Valentine's Fun

Caleb and I had a great Valentine's night together! He was being so silly, so I had to take some pictures!

Notice the upside down sunglasses! This is the only right way to wear them according to Caleb. And he has a plastic hotdog in his mouth. Looks kind of like a cigar. I did not give my baby a cigar for V-Day.

This one cracks me up! He always has to come at me when I'm taking pictures. He thinks it is so funny to have close-up shots. He likes to look at them after we take them and laugh. Silly kid!

I took this one this morning before we left for school. He was having fun coming up to me, looking up and smiling.
I took this one in the car this morning. He has to have his fire chief hat in the car all the time lately so that he can wear it. He doesn't have his sunglasses on in this picture because they wouldn't go on easily with his hat. He handed them to mom, and when we got to a stop light, I helped him put them back on. Fun times!

My Sweet Valentine

My sweet valentine is not going to be home for Valentine's Day, but when Caleb and I got home yesterday, we had presents scattered around the house! What were these presents? My valentine had left me small cans of Dr. Pepper and had left Caleb small boxes of strawberry milk. When I walked in the back door, I saw one can of Dr. Pepper and one milk box on the island. I opened the frig to get Caleb juice, and there were another set. I then realized that he had probably left them in other places around the house. So I immediately darted around the house to see where they might be. They were on Caleb's changing table, in Caleb's bathtub, in my bathroom and on some of Caleb's toys in the living room. It was so fun running around to find them all! I love my sweet Valentine!

Yay! I got to put pictures on here!

For all of you wanting to see the pictures of Chris and me at the water gardens in Fort Worth a few weekends ago, you can now scroll down the page and see them. Today is the first day all has seemed right when I log into Blogger. So, yay! Go check out the pictures!

A Stormy Night

Wow! We haven't had thunderstorms like we had last night in a LONG time! I remember when I was a kid, it seemed like we had thunderstorms all of the time. Maybe that was because I was deathly afraid of lightning and the loud thunder, but it really seems like we used to have them more often.

Part of me was ticked because it was keeping me awake, and the other part of me thought it was really neat! Except for the part when it was hailing and the part where Chris' car alarm went off...those weren't so cool. But it was nice to have a good rain, and now that I'm older and much wiser, I love thunderstorms. They are so cool! It's fun to relish in the power of them.

When I first heard the storm, I immediately started praying "Don't let Caleb wake up. Don't let Caleb wake up." It wasn't a few minutes later though when you know who woke up. He was pretty scared with all of the loud booms and rain hitting his window, so he wound up coming to bed with us (I know, I know, I should never let him come to bed with us. Bad me!)

So, though I didn't get great sleep last night (and you all know how much I adore sleep!), I am glad we got a good rain and I enjoyed the display of light and sound.

A Sight to Behold

Last Friday, I went to lunch at Freebirds near the church. There was a guy working there that had stretched his ear lobes out to where they are huge. Huge! The whole time I was in line, I was staring at this guy. I didn't want to stare at him. I just couldn't take my eyes from him. I told my coworker in line next to me that I really hoped I didn't get this guy making my burrito because there would be no way I could concentrate on the burrito at hand. Luckily, the guy helped someone out two people ahead of me. I eventually got to where I didn't have to stare at him, but I sure didn't like the feeling of not being able to keep my eyes away from his ears. It was so strange.

I don't get why people feel the need to do things like this to themselves. Attention? Do they really think it looks good? I just kept thinking "We are not in Africa! We don't have to do this to ourselves in America!" It was a very strange lunch experience.

A Great Night!

Chris and I had a great time at the Casting Crowns concert on Saturday night! It was at the Fort Worth Convention Center which is next door to the water gardens. So, before the concert we walked through the gardens which were lovely. These pictures are from the gardens (Well, the pictures will be on here once blogger starts acting right). Actually, only one in particular.

Anyone else having problems with Blogger today? None of the buttons for bold, italics, add a picture, etc. are showing up. Any ideas? Just wait for it to act right? I hate waiting!

Jupiter, to Get More Stupider

Remember this old schoolyard rhyme?

Girls are sexy, made out of Pepsi
Boys are rotten, made out of cotton
Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider
Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars

I remember saying this in elementary school (but I don't remember saying the sexy part...wonder what we said in it's place).

I have been reminded of this rhyme lately because my work is near Jupiter Rd. A few weeks ago, I was on the phone with Chris and he asked where I was. I said "I am at Jupiter.........to get more stupider!" I don't know why this flashed in my mind, but Chris thought it was funny. So then the other day, he asked the same thing and I happened to be at Jupiter again. So I said it again, and Chris started cracking up.

We had a discussion about this on the way to church last night, and I decided that the comedy of it is all in the delivery. You see, you have to say the first part but then pause a second before you say "to get more stupider". It's genious, really. Maybe not. But I think it's funny.

Ahhhh! Cowwww!

We went to eat dinner at Chick-fil-a last night. It so happened that the cow was there at the same time too! The bad things is, Caleb is deathly afraid of any large, plushy animals/characters walking around. He would not eat the whole time we were there. And really, he wouldn't stay in his chair either. He clung to daddy and kept his eye on the cow the whole time. Toward the end, he would wave to the cow, but I'm sure if the cow would have touched him all heck would have broken loose. It's so strange to me that he would be afraid of them. Other kids are playing with the cow and laughing it up. Not my kid. But I guess a large, soft cow running around would be kind of scary to a little kid. It's just not natural. So, if the cow is around, I guess it is take-out time for Caleb.

Getting Home

I had flute lessons last night. Chris did not have his carseat, so he needed to take Caleb home in my car. That meant I would be left with his car....which is a standard. I don't drive standard cars. I can. I just choose not to. I haven't ever had much practice, so it makes me really nervous. But Chris really needed my car, so I agreed to drive his car home.

I was so proud of myself because I actually did do a decent job of driving it. Yes, it was lurching around when I changed gears. Yes, I killed it twice. Yes, those two miles of driving did not have good gas mileage at all. Yes, there are all of those things. But I got home with no accidents or any problems. So I am really proud of myself! Each time I shifted into third, it was really smooth, so I was extra proud about that.

