Catch Up Day

Today, the local Laundromat made enough money off of me to stay open for at least another month! Seriously. Do people realize that 2 trips to the laundromat would completely pay for a washer and dryer of their very own? Whatever happened to $.75 washers and $.50 washers? Do you know that inflation has driven the cost of washing a load of clothes up to $6.00 a load??? That's just the washer! And I did about 7 loads in the commercial sized washers, so you do the math! And why would I spend my hard earned money on the laundry you ask? Well, over the course of the last few weeks, the laundry was one of the many things that got tossed to the side. I just haven't been home long enough to complete a full load. Cary's been turning his undies inside out for quite some time. No, I'm kidding. I think he actually went to Walmart last week and bought a few more packs of drawers. Poor guy. Anyways, my dryer is slower than a turtle walking thru a puddle of syrup. Thus, we would have been decoratin' a freakin Christmas tree by the time I finished all my laundry. I thought it would save me a few brain cells and some sanity to just go get it all done at one time. Now, have any of you ever gone to the laundromat with your children on a hot summer day in a small redneck sort of town?

My day went a little something like this...

I am NOT gonna tell you again, GET OUT of that laundry cart. I don't care if Daddy pushes you around in it when he brings you here!

You're gonna make that cart flip over. I told you you were gonna make that cart flip over.

PLEASE keep your shoes ON! What do you mean you put your shoes in the washer? Yeah, you're right. They were pretty dirty.

Yes, you may read the Avon catalog. No, I'm pretty sure it doesn't belong to the big scary man who was sitting there.

I'm so sorry Ma'am. My daughter is really fascinated with tattoos. Too much Miami Ink???

What happened to all my quarters? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU PUT THEM IN THOSE EMPTY MACHINES??????????????????

Okay, so they were pretty good, really. I mean considering it was a million degrees outside and they had to entertain themselves somehow for 2 hours! But I'm not exaggerating. Those are all statements I made today at the laundromat! And then I had to come home and clean out some drawers just to fit everything in them! I don't think ALL of our clothing has ever been cleaned all at the same time! I also got my house spick and span today, even got the floors mopped! Clean clothes. Clean house. Clean bodies. Does it get any better? If I was a kitty cat, I'd be purrin' right about now! Prrrr, prrr, prrrrrrrr....

I'm married to a rockstar...or something like that

Here are 2 videos from VBS of Cary and team doing the Round Up Song. The second video is the funniest, that's his bull at the rodeo dance. Oh and he's the one in a white shirt with suspenders and jeans. Kathryn's husband, John, (Circus of Love) is on the far end in a red plaid shirt. I apologize for the sorry quality here, this was filmed from my little digital camera.

Blizzard Warning...Brrrrr

Boy that got your attention huh? It's hot as blazes here! BUT...we went to Blizzard Beach today for some fun in the sun. We discovered online that it was not much more to buy an annual pass to the Disney Waterparks to go any day after 2 p.m. than it is for a one day pass. So we upgraded and got the annual pass. We don't seem to make it out of the house before 2 p.m. anyways, what the heck! Even if we only used it twice, it would pay for itself! The girls had a great time. Cary and I have two words to describe Blizzard Beach...DATE NIGHT! Oh yeah baby! Seriously, we're gonna get us some sitters and just have our date nights at the water park. We were reminiscing today about how just a few years ago we thought we were in heaven at the city of Hurst water park, which cost just a $1 to get in for Hurst residents. We went DAILY. And now here we are in vacation paradise, with a season pass to the mother of all waterparks cause Disney doesn't do anything halfway! Oh yes, it certainly pays to follow God's will for your life doesn't it?

