Been a while...

It has been a while since I have blogged. We have just been so busy making repairs on the house and Dylan's school and football. Everything is going good though. We have had our roof repaired and the sheetrock replaced. We are having another company come out and give an estimate on our fence today. Hopefully they will be cheaper than the first guy that came out. I have one bid on the carpet in Brady's room but it is just absolutely outrageous so I am thinking we will go down to Lowes and let them do it for much cheaper and I have heard they do a good job.

Dylan is making all A's in school so far this year. I am EXTREMELY proud of him and it just goes to show that the teacher a child has makes a world of diffrence. He is doing very well in football. The coaches call him the bull. He thinks he is the king of the world. It is hilarious!! He also carved his first pumpkin by himself this year. It turned out very good!!

Brady is running everywhere and getting into everything he is not supposed to. Says lots of words and has just started pointing. He is definitely something else. This age is so fun!!

DH is finally getting a break from work and is back to his regular schedule rather than 7 12's. Which is awesome because I get a little break now. I got to stay home last night with Brady while he took Dylan to practice which was very nice.

I will try to start posting and updating more often.

Let's get the ball rolling!!

Our insurance adjuster finally came out and took pictures and did all that was needed to get the ball rolling on getting us our check. I have called contractor after contractor and no one seems to return calls. I have had 2 out of oh about 25 or so call back....seriously. This is ridiculous. I know they are busy and I really try to be patient but I really can not stand when someone says they will call me back before the end of the day and they don't. That is one of my major pet peeves. I am the type of person if I say I am going to do something I will do it come hail or high water. It really just ticks me off so bad!!! Anyways the contractor that came in and fixed the huge mess the first contractor made after Rita is one of the ones who called back. He is supposed to come out tomorrow and give us an estimate. The only things that need to be done asap are the roof repairs and the sheetrock over my stove so I don't have this huge hole in the ceiling. Well it is not really huge but it is big enough for Brady to stare at it and point and wonder what the heck is wrong!! Not to mention that so much heat comes in right there and it is already super hot in the kitchen when I am cooking as is. I do not want to see my electric bill this month that is for sure!!

Party Time!! Finally!!

We were finally able to have Brady's party!! It was so much fun and he really enjoyed the cake!!
Sorry for the pic overload but couldn't choose my favorites. Hope you enjoy!!

Here is his cookie cake. I also made cupcakes which were his favorite.
This was all of his birthday gear!! Most of which he refused to wear!! Forgot to rotate pic.....sorry!!
The decor. We went with the First Birthday Boy hugs and stitches theme.

His balloons which he also loved.
My little birthday boy!! He is such a ham!!
He refused to keep his hat on!!
Singing Happy Birthday!!! He kept trying to get the candle.

Blowing out the candle!! All he was worried about was the cupcake!!
Ahhhh........finally!! The sweet taste of success.




I love his face in this picture!!

Opening up his gifts!!

One of his new rides. He also got a little 4-wheeler but couldn't get a picture because he stayed on this one. It was his favorite gift!!


Here is an extra!! This is what happens when big brothers leave their pudding to close to the edge of the table!! He had that container up to his face just digging in!! It was too cute!!

The wrath of Ike

We were very fortunate that the damage was as minimal as it is. We are able to live in our house and I am very thankful for that. Ike did cause a huge upheaval in our lives as far as having to evacuate and hotel it with two little ones that do not like to be holed up in a room, having to re-schedule Brady's party and now the whole getting everything back in order and cleaned up around the house.

1st pic is the mold overmy stove in the kitchen.

2nd is where the back door to my laundry room was blown open and all the leaves, dirt and rain got in.

3rd and 4th is part of the awning that covered my back porch. Half of it is on my house the other half is in the ditch.

5th pic is my porch where it was busted up.

We also had a branch through one of the lids on my septic tank, the wiring to my well was ripped apart, the carpet in Brady's room was wet because it buts up to my laundry room and my fence was leaning and had som broken/missing post from where the awning hit and flew into the ditch. My yard is trashed due to the branches and pine needles everywhere. Like I said it could be much worse.

Are you ready for some football??

Dylan had his first football game today!! It was so much fun. They lost but still did really well. Dylan got a flag and was always right in the middle of everone trying to make a play. It was so cute!! Time was just short of them tying the game up. What sucks though is I forgot my camera. I could not beleive it. I guess I will have to get some pics at his next game on Saturday.

While we were there Brady fell head first on the concrete track that goes around the ball field and now has a boo boo on his head. Poor little guy.