Go me!

This Weekend

I am sooo looking forward to this weekend. I bought Chris Casting Crowns concert tickets for Christmas, and the concert is Saturday night. I haven't been to a real concert in so long, so I am very excited!

The concert is in Fort Worth, and I want to go eat somewhere good there before the concert. Does anyone know of a great place to eat at in Fort Worth? I would like to go somewhere I've never been before.

Thanks for your help! I can't wait to hear what you advice you have!

Ready! Let's Go!

Caleb has been able to say "Ready" for awhile now. I love asking him if he is ready because he enthusiastically says "Ready!" This morning, I kept asking him if he was ready. He kept responding with a hearty "Ready!" But then I would throw in, "Well, let's go!" And it was so darn cute because he would repeat back "Let's go!" to me.

I know I say this all the time, but it is so amazing at how fast kids learn things! And I love the fact that he learns new words each and every day!

The Funny Thing About It Is...

If you read my previous post, I talked about not sleeping much last night.

The funny thing about it is...I'm not tired. Not once today have I felt tired. It seems like on days like today when I didn't get much sleep the night before because of you know who, it doesn't seem to phase me much.

For the whole first six months of Caleb's life, I was stinkin' tired. But the whole time I was stinkin' tired, I also was able to function much better than I thought I was going to. If you know me any little bit, you know I LOVE sleep. I simply adore sleep. I think about the moment when I'm going to be able to crawl under my covers at night all day long. I'm just weird that way. So, Chris and I really thought I was be a basket case when I had to be up with Caleb during the night all the time. But the strange things was, I wasn't. I could actually function pretty decent during all that...which at other times in my life, I couldn't. My reasoning for this was that God knew my weakness of needing TONS of sleep, and he gave me a TON of adrenaline or something to keep me going. There were so many times during that time that I had to will myself to sleep. It's crazy, but I really think God had a big, huge hand in helping me cope. I don't seem to cope real well on my own when I'm tired.

So, I guess today is one of those days that God is helping me cope. It also doesn't hurt that I got to lay around the house all day on MLK day and even got to take a nap with Caleb that day.

So, yay for not feeling too tired!

No Sleep for the Carrolls

I don't know what the deal was last night, but Caleb just wanted to cry all night. He's had a runny nose, so we wondered if that had something to do with it. Chris wondered if he had a headache (how are you supposed to know if a baby has a headache?). I wondered if he was cold. Or just rotten.

We never figured out what the deal was. But none of us got much sleep last night.

Here's hoping that tonight goes much better!

My Rock Star

I have a feeling Caleb is going to be a rock star! He loves to entertain people. Lately, when I change his diaper, etc. he likes to making this screeching noise that sounds like a rock star.

Then over the last week, I have taught him to use toys as a microphone. Yesterday we were using toy drum sticks as microphones. I would sing in one end, and he sang in the other. The great thing is, he used to not ever sing...but now he is singing all of the time! And I love it! It is the cutest thing to hear his little voice singing! And he copies what I sing back to me.

This morning as I was getting ready, I gave him the drum stick to keep him entertained and he sang his heart out for a really long time. Man, kids are so great! And it's so amazing to watch them learn...so quickly!

The States are Calling In!

We have caller ID in our house. So, when someone calls, we never answer the phone unless we recognize the caller's name.

We have had some weird ID's lately. There is one that just says IDAHO, and there is another that just says MONTANA. They have called a few times, and on a few nights they have called with a short amount of time between them.

Chris and I think this is very funny. We like to say "The states are calling in!" We have no idea why we are getting these calls, and they never leave messages. But it gives us a good laugh.

So, MONTANA called again the other night and we had our good laugh about it. I immediately thought "I'm gonna blog about that!" But then I rolled over and went to sleep. So the next morning, I asked Chris what it was we were laughing about the night before. He couldn't remember but said he had wanted to blog about it too.

So we thought about it for a few days, and then Chris finally remembered and sent me an email so that I could blog about it. So here's my post. It sure took a lot to get it here!

Storing It Up

I finally did it! I had been talking about doing it for quite awhile now! I am so glad that I did it!

What did I do? Well, I put all of Caleb's bottles up into storage. This is a HUGE deal to me because I have reclaimed a whole side of my island in my kitchen. I have been meaning to do it for awhile now. The kid is 18 months. He doesn't need bottles. Except I kept using them when his sippy cups/straw cups were dirty...which is quite often.

It's exciting to reclaim at least a little area of the house. As soon as you have a baby, their stuff immediately takes over the house. I know that when the next kid comes along, I will lose that area of my kitchen again, but it is nice to have it back in the meantime.

Yay more space!

Sign Frustration

There is a business near my home with this message on their sign. The message is all fine and good, but the part that drives me NUTS is that the W is obviously an M turned upside down. I always notice it when I drive by, and it always drives me nuts. I know this is a really petty thing to bother me, but it does. I should buy them a new letter W and send it to them. It would make us all happy!

Casey & Lauren's Wedding

Many of you know that my brother got married a few weeks ago. I thought this was a cute idea that they did before the wedding. Of course, the photographer's pictures are WAY better, but here is one I took.
Here is a link to the photographer's pictures if you would like to take a look and play the game "Where is Stephanie (aka. the Whitest Bridesmaid Ever!)?".

One Church

I just found a very disturbing church website as I'm sitting here at home doing some research for work. This church's website says "One God - May Different Paths." Very, very disturbing.

A Good Dinner

On Friday night before Chris got back into town (he was gone all last week for his first class at ACU in order to get his master's degree in Christian Ministry), Caleb and I decided to go eat some dinner...just us. We ordered our food and went to sit down. I then saw a lady that used to go to our church sitting at the table next to us. I started talking to her, and she quickly invited us to sit with her. It was so nice to get to catch up with her on what she has been up to lately, and it was great to be able to share dinner and have a nice conversation with her. I'm glad I decided to go to dinner that night!

Wiggly Fun

Caleb and I went to Kimberlyn & Ellie's party on Saturday which was at the Wiggly Play Center in Frisco. Caleb took a little while to warm up to it, but then he had a great time! Here are pictures of Caleb (and Mommy) from the fun day!

