The Queen Bee

Long needed update

2011-11-20T08:55:00.011-06:00

Let's see, what has happened in our lifes in the last few months.

1. Mason turned 13 on June 29th, yes I officially have a teen. YIKES! We went to Fiesta Texas and rode all the roller coasters to celebrate. The teenage attitude shows an appearance more than I would like. It is a wonder I can function on a daily basis with how much I really don't know. It is a good thing I have Mason around to let me know everything.
2. Brad turned 46. I can't believe I am married to someone that is 46. He has a new love, his mustang. He has also started teaching a class two nights a week with his union through HCC.

3. Baseball ended for Tanner. No more Combat. Tanner hit his first real over the fence homerun! He ended up hitting two during games and several at practice. This picture shows his second one coming off the bat.

4. School started. I have an 8th grader and a 6th grader. I began my 20th year of teaching. I still really love it.

5. Mason started and ended his football season. He was the C team starting quarterback. He is waiting for puberty to hit and finally have a growing spurt, so he can compete with some of the boys at school. It is amazing the size difference in one grade level of boys. Some of them are men and some of them are still boys.
6. Basketball season has started for Mason. He made the 8th grade team and they have their first scrimmage tomorrow.

7. Kyle came home and lived with us for a couple of months, during his break from school. He turned 22. Nothing much has changed there. He still has no job, no car, and no money. He might be joining the Air Force. Which makes Brad very excited.

8. Tanner joined a new baseball team. Hopefully, no more "Daddy ball". This is with a paid coach. They have their first practice today. We took the fall off and he is ready to begin playing again.

9. I went to my first and hopefully my last baby funeral. My school secretary lost her sweet grandbaby to SIDS. This was one of the worst experiences in my life. I can't wrap my head around how someone can survive losing a child.

10. Tanner is thriving in Jr. High. He was my "Tanner the Terror" when he was under 5. I was so worried he wouldn't do well in school. He struggled a bit in first grade, then was diagnosed ADHD. He did fine in elementary school, but it looks like Jr. High is his place. He is taking all pre-AP classes, except math and he has made all A's and one B the last two six weeks. His confidence in himself is really growing. He even got nominated from one of his teacher's to be a KJH star. On another note, he has lost two pencil bags and a few other things. Staying organized is not his strength. I told him I was going to velcro his clothes and his supplies and just stick everything to him each day.

11. Tanner began confirmation at church. It is exciting to see him grow in his faith. He asked to be baptized in February. He has a very sweet spiritual side. He went on a church retreat a couple of weeks ago. This was his first time to go away for an entire weekend. I really missed him and had trouble sleeping that weekend. I think he had fun, but he said the food was bad and he had trouble sleeping too.

The next couple of months will be busy. We have the following things coming up.

1. Thanksgiving at my moms. This will be our first holiday without Cole. I pray my mom does okay. Hopefully with all of us there, she will be too busy to dwell on it.

2. I turn 42. I am sure Brad is thinking the same thing about me. When did his wife turn old? At least I am not going to be a grandma anytime soon. My sister's 19 year old will be a father in about a month. After the initial shock, Susan is excited. I just can't get over her being a grandma. It makes me laugh. I am excited to meet baby Elizabeth Grace.

3. Christmas

4. Sports - Basketball with both boys. Baseball for Tanner, and Mason is looking for a baseball team to join.

All in all our life is surely not boring. We have been blessed and I pray we continue to be.

Tanner Turns 11

2011-07-13T13:29:00.004-05:00

May 26th was Tanner's 11th birthday. He wanted a cookie cake and he wanted to take a piece to lunch with him. Therefore, we sang happy birthday and ate cookie cake for breakfast. Not a bad way to start a day if I say so myself. After school I took him to the movies and then we had pizza for dinner. He wanted a cell phone and since he is going into Jr. High we got him one. He is so excited.

Ten years ago I took the other picture. I went back and read in a journal I kept and read a little about what Tanner was like when he was one. He just started to walk. I remember he was either extremely happy with a big grin on his face or the other extreme throwing his body down and crying. His moods could change in a blink of an eye. Not much has changed. He is a pretty easy going kid. He isn't the kind of kid that always wants something new, he is usually content with doing whatever he is doing at the time.

A while back I wrote about Tanner crying at school. I asked the teacher's to please email me if he cried, so I could know what was going on. I got two emails the remainder of the school year. I think they were blowing things out of proportion a little. I worried and worried over this and have finally come to the conclusion that it will work itself out. Tanner is just sensitive. As he gets older he will learn how to handle his emotions a little better. Being a sensitive guy is going to be a good thing when he gets older and has a wife to care for. During baseball he still gets upset when he strikes out or feels he made a mistake, but he is quick to recover and doesn't let it interfere with the rest of the game. I think he is going to be just fine.

2 days until Christmas

2010-12-23T10:22:00.005-06:00

I am amazed Christmas is almost here. I haven't posted much lately, because really nothing too exciting has been going on. Work, school, turned 41, etc.... Did I say turned 41, how the hell did I get so old? Just seems like yesterday I was 21.

In the last month this is what has happened with the boys:

Mason made the basketball team for KJH, they had two games and won both.

Tanner had a baseball tournament and has begun basketball practice with Katy Youth Basketball.

See nothing too exciting. I finally got our Christmas pictures taken last night. It is a record for me. I have never waited so long. Bad news is this means no Christmas cards will be sent this year. Today my plan is to go to the grocery store, bake, clean, and go see a friend that is in the hospital.

Brad is off this week. I am not used to him being home with me during my break. This has thrown me off a bit. He goes back to work on Monday. The boys are anxiously awaiting Christmas. I am anxiously awaiting it to be over. Just joking, I love Christmas. Merry Christmas to all!!

emotional basket cases

2010-11-17T11:57:00.005-06:00

It has been a real long time since I posted anything. Football finally wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Mason's team ended up doing pretty good finishing 3rd in the district. I think their end of the season record was 6 -1-1. He ended up loving football and is really looking forward to next year. He played quarterback on the c team and scored at least 4 touchdowns during the season. He kept wanting me to record him throwing the ball, but I never had the camera running when he did. It is hard to anticipate when the play is a throwing play and when it isn't.

Mason tried out for basketball last week. He said there were about 100 kids trying out for about 30 spots. He made the b team. He was very excited about that. Right now he is in fear of one of the coaches and isn't too happy about that. He has complained about this coach since football season started. He says all he does is yell and he can't stand him. He is scared of him. The last couple of days Mason has been home "sick". Monday I got a call from the nurse saying he threw up at school. He stayed home Tuesday and then this morning I got a call from the nurse saying he was sick. I went and picked him up and finally determined he isn't really sick. He is scared of the mean coach at practice. They are having to run the width of the gym 6 times in 30 seconds. He says he can barely make it in 30 seconds and they have moved the time down to 25 seconds. He was crying and yelling saying he couldn't do it and the coach is going to kill him. He will have to stay after practice and do it over and over until he gets it done. He doesn't want to be punished by this man. I brought him back up to school and told him to deal with it. I don't really know how to handle this. Why coaches have to be so mean sometimes I really don't understand. I know part of it is okay, but there is a line that I think some of them cross. What worries me is if Mason can't handle it, I don't know how Tanner will ever handle it.

I had Tanner's parent teacher conference and his teachers told me they are concerned because he cries a lot in class. He will be in Jr. High next year and they don't want him to be teased. Tan has complained all year about his teacher and how he doesn't like her. He says she yells all the time and he thinks she is stressed out. I couldn't get him out of bed one day because he was crying and saying he didn't want to go to school. This has never happened. He wasn't even the crying, clingy type of baby when I dropped him off at daycare.

Why are my boys so sensitive? I know I have always been sensitive, but I don't remember it interfering with my school or sports. How do you teach your kids not to let one person ruin things for them?

Fall Ball

2010-09-26T20:00:00.005-05:00

Fall baseball has begun for both Mason and Tanner's teams. Mason played a couple of weeks ago with his new team. They played in an elite tournament and his team is a select team. We got beat all three games, but overall I think the boys didn't look too bad. This past weekend they played two games on Sunday in the open league. They won both games. I think Mason is happy he decided to change teams and is playing 13U.
Tanner's team was moved from the select level to the elite level this fall. They played their first elite tournament this weekend. Tanner got ejected from the game. His first ejection, and hopefully his last. He was running home to tie the game up and tried to run through the catcher. Apparently you are only allowed to do that in the pros. He was very upset, but I think he has learned from it. His big brother was very proud of him and wanted to know if he broke the kids arm. I don't know what I am going to do with him. We lost that game, but won all the others and ended up the champions of the tournament.

Tanner started playing baseball with the local pony league because his tournament team isn't playing or practicing much this fall. We went to the first practice and I realized we had made a big mistake. He was the oldest kid on the team. None of these kids have ever played kid pitch baseball. They were calling Tanner the "Little League Professional" by the end of practice. His coach came up to me and said he didn't really know what he could teach him. Not a real good sign. He played his first and last game with the Rangers yesterday. It was painful to watch. I didn't realize Tanner would be so much more advanced. I figured he would at least be on a team with kids that had played kid pitch before. Tanner threw the ball from short stop to first base and the first base mans glove flew off when Tanner threw the ball to him. Tanner was very frustrated, so we decided to hang up our hat. It was supposed to be fun and Tanner was getting upset with these boys that couldn't help that they didn't have the experience he has.
Mason played his second Jr. high football game. It was really kind of comical. The O line couldn't block to save their lives. Mason is playing quarterback and that isn't really good for him. They didn't get a first down the entire game. We did win because the defense intercepted a ball. Mason said the coach changed the whole offensive line, so hopefully they will do better tomorrow.

Jr. High Football

2010-09-13T20:36:00.005-05:00

The first picture is before the game. Notice his number. He picked number 12 for Colt McCoy. His favorite football player. The bottom picture is the first play of the game. Mason is behind number 24 getting ready to throw the football.

Today was Mason's very first Jr. high football game. I don't know who was more nervous, me or him. Mason is starting quarter back for the C team. We played a bunch of kids and friends from when I taught at Williams and we all sat together. When we went to sit down we looked at each other and asked if we should sit together or not. We decided we could sit together until high school football. That is when the real rivalry begins. LOL

I am so proud of Mason. He did such a good job. He passed the ball at least 5 times and the receivers did great and caught them. The first quarter we had the ball the entire time, but didn't score. We only have 7 minute quarters. The second half they had it for about half the time and then we had it and we were about on the 20 when time expired. The third quarter started and we held them again and had just gotten the ball back when it began to thunder and lightning, so they delayed the game. They ended up calling the game. We were very disappointed. The boys did great! I am looking forward for next Monday.

Back to School

2010-08-28T09:14:00.004-05:00

We started school on Monday. Mason is beginning the 7th grade and Tanner is the top dog being a 5th grader this year. We went to Safari Night at the KJH to get Mason's schedule and locker set up the Wednesday before school started. When we got Mason's schedule we immediately went to try his locker. We tried and tried and couldn't get it open. That left us carrying around all his supplies as we went around to his classes. We began comparing schedules with his friends and I noticed he was missing a class. They hadn't assigned him a reading class. Mason was really excited about this. Unfortunately, I had to burst his bubble and let the counselor know. He had to go to school on the first day with all his supplies, saxophone, football helmet, cleats, and lunchbox. He was a bit nervous and unsure about what to do with an incomplete schedule, no working locker, and having his first day of Jr. high football practice. It all worked out in the end and he said he had fun at practice.

Tanner ended up getting a teacher Mason had in 5th grade and we really didn't like. Mason still talks about her and blames his struggles in math last year on her. He says she didn't teach them anything and would just yell at them. I am hoping Tanner has a better year with her. I think he already has 5th grade fever. Everyday this week I have asked him how school was and he has replied he hates it. You know school sucks. He didn't end up with any of his friends in his class either. Yesterday he came home a little excited. He is finally a safety patrol. It is official, he got his vest yesterday. He was bubbling with excitement because he got to get a kid in trouble. I think he is going to end up being a cop. He likes busting people. I hope having all this power doesn't go to his head.

Quiet Life

2010-08-15T09:22:00.004-05:00

Things have been rather quiet around her the last month. Baseball has been over for a couple of weeks. I have entertained myself by reading. I started reading the Janet Evanovich series that begins with One for the Money and I think ends as of right now on 17. I am on 14. The boys haven't been too excited about my reading. They think reading is a waste of time. I hate that! The boys have been entertained by watching TV, playing video games, building with legos, playing outside, riding their little motorcycle, playing with friends, swimming, and fighting with each other making their mother crazy. Pretty typical things for kids. We went to San Antonio and stayed with my dear friend Susie for a couple of days. We got to visit with my brother and mom. It was a lot of fun.

Baseball starts today for Mason. He is going to be playing on a 13U team as an extra player and fill in when needed. He will continue playing with the Krushers 12U team for the fall. We have struggled on what to do with him. His birthday falls in June and that makes him play with kids that are a grade level younger unless they have summer birthdays like him. This means if he only plays with the Krushers he will never play on a 14U team before he tries out for the high school team. I am not sure if this is a big deal or not. The field gets bigger each year, so it seems to me it would be at his advantage to play on a team that is his grade level team. Things are so competitive around here. It wouldn't be a big deal to just change teams, but we are so close to the kids and parents on the Krushers it would be like leaving family. We will see how it goes this fall and then make a decision in January as to what team Mason will play with.

School starts for me tomorrow and in a week for the boys. They are so excited about starting, NOT! Honestly I am not either. How am I going to keep reading like I was?

Mason with Braces

2010-07-17T22:26:00.004-05:00

We decided on getting the clear brackets. It cost a little more, but you can hardly see that he has braces. He did really well getting them on and pretty good the first day. The second day, if he could cuss, he would have. He was telling me all dentist should be shot. He doesn't need braces. This is stupid and so on....... Since then he has gotten used to them and is doing much better. I think they make him look a little more grown up. A couple of days after he got them he was batting and got hit in the face with a baseball. He hit the ball and it hit the plate and bounced up and hit him. I immediately said, "Oh no, not his teeth." Luckily it missed his mouth and hit his cheek bone. You could see the stitch marks. Hopefully, he won't be like my brother and get his teeth knocked out after spending all this money to make them look good.

World Series 2010

2010-07-16T17:44:00.011-05:00

I have spent the last 7 days watching 14 baseball games between Mason and Tanner. Mason's team played Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Tanner's team had opening ceremonies on Sunday and played two games every day Monday - Thursday and one on Friday. Both boys did very well and made their mama proud.

