Scattergories Game

What’s your name? HEATHER
car: HUNDAI
city: HAWLEY
boy name:HENRY
girl name: HANNAH
alcoholic drink: HAIRY ARMPIT (I know but I looked it up on the Internet, it's real)
occupation: HOUSEKEEPER
something you wear: HOT PANTS
celebrity: HELEN HUNT
food: HUSHPUPPIES
reason for being late: HAVING A BABY
cartoon character: HOMER SIMPSON
something you shout: HELL NO

I think I amost died last night...

I have felt SO cooped up lately! I just don't have enough opportunities to exercise lately with all the holiday business and cold weather. So last night I declared I was taking a walk and headed out the door. On the way back home I went down a street I don't usually go down to make my walk a little longer. Well, when I turned the corner I saw two dogs in a front yard. I was a little suspicious but I went on the other side of the street and got on the sidewalk. I squinted hard to see where they were and saw one dog, he looked at me but didn't do anything. I couldn't put my eyes on that second dog, then, out of nowhere, he was about three feet from barking like I'd just entered his private territory. My instincts kicked in and I shouted NO as loud as I could. Thanks for teaching me to yell at stray dogs Dad! However, he continued to bark and growl and snap at me. By now I was thinking about what I would do if he tried to bite me. I looked around to see if anyone was outside and kept my limbs as close to my body as I could. I decided if he attacked me I would scream and roll up in a ball so I could protect my head and vital organs. As soon as I decided what to do his barking slowed a little and a couple of seconds later he trotted off, obviously satisfied he had scared me to death. I tentatively walked a few steps to see if he was going to follow me and he didn't. A guy was walking down his drive way as I turned to walk off, I think he was coming to see what all the racket was about. Anyway I walked the rest of the way home sneaking peeks over my shoulder to make sure no mean dogs were following me home!

Maybe my stomach will get flatter

I went and had MORE allergy testing done yesterday, it was a food allergy test. Here is a list of all the dreck I'm allergic to:

4 (the highest level):
Lamb I'm so disappointed we eat Lamb at least 2 times a weeks (NOT)
Mushrooms fine, I hate them anyway
Broccoli OK I really like broccoli

3:
Rye, no dark brown bread for me
Hazelnut

2:
Turkey Meat
Egg
Apricot
Strawberry
CHOCOLATE
Watermelon
Cinnamon
Coffee
Pecan
Brazil nut
Cashews
English Walnut

So, I'm supposed to not eat these foods for a month. Chocolate. Coffee. Cinnamon. I'm totally mourning Starbucks right now. No Cinnamon Dolce Latte. So, my request is that if you're going to be with me over the Holidays, make me something for dessert I can actually eat.


I am totally going to become one of "those people" that are all "So, what kind of nuts are in this cake?" "Are those mushrooms" "Is that cinnamon sprinkled on those cookies?" and "did lamb touch that chicken?"

Incredible...

That my daughter's Principal had to call me this morning because she was out of dress code. Mainly Incredible because I work in the same district and know the dress code.

That I walk into the girls' bathroom by my gym this morning and there were two turds on the bathroom floor. One was in one stall and one was in the other, flat, because it had been stepped on.

That I tooted tonight and Meredith thought it was the dogs whining.

That I will be an aunt in less than a month (Meredith hopes).

Feliz Cumpleanos Mimi!

I decided to make my Mother's Birthday a holiday and I stayed at home! Really Bowen has Strep throat again. Did you know that if you have Strep 5 times in a year you get a one way ticket to the ENT for a tonsil evaluation? I didn't! So this is only #2 for him, hopefully it will be #last.

Here are some Random Thoughts:

How do you post a movie on your blog? Really, I want to know.

Do you ever think about who reads your blog but never comments, so do I! If you are a lurker, show yourself! I might feel stupid if I asked that and absolutely no one else reads this blog :)

I'm having a hard time deciding what to get Bowen for Christmas, what DO two year-olds want? Please no toys with small parts, Please no toys with small parts.

I never cook on Fridays, I'm cooking tonight.

Jonathan is cleaning out my car as I type, I KNEW I married him for a good reason.

I'm dreaming of a white Turkey Day!

This was a progression of the snow throughout the day! It was one of the best Thanksgivings ever! We had so much fun watching the snow fall, and then later that night, going out to sled! It had been years since I went sledding, the kids loved it, especially Bowen. The next day we went out and made a snow turtle and a snowman and Meredith sported some sweet pants, I'll let her post that picture. Another amazing part of Thanksgiving is the tradition of puzzle working on Thanksgiving Day. Meredith and I got a head start and put together the edges the day before and so we finished Thanksgiving night. But the best part is that Mom had a drawing to see who won the puzzle, I was the winner! She bought glass and a frame and puzzle glue so now I have a really cool Christmas puzzle hanging in my kitchen!

But the best thing about Thanksgiving is my family, I have the best family ever, it's one of the things I am most thankful for!

Laine the Mom

Tonight after I bathed the kids they were playing happily while I was on the computer doing some very serious blog reading. I absentmindedly told Laine to go get her pajamas on and before I knew it she was back and clothed. I heard them playing away and looked up a few minutes later to see Bowen, fully dressed for bed! Laine had put on his PJ top, his diaper and some pajama pants too! It was too cute! What a great big sister. I did go back later and examine the diaper, I have to say, it looked like Paco put it on, not too bad just needed to be tightened a little!

Pepe la Pew

Our conversation on the way home from Rosa's:

Laine: There was a skunk in our school today, he was sick. He made the whole school stink.

Us: Oh, really. Gross.

Laine: Yeah it was gross, Ms. Jones killed it and then it made my whole room smell bad.