The Eh-Hones

Caleb LOVES his Daddy's earphones! He loves to unplug them, turn the power on, re-plug them in, etc. It is hours of fun!

On Clearance

Yesterday after work, Caleb and I went to Target. While walking by the baby section, I noticed that there was a rack of 75% off clothes. So I veered off my path to check it out. I wound up finding a sweatshirt for Caleb (It's darn cold outside! The boy needs some sweatshirts!!) for 98 cents! 98 cents!! Isn't that exciting! I sure thought it was!! I wish I could find clothes for me for 98 cents!

Then I went to the toy aisle to look at the 75% off sale there (a friend had told me that I needed to check it out). I obviously was a day or two too late because everything was VERY picked over. Too bad I missed out on that one!

Oh, but I also got a cup for Caleb in the dollar section. I love the dollar section!

Self-Awareness

Caleb now knows who he is. If I ask him where Caleb is, he pats his chest. Then last night, we were looking at our family picture on the wall. I pointed to Chris and asked who he was..."Daddy!". Then I pointed to me and asked who that was..."Mommy!" Then I asked who the little boy was, and he pointed to himself! I was so excited that he understands who he is. Even from looking at a picture of himself. Yay, Caleb!

Movie Reviews

Chris and I went to see The Water Horse and The Chipmunks at the Ennis drive-in the other night. Both movies were cute, and I would recommend seeing both of them.

The Water Horse is a story about the water horse in Loch Ness. It was interesting and a clever story. I think kids would enjoy seeing this movie.

Chris and I really like The Chipmunks. I used to watch the cartoon when I was a kid (does anyone else remember that?), and Chris and I both had a record. It was neat to see how they brought the story line in from the cartoons and even played some of the songs that we had on our records. It was a good flick even though I probably really liked it because of "the old days." Kids would really like this movie too.

So there you have it. My thoughts on two movies that I saw recently. Do with it what you will.

A Love Affair With Juice

Caleb loves to drink! Milk, juice, water (well, he doesn't really prefer water). He just loves to drink! He loves liquids way better than he likes food (can this really be my child?)!

Over the past few days, Caleb has started making funny noises like he is making out with his juice when he is drinking. You should hear it! It is so darn funny! I might need to record it so that you get the full image/sound of it. He seriously sounds like he is making out with it! This kid keeps cracking me up!

Movie

I know, I know. Some of you are going to say "You didn't really see that!" "What were you thinking!" "I can't believe you did that!", but here goes...

Chris and I saw The Golden Compass last night. We were curious to see what all the hubbub has been about, so we went to see it. Here are my thoughts on the movie:

• The video affects were really good. All of the animation added in was really seamless.
• It's really not a great story. There doesn't seem to be much to it.
• I thought I would go "Wow, that is cool!" at least a few times during the movie, but I never said that to myself.
• There wasn't anything about it that reeked of atheism. I spent the whole movie trying to dissect everything and figure out if there was a hidden meaning (I really wish there hadn't been a big deal about the movie...I think I might have enjoyed it more. But I just couldn't stop trying to analyze everything in my head.).
• It really was a decent movie, but I just didn't think it was great. I thought I would be more impressed by the story and just the movie in general.

So, honestly, I wouldn't recommend seeing it. Part of me wondered if the movie people created all of the fuss just so more people would go see it. If there had not been such a big fuss, I don't think many people would have gone to see it at all.

And I'm sorry if you're thinking I'm a horrible person for seeing it. It probably won't be the last time I'll disappoint you! :)

I Love Gift Cards!

We went and ate dinner last night on a gift card. Then we went to Barnes and Noble, and I got the next book club book on a gift card. I love gift cards!

Chris is going to come eat lunch with me today...on a gift card.

Tonight, Chris and I are going out on a date and will do it solely on gift cards given to us over the last month! Did I mention that I LOVE gift cards?!

Chris always gets gift cards from his kids at school around Christmas time, and I am always so excited to see what he is going to bring home! We'll have fun for awhile on all of the cool gift cards that everyone got us! Yay!

2008 Books

Rating System 1 (Lowest) - 10 (Highest)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - 7
Alice in Wonderland - 6
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich - 6
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - 5
My Hitch in Hell by Lester Tenney - 7
Bronte by Glyn Hughes - 2
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - 8
The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus - 6
The Shack by William Young - 9
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks - 7
Hide by Lisa Gardner - 8
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl - 6
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - 9
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - 8
Two For the Dough by Janet Evanovich - 7
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - 8
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez - 5
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell - 8
One For the Money by Janet Evanovich - 7
The 5th Horseman by James Patterson - 7
Desparate Passage by Ethan Rarick -
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - 6
Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel - 7
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - 9
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason - 8
The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon - 8
Atonement by Ian McEwan - 7
Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez - 8
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - 8
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar - 8
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - 7
A Light in the Window by Jan Karon - 6
Joshua: A Parable for Today by Joseph F. Girzone - 5
The Ministry of Information Services by David W. McKay - 5
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon - 6
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck - 7
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - 7

Happy New Year!

My Christmas/New Year's break is officially over. I am back at work today and thus life and blogging can resume. It was amazing, but I didn't hardly even look at the computer for the week and a half that I was off work. So thus keeping up with my blog did not happen.

Here is a run-down of all we did over the break:

Thurs & Fri - Finish Christmas shopping
Christmas Eve - Dinner & shelf hanging at Casey & Lauren's
Christmas Day - Wake up at our house and do our own thing, go to Mimi & Poppy's to open presents, lunch at grandmother's, nap back at my parents', then back to grandmother's for leftovers
Wednesday - Friday - At Don & Tianay's for the Carroll Christmas. We stayed there and had a great time!
Friday - Bridal Brunch, Manicures & Pedicures for the girls, Wedding Rehearsal & Dinner
Saturday - Breakfast with Grandmother & Poppy, to Sam's to pick up flowers for the wedding (for throwing as C&L left), to the church to get hair done, finish getting things ready at the church, etc. (My bridesmaid's dress' zipper blew up, so they had to pin me and sew me into the dresss!! Great fun!) Wedding, Pictures, Reception

After all that fun, I was EXHAUSTED! We wound up not going to church that next day, and then we pretty much just rested the past few days trying to catch up. We had a great break, and it was wonderful to see so much family, but it just about did me in. It's actually nice getting back into the swing of things so that life can slow down a little bit (that sounds funny since we are constantly on the go, and I am well-known to be one of the most busy people ever!).

