Random Musings of a Stay at Home Mom

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLOOOOO...

2009-10-20T09:15:00.002-04:00

Out there. It has almost been a month since I've blogged. Seriously? How can I not blog for an entire month?

**Really fun surprise trip planned for the kids at the end of the week...I'll give the details when we get back.

**So busy with volunteering at school. I love it. I sort of get to live out my elem. ed. degree with no commitment. And no pay either. :P

**Rescheduled field trip to the pumpkin patch tomorrow with Payton. The weather should be gorgeous as it has been.

**Garage sale at E's mom's house this past Saturday. We were sort of holding on to the neccessities if we would have had another baby. (i.e. swing, stroller, high chair). Well all of said items were drug out of the attic, cleaned and sold. So apparently, we are done with the baby having.

**I am caught up with painting for the first time in ages....this is a good and bad thing.

**Off to run my ginormous list of errands. Last minute trip-py stuff. Will update with pics when we return.

**xoxo

8 Years Old Today...

2009-09-24T11:33:00.002-04:00

Where has the time gone? Happy Birthday, Cam. We love you so very much.

M.I.A...

2009-09-11T09:55:00.002-04:00

That's me...What have I been doing? See previous post for the details, because that's about it.

I cannot believe it's been 8 years since Sept. 11th. A little video just to remember.

Happy happy weekend. It's a rainy one here.

New Year's Resolutions...

2009-08-23T22:47:00.002-04:00

So it's not technically New Year's, but it kind of feels like it. I've had big plans for when both kiddos would start school and I'm trying to keep all of my "resolutions".

Including:
*Exercising EVERY week day. I've done well so far. Tomorrow will be day 6 of Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred. On Friday, I actually woke up at 6:00 and worked out BEFORE getting the kids up to dress for school. Nevermind the fact that my hubby has been running 6 miles a day at 7 mph in the gym every morning. I definitely want to join a gym soon, but I started out with Jillian on On Demand and she's been doing a pretty good job of whipping my booty into shape.

*Spending devotion/Bible time everyday as opposed to sporadically like I normally do.

*Keeping my house in some sort of order. All order was out the window over the summer, but now that both kids are in school all day, I really want to make an effort to keep the house up. Some sort of cleaning schedule that I have yet to sit down and write out.

*Painting is still steady and I want to keep my painting time to early hours, so that I can be completely finished when the kids come in.

*Better organizing homework time/supper cooking time, etc.

*Volunteering more at school. (I left Payton's orientation with 2 cases of workbooks to organize and make mini math books out of). She was beyond thrilled to find out that I am a stay at home mom with a degree in education to boot.

So this is my list. So far so good, I'm still trying to organize my day before the kids come in. But I've definitely discovered some things that work and some that don't. Payton's teacher gave me her cell phone and asked me to call her over the weekend. She told me that Payton cried for me on Friday during class. That broke my heart for sure. But after a week in school, they haven't been able to go out for recess yet, because of all the rain we've been having. I think that coupled with the fact that it was Friday on her first full week of school was just a little much and it finally caught up to her. Hoping she doesn't cry this week, that's a tough thing for a Mommy to hear!

Have a wonderful week!

And They're Off..

2009-08-14T10:33:00.004-04:00

Cameron's been in school since Tuesday. He's a 3rd grader now. I cannot get over how big and handsome he looks in this picture. So far, he's loving it. He couldn't wait to start and is loving his teacher thus far. Homework's in full swing, but so far it hasn't been too bad.

My baby girl went to kindergarten today. Sniff sniff. I still cannot believe it. I thought for sure that I would cry, but no tears thus far. Her teacher seems nice, but very strict. I kind of like that, but Eric's a little worried. LoL.

So here I sit in my quiet house. Enjoying the silence. I'll probably be at school quite a bit as I told the teacher that whenever she needs me, I can help out. They loooove to hear those words. LoL. I'm sure I'll be there a ton. Maybe that's why I'm not sad, I'll probably be there almost as much as the kids!

Happy Weekending!

Summer's Almost Over...

2009-08-07T10:48:00.002-04:00

And I cannot believe it. Cameron starts school on Tuesday, as in 4 days from now. Payton does her kindergarten testing on Tuesday and starts school on Friday.

We took a little end of the summer getaway to Texas to see baby Jasper, Jenny and Ali and help them move into their new house. He is such a cutie and the kiddos adored him. I think that they'd definitely love a baby brother or sister, but Mommy's not so sure.

The shopping there is fabulous. We hit Ikea, the Lego Store (which the kiddos loved and racked up at), a fabulous outlet mall, and several yummy restaurants. I played lots of scrabble on Ali's nintendo DS and I think I'm hooked! Cameron wants one for his birthday next month, and don't think Mommy won't sneak in the scrabble game with that purchase! ;)

So anyhoo, school shopping is finished. Uniforms, school supplies, backpacks, shoes, haircuts. I think they are both ready and I am too. We enjoyed the summer, but it's time for life to return to normal.

Happy weekending!

New Baby and New Do...

2009-07-27T11:03:00.004-04:00

What a crazy couple of weeks it's been! First of all, I must say a huge congrats to Jenny and Ali, who are the proud new parents of a beautiful baby boy!

This is Jasper Luke who weighed in at 9 pounds 3 ounces (which very coincidentally was Cameron's EXACT birth weight). Although, I've got to give Jenny props for delivering vaginally while Cam was a section. He's a big boy!! And we will meet him this weekend, can't wait!

In other news, Payton wanted a new hair cut to start Kindergarten in a couple of weeks. I must say that her hair is very cute! We went to Regis in the mall, and she did a terrific job. Her hair has been very green from all the swimming. We bought some shampoo for that purpose and cut a lot of it out...hopefully we can tame the green before school starts!

Cameron is next to get a haircut. His hair is nearly as long as Payton's now!

Cam's got orientation this week, we get to meet his new teacher and bring his supplies. It's about that time again! We enjoyed the summer, but I think everyone's ready for school to start at this point. 2 weeks from tomorrow is the big day! I finished school supply shopping yesterday. Now we just need to focus on the uniforms. (Cameron said that if he were president of the United States, the first thing he would change is that kids could wear whatever they wanted to school, no uniforms.)...the countdown to school is on!!

Summer Summer Summer Time...

2009-07-21T14:44:00.007-04:00

*It's the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. I may or may not believe that we ever landed on the moon. I'm going with not.

*My little nephew is due to arrive any day now. We are praying that he comes this week. Mainly for selfish travel reasons, but also because he's past due! And I know that Jenny and Ali agree.

*Took the kids to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Imporium today at the summer movie camp. Not sure what it is about that movie, but I love it!

*Started school supply/uniform shopping for the kiddos. This is first year buying for 2 kids and yikes!! It adds up quickly. School starts 3 weeks from today. I cannot believe how fast the summer has gone!

*I find it insane how people in subdivisions can let their dogs bark for hours at a time through the night. Surely they hear them! I sure do!

*Back to point number 1...E and I have been watching lots of shows about the moon landing being a conspiracy and let's just say I was pretty sure before, now I'm convinced. Just sayin.

*Sonic has taken my two favorite things ever their soft serve ice cream and cherry limeade and combined them...it doesn't get much better.

*I've also been watching a lot of forensic files...And the other night I nearly called 911 when I was convinced that my neighbor may have been killed. Lol. It was a combo of watching 4 forensic episodes in a row, Her dog barking for 3 hours straight (and we never hear her dog barking, just every other one in the subdivision), me standing on the toilet in our bathroom to see over her fence that every light in her house was on and the back door was wide open at 1am. Plus her and her hubby are going through a divorce, which is the reason 85% of the homicides happen on those shows. But instead, I went to bed. And was thrilled to see her the next night. Still alive and kicking.

*I should also add that I don't normally stand on the toilet to see into people's houses, it's just that her dog barking that much (an inside dog), that late at night was strange, so I had to do some investigating. Glad that none of my neighbors read this blog. Except for Shaina, who already knew that I was crazy.... ;)

*Must give a huge thanks to my friend Daphne, I left a comment on her blog one day and my name was pulled for a free blog header...Since I am HTML illiterate, that worked out great! So I have to thank Jackie, from Memories by Design for the fab header and of course Daphne for pulling my name!

Happy Birthday...

2009-07-17T09:57:00.003-04:00

to my honey...Well, actually it's tomorrow but since weekends are times of chaos, I wanted to do it today. He's coughcough36coughcough years old. I am so thankful for this man. Happy Birthday, baby!

Also, my sis is due to have her baby boy tomorrow. Very excited about that as well. This will be Cam and Payt's first cousin on my side. Praying for a quick and easy delivery.

Happy weekending, everyone!

I Know, I Know...

2009-07-10T10:24:00.003-04:00

I'm stinking it up with the updates. It's really hard to remember to update the ole blog during summer. Things have been soooo hectic, but the summer is chugging along nicely. Cameron spent the entire week at Eric's mom and dad's. Everyday he would call asking to spend just "one more night". He called and asked again yesterday, but he had already made plans to spend the day at one of his friend's houses (from his baseball team). So he was home for 1 night and gone again this morning. Payton decided that her time today would be better spent going to work with Daddy. So alas, a quiet house for one more day. I'm going to soak it in, because next week, things will be back to normal...and by normal I mean the kids fighting from sun up to sun down.

This ad is yet another reason why I love Hobby Lobby. It was a full page ad in the paper on July 4th.

As an update to a previous post, I'm about to break down and buy more pull-ups. After several nights of a dry bed...Payton has gone back to accidents every night. And I'm about as tired of washing and changing sheets as one could possibly get. I'm giving it a couple more nights and lots of prayer, then will make a final decision.

Lastly, here's a couple of pics from this summer...Have a wonderful weekend!!

No More Pull-Ups or Boils, Please...

2009-06-30T14:49:00.002-04:00

So Mommy has finally gotten to the point where I cannot look at another wet pull-up again, maybe ever. Payton has been potty trained for nearly 3 years, but couldn't get to a point where she would wake up to potty at night. Hence we had many mornings of wet pull-ups. I was to the point where I couldn't stand pull-ups anymore. So we decided that after she used her last one, we weren't buying anymore. The first couple of nights, I had to change the sheets in the middle of the night. The 3rd night, one of us got up at about 2 o'clock am to take her, and she woke up dry. Excited, I told her that when she made 5 dry nights in a row, we'd go to Toys R Us for a treat. So low and behold, we've had 5 nights in a row. Daddy and Mommy brought her to the toy store on Saturday...Her choice? A doll that pees. LoL...Talk about irony. We are now a pull-up free house...And I couldn't be happier.

Cameron has been suffering with a huge boil on the back of his knee for a week now. It got to a point where it was so painful, he was scooting around on the floor, he couldn't even walk. I called the nurse, and she prescribed some medicine that is surely made from pure gold. How else can they charge $140 for a tube?? People who know me well, know that I have a strange fascination for popping weird things. Gross, I know. So even though he was in tremendous pain, I enjoyed squeezing that thing and getting more stuff out of it than one would think was humanly possible. So yesterday was a week, and he is FINALLY back to walking without a limp. This thing was fierce, I tell ya. So not only are we now a pull-up free house, but also a boil-free house...And I really couldn't be happier.

So sad...

2009-06-26T14:38:00.004-04:00

What a tragic life. And death. I've been in the mood to hear all his old stuff since hearing the news. I dare you to not dance. LoL. ;)

Holy Cow...

2009-06-24T18:01:00.002-04:00

It's hot! How's that for stating the obvious? It was supposed to be 100 degrees today, but Eric's car is saying 104. I'll go with the car.

