I'm All Kinda Sappy 'Round Here

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Snot Parade

Okay. So. #2 Kiddo graduated from Kindergarten today - see photos:

Ms. Black. She loves Eli. He loves her.

Daddy. Wouldn't miss Kinder Graduation for the world.

Mommy. aka "Snot Fairy"

Okay...I'll set the scene. Not only did Eli pick out the "eat my dust" t-shirt to wear on his last day...but things were just tough all around.

Mrs. Wymore (the principal) was crying. She couldn't hardly make it through the graduation. She's so darn sweet.

Ms. Black was crying. You see, this was her first class. She's sad to see them go.

I was crying - because...well because I'm the snot fairy, is why.

So, they do this thing where they say (outloud so the kids can hear) you are welcome to take your children home for the day. They did this when Fisher graduated from Kinder and I thought by now they surely would have learned their lessons. NOPE. Eli said, "Mommy, I'm going with you, right?" I said "No Baby, I have to go to work. Plus, you'll miss splash day at Extend-A-Care if you go with me." Snot, tears, lumps in the throat. Boy. Howdy.

Finally Ms. Black stepped in and said she really needed to spend one more day with him because she would miss him so much and that he was such a great and wonderful helper that she sure could use his help today. Then her tears started flowing again....then...then...well Eli grabbed on to me and hugged me with ALL of his might and said (loud enough for all to hear) "I sure don't like this day Mommy!!" :(

Well you know what Big Guy? I sure don't like it either. I sure think you are blazing through life and I just think you should try to slow down just a teeny bit. :) I am very proud of you today for all that you have accomplished. I am so proud that you got a medal for Excellent Attendance!! I am so proud that you are on task or above in EVERY subject...EVEN math!! I am so proud that you will be going to first grade next year but most of all, I am so proud that you are my son. You make the light shine bright in my life EVERY single day.

Also wanted to give a quick congratulations to Adyson H., Cami I., Kaitlyn T. and Reed R. for also making it through this first year of school. Happy Graduation - I am so very proud of you guys too and your parents - you are all pretty amazing!!!

Sunday Photo Favorites 9

Fishing with Daddy

Fishing. One of Mac's all-time favorites...hence the name of our firstborn. I am so glad and feel so fortunate that all the boys have joined him in the love of his favorite hobby. They love to go fishing with Daddy. Not very often does mommy get to go...she talks too much and doesn't like to get dirty and bug bitten....but I got to capture this moment on film and I'm so glad I did. They love it. They love getting dirty, holding fish, reeling them in, hanging out and just being boys. Simple pleasures. Simple times. Simple love.

Houston, We've Got Bloom....and Lizards?

Our little Magnolia tree has it's very first blossom!!! I of COURSE caught it too late and now it's got some brown edges, but thought I'd share anyway, since I am SO proud!!!

**Also**

Mac caught a lizard!! Yes, we set him free...but you can IMAGINE the excitement in my nasty boy house! I was glad to see the cute little thing free. Eli wanted to keep it as a pet. Mommy did not.

My Talented Brother

Well, I hate to brag, but my house is quickly filling up with the beauty my brother creates with his own two hands and I just HAVE to show it off.

He and his wife are amazing. They create these pieces of art that are just incredible. Here are just a FEW things....


A teeny Candle holder out of several different colors of strips of glass...




This really really beautiful bowl made out of red and blue glass - it has four quadrants...can you see how beautiful?



A very sweet little vase made of orange glass for Mother's Day...



A GORGEOUS platter that I just can't seem to do justice by taking a picture...



And my favorite...the trophy shelf he made for Fisher. It's made of polished steel and had this cool red fiber glass that when you turn on it lights up in red. AMAZING.



How lucky am I that he's my brother?

SOON their website for their business will be up and running. You'll be able to see all the gorgeous art they create. I have their website listed on my sidebar...stay tuned.

Eli's Dance

There's this dance that Eli does that is SO cute. I couldn't get him to quit being silly enough to do it "for real" for me yesterday, this is the best he would do. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch him in the act when he's really doing the dance!!

Sunday Photo Favorites 8

We spent the day at Joan and Doug's new dream home in the Hill Country. It's not beautiful or anything, is it????

Did you see the stairway? That's the stairway to the third floor...the observatory. The next picture...well that's their VIEW from the observatory. HOLY HILL COUNTRY Batman...jealous, aren't you?? Because I know I am!!!

Redneck Limits

Mac was on the way to the grocery store and Sullivan yelled from the other room "Daddy, can I go?" Mac said, "Sure buddy...just get your shoes on." Sullivan came running down the stairs, Mac came walking around the corner and this is what we all saw at the same time:



Mac closed his eyes, shook his said and said..."Son, I may be a Redneck, but I'm a Redneck that knows his limits. Now go and change and you can go with me."

