Big Girl Agabell.....and a little ice

I just heard that our babysitter in Texas, "big girl Agabel" as the kids used to call her, recorded a music CD. She is absolutely the best babysitter ever! **Pics shamelessly used from her facebook and myspace page** Anyhow, I am so proud of her!

A little background here.....when I was in college at OU, her parents were my host parents. The church I went to had a program where the members would 'adopt' a college student. Her mom and dad's home became a home away from home for me! I have fond memories of OU. Many of them include time spent at the M household. She had a slew of brothers and sisters. I think she might have been three or four then.

When we found out we were moving to Texas in 2006, her mom told me she was going to school about 15 minutes from where we lived! Whew hoo! I already knew a babysitter. Finding a good babysitter is truly one of the hardest things to do every time we move.

We are iced in today. No school for the kids but Husband had to go into work. What is up with that? I can only hope that we can find enough to do around here without going stir crazy! Kind of appropriate that we made snowballs yesterday! Sure sugar them up, then keep them contained in the house. We'll see how that works for me.

Happy Tuesday, y'all....stay warm.

Friday Fill In

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet.....thinking of her and her dad

1. Said the night wind to the little lamb, "Hush little baby, don't say a word...(I sing this to Will every single night as part of his bedtime routine)."

2. The first Noel, the angel did say, my oh my what a beautiful day This was my backyard this afternoon....you never would have known we missed two days of school on the account of snow this week!

3. All too soon we will be going, Over the hills and everywhere.

4. It came upon the midnight clear, all were sleeping peacefully in their own beds....until around 5AM or so.

5. Will and Livi, Let your heart be light.

6. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing sing loudly, sing proudly...just keep singing baby girl.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to letting the kids open a present, tomorrow my plans include a movie with the kids...Bolt or The Tale of Despereaux and Sunday, I want to check and double check everything for Christmas!

Friday Fill In

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet.....thinking of her and her dad

1. Snow is what the kids are looking forward to the most.

2. I'm looking forward to watching the laugh and play on the sled. This small hill is the first time the kids rode their cute little LL Bean sled. They were barely one and two at the time. They would go down this tiny slope time and time again! We have lugged that sled from KS to TX to here....hopefully we can use it again finally!

3. Husband is the best husband ever! He picked up Papa Murphy's on his way home from work. I love me some Papa Murphy's pizza!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is so many come to mind: Brady Bunch, Welcome Back Kotter, Dynasty, Love Boat....should I go on??.

5. I'm done with my Christmas shopping. I do need to find some ornaments...but I have to go into Louisville to get those.

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is being with family.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Papa Murphy's chicken and veggie pizza, tomorrow my plans include finding those ornaments (we'll probably make it a girl day) and Sunday, I want to see the kids perform the songs they have been practicing at school!

Photostory Friday-snow snow, it really is snow!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Though this picture was taken this past March when we lived in Texas.... guess what is falling here....here in Kentucky! This evening around dinner time, itty bitty flurries started turning into mongo sized flakes. The kids tried to go outside and catch them on their tongue. Went outside BAREFOOTED....so needless to say, before I could even grab the camera (which was an arm's length away), they were ready to come back inside the house! Maybe there will be enough snow in the morning to get a few shots. But for now, well, all I have is a recycled picture...kind of like re-gifting, but nicer.

Happy Thursday, y'all.

Thursday 13, the letter W

Keeping with my ABC theme....the letter W

1. Will-Of course my favorite W of all time. This is actually in Will's Tuesdays with Will book . He is nine months old here. It is still one of my favorite shots of him!

2. Wreath-I pretty much always have a wreath on the door. Now there is one with multicolored eucalyptus one.

3. Warm- I like my coffee luke warm, not quite cold...but warm. My new flavor is chocolate mint. yummi-licious!

4. Water- I go to sleep to a playlist on my Ipod called Nature sounds...it is like mellow orchestra music mixed in with rain.

5. more Water- I took this with the kids' camera...driving down the road. Well, I wasn't really driving. I was stopped, waiting for traffic so I could turn. Love the water droplets on the window!

6. West-This is the farthest western state I have lived. I LOVE the seasons here so far.

7. Write- I have never kept up with a written paper journal. But I enjoy blogging so much. I started this blog when Husband was deployed. He has been back from a 15 month deployment almost a year....and I am still at it.

8. Wheat- I could eat frosted mini wheats cereal for breakfast most days!

9. Whoo Hoo! When I saw this sign coming home from the commissary, I pulled in to fill up, even though I had half a tank. You know I was saying "whoo hoo!!"

10. whimsical- I try add a little whimsical piece in each room of my home. Kind of a little funky in each room.

11. Wipe- I wipe down my sink with Windex (another reminder of My Big Fat Greek Wedding!) every night....I love me some shiny sink.

12. Wild- I don't think I was ever the wild child....nope, not me!

13. Wake - One child or the other wakes up every single solitary night. While I don't want to rush these preschool years....I am was HONKIN' excited for those lazy sleeping teen years! But I think that might be one of the only thing I like about those years...so I am not rushing it!