Eric took the day off and we took the kids to the summer camp movie-Kung Fu Panda and then to the children's museum. I think if they had beds, Payton would sleep there. She absolutely loves the place. Stopped on the way home for snowballs, now back home and Eric's cooking us a big ole crab stew with the crabs that we had leftover from our crabbing excursion a few weekends ago.

I've been pretty busy with painting. Orders seem to be picking up this last month, which is good. Once you get used to that little bit of money coming in, it's hard to go without. LoL.

We bought one of those metal framed pools for the backyard, which has been beyond wonderful for the kiddos. Payton is swimming like a fish (this from being terrified of the water last year). They've swam every single day since we set it up and it's so refreshing after a hot Louisiana day! Like last year, I'm the primary caretaker of the pool, but I don't mind. It keeps the kids occupied and happy. Gotta love that!

Sorry for the lack of updates as of late, but we've been busy with summery stuff and trying to keep cool. We've frequented the majority of indoor kids places already and will continue to do so all summer. Cam and Pay got free skating rink passes and we'll be going try those out soon. Praying that no one breaks a bone. That said, mommy will be nowhere near a pair of rollerskates. :)

Happy hot summer day to ya!

Summer Random

2009-06-10T10:03:00.004-04:00

*Went to the eye doctor yesterday for my 1 yr. post PRK checkup. The doc basically told me that I couldn't be in a better position. I was slightly overcorrected, so I have a little room to play with. 20/20 vision is something I never in my life dreamed I would hear in reference to my eyes...It's quite a wonderful feeling. He said that eyes as bad as mine, have usually worsened a little after one year, he was very impressed with mine....Thank you, Lord!

*Trying to stay both busy and sane. They are directly linked. Keeping the kids busy and running the roads to try to keep them from
a. getting bored
b. fighting
We're doing the summer camp at the local movie theater once a week. We splurged in a metal frame pool to keep them cool and occupied. We're also about to start bowling once a week on the "kids bowl free" summer program and we joined the summer library reading program as well. Cam's got church camp next week which will be a lot of fun for him and be exhausting for him. Then basketball camp in July.

*Planning a little end of summer getaway. It's not the big vacation we had envisioned, but just to getaway will be nice.

*We've got cucumbers coming out of our ears. We are picking 6 or 7 a day. Our cabinet is overflowing, we've been trying to give them away to family and friends and we've been eating 3 and 4 a day.

*Our anniversary weekend was beyond wonderful. At the very last minute. (About 9:30pm on Friday), we decided to drive to Baton Rouge for the night where we had dinner and rented a hotel room. I'm talking the spontaneous kind where all you have are the clothes on your back and you have to buy a toothbrush. I had toothpaste in my purse from a previous dentist visit. LoL. It was a wonderful time though, we enjoyed every minute.

*Have a great day!!

10 Years Ago Today...

2009-06-05T09:36:00.003-04:00

I was marrying my best friend and soul mate. 10 years...I can hardly believe it.

The day started off with him waking me up with a dozen roses and he got me out of bed to dance to our wedding song "From this Moment". It was quite different this time around as I had horrible morning breath, terrible bed head, pajamas on and there were 2 kids giggling at us the whole time.

On the 10 year anniversary agenda? E took the day off, we're taking the kids to see "Up" then they'll be going to my mom and dad's house. Eric and I will be dining at our fave restaurant before coming home to enjoy 20 or 30 minutes or so of a movie before falling asleep. LoL. We're getting old. ;) Besides, our cruise in February was kind of our anniversary celebration.

Happy Weekend to you!

Check Us Out...

2009-05-29T10:27:00.006-04:00

Growing our own veggies this summer. The only thing missing are the big, red tomatoes. They are coming, just still green at the moment. I must say, we grow a mighty delicious cucumber too. ;)

On Saturday, we got to see a sneak peek of our nephew. It was our first time seeing a 4D ultrasound, and I cannot believe how amazing it is. I was thinking of having another one just so I could get a 4D. LoL...Just kidding!!!

And I want to wish my little sis a happy Golden birthday today...She is 29 on the 29th and expecting their first baby on Eric's birthday! We had the shower on Saturday and it went well. I made the cake as some of you know, so I'm including a picture. Please bear in mind that this was only the 2nd cake I've made in my life, so it was far from perfect. The fondant bow on top was not wanting to cooperate, but I will say that it was a very yummy cake, indeed!!

I'm thinking that once the kids are back in school, I may take a few cake decorating classes. Like I don't have enough hobbies already...Lol.

My 2 Cents Worth...

2009-05-26T19:45:00.003-04:00

Jon and Kate plus 8 last night left me sad...and extremely disappointed. Just the fact that the interviews were conducted separately was very telling.

I haven't been a fan of the show since the start. In fact, I just started watching last year, but have since seen every episode. What is so disappointing to me is that last year, they were in Hawaii renewing their vows and declaring that "we want the kids to know that we will be together forever." Seeing little Alexis last night telling her daddy not to leave anymore was heartbreaking. But what really gets me is that Kate continues to say that she is doing what she's doing "for the kids". Give me a break. She's become so into doing this show, that she's letting her family suffer in the process. Don't get me wrong, I feel like there's plenty of blame to go around. If Jon did indeed cheat, well that's just inexcusable, but not hard to believe given how his wife frequently treated and spoke to him like a child.

It's just a very difficult situation, but I cannot lie, I wish they'd be as invested in their marriage as they are in the show. I feel sooooo bad for their kids. The precious children who "are too young to know what's going on". Yeah right.

I thought about the show a lot today. I really should stop watching, in some sort of protest for them to remove the show that has positively run its course. But I will continue watching the train wreck unfold. I hope that at some point they truly do put the "kids first" and take themselves out of the spotlight. And stop hiding behind the "we're doing the show for the kids" lie. I don't think anyone's buying it anymore. Rant over.

On a Thursday...

2009-05-21T16:42:00.003-04:00

*I could not be more excited that this guy won American Idol.

*I cannot believe that tomorrow is the last day of school.

*I have a baby shower at my house in 2 days for which I am making the cake...I think I've seriously lost it...Wish me well.

*Even though our lives have been turned-upside-down-hectic, I'm seriously gonna miss baseball season.

*I'm hoping we can take a summer vacation.

*I am in desparate need of a photo shoot with the kids in their baseball uniforms, and Payton on Sunday in her dancing costume.

*In addition to previously mentioned baby shower, we have Payton's dance recital this weekend.

*I'm kinda bummed that all of Eric and I's fave shows have come to an end.

*I'm loving the spring like temps we've had lately, I know that they won't last long.

*I'm really proud of Cam who made Honor Roll for the year and met all of his Reading goals. As well as the fact that he's hitting an average of 2 doubles a game.

*P and I finally grocery shopped today. To say that we were in desperate need of groceries would be a HUGE understatement.

*Hoping you all have a fabulous holiday weekend!! Happy Memorial Day!!

LOST TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-13T17:33:00.007-04:00

2 hour season finale...Cannot wait. Ballgame in a little while, but then dinner, kiddos bathed, brushed and to bed and some DVR Lost watchin. American Idol first though...I'm praying that by some miracle, Adam will be gone. I'm not optimistic though, he has a HUGE following and I really don't know why.

On Mother's Day, we took a drive out to Lake Martin road to check out the wildlife. This was by far our fave...He was massive, take a look at those teeth! He was about 12 feet away from us and we had the best time watching him. He'd go underwater for a bit and then pop back up. The second picture is of him swimming our way when we walked up....The kids loved it, we were very near the car the whole time...LoL...

In other news, this little chicken licken graduated today...I was proud of myself for not crying, but I can't make the same promise on the first day of Kindergarten.

TGIF...

2009-05-08T10:02:00.003-04:00

*This week, we had one night at home with nothing to do... It was wonderful, we played some Wii MarioKart family style.

*Last night was yet another one of Payton's classmates birthday parties at the Kart Ranch. Pay and I are becoming quite the pros at racing gokarts! ;) I swore I'd never get on one, but now I'm kinda loving it!

*Ball game tonight. Cameron's team won big on Tuesday 13-5...and guess who was there? My mom and dad... Just sayin...

*Just found out that Payton has to have "big, curly hair" for her dance recital...Um, P's hair is anything but big...or curly...I'm in for a fun time, I'm sure.

*Payton has 3 days of school left...Unbelievable...She graduates from preschool on Wednesday.

*Busy weekend ahead. Hey, what's new? Birthday party tomorrow, Eric has to work since it's Mother's Day weekend, and they're usually pretty busy. Baseball practice, etc. etc.

*Busy planning my sister's baby shower. It happens to be on the same weekend as Payton's dance recital...and Memorial day. Invites need to go out soon and I'm about halfway done.

*Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, especially this one, whom I adore...

Reason #19 Why I Love Facebook...

2009-05-04T19:04:00.001-04:00

Came across this today...Haven't seen it in awhile and I needed a good laugh. Enjoy!

Hey Ya'll...

2009-04-28T21:59:00.005-04:00

It's Tuesday...How is it that a week goes by in between each blog post without my notice? Could it be that we're at the ballpark 5 out of 7 days and the other 2 are spent busily catching up on other things? I think that's it. Once again, it's gonna be about the random...

*Have you met my friend Blair? Just call me Tudy...LoL...The hair was beyond windblown as there were hurricane force winds blowing outside....Ok, so maybe they were just tropical storm force, but they were brutal nonetheless.

*I saw this on the ever magnificent Ashley Wren's blog awhile back and have wanted to do it for the kids baseball team snacks, but seriously...when do I have time to make cutesy snacks...I'm lucky I have time to open a box of snacks and let the kids grab them out...but anyway, I thought it was adorable.

*Cam's team is doing so well...They lost on Monday, but Cam had a double and made an out....It was a great game. They play again tomorrow night. Tonight was Payton's turn, she had 2 hits! Eric's been pitching to them and this was the first time I got to see her hit the pitches. I'm team mom, so I'm in the dugout getting batters together and whatnot, but I am seriously gonna try to get the camera out there soon.

*Payton's spring play is tomorrow. Her class will be train conductors, I scoured the Goodwill's in town today in search of overalls. Found a pair for $2.99...Score!

*Off to put the kids to bed and watch American Idol! Good night!

On a Wednesday...

2009-04-22T21:27:00.002-04:00

*Just got back from Cam's game....Awesomeness I tell ya. They won 15-8. It was by far the most exciting game yet. A little boy who can not even swing the bat, much less hit the ball had 2 base hits tonight. He's NEVER hit the ball. Period. Not in practice and not in a game. And he had 2 base hits. My mom and dad were there. And strangely enough, the only game they came to during basketball season, is the only game we won. I'm not supersticious but still, they should come to every game.

*This blew me away. I think he's my new favorite. I really hope he can beat Adam "freak show" Lambert.

*Tomorrow night will be our 3rd night in a row at the ballpark. It's Payton's turn.

*Making my sister Jenny's baby shower invitations with the Hambly onesie paper and overlays. I heart Hambly...In order to buy it I had to go to the scrapbook store, I hadn't been there in probably 6 months. OHMYWORD. I could have seriously lost my mind. Oh scrapping, how I miss you.

*I cooked shrimp stew tonight. It was yummy if I do say so myself.

* :)

What a Weekend...

2009-04-20T09:57:00.004-04:00

So I spent Friday night listening to these 2 INCREDIBLE women. The first is Lisa Whelchel, who you may recognize as Blair from the Facts of Life. She is a mother of 3 who travels around speaking to women. She had a really good message about being a wife and mommy.

The second is Ayiesha Woods who is an amazing singer. I seriously could have listened to her sing all night. I only kind of knew one of her songs, so wasn't sure if I'd enjoy her or not...but wow! I'd go watch her again in a heartbeat.

