Booty Soap...

My friend works as my daughter's school. She called me tonight to tell me that my oldest daughter went to school and told everyone at her school that Laura had to go to the ER after she slipped on daddy's booty soap! How embarrassingly funny! Laura did indeed slip in the shower. Frankie bought some new pump body wash that Laura was trying hard to get to pump out. She finally got a little dot to come out, so she reached up to show me. She lost her footing and fell backwards. She bit her tongue terribly. I have never seen that much blood! Anyway! We are well known in our local ER! Maggie was just in the ER on Tuesday after getting 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her thumb at Pizza Hut after marinara sauce spilt on her. What a fun week! With all of that and Halloween frenzy keeping us busy, it is crazy around here! My poor little wrecked out rugrats!

Soccer Mom

I am really there! I have their names and a soccer ball sticker on my back windshield of the minivan to prove it! My Honda minivan is now the ultimate soccer ride! Good thing, seeing as that is all we do almost every afternoon! We have the windshield decal, a trunk full of water bottles, lawn chairs, umbrellas, bug spray, and soccer equipment, and a middle row full of mud soaked, discarded cleats and socks to prove it! Just today we had two games. Monday night one has practice, the other a game. Friday afternoon one has practice, and next Sat. morn we are up for two more! Fun! If I didn't have to drive a minimum of 30 mins to get to either a game or practice, it might be better! The girls are LOVING it though! And the exercise makes it way easier to ship them off to bed at night! I am counting my blessings on that part, believe me! Maggie played goalie today! She did not let a ball get by her! She was so good and aggressive! She was also a MUDDY MESS! And happy to boot! Such a tomboy! AC on the other hand could have been reading a book on the field (and would have been happier, I'm sure) for as much attention as she paid to the ball! She did finally kick the ball one time to another player! Go, AC! She had fun waving to me from the field and reminding me that we brought snacks for the team, though! (And that is of the utmost importance! I understand!)

I am finally feeling better after having strep throat this week! I got it four times last year! I guess over Thanksgiving I will try to have the tonsils removed! Fun FUn!

I went to a lingerie shower tonight for my cousin Lauren! She got some beautiful pieces! It made me want to visit the adult store! She got a policewoman teddy thing that had two zippers that could be unzipped from the bottom or the top, complete with handcuffs! I don't think Frank and I would be smart enough to figure out the zippers, and who needs complications when it comes to that end of the marriage. So I figure I will skip out on that purchase if I ever go to the adult store. Plus the zippers looked like they would run right past the ladies and OMG if that got caught in the skin...But most of the other stuff was your regular old shower stuff- a few raunchy and a few "practical". She did get panties with "Mrs. Edwardes" monogrammed on the booty. How ADORABLE! I can't say I have ever thought about monogramming stuff on the back side of my panties! Alright, I am being given the TMI look from Frankie!

Well, go love on your rugrats instead of reading about mine! Love you all!

Hometown, USA

I de clare, you have missed so much if you haven't visited the Rodessa, Ida, Arklatex lately. You not only missed the Lawn Mower Parade at Ida Day, you are also missing the Daily Crimeteam Roundup Spin on our local news station. The Roundup is a wheel with criminals faces on it that the newsteam spins each night on the news. Whomever the wheel stops on, the newsteam gets us up to date on how they are doing! Now how are you surviving when missing out on all of that celebrity news? I know you are making moving plans as you read. Louis powerwashed and waxed his lawnmower the other day in order to participate in the Lawn Mower Parade at Ida Day! It was a complete success! All types of mowers were represented in the town's annual celebration! I am so proud that we are able to offer such a diverse parade setting in our area. All walks of lawn mowers came together to celebrate their heritage. The entire show did a great deal to continue to forge the incredible sense of community that we know is available to the great citizens and lawnmower owners in the "city". But never fear, you have not missed it all! I feel sure that you will ensure your calandars are updated to include the new camper trailer skirting parties that are all the rage in our neighborhoods! Don't miss out, now, ya hear! Come visit our Hometown soon!

An Afternoon with Dada!

