My Stockings have arrived!!!!

As some of you may know, I am already in the Christmas Spirit.  As many of you also know, last year, I WAS NOT!!!!  Colton and Bailey have always had their own personalized stockings.  Unfortunately,  last year I was in NO mood to order Kinley's stocking.  I know,  BAD MOM!!!  However, this year, I jumped on the Stocking Train!!! Not only did I order Kinley a stocking, I splurged and ordered one for the whole family so we would all match. I figure we will have them FOREVER so it's a pretty good investment.  I have become a little obsessed with www.etsy.com . There are so many cute things on there and most of them are pretty reasonable.  I have done a lot of my Christmas Shopping from there this year and so far I have not been disappointed.  So, check out my stockings!!!  I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!   I can't wait to hang them on the Mantle!

I ordered them from The Monogram Maker

www.monogrammaker.etsy.com

Blue Angels and Ghost and Goblins

All week, the Kids and I have been looking forward to going to the neighborhood park for some trick or treating and Halloween festivities.  It was our Big Plans for the weekend.  Usually our weekend consist of hanging out around the house or going to the Deer Lease, so I get excited when we have ANYTHING planned.  One night this week when Greg got home he was telling us about the Randolph Air force Base Airshow that would be featuring the Blue Angels.  AWESOME!!!!!!  Who dosen't like a good air show!  New plans!!!!  Saturday Morning, Airshow..........Saturday Night, Trick or Treating in the Park!  WOW!!! We actually have plans and they're going to last ALL DAY!!!!   O.k. so we get up and get dressed and head to the airshow.  I thought we were just going to go and watch some planes fly around but it was so much more than that!  They had airplanes from every era.... Vietnam, World War II, even modern-day fighters and bombers were out there and we got to walk through some of them. There was a lot going on before we even reached our seats to watch the airshow.   The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels were headlining this years show.  They are UNBELIEVABLE!!!!  Can you imagine flying an airplane at all, much less flying 36" away from your partners all while doing Crazy stunts!!!  I don't know how this is humanly possible to maintain that kind of skill!!!
O.k. now for the photo dump!  I've got 166 pics....I think I've got it narrowed down to 15.  :)

Here they are walking into one of the planes.  This is as far as the got before they turned around to make sure I was behind them.  They weren't about to go in alone.  It's nice to still be needed for things like that.

I wanted the actual painting on the side of the plane to be in the picture, but as you can see that didn't happen.  Greg tries, but he's not the best with a Camera.

Colton is such a good Big Brother!

There were even parachuters!

  

We had to stop for sunglasses. NOTE TO MOM (that would be Me) Next time we go to an event where we're all staring into the Sun, make sure the kids have SUNglasses!!!! DUH!!!!!

Sportin' their new shades

Here's Kinley doing what she does best.  EATING!  A Cookie in one hand and Honeydew in the other.  She loves wearing her little Pink Cowgirl boots.

Time to wash it all down.

There they Are!  The Blue Angels!!!!  AWESOME!!!!!!

Daddy and Kinley watching the show

By the end of the day we were tired and DIDN'T feel like fighting the crowd and walking all the way back to our shuttle bus, so we hitched a ride on the Bud Light cart!  The only down side to this is listening to all of the people that are walking by Yelling,  "HEY, CAN I GET SOME BEER!!" Original Guys, Never heard that one before!!!!  There is a driver and a family of five piled into this thing.....Does it look like we have any room to carry Beer!!!!!!  GEEEEZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!

O.k. so we got home just in time to throw on costumes and head down to the park.  What once was the thought of an exciting night was now a "Let's get this over with" kind of night!  We were all pretty tired. 

Here's my little Pirate.  She is refusing to look at me or smile!

Here's my family!  The Big kid in the back still hasn't learned to stay smiling so when all of the kids are smiling I can just snap the picture!!!  I guess he was saying  HAAAAAlloween!

My Groovy Girl!

I think he only wanted this costume for all of the toys that came with it!

These ladies are Mother and Daughter.  When Bailey walked up, the lady in the Blue (Mother) said Well, aren't you cute!  Your the first INDIAN I've seen!  Bailey was polite and said Thank You, but the daughter (in the witch costume) said MOTHER, SHE'S NOT AN INDIAN......SHE'S A HIPPIE!!! GEEZ!!!! The Mother then says, "Oh, I'm so sorry, You have to excuse me......I'M OLD!!! 

This is Bailey and one of her Best Friends, Hannah.  

Hannah was Mother Nature!

I don't know this guy, but I had to take his picture!!  Not a good time of the year to be going around South Texas dressed like this!  :)  

 Love it!!!!

