Thankful

Thanksgiving came and went and I just wanted to jot down how thankful I am.  I am beyond blessed because I have my God, my wonderful husband, my boys, my family, my health, and so so so much more.  My cup truly runneth over.

Dentist

We recently switched pediatric dentist because of various reasons.  At our old dentist, we would go in, he would look at the boys teeth, slap some fluoride treatment on them, and send us on our merry way.  10 minutes, tops.  Not knowing what to expect, I assumed the boys new dentist would be about the same.  Boy, was I wrong.

The new place cleaned their teeth, then cleaned them again with a toothbrush, flossed between their teeth, took a mold, and x-rayed their mouths.  When they first started cleaning with the "drill sounding" instrument, I was so worried that this was not going to go well, they are only 3 for goodness sake.  I was wrong, the boys loved it.  They thought the machine tickled.  The nurses kept telling them they had dinosaur teeth.  The fluoride tasted like grape.  They both walked out of there asking when they can go back.  It really showed me.  I dread going to the dentist.  I hate the "drill sounding" instrument.  Guess I'm going to have to suck it up and be brave like my boys are.

Heath getting his teeth cleaned



Hunter getting his teeth cleaned.  Look how relaxed he is with his hands folded back behind his head.



Heath getting X-rays and mold.



Hunter getting X-rays and mold.



Happy Boys after the dentist



Bubble Boys

There is just something about having a twin to play with at bath time that makes it so much more fun.  It's also makes my bathroom floor a whole lot more damp.

My Sister's House

My sister, Kay, got a new home.  I am 1000% excited for her.  There is no person on this earth who deserved a new home more than she did.

My sister, Kay, also runs 1000mph at all times.  She is the busiest person I know.  So when I wished aloud that she would let me decorate it, she jumped at the opportunity.  I was beyond thrilled.  I love doing crafty little projects.  It's fun to me.  Everything you see below was made with less than $50 total in paint, stain, sand paper, and other supplies.

This is in Zeke and Zane's room.  They have a sports theme.  I (with the help of Chris) broke up some old pallets and reshaped and re-nailed them into a "blank canvas."  Then I painted them gray.  After they had dried, I sanded the gray down so it would look worn and older.  Last, I painted the various sports balls onto the boards.

This is in Owen's room.  He has a hunting theme.  This time instead of painting the wood, I stained it a darker color.  Then I painted the hunting logos on them.  This is the Browning logo, the Primos logo, and the Bone Collector logo.

I couldn't leave Kali out, so for her room, her sign says, "Some girls are just born with Glitter in their veins!"  After I finished this one, I gave it a once over with glitter spray paint.  This sign will blind you if you set it out in the sun. :)

As you walk into her house, this little sign greets you above the dining room.  I didn't paint it.  It's a stick on, but I think it looks really good.

This is an entire pallet that I sanded and stained a very dark brown to match the chocolate colored wall in her dining room.  Once it was hung on the wall, it made a beautiful shelf.

The next one was an old window frame that I sanded down.  I attached burlap to the back of it with a staple gun.  Then I (and a small army) affixed 3 different strands of twine running across it.  I stole some really old and weathered clothes pins (minus the red one in the middle) from Mom's clothes line to hold the pictures on.

Then there was the last one.  It's my favorite.  We took some old (I mean very old) window frames from the old salt mine on our ranch and I cleaned the windows.  That is the original glass in each of those windows.  I cleaned and I scrubbed and I scrubbed and I cleaned until I finally found the magical concoction (Lemi-Shine and Vinegar) and got 50 years of hard water stains off of those windows.

Next, I sanded down all of the wood and had some major fights with some spiders, but I finally got it clean.  I was going to stain the windows, but Kay liked the old whitewashed paint that was on them.  I have to admit, I really like it too.  It makes it look more rustic.  We used some picture corners and attached her pictures to the glass.

Kay found the letters at Hobby Lobby and I stained them.  This hangs in her massive living room.

So happy for my sister. It's a beautiful home.  Thank you for letting me help with the decorating.

Movin` on up there

It seems like every where I turn I'm reminded of just how old I am. Not that I think 31 is OLD, but I am quickly remined how young 31 isn't.

•On September 11th, I was trying to explain to my students why we remember that day when one of my students raised her hand and informed me that none of them were even alive "way back then".  What!  I was in college and had a job during the 9/11 attacks.  How is it that I am teaching students who hadn't even been thought of yet.

I used to be the youngest teacher on our campus.  I taught with teachers that I had while I was growing up. Teachers who occasionally would slip and call me by my maiden name. All of those sweet teachers are quickly retiring and being replaced with teachers way younger than I am.  My current teaching partner is 21 years old.  I'm middle aged.

One of the joys of being a school teacher is that you are still forced to take a "yearbook photo" every year, and for being a good little teacher, they reward you with a free 5X7 of the lovely visual that will forever haunt you in that dreaded year book.  I got my school pictures today.  Who is that lady staring back at me with the parentheses around her mouth and the thought lines accenting her forehead?

Metabolism, not just slowing down but screeching to a halt!

My nephew, Owen, asked me today if they had phones when I was a kid.  Seriously!  How old does he think I am?  I rolled my eyes (after I slapped him up side the head) and replied that we just sent smoke signals back in my day.  He giggled and laughed like a 13 year old girl then tried to explain that he meant did they have phones that texted back in the day.  This got me.  I really had to think about it.  I'm sure that there were phones that texted way back then but not everyone had one.  I surely didn't.  Does this really mean that texting has just come about since I've been out of high school?

I guess aging is better than the alternative, but I had hoped I would do it more gracefully...

Sortin`

What's better on a Saturday morning that sorting Halloween candy. (I appoligize for the harsh morning sun in these pictures)

Trick or Treat

This year I had a hard time with the boys costumes.  They could have been train engines from Thomas the Train, and I could have painted really cute boxes for them to wear.  The could have been Mario and Luigi and I could have made cute hats and painted on mustaches.  Instead they wanted to be superheros.  More specifically, Batman and Superman.  How do I make that cute?  I could have sewn. I could have painted.  I could have done anything they wanted and they wanted to be plain `ol Super Heroes.

I considered it the low point of my parenthood life when I checked out with two store bought Halloween costumes. Talk about a parent FAIL!

 I pouted and complained about having to finally hand over the reigns and not be allowed to pick out the cutest Halloween costumes.  Then I saw how their faces lit up when they were finally allowed to put the costumes on.  I saw how excited they were to fly around the house with their capes.  I realized that Halloween is about what they want, and I accepted that I have BOYS, who dream about saving the world and crushing bad guys.

So there you have it, Superman and Batman.  Good thing we have been working out and have a nice set of ab muscles to fill out the costumes.  ;)

First, we went to the trunk or treat that was held at the school.  We loaded up our bags with lots of goodies.

There, we met our bestie and fellow fighter of crime, Spiderman (aka Kayin)

The Three Amigos (another costume idea they wouldn't go for) continued around the parking lot gathering lots of loot.

Then, we hit Aunt Amy's house.  She invited us in and gave us the yummy chocolate that she had hidden in the kitchen for really special Super Heroes.

We swung back by our house to make sure there were no villains and gather a few more friends (and empty our full candy bags so we could fill them again), then we set out for some serious trick or treating.

At the end of the night, we had a laundry basket full of candy, and after a few threats that Daddy would take away our candy, we passed out in a blissfully wonderful sugar coma.

Superman, ready to save the day!

Batman, protecting the innocent.