Oh, and Caleb was the ring bearer for the wedding, and he did AWESOME!!! We didn't think there was any way he would go down the aisle, but he did so great! I told Chris that I really wanted to tell him how proud I am of him (which I have many, many times over the past few days), but I really wish he could understand right now how extremely proud of him I was. So Caleb, when you read this someday when you are older, know that your mommy was soooo proud of you! I wanted to jump up and down on the stage and clap for you! I know there will be many more times in your life that I am that proud of you, but this was one of the first times that my pride for you was swelling up so much within in me! I love you!

Merry Christmas from The Carrolls

Christmas Break

I am so excited to be on Christmas break! I got to sleep a little late this morning, do some shopping, and took a nap with Caleb. Tonight we are going to hang out with family. I love Christmas break!

This Weekend

* On Saturday, Caleb and I went to Walmart. On the way in and back out, Caleb said "It's cold!" I said, "I know, baby. We're almost there." So on the way out to my car, I passed a guy that I thought was a Walmart employee. As soon as I had loaded my stuff in the car, he came back by and asked if he could take my cart so that I could get Caleb in the car. It was then that I noticed that he wasn't a Walmart employee. He was from the church of Latter Day Saints. He then gave me a piece of paper that said I could call to receive a free Christmas gift...a book about the birth of Jesus.
Now, I can't tell you how much of a help this guy was for me at that moment. I needed to get my kid in the car, and he was so nice to help out. This made me wonder a few things:
1. Why do you only see young people doing things like this for the LDS cause?
2. Where are the older people? Once you get to be an adult, are you exempt from feeling like you need to do these kinds of things?
3. Why don't we have our youth groups out doing this kind of things for others as much as it seems like the LDS does?
4. Why don't us as adults do this kind of thing more often?
Then I thought, you know, I wouldn't mind doing this kind of thing but I'm so darn busy all the time. And that kind of makes me sad. I should have more time on my hands to help others. Just a few thoughts.

* I saw a man at Kroger on Saturday who was wearing a Christmas sweatshirt that said "I'm ready for Christmas" and had presents all on it. I immediately thought "There is no way in the world Chris or my dad or any other man I know would wear something like that!" I wonder if his wife bought him the shirt and he feels compelled to wear it. Or if he just simply likes it. Or if he didn't have anything else to wear because of dirty laundry (that's what happens to me sometimes...I have to wear a dress to work, etc. sometimes because I have no other clean clothes). Anyway, I actually think it is great that the man was wearing the shirt! Men can be in the Christmas spirit too, can't they?

2007 CDC Christmas Program

Here is a picture of some of Caleb's class in the Christmas Program last night. They decorated the buggy to look like a sleigh, and the jingled their bells while we all sang "Jingle Bells". I will try to get the video on here if I can ever get it to go into Photobucket right.

2nd Picture With Santa

If you liked Caleb's last Santa picture, you will LOVE this one! It is so great! When Ladydenise handed me the pictures, she said that I was going to have to put this one in his senior slide show! Man is she right! I didn't realize that they had snapped a shot of this, but I am so glad they did! But really, I think he's had enough torture for one year.

This is the picture that I took with Caleb so that we could have a non-crying picture.

Santa Visit #2

Well, the CDC had pictures with Santa today. I wondered what Caleb would do since he didn't much like his last experience. (See previous post) I hid behind a pole so that maybe he wouldn't see me.

Tresia had Caleb in her arms, and she said that he was shaking from just seeing Santa. This is with standing pretty far away from him! So, when she tried to put him in Santa's lap, it just wasn't going to work. Caleb was not going to stay in Santa's lap no matter what.

So I came out from behind the pole, and took at picture with Santa with me holding Caleb.

Hopefully next year will be better. I'm sure he'll have the whole Christmas thing figured out by then and know that he needs to be nice to the Santa guy. I was hoping to take Caleb to the mall Santa to get another picture, but after today's scary experience with the big red man, I don't think I have it in me to make him go through it again.

So, when I get the picture, I will make sure to post it on here.

Oh, also, Caleb got a shiner at school this morning. He was playing with the cars that you can sit in, and he fell and BOOM! Tresia brought him in so I could see him, and it is quite the boo-boo he has. I tried to take a picture of that too (I know, I'm such a mean mom!), but he kept wanting to grab the camera from me and then run away. I'll try to get one tonight. He'll love those pictures when he's all grown up! :)

Too Girlie?

UPDATE: The people have spoken! The boy needs the kitchen! Plus I need him to learn how to cook from a very early age!

Ok, I need your opinion.

I really think Caleb would love a play kitchen. He's played with the food before at school, etc., and I just think he would love it! When I told my mom, her immediate reaction was "Isn't that too girlie?"

So, what do you think?

What if we get one that doesn't look all girlie? One that is not pink...maybe green or something.

If you really think it is too girlie, let me know. Really. I can take it. But I just might get one anyway!

I'm One!

This morning on the way to work, I taught Caleb to stick up one finger when someone asks how old he is. We practiced it over and over, and he thought it was so funny because I would go crazy when he would do it right! It always amazes me at how fast kids can learn things!

The Weekend That Almost Killed Me

Friday Night: Stay up at the church until 7 to set up for Holly Jolly then run to two stores looking for a square table cloth. Then go to Sonic to pick up dinner. Pack all of my Holly Jolly stuff and head to bed.