Us: Ewwww...

Laine: Yeah it smelled like Popcorn and Old Man.

Us: ????, then hysterical laughter ensued.

Mud Run 2007

was yesterday and it kicked my tail. Not in the running or obstacle sense but the blister on both my heels sence. I really don't think I'm going to be able to wear tennis shoes for a few days, that will be interesting since my job revolves around tennis shoes.

Steps to getting a 5 year old to pee in a cup

1. Say "yay, _____ you get to tee tee in a cup, that's so cool"

2. Go to the bathroom.

3. Get 5 year old on the potty with her pants down really low.

4. Pull pants and underwear down even lower so you can stick the cup and your hand in the potty.

5. remember the nurse told you to wipe her with a wipe before peeing.

6. Wipe her and then get wipe stuck between her legs somehow.

7. Take cup out from between her legs to remove wipe.

8. Wipe falls out on it's own.

9. Decide to try putting the cup under her bottom from the back sounds better.

10. Nope

11. Squat down and reinsert cup under child's bottom hoping you have it positioned correctly.

12. Tell daughter not to pee on your hand.

13. Say " OK tee tee."

14. Wait 15 or 20 minutes. Try inserting various phrases like: Come on, tee tee. PLEASE tee tee. OK concentrate. Stop talking and tee tee. Stop singing and tee tee. Push on your tummy a little.

15. Walk out of bathroom.

16. Go find nurse and shrug.

17. Get 5 year old to drink copious amounts of Gatorade provided by nurse and have her jump up and down.

18. Go back to bathroom at child's request.

19. redo steps 3-5

20. Kid pees on your hand.

21 Get a little in the cup.

22. Done.

Happy Halloweenie!

Jumping off the Deep End

Today Jonathan and I jumped off the deep end at church.
We have been a part of a wonderful Small Group at church for years and we have loved it. For the past few months we have been in a church funk, me especially. I have, in fact, not cared to go to church, class, or even small group and that's not like me. I really just wanted to leave our church altoghter, and you might ask why and really couldn't tell you many specific reasons. I just felt unhappy. After some prayer and lots of discussion between Jonathan and me we decided maybe we needed to get into a Bible Study. You see, our Small Group committed to be in charge of Bible Hour, a class for small children so that their parents can enjoy Small Group time without the distraction of children. It's a great service our church provides. When we committed I felt sad, but everyone else went along with it, so we did too. I knew I was going to miss prayer requests, fellowship and study with friends. But the more we thought and talked about it the more we realized we really needed to have time studying the Word with other people like us.

You know when I type it out it sounds so logical but if you know me you know I am very concerned about what people think of me. I don't want anyone to think bad of me or Jonathan or talk about us because of our choice. And it is JUST visiting, we aren't going to make any sort of commitment yet. Jonathan is a good balance he doesn't care at all about what others think he just wants what is best for our family.

I think what I am most concerned about is losing the friends we have made the past few years and ones we've made very recently. Every time our Small Group has split we've lost good friends, not because of hard feelings but just because we drifted apart, and it has always made me sad. I hope that doesn't happen if we decide to go to another group. I hope we haven't made a bad choice. Mostly I hope God will point the way.

Sweetest Thing

Listening to your sleeping child's heart beating. I don't think much about everyday tick-tocking of life but when I went in to check on Laine and Bowen after they fell asleep I was inclined to lay my head on their little chests and listen in. It's almost like you're hearing a secret, a whisper that tell you everything is alright. I remember going to the Doctor every month for my check-ups and no matter how many times I heard it, the sound of that little baby's heartbeat almost took my breath away. Tonight was no different. I has the realization that I was hearing a miracle of healthiness and vitality was so awesome that I had to stop right then and thank God that I have two healthy, wonderfully whole children.

Random Thoughts for Sunday

1. Laine is going to a B day party in a few minutes and I hope it's a drop off and come back when it's over party because I really don't want to hang out with b day girls mom.

2. I know, number 1 sounds bad, but if you knew her...just think 32 year old who still thinks she's a cheerleader and has kids who can do NO wrong, aaack.

3. Bowen is definitely 2.

4. He is also cute, it's a good thing.

5. Is it just me or are little girl clothes for this fall looking like a 12 year old should be wearing them?

6. I hope Halloween is cool or Bowen is going to internally combust in his Monkey costume.

7. I'm excited about Homecoming and baby festivities this weekend.

8. I'm reading Blue Like Jazz, it's really great, thanks Ryan for loaning it to me.

9. I called the police on Saturday morning because our neighbor's dog barked from 4:30-7:00. I'm going to call every time they bark for an extended period now.

10. Shauna, I still need to know what you use on your eyes that makes them so bright!

OK, I HEARD you already!

SO I went to the ENT yesterday afternoon and it was SO COOL!

As soon as the Doctor looked in my ear he realized it was totally wax. So we were ushered into a room where they perform "procedures". He told me he was going to suction the wax out of my ear. The suctioner was about as thick as a big needle and he put a metal cone in my ear and sucked everything out. He showed me each time he got something out and told me exactly what it was. SO he got out some wax and some dead skin, and with my gross stuff is really cool mindset, it was really interesting. All I can say is that OTC stuff would have never gotten all the crap out of my ear. You know, the Doctor never said that I shouldn't have used the removal kit. I 'm guessing since he didn't say it was bad, that those things are OK.

Introducing....

The Autumn Fairy!

Huh? What'd you say?

