The Fishpaw Family

Good does not always win

2011-09-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

I believed in someday and it disappeared without warning.

The break is over

2011-05-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

I took plenty of time off from updating this blog and its time to get back to it. Why? because i need it. I love reading through the history of my kids, seeing how they've grown up and remembering thoughts i had as went through different stages/phases/life events. :) So I'm starting back up... i hope to make 5 entries a week for a bit. That's really to take care of the 30+ draft blog entries I've written since December 2010. Wish me luck

The Monkey: Easter 2011

2011-05-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

The egg hunt included some special 'golden' eggs that actually looked like dinosaur, spotted eggs. Any child who ended up with one of these received an extra special gift from the TPC. In Scott's case he found a yellow spotted egg that awarded him a stuffed monkey! He LOVES this monkey. its not like he doesn't have 1 billion+ stuffed animals already; he does. But this monkey seems to have an extra special place in his heart. (Maybe its because jack Jr does not have one!)

Caption: Scott hugging his new monkey. we almost got a picture of the adorable smile.

Captions: Scott asked me to watch the monkey but cousin Skylar decided she wanted to hang out the monkey instead. Look how cute she is dragging it around. And big cousin, Scotty, let her. :) Awwww maybe i do need a girl? haha that is a JOKE.

Caption: formal Easter pics? And of course, the new monkey is in them. This was taken Easter morning on our way to church. :)

Easter Egg Hunt 2011 at our fav place, Craig Ranch

2011-05-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves the egg hunt at Eastertime even though I've still yet to figure out what it has to do with the celebration of Christ rising from the dead. But it does represent spring, newness and fun! So ... it sure is fun that we can particpate in an egg hunt with good friends and family without the madness of public outing.

Caption: my family at the club. (l-r: Jack, Kellie, Jack Jr, Scott, Skylar, Angie, Mia, Tyler, Mom, Dad)

Caption: Tina and Collin

Caption: The kids at the starting line!

Caption: Mimi helping Skylar find the eggs

Caption: momma and her boys after the successful egg hunt.

Ideas: Political Newsletter

2011-02-21T18:26:00.001-08:00

I have a lot of ideas about anything and nothing. I usually outline the idea which ends up nowhere but some random piece of paper that I might find years later. Execution on these ideas is rare. So I thought I'd hijack my own blog and put the ideas out here for me to reference at a later date. Maybe someday I'll make it past the outline stage. :)

Political newsletter

I'd like to write a newsletter on 'political/social' topics. But this newsletter would have a totally different tone than any i've read because it would focus on being informative rather than trying to persuade anyone vote a certain way.

Outline of the newsletter
- Describe the topic. What is the definition(s). Frame the argument. Similar to what Justin Amash does on facebook.
- Is there a law, regulation, guideline, policy, etc that is under consideration for adopotion of repeal?
- What is the present circumstance that brought on discussion
- what are the arguments? Similar to the economist.com and how the debate is presented by 2 sides.
- Where to get more info on both sides?
- where do your congressmen stand? (links)
- the people writing the sides (like me) would do so anonymously to eliminate pre-judgments based on the writer's assumed affiliation.
(In addition, authors could practice writing the 'opposite' opinion of what they think. Good debate practice.)

No identification of party affiliation for either side of the topic. people need to decide what they think without being told what to think. i'm guilty of this too. Sometimes I might read something on cato and think 'wait! I don't agree' even though 90% of the time I do agree with cato.

Maybe include polls on where people stand. Again similar to economist.com

Topics for mini political newsletters

see 2011 legislative agenda and perhaps follow that schedule
certain taxes
portions of obamacare
portions of prescription aid
head start.
no child left behind
earmarks
understanding committees in congress
net neutrality
collective bargaining for public employees

Updating the blog

2011-01-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend I'm busy posting a thousand blog entries that were partially started but hung out in the 'Draft' folder for a few months. I like to keep my blog updated for me to read but lately haven't found the time to keep it current. So please forgive the massive number of 'picture' posts you'll see below. Eventually I'll get back to writing witty, insightful commentary. ;)

Jack Jr, the football stats freak

2010-12-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I don't even know where to start as the stories abound. I might have to write a book of Jack's sports musings. Well, today's entry will just have to suffice for the tip of the iceberg. Hang around him long enough and you'll get the pleasure of talking football for hours.

The above picture was taken after hours of nonstop talking about college football rankings. Why is Alabama #16? Do you think they will be after this weekend? I think they should be #14? Why do you think #20? How come TCU is #3 all the time? Should Auburn be #1? What is Ohio State? 'Nonstop' truly does not define the level of football talk i had to endure. Soo... after being asked these questions of which I'm lucky I knew a few basic rankings I asked Jack to get on the ipad and 'google' BCS rankings. from the results displayed he should select 'bcsrankings.com'. Once on this page I instructed him to read the rankings. Boy did he ever. It was back to the 'why? why?' so I asked him to click on 'BCS methodology'. (Keep in mind he can read about anything but has no idea what he has read.) Then I told him to read that silently. After a few minutes I heard 'I don't get it'. And I replied with 'neither do I!'. :)

Thanksgiving at Lake Worth

2010-12-01T12:46:00.001-08:00

This year we decided to try a new place for Thanksgiving, my parents' new lakehouse! It could not have been a more perfect spot. Very relaxing. Huge yard for the crazies to play outside. Beautiful water view to provide the calming effect when holidays get nutty.

But really the best part was I didn't have to do any cooking! :) Ha Actually the best part was being around my family: the boys, Jack, my parents, the girls, my sil, my sil's mom, my sil Jody. I love them so much.

