Memories

This is for my friend Candice. On her blog, she does "On This Day In Our History" and posts memorable things from the past. Click here for yesterday's post, where she was playing catch up and entered several dates. One of them was July 24, 1992 or '93 (we're having a hard time remembering if it was before Jr. year or Sr. year). We went to Little Rock, AR to visit my uncle and aunt. What a fun time! You'll have to read her story about the waterpark. I also remembered a man we nicknamed "Speedo Man." I'm guessing that needs no explanation. It seemed he popped up everywhere we were. I was cleaning out my closet today and came across this picture. I knew I had to scan it and post it! It's of Candice and me standing beside the broken-down Jeep on the side of the road each holding a "little rock." Again, no explanation needed. We were quite witty. In my defense, the wind is blowing. My hair was not that poofy.


And while scanning, I couldn't resist this picture! It was taken on May 28, 1993. School had just let out, so we were officially SENIORS! I had such good friends. I know Jaime and Vivian read my blog occasionally, so hope you guys enjoy the picture!

Candice, Jaime, Dale, Amanda, Vivian, Harry'O, Jay

We're All Gettin' Better

Coleman has been feeling a lot better today. Luckily he loves to take medicine. He takes Singulair for his allergies, and when we get to the last few pills in the bottle he says, "When they're gone I'll be all better?" No, he just starts a new bottle. But he loves to take them, so it's no big deal. And as for me, I had some blood work done at my last check up and was told that there was a problem with my thyroid. I shouldn't be surprised. This runs in my family. I'll start my medication tomorrow. I just have to say that my family is so blessed to be able to go to the doctor and get the medicine that we need. Thanks for your prayers for Coleman!

A Pain in the Ear

Oh dear, Coleman developed an ear ache and cried from about 5:00 to 7:30 tonight. This affects Spence also because he cannot handle Mommy having to comfort someone else.

But good news - there's an after-hours pediatric clinic close to our house. This isn't really good news for Spence though.

Oh dear, Coleman has an ear infection. At least I think that's what I heard the doctor say over the deafening sobs coming from my child.

But good news - the doctor gave him a prescription (and it's not that good-for-nothing amoxicillin).

Oh dear, Coleman's prescriptions have been running us over $100.

But good news - we've got new insurance! The antibiotic and ear drops were only $15 and $10!

Oh dear, it's 9:15 and I hear Coleman crying.

But good news - Daddy is on his way up to check on him.

Please say a prayer for Coleman that he will start feeling better soon. It breaks my heart when he's hurting and I can't do anything for him. And also, I've never had an ear infection, so I don't know what he's feeling.

Pananio and the Bathing Elephant

Coleman has an alter ego. His name is Pananio Patinki and I believe he's a race car driver. I don't know where he came up with this name, but I thought it was hilarious! Sometimes I'll ask him about Pananio (pronounced Puh-nah-nee-o) and he'll say, "No, I'm Coleman now."

Friday we went to the zoo with some friends. This was our third trip this summer, and we always see some different animals and make sure to visit our favorites. I can't wait to go when the weather gets cooler! Here are a few pictures. I didn't take too many since we have so many from our first two trips.

It's hard to see, but this is a picture of one of the elephants getting a bath. The kids could have stayed and watched this for hours.

Coleman, EK, and Spence watching the elephant take a bath

Spence brushing the goat

Spence has found a way to reach his cookies!

Also, Rita asked about the chocolate chip pizza from Double Daves. It's a thin crust topped with cookie dough, chocolate chips, and icing. I know you couldn't eat it Rita, but here's a picture:

Spence Makes the Fridge!

