Catching up on birthdays, Mickey Mouse, and turkey....

Well, I've fallen behind on my blogging, so I will attempt to catch everyone up.

I recently turned 35 years old on November 9th. I think I'm finally starting to feel it. I guess 2 kids will do that to you. I celebrated on my actual birthday by going out to eat with my parents, sister and kids since Brian had to work. We went to BJ's Restaurant and Brewpub. The food was yummy as usual. Kaylyn ate more than anyone else at the table. She also enjoyed her own personal ice cream sundae for dessert. On Monday (Nov.10) Brian took me and the kids to Pappasito's Cantina(my favorite place to eat) and we had fajitas for dinner.

On Wednesday (Nov. 12), we went to see Disney on Ice - Disneyland Adventures. Kaylyn loved it, especially whenever Mickey & Minnie were on the ice. Kaylyn came home with a new Cinderella toy, Disney on Ice Mickey ears, and an Incredibles light-up wrist band. After that adventure, I left the next day to drive to South Padre for a forensics conference on child abuse. I was a little disappointed in the conference, there wasn't a lot of information presented that I didn't already know. On top of that, I picked up a monster cold while I was there. I'm still fighting it off now.

Yesterday was a nice day. Kaylyn's school had a Thanksgiving luncheon where family members were invited to join their children for a turkey lunch. Nia made a special surprise appearance and we all got to eat an early Thanksgiving meal. The food was delicious and Kaylyn seemed to have a good time. She had such a good time that she wasn't ready to go home with us after lunch. She insisted on staying for nap time. She took me back to her classroom and said "I have to take a nap now mommy, I'll see you later." (huh???) Well, Brian and I decided to take Jack to Garden Ridge and do some Christmas shopping while Kaylyn took her nap. In fact, she was still asleep when I arrived to pick her up at 2 pm. She sure does love her school!

Halloween Adventures

Halloween was a busy, fun-packed day for Kaylyn. It started off with a costume party at school. She was one of three mermaids in her class, although she was the only one with a crown. Her teacher said that she had a blast. We picked her up at 2pm and went home to relax for a bit. Kaylyn and Jack spent the afternoon playing at the house. We headed over to my parents house about 6:30pm. My dad had fixed steak and potatoes for dinner...yummy! After dinner, we all went trick-or-treating. Kaylyn was sweet as could be. She would always take one extra piece of candy and tell everyone "This is for Jack" and then place the candy in his bucket. She also told everyone "thank you and happy Halloween!" (with a little coaching). Check out our pictures here.

Fun in Lufkin

Well, the family had fun in Lufkin while I was stuck in Houston working. Kaylyn and Jack got to visit Nia, Papa, and Uncle Scott. They stayed very busy playing with their new toys and swinging on the back porch. They even squeezed in a trip to the zoo! I'm so glad they all had fun. Check out more pictures from their visit here.

A Taste of Success

Well, I did it! I managed to scrapbook my first set of pages in 3 years. I put together 7 pages total of our recent trip to the zoo. I am so excited. I hope that I can manage to continue squeezing in pages here and there. Next on my list is pumpkins, fall, and Halloween. I've decided that I am not even going to attempt to do past events yet. I will just concentrate on current events and hopefully that will keep me from feeling overwhelmed. Here is a sample of some pages that I did. Hope you like them!

Jumping Jack Takes a Nap

Lately Jack has really taken to jumping in his jumperoo bouncer. He can bounce for an hour if you let him and he would be quite content. In fact, he was so content the other day that he bounced himself to sleep...twice!

Meanwhile, Brian and I have re-arranged the house furniture yet again to try and be more efficient. We have moved our formal dining table into the breakfast area and covered it with a casual tablecloth (for protection). We then downsized the breakfast table and moved into the formal dining room (that we never used). We also moved the computer desk and drafting table into the front room. So far, we love it. It is now a computer/craft room. I am really hoping to start sneaking time to scrapbook a page or two here and there as soon as I can get my area set up. Hopefully this will happen in the near future. Then I can scan my favorite pages and post them here in this blog! Cross your fingers and hope it works...

Painting Pumpkins

Our craft project for this weekend was to paint our Halloween pumpkins. Kaylyn is still too young for carving so we're saving that for next Halloween. Instead, we picked up a bag of mini-pumpkins at Target today. When Jack took his afternoon snooze, we headed to the garage to paint our gourds. Kaylyn had a great time and took a few Backyardigans big-wheeling breaks when she needed inspiration. We enjoyed the beautiful fall day. We also spent some time talking to our neighbors. We found out that our neighbors to our left just had their baby yesterday! We also found out that one of the assistant teachers from Kaylyn's school lives down the street!! Kaylyn gave her a big hug when she saw her. She's such a sweet girl. Well, check out our pictures here.

There he goes....

Well, Jack is now an expert "scoocher". He doesn't seem like he wants to crawl on his hands and knees like most babies. He prefers to use the elbow/tummy/toes method. He seems happy as long as he can get around and he's very fast. The other night I was giving Kaylyn and bath. I went to check on Jack in the living room and he had managed to scooch himself all the way under the piano bench at the front door!


Kaylyn acts more and more grown up by the day. She says the funniest things. My favorite phrases are: 1. "No Mommy/Daddy, you don't understand!" 2. "Wow Mommy/Daddy! It's beautiful (or wonderful)!!" 3. "Good morning, handsome!" (to Jack when he wakes up) Jack seems to enjoy her company. He especially thinks its funny when she's having a mini-meltdown and crying. He smiles and laughs at her...which makes her more mad.

First Day of School

Well, Kaylyn started preschool the other day. She will be going part-time, 2 days a week. However, she loved it so much that Brian and I are thinking of putting her in for one more day a week. She didn't cry when we left her there, but had a huge meltdown when it was time to go home. I think her exact screams were "NO, I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!!" This meltdown lasted all the way down the hallway and into the car and for about another 45 minutes after we got home. Brian and I are sure that the school staff thinks we beat/torture her at home.

Ms. Tamika is her teacher. She said Kaylyn did really well. She said it seemed like Kaylyn had been in school before because she particpated well and knew all her colors, shapes, numbers and letters. I guess we prepared her well. She's a smart cookie. She did have trouble transitioning into naptime. (Imagine that!) Well, I think she's going to love being in school. Now we can have some more quality time with Jack while Kaylyn's away. When she's home, it's always "her turn".

See more recent pics of the kids here.

My Little Cowboy

Well, Jack is 9 months old now. Where does the time go?? Kaylyn is enjoying playing with him. Yesterday she made him into a cowboy and he didn't seem to mind. Most of the time they enjoy the other's company. Guess I should enjoy it while I can because it won't last forever. I know what it's like to have a sibling....Clarissa can relate!

Riding out the Storm

Here's a picture of part of the rideout team for the Emergency Center before Ike. The winds were starting to pick up already on Friday afternoon and we were playing around outside enjoying the fresh air before the hospital went on lockdown (they called it "tuck-in") procedures. I was assigned as 1 of 2 charge nurses on the unit for the dayshift for the duration of the rideout team's assignment. We were given the TCH version of "MRE's". They tasted like cardboard. We also slept in various clinic offices while night shift was working. We had one shower on our floor to share between about 50 people. We were told to take "military showers" which meant 2 minutes, choose what you wash, we don't want to know. My good friend Kenya and I were roomies. We shared a sound booth room that they use for hearing tests as our sleeping quarters (see below). The day of the storm and the day after were definitely more stressful because everyone was now thinking of their families and homes and wondering how bad it really was. We all came through it safe and sound. My prayers to everyone who has been affected by this storm. More pictures here.