Not too many pictures of Colton at the Halloween Party because he pretty much stayed out of the camera's way......Once Kinley realized people were putting candy in her bag that was tied to her stroller, her head stayed buried in it for the rest of the night.  We left the party and went and had Mexican food, went home and were all in bed by 8:45pm.  What a Day!

TGIF!!!!

I am not a late person.  I am always on time or even early, which sometimes is annoying.  I don't really like being the FIRST person everywhere I go, but I don't like being late even more.  Last night when I went to go plug my phone in to the charger, I realized our charger was in my kids room.  We have strange sleeping patterns around here.  My Husband sometimes sleeps with me and sometimes sleeps in Colton's room.  The Baby is the only one who sleeps where she is suppose to EVERY NIGHT!  We have played musical beds in our house for as long as I can remember.  Neither Colton or Bailey want to sleep in their rooms by themselves so sometimes Greg will sleep in Colton's room where two of them will sleep in the bed and one on the floor.  CRAZY, I know.  I stay up later than everyone else and the baby monitor is in our room which makes it hard for my Husband to sleep soundly throughout the night.  He has to get up around 4:15am every Morning so sleeping in Colton's room really works out better for all of us.  Last night, we were up late watching the never ending Ranger's game so he slept in our room...well for a little while.  The minute one of the kids came in the room in the middle of the night, he was dragged back into their room.  O.k. back to the original point......... Greg and I share a port for our chargers which means it's in the kids room because that is where Greg plugs his phone in at night.  Not wanting to step on a kid on my way to get it last night, I just told my Husband to make sure that he woke me up before he left because my phone was dead. (I use my phone as an alarm clock)  Actually I told him three times before we went to sleep to wake me up.  I use to be a very light sleeper.  If so much as a whisper was said, I was up.  For the past few months, I hear NOTHING!!!  My Husband showers, shaves, gets dressed etc...etc....and I never hear a word.  I am still surprised when my alarm clock goes off in the morning because I am so use to already being up before it goes off because I use to hear my husband getting ready.  This morning, my son crawls in bed with me and then I notice my daughter is on the other side of me.  This wouldn't be happening if my Husband was home, so naturally I knew he was GONE and had not woke me up.  I jump up and run to the kitchen praying that the clock on my microwave will say somewhere in the neighborhood of 6:15-6:30....Nope 7:08!!!!!!  AHHHHHHHHH,  When the kids ride the bus, they catch it at 6:40.  When I take them to School, we leave here no later than 7:15.  I need at least 10 minutes to tell my daughter to get out of bed 15 times and then I need another 10 minutes to get them dressed and hair done....and then I need another 10 minutes to make sure that they have breakfast in their bellies and a snack and a water bottle in their backpacks.  This Schedule did not work for me this morning.  Today was the No Tardy Party day where all of the kids who have not been tardy get to have a party.  The thought of my kids not being able to attend this party KILLS ME!!!!!  I HATE BEING LATE!!!!  Not to mention at the end of the year, the kids that have not been tardy all year get a certificate in front of everyone at graduation.  I don't know that I could handle my kids not getting that Certificate, because that means their PARENT didn't get them to School on time.  Anxiety, Anxiety, Anxiety.  So this is how my Morning went! 
7:08    GET UP! GET UP!  WE HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO GET TO SCHOOL!
7:10  BRUSH YOUR TEETH AND QUIT FIGHTING!!!!!!
7:12  I'M SORRY BABY, MOMMY WILL HAVE TO GET YOU OUT OF YOUR BED IN A FEW MINUTES.
7:14  STOP FIGHTING!!!! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!  GET YOUR CLOTHES ON AND GET YOUR HAIR BRUSHED!  WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES!!!!! WHY ARE WE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR YOUR SHOES!!!! PUT THEM IN YOUR ROOM WHERE THEY GO, SO WE WON'T ALWAYS BE LOOKING FOR YOUR SHOES AND BRUSH YOUR HAIR!!! COME ON!!!!!!!!!
7:20  WE'VE GOTTA GO, GET YOUR BACKPACKS, LET'S GO!!! I'LL FEED YOU FROM THE GAS STATION!!!!!!!!!  GO GET IN THE TRUCK, I HAVE TO GO GET THE BABY and STOP FIGHTING!!!!!
7:22  On our way to the Gas Station, I realize my contacts have fallen out during the night and I can't see.  GREAT!!!!!!  Good thing I know where I'm going.  I'LL TRY NOT TO HIT ANYBODY!
7:25  Stay in the Truck and keep the doors locked...I'll be right back.
7:26   I grab 2 Orange Juices, 2 Bottles of Water, 2 Nutrigrain bars, 1 Rock Star Energy Drink and 4 Tacos all in the matter of a minute.  I go to get in line and apparently this is Prime Time for gas station shopping!
7:35  SORRY, the line in the gas station was 15 people long.  Here's your orange juice and breakfast. Here's a snack too, Eat your breakfast and put your snack in your back pack. 
ON OUR WAY TO SCHOOL....My daughter says, Mom my leggings have a hole in the Knee....ME, WHAT!!!!!!  YOU COULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT AT HOME!!!!!! JUST BUNCH THEM UP SO NO ONE WILL NOTICE AND EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!!!!
7:44  I slide into the drop off lane an tell the kids to get out. GO STRAIGHT TO CLASS! NO DETOURS!!!   HAVE A GREAT DAY! I LOVE YOU!!!  Bailey realizes she's dropped her Orange Juice in the truck on her way out and Runs back to get it.  HURRY! HURRY!!! LOVE YOU!!!!(I love you has to be the last thing I say before they get out EVERYDAY!)
DID I MENTION THE BELL RINGS AT 7:45.  HOPE THEY MADE IT!