Friday FIll In.....

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet

1. Right now, I'm feeling tired, it has been a wet rainy day all day.

2. Snuggled in bed is where I want to be.

3. How does one keep the house clean with an upstairs and downstairs? I am still struggling with this three months later.

4. My calendar and control journal keeps me on track.

5. Please don't burp at the table....what is with five year old boys and burping?.

6. My kids, my family, my home fills me with joy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza with the family, tomorrow my plans include carving pumpkins, toasting pumpkin seeds, drinking hot cocoa and Sunday, I want to sleep in of course!

Love a good rain

Kind of a slow day, so ABCs it is:

A - Admitting I watch the new 90210

B - my Brother is one of the funniest people I know

C- the Carrot bread is still sitting on the table

D- down to ONE diet Dr Pepper a day

E - Essential Item: my cell phone

F - went on a Fall walk with the kids before the rain today.

G - Gathered leaves for an art activity

H - Had fun doing a stained glass activity from the crafty JenWa

I - but now crayons are melted on my iron...who knew they would seep out the edges of the wax paper J -just figured out I could clean the iron...by ironing! LOL

K - the Kids loved the activity




L - Love a good rain (rain clouds from this afternoon)

M - Made it home from out walk just before the rain


N - America's Next top Model....another fluff show I watch

O - Olivia....my favorite little princess

P - Pinot grigio....favorite wine

Q - Quick to hit the snooze in the AM

R - really loving the fall weather

S - Spring forward, Fall backwards....when is that?

T- thinking I might get a pedi.

U -eligible for a new Upgrade phone in Dec. I have had my pink Razor for while. I don't even know what is new and fun besides an Iphone.

V -Very rarely text, what can I say, I don't have teenagers.

W -army Wives... another fluff show on my DVR

X - eXamine your zipper.....makes me think of junior high



Y - Yellow....still haven't found a yellow bag that I am so loving


Z-Zipcode...still forget my new zipcode....we've been here since July!



Happy Tuesday

Friday fill-in

sunset, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet

1. There is no need to be rude to people.

2. Where in the heck did the icky sick sick bug come from. (The kids normally get sick within the first month of school.....this time it is not them, but me...what??)

3. Lay on the couch with kids cuddled up next to me is all I managed to do.

4. Prospects for new patio furniture is bleak. (The movers disassembled our table when they put it in storage. When they delivered it, we only got three of the legs! ALL the cute summer furniture is gone. Well, except for the $1000 teak set at Smith and Hawken!)

5. Just wait until next summer for furniture is the message.

6. Simplicity and tranquility are necessary for me to remain sane.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching "What Not to Wear", tomorrow my plans include a run to the commissary and the furniture store on the way and Sunday, I want to take a guess: sleep in! With that, I'll leave you with a peaceful sunset.

Weekend update

This weekend was quite eventful. We did have soccer Saturday morning. I think for the next month and a half this will be my Saturdays! Poor kids were dominated by the ofter team. They play three on three. Each team has six kids (mixed boys and girls in the under six teams). Our coach is very good about playing three, then completely rotating to the other three. He is very good about keeping his kid out even if he is throwing a fit (the kid not the dad! ). This team we played had two EXCEPTIONAL players. They played the entire time and only rotated the other four kids into the last spot. It was kind of frustrating to see the kids kick the ball off, only to have those other two boys get it and score withing seconds. But a trip to the snack shack for Chex Mix made it all better. Yes, Will picks Chex Mix and a Gaterade for his after game snack! Silly boy

These blue skies didn't last all weekend. Sitting by these sidelines in our little collapsible chairs was pretty much the last blue skies we saw.

This morning I did get to sleep in....whew hoo! Thanks Husband. I woke up after hearing the wind chimes in the back yard. They sounded like they were coming through the window. The wind was blowing so hard our little trees were bending over. I sat down at the table to have my token bowl of granola cereal with a banana cut up in it. Just as I sit down, I notice our trampoline blowing across the backyard. We were able to get the net off and tether it against the swing set and the fence post.

Husband didn't walk in the door five minutes and we noticed it was getting hot in the house. A quick glance at the thermostat, it was hot...not just me being hot from wrangling a trampoline! The unit outside was running, but no air was coming out of the vents. Husband went down to the basement to look at some thing-a-ma-jigger. The coils were covered in ice! Being the resourceful Husband that he is, he got it all fixed.

Everything is back to normal in our cushy cool home, the trampoline is still in our yard, ...and the winds have finally settled down. What we thought was going to be a laid back day was anything but. Who knew that a hurricane on the coast would bring the wind this far north?

Happy Sunday, y'all!

weekly winner, April 20-26, 2008

Thanks to Lotus at sarcastic mom for hosting this fun way to see all those extra pics that I didn't blog about this week.

part of the mongo play structure in the backyard

The storm that rolled through yesterday evening

towel roller here

day four of our caterpillar project....four of the five are on the top ready to do the chrysalis stage

Not much this week......I guess I need to pick up the camera more....happy weekend, y'all!