I wish I could say I took TONS of pictures of the girls at the waterpark today, and of Lexi going down the waterslides (oh yes she did, big girl!) But I didn't take a single one! My camera card is all full of videos of Daddy jumping around on stage at VBS like a bull at the rodeo! I will eventually download those videos on here. Because I know you won't sleep until you see them. When I have time to breathe again! Good heavens. Would you believe I had to work today? And I kind of have a full plate of work stuff this week too. No rest for the weary.

gotta lil hitch in my get a long

Whew! I'm WIPED out! Could hardly get out of bed this morning and I will probably fall asleep on my computer before I finish this post, so if you start to see a bunch of letters running together...well, that means my head just hit the keyboard and I'm OUT! Well, day 2 of VBS is over! 3 more days to go! It's going well. We had 176 kids tonight. The nightly shows have been pure greatness with my husband playing the part of Cookie and Kathryn's husband (bloggin buddy, Circus of Love) playing the part of Tex. I'm not sure who is enjoying it more, the kids or the adults. The BEST thing about the week so far has been the amazing volunteers that have graced us with their service. We've had over 70 volunteers and I've actually had to turn people away because we are truly fully staffed! What an incredible problem to have right? It's been so neat to see people who don't normally volunteer for children's ministry having such a great time and being so good at what they're doing. We have volunteers of all ages too, young and old and everything in between.

On another note, there were more break ins a few neighborhoods down from mine this week and I think more today too. Well, the police helicopter was circling above us for more than 30 minutes this morning at the same time of day the other break ins have been occuring. I'm so freaked out! But I was telling a friend today that if they broke into our house, they would be SORELY disappointed! In fact, they would probably sue us because I'm sure they would injure themselves getting in the all glass doors, only to get inside and see that we have NOTHING worth steeling! We have no plasmas, no DVD players, no stereos or surround sound systems, no techno gadgets, no blingy jewelry, just T.V.'s that won't work in a few months without a digital converter box!

wlekjlkwjerwerlwkejrlwkewfrflkewklejrlwkjlwjerljwljerljwerjkwlekrjwlkjerljwerj...(I'm snoring!)

Gator Tails and Puppy Dogs

Today we went to a local favorite, The Catfish Place. It's not terribly great, but we have a big ol' whoppin 4 restaurants in town including McDonalds and Burger King so there's not much to choose from. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. But really, the restaurant selection is bluh! Cary ordered gator tails (which is on the KIDS MENU if that tells you anything about our crazy redneck town!) He gave Lexi a bite and she actually liked it. She was very impressed with herself for eating a gator. As was I! Then she ate some hush puppies. And she said, "Momma, did I have gators and puppy dogs for lunch?" I didn't quite know where she was coming from on that one, so I was momentarily puzzled. And then it hit me...HUSH PUPPIES....PUPPY DOGS!!! We all had a good laugh and I explained that no, she was not eating dog meat! We are not Chinese.

Speaking of dogs, my dog has been terribly neglected lately. I must go lay on her for a while and kiss her little wet nose. There is nothing like a fur baby!

It's Round Up Time

And I ain't talkin' bout the weed killer! Summertime means Vacation Bible School! My husband is a children's pastor and we actually started looking at VBS curriculums way back in January to prepare for this upcoming week. We found NOTHING because we're kind of picky like that. We hate cheesy cookie cutter curriculums that take all the creativity out of the hands of the leaders and well, we just pretty much think VBS curriculums stink for the most part. SO...we got this crazy idea to take apart our kidzchurch curriculum which is like the Lexus of curriculums and adapt it to work for VBS. And once you drive a Lexus, you don't want no Kia, if you know what I mean! We do a different theme every 8 weeks as it is, so we're just taking one of the 8 week units that we never got to last year and we're making it work for VBS. It's called "On the Trail" and it's a Western Theme. Our church back in Dallas, Fellowship Church, created the curriculum we use and it's WAY cool! Better than anything else out there. So this week is the big week! We have a group of about 75 STELLAR volunteers this year, more than twice what we had last year! And most of them have never volunteered for anything in children's ministry before which I'm so excited about...fresh blood...Mwa haha! (I'm kidding. Sort of.) And God is so good. Every time someone backs out on me at the last minute, someone else steps up to volunteer. Which tells me that God is gonna BRING IT if you know what I mean. I do believe that He only brings us what we are staffed to handle and since we are doubly staffed compared to last year...Hmmmm. I think He has BIG things in store this week! Don't misunderstand me, this is not about mere numbers. It's about reaching the largest number of families in our community possible! And when kids actually WANT to come to church, they bring their parents. So when you touch the life of a child, you're potentially touching the life of that entire family. My husband is a bit panicked because we've done all this work, but we couldn't do a big community wide mail out of the flyers. We ran out of time and money. And I keep telling him, "Honey, honey, relax. It's not really about what we DO or how much we spend, it's about what is in our hearts. If God knows our heart is right, our motives are pure, and that we are doing this all for Him, he's gonna BRING THE CHILDREN, some how some way, He will do that part! He will get them here. We just need to concentrate on being prepared to handle them once they get here!" Last year, we had over 400 different children on our campus throughout the week. This year??? Who knows what God has in store! What a fun (and exhausting) week this will be! Pray for us!!!