A Fun Field Trip

The last two Wednesdays while the boys have been at school, I've gotten Jason's Deli for lunch. They have this wrap called the Ranchero that is the best. Mmmmm, grilled chicken, jalapeños, cheese, pico de gallo, Ranch dressing, all wrapped up in a veggie tortilla. The only problem is that I get depressed when it's time to eat lunch on Thursday. This week I'm easing back into sub par food. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A on our way back from the Railroad Museum. I'll tell that story in a minute. Sometimes my mind works in crazy ways. I was thinking how much I love that Ranchero wrap, and other foods I love. I started putting together the all time best meal. So if I'm ever wrongly accused of a crime, convicted, and placed on death row, I've come up with the perfect last meal. I would request a Ranchero wrap from Jason's Deli, a chocolate chip pizza from Double Dave's, and a Coke from Whataburger. And also, I wouldn't have to worry about a depressing lunch the next day!

OK, now that you think I'm completely insane, I'll share our trip to the Railroad Museum. I was feeling a little shut in today with all the rain from the hurricane. I was looking for something indoor to do with the boys. I found several cool places, but decided to do the Rosenberg Railroad Museum. The boys will probably enjoy it more when they're older, but they had a good time and so did I! They saw lots of old railroad stuff (yeah, I was listening really well), a caboose, a safety video, a model train set that filled a room, and an old fire truck. Here are a few pictures.

Coleman loved the model train.

They didn't have room to set up the entire set.

There was so much detail!

We love fire engines!

The Trouble With Girls

On the way home from school today, Coleman was playing with one of his Transformers. He kept asking me about the Transformer, and I kept telling him I didn't know. I think he finally got a little frustrated.

Coleman: Why don't you know about Transformers?
Mommy: Because I'm a girl.
Coleman: That's a boy question?
Mommy: Yes.
Coleman: Sorry. Daddy's not here, so I'm asking you.

I guess that's the trouble with girls. We can't give you good answers to your Transformer questions. It's also a problem for Coleman that I don't spot every tow truck, dump truck, or motorcycle as we drive down the road. I'll have to work on these things.

A Collection of Happenings and Observations

When I don't post for a while, I get all these ideas about what to write swirling around in my mind, and then I can't decide what to say. So I'm taking some things from the past few days and writing a little about each one.

Dear God, help that mean girl be nice.

We were leaving the gym this morning and Coleman told me that there was a little girl who was "fighting over him and Spence." I'm pretty sure he meant she was fighting with them. Anyway, she wasn't being nice and wasn't sharing with them, according to Coleman. Coleman said, "Spence grabbed her shirt and pushed her!" Well, don't mess with Spence. I told Coleman to make sure he told the gym lady if someone wasn't being nice and that it wasn't OK for Spence to push. We got in the car and started home. Coleman said, "Mommy, can we pray for that little girl that wasn't nice?" I said, "Of course. That's a good idea," thinking we'd pray for her when we ate lunch or at bedtime. After a moment, Coleman asked, "When are you going to do it?" He wanted me to pray right then. What a great reminder that we can stop and talk to God anytime, anywhere. I'm so proud of Coleman!

You're too old to play at McDonald's playground...

if you have to ask your mom to hold your cell phone. Seriously! She was probably about 10 or 11. Oh, what an age. To be young enough to be happy and carefree on the McDonald's playground, but tied down by technology and the demand to stay connected.

A Kitchen Update

The update is that we're almost done! There are only a few cabinet doors to put back up and one spot on the wall to retexture. The window still needs to be finished and I have a few decorative decisions to make, but I think it's presentable! Brian worked so hard, and he did an awesome job! Here are a few pictures.

Hooray for cabinets with unpainted hinges!


This was the first piece of furniture Brian and I bought after we got married. It was a hideous puke green with flower etched glass, but we saw the potential. Brian started stripping it, but that was a nightmare. He stripped some of it, then he painted the rest white. I decided it was time for an update, so I painted the white parts red and the top inside the same color as the cabinets. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave the wood parts, or paint them red also. I think I like it like this for now.

Check out the new towel ring!


And I'm working really hard to keep these plants alive. It's a complicated procedure, you know, watering them.

What to do with this wall. I was thinking of doing a plate display, but I've got some plates I'm going to hang above the hutch. So maybe some framed artwork or a metal piece. Still looking around. Also looking for a new table. Not loving the wicker chairs (especially the one with the bottom busted out), and all the crevices in the table make for quite a mess with toddlers.

