Day 2 road trip fun

3 hours and counting

then we are off to see the house of mud...can't wait to journey half way across the country with the boys and my camera...peace for now...new york and canada - here we come...are you ready?

do NOT panic

its 2:06pm and we are leaving in less than 24 hours and yet i am blogging (ie, procrastinating at its best)...breathe...pack...breathe...pack...how are we every going to fit all this stuff into the van?....

serious to-do lists today

i am a procrastinator...we are leaving for one month for summer vacation TOMORROW...i have a couple things to do today!!

• buy a bathing suit/golf socks for steve
• do 10 loads of wash
• pack for a family of five
• find passports & birth certificates
• close down office/back up office/transport office work
• pack ninetendo/gameboys/ds/leapster/batteries
• pack cell phone/laptop chargers
• snacks-some healthy, some not
• gifts
• get hair colored
• breathe..

peace in the excitement before summer vacation...peace in the road trip from texas to new york...peace in all the great pictures from the beach...

to-do list

• bacardi rum mojito recipe
• pack muddler
• buy bathing suit
• pack anna karenina
• pack chic flic dvds

4 days till we depart

and the to-do lists/the purchase-before-we-depart lists/dont-forget-to-pack lists/the work-piles-that-must-be-done-before-we-leave lists are written and overwhelming but its all good...got the camera packed and the game cube for the boys for the car ride...really what else to we need?? back to crossing off a couple things on the list...

evan almighty

we have gone to more movies in the last year at the theater than in my entire life...the boys are just at the perfect age, although a little does get lost on colin, but they understand the jokes/the plot/the theme/the moral...its really just a fun time...today we went to see this movie and it was a really cute family movie with genesis 6:14 woven into it...lots of ark/animals/special effects mixed in with the dance evan does...the boys laughter is such a great sound...such a peaceful blessed sound.

just hangin'

justin loves his new shirt...he has been wanting one of these sleeveless shirts for ages and i finally let him pick one out for one of his birthday presents...justin loves his new ninetendo ds too...i am going to have to put some time limits on this next week...its been a cloudy, raining week...not much swimming or tanning this week...getting ready for our big trip/big drive next friday...can't believe its only a week away...

tweenager lives here

justin turned TEN yesterday...it seems like just yesterday he was born...no, really it does and now hes into the double digits...yikes...i swear he even looks more grown up today than he did yesterday...we spent his special day doing everything he wanted to do...shopped for his special dinner which included fried chicken(store bought-thank God for HEB cafe) and stoffers macaroni and cheese...dessert was an Oreo chocolate cake with hot fudge sundaes...plenty of cards/gifts/phone calls filled the rest of our day ...mcdonalds for lunch and a nice game of family poker finished off the day....peace.

austin park and pizza

we celebrated justins birthday a day early due to the weather forecast at austins park and pizza and i can now cross off several things on my to do list such as ....play lazertag...drive a go-cart...ride in a water bumper boat and get completely drenched by the boys...spent 6 straight hours acting like a kid...all good stuff and the boys had almost as much fun as steve and i did...heres to just being a kid for a couple hours....

post fathers day fun

we had a busy fathers day...picked steve up at the airport at 10:30am after church...went shopping at HEB while steve took a nap and a shower...went to the hula hut for sun and snacks-it was beautiful outside...had world famous cheeseburgers for dinner...finished off the day with a game of family poker with steves very own poker chips-gift from the boys...great to have steve home...sometimes it is easy to take each other for granted-its not until you have a separation that you truly appreciate ones presence, even in the little day to day activities...peace to having you home again.

golden arches

Mcdonalds fun...something about going to mcdonalds when dad is away..a tradition...one we might have to stop pretty soon because justins food consumption is killing the budget...tonight he ate a 10 piece chicken nugget/1 double cheeseburger/1 soda/half of a hot fudge sundae and half of a m&m mcflurry...honest...

nathan has the gift

last night we watched night at the museum...we saw this at the theater when it first came out but the boys really wanted to watch it again and nathan has the same talent as steve....movie line memorization...he could recite the lines right before they are spoken...scary...even scary is steve demonstrated his talent while we watched animal house last week...its a gift that keeps on giving..haha...now if we could just work on nathan lyrictosis...

where in the world is steve?