They were both at our church for a women's conference. On Saturday, we had a market set up with local vendors (myself included). I didn't do too well, but did get a lot of email addresses for potential orders, so hopefully those will turn into something. I came home really tired to find that my hubby had not only cleaned the playroom (YIKES-it's pretty scary in there), helped both of the kids clean their rooms, did all of the laundry and cooked supper. Sigh-I think I'll keep him. ;)

What a great and exhausting weekend it was. Yesterday afternoon, all I wanted to do was sleep...and sleep I did...Eric and I both. LoL. I enjoyed last week off with the kids, but back to normal today and I can't really say that I'm sad about that. Payton takes graduation pics on Wednesday. I am sad about that. We're off from the ballpark tonight, but we'll be there for the rest of the week.

Happy week to you!

So Long, Easter Weekend...

2009-04-13T10:31:00.004-04:00

A great one it was indeed. We ate lots of crawfish, hunted for tons of eggs, visited with lots of family. It was the windiest day ever, in the history of the world. It was like a hurricane was blowing through while we hunted for eggs. But at least the rain held off until we were finished.

Our church put on an Easter production called "Proof" that was simply amazing. I wasn't just crying...I was downright sobbing.

The madness has begun! We will be at the ballpark tonight, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, Saturday afternoon and then next week, we'll do it all over again! But the kids are loving it...as is coach Eric. And Mommy can't complain either. In Cameron's second game, he made a single, 2 doubles, caught a pop fly and turned it into a double play. I was jumping around screaming like a crazy woman. Proud Mommy moment for sure.

I'll leave you with some random pics of our Easter festivities. As I said, it was the windiest day ever, so not many pics from the actual egg hunt. But you get the gist. ;)

Happy brand new week to you!

"He is not here, He has Risen!"

2009-04-11T18:14:00.004-04:00

Luke 24:6

Happy Easter!!!

Mai Cher...Dat's Funny, Yeah

2009-04-06T21:12:00.004-04:00

Well what happend isn't funny...But the man explaining it? Ohmyword. A friend of mine had this on her facebook and I had to share it with you all. Especially those of you who aren't from Louisiana. Yes, we actually have people that speak this way...LoL. Happy Monday!

Wednesday, Wednesday

2009-04-01T09:24:00.003-04:00

I seriously need to go to the store. The wasps are invading our home like nobody's business. Every nook and cranny under our back patio and front porch has a group of wasps huddled together making a wasp casa.

I'm really starting to like Kris Allen on Idol. He really did well last night. Loved the rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone." As far as freak show (see 2 previous posts)...he's back. Yikes!

Spring has sprung. Green grass, flowers and lots of rain. We need the rain though so I'm not complaining. Keeps us from having to water the garden that we planted in the backyard. Just a small one with tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers. The kids are beyond excited about it. We'll be eating lots of salads here shortly. My waistline will thank me for it.

I'm taking part in a women's conference at our church in a couple of weeks. One of the things that weekend is a marketplace. I was asked to do a booth with some painting for it, so I've been painting like a mad woman again.

Apparently no one told my hormones that I am just 32 years old. I started having bad migranes around that time each month, which is apparently from hormones. I have a case of eczema that I haven't had since I was pregnant for Payton that's flaring up like crazy. I went to the dentist and was told that my gums were a mess, probably from hormones. Seriously?

I'm really loving facebook. Such a cool way to keep up with friends and family.

So cannot wait for Lost tonight.

So that's whats happening on the Amber front. Happy Wednesday!

ETA: My husband, pulled the ole wrap a rubberband around the sink sprayer and when wifey turns on the faucet, she'll get soaked. I forgot it was April Fool's Day. I won't make that mistake again. ;)

I Conceed...

2009-03-26T09:32:00.002-04:00

*That Elvis, um I mean, Adam did really well last night. But I just don't like the guy.

*Eric cannot express enough his dislike for Kara Dioguardi.
a. "One of the best performances of the night" is 8 words and not 6.
b. "I never stand up, but I gotta stand up for that". After I see Smokey and
Barry stand up that is.

*It was an interesting night of television for sure. I'm thinking either pink pants or Matt Sarver will be gone. I won't be sad about either.

*Lost is the bomdiggidy. What can one say?

The Freak Show that is this Guy...

2009-03-18T08:46:00.003-04:00

Ugh. What a horrible, strange, uncomfortable performance that I couldn't wait to be over. Period.

On the other hand, I'm loving Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud. Really hoping that one of those guys pulls it off.

In other exciting news, Lost is back tonight. Woohoo. And Payton goes back to school today. They were having plumbing issues on Monday, so school was closed and she proceeded to cry for 30 minutes upon finding out that news. So I feel like I've gotten nothing done since the weekend. First things first...GROCERY SHOPPING! My family is about to discover what it's like to live on crackers and water if I don't make it to the store today! So that's the plan. Happy Wednesday!

Purging...

2009-03-14T14:38:00.002-04:00

Good for the house and the soul. So it's a rainy Saturday afternoon today. Eric was watching a college basketball game and I was a little bored, so I started going through scrapbook stuff. I was trying to throw as much out as possible. So Eric passes by after a bit and goes into our room. Once I finished going through the scrapbook shelves, I go in to find him cleaning out our closet. He had piles of clothes to keep, throw away and donate. So it's contagious apparently. And feels so good. I seriously feel like I've lost 10 pounds today. Sadly you wouldn't know it by looking at me. ;) But once I moved to our bathroom cabinets I was finding medicine that expired in 1999. Seriously? We threw away 5 huge bags of stuff. And that was just scrapbook stuff, our closet and our master bath!

Happy weekend!!

Signs That Spring Is Near...

2009-03-06T09:39:00.002-05:00

1. Some of the flowers in the flowerbeds are starting to bloom.

2. Everytime I look out in the backyard, there are little birds everywhere.

3. We're starting to discuss planting a garden, sprucing up the flower beds, fixing up the patio.

4. I've been having the urge to clean the house. Which doesn't come often, so I won't fight it...

5. Heading out in a bit to buy some spring/summer clothes for the wee ones.

6. We're supposed to have highs in the upper 70s into next week, a few days possibly 80.

7. I'm loving it.

So I usually like the cold weather, but after visiting Mexico and experiencing upper 80's, I'm ready for the spring! Happy happy weekending to you!

On A Tuesday...

2009-03-03T16:45:00.002-05:00

It's all about the random...

1. Just got back from taking the kids to the dentist. No cavaties, he needs teeth pulled, yada, yada, yada...Same as always. I just wished the dentist would understand that I want to wait for these teeth to fall on their own as all of them are a little loose. But Mr. Dentist wouldn't get any money that way. Just sayin.

2. I'm exhausted because I stayed up late watching the train wreck that was the bachelor finale last night. I get nauseous just thinking about it...

2 1/2. Speaking of tv, where are my Heroes watchers? Is it just me or did this show get really good all of a sudden. It was really struggling last season, but this go round...Wow!!

3. I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry today. I don't mind the washing, drying, folding...It's just the putting away that catches me. On any given day, our breakfast area is full of piles of neatly folded clothes. I'm secretly hoping for a clothes fairy to come and save them. Haven't seen her yet though.

4. I've decided to give Facebook a go. I've been getting various invites and decided to give it a try. It's really cool to see all of the people on there that I haven't seen or spoken to in years.

5. I am sooo hungry for boiled crawfish. We have yet to indulge as of yet. One day soon I hope.

6. We're thinking about planting a little garden this year. It'll be fun for the kids and I think we'll enjoy the fresh veggies as well.

7. I am still working on editing our cruise pics. I'll put the link up once I get them all done.

8. Off to check and see if the clothes fairy passed yet. If not, guess I'll have to do it...

9. Happy Tuesday.

How You Know You're No Longer On a Cruise...

2009-02-23T11:09:00.008-05:00

*You finish eating and leave your plate and NO ONE comes to pick it up.

*You flush the toilet and it doesn't deafen or suck you down into it.

*The house is rocking like crazy (which actually kind of makes me feel like I'm still on the ship). Might have to take some Motion Sickness Medicine to sit on the couch before it's all over.

*When you go to bed at night, there is no cute little towel animal...no chocolate mints...and your bed is not turned down...or made for that matter. What is up with that?

*Instead of people fixing food for me, I actually have to fix it for myself, and fix food for others as well.

*There is no nightly Beatles tribute, comedian, ventriloquist, talent show, kareoke, Bingo game. :(

*Dinner is not served at 8:15 by 2 men named Nando and Victor who are possibly two of the funniest men ever and know that Eric is getting the chocolate melting cake for desert so they don't even have to ask.

*You can't step out of the door and take a 15 minute cab ride to Paradise.

*There's not a jogging track, mini golf course, swimming pool, hot tub or waterslide in our backyard. :(

Yes folks, we're back. Before we ever left the boat, Eric said that he wants to go back. And I wholeheartedly agree. Just going through editing the pictures made me sad. We had some really great tablemates for dinner that wanted some of the pictures, so I'm going through and getting them edited to email them out. Once they are all edited, I'll give you a link so that you can check them all out.

Fabulous time, my friends.

A Very Happy Birthday...

2009-02-13T17:57:00.002-05:00

To this little one who is 5 today...She was up all night throwing up. Had to miss her Valentine's/Birthday party at school today. But hopefully it has now passed and the bug is gone. We are supposed to leave for our cruise in a few days, so I'm a little stressed.

Happy Weekending!

Stinking @ Blogging...

2009-02-02T18:01:00.003-05:00

So sorry for the lack of updates as of late. Eric and I's 10 year anniversary cruise is quickly approaching but before that I've got so much to do!! Including Payton's 5th birthday, Valentine's day, basketball practices and games, painting, packing, list making, helping Cameron with school project, school Bingo playing, Lost and American Idol and now Heroes watching, birthday party shopping, planning, executing, Valentine's day parties at school, and I am the room mother for Payton's class for the month...phew! So you can see why I've been absent.

Cam & Eric's poor basketball team is still winless. :( He's doing a good job at teaching them that winning isn't everything, but I think they would be a little more motivated if they could at least win one! They really are a good team, and surely their time is coming soon...Surely...

Short and sweet, I know...Hopefully better update soon! :)

I Sang From the Wrong Rectum...

2009-01-21T13:02:00.003-05:00

If you watched American Idol last night, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Had I had drink in my mouth, it would've certainly come outta my nose. Without question. But don't worry, she wasn't a great singer either....She was "eractacated" from the show....Hilarious...

Words cannot express how excited E and I are about Lost returning tonight...Hope it doesn't disappoint.. ;) Happy Wednesday!

I'm A Day Late...

2009-01-15T08:44:00.004-05:00

I know. So E and I watched American Idol last night and Heidi even texted me to make sure that I wouldn't forget to post my pic. But well, yesterday was frighteningly busy, so I will post today. Not to mention, we didn't even get to watch Wednesday night's episode yet... So my pic for Tuesday is... this fella...XRAY. With his original song "cactus" and SAWEET dance moves.

In other totally unrelated news, the stitches are out. But the cut is not closed up, so mommy's a little freaked out about him going to school like that. They are playing *gasp* volleyball in PE. That alone is almost enough for me to keep him home. His PE excuse expired yesterday. But apparently when he went to school with it unwrapped yesterday, the PE coach told him she doesn't want him playing the rest of the week. Thank God for that! I don't think I'll get coach Eric to let him sit out of basketball again on Saturday though, but be assured that it'll be wrapped so thick he won't even be able to hear out of it. The doc yesterday told me I didn't need to wrap it anymore, but I did this morning. It puts my mind a little more at ease to know that the gruesome cut is at least covered while he's at school. His teacher let him stay in with her for recess all week which has been nice as well. He certainly doesn't mind getting the computer all to himself the whole time... ;)

So hopefully E and I will catch up on American Idol tonight. I also DVRed the season finale of LOST from last season to watch. Less than a week until the return of that bad boy...I'm beyond excited! Happy Thursday!