The End of an Era

2010-07-13T09:37:00.006-05:00

Mason has played baseball with this man since he was 8 years old. It all began when Mason was asked to tryout for the all-star team at the end of his 8U season. Brad and I weren't really sure we wanted to do this because we knew once we started playing tournament ball our lives were going to really change and we would begin to eat, sleep, and breath baseball. How right we were and that was when we only had one child playing. We decided to let him try out secretly hoping he wouldn't make it. They let each kid field some infield balls, outfield balls, and hit. He did fine with the fielding and then it was his turn to bat. Mason ended up hitting a homerun over the left field fence. He has never done that since, possibly devine intervention. Of course he made the team and that is were all the fun began. Joe was one of our coaches and we have played together since then. He is so knowledgeable about baseball and developmentally where the boys are and where they need to go next to continue growing as a baseball player. His wife became one of my best friends and his son became one of Mason's best friends. The boys ended up playing football together too. We have spent so many hours together and have had so much fun. In the fall we learned Joe was being transferred to San Antonio. He moved in January, but continued to come in for the weekend tournaments and planned on continuing with the team through the summer. It has been a long goodbye, but finally the final game has been played. This weekend we played a tournament that if we had won the whole thing we would have moved on to Dallas. Joe was with us Saturday and Sunday and Harrison was with us Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Mason understood that if we lost last night it was over and he would never play with Harrison again or have Joe be his coach. I saw a fire in him I hadn't seen in a long time. He wanted to win so bad, so that it wouldn't have to end. We lost. Mason came off the field sobbing and cried almost the whole way home. It is truly amazing when you find a family that can touch your family the way they have done. I pray that God places another coach and friend that can touch our lives the way Joe has done. O course we will all continue to be friends and hope to see each other often, but we know it will never be the same.

Mason turns 12

2010-06-30T09:23:00.005-05:00

I can't believe Mason is 12. I can't believe he is growing up so fast. He is still passionate about sports. He loves playing baseball, football, and basketball. He wants to be a professional athlete when he grows up. I think he would be a great sports broadcaster if going pro doesn't work out for him. He knows every athlete and stats on teams and players. He is always asking me questions about players and can't believe I don't know the answers to his questions. He isn't in to girls yet. Many of his friends are already "going out" with girls. Mason doesn't seem interested, thank God.

We went and saw Toy Story 3 a couple of weeks ago. It made me cry. It brought back so many memories of Mason when he was three and loved Toy Story. He wanted me to call him Woody and insisted on wearing cowboy boots everywhere. He loved his little Woody dolls and played with them all the time. Seems like it was yesterday.

I let Mason invite a couple of friends to the movies and to lunch. I think he had a good time. They got in the hurricane wind machine, ate candy, pizza, and laughed at the movie. It was a good day.

The Beach

2010-06-18T08:03:00.002-05:00

We went to Galveston for the day this week. My sister rented a condo for the week and asked us to come and see them. Unfortunately, it could only be a few hours. We have had a lot of dentist/doctor appointments on our calendar. We spent about an hour at the beach and then went back to the condo and hung out at the pool. Later that evening the boys went putt putt golfing and Mason and Zach asked if they could do this bungie sling shot ride. We let them. I hadn't seen anyone ride it before the boys, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This ride shot them into the air and they turned upside down and up and down over and over again. When I look back on it, it was kind of stupid to pay some guy to sling your baby high in the air and hope they survive. They did survive and of course loved it. When they took off I tried to video it, but they flew up so fast I couldn't get it all. Mason's face when they shot up was priceless and I laughed the entire time they were riding.

A Weekend of Champions

2010-06-12T07:51:00.004-05:00

Both boys played baseball tournaments in Boerne, Texas this past weekend. It was nice that both boys played in the same tournament and I didn't have to run around town to get each of them to their games. It did mean we were at the fields almost the entire day both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday they each played two games. Mason's team went undefeated and Tanner's team went 1 and 1. Tanner's team had a horrible umpire. It was so bad that coaches from other teams were commenting to us on this guys calls. This was bad news for Tanner, because he has a hard time getting over bad calls. He gets upset and has trouble getting over that. Sunday Tanner's team played 3 games winning the first two and losing in the championship. Tanner hit a ball almost over the centerfield fence, probably the best hit he has ever had, but then got thrown out at second. He came off the field crying really hard and had to be benched the next inning until he could control himself. I am not sure how to get him to stop getting so upset. Mason's team won the championship. Overall it was a great, hot weekend and the kids had fun. Nana even got to come and watch the boys play a game on Sunday.

Mason is showing off his Championship shirt and medal. Tanner is waiting for his 2nd place medal with the look of defeat.

Tanner's Big Week

2010-06-08T19:53:00.008-05:00

Tanner had an amazing week the week he turned 10. On his birthday I asked him where he wanted to eat, anywhere he wanted. He said, "Mmmm....not McDonald's, you know that other place." There are only a billion restaurants in Katy. But I am very smart and asked if he was thinking about Mooyah Burgers and Fries and I was right. We went and ate there. It was very good. Everyone was happy with Tanner's choice and I could tell he was growing up because he didn't pick McDonald's.
That Friday night he had his skating party. Lots of his friends came and he had a great time. He even got to go into the money machine. What could be better?
That weekend his baseball team had a tournament. Tanner played the best he has ever played. He played pitcher, catcher, and second base and you could tell he put his all into it. He hit the ball hard and came very close a couple of times to hitting it over the fence. His team went 5 and 0 and he won the MVP for the tournament. He was on top of the world. It looks like 10 is going to be Tanner's year.
I love this kid!

Last day to be 9

2010-05-25T20:14:00.005-05:00

So excited to be turning 10!!!

Tomorrow Tanner turns 10. I decided to take a few pictures to document his last day to be 9. It is hard to imagine this big boy used to be my "lots to love" baby. He was such a chunky monkey and so squishy and adorable. I think he is still adorable, but in a different way. He has developed a cute personality. He has a great sense of humor. He is very tender hearted and so passionate about the things he loves. He keeps life interesting and makes me a proud mama!

Where has the time gone?

2010-05-19T16:49:00.009-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. What have we been up to? You guessed it....baseball and a few other things. Here are some pictures of our events. We visited friends at a home at the top of a hill in Canyon City. They had this incredible view and pool for the kids to swim in. Brad and I want to move now.
Mason's baseball team played a baseball tournament in Austin. My mom met us there for the weekend to watch Mason play. Mason ended up running a fever and didn't play.

Tanner's team won the 9 U o pen league championship.

We went camping and fishing at Canyon Lake.

School ends in 10 days!!! We are going to Lake Charles for a baseball tournament with Mason's team. That should be fun. Maybe I will be a good mom and bring my camera, so I can take pictures.

Parenting

2010-03-20T20:05:00.005-05:00

Tonight I sit in a pretty quiet living room watching TV and trying to enjoy the peace, but a little boy keeps coming down and bugging me. Rewind 2 hours ago and Mason, Tanner and a friend were outside playing tennis in the driveway. I kept hearing them outside and finally I heard Brad yelling and then Mason runs in crying. Apparently, Tanner got mad at Mason and threw his tennis racket at him, hitting him on the leg and leaving a pretty good bruise. We are really tired of the boys fighting. They don't do this with other kids just each other. It is hard to determine who is at fault. I always seem to miss the beginning of the disagreement. I can totally see why Tanner gets so mad at Mason. Mason is always trying to one up his little brother. He makes sure to always let Tanner know how much older, smarter, or better at what ever activity they are doing. This makes me mad, because I try to explain to Mason he is older than Tanner and should be better at most things than him. That does not mean he should rub it in to his little brother. Tanner has a short fuse and when Mason pushes his buttons Tanner loses his mind and usually just screams at Mason. It occasionally results in violence like tonight. Tanner doesn't like to lose at anything and needs to learn to control his competitive nature and not lose his mind when he thinks he is losing or about to lose. I have banished both boys to their rooms for the rest of the night. I took Tanner's game controllers, but not Masons. I think since Tanner hurt Mason his punishment should be a little bit worse. You would think I was killing Tanner. He has come out of his room at least 10 times. Within 5 minutes he was declaring he was dying of thirst. He says he is getting all stuffy being closed in his room. He is hungry. He is sorry. Can he please just apologize to Mason, etc.... On the other hand I haven't heard from Mason at all.

I don't know how to get them to get along better. Tanner has such a sweet side. While we were at the rodeo carnival Mason kept trying to win a basketball by shooting a ball into the hoop. He wasted many tickets trying to win. Tanner finally tried it and made it on his first shot. Then he told Mason he would try again to win him a ball. Unfortunately he missed. The rest of the night Mason kept trying to steal the ball from Tanner and Tanner kept yelling at Mason to leave his ball alone. That was fun! Then when we got home Mason just had to use Tanner's new ball even though we have at least 3 other basketballs. Tanner would yell to me to make Mason stop using his ball. I hate for Tanner to be selfish, but it is his ball. Where do you draw the line?

Oh well, I don't really know how to handle this, but hopefully being punished for the night will work. On another note here is a cute picture of Tanner's cat. The other picture is of Tanner luring the ducks from the pond with bread into our driveway. It was funny watching all these ducks following him down the street.

spring break 2010

2010-03-18T15:59:00.005-05:00

This spring break has been pretty good so far. We did not have a big trip planned, but had a few small things to do. We spent one day at the zoo, went to see a Rice and UT baseball game, and spent a day at the carnival and rodeo. This weekend both boys have baseball tournaments and tomorrow we are planning on having a garage sale. I haven't ever had a garage sale while living in this house. I hope people will come and we make at least a little bit of money.

Basketball and black sock update

2010-03-06T08:33:00.004-06:00

Today is the first Saturday since January that we have not had anything to do. Basketball season ended this week. This was a horrible season for Mason. His black socks continued to bring them bad luck. They did not win one game. They usually got beaten by at least 15 points. I am hoping Mason learned something from this. When we signed up to play ball you have to decide whether you want to play in the regular league or be drafted. If you want to go the drafted route you go to a try out and hopefully you get picked by a coach to be on a little more competitive team. If you don't make it at try outs then you get put back in the regular league and they are supposed to form the remaining teams into neighborhood school teams. We have never done the draft in the past because with two kids playing I always wanted them to play in the neighborhood schools so we wouldn't have to drive across town to practices. This year Mason told me he wanted to do the draft because it was his last year to play and it would help him prepare for Jr. High basketball. I thought that was a very mature decision and agreed. The day of try outs I told Mason it was time to go and he said he had changed his mind. He thought if he went to tryouts he would be on a team and possibly be on the B team and if he did the regular league he would be A team point guard and be the best on the team. He doesn't have a problem with self esteem. LOL That is what we did and guess what? He was point guard and the best on the team. The problem was the other kids didn't know what they were doing and you can't play basketball with one player. Mason would get so mad and I tell me those kids shouldn't even be playing. I tried to explain to him that those kids were in the right place. He was the one that chose to take the easy way and was in the wrong place. I also tried to tell him that in order to get better at something you need to push yourself and do something that is challenging. I am hoping he learned that.

On another note, Mason was the only kid that wore the high black socks the entire season. I took the boys to a high school game one night and when we walked in Mason said, "Look Mom!" and pointed to the players. Every one of them had the same socks on as Mason. I guess he does know what he is talking about.

Tanner's team didn't do very well either. They won 2 games, but they were at least pretty close. He and another kid on the team pretty much took charge. Tanner would bring the ball down pass it or shoot it and somehow get back to the other end of the court before anyone else. He is so fast.

To nark or not to nark

2010-02-25T19:51:00.004-06:00

My 6th grader was put in a situation this week that really opened my eyes about a few things. He came home from school and told me he saw a fellow student with a bag of marijuana. The kid is a 6th grader at this school. I am so proud he told me about it. We talked it over and decided it would be best to report it to the school. We were very concerned it would be kept confidential and the principal assured me he wouldn't even need to talk to Mason. He would investigate things the next morning. I had only been at work a few minutes when the principal called me and said they had found the bag on the boy and the police wanted to get a statement from Mason. This is not what we had expected at all. I asked if he had to give a statement and if he did could I please be present when he talked to the police. He said he would call me back and let me know, but he had heard them talking about testimony and he wasn't sure the amount found was enough for the case to proceed. When he called me back he said he had spoken to the DA and they determined there wasn't enough in the bag to follow up with the police, but the school would take the appropriate action. Thank God!! Mason would have been so nervous if he had talked to the police and I don't think I am ready for any of the consequences that would come from any of this. I am still concerned about anything happening if someone finds out we told. I would hate for some retaliation against my son.

I didn't think we would be dealing with any of this for a couple of more years. Mason is only 11. I started second guessing our decision to tell, but I had a friend reassure me that we did the right thing. This could be the same kid that offers my kids drugs in the future. I can just pray that we did the right thing and be thankful that my son feels comfortable enough with me to tell me these things.

Secret to a healthy you...

2010-02-08T17:16:00.002-06:00

Do you want to be thin, be able to climb trees like a monkey, be the fastest 9 year old in town? Well, Tanner has the secret. Today he got a cupcake as an after school snack. As he was eating the snack he was doing sit ups. So, it is not what you eat, it is what you do while you eat. Who would have guessed!

Oh, Tanner!

2010-02-05T16:34:00.002-06:00

Tanner keeps life interesting. Last night as we were driving home from practice he informed me he knew where babies came from. I said, "Oh?" He told me they come from a very gross place. "You know, the same place on a girl that balls are on a boy." Always great conversation in the Holmberg house.

This has been a crazy couple of weeks. The boys are both playing basketball and baseball has started up again. Someone has a practice or a game everyday of the week. I feel like all I do is drive kids around. Brad has also been working a lot the last week and was called out 3 nights this week, so he wasn't even home. I finally got the boys into bed and sat down to relax before bed, when Tanner came down and told me he had thrown up. I asked where and he said on the carpet. I should have known that. Then it occurred to me that Tanner had Hawaiian punch at dinner. Of course he did!! He then got that, "I'm going to throw up look," and I yelled at him to go to the restroom. He ran in there and threw up in the sink. I guess I should be happy he hit the sink, but the toilet would have been so much better. I then spent the next hour cleaning up the, ide of his bed, the carpet, the remote controls, the game boxes, a baseball hat, and a sink. His bedroom now has two red stains on the carpet. He keeps saying he wants wood floors in his room and I am thinking that might not be a bad idea. Oh the joys of motherhood!!

Nerd Alert

2010-01-23T21:50:00.003-06:00

I am not a fashion diva. I know that probably comes as a surprise to most of you, but fashion is not my thing. I am comfortable in jeans and tennis shoes for the most part. I don't think I need to be put on that show What Not to Wear, but I could dress a little better at times. I do spend the majority of my time at my kids sporting events and these aren't exactly black tie affairs. I don't think I look bad and do know how to match my clothes.

I try very hard to make sure my kids look good. They always match even if they are just wearing basketball shorts and t-shirts. It drives me crazy when I see a kid that is wearing mix-matched clothes. Tanner has a good friend that always comes over wearing green shorts and an orange shirt or some other crazy combination. One day I was taking them to the movies and I made him go home and change into something that matched. I feel the same way about character shoes. You know like Bob the Builder or whatever cartoon character is in at the time. I guess teaching in some low income schools I would see the mix matched clothes, cheap character shoes, and uncombed hair and it isn't the look I want for my kids.