Big Frank (aka Dada) kept the kids for me this afternoon while I went to walk! The minute that I walked in he pointed his gigantic finger at me and said, “You knew she was dirty when you left! You knew!” “LAURA?” I replied. “Yes, Laura! You knew she had a giant poopoo in her diaper when you gave her to me, didn’t you?!” he argued. Naturally, knowing DADA DOES NOT DO DIAPERS I would never have left her dirty, so she must have gotten relaxed on the four-wheeler with him and pooped! After all of that was cleared up he leaned forward and proceeded to tell me the clean-up fiasco! “I got her off the four-wheeler and she was pulling at her diaper trying to take it off. So I checked her, and boy did she EVER have a huge poopoo in her diaper! I took her into the bathroom and laid out a towel on the floor. I had just washed my rugs (solid white), too! I laid her down and started wiping. I used the wipes that where the heavy duty floor cleaning wipes, because yours didn’t look like they had any soap in them. I used about twelve of those and was stacking them on top of the diaper. She just wouldn’t be still. She was moving the whole time like a squirmy worm kicking her feet and moving her butt from side to side. Doesn’t she know she is spreading the poopoo? Ann Cherie helped inspect to make sure I did it right and got her clean enough. Then I got up and helped the baby up. I took the towel out from under her, and she took off! The diaper was stuck to her sock, though, and she started dragging poop everywhere and the dirty wipes were falling off and everything! Oh, it was gross! I don’t know how ya’ll do it everyday. Does she poop everyday? I had poop on everything, my arms, everything.” He finished dramatically. I was laughing so hard that I had no reply! Now imagine my six foot eight giant grandpa here living through this story and retelling it! Hilarious! Yeah, DADA! Your first poopie diaper! That rugrat…I swear!

The poop factor...y

My children...my children...my children... I am just about ready to start school. You know that feeling when you are finally ready to trade your own children for twenty others! Well, I am there! Good thing, because we start school Monday! I am so busy trying to get my room ready, my class website ready, my copies made, etc. We went up to the school today to tweek some things and tape some things and hang some things... and took the kids with us! Laura poops like the second we get there and "mother-of-the-year" did not bring the diaper bag. Genius, I know, Kaylee, you don't even have to say it. So I change her and leave her "nakid" to run up and down the hall! Ann Cherie pops popcorn and Laura helps spread it from one end of my room to the other (of course, the sweepers have already left for the week. It is Saturday after all!) Laura finds my marker stash and draws a nice picture on the front of my microwave for me to remember her by every day! I pass out first day activity papers and freshly sharpened pencils on the tables and Laura picks a few of them to leave drawings on as well (another genius moment on my part)! The kids should enjoy that! Frankie hooks up my DVD player to the Elmo and starts the girls a movie only to hear a loud buzzing sound moments later when Laura figures out it is quite fun to push buttons and pull cords out of the projector! Of course, this messes up the movie which greatly saddens Maggie. (Just picture fussing and croc tears...) Finally we get it all hung and fixed, and I send the girls out with Frankie to get in the van. I stop in my quiet room that is organized and finally ready...and pray.

I always get nervous about the first day of school, no matter how many times I have done it. I know the students are just as nervous. I always ask myself how can I be the best teacher for them this year? What am I missing or forgetting? I want these kids to learn to love to read. I want them to have a crazy family and a crazy job down the road. I want them to experience the world. I wish the kids could really understand my ambitions for them. They are such babies, and yet, so grown up because of our society. I want the same things for my own kids, on a much deeper level (partially because I am funding them until they do succeed). I love watching them grow intellectually. Ann Cherie is reading so well. She is researching things and asking questions. Maggie lives life to the fullest. She is so much bigger than life, it is not even funny! She is learning so much from Ann Cherie, too! Laura is really starting to show her little personality! I love babies at this almost two year old age! (Well, I don't love the poopies or the crayon murals, but you know what I mean!) I guess this time of year always causes me to reflect and challenge. My assistant principal said we must find the diamond in each student. I beg to argue that some may only be gems of a rare find, but needless to say gems that need mining. I hope to mine them out a little this year. I hope to work closely with Christ and my curriculum to make another year, and hopefully we can all sparkle a little after all is said and done! So as I pray for myself, my family, and my students, say a quick prayer for all teachers and their mine fields this year! Might our little rugrats be worth millions?

OOOOOOOklahoma!