Oh What A Night...

2009-01-10T12:36:00.003-05:00

The kids had a knock down drag out. Cam hit Payton in the eye, and then she bit his ear a la Mike Tyson...

Ok, just joking. On Friday afternoon, Cameron was playing Nerf Dart tag with his friends like they do everyday after school. He was running and tried to go through the subdivision sign and the big palm tree next to it. As he was running by the palm, one of the razor sharp branches caught his ear and went completely through it. As he kept running, it basically ripped his ear. It was gruesome to say the least. After putting the wet rag over it and it got cleaned up a bit, I could see the cartiledge basically hanging out. That's something that one who's not in the medical field, really doesn't need to see. I was about to faint. I called the doc on call and he said to get him in to the ER. Eric got home about 10 minutes later and we rushed to the hospital. He ended up with 4 stitches on the front and 1 on the back. He'll have a good scar on his ear, but it'll give him character, right? After leaving, we went to the store to fill his prescription then home. We got to the hospital at 6:30pm and didn't get home until midnight.

Chapter 2...We get home, I put an exhausted, sleeping Payton in her bed, turn to walk out and hear BAM...WAAAAHHHH! I turn around and Payton had rolled out of her bed and hit her eye on the corner of the night stand. She hit her eyelid and had a cut on it. Mommy was crying along with her. How much can one Mommy take on a random Friday night? LoL. All is well now. Cam is the most upset that he has to miss his 2 basketball games today. He'll be cheering his team on from the sideline.

I'm convinced that this weekend will be a good one in spite of Friday night. LoL. Hope yours is a good one...

Starting the New Year Off with the Random...

2009-01-04T16:29:00.006-05:00

**School's back in!! Mommy is enjoying a peaceful and quiet house as we speak. It was a nice few weeks, but I'm definitely ready for the normal life again. ;)

**Eric and Cameron and the rest of the BYYA Hornets are 0-1. Their first game didn't go so well, we are hoping for a turnaround this Saturday as they have a double header. It's frustrating when there are several kids who only show up for the games and have no clue what's going on. They miss all of the plays that they teach in practice and are lost out on the court when it's gametime . :(

**As far as the post last month when I said that I was settling into 32 nicely, I didn't take into account the 4 grey hairs that I would find in the weeks following. So maybe 32 isn't so nice after all. :P

**The diet resumes today. We took a break for the holidays and basically made pigs of ourselves. I seriously don't know if I've ever eaten that much food in all of my life. I'm sure when I step on the Wii fit today, I'll be getting a lecture. LoL. And my Mii's belly is gonna expand something fierce.

**Heading out to Target for a few things. And because I haven't been since before Christmas. I went so many times before Christmas that I couldn't stand the site of the place for awhile and took a little break. They have some spring things in for Payton that I love. Paris themed shirts with plaid bermuda shorts and cropped polkadot sweaters to match. Oh my. A woman could go crazy, I tell ya.

**Loving this soap lately. From Old Navy. I've been using the green tea. It smells soooo good, it makes me want to take baths at random times during the day. I'm really hoping that it wasn't just a holiday thing. I need to head over there to see if I can stock up on some more.

** Really exciting news can be found here. Yay!!

**Happy getting back to normal after the holidays to you!!

And A Happy New Year...

2008-12-31T14:43:00.007-05:00

So Christmas has come and gone (thankfully). It's a tough time of year when you're married to a jeweler. My dear friend Shaina can attest to that. ;)

When it finally got here, it was wonderful. Well maybe except for the fact that we could have worn shorts. The kids got more than enough toys and other assorted gifts. I got a new lens for my camera (which is just what I wanted). Eric got clothes, cologne, etc. No big surprises this year as my brain couldn't come up with anything good. And with a cruise coming soon, I didn't want to overdo it.

So here are some pics. I love this first one of Eric's uncle who's almost 90 years old reading from a people magazine about Kevin Federline's life with Britney. Priceless.

Eric reading the Christmas story to us before we opened gifts.
It was a Littlest PetShop year for Payton. And I don't think that she minded one bit! ;)

Cameron and his nanny. I can't get over how much they look alike these days. Payton discovering the Barbie bike she's been wanting. A happy camper she was!
Cameron and his presents. Mostly video game stuff. Big surprise there.
So anyway, it was another good Christmas. Now we look on to 2009. Can you believe it will be here in a few hours? We're heading to Eric's mom and dad's for seafood gumbo, firecracker popping, etc. Should be a fun night.

Wishing all of my family and friends a Happy and very healthy 2009!!!

Wishing You All...

2008-12-24T11:44:00.001-05:00

A very Merry Christmas!!

Because I Couldn't Resist...

2008-12-21T18:09:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Busy Bee...

2008-12-16T09:03:00.004-05:00

That's me. I'm thinking that if you took my blood pressure yesterday, it would have been off the charts. Literally the busiest day of my life. Today's a little more settled, but still busy nonetheless.

I wanted to share some more snow pics (tomorrow's going to be 80 degrees, so I want to relive the Christmas weather). When we went out that morning, Payton cried because it was cold and wet. LoL. She was truly miserable. (I guess there's a reason we don't live up north.) Anyway, school wasn't cancelled but we let Cam play for a few hours and then sent him. (I figured the snow would be all melted in a few hours and they'll be home together for the next 2 weeks...) After he left, Payton and I went in the backyard, at that point it wasn't actually snowing anymore, so she really enjoyed herself. She was making snowballs and throwing them at the fence. I'm hoping for some scrap days after the holidays. I seriously cannot wait to scrap snow pics!!

Anyway, in the end, she decided that she does indeed like the snow. And Cameron wants it to snow on a weekend next time so that everyone's off. And I totally agree... ;)

As Long As You Love Me So...

2008-12-11T09:18:00.006-05:00

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!! This morning we actually woke up to a winter wonderland. Happy campers in South Louisiana today, folks...

Life In the Fast Lane...

2008-12-09T13:21:00.004-05:00

Or so it feels. I would love to be able to press the pause button, but sadly, I can't seem to find a pause button. Except for the one on the DVR remote, which I'm thinking won't work.

Recap. 32 arrived at my doorstep. I welcomed it in and am settling in nicely. It was a lovely day. I picked up my own cake (lol...Eric ordered it, but was so busy with work, he couldn't make it to pick it up.) We had boiled crabs for supper (which were sooo yummy, and coincidentally, I picked those up as well). LoL.

There were gifts, crabs, christmas music, cookie cake...A wonderful evening all around...

On Friday night, the kids spent the night at my mom and dad's and Eric and I went out to our fave restaurant for supper. Then home to bed where we fell asleep watching the news. Can you stand the excitement? I swear that I did only turn 32, not 62...

The air conditioner just kicked on, which reminds me. It's like 76 the high today...Tomorrow's high? 44. The sore throat, sneezing, sinus headache will be in full effect I'm sure.

Happy Tuesday!! :)

Thanksgiving Recap...

2008-12-01T11:42:00.007-05:00

So Thanksgiving has come and gone. It was a wonderful holiday.

Trimming the tree while watching the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Love it. The kids especially love the part where they eat popcorn, jelly beans and toast for Thanksgiving. LoL. And Cameron's been singing the "little birdie" song since we watched it. Looking forward to the Christmas one. The dancing is our favorite part. And I love that they still tell the true meaning of Christmas. On a side note, doesn't Cameron look old in this pic? It's frightening, really...Speaking of which, basketball practice starts tonight. And coach Eric will be making his coaching debut. He's nervous, but I'm sure he'll do fine. I've been researching "coaching 7 and 8 year old basketball" and have found some good drills and such for him to use. Looking forward to seeing them both in action!
Lots of eating and game playing took place over the holiday. Mainly Sorry and Uno. Lots of yummy food too.
I had been eating really good for the last several weeks, and on Thanksgiving day, I kind of just let myself go. Way overboard. I still feel blah because of it. Back to business today though, until Christmas comes around. ;)

My mom and I decided to brave the Black Friday madness. It was worth it. I nearly finished my shopping. And before December. That is a record for me. Well, I can't say that I finished as I didn't even start shopping for Eric. But everyone else it done, including the kids...Woohoo!

Hope that your Thanksgiving was wonderful. The countdown to Christmas has begun!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving...

2008-11-27T09:25:00.002-05:00

Hope that you all have a wonderful day!! :)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...

2008-11-21T17:00:00.002-05:00

The good...
*Thanksgiving is upon us. A week for the kiddos out of school is gonna be interesting, but I've already made plans to take them to the movies one day. Of course Thanksgiving day doesn't count because Eric will be off and we'll be gone all day. Then Eric's mom offered to keep the kids so that I can brave the madness that is Black Friday. According to the paper, the sales are supposed to be some of the best ever, what with the economy and all.

*Gas is under $2.00 here now! I tanked up my gas guzzling SUV for $41.00 today. In the height of the sky high gas prices it was costing me $85.00. Definitely a good thing.

*I got a Southern Living book with all kinds of fun gifts from the kitchen. Really hoping to try some out before Christmas gets here.

*Payton wanted a big girl bike from Santa Claus. Today I thought I'd stop in at toys r us to check it out... Used a coupon and got a great deal on it.

*It's Friday!!

The bad...
*I have been letting the blog slide something fierce. Ironically, I'm finding myself too busy to blog, yet when I have the time, can't think of anything to blog about. LoL.

*Cameron had his heart set on Guitar Hero for the Wii for Christmas. After checking it out at the store and seeing songs by Ozzy Osbourne, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, etc...Yeah not so much. Lol. Back to the drawing board for Cam...

*Trying like crazy to get into the holiday spirit... In doing so, I've decided to change up the blog music a little early...That could be good or bad, depending on how you feel about it. ;)

The ugly...
*Eric's crazy Christmas at work may have started a little early. He left the house at like 4:30am for work today...Yikes...

*I had Taco Bell for lunch today. I'm not sure what came over me, I've been doing so good eating healthy and working out, but for some reason, it was calling my name.

I Hate This Woman...

2008-11-10T19:26:00.005-05:00

Ok, so maybe hate is too strong a word, but I dislike her greatly. I've been working out for about 3 weeks now and decided to try Jillian Michael's 30 day shred on ON DEMAND. And let's just say that today, I'm one big ball of hurt. Everything. From my head to my toes.

Is it just me or is it not feeling like the holidays are upon us? To be driving down the road on a Tuesday and see the Toys R Us parking lot completely full. To be shopping in Hobby Lobby and everyone's baskets are full of Christmas decorations. I'm just not feeling it. I can hardly believe that it's almost mid November much less time for the holiday season. I ran into a friend at Hobby Lobby who proceeded to tell me that she was just about finished Christmas shopping. Yeah well I haven't even started. Or started thinking about it-except for the kids of course. But seriously, almost finished Christmas shopping? In September? Oh yeah, it's mid November. I keep forgetting that little detail. Well I have a few weeks to get into holiday mode. I'm defiinitely looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner. Yum yum. ;)

On My Mind...

2008-11-05T10:20:00.007-05:00

*Apprehensive about the future, but God is, always has been, and always will be in control. *The kiddos on the 31st. Saints football player and Saints cheerleader. We went to the fall fest at church and got way to much candy. Especially when Mommy is trying to diet. ;)*Payton was curious about candy apples after seeing them on the Berenstain bears, we made some a few nights ago and they were yummy! Eric couldn't eat any because of his braces and the kids just licked some of the candy off.

*Happy early Birthday to my mom, whose birthday is Friday!! Love you, Mom!!

I Love Fall...

2008-10-27T11:16:00.005-05:00

Okay, so our trees are still green here, but the weather is fabulous. So pretty and clear and cool. Love that.