My child could be in a Target commercial

Today was a fun day. With all the busyness that's been going on here lately, I've totally neglected my children in a big way. So I decided today would be a work-free day, well, other than the usual house work and laundry. After first checking with the powers that be (Washington Mutual) I decided it would be okay to spend a little money on a fun outting today. The girls actually slept till 9:45 a.m. which NEVER happens. They're usually up by 7 or 7:30, but it was glorious to sleep in and wake up on MY terms rather than being woken up by the Lone Ranger riding on me screaming YEHAW YEHAW YEHAW, which was the case yesterday morning. And I'm not talking about my husband, at least not this time! That would be Ashton! I was able to get up, straighten up the house, make up my bed, unload the dishwasher, and have breakfast made by the time they got up. Why can't every day start like this? Oh yeah, because I don't want to get up at 6! After breakfast, I announced, "Girls go get in the tub, we're goin' shoppin!" To which I thought would result in shreaks of joy, but my lil' bug lovin', lizzard huntin', mud wearin', burpin', football watchin' , cowgirls both went into meltdown mode and rather than shreaks of joy I heard, "But Mom, we don't wanna go shopping." And I thought to myself, "Whose children are these???" So then I threw in the line I knew would convince them otherwise..."We're going to.........(drumroll here).......Target." And Lexi quickly changed her tune and replied, "Okay, I'll get in the tub!" I actually think it's the Icee machine that she's motivated by! Not the wonderful Target dollar spot. But who cares. The whole scene looked like something straight out of a Target commercial! So we drove to the nearest Target which took like 2 hours. I'M KIDDING! Feels like 2 hours. But really it's about 30 minutes away. TOO FAR in my opinion. We ate at ChuckECheese. (Can I get a sympathy violin?) No really, I don't know why anyone would worry about a child abduction at that place. WHO in their RIGHT MIND would go in that place without the pathetic begging and pleading from their childrens' sad little faces? WHO? And then we headed over to the big Semi Annual sale at Bath and Body Works. Or should I say the semi annual bi monthy weekly sale. They crack me up! There's ALWAYS a sale in that place, ALWAYS. I've never paid full price for anything there, but for some reason you get their emails and you feel this insane urgency to go STOCK UP because it will be 6 more months before you can get it for that price. PAH-LEASE! Great marketing technique though. If only churches could market that way. "Get some Jesus while you can!"

AND THEN...we went to....TARGET! For icees. And nothing else.

Busy Beyond Words

I'm sorry to be so boring this week with my blog posts. But I'm so busy. Next week is VBS and I'm the coordinator. And my husband is the children's pastor. Need I say more? I've dealt with much conflict this week. Mostly from old people. And criticism. Mostly from old people. And junk. Mostly from old people. And have handled it quite well I do believe. But I don't ever want to be that old person. Someone shoot me if I become THAT old person. Who complains. And criticizes. And asks for too much from others. I mean, don't get me wrong. I like old people. NICE old people! Who don't ask for much. Who don't complain. And don't criticize.

I'm on pins and needles tonight because I heard about some armed robberies in the neighborhood right next to ours, also a gated community. Which you'd think makes things safer, but I guess not. And they happened in broad daylight. I know fear is not of God, and He did not bring us here to harm us, and I just have to remember that His hedge of protection is around us day and night because we are living in obedience to Him. But even though I say it out loud, that uneasy feeling does not go away.

Oh and remember my $5.99 steel armor sunscreen? Well, I have an unexplainable rash all over both arms and legs, which started Saturday night, the day I used the sunscreen. Hmmmm... Like I always tell my husband who still thinks the $1.99 detergent is just as good as Tide (yeah right)... "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!"