We get home and I go to get the Baby out of her car seat and realize that I haven't even really looked at her yet. I just grabbed her out of bed and put her in the car.   She looks at me as to say, Is it my turn, and I still need my diaper changed.   I take her out of her car seat and say GOOD MORNING!!!!  She smiles and  wraps her little arms around my neck and squeezes me as hard as she can!!!! I love you too Baby Girl! I stand there for a little bit and take in the moment. THESE ARE THE MOMENTS I LIVE FOR! I tell her, " Let's go eat our Gas Station tacos."   It's a crazy job, but I LOVE BEING A MOM even though sometimes you wouldn't know it.   HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!!

According to Bailey, TODAY I am the BEST MOM EVER!

For the past few weeks, every morning when I'm taking the kids to School, they have been giving away Taylor Swift tickets on the radio.  My daughter has made comments several times that she wishes that we could win Taylor Swift tickets.  We would sit and listen to these Mothers call in, some crying when they win because they were so excited to win the tickets for their daughters.  I loved it when the daughters were actually in the car at the time and would express their excitement in the background.  I would often daydream on my way home about what it would be like to surprise Bailey with tickets as well.  She would be over the Moon and I would be the Best Mom EVER in her eyes.  I knew this wasn't likely, but a girl can dream.  When my Husband called this Morning to let me know that he got his hands on two tickets to the concert for TONIGHT and that he was going to watch Colton & Kinley so I could take Bailey, I was over the Moon!!!  Now, I'm sitting here waiting for her to get home from School, so I can tell her that her and I are going to have a Special Date night tonight.  I don't plan on telling her where we are going, I'll just wait for her to figure it out when we walk into the AT&T Center and she realizes we are at the TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT!  I can't wait to see her face!  We really need this time together.  Her and I have really been butting heads lately.  Unfortunately, she has my Mouth and will argue her point to no end....which causes a lot of friction between the two of us because I as well will argue my point to no end!  I'm not going to post this until the night is over......I will pick this up later!!!!!  Taylor Swift, HERE WE COME!

O.k., It's Later!  When Bailey gets home from School, I tell her that her and I will be having a Girls Night Out.  She looks at me with a tad bit of stress on her face and says, "We're not going Shopping are we?"  I'm not a Shopper, so when I do shop it takes me a lot longer than I would like because I try to get it ALL done in one trip.  When she finds out it's not a shopping trip, she is intrigued.  She keeps begging me to tell her so I told her we were going out to eat, just the two of us.  She was good with that.  Actually excited about that because going out to eat on a weekday NEVER happens around here.
We get dressed and she ask if we can go to Game Time Pizza. I tell her No, that we were going Downtown for this meal.

After sitting in bumper to bumper traffic and Bailey dozing off in the truck,

 we manage to make it to our destination.  When she sees the AT &T Center, she says, "Why are we here?  This is where we come to go to the Rodeo! "  Being the little Worry Wart that she is, she starts telling me that we are lost and that I need to turn around.  I tell her that there are restaurants inside and that we would just park and go eat since we're already here.  Then, my little Nervous Nelly Seven Year old starts to worry about the parking situation.  She obviously knows that something is going on at the "Rodeo" Center and she is nervous that we are taking someone else's parking spot.  I assure her that it is fine and we start walking towards the building.  I stop her right before we get to the door and hand her the ticket.  She says, "Why do I need this?"  I say, "JUST READ IT" so she starts to read.....