Not much to report on this chilly Monday. This weekend was a little more lowkey than the last two. Friday night we went to Eric's mom and dad's house, where she had cooked crab stew, shrimp stew, fried shrimp, fried fish. A feast. The whole family was there, which is chaos in itself, but fun chaos.

Cameron had a dentist appointment this morning. He had to get 3 of his permanent teeth sealed and one with a little defect filled. Eric took him this go round. Some of you that have been reading my blog for awhile might remember this post. Let's just say that it was pretty much the same this time. They wanted to pull 4 of his teeth as well because he's sooooo crowded. But we decided against that as one has already fallen and another is loose. We'll just let it run it's course and keep the money in our pocket. Lol. But needless to say, I'm very happy that Daddy was able to take him and experience it this time. Just in case he thought I exaggerated a little. ;) Eric told me that once they gave him what I call the silly medicine, he was watching Diego and just started cracking up laughing. Eric asked him what was so funny and he just kept saying over and over "I thought that the llamas were singing." Yes, apparently the medicine makes 7 year old boys laugh at Diego.

Well that's all for now. Happy Monday!!

Weekend Fun...

2008-10-20T09:31:00.006-04:00

So we got the idea that we would try out camping for a weekend. We went to one of the local campgrounds nearby and rented a cabin for 2 nights. The weather was so unbelievably gorgeous. Cool and not a cloud in the sky. The nights and mornings were cold. Perfect camping weather. ;) We rented a cabin that had a full sized bed, a bunk bed and a table. Walking to the bathroom was a bit of an adjustment, but it wasn't bad. We got there Friday at about 4:30 in the afternoon and got settled into the cabin. All the cooking has to be done outside, so we stopped and bought a little grill to cook on. And on Saturday, Eric brought his burner and fried some shrimp and the lone fish that we caught.

My favorite part by far, was sitting out at night watching the campfire and roasting marshmellows. The kids loved it too. Although Payton was exhausted and didn't last very long either night. Eating outside was pretty fun too. Thankfully, it was cool enough to keep the flies and most of the mosquitos away.

We tried our hand at fishing. You should see Payton cast, she's quite the little fishergirl. Cam gets bored with it pretty quick. The entire weekend, Eric is the only person that caught a fish. One fish. No one else caught anything (other campers included). It's a really big lake, and our hunch is that the fish stay in the middle where it's deep.

On Saturday, we fished, played puttputt and rented paddle boats (which is a LOT of work to paddle). There is a playground for the kids that was right across from the cabin, that they played at alot. Oh and a swimming pool, that was open. And lots of kids were swimming. I can only imagine how cold that water must have been. Cam and Pay wanted to swim, but I didn't need 2 sick kids this week. The kids rode their bikes. Eric and I are going to look into getting a rack to bring ours next time. We would have loved to be able to ride with the kids, but there wasn't room for them this time.

Anyhoo, lots of pictures to share. We really enjoyed it and are hoping to get one more trip in before Eric's busy Christmas season starts. Apparently, we are going to be a camping family. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!! :)

Today's Funny...

2008-10-17T12:22:00.003-04:00

Not that I know what she's talking about. ;)

Fun plans for the weekend. I'll give you the rundown Monday. Happy finally-feeling-like-fall weekend!!!!

Glorious Weekend...

2008-10-13T18:04:00.011-04:00

That went by way too fast. Friday morning was spent cleaning the house, but then I spent a few wonderful hours at the scrap table while the kids were at school. It had been a really long time. Scrapped some pictures that had been waiting to be scrapped and got to mG's belated birthday card. (Just need to post it now). Once the kids came in and got settled, we headed out to Mimi and Poppy's. That's right, date night!! We ate at our favorite restaurant ever and then headed out to see Fireproof, which we really enjoyed.

Saturday, we picked the kids up and headed out to the zoo with Lance, Pam and their 2 kiddos. The kids had lots of fun. And lo and behold, I remembered my camera. ;)The monkeys were everyone's favorite. Especially when they brought out the food and with all the yummy looking fruit on the table, and they fought over the lettuce.

The biggest monkey in the zoo. My husband, ladies and gents.
The gators. They were all tired and resting. Would have loved to see them swimming around. Oh well.

The giraffe, who, apparently prefers to eat the fence than the food they feed him.
The beautiful white tiger. He's a ham, he was always looking at whoever was taking the picture. Lol.

Sunday was very low key and included church, shopping, lunch, napping, oh and guess who learned to ride without training wheels?

She hasn't quite got the hang of the turns, but she's almost a pro on the straights. And she decided that she needs a new bigger bike, so that's on the Christmas list. We were all very proud, especially Cam. :)

Bad Blogger....

2008-10-02T09:31:00.013-04:00

That's me. With good reason, life has been hectic, to say the least.

We celebrated Cameron's 7th birthday party. We had a really good turnout. More boys than I've ever had at the house at once. Very rambunctious boys. I was thankful for an outside party. LoL.

We had the ever popular pinata pitch. Every year once it breaks off of the string, Eric proceeds to pitch the pinata to the kids. We do things a little dangerously here. LoL. You don't even wanna know how Cam and his cousin popped the leftover balloons. ;)
Payton being flung down the waterslide.

Payton had silly sock and shoe day at school.And had some really cute monkey pigtails.

Mommy's been painting alot.

Our good friends Brandy and Steve welcomed an ADORABLE baby girl to their family a few weeks early. Congrats!

Phew! It's all enough to exhaust even Cameron. (who fell asleep like this watching tv, yesterday.)

Happy almost Friday!! :)

TGIF...

2008-09-19T12:06:00.002-04:00

So this was our first normal week in a while. And I'm happy about that. Tomorrow is Cameron's birthday party. I can't even begin to tell you how much I have to do to get ready for it. But there are no hurricanes heading for the Gulf, so life is good. ;) Happy Weekending!

Monday, Monday...

2008-09-15T10:33:00.002-04:00

So they've been giving out foodstamp cards like crazy here since the hurricanes. We were at Eric's Mom and Dad's house this weekend after Ike came on through. Eric's brothers were cutting up and this was the outcome...Enjoy.

How To Know that You Were Really A New Kids Fan...

2008-09-13T13:34:00.004-04:00

You remember this song.

Ohmyword. Hilarious. With their new album out, and an article about them in the newspaper yesterday, I had them on the brain. When I came upon this song I almost died. How cheesy. Yet I totally loved it back in the day. ;) Do you remember it? Don't forget to pause the music player.

On a Thursday...

2008-09-11T16:21:00.002-04:00

1. We're out of the cone. Woohoo! (see last post). Although they are saying we will still have tropical storm force winds and school is cancelled tomorrow. Seriously. You're killing me, smalls. Payton finally starts school and Mommy can finally have some Mommy time and school's been cancelled 5 days because of hurricanes already. I sense makeup days in the future.

2. Speaking of Mommy time, yesterday I went into a store and just walked around forever. Looking at everything and taking my time. Wow. It's like a whole new way to shop.

3. In the tradition of my kids and their accidents, Payton bent down for something in the bathroom and knocked her eye on the toilet. She now looks like she's wearing purple eye shadow.

4. Booked the cruise for E and I's 10th anniversary early next year. I'm counting down the days already. Oh and I made sure NOT to book during hurricane season. ;)

5. Cameron's party is in a week and I have yet to mail invites. I'm turning into slacker Mommy. I did book the water slide today though. Luckily, they still had one available.

6. How annoying is Kenley on Project Runway? Seriously that outfit was horrif. Just finished watching it on DVR, so it's fresh on the brain. LoL.

7. Not quite sure there's a such thing as normal anymore, but if there is, could we please return to it? Thank you and Happy Thursday. ;)

The Cone of Uncertainty...

2008-09-08T18:51:00.003-04:00

We're there. Yet again.

Such is life when you live in South Louisiana, I guess. But all is well. The kids finally went back to school today and Eric was able to go back to work for the first time since the storm. The town that he works in just got power back over the weekend. We are blessed. We really are. To have power back in 12 hours when there are folks still without power a week later. My family in Houma, Louisiana is still without power as well. They live where Gustav came ashore and got hit really hard.

Payton started dancing today. She was very excited. What a busy girl- school and dancing in the same day. Cameron is off tomorrow so that his teacher can test half of the class for their reading level, then he tests on Wednesday. So off for a week, back for a day, then off for another day. Not too shabby for him.

Happy Monday. Oh, and Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Love you guys! :)

Hanna and Ike and Josephine...

2008-09-03T12:44:00.002-04:00

Oh my.

We're back home now, safe and sound. Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes. We came home on Tuesday. We found out that we had gotten power back on in the morning, so we loaded up and came home. We had no damage at all. The worst thing to happen was that a board fell off of one of the windows and kind of smushed a few plants. Nothing major at all. The storm was expected to hit as a Cat. 4, but came in at a 2. Gotta love that.

While Louisiana was getting battered, we enjoyed sunny weather and the kids got to swim and we shopped at a really big outlet mall. We're glad to be back home. It's been raining since we got home. School is cancelled until Monday. Eric hasn't had to work, because where the store is, the town is almost completely out of power. So it's a mini vacay of sorts.

Gustav's got a few friends coming behind him. Hopefully they go somewhere and fizzle out. Happy Wednesday.

High and Dry...

2008-08-30T21:30:00.003-04:00

For now anyway. We decided to take our Labor Day trip to Plano, Texas anyway. Our plan was to cut it short one day and get home to prepare the house for Gustav. Well our plans changed slightly. Right now Gustav is about to enter the Gulf at a Cat. 4 hurricane with winds up to 150 miles an hour (and gettting stronger). And the track is showing it hitting right at our city. So here we are in Plano. As I type this, Eric and Ali have gone home to finish boarding up the house and grab a few important things. Please, please keep us in your prayers. My stomach is in a constant knot. The thought of going home to devastation is stressing me out. But God is in control. And He has been known to calm a storm or two...

Stay Away Gustav...

2008-08-27T17:37:00.004-04:00

Not looking good for Louisiana. Labor day plans may be ixnayed. All we can do is wait and see.

In other brighter and happier news,this little one started preschool today. She was so excited, she had her outfit picked out for the last 2 weeks. She absolutely loved every minute of it. I did shed a few tears after dropping her off, but mostly I'm excited for her. It finally sunk in today how big she really is. She loves her teacher and made a new friend named Alex. ;) "Her name's Alex, Mommy, but she's a girl." LoL.

One Bad Bug...

2008-08-25T08:14:00.006-04:00

No, not this kinda bug. The kind where Mommy wakes up at about 4:30 Friday morning hugging the toilet, sweating buckets. Then feels bad all day Friday and in the afternoon, Payton starts throwing up. (I must say that it's never fun to feel terrible and have to take care of a throwing up child). Then on Saturday, Eric woke up with it and suffered all day. No signs of Cameron getting sick. He did kind of complain of a stomach ache during the week last week, so maybe that was his turn. Back to Monday now and all is well. All are healthy and back to business.

*We go to meet Payton's teacher in just a bit and she's beyond excited. She starts on Wednesday.

*We go to visit Jenny and Ali soon, which we're looking forward to.

*Is fall coming soon? It's hot!

*Tropical Depression Fay provided some lovely (rainy) sleep weather last night.

*I'm guessing Mario Sluggers will be the new and impossible to find Wii game.

*In the process of trying to book a cruise for E and I's 10th anniversary next year. I wanted it to be a surprise. But well, with him having to pay for some of it, I'm thinking that that wouldn't have worked out too well. LoL.

*Happy Monday, folks!

Just the Girls...