We had such a fabulous time camping with the Sullivan's and the Dean's at Broken Bow, Oklahoma this past weekend! Mrs. Awesome (AKA Lauraleigh) played Redneck Cleopatra very well atop the tube with her BLL! Tammy had a Happy Birthday (39)! The boys caught 'em a nice long snake! And finally, I got to ski! I really enjoyed lazing around on the float with "the girls"! The little ones all jumped off the top of the party barge (thanks Dean's for bringing your barge), and even Tammy was talked into tubing with us on our boat (after much ado! But she did it with pictures to prove it)! The water was clear and the sun was hot! I even managed to get some "Big Ass" recipes from our own Tammy (not the Sweet Potato Queen herself, but she could be! And you HAVE to read the Sweet Potato Queen's Big Ass Cookbook if you do not know the other Tammy I am talking about! The author is Jill Connor Browne-I think!) The first recipe is a fabulous dip and soooo easy! Mix a pack of FIESTA Ranch (you know the packets they sell by the mayo stuff, but not just regular ranch) and a 16oz. sour cream for an eat-yourself-fat dip! We enjoyed it with Ruffles potato chips! Tammy swore she gained at least three pounds over the three days! That always signifies a great trip! The other delicious thing she made was a fabulous Caesar Pita! Take a pita and cut it in half. Fill the pita with pre-cooked chicken pieces. Add lettuce, tomato, parmesean cheese (or provolone), and pour Caesar dressing all over the top of it! OMG, it was so good! Lauraleigh made fabulous muffalettas! She took sweet rolls and cut them in half, added provolone cheese, olives and olive juice, and salami, and cooked them for a few minutes in the oven to toast and melt the cheese! Sooo fattening-which means it was divine! I promise we swam and tubed and skipped rocks and rode in the boat more than we ate, but the eating was good! My rugrats came back with both memories and sun (but not too burned)!

Today was one of those LAZY days of summer that it seems we have had very few of this year! The kids are running around in clothes that don't match, if they even managed to put shorts on at all! Our hair is not brushed, neither are our teeth. We are reading and playing on the computer and chasing each other with the water spray bottle inside the house because it is too hot outside! I do enjoy these few days in life! You would really laugh (or cry) if you could see the laundry piled on the couch, the crumbs on the floor, and the dishes (and finger nail paint) in the sink! But I feel like today should just be lazy. I hope you have time in your life to enjoy being lazy with your rugrats as well! It is so worth it! Ya'll come visit us on the farm!

Sleepover Madness!

The girls had funky hairdo fun the other night when Erica and Emilee spent the night! Erica won first place! They are so innocently fun at this age! I wish all my friends would still come over to play and pull my hair in a hundred different directions at midnight at night! We could wake MY MOM up to take pictures! What a fun summer!

Housecleaning helpers or no help...

After working in my classroom all day (the kids had "Terrific Tuesday" fun at the church) I came home to spend some time with my angels and get a few things done around the house! Ok, I know I am tired, but my children DO NOT HEAR ME when I speak. They tend to lose their hearing at around two years old in my family (it must be hereditary because their daddy does it, too!) I dropped them off in a huff up at Big Daddy's today after two hours of fighting with them to get anything done! I swear, I am worn out after making them DO anything! I had to chase them with the wooden spoon- I know I should have used it, but I was concerned that two blogs in a row about spanking my children would definitely have garnered the CPS's attention- to get them to halfway fold THEIR clothes today. Then I had to follow them with the bucket to the laundry room to get them to bring it to me. I was trying to make a point that when I asked them to bring me the bucket they were going to bring it to me (you know, the whole I am the mother thing! Especially after the humiliation at Wally World the other day!) I had to physically walk them into the living room to the bucket, lean over them so that they would lean over, push their fingers to grip the sides of the bucket, pick it up while holding their hands on it, and walk us to the dryer! (Now do you see why the wooden spoon would have been much more efficient?!) Now, after getting the clothes out of the dryer I asked them to bring me the dirty clothes. Well, I am sad to say my children have all grown deaf AND mute. So we did the whole walk with them trip again around the house to gather clothes. FUN FUN!!! Seriously, I wanted to pull their ears off by now! I looked on MY bed, now this is MY BED mind you, and someone had opened a package of crackers and left them on my bed! Well, Laura found that to be a fabulous snack all over my comforter! I asked the girls to bring me the broom and a dustpan (And told them the whole I didn't make the mess thing...) and got NO response. I ended up going to get the broom myself while uttering a few nice words under my breath. I made them some supper later and reminded them that their food was on paper plates to please throw them away when they were done. I reminded them that Laura liked to get into the food! It must have been a monumental task that I asked of them, because I came around the corner to find Laura covered in ketchup and bananas not two seconds after I set their food in front of them and from ketchup not from her own plate. (Literally, I walked back into the kitchen to make my plate! Needless to say, I never ate!) I looked in their room and their drawers were all open with clothes hanging out, not a shoe in the closet it seemed, and their whole comforter was pulled off the bed! I told them to pick it all up and that I would return in a while to check on their progress. Well, let's just say that it was still on the floor a while later when I went on my to-be-mentioned outing. I calmly asked Ann Cherie to run around and gather all the dirty dishes (which are theirs, of course!) and she told me she was BUSY-wait for it- ON THE COMPUTER! Well, that did it! I walked them out to the car with no shoes and no shorts in the rain and dropped them off at their Dada's house where their daddy had conveniently needed to work on his boat his last two days off! I left for Shreveport! I feel much better now. It is amazing how a spray tan, a Starbucks (a caramel machiato-with whole milk-I didn't skimp on calories tonight!), and another hour of whining to my mom on the phone revive your reason for living! My little rugrats...I swear...and mom, you can be proud! I did not climb into a book to hide away! I got away- all the way to Shreveport! YEAH!