Very LONG weekend

Oh gosh this was a very long weekend and not in a nice DH home from work relaxing holiday weekend kind of way.

It all started with Friday trying to get our lawn mowed after DH got off of work for if the hurricane hit here it would not need to be mowed too soon afterwards. Then Saturday packing and loading the vehicles up to head out of town. Which DH had to do most of the loading because I am still on the lifting ban. (fun fun fun)

Then Sunday morning came super early at 3am and after me not sleeping a single minute due to stress and then heading out for Oklahoma at 4am. The drive there was OK and we had no traffic and Brady slept most of the time so it was not so bad. We got to Oklahoma 5 hours before we could check in so we went and had Arby's for lunch and took the kids to the park so they could stretch their legs, play and feed the ducks. Sorry no pics camera was packed away with the millions of other things loaded in our vehicles. Then it got soooo hot so we just went to the hotel and hung out in the lobby until they had our rooms cleaned. Took the boys out for a swim and then inside to try and sleep because 6 hours of driving is very exhausting. Well sleep did not come easily. Some idiots down the hall decided they were going to move out at 2am and scream and stomp down the hall like it was the middle of the damn day. Needless to say no one slept good at all.

Morning comes and we discover that for the second night in a row Brady had decided he didn't want his diaper on at some point in the middle of the night so the playpen and blankets were pee soaked. YUK!!! We watch the news for a bit and see that we are not expecting much from Gustav after all so we load up all 4 ice chests (I had packed most of my food to try and salvage it for in case we lost electricity.) and all of other luggage and head back home for Texas.

The drive home was not near as pleasant as the drive there. Brady was fussy and so sick of being in the car as were the rest of us which makes for a super grumpy and even more tense mommy. We even had some bad weather in some parts of Texas on the way home but it only got so bad you could not see at one point and it did not last long. I HATE driving in weather and I am sure I looked like a little ole'gramma with white knuckles hanging on to the wheel.

Needless to say we make it home in one piece and we are getting a very small amount of rain and a little bit of winds. Nothing at all compared to what we were expecitng to get in the beginning of all of this. So our Labor day was spent driving home and unpacking everything that we had loaded the day before. I must say I would definitely do it again though just to be safe. I would much rather do all of that for no reason than to come home to what we came home to after Rita.

It feels so good to be home and feels as thought we were away for weeks, I guess due to the all the driving and no sleep. I did sleep like a log last night but still feel exhausted tonight and my bed sure is looking good right now. Can't wait to hit the sack.

Here we go again

There is another storm in the gulf!! I will begin packing up important papers and things that can not be replaced tomorrow and also filming the entire house for insurance purposes. Hopefully I will end up packing and filming for no reason and we end up not having to evacuate. I can not imagine how it will go this time with Brady if we do have to leave and I dread it if it does come down to that. It looks like he is going to be pretty strong when he does hit. I really hate this time of year. I can not wait for winter so I will not have to worry about this....at least not until the next hurricane season.

Rita really tore my house up in 2005. We had just closed on our house in June and Rita came in September. So we had only been in our house for 3 months when Rita came and we were having to live with my mom for 6 months after that while repairs were being made. I look back at the before and after pictures of the house and can't not beleive the damage she caused. I really hope that we do not have to go through that again.

Playing hookey!!

We are playing hookey from football practice tonight. I am just exhausted with Brady being sick and everything that has been going on I called the head coach and told him were not making it. It is so nice to sit at home and relax and not having to worry about getting home in time for baths or bedtime. I think 4 days a week of practice with school and everything else is just way to much for these little ones.

First Day!!!

He had a WONDERFUL day!! He said he loves school. This is coming from a child who hated Kindergarten last year. I am absolutely thrilled that he is so happy and excited about school this year. He said the only thing he did not like was that recess was not very long. LOL!! He loves his teacher. I think his teacher last year is what made him despise school so much. She was way too hard on these children. She should have been teaching Junior High or High School. Way to hard for Kindergarteners. I remember I was at the school one day for a class party and he spilled his drink and she got an attitude with him about it.. Hello 6 year olds do spill at times. Mind you she did this in front of me so no telling how she is with no parents in the room. Oh and she did not get excited or happy over anything and I feel that children that age need the enthusiasm to make them want to learn.

Anyways--this year is off to a good start hopefully it will continue!!!!