2008-08-18T18:35:00.003-04:00

Hanging out again. Life feels back to normal. Sort of. Eric and I are struggling to wake up every morning and have like 15 minutes to get Cam up dressed, fed and out to the school bus. Speaking of which, I think his bus driver is either working out the kinks in her route. Or is part of a plot to drive me insane. Seriously. Different times and different stopping area every day thus far.
So anyhoo, this little chickadee starts school next week. Which makes me happy and sad. Happy because she's sooo excited and going to love it. Sad because I'm going to miss my little shopping partner. She literally walks around talking all day. Either on her play phone, to her babies, to me, or Tuno (her imaginary friend). It's gonna be so quiet around here.

Unbelievable Video...

2008-08-13T09:37:00.002-04:00

Ali sent me this video a few months ago and I just came upon it again today. Unbelievable. I cry everytime. Everytime. Happy Wednesday to you!

Oh yeah, don't forget to pause the player so you can hear the video. ;)

It's That Time of Year Again...

2008-08-08T12:45:00.003-04:00

1st day of school. No pics, because well, getting back to normal this morning was a bit of a challenge. And a little rushed. I'll try to snap a few when he comes in today.

P's prayer last night..."Father God, just thank you for this house, Lord. So that we don't have to live on the road. And get squished." LoL.

Happy Weekending!! :)

Wanna Play?

2008-08-05T20:28:00.002-04:00

So I saw this game on D's blog, who got it from Heidi, who got it from her cousin's in laws, hair dresser's aunt (no link provided). So anyhoo, here goes. Leave a comment and I will...

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you which song or movie you remind me of.
3. I'll pick a kind of beverage or goodie to share with you.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what famous person you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wondered about you.
8. If you play, you MUST post this on your blog.

Yet Another Post That Mentions This Game...

2008-07-29T17:23:00.003-04:00

Because last night Eric and the kids are playing and Payton passes Eric up (which never happens) and she says "phew, that's the most exciting thing that's ever happend to me. Thank you, Jesus!". Lol. Exciting lives we live, huh? ;)

On a side note, school shopping for Cameron is completely finished:

uniforms-check

school supplies-check

socks and shoes-check

booksack-check

Now I just have to wait to get Payton's list in the mail so we can start all over! AHH!

So The Blog...

2008-07-25T10:27:00.002-04:00

Was in need of a desperate update. So...voila! Hope you enjoy the new and improved blogaroo. Will update soon.

xo
Amber

Insert Clever Title Here

2008-07-22T10:33:00.007-04:00

So another week is upon us in this fly-by month of July. Seriously, it's like almost the end of July. Unbelievable.

*Payton was reading to us from her Bible the other night and I quote "I pwedge of an awegiance to the fwag that we may do hip hop."

*Cameron finally got a much needed haircut. Although I must say, I was kinda liking his mop top. He looked like a little surfer dude on the beach, but with school only a few weeks away, he was in need of a cut. I don't have an after shot yet, but here's the before. He wanted to see if we could get it into a ponytail, um yeah. It was long. Now it's really short and undoutebly cooler for him on these scorching summer days. (Yes this is Cam and not Payton, LoL.)

*The weekend was really nice. E's birthday was fabulous. We went to our fave restaurant and ate a relaxing meal. On Saturday, we woke up and went have brunch, then did a little shopping before picking up the kid's at mom's. Our church has a service on Saturday evening, so we went to that and relaxed all day Sunday. Eric cooked a crab stew which was so good. And we swam for hours. Oh and of course played Mario Kart. As I said a few posts back, we're hooked. ;)

*I'm thinking that I need to start school supply shopping asap. I ran into the store yesterday for something and the school supply section was like a toy store on the day after Thanksgiving. Scary. And on a Monday morning no less. And Cam's list is so specific (certain colored folders, etc.), that I'm worried they'll run out before I get there.

*I've been reading a lot. Which I love. I just finished 3 books in this series.

I'm working on this one now. It's good so far. Read a lot of it last night.
And my mom gave me this book to read next. I'm enjoying the summer reading. Reminds me of when I was younger.

Happy hot July summer day to you! :)

Happy Birthday...

2008-07-18T10:25:00.003-04:00

to my hubby. 35 years old today.

The New Addiction in This Household...

2008-07-14T11:09:00.002-04:00

We bought this game immediately following vacation. I mean we literally drove home and Eric left to find it. Ali brought his Wii and this game on vacation and we fell in love with it. So now, we play it everynight. It is so fun. Yesterday, we were able to link to Ali and play with him over the internet. So cool. We had he and Jenny on speakerphone the whole time and were able to see his guy racing with ours. The coolest thing.

**Trying to get back to painting, but ebay's not playing nice. They are not on my good list right now. At all.

**Started buying a few things for back to school this weekend. Got both the kid's new tennis shoes. Bought Cam his new backpack (the one he liked was on sale at Target). And the lunchbag Payton liked was on sale at Target as well. You can't beat that.

**E's birthday is Friday. Looking forward to a Mommy/Daddy date night. Feels like it's been forever. Seriously.

**Literally less than a month left until Cam's first day of school. This summer has gone by really fast. (Not to mention school starts really early this year). No word on Pay's first day though.

**It's hotter than hot right now. The kids swam most of the weekend. Thank God for the pool.

**Happy Monday. :)

I'm Outta Touch

2008-07-07T10:44:00.008-04:00

At least that's how I'm feeling since vacation. Trying to scrap, keep up the pool, keep the kids from killing each other and from driving me batty, keep the house in order, start painting again, etc. etc. etc. Not leaving me much time for surfing the web and blog reading and what not.

We had a good 4th of July weekend, lots of family, food, fireworks. We drove out to visit MawMaw Pye on Friday which was a nice visit. We then had a 4th of July celebration at church that E and I had volunteered to work at. Mom came to watch the kids while we did our shift. After, they had a huge fireworks display.

Cameron has one more camp at the end of the month. Basketball this time. That will at least give the kids a break from each other. And give him something fun to do. Payton just finished her summer dance session. The girl loves to dance!! Which makes me happy.

Just a quick little update about what's going on in my neck of the woods. I'll leave you with some more vacay pics. Happy Monday! :)

So I'm Back...

2008-06-26T12:20:00.017-04:00

Wishing I was still here, but back nonetheless.
What a fabulous vacation it was. Wonderful weather, water, food and family. This is the biggest posed group I've ever photographed, in hindsight I'd have done a few things differently. But overall I'm happy with how all of our group photos came out.

The kids had a ball. Payton seriously cannot get enough of the water. She would come out for 2 minutes and was asking to go back in. It was nice to have other adults that she could go out with. Made it a little easier. She actually tried her hand at boogie boarding this year. Cameron enjoyed diving and boogie boarding as well. They found several hermit crabs while diving. 2 hermit crabs came home with us and our now living out on the patio. Fun, fun. So one day, we are in the water, and I see this guy. I'm like asking all my sisters, "do ya'll watch the bachelorette?" None of them do, but after some internet research, we determined that it was indeed Sean from the bachelorette. His family had umbrellas a few down from us on the beach.

We pretty much all got stung by jellyfish. The last day, they were out in full force. Eric got stung 5 times trying to swim out to a sandbar, so he came back real quick. Jenny and Ali are pretty sure that they saw a shark out by the sandbar. It was pretty far out though. We also saw a sea turtle one night while walking on the beach. Lots of sea life for sure. One night when we were walking, we also found a wreath with a bottle with a note inside. Unfortunately, the sender forgot to cap the bottle, so the note was pretty much disintegrated, but it was a fun find, nonetheless.

One night Payton, Cameron and Eric all sang karoeke. Much to my dismay, my camera battery was dead and we didn't bring the video camera. The kids sang "Jesus, Take the Wheel" together. It was the cutest thing ever. I cried, because, well, that's what I do. I will never forget it though, even though I don't have the video. Cameron sang really loud and you couldn't really hear Payton, but she was definitely singing. Eric sang an old George Jones song. I still to this day cannot believe he got up there and did that. My sister got some of it on her phone, so I will try to post some of it soon. I was dying. My husband doesn't sing. Period. But I think having everyone there and in front of a bunch of people he'd never see again, he felt like he could. Although a large amount of people there were indeed from Louisiana, so who knows? ;)

But now we're back. And life is back to normal. I'll leave you with some more vacay pics. Have a happy Thursday!

Random Monday

2008-06-09T21:31:00.007-04:00

1. The countdown to vacay is on. We leave Saturday, and even though I have a messload of things to get done, I cannot wait.

2. Watched design star last night. I'm pulling for this guy

because he's from Lafayette and we went to the same college. But sadly, he wasn't shown too much in the previews, so I'm not optomistic.

3. Went to the scrapbook store today and bought some goodies. As soon as we get back from vacay, lots of scrapping will be going on. I'm putting painting on hold for a bit to catch up on scrapping. I bought the kiddos each some goodies from Hobby Lobby so that they can scrap with me.

4. Payton starts her summer dancing session tomorrow. She's beyond excited. What can I say? The girl loves dancing. And I love seeing her dance.

5. We bought one of those metal framed above ground pools for the kiddos. It's so stinking hot, it's been wonderful to have that to jump in!

6. E and I had a wonderful anniversary date night. Ate at our favorite restaurant and just enjoyed the long quiet meal. Thought about renting a movie, but who are we kidding? There was no was we would make it through one without falling asleep.

7. Borrowed this movie from my little sister. I'm a little late in watching it but we don't watch many movies. See #6.

Very excited to watch it. Hopefully Tuesday.

8. I'm using a gift card to this place on Wednesday. Got it for Christmas from E, and I think it's about time I put it to good use.

9. Today was my 3 month post op appointment. I'm seeing 20/20!! And the doctor released me and said I can stop using all of my drops (hallelujah!) I've been using drops several times a day since the surgery, so I'm so happy to be finished. Oh and he told me I could swim. Just in time for vacay! ;)

9 Years Ago...

2008-06-05T12:52:00.002-04:00

This is what I was doing. Happy 9th anniversary, E!!

ETA: Dang I was skinny. ;)

And I Cried...

2008-05-28T12:04:00.007-04:00

that was the theme of the weekend. Payton had her dance recital this weekend and I cried. 4 times to be exact. Both practices, the recital itself and when she was called on stage to receive an award for the hardest working in her class. And my extremely shy little girl, jumped off of her daddy's lap and went down the aisle, up the stairs and onstage to receive it. And I cried.

Her class was the sun princesses. They danced to "You are my Sunshine" and "I'm Walking On Sunshine".

It was quite possible the cutest thing ever. I could cry just thinking about it. ;)

So to say that Eric and I are proud of our 2 munchkins would be an understatement. Payton with her Hardest Worker award and Cameron with his Oustanding Tiger of the Year award. Sniff sniff.

Happy Wednesday that feels like Tuesday!! :)

Unbelievably Sad News...

2008-05-23T09:03:00.003-04:00

here.
And if you have a moment, watch this video about his daughters.

This Week = Insanity

2008-05-21T16:06:00.003-04:00

**We had Cameron's end of school program today. They sang a song about making gumbo, then we went into their classroom where she handed out awards. He won: an artistic award, math award, reading award and tiger of the year for his class. I was a proud mama for sure. She picked 2 boys and 2 girls who did well academically and behavior wise.

**Today was also Payton's last dancing class. Her recital is this weekend, and I'm really excited about it. I think (or hope) that she might actually dance. They had a little end of year party today and we were late because of Cam's award presentation. She decided that she wants to take the summer session, so she'll be dancing through the summer.

**We had a tball game last night, pictures tonight and a game tomorrow night.

**All of our shows are ending this week. Except for Lost which has its finale next week. What will we do then??

**Cam's last day of school is Friday. I cannot believe that he is going to be a second grader already. Mind blowing. And when he starts, Payton will be in preschool 3 days a week. It's going to be some quiet around these parts.