Trouble Part 2...

My friend from high school, Jennifer Sykes, summed the wal-mart saga up better than I ever could have with this facebook response to the link to my blog (I am still laughing):

"And I thought our shopping trips were bad!! My favorites are the old ladies who are giving you dirty looks for something...not disciplining your child, disciplining your child, screaming child, whining child, loud child, candy to said child to stop all of the above, no candy to said child for doing all of the above! I mean, seriously, do not judge me or my child until you have walked in our shoes and lived through our day! Hope tomorrow is better!"

I totally relate to that!! LOL! Thanks, Jennifer! Even my mom (as I moaned and whined about the whole fiasco on the phone for an hour) acted as if I was letting my children take control and how I could do a better parenting job next time. I remember her saying, "...next time I would let them know they were not going to make a peep, not with me. I would dare them to touch anything, if they were with me. I would make them think run and hide around the store if they were with me!" This is the same grandmother who spent $300 last time she was in Wal-Mart with only two of my children and bought everything they could even imagine wanting just to keep them happy! Oh the saga continues! My rugrats...I swear!

Trouble with a capital W

Ok, I think I smoked crack in my sleep last night, because I decided to take all three kids to WALMART today! That should be enough said, but I will indulge my readers. I should have known I was in for it when I drove up and all three kids were asleep in the back. I had been talking to mom on the drive there, and I didn't even realize how quiet it had been! So anyway! Waking my kids up is like waking up the bear cubs! Ann Cherie jumped out of the van like a zombie still in the "don't know where I am and can't find my shoes" state. Maggie and Laura just started screaming. Well, seeing as I can't carry all three in, my eyes started searching for extra buggies. Of course, this is the one day there are NO EXTRA buggies ANYWHERE in the whole parking lot to be had. So I grab Laura up to find out she has taken off her shoes, only one of which can now be located. Oh well, who needs shoes? After that search was called off, I grabbed her up again and proceeded to drag Maggie out of the van. The whole while Ann Cherie is standing there telling me how Maggie wakes up cranky, and that I ought to be leaving her alone for a while! No crap! While I do what? Twiddle thumbs; look for my sanity...really! Thanks for the info, baby! I finally drag my entire family INTO the store! Now to grab a buggy! Would you believe that I had to go through three buggies before I found one that had a working clasp that was not otherwise covered in fecal matter or some such other stinky and sticky goop? And Laura HAS to have the clasp! She loves to stand up and test my mother-of-the-year theory! I try to remember to bring my nice $50 fashionable seat cover, but it rarely ever makes it into the store with my ADD brain- not to mention the above mentioned war that distracts me from the logical. Anyway! We are now finally in the buggy and ready to roll- only to be stopped by the oldest geriatric on the planet that was hired to be the "greeter". Well, I was "greeted" with, "Get that kid off the bottom of the buggy," (Maggie's favorite place to ride, mind you, and the only way I was able to get her to stop screaming when I got her in the store!), "Don't you know she could lose a finger or something in the wheel?" Literally, he said this to me, the already-stressed, haven't spent a penny yet, too young to be mother of three. Well, I informed him that fingers were of very little consequence, that I appreciated his parenting advice, and proceeded to roll away. (Ok, so maybe I wasn't quite so nice, but REALLY!) I only had to worry about her fingers for a miniscule amount of time, because when we pulled up to the bananas she remembered it was her turn to bag. Of course she grabbed the set of bananas that were propping up like a whole side of bananas and they all came crashing down to the ground. So I start picking them up and told Maggie to get after it as well. She stands, crosses her arms, and tells me, "No, I am busy putting my nanas in the baggie. You do it, Mommy." Oh my lordy Jesus. So that was not the time for her to institute her stubbornness, hence, the first pop of the outing. (Yes, it was me hitting my child if surveillance makes national news! So take my kids away or something! I need a break!) Alright! We now have one item in our buggy! Congrats! On to the milk isle! According to my children, I do not buy the “right” yogurt, or the “right” milk (there’s right or white here!), or the “right” cinnamon rolls, etc. Maggie asked for chocolate milk so I told her to grab some! She wanted an individual one. I told her to grab the bigger size so that everyone could have some. She was not having any of that. I gave in and allowed her to keep her individual size as well. Big mistake! She walked the whole rest of the store asking every two seconds for me to open her milk for her. Not only did I not want her wearing it before we left, we also had the little thing of paying for things before we ingest them. I was trying to explain to her that it was stealing to open things and drink them before they were paid for. This did not go over well as she explained how she was thirsty in the immediate sense and not in the after you pay for it sense. And so I was reminded around every turn in Wal-Mart. Well all of this “advice” and the incessant whining of Maggie with her unopened milk earned them the second pop of the trip! What glorious fun (the whining, of course, not the popping!)