Taylor Swift, AT &T Center....7:00pm....Yada Yada....Again, she ask why do I need this???? SERIOUSLY!!!!!! I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but Common Sense isn't my Bailey's strong suit...Finally I say, " Read the ticket again and try to figure out why we are here." BAM, it clicked!
She throws herself at me and wraps her arms around my Waist and thanks me over and over again. For one minute, I am her HERO!!!! We walk to the doors and hand the Guy our tickets. He wants to search my Purse and proceeds to tell me that I can't take my Camera in because my lens is too large. I don't make it to too many concerts so I was not aware of this rule. The lady next to him says, "You'll have to check it in at the call desk and pick it up after the show." Just use your phone to take pictures, she says. Hmmmm, I've never needed a fancy phone,  therefore my phone is from the Stone age....well not the Stone age, but you catch my drift. IT'S OLD AND DOES NOT HAVE ALL OF THE FANCY FEATURES THAT EVERYONE'S AROUND ME HAD! I didn't even want to pull mine out. There were six year olds that had fancier phones than mine. While we were waiting and waiting and waiting for Taylor Swift to come out, my Daughter's body was suddenly taken over by my Husband, Greg  when she says, "She better hurry up and get out here or we're going to have to leave.  It's getting late and I have to get up early in the morning".  Not to mention she couldn't believe how loud the girls behind us were screaming.  She said, "They're going to bust my ear drums!" Come on Kid, It's a Concert!!!! You're suppose to be loud! (She does not get this stick in the mud mentality from me)  I never realized that Screams could magnify so much, but I enjoyed watching all of these girls being so excited!!!"  Bailey enjoyed turning around staring them down as if to say, STOP IT, YOU'RE SCREAMING IN MY EAR!" I had to tell her a couple of times to quit staring people down and just enjoy it! It's fun!!! Scream a little!   Thank Goodness she came out shortly after that comment was made and Bailey really enjoyed it. We did cut it short because by 10:00pm Bailey was wearing down. We decided to call it a night! 

 Here she is showing off her new Taylor Swift T-shirt as we're leaving the Concert.

Here she is before we even hit the Freeway to head home.

I had a Great Night with my Bailey Girl!   I hope to be able to have more of them in the Near Future!

Well, Maybe a girl's Day!  She can't handle the whole nighttime situation....Greg Jr.

PS:  I have a whole new Respect for Miss Taylor Swift!  I've never been a huge fan, but that girl gives you what you've paid for.  It was like being at a broadway Musical/ Concert. She had more backgrounds, More props, More Dancers & More Wardrobe changes than anyone I've ever seen.  It was like being at the Country Music awards, but with only one singer. 

Special Delivery!

Today, we got a box from the mailman! I don't know about you, but we don't get boxes very often from the mailman, so when we do, it's VERY EXCITING!!! It was addressed to the Kids, from Ninny and Papa and it said POPCORN FACTORY on the side! Who doesn't like a good box of Popcorn?? Kinley was napping when the package arrived and Colton and Bailey were at School, so I decided since it was their name on the box, I would wait and let them open it.  A couple of hours later, Kinley was up, but we still had an hour before the other two got home so I decided to let her open it first. I mean, she would just get pushed to the side when Colton and Bailey got a hold of it anyway,  so why not let her have a little fun too! 

She knew just what to do!  If there is something to get into, she has no problem digging right in! 

 She didn't know what to expect under that lid, but I expected an assortment of different flavored popcorn.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this assortment of Yummyness!

She is use to having to share with her Brother and Sister, so I guess she wanted to grab it all and run before anyone else could get it.  She utilized both hands and her mouth for this task!

This picture was taken after she took off running and then quickly turned around and stared at the tin as if she was contemplating going back for more.  Unfortunately, I made her put it all back and make it look like it hadn't been opened so Bailey and Colton can have the pleasure of opening their Sweet Surprise too!

Finally, they are home and the reopening can begin!

I like how Kinley is looking at it, like she can't wait to see what's inside....even though she already knows!  It's our little secret!

 Check out the excitement on Colton's face and the worry on Kinley's.  She's probably thinking, "I should have never let that go.

 They are in Sugar Heaven!  I think Colton consumes the sugar by sight alone!

Cheese!!!!  Notice, Colton already has Candy hanging out of his teeth!

Colton has also found good use for the Box! 

Thanks Papa and Ninny for the Halloween surprise!  Colton said we'll send you our next Dentist bill!

Picture Day Take ONE!

