I'm still here

Don't fall out b/c I am posting. I know I don't do it very often and I can't promise that I will do it more.

The kids only have 9 more days before school starts back and I am very sad. I am not ready for them to go back. It seems as the summer has flown by again. It has rained a LOT this year so we haven't gotten a lot of swimming in. Now the pool is closed during the week which bites.

Since my mom got fired we have been spending more time together. We have been going shopping together... she NEVER liked to shop or do anything when she was working. It's funny in a way but she has learned things about me she didn't know. Like today we were in Wal-Mart and I picked up some bean dip and she says.. you like bean dip too?! I am glad we have gotten closer over the last few months.

I might have a full time job when school starts back. I put in for a job in the High School for a teacher's aide. I was told I would know something by this coming Wed., only a week before school starts back. I have decided if it's meant to be then I will get it if not then I will still be a sub.

Lauren decided to do PeeWee cheerleading this year and cheer camp started tonight. She really enjoyed it and I know she will be a great cheerleader. She loves dancing and jumping around.

Hunter decided to do fall baseball. I can't wait to see him play again. It's been too long since I have watched him play. He wants to try out in the 9th grade for the school team so he's going to play as much as he can till tryouts.

I was thinking the other day about the kids and how fast they are growing up. In 5 years Hunter will be a senior and Lauren starts 7th grade that year! I wish we could go back to him just turning 5 and her being 3 months old. My how time flies!!

Zoo Pictures

Hunter and Lauren

Lauren, Hunter and me

Hunter and Lauren with the birds

Hunter and Lauren with the Ape

a little bit of everything

The kids and I went to Little Rock Wed. to shop for school clothes, shoes and a backpack. Hunter got a few pairs of jeans and some shirts to go with them. Both of them got a pair of shoes. Lauren found her a backpack. She had already found a lunch box BUT the backpack she got has a matching one that hooks to the backpack so I think I am going to order her one as a surprise.

We also went to the Little Rock Zoo while we were running around. I have pictures but blogger and/or my computer is acting out so I will have to post them tomorrow!

Tomorrow we are heading to the pool. It's been almost a month since our last visit. Hunter had his wreak and was scared to swim with the road rash and then Lauren got an ear infection so now that they are both healed we are going.

Sat. is the annual golf tournament for my 2 cousins that passed away. I would LOVE to go but it's over 5 hours away now and it's not looking like we won't be making it. :( It got moved last year so we didn't make it then either.

Well it's after 1:30 am and the kids are going to be ready to go to the pool as soon as it opens so I need to run. Night!

Different stuff

I just noticed that I hadn't updated about Hunter's report card... HE PASSED!! He's going to the 8th grade! I can't possibly be old enough to have an 8th grader. Right?! He's not ready for school to start back tho. Lauren asked me Friday how much longer she had till school started back. I take it she's ready to go back lol. We just have to get 2 boxes of tissues and 2 more packages of notebook paper and a new backpack and she's good to go.

I figured out what was up with her not wanting to stay the night... I think. She had told me her ear was hurting a few days before the sleepover but hadn't really complained that much till she came home. That Friday I took her to the doctor and sure enough she had a nasty ear infection. The same ear infection that she is still complaining with. Back to the doctor with her.

We haven't been doing much swimming b/c of her ear and Hunter's road rash. He's good now we have to wait on her.

Speaking of that we got a call from the insurance company. They went and had the vehicle fixed with only 1 estimate and now say we owe $3700.00! Holy crap... can they really do that? That was the first we talked to anybody. Please tell me someone out there as something good to say?!

I am trying to decide if I want to work at a different school this year or not. I really want to be at the kids school but the other school has a full time aide job open. It's a paycheck every month but it's not with my kids. If I knew I would work as much as I did at the end of the year last year it wouldn't even matter about the other job. I am wondering if I stay will I still be at the top of the sub list or will I only be at the top when the top one is busy? I hate to take another step back at the kids school like I did the year before. But I also hate to pass on a steady paycheck to find out I'm back at the bottom again! I HATE having to make choices like these!!! Somebody help me!