Taco Soup Addiction

All women have that one meal that we prepare for someone when they have a baby or have surgery or a death in the family or whatever the case may be. My meal is taco soup with all the fixins. It's fast, i'ts easy, it's economical, kids like it, it's DEEELISH! This was actually a Weight Watcher's recipe back in the day. I do a good job of fattening it up with all my cheese and sour cream on top! I made 2 pots of it last week to take to 2 ladies in our MOPS group that had just had babies and I had about 3/4 of a pot remaining. Ah shucks! Had to eat it myself! I ate it twice last week and again last night for dinner. And I've been fantasizing about it all morning. I can hardly wait for lunch time!!! So I thought I'd share this wonderful recipe so that you too can become obsessed with taco soup.

1 lb ground beef (I suppose you could also use chicken, never tried it)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can corn
1 can red kidney beans
1 can white beans
1/2 cup rice
1 package of ranch dressing mix
1 package of taco seasoning mix
water (I can't give you an amount, I just put enough water so that it's a little soupy, but not too soupy)

Brown your meat, then throw everything in the pot and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream on top. I like to dip tortilla chips in mine. And when they're in season, I like a few slivers of avocado on top.

Quirky Me..

I've been tagged by Jess at Phamilyof6, my gator missionary friends! They are in language school in Costa Rica and headed off to the mission field of Lima, Peru in just a few short weeks. (And I thought I had it rough moving from Texas to Florida!) I'm supposed to write 6 quirks about myself. Are there 6? Really? I thought all Aggies were pure PERFECTION! (Okay, so there's quirk #1...Texas Aggie in Fl thinks she's PERFECT!) Kidding. Now seriously, this is HARD because I think I'm "normal" and everyone else is just wierd.

1. I bathe twice daily...RELIGIOUSLY! Yesterday, took a shower BEFORE going to the beach, (who does that), took my shampoo and soap and showered off at the outdoor shower AT the beach, then took a bath when I got home because that last shower at the beach just didn't count. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times on this here blog people... "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". I cannot sleep without my hot hot hot bath at night, every night! Even if I just showered like 2 hours earlier, still must have my hot bath in order to sleep. Okay, so I know what you're thinking...that's not quirky, that's neurotic!

2. Must clean house DAILY. Cannot handle dirt or mess or unorganization. Makes me crazier than I already am. Say it with me...cleanliness is next to Godliness! Nice and slow this time. Cleanliness.....is....next.....to.....Godliness.

3. Perfectionist to the point of being an absolute control freak in every area of my life (and his, and hers and hers, etc etc). See, I can't stop!

4. I drive UNDER the speed limit. ALWAYS! (It makes me feel more IN CONTROL...see? Control freak!)

5. My husband would say I overanalyze EVERYTHING, but I prefer to call it "wisdom and discernment"! Truly, it's just a God given gift!

6. I iron every day. I cannot stand wrinkled clothing. Sometimes I look at people's clothing and wonder why they don't just iron that dern thing. My husband gets that look from me often and he knows what it means..."Take off that shirt and let me iron it before you wear it out in public, for Heaven's sake!" He just informed me that there is a new washing machine out that has a steam setting so that you never have to iron again...Can I get a "Glory"? Thank you Jesus! If you'd like to donate to the Texas Aggie In FL washing machine fund, please send your checks to...kidding. Well, sort of.

Now if you have a blog and you're reading this...TAG...you're it!

Father's Day Weekend Festivities

Last year on Father's Day, I made this post about crepes. And today we had our 2nd annual Father's Day Crepes for dinner using the same recipe. YUMMO! This year we used nutella (a chocolaty stuff) with bananas on the inside and powdered sugar with whipped cream on top. And since that wasn't enough carbs, I made some biscuits to go along with our meal. And scrambled eggs too. This may not seem like a typcial dinner, but my husband is a children's pastor and he usually gets to the church on Sunday mornings by 4 or 5 a.m. to get ready for Kidzchurch. Therefore, Sunday breakfast is out of the question! So we had his favorite breakfast for dinner! After church today we ate at Kissimmee steakhouse, thank you NICK AND KRISTI! They gave us a gift certificate a while back and what better day for a good steak! We also took a Father's Day nap...ALL OF US! A much needed nap. Yesterday we went to Clearwater, FL and hung out of the beach all afternoon. And I think I've said this before but if you want NO SUN at all on your body, use Winn Dixie brand sunscreen, SPF 50. Go figure. I might as well have worn a body suit. Actually, no, that just wouldn't be pretty. Not that me in a swimsuit is any better. I've searched the world high and low and tried out the most expensive of sunscreens these last few summers trying to find something that actually worked and found nothing. A few weeks ago, on a whim, I bought the cheap $5.99 Winn Dixie brand just so I could feel like a responsible mom using sunscreen at the pool and low and behold. That stuff is like steel armor!