That brings me to today. Mason had a basketball game and before we left he told me he needed new socks. He has been wearing the no show socks and he wanted some that came up a little bit higher. We went to Academy and he picked out the ones he wanted. They are black and come up about mid calf. I told him I refused to buy him black socks to wear with shorts. He insisted that everyone wears them. I finally gave in and bought them and he changed in the car and was very proud of his "new look". All I could think of was an old man mowing his yard with shorts and black socks. The kind of person we always made fun of. We made it to his game and he ran out on the court. He was the only one with high black socks. After the game I asked him about no one else sporting this new look. He explained to me once again that all the kids at school wear them. I am trying not to sweat the small stuff, but it is hard. I also think the socks brought him bad luck. This is the first game in a couple of years that he hasn't scored a basket. His team lost 30-8. I let him know what I thought, but he said it wasn't the socks. At least I tried to help him. Maybe someone should call What not to Wear and we could do an intervention.

Not a jail bird after all...

2010-01-04T17:06:00.004-06:00

I spent one entire day of my Christmas vacation taking a defensive drivers course to clear one of my tickets. I ordered my driving record and assumed it would be here in time for my court date today. I got a little nervous when it didn't arrive by Saturday. I haven't dealt much with the law and wasn't real sure what would happen if I showed up to court without my driving record. I told the boys I would call them if I needed to be bailed out of jail. I got to court about 45 minutes early and while sitting in the car waiting I decided to go through the paperwork. Oops I had missed getting a notary to sign one of the forms. I zipped out of the parking lot and was on the look out for a bank. Thank goodness I found one quickly and got my form notarized and got back with still 25 minutes until court. I didn't know where to go, but finally figured out. Wouldn't you know I was not the only person that didn't have all their paperwork. They have a process for idiots like me. I got a 10 day extension. Surely my driving record will arrive before then.

Today I was looking through some old pictures and found another picture of evidence I was a law breaker. The first picture is of me in my high school graduation gown. And yes that is a bottle of alcohol I am holding. I believe my mother was taking that picture and the alcohol was given to me by an adult cousin. Mom, how could you condone such bad behavior? It is a wonder I turned out to be such a productive citizen and not a wino under the bridge. I kind of remember that night. I believe I drank the majority of that bottle by myself and had my first hangover the next day. It was not pretty. Notice I said my first hangover. I am not a fast learner and have had a few more since then.

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T08:21:00.003-06:00

This year was a little more low key than last year. We were invited to a couple of parties, but with Brad's new work schedule we decided not to go. Brad changed jobs in November and he now works in Texas City. He has to be at work at 6:30 and it takes him an hour and 15 minutes to get there and two hours to get home. He leaves the house by 5 and gets up at 4. His used to stay up late every night. Now he is in bed before me. The boys were invited to go to Time Square Entertainment with some neighbors. That left Brad and I alone. I don't think we have been alone on New Years in 11 years. We went to eat at Los Cucos. Had a couple of margaritas and really enjoyed each others company. Brad went to sleep around 9. I stayed up waiting for the boys. They were supposed to get home at one, but at 11:50 they were knocking on the door. I was glad to see them. We got to bring in the new year together. 2009 wasn't a bad year, but it could have been better. We hope 2010 is a wonderful year! Happy New Year!

Cookies, kittens, and Christmas

2009-12-26T11:44:00.005-06:00

We had another successful Christmas with once again our kids getting too much. Brad seems to over do it with the boys. I am not a whole lot better. That just means our boys get spoiled. Brad mentioned on Christmas eve as I was telling him that we had over done it again, that he remembers a Christmas where all he got was a model of the space shuttle. I asked him if he was sad and he said yes. I guess he doesn't ever want our boys to feel the same way he did that Christmas.

Tanner got a kitten for Christmas. Penny isn't real sure how to feel about her. She keeps hissing at Penny and she just turns her head. I told the boy that is what you do when a bully is picking on you. Our new little family member is a bully, but very cute. She is perfect for Tanner. He said, "She plays with me and she lays in my lap when I play video games." Who could ask for more.

I spent one whole day baking cookies. It was fun. The boys didn't help me this year and I had picked out a cute recipe for some snowman cookies. They enjoyed eating them though. We have one more Christmas today with my mom and sister. Then we will be going shopping so the boys can spend their Christmas money. I am not looking forward to the malls.

We got to talk to Kyle on Christmas day. He sounded really good. It is crazy that he isn't able to talk to his family but once a year. It was nice hearing from him and he seemed happy. He will be gone for another year and a half. That is a really long time to go with out seeing your family. I don't think I could do it.

Whiz Kids

2009-12-10T17:13:00.003-06:00

This six weeks has been a very trying time for my boys. Their grades are not real good. Tanner went a week with no ADD medication, so I can kind of explain that. In fact last week was the week with no meds. We practiced his spelling words during the week and he knew them. I got his test back yesterday and he made a 45 on the test. He didn't even do that bad the first time I quizzed him. I asked him what happened and he said, "I don't know I guess the words just fell out of my head." No joke buddy!

Mason is failing math at the moment. I talked to his teacher and she said he doesn't understand adding and subtracting mixed fractions with and without regrouping. She asked me if I know how to do this. Well, let's see, the last time I did this was ummmmm........6th grade!!! I don't know. The good news is school has come a long way. All the textbooks are online. I got online and there is a man that walks you through how to do the problems step by step. I did the tutorial and then took the online quiz. I will have you know I made a 100. I then had Mason take the quiz and walked him through it step by step and he seemed to understand much better. He then took a quiz and made a 25. This was better than the 0 he made before the tutoring. Last night we spent the night redoing the two quizzes and I tried to make sure he really understood. He had a test today. When he got home I asked him how he did and he said he didn't finish. I asked how he thought it was and he said some were easy and some weren't. He is just so full of details! The results of this test will determine if he stays in preAP math or if he needs to change classes. In the meantime if you need any help adding or subtracting mixed fractions just give me a call!

Snow in Katy

2009-12-10T17:02:00.004-06:00

Christmas is fast approaching. Last Friday it actually snowed in Houston. It was so much fun. As I was on my way to work I noticed snow flurries mixed with the rain. As the morning went on it really began to snow, big flakes too. I have lived in the Houston area my entire life. I can only remember it snowing once when I was a child. I was spending the night with a friend and when we woke up it was snowing. Her mom wouldn't let us go outside and play so I decided it was time to go home. I went home and played in the snow with my brother and sister. The first year I taught in 92 it snowed. The school had a fire drill so everyone would go out and see it. I actually had a little girl cry because she didn't understand what was coming out of the sky. Christmas eve when Tanner was 3 it snowed. It was so nice and a very nice Christmas gift. The boys were so excited. Last year it snowed but didn't really stick. Then it snowed this year. So here I am 40 years old and I have only seen snow a handful of times. This is why we get so excited around here when it does snow. I don't think I would like living where it snows all the time, but it is fun for a short time. When I say a short time I mean a short time. It snowed enough to cover the roofs and ground. We got out of school about 2 hours early. I was so excited to get home and take some pictures of the boys in the snow, but when I drove up it had already melted. Bummer!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T19:56:00.003-06:00

This year I have a lot to be thankful for. First and foremost is my family. I have a wonderful husband, awesome kids, and great parents and siblings. We don't get together too much, but when we do we always have a good time and enjoy each others company. Mom cooked a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner for all of us.

I am also thankful for our health. All of us have had a great year health wise. Mason stayed out of the hospital and has not spilled protein the entire year. He has lost all of the prednisone weight and looks and acts like our old Mason again. We have had several people in our life that have come down with some serious illnesses and have fought hard and have beat the problem. For that we are thankful.

We are thankful to have good jobs. With the economy struggling we know we are lucky to have a steady income. Brad changed jobs last week and we are hoping this new job opens the door to some new opportunities for him.

God has truly blessed us this year!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-11-20T13:58:00.002-06:00

My 40th birthday is rapidly approaching. This year it falls on Thanksgiving day. My birthday falling the week of Thanksgiving is kind of a bummer. It is hard to get together with people because people are always with family at this time of year. A week or so ago my friend Susie told me she wanted to take me to dinner for my birthday. I thought we could do it the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, because we have the day off. She said she couldn't and said let's meet on Thursday the 19th. She said she would pick me up and we would all go, kids included. So yesterday after work Susie showed up and we began driving to Los Cucos. As we were driving I got a phone call from a coworker and she said, "Happy Birthday!" I was a little confused and told her it wasn't my birthday. She said, "Well were are you? Aren't you at Los Cucos?" This was strange because I hadn't told her I was going there. I told her we were driving down the road and she muttered something and then said goodbye. This made me think a little and I started wondering what was going on. When we got to Cucos we walked to the back room and my very dear friends were all waiting for me. It was still a surprise even though Susan let the cat slightly out of the bag. Alisha, Kathy, and Susie had planned the whole thing and invited lots of people from school. Everyone at school kept this a secret for almost a month. They had it decorated with Over the Hill balloons and big 40 balloons. I also got to wear my very own princess ti era. It was a wonderful surprise and reminded me what great friends I have. This Thanksgiving I am definitely thankful for great friends. Hopefully Susie will send me some pictures and I will post them when I get them.

Successful Parenting

2009-11-01T08:25:00.002-06:00

I have reached another milestone in my parenting. Yesterday morning Mason had his last football game. Thank God! When I watched the news in the morning I saw the temperature was 47 degrees. As the boys were getting dressed I told Tanner to put on a pair of jeans. For some reason neither of my boys like to wear jeans. Tanner came down with out jeans on. I sent him back upstairs to change. He cried and yelled and complained that he didn't want to wear jeans. I calmly explained he would either wear jeans or he would not be allowed to go trick or treating. He told me he would run away then. I told him bye and he ran out the door. I finished getting ready and then decided I had better go and look for him. I opened the front door and he was sitting on the porch. I said, "Go inside and put some jeans on." He said, "Okay." and ran upstairs. He came down a little later. I glanced at him and thought he had something on other than jeans and I started to say something, but then realized what he had on. He said, "There you go judging me again! You are always judging me." I grabbed him and gave him a big hug and told him it was my job to judge him and make sure he was dressed properly. I then said the next time you decide to run away you might want to put on a pair of shoes. He said, "Yeah, I thought about that."

Finally something to post

2009-10-21T17:37:00.006-05:00

Well, I finally have something good to post. Tanner's baseball team played a tournament in Brenham this weekend. His team won the tournament with a combined score for all three games being us 44 other teams 3. The boys looked great. Tanner got to pitch for the first time. He did great. One kid hit a pop up, he struck out the 2nd guy, walked the 3rd guy and then struck out the fourth batter. He was very excited he finally had the opportunity to pitch. They didn't get to play another inning, because we run ruled the other team. Of course I forgot my camera which brings me to my bad luck.

I have had a string of bad luck lately. In August I got a speeding ticket in the HOV lane going to a tournament across town. Apparently the speed limit is only 60 not 65 in the HOV. I was going 75. Then on the way to school two weeks ago I got a ticket in a school zone. I haven't figured out how I was speeding. I was about the third or fourth car in a string of cars. We had been stopped at a red light. We all began going and had gotten just a short distance when the cop stopped me. She said I was going 30 in a 20. I asked her how that was. I told her she must be wrong and she showed me the radar and said it was me because the person in front of me was going 22. How was I going faster than the guy in front of me?

Monday when I was coming home from school I was driving down Clay Rd. in a very country part and got a ticket for going 60 in a 45. I couldn't believe it and said a few curse words when I saw him turn around and get me. I haven't ever had something on my record. Now I am taking defensive driving for the first one. I am going to fight the second one and pay the third one. I guess I will be driving really slow the next year.

Mason's football team sucks this year. He has a couple of coaches that I know think they are doing well, but the boys are so confused. These coaches took over after basically kicking the coach out that had been with the team since they were in first grade. Last year we only lost 1 game. This year we have only won 2 games. Only two more games and we are finished with youth football. Mason is really not in to it and can't wait for the season to end.

Mason was sick for a week. He had the flu. We all had to take tamiflu which cost us $170. I didn't have that in the budget. He did get well and never relapsed. That is a good thing,

I am hoping for a little better luck. (shhhhhh........I am not telling Brad about the last ticket. He would never let me live it down. It's a good thing he never reads this.)

Finally something to post

2009-10-21T17:37:00.001-05:00

Firsts

2009-09-23T18:17:00.002-05:00

Friday night, well from 5-7, Mason had his first Jr. High dance. It was just for the 6th graders. He had planned on going with his best friend Evan. Evan ended up getting sick, so he went by himself. I chaperoned the dance. Before we got there I told Mason to change into something a little nicer, perhaps a pair of nicer shorts and a polo shirt. He told me no. The school said to just wear what you wear to school. He did go upstairs and change clothes. He put on his new UT t-shirt, running shorts, and a UT baseball cap. I begged him to at least put on deodorant. When we got there a boy ran up to him and asked Mason if he had a football. Mason said he had one in the car and asked me to go get it. I told him no, he was at a dance not a football game.

I was a little surprised by the amount of kids that did dance, boys and girls. Of course my son didn't dance. He walked around and talked to kids. NO girls though. Most of the boys did wear a nice pair of shorts and a polo. Maybe Mason will get it next time. The majority of the girls dressed up, wearing a dress. One girl walked by with a really short skirt and pumps on. She looked way to old for my little boy. The interesting thing about that girl is she was actually there on a date. One of the parents that was also chaperoning I knew from work. I taught both of her boys at Rhoads. She was collecting the tickets at the door. This girl walked up and said hi to her and asked her if her son was there yet. She explained that his dad would be dropping him off any minute. The girl told her that her son was her date. Her son proceeded to show up, present two tickets, (apparently he had bought her a ticket) and go into the dance with out so much as a hello to his very shocked mother. When I talked to her she was stunned. She said, "I ask him every day what happened at school. He never mentioned he had a date." She couldn't wait until they got home and she had a little talk with him. I laughed really hard. Here is her son the same age as mine and he is interested in very mature girls, if you know what I mean, and my son is interested in football. I think I am the lucky one.

Tanner had his very first kid pitch baseball tournament. It was pretty exciting. He had fun. He played catcher and did a great job. He even got a wonderful hit.

Lemonade on Labor Day

2009-09-07T15:35:00.002-05:00

Tanner and his friend decided to have a lemonade stand today. We have about 700 bars of candy to sell as well. I suggested we try and sell a bar or two.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2009-09-06T11:27:00.004-05:00

Or should I say out of the mouth of preteens. Yesterday while driving to some practice or another Tanner was talking about sharks and some beach where sharks are washing up. I was half listening and nodding and say "really?" on cue. Then Mason said, "That is crazy Tanner, sharks don't take baths." It took me a minute to register what he said. Tanner and I both started laughing so hard. I can't believe I had to explain to my 11 year old what washing up on a beach means.

