Life's Ups and Downs...and My Place in it All

Today my husband, Doc, and I had an Easter Egg Hunt for our two little ones, Baby Boy and Big Brother.  We separated them so each could have their own thing going on.  In Big Brother's case, this was an Egg hunt for eggs with M&M's and 1 egg with $1.00 in quarters (because that seems like more money to him than a dollar bill).  We hid his eggs in various places in our back yard.  Baby Boy's egg hunt was more like dropping all the eggs in an area the size of a 4 foot by 4 foot square.  He is not yet walking and he hasn't been outside much yet.  I figured his main interest would be in the dormant grass he was sitting in.  Here are the results of our egg hunt.    You know it was funny watching Big Brother as he would go from one end of the yard to the other end passing by countless eggs just to pick up one egg he had his eye on.  It was like he didn't even notice all of the other eggs he was passing--You know, he probably didn't see all the other eggs.   

Baby Boy got more out of shaking the eggs than anything else.  We put Cheese-It Crackers in his eggs (no candy for him yet).  He liked the crackers--and was happy eating them while we played baseball with Big Brother...

If you notice closely, in the third baseball picture you can see Baby Boy's feet right under the bat.  He sat there for about 15 minutes munching on crackers.  He never moved from that place.  Big Brother, on the other hand, tried as hard as he could to hit the ball that Doc threw for him--no luck today though.  He has gotten ahold of a couple of pitches before, but his mind was on eating his candy--not on hitting the ball.  I just love how he closes his eyes in the last picture--I am sure he will hit the ball that way :). 

Finally, we got both boys sitting outside next to each other to get those cutsie brother pictures--We actually had plans to get Easter pictures Thursday, but with Big Brother coming down with Strep Throat, we decided not to go get the picts.  Maybe later...In a month or two. 

Now, you might wonder what is going on here...Well in the second one Big Brother is showing Baby Boy his crackers in his eggs...In the third one Big Brother is reacting to Baby Boy dumping all his eggs out (he thought that was not good apparently)...and in the last two I was trying, unsuccessfully, to get both of them to look at the camera and smile at the same time.  The best I could do was the fourth pict---a smile from Big Brother and a scowl from Baby Boy.

Happy Easter!!!

I got a new gadget today!  It is the greatest thing since a crockpot!  I am so excited...I got a BreadMaker!!!  I made fresh, hot white bread and homemade dinner rolls today!  Yes, I said TODAY (as in within 24 hours---Actually within about 6 hours).  Also, almost NO CLEANUP!!  A working mom's dream...(well, maybe not the ultimate dream--oh, yes I can think of a much better dream :)  ).

Here are pictures of my accomplishment!!  They were so good too. I will not be buying anymore $3.00 bread at the store!!  I will make my own homemade bread and get 3 or 4 loaves for $3.00.  I may gain 15 pounds, but hey--I'll be eating good!! 

So here is an update:

Big Brother has strep throat :(  He has been on antibiotics for 1 day now.  He had to easter egg hunt by himself as he is contagious. 

Baby Brother doesn't like his antibiotic.  He threw it up this morning, his but is red and rashed from the poopin' that he is enduring. 

How is it that kids are so resilient that all this can be happening to them and they still want to play and laugh and cuddle?  Thank goodness this is spring break as Doc would have had to stay at home for an entire week (I cannot take off with them anymore--I am out of sick days).

Tomorrow is my last day of freedom--I have enjoyed my week (even with the constant changing of clothes, diapers and bed sheets due to Baby Brother and his massive elimination rituals due to meds).

I am trying out my new bread machine today (I should have freshly baked bread within the hour--And no mess to clean up!  I love it.)

I'll take a picture of it and tell you how it tastes--I agree with Emeril--We need "smellevision."

After reading  Shupe's Blog I was reminded of a frightful sight that I got at Walmart a couple of years ago.  I was wondering around and looking at bedspreads for Big Brother's double bed, when all of a sudden these younger, gang-banger types come up and begin looking through the bedding as well.  From what I gathered, they were trying to outfit one of their bedrooms with new bedding.  Okay, whatever--so I go back to looking for my son's new bedspread when all of a sudden one of the boys reaches up to the top of the shelf to get a bedspread that he could barely reach.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw this...

Now, this is just what I wanted to see that day.  The boy had absolutely no underwear on and he was wearing his pants down below his but.  The only thing saving us all from a view of his heiny was a long t-shirt.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I am pretty easily embarrassed.  I do believe I looked away very quickly and blushed.  Needless to say, I went about my business and never did decide on a bedspread. 

Now that I think back on this moment, I wish I would have said something.  If nothing else, I should have laughed.  Surely the boy could afford some underwear--He was getting a new bedspread for heaven's sake.