OK I am off to try and sleep. Last night was a restless night so I am tried but not sleepy!

You just never know

Today had to be one of the worst days of my life as a mother. Lauren had gone to stay the night with my mom so this morning I stayed in bed when Hunter got up. He got dressed and told me he was going to ride his 4 wheeler. I told him to take his cell phone and please be careful. We said our I Love yous and he walked out the door. The phone rang at 10:40 and I all I hear is "your son has been hit by a car"... "he's ok". I couldn't get to him any faster. All the time my mind was racing with all the "what if's". Once I got there and got my eyes on him I lost it. The police were asking him if he was OK and some other stuff and all I could do was cry! He told me he was OK and he looked OK but all I could think was OMG what if! After I calmed down. I was told he was coming out of the woods and couldn't stop in time. He thought quick enough to jump off the 4 wheeler before the car hit it... THANK YOU GOD for watching over him. The 4 wheeler hit the front of the car and then turned and hit the back passenger door before landing in the ditch. He ended up with some major road rash but other wise is OK. I am SO very thankful that today is almost over now!

I can't believe June is almost over

Where did this month go? I want summer to s l o w down. I am enjoying the time off. The kids are enjoying the time off.

We are trying to find a new Church. The one we have been going to is a great Church but there are no kids. I want my kids to remember VBS like I do. I always looked forward to that week every summer. Of course there is more to it than VBS. We are just looking for something that has more to offer the kids. Today we visited one I think might work. We will visit again and see where it leads.

Being the mother to a full blown teenager has been fun lol. He has days that I just want to lock him in his room and throw away the key. Most days are good tho. I will just be happy when he gets full lol his stomach is never ending. Tonight we grilled steaks. We had baked potatoes and brown beans with them. He then ate a bowl of chicken and dumplings and a piece of cake. If he's awake he's eating something. We are now looking each other in the eyes. He's LOVING that one but I just keep reminding him no matter how big he is I will always be his mother who is older and wiser lol!!

Lauren can't get enough of the pool. I think she's really a fish. The other day we went to the pool and she came swimming up to me and said she had find a $5 bill in the deep end and couldn't get it. I went out with her and got it for her. She is forever finding money in the pool. She then eats lots of ice cream with her found treasures.

I am off to watch a movie. Everyone is on bed so I get the tv to myself. :)

13 years ago...

today I was laying in a hospital bed waiting to meet the baby I had been carrying for the past 9 months. It was not an easy labor but the end results where worth it all. My baby boy was born at 12:59 pm (11:59 pm where we live now lol) and he has kept me on my toes ever since. I can't believe it's been 13 years. I am not ready for the teenage years... the dating, the smart(er) mouth, the hormones or the 8th grade. Oh my... my baby's not a baby anymore! When did that happen?

Happy 13th Birthday Hunter, I love you!!!

100th post

I have been dreading writing this 100th post b/c nothing is really happening around here but here it goes.

Lauren and Hunter are both out of school and fighting like cats and dogs most of the time. I am grateful for them having their own bedrooms. I did see on another blog something I really need to try... she is making her kids hug for five minutes when they fight. That would kill mine.

The pool opened but the kids don't know that yet. The water is still so cold. I know they won't care and I don't plan to swim but I hate to start going so early b/c then they get tried of going. Come August the pools the only place to be here in Arkansas and even then it feels like your swimming in a warm bathtub.

We had talked about taking a vacation this summer but hubby doesn't have any vacation time left and since he's working as a conductor and not an engineer the moneys not as good. We decided to wait till next spring and try to do something big. We are going to do somethings close by throughout the summer. My sil, her kids, my kids and I are going to Wild River Country one day this month. We are aiming for the week of Hunter's birthday.

