Ok, I know that I am crazy blog girl tonight.....but I thought maybe I should catch up on all the post I have been meaning to do....just in case I should perish on our vacation. ;)
Seriously though, if you guys wouldn't mind- I would love your prayers. We are headed out on our vacation Sunday. We are doing a Disney cruise Sunday- Wed and then will be at the Parks Thursday- Sunday. Has anyone heard of Tropical Storm Hanna??? Yep she is the one who threatens to follow me my whole vacation. Seems she wants to be in the Bahamas when I am supposed to be and then in Florida when we get there. I know that worrying doesn't help/or change anything....but I believe that Prayer DOES. So PLEASE pray that the hurricane changes course so that we don't have a crazy vacation. I really want this to be a very special time for our family and we are all SO looking forward to it. Thank you guys!!!
DISNEY HERE WE COME !!!! ( hopefully)
Last year when I dropped Emma off at school for the first time I cried...a lot. This year, my heart ached slightly at the thought of her growing up so fast ...but I was not as sad as last year. We both know what to expect this year and she has lots of friends who were waiting there to hug her and welcome her back. Last year we only knew one girl so Emma was a little shy, at first anyway. So, we took the traditional first day pictures, one in front of the school and one with the teachers. ( I will post them later) and then off she went. She didn't look back...I grabbed her to hug and kiss her as she speed away but she just said "Bye MOM". I am glad she isn't one of those kids who holds on to the Mom's leg and cries and has to be peeled off...but a little " I'll miss you" would have been nice.
After she went in her class a friend and I walked down to the cafeteria for the Yahoo/Boohoo breakfast with the other parents. I thought I would be fine this year. I was actually thinking this morning "Yahoo" she is going back to school. I will be able to get so much more done at work now, but then as I sat there sipping my coffee and eating my danish...something changed. I started thinking about her growing up and how soon she was going to be gone and my yahoo....turned into a boohoo. I was overwhelmed with emotion and had to leave. I threw my food away and walked out. I barely made it to the car before I started bawling. What is my problem???? I am a little pre-menstrual, but I was NOT expecting that. I thought I was going to be fine this year, guess I was wrong. I have been teasing my sister-in-law about this same thing for YEARS. She used to cry every year and I didn't get it....now I do. Sorry Stace....you were right. Why is it that everything I teased her about is now coming true in my life with my child?? I think God must have a great sense of humor!!!
So...what about you? Did you/will you cry on the first day of school?
Last weekend I noticed Emma trying to sound things out as we were driving...billboards, street signs, etc. I listened and she knew all of her sounds really well. I thought that maybe I should pull out the "Bob books". ( If you are not familiar, they are early reader books. Think Dick and Jane. ) So, tonight I pulled the books out just to give it a try. I couldn't believe it!!! She just started sounding out the words ( granted, they are only 3 letter words) and ended up reading about 4 of the books. We even called my Mom and Dad and Aunt Stacey and Uncle Dave and MADE them listen to her read over the phone. I am sure they were thinking "why the heck did I answer the phone", but whatever, she was proud of herself and wanted to share it. Can't blame her....I am proud of her too!!!
While I am very happy for her it is yet another milestone gone. Emma is growing up so fast. Sometimes it makes me want to cry. Her life is just speeding by me. I know all too soon she will be grown. Being a Mommy is so hard....but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Lord, please help me to remember what a privilege it is to be a Mommy and not take it for granted. Help me to cherish all the little moments with Emma and remember that all too soon these times will be gone.
So, I couldn't come up with anywhere I was really crazy about taking Emma this summer. We all have been talking about doing a Disney cruise for awhile now. We even sent away for the free DVD that tells you all about it. So, as I said in my previous post, when I mentioned taking Emma this summer by myself, Tim was NOT happy. So, I decided not to do that. Then we were out of town with some friends last weekend and they said that they were going on a Disney cruise over Labor Day weekend. So, long story short...we are going with them!!! The cruise is Sunday through Thursday and then we are going to hang around and go to all the parks through the weekend and come back Monday.
I am so excited!!! I can't wait to see Emma's reaction to everything. I know that she is going to LOVE it!! We even made a reservation to have dinner with the Princesses one night when we are at Epcot.
I got a really good deal on the cruise and then Disney is offering free dining plans right now when you buy your hotel and hoppers together though them. I was even able to use miles to buy our airline tickets.
I CAN'T WAIT!!!
So, I am thinking of taking Emma for a little vacation this summer....just she and I. I think she is old enough now and we could have a lot of fun. But, I am having trouble coming up with somewhere to take her. I was thinking about taking her on a Disney cruise. I actually even found a REALLY great deal on one, but then Tim vetoed that idea. We have been thinking about doing that as a family for a long time now, so he would prefer if we include him in that one. So....now I don't know. We already did the Great Wolf Lodge, we did Sea World last year.......
Anybody have any ideas??? I would love some input.
This past weekend I went away with 2 of my girlfriends to a scrapbooking retreat.....it was great!!! It was nice to get away and relax with friends and... I got 46 pages done! Yea!!!
It was definitely the nicest place we have been so far. Usually we have to order our meals out or fix food for ourselves while we are there, which is fine, but it does take time away from our scrapbooking. But oh no...not this time. We were so spoiled this weekend! We were in a large room in the back , with nice comfy chairs, a stocked drink refrigerator and loads of snacks. Then, the best part.....at meal times, a sweet girl would come in and say "ladies your meal is ready". I love her, I want her to come and live with me. It was so nice to be able to just come to the table, have great food to eat and then go back to scrapbooking while someone else cleans up. How nice is that?? If I ever win the lottery.... I'm gonna get me one of those.
Anyway, it was a fun weekend. Lots of scrapping, good friends, good food and adult conversation. Love it!!
Seriously......I used to laugh at people who liked video games......but now, I am addicited. I love our new WII. I love the bowling and the boxing!! Boxing is my FAV!!! I love smacking that little guy until he goes flipping over and has stars circling his head. How fun is that???
Emma is loving it too!! She HAS to box every morning before school. I think I am living with the lighweight champion of Texas. She seriously kicks booty!
We are even having friends over this weekend to have a WII championship tournament.
It is going to be so fun!
It all started because my friend showed me a video about the new WII fitness that is coming out in May. It looks so amazing! It is like a personal trainer in box. You can even do Yoga. So, I bought a WII so I could do the fitness thing, I never thought I would like all this other stuff. I can't wait until the fitness thing arrives on my door step.
Today I bought the Winter Sports game. It has skiing, bobsleding, ice skating, speed skating....I can't wait to try it tonight!!!
How about you? Have you played a WII before? Do you love it??
I have really been struggling with some stuff lately..... Sometimes I feel stupid sharing with people, so I just keep things to myself. This time a friend of mine called right in the middle of it all and I anwsered the phone. Why?..I don't know. Anyway, I was a ball of mush, so I blurted it out. Long story short....they have all rallied around me and made me feel loved. I really appreciate that. Sometimes I feel like I am out here all alone, but not this time. I am thankful that God has placed so many awesome people in my life. I guess he knew that I was going to need them. Thank you guys so much!!! I really appreciate all of you.
We were talking with some friends of ours last weekend and they said that for Valentine's they were just going to stay in and cook. I thought that sounded like a great idea!! I hate going out and fighting the crowds on Valentine's.
So, on his way home Tim stopped and picked up stuff to cook for us. He made steaks, salad, french bread and corn ( for him) and peas ( because he knows they are my favorite). How sweet was that? He also had cards waiting for both his girls. Emma loved hers!! She was so excited to get a card too.
Anyway, it was a great night! We ate, talked and watched Lost. Does it get better than that?
Hope everyone else had a great Valentine's Day too!!!
We have a new addition to our family!!!
The Sunday before we left for our trip, I sent Emma and Tim to Chuck E. Cheese to get out of my hair. I needed to finish packing and getting the house clean. Since Emma's party was 2 days after we got back from Vermont I needed to get most everything done before we left. Anyway, when they were leaving Chuck E. Cheese there was a sweet little kitty that came up to them. It was very cold that night and Tim's mercy quality kicked in. He called me....knowing that I can't stand to see or hear about animals suffering. So, he tells me about the cat and I say "ok, bring it home." I figured I could unload it on my parents. They had just lost their cat and were pretty heartbroken about it. But...oh no....they said no. So, long story short....he is curled up next to me in my chair as I type this. I have to say he is a VERY sweet little guy. He lets Emma carry him all over the place and doesn't even seem to mind the dogs. I am not much of a cat person....mainly because I am allergic.....but he is growing on me. Emma loves him. I told her she could name him. She decided on SugarSmack Pudge Stephens. Pudge is the name of the kitten on Higgly Town....but I don't know where she got Sugar Smack from. I guess he is officially staying ....since I had him neutered and declawed while we were gone. I don't think Lizzie will be with us much longer. She has not been in good health for while. So, maybe God gave us this little guy to keep Lucky company when she is gone.