look whos at yankee stadium...nice shirt...handsome guy... love you...safe travels...peace

errands take alot longer with kids in tow

just wanted to pick up a couple fathers day gifts this morning...estimated approx 1 hour...actual time 2 1/2 hours...can't just run into barnes and nobles without the boys wanting to look at every magazine, touch every board game, check out all the puzzle books, play with the thomas the train set-up, look for a captain underpants book that they are missing, listen to every musically fathers day card possible...then we had to run over to target because i was not buying a dvd at barnes and nobles that i knew was half the price across the street...again, can't just run into target without looking at the pokemon cards, checking out the video games, attempt to talk mom into buying a new movie for our collection...hence, a couple hours later we finally make it home...the good news, at least i stuck to my list and purchased only fathers day gifts/cards !! yah...no scrapbooking magazines, no new novels to sit on the nightstand, no new dvds to add to the shelf, no trading cards, no $1.oo specials at target - good job...off to the post office...peace.

julie mccoy

your cruise director...keeping these boys occupied without the use of video games is a full time job....yesterday we did some errands which included a trip to toys r us to look around...gotta throw a fun errand in their to keep them in line...hit the pool in the afternoon then went to gattiland for dinner...busy but fun...reporting to duty this am...heres to tuesday...

need a dose of self-control here please

after we dropped off steve at the airport yesterday, we stopped at taget on the way home to pick up milk and a birthday dvd for cousin graham and by the time i got to the cash register, i also had put into the cart (while eating a #1 combo - pop and popcorn for $1.00) a cd storage basket, legally blonde dvd set on sale for $10, the newest oprah book - middlesex, a bottle of champagne, a bob the builder truck for colin, a pack of yu-gi-oh cards for the boys....WHAT IS IT WITH THIS STORE! how come i can not stick to the list...needless to say, we pulled this shopping cart over and emptied everything out of the cart at a closed register except for the food and gift and the boys decided to use their allowance money to purchase the cards and colin used his gift card to buy the truck...i am addicted to target and i need help...must learn to drive past that parking lot...sorry about leaving behind that great pile of treasures yesterday...i'm sure that not the first time....

Happy birthday uncle mike !

this is the life

this is how colin loves to spend his time in the pool...just hanging around...sitting in his tube and floating around the pool...his biggest concern is what kind of beverage to get from the pop machine...gotta love it.

tgif

hello

Fw:

Iet me sleep in your bed!

airport run so soon

the oasis ringing

look who got to ring the sunset bell at the oasis restaurant tonite...our very own curly colin! it was very exciting for all - the waitress came over about a half hour before sunset and asked colin if he wanted to do it and of course he said yes...so he patiently waited till she came back to get him and off they went to the big bell in the middle of the patio and as soon as the last little piece of the sun was gone he rang the big bell and everyone clapped...it was a beautiful sunset especially after the afternoon downpour that we had...glad we had the chance to show ryan and julie the sunset capital in style - complete with the perfect sunset...peace.

Look who came to visit!

this wasn't supposed to go here

smile this was supposed to go to the zangsibling blogspot...not cool...yikes..better go fix this somehow...still gotta love those guys.

Testing. testing. 1.2.3. can i figure out how to send a cell phone picture to my blog??

editted...guess i did it...too cool for school as the boys would say...

peace

there are many things that bring me peace - my one little word for 2007 - thanks to ali edwards web site for setting up the challenge - my peace list today includes (outside the obvious - steve/kids/God) is:

• dvr/hbo on demand...watching tv when i want to not when its time.
• john mayers new cd...continuum.
• donating books to the library.
• palm trees...real ones not the cute lilly pulitzer logo.
• vodka, diet tonic and a lime...summer cocktail time.
• fresh cut lawn...just looks great.
• wintergreen lifesavers...not sure what this craving is about lately.

why i blog

because its easier than finding little pieces of scrap paper everywhere with great stories...this page was ripped from a journal that i started in january 2001...i wrote in it on 6 days only between january 15th and october 2, 2007...at least with blogging its quick, easy and you have a spell check feature! plus i can add cute pictures...now back to this entry dated january 15, 2007...a week earlier, justin had been to the doctors and had to leave a little urine sample in the cup in the bathroom which took us forever(stage fright?) so now back to the current day...justin is 3 1/2 years old and proudly comes walking out of the kitchen bathroom and states that he "peed in the cups just like dr. bonnie wanted me to." and sure enough, i walk into the bathroom and there are 3 dixie cups filled and lined up on the counter! good job justin! i love this story and i love the memory and i had completely forgotten about it until i found these three pages ripped from a journal that i obviously threw away but couldn't bear to throw away these precious pages...thank goodness...its the everyday stuff that makes you laugh...that keeps you going...that brings a smile to ones face...and this is why i blog...and this is why i scrapbook...

the heart award

nathan was awarded the heart award at our football celebration party last week at gattiland...thats nathan, always putting his whole heart into it, whether its football, school, church or just playing outside...may you always have such a wonderful characteristic...its such a joy that others see it in nathan as well...you go nate...

flush & straights

yes, now i know what these are...the boys - all 4 - decided to teach me how to play texas hold'em poker last night and as so predicted they bugged me ALL morning to play another hand with them...is this illegal? is betting your entire allowance that you have yet to receive a value i really want to teach them (just jokin') no money involved YET...i prefer to look at this as a good lesson in statistics...back to dealin'....

do not touch

yesterday i did not turn on the computer...i had a silent protest against it...it was good...it was scary...was i missing an important email? would i regret that i did not have a blog posting on tuesday, may 29, 2007 in the future? what would i do with the extra minutes/hours(?) that i gained by not spending time on the internet? well, i survived and it actually felt good...i compare it to my hair maintenance program-i used to spend 30 minutes every morning washing/blow drying/straightening my hair vs. the wash/gel/air dry natural look which takes 2 minutes not to mention how much healthier my hair must be now...now i am in search of what do i actually do with this gained time everyday...i know for absolute certain that i sleep more now than when the boys were little...and i really love my 8 hours of solid heavenly uninterrupted sleep...can't survive without it...hence the reason i make the bed the first thing in the morning to i am not tempted to return to the king size 600 count white egyptian cotton 7 pillow heaven...how did we survive before this one extravagant little luxury?...we do so appreciate it now thats for sure...heres to hoping today is a little more organized and productive than the past couple days...our summer vacation time needs a make over starting today...

predictions

i predict we are going to have papa murphys pizza on saturday night and watch spiderman on tv/go to early service on sunday morning followed by a boat ride on the watsons boat, lunch at the lakeway restaurant and afternoon of tubing on lake travis followed by dinner at the hudsons sunday evening/memorial day bbq at our house with the hudsons', jones', and smiths'....pretty good holiday weekend and i predict that despite the rainy forecast for the entire weekend, i feel that it will only rain monday morning and clear up in plenty of time for our cookout...i also predict that i will write this blog days after our fun weekend on a post that i never finished....

first day

of summer vacation for justin and nathan...it always seems like such a noisy overwhelming day as we figure out new routines...as we figure out how to get along all day together...as we figure out how much computer time/video time/tv time should be allowed...as we figure out a new bedtime...lots of changes starting...just going with the flow of it today and tomorrow...just enjoying the moment...just enjoying the boys...just enjoying all the blessings in our lives...we are truly blessed...peace in the changes that today brings.

do not panic...

but the school year is done...the bus has gone by at 3:15pm for the last time until august 27th...yes, austin has decided to change the school calendar thus resulting in a very long summer vacation this year...thank you for waiting for us to move here...13 1/2 weeks of summer fun...julie mccoy your cruise director is reporting to duty tomorrow morning...not sure about the time yet...

the day b4 the last

yikes! where did the school year go to? i woke up in the middle of the night in a panic because i'm now the mother of a soon-to-be forth grader, third grader and a kindergartner...cold sweat filled my body...when did this happen? seriously? have i been asleep/drugged/in a daze/in a coma for the past 10 years...WHERE DID ALL THOSE DAYS/MONTHS/YEARS GO?...i am not at peace right now...when did i grow up and get older?...this can not be happening to me...stop!! i want everything to stand still...FREEZE! just for today...ok, breathe...this is normal...the circle of life...enjoy now/today/this time/this place/this life...its all good.

date nights

are good...are fun...are a necessity...last night we went on date night to the domain- a new little mini new york like shopping block-shops/restaurants/condos/starbucks all mixed in with art and trees...it was so wonderful to be alone together without kids...to actual start and finish a sentence without being interrupted...to walk hand in hand...to leisurely shop for an outfit, not just buy anything that looks like it might fit without trying it on...to enjoy a nice meal with a great waiter...to wear a sundress at 10pm and still be warm without a sweater...its all good!

found

i often write down funny things that the boys say on an index card and throw them in a box for future reference..and today i found a curly colin classic from 12/29/2006 he said while i was giving him a shower -

"mom, is the opposite of shampoo - shampee?"

silly, fun stuff that makes up the wonderful life !

scrap paper

i often jot down funny things that the boys do or say on a scrap piece of paper and throw them in the kitchen drawer to use for future reference and i just found a pile of them from october thru december of last year...what a treasure just to find these little pieces of life...i had to share nathans new good night prayers from october 2006:

i love daddy because he's really smart.
i love mommy because she has a big heart.
i love justin because he's really cool.
i love myself because i'm good in school.
i love colin because he's young and brave.
i love everyone because everyone behaves.

good good stuff.

how mobile am i ...

this is the scrapbooking cart...i can move it from room to room...sometimes its in the kitchen...sometimes the great room....sometimes the bedroom-near the computer...i love the fact that i can just wheel it into the hall closet when company comes...the slideout keyboard drawer is perfect for all my favorite paper and cutting mats...how fun is this great hobby of mine...i am so blessed to have the time to create something every week and so blessed that steve doesn't think i'm a total nut case-sometimes i'll spend an hour at the store searching for just the right piece of cardstock to match a certain picture...crazy good stuff...i'm slowly grasping the big picture of life and i really believe that scrapbooking has helped me in this journey...everyday is a gift from God and worthy of a precious moment and a page in the album...don't miss the joy of the little things...enjoy the everyday...this is life and i love it.

instructional manuals are good

no really they are! i am a stubborn individual at times (being a wife and mother can really change one - for the better) but i usually do NOT read an instruction manual...too boring/too long/why bother...but recently i found out some very good reasons why God actually created them. ever since we bought our new minivan, there would be times when i would come out to the car and all the windows would be down-sometimes just a crack, other times all the way down...after this incident happened about 10 times, thus confirming the fact in my mind that i was not crazy...not sure why i let this go on for so long....especially when you get out of target only to find it raining inside the car....i was on the verge of driving this thing over to the honda dealer and telling them that they sold me a defective/possessed van when my stubborn self thought that maybe i was doing something to the car to make this 'window thing' happen...well, after some heavy duty reading in the manual...i was in fact causing the windows to go down...how? when you unlock the doors once - the driver side unlocks, when you push the unlock button again - all the doors unlock AND if you continue to hold the unlock button after the second hit...all the windows go down until you release the button !!! who ever thought or that and more importantly why and i will go have my eyes examined soon because one would think that after all this time, i would have at least SAW the windows going down. but here is the funny part, i love this option, now that i know it exists...it helps to cool the car down before you even get to it so you don't have that wave of heat hit you when you open the door....cool stuff...kinda wondering what else this car/computer/appliance/gameboy can do if i only took the time to do a little reading...maybe i'll throw a couple instruction manuals on the coffee table...peace in all things today!

self control today

yes, i'd love to go to archivers today but i must catch up with my office work first...i would probably feel guity going knowing that a huge pile of work was waiting for me at home. yes, i'd love to go to hobby lobby today to use my sunday coupon...but what on earth do i really need? i have more stuff than i truly need...i need to start using up all my favorite stuff now and stop saving it for that special page/special picture/special event. yes, i'd love to go to borders today...but i have at least 10 books here to read first before i spend more money on new books that will be at the library soon enough. SOOOO we are going to stay home today and get caught up and organized and throw out some clutter. now where to start? office stuff/scrapbook stuff/kids school papers drawer/reprint the address book/sort out the 2007 photos stacked in a huge pile next to my scrapbook table/figure out how to upload and order more pictures....gotta go...lots to do...

eat.pray and love.

i'm reading this great book right now...its a nonfiction book which is not usually my type but this is just a good read...one of those makes you think and rethink about all the little things that are so beautiful right around you now...how to just appreciate life everyday...i just don't want this book to end...but soon enough i'll be on the hunt for a new book.
10 things to do today:

• catch up on office work/invoice/pay bills
• laundry
• call home defense about those little tiny ants in the kitchen
• check txtag account
• clean email/scan disk/defrag
• start tomorrows to do list
• post office to buy 2 cent stamps
• finish current scrapbook lo
• call debbie to say thanks for goodie box
• call mom just to say hi

it doesn't look like much but it will keep me busy enough today...

monday

its all about the artwork today...when i went to colins nursery school program last week and saw his artwork hanging on the bulletin board i realized that unlike child #1 and #2 i "forgot" to teach colin how to color...yikes!! so now we are having a crash course in coloring 101 with a new box of 48 crayola crayons and a tonka coloring book...we are also working on drawing 101 as an alternate class and look what colin produced today while we were at nathans authors tea program at school today...we are making up for lost time...tonight nathan had his football party at gattiland and this year he received "THE HEART AWARD"...and that is nathan - he puts his whole heart into anything and everything...i love this characteristic about nathan now, in another 8 years when some girl is breaking his heart, it will be another story....

happy mothers day

everyday ! i am blessed and everyday here is mothers day...i celebrate/love/enjoy/appreciate my role as mom everyday...i've grown into a much better mommy everyday...it's definitely a learning-on-the-job role...no two day are alike...no two children are alike...no two questions/problems are alike...no operating manual included...i'm learning 3rd grade math again/i'm learning the correct method of 2nd grade cursive writing/i'm learning the difference between a long 'a' and a short 'a' from nursery school...i'm a healer/cook/chauffeur/tutor/maid/listener/mediator/cleaner/problem solver/teacher/encourager/supporter/football cheerleader/photographer all in one day! our mothers day today was a perfect day...church/homemade gifts/sunny and 90 degrees/sitting by the pool/cheeseburgers on the grill/new episode of entourage kinda day...saturday was also the perfect mothers day filled with flag football playoff games x four then dinner at the oasis with a perfect combination of sun and breeze as we overlooked lake travis...talk about quality time with all my boys! couldn't ask for anything more...love life everyday...peace

all work and no play isn't fun..

so colin and i motivated ourselves to clean the entire house followed by a swim at the pool...it worked...we cleaned/vacuumed/washed floors/scrubbed sinks from 7am till 1pm and then we hit the pool...of course all morning while we were inside it was beautiful and sunny outside, the minute we hit the pool - the big old clouds came rolling in...oh, well...we still had a nice time just relaxing instead of working on the forever growing to-do list...i am realizing that you could clean every minute of every day and the house still wouldn't be clean...learning in my old age...the boys won't remember a clean house but they will remember the fun memories and quality time spent together...heres to quality time this weekend...peace.

my nursery school days are over

today is colins last day of nursery school...i can't remember justin or nathans last day because i was running on the survival mode method of mothering but today i'm very sad...i/we've been so in tune with every event in colins life probably because he is the baby/probably because we know that with each milestone we know its our last time/probably because we really have been able to enjoy him/probably because we were older, better(?), more experienced, more relaxed parents...steve and i often comment how much we have been able to just enjoy him for all the reasons listed above ( and probably more that we don't even realize yet)...so today i'm sad because time is just going TOO FAST and i have no control over it and my baby is going off to kindergarten soon...note to self: better stop calling him 'baby'...not cool at the bus stop...another milestone in our lives comes to an end today - nursery school. by the way, i actually do remember both justin and nathan graduation...had to really think but i do remember so maybe i'm not the worst mother in the world...(thank God for cameras/pictures...they do help the memory process!)...its ok...i won't be sad all day...i've got a great graduation program to get to...peace in all milestones today....

where did that week go?

thursday...departed for buffalo for michaels med school graduation/arrived in buffalo at 10pm/chatted till 2:30am.
friday...awards ceremony at ub with breakfast 8am/home for showers and takeout lunch/back to ub at 1pm for ceremony/pictures after/fox valley 5:30pm/home at 11pm/more chatting till 1am
saturday...up and on flight at 10:45am/home in austin by 4pm/host poker family fun nite here till 145am
sunday...church at 11:15am/first time going to the late service/buffalo sabers hockey game on tv at 1pm/hot dogs on the grill for dinner/new sopranos and entourage tonight
monday...catch-up on wash/cleaning/office work/grocery shopping/football practice
tuesday...volunteer at school/check out the new archives store in cedar park-well worth the 20 minute drive + i've been dying to see it since i landed on saturday/chicken tetrazzini for dinner
wednesday...kindergarten orientation at our new school union hill at 9am/mail mothers day cards and presents/bank/party city to prepare for colins last day of school tomorrow/catch up on blog. YOU ARE HERE NOW.

finger painting

we are finger painting and its not even 9am...gotta get those creative juices flowing early around here today...lots to do before i leave for buffalo tomorrow for mikes graduation...but first i must finish mikes memory book and i've hit a creative wall...not sure how to get out of it but i better figure it out now...read an excerpt from this book and thought it would be a great read for mike...need to wrap it up...ok, its 9:01am and the finger painting is over - took longer to get everything set up...on to the next activity...i'm off to clean the table up...so much for being a productive day - just gonna go with the flow today...