:)

I think he looked pretty darn cute myself!

This Movie is a MUST See....

And I'm not even kidding. Sonia and I were clapping, crying, laughing, slinging snot, singing, and just plain dancing in our seats.

If you see no other movie this year...PLEASE see this movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3uOOhm8Fj8

It's called "Young at Heart" - watch the trailer above.

It's got heart and love and it's so uplifting. It will bring a smile to your face and a million tears to your eyes.

It turned my thoughts to a song that Rach brought to my attention called "Anyway"... Dream it anyway, Believe it Anyway, Live it Anyway, Love Them Anyway, Build it Anyway, Sing it Anyway, Pray Anyway, DO IT ANYWAY!!!

You will absolutely 100% love this movie. If not...well, I WOULD say that I would give you your money back, but let's face it, I'm broke and we all know that aint gonna happen. I just make this promise to you that you will love it...and you may have a whole new face makeover when you leave the place!!! :)

DO IT ANYWAY.

Too Bad

My toes are skinny.

My toes are cute.

Too bad it's not THEM,

in a bathing suit!!!

Mandy's Crew

Cody

Caring. Calm. Compassionate.

Calee

Cute. Competitive. Courteous.

Adyson

Affectionate. Astute. Awesome.

Austin

Adventurous. Adorable. Amazing.

100th Post!!!

So, in bloggerland I have noticed the urge to do 100 of somethings for your 100th post. Well, here it goes Y'all....

100 Things You Might Not Know About Me:

1.) I am 36 years old

2.) I never went to school outside of Austin

3.) I have one brother, 4 sisters-in-law and 2 brothers-in-law

4.) I love coffee - morning, noon and night

5.) I am NOT a morning person

6.) I have only lived with my family, Shauna and Mac...never by
myself

7.) I love to play video games

8.) I hate to have my picture taken, but love to take them of
others

9.) My favorite color is RED

10.) I have a handful of friends that I have known for 30 years and continue to be very close to

11.) I have three boys and love them very much

12.) I also wish I had a girl (a 4th baby)

13.) I love to hand-write things

14.) I love to cook

15.) I hate to clean

16.) My middle name is Marie

17.) I am scared of the dark

18.) I love to kiss the top of the boys' heads, just so I can smell their hair

19.) My favorite sport is soccer

20.) I LOVE to scrapbook

21.) I love my job

22.) My first time to fly was at the age of 21

23.) I hate to take naps, unless I'm at Mom's house

24.) I love to play games with friends

25.) I am claustrophobic

26.) I miss my dad

27.) I am the only one in my family with green eyes - everyone else has blue (mom, dad and brother)

28.) I could go to the movie theater every day and not get tired of it

29.) I secretly dreamed of being a movie star

30.) I can't sing but LOVE to do it anyway

31.) I am the "class clown" but get nervous when I HAVE to speak in front of anyone

33.) I have been a bridesmaid seven times...4 of those people are still married

34.) I would rather not watch live TV so I can skip the commercials

35.) My hair is naturally curly and I hate it

36.) My toes are skinny

37.) I hate hot weather

38.) I have 4 nieces and 5 Nephews but if Mac divorced me, I'd have none

39.) Mac and I have lived in the same house for 7 years. Before that...we moved 12 times in 8 years

40.) I am part German, part Indian, part Scottish

41.) I have one living grandparent - she lives in Giddings

42.) I was 28 when I had my first son, I was 32 when I had my last

43.) I am part of a Bunco group that has been together almost 8 years

44.) I have never seen Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

45.) I LOVE Harry Potter - books and movies

46.) I was in Court Reporting school for 2 1/2 years

47.) I believe in Ghosts

48.) My name is not short for Christina

49.) I met Mac when I was 21

50.) I asked HIM out

51.) All of my boys were born 10 days early

52.) I love to listen to music while driving in the country with my windows rolled down

53.) I wish I was smarter

54.) I am only 5'1"

55.) I HATE walking into a room full of people by myself

56.) If I could meet anyone it would be Ben Affleck, then Jack Black

57.) My mom and dad both graduated high school in Austin

58.) I have an undiagnosed anxiety thing

59.) I like the taste of Cherry NyQuil

60.) I get sick to my stomach every time I smell "Wint-o-Green"

61.) Therefore, I throw up when I take Pepto Bismol

62.) I love David Letterman, Hate Jay Leno

63.) I fear my boys will be drafted to the Iraq war when they are older

64.) I hate lemons - taste and smell

65.) I have seen at least one movie EVERY week since this year started

66.) I don't wear contacts or glasses...yet

67.) For the record, I can't stand George W.