Saturday: Wake up way to early to get ready for Pit Stop.
Work Pit Stop until 9ish when I needed to set my table for HJ.
Check on Pit Stop every once in awhile.
CAREkids practice.
Back to working with Pit Stop. Leave the church at 12:30.
Eat lunch.
Go to the store to get stuff to make pies while Chris goes to the cleaners to pick up our clothes.
Go home and make pies really quick.
Have a flute lesson for an hour.
Finish up pies.
Take a shower and get ready for HJ.
Do a quick run-through of music with Chris.
Throw everything in the car and go to church.
Play our music.
Host our table.
Pack up our table.
Go home and unload our table stuff.
Go to bed because I am exhausted!

Sunday: Church & LIFE Group (this was an easy day!)

I thought I was going to go crazy. I thought I might die. But we made it through the weekend.

Now, if we can just get through this crazy week of something every single night! Ahhhh!

Trip to Santa's Village

We took a trip to Santa's Village last night. It is a way cute Christmas park by the Richardson Library. We had a good time, but I really can't wait to take Caleb next year when he'll get into it even more! Here are pictures!

Caleb getting a cookie from Mrs. Clause's Bakery.

Here we are waiting in line to see Santa. The line was very, very long! It was a good thing that they had a clown there to entertain everyone in the line.
Here we still are in line, but closer. We are in Santa's Toy Shop!
Here is the cool train in Santa's Toy Shop. Caleb kept saying "Choo-choo!"
Here is Caleb with his best friend Santa. Caleb does this with all of his best friends. They had a really good Santa. He had a great beard!
Caleb is thinking "Why did mommy just put me in this weird guys lap, walk off and stand there laughing while I'm screaming my head off!!! What is wrong with this picture?!!"
Poor Caleb! He wasn't happy for a little bit after seeing Santa. Santa had a good sense of humor about the whole thing though and mentioned to me when I picked Caleb up that he thought he wanted a fire truck for Christmas (because of the siren - crying - well, you know!) Funny Santa!

Christmas Favorites

I saw this on Rachel's blog and thought I would do it too! I love copying others!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I love how it looks under the tree!

2. Real tree or Artificial? We always had real growing up, but after a fire at my parents' house that came close to burning the tree, I probably won't ever get one again. I love the smell of real trees, but I also love the fact that I don't have to buy a tree every year!

3. When do you put up the tree? I try to put it up the day after Thanksgiving, but it doesn't always work that well. This year we got it up the day after TG, and it has been so nice getting to enjoy it!

4. When do you take the tree down? I try to get it down the week after Christmas. There was one year that we still had it up till the end of January. Man, why do I always have to tell my dirty little secrets on here!

5. Do you like egg nog? No way! But Chris does, so sometimes I get it for him. I love spiced cider over the holidays!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Man, there are so many. My parents are great gift-givers. There was one year that my parents bought me a new flute about a month before Christmas. Because of that, I didn't think I was going to get anything else, but I got a big tv that had a built in VCR player. It shocked the heck out of me.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I have two. A little one that someone gave us at our wedding and then a Fisher Price one that my mom bought for Caleb the year before he was born because she knew he was on the way! He loves it! You can tell him to go bring you baby Jesus, and he goes and gets Jesus. So fun!

8. Hardest person to buy for? Really, I don't think anyone is that easy to buy for except Caleb.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Caleb - because at this point he doesn't care!

10.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of any.

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Miracle on 34th Street - very cliche, I know.

12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope, but I have recycled wedding & baby presents!

13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas candy, and anything when it's with family.

14. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Definitely clear.

15. Favorite Christmas song? O Come All Ye Faithful (Actually, I don't know if that is my favorite. I just kind of picked one that I was singing this morning. I like a whole lot of Christmas songs.)

16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Our family is all in town for the most part, so we don't travel much, but I still wish we had a little more time at home each year. Don't we all!

17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Sure, but I don't want to type them all out.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Hearing the same Christmas songs over and over.

20 Favorite ornament theme or color? Silver ornaments, clear lights, and whatever else on the tree. I love lit garland too!

21. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? We normally have pretty much the same thing that we have at Thanksgiving, and I love it!

22. What do you want for Christmas this year? I can't think of much that I want. I want stuff for Caleb. And a nap. And time to clean my house. And time to relax. And time to spend with family. I guess there's more that I want than I thought!

Caleb's Newest Injury

Caleb's teacher just brought him in here to show me his head. He was getting into something he shouldn't outside, and they told him "no". As soon as he heard this, he turned around and BANG! He ran into the fence. He has a big bump on his head that looks like it was probably bleeding. They have ice on it now.

They said he cried for a second until his teacher picked him up, and then he's been fine ever since. Forget the big, throbbing knot on his head!

When she brought him in here to show me, he was more interested in the phones ringing and lights on the Christmas tree than anything else.

He's such a big, tough boy! He's never been one to cry much if he gets hurt. Maybe because Chris and I taught him to be that way from when he was a little baby. I just didn't want him to make a big deal out of something if it wasn't necessary, and I guess today's accident wasn't a big deal. I think I would be a big crybaby and would probably still be crying about it. Not my boy!

If I Had...

If I had all the money in the world, I would give it all away. Or at least most of it. There are so many times that I wish I could give people tons of money. There are so many organizations that I wish I could support or just fund all together. Today, Caleb's school is having a bake sale to raise money, and it makes me wish I had a ton of money that I could give them to help them out. I really think I could and would do a whole lot of good if I had the money.

Losing My Mind

I decided tonight was going to be the night to get a couple of projects done. I had purchased the items that I needed to accomplish these projects awhile back. But tonight was going to be the night to get them done and checked off my list.

As I started collecting what I needed around the house, I realized I could not find one of the items that I really needed for a certain project. I remember getting home from the store with it and showing it to Chris. Beyond that, I don't remember where I put it. I've looked through drawers, closets, the whole works...but I cannot find it.

So I decided that maybe I need to start writing down where things are so that when I go looking for them, they are there. Or hey, if I would just put stuff up where it belongs, that would help too. I always think "Oh, I'll put that up later." Or "I'll find it here when I need it". But can I find it? Very rarely if ever!

So, I'll probably find this item as soon as I either go get another one from the store or find some other way to get it accomplished. Then I'll have way too much of it and then will probably lose it again.

