Yes.... I'm still alve!

Just in case anyone was concerned... I am still alive and kicking! 

We have survived the long hot summer of 100*+ temps in Texas and NO rain!

We have survived the start of the school year!  Bailey is a Junior and Briley is in the 5th grade. 

Now on to the really important business at hand... blogging!   I just haven't been much in the bloggy mood for the past few months, but hopefully I can get back into a routine of 'thinking' again and maybe have something worthwhile to blog about.  Maybe?

About the only productive thing I managed to accomplish this summer was sewing a sweet little apron for my friend's daughter.

Here she is wearing the apron and enjoying her birthday cake! 

Next up is the 50's Day Celebration at the Elementary School and of course you know what that means... Yep... one poodle skirt, made to order for Briley!

So the day before this exciting 50's Day, I ran to JoAnn's on my lunch break, found the material I wanted to use and then that night I whipped up a poodle skirt following some extremely easy directions I found on the internet. 

Here she is, all dressed and ready for her day at school. 

As usual with the hope of Fall and cooler temps just around the corner, I have high hopes and plans for sewing more this fall.  As usual, we'll see how my plans work out and how reality has a way of changing those plans!  :)

I just have to brag a little....

As everyone knows... it's almost time for school to be out and we have been busy with all sorts of school activities that are standard for this time of year.

First on the list of accomplishments is my precious little nerdy girl (she knows I call her a nerd) has been inducted into the National Elementary Honor Society.  The best part is that she is the first one of our girls to receive this honor in Elementary School - it's always great to be the first at something when your the youngest of 3!

 I have to admit that I didn't know such a thing existed in Elementary School, but obviously it does and we have a certificate to prove it!  :)

The next night of Awards was for Bailey's athletic accomplishments. This year Bailey has been awarded "Pitcher of the Year" for District 13-3A. She has worked very hard this year in Softball and helped her team win the Bi-District Championship for our area and they advanced on to

Area Play-offs. 

Just for the record, she throws a mean fast ball, among 5 or 6 other different pitches!  I can guarantee I wouldn't want to face her at the plate, much less have to catch her!

Here she is all cleaned up and ready for her Sports Banquet.

Of course the one time she's interested in having her picture taken and looks nice, the weather is overcast and gloomy and less than the best picture-taking weather; as usual my iPhone pictures are never as good as with my 'real' camera!  

Alright, there you have it - my shameless motherly bragging blog post!

Come on summer, it's getting harder and harder to raise the dead each morning!

County Fair Time of Year

Yep.... you guessed it!  It is that time of year again when we haul the piggies to the Fair Grounds and hope they make the weight we want, follow directions in the show ring, and  do well enough to make the Sale and win a top spot in their Class.  Oh I know, the excitement is almost too much to handle, isn't it? :)   Just imagine how stressful it is for those poor piggies;  on a side note...if they don't make the Sale, they will promptly become ham and bacon in my freezer!

This year will be Briley's first time to show her pig.  The past 6 months have really been challenging for her, because she's had to put a lot of time and effort into the feeding and care of her pig.  All the while she's had to endure her older sister yelling at her for not doing 'it' right...whatever 'it' happens to be at the moment.  Oh let me just say, we've had our fair share of screamfests in the pig barn! 

After all of the trials and tribulations of raising pigs, Briley is mostly excited about wearing her new boots.  Oh yes, we had to go buy her a pair of new boots to wear in the show ring.  Afterall, what was all of this for, if not to get dressed up in the latest cowgirl gear and be blinged out in the show ring?

Here she is modeling her new boots... and yes, she is wearing her night gown... in the kitchen... in her boots! What can I say?  Nothing is sacred in our house! 

Here's a close of up shot of the boots - which by the way, took all afternoon to pick out! Apparently Briley has some real issues with the shape of the toes, the color of the tops of the boots (even though noone will see the tops)... and the list goes on. 

I'll check back in and let ya' know how the piggies and the girls do after the Pig Show!  I'm sure after Briley gets a taste of chasing after her pig in the Show Ring, we probably won't have to worry about her doing this another year.  I just don't see her persuing this much further, and quite honestly.... I am not going to be too disaapointed.  There are too many other options that she can participate in with the 4-H, besides PIGS!  Oink  Oink!

Spring Break! Let the fun begin!

Are you new here? 

You should have realized by now and after reading so many of my random posts that there was going to be very little spring breaking going on! :)

Oh sure... school is out for the week, but soccer, softball and pig feeding continues.  The only difference is that we don't have homework thrown into the mix this week.  For that, I am grateful!

Every day this week, I still have to figure out a way to get Bailey to and from soccer and softball practice during the middle of the day.  Because you realize she doesn't drive yet, and I work all week... so??? I'm relying on the patience and kindness of other kiddos that have their drivers' license.  JOY JOY!

Every day this week, we still have to dredge down to the pig barn and feed those nasty creatures - twice a day - with a concoction of feeds that is as precisely measured and monitored as if we were making a cake for the Queen.  Unbelievable!!!  Each day I remind myself  that raising pigs for the FFA or 4H groups is most definitely a labor of love for our children.   These little jewels are all about teaching responsibility and I get that, really I do.  HOWEVER, I didn't need to learn responsibility... I have three of my own little reminders of my everlasting responsibility!

My task at hand for this week is to clean out my car!  Oh, I'm sure you can imagine the little flakes of pig poop that have made their way into my car are starting to really stink as the temperatures in the car rise... yes.... you get the idea!  Not to mention the bits of pig feed that have spilled out of the buckets and now it smells like a grain barn in the back of my car. 

Remember... this is a labor of love!  Or else I would be considered stark raving mad to allow this craziness to continue!  (See how I have to keep reassuring myself of this fact?)

Anyway, it is Spring Break and that means all of this nasty cold weather and long gloomy days are surely about to end.  Bring on the sunshine!  I need to feel the heat of the sun and smell the flowers blooming.  (Pardon me, while I sneeze my head off.)    Spring time is great!  (sniff... sniff)

Softball season is starting and I am all about sitting in the stands watching Bailey pitch their team to a District Win.  I'm also all about sitting in the stands and listening to Briley whine at me about being hungry, which direction the wind is blowing, and how she is BORED!  Oh yes, the joys of spring time!  (I need to remember to stock up on sunflower seeds to keep Briley entertained!)

Believe it or not, this is my favorite time of year.

Happy TAKS Tuesday!

For those of us living in Texas with children in the public school system, today is the start of TAKS Testing for 3rd grade through 11th grade (assuming they pass prior to their Sr. year?).   Between today and late April, students will take a series of tests measuring their knowledge of Writing, Math, Science, History, and Language Arts.  Each grade level has it's own subject matter to be tested.  This is HUGE in Texas public schools.  This test is the measuring tool used to advance elementary students from one grade to the next, regardless of their grades for the year. 

This test is so very important that school systems are busy teaching the terminology and verbiage of the tests, as well as the subject content.  Students are drilled daily about what to expect and how to appropriately answer the questions.  Each day, my 4th grader completes no less than 5 worksheets directed at teaching her the TAKS test material.  Sometimes it seems like it's overkill! 

So with that said, the teachers have continually stressed the importance of getting a good night's sleep, a healthy breakfast, and a healthy snack for the test day. In keeping with the teacher's advice, Briley has been overly conscious about her sleep schedule and our choices for breakfast.  In other words, she has nagged me to death about what I was going to prepare for her for breakfast! :)  I'm sure her teacher will be pleased to know that we followed the guidelines and both Briley and Bailey had a huge breakfast of pigs in a blanket and fruit.  Hopefully their minds are alert and busily writing a wonderful story today.  (Today was the Writing portion for 4th and 10th grade.)

One TAKS testing day down!

Oh and since no blog post of mine would be complete without some kind of incident... let me assure you this morning was not without incident!  Not only did I awake a full 45 minutes earlier than usual, just so I could make sure both of the girls were bright eyed and bushy tailed... but we still needed to run by the barn and feed the pigs.  No big deal - we do this every day --- but apparently today EVERY parent that usually sends their child off on the school bus decided to drive them to school, because the morning rush of school traffic was horrible.  We crept and crawled along like snails... UGH!  So you know what that means... yep... we were still running late! 

After a quick little change was made in our drop-off routine, we were back on track and Bailey was going to feed their pigs without Briley - all is good -  until Bailey gets ready to get out of the car and remembers that she doesn't have a PENCIL for the test!  Really??  A pencil??? There are no less than 100 extra pencils at the house, easy to see and get to, as needed.  Really?? You forgot a pencil??  Don't you carry one with you anyway?  Don't you carry MORE than ONE with you?? Oh My Gosh!!  Typical Bailey!

Dear Lord, please be with Bailey!  I fear this is going to be a long day for her!  :)

Happy Birthday Brittany!