Sports

2009-08-30T08:49:00.003-05:00

Video is of Mason's game. He is the one that threw the ball. Unfortunately, his receiver didn't catch it.

This weekend we were back into our crazy sports schedule. It started with Tanner's first baseball scrimmage on Friday night. This is the first season for kid pitch. I am excited because it is a little more exciting than coach pitch, but the kids have a lot to learn. Tanner played catcher and he did a great job. He even threw a guy out at third that was stealing from second. We didn't get to finish the game because an incredible lightening store blew in. I took my camera to take pictures of Tanner. I thought I was so prepared. I even changed batteries before we left. Then we I started to take pictures I realized I forgot my memory card.

Mason played his first game of football season. They did a great job. He played quarterback the entire game. We won 8-0. The other team got the ball within inches of the goal line and our defense stopped them. One of our players got hurt. Looks like he knocked his shoulder out of place.

The Katy Tigers were playing Northshore last night. Mason really wanted to go, but Tanner had baseball practice around the same time. We decided Mason could go with a friend. This was the first time I would be dropping him off at something without an adult. I was a little worried, but I figured every time I take them to the game and stay they run off and I don't see them until the game is over anyway. I got a call from Mason at half time asking me to come and pick them up. When I got there they said it was so crowded they could hardly move and just wanted to go home. We ended up watching the game at home together as a family. It was nice.

Today Tanner has a fundraising car wash. This doesn't seem to exciting. Mason has a football beginning of the season swim party. I need to get busy cleaning my house before the craziness starts again.

Back to School

2009-08-24T18:50:00.005-05:00

I remember Mason's first day of kindergarten very well. We were so excited and ready for him to begin school. Wasn't he cute back then? I can't believe he started Jr. high today. He looks so grown up and handsome.
He hadn't talked much about it until last night. He told me he didn't want to go. I asked him if he was going to be a Jr. High drop out. We talked a little and I reassured him it would be great. I sure hope it is. Jr. high can be so tough. I packed him a lunch at his request and I thought to myself, I sure hope he doesn't get teased about taking his lunch. I talked to a friend of mine who sent her new 6th grader to school without a lunch because he didn't want one and she worried he would go hungry. I guess we all worry about something. He reported a boring day at school when he came home and I pulled teeth to try and get more details. He said they went over rules in every class and he doesn't want to play football because the coach is very mean. He did sit by some friends at lunch and had someone he knew in most of his classes. That's about all I got.

Little T started 4th grade today. I asked him what his favorite part about today was and he said, "nothing." i asked him who was in his class and he said lots of people. That is all I got. I got home from work today and he had his homework completed. I guess he is off to a good start.

here we go

2009-08-20T19:45:00.003-05:00

We have been busy lately. Back to the same old grind. Football and baseball practices have started, plus I am back at work. Mason's team had a tournament in League City this past weekend. The team ended up in second place. They did pretty good for their first tournament of the new season with only 2 practices under their belts.

Mason played his first scrimmage football game on Saturday morning, before he played the two baseball games. It is a good thing he has a lot of energy. I was tired just driving him around and watching the games. He did really well and his team looks good.

Tonight was Tiger Safari at the Jr. high. The kids go to the school, get their textbooks, schedules, and learn to do their locker. It was very interesting watching Mason. He walks around acting like he is all that and a cup of tea. Then we get into the classroom to meet his teachers and I can barely get him to say his name. My big concern with Jr. high is the number of teachers he has. Mason is really quiet around his teachers and I fear they won't get to know the "real" Mason in such a short period of time. I guess he will be fine. The locker was our main issue. He had trouble getting it open. We finally figured it out after several attempts. Tanner kept asking to try and that little booger opened it on his first try. We bought him a locker shelf and a magnet pencil holder. We got his locker all set up. I hope he is able to get back into it and get what he needs out of it.

We saw a lot of his friends from baseball, basketball, and football. His locker is right next to one of his basketball team mates. We couldn't find anyone that had many classes with him. His best friend Evan only has one class with him, but they have lunch together. That is all that matters anyway, right?

We went to Tanner's meet the teacher last night. His homeroom teacher was Mason's math teacher when he was in 4th grade. She lives right down the street from us. I was trying to get Tanner to tell her his name and she said, "Oh, I know him." It is a good thing, or else she might still be waiting for him to tell his name. I don't know why my kids are so shy. I wasn't that way at all. I find it hard to believe Brad was that way either.

Football Begins

2009-08-05T07:53:00.005-05:00

This is our last season of Katy Youth Football. Tanner has decided to not play anymore. I remember when Mason was 4 years old and we would drive past Rhoads stadium on our way to daycare. He would say "I am going to play football when I am 5. I am going to play there." I don't really know where he learned about football. Brad doesn't ever watch football on TV and we weren't going to anyone"s games, but some how he new what he wanted to do. When he was 5 I signed him up and he played flag football. It was all fun and exciting back then. This is our 7th season. That is hard to believe. It isn't new anymore, but I guess it is still exciting. After all this football, Mason told me on the way to his first practice last night that this will be the last year he plays football. He said in jr high he needs to just focus on baseball and basketball. I think once he gets to jr. high he will change his mind. I think he is a little nervous about it already. Here is to a great season! Go Bucs!!!!!

$$$$$$$$

2009-07-28T09:38:00.002-05:00

The spending spree has begun. It is back to school time. Saturday I took Mason to get his saxophone. We are now the proud rent to own owners of a sax at the low, low price of $42 a month. The total cost is around $1400. Why could my son have decided to play the drums? Then all you have to do is buy some sticks. I sure hope he likes playing. He was a little overwhelmed when we got it. He saw a trumpet and said, "Man that only has three buttons, the saxophone has a million. I don't think I can play it." Well buddy, you have your work cut out for you.

Saturday night the boys wanted to go to the mall and spend their allowance. We took two of our neighbors. Mason told me I couldn't hang with him and his friend. So Tanner, his friend, and myself headed out to find something to buy. We pass by an Oakley store and Mason is trying on a $200 pair of sunglasses. That boy has caviar taste on a McDonald's budget. He better grow up and get a good job. I did find a good deal on backpacks at Marshall's. Mason's friend is already in Jr. High and was giving him the ends and outs of what type of backpack would be useful for 6th grade. It was nice having him around. We wouldn't want Mason to be the dork of 6th grade.

Next on our back to school list is shoes and school supplies. I didn't get the school supply order form turned in on time for Tanner, so I will be going and picking out all his stuff. I think I am going without him. When I let them go with me, I always end up spending way too much. Wish me luck. Mason has already picked out the shoes he wants. They only cost $120. That boy is crazy!!!!

Pure Sweetness

2009-07-22T09:51:00.002-05:00

Last night I was really tired and decided to go to bed before I tucked the boys in. I went upstairs and kissed them both and told them goodnight. I went to bed and had just fallen asleep and I heard, "mom, mom". I opened my eyes and Tanner was standing there. He said, "I need another kiss." Part of me was annoyed that he woke me up and I had just fallen asleep, but the other part was thinking aw www. Then Mason came and crawled into bed for a few minutes and then left and went up to his bed. Sometimes they seem like they are getting so big and aren't my babies anymore and then they do something like this and it reminds me that they are still little boys and need their mommy.

Mystery Poop

2009-07-16T20:10:00.006-05:00

This morning as the boys and I were leaving to go and play with friends we were met with a mystery in our driveway and yard. Very wet and very smelly blobs. I am assuming it is poop of some sort. It starts on one end of our driveway, goes across the driveway and then into the grass by a flowerbed. Then it just stops. I looked all over the neighbors yards, but they did not seemed to be blessed with the mystery poop. None in the streets either. Nothing seems to be disturbed anywhere. So, this leaves me with many questions. What type of animal could do such damage? The only animals we have around are dogs, cats, and ducks. These would have to be some very sick ducks to cause such a mess. Also, the duck would have to be the size of an ostrich. I haven't seen any of those, so it makes me think a cow. I grew up with cows and I don't remember them leaving so many spots all in a row, just a cow patty here and there. Does anyone have any ideas?

I called Brad when I made the discovery and he said he had seen it on his way out to work and didn't know what it was either. He suggested I hose it off the driveway. Well, by the time I discovered it we were already needing to leave and by the time we got home it was baked onto the driveway. I tried, but I think I need a pressure washer. The first picture is after I tried to wash it off the driveway. I think I just made a bigger mess. Too bad Brad is working late, this is a great job for the man of the house.

The World Series is Over

2009-07-14T08:26:00.005-05:00

I have spent the last two days recovering from the World Series. I can't believe how draining it is when it wasn't even me playing. I know it was over 100 degrees every day we were there. During the week I went to two opening ceremonies 13 games and 2 swim parties. The games wouldn't have been so bad but you have to get there an hour ahead of time and then the games seemed to all be delayed, which means you waited even longer. Tanner's games were an hour and fifteen minutes long and Mason's were an hour and 40 minutes long.

On the last day Mason's game started at 9 a.m.. We were supposed to be there at 8. I got up rushed Mason around and as we got there Mason asked where everyone was. I asked Mason what time it was and it was only 7 a.m.. When I woke up I looked at the clock but only looked at the minutes. The only good that came out of it was we got to choose the dugout of our choice and we chose the one the sun was not shining directly into. When the other team got there they tried to boot us out saying they were ranked higher than us, so they got to choose the dugout of their choice. I told Mason not to move and we ended up getting to keep the dugout. We ended up killing that team. Who is ranked higher now!!!!? LOL

Tanner's team won three games and lost two. Mason's team won 6 games and lost 2. They ended up in third place for the series out of 18 teams. We were the only Katy team left. The team that won we didn't get to play. The boys played really well and we are so proud of them. Last year we got 4th out of 5 teams. They have learned and improved a lot in a year. Next year we are wanting to go to South Carolina for the World Series. I will be selling a lot of chocolate.

World Series

2009-07-08T19:13:00.005-05:00

Both boys are playing in the World Series this week. They are each guaranteed 5 games. That is at least 10 games we will be playing in the 100 degree weather. If we win then the kids play more. The series starts with pin trading. Each team has a pin with their logo on it and they trade it with other teams. You try and get all the pins for all the teams there. It is pretty fun and the kids really get into it, some parents too. Then they have opening ceremonies. Each team enters the field and their names are called out. Then they have a skills competition. Both boys ended up competing in a race where you run around the bases. Tanner's was an individual competition and Mason's was a relay with 4 boys. Mason's team came in second place competing against twenty or more teams.

Both the Curve and the Krushers have gone 2 and 1. Tomorrow starts the elimination games. It is double elimination. Tanner's game is at 7:45 a.m. This is just wrong. If they win they play again at 10:45 and if they lose they play at 1:45. Mason plays at 1:00. So far this has been the series of dropped balls. Tanner's team was ahead by 6 points int he 6th inning. All we needed was two outs and the game was over. A couple of balls went through the short stops legs, first base dropped a ball and two balls were hit to Tanner in the outfield. He dropped both of them. We ended up losing the game. It was not pretty. The picture above with Mason shows him catching a ball thrown to him by the catcher. They were trying to throw out a kid stealing from second. From the picture the kid isn't even close. Mason turns to make the tag and the kid, that is twice Mason's size, plows into him, knocking Mason off his feet and onto his back and he drops the ball. Lucky for Mason he wasn't hurt. Tomorrow will be a very long and hot day. Wish us luck!!

My Cowboy

2009-07-04T00:12:00.003-05:00

Brad and I met 15 years ago today at the George Strait look alike contest in Houston at the Post Oak Ranch. I was suppose to meet friends there. We had decided it was going to be a fun night because we would either see a lot of guys that looked like George Strait or we could laugh at the guys that thought they looked like George. I got antsy and decided to go a little early. I think I got there about an hour before my friends. The first person I saw when I walked into the door was a tall cowboy leaning on the bar with a cowboy hat on and a beer in his hands. Our eyes met for a second and then we kind of walked around looking at each other for a while. When my friends arrived we still hadn't said anything to each other. Finally, he walked up to me and asked me what my name was. I was in a silly mood, or maybe just drunk, but I answered, "What do you want it to be?" and then me and Meredith were making up names. He then asked me what I did for a living, and I answered, "What do you want me to do?" We made small talk and then he asked me to dance. This was the true test. We began dancing and I remember thinking, wow he can dance! We don't dance much anymore but 15 years later we are still together doing or own day to day dance.

Corpus Christi

2009-07-02T18:55:00.001-05:00

We went to Corpus for a couple of days. We of course stayed at the Navy Base in Corpus. Everyone of our vacations revolves around a base of some sort. Brad likes to use his retirement perks. We can stay on the base pretty cheap. We went to the beach a couple of times. The boys are so different. Mason loves the water and bugs us to get in with him. If we won't get in he finds people to go near. He is a little scared to be out there by himself. Brad and I took turns getting in with him. Tanner played in the sand building sand castles and sandballs. He would bomb his castles with the bombs. He just entertains himself. The water was very pretty. We discovered Brad's hidden talent on this trip. The hotel gave us a frisbee. Mason and I threw it around a little and then Brad threw the frisbee and he was really good. I began laughing and saying I can't believe we finally found a sport you are good at.

Mason had his 11th birthday on the 29th. Time sure does fly. He is growing up so fast. It is amazing. We went to Corpus for his birthday. I told them after they turned 10 there would be no more big parties. I think he had a good time. We went to Olive Garden for dinner at his request. We also went to ride go carts and putt putt golf. Mason is so competitive Brad kept score at Mason's request. It was Tanner, Mason and me playing golf. In the end we all equally sucked. I scored a 72 and the boys scored 73's. We were about 30 strokes above where we should have been. Mason thinks he is a great golfer because he can play Wii golf.

We went bowling too. Tanner had the bumpers up and Mason kept saying it wasn't fair. Mason insisted he and Tanner play another game with out the bumpers up. Tanner kicked his butt. It was pretty funny. For the record I beat all of them, Brad included. (I don't know where my kids get their competitiveness.) Poor Brad got a bowling injury. I laughed so hard. I told him he must be really out of shape if he pulls something while bowling.

Next week both boys are playing in the World Series. It will be a very busy and very hot week.

Krushers Rock

2009-06-15T16:46:00.006-05:00

Mason and Tanner's baseball teams played in a tournament this weekend. It was so hot outside. I felt sorry for the boys. Tanner's team didn't do so well, but Mason's team was on fire. Both boys played 2 games on Saturday. The tournament was single elimination and Tanner's team lost their Sunday game. Mason's team played at 7:45 a.m. Sunday morning. They won that game. Their next game was at 3:45. We won that game and played again at 7:45 for the championship. The boys played the best game and ended up winning 3-2. It was a lot of fun! We didn't end up getting home until around 11 that night. It was a very long day.