Yea!!!! We are finally home!!!
We had a great trip....Vermont is incredibly beautifull. (I will write more details about the trip later). However....getting home....not so fun.
We were scheduled to leave Manchester at 4:45 yesterday. We had a 120 mile drive from Vermont to Manchester. When we woke up that morning we met with LOTS of snow. There had already been a lot of snow but then it started snowing really hard that morning. They got about 6 inches of snow in a matter of hours. Now I admit it was very pretty...but we knew we needed to leave early to make it to the airport on time. We left early and arrived in plenty of time. It was slow going, but not too bad . Then the fun began.....
We sat at our gate like good little passengers...waiting for our flight. The flight before us boareded. Then their plane sat there. Then they all came off the plane. They were headed to Chicago...in case you haven't heard...Chicago...snow...no flying. So I commented to Tim " sure am glad we didn't choose the flight that went through Chicago...poors guys. I feel sorry for them...but I am sure glad it isn't us". God is sooooo funny. Guess where the plane that was going to pick us up was coming from???? Yep... you guessed it...Chicago!!!! So, no plane for us either. So, I got in the neverending line to rebook. I tried to call from my cell phone while in line to see if I could get anywhere quicker. No such luck. I finally made my way to the front of the line. The woman tells me that there are no more flights or connections to Dallas tonight. So I needed to book something for the next day. So, I say to her " if we try tomorrow where will our plane be coming from....Chicago? She said she didn't know but that my bigger problen is going to be that Manchester is about to get a winter storm dumped on them that night. So she said it could be a few days before we got out of there.
ok....I finished this post last night ...but apparently it didn't post it all. Sorry, I will try to finish the story later.
So I stayed up all night.....but I finally figured out how to make my blog pretty!!! What do you think??
Don't get me wrong, I love being a Mommy....but sometimes, I just get tired. Last weekend Emma had 2 birthday parties to go to, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Then after the party on Sunday we went over to some friends house to watch the football game. So basically I was gone most of the weekend. Then I worked all week, worked out Monday-Thursday night, met with some friends Wed. night. Had another birthday party this Sat., went out for my brother's birthday last night. Went to lunch with friends after church today and then went shopping with my friend most of the day. In my spare time....I am trying to plan a birthday party, a golf tournament, put together a package to auction at the gala at Emma's school and get ready to go on vacation. Do you get the idea???? I LOVE everything I do.....but I am tired.....and now it is almost Monday, and it will all start again. Maybe I should just sell everything and become Amish!! I am glad that I have friends to vent to, spend time with, talk to and lean on. The time I get to spend with my girls makes the load seem a little lighter.
Why do I let my daughter talk me into things I really don't want to do?? I love Emma so much.....but I REALLY do NOT want to have yet another Princess party. We did the Cinderella party last year, and I very much enjoyed it. I loved the "fluff" of the whole event. Some of my friends still think I am insane for that party. But, I loved it....she loved it....it was fun. However, it was a lot of work and I really am not up to it again this year. But none the less....she has sufficiently beaten me into submission and we are having an Ariel party . I told her I wasn't going to go all out this year like I did last year. We are going to do an "Under the Sea" theme this year, instead of focusing on the Princess side of it. I think we are going to decorate the house to look like we are underwater. I am still thinking on the details of how that will happen, so any suggestions are welcomed. Anyhoo, as Emma so wisely pointed out, this will probably be the last year she will want a Princess party, so I guess I should have it while I can. I know someday I will look back and wish she still wanted to have these kinds of parties. But right now I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. The timing of the whole thing isn't ideal either. The only day "Ariel" was available was the 9th of Feb. We are going to Vermont the week before and won't get back until the 7th. Those of you who are my friends and know the meltdown mode I go into before any event at my house.....are gasping right now. Yes...I know....2 days to get ready for the party.....this could get ugly!!!