I didn't take as many pics this year. Not sure why so these don't represent the entire joy of the weekend. Imagine if you will...

Caption: The view from the lakehouse.

Caption: Scott looking very dapper in the outfit he picked out for Thanksgiving

Caption: The Chefs! Well 2 of them. Angie and her Mom made most of the side dishes at a class the night previous. Then my mom, the guru of healthy cooking, finished up. :)

Caption: Sweet baby Skylar. What am I going to do when she starts walking and won't let me hold her all the time??

Caption: my Jack. look at that charming smile.

Pink Floyd/Roger Water Concert

2010-11-23T12:21:00.001-08:00

Rarely do we make it out on dates sans kiddos much less concerts but we planned ahead and managed to see Pink Floyd (Roger Water) at AAC with some good friends, the Nguyens and the Scammahorns.

Since I have never been to Pink Floyd I wasn't sure what to expect. Now I understand why people enjoy partaking in 'herbs' while listening/watching the show. Um... some crazy, twisted, off the wall stuff.

To start it off:

Caption: the picture on my new concert t-shirt. i know, right???

Caption: Scott and Kamala

Caption: Me and some strange guy I picked up.

Caption: example 1 of the weirdness. this came down during the 'we don't need no education' song.

Caption: More attention was paid to the videos and the wall being built and torn down than the actual singing, at least by me. My mouth was agape the whole time.

Turkey Trot Fort Worth Nov 2010

2010-11-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

Since Mimi is busy preparing to run the marathon at end of January she graciously signed up not only herself but both boys in the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot run. (My mom ran 13 miles in the cold, drizzly rain. Sadly, we did not stay to see her finish. I think she is a wee bit crazy. ;) Kiddin, Mom!)

But the boys ran the 1 mile in the cold and beginnings of rain without issue.

Caption: Mimi and the boys getting ready to run!

Caption: Look at the stride on Jack Jr (in green pants)! 6 years old. :)

Caption: Buggy running in the middle (purple hat, brown jacket) and Mimi (yellow)

Caption: The boys finished the run with a Turkey photo

More good times at Mimi and Pappy's lakehouse

2010-11-17T09:02:00.003-08:00

At the lakehouse after the TCU game - Nov 2010

Caption: Buggy playing with sticks at Mimi and Pappy's lakehouse.

Caption: Jack showing off catching the soccer ball. I had no idea the number of gaves one can play with a soccer ball. We played at least 3 different kinds only 1 of which was soccer.

caption: Jack displaying the new sarcastic look he gives.

Caption: Soccer!

Caption: all the kiddos playing together. Love Skylar and Mia!!

Football, football but this time TCU

2010-11-17T09:02:00.001-08:00

This family sure has a lot of football fans. Every day we talk football. EVERY DAY. (see another post for how crazy its getting.) The fun is in attending the actual football games. Luckily, within an hour we can see our beloved TCU Horned Frogs play! My parents always buy us tickets and take care of the food, shelter (we head back to the lakehouse for ... you guessed, more football) and fun. :)

Caption: Jack and Mia playing catch at the tailgate. Tyler, Scott and Skylar are on the receiving end. Dad and I observed while chowing on some bbq sandwiches.

Caption: After TCU won the game! This pic ranks as one of my favs.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Jack

2010-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

Sweet Jack turns 6. I know every parent thinks this because its truly impossible not to... but where does the time go? Seems like yesterday my Jack entered this world. It could be due to the fact that I like this picture all the time. All the time. His cheeks just jump out at me! I digress... Jack has grown in to an even sweeter, smarter, kinder kid than I could have ever imagined.

For the birthday breakfast Jack requested pancakes in shapes. I'm not sure if I was supposed to cook the pancake in the cookie cutter or if I cut the pancake with the cutter. I opted for the latter which made the remaining pancake portion... mine! ;) Caption: Jack, Scott and a million cookie cutters. This represents about half of the ones I own.

For his birthday we didn't want to have a party but we thought dinner with friends would make the day special. So we invited a few close friends to dinner at Jack's favorite restaurant, Hibachi Rock. (coincidentally we ate there last year for his birthday. consistent child.)

Caption: Jackson decided to eat his meal with chopsticks like one is supposed to do. He even tried to eat the cupcakes with them! In this pic he is taking the candy corns off the cupcakes. Quite a talented fellow and pretty darn funny (this is a posed reinactment because the original movement was hysterical. he tried to sneak the candy off the top even though I am sitting right across from him.)

Caption: (l-r: Jackson, Jack Jr, Connor, Collin) Jack Jr's best amigos that could join us for dinner.

Caption: The kids were not so impressed with just having dinner so jack jr organized some random game they played on the floor of the restaurant. At first I stared mortified at them because its the floor! of a restaurant! but then realized they were quiet and not running around. Little wins, people. Little wins.

Caption: Jack wearing his new fav blanket, shockingly Alabama.

Camping in the backyard

2010-11-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

For Jack's 6th birthday he wanted to go camping. We had planned to go to a state park but the weather turned a bit and we had football to watch so we made some adjustments. These changes didn't seem to bother Jack in the least and turned out to offer a lot of fun! As you can see from the pics we camped in our huge backyard. :)

Caption: Boys acting silly in front of the tent that they helped Daddy put up. We had tons and tons of blankets, pillows and stuffies; I'm surprised there was room for the family to sleep.

But did we sleep? Um no. Scott wanted to lay next to Mommy. (well... rather on Mommy. he lays his head on my stomach which could be endearing but i find most uncomfortable when trying to sleep.) Jack Jr