Let the war begin

2009-06-12T08:23:00.003-05:00

The boys have been playing war a lot lately. Their friends from the neighborhood all come over, they pair up into teams, and off they go. They each have an air soft gun and glasses. I love it, because they will play for hours. We have a pond in the center of the neighborhood that has trees on one side and houses on the other. This is the central location for the battles. Last night Mason came home upset and said a cop stopped him and told him he couldn't play anymore. My rule is the kids can only shoot someone who is playing, they may not shoot anything in anyone's yard, and they must wear glasses. He said they weren't bothering anyone. He was so mad. He kept saying that the cop was dumb and insisted I go and find the cop to talk to him. We loaded up in the car and drove around the neighborhood, but we couldn't find him. The whole time Mason kept talking smack, acting all tough. When we got home I called the police department and was told an old couple thought they had bb guns. That the complaint was unfounded. I told the boys to give it a rest for the night and they could play again the next day. I put the boys to bed and about an hour later Mason came down all upset. He asked it it would really be okay for them to play tomorrow. I told him yes, and he said, "But I don't want to get into trouble from the police." That is my Mason. Tough on the outside, but tender on the inside.

First days of summer

2009-06-11T09:17:00.003-05:00

We have been to two birthday parties since school has been out. Sunday a kid on Mason's team had a swim party. At that party Tanner got jumped on and had a horrible bloody nose. Once I got the bleeding to stop and got him cleaned up he said his tooth felt funny. I looked in his mouth and noticed his bottom front tooth was chipped. I saw money signs. I already had a dental appointment for him, because he had a small filling come out and I wanted that checked out. We went to the dentist on Tuesday and I was really worried about the cost. Every time I go to the dentist it cost me a butt load of money. We saw the dentist and he said he didn't want to do anything with the small cavities because they are on baby teeth and will be coming out soon. The chipped tooth will be fine. He doesn't want to do anything with it either. He said when he gets older and can take care of it we will take care of it. Did I mention how much I love my dentist!!!!!!!!? I left there paying $5.

The second party was at Memorial City mall. Before the party started the boys and I went and did a little shopping. Mason said he wanted some plaid shorts. This took me by surprise because I have tried to get him to get some for over a year and he refused. He picked himself out some new clothes and insisted on changing before the party. He has basically lived in athletic shorts, under armour, and t-shirts for the last couple of years. I guess he is growing up. I asked Tanner if he wanted some plaid shorts and he said no. Guess what he picked out, athletic shorts and shirts to match. I am just happy Tanner will wear t-shirts now. He went a year wearing nothing but under armour. I guess I will just be happy with the small amount of progress.

The party was at the ice skating rink. The kids played broom ball. They had these sticks and basically played a game like hocky. They made them wear baseball helmets. As I watched them playing I thought to myself, someone is going to get hurt. Well, someone did, but it wasn't my kids for a change. One of Mason's team mates got hit by a stick in the mouth and chipped his front top tooth. It doesn't look bad, but it really upset him. Then the birthday boy got hit in the eye. I am not real sure why they would make the kids wear helmets without face masks. The kids were swinging those sticks around. I am surprised their weren't more injuries.

See Mason with his cute plaid shorts.

YIPPEE

2009-06-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

Today Mason had a visit with his nephrologist. He has stayed in remission for almost a year and 1/2. We have maintained the same doses on his medications to keep him from relapsing. Today we decided to go prednisone free. I am so happy!! He has only been taking 5mg every other day, but I can still tell a difference in his personality on the days he takes it and the days he doesn't. If he continues to pee protien free urine we will try and take away another medication. Our ultimate goal is to be medicine free. If he can handle the reduction of the medicines this may mean he no longer has nephrotic syndrome. This would be the answer to many prayers!!

Tanner's Journal

2009-06-07T20:10:00.002-05:00

The last day of school was Thursday. Woohoo!! As I was going through all the stuff the boys brought home I found Tanner's journal. Here is an entry typed just the way he wrote it.

My favret relitive is uncle Scot heas a UT fan heas nise and frendly hese still alive we visit him evry year. I like him becas heas fun he likes to play chest. becase heas a chest teacher. He always bets me so we play anouther game.

Scott has always joked around and called chess, chest. Thanks Scott for making my son think the game is called chest. We are so glad you are still alive.

My summer goals: 1. Teach Tanner the game is chess not chest. I really don't want him to start playing chest for at least 10 years. 2. Teach Tanner to spell. Man does he suck at spelling. He is the perfect example of why a weekly spelling list and test on Friday does not work. We have studied all the words he wrote at least once for a spelling test. Thank God for spell check.

Astro game and lost boy

2009-06-05T21:44:00.004-05:00

Monday at school one of my friends offered me 4 Astro's tickets. At first I told her no, because I was tired. We had been gone all weekend playing and working a baseball tournament. I thought about it some more and decided it was stupid to turn down free tickets, especially because Mason had been asking me if we could go. I told the boys they had to really clean their rooms and we would go. They vacuumed dusted and basically became my slaves in order to go to the game. We weren't sure Brad would be able to make it, because he had already planned on working late. He told us he would meet us there if he could. We left pretty early because Mason wanted to try and get autographs. Lucky for us one of the Astro's threw him a ball and then signed his ball and the one Tanner had brought with him. Tanner came running over to me and asked me how much he could sell it on ebay. I asked him who signed it. He didn't know who it was. I'm thinking no one is going to buy the ball of an unknown Astro. We watched the game until about the 7th inning and then the boys played at the Squeeze Play for a while. When we left the play area the boys were thirsty. I didn't feel like taking out a small loan to buy them another drink, so I pointed out a water fountain and told them I was going into the restroom. When I came out I saw Mason watching the game, but didn't see Tanner. I asked Mason where he was, but he didn't know. We checked around, looked in the restroom, Mason walked outside and looked by the squeeze play, but no Tanner. I stood there wondering what to do and getting really scared. I started to walk toward the door to check the Squeeze play area and saw Tanner walking up with a weird looking dude. He had those things you put in your earlobes that stretches them out. It didn't register to me that they were together. I asked Tanner where he had been and they guy said he had found him outside of Minute Maid Park walking down the street. Tanner said he was going to look for us at the car. He didn't know where I was. I thanked the guy for bringing him back and started on my lecture for Tanner. When I got home and told Brad what had happened he said, "You mean Tanner was with a freak." I said, "Yes, he might have looked like a freak, but he had a heart of gold. He brought us our Tanner back." This has freaked me out. I have talked to Tanner about what to do from now on if he is ever lost. I guess I did this to him by telling him we were going to the car when Mason left us in the mall. Poor kid, he must be really confused. Brad yelled at him and asked him what he was thinking. "Don't you know your mom would never leave you?" Of course I wouldn't. The two incidents were totally different, but I guess in the mind of a little boy he doesn't see that. This was not a great day in my parenting life.

Before and After

2009-06-01T19:31:00.006-05:00

We have lived in our house for 2 years already. So far I have painted the kitchen, dining room, office, master bathroom and the half bath. We have really needed to paint the living room and going up the stairs, because having two boys is not the best for light colored walls. The walls are so tall we didn't think we could do it ourselves and do a nice job.

Brad and I decided we wanted to get the living room and entryway painted. We also have a deal with replacing the floors. We needed some money, so we had a Craigslist garage sale. We spent an afternoon going through our things and deciding what we really needed and what we could get rid off. I should say going through Brad's things. He is a pack rack. Kind of a white Sanford and Son. We ended up selling everything we posted and made about $1400. The first thing we did was get the painting done. I love how it looks, see the before and after pictures.. In a couple of weeks we will get the floors done. I can't wait.

Happy Birthday Tan Man!!

2009-05-26T20:27:00.005-05:00

My sweet baby is 9 today. That is really hard to believe. He is really growing up. I am very proud of his accomplishments this year. He has become a great student. He loves to read, which makes me really happy. He is becoming more confident in himself. He has such a sweet heart. I love that about him. Today we went to pick up his cookie cake from the mall. Mason disappeared, which really aggravated me. We looked around and called his name, but he didn't come. I told Tanner let's go to the car and we will drive up to the entrance and I bet Mason will be there looking for us by the time we get there. I really was trying to teach Mason a lesson. He likes to think he is big enough to wonder off and not let me know where he is going. I was hoping to scare him. Tanner wouldn't leave with out finding him. Mason was right where I thought he was, at the music store around the corner from the cookie shop. Mason is lucky he has a brother that cares about him so much. He is still pretty shy. When someone says hello, you can barely hear him say hi, and he won't look at them. Today he surprised me. The lady running the party asked him what he wanted to do and gave him a list of activities and the order she was planning on doing them. Tanner looked right at her and said, "I would like to play kickball, dodgeball, and then basketball." I was very proud of him. He still cries when he gets disappointed, but it doesn't last long. I am hoping by the time he is 19 he will stop this. I guess it is just part of his sensitivity, which is a good thing. I wanted to scan a baby picture of him in, but Brad unhooked our scanner and I don't know how to fix it. I look forward to spending another year watching my little boy grow up. I am so glad I am his mom.

Idiots

2009-05-10T20:40:00.002-05:00

I know it sounds crazy, but I really look forward to a weekend of baseball. I love watching my boys play. They make me so proud. I really like socializing with the other families. Overall it is a good experience. Today was a crazy day. First Mason's team played a team called the Astros. The parents on that team were talking smack the whole game. Of course it didn't help that our kids didn't play very well. I ended up leaving that game and walked over to watch Tanner's game. I was thinking it would be better and I could relax a little more. The minute I got there one of the parents said we were playing a real ghetto team. I don't mean color, I mean attitude. The boys had their hat brims flat like a rapper. Their coaches were complaining about everything. We ended up losing by 1 point. When the game was over the coaches from the other team began yelling and pointing at our team in a real disrespectful way. One of the coaches even flipped us off. I was so mad! I began yelling, along with the rest of our parents, to the umpires. I got into an argument with some of their parents and I told them that was a trashy thing to do. Some people take things way to serious. We are talking about 8 year old baseball. We have a million more games to play. They other team kept saying we were just upset because we lost. I can't say I like to lose, but I would never be so disrespectful to another team. I hate people like that, they take the fun out of it. On a brighter note, after the games we went to Lupe Tortilla's for a margarita and it was just what I needed to relax.

Rain, rain go away

2009-04-28T11:36:00.002-05:00

The rain has just kept on coming since Friday night. Both boys had a baseball tournament this past weekend at Baseball USA. We were very excited about it. I was happy because Tanner's two pool games were Friday night and Mason's two pool games were Saturday afternoon. This would work out great because I could see both boys games. Sunday might have been tricky, but at least the games were in the same park.

I got home from school on Friday, loaded Tanner up in the car and we went to the ball park. It looked a little cloudy, but the weatherman said only a 20% chance of rain all weekend. During the game it started lightening. The moms in the stands were all getting a little nervous sending our babies into a big field with a metal bat. We wanted the lightening to go away because our boys were playing great. I don't think they could do anything wrong and were winning 7-0 in the top of the fourth. The umpire finally cleared the field and we waited around for the rain to stop. They finally had to call the games for the evening and told us to check the website to see when our games would be rescheduled. Lucky us, they scheduled us for our make up game at 8:30 in the morning. So much for sleeping in on Saturday. Tanner and I got up and got there at 7:30 to find out they had cancelled all the games for the day. Bummer!!

The changed the tournament to single elimination games played on Sunday. Mason's game was at 9:00. Mason was the first batter and hit the ball just inches from going over for a homerun. After that he got thrown out stealing from 2nd to third. They were playing on a softball field and running was like running in quicksand. The rest of the game was not pretty. The boys just looked flat. We ended up losing 13-4. The umpires were a little different. They called in field fly, which hasn't been called in a tournament we have played in yet. The pitcher hit one of our boys with a pitch and he didn't let him take his base because he said he didn't try to move out of the way. I hadn't heard that rule either. We probably still would have lost, but it is discouraging.

Tanner's game was at 10:50 and they ended up losing by 1. The boys did not play terrible, but did not look like they had on Friday night. Tanner did make a great catch at home and tagged the runner out.

It rained again on Sunday night. Then yesterday it started raining in the afternoon and I don't think it stopped until this morning. School was cancelled due to the flooding. It had to be bad for the schools to cancel, because today was one fo the big state TAKS test. The picture is the bayou behind our house. It usually just has a little stream of water in it. It was full this morning. I hope this rain stops soon.

Snakes

2009-04-26T21:01:00.003-05:00

Tonight Mason was walking into the house from the front door he yelled, "Oh my God, a snake skin is in the house." Brad ran over there and looked and confirmed what Mason saw. They kept asking me to come and see, but I was too scared to get off the couch. Brad kept saying how big it was and asking where the snake that shed it was. He kept saying it must be in the house. I kept telling them I didn't believe them, but Mason really looked freaked out. I slowly made my way to the entry way and sure enough it was a snake skin about 2 feet long. I was thinking we were going to have to move, because I can not be in the same house as a huge snake. To be honest I can't be in a house with a baby snake either. I hate snakes!! Finally, Brad started laughing and said he found it by the bayou on his bike ride and brought it home to scare us. He is so nice. Then because we are so nice too, we decided to play a joke on Tanner. We put it by the front door and waited for him to see it. He didn't freak out like we did.

Determination

2009-04-12T20:37:00.003-05:00

There are times when you can see the wheels turning in your children's brains when they are learning new things. Last weekend after Tanner had played his two baseball games we went to watch Mason's two games. One of the kids at the park had brought a rip stick. Tanner decided he wanted to learn how to ride it. He spent most of the first game trying over and over to ride it. He kept falling off. I kept seeing broken bones, but luckily he wasn't hurt. He spent the second game riding that thing like a pro. He kept asking and asking for his own rip stick. I decided to get him one for Easter. We got it yesterday while we were in San Antonio.

Mason decided he wanted to learn how to ride it. We went to our hotel and Mason spent about an hour trying to learn to ride. He got very frustrated and even started crying, because he couldn't do it. Today at Nana's house he kept trying and could finally stay for a few seconds at a time. When we got home tonight he spent about three hours riding it around the block. He has mastered the rip stick. I hope they put that much effort and determination into everything they want to learn to do.

Baseball, baseball, and more baseball......

2009-04-06T19:32:00.008-05:00

We had a total of 9 baseball games this weekend. Tanner played in LaPorte both Saturday and Sunday. Tanner's team played really well. We got 6th out of 15 in the tournament. The most amazing play happened. The 6th inning came around. We were down 5 runs. We ended up tied. The other team was home, so they got to bat last. We had 2 outs and they had runners on 1st and 2nd. The batter hit the ball into the outfield. The runner was rounding third towards home and the ball was thrown to Tanner, who was playing catcher. He caught the ball right when the kid was at home. Tanner blocked the plate and tagged the guy. Tanner was bent down and the kid flipped over Tanner's back. They both fell down in a jumbled up mess of legs and arms. When the dust settled, Tanner still had the ball in his glove. He got the last out to keep them from winning the game. This made us go into extra innings. We ended up losing in the end, but Tanner got the game ball, for being so tough.