When I went to the Allergist a couple of weeks ago he told me I had some wax buildup in my left ear and I could get an OTC wax remover and get it out. Well, I didn't do it. Then I decided it might be worth a try, so while I was at Wal- Mart the other day I bought one of the kits. The directions say to use it twice a day and let the drops sit in your ear. After 4 days use the convenient syringe and some water to gently wash out the remaining wax. First, this was mildly exciting to me because I really secretly like picking things like my nose, zits, dry skin etc..so the thought of getting to pick something out of my ear was new! and exciting! Second, I'm always hoping for that one "miracle" product that will take away a myriad of problems on one swoop, I'm such a dummy. So the first two uses were successful, then the second night of use when I went to tip my head the other direction to get the drops to come out they didn't budge. I went ahead and went to bed laying on my side so that maybe it would drain out during the night. I woke up about 5 AM with an amazing pain in my ear and the feeling that I had gone swimming in my sleep and didn't get the water out of my left ear. I drank my morning Diet Coke and my ear hurt worse when I burped, then I might have blown my nose and I thought my eardrum might pop. SO, needless to say I have an appointment with my ENT tomorrow to see what is going on in my ear, the pain has gotten better but I still feel like I'm listening through cotton.

A few weeks ago we were in Abilene for a visit. We went to Chic-fil-a for lunch and as I was walking into the play area to get the kids I saw someone I recognized. The funny part is I had only seen her and her kids on her blog! I met Mary Beth in real life, it was so neat to see someone whose life I check up on periodically. She was so cute and so were her kids.

Monkey Boy

He's just so cute it makes me laugh! Of course, after mom and I picked this costume out because Bowen has been talking about being a monkey all he says now is: I want be a pirate, arrgh! Well, too bad for him because his costume isn't returnable because of it's "collectible" nature. So Monkey he'll be. At least he's cute.

Stay at home day...

Bowen has Strep throat so I'm at home with him enjoying catching up some stuff before we go to "A" town this weekend. For you reading enjoyment here is a list what I've eaten today:

2 waffles with syrup ( at least they were whole grain)

a strawberry frosted Pop Tart

diet coke

a Hebrew national hot dog at Costco

diet coke

Gheridelli chocolate squares filled with caramel

3 strawberries because I felt so gross about the other crap I ate

I mean really I've been doing really well eating healthy, so I don't feel SO bad about eating some junk but I seemed to cram a bunch into 1/2 of a day.

I've been pondering on some things lately one is Laine and Kindergarten. Last night after some hard thinking I decided we needed to have a thought in the back of our heads this year. That thought should be: Laine might need to do Kindergarten again. Yes, you read that right. And it's not because of intelligence it's that some of the kids in her grade are almost a year older than her. I can really see it this year. It's the emotional part, the maturity part and the fact that I want to raise a leader and not a follower. I want Laine to be her own self not try to be someone just because they are older (not that she would realize that but you know what I mean). And it's not so much now that I worry about it's middle school and high school. There will not be a decision made on this for a while, maybe April and I fully trust Laine's teacher this year and will listen to what she has to say too. Then I worry holding her back will wreck her self esteem? Will it? Or will it boost her to be the older one who already knows all the answers and knows how to behave. Last night I was talking to her pre-k teacher and although I can't remember her exact words I do know that I have an exceptional learner. Exceptional in intelligence and exceptional in her learning style. I do know for sure she is at the right school, her "Laine" ways could possibly be smooshed in a more traditional school. Whew. I'm not sure I meant for all that to come out at once. One thing I really wish is that I could be a fly on the wall in her class, I want to see who Laine is at school.

Events of the day,

or maybe days...

First I do have an allergist appointment next Friday, it can't come soon enough.

Next, those extra warranties do pay off because I waltzed into Best Buy last nightand purchased a brand new ipod nano, the really new one that's square. It has twice the storage space for the same price I bought my first one for.

Yesterday I received an email that really lowered my morale for school. I'm going to be working everyday in a Kindergarten classroom to help with a special program for which we are the pilot school. I'm going to do the job with a smile but I heard it's really boring and that's what I'm dreading. Last year I was SO bored so this year I told my Administration I wanted to start a exercise mentoring program in the mornings. I guess that's down the drain, I'm really disappointed.


Today I received a call from the daycare director and I answered the phone "do I have a sick child?" TO which the response was, well not really. As it so happens Bowen was bitten ON THE LIP by a "friend". That's always what they put in reports to keep the child's privacy. I think it's kind of funny that a "friend" would bite your lip thought :) Anyway they had me callthe doctor and see what I should do since he bled a lot and it was by his mouth. The nurses first reaction was "WHAT bit him?" I told her a child and she asked what happened, so I told her. Anyway it seems human bites are worse to get than animal bites because of the germy mouth area. SO I have to watch for swelling, puss, redness and fever. Aaack...all I wanted to do was go hug him but that would have totally made it worse when I had to leave to go teach.

Ok the next thing I'm not so sure about. I feel like I pretty laid back with my children so when something makes me mad I feel like it's justified. when I went to pick Bowen up Laine stood by the door like she always does while I get his stuff together. I went to sign the incident report for the bite and Laine had opened the door to the room. All of a sudden the teacher was using very sharp, loud words with LaineI looked up to see what was going on and she continued to give Laine a hard time about the door and how it would get her (the teacher) in trouble if Laine was out in the hall alone with Bowen. I totally understand that rule, Laine and I talked about it and she won't be doing that again. I did however have a problem with the teacher's tone of voice and voice level. After it happened I just left without saying another word. I didn't want to address her then and have me sound ugly. I also wanted to stop in the director's office as I was walking out and tell her what happened, I didn't do that either. I don't like skipping in the chain of command. I think I'll talk to the other teachers in the room in the morning instead.

I'm excited for tonight I'm shopping and then working the cash registers at Just Between Friends, our local consignment extravaganza!

