Happy Halloween

I didn't think we were going to have the kiddos this Halloween since it falls on the other parent's weekend. Neither of the ex's wanted to pay for costumes or take the boys trick-or-treating, so it was up to Chase and myself. Garrett was Bumblebee from the Transformers movie, Devin was Batman, and Jacob was Superman. We went around one big block in about 45 minutes and the boys came home with a bag FULL of candy. They hit the jackpot. The next day they went to the other parents on a sugar high. We are evil!!!!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.

Happy Halloween from the super heroes.

Trick or Treat!

Chase's true feelings about Halloween

Parent/Teacher Conference

I had my first parent/teacher conference today at school. Because of Garrett's previous Autism scare I was nervous how he was doing. You always want your children to excel and I was praying he was.

The positives first:
He is excellent in math and art! He loves to count the blocks and is doing well adding and subtracting. Where he got this quality from, I have no clue. I was horrible in math! When the other kids are having problems with math, he helps them. I love that! His art is amazing. He is such a creative little booger; he did get that quality from me. :) He is making friends and is a delight in the classroom.

The not so goods:
He needs work on creating or making up a story. He has an imagination but for some reason he can't draw a picture and tell a story about it when asked. All the children were tested on the alphabet and he only recognized 20 letters. That seems odd because he does well at home. We also have to work on his rhyming skills.

The teacher showed an example of what Garrett would have to read before being able to move up to 1st grade. HOLY CRAP! You are kidding me. When I was in Kindergarten we were able to move up just by being able to color inside the lines and use a pair of scissors. It's amazing how much it's changed just in 20+ years.

All in all, it was a positive meeting. He is doing well in some areas and need works in others. Not surprising. Garrett really likes going to school and I'm glad he has a great teacher.

Kids say the darnest things

Today Garrett was in my room telling me about his day while I was changing clothes. My pants and shirt are balled up on the floor and I feel his hands on my "spare tire". He then says quite happily, "Momma, you have a big belly. It's so so so so so big." Thank you son! I appreciate you telling me this.

Then my bra comes off and I hear the gasp. Boy, you better keep your mouth shut! What was I thinking? "Momma, this boobie is big. This boobie is small." As he points to my uneven boobs. Can I slap him? Please?

That is the LAST time he is in the room with me while I undress. Maybe I need a tape with Ohhhs and Ahhhs to play everytime I stand before the mirror naked. That will be my confidence booster. LOL.

Moving on

Today I helped my cousin pack her belongings and leave her husband. She has been toying with the idea for quite some time and finally made the decision to leave. She hired a lawyer and is preparing documents for a divorce. Her only reason for staying was because of their daughter. Not because she loved her husband, wanted to work things out, or felt guilty about leaving him. It was purely the guilt of her daughter not have a mother and father in the same house.

Is that really a life to live? Is that really what is best for her daughter? To see her mom and dad fight constantly. To see the unhappiness between them instead of love. Doesn't she deserve a happy mom and a happy home? Is divorce or seperation really going to mess her up for the rest of her life?

It's hard not to give my 2 cents because I don't want to force her into a decision she isn't ready to make. I had to make that decision on my own and for some reason it was quite easy. I'm not saying the road to divorce was easy (because it was the hardest thing I've had to do), but the actual decision was easy for me.

For now, I'm standing by whatever decision she makes. Whether it is to go through the divorce or go back to her husband. Do I want to see her go back? NO! But she is family and one of my best friends. All I want is her to happy.

Puppy food

Here is an update on the puppies. They are almost 4 weeks old and growing like weeds. We have homes for 4 out of the 5 puppies. Today we took Nessa to the vet so she could get checked out and found she has an infection in one of her breasts. That means she goes on antibiotics and the puppies go on "solid" food. Basically, we take puppy food and make it mush. So far they are loving it and eating about 3 times a day. As you know they are only puppies, so over look the little pee pee spots on the towel!

Not quite sure what it is.

Chowing down!

It's better when you stand in it.

A total mess!

The kids were gone this weekend and I swore I would tackle their pig stye that they call a room. I warned them before they left that if they didn't clean up I would be throwing away toys. Their idea of "clean" is piling everything into the closet and hoping the door shuts. Out of sight out of mind, right?

I ended up spending one full day cleaning and throwing away 2 full bags of toys. These weren't useable toys... they were broken, missing parts, missing limbs, etc. All the toys are in their proper places and I threatened death if they were moved to somewhere they didn't belong.

After pics

I love an organized room!

"You're not his mother"

So, I'm the wicked witch. Devin's mother is mad at me because I'm spending time with her son. She claims that one night when she called and asked what he was doing he said, "I'm watching tv with my mom and dad." Chase and/or I are always in the room when he is on the phone and neither one of us remembers this. She also threw out that on another occasion she called and he didn't want to talk because he was "playing a game with Melissa". This is true.

She yells at Chase's Mom that "Melissa isn't his mother" and that isn't my intention. Devin has a mother and I'm not trying to replace her whatsoever. I feel as though I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I am mean to Devin I'll get chewed out. If I'm nice to Devin I am accused of trying to be his mother. We live in the same house, am I not supposed to show Devin any kind of attention? Ignore him when he walks in the room? Choose to play with only Garrett and Jacob and not include Devin?

I don't get it.

The Oil Ranch

Another tradition I've started is taking the kids to a pumpkin patch in October. We've moved several times since the kids have been born, but by far the best pumpkin patch we've been to is at the Oil Ranch just outside of Houston. Not just for the pumpkins, but for the other activities involved. Horse back riding, a train ride, tee-pee's, petting zoo, an old fashion hay ride where you feed the cows, etc. We always have a fun time!

On the train

Jacob and his annual pumpkin shot.

Garrett and his annual pumpkin shot.

Uniforms

The kids received their uniforms today and it's weird. They are growing up before my eyes! They should still be in rompers and crawling on the floor. I didn't think them playing sports would be so soon. Garrett is on the 5 year old team called the Astros. Jacob and Devin are on the 4 year old team called the Twins.

Pumpkins

I have a tradition with the kiddos that every year they get to carve pumpkins for October. The pumpkins usually don't last until Halloween because I'm too anxious to buy them later in the month. This year Devin and Chase got to join in the fun. The kids picked out pumpkins, picked out their stencil of what they wanted carved, and then took out all of the pumpkin goop. Chase and I actually carved the pumpkins because who really wants to give a knife to a 5 year old and 2 four year olds? That's a trip to the ER waiting to happen!

Proud parents

We are the proud new parents of 5 puppies; 3 girls and 2 boys. They are adorable! This came as quite a shock since 2 different vets said that Nessa was not pregnant. Low and behold her fat belly and big teats was due to having puppies inside. It was an amazing experience to see life entering this world. To see these puppies take their first breathe. No words can describe it!

We will be finding homes for all the puppies. We are still deciding if we are going to keep one. I nick named her Roly Poly because she is so fat and just rolls around instead of crawling. The boys have found homes already. YEAH! The search for good homes for the girl puppies is on!

A proud new mommy - after the first puppy!

They like to fall out of the kennel.

All 5 babies

Flowers

Today Chase surprised me with flowers "just because". Days like these remind why I love him so much!

Babysitting

I've had to babysit my cousin's little girl this week while she has been out of town. Brianna is a handful! My cousin's husband made the comment that I should start up a business watching children. Good heavens there is no chance in me ever doing that! I watched the clock constantly, hoping it was time for her to leave. She is in that normal 2 year old phase (how I do NOT miss that) and saying "no" means a temper tantrum. My patience was gone by Friday and I was never so happy to see every person under the age of 7 out of the house.