68.) I already want another new camera

69.) I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up

70.) I may never grow up

71.) I recently cut 15 inches off my hair

72.) I donated it to Locks of Love

73.) Apparently I like to toot my own horn

74.) I hate when Mac is out of town

75.) I don't like cauliflower

76.) I hated peanut butter growing up, I LOVE it now

77.) I need a new couch

78.) I haven't had a new one in over 10 years

79.) I love to be surrounded by pregnant friends

80.) I am currently not surrounded by any pregnant friends

81.) I don't like to wear necklaces

82.) I envy those that can

83.) I still own a VCR and a cassette tape player

84.) I used to want a tattoo - a daisy anklet

85.) I'm SO glad I didn't get one - fat chicks don't look good with tattoos

86.) I love to read books

87.) I finally can read books after 8 years of having babies. I can actually stay up past 9 now

88.) I started my blog because my friend Debi suggested it

89.) I have an old lady crush on Justin Timberlake

90.) Apparently it's taken me 24 years to realize I weep more when I ovulate than when I'm pre-menstrual. :)

91.) First time I saw REAL snow was when I was 24. I got engaged that same trip

92.) My heart STILL skips a beat when I see Mac at the end of the day. Is that weird?

93.) I prefer blue ink over black.

94.) I was in the hospital my Junior year in High School

95.) I have 51 framed pictures in my house

96.) I had to be on fertility drugs with my first two babies, the third I was on the pill and missed a couple of days

97.) I broke my toe when I was 7 months pregnant with Eli

98.) I fell out of Missy's Monterro when I did it.

99.) I'm glad I did this list

100.) I learned a lot about myself!!!

Happy MUDDERS Day!!

Spent the day with some pretty wonderful Mothers. Here's to all the lovely mothers I know and adore...there are so many of you. I wish I could see you all on this special day with your beautiful children...but for now, I will show you which mothers I did get to spend some great time with!!

And last but not least...there are my little doll babies...

What a wonderful day and I couldn't have picked a better way to spend it.

Sunday Photo Favorites 7

Field Day and Muffins with Mom

It's never ending 'round these here parts Y'all. Had to snap a quick one of the older two before they went off to Track and Field Day with $2.00 a piece in their pockets. I swear, they are more excited about the snacks than the actual field day. Although, I remember doing the same with that "orange drink" we always had in those little McDonald's cups for our Track and Field Day. What was that all about? OH, and snapping away with the POLAROID camera. Bless us.

Here's a pick of Fisher and Eli in their matching school shirts.

Ready. To. Go.

Yes, Fisher is REALLY that much bigger than Eli. I'm not sure if we have a Wee person or a Giant on our hands...or maybe a little of both? They are only 2 1/2 years apart. Anyway, on to the next event of the day:

Muffins with Mom at Sully's school:

He was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. See the cutie corsage he made me out of tissue paper? Very proud, he was. Very proud, I am. Glad to see a huge smile on his face again - he loves his new school.

What. Everrrrrrrrrr.

The foods. They are out to GET me!!

Every single dadburn time I decide I'm going to be "good"...they come and find me...the bad stuff. Here are FOUR of the worst best things I've found JUST THIS WEEK!!!

Nutella.

Hm. Who would have ever thought that this 70s lookin' stylish jar of LOVE could be so good? Well, I'll tell you who. My friend Susie. She told me about this years ago and I never thought about it again. I thought to myself, "Yeah, but how good can it REALLY be?". Well, let me just tell you...Eli and I can't get enough of this nutty chocolate-y goodness. Susie, she has never steered me wrong, but did she HAVE to be this right?

International Delight Marshmallow Cocoa Creamer.

God Dangit. I mean really...REALLY? Who would not like this? Dangit.

Dairy Queen's Fudge Brownie Temptation.

Jesus. Mary. Mother of God. Enough said.

Nilla Cakesters.

Remember these?

Well, NOW they have them in Nilla Cakesters....see here:

http://www.nabiscoworld.com/oreo/cakesters/

And let me just tell you...they are even BETTER than the Oreo Cakesters!!

WHY? WHY do the foods do this to me? There's no hope. Really, there is not.

I Make NO Secret of It...

I HATE school projects that are to be done at home. I have talked it over time and again with my nearest and dearest and they all know how I feel.

I couldn't have put it better when a "seasoned" Kinder teacher was also a parent on Eli's t-ball team this year and she just so happened to see that I had Flat Stanley with me and she said "Oh gawsh...I used to love Flat Stanley...until I got the opportunity to tote him around with me!" She said she used to be a FIRM believer in home projects...until she had school-aged children of her own. She says she no longer gives them. She is my hero.

Well, Eli's teacher is a first year teacher. And don't you get me wrong...she's incredible. She's sweet and smart and excited and young and I do love her. I just hate that she's such an over-acheiver sometimes. As of last night, we were smack dab in the middle of our 5th huge home project of the year and I had nothing but HIGH ANXIETY about it. Not to mention Mac being out of town, Fisher needing to do his homework and go to soccer practice and, well, everything else that involves being a mommy.