Happy Father's Day Honey bun! Happy Father's Day Dada G! And Happy Father's Day Mom (who was a single mom most of my life...so she gets Father's Day privileges too!)

An Alternative to Friendship Bread...anyone???

So my friend, Carrie B, gave me some yummy friendship bread. Already cooked. THANK YOU Carrie B. It was SO good. But I should have put "friendship bread" on my list of "Things That Annoy Me Lately" read below if you don't know what I'm talking about. I do not like getting (uncooked) friendship bread. I don't make friendship bread. Please don't give me a bag of (uncooked) friendship bread. Because I'm all about instant gratification and this whole wait 10 days for something yummy and oh yeah, let the milk sit in the bag and rot for 5 of those days, yeah, I'm not really into that. Call me crazy. BUT...I DO LOVE ME SOME COOKED FRIENDSHIP BREAD. So if you're my friend, you can show it by giving me some already cooked friendship bread. Thank you Carrie B! Did I already say that? Which brings me to my question. My oh so culinary savvy internets, is there an alternative to friendship bread? Something that tastes JUST LIKE friendship bread, but that can be made in 45 minutes rather than taking 10 days and requiring me to REMEMBER to do things to it every day which I'm just not good at. I always get to day 5: Add milk. Add milk????!!! And do what with the milk in the bag for the next 5 days? I don't get it! Is that a mistake? A typo? It must be a typo. Who does that? Doesn't that stink up the whole house? So please send me your instant gratification recipes for something that tastes JUST LIKE FRIENDSHIP BREAD...or you could just make me some friendship bread. If you're my true friend. Like Carrie B.

Yes, I do realize that the whole instant gratification thing that I struggle with could be the reason I've now been asked TWICE, yes TWICE in one week if I'm expecting. Who does that? Who asks that question? Who? It happened to me again today. But I was wearing the same dress I had on Monday when it happened the first time. So maybe it's the dress? Yeah, it's the dress. Which I just ordered in 2 more colors because it's so comfy. Dern it!

If you came into my house...

I saw this on my friend, Kim's blog and thought it was interesting. So here's a peak into MY home and if you're reading this...TAG...you're it!

You would see: a family that laughs continously, me cleaning non-stop, dog hair on the couch

We'd probably feed you: leftover pot roast, SO juicy and tender. I cooked it in the slowcooker on Monday....YUM!

We'd undoubtadly ask you if you'd read: Oh my stars, I can think of NOTHING on this one. We are a house of total NON-READERS! And yes, I used to be a reading teacher!

We'd want to play this music for you: My radio station is tuned to a country station right this second. So maybe a Rascal Flatts song? I love them! My kids would want you to hear their new favorite song..."Round up". It's our VBS theme song this year and they can't get enough of it. (I'll have to post a video of Daddy on stage at VBS doing the dance to this song. It's like...well... nothing you've ever seen before."

We'd want to tell you the latest about: How mommy helped to rescue a gator in the middle of the road today so it wouldn't get squashed. I did! I really did! Okay, so it was a blow up gator, like a swimming ring, but still. I couldn't resist. It was smiling. I didn't want it to get popped under someone's tire. It was on the main highway that runs through town. And I was just thinking today that Ashton needed a swim ring because that's how Lexi learned to swim! See, God supplies our needs in mysterious ways.

We'd probably suggest a game of: bowling on the wii, although prepare to be taken down! We're just slightly competitive in this home. Cary and I actually beat our super smart engineer friends at Cranium once. Would anyone like to play Cranium with us? I didn't think so.