! Onto the paper isle, the toilet paper of course was too big and infringed on Maggie’s new seating arrangement which was now in the big part of the buggy. Maggie starts screaming how it is smashing her legs and hurting her nose, and of course, her hair will fall out if she is uncomfortable for five minutes. Any other day “stadium seating” is preferential for her, but not today. She was NOT sitting on the toilet paper rolls today. She WAS driving me crazy. Because she could obviously not get happy IN the buggy, she earned the right to get OUT of the buggy, which walking was going to permanently disable her as far as she was letting me and surrounding customers know. I remembered I needed paper plates. So we moved on down and the kids started handing me every package of paper plates and noting the exceptionalities of each one. This one has flowers; this one has lines; this one has ANIMALS! Now we had it! They HAD TO HAVE animal plates for the camping trip! What a terror I provided by negating that decision. I’m sure they heard THAT let down back in automotive. Now, back to the food isles! We went to grab some shredded cheese. I am checking out the 35 different brands, prices, etc. (Seriously, can there really be 35 different ways to shred cheese?) I look up, and NO MAGGIE. I swear. I could not find her! Ann Cherie was the deaf mute again who didn’t see anything or know anything because she is NOT the Momma. Finally, about the time I was going to shout for help from other customers, Maggie sits up. That’s right sits up! She had climbed in and laid down in one of the open center fridgerators behind me! Luckily for her it was quite empty of its contents; unfortunately for me, it hid her little body quite well! Ok, my sanity is SHOT by now! On we press to the ink department. Ann Cherie decides to be bossy. SHE will get the ink down from the wall. SHE knows which one; her daddy showed her, etc., etc. Well she knew it had a red package, but that was it, and the ink we needed was on the very top row. She threw a major crying fit because I told her she could not get the ink. My SEVEN year old is throwing in a fit in the middle of electronics because she can’t get ink down that she can’t reach and doesn’t know the number to get in the first place. Good Lord, where are you? (At a spa in NYC, I presume, certainly not in Wal-Mart in Atlanta, TX! Not that I blame you, Lord. I'm with you in spirit, remember!) Back to the food department, of course there I am the TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, ROTTEN (totally relating to that book right now)…mother because: I will not buy EVERY popsicle and ice cream package on that row; I will not buy every package of candy on the candy isle; I will not buy the girls the movie they just want to go “check” to see if it is in the back of the store; I will not buy them a magazine, or a plastic phone, or a sucker, or a package of sparkly permanent markers (to use on my couches later), or animal plates, or Mac-n-cheese (that we have 16 boxes of at home), or EVERYTHING else that they laid eyes on in the store. OMG, I have had it!!!!! About this time we are getting ready to check out and LAURA who has been relatively silent (miraculously) until then decides she has had enough of her ride! She begins to wail and tries to stand up and starts throwing all of the stuff she can reach behind her in the buggy to the floor as hard as she can. Blackberries and strawberries went everywhere! Instead of helping me pick up the mess, Maggie and Ann Cherie are handing me candy after candy and begging for each one followed with my insistent “No” to each one, and their incessant replies as to their NEED for each one. All the while, Ann Cherie HAS to go to the bathroom, this need of which I am reminded of repeatedly until I could actually take her to the bathroom after checking out! That is when I lost it. I cried the whole time I checked out and most of the way home. The kids have won, I say! I am officially mother-of-the-year- crowned and curtsied! (Well, I am counting my blessings. Laura could have pooped or something!)
Needless to say, my doctor is on speed dial for a tubal ligation appointment first thing in the morning. And mom, you are coming to keep the kids while I recuperate, because you always made out how wonderful we were as kids and how we would love having children of our own. That lie has earned you a few extra days with your grandkids! And I know you lied because you are laughing, which means you can relate, which means I did these same things to you, hence the proof you lied and wherefore your sentence of babysitting these little hellion rugrats…(Welcome to TG&Y…Thank you for shopping at A&P…I remember, and I am INCREDIBLY sorry! I love you!)