Almost 100%

It has almost been 1 week since my appendectomy. In fact 1am tomorrow morning will be exactly a week since they wheeled me back to the OR. Such a scary thing for me since I have never been in surgery or put to sleep. I was very very afraid of being put to sleep but now that it is over I am fine with it. I think alot of my anxieties were from watching that movie "Awake". Ugh I can not imagine. I remember waking up in recovery and thinking I am alive. I remeber my nose itching so bad I wanted to scratch it off and asking where my DH was and when I could see him. My mouth was dry and that poor nurse was probly so sick of me asking for ice chips.

I did not have to stay in the hospital for long which was wonderful. In fact it was less than 24 hours we were there. I was glad to be at home so soon in my own comfort zone. Although I was very happy with all of my nurses and the level of care they gave me. My nurse at the time of discharge was awesome!! She kinda hung out in my room and chatted for a while when she was not busy.

I am still a little sore in my belly button but the other 2 incisions do not hurt at all unless I laugh or move too sharp and pull at them. Other than that I am pretty much 100% as far as how my body feels. I can tell you the pain immediately after surgery was a walk in the park compared to what I was feeling when we headed to the ER. Good thing is the appendix is gone now and I do not have to worry about that again.

As for my feeling they are bruised. Not being able to pick up Brady has been and is still very hard for me. Some of my wonderful friends have enlightened me on ways I can still get close to him without lifting or pulling my incisions. I did have DH put Brady in the tub last night and stand with me so I could bathe him. I had him put him in my lap again last night and he was actually still this time and let me love and cuddle with him. It is slowly getting better now that I am getting around more and more. I just can't wait until I do not have to rely on someone else to take care of my responsiblity.

I must say this first week my mom has been my saviour. She has been over here everyday all day and sometimes into the night to take care of Brady and also me when we first came home and I could not get around good on my own. She has helped get Dylan to practice and to his 1st grade orientation. I honestly do not know what I would hav edone without her.

Sleepless nights...

SUCK!!! As I type Brady is sleeping soundly in his bed, Dylan is at his Grammy's because he went to the races with them and did not get in until midnight and DH is snoring. I hate it that I am so tired and just can not sleep. My stomach is turning and my lower back is hurting. I think it may be something we ate that has me tore up. I am hoping that staring at this computer screen and the Tylenol I just took will make me very very sleepy. Enough so that when I go lay back down I will fall fast asleep.

Oh and as for the pics that seems to be Bradys new favorite thing to do. He thinks he is so grown. He is walking everywhere now and has practically given up on crawling unless he can not get somewhere fast enough by walking. It is so unreal to me that he will be a year old in less than a month and that my big boy will be starting 1st grade in 1 week. They grow up way too fast.

Fantasy Football

DH is playing in a fantasy football league again this year. He also decided that it would be a great idea to host the draft at my house. My house that I am going to have to load up my two kids on Sunday and find somewhere to go for 4 or more hours. Last year it took 6 hours. Not to mention later today I have to head to the store to pick up drinks, plates, cups and all that good stuff for them!! At least since I won't be here for it I won't have to worry about getting the pizzas or setting everything up. Yet when I get home I get the joy of cleaning up after 10 guys!! WooHoo. Totally my idea of fun. Men just do not think of these things when they come up with their wonderful ideas. I must say though that my DH will probly help with the clean up and all but still.....

Sorry for the rant but I do feel much better!!

Fun Fun Fun

Having 4 kids all day is actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Now if all 4 of them were mine I am sure it would be diffrent because they always say LO's are always better when they are not with their mommas. Well the 2 little girls I am watching are so good. The youngest only goes wild if they are all 4 playing together but if the 2 oldest and the 2 youngest are together but seperated I don't even realize I have extra kids here. Dylan on the other hand is such a handful lately. It is driving me crazy. I swear he thinks he is the boss of everyone in this house. I sure hope this attitude passes soon with him.

Wednesdays and possibly a day on the weekend are the only days I actually get to stay home all day. Mon., Tues., Thur., and Fri. we have football practice. This is the second week of it and I am already praying for rainouts. It is awful hot. At least DH or myself stays home with Brady and the other goes to watch Dylan. He is doing great the first week I was wondering because he was soooo tired and sore. I did not know if he was going to want to continue playing or not. Now he is fine with it. So the two girls leave around 4:30 then at 5 we head out to practice and do not get home until 8. At least tomorrow is Friday and she gets out of school at 2 so she will come and get the girls and I will have an extra 2 hours!! WOO HOO!!

Sorry.....

that I have not been keeping up with this. We have been very busy this past week. I had several promises to Dylan and my little brother that I had to fufill before school start in 2 weeks. Not to mention I will start keeping my friends 2 DD's on Monday.