Things They Won't Pick Up

I just got reprimanded by the garbage man. Who does this happen to?!? Apparently you are not supposed to set out old sliding glass doors with your trash. It broke and went all over the street. He told me that the driver swept it to the curb but we would have to clean it up. Who knew? We are allowed to put out heavy trash with our garbage, but I now know that glass doors are a no no. I've also informed Brian of this new information. You know it's all his fault anyway. He puts it out there, and I get griped out! Fortunately, we have no more sliding glass doors to dispose of. This makes me think... Tell me about a time you got in trouble for something and you had no clue you'd done anything wrong.

Footnote: I have no hard feelings toward the garbage men. They have very important jobs and without them we'd be drowning in piles of our own trash! We will work hard to follow all the requirements for disposing of our unwanted items from now on.

How To Install a Window

Installing a window is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3.

First, you must decide that the old window (or sliding glass door, circa 1979) is disgusting and you can no longer live with it.


Then, you rip it out and put the new window in. Of course the new window is not the same size as the old door, so you must build a partial wall.


Make sure to insulate the new wall adequately.


As long as the elements (and critters) are barred from entering, the trim, texture, and paint can wait for, oh I'd say another month or so.


Then it's goodbye bright yellow paint!!!

My Apologies

I must apologize, either to all of you, or to the blog itself, for being so neglectful. We've been so busy with house stuff that I haven't been on the computer much this past week. Brian and Dad replaced the sliding glass door in our bedroom with a window. That required a partial wall to be built. Silly me, I thought you needed to hire contractors and carpenters to do this kind of stuff. What do I know? They did a great job! Of course there's just drywall under the window, but we'll choose a new color to paint soon and get it finished. Brian wants to put sconces on either side of the bed before we do though. Ah, another project. The kitchen is my main project now. We took all the bottom cabinet doors off and I painted them. Hopefully we'll get those back up this week. If we don't I might go insane trying to keep Spence out of the exposed cabinets! I have to give a big "thank you" to my mom, who entertained the boys this weekend. Without her, nothing would have gotten done! I mean, building a wall and painting cabinet doors is near impossible with two little boys roaming the house.

Weekend Renovations

Brian busied himself this weekend putting in new windows! Has he ever put in windows before, you may be asking? No. Did that tiny detail stop him? No. And he did an excellent job! Here are a few pictures.

Here is the old master bathroom window. Brian had already taken the trim off.

And here is the new window!

The old kitchen window.

We hung these old sheets to keep glass and dust out of the house.

The new window! If you click on it, you'll notice there's already peanut buttery fingerprints on it!

And from the inside. We have to decide what color to stain or paint it. Here's the difference between a man and a woman: A man just snaps the picture. A woman would clean off the table first.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you had a happy 4th of July! We did! We headed out a little before 9:00 tonight to watch our city's fire works display. The boys enjoyed it. Coleman wanted to know all about how the fire works worked, and Spence was just mesmerized. He would occasionally say, "Boom." Not very enthusiastically, but he was a little tired considering he's usually in bed by 8:30.

We just watched the coolest fire works!

Earlier in the day Brian recorded the boys performing to "This Land Is Your Land." I put some motions to the song and did it this week with my music classes. They had so much fun that I decided to teach it to the boys. I'll clue you in to the motions they are doing, so you can be informed before you watch it.

This land is your land (point to someone)
This land is my land (point to yourself)
From California (pretend to surf)
To the New York island (pretend to be the Statue of Liberty)
From the redwood forest (pretend to be a tree)
To the Gulf stream waters (wave your arm like flowing water)
This land was made for you (point) and me (point to yourself)

Remember to be thankful for all those who have fought for our freedom and for those who are fighting for us now! We love our soldiers!

A Short Conversation

I overheard this conversation as we were getting in the car yesterday.

Spencer: Hot! Hot! Hot!
Coleman: You are correct, Spencer!