Ears 1 Heather 0

So I went to my ENT appointment today and I had already decided that he wasn't going to be able to do anything for me and I was right. I had my hearing tested and it told me what I already knew I have some hearing loss in the range that my ears ring. My ears, nose and throat looked good. He basically said all my problems were due to my allergies and I knew that too. The only question he couldn't answer was why I feel like I need to clear my ears all the time. He said some word that ended in sclerosis and said that even if I did have it, it was in early enough stages that nobody would do anything about it. So tomorrow I'll make an allergist appointment and head down that road. In the mean time, I'm tired of feeling like crap.

Bowen the Barfer

OK, so last night I was taking a shower and when I stepped out I could hear the kids having lots of fun. They were taking turns pushing each other around in a wheeled box kind of thing and having a ball. Two seconds later Bowen went face first onto the kitchen floor and in true Bowen style cries his hardest. Jonathan took him into the bathroom to check everything out and Bowen keeps crying his hardest. He just can't calm down when all of a sudden he throws up and up and up some more. What in the world! Then of course he's upset that he barfed and cries some more. Well to add to the story Jonathan leaned him over the sink when he hurled and the sink wouldn't drain afterwards. Jonathan goes to inspect and reported that there were about 8 pieces of gum that were stopping up the drain. I guess I can't leave gum around the house anymore because Bowen might chew it all, throw up and then clog the drain.

On to other things, I think I'm falling apart. I have been sick since the beginning of August, I'm on my second round of antibiotics and my snot is still yellow. I'm not coughing as much but I still have monster drainage. My doctor took me off my allergy medicine for the duration of my antibiotics so my snot wouldn't be so sticky so now I have a runny nose and itchy throat. I went to the eye doctor today because I would have sworn I had another eye infection but alas, I have eye allergies. I mean lock me up in a bubble guys, I can't survive in a world with living, things like cats and dogs and trees. I'm going to see an ENT to talk about my constant stuffiness and then I'll probably have to see an allergist too. OK done with the health report, boring.

My friend Julie and I have decided to join a team at our church to do the Mud Run. It's 10K run that has obstacles in it, like mud, and water and ropes and all that crazy crap. I'm so competitive that I can't stand to think I might be the one that the others must wait on. I WILL NOT be that person. I'm going to have to get real tough real soon and so some fartleks and speed work, aaack. Oh ant get this, you have to run in BOOTS and PANTS. So if you see a girl running down the street in running shorts and 8 inch black boots, that would be me.

Nervous times 2

This weekend Jonathan took Laine and Bowen with him to work at a guy's ranch. It has been wonderful to be at home alone although I'm waiting with baited breath for them to come home. Last night when I was folding clothes I was thinking about church and suddenly I thought about visiting another congregation, not only another congregation but one that is of another denomination. I've always been curious about this particular church because I like the idea of denomination not being the most important part of church. I was so nervous trying to make the choice as to whether or not I should do it. I was still indecisive this morning as I got ready to go. New things make me nervous, I was about to go somewhere where I didn't know anyone and experience a service maybe like I had never experienced before. What if they do weird things, what if I feel uncomfortable, what if I feel conspicuous? I went anyway. Here are my pros and cons on the Bible Church. And I really don't feel you can get an accurate snapshot of a church in one Sunday morning service.

Pros:

I LOVED the worship time. It was instrumental and I thought it might be overwhelming, but it made everything sound like I'd like God to hear it coming from my body.

Two services and plenty of thing for kids to do during the service.

Beautiful building.

Seems to have an awesome youth ministry.


Cons:

From what I can tell, communion only once a month.

No Sunday night service or small groups (from what I could tell)



Just different:

Very casual service, no order of service in the bulletin.
It didn't seem like there was a specific invitation.
People stood or sat at will during singing, lots of hand lifting and waving.

I could Tell this was a church that is trying to reach those who a unchurched or lost. It seems they are doing a great job. The sermon was definitely Bible based and lots of time was spent in scripture. When any scripture was read everyone stood and read the verse together. I also liked that the preacher wanted us to read along with him in the Bible and the verses weren't just projected on the screens.

I'm glad I went, I'm just not sure if would be for me.

Oh back to school, back to school...

With school starting soon and Laine being in Kindergarten, Jonathna and I decided that she needed a little more responsibility in the morning routine. Here is what I have come up with because I don't want to be the mother of a child who cannot get herself up out of bed in the morning. I took pictures of all the things she needs to do the morning before we get in the car. Hopefully, I'm going to mount then to poster board and put a copy in her bedroom and in the bathroom. Here they are:

So hopefully it will work like this: Get up, go tee tee, brush teeth, get dressed and the time that is lef tcan be used to watch cartoons. Somewhere in there I need to fix her hair, maybe I can meet her in the bathroom and do it then. This is so important to me, I want to raise my children to be self-motivated not mom is finally really mad so I better do it motivated. I can't wait to see how it's going to work!

Happy Birthday to Meredith!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! You look like a monkey and you smell like one too! Can't wait to go to the Circus!

Back in the Saddle...

In so many ways.

We're finally back home! After a month of house sitting and then vacation in Ruidoso, it feels great to be back home.

Another saddle I'm getting ready for is school. I'm having a really hard time wanting to go back, I think that's a first. I'm excited to see my friends and the new stuff I'm doing this year but certain circumstances in my paycheck are clouding my happiness ( FYI when I used spell check for the word before the parenthesis one of the options was hap penis, ha ha) to work at this job.

One thing I'm kind of looking forward to is getting back into the saddle of routine. Bedtimes, bathtimes, mealtimes. It's good for kids and it's good for me too, mainly because a routine usually means more exercise for me.