We are waiting for report cards... they aren't going to be mailed till the 5th. Hunter goofed off the 1st semester and worked his butt off the last nine weeks so we don't know if he made it out of 7th or not. He made 2 100's on his semester tests so we know he can do it... it's his want to that bites!

Lauren was on the Honor Roll all year. Hunter says it's easier in the 2nd grade but even back then he didn't give it his all. I hope that she will always love school b/c it sure makes things better. Hunter HATES it and it makes the school year hellish!

Jenny got a picture of Nate standing up outside the hospital last week. How awesome is that! What a wonderful God!!

I also can't believe it's been 2 years almost since this...http://brandyb.wordpress.com/2007/06/11/shes-gone/

Well I am going to run outside and play with the kids. See you later.

It's OVER..

I didn't think this day would get here but it finally did. Summer break is here... thank you Lord! Lauren's last day was the 20th but Hunter had to take 3 semester tests so he didn't get done till yesterday.

Today Lauren and I went to Benton to sell some clothes at Simon Says... love that store! If you leave close to there you really need to check them out. After we were done there we hit Old Navy. 50% off anything already on sale!! Man I love Old Navy. After that we went to Park Plaza and hit some stores there. Met up with a friend and her girls and shopped and then ate lunch. While the older girls were finishing eating we took the little ones to the candy store. OMG can you believe I paid $11 for M&M's!!! Never ever again will we go to that candy store!

Well I must run and feed the dogs. They are all barking letting me know it's dinner time lol. :)

I may have..

lost my mind. If you have been reading older posts you know we have a dachshund named Lady Bug. She had puppies back in March. We have decided to keep the only girl that lived. So now we have 5 beagles and 2 dachshunds. Yes I am crazy... I know! I just couldn't sell her and Vince fell for her too and of course the kids wanted to keep all of them. Now we need names. We have Blue, Red, Grady, John, Henry and Lady Bug so what do y'all think? She's black and tan and she will be small. Please help us out. Lauren says Princess and Hunter says Honey (we had a black and tan named that when he was a baby) and I haven't a clue. I counting on y'all, please don't make me cry! :)

26 more days till summer!!

This weekend has been a little busy for us. Friday after school the kids and I left for Conway. My nephew's birthday party was Sat. and we always go the night before and stay. Friday night we took the kids roller skating. I did leave my sil with the kids for a hour so I could run to Kohl's and look for a shirt to wear to the Kenny concert. I found a shirt and a pair of black Sketchers on sale for $18.00. After I got back to the skating rink I let my sil and 4 year old niece go home. My baby girl LOVES to skate so I decided to stay and let her do that. Around 10 my nephew fell so I decided that was a great time to head out. Once we got to the house I needed to go to Wal-Mart so her and I left the kids with her hubby and we headed to Wally's. We got what we needed and went back to her house and finally the kids, her and I went to bed around 2 am. Sat. morning we got up, ate donuts, got ready for the party and waited for everyone to get there. After it was over the kids and I headed back home. We pulled into our driveway at 7:00. Of course I am to anal so I had to unpack, wash clothes, run the vacuum, clean the bathroom and get the kids in bed before I could sit down and relax. I got into bed around 11:30 last night. We all slept in this morning.

This afternoon the kids, hubby and I went over to my mom's house for a fish fry. My uncle and his youngest daughter came in from Kansas for a few days. So my other uncle, his wife and kids, my aunt, her hubby and kids, my Mamaw B and us were all together and we had a great time visiting and eating. My aunt took some pictures of my family so I am going to post one. We weren't really dressed for pictures but oh well. Enjoy!

Hi Ho Hi Ho

it's off to work I go. I have worked everyday this week and will finish the week off working too. They have me floating around the High School in the mornings while they are doing the 7th and 8th grade Benchmark tests. In the afternoons I have been a few different teachers who have had dr. appointments or gone home "sick" (sick of the Benchmark test). I am working Tuesday next week too.

