Memory Makin' Mondays

Ooey Gooey Fun

Precious Pretty #2 is not thrilled with PP #1 right now

Showing little sister how it's done

Getting her own ooey gooey prize....

and not really impressed with it.

But she is still a happy-cheetos-face girl!

I really look forward to Mondays.  Not as much as I look forward to Sundays, but Mondays are now one of my favorite days.  I couldn't have said that when I was working, but now that I am "retired", Mondays are pretty great.  It usually starts up with me rounding up the girls and heading out to their preschools.  After the double dropoff, I grab a coffee and either balance our bank account, or have some bible/Jesus time.  Then it's off to the gym to meet up with some new gym buddies and go to some classes.  I have enough time to squeeze in a quick shower or and couple of errands before it's time to pick up Precious Pretty #2.

During her nap, I usually eat lunch, fold laundry (story of my life!), make an after school snack for Precious Pretty #1, before it is time to go get her.  We come home & eat snacks, and then we pick something to do together.  Two weeks ago, we went to the pumpkin patch and carved a pumpkin when we returned home as documented in the pictures above.  Last Monday, we baked and decorated Halloween cupcakes which are still sitting in our kitchen.  I refuse to eat them because I am trying to keep my Eye on the Prize (which I wrote about in my last post), and Kate refuses to eat them because they have orange icing.  Why is orange icing so bad?  Because it is the color of the Texas Longhorns, and Kate is an Aggie.  I am not kidding.  Kate wore her orange Halloween shirt once for me this month and is adamant that she will not wear it again.  Since Mary Clare prefers to eat nothing but apples, the cupcakes are going to waste.  It was fun nonetheless.

This week our Memory Makin' Monday will consist of gathering leaves from our backyard and using them to make a family tree.  I have brown construction paper to make the trunk of the tree, and I plan on going to Hobby Lobby tomorrow to get some large sheets of scrapbook pages to use for the background and to mat the leaves on.  Should be fun.  I hope to post pictures of our tree this week.

I will leave you with a quote I heard on my favorite show.  It's not verbatim, but it's close enough.
"Being a great parent is the best gift you could ever give."  - Nora Walker
With God's guidance, it is what I strive to be every day.

blessings,
sf

Eye on the prize

I have a huge problem with staying focused, especially focused on one specific goal.  I let too many things get in my way.  Call it ADD - call it life - call it what you would like.  But the bottom line is at least I am admitting that I have a "problem".  

 Since moving to a new town a couple of months ago where I really don't know anyone, I have made an effort to go to the gym more.  I've met some other mommies to meet up with there at the different classes, and you can ssssllloooowwwllllyyyy but surely see the poundage coming off.  That's great, right?!?!?!

My problem is, despite the lack of focus, is that I can't seem to have any self control when it comes to the consumption of food part.  Since moving here I have lost 7 pounds, which needs to be celebrated, I know.  However, I can't help to think how much more I coulda/shoulda/woulda lost if I had been more diligent with my workouts, eating habits, and especially keeping track of everything that goes into my mouth. I'm bored with the things that I cook ALL. THE. TIME.  I took up watching the Food Network to help revive my cooking creativity but that doesn't help either, because I get online and print off the sugary, buttery, and salty recipes.  I guess I need to watch Rachael Ray and cook her healthy stuff.  She does have healthy food, right?

It's time for me to do this.....Again!  As of today, I am grabbing on to the reins of the food log again.  And I'm keeping my eye on the prize which is that I hope to lose another 15 pounds before my sister in law's wedding in January.  Did I mention the wedding in is the Big E-to-the-Z?  I need to lose this weight because I will more than likely gain half of it back during my trip there!  I know I can do it!  I'll keep ya posted.

blessings, 

SF

Entertaining ourselves

 Those of you reading this more than likely know that I went to Boston, Massachusetts, last Thursday for my cousin Laurie's wedding.  She actually lives in Leicester, Mass., and we stayed in Auburn, Mass.  We were all over that state!!!  The gorgeous brunette who joined me on this trip was my cousin Carolyn, and we were so excited about this trip that we maybe got three hours of sleep the night before.  You would have thought that we would have slept on our flight that departed at 6:35 am, but we didn't because we were too FIRED UP.  Plain and simple.  I attempted to do a couple of pages of my bible study that I wrote about on my previous blog, and Carolyn didn't have anything to read/do so I gave her my MacBook to entertain herself.  She discovered some bells and whistles on bad boy Mac that I had no idea he had!  She took a picture of us to document our trip, and then that is when the giggling began.....