In relation to my job issues is what Laine is going to do after school. I don't want to pay for after school care with my current situation and one of the options is to have her bussed over to my school and then leave when I leave. Another is to find a mom that would take her home until I pick her up. I don't know what to do, all of this is dampening my happy spirit. I know things will work out, I just hate facing the unknown.

On the other hand, I'm really excited to have niece coming in a few months. Baby Rabbit is my beacon in the night right now! i CAN'T WAIT TO HOLD THAT (wow) little glow worm of a baby.

You can also pray for Jonathan right now. He's looking into some extra job activities and he's anxious. Pray for me that I don't kill him while he's stressing. He's really hard to get along with in these situations. But I really think that he will do an excellent job, I'm behind him all the way.

Here are some pictures to round out this random post:

I'd also like to send a shout out to Shauna's new boobs, you guys look great!

I'm Finished!

And that's all I'm going to say about that. I'm patiently waiting for Jonathan to read the last few pages so we can discuss. I can't believe I just read the very last book!

Larry the Attack, Punk Ass, Butthole Camel

As many of you know our family is currently residing in the biggest house ever playing parents to three teenage children and getting well paid for it. I'll take some pics soon. Last night Mere and Ryan came over to eat and celebrate Rabbit. After supper we decided to crank the 4 wheeler and the mule (kind of like a rugged golf cart) and drove down to the barn. This family has several horses and a pet camel. Yes, you heard it right a camel named Larry. Well Larry is getting big (duh) and when I was feeding him treats and patting him he put his knee up on the edge of his stall like he was going to climb out. Jonathan decides it would be a good idea to let Larry out into the rodeo arena to frolic. That indeed was what Larry did. He ran around long legs flying and bucked and galloped like there was no tomorrow. It really was funny. Jonathan decided to get in on the action and play with him. By this time we were all out in the arena me, Mere, Laine, Bowen and Jonathan. That's when Larry lost it. He went over to Mere and leaned on her until she had to climb the fence with Bowen in her arms. Then Jonathan came over and Larry started to bounce around more he knocked Laine down then Jonathan who had Bowen in his arms. He then tried to hump Jonathan. That's when I had to bust a move and get over to Laine so Jonathan could get up off the ground. I got Laine, skirted the fence and proceeded to tell Larry "no, bad camel" like he was a dog or something. Yikes. Laine and Bowen were scared to death. Mere was too, she was a little worried that Larry would knock her down and scare Rabbit. All in all, everyone was fine. Jonathan scratched his knee from the attempted humping and Larry is probably a little sore from Jonathan beating him away from the kids. What an adventure, thus Larry's new name.

Laine and Bowen weigh in

This ranks in the top 5 most exciting weeks of my life! I mean I get to find out if I'm going to be the aunt to a boy or a girl and the 7th Harry Potter book comes out, I'm dying here. We have been quizzing Laine and Bowen on whether the think Mere and Ryan are having a girl or a boy. Their answers never waver so I've documented their choices in pictures:

One of them will be right, and I think the winner gets to name the baby.

Laine name for Mere's baby: Ruby

Bowen's name for Mere's baby: Rabbit

I hope Laine wins.

What kind of hair: blonde and straight

What happens when you have a baby: go to the hospital, take the baby out of your tummy, and bottom ummmm. vagina.

What will Mere do with the baby: milk the baby, feed it baby food.

what will the baby act like: nice, suck it's thumb

First things first...L and R what do you think?

1. Who was your first prom date?Drew Perkins, my first love
2. Who was your first roommate?Tiffany Touchstone
3. What was your first alcoholic drink?Margarita but I don't remember how old I was
4. What was your first job?Sunfish, I was a lifeguard and swim teacher
5. What was your first car?1979 red Toyota pick up truck
6. Who was the first person that texted you yesterday?I really don't text that often!
7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning?Laine and Bowen, they are gone and I miss them!
8. Who was your first grade teacher?Mrs. Bench, you can guess what her nickname was!
9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?I think to Colorado or maybe New Jersey, not sure!
10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was with you?I never snuck out, I was too scared...wait a minute, what am I saying, I really just never wanted to!
11. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?Mark Doty, we're not friends but I still see him every once in a while. I LOVED him!
12. Where was your first sleep over?I have no idea, but Mark and I had a few sleepovers.
13. Who was the first person you talked to this morning?Jonathan
14. Whose wedding were you in the first time? I'm not sure if I was in one when I was little, Mom?
15. What is the first thing you do in the morning?take my medicine
16. What was the first concert you ever went to? Oak Ridge Boys
17. First tattoo or piercing?Piercing in the ears - 6, second hole at 12, first tattoo 30,
18. First foreign country you went to?Mexico
19. First crush? Mike Brekenridge
20. When was your first detention?6th grade English, I was talking
21. What was the first state you lived in?Texas
22. Who was your first kiss with?Josh, he turned out gay, how'd ya like that!
23. Who was the first person to break your heart? Drew
24. Do you still think about that person?Yes.

Here is what my house looks like...AHHHHHHH

The kids are at my in-laws and Jonathan and I are tackling two big project in the mean time. He's building a deck and I'm painting the kitchen cabinets. The kids are coming home tomorrow and we need to get finished and clean up before they get home. Wish us luck!

My Morning Routine

Are you like me? Do you have a specific order to your grooming? Well, I have a well-oiled one that allows me to get ready in less than 30 minutes. Here it is! This is only if I'm getting ready to go somewhere, in the summer and on weekends it sometimes is different, like no make-up or something.

Get in shower: wash hair, condition hair, wash body, then face. Shave my legs if needed. Get out.