A little funny... Monday morning I had the 8th graders out in the gym (they started Benchmark Tuesday) and the Principal comes in to talk to them. He finishes with his talk and I got up and walked over to him to ask him something. He looks at me and says "Oh Mrs. Brandy I thought you were one of them"! Come on I know I look young BUT really 8th grade?!

The puppies had their first "real" meal tonight. They of course ate like 3 little pigs.

Only 28 more days of school!!!!!!!!! Yes I am more than ready for SUMMER vacation. I am ready for the pool to open and us hang out there most days. I am ready to not have an alarm clock waking me up Monday through Friday. I am ready to hung out with my kids and have no worries of homework, tests and grades!

Also one month from tomorrow I am going to see Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum with 2 of my bff's. This will be our first concert together and I am so looking forward to it. This will also be the 3rd time I have seen Kenny.

I need to run and catch the weather and get into the bed before 1 am like I did last night. Thanks to Jenny! :P

Easter Sunday

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We did. We went to Church. Came home ate lunch at the in laws and then came home and rested. My mom and (step) dad come over around 5:30 and brought the kids their stuff. Baby girl got Marley and Me in her basket and her and I watched it after her bath. We both were crying at the end... great movie!! The boy got Bedtime Stories, we are going to watch in tomorrow (maybe). Here's the best picture I got of them this morning. Sat. hubby and son went fishing. Can you tell? We normally do a family picture after Church but when we came out of Church it was POURING so I looked and felt like a drowned dog so we didn't get one. :(

Benchmark testing starts tomorrow. I am not a big fan of this test but who am I?! Say a little pray that the kids aren't too stressed out over them.

The puppies are now 3 weeks old. They are starting to walk. I got woke up this morning around 5 am... they are getting playful and thought that was a great time to start. :) Till next time.

A shout out

for my friend Jenny... she passed the Real Estate test today!! Way to go girl!

After work tonight Jenny, another friend Mary and I went out to celebrate. We had a great time. We ate and talked for 3 hours. We also decided to make this a once a month outing... of course that's not counting our lunch dates. ;)

The kids are out of school tomorrow. Baby girl went over to my moms to stay the night. Mamaw was glad to see her. It lifted her spirits some. Please keep praying for her. Now I am off to watch DVR and then bed. Oh before I forget the littlest puppy has put on some weight. :)

What time is it?

No it's not summer time... tho I do wish it was!! It's SPRING BREAK!!!!!!! :D Time for a week of sleeping in. No homework! Staying in our pj's till noon if we want to. Sleeping in! Fishing trips! Kids going camping with the grandparents! No homework!! Oh we are expecting puppies any day now too. So let the fun begin.

So glad it's the weekend.

Thursday started off bad. Around 2 am my baby girl woke me saying she didn't feel very good. Minutes later we were in the bathroom and she was throwing up. After I got everything cleaned up I got her a place on the floor fixed and the trash can beside her. I decided to do a suppository because she has a habit of going down fast when she gets a bug. She didn't throw up anymore and went back to sleep around 3 am.