On Monday of last week we went to Chuck E Cheese the boys had a blast.




Then on Thursday we went to The Childrens Museum in Lake Charles , LA and that was also a blast!! We will definitely be going back there.

Then on Friday we went to the waterpark but I forgot my camera at home so I am sorry no pics of that. That was also very fun!!!

Needless to say all promises that were made have been taken care of!! Whew...that was alot to do in one week though!!! Hopefully things have settled and I can be on more than I have been lately!!

Feelin' like crap!!

My friend called today and she had a 7 year old daughter who is in gymnastics. She asked if Dylan could go to a lock in fundraiser that they were having from 9pm tonight untill 8am tomorrow morning. I thought about it and thought about it and said yeah I guess. Around 6 I started to feel so uneasy about the whole thing because he has never really been away from me for something like that and I really don't know any of the people who are going to be watching the kids. My friend said they are great and I trust her but I still was not comfortable with the whole situation and was getting really nauseous. So I called her up and told her I had changed my mind and just could not let Dylan go. When I told Dylan that I changed my mind he bawled his little eyes out and made me feel like a piece of crap. I never get weird feelings like that and I feel like I have made the best decision. He is only 6 years old. I honestly think he is still to young.....or is it just me not wanting him to grow up?!?!? Who knows. Anyways I think my friend may be mad at me which I totally understand why seeing how I told her yes one minute and changed it another but even when I had said yes in the beginning I let her know that I was not quite so sure about the whole thing. I really feel bad because she had already told Destiny(her DD) that Dylan would be going so I really hope she is not upset. My friend said that a few of her friends would be there so hopefully she will forget all about Dylan supposed to be there.

Anyways.....to cheer Dylan up I went and rented him a game and got him a milkshake and we all played the game with him and had a really good time. I think he had totally forgot that he is missing out on that little lock in.

Working woman!!

I actually worked from 10-4 today and will again tomorrow. The manager at my job I used to have went on vacation and asked if I would fill in!! I don't mind because my mom is off of work for summer (she works at the High School) and so she keeps the boys for me and I get to make a little extra money. Every little bit helps with the way prices are so high right now. It is actually slow during the week so I got to sit and read my book for most of the day. Ended up finishing off Picture Perfect and starting Mercy. It feels so weird to be working even though I know it is for only 2 days. The owner still thinks I am coming back full time despite me telling him over and over that I am not!!

Fear and excitement

That is what my day has been filled with.

Fear~I have been scared to death for the last month and a half to go to the Dr. and get this pain I have been dealing with checked out. I went in today and she thinks it is a stomach ulcer although if the pain gets any worse I am to go to the ER because it could be my Gall Bladder. I hope like hell it is not my Gall Bladder because I am totally terrified of being put to sleep if it needs to be removed.

Excitement~My brother will be home around midnight tonight!!! I am so excited even though I will not get to see him until tomorrow morning. Dylan can not control himself and wanted to spend the night at my mom's so he could see him as soon as he got home. I did not allow that because my dad will be staying at my house before heading back to his house in Tennesse and he has not seen Dylan in a long time and has NEVER seen Brady. I am pretty sure I can count the number of times he has seen Dylan on my 2 hands and he is 6 years old. Sad huh!! Beleive me it really is better that way but that is a whole nother blog so I will not go into it to much!!

Rain, Rain....

It has done nothing but rain today!! I really wanted to get out of the house today but that definitely did not happen. I really needed to go to the store and get a few things. Oh well I guess I can go tomorrow if it does not rain. When it rains like this it makes me want to sleep all day long.

I'm so excited my brother is coming home on Saturday. He has been in Tennesse at our dad's house for 2 months. Dylan has been so bored with him gone because they usually spend so much time together. I am sure we will be spening all weekend at my moms visiting with him. Maybe now Dylan won't be complaining of boredom so much!!!

Holy soreness

Yesterday after I got home from Louisianna with my mom she took Brady home with her and Dylan and I hit the water slides again for an hour. This time since my mom had Brady I told Dylan I would slide with him. Holy cow I am so sore. I am sore in places I never knew I could be sore in. Then my hubby asks "How are you sore from sliding?" Uhhhhhh hello those darn slides throw you every which way and all the climbing stairs over and over for an hour. Yeah he would be sore too. Needless to say Dylan had a blast racing me down and that is all that matters.

Nothing new

Nothing really new going on over here today. Here are a few pics for ya. I did get to get one of Brady standing on the dishwasher door. I waited until hubby was home and could be behind ready for if he went to fall. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.