Dry off, put towel on my head. Put lotion on my legs then moisturizer on my face. Rinse hands. Take towel off put styling products in. Blow-dry hair.

Rinse hands. Put on make-up in this order: foundation, blush, curl eyelashes, mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, powder.

Put finishing product on my hair, brush my teeth, go get dressed.

Yes, I do get ready sans clothes! It's really hot in my bathroom, it doesn't have ventilation, so clothes go on after when I've cooled off. Unless it's winter, then I'm cold so I wear a terry robe while getting ready.

So, how do you get ready in the morning?


I promise to post some pictures soon!

My trip to the Mall

I'm so optimistic. Probably to a fault, I think that's why when things don't go my way I'm really disappointed. So I had a plan in mind since the weather was kind of yuck, hey!, we can go to the mall! Great plan. I can return a shirt that made Bowen cry because the arms were so tight and look for a little Anniversary present for Jonathan, let the kids play, get a snack go home and have rest time. Woo hoo! So off we go. We get the shirt returned and then go to the Disney store (yeah I know) and it was crazy because of some semi-annual sale. I pried my children away from the stimulation fest and then get sidetracked at Lady Foot Locker trying on converse. So we hit Macy's and I find some bath sheets that feel SO lovely and decide I'd get Jonathan and I one for the above mentioned gift. Oooh white towels...my shopping daze is suddenly interrupted by Bowen shrieking. I glance over thinking it's just normal sibling stuff, alas, it was not, Bowen's face is covered in blood. I race over, careful to set the white towels out of the bleeding radius to examine from what body part the blood is flowing. I inquire what happened and I'm getting nada from Laine which means it was her fault. He then begins blowing raspberries I guess because it hurts, so that sends spatters of blood flying everywhere. I'm guessing it was his lip, I never really could tell. I wiped and dabbed and it kept coming, we went to the bathroom to wash up and really, what is bleeding etiquette in a public place? I felt weird putting bio hazard stuff in the trash but what else could I do? So we leave the mall looking like we'd been in battle, blood all over my shirt, Bowen's clothes, the stroller. Again being optimistic, we're going to try again after supper and see if we can avoid anymore blood. Man, I'm ready for Jonathan to be home!

You too can have beautiful skin like me!

So I've been looking for a new moisturizer for my oily but maturing skin. I was at the mall the other night and I decided to see what Clinique had to offer. They have a new moisturizing gel for oily skin, aha!, just what I need. I asked the sales lady and she gave me a tube sample and some three step samples as well. So I skipped home to try it. I used the three step samples first and saw the gel is yellow like the lotion. All went well and the next night I broke out the tube she gave me. "Hmmm" I thought "this is clear not yellow". I tried it anyway, it felt and smelled the same, so on it went. I slept. I woke up. I tried it again, still clear. I'll take care of this I thought and I shook it REALLY hard to mix it up so it would be yellow. Still clear. Oh Well. On it went. So it's a day and a half later and as I'm putting on the clear gel for the fourth time I happen to glance at the tube. It. was. soap. Yes, I had slept in soap, put my make-up over soap, and declared what a great job soap was doing at moisturizing my skin without making it shiny. Luckily, I have suffered no repercussions (ie zits). When did I get so dumb? Or maybe the Clinique sales lady needs to read the samples before dolling them out.

All by myself...

Jonathan and the kids went to J town for part of the week, so I am flying solo. It's amazing being at home alone, I leave and when I come back the house looks the same! I am not treading water as I do most of the school year, I;m doing things like: all the laundry, scrubbing every floor surface in the house, organizing under my cunters (just felt like leaving that typo because it made me laugh). I went shopping around tonight and I kept thinking that I needed to get back home, but I didn't! It was great! Tomorrow I want to go see Knocked Up and Wednesday I have a date with my friend Julie! We're going to get pedicures and then to eat at Mimi's Cafe. I'm teaching some swimming lessons right now and I learned something about myself. First, when teaching little swimmers I'd rather have the screamers, I guess I like a challenge. Second, being in the water for three hours is HARD! I can't believe how many summers I spent teaching lessons for 4 hours with no break. I also think it was harder because, damn, it was cold. Tomorrow will hopefully bring sun.

Guess what I did today?

Hit a parked car. What a dummy. I mean, how many hundrends of times have I turned left into a parking space? I turned just like I always do and bam, or maybe scrrratch, there was the nice expedition with an injury and poor Myrtle grill is ALL ganked up. The good part is I left my information on the windshield and later the guy called. He was really nice and thankfully all the scratches rubbed right out! Whew! Myrtle's probably won't rub all the way out and now we have to decide whether or not to claim it on insurance. Then I had a headache all day long. But before that we had a GREAT tme at the State Critirium Finals (bicycle) at Will Rodgers Parking lot area. It was lots of fun to see guys riding bikes real fast around a mile long track. I would have taken pictures but I was distracted after the car incident and forgot it.

I was bored...

I was bored while ago and decided to show my "transformation" from no make-up to full make-up. I don't know why all my text is underlined, let me try to fix it.

Better? Yes.




No make up:
What I call the basics, foundation, blush, powder, mascara.
If I have time I usually add eyeliner, a little shadow and I fill in my eyebrows.

Want to play? Maybe you're bored too!

BTW we haven't founf the milk. We're thinking it got thrown away accidentally.

Harry Potter Nerd

At the bottom of my blog you will find something that makes me a total nerd. It's a countdown to the days the 5th HP movie and the last HP book. I'm so excited!

I had a great Mother's Day, we spent the weekend in Abilene and got to spend sometime with the cutest baby born after mine. It was fun to hang out with Robin and Koby and then Sunday with Linda and Granny and Grandad.

