House...sold!

What a crazy couple of weeks this has been!!! We decided to move the day before Thanksgiving. It was not the best idea, but it was the only day that worked for everybody’s schedule. I reserved the truck (a big 26 footer), hired a couple of guys to come over and load the truck (with help from Carlos and our friend Sam), and I rented a storage unit. Everything was going well. We found a new school for Cristian and I was excited to move and have a few extra days to get the house in order before closing. Then, the day before the big move, my realtor called. We would be closing the next day…on moving day! I was pretty ticked at the situation, but there was really nothing I could do. I called in mom for help. I was not going to leave 4 dudes unsupervised while I went to sign the papers. Mom agreed to help (Thank You God). It was a tough day that ended around 10pm. We moved everything…to three separate locations…in one day! It was exhausting for all. We even flowed a little moving into Thanksgiving morning. It worked out and we returned the truck on time, and still had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with Carlos’ family at my brother- & sister-in-law’s house.

We rounded out the holiday weekend with a little shopping on Black Friday and a mini-trip to Palestine (TX) on Saturday. We went to Palestine to ride the Polar Express with a bunch of ladies and little ladies in my family. Cristian was, of course, the only boy. We had so much fun! All the cousins thought the tickets were a little pricey, but once the ride was over we knew they were worth every penny! We made plans to make the trip every other year. We had such a blast…spending time together and watching the kids faces during the train ride. It was amazing! A perfect end to a less that perfect week.

Cristian went to his old school for the last time this past Tuesday. The kids made him a big card and his teacher gave him a little gift. We love that school. He attended for the last two years and he loved it. The staff is wonderful and Cristian made such good friends…several of which he has known for the entire two years (since they were 6 months old or younger!).

He started his new school on Wednesday. It is a Christian school that has preschool and K through 12 grades. We are excited that he will have bible education added into his curriculum. His teacher is great and he seems to like it already. After his first day he told me “I making new friends!” When asked if his new friends were boys or girls, he said “Gurls, Petty Gurls.” Guess we better keep a close eye on that kid, he is starting early!

Things are starting to get into a groove with this new normal of ours. Carlos is at his moms and I am at mine. Cristian still doesn’t understand that we can not go “home”. He keeps asking to go home and it breaks my heart every time. I keep explaining that Grammie needs company so we are going to stay with her for awhile. I am feeling like the worst mom ever for confusing him and making all these changes in his life at once. He is doing OK though, resilient little man. He smiles most of time, just like he always has. He is (finally) sleeping in his own bed! Not sure how that happened, but he just decided when we moved and he has done it ever since. I am getting much better sleep now that I don’t have two little feet in my back all night! It is a win-win on that front.

We are sort of looking forward to the holidays…which kick off with a Train Ride this weekend in SA and Cristian’s school Christmas program next week. We still have a few boxes that need unpacking and some organizing that needs to be done at Grammie’s I plan to work on that this Saturday before we head in town for the train ride. I am hoping we get the tree up and decorated on Sunday, so we can enjoy it for a few weeks. Not sure what other plans we have for the holidays, but they will include ham, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and a chocolate pie from the bakery in Kyle. Yummy! We didn’t really have leftovers from Thanksgiving, so I am going to make extra at Christmas. I love second day ham sandwiches and chocolate pie!

House Happenings etc.

Well, well, I never thought I would see the day…that our house would sell! After all the paperwork and pain…it looks like we are finally on the verge of closing! I should hear from my realtor in the next few days with a closing date. I knew this would happen right around the holidays! I just know I am going to end up hauling a box or unpacking a box over my vacation. Oh well.

Even better news, Cristian is feeling mush better. Did you know that they make Claritan for 2 year olds? They do! My little ball of allergies will be taking them as needed from now on. So glad we found something to help with his allergies. Now, we need to get him back with the humidifier at night. We had another bloody nose last night. Not strep this time, just really dry air. If it is not one thing, it is another

Anybody heard about “Little Buddy” Wade Phillips getting fired yesterday? Carlos calls him “Little Buddy.” I actually pulled over driving home yesterday when I heard the news. Carlos was at work, but I just had to text him. He called me right back. It was the news of the day at our house. Hopefully Dallas can scrape together some dignity and finish out the year on a high note.

Carlos and I caught Cristian saying the F-word in the car the other day. Well, I mean, it sounded like the F-word…over and over and over. We are both pretty sure he was saying something else, but the jury is still out. I can be a sailor, but I have really tight-lipped it since having Cristian. If he did pick up a bad word from me, it would not have been that word.

Now, some deep, thought provoking, rhetorical questions that are on my mind today...
Have you ever worked at a company where your fellow employees were jockeying to get on the layoff list? Even during a recession? How bad must it be at such a place? Did you ever work for a bully boss? How about a boss that said, in a meeting about self appraisals, “If you don’t like working here, you can leave.”????

No Pictures

Most of the time I don’t post because I have no pictures loaded and I just feel so bad posting just my words. I have realized recently that I am totally missing out on the purpose of this blog. The reason I started it. To document my life as it is, pictures NOT required. I know and you know that pictures are great and add a little something extra special to a post. I mean, who could resist my cutie pie Cristian? However, my camera loads super slow and after all the time it takes to get them on my computer, the energy of the post is sucked out. For now, I am going to commit to posting several times a week, but there may not be pictures for awhile.

Here goes, an update!

For those of you that don’t know, we are in process of selling our house. The selling process has been a total bear. We have a buyer and are working toward a closing…hopefully before the holidays are upon us. The bank is just being a pain in the butt. We are having to submit paperwork over and over. I know it will work out and I am so thankful to have an experienced realtor with the patience of a Saint. He is not getting paid enough for sure.

Cristian is almost 2 ½ and he is so busy. We are at the beginnings of the conversation stage. It is really cool to be able to talk with him and get full sentences back. His take on the world is so interesting. This age is so fun. One minute he is making me ‘tea’ with his tea set and the next minute he is ramming wooden people with Thomas the train. I love that he has no idea what gender roles are and that he just loves to play. I was wrapping the tea set for a gift some weeks back and he inquired about it. I explained what it was and how you use it. He made me ‘tea’ immediately and was so thrilled with the make believe that I never did finish wrapping it. He got the tea set and we wrapped something else for the birthday girl. He loves to make you smile and is a big helper around the house. He can sing the cleanup song while gathering his toys and he likes to dust with wet ones. Some of his favorite sayings are:

“o-k.” (he says this to pretty much every question)
“Here come the bridge…duck!” (when we are on the highway)
“You play trains wit me?”
“I need a new one.” (when his wet one is dirty and he needs a new one to keep cleaning)
“I loooove ______!” (you can pretty much fill in anything here: cake, trains, Dino Dan, juice, chips, trucks)
“I love you too, Mommy.) (my person favorite, in response to: I love you Cristian)
“Carlosssss!!!” (after I call Carlos, he calls Carlos…we correct him, but only after giggling…it is pretty funny)
“I go Grammie’s house?” (pretty much every weekend we hear this question at least a few times)

There are so many more, I will try to highlight a couple with each post.

Work is nuts for me right now. We are in our busy season and I am working extra hours trying to keep up with the demands. I am more tired that I think I have ever been. I will be happy when the holidays come, as I need some time to sleep!

Carlos started a new job this past month. He is really enjoying it and is excited about some of the great opportunities they have there. The hours are a little wonky right now, but we are hopeful they will pan out in a few months.
Well, that is it for now. Have a great Thursday!

Big Sale!!

Target marked all their clearance toys to 75% off yesterday. I went to the location by my office over lunch and found a few deals. Then, I did a Target Crawl on my way home, stopping by 3 more locations between my office and the house. It was amazing! I got tons of toys for a very little price. I am set for Christmas and birthdays for the next year. So much fun! The sale is still going, but the toys are disappearing fast, so you better hop to it! If you miss the goods this time, no worries. Target has another 75% off sale right after Christmas around the first week of January.

Busy Busy Busy

We have been so busy this summer. My nieces were here for two weeks visiting mom at Grammie Camp. Cristian and I spent several days with them swimming and playing. We put our house on the market and now spend our evenings packing boxes and keeping the house clean. Such a pain! Ha! But, I can't wait to move. It will be a nice change of scenery. We spent last weekend swimming at Kristen's pool. It was so awesome, the weather was great and we swam for several hours. Work has been super busy, lots of deadlines. Cristian is getting big. He has started potty training at school and we are working on it at home, too. Still in diapers for now...but we are hoping that by Christmas we will be in big boy underwear...at least during the day. He says some of the funniest things like Nope, Yep, and Stacey! Yes, he calls me Stacey all the time. It cracks me up and then he corrects himself and says Mommy. Carlos uses my first name most of the time so I guess he picked it up. His teacher, Mrs. Connie, is his favorite person besides Grammie. Carlos and I have been enjoying our favorite summer shows...Whale Wars and Big Brother...and having fun packing. Ha! Our AC started gushing H2O the other night. We had the HVAC guys over and they "fixed" it until 30 minutes after they left and water was gushing again. So, we spent the night with no AC. That was fun especially at 2am when Cristian woke up and screamed for an hour. The next morning the company sent a new technician who was wonderful. He fixed our very minor AC issue and got us back on track. Dodge a bullet on that one.

All and all things are moving along. The heat is horrible, but not too bad if you stay inside with a cold beverage!

I can do anything you can do better...

…and with my tongue out!

Two Girls, Two Boys

My brother has girls and I have boys. That’s just the way we roll. I am so excited that the girls, Belle and Izzy, are coming to Grammies this week. We are headed to Grammies on Friday night to enjoy a long weekend of cousin fun! Check out these cousin shots from the past year.

Eating after Sea World – Summer ‘09

Playing after Sea World – Summer ‘09
Eating Breakfast – Spring Break ‘10

Playing – Spring Break ‘10

Cousins are Out-of-This-World! - Children's Museum, Spring Break '10

I know what you’re thinking…we do a lot of eating and playing! Hey, it’s the only time they are still long enough to get ‘em all in one shot!

And She's Off!

Mom left on her trip this morning. Cristian rode with me to drop her and Diana off at the airport. 7 days on a Mediterranean cruise and 7 days in Spain...a relaxing 2 weeks. No kids to chaperon, no itinerary to follow. Just the two of them paling around. My only concern is the balcony on the boat. All the horror stories you hear about cruise ships always involve a balcony and someone going over it, right into the ocean...or in this case, the sea. I have been obsessing about that stupid balcony ever since she booked her trip and told me she got a room that had one. Yes, it sounds nice and maybe I should not be worried...but it is what I do, I can't help it. I felt a little better when my brother shared the same concern. See, I'm not the only one. Ha! So, for my mom and for my sanity could you say a little prayer for her and Diana. I just want God to watch over them and keep them safe. They are both seasoned travelers, but having the big guy on your side can't hurt! Thanks!

Philip's Legacy

I haven't blogged in awhile, but today I felt very moved to do so. Kelly's Korner is a great blog written by an amazing woman. I have not participated in her 'Show us your life.' Friday's before, but today is different. Today, she is hosting a 'Show us your encouragement blog or website.' When we received Philip's diagnosis, I broke down...then I googled. I was on the Internet for hours that night, well into the early morning. I needed to research and I needed to find others; other parents who could help me understand. For me, education and learning is the key to take away my fear. The best place for me became the living with trisomy 13 site. I found support, love and understanding. I am still in contact with several of the moms I met through that site and keep up with the online support group. I have been contacted by several moms in my area who were going through early diagnosis and I felt really blessed to be that person for them. That 'other' that I had yearned for in the beginning. My blog is a bit neglected lately, but I hope if you have found your way here you will click on the link to the right 'Philip's Story' and take a few minutes to read about our amazing first born and the impact he made on our family. I miss him everyday, but he gave me so much. He made me the one thing I always dreamed of being, a mom. After you read Philip's story, please feel free to talk a look around the Living site. There are pages and pages of beautiful miracles, some living on Earth and some in Heaven. Thank you for stopping by!

Best Laid Plans

I wanted to post updates from the holidays this weekend, but our computer is sick with a virus. We should have it fixed by tomorrow and I can gear back up to start posting regularly!

In addition, please keep the people of Haiti in your hearts and prayers. I have been avoiding the news because I just can't handle the images and the thought of what they are going through; it breaks my heart to think about it...it is just too much to comprehend.

Matthew Paul Turner wrote a great post over the weekend about Martin Luther King. I really liked it and even heard it being endorsed on the radio yesterday (KLove). Small world! Matthew is in Uganda and has been posting about his trip. Amazing stories and pictures...you should check them out here.

Another Boy!

UPDATE:
Because our newest baby is burnt orange and white, we decide on a UT themed name. We wanted something short and sweet and easy for Cristian to say. The winner is: MACK
Mandy and Paul stopped by last night to meet Mack and he fell in love with Paul. I wonder if Mack's former family were country folk. Paul had just come from the barns where he was tending to his pig, Ms. P.I.G. Mack seemed to take to Paul's scent right away. Country dog in the City...this should be an adventure for him!

We have added another member to our family...
And...it's a BOY! 28 inches tall and 60 pounds! Isn't he the cutest? This picture was taken at his former home...he doesn't sit on the furniture at our house. We picked him up yesterday and I am in love! He is a very good boy and has been trained really well. He was a rescue so we don't know a whole lot about his former life. Our friends who rescued him had taken him to the vet. He was a bit lean (you can't tell in this pic), but otherwise in good health. No heart worms or parvo. He had been in a dogfight while wondering the streets so he had to take some antibiotics. He looks great now (still a little lean). He is around 2 years old and we think he is a pointer, boxer, American bulldog mix of some sort.

I have never been a dog owner, so I really hesitated to get one. Carlos has been asking for years. When I saw this guy's sweet face I could not resist. Our friends who rescued him had him for a couple of weeks and were able to give an excellent recommendation. That made my decision much easier! We are being cautious with Cristian, not leaving them alone together for awhile. So far so good...last night was great. It is rainy and cold, so Big Dog slept in the garage. He did great and went to the restroom right on cue when Carlos walked him this morning. We don't have a name for him yet...I am pulling for 'Hank' and Carlos wants 'Bud.' If you have a suggestion leave me a comment...we would love to know what you think!

Under Construction

As you can see my blog is undergoing some changes. It is a new year and my devotion to this blog has been renewed! I am excited to start, but a fresh slate was needed...some new paint on the walls. I am just using some freebies for now, but am hopeful that I will one day figure out how to customize the header. I am unwilling to spend money, so time and patience will be needed. No rush, I am happy with this new look and will just add a few choice poses to the side bar! New posts to come this week...from October pumpkins, Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas presents, I've got tons to share.