 She would take a picture of herself and try to stifle her giggle.  

This picture brought her to tears she was laughing so hard.  I finally had to join in on the fun!

Camel!!!!!!

Our seats were in the very back of the plane (2nd to last row to be exact).  Every time some one would go to the restroom or an attendant would walk back there, they would stop to look and see what we were doing and laugh with us.

Once we made it to BAH-ston, we showed our family all of the fun we had on the plane. (we took over 100 pics!)

They wanted a piece of the fun too!

This picture is kind of scary, but it makes me laugh.  I LOVE mi familia!

90 (89) days

I. Am. Truly. Blessed.  Really!

Woke up this morning to two, healthy, sweet, beautiful precious pretties.  Got Kate off to school and Mary Clare and I headed to Target to purchase some airplane friendly toiletries for my trip Thursday (I'm going to Boston, baby!!).  We then headed to LifeWay Christian Book Store because I wanted to get the new Mary Beth Chapman book, Choosing to See, and my beloved Target didn't have it.  Mary Beth is married to the world-renowned Christian music artist Stephen Curtis Chapman, and her book is about her struggle through the loss of her daughter, and how hope is carrying her through it.  (Their daughter was playing on the driveway and their son didn't see her and backed over her with his car.)  I snagged the picture of the book from Amazon.com, and I should have bought the book from Amazon as well, but my impatience cost me six extra bucks.  Oh well, at least I'll have something to read on the plane.  I'll give my opinion of the book when I finish reading it and let me know if you would like to read it when I am done.  I'll be more than happy to mail it to you!

When I moved to Sherman, I looked for a women's/moms group at a church to join but to no avail.  I want to join a bible study group, but can't seem to find a meeting time that works with my schedule.  So, I called my sister in law Carlye, and asked her about a particular bible study she just finished.  She asked me what I was doing, and once I told her, she recommended the Beth Moore 90 Day Bible Study with Jesus the One and Only.  I actually had the Beth Moore's 90 Days with Paul study in my hand, but I thought I would go with her recommendation first.  (again I snagged the picture from Amazon)  I realized once I got in my car that it is 89 days until Christmas, so if I doubled up on days 1&2 of the study, then I would finish the bible study on Christmas Day!  90 Days (well 89) to becoming closer to the One and Only, and the last day of the study is on the day we celebrate His birth.

After our shopping excursions Mary Clare and I went over to the AWESOME park down the street from our house and walked 3 1/2 miles on the walking trail.  Ended our morning of fun at Chick-Fil-A.  Today was just wwwwooonnnnnnddddeerrrfffuuullllllllllllll.

The only way the morning could have been any better is if Tim and Kate could have been with us.  Tim, of course, is worked hard to provide for the pretties and I.  My precious pretty #1, on the other hand, has been having some trouble adjusting to our new life in Sherman.  She had a set schedule for four and a half years, and out of no where, mommy & daddy up and move her to a new town, house, school, etc.  I knew it would be an adjustment, a difficult one at that, but I didn't think it would take this long for her to get the hang of things.  Kids are resilient right?  She definitely is, however, it has been rather hard for her, and she has some anxiety issues.  After a long, heart felt discussion with her pediatrician, we decided to see if how she would respond if we put her back on a similar schedule that she had in WF (school everyday from 8-3), to see if her behavior at home and school starts to improve.  Once we have things under control with her then I will slowly start to decrease her time at school.

Life is good.  G-Double-Oh-D.  Good.  And that's all I have to say about that.

 

Whirlwind of a Weekend

Whew--this weekend flew by super fast! I know it's still Sunday morning, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to Friday & Saturday.

One of my best friends Sarah brought her kiddos Luke & Elizabeth to Sherman for a weekend visit. Friday night we enjoyed pizza & the kids got some much needed playtime.

Saturday we went to breakfast, playtime at the park, and then headed over to Fairview Park to
cheer for Kate in her first soccer game.

She's #6 & a head taller than some of her teammates.


Getting ready to start the second half!



Luke & Mary Clare watching from the sidelines.








Later on a babysitter came to be with the kiddos while Sarah & drove to Dallas to watch Coco try on wedding dresses. We ended the night with an amazing meal at Roys Hawaiian Cuisine.