Only 7 more school days left! It doesn't seem real yet since the end of the year is always busiest for me with Field Day and all that. I'm showing "the movie" to the 4th graders tomorrow, I hope I survive the boys.

Somewhere in my house...

is an almost full gallon of milk.

This morning I went to make my usual bowl of cereal and the skim milk wasn't there. So I went and asked Jonathan if he had finished it or seen it and he hadn't. So where is it? If I find it I promise to take a picture of it right where I find it. This should be interesting...or gross.

Bowen's 2!

Ugh...

You know a couple of months ago when Mere posted about forgetting to register for the half marathon? Well I have a story that goes along the same line, you now the line of regret and helplessness.

When we started planning Bowen's party we decided to have it at my school. I asked my principal and he said that would be great. He is very cool about all that stuff, he's generous and helpful, I really like and respect him. He met us up at school at 8:30 Saturday morning and let us in. Well we had the party, cleaned up and left. I called him after we left to tell him we were done. Fast forward a couple of hours and I'm hearing my cell phone ring at Ikea. I answer and it's my principal. We left the door to the school open when we left. Oh. Shit. You know that panicky, hot, adrenaline feeling you get when you get a shock, that was me. I never once thought about the door. He kind of gave me a hard time in a half-joking, half-not way and I hung up. Let me tell you guys something, I cannot forgive myself for that. I mean, my personality is one that #1 wants to follow rules and #2 wants people to like and trust me. There is not one thing I can do to fix what we did, I want to make it better SO BAD. I've constructed many apology notes in my head but most of them sound like diarrhea of the mouth. I apologized, and that's all I can do and I hate that. Sorry to post a yuccky story but Blogger won't let me upload pictures of the party so I'll get to the fun stuff when it's fixed. Blech.

Happy Birthday Bowen!

Bowen's second birthday with be forever remembered as "dark". Mostly because our electricity went out last night about 6:30 and wasn't on when I left this morning at 7. We had a pretty bad storm race through with winds about 75 mph. So we have a picture of Bowen by one of the candles we had lit to see stuff like socks and if they match or not. I think Bowen had a good day, I took cupcakes for his friends at school and then he got a haircut. After the haircut we went to Central Market and ate and let the kids play for a while. Bowen's party is on Saturday, I'll post all the pictures then. What I can say most about Bowen's first two years is that he's like a fine wine, he gets better with age. Love ya Bowen!

Heather needs...

I'll do this is countdown style:

6. a childhood
5. 10000 pounds ($) a day
4. some body...guards
3. two therapists
2. Men...NOW
1. NEW BOOBS (oh how true)


I checked out #1 and it's a blog where you can donate money to a girl who wants a boob job...hmmmm.

If you want to play Google your first name and the word needs.

My latest hobby...

Aren't those cute? I've seen those bows on the internet and always thought they were cute but SO expensive. Well, I learned how to make them. On a scale of 1-10 of easiness I would give them a 4. On a scale of 1-10 on labor intensiveness I would give a 7. It is however mindless work and that's nice sitting in front of the TV at night. If you want the instructions tell me and I'll email the instructions to you. Robin, Reegan would be SO cute with one of these on a headband.

Ok, I'm back. I just looked over at Bowen and he was marking on the couch, Jonathan's phone screen and himself with. a. SHARPIE. Aaack.

New Compooter!

We went and bought a new computer and printer tonight, now I don't usually get excited about new technology but...this computer can totally be a T!V! I know, pretty exciting.

You see we're reconfiguring our house and the upstairs room is going to be a playroom (and you hear the angels sing HALLELUJAH) I'm so ready to have the toys all in one place. So we've moved the queen bed to Laine's room and we're putting a daybed upstairs with the toys. That means the desk and computer need to come down so the toys can go up. We have a TV in the kitchen and space would not allow for a TV and computer and desk. So our fancy new computer will now be a computer and TV, eeek!

While I was completing project Bed Move, I was wrestling with the bed frame and part of it totally cheated and hit me while I wasn't looking. Then later that night the kitchen cabinet whacked me a good one on my forehead. I felt like I was two! Today I still have two bumps n my head and they HURT!

Easter and a story

We had a great Easter in Jasper, we colored and hunted eggs with all the Williams' kids and it was a chaotic and exciting Sunday. Don't we look cute?

OK, so earlier this year Bowen had a PTA program, you probably remember the big Bowen with the little babies in the bye-bye buggy. Before the program began one of Laine's classmates came over to see Laine. Now this young lady is very proper and well-mannered. Here's how the conversation went:

LGILC (little girl in laine's class): Hello Laine, Hello Mrs. Emory (that's what she calls me b/c she hears Laine called Laine Emory).

Me: Hello LGILC.

Laine: smile

LGILC: Laine, did you hear that Sam going to be in the program tonight?

Laine:

Yes, my child died, fell on Jonathan's lap all while making a blaaaaah sound. LGILC sort of stood there awkwardly and then turned tail and left and who could blame her? Oh Pre-K socialization.

B-O-R-I-N-G

The title says it all. The Williams' family has just been boring lately. No weird or funny kid stories. No exciting school functions. Just plain old life at it's best.

I did turn 32 on Friday. You know, I knew I wouldn't be someone who just let age have it's way with me but I'm wondering how I'm supposed to prevent little dark veins from popping up on the backs of my knees. Not the bulgy ones the spidery ones (thanks mom). Maybe when I get a little color this summer they won't be so noticeable. Age has also brought with it thyroid issues, no way to prevent that and excess gas...no wait, that is brought on by all the fiber I'm eating because I'm all of a sudden deficient in the pooping everyday area. But enough of the old stuff, let's see for my Birthday I received a bike computer, a cool t-shirt, some earrings, and a shirt and shorts from the Gap. Mom and Dad took us to eat at P.F. Chang's. It was a good Birthday.