Man, I sure wish I could find what I need around here!

Ode to the Organic Honeycrisp Apple

Oh honeycrisp apple, I love you!
Your taste is oh, so sweet!
I love to eat you everyday
And am so glad we got to meet!

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
At least that's what they say.
So I plan to feast on your tasty self
Each and everyday!

If my high school English teacher reads this, she will realize that my poetry has gotten no better over the years. I'm very sorry, Mrs. Muhl. Poetry is just not my thing. But you already knew that.

Susan Cox introduced me to the honeycrisp apple on a camping trip a few months ago, and now that's the kind I buy if the store has them. They are so tasty that they inspired me to write a poem.

I'm very sorry that you all had to read my weak, weak attempt at poetry.

On an a side note: I published a poem in high school called "The Swing" in a literary magazine. It was very lame, so I'm not sure why they published it. I guess they just needed filler.

Lights and Such

I put my lights out on my bushes this weekend and meant to take a picture, but I forgot. I'll post a picture on here soon.

Well, tonight begins our month of needing someone to watch Caleb because we are so dang busy! I sent out an email to some family the other day telling them the dates we need someone to watch Caleb and asking for volunteers. They all got filled really quick, so that is good! This month is a whole lot of fun, but it is always so busy! I love parties and dinners and shows, etc. But this year with Caleb in the mix, I sort of feel bad about all of the time that we have to be away.

Bring on the parties!

Where are the good Christmas Lights?

Well, if you live in the Dallas metroplex, you can go here to find out! Enjoy!

Oh, and my house isn't on there. We don't have any lights yet. But I am planning on putting some one our bushes this weekend. It still won't be impressive, so don't feel the need to drive by my house.

P.S. Right now I have a Christmas swag on the front door and my Fall decorations still on the porch. I just might get written up by the HOA any day now. The removal of these items is high on my list for this weekend though.

Additional Thought to "Caleb's Last Trip to Kohl's"

Last night after the Kohl's trip, I talked to my mom on the phone who talked about what it was like taking my brother to the store when he was little. She said she kept telling herself:

"Maybe when he's 2, I can take him to the store."

"Maybe when he's 3..."

"Maybe when he's 4...", etc., etc., etc.

She says now "Maybe when he's 25..."!

Sounds like Caleb is headed down the same road!

Caleb's Last Trip to Kohl's

Caleb had his last trip to Kohls (and any other store that does not have carts for me to strap him in) for a very long time last night.

Here's the story...

I volunteered yesterday to help host a table for Holly Jolly (our church's Christmas party), and I knew that there was a good sale on at Kohl's. So after work, I hit the sale to get some decorations with Caleb in tow.

While looking around, I needed to have use of my hands in order to place things around on the floor so that I could get an idea of what it might look like, so that meant Caleb had to be put down. This is always a HUGE mistake! Caleb immediately darts off as soon as I put him down. I tried squeezing him between my legs, having him hold stuff so that maybe he would be interested in playing with that and not running away (instead he just runs away with the stuff), but none of that worked. Really it should have only taken a second for me to look at the items I was interested in, but with chasing a 17 month old around, it took way too long! At one point I had to grab him really quick by the arm as he was running away, and I sort of yanked his arm. I immediately thought, "Oh no! I've become one of THOSE mothers!" You know the ones! The ones that you see yanking children around in stores or who have no control over their child. In the past I have thought, "What a horrible mother she is! What is she thinking?!" Now, sometimes that is true, but I now understand that no matter how great of a mother you are, we all have times like this. We just try to minimize them as much as possible!

So, I finished looking around and went to the register to check out. I had to have Caleb hold a candle so that I could hold all of the other stuff we were going to buy. As we're standing in line, Caleb drops the candle which makes me drop a plate I was holding. Of course even though the plate was plastic, wouldn't you know, it broke!

I immediately felt like crying in the middle of the store. I had already been fighting my kid from running off, and now we had broken something. The lady in front of me was so nice to pick it up for me, and then I went off to see if I could find another plate. None of the plates like it looked decent enough, so I was not able to get another plate. Big time bummer!

So, I said "forget it!" and went back to the line to check out. A lady that was in front of me, kindly let me go in front of her since I had Caleb in my arms and my arms were completely full. I went to the same register that I had been at before, and when the lady behind me's merchandise clanked around in her arms, the check out girl said "Did you break something else?" It was so crummy!

So, I got Caleb in the car and went home in time to see Chris for a few minutes before he went to a meeting at church. I was so tired of dealing with Caleb that I really wanted to ship him off with Chris, but that wouldn't have worked since he had his meeting.

So, the moral of the story is: don't take toddlers to a store with no carts to strap them down in. It is a mistake every time! :)

Christmas Music

I listen to KLTY quite a bit. It's not my favorite station in the world, but it's what I grew up listening to, so that's what I listen to most of the time. I love Christmas music and want to listen to it the day after Thanksgiving. I just wish they wouldn't play it almost constantly the whole Christmas season. I would still like to hear more rest-of-the-year music mixed in with the Christmas selections. So this time of year, I find myself flipping to other stations more often than I normally do just to get a break from the Christmas music. Just a few more non-Christmas songs an hour would be great!

Also, I think Christmas Wish is great and a wonderful idea. The stories are heart wrenching and glorious. But I also find myself turning the station at times when these are playing just because I don't want to be bawling in the car. Especially when I'm on the way to work. I don't want to have to walk in to work after crying in the car. So, while I think they are wonderful and beautiful stories, sometimes I just can't handle listening to them. Maybe I'm just a wuss, but there you have it.

My Christmas Helper

We got our tree and all our decorations up on Friday (Yayyyy!), and Caleb loved the lights!

A Question For You

Is it really all about tryptophan, or the mounds and mounds of food that we eat at Thanksgiving? There may be something to tryptophan and making you sleepy, but I seem to think it is more in the massive amounts of food that we eat in a short period of time. What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving! I might even like it more than Christmas. It's all the fun of seeing people, hanging out, and eating great food without the pressure of having to buy presents for everyone. I love Christmas too, but the amount of presents I always have to buy seems overwhelming.