Without my angel of a mom Eli would have had a costume made out of a paper sack with arm holes and would have had to hold up his hands as antlers. You see, he was a "Mule Deer" for the skit "Baby Bear, Baby Bear". Well, like I said...thank you for not making my baby wear a sack Mom. Thank you for not accepting my below-averageness. Because Y'ALL....just look what my baby looked like thanks to my Mom...

I DO Have Good Things to Say

The other day, I texted Mac this message:

"My favorite line of my favorite song goes like this: I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you." and then I wrote..."This is how I feel about you."

He texted back, "Babe, is that good or bad?"

Well Mac it was good. I promise. It got me thinking though that maybe he said that because I don't say enough of the good things out loud to him.

Here's just a FEW of the good things I think all the time, and just never say:

I love your green eyes.

I love your smile.

I love being your wife.

I love how much you love your mom and sisters.

I love how much you love to fish and how you enjoy teaching the boys your favorite thing.

I DO know you help me, and I appreciate it.

I love when we laugh together...which is often, not everyone has this.

You are smart.

You are most of the time patient.

I love your forearms.

I don't think anyone else "gets" me like you do.

I love that you love music.

I'm so lucky that you love my family so much.

I love that you never meet a stranger.

I love that you have confidence in me.

You are an incredible friend - a "forever" friend to so many.

I love to watch you remember every mountain name in West Texas.

I love your love of Fort Davis.

I love when you wrestle with the boys.

You have an amazing sense of loyalty.

I love that you don't get mad at me when I fall asleep in the car.

Thank you for always driving.

Thank you for saying yes to our first date.

Thank you for so many things, but mostly thank you for loving me...even when I'm grumpy and don't remember that I should always say the good things out loud to you.

Gone Are the Days

Well, I knew it was bound to happen. My sweet precious boys would no longer be the only ones in the world that thought their mommy was absolutely the most beautiful thing on earth. I knew they would find fault in me, I just didn't know it would be this fast.

The other day I was showing Eli how to do the "buttercup on the nose thing" we all used to do as kids and he said, "Mommy, you sure do have a big nose."

A little later on...that SAME day Fisher said to me..."Mom, I'm darker than you." And proceeded to put his hand up next to mine. Then said, "Nope, same color....looks like the only difference is you've got a buncha wrinkles."

SAME DAY Fisher reaches over to me and jiggles my fat arm as we are driving. "Nice" I think to myself.

And THEN...Eli was trying to sit on the couch with me and told me to move my big butt outta the way.

NOW, I know that I am ultra sensitve to issues such as these...but WHY did my kids have to grow up all in one day?

At least Sullivan didn't say anything except..."Mommy, you're pretty."

I simply must get a grip of this hair growing from my chin situation and FAST...or soon they will be telling all their friends that not only is their mommy fat and wrinkly with a big ole nose, but she's also got a BEARD too!! Everyone in the neighborhood will be paying entrance fees to the Russell Circus!!

Good Times.

Cinco de Mayo

I'm not sure what that means actually. I am no ACE at history and while I did not fail it in school...an "A" was probably not in the works. I try to block that part of my life out of my brain. I do know that it has something to do with Mexico and it's independence, but that's the limit of my knowledge. What I do know is 5 things I did today, the 5th day of the 5th month of the year. I'll share:

1.) Stayed at home with the boys because they didn't have school.

2.) Took some pictures because that's all I seem to be able to think about these days. This is my favorite pic of them all...

It's a little idea I stole from Michele over at Pinkletoes - sorry Michele.

3.) Got MOST of my laundry done.

4.) Did not go crazy for my first day as a single mom while Mac is out of town for the next 4 days.

5.) Most fun of the day? Movies with Rach, Sonia and Christa - YAY. Funtime with the girlies.

That's all folks.

Sunday Photo Favorties #6

Soccer Star

I continue every day of my life to be impressed with the things my kiddos can accomplish. One thing in particular that I am very proud of, is the way that Fisher plays soccer. My eight year old has far surpassed my soccer skills as a teen when I was on the Bowie Soccer Team and even also when I went on to play for Austin Women's Soccer League. Don't get me wrong, I was in NO WAY some soccer star, but this kiddo could have "schooled" me any day.

He's been playing for 6 seasons and has already been "invited" to play on several select and Rec Plus teams. We are so proud of this kiddo and can't imagine what awaits us down the road if he's already this amazing at soccer at the age of eight!! I just hope that he continues to love it as much as he does right now.

OH NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

THE CAMMO"FLASH" ALIENS ARE COMING!!!!

**NOTE**

If YOU happen to see this cute as a bug in a rug "ALIEN" lurking about, just kiss and tickle him and he will collapse in a fit of giggles...CAREFUL....he's a tough one!