Mason played in Katy all weekend. Tanner played at 9:30 and 12:30 on Saturday. Mason played at 4 and 6. Mason's team killed the two teams they played. Winning by 10 or more points. Sunday I had to miss the first two games, because I was in LaPorte with Tanner. I heard they didn't play really well. But they ended up winning. This put them in the championship game. We were winning the majority of the game. In the end we lost by one. The kid made some really stupid mistakes in the last inning. I think they thought they had already won. We still came in 2nd place. We get a little break for the next two weeks. And then it begins again.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2009-03-30T18:56:00.002-05:00

We hope you have a wonderful birthday. I wish I could be there with you to take you out for the day. Tell Cole to do something really nice for you.

It's Over

2009-03-22T21:17:00.005-05:00

Well, tomorrow we go back to school. I don't know how a week flies by so fast. Yesterday I went and got a pedicure, manicure, eyebrow wax, and a haircut. It is weird how much time we have on our hands when we don't have any sports on a weekend. We went to Mason's coach's house for a crawfish boil last night. It was really fun. I don't like crawfish, because when I was little my brother and I would catch them in the ditch in front of our house. We called them crawdeads. We went out to dinner before we went to the party.

The boys asked if we could do something fun today, so we planned a trip to Stephen F. Austin state park. We took the fishing poles, bikes, and a picnic. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of when Brad and I first got married. We used to go bike riding all over the place. It ended up being a costly trip. I dropped my camera and ran over it with my bike. One of our fishing poles got hung up on something and when Brad was trying to get the line out of the water the pole broke in half. We are planning on going back this weekend and camp. We rented a cabin for Saturday night. We might not get to go. Brad just got a call from his stepsister. His dad, Charlie, just cut his finger off with a table saw. They were taking him to Temple and going to try and put his finger back on. Pray for him. We might end up going to see him this weekend. I guess it depends on how everything goes with him this week. Poor guy. Brad's sister told me that Charlie's dad cut off a finger at about the same age. That is pretty weird. I guess I need to remember this and keep Brad away from table saws when he is in his 70's.

I did get a few pictures before I broke my camera. We stopped at a little museum before we got to the park. This little old lady runs the place. She talked our ear off. Brad was in hog heaven, having someone to talk to about the history of Texas. The boys got a little bored. She was very knowledgeable and her skin reminded me of my Grandma Broderhausen.

Our Spring Break

2009-03-19T20:12:00.010-05:00

We survived playing at Big League Dreams this weekend. It was so cold and rainy. The boys ended up in third place.
Our first official day of Spring Break we were lounging around the house and Brad called. He was in Huntsville working for the day. He left his wallet at home and needed it so he could get gas. We had to drive to Huntsville to bring it to him. We decided to make a day out of it. We went to see Sam Houston's grave. Mason has a weird curiosity about prisons. Well, Huntsville is the perfect place for that. We drove around and looked at the building where death row is and we went to the prison museum. It was interesting. They had an electric chair. I tease Mason about why he is so interested in prisons. I ask him if he is researching his future home.

Last night Mason had baseball practice. He wasn't really excited about going. During the whole practice he was moving slow. His whole team acted like they were on Spring Break or something. Right at the end of practice he was covering third base where a runner was leading off. The catcher threw the ball to Mason. He wasn't paying attention and the ball hit him in the eye. Our coach yelled at our catcher telling him he had told him not to throw the ball. The poor catcher felt terrible. Mason should have been paying attention though. His eyebrow began swelling right away. It was huge. Mason's pediatrician knows us really well because of all of Mason's issues. He gave me his cell number a while back. I texted him this morning and he said to get to the office right away. He checked him out, but couldn't get his eye open. He sent us to an eye doctor. It looks like everything is going to be okay. We have to put drops in his eye and keep it dilated for the next week. I am not really sure why, but whatever works. I hope the last couple of days are a little more fun.

Spring Break!!

2009-03-14T20:07:00.005-05:00

Spring Break started today. After this weekend I am looking forward to not doing too much. Everyone keeps asking me what I have planned. I have nothing planned. We are going to live in the moment.

Basketball season ended last week. Mason's team didn't end
up placing in the season or the tournament. Tanner's team
ended up with first in the tournament. In their first tournament
game they came back from being down 12 points at the half.
They were so excited.

I thought with basketball season over things would slow down. Unfortunately, I had two late days at school and Mason got sick. He had some stomach bug. I win the Mother of the Year award. When he got up Wednesday morning he told me his stomach hurt and was laying around moaning. I guess I should have taken this as a clue. I kept encouraging him to go to school and kept reminding him we only had 3 more days to go. I dropped the boys off at school at 7:30 and my phone rang at 8:30. It was the nurse telling me Mason had been throwing up.

This weekend both Mason and Tanner were suppose to have baseball tournaments. Mason's was in College Station. It got cancelled because of the wet and cold weather. Tanner is playing at Big League Dreams. This is the stadium were they have the famous MLB parks like Yankee stadium. The fields are turf, so they don't cancel games. We had to be in League City at 7:00 this morning. I am hoping we don't have to be there too early tomorrow. We won one and lost one. I am waiting for them to post the rest of the results, so we know what time we play. Pray for at least 10:00. And while you are at it, pray for it to be dry and warm. Today was miserable. I don't think the temperature got out of the low 40's and it rained all of our second game.

Sax

2009-03-03T17:20:00.001-06:00

Once again we had a busy weekend. Between both boys we 7 games. It started Friday night. Mason's team played at 8:15. We played a team we have played before and has beat us. Not on Friday. Our boys played great ball and we won 8-3. Saturday Mason had a basketball game at 11:00. Unfortunately they lost. He wasn't really on his game. Then we rushed over to Tanner's game which had just started. They won that game and then played again right after the first game and won that one too. Mason played their second baseball game right after Tanner's game and we won that game too. Tanner had to miss his basketball game because it was at the same time as his baseball games.

Sunday Tanner had a game and they lost 4-3. That ended the tournament for him. Mason played right after that and it was a very exciting game. We played the same team we had played on Friday. That team was out for blood. At one point we were behind 12-4. One inning we really looked like the bad news bears, with one error after another. Finally, in the 5th inning they started playing baseball and got a few runs. When it was 12-9 we had the bases loaded and one of our really good hitters got up to bat. I said, "It sure would be nice for him to hit a homerun." He didn't get a homerun, but he did hit a triple. This tied the game. The next batter walked. We had one out. Mason got up to bat and his coach told him to hit it up and in the outfield. Mason did just what he said and slammed that ball way out between left and centerfield. This brought in the winning run and the game was over. It was very exciting. We played again later that night for the championship. We won 6-1. This is the first time the boys have placed first place in a tournament. It was a very long weekend, but it was really fun.

Monday after school I took Mason to try out the instruments. He decided on the sax. They gave me a list of everything we will need to purchase before school starts in August. I am a little nervous at the price. I wasn't in band, so I have no idea what is in store for us.

This is the last week of basketball. They start their end of season tournament. Tanner plays tonight. If they win they play Saturday for the championship. If they lose their season is over. Mason plays Thursday night and it works the same way.

Kyle called me today and asked if he could come home. I was so mad at him when he left last time, I told Brad he wasn't welcome back. He left crap all over upstairs and he knew he wasn't coming back for a month. I had asked him to clean up before he left. He asked if he could come home and said he was sorry about leaving things out when he left, but he really didn't think it was that bad. He would take my word for it. He leaves Monday for two years. Maybe he will grow up some while he is gone.

Gearing up for Jr. High

2009-03-01T08:11:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Mason brought home the course selection for Jr. high. Jr. High, how did that happen? We had to decide whether to take the pre AP classes or academic classes, and what elective to pick. When we initially talked about it Mason decided he would do choir, then they took a field trip to the high school and all the elective teachers talked to them. He came home and told me he would be joining band. He said he would like to play either the sax or the clarinet. Even more surprising was learning that Brad was in the band when he was in Jr. High. He played the trumpet. Mason has to go to the Jr. High on Monday after school and let the band director meet him. He looks at the kids and lets them try several instruments and then directs them into the instrument that looks like the best fit for each kid. Who knows what we will end up with.

The pre AP classes we decided on were reading, language, and social studies. We decided to do academic math and science. After talking to several other parents I might be changing that to all pre AP. I really don't want him to be overwhelmed, but I was told it is better to start them in these classes. If it gets to be too much we can always go back to academic. The Jr. High we are going to has a pretty diverse group of kids. I was told the majority of behavior problems are in the academic classes. I guess it will all work out.

Week in review

2009-02-15T22:33:00.010-06:00

We had a big storm blow in on Tuesday night and this is what we woke up to. Our pool survived the hurricane, but not a front blowing in.

Mason helped his team win his game by scoring the last basket with seconds to go.

Mason's baseball team won second place in the President's Day Classic.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-12T21:07:00.003-06:00

Once again I was struck by the reality of raising boys. Last night I gave the boys their Valentine cards to make out for their class exchange. I remember when I was little I would love Valentine's Day. I would take my cards and look through them so I could pick out the best Valentine for each person in my class. My best friend would get a special one, and which ever boy I loved at the time would get a special one as well. I had to pick out just the right card. I was a little boy crazy. I think I loved my first boy at age 3. I don't really remember his real name, but we called him Bubba Rooney. Why, I don't know. So back to last night. The boys got their class list and began filling out their cards. You had to attach a piece of candy to each so I was doing that. While putting the candy on Mason's cards I noticed one made out to Casey. The card read, You are my sweetheart! I started thinking, wow does Mason have a girlfriend. I asked him who Casey was and he said it was the boy that lived down the street. I said, "Well, your card to him says he is your sweetheart. Is that what you want to give him?" He said, "Man, why do these dumb cards say things like that?" I was all, "Duh, they are valentine cards, what do you expect?" Crazy kid!! He just wrote names on the cards and didn't even read them. That just really disappoints me. I thought the cards we got from the boys had been hand picked by them. I guess they were just in it for the goodies. I guess not much has changed. The men in our lives today are just in it for the goodies to. The only difference is the goodies have changed.

I did get a really cute card from Tanner today. It was his handprints making a heart. When I got it I thought, this is probably the last time I will get a handprint craft from him. That made me a little sad. He is really growing up.

Events from the week in pics

2009-02-10T19:51:00.009-06:00

(pic 1)Tonight Tanner had the third grade program, "It's a Jungle Out There". He was an elephant. Doesn't he look excited?! He is always just so full of joy.
Pic 2) This is Tanner at basketball practice. He loves to be first. You see him looking to see how close the guy is running with him. He is usually the fastest. His baseball coach had him run against a 9 year old at practice Friday night. He told me he wanted to see how Tanner would do against this kid, because this was the fastest
kid he new. Tanner tied him.

(Pic 3)This is my sister's family. Her son, Zachary, was in the high school play "The Music Man". He was Winthrop. He is only in the 6th grade. He did awesome. Apparently his big brother in the back needs to be in drama as well.

(Pic 4)Saturday Mason was fouled with just a few seconds left in the game. His team was behind by 2 points. He had the opportunity to tie the game. He only made one shot. Maybe next time.

Independence

2009-02-01T20:40:00.003-06:00

This Christmas Brad wanted to get the boys a mini dirt bike. I wasn't really happy with it, but like a lot of things in this house my opinion doesn't mean too much because I am the only female. There are lots of things I just don't get like guns, laughing at noises that the boys make with their bodies, talking about body parts etc..... Anyway, we got them the dirt bike. Once I saw the boys ride it I wasn't too concerned. It really didn't go too fast and they did wear helmets. Brad even agreed with me on making them stay off the roads. We have a bayou behind our house and a pond in the neighborhood. This gave them a safe place to ride. Then one day I got home and Brad was trying to figure out how to make the bike faster. Why!? He succeeded and now the bike goes much faster than I am comfortable with. The boys have also found a new place to ride. We had a public golf course that closed down during the summer. The bayou behind our house runs to the golf course. They like to ride to the old golf course now. I am not real comfortable with it, but I am not sure if I am being too protective. Part of me likes the idea of the boys getting to do what boys should do. But the mommy in me is scared they are going to get hurt. Last Sunday, Mason told me he was going to the golf course and ride. I made sure he had the cell phone. A little time had passed and Mason called crying, saying the bike had broken down and he was really far from home. Then the phone died. I tried to call him back, but it went straight to voice mail. I got in the truck with Tanner and drove down the bayou to where you can't go any further because there is a gate. Then Tanner and I walked to find Mason. At first I wasn't too nervous, but as I called for him and didn't hear him I got more and more scared. Finally we saw him. I told Tanner to run to Mason and for them to go to the building at the front of the golf course and I would come with the truck and pick them up. I ran, yes I ran, to get the truck and drove to the front of the golf course. The kids weren't there. I got really scared. I imagined someone had stolen them both. (although I know they wouldn't keep them for long) I rode all around that place looking for them. I finally decided to go home and guess who was there? Those crazy boys pushed the bike all the way home. I asked Tanner why they didn't stay and he said he forgot what I had said.

Then today the boys went with their neighborhood friends to the old golf course to play war. Brad and I rode our bikes out there and spied on them. They were fine and just having a blast. I am not sure how much independence you let the kids have. Do all moms feel this way when your babies are growing up?

positive thoughts

2009-01-30T21:56:00.002-06:00

I have been having a difficult time dealing with Mason and his attitude. I am not sure if it is the teenage attitude coming out early or if it is still a reaction to his medicine. A typical conversation with Mason is usually about how he hates this, this sucks, blah, blah, blah...... Things he even likes he can find something wrong with it. This is so different than me. I think I am a pretty positive person. I try to find the good in everything, you know look for the silver lining. I decided I need to do something about this. I began to ask both boys each day to tell me one thing good that happened at school. So far it is usually about recess, lunch, or dismissal, but I guess it is a start. I then began asking them what they did to please God that day. We are still on very basic answers and I often have to give them suggestions on what they could have possibly done to please God. Tonight I forgot to ask the boys and Tanner reminded me. I thought this was a good thing. He said he pleased God by saying thank you and your welcome to his teacher. The good thing for the day is he got to play kickball at recess. I asked Mason and he couldn't remember anything he had done that day to please God. I said, "Mason what do you think that says about you as a person." He said, "I just can't think about everything that happens in one day." He finally came up with he held the door for his class. He is still a work in progress.

Mom has still got it!

2009-01-30T21:20:00.002-06:00

Tonight Mason's baseball team had practice. The last half of practice the kids played the parents. The boys batted first. Mason was the first batter. I was playing left field. Mason hit a fly ball to left and I caught it. I think we were both shocked. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. We ended up beating them 4-3. I even got a hit and scored.