We might show off: our new school pictures I just got on Friday. Lexi has a black eye and is wearing 3 inch dangly, sparkling earrings in her preschool graduation picture. nice.

We might get on the computer and show you: our blog of course

If it was a long enough visit we might watch: "Little Bear? " or "Farmer Wants a Wife?" Come on, you know you watch it too! Daddy would want you to watch an episode of "How It's Made". Or our all time favorite "King of Queens". You saw that one coming right?

Things That Annoy Me Lately...

1. When you call someone's cell phone #, and they call you right back to "see who called them". I just want to say..."LISTEN TO THE MESSAGE!!!!" I don't know why that bugs me, but it does. If I want you to call me back, I'll leave a message. And if not, then don't call me back! Grrrrrr.

2. Professional news anchors speaking Ebonics. I'm sorry, but it's NOT an official language!!!!!

3. When the t.v. satellite cuts out during a bad storm. Gee that's helpful.

4. Cordless phone batteries. Need I say more?

5. Poop. Poop. And more poop. Not mine.

6. Dirty dishes being put in the sink after I JUST finished cleaning the kitchen. Grrrrrr.

7. When someone takes out the trash and doesn't put a new clean bag in the can. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

8. Companies that don't function at my rate of speed.

9. Telemarketers. My vehicle warranty expired YEARS ago and I don't need to refinance my home b/c I don't have a mortgage and I don't want credit card insurance b/c I don't have any credit cards! Got it?

10. Well, read the post below!

More Baklava???

I had an extreme craving for Greek food today so we did a google search and found a place that was not too far away. It even had a 5 star rating. Well, there was only one review. And it was probably the owner's. But upon our arrival, I immediately felt like I was thrust into a scene of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". It was this little tiny hole in the wall Greek grocery store with a refrigerated counter full of menu items. I chose some grape leaves, hummus, tabouli, and baba ghanoush and we ALL sat down at one of the two tables in this, uh uhm, grocery store. And when I say ALL, I mean ALL. My family, and now my "extended" Greek family and their friends. Yes, they sat with us and watched us eat and said things like, "Is it good? Huh? It better be good. Or else! Eat, eat, I get you more, huh?" In a heavy Greek accent. So after a 30 minute meal, I feel like we know everything about their lives and vice versa. It was strange, but the food was so good, I didn't care. The Baklava was heavenly. I wanted to come back every day!!! Despite the wierdness of eating with strangers. And towards the end of the meal, one of the ladies looked at me and said, "So do you know what you're having?" Think think, think think. What is she talking about. What am I having? Oh and then it hit me, she wanted to get me some more food. Because that's the Greek way. I think. "Oh, I'll have more baklava please." Laughter erupted. I was confused. Why was everyone laughing. "No, no, I mean what are you having, boy or girl?" Oh my stars, she didn't! "Oh, I'm not pregant. But I'll have some more baklava!" Was what I wanted to say. Was she kidding? Who asks that question? That is just something you NEVER EVER EVER EVER ask a woman. I don't care if she's IN LABOR!!!!!

Now I used to have a waist line. I did! It was never 18 inches. But I had a waist line. But the family curse took hold after giving birth. Curse, you ask? Yes, our family has been cursed with The Kool Aid man shape. You know. Big tummy, little legs. And it's especially prolific after a woman in the family gives birth. My mom and aunts and grandmother have, at times, gone on diets and lost a ton of weight and actually been down to what Weight Watchers called their "ideal weight" but the Kool Aid shape was still there. Big tummy, little legs! It never goes away. Now I have the unfortunate DOUBLE curse. Because on one side of the family, there is this whole Kool Aid man belly, and on the other side of my family are the THUNDER THIGHS. Put the two together and you have, well, ME! It's really okay, I know and have accepted that no matter how much weight I lose (or don't lose) I will always have this crazy tummy and big thighs! And I'm still hot and sexy, so who cares! But this was the 3rd time in my life that I've been asked this question when I WASN'T pregnant!

Now, please don't even dream of leaving a comment like this..."I know how you feel. I've always been teased for being too skinny. It's just as hard as being too fat." SHUT UP!!! That's a load of crap! Every woman dreams of being "too skinny". No woman in her right mind dreams of being "too fat"! I know a girl who complains because "it's so hard to find clothes when a size zero is too big." PAH-LEASE! Let me play my violin for you.

When we left the Greek place, Cary said, "I bet they're all fussing at that lady for insulting their only customer of the day!" So much for eating THERE every day!

The Graduate

Today was Lexi's preschool graduation day. Would you believe that I vividly remember my own preschool graduation? And I believe memories were made for Lexi tonight as she has reached yet another milestone. She is so excited about Kindergarten, she can hardly contain herself. This has been a wonderful school year for her. She has blossomed so much socially, and I can hardly believe the things she's been doing lately academically. I have to admit that I actually practiced with her how to walk up on the stage to get her diploma. I demonstrated hands to the side, shoulders back, big smile and OWN IT GIRL! I told her, "When you get up there, OWN THAT STAGE honey! Enjoy your moment in the spotlight." She said, "Like this Momma?" And she put her hands on her hips and looked like a supermodel on the catwalk! "Well, not quite like that, but okay!" I said.
It's hard to believe in two and a half months, my baby is starting kindergarten! I can't believe I'm going to be a PTA mom!!! I am so excited for her (and I'm kind of excited about being a PTA mom too!). Some of my favorite childhood memories involved my elementary school...great teachers (who made me want to become a teacher), friends that I still keep in touch with, fun field trips, music and art class projects. I just can't wait to see what God has in store for her and for us as a family as we enter the school age years.

Lexi & her teacher, Ms. Courtney. She was a GREAT teacher, so nurturing and structured. She was the perfect fit for Lex!

Uh, huh that's right...work it...own it!

Hide and Seek Anyone???

My pets, God love em! Who could blame them for hiding? Some days I want to hide too!

Rodeo or Ballet?

But first, people are having trouble leaving comments on my blog. Two people have now told me that. I don't know what the issue is! Sorry...keep trying???

Okay, but now to the good stuff. Friday night, I took Lexi to the ballet. A friend called me on Thursday and offered me these 2 free tickets to the Cinderella ballet and I thought Lexi would enjoy it. But I was wrong. Oh, she had a great time...in the car with her friends, at chick-fil-a getting ice cream afterwards, in the foyer picking out a ballerina necklace, digging in my purse for gum DURING THE WHOLE PERFORMANCE, asking me 10,000 times "When's it gonna be over so we can go get ice cream?". But the actual ballet? I kid you not, 15 minutes into the show she asked me, "Mommy, when's it gonna start?" And when Prince Charming came out, she actually paid attention for a few seconds because she had never seen a male ballerina before and who wouldn't stare at that, cause you know...male ballerinas wear, well, uh ummm, interesting pants. And Lexi blurted out during a quiet part in the music, for all to hear, "Mommy, he's not wearing any pants!" Everyone around us just laughed and laughed and laughed. Kids! You gotta love em! They just call it like they see it! Granted, ballet is not exactly the most exciting thing to watch. I think we're more of a hip hop family than a ballet family, I mean if I had to classify us. You know. We don't listen to hip hop, but if I had to choose...

And while we were at the ballet, the other half of my family saddled up and headed to the rodeo. I know what you're thinking. Rodeo? In Florida? I thought so too. But yes, they do have rodeos here. Cary actually went to the rodeo to see two students from our church who do rodeo events for fun. They were competing that night. And Ashton, well, she's not really into big fat smelly animals and dirt like Lexi is. So afterwards we decided that we probably chose the wrong child to go to each of those events. Ashton probably would have enjoyed the ballet and Lexi would have much rather been in her boots and hat, hangin' out with Daddy at the rodeo. (Actually Mommy would have preferred the rodeo too, truth be told!) But check out Ashton in her cowgirl boots! Doesn't she look like such a big girl?

The rodeo and the ballet...can you do two more opposite events in one night???

Did Someone Hide Cryponite In My House???

Okay, seriously, I do wear a red "S" on my chest! I do! Or I did, I should say. My superwoman powers are GONE, dwindled down to nothing! I had such a busy weekend planned with three major work projects on my plate to finish by Sunday, a trip to the Russian Ballet of Orlando with Lexi on Friday night, and a birthday party at Build a Bear on Saturday. I had my weekend planned down to the tee. I had it all written out, cause I'm kind of OCD like that. "I'll do this while Cary does this and then we'll hop in the car and he'll drop me and Lexi off here while he and Ashton will go do that and then we'll meet back up at this time, eat lunch in the car, and then go to the office for 45 minutes to do this and ..." You get the idea. We even rehearsed our responsibilities and agenda on THURSDAY so as to get everything done by Sunday!!! I was feeling very superwomanish...changing a poopy diaper and moving furniture with a 3 yr old on my hip all while haggling a sales price on something for work with a lady in California from my "home office" and dealing with the website guy in Austin on the church webpage. In between all that, I was cooking chicken nuggets, taking the dog for walks, wiping bottoms, and designing a church brochure, while answering, oh, a dozen or so emails per hour, mostly work related and answering the non-stop ringing phone. Then, Friday night, it happened! I didn't see it coming! While Lexi and I were enjoying the Cinderella ballet, there was a rumbly in my tummy, actually it sounded more like a prehistoric predator had trapped its prey in my intestines! And a few hours later, I was shriveled up on the floor, my superwoman cape covered in VOMIT! Okay, not really. But really, I WAS vomiting. And then stuck like glue to the potty for about 12 hours straight! My arms and legs felt like limp spaghetti noodles. My superwoman powers were gone! I couldn't even hold my head up long enough to take a sip of coke. Now that's sick! Cause I love me a good coke! It was at 3 a.m. that I realized while being stuck to the potty like glue that plan B would have to be put into action. From my bed, I beckoned my saint of a husband WHO CLEANED UP AFTER ME AT 2 A.M., he gets a gold star! I informed him of how our schedule would need to go that day and what to do in order to get Lexi to the birthday party. He was already on it! The rest of the day went something like this...superwoman stumbled out of bed and collapsed on floor, was helped up and put on potty, was helped off of potty and put back in bed, superwoman in her cotton mouth, raspy, weak voice begs for sip of ice water, repeat, repeat, repeat...Every now and then, I somehow mangaged to make it over to my computer to finish the brochure for Sunday, which was actually done in stages. I would work until my spaghetti arms could no longer rest on the keyboard. I was truly a pathetic sight! I think it was actually food poisoning, not cryptonite, that got to me. Since Saturday, my superwoman powers have very slowly been restored, although not to complete super human strength just yet. But very soon, I will be back to battling all evil forces that stand in my way...laundry, poop, boogers, poop, dirt (which is different than boogers and poop..it is), mildew, poop, hard water stains, pet hair on the carpet, poop, you name it...no evil force will get past me cause I'm SUPERWOMAN!

Aggie Championship???

What kind of Aggie am I? I failed to mention some more Aggie pride...the Aggie women's softball team is playing in the College World Series for the championship TONIGHT! It's a best of 3 game series. And guess who they last beat to get there...the Florida Gators...so sorry gator fans! You can't win em all! Our Aggie men's baseball team is still in it too. They play tonight as well. They're not quite to the championship game yet, but they're still in the tournament! Ranked #10 in the country I believe? Gig'em Ags!!!! WHOOP! Wish I was there to cheer them on but I'll be watching on T.V. tonight!

Oh and 120 hits TODAY and only 6 comments on my anniversary...uh, hello??? Even someone from Turkey??? Speaking of, I had turkey for lunch today. Mmmmm....

Happy Bloggity Anniversary To Me...

It was one year ago today that my crazy bloggity adventure began! And I've managed to post exactly 365 posts in one year and I'm at almost 12,000 hits! In honor of my bloggin anniversary, HUMOR ME...tell us who you are and how you came to know the Texas Aggie in FL and how long we've "known" each other(but to my local friends, please leave out the name of the town we live in for security purposes). This should be fun because some of you I only "know" through the blogosphere and some of you actually know me in real life. Oh and what the heck...it's MY anniversary so tell me one thing you LIKE about my blog without using the words "funny" or "Aggie" or "Texan". Heeheee, get creative! Listen I'm a female with PMS, sometimes I need a little affirmation okay?!!!? Remember, you don't have to have a password to leave a comment, just click on anonymous, but please sign your name. Let the commentin' begin!