Well--Hopefully someone out there has splurged for some new undies for the boy.  Happy Easter!

This week has been a wonderful and restful week.  We had my parents here Sunday through Tuesday.  I had a great time with them and enjoyed seeing the boys visit with their grandparents.  It isn't until I visit with my parents and my inlaws that I realize how fast our lives are changing and how fast the boys are growing.  Each time they see our kids, they see all these new things that each of them are doing, whether it is motor skills such as walking, or just growing up into a larger versions of the little boys that they once were.  I have enjoyed being home and keeping the house together.  It is actually cleaner right now (while I sit here typing) than it has been in the last 6 months--The surprising thing is I really still have not finished cleaning.  I need to do bathrooms, laundry, vacuuming, dusting--and yet...just the picking up that I have been able to do has helped tremendously.  I cannot wait until summer is here and I can hang up my teaching hat. 

Other things that have happened this week---

Baby Boy has double ear infections (he is now on antibiotic)

Baby Boy has 3 new teeth coming in (this will be 5 in the past 2 weeks)

Big Brother started running fever today.

Big Brother went to his first Big Kid Movie today at the theatre--complete with candy.  He did really well according to Doc--He made it through about 3/4 of the movie before getting bored.

Doc and I went out on a date (yea!)--went to see Vantage Point (very entertaining--especially to those who like to figure out movies), played pool and went to eat at Abuelos.  We had lots of fun and are glad we got out.

Hopefully the remainder of the week will keep bringing us surprises and fun.  All of you have a great week.

I thought I would share some pages that I did a while back.  I am still playing around with Adobe Photoshop Elements Version 5, but I am liking it.  I have a long ways to go before I have it all down.  There is so much you can do.  I love doing these scrapbook pages because everything is completely free.  I will never buy another embellishment, sticker, stamp, inkpad, paper or anything else (unless it is a digital kit).  The other wonderful thing about scrapbooking digitally is that you can reuse every element and paper and embellishment & you can create your own in the programs.  In the above page, I downloaded the wings and the heart.  I made the title in Adobe and I cropped the photo in Adobe.  In the second page, "Handsome guys," I got all the paper and ribbon and titles from freebies that I downloaded.  I cropped the picture out in Adobe Photoshop Elements as well.   If any of you are interested in digital scrapbooking, here are some good places to get started. 

Two Peas In a Bucket (this one has online tutorials and free downloads)

Free Digital Scrapbooking

Digital Scrapbook Place (this one has great tutorials)

Scrapgirls

http://lindsayjanedesigns.blogspot.com/ (my absolute favorite place to get freebies--I have a lot of her stuff)

If you scrapbook digitally or on paper, invite me to be a friend.  I would love to see some of your pages.  I will share mine also. 

TGIF!!!  I cannot tell you how ready I was to get out of school today---It wasn't the lack of students due to the neverending amount of extracurricular activities on their plates.  It wasn't the kid who has never passed a math TAKS test who was taking a benchmark and after I had told them 3 times to get a calculator from my room (we were in the computer lab), he asks me for a calculator and then rather than getting his lazy arse up and walking 18 steps to my room, he proceeds to try and use the calculator on his computer (it has no graphing capabilities, dumbass!).  It wasn't the grades that the students who normally do well are getting because they are not in class due to the aforementioned extracurricular activities and their excessive laziness in getting to my classroom to ask for help/guidance over the topics covered while they were gone.  It wasn't the fact that nobody wanted to work today as it was the last day before spring break...No, it wasn't any one thing today....It was ALL of it--And I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there! 

I am free!!!  Free for a week!!!

I am so happy!  Spring Break has finally come upon us.  I have those students of mine for a couple hours tomorrow morning and as soon as they let me, I am OUTTA THERE!!  I have most of my grades done (they are due at 4:00pm the Monday I get back.)  I am sick of reminding people to do their work and study.  I am excited to spend a week with my family.  Grandparents are coming on Sunday (Big Brother is ecstatic!).  Doc and I both have the week off together (he is post-night float).  I am seeing at least 1 date, an Easter Egg hunt, some great baby picts and lots of sleeping in (8:30am is sleeping late in my house)!!  I cannot wait!  With any luck we will have wonderful weather and no more freezes.  I am going to get out in my front flower bed on Saturday and start pulling grass while it is still dormant.  I need to get a handle on the weeds.  I will then have a house to clean, but that is okay---I can handle it cause I get to rest the whole week after.