My Brit-Brit is turning 20 today!  Who'd a thunk it?  I let her live through her teenage years! It wasn't easy, let me tell ya'!  There were times of tears, anger, anxiety, joy, and above all several prescriptions of Xanax.  We have arrived!  One down and only two more daughters to go.  I think that since I've been a parent for 20 years now, I should be allowed some time off for MY good behavior!  I mean... no one is starving, lost, or living in a ditch.  See.... it's all good.

I'm sure Brit has great plans for celebrating with her sweet boyfriend and other chums,  so I will just consider this a new stage of maturing for my baby girl.  I'm secretly hoping that we can cut the umbilical cord soon...the extra pounds are really starting to make my jeans bulge in the wrong places! :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! Enjoy your 20's - they pass by all too quickly!

Lookie! A new toy!!!

I openly admit that I have far too many crafty interests and toys.  It's obvious that I have gone a little overboard when my dining room is no longer available for dining!  We have started referring to the formal dining room as the junk room.. ok, I know... that can't be good!

Anyway...how I came to have a new toy happened during the Texas sized snow/ice storm when we were all stuck at home for several days and Briley and I were watching a little too much TV, namely Home Shopping Network! LOL  Well really now, you can only watch so much Wizards of  Waverly and Hannah Montana before it's obvious that you need to change your viewing choices.  When a 41 year old woman can sing along with the show's opening songs, we've got a problem.

Oh I know what you're thinking.  I should have used the 'down' time to sew or quilt or do something productive like clean my craft/junk room, but really I just wasn't feeling that as an option.  

Irregardless of how many better alternatives there were for me to spend my time, Briley and I stumbled upon a 30 minute demonstration of this little jewel.... A Yudu Personal CardShop Machine/Screen Printer.  She and I were both completely enthralled with all that this could do.  Of course we were, we were being sucked in by their highly effective  marketing ploy. :)

 They got me... I called in on the 800 line and joyfully offered my credit card number and soon my very own Yudu was headed to our house.  It's amazing how easy and fast that HSN makes the purchase process, there's hardly any time at all to have buyer's remorse and WHAM!  That little toy is sitting on my front porch, compliments of the UPS man!

So where am I going with this?  I'll tell  ya'.... guess where this little joy is in my home?  Yep, you guessed it.  Right smack dab in the middle of my dining room/junk table with all of my other craft goodies.  Still in the unopened box and reminding me that I fell hook, line, and sinker for an impulse purchase.

(I still say I was suffering with cabin fever and that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Hopefully, Briley and I can dig this out of the box this weekend and get busy playing around with our new toy. I'm sure we will enjoy it and put it to good use, but in the mean time it's just sitting there, mocking me! :)
Now if you would like to see all of the wonderful things this toy will do, click here!

Alrighty... Valentine's is over and that means SPRING is just around the corner!

So...We've made it this far!  Trust me, I wasn't too sure I would survive this Winter in Texas!!  With FOUR (4) consecutive snow days in our neck of the woods, and all of my family snowed/iced in at our house, it's really any one's guess who or how many are going to come out alive!!!

At our home, we measured 6 1/2 inches of this nasty white stuff!  It was pretty for about 12 hours and we all enjoyed the 'newness' of it all.... and then reality hit!  This white stuff started to seriously inconvenience our lifestyle.  I mean, I always have enough food in our pantries and freezers to feed a small army, but when you are snowed in and KNOW that you can't get to Wal-Mart, there's just something inside of you that screams to you!  It's an incredible craving for some sort of food that you NEVER have the ingredients for in the pantry.  It's some sort of dish that you only make in summer months and never dream of wanting in the dead of winter, but just let it snow 6 inches or so... and you better believe you want it! 

Also during this time in North Texas, we were getting ready for the Super Bowl.  I have never realized that so much hoopla surrounds this stuff.  I'm not a big football fan anyway, but the endless days of news coverage about the preparations and how it was all being affected by the snow, was enough to make a crazy person sane!

To add to all of the winter fun and craziness in our home, I decided that I would attempt to move some ice and snow off of our driveway.  Notice I say 'attempt'?  When I say that ice doesn't move and it certainly doesn't have any bounce in it... at all! I know this first hand!!  Oh that's right - I fell smack dab on my big butt and landed with my left arm underneath me.    Well......two weeks later I am still suffering with a broken elbow! Luckily I only wore a cast for a week and the orthopedic recommended that I go without a cast to avoid having my elbow lock up on me. 

I had no idea how many actions are associated with moving my left arm and elbow - it's been a very painful two weeks, but I can tell that it's getting better and finally the task of buttoning my pants doesn't make me shriek with pain.   You can imagine how disconcerting that is for people outside of the bathroom door and what they might be wondering about me. :)

As we all know, yesterday was Valentine's Day; and as with most holidays, I'm less than impressed.  My attitude seems to have worn off on Briley.  She was totally put out by having to give cards to kids that she really didn't like (ahh, the joys of 4th grade), much less having to bring strawberry syrup for ice cream sundaes they were planning to make during their Valentine Party at school.  Briley isn't the normal kid, she does not like ice cream or really anything too sweet, and to add insult to injury she is allergic to the strawberry syrup she was asked to bring.   So as far as she was concerned, this whole party business was just a bunch of nonsense!  (I tend to agree.) 

Oh well.... she took the syrup and the cards to school and was nice enough... I suppose?  When she made it home with all of her party goodies, she sorted through the stickers and such that she liked, but the rest will promptly find their home in the trash.  Ahhh... gotta love our quirky kids!

What's my point to all of this?  I'll tell ya'.... it means that we are almost finished with this nasty winter weather business.  Spring is near....flowers will soon be popping their heads out of the ground, and I can get back to wearing my flip flops!

I've made it through another depressing holiday season, another winter of Arctic air blasts, and the gloomy dark skies - come on Mother Nature!!! Don't fail me now!!! Bring on the sunshine and warmer temperatures!

Events of the Weekend

This past weekend Bailey had her turn at the Ft. Worth Stock Show.  She and her heifer did very well in the show ring and placed third in her Class.  After all of the poop was scooped...

the cows were washed and blown dry this is what we ended up with...

Another year in the books!  As always, this has been a fun and educational experience for all of us.  Bailey works very well with all of the heifers and continues to step up to the challenge and responsibility that it takes to make it work.  Now on to the pigs and getting them ready for the County Show in March.  The fun just never stops!

Just a few more scrapbook pages

For your viewing pleasure... or not?  :)

This is definitely a work in progress type of project!

As if I needed another project....

Last January Bailey was lucky, skilled, or just crazy enough to catch a calf in the Ft. Worth Calf  Scramble .  Now with this opportunity, challenge, or headache comes a few responsibilities and requirements that have to be taken care of throughout the year.  For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, I'll give you a brief recap.  If a calf is caught, then you are awarded $500 to use towards a purchase of a heifer to be shown in the next year's Ft. Worth Stock Show, in return you are expected to make monthly contact with your sponsor and keep a journal of sorts... IE... scrapbook documenting your year working with and showing this heifer.

This is where I come into the picture - - I am helping Bailey put together a scrapbook for the Judges, in addition to the $500 used to purchase the heifer, extra scholarship funds are awarded for the most creative scrapbooks and an essay.  This past year I have been taking pictures of anything and everything that Bailey has done while working with and showing her heifer and her pig. 

Let's just say that trying to get pictures of Bailey is like trying to get pictures of a raging bull!  Literally!! This child does not like to have her picture taken and most of the time her expression is clearly representing what she is thinking....it's not usually nice either! LOL  (Notice the expression below.  Is there any doubt that she is thinking ugly thoughts about her mother?)

Originally, we were working to put together a more traditional scrapbook with all of the cutting, gluing, paper, and cute little accents, but then I was informed by our County Extension Agent that the Calf Scramble Office really only wanted a 'copy' of the scrapbook?  HUH?  A copy?  I've been cutting, gluing and buying little accents for nothing?  They just want a copy?  CHANGE OF PLANS! 

Now Bailey and I are working on putting together a digital scrapbook which I enjoy doing so much more than the traditional paper scrapping kind.  Basically I like working digitally better because it's less messy!  Yes.... I realize I have issues with things being clean and not cluttered, but all of that paper stuff constantly drug out over my dining room table was about to send me over yet another edge of insanity. Picture it... scrapbook junk at one end, Briley's homework and school project at the other end.  In the mix there is a cat or two taking residence among the constant paper piles and then let's not forget that eating standing up isn't always the best alternative.  UGH... Here's how my mind works... (beware)... If I have to clean up the scrapbook stuff every time I need to use the table, then I will NEVER get in the mood to drag it back out and work on it; I hate to make a mess.  Therefore, digital works so much better for me and I don't feel so overwhelmed with clutter.  ( I know... I definitely have issues! But that's a post for another day!)