Friday fill in

some storm, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Friday fill in courtesy of the wonderful Janet

1. When I fell in love, I fell fast!
2. It is February when the flowers bloom and it heats up outside here in Texas!
3. Oh no! The internet connection is down, I might get the ironing done finally.
4. Any fluff reality show (my new fav is the one with Tila Tequila) is the craziest tv show ever.
5. Cheese and crackers make a great meal!
6. I hope we are in KY long enough to plant a garden.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza with the family and watching the storm, tomorrow my plans include a date with Will and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

who knew leaves were so much fun?

who knew leaves were somuch fun?, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Yesterday when we got back from gymnastics, Husband had raked a bunch of leaves into a pile. Apparently the freak snow in early March 2008
storm we got a couple of weeks ago made our trees think it was fall, all the leaves started falling off!

Since we just listed the house, we can't be having a leafy yard. Also, the kids saw the leaf piles as mounds of fun! Who knew?

Happy Thursday, y'all!

rain rain go away and a manic Monday

rain rain go away, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

The time change really threw the kids for a loop. First, they wanted to go to bed about thirty minutes early. (meaning an hour and a half early). That alone should have been my sign. But no, I think I was just exhausted from the long day, that I gave in to their wishes.

Next, they did go to sleep rather easily. Though I did have to ghetto up Livi's window with a princess blanket. She said "uuhh, there is sunshine!"...No problem. I seem to recall doing this last year.

Finally the clincher came at 2:30AM when BOTH kids were awake. I even walked in once on Will playing his Leapster! About 6AM, both kids got back to sleep. There is no way in my right mind I would wake them up at 7:30 to get them ready for school. It's just preschool! They finally got up at 9, well rested and not crabby.

So we dug out some of our Easter decorations....this little chick and bunny, some springy placemats, some pastel dishes.



Just a little bit of something to perk things up since it is a rainy day!



Hosted by the lovely Lisa , Manic Monday:

What's your favorite thing to spend money on? the kids, house, clothes

If you could retire tomorrow what would you do? Can you retire from being a stay at home mom? I would go to a spa do the mongo package.

Should anything be censored and if so, what and why? I was just thinking about this this afternoon. Some weird freak keeps 'favoriting' pics of the kids on my Flickr. Seems like there should be some boundary on that. I already mark the ones of them in bathing suits and stuff as private. I guess I will have to be a tad more diligent in what I put on there. Seems sad but I guess pervs are going to look anyway.

Happy Monday, y'all.

Weekly winners March 1-8, 2008

Crazy week of weather in the high seventies, torrential rain, then snow! Here are a few favorites:
I don't know that the kids knew what to do with the snow.

Will wanted nothing to do with it.

Got to wear my cool boot again.

the mongo play structure

during the rainy part of the week, we had movies and popcorn (of course if you are a princess you have to be wearing a tutu.

Of course there are lots of art projects when the weather is crazy!

She is trying to decide if there is enough paint on the brush.

go see Lotus at sarcastic mom if you want to play.

Friday Fill in

Snow in Texas, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Yes, I know most of you are sick sick sick of snow....but this is Texas. We haven't had snow since last Easter! Will is showing Husband the snow (via the phone) in the one on the left.

Friday fill in courtesy of the wonderful Janet

1. Ahhhh, it's so nice to wake the kids up and tell them it snowed.

2. One of my favorite things on my desk or bureau is my prisoner-made lamp.

3. Japanese Cherry Blossom would probably tickle my nose.

4. My chair and ottoman in the corner is my favorite place to sit and read.

5. Wine and cheese is delicious!

6. I love to watch Adam Sandler in movies.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza with the kids, tomorrow my plans include taking care of my baby, (she has an ear infection) and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

Happy Friday y'all!

Manic Monday

You find that your best friend has stolen money to pay for medical treatment for a seriously ill relative. What would you do?

It doesn't say if they stole the money from me or from their job.....From me, I think it would show you that that person really wasn't a friend.

What three things you regret not learning to do?

1. learning to speak another language (besides Dora...you know I have that one down pat!)

2. learning to give people more than one chance.

3. learning to keep my opinions to myself.

what is up with the freaky Texas weather? This was taken a couple of weeks ago...but it easily could have been all day today. This morning on the drive to the kids' preschool, it was raining so hard I considered pulling over! It was so loud. It is also a high of 43 degrees. Some of my flowers froze....oh well! It was nice while it lasted.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Weekly winners

Hosted by Lotus, my favorites from this week:

cap of happiness.....Molson Canadian

rain, rain, go away

pineapple salsa, aka yummalicious

sleep walking....she feel asleep after taking two steps...this is around 11 at night

where'd your nose go, little girl

Apparently I didn't take very many pics this week......Happy Sunday, y'all