I love spring... 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23188344/

This article caught my eye today while I was reading the news at school.  I lost my grandmother about 3 years ago (soon after Big Brother was born).  She died of ovarian cancer.  She was not my biological grandmother, so to my knowledge, my mother and I don't have to worry about this cancer type.  When I saw this article I shed a couple of tears...tears of joy because they have found this blood test identifies ovarian cancer early with about 95% accuracy, and also tears of heartache because I think, "if only they would have known this 5-7 years ago."  We used to visit her during Christmas or Thanksgiving vacations.  She lived in Kansas until she died.  I remember going to visit her when I was a little girl and going every year until after I was married and had my first child.  I miss her and think of her often...Here she is with Big Brother when he was just 3 months old.  We had gone to visit at Thanksgiving.  This would be one of the last times we saw her.  Here is another picture of her playing cards with Big Brother...We loved to play the card Phase 10 with grandma and grandpa.  Almost every time we went to visit, we would play that or Yahtzee.  These were some of my happiest times growing up. 

I love you Grandma... 

I am so excited!! I finally got my Noodles and Eggs Boy!!!  My grandmother would be proud as I am finally able to pass the torch of eating noodles and eggs to one of my sons!  My mother used to feed me noodles and eggs when I was little.  She did this because as a child, her mother would also feed her the same thing.  Noodles and eggs were cheap, so with a family of 6 kids, grandma had to be frugal. 

Now, most people hear this and think, "okay---so what?"  When I tell them how I ate the noodles and eggs, I start seeing their expressions.  My husband, to this day, will not try my noodles and eggs.  "What do I do to them, you ask?"  Well, I boil and drain the noodles (elbow noodles) and then I scramble and egg in them.  And then, the wonderful last minute salute!!!....I top it with a little sugar.  Yes, I said SUGAR!  My mother has always tried to explain to me that eating them with sugar is for kids, and that adults eat them differently, but what can I say, I am a kid at heart. 

My firstborn will not eat noodles and eggs...he has never liked them from the beginning.  There has been many an evening while Doc is at work that I will make myself noodles and eggs and also Ramen noodles for Big Brother.  Well, last night I decided to make noodles and eggs.  Now that Baby Boy is 11 months old, and since we don't seem to have any food allergies in our family, I decided to make him some as well.  I made Big Brother's Ramen, and I made my heaping plate of noodles and eggs, and then a bowl for Baby Boy.  To my delight, HE LOVED THEM!!!   He ate all that I gave him and he squealed with happiness!  We both cheered and stuck our hands up in the air. 

The funny part about all of this is that Big Brother noticed that Baby Boy and I were eating something different from him...He said, "Why don't you like to eat my noodles?"  I told him, "I do like to eat Ramen noodles, but I like noodles and eggs better.  You can try ours if you want."  Of course he said, "No."  Ah, what can you do?  I guess I will be happy with my one noodles and eggs boy!!

Oh, by the way--Adults are supposed to eat noodles and eggs with vinegar.  Yes, I said VINEGAR!  YUCK!!  I guess I like my sweets.

  Here are a couple of shots of Big Brother eating his Ramen.  As I was getting pictures of Baby Boy, he was insisting that I take pictures of him too.

Here he was showing me how he "slurps" his noodles...This is his newly learned talent...

I love them both so much!!!

Oh Boy!  Baby Brother has gotten his first teeth!  His bottom front two teeth are poking through.  We brushed them for the first time last night after dinner.  The toothbrush I used is called a "finger toothbrush."  (pictured here) Now, Baby Boy LOVED the toothbrush.  I believe this was mainly because he could bite on it and I could play with him with it.  It comes in it's very own little case.  We'll see how long before it is no longer a toothbrush and just becomes a fun toy. You will notice from the picture of Baby Boy (above) that his top teeth are soon to follow.  The best part of all this is that he has not yet needed to have pain relief for cutting these teeth.  (well, that is the best part for him...the best part for  mommy is that he has only tried to bite me 3 times.  Not too hard--I winced a little.  When I told him no and quit nursing him, he thought it was funny.  He is starting to wean himself I think.)

Wow!  I was in the line at the grocery store today and I noticed the headlines of both the Star and the National Enquirer.  They made me cringe, as they usually do.  On the cover they were both referencing Barack Obama as gay and in a marriage where he and Michelle were constantly fighting due to multiple adulterous affairs.  Now I know that most of us Americans realize that most of what is printed in these rags are trash and untrue, but it made me begin to ponder all the other things that I have heard about Barack Obama.  I listen to Sean Hannity on the radio almost everyday on the way to and from work.  I am always curious to hear the other side's opinion of our political system.  I continue to learn things and feel enlightened.  I have continuously heard Sean Hannity reference Obama in relation to an underground group and also having ties with a man who admitted bombing some of our nations buildings.  What I want to know is what is true and what is made up??  I am so confused and I consider myself very educated.  It worries me that American people will be swayed by what is not true because so many people are trying to effect votes by injecting fear into voters.  What do all of you think?  I am not a Obama fan, but my opinions of what he might be able to do with our country are not based on any of the things that I have discussed above.  What do all of you think?  Have the references of him being Muslim or having ties to Al Qaida swayed you at all?