On our way home we passed the Jr. High. Tanner said, "I can't wait to go to Jr. High. You get your own locker." Mason said, "Yeah, but you have to take showers in front of everyone. I'm not going to do it. I'll just spray Axe all over myself." I tried to assure him it would be okay. All kids have to do it and the coach makes you take a shower. He asked,"Do the girls have to too?" I told him yes. He said, "At least we don't have to shower in the same room as the girls, we would see their vagina's," Then he said,"Remember in Kindergarten Cop that little boy said, my dad looks at vaginas all day." He laughed and laughed. I said, "Mason you know why the boy said that right?" I didn't want him thinking the boy's dad was a porn addict or something. He said he didn't know why. I explained to him he was a woman's doctor. Mason said that was gross. I said, "You know a doctor that delivers babies." He said, "That is still gross. I mean I wouldn't want to stick my hand up some ladies vagina. That is worse than touching a frog." That is pretty bad for Mason. He is really scared of frogs. I burst out laughing because I couldn't keep it in any longer. I just keep wondering if he is going to feel the same way in a few years. Then Tanner started laughing and said, "Vayina, vayina." Mason said, "Man you can't even say it right." Thankfully we drove up to McDonald's at this point and our conversation could turn to food. Man they keep life interesting.

Daddy in Charge

2009-01-26T16:44:00.002-06:00

Thursday night I went with some friends to Girls Night Out at Champion Forest Baptist Church. Kate from John and Kate Plus Eight was one of the speakers. I had a good time. I left right after school and told Brad he was in charge of the kids. I got a call at 9:00 asking me where on the computer I could find Tanner's homework. There's a couple of things wrong with this. 1. Tanner is suppose to do his homework when he gets home from school. 2. The boys bedtime is 8:30. I had no idea what Brad was talking about, so I told him to get Tanner in bed. The next morning as Tanner was brushing his teeth I glanced at his dirty fingernails. I asked him if he had bathed the night before and he said no. I didn't have time for him to take a bath, so I sent him to school dirty and with no homework. He ended up with two marks for no homework. Brad did take notice that he really does not have a clue about the boys and school and it seemed to upset him. I guess I should make him do a little more, so the next time I take a night off it is a little more successful.

OMG

2009-01-16T18:24:00.002-06:00

Mason continues to amaze me at what comes out of his mouth. Right before Christmas Mason asked me what virginity was. I was a little shocked but tried to explain it with as little detail as possible. He then said, "Oh well, so and so said he lost his virginity and I know it is true because the girl he said he did it with said she lost hers too." WHAT!!!! Why is my 10 year old having conversations about this. It got me really concerned after thinking about it for a while. I am not really sure a boy of 10 could physically do it. After much debate I ended up calling the counselor at his school and she looked into this and it turned out it was just a boy running his mouth.

This brings me to yesterday. Mason informed me a different so and so at his school told him his sister had her period and wanted to know what it was. He said, "So and so said it was when a girl bleeds from her vagina because she is going to have sex." WHAT!!!! We had a little talk about puberty. The crazy think is I love that Mason feels so open about talking over these things with me. I didn't really think it would happen so soon and would have been much more comfortable waiting until he was, lets say..........20. Unfortunately he is growing up way to fast. I think Mason is going to be just fine. The more I think about it, Tanner is the one I need to watch. He doesn't ever ask me anything. He is usually in the room and doesn't comment on Mason's questions. At least I know what Mason is thinking. Tanner on the other hand, who knows. It is the quiet ones that you have to worry about.

To be a boy

2009-01-09T22:07:00.003-06:00

I have often wondered what goes on in the minds of my boys. Tonight Tanner and I went to run some errands together. As we were driving he said, "I need to dig a hole for my whole body to fit in." I asked him why, wondering if he was going to dig his own grave. He said he needs it for when they play war. I told him it would take a long time to dig a hole that big. He said he didn't care he would just use dad's shovels.

He wanted me to take him to Academy so he could buy wrist bands with a $10 gift card he had. He looked and looked at everything in the store and decided he didn't want to get wrist bands. As we were walking to another part of the store away from the wrist bands he said, "That's all right I don't need to look cool to play basketball."

It is really easy to spend mom's money, but when it is your own you think a little bit harder.

Happy 2009

2009-01-04T08:54:00.005-06:00

We spent the new year with friends in Bastrop at the Lost Pines Resort. It was really a lot of fun. They had a new years package which included dinner, a carnival for the kids, horse drawn buggy rides, swimming, smores, dance, fireworks, champagne and shiner bock toast, and breakfast. I wish we had a little more time, but it cost way too much to stay for two nights. We all brought our own drinks and just went to our room for refills as needed. We all had a great time.

Today is my last day before going back to work. I sure do enjoy my time off. I spent a lot of time cleaning, cooking, reading, and watching movies. Tomorrow the madness begins again. Both boys are playing basketball and baseball. Their basketball games begin on Saturday. Tanner is suppose to have a baseball thing at U of H on Saturday too. We have decided to skip it. I don't want things to get too crazy yet. I think the boys have had a great break too. They have spent their time playing with their new Christmas things and playing war with friends in the neighborhood.

We had a busy, but good 2008 . For the most part we all stayed healthy. Even Mason didn't do too bad. Even with his sicknesses there is hope that he has outgrown his kidney problem. Maybe this year will be the year we can get him off all these nasty medicines. I can only hope 2009 is a great year.

Bathroom

2008-12-29T10:17:00.003-06:00

I painted my bathroom yesterday. I think it looks so nice. It took me 8 hours. Brad started to help but only lasted about 30 minutes, before he started complaining.

Kyle's mission

2008-12-28T14:03:00.002-06:00

Well Kyle is going to Santiago, Chile. He leaves for Utah on March 11th. He received a big packet of information telling him all the things he needs to do to get ready to go, like getting his Visa, shots, etc..... When we got to Kyle's place he invited us in. We finally met the family he lives with. They seem really nice. I just kept wondering if they think we are heathens. When he opened the envelope and started reading the letter, he seemed like he was going to cry. I am glad he is so emotional about it. He seemed really excited. I hope he stays on top of everything he needs to do. We took him to Chili's to celebrate.

Shopping

2008-12-28T10:44:00.003-06:00

I spent yesterday with my mom and sister shopping. I am really not much of a shopper. I like to go into a store, survey, and if nothing pops out at me I leave. On the other hand, my sister, likes to browse around, touch, and look at everything. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time. It was fun. It reminded me of when we were little. My mom and sister looking at everything and me just kind of hanging around waiting on them. My niece was with us. I think she is turning into a shopper like her mom. We left the boys home with Brad. They all survived. A cold front blew in while we were gone. As we were driving up to the house this kid ran by in shorts and without shoes on. Guess who's kid it was? Mine. When I got in the house, I asked Brad why he was letting our kids run around at night half naked. He said, "They are just playing." They were playing hide and go seek. Which would of been okay if they had been dressed appropriately. I guess we are the official white trash of the neighborhood.

I just checked the mail and there is a big envelope addressed to Kyle from the Mormon church. We called him and he said it was his call about his mission. I asked him if he wanted us to open it. He said no and asked if Brad could bring it to him and be there when he opens it. Brad is getting dressed and is about to leave. I wonder where they are sending him. It is about time. Now Kyle can get his life off hold and get this done, so he can begin doing what he needs to do to get a career.

Images from Christmas

2008-12-25T19:43:00.006-06:00

Making cookies

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T19:24:00.003-06:00

We survived anther Christmas. To be a kid again...... When you are a kid it is all about the gifts and fun. When you are an adult it is all about the buying, cooking, cleaning, planning, etc........
Maybe I should rephrase that, to be a man or a kid. Men don't have a lot to do around Christmas either, except enjoy the cooking and if we are lucky clean up after the meal. I sound like bah hum bug. I really do enjoy the holiday and it is worth all the work.

My favorite part is Christmas Eve service. I love the music and the candles. It is finally a time to take a deep breath and get a chance to think about the true meaning of Christmas. The kids are on their best behavior because they know when they get home they get to open gifts. What ever works, right?

Kyle actually spent the holiday with us. This was the first time he has been back since he left in October. He isn't a dummy. He knew when to come home. He brought us all a gift, which was very nice.

Tomorrow my mom, sister, and her kids are coming for Christmas. I will be cooking and cleaning again. I don't mind cooking for them, they actually like what I cook. Unlike my kids. I am sure we will be going shopping at one time or another tomorrow. The boys have gift cards that are burning a hole in their pockets. Hopefully it won't be too crazy.

We went to see the new movie with Tom Cruise today. This is the first time all 5 of us went to the movies together. It was a very interesting movie. Not really a light and fun movie for the holiday. When you live in a house with all males, you get overruled pretty easy.

shopping

2008-12-22T18:20:00.005-06:00

Friday night was Brad's Christmas Party. There are only 5 employees, so it would be quite noticeable if we didn't show up. We all met for dinner at a restaurant. This was the first time in over a year Brad and I actually went out without kids. We had a nice time. The boys spent the night with a friend, so we even had the house to ourselves for one whole night. I don't think we have ever been home alone.

This our first weekend in a while were the boys didn't have any sports. So, what did we do? We went and watched the Katy Tigers win state. It was really exciting. When you looked around all you saw was a sea of red.

Sunday I spent the day shopping and cleaning. Nothing too exciting. Today I took the boys to the mall. I gave them money and told them they had to buy a gift for both their brothers. I was trying to teach them Christmas is about giving, not just getting. Of course they both asked if they didn't spend it all could they have the remaining money. You see why I am trying to teach them this. They are a little on the spoiled, give me, give me, side. I think they had fun buying for their brothers. I think Tanner did a little better job and really thought about his gifts. I enjoyed watching them look at things and budget the money and what they thought their brother's would like.

I finally took the boys to take their pictures for our Christmas card. It will be a little late, but oh well. Mason is really starting to care what he looks like. For the longest time he has wanted to brush his bangs straight down. I never really liked it. The past couple of days he has been spiking it up a little in the front. He is putting on deodorant and Axe body spray. He is really growing up and becoming so handsome.

Too much going on...

2008-12-10T17:41:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in a long time. We have had a ton going on. Tanner finished up his baseball tournaments, but his football coach decided to select some kids from his team and several other teams in our league and play in two tournaments. Their first tournament is this weekend. This means he has been practicing 3 times a week. We originally decided not to do this and I wish we had stuck to that initial decision, but Tanner really wanted to. Basketball has started. He practices two times a week for that. They don't start games until January.

Mason started basketball too. His baseball team is playing in two tournaments this month. They played last weekend at Doss Park. This is not in a very good part of town. In fact they had a shooting at the basketball courts located between the baseball fields a couple of weeks ago. We played two games Friday night. A couple of parents and I decided not to bring our younger kids because it was cold and we didn't want to have to worry about them getting shot. We are just good parents like that. LOL. We hired a babysitter and left them all at one house. The boys did very well. We lost against one of the teams from that area. One of the kids hit a homerun over the center field fence. He was a cocky little guy. After he hit the homerun Mason yelled over to me. "Hey mom, did you notice the bat he was using." It is an exo bat. These bats run about $250. I haven't felt the need to spend that much on a bat yet.

This weekend Mason has a baseball tournament at Baseball USA. Tanner has a football tournament. Brad is working all weekend. It will be another crazy weekend.

39

2008-11-26T21:56:00.002-06:00

Today is my birthday. I am 39 today. I joked around at work yesterday that I have finally had my last birthday. Isn't 39 the age everyone says they are when they reach 40+. I went to lunch with some friends. It was very nice. Then the boys and I went to see Twilight. I am ashamed to admit I haven't read the book, but I did enjoy the movie. Mason said it was the best movie he has seen in a while.

Tomorrow is turkey day. We are going to my mom's for lunch and then to my brother's to watch the horns beat the aggies. Friday we plan to go into San Antonio to the base and do some shopping. Nothing too exciting.

Tanner's football coach called and said they are entering two tournaments in December. That would mean we would have football, baseball, and basketball practice next week. I had to tell them we couldn't commit to playing football. I think I would lose my mind trying to juggle all of that.

Busy weekend

2008-11-19T17:00:00.003-06:00

Tanner and I went to Austin for the weekend for the state baseball tournament. My mom drove in and stayed with us on Saturday night. It was nice to get to visit with her and for her to watch Tanner play ball. His team played twice on Saturday and they won both games. Tanner hit another in the park home run. Sunday we played and lost our game, which meant it was time to go home. We rushed back to Katy and got back just in time to watch Mason's second baseball game of the day. They won. All in all it was a great weekend for baseball.

Both Mason and Tanner's football teams played Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately both teams lost and they will not be going on to the second round. The good that comes out of this is we no longer have to juggle two sports, at least until basketball starts. Speaking of basketball we got a message on our recorder from the basketball league asking if Brad might want to coach Mason's team. I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. I told Mason and he said, "We would lose all our games if Dad was our coach."

It has been nice the last three days to come home from work, cook dinner, get a chance to sit down and enjoy it. Monday night Mason asked if we could sit in the dining room and use our china. We did eat in the dining room but I didn't pull out the china.

On Monday I took Mason to the nephrologist for a follow up to his hospital visit. He is doing really well. He never relapsed during the time he was sick. I asked the doctor what this might mean. He said it is a good sign. I asked him if we could start cutting back on some of the medicine and he said we needed to wait until January. If he has still not relapsed we might. He said about 60% of patients relapse when they start tapering down the Neoral, but that means 40% don't. Maybe Mason will be in the 40%. We won't know until we try.

We still haven't talked to Kyle, but I have found out a few things from a little birdie. He is living on his own somewhere. He is working somewhere. He got two tickets. One for speeding and one for an expired registration. The grand total of this bill is $310 dollars. Sucks to be Kyle. I am not sure who's car he was driving. I told Brad to call him and see what he is doing for Thanksgiving. We will see what happens with that. The whole Kyle thing is just weird. I knew he couldn't grow up normal living in such an unstable environment.

Go Curve!!

2008-11-11T16:51:00.004-06:00

Tanner joined a select baseball team a couple of months ago. So far the kids played in a Sunday league in the fall. In the fall league his team came in second. This past weekend they played their first tournament. The first game they played they played a team that has played way more games than we have and have been together for a while. During this game our team was down a couple of runs. Tanner got up to bat with two outs and the bases loaded. I always say a little prayer when he gets up, because he can get nervous. That boy hit a line drive down the middle of the field. He hit it so hard it went through three players and stopped at the fence. He got a grand slam! When he got home he had to slide and just barely missed the tag. He was so excited. Everyone was screaming and hitting him on the head and back. We ended up winning 14-12. He got the game ball. His team ended up winning second in the tournament. It was so exciting.

Mason is a little jealous. He has been playing select ball for two years and they placed fourth in one tournament. The rest of the time they never placed. Mason has played 10 plus tournaments and has one trophy. Tanner has played two and has two trophies. Mason's team is doing much better and in the Sunday league they are doing really well. They don't really play too much in the fall, because of football.

Tanner's football team won their last game on Saturday. This puts his team in the playoffs which are this Saturday. His baseball team is traveling to Austin for a state tournament. He had to make a decision as to which one he wanted to do and he picked baseball. His football coach isn't too happy. I hope he doesn't take it out on him.

Mason's team is in the playoffs too. I won't get to see the game, because I'll be in Austin with Tanner. I hope they win, so I can see them play again.

R.I.P. Abigail

2008-11-10T19:18:00.003-06:00

The boys have killed the hamster. Poor Abigail was left with no water. Yesterday Mason called me while I was at Tanner's game to let me know Abigail had died. I told Tanner on the way home. He got really quiet and asked if God thought they had killed her? We had a little discussion about responsibility. He then asked if Abigail was in heaven. When we got home Brad and I made them get her out of the cage. That was an ordeal. We put her in a baggy, dug a hole, and put her in. We said a prayer and asked God to forgive us for not taking better care of her. Mason cried. Then Brad covered her with dirt. It was a very interesting experience. Today is has been raining most of the day. Tanner said, "I sure am glad I am not Abigail." Don't we all!!!

Election

2008-11-09T07:19:00.005-06:00

This past week was not near as crazy as the week before. Although some major things happened. I haven't said much about the election because it is really hard to say how I feel. I am really nervous about the next four years. I think it is funny that before the election things that should have been questioned about Obama were pushed under the rug. I know this happened because of the whole race thing. No one wanted to be called racist and looking a little deeper into the life of Obama and the questionable people he associated with was seen as picking on the black guy. If the shoe had been on the other foot and McCain had associated with a someone that was racist and anti-American he would have been thrown off the ticket faster than we could believe. So, was this election a race oriented one, yes. Just look at the post election reports. That is all we hear about. People can't even be disappointed in the results with out being seen as racist. I am not racist, but I am anti Obama. The only bright side in all of this is when Obama screws things up I get to be the one that says, "I thought things were going to be better with Obama." The other positive thing that has come out of this, is hopefully now that we have an African American president, race really will not be an issue again. The next time people will really look at the character of the two candidates and the issues. I just pray that our country can survive the next four years.

On Wednesday morning the boys woke up asking who won. When I told them Mason said, "Man this has been a horrible week. First I get sick, go to the hospital, UT loses, and Obama wins." It really was a bad few days.

We're Home

2008-11-01T18:19:00.002-05:00

We got a little surprise this morning. When the doctor came in and saw us he was pleased with Mason's labs. Mason had to drink a certain amount of liquid yesterday and he did. The doctor was so pleased he said we could go home. We checked out about 1:00. When we got into the car Mason was very tired. He had me worried, he seemed worse than he did when we were in the hospital. I think it all just hit him at once. When we got home I took Tanner to his football game and Brad stayed home with Mason. I told Mason he had to take a nap or he couldn't watch the UT football game tonight. He has been sleeping a couple of hours now. He has no restrictions and might get to go back to school on Monday. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. It is reassuring to know we have such nice people in our lives.

Yikes

2008-10-31T17:43:00.002-05:00

When we left for the hospital yesterday my brain was working over time trying to figure out everything we might need, who to call immediately that would be expecting me or Mason in the next couple of days, and what to do with Tanner. My friend Susie picked up Tanner before we left and Brad picked him up after work. On the drive to the hospital I called one of Tanner's friends and spoke to his mom about after school tomorrow. The plan was Tanner would get off the bus at the same stop and go home with Luke. Luke's parents would take the boys trick or treating if Brad had not made it home in time. About 5:00 I called to check on Tanner. Lisa said Tanner was at home. I thought she was kidding. She wasn't! My heart stopped. She said when he got off the bus he went to the garage and punched in the code. He saw my truck in the garage and told Briant I was home. Tanner went inside and did God knows what for an hour. Lisa said Luke went to our house 30 minutes earlier and rang the doorbell to see if Tanner wanted to play. Of course he didn't answer, that is our rule when he and Mason are ever home alone. I just wonder what was going on in that little boys mind when he got in the house and no one was home. Did he celebrate and have a little party or was he scared? In my mind I think of him being scared to death and crying for his mommy. But if I know Tanner it didn't faze him a bit. If that had been me as a child I would have been hysterical. One time my mom couldn't pick me up from swimming lessons on time. She called the place and told them she would be late. I remember the lady telling me this and offering me chips and coke, but I wouldn't stop crying until I saw my mom. I guess you see where Tanner gets his emotional side.

When I hung up with Lisa she sent Briant back over to the house and I told her I would call him. I had to call several times before he would pick up. The thoughts that were going through my head were not good. I was almost in tears. He finally picked up and said, "Luke is here to get me." No duh! I told him to go and open the door and he said he had to put on shorts first. I bet he was eating in the living room, in his boxers, and watching cartoons. Like I said he was in hog heaven.

Hospital

2008-10-31T11:25:00.004-05:00

Last night Mason was admitted to the hospital. I went to the pediatrician again yesterday because Mason was still running a fever and he was complaining of his mouth hurting. The doctor said it was herpes. What the ......? I asked him how he got that and he said it was very common and kids pass it all the time. Who knew? When I got home I looked on the internet and it said you can take antiviral medication for this. I called his nephrologists and told them what was going on and they told me to take him to the ER so he could be admitted for IV antiviral meds. We got to the ER at 6:30 and didn't get up to a room until 10:30. They didn't start the IV until around 1:30 and it was so loud we couldn't sleep. Then they kept coming in at least every hour for one thing or another. The labs showed his BUN level was a little elevated, that is his kidney function. He is still not spilling protein. His blood showed some new bands (I have never heard of bands) He said that you are suppose to have 0 bands and he has 6. This means his body is fighting an infection. Really??!! The worst part is they have him in isolation so he feels like he is in jail. He is tired and very crabby. Nothing is good enough at this moment. He is very sad he is missing Halloween. He had plans for a friend to ride the bus home and they were going trick or treating by themselves. He has a very important football game tomorrow. He has two baseball games on Sunday. He is very disappointed to not be able to participate. The doctor said the earliest we can get out is this weekend, perhaps tomorrow.

Tanner Football

2008-10-30T11:40:00.003-05:00

I just learned how to post videos. Here is one of Tanner getting a tackle. He is number 30 on the white team. Do you hear Brad in the background?

Still home

2008-10-30T11:10:00.003-05:00

This is day four being home with Mason. I am a little bored. I should be using this time wisely. I have bathrooms that need to be cleaned and floors that need to be mopped. Instead I am surfing the Internet and finding funny videos to post on my blog. Watch the video I posted below.

I thought Mason was better this morning. His fever was only 100, but I can't get him to eat. He says his stomach hurts and he has a sore on the tip of his tongue. His doctor wanted me to bring him back in this morning if he wasn't any better. I didn't take him, but I just called them and they want me to bring him in at 2. Will this ever end??

I need to take Tanner to the allergy doctor for his shots today. His doctor is in the same building as our pediatrician. I think I might check him out of school a little early, so I only have to make one trip. Is that bad? The poor kid hasn't had a chance to carve his pumpkin yet and he has football practice tonight. If I pick him up and get the allergy doctor out of the way, he will have time to carve his pumpkin, do homework, eat dinner, go to practice , and still get to bed on time.

This is funny!

2008-10-30T11:05:00.000-05:00

Still Sick

2008-10-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

Mason ran a fever all day. It went down to 100 while he was on Tylenol, but as soon as it started wearing off the fever was high again. We went to the doctor this morning. He thinks it is just a virus. He checked his urine and the results were good. He is still not showing any protien in his urine. This is the sickest he as been in a while. If he can get through this with out spilling protien maybe he has outgrown the nephrotic syndrome. We go and see the nephrologist in November. Hopefully he will start weaning Mason off these medicines. I am probably being too hopeful. Our doctor wants me to call him tomorrow and update him. Tonight Mason't fever went back up to 103, so I gave him another tylenol. More than an hour later the fever was still at 102. Of course this caused me to to get on the computer and research what to do with a fever. Nothing really helped because Mason isn't a normal kid. All these medicines he takes weaken his immune system, so I don't know why I was wasting my time. I just worry about him so much. He is sleeping soundly right now, so I should just relax. Maybe he will wake up in the morning and be fever free.

Sick Kid

2008-10-27T06:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Tanner had two baseball games. He did much better. He didn't throw any fits. He did cry when he struck out, but he recovered very quickly.

While Tanner and I were at his game, Mason was at home with Brad. He had baseball practice that afternoon. He kept calling me telling me he didn't feel good, could he miss practice. He said his jaw hurt and he thought it was broken. I thought he was faking it. I let him miss practice but told him he needed to lay in bed and not go out and play. When we got home from Tanner's game Mason had a fever of 99. I still didn't believe that he felt bad. He took a bath and then said he felt much better. Tanner had a birthday party to go to, so while he was at the party Mason and I went to see High School Musical. While we were at the movies Mason kept saying he was cold and started looking terrible. By the time we got home he had a fever of 103. (I am such a great mom. I thought he was faking it all day.) He asked to take another bath. When he was ready to get out he yelled for me and told me he couldn't get out by himself. I took his temp. again and it said 105. I almost had a heart attack. I took it again and it went down to 103 again and then it kept falling getting down to 100. I guess the medicine finally kicked in. I checked him out through out the night. It stayed around 101. Of course I worried all night wondering if this was going to make him relapse again. We have almost gone one year with out relapsing. I checked his urine first thing this morning and he is still negative. I am sure I will be taking him to the doctor today.

Kid update

2008-10-21T20:41:00.005-05:00

Mason waiting his turn on the sideline.

Tanner has been doing better. Maybe because he hasn't had a baseball game. Last week he remembered he forgot his math homework at school. He said, "I am going to get a mark." I said, "Yes, you are." He thought for a minute and came up with a plan to ride his bike to a friends house and get his homework, bring it home so I could copy it, and then give it back to him. Great plan, only his friend had forgot his too. He needs to pick smarter friends. We tried to explain to him that getting the mark is the consequence for not following his teachers directions and putting the paper in his binder. He seemed to understand, but he wasn't happy. He worried about it all night. The next morning he mentioned it again, and I told him to try and not cry. When he got home the first thing he said to me was, "I got a mark and I didn't cry." I asked him what happened and he said he had to do the work at recess. He said, "It only took me a minute and then I got to go and play." I told him I wasn't going to punish him because his punishment was doing it during recess.

The next test was Saturday at his football game. They passed the ball to him in the end zone, but he didn't catch it. Brad thought it was pass interference, but it wasn't called. He did cry, but got over it pretty quick. Later in the game they passed it to him again and he ran about 20 yards before getting tackled. He was so proud of himself. I always tell him to say to himself when he strikes out or misses a ball, "next time I'll get it". This was a perfect example of that. He has such a sweet heart. I know that is why he is so sensitive. I don't want that to change about him. He just needs to know how to handle his emotions. Hopefully, we are on the right road.

Kyle moved out a couple of weeks ago. He decided he needed to live with a Mormon family. I guess us asking him to get a job was just too much for him. He hasn't called us to even let us know where he is. He didn't have a phone, because he had lost the one we gave him. He came back Saturday when we were at Tanner's game. He left us his new number. His mom reactivated his old phone. I think he is a lot like his mom. The grass is always greener. That is why she has moved so much. It must be horrible to be that unhappy.

Mason is doing well. He is starting quarterback for his football team. A new kid showed up right before the season started. The kids had already been practicing for a month. They had to try out for their positions. Rumor has it this kid came to the team because he wants to be quarterback and his old team wouldn't let him. His mom is on the board so I guess she gets what she wants. Mason and this kid have switched off. Mason runs a series and then the new kids runs a series. I haven't really been happy about this, but I have kept my mouth shut. The dad even tried to say Mason couldn't play two weeks ago, because Mason had on Tanner's jersey because Mason left his at home. The only thing different was the number, but Mason's team didn't have a 30 so his coach said it was okay. He made a big deal out of it. Then last week the mom said Mason couldn't play because he wasn't in full uniform. He didn't have on the long red socks. He wasn't the only one. There were at least 4 other kids that didn't have the socks on. Our coach said it wasn't an issue. They are trying to get rid of my baby. Don't mess with my baby or I can get ugly. Last week the other parents were saying things to me about why this kid is taking Mason's spot. One even yelled while that kid was out there, "Put in our real quarterback." He threw an interception and caused a safety. After that Mason quarterbacked the rest of the game. I guess things work out the way they are suppose to.

Tan Man

2008-10-13T18:58:00.002-05:00

Tan Man

2008-10-13T18:04:00.007-05:00

This is suppose to be a blog about how perfect my kids are and what a great mom I am right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but my kids aren't perfect. I don't know how since I am. LOL

My poor Tanner has been having some issues. Tanner is an emotional kid. I have always described him as the most loving kid one minute and the spawn of Satan the next. He has been that way since he was a baby. When he was two we called him Tanner the Terrible. We couldn't go out to eat with him, because he would be so loud and Brad couldn't handle it. He reacts by yelling, screaming, or crying when he gets upset. This is part of the reason I took him to the doctor when he was in first grade. He was having a little trouble academically. He has never really gotten into trouble in school. Well, not anymore than the average kid. He might get a mark, her or there, but nothing terrible. He always saves his bad behavior for me. Anyway, I took him to the doctor and we determined he has ADHD. He has been on medicine ever since. He has done really well. The first day he was on the medicine his teacher said it was the first time he raised his hand and sat still while they were on the carpet. Another issue he has had is crying when he is playing sports. In football it was when he couldn't do something correctly. In baseball it is if he strikes out or misses a ball. When he was younger I felt like he would out grow it. He did get better for a while, but the last two Sunday's at baseball he has had total breakdowns. His teacher said he sobs if he gets into any kind of trouble or is asked to redo something. Thankfully this has only happened a few times. He has break downs on Monday when we are studying his new words. He thinks he has to know them already and cries and yells if I tell him he spelled it wrong. Anyone that knows me knows I am a pretty laid back person. I really don't beat my kids for not being perfect. I took him to the doctor last week because I thought maybe it was the medicine causing him to react this way. He said he didn't think so. The medicine would not cause this behavior it might enhance what is already there. My sister took the pictures of him above. He was crying when he was playing chess with his uncle a couple of Thanksgivings ago because he was losing. This was before medicine, so the doctor is right. He thinks we should go and see a counselor. I have mixed feeling about this. I tried to call the person he suggested we see, but she isn't in our plan. I started thinking we would just forget it and see if we could work this out ourselves. Then yesterday during his baseball game, Tanner missed a ball. When the first baseman threw it back to him Tanner threw it down on the ground. The ball was still live and the runner kept running. He picked up the ball and the ump called time. Tanner was playing pitcher and he has to give the ball back to the coach so he can pitch the ball. Instead of throwing the ball back he hurled it at the coach as hard as he could. His coach made him go to the dugout. Tanner was bawling. I went over and had a few words with him and told him to stop crying in a not so nice voice. He did. I was so embarrassed. His coach handled it very well. He made him apologize to the coach and I am happy he sent him out of the game. I am hoping this will make a big impact on him. I grounded him from video games and TV for the rest of the day. This is like taking oxygen from him. I also told him if he does it again he will not be playing baseball again. I am really at a loss as to what to do.