Pray for me...

The girls have Frank tied so tight we are looking at amputating that pinky finger (it has been without circulation for so long now)! They barely have to blink an eye or hug a toe and Frankie bends to their will. They only had to halfway ask to go to the lake Wed. and he was packing up the boat. They had been begging us ever since Sunday at Cypress Lake to take them back tubing again. So, we took the girls out on Caddo Lake to ride the tube. Well, they had only tubed the one time before and Louis (our friend and his family) went with each kid as they rode the tube. When we got out on the lake and told AC it was her turn she looked at us and then the tube and said, "I'm goin out by myself this time. Ya'll pray for me." and jumped in the water! It was so funny! The kids had a blast. Even Maggie went alone and held on jumping over the wake! And to think Frankie thought he wanted some boys all this time! Frankie took a spin on the tube while Sherre drove the boat! That was hilarious! Sherre was having a hard time getting the boat to plane out so she put the gas on as high as it would go. Well, when it finally planed, she never let off the gas! Frankie went flying across the water at probably 30 miles an hour! He turned about 4 cartwheels before he finally came to rest in the water! I was laughing so hard that I swear my incontinence got the best of me! I can now say that I've seen a man walk on water! hahahah! Anyway! Little man Jacob was putting the love to L at the lake on Sunday at Cypress. We had so much fun with the Thomas's! The last two lake trips have been fun! Little Lake Rugrats...

Psycho...delic...

Ok, I really am worried about my mother. Today, trying to be mother of the year that I always live up to, I decided it was about time that I tye-died t'shirts with my kids. My mother had given them a nice kit for Cristmas or Easter or some other holiday, and I was feeling guilty for just now getting around to it! Now I am understanding why most people that wore these types of shirts were on DRUGS in the 60s! You would have to be before taking on this project and especially taking it on with small children! First of all, it requires an engineering degree to figure out how to wad the shirts up and put rubber bands on to form the base for the patterns. Then the bottles squirt out the dye at rocket speeds like a high powered shotgun that spreads rapidly and permenantly all over the kitchen floor. (That's another thing- DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TIE-DYE INDOORS!) We did have garbage sacks down, but that never contains rocket paint and 4 year olds. Finally, do not wash any clothes that you want to keep the same colors immediately following the tie-dye t'shirt rinse load (See pic of Frankie in his shirt! lol!). Needless to say, I did make t'shirts with the kids today, but my sanity rinsed right down the purple, blue, yellow sink with the remains of the dye! And if my mother EVER gives the girls a crafty kit like that again, beware it could (and will) be regifted to you! I know it's the thought that counts, Mom, but what were you thinking? Love you mom! And God love my little permanently multicolored rugrats!

Hot Stuff!

These past three weeks have been a whirlwind for our family! Three weeks ago Mom took the two big girls for the week! They went to VBS in Vicksburg at Nonnie's church and did their week of swimming lesson! They had a ball. That same Friday I brought AC's friend over and dropped them both at Warner Tully camp for the weekend. The next Wed. (two days later) we left for Frankie's convention in Lafayette, LA. We returned from that trip Sunday night. Which leads to this week our air conditioning unit condensor motor or something went out. It has been HOT! Luckily, my brother-in-law came to the rescue and ordered us the part we needed to fix it!

I spent 3.5 hours yesterday at the quick care place (oh, if Carrie and Matt could just live closer) because AC got a BAD inner and outer ear infection Thursday. I knew she was sick when she didn't want to swim Thursday night. Well, needless to say, DOCTORS DO NOT WORK on the 3rd of July! (Now I understand that everyone needs a break...HAHA!) I forgot it was the 3rd until both of our doctor's offices didn't answerwhen I tried to call to get an appointment. I asked Frankie why the clinics would be closed... Anyway, we got her a huge bottle of Bactrim and some antibiotic steriod drops and it looks like we are good to go. But, you should have seen the folks at the quick care place! One lady had tatoos from head to toe and had obviously broken her finger. Of course I have ALL THREE KIDS with me and all three kids found that finger fascinating. Then the lady proceeds to tell us how she lives with her daughter and is separated...you get my drift. Another guy I guess had thrown out his back cause everytime he tried to sit down he would scream and cuss and fuss. My kids loved asking loudly what was the matter with him and why he had a trashy mouth, didn't he know better? One lady, and the last I will mention because enough said you know, had both eyes swollen shut and oozing! She just hollered repeatedly for NOONE to touch her that she had had her grandkids all last week and that's what she got for swimming with them and all this week she's had THE pink eye! Not pink eye, THE pink eye, and god bless her soul she did, the worst pink eye case I 'd ever seen!
I need plenty of prayers this week as I will have my niece and nephew all week! God love them and so do I, but I have to manage to outmanipulate 5 children all week this week. Who needs to be a lawyer when you have 5 kids? Well, Aunt Joy has some tricks and trips up her sleeve. (Yes, I am obviously on crack cause I did say TRIPS!) Happy 4th of July and Independence day! I am headed up the hill to eat burgers, cucumbers,watermellon and some peach ice cream fresh from the Louisiana Tech dairy farm (both of my brothers-in-law are showing out this week it seems)! These are God's ways of showing me I will survive! I even walked my 2 miles this morning...on a holiday...that is certainly worth some extra calories! Love you all and GOD BLESS ALL THE RUGRATS this week!