Tonight, we are going to Chris' brother's house to eat dinner and spend the night. Then in the morning we are going to my family's house for lunch and then back to Chris' family for dinner and more spending the night. That is a whole lot of turkey!

I am looking forward to time off work, time to relax, time to play with Caleb, time to visit with family and do things that I normally can't do because I'm at work. I can't wait!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Get It Right People!

I ordered a couple of things online from a store last week, and yesterday I received emails letting me know that both of my items had arrived at the store so that I could pick them up. So yesterday after work, Caleb and I went to the store to get them. They looked around FOREVER and could not find them. Meanwhile the line behind me is growing longer and longer which always makes me feel horrible when I'm the one causing the bog down. After a long time of searching, the girl came back and said that maybe the box was back in the warehouse and hasn't been opened yet and asked if I could come back the next day to see if it was there. Now, there is no way I want to go back every stinking day to wait in a line and cause big lines to form behind me just to see if my items are there. So I asked if I could call instead to see if they were there before I came again. She said that would be fine. And I went on my way. I was going to keeping shopping around at that store after I picked my items up, but I was so ticked off I was just ready to get out of there.

Somehow this company needs to fix this problem. If they tell a customer that their items are ready for pick up, they need to be ready for pick up. At least that is what I think.

Things Caleb Has Learned Lately

For awhile now, I have been singing the song "I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry", etc. Caleb has been able to say "Yes sir!" during the song for a good while. So, now he likes to just randomly say it whenever he feels like it. (This morning on the way to school, I was singing it. When it got to the Yes sir! part each time, I pointed to him and he saluted and said it! So darn cute!)

Yesterday at lunch, I taught him to put his hands together and say "Amen". So, now that is another of his favorites.

Last night at the Community Thanksgiving Service, each time we prayed (and other times too), Caleb put his hands together and said "Amen". Then there were times that he said "Yes sir!" too! He did great through most of the service, but I had to take him out for the last few minutes because he kept clapping and and yelling "Yay!!!". At least it was happy noise, but noise none the less.

Caleb's School Thanksgiving Lunch

Here is Caleb sitting in a big boy chair with his turkey lunch!

Here is some of the family that came to eat with Caleb!
Here are more of Caleb's guests. Mommy not pictured.

Swallowing Pills

I used to HATE swallowing pills. I was horrible at it. As a kid, I hid my pills from my mom a few times because I hated them so much. I would gag on them and sometimes they would make me throw up.

All of this changed when I got pregnant with Caleb and had to take prenatal vitamins all of the time. I finally got used to taking pills. Little pills, big pills, blue pills, red pills. It doesn't matter now! I can take any kind of pill.

It is really a freeing feeling. No longer am I afraid to take pills.

I have pills that I am taking now for my ear. They are kind of big. But I have not had any problem taking them.

It feels so good to be able to say that!

Kissing Baby

Caleb has been blowing kisses for a long time, but I've been trying over the past few weeks to get him to give us kisses on the cheek. On Sunday night, he finally gave me a kiss on the cheek. I celebrated greatly which always makes him want to do it more. So that night, he gave Chris a good night kiss when he went to bed. Now he thinks it is so fun to give us kisses (and we think it is the cutest thing ever!). Yesterday morning, as soon as he woke up, he wanted to give Chris a kiss and then kept going back over to him to kiss him some more. Then last night he ran back and forth between us giving us kisses. I love it!

Turn Off Your Phone!!!

Well, if you check out my previous post, you will see that I just went to the doctor. While in the waiting room, there was a guy that was on his phone the WHOLE time. While waiting in line, while talking to the lady at the counter, while waiting. Now, this normally wouldn't bother me, but he was YELLING into his phone the whole time. With my ear problem, it doesn't feel good to hear loud things anyway...and I had brought a book and wanted to read while I was waiting. I couldn't read because he was so dang loud! When he finally sat down to wait, I tried catching his eye to get the point across that he was too loud. He looked at me once, but that obviously was not clear enough for him. I really wanted to say something to him, but I didn't. I really wish I would have had the guts to say something. Man, I missed my chance!

I just think it is really rude to be on your phone (especially yelling into your phone) in places like that. No one wants to hear your conversation. I was really tempted to tell him to go talk outside when he first came in. Again, I wish I would have done it! There's always next time!

My Ear Hurts

UPDATE:
Well, I have eustacian tube dysfunction...my tube isn't draining properly. I have two different kinds of medicine to take, so hopefully that will make me feel better soon!

My ear started hurting about three or four days ago. It wasn't a big deal...just kind of annoying. It became a bigger deal yesterday afternoon and has hurt pretty bad since then. I have a doctor appointment here in a little while so he can look at it and figure out what the deal is. I hope it's not an ear infection, but it may be. If it is, I'll know what Caleb has felt like when he has had ear infections. Poor kid!

I Did It Again

Last night, I walked out of Kroger and could not find my car. Within a split second, I thought: "Someone has stolen my car! What am I going to do? Chris is gone tonight. I'm going to have to call my parents. How did someone steal my car? " Then finally I looked back one more row, and there was my car!

Isn't that one of the worst feelings in the world? Come on, you've got to admit you've done it. I'm not the only one out there. It kind of makes me feel crazy each time I do it. Not that I do it all of the time. Maybe only once every couple of years or so. So that's not too bad.

Love in the Time of Cholera

I just started reading this book last night. And I was just looking up the author's name to put on my reading list on here, I saw that it has been made into a movie that is coming out Nov. 16. Did anyone else know about this? I'm so excited! This is perfect timing to read the book and then get to see the movie! Yay! Yay! Hip-Horray!

Caleb's Second Hair Cut

Caleb got his second hair cut on Saturday. He didn't much like it, but it looks really, really cute!

BEFORE

AFTER!

If I Stayed Home...

Ok, I've discovered that if I stayed home with Caleb all of the time, I don't think I would ever get out of my pajamas! So, good job! Way to go! to all of you moms that stay home and actually take showers and put on clothes while watching your kids at home. You're better than me!