At 4:58 am the phone rings!!! Not good for the phone to ring at that hour. I looked at the caller ID and see it's my stepdad. I answer and he tells me he feels bad. Then he says I don't think I am going to make it. WHAT?! I asked what he meant by that and he says he thinks he's dying!! I asked him where he was and he told me he was crossing the county line... ok that's like 2 mins from my house... come here. I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes, call my in laws, and start brushing my teeth. The phone rings again and he says "I've crashed"!!! Ok I am on my way. I jumped in my van and start down the highway. I find a car on the side of the road and pull over. A man is down in the ditch with him and they are standing outside of the truck. I got out and ran to see what happened. The man hadn't seen what happened just seen the tail lights from the highway and stopped to see if the person was OK. He had already called 911 by the time I got there. The man helped me get him to my van and we looked up to another car stopping... a nurse! Thank you Lord for both the man and the nurse. The nurse come to my van to see how she could help. Turns out he had a very bad reaction to something and by this point his throat was swelling up and I believe he was going into shock. The nurse told me she had some benadryl so I ran to her car and grabbed it and she give him some. During all of this I had finally gotten ahold of my mom and we were waiting for her so we could get him to the ER. She pulled up within a few mins of me calling and we left for the ER. They run some tests and couldn't figure out what did it but they said it was most diffidently a reaction. So after watching him and running meds they left him go him a few hours later. The real kicker is Wed. around 6 pm he and I talked and he told me he had gotten in something and he was breaking out in hives and itching like crazy. I told him to go get some benadryl and he told me he would. Well the 2 places he went didn't have any so he just went back to the lake to finish his night of running yo yo's. I didn't know he hadn't gotten the benadryl till after the nurse stopped!!!!

After all of that I had to get to Little Rock for my doctor appointment at the Headache Clinic. I couldn't believe my blood pressure wasn't high but it was normal. It was a fasting appointment so they could redue my blood work. Back in August my cholesterol was high so she wanted to see if it was still high. Plus my Vitamin D was super low the last two times.

My mil had gotten the boy off to school for me and my fil kept the girl. Once my mom and stepdad were released they stopped and picked up baby girl. Now that things were getting back to normal (whatever that is) I decided to go ahead and do the birthday shopping I had planned to do while in Little Rock. I got her some really cute clothes, a few toys and a game for the Wii. Mostly from my mom, stepdad and the in laws. I finally headed home and my mom and stepdad brought the kids home... they had picked up the boy from school. When they walked in the door and I looked at baby girl I knew she didn't feel good. I check her temp and it was 103, so I got Motrin in her fast and set her up on the couch. Her temp was 103 again this morning but since that she hasn't had any. So even though we have a bug running it's course I am thankful it's the weekend and I pray I never have to live this past Thursday ever again!

A few more details... for my new readers (if I have any) my stepdad is more of a dad to me than my "real" dad has ever tried to be but for my readers from my old blog I say stepdad because I have posted things about the "real" dad that I wouldn't want people to confuse my stepdad with. Anyway my stepdad is OK. He blacked out after calling me and crossed the highway and hit a HUGE Pine tree head on. He came to and called me back. His truck was totaled but it's just a truck. The only thing that matters is he was OK. I bought him a huge bottle of benadryl and I told him to please have some with him at all times from now on just in case.

meme's

Husband Tag

1. Where did you meet? In High School

2. How long did you date before you got married? 9 months 24 days

3. How long have you been married? Will be 15 years in Nov.

4. What does he do that surprises you? nothing comes to mind

5. What is your favorite feature of his? eyes

6. What is your favorite quality of his? sense of humor!

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Honey

8. What is his favorite color? red

9. What is his favorite food? steak

10. What is his favorite sport? whatever the kids are playing

11. When and where was your first kiss? Feb. 1 1994... in my car when I dropped him off after our first date... hey it was on the cheek.

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? When we sit and watch movies together at home.

13. Do you have any children? Yes, one boy and one girl!

14. Does he have a hidden talent? no

15. How old is he? 33

16. Who said I love you first? I did!

17. What’s his favorite type of music? He really likes a mix of everything.

18. What do you admire most about him? His love for his family.

19. Do you think he will read this? no

HUSBAND MEME

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV: What is on the screen? John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or James Bond

2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch

3. What is one food he doesn’t like? sushi

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? beer

5. Where did he go to high school? Pine Bluff High School

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? fishing/hunting gear

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? cheeseburger

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? steak

10. What is his favorite cereal? doesn't eat cereal

11. What would he never wear? Pink.

12. What is his favorite sports team? the kids :)

13. Who is his best friend? Mark and John

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Nag him about money

15. How many states has he lived in? three

16. What is his heritage? American

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind is it? I would have his mom make him her caret cake

18. Did he play sports in high school? nope

19. What could he spend hours doing? fishing and or hunting

Late call...