Lake Life

We took the girls out again today on the lake. They are getting spoiled. We got home from church and laid down while Laura took a nap. After a while (you know, about the time you hit the deep sleep) AC came in to get us to tell us it was time to go to the lake. When Frank asked her what she meant she informed us that anytime we didn't have anything to do we were suppose to go to the lake to take her to swim. She reiterated that her teacher told her to do fun things this summer and not to think about school. She told us that going to the lake was fun and she had to mind her teacher. She also told us that going to the lake was what we had done the last few Sundays after church so we had best not let her down. All of this was said and explained to us as we barely stayed awake after being woken up. Needless to say, you don't have to beg her daddy twice for an excuse to take the boat out and he couldn't disappoint his children on his day off.......... We had a nice afternoon letting the kids swim in Caddo Lake, so maybe her teacher makes a point......That rugrat....

New "I Ate a BUG Club" Members

The faculty of Vivian Elementary School has SURVIVED another year! We had a Survivor party tonight on the farm for our end-of-the-year faculty party! At the faculty party tonight, 24 people joined the "I Ate a Bug Club" by eating a chocolate covered grasshoppers to earn points for their teams! "I Ate a Bug Club" members will be displaying their new buttons tomorrow at school! The "Red Hot Mamas" was the team with the most points at the end of the party to take home Survivor prizes of rice bags and water bottles! We had a blast! The weather held out nicely and the kids had a blast playing on the farm! I thank everyone for making the trip up to the farm! Grilling out and fellowship at the faculty party is always worth ENDURING the year! Thanks for a GREAT year to my team! Ya'll have been such a blessing!

18 and one to grow old on...

We were eating with Grandma and Grandpa the other night for Grandpa's birthday. We were all sitting around the table when someone asked, "Well, Grandpa, how old are you now?" AC piped in with "He's 18. Don't cha know it is rude to ask an old person their age. It's always 18, just remember that!" Everyone laughed so hard! So I suppose I owe my friend Lauraleigh who just turned 30 an apology for printing and announcing her age. Lauraleigh, you will be 18 forever, at least in AC's eyes! HAHA! Gotta love my little rugrats!

Flower girls...

It was so pretty out tonight. It rained today and the cool air was perfect. We got home early for a change due to soccer being cancelled. We were outside playing and the girls decided they wanted to help us with the flower garden. We just planted some bulbs three days ago and they were searching for the flowers. M just looked up at me with the saddest face and said, "Mommie, I am so sorry that your flowers did not grow." I laughed! The girls were so disappointed that they couldn't water the flower beds. I tried to explain that the rain watered them the last few days and that too much water would drown them, but to no avail. They are at such a sweet age!

I'm tired!

Gosh, between soccer four nights a week and weddings and Crawfish Boil and school end of the year stuff and did I mention soccer four nights a week, I am EXHAUSTED! I swear, I could go to bed at like 6 p.m. and still be tired the next morning. Of course, I wouldn't really ever be able to go to bed at 6p.m. because, gosh forbid, we have soccer and life on speed right now! I don't think we have gotten home before 8 o'clock in the last two weeks. Plus, I think we have at least 3 VBS's planned for June! My girls are doing well, though. L has four new canines and AC still has all "A's". M has gotten a smiley face (being good) every day the last few days at daycare and all is well with the dogs. I think we might make it! Anyway, to all my friends who feel deserted, I promise I still love you and think about you all the time, but you just rank right below the kids (or at least their stuff made it to the calendar before yours did)! HAHA! I think I have a weekend in July that I am free to have an adult night! Now, don't go filling up your July calendars to pay me back for my April/May/June one! Is anyone feeling my pain? Did I mention field day is coming up...These BUSY rugrats, I swear!

Soccer Sistas!