The minute I hit the enter key on my lap top to pay for School Pictures, I was sorry! Why did I just pay $38 X 2 (both kids) for 1 8X10, 2 5X7's, a few wallets and those little pictures that are pretty much useless! This was the cheapest package I could buy and get the 8X10 for me and the 5X7's for both Grandparents. I know, I know...that's what Scanners are for, but I always like to hand out the real thing. I hate to say this, but my kids aren't cute little 5 years olds anymore. The truth is they're in that awkward snaggle tooth phase and both my seven year olds second front tooth are refusing to come in, so they both have this one BIG tooth hanging down practically screaming, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!!!  I have a few hideous pictures of myself at that age that I could definitely do without! Anyway, Bailey brought her pictures home the other day. I still felt that little bit of excitement when I saw the envelope in her Back Pack but then that excitment quickly went away when  I pulled them out of the package. HOLY SNOT!!!!!    There is was, that BIG TOOTH, but that is not what caught my eye. What caught my eye was the blob of SNOT in her nostril! Yes, there was SNOT in the rim of her nostril! COME ON!!!! I paid what I think is good Money for these pictures, the least you can do is hand my Kid a Kleenex and ask her to blow her nose since obviously she doesn't feel the wetness aka SNOT that is lingering in her nose hole!  GEEEEEZZZZZ!!!!! Then, I realize that the Picture isn't even centered....Are you kidding me???? Did the Second Graders take EACH OTHER'S Pictures this year???? I know, I shouldn't gripe, because I am aware that the photographer is very busy trying to push all of these kids through in a timely manner, but I also know that there are Parent Volunteers there to help comb the hair and make sure there is nothing in your nostril.  Your probably thinking, if you have a problem with the way they handle picture day, then you should just volunteer yourself to make sure that the kids are SNOT free. I get it but because I have a one year old and  no babysitter and I don't have the money to pay for all of the damage that she might have done to their equipment, I could not be there.  All I could do was tell my kids as they walked out the door the morning of picture day was to not get hot and sweaty on the playground and don't stain your clothes before pictures.  Obviously, I failed because I forgot to tell them to check for SNOT before they sat down in front of the camera. Anyway, thank Goodness for retake day! Colton's picture turned out o.k. except for the fact that he decided to pull his Daddy's gold chain that he insist on wearing out at the last minute and let it hang from his Collar. He will not be wearing the chain on retake day and they will both have Kleenex in their pockets.

Another Weekend in Fredericksburg!

As most of you know, the Deer Lease is our Home away from Home. If we are not here on the weekends, more than likely, we are there. It has become a little more difficult to sit and relax while we are there because Kinley is ALL OVER THE PLACE and she loves to be outside. There is so much to get into there so we have to keep a Really close eye on her at all times or she will be GONE!!!!! We figured out this weekend, that the Ranger is a good Babysitter. She loves to just sit and play in it, so we just pulled it up close to all of our chairs and let her play away! It makes for a nice break for all of us who basically take turns running after her.

Ninny and Katie listened to music on Katie's phone while they went on their fake ride!

Saturday, Kinley woke up a little early and was begging to go outside....By begging, I mean bringing me her shoes to put on her feet and then standing at the front door waiting for me to let her out. I took this opportunity to take some sweet pictures of my little mess! I love the facial expressions that she makes!

Next, Aunt Mary had the idea of letting the kids tie dye t-shirts. This was a lot of fun...even for me! First you get a cup (we used coffee cups) and put them inside the shirt and put a rubber band around the rim like this.

Next, take colored markers and draw whatever your little heart desires...

Next, take rubbing alcohol and pour a LITTLE or take a medicine dropper and drop it onto the colors....It will start to spread...take your cup out and move it to a different spot on your shirt and repeat. The Kids had a lot of fun working on their shirts....well everyone but Kinley....she just got in the way every way she could....even while I was trying to take pictures..

Once your done, hang to dry. Here they are sportin' their new shirts!

The kids favorite thing to do while at the Deer Lease is ride the 4 wheelers and the golf cart. This time, they decided to up the excitement by tying a piece of plywood to the back of one of the four wheelers and ride around....this would be called 4 wheeler boarding...I don't have any pics of them standing up, but here's one of the girls sitting.

(I know, I know Mom....It's dark and this is dangerous and why in the world is the baby going along for the ride???? I assure you that they were under CLOSE Adult Supervision, so need to call me and let me know that I should really be careful about doing things like this......I GET IT!!! I'M CAREFUL!)

I'm going to close this blog with a picture of my Kinley (the youngest grandchild) and Katie, my niece (the oldest grandchild) It seems like yesterday that Katie was the only little one running around. Time sure does fly when your having fun!

Until next time....HAPPY BLOGGING!!!!


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