7 am is when the phone rang this morning asking if I could work today. Of course I jumped up and turned on the shower. After I got out I ran and woke up the boy and got him in the shower. Went back to start my makeup when I hear the shower in my bathroom running?! Hubby thought it would be a great time for him to get his shower also. You know since he wasn't really doing anything today... angry is what I became. The girl uses our bathroom first thing because her brothers in theirs. Nope not this morning cause daddy's in there being thoughtful and all. I got their pancakes ready and went to finish getting myself together in the steamy bathroom!! Fun time putting on makeup in a steamy hot bathroom! NOT!! Needless to say we were almost late this morning cause the hubby's always thinking of others.

After school the girl was complaining her head hurt. We got home and it only got worse. She finally threw up and about 15 minutes later she felt great. Lovely, she's going to have migraines too. The boy had his first migraine in the 2nd grade also. Gotta love that DNA they share with me. I do thank God that medicine has come a long way so we don't have to suffer like my great grandmother did.

I have been ebaying some and then last night while Im'ing with a friend I came across Etsy!! I got the girl a dress and I can only hope it's as cute in person as it was on there. She wants a Jonas Brothers party so I ordered a guitar cake pan off ebay... I am doing one chocolate and another yellow/white. I am also getting ready to order the invites... they look like concert tickets! How cool is that!?!

One last thing, I never did tell about Brad Paisley. HE WAS AWESOME!!!!!!! I will see him again when he comes back!! I heard Keith Urban and maybe Sugarland where coming... yep I will be there too!! :D

Another Long weekend :)

Hi, it's been a while. I can't believe we are more than halfway through February already. Where has the month gone? It's getting to close to my baby's 8th birthday. Wow 8 years old!! That is so hard to believe! Also there's about 3 months left of the school year... which seems to have flown by too (most days anyway).

We had a nice long weekend and I am sad to see it end. I started a new workout program today. I am sick of looking at myself when I get dressed everyday. But I'm the only one that can do anything about it so I did. I am aiming for 3 days a week to begin... the gym is in town 20 mins from my house. Once the weather warms up my mil and I will start walking again the other days. I would like to lose about 15 pounds and tone up. Swimsuits will be out way to soon.

I am looking forward to the summer. Last summer was such a bummer. Now that I have my migraine's under control more than not I am excited about spending the summer with the kids at the pool everyday if they want. By 2010 I want to have enough money saved to take a trip back to Virginia Beach and show the kids where we lived, walk on the boardwalk with them and show them were the boy was born. It doesn't seem like that was 12 years ago that we moved back home to Arkansas to be close to the grands and great grands. Never a move I regret either. Not that it wasn't great living in Virginia, it was just to far away from the family... and much harder when you have the first grandchild on both sides. Anyway I have rambled enough for tonight.

Been a while

I'm still around. It's been hard to post anything without feeling like crap doing it. I feel like I should feel very blessed and most days I do. But sometimes you just feel like every things against you. Lately I have been there. The boy has been having some problems and I felt like I was failing him. I think I am over that feeling.. I think. It sucks when you kids are hurting, failing, sick and it feels like the only thing you can do is NOTHING!!

I have been keeping up with little Harper and Brayden. They are both improving so much and I am so happy for their parents. I was glad to have come across their blogs and have enjoyed following them. But then I came across another blog... The Maxey family has been through so much and now are facing so much more. It's just NOT fair for any parent to know what losing a child is like. CANCER TRULY SUCKS!!!!

When I read about parents losing a child I have to remember my aunt lost 2 within 2 years of each other. How do you go through that? How do you go on?

I also have a family that is heavy in my heart right now. The guy is waiting for a kidney. The other day they thought they had one but it was damaged by the time it got to the hospital. I would love to just be able to make everyone well but that isn't possible...