Today AC had a soccer game. She was playing midfield and made a kick or two! All of a sudden I look up and she is hugging a girl from the other team...in the middle of the game...in the middle of the field...as the ball goes past her. It turns out one of the girls from her class is on the Twisters team that our Blue Angels were playing against today. When they figured out they knew each other they were no longer interested in soccer. They hugged and had to holler to show their mommies that they had a friend on other team, again... in the middle of the game... as the ball goes past! Too sweet, and too funny! Neither team scored a goal, so I guess they both went home big winners in soccer and in friendship!

Mom of the year....NOT!

Remember telling everyone "NOT" after everything you said. Ok, well you're too young then. Anyway. On Wednesday, I forgot AC's piano books for her 4:00 lesson and remembered that I forgot them at 3:35. Seeing as I live about 15 min. from Vivian (and still had to pick up AC), you do the math. So anyway, I ran into the GAP (God's Awesome Place afterschool tutoring and fun) and starting rushing AC out the door telling her,"Oh, gosh, AC, please hurry. We left your piano books, and we need to run all the way home grab them and TRY to get back in time to even have a lesson. Please hurry. Where is your bookbag?"...and so on. AC just made that confused crazy look that she gives me and said calmly, "Mom, It's Wednesday. Piano is on Thursday." Well, crap. Anyway, not five minutes later we were at the pharmacy and AC was digging through my purse looking for stuff to do. She said, "Mom, why are all these little bags of cookies in your purse?" And I replied, "Oh, yeah, those are from the bake sale lady at the GAP. I forgot to bake anything, and I forgot to go work the bake sale. I felt really bad for forgetting, so I just bought a bunch of the leftover cookies. I am the best mom ever!" In return I got, "You know you're not really." It really may be time for the strattera. That rugrat!

Easter

Oh, the fun of Easter-dresses, eggs, church, early morning hunts and baskets-my girls were in Easter heaven! Mom and Dad spent the night with us after returning from GWL and helped out the Easter Bunny and helped us hunt eggs before dressing us all and shipping us off to church(the girls started with pretty bows in their hair-for about 5 whole mins)! They headed on home to Vicksburg. Here are some cute pics of the girls on Easter. It is sometimes hard to remember that Easter is about so much more than eggs and easter bunnies. I love going to church on Easter Sunday and sharing the true meaning of Easter with my girls!

Great Wolf Lodge-Grapevine, TX

For Easter we took the girls with my parents to Great Wolf Lodge. We all had the best time. The kids swam like little fish! They had so much fun stuff to do in the waterpark and no sunscreen or warm sunshine required! We had a ball! The kids really loved getting to spend time with Nonnie and Boppie and Aunt KK! Here are some cute pics of the trip!

Girls, Girls, Girls...

I feel like that is all I say nowadays. Girls, Girls, Girls... every five minutes, I mean seriously. They are constantly getting into things, whining, running around like wild banchees, or something. The girls gave L some M&M's, but didn't wipe her hands off like I asked them to, so L proceeded to wipe them off on the side of my bed. Gross, I know. Nothin' like a chocolate rainbow to grace you when you pull back the sheets! Today, they were eating chips in the living room, like they were not suppose to, and got into a fight as to who was to get the next handful. You can imagine what the floor looked like afterwards! Fun, Fun! I am finding easter candy paper stuffed into the most imaginative places like the toilet paper roller- while on the roller.... That had to have taken more time than just throwing it away would have...And GOD FORBID you ask them to pick up ANYTHING, the whining is outragous. Needless to say, they have both been spanked soundly (Frankie laughs...well, at least patted soundly) and sent to bed. Anyone ever read the book Five Minutes Peace? That is so me. Buy it for your kids! I also recommend the book I Ain't Gonna Paint No More. Not that my children follow the ideology when next to say the side of the dresser drawers or the wall or something, but nevertheless, the concept is couragous. Economic stock purchasing suggestion: Magic Erasers! My rugrats, I swear!

Multiple meaning words......

Thought I would share a test response from last Friday! Enough said on this one! ( We teach 6 year olds!) At least he did manage a capital letter and a period, and you can't say it didn't make sense. (Yes, he got credit for the answer!) HAHAHA!

Redbud Parade

My girls were in the Redbud Parade a week or two ago. I thought I would share some of their pics with you! They were on the 50's float. The theme was "Redbud Rocks". We rock and rolled and yes, I had to ride the float, too! Lucky me! Ann used to always ride with the girls in the parade! Boy did I miss her that Saturday! I know she was smiling down! Her girls were precious (and that is not a mom's biased opinion). HAHA! My rugrats rocked!