So far, Bailey and I have about 12 pages in the digital scrapbook completed and I need to make about 12 more to make myself happy with her submission of the project.  Oh and one little detail... it's due Feb 1st!  YEP... that's right.... as always we are rushing around to make this happen.  It will be great I'm sure - it has to be - we've actually had to get along for a few minutes to make it come together! :)   And just in case you are wondering, YES she is going to be trying for another heifer in the Calf Scramble again this year!  JOY JOY!

 

Dear Mother Nature,

It's time we had a little chat --- I want sunshine!  I need sunshine!  I must have sunshine to survive!  What are you doing to me?

I realize that it is January, but have you forgotten that I am in TEXAS?  I don't live in the frozen tundra for a reason.  I HATE THE COLD.    I try very hard to refrain from complaining about the 100*+ temps in July and August, in return you are supposed to refrain from sending so much cold weather to my little spot in the world.  I thought we had a deal?  I thought we understood each other? 

My plants on the porch are wondering what has happened to their sunshine? The grass is brown?   Brown???? UGH!!!    I am wondering what has happened to MY sunshine.  Have you forgotten that I get very moody and whiny without warm temperatures and sunshine?  

Do I need to remind you that I am going on 7 straight days WITHOUT glorious sunshine?  Hello??? Are you listening???  I'm getting a little grumpy here??  It's not going to be pretty?  Someone is going to get hurt??

Morning School Traffic...

Have you ever witnessed a crazy mother jumping out of the car and start screaming and ranting at the other mothers in the "DROP OFF" lane? 

Well I haven't either, but this morning it almost happened.  I seriously could have strangled this one particular mother that obviously has all of the time in the world to drop her children off at school.  I say obviously because each and every day, this mother driving a black Chevy sedan gets OUT of her car in the DROP OFF LANE, while wearing her pj's and opens the back door.  Now this habit would bother me so badly, but HELLO.... ????  It's called DROP OFF for a reason!!  UGH

This particular stay-at-home mother gets out of the car wearing her pink pajama pants, opens the child's door and unbuckles them.  WHAT THE HECK? If your kid isn't old enough or big enough to unbuckle themselves and get out of the car, then the DROP OFF LANE isn't for you!   There are plenty of parking spaces that are close to the door, just for you! GRRRR...... 

Now I realize this process doesn't exactly seem like rocket science or even all that time consuming, but let me tell ya'.... IT TAKES THEM FOREVER to get business taken care of.  If you want to give your child some words of wisdom or parting advice, do it while NOT in the DROP OFF LANE, because I can promise you that there are other mothers (like me) that have JOBS to get to - and have other things to do in life that might have some sort of time constraints!  

I wouldn't be a crazed mother if this were the only incident of this, but there are SEVERAL mommies that pull these little tricks in the DROP OFF LANE!  Surely I'm not the only one that gets aggravated by their behavior?  The school has sent home several notes and reminders about just this same thing, but obviously these offending women do not understand that it is directed at them.... UGH...

I promise - one of these days, I'm going to get my own little red flag and I'm going to stand out in the DROP OFF LANE and wave folks through and yell at the idiots that don't follow the rules! 

This is driving me crazy!!!

Whew...... glad I got that off of my chest!   I had a feeling I was going to be spending the next several years in jail for hurting someone! LOL

Don't think I haven't considered it!

I'm celebrating...

Not sure what exactly, but I just felt like treating myself to a yummy lunch!

There is this great little Chinese food place (in an old DQ) not very far from my office, that serves the best food EVAH!

My absolute favorite dish is their moo goo chicken.  My Vietnamese nail lady tells me that I'm saying 'duck chicken'?  Well maybe so, but this stuff is scrumdilleiscious and I know there's no duck in it! LOL

I have no idea why I decided to blog about my yummy lunch, or why I thought anyone out in blogland would care, but there you have it... I need to get a life and realize that most folks don't care what I ate for lunch! LOL

Ahhh.... now that I've eaten my favorite lunch, I can try to get busy and get my work finished or I can just sit here surfing the Internet and looking for toothpicks to use to prop open my eyelids. 

Have a great rest of the day!

2011 Is Here...

Yes folks, we've survived 2010 and now we can be thankful for another year to get 'it' all right... Whatever 'it' may be?

I suppose we all have dreams and desires for the new year; I certainly do and as usual my first order of business is to do something to effectively increase my level of exercise and hopefully lose some weight! I know... When hasn't that been a goal for me?!

Whatever your resolutions are, I wish you the best of luck and and a wonderful year!

Make it a great day and don't forget to eat your black eyed peas and cabbage--- or whatever the traditional foods are for your family.

Let's all Live, Love, and Laugh in the New Year!