Momma's Turn

Well, it is my turn to stay home with sick Caleb today...well at least this morning...daddy may get to come home this afternoon so I can go to work.

Caleb slept great all night long. When Chris' alarm went off shortly after 6 this morning, I realized that I had slept all night and hadn't had to get up with Caleb. Though it was nice to realize I had gotten to sleep, it made me worried (you know how mom's are!) that something was wrong with him. Was he in a coma or something? I checked on him once and he seemed fine. Then a little bit later I decided to go in and touch him to see if he would stir. He immediately shot out of bed happy and has been doing fine all morning. Hopefully he'll be alright all day today (with no fever or anything) so that we can all go back to normalcy tomorrow.

He's sitting in my lap now trying to erase what I'm typing. Little rascal!

Bring On the Old Pants!

There are clothes in my closet that I have not been able to wear since having Caleb. I've been wondering lately if I needed to just go ahead and get rid of said clothes.

The past few weeks, I have been eyeing a pair of pants that I always have liked but that I just knew were not going to fit. So I haven't tried them on.

I decided this morning that I would try them on...just to see. I figured I might be able to squeeze them over my hips, but they would probably be too tight to button. Or if I did get them buttoned, they would be way too tight to wear in public.

BUT! When I tried them on this morning, they fit so great! They weren't tight at all...they had extra room! They just fit so darn good!

I can't tell you how excited I have been all day. I get to wear my cool pants again! It's just almost as fun as getting a new pair of pants. Wait, it's even better! Getting to fit into old pants!

Google search results

Here are the latest and greatest Google searches that led people to my blog:

how to talk with a texas accent
Cheesy church signs
carroll school clothes
smiling Jesus picture - this one really confuses me. Not sure why my blog would have shown up for this one.

I love finding out how people got to my site. It's always interesting!

What's The Deal?

Caleb is at home sick again today. He has had congestion & a runny nose FOREVER! This morning he was crying uncontrollably and then coughed up a bunch of flem. Yum! Chris had a meeting early this morning but then came home to stay home with him so that I could go to work. It sure seems like we just can't get over all of this yuckiness. I would take him to the doctor, but he isn't running a fever, and it hasn't been a really big deal yet. I'm just ready for the kid to feel better! That's not too much to ask!

Voting Day

(Cue the patriotic music!)

I went and voted today during my lunch time. It always makes me feel so good to get out and vote. Such a good citizen!

My dad has always been big on voting. When my brother and I got old enough to vote, he would make sure we voted. So maybe that is why I won't miss an election...no matter how small.

So here's your friendly reminder to vote today! It'll make you feel patriotic too!

Concert Update

Caleb did GREAT at the concert last night! I was so proud of him! As soon as we got there, he was dying to see daddy, so he ran over to him and let daddy carry him around for a little bit. Then when the concert was about to start, we went and got a hotdog, Cheeto's and a cookie. The Cheeto's and cookie kept him busy for most of the concert. I've already requested Cheeto's at every concert Chris has from now on!

It was so nice that it was a relaxed atmosphere so that Caleb could make a little noise and not be a big deal. He waved his arms in the air like Mr. Dan was doing, and at the end of the last song of the night he said "Daddy!" (Because daddy was standing right in front of us directing his band.) That made the front row of flutes start laughing.

So, maybe I won't be as nervous next time about taking him to a concert...as long as there are Cheeto's!

Concert Tonight

Chris is having a band concert tonight, so I'm going to attempt to take Caleb. This concert is in Sachse HS's cafeteria and there are hotdogs, cokes, etc. So I'm hoping there will be enough atmosphere to distract Caleb, and maybe he'll be into the music. I took him last year when he was only 4 months old and he did great. This year may be a little harder since he is so mobile. Could be interesting and not so much fun! But I'm sure it'll be fine!

Driving With a Nosebleed

I saw a lady this morning who was driving with a nosebleed. It looked like it was really bad, but she seemed to be controlling it pretty well. I don't know if I could drive if I had a nosebleed.

It's kind of strange the things you see when you're driving.

Come One, Come All!

Ok RE people, you need to come to Christina's shower tomorrow just to see my house clean! It doesn't happen very often at all, so it's kind of a big deal. So, I encourage you to come! It feels so nice to have my house clean! (But with a 16 month old running around, it is very hard to keep it clean.) I absolutely LOVE lemon-scented PineSol! Greatness!

So, remember, come to the shower tomorrow for a good time and to sit in a nice, clean house! This is your one chance folks! It may not be this clean ever again! :)

A Million Posts

Ok, I have posted a million times today! So make sure you check them all out because there are too many cute & fun pictures to miss!

Halloween Night Pictures 2007

Last night we went to Mimosa Lane's Hoedown festival and then went to Forney to Uncle Casey's church's (CLIFE) Trunk or Treat. We had an awesome time! My parents and my grandmother made the rounds with us, and it was a blast!

This was at Casey's Trunk or Treat (it was in the parking lot of Chick-fil-A, Walmart & Lowes in Forney - they had a ton of people, and the atmosphere felt like the fair. So cool! All of the cars had games, so that was neat too!)

Caleb was scared of Sponge Bob, so we took a quick picture and went on our way.

Daddy & Caleb hanging out at Mimosa.

Cute picture of the hotdog and the mustard smiling at each other.
Caleb with Uncle Casey. He wanted Casey to hold him the whole time we were there!
This is a way cool transformer that was at Casey's Trunk or Treat. It was huge and had lights, smoke & sound. Very cool, but these people obviously have way too much time on their hands!
The Chick-fil-A cows were at Trunk or Treat too! I couldn't pass up a chance to take a picture with them! So cool!
My grandmother and Caleb walking into Mimosa.

Grandmother & Caleb
Hotdog Chris! He is such a good sport!
They had a cute backdrop with a saddle, and I had to get a picture with Chris & Caleb! So cute!
Chris was still hungry after dinner, so he wanted a hotdog. Something's not right in the world when a hotdog eats another hotdog.
We had such a great time at both of the churches and hanging out with family and friends! It was so good to see people that I grew up going to church with, and it was fun to show Caleb off! I love parties, and Halloween parties are some of the best!