I close with a thought---Some of my students believe many of these things.  Is this an effect of what they have heard their parents say?

1)  Herbert's Taco Hut in San Marcos, TX (Regular dinner or Huevos Rancheros)

2)  Red Lobster (Crab Legs with no butter, cheddar-garlic biscuits and a salad with honey mustard dressing)

3)  Chris Ruth Steakhouse (Steak)

4)  Taco Lady in San Marcos, TX  (bean and cheese breakfast taco, potato&egg&bacon&cheese breakfast taco and a coke)

5)  Cattle Baron (salad bar)

6)  Olive Garden (lasagna and breadsticks)

7) Italian Garden in San Marcos, TX (anything--all homemade and wonderful from Italian immigrants)

8) San Marcos River Pub and Grill (not really sure--It is all about sitting out on the deck and watching people go over the falls in the San Marcos River--Tequila maybe?)

9) Texas Roadhouse (rolls and crispy chicken salad with honey mustard because I don't feel so bad about the 10 rolls I eat with honey butter when I am there--please don't be the one to inform me how many calories that salad actually has in it--Let me wallow in my ignorance :) )

Yes, a lotta San Marcos--I used to live there.

Add your favorites!! 

Wow!  I am constantly exasperated by the number of stores that are closing in our area.  Every time I go to the mall, I notice more "brand name" stores pulling out of our area.  With prices so high, I hear about consumers not being able to spend as much money as they could a couple of years ago.  It boggles my mind when I look on MSN news only to see our president insisting that we are NOT in a recession.  When I look around, everything I see counters that statement.  I truly believe we are in a mild recession, and it could potentially get worse.  These are the stores that I have noticed have closed around here:

Comp USA, Kay Bee Toys, Disney store, Rack Room Shoes, and at least 3 or 4 other small stores in our mall.

What have all of you noticed? 

I have also noticed how much the price of food has gone up.  2 years ago I could buy diapers and 1 weeks worth of food for $50-60.  Now, for the same stuff, I spend about $80-90.  It's crazy.  I am finding myself trying to buy and budget for a month's food so that I can save money. 

Any helpful ideas on that would be wonderfully welcome.

TA-TA!

Here are my boys!  I took these in the morning before going to work and getting them to daycare.  They were playing in our mess of a house.  Baby boy is quite big for his age.  He loves to eat.  Big Brother, on the other hand, is a relatively picky eater.  (See He's eating his veggies!!...and other things!)

Oh, BTW---Big Brother actually asked me last night at dinner if he could have veggies!!!  Then, after eating half of them, he said, "Can we save it and bring it home for me to eat later?"  I about fainted!!!

It is amazing to me, as I sit and watch my older son (Big Brother), that over the past 4 years our lives have changed so much.  4 years ago, I had come to the conclusion that teaching high school math at the school I was working at, just wasn't going to cut it.  Doc and I had decided to have a baby and I would stay at home.  Big Brother came into our lives in Aug. 2004.  He was the joy of our lives.  Doc was finishing his 3rd year of Med school and I stayed at home.  We went to playdates and hung out with friends.  Money was really tight, but we were happy.  After Big Brother turned 1, I started Real Estate school and began selling houses as a Realtor.  I did this for almost 1 year and decided that it was costing me more than I was making.  Doc had graduated Med school and we found out we would be staying in the same city to start Residency.  So that we could buy a new house, and so that we could have another baby, I decided to go back to work as a high school math teacher.  This time I was fortunate to find a wonderful school with a wonderful administrator.  The kids are great.  I was pregnant with Baby Boy, Big Brother was attending daycare, Doc was in his 1st year of Residency and I was happy with my job.  I had Baby Boy, and went back to teaching when he was 4 months old.  We had planned my pregnancy well--I had Baby Boy six weeks before school ended and had all summer off.  Now, Baby Boy is almost 11 months old, Baby Boy and Big Brother both go to daycare, Doc is in his 2nd year of Residency, and I am about to "retire," once again from teaching.  I have 2.5 months left and then I will stay at home with Baby Boy.  Big Brother will start Preschool in August.  I am really excited because my plan, other than staying at home with Baby Boy, will be to really dedicate a lot more time to my Avon business.  I have been selling Avon on the side for almost a year and I love doing it.  I have met many new people doing it and I have made a little money as well.  I have also discovered a new interest in politics.  I feel like I want to become more involved in the local Democratic party.  Luckily my wonderful husband is very supportive in whatever I want to do as long as his income affords it.  We have come so far in the past 4 years.  I try to imagine what our lives will be like in the next 10 years, but it really is not something that I can quite wrap my mind around.