All in all it's been a whirlwind weekend, but we loved every second of it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Answered prayers

So, as you know, I have had a bit of a time adjusting to this new life in Sherman, Texas.  Not just living here and hardly knowing anyone, but living here and being a full-time stay at home mama.  It took me about month to get everything out of the boxes and in their place, and I have spent my extra time this week putting the final touches in different rooms.  I have also been making lists of things I want to do/add/change to each room so that should keep me busy too once I can save up some money to do it!

I have also been praying....ALOT.  I pray for guidance, patience, forgiveness, etc., but also for God to guide me to do something that would allow my light to shine.  For Him to open a door to allow me to be more involved, and meet new people.  Last week, I went to each lunch with Kate at school and as I was leaving I told the secretary that I would like to help out at the school whether it was being a cafeteria monitor, reading to the preK and kindergarten classes, etc.  I was a little surprised when she called me a few hours later asking me if I could come in a meet with the principal.  My first thought was, "Oh no - They aren't going to let Kate come back to school until she stops sucking her thumb."  I am going to get off subject here and rant for a second on the fact that Kate is the only child in the 3K, 4K, & kindergarten class that still sucks her thumb (that I have noticed).  I have tried about three-to-four different ways to help her stop, but to no avail.  Her teacher has talked to her about not doing it, but that isn't working.  Her teacher changed her color green (which is good behavior) to yellow (not so good) and it still doesn't work.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Now back to the subject at hand.  When I calmly asked Mrs. Martin what the meeting was regarding, she stated that Mr. Scheibmier wanted to visit about getting more involved at St. Mary's.  "YES!" I tried to do the best I could to stifle my excitement.  Maybe I can be the room mother and have fun planning all the classroom parties!  OR...maybe I can help out the lunch lady and pass out mashed potatoes!  Or what about making copies for the teachers?  I was all about it.  Little did I know what was in store for me.

I met with Mr. Scheibmier this morning after Mass, and we really hit it off!  We visited about a number of things and then he slowly approached the reason why he asked me to come in today?  I was already nodding my head in excitement thinking I was going to be the room mother for 4K.  But then he started talking about Casino Night and how it is the biggest fundraiser for the school because it helps pay the salaries, benefits, insurance and he thought with me being "new blood" at the school that I can bring in ideas that will make the Casino Night even better.  I went from, "Let me think about it" to him shaking my hand at the end of our meeting and telling me how excited he is that I am going to chair this event.  WHAT???

I got in the car and the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley was playing in my mind.  But then I remembered the lyrics to an amazing song that my precious friend Jaclyn told me about yesterday and I realized that this was how God was answering my prayer.  It's not what I was looking for, or expecting, but this is my life God has blessed me with and I am going to let HIM make the most of me!  Because EVERY moment is a chance to let your light break through.  Can I get an AMEN?

I highly encourage you to listen to the song on itunes or you tube.  LOVE IT.  I told Jaclyn that we need to write Mercy Me a thank you note because they wrote it just for us!

This Life 

by Mercy Me

this is not my home

(this is not my space)

this is not my style

(this is not my place)

Can't get comfortable

(cant get settled in)

I simply dont belong

(cant get used to this)

But I'm here right now

(I can hear You say)

make the most of Me

(this wont go to waste)

If Im out of my mind

(yeah its all for Christ)

if Im making sense

(then get in line)

every moment is a chance to

let Your light break through

this life (oh oh oh )

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh )

this life was meant to shine

I dont have to stall

(I dont have to wait)

dont have to bide my time

(till I make my escape)

cuz heavens in my heart

(I won't settle for less)

I will lift Your name

(by the life I live)

every moment is a chance to

let Your light break through

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

not just survive

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

not just survive

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

oh oh oh 

we were meant to shine yeah!

Best buddies

We went on a very-long-overdue roadtrip to see Boatners this past weekend and the girls picked up right where they left off. You never would have known that they hadn't seen each other since the beginning of the year! Mary Clare has been asking of Lilly's whereabouts since we left their house. I hope Liz and I can keep our word and visit each monthly since we live closer to each other!

Here MC is pulling a Britney by driving while holding her baby as Lilly calls her mom.



Monday was a pretty slow day. Today we tried out a gymnastics class. I don't know if we'll sign up or not seeing how I noticed their teachers got a little frustrated. Everytime the girls did something they were yelling from across the gym to give me a thumbs up. Or to say, "Hi Mom!" and wave. Or how the best buddies yelled words of encouragement to each other (they are in separate classes). It did make me beam to see how excited they were & melted my heart that they wanted to share their excitement & their triumphs with me!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone