Just A Little Something To Make You Smile

I thought that I would post a few pictures of the kids. I know that most of the people who read my blog are family members and they love them some kiddo pics. So here ya go.......Enjoy!

Riley - Isn't she so beautiful!!!!

Lane - What a great smile he has!!!

Riley - Showing off her 2 little tiny teeth!!

Lane loves to pretend cook with Mommy!!

Oh Where Oh Where Have The Weasels Gone

If you are wondering if we have been kidnapped by aliens or on a trip around the world. Well I hate to disappoint you. We have been here in Texas being washed away by parcipitation. Yes, it is again raining. Oh how I love rainy days....NOT! It is a week out from school starting and instead of doing fun stuff we are staying indoors frying our brains with television. Oh well, they're young they will bounce back. We did however go to Ruckus Room (a bounce house type of thing) yesterday. This was because I promised Lane that after I drug him and Riley out into the rain to go to Target and buy my book, that we could do something fun. Yes, I dragged my kids out into the rain for a book. My blogger friend at Lulaville got me hooked on this "Twilight" saga and now I can't put it down. There are 4 books in the series. It starts with "Twilight", then "New Moon", then "Eclipse" and ends with "Breaking Dawn". I am hooked! I can't put them down. I am only half way through "New Moon" but it has only been 2 days. Poor Craig came into the bedroom last night after the kids were in bed and said, "Can we just talk for a moment?". I thought he was trying to start an intervention but he wasn't. He just wanted to talk and spend some time with me since I have had my head in these books for 24 hours straight. Poor guy!!! Don't worry Honey I love still love you!!! So if you haven't heard from me in a while you know that I have not packed up my family and moved to Mexico, I am just mentally in Forks (the place the book is set in) with my imaginary boyfriend, Edward (one of the main characters).

Wii the People

I got a phone call tonight from my sister-in-law, Chelsae. She was telling me about her weekend and how Nolan's 4th birthday party went. (Sorry Nolan for not being able to come. I hope you had fun and we love you very much.) We were in mid conversation when my brother-in-law, Jeremy chimes in.

Jer: "Did she tell you what I did?"

Me: "No, and do I want to know?"

Jer: "Well I was playing to Wii and I was playing bowling. I was all into it and about to make a 3-10 split (now this I am not sure he actually said since I couldn't remember the bowling lingo he spouted off) when the controller flew out of my hand."

Me: "What!?!?!"

Jer: "Yeah, it flew right into the just recently paid off, 50" flat screen television and cracked it"

Me: "What a dork!"

Jer: "Can you believe it?"

Me: "No but Yes!"

After that the phone was passed back to Chelsae,

Chelsae: "I was so upset."

Me: "Understandably! You know something always happens when you pay something off"

Chelsae: "Yeah, but Jeremy and I had just had this conversation about the safety strap on the controller. He said that he didn't like wearing it, I guess he thought it was uncool"

Me: "How cool is he now?! Hahahahahahaha!!!

I pre-warned Jeremy that by telling me this story it would for sure be posted on my blog. I don't lie!!!!

This is a public service announcement.....Please use the safety straps that come with your Wii system because it's all fun and games until someone (and by someone I mean your paid-off, 50" flat screen television) gets hurt.

Me, Myself and I

I stole this from my blogger friend at Stretch Marks (aka Melissa Lee). It's okay she stole it from someone else and said I could. I normally blog about my family and friends but today it is all about me.

I AM........ addicted to sugar. I love me some sweets. I love everything about them. Any kind of candy, cake, pie, donut, ice cream and cookie. Why is this and is there a support group for sugar addicts? Maybe I can start one and call it SAA (Sugar Addicts Anonymous). You can find a meeting in your area by just following the trail of candy bar wrappers.

I WANT...... to live in Austin, Texas. Every time I visit this place I leave saying to myself that I want to live here. This past trip to Austin I came back and told my husband that I want to live in Austin and whatever it takes to do that then I am willing to do it. He is on board.

I HAVE......crooked pinkie fingers. My mother has them and I inherited them. I checked both of my children and they do not have them. Lucky for them.

I WISH I COULD.....have one more day with my brother. I would introduce him to his niece, for whom he never met. I would let him and Lane play catch together in the back yard. I would watch him and Craig have a beer while watching the kids run and play. I would hug him and kiss him and tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me. I would also ask him why he decided to leave us.

I HATE......to hear about the suffering that people have to endure everyday. I have had to stop watching the news.

I FEAR.......rats, mice and sharks. I know, what a weird mix of animals. I know that I fear rats & mice from a childhood incident. We lived in a new neighborhood where there was a lot of housing construction around. Next to our house was an empty lot that was being cleared so a house could be built. This caused us to get field mice in our house. One morning I went into the pantry to get some cereal. When I pulled the box of cereal down a mouse jumped on me and ran down my nightgown. Ever since then I have been deathly afraid of mice. Can you blame me? Well my fear of sharks comes from a little known movie called "Jaws". Seriously, doesn't this movie freak everyone out? To this day will not swim in the ocean.

I HEAR.......the story in a song. When I listen to music I listen to the words so intently that I can hear the story in it. This is why some of my favorite songs mean so much to me.

I SEARCH......for my talent. I think that everyone has a talent. The one thing they are good at. Some people sing, some dance, some draw, some cook, some play a sport but me, I am still looking. I will let you know as soon as I know.

I DON'T THINK.......clowns are funny. They are more scary then funny. I don't think I like them.

I REGRET....... not getting a college degree. I think that I am smart enough but I was and still am lacking the motivation.

I LOVE......my life. My husband and my kids have made my life better then I ever thought it could be. I never knew that I had this much love in me until they came along.

I ACHE FOR.......a vacation away from the good ole state of Texas. I need Hawaii or Jamaica or Costa Rica, just somewhere tropical that serves drinks with umbrellas, beach side. I want to watch the sunset and sunrise with my husband. I want us to take a nap in the middle of the day, alone. I want to swim and sunbath all day.

I ALWAYS CRY......when my husband cries. This is a rare thing and I always poke fun at him and tell him he is dead inside when he doesn't cry over things I do. He says I cry enough for both of us. I just tell him "I'm a girl, we cry!"

I AM NOT......a good speller. My husband makes fun of me all the time for pulling out my Webster's New Pocket Dictionary. Spell check is my life saver.

I DANCE.....when a good song comes on. Mostly if the song is hip-hop or rap. Also if I am alone or just with my kids cause I know they won't tell and they think it's funny. I will also dance if I am with a group of friends at a club (rare these days) and usually many drinks are involved.

I SING.....with every song on the radio. I can't help it. Something just comes over me and I feel that I must sing every word to every song I hear. Sometimes I don't even know all the words. When I do know all the words then look out, I will belt it out as loud as I can. This makes me happy.

I NEVER......want to skydive. I don't get why people want to do it and pay big money to do it. My luck my shoot would never open or I would just throw-up all over myself. Either way it wouldn't be pretty.

I RARELY........ look in the mirror and like what I see. People, including my husband, will give me a compliment about the way I look and I smile and say thank you. Inside I am thinking, "Oh they are just being nice".

I CRY WHEN I WATCH.....Hope Floats. You know the movie with Sandra Bullock, where her husband has an affair with her best friend and she finds out on national television. I cry from beginning to end every time I watch it. Especially the part when the husband comes back to ask Sandra for a divorce and the little girl thinks her daddy came back to get her. Rips my heart out. I have watched this movie probably 50 times and still cry.

I AM NOT ALWAYS......as truthful with people as I would like to be. Sometimes it is to spare someones feelings. I feel I am doing them a favor and I do appreciate it when people do it for me. Other times it is to cover my own a$$. If I do something wrong or that I am embarrassed about I will lie like nobodies business to get out of it. I think it might be human nature. Survival of the fittest or something like that.

I HATE THAT....my brother died at such a young age (23 years old). He will never have a wife, a family of his own or know his niece or nephew. He had so many things left to do in his life. I hate that!

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT.......religion, politics, the human mind, the legal system and many more things that I just can't think of right now.

I NEED......to loose 58 lbs. to be healthier for my family and myself. This would also make looking in the mirror and at pictures of myself a lot easier.

I SHOULD......end this whirl wind of information that I am throwing at you. You are probably thinking, "Hey Heather, T.M.I. (too much information)".

I hope this was helpful as well as informative.

Now We Are Off To The Lions Den

Wake -up call is again at 6:30 am for our next leg of the race. We are now heading to Austin to stay with our friend Holly. She is a dear friend that I have known since middle school. She has 3 kids, Jackson, Abigail and William. Jackson and Abi are 5 year old twins (or at least they will be next Thursday). William is 1 month younger than Lane and Will be 3 in October. We are so excited to see them because they are fun to hang out with and William and Lane get along so well.

We packed the car with all of the stuff we originally brought and now have added some souvenirs from Sea World. If we keep accumulating stuff one of these kids is going to have to ride on the roof of the Weasel wagon. I wish I had taken a picture of our car packed to the max. It was just a miracle that it all fit. Well maybe just pure talent that I could fit it. If I do say so myself. We call Holly to get the directions. We are all set now. All I need is a Starbucks and I can kick it into high gear. We are going along just great but not a Starbucks in sight. Seriously, what does San Antonio have against Starbucks? Okay never mind, we found one. We get our coffees and we are now back "on the road again". I don't know what it is but when I am on a road trip, and still awake, that song gets stuck in my head.

We start looking for the exit that Holly told us to take. Neither Chasity nor I see this exit 281. Then we notice that 1604 North has all the sudden become 1604 South. What in the world has just happened? We are both flabbergasted. We call Holly to find out what happened and now how do we get to her. She tells us that we have passed it long ago and now we will be traveling a new route. Where is a GPS when you need one? We finally get turned around and are on the right track. When we finally arrive and are happy to get out of the car. Holly and the kids are there to greet us with sandwiches, chips and drinks. Gotta love that Holly.

We decide to take a rest from the car for a while and let the kids play. They all get along so well. After our rest we all pile in 2 cars and head to The Hollows Beach Club. This place is fabulous. It is up on the side of a hill amongst an awesome neighborhood and marina. The beach club is what they call the pool area. The pool was nice and refreshing and it had a restaurant with waiters to serve you pool side. This is the life.

Chasity, Kylar (hiding) and Holly

Lane and Will were wearing matching bathing suits. (Which was not planned.) They played so well together and even got into a little trouble together. We were calling them Frick and Frack. We all had a great time relaxing, soaking in the awesome view and just letting the Austin winds blow through our hair. It was exactly what we needed. We headed back to the house for baths and bedtime. We had all the kids in an assembly line for the tub. We had Frick and Frack in one tub and the girls in another. When everyone was bathed and in bed Holly and I snuck off to pick up some snacks for our boat trip the next day and wine for the night. When we returned everyone was asleep. We opened the wine and the back door and started going back in time. We talked about the old times and everyone we knew back then. We laughed, maybe a little too loud because a few neighbors' lights started coming on. We wound down about midnight. It was fun and a much needed little trip back to the old days when we weren't known as mom but as Heather & Holly. It was fun.

Frick (aka Lane) & Frack (aka Will)

Riley lounging in a poolside chair
Kylar playing in the fountains
Holly & Will
Lane and his popsicle

Riley asleep in her poolside lounge chair

The next morning we got up and fed the kids. We packed our bags for the boat. Holly and John have a boat that is docked at The Hollows on Lake Travis. This would be Lane's and Riley's first ride on a boat. I think it might have been Kylar's too. They were so excited. We also brought the tube so they could take rides. I wasn't sure if Lane would do it but boy was I wrong. I couldn't get him out of it. I was so proud of my little boy. Riley fussed a little at the beginning when she had to wear a life vest but I gave her a pacifier and she just sat back and chilled out. She even at one point took a nap. That girl will sleep anywhere.

Kids and Holly on the boat
Heidi, Me & Riley sporting her most fashionable life vest

Kylar, Lane & Jackson

Kylar & Lane tubing

Chasity, Kylar & Heidi

Me, Riley, Lane, Will & Kylar

I think Lane was getting a little homesick because he turned to me at one point and said "Can we eat lunch and then go home and see Daddy?". What a cutie!

When we were all done boating and living the life of leisure we headed back to the Lion's Den. We packed and headed back home. We had a great vacation and what an adventure for 2 moms and 4 kids.

Watch Out Shamu....Cause The Weasels Are Coming To Visit!

Friday morning started at 6:30 am for me. I had to take a shower and get packed so that we would be ready to leave. We wanted to be at Sea World as soon as the gates opened. When you are taking 3 kids under the age of 5 anywhere, there is a lot of packing and preplanning. Riley was staying with Nana and Mema while me, Lane, Nolan, Chelsae, Heidi, Kylar and Chasity headed to the home of Shamu. We got packed and dressed and headed out. We got to Sea World just when it opened at 10am. We were a little shocked at how many people were already there. I guess we kinda thought we were the only ones with this grand idea to go on a Friday and get there early.

Let me tell you that within the first 10 minutes of being in the park I was already sweating like a pig. Texas heat will kill you....no lie! Our first stop, after the bathroom, was to the Shamu Express. It is a small kids roller coaster. They all loved it once we got on. They were a little confused on why we had to wait in line so long. I just told them to get used to it because obviously, someone told everyone in Texas our plan to go to the park Friday and get there early. We have a "mole" amongst us.

Kylar & Heidi

Nolan & Chelsae

The Shamu Express

We decided that our next stop on this fun train would be SHAMU! We headed 30 miles to the other side of the park to see the Shamu show "Believe". It was awesome! I just can't get over the fact that this is these peoples job. To hang out with whales. What a cool job to have. The kids were speechless the entire time. Not one peep was made from any of the 3 kids during the whole show. Amazing!

Nolan & Chelsae at Believe

Chasity, Heidi & Kylar

Me & Lane

All Lane could say was "WOW!"

We stopped to check out the flamingos or as Nolan said "Hedder come and see the pink mingos". Too cute! If you haven't noticed from the pictures, Kylar is a girly girl. She loves the camera and loves to pose. Isn't she adorable!

Lane, Nolan, Kylar and Heidi (up top)

After we watched Shamu consume arms full of fish we decided that we were a little hungry too. On the way we stopped to get the kids swords. Now who's brilliant idea was this......Chelsae. The kids loved them but I think that we may or may not have maimed a few innocent by standards along the way. We headed to the eatery to get some over priced kids meals, but hey it's all worth it since it came in a Shamu lunch box.

Nolan & Lane with swords

Kylar, Nolan & Lane with swords....Scary!!

$85.00 later we took a stroll to somewhere they had a/c. Have I mentioned how hot it was. I think the thermometer read 150 degrees or at least it felt like it. Chelsae said that the Anheuiser Busch brewery on site gives adults 2 free beers. That was all I had to hear and I took off. I don't even think that I noticed until we got there that our kids had fallen asleep. Fine with me since the brewery had a/c, tables and chairs, and did I mention 2 free beers........YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Nolan & Lane are out cold

Poor Lane. He's gonna have a sore neck when he wakes up.

This is where I stopped taking pictures. It was too hot to think and I from this point on couldn't remember to take a picture. After mama had her beers we headed to the penguin exhibit. This was my favorite, well other then the free beers. It was so awesome to see the penguins swimming and the way they have the exhibit is so awesome. They have a moving sidewalk that you get on and it takes you for a ride passed the glass exhibit where there have to be 100+ penguins of all different kinds swimming and waddling around. Plus the whole place had a/c.

We decided that we had enough of the heat so we headed to the Lost Lagoon. This is the water park they have at Sea World. It has a lazy river, a wave pool, twisty slides and a play area for kids with a huge dumping bucket. Lane and Kylar loved the wave pool. We could barely get them to go on anything else. I love the twisty slide that I got to ride on with Heidi. The other kids were too small so they had to stay behind. It was so much fun and a little scary too. You get in a 2 person tube and slide down this pitch black slide and every once in a while you could see some light. It was a blast and so worth the wait. When we were ready to go I understood why they called the place the Lost Lagoon. We rented lockers for our stuff when we arrived and they gave us a key. When I went to open my locker my key was gone. I had lost it in the wave pool. Typical me!!!! Well it only took the entire teenage staff and 20 minutes to finally get it open. The funny thing was every time they sent a new person to help they always asked me, "Lost your key?" Like I did all this for attention or something. We all got dressed and headed to the car. It was a short ride home but long enough for all the kids to fall asleep. We all had a great time and can't wait to do it again next summer.

Are We Crazy Or What?

My friend, Chasity, and I made plans to take our kiddos on a road trip. The plan was to head from Houston to San Antonio on Thursday evening and spend the night with my in-laws. We would wake-up the next morning and head to Sea World. Spend the night Friday night and then Saturday morning head to our friend, Holly's house and come back Sunday. Yes, it does sound like a lot of driving but she and I are tough moms who can handle it........Can't we?

We were a little scared but ready for the challenge. My instructions to her were to pack light. Yeah Right, like that's going to happen with 4 kids and 2 adult women. We did the best to consolidate but ended up with a lot of stuff. I used my super power organizing skills to make it all fit in the Weasel Wagon. It was a challenge but in the end I won.

Now, all we had to do was make it there. I was confident that we would with no problems. I made sure that I drove the last trip we made to my in-laws so that I was sure I knew the way. So off we go!!!!!!

We get about 30 minutes into the trip and Kylar, Chasity's 4 year old daughter, says "Mom, are we there yet?". I thought I was going to pee my pants I was laughing so hard. I thought that phrase was something that only kids said in the movies. Apparently not, since she proceeded to ask about 30 or 40 more times. Funny the first time but no so funny the other 29 to 39 times. Kylar and Lane also began to argue like brother and sister for another leg of the trip. I heard, "Stop touching me! Mom, Lane is touching me!" to Lane growling at Kylar like a bear and her saying "Mom, Lane is giving me a headache". It was funny at times but other times Chasity and I looked at each other and said "Did you forget the beer?" Yes, this was the first time that Chasity and I had been on a road trip that did not include a cooler of beer. It sure is sad to grow-up.

We finally get to San Antonio around 10:30pm. I am cruising along and we come to the exit that I am suppose to take to get to my in-laws and it is under construction and closed. "WHAT!" This is the only way I know how to get there. I am also very low on gas. Of Course! Just like in every horror movie the car won't start or the girl falls down and can't seem to muster the strength to get up and run when the scary guy is coming. It is typical. Well, Houston highways and San Antonio highways are totally different. In Houston if you get off on the wrong exit you can just go to the next light and turn around. Apparently, in San Antonio they thought we did it wrong. They thought that if you get off at the wrong exit at night with a car full of kids, in a town you are unfamiliar with you should be punished and scared straight. Well we decided to try to make a u-turn and did. But to our surprise it lead us to a dead end feeder road. Wow, how convenient for us. There was a gas station on the corner so we at least could fill up. Lord knows we do not want to run out of gas in this neighborhood. This neighborhood was straight out of the movie, "Boys In The Hood". We saw a sign for free pregnancy tests along with a mural of Jesus and Mary on the side of the building. What a combo!

After driving through the neighborhood for about 20 minutes we finally made it back on to the highway. I now have my in-laws on the phone and asking for directions. They give us the new route and we finally make it to the house. Thank goodness the kids were asleep the whole time we were taking our detour. Can you imagine the questions they would have had?

My in-laws live in Rio Medina which is about 30 minutes outside of San Antonio. They live on some land and there nearest neighbors are down the road. When we showed up it was completely dark and you couldn't really see how secluded we really were. We start unpacking our car and loading up the guest house with all our stuff. As we are doing this I notice that Chasity's 13 year old step-daughter, Heidi, is closing all the blinds on the windows. My in-laws ,who are watching the little ones so we can unpack, inform her that it is not necessary to do that because there is nothing around us. She smiles and stops to unpack her stuff. The next morning I wake up and notice that Heidi has taken 2 pillows off the couch and stuffed them into the window, where mind you there are no blinds, to cover the window. What have we done to these city kids? They don't even feel safe in the country. I guess we gave her a bad impression with the route we took to get there.