In other news:

Jonathan is going to stay at SCS another year. Wahoo!

Bowen will be 2 in exactly 1 month.

I'm still gaining weight.

Fatty Fatty 2 by 4.

We're turning upstairs into a playroom, building a deck, putting up a fence soon.

My eyes are red from using eye drops because they were red and now they're red from rebound redness. In essence my ojos got addicted to eye drops and they don't know how to be white without it. This is only my guess, if they don't get better soon I'm going to the doctor.

The DL on DW

Mother @%#&@&, son of a ^*#@!.....

I just typed an ENTIRE post and I pushed some unknown series of buttons and, *poof* it frickin' disappeared.

Grrrrrr.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank You. The trip to Disney World was incredible. From the safari at Animal Kingdom to the Princess lunch in Norway all the way over to the Magic Kingdom our trip was filled with memories that will last a lifetime. I loved seeing the wonder in Laine and Bowen's eyes. I loved riding the fast pass rides and being able to walk past hundreds of people waiting in line. I even loved falling in bed at night exausted from having so much fun. My favorite thing of all was getting to experience it all with the people that matter the most. Thanks for the wonderful Christmas present.

Heather

OK that's all for tonight, the erasing was too much.

Lots and lots of stuff...and I like BIG butts and I cannot lie.

You know, I could show you a picture of my new washer and dryer.

Or I could tell you a story about how my daughter stood in the middle of her classroom the other day with a book between her legs saying "hey everybody, look at my new weiner" while dancing around. Sorry I don't have a picture of that one.

I could talk about Bowen's severely swollen lips. We think it was from some bubbles he was blowing and putting in his mouth.

Also, Bowen had a PTA program and we heard from his teachers that he was a little scared being behind the curtain. His teachers' remedy for that was to let him ride in the bye-bye buggie with the Infant A class. When the buggie rolled up here is what we saw:

Yes, that's Bowen with other babies that don't even eat solid foods yet. They can barely hold up their pretty little heads and there's Bowen looking like he ate the baby whose seat he's in.

Finally, before I get to the real blog, I ran a half marathon. It totally rocked! It was hard and fun and I'm so glad I did the training.

So there's a quick update on all the goings on in my life! Let's get down to what I want to talk about: my big butt. and poochy tummy. You see since the hypothyroid diagnosis I've gained a little weight, that's one of the main symptoms. I figured with the medicine and all the training I'd lose the weight, no problem. Not so. My jeans seem to be getting tighter instead of looser, I have a poochy tummy that I've only had twice in my life. When I was about 14-15 weeks pregnant with my children. I have a muffin top when I wear my favorite jeans. I know you're thinking "oh it's muscle, muscle weights more that fat". I just want to say, muscle can suck my big toe. I had another round of bloodwork done on friday and I've been reading all these articles on the internet stating how hard it is for people with hypothyroid to lose weight. Grrrrrr. I'm not good at restricting my diet. My answer to extra weight up until now has always been exercise more, and it worked. Looks like I'll be having to restrict food and that sounds like no fun and I mean I don't eat really bad, I'm a fairly healthy person. So, I'll be buying a flowey tankini for a suit this summer, no bikini for me!

Six weird things about me!

1. I can't stand for people to touch my shins. It totally gives my the shivers, and if I just THINK about my shins getting touched I can feel it hurt. The really weird part is: does actually hurt when my shins are touched? Not really.

2. When I go outside to my backyard, I can't walk in the grass without shoes because I feel like all the dog poop from all the years has left germs in the grass for me to walk on.

3. I've read the last three Harry Potter books three times. And I'll read the 5th one again before the movie comes out and the 6th one again before the 7th book is released.

Hmmmm...I'm having a really hard time with this, I know I'm weird, maybe it's just in a general sense.

4. Sometimes if I'm by myself and I think about something embarrassing that happened to me or even to someone else, I blush.

5. I bought a tube of lipstick this weekend and it is the first lipstick I've owned in over three years.

6. I'm 31 years old and I still wear my retainer.


Anyone want to play?

Buck that Bucking Horse

I have just finished recovering from an incident that I believed would never happen to me.

I got bucked off a horse.

Yes.

I.

Did.

And that's not all, Laine was also bucked off with me but because of my willingness to sacrifice my body for my child she went unscathed.

Here's how it happened: We were asked to house/kid sit for a family that has children that attend Jonathan's school. They have a beautiful home and a horse barn. We went down to the barn to let Laine ride on the "tame" horse. I led her around for awhile and then decided to get on the horse with her. Everything was going great! We were having fun! Then I made a decision that I would regret about 12 seconds later. I said "Laine! Let's make the horse go faster!" So I gave him a kick and told him to giddy up. That made him trot, and I though this trotting sure is bumpy. That's when everthing started going in slow motion. I realized we were going to be removed from the horse so I started to do some damage control. I gripped the rope as hard as I could so we actually slid off the side instead of flying off. Then I somehow managed to get Laine above me and brace her on the way down. Finally we got to the point where we had to fall the rest of the way, needless to say I have a large bruise on the upper part of my right butt cheek. But the worst pain of all was the soreness of all the muscles that I used to hold on to the rope, oh my gosh, my neck and shoulder and arm hurt SO BAD. Well, we got Laine back on the horse to ride it to the barn. She was OK, and I think she'll ride a horse again.

Besides the horse incident, we had a great week at our dream home. I hope we get asked to do it again.