**Happy Wednesday. Go David Cook!! ;)

On A Thursday...

2008-05-15T11:19:00.001-04:00

This is what we woke up to. Well this and the power going out. Crazy weather this morning. All is well. We were out of power for about 3 hours or so. Cam doesn't have school because their power was out as well. There were apparently several tornadoes out and about this morning.
We have a palm tree up front that fell down, that was pretty much on it's last legs anyway, so we'll have to fix that, but that's about all. All I kept thinking about is that the power better be back on for Lost. Priorities, I know. LoL.

So I've been having phone issues. The main button went out that you have to click to do pretty much everything. So I called AT&T and had a new phone in about 27 hours, which was awesome. I transferred my videos to the computer so that I wouldn't lose them, so I wanted to share one. The quality is not great, but you get the gist. Happy Thursday, folks!

I Know I Know...

2008-05-06T17:30:00.010-04:00

I'm pathetic with this blogging thing. May has been crazy busy thus far and is only going to get crazier. Weekend before last was our weekend at the beach with our friends Steve and Shaina. We went again this year without the kids. Seriously my favorite part is the eating out. Just to go out to dinner at whatever time and be able to sit there and carry on adult conversation without playing tic tac toe. Priceless. We missed the kids lots though and can't wait to go back to the beach with them in June.
This is Eric working out in the "gym". LoL. When he was on the machine, his head literally touched the ceiling. He still worked out on it. It was hilarious. I got on the treadmill and had maybe 3 inches between my head and the ceiling. Too funny

Once we got back, I took a field trip with Cameron to Vermilionville. It's a local place that shows you the Cajun way of life. It was fun. I'm pretty sure the adults found it more interesting than the kids.

We listened to some Cajun music and even had some Cajun Waltz and two step lessons. The kids were too funny when the instructor told the boys to go pick a partner. Cam lucked out since I was there. ;)

My May to do list is insane. The rest of this week alone we have teacher appreciation week, Mother's Day tea (at school), Payton's dancing and costume meeting, Tball game, cookie dough fundraiser pick up, eye doctor appointment, Mother's Day, tons of painting (back in full swing), oh and J your girlah challenge as well (I'm gonna get to it, I promise!!)

As well as in the coming weeks: volunteer appreciation breakfast for the room mothers, Cameron's fun day at school, yearly appt. (woohoo :P), little sister's college graduation, end of year ceremony for Cam's school, last day of school, Payton's dancing recital, memorial day and a host of tball games.

It's cool though, because that means June will be here before we know it which will bring our family vacay. And I'm already ready to go back to the beach! ;)

Does Anyone Else...

2008-04-21T23:36:00.003-04:00

remember this?? Too funny.

My Husband the Alligator Wrestler and Other Randoms

2008-04-14T19:47:00.003-04:00

*Saturday the family spent the day crabbing. An alligator swam up and stalked us almost the entire day. He finally got brave enough and came up and stole the chicken half that the people next to us were crabbing with. The chicken was tied to a string and had a stake on the other end. When he swallowed the chicken, the string was coming from his stomach (still connected to the chicken) and the stake was following behind him. LoL. He would try to go under the water to fool us, but the stake followed him everywhere. A while later, the people had left and we see the stake swimming up to take another piece of chicken. Eric goes running after it and grabs the stake just as the gator grabs the chicken. He's pulling on one end and the gator on the other. Finally I guess the gator gave up and swam away. He came back a few times though. And my crazy husband tried to fight him for it every time. He was about 4 feet long and eventually got another piece of chicken and then had 2 stakes following him everywhere he went. LoL. He won't be sneaking up on people anymore.

*We ended up with 7 dozen crabs. Totally worth the trip. Although we froze in the morning.

*In the process of getting girlah kits together. My goal is to have them shipped early next week.

*Going on a long beach weekend with our friends Steve and Shaina again in a few weeks. Minus the kiddos. Last year was wonderful and this year we're staying a couple more days, so I'm sure it will be even better.

*I apologize for the lack of pictures in my blogs as of late. Haven't taken the ole camera out in awhile. Since Easter really. I would have LOVED a picture of E fighting with the gator, but I hate risking bringing my camera out there.

*My son came home with a girl's phone number. And really wanted to call her. To him she's just his friend, but I had to explain to him why a 6 year old girl's mommy and daddy might not want a boy to call her. Already.

*Got a haircut today, shorter than I was thinking, but I like it. I would post a pic, but well, see above random fact about lack of pics.

*Oh and you'll be glad to know that Cam has finally dropped planet Uterus for the correct name of Uranus. Thankfully. LoL.

That's all for the random Wednesday. Lost comes back next week. Which makes me very happy. I'm not so much happy about Micheal Johns getting voted off of Idol last week. It's time for Kristie Lee Cook to go in my humble opinion.

Funnies

2008-04-10T22:01:00.002-04:00

Payton: Mommy, my leg is cramping.
Me: Oh yeah?
Payton: Yes, what's cramping?

Cameron: (While shining a light on his bedroom ceiling) Come see the planet Uterus!

LoL. It's one of those weeks. :)

Feeling LIsty

2008-04-04T09:24:00.003-04:00

*Friday today, YAHOO! This week went by quickly. Cameron is supposed to have his first T-ball practice of the season, but there's supposed to be heavy showers, so I'm thinking it'll be cancelled.

*Day 5 of my diet, day 3 of exercising. I seriously can hardly move today. My abs, my arms, my butt. You name it, it hurts right now. At least I know something's happening. LoL. This time around I'm trying to count calories. I hear that really helps. So far it has. I've been doing decent. It's scary to think about how many you actually consume when eating out though. YIKES!

*When I'm exercising, I tell the kids not to ask me questions, here I am gasping for air and they want to carry on a long conversation. I just put on a kid's exercise on ON DEMAND for Payton. (Her and Cameron love to do it.) I can hear her saying "Don't talk to me right now, kids. Clean the playroom." LoL. That sounds familiar.

*We've been having issues with Payton wetting the bed at night. Last night was her first night in a while to wake up with a dry bed. Thank you, Jesus! Stripping the beds every morning was seriously getting old. Hopefully now that she's had one dry night, many more will follow.

*I go to the eye doc for my one month check-up on Monday. I'm anxious to go and make sure everything is good. And ask some questions. I drove at night for the first time on Monday and it was actually really good. In the first few weeks, I couldn't even open my eyes in the car at night. The other car's headlights played havoc with my eyes. Seems like that's gone now. I'd also like to start tanning. Thinking he's not going to let me, but I'm going to ask anyway!

*Wanting to start scrapping, but needing to start painting. Excited about putting together this month's Girlah kit.

*Payton's very first dance recital is coming up next month. I'm giddy about the thought of watching her up there (hopefully) dancing. Her recital is the same day that my little sister graduates from college, so I'm a little bummed about that, but hoping to make it work so that we make both.

*Going with Cameron and his class on a field trip next week. Should be interesting. I went with the class last month. It was actually a lot of fun. And really crazy. If I wouldn't be at home with Payton, I would be teaching, so it's always interesting to get into the classroom or go somewhere with them. Sometimes I leave so thankful to be able to stay home. LoL. Sometimes, though, I think it would be great. Maybe one day I'll put that ole college degree to good use. We'll see.

*Payton's been going around saying things like "there's a bug in your hair"... April Fool's! Apparently she thinks it lasts the entire month of April.

*Have a fabulous weekend.

Spring Has Sprung

2008-03-25T12:53:00.007-04:00

Well, it had. And then winter decided to make one more pit stop in good ole South Lousiana. But, tomorrow Spring is supposed to be back with a vengance. 80's for the rest of the week. As much as I like the cold weather, I'm ready for the Spring. We spent the entire weekend outside. I have the sunburned shoulders to prove it. It was really warm and the skies were clear. Gorgeous, I tell you.

Easter is always a busy day. We went to church first thing and then to Eric's mom & dad's house, and from there, my parent's house. The kids had fun and were completely exhausted by the day's end.

We had the traditional egg hunt at Eric's parent's house. It's changed so much in the past few years, the "kids" that I met when I first started dating Eric, are now teenagers who have absolutely no interest in hunting eggs. Even though they aren't my kids, it still kind of makes me sad to see how fast they are all growing up.
I didn't get any shots of Cam hunting for eggs, because he was with the older group this year, and as the youngest of the older group, he needed help. So I was hunting with him. Lol.

The eyes are still pretty good. I went to a store yesterday to buy cooking oil and couldn't read the price on the shelf though, because the shelf was so low, I couldn't get close enough to read it. That really frustrated me. I'm still a little bit concerned with my right eye, which doesn't seem to be making any progress with the ghosting/double vision when I'm reading. I just hope that it's all normal.

Also, I wanted to wish a happy belated birthday to Heidi. Hope your day was fabulous! Happy Tuesday! :)

On A Monday...

2008-03-17T14:17:00.002-04:00

It's actually less than a week until Easter. Seriously? How does that happen? That we just finished Christmas and we are already to Easter.

Today is 2 weeks post surgery. I'm seeing pretty good at this point. I actually started driving last Wednesday when I woke up seeing really well. I have good and bad days. On good days, my left eye is dang near 20/20. My right eye is lagging behind and is still always blurry with some ghosting of letters and such. Certain things make them worse, the computer for example. Which is why I'll be blogging and shutting it off. Can't stay on too long or else it kind of messes up the vision for awhile. I started new drops on Thursday and my eyes seem to be a little worse since starting them. From what I've read online, they are steroid drops that slow down the healing to prevent scar tissue. Not only do they slow down healing, but according to the pamphlet, will also cause blurry vision. I'll be on them for 9 weeks, so hopefully, my eyes will adjust and continue to get better.

Just wanted to update on the eye condition. Hope everyone has a great day.

Post Surgery Post

2008-03-10T12:11:00.004-05:00

I can see! Well sort of. One week out of surgery and I'm seeing pretty well. Well enough to type this blog at least, but I won't be driving a vehicle today, that's for sure. It's a rough time. But I knew that beforehand. I soooo appreciate all the prayers of my family and friends. More than you guys know. It's definitely been the difference in this recovery.

Eric's prayer: "Guide the doctors hands, Lord God."
Payton's prayer: "Just let the doctor not have any hands, God."
LoL. Sorry Pay, let's go with Daddy's.

It was the scariest thing I've ever been through. The 2 C-sections and the wisdom teeth removal had nothing on this bad boy. My butt was so clenched the whole time, it literally never touched the seat. LoL. And I'm pretty sure that the little squishy things they give you to hold will never return to their prior shape. They cleanse and scrape and touch your eyes like it's their job. Well technically it is there job, but seriously? They do things that eyeballs shouldn't ever have to endure.

I never had the pain that I was warned about, and read about on the internet, though. Which has been utterly fabulous. We weren't able to get my pain pills the day of the surgery because it would've taken too long to wait for them, and I was ready to sleep. Later that evening, the weather was horrific, so I didn't want E going out in it for the medicine. Well at about 1 in the morning, I woke up with a serious burning sensation in one eye. He ran to Walgreen's at 1 am. I took the pill and was out of pain and back to sleep in minutes. Well there was one other time I experienced pain. On Friday night, I woke up to put some drops and was so tired I accidentally poked myself in the eye with the dropper. I cried for about an hour with the pain, and Eric fussed at me for not waking him up to put the drops. I was trying to be nice wifey and let him sleep for once. Boy did that every backfire. LoL. But that pain was self inflicted. So I'm not counting it.

E was beyond wonderful last week. He kept the ship running smooth, and still worked some and was there for whatever I needed. Woke up with me to put my drops and made the week much easier for everyone. As well as my mom and mother in law, and friend Shaina. I'm blessed, I really am.

I'm actually having moments of very clear vision, now. They are fleeting, but exciting nonetheless. I actually laid in bed last night and marveled at how clear the clock was. Before, if I would have looked at it without my glasses, it would have been a huge red blob. So we are making progress. If there's one thing I've learned by reading about other people's experiences, it's that patience is the key. Which is fab, because I'm like the most patient person in the world. Hahaha. But I'm just gonna go along for the ride and see where it gets me. I'm secretly praying for 20/15 when it's all said and done. I was approximately 20/600 before, so that's a tall order.

Thanks for reading this loooong post. More to come soon now that I can read the screen. But not for too long, because it tires the eyes quickly. Also, I'm not quite sure what happend to the old blog. It's looking rather plain. I'll try to get it spiffed up soon. Happy Monday!

Taking A Break...

2008-02-29T09:52:00.002-05:00

For a bit. Surgery is Monday. I'm quite scared. And nervous. But I know that it'll be good. Once the fog lifts and I'm seeing clearly, it will all be worth it. Talk soon.

Amber

I Have A Blog????

2008-02-27T16:35:00.002-05:00

I kinda forgot for a second. So crazy right now. I've been having this whole coughing deal since the party. Feel like I'm coughing up an actual lung most of the time. No other symptoms though just a cough.

So something to NOT do when you are going in for eye surgery in a few days. DON'T go reading other people's blogs. Although I found some good ones that were very reassuring, for one, I was feeling faint and had to walk away. I opted not to watch the procedure on youtube. But apparently, you can do that as well.

Watching American Idol. My faves are the Australia guy (can't remember his name) and the Jason Castro guy (which coincidentally is also Eric's brother's name). But I'm loving the whole dreds and guitar thing. Although they told him to not use the guitar next week.

All day field trip tomorrow with Cameron's class. We are going see the Wizard of Oz. I'm assuming it's going to be high school kids putting it on not sure though. And a picnic in the park. It's kinda chilly right now, so hopefully it warms up a little.

That's about all for now. I'll try to update before going under the laser. Apparently I won't be reading a computer screen for a little while. I'll have Eric read me everyone's blogs. LoL. And maybe he can type mine. Lol. Happy Wednesday!
Amber :)

Payton's Princess Party

2008-02-19T09:26:00.009-05:00

Party weekend. I think we're still recovering. LoL. So some of you may remember last year Cam's school had a cake bingo and we went and didn't win a thing. So this year, it was the night before the party. Keep in mind please, that I had already baked 4 cakes to put together for Payton's castle cake. So we go to the bingo and this year we win 4. Yes, 4 cakes. So we come home to 8 cakes. Ironic isn't it? Eric also won a door prize. A huge tool box filled with all kinds of different tools. So this year, bingo was quite successful for our family.

Fast forward to Saturday. Cameron has a game in the morning. After the game, Eric, my mom and I go home to tackle the tremendous job of assembling the castle cake. I think we did pretty good for our first cake experience, what do you guys think?

I will say this though, next year, I'll pay the professionals. Lol. And we sent 3 cakes home as party favors. ;)

The turn out was lower than usual, but I think the girls had fun anyway. There was a castle fun jump in the backyard, so that took a lot of their time.

Eric cooked a gumbo, as per weather reports stating early in the week that it would be cold, but it ended up in the 70's. Payton was a little warm in her long sleeved shirt and tights. LoL. It's usually freezing for her parties. This was quite a switch.She got lots of presents that she's pretty much been playing with non stop since her party. The pinata was full of candy. I wish we had a shot of when the attachment broke and Eric was pitching the pinata to the kids like a baseball. Crazy, scary times folks. I'm worried every year that we will send a child home with a pinata injury. LoL. Another successful party. I cannot believe she's 4. We registered her for preschool yesterday. Sigh. Time is aflyin'.

Happy Birthday...

2008-02-13T16:57:00.002-05:00

To this little cutie. 4 today.

We're Not Hospitally People...

2008-02-10T20:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, I made up a word. Meaning that we don't do hospitals. We just don't. See previous post when my son smashed his face on the cement with blood pouring out all over. No hospital, just a quick call to the oncall doc. I think my not wanting to go to hospitals stems from the fact that I hate paying money for them to state the obvious and then send me home. In the instance of Cameron, the oncall doc told me to apply ice, give Tylenol and Motrin. Easy enough.
So last January, when Payton stuck a bead almost to her brain, I was hesitant to go.. But when it became obvious that it wasn't coming out, I broke down and took her. I think my hesitation was well justified see here. Oh and FYI, the cost of pulling a bead from a child's nose? $500.00. Just saying.

Fast forward to Thursday. Things were going as planned, kids were brushed and in bed, Lost was on, all was right in our little world. Except for Eric having a few stomach cramps. So a little while later, we are in bed and his right side is really hurting at this point, I'm thinking appendix, so I go get the computer to do a little researching on webmd. He's got most of the symptoms. At this point he's got the chills, horrible cramps in his side and is nauseous. I'm a little panicky at this point, but he says he wants to try to get some sleep. **Let me just add that Wednesday night, I barely slept at all between Payton coming in 4 times, the neighbors dog barking like an idiot and a lost cell phone beeping every few minutes because the battery is about dead.** So I fall asleep really quickly. He wakes me up about 10 minutes later saying that he cannot stand the pain anymore. He's doubled over. Cannot stand, sit, lay, nothing. So I jump up and call my dad over to come sit with the kids. And drive speeding like a crazy woman to the nearest hospital. Oh yeah, I'm crying too thinking that my hubby's appendix is about to rupture.

So we get to the ER and of course it's crazy busy. He's doubled over and white as a ghost. We tell the lady in admitting who "goes to get a nurse" who never shows up. Finally I go and knock on the glass door of the triage area and tell the lady that we think my husband's appendix is gonna burst, could she possibly do something. I'm in tears at this point (yet again). So she goes to get a wheelchair and they bring him in the room. He's almost screaming in agony at this point. I'm pretty much hysterical. He starts throwing up which is another symptom of the appendicitis. The nurse comes in and puts him an iv and gives him pain killers. He's finally ok. And it's not appendicitis after all, it's a kidney stone. I almost laugh at the irony, 6 years ago I was in this position, except at the end of my laboring, I had a cute and cuddly baby. At the end of his, he's gonna have... a rock. Apparently kidney stones are about as bad as labor. Except I was trying to pass a 9 lb. 3 oz. 22 inch baby, he's passing a 4mm stone. But it is an extremely painful thing, nonetheless.

We had to stop after the ER and fill some prescriptions for pain killers, we got home at about 5:30 in the morning. I was so exhausted it wasn't funny. I slept for about an hour and a half and then got up to get Cam on the bus. Then Eric and I slept most of the morning, into the afternoon. Thank God Payton can occupy herself pretty good. She would play in the playroom and then come sit and watch Caillou.

Here we are Sunday night, and Eric still hasn't passed his kidney stone. We are anxiously awaiting it's arrival. It pretty much ruined a weekend that I was really looking forward to. Date night Saturday, and a semi one on Sunday.

So 2 ER trips in 2 months. Apparently we have become hospitally. I'm not proud.

***This post was written with Eric's consent. And by consent, I mean that I told hm "You do realize I'll be blogging about this, right?"***

Medical Wisdom of a 3 (Almost 4) Year Old & Other Randomalities

2008-02-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

**While Eric and I were discussing my eye surgery Payton asks "Are they just gonna pop your old eyes out and pop some new ones in?" LoL. Hope not.

**Upon hearing that my grandmother had fallen and broken her leg, "Can they just glue MawMaw Pye's leg back on?" Not sure that would work.

**It's time to be finished with AI auditions already. Time to get on with it.

**One day until LOST! Really good theory discussing going on here.

**Mardi Gras was very uneventful. We played wii most of the day. My mom and Eric's mom came over for awhile and played some Wii as well. His mom babysits a 6 month old and she brought her over. Eric, Cameron and Payton all got baby fever I think. Mommy did not. It was fun to play with her, but then she left before bedtime. But speaking of bedtime, my almost 4 year old, is averaging waking up about 3 times per night. Kinda like having a baby around.

**Payton's party is in a little over a week. Handmade invitations are only about half way done. I'm a little stressed about this folks, I cannot lie.

**I'm really busy with painting again. When I found out my surgery got pushed back, I started taking orders and now I'm busy as all get out. I'm a little stressed, see previous random fact.

**Cameron goes back to school tomorrow, things will be back to normal and it'll feel like Monday, but will really be Thursday, gotta love that!

**Getting back to the party, Eric and I have decided to take on the monumental task of making a castle cake. There will be pics posted, if it looks decent that is.

**I've been extremely hungry for boiled crawfish. Unless you want to trade in your first born, though, it's not likely you'll get any. Seriously, so dang expensive right now.

**Looks like it's back to the beach for us this summer. Planning the family vacay for June. My mom and dad, Jenny and Ali, and two youngest sisters Becky and Amy will be making the trip with us this year. Should be fun. Oh and we've also decided to take a long beach weekend in April without the kiddies again. Going with the friends we went with last year.

**Heading out to run errands. Happy Wednesday!! :)

Wowza

2008-02-01T12:43:00.000-05:00

So Lost played last night and although I wasn't viewing it through my best eyesight, it was SOOOOOOO good. I had my eyes dilated for my pre-op visit (my surgery has been pushed back to March 3rd). I've never had my eyes dilated before, so wasn't sure what to expect. Well my vision got really blurry and I'm thinking "this will wear off in an hour or so"). Silly me. Last night at 10:30 (12 hours after having my eyes dilated), I still could not see. But I saw good enough to watch Lost. And yes, I did wait for Eric. It was tough though. Going back today with my eyesight back to norm to rewatch things that I didn't catch last night.

We got a wii in today. I've been looking for one since Christmas and apparently if you are not in the right place at the right time, you can forget it. So I bit the bullet and ordered one on Ebay. I've been soooo nervous since I ordered it on Wed. The lady had really good feedback and has sold quite a few wii's so I went with her. It was overpriced, but that's to be expected I guess. Anyway, it's here, so I'm breathing easier than I have been the last couple of days.

So happy that it's Friday. Cam is off next Mon, Tues and Wed for Mardi Gras, so it's a holiday weekend of sorts. Eric is just off on Mardi Gras day. I was reading in the paper today about a lady who had a full cup of beer thrown at her and her 6 year old daughter by one of the men on the parade floats. Yet another reason to stay home, I say.

Happy wiikending to you! ;)

Giddy

2008-01-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

Giddy I tell you. In about 12 hours, my show returns. I'm pretty excited. But then Eric comes home yesterday and tells me he's going to the UL basketball game with his brother. "You're gonna wait to watch Lost when I get home, right"? BAHAHAHAH. Yeah. Wink, wink. Seriously?

On the American Idol front, I haven't been too inspired about the contestants, so I'm going to include one of my all time favorite auditions from a few seasons back. Too funny this guy. And impossible to understand.

Happy Happy Lostday to you folks. I'm a geek, but you already knew this. ;)

It's The Final Countdown.....

2008-01-24T09:38:00.000-05:00

to this lovely. One week my friends. One week.

Cannot wait.

So last night, American Idol was a toss up. So I included my top 3 for the night.

a) seriously making out on camera and then singing a duet.

b) for the angry Fancy rendition all the while annoying me to bits with her sleeves falling off of her shoulders.

c) for the tantrum after being told he couldn't sing.

So that's all. It's a cold rainy day. Aside from a quick trip to the Post Office, Payton and I will be locked up inside all day. Kinda like it though. Oh and for those of you who inquired, there was no snow in these parts. Not even a flurry to speak of. :(

Stating the Obvious...

2008-01-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

Need I say more? Happy Wednesday. :)