found us at home and we had a very nice Christmas Day! The order of my pictures is going to be fairly random because I have stopped and started this post so many times, I'm not really sure anymore how I inteded to do it originally! How sad is that?!?!



The two pictures were taken in San Antonio. The first is Paul's dad's backyard, their pool has a crack in it and is empty. The kids had a great time going in there and throwing acorns at one another. I did not approve of this game, but Paul encouraged it. In the picture, Heather is pretending to be overwhelmed by her little brother's acorn throwing abilities. The second picture is Caleb with April & James wearing his UT football gear. Go Longhorns! (Better luck next year!)

The next three are of the kids coming down the stairs Christmas morning. That was really a fun day!


These three pictures were taken in Alexandria, La. In the first picture they are playing football at my Nanny & Papa's house. In the second picture Zachary is trying to hide in his suitcase and in the third we are at Steve & Sonia's house playing with their new puppy.

To ring in the new year, Paul and I went to Austin to see April and James while the boys stayed with Paul's mom. Apparently, their cute smiles and repeated requests to go to Itz won over Mr. Doug. After that, the boys, Becky & Mr. Doug shot a few fireworks and played with Sparklers and had a very fun night! We went to an Indian restaurant in Austin and then played some games and chatted. It was a nice break for us and I always enjoy hanging out with my sister-in-law.

Surprisingly, we all slipped on our fitness and healthy eating routine over the holidays (SHOCKING!) and have been back to healthy eating and a lot of exercise. We are trying some new foods and are all a little apprehensive. I made a vegetable curry that was actually very good, though it took hours to make. Tonight we are having a lentil & spinach dish that no one is too excited about. The weather has made exercising difficult, but we go when we can and we are definitely eating better.

Heather and the boys started back to school last week; Heather was less than thrilled and the boys were ecstatic. Isn't it funny how a few years makes such a difference! Some of the kids in Caleb's class were clingy to their mom's on the first day, but not Caleb. He hugged Ms. Mercedes and ran off to play, I had to chase him down for a goodbye hug! Zachary was a little unsure, but once Ms. Vera picked him, he was ready to go with her. One of Heather's friends took a very cute picture of her with her boyfriend, Jacob. Heather looks so happy! She and this boy, Jacob, have been together since November 15 and they are sickenly cute. "I miss you so much" "No, I miss you more" -- ah, puppy love!

I am working hard to get the house back in order and I am going to try to really organize some things that I've been putting off in the next few weeks. I'm tired of all the junk everywhere! Isn't it funny how you get so used to your accumulations of random stuff that you don't even see it anymore? I am hoping to change that.

Here is the boys picture with Santa this year. Zachary didn't cry, but he doesn't look thrilled either. This year, Caleb was really excited to see Santa and couldn't wait!

Fun Stuff

On Friday, Heather had her Winter Dance at school. She was super excited and looked gorgeous! She took some pictures with her phone at the dance and then we took some at our house. Her boyfriend, Jacob, did not get to go; she was a little disappointed about that. She still had a good time hanging out with her friends.

Heather and Sarah Langhoff

Heather and Erika Erwin

Sarah Mary and Erika Erwin

Heather and Paul

Heather :)

Sunday night we drove the kids out to Prestonwood Forest to see the lights. Zachary loved it! He continuously yelled "LIGHTS, LIGHTS, LIGHTS!" for about the first 30 minutes. He also yelled "FROTHY!" anytime he saw a snowman (for Frosty) and "SANTA" whenever he saw a Santa yard decoration. I think we all had a nice time seeing all the decorations. I took pictures of some of the really neat ones. Zachary didn't make it all the way home, he fell asleep in the car from all the excitement.

Catch Up!

I am SO FAR behind, but I am going to try to catch up with one very long blog. The weekend after I came back from Germany, the boys and I went to Savannah's 4th birthday party at Build-A-Bear! We were so happy to see our friends and the kids love their new stuffed animals. Zachary made Rudolph and Caleb made the Abominable Snowman. Unfortunately, Caleb and Zachary got very tired and we had to leave before the boys got to have cake, but we all still had a great time.



The weekend before Thanksgiving, my grandparents came over from Louisiana and stayed for several weeks. They had only intended to stay one week, but my Papa had some health complications and ended up in the hospital. They are back in Louisiana now and feeling much better. I enjoyed getting to see them. Here is a picture of Heather with my Nanny.

Speaking of Heather, she has a new boyfriend, Jacob, who looks just like Justin Bieber!!! We haven't met him yet, but we would love to. Heather says he has cut his hair since this picture was taken (I "borrowed" it from his Facebook page).

The day before Thanksgiving, our friends Kamie, Emma and James came over and we decorated sugar cookies and went to lunch. All the kids and mommies enjoyed hanging out together. Here are the kids enjoying their lunch.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving, we even fried the turkey this year! We also had a Native American dish called Three Sisters Stew that we all enjoyed. It seemed fitting to include a Native American dish into our feast. The weekend after Thanksgiving, we decorated the house for Christmas. We decided not to put up our full sized tree this year, as Zachary is too little. He is in the destructive phase now and we know our tree wouldn't make it. I collect ornaments whenever I go on trips and my ornaments all have a special meaning to me so I don't want want them to be broken. My mom bought us a little tree with un-breakable ornaments for the kids to put up. They had a great time. Once, the cat knocked the whole tree over and a few times Zachary has snuck past the gate and grabbed a few ornaments off the tree, but for the most part, the little tree has worked out well.

I took the boys to the Galleria one day so they could see the HUGE Christmas tree there and they thought it was amazing! We even saw Santa ice skating! The boys loved all the beautiful decorations.

The weekend after Thanksgiving our elf friend, Barney, returned! The kids LOVE Barney and race downstairs every morning to see where he is hiding. If you aren't familiar with Barney, here is his story www.theelfontheshelf.com Last year, our friend Alicia told us about her elf, Ernie, and how to invite one to come spend December with us. Our friend Kamie also has an elf and his name is Jack.


I absolutely love to bake and decided to try something completely different this year. I attempted to make a Figgy Pudding! It didn't come out quite right, the flavor was fine but the texture was weird. The boys seemed to enjoy it more than Paul, Heather or myself. Caleb thought it was called Piggy Pudding and we all liked the name and it stuck! Every now and then Caleb will ask when we are having Piggy Pudding again, but he clarifies that "it doesn't actually have pigs in it, we just call it that." It cracks us up.

This week, we made Gingerbread cookies. The boys helped me make the dough and they did a great job. I measured the ingredients and let the kids pour it in the bowl. Rolling out the dough didn't go so well. Somehow, that ended with the boys playing in their room while I cleaned up dough that had been thrown all over my kitchen. I was not particularly happy with the boys for getting in a food fight! Decorating the cookies went much smoother and we all enjoyed that. Even Daddy got in on the fun and made a "headless" gingerbread boy. It was pretty gross but Caleb and Paul thought it was hilarious. My cookies were much more traditional.

I am working hard on getting my Christmas cards in the mail. I am hoping that they will go out on Saturday, at the very latest Monday. This year is the first year I haven't sent them out right after Thanksgiving. There is just so much going on. These are some of the best pictures of the kids. Unfortunately, Zachary did not want to have his picture made and wanted to watch Barney instead. He was not exactly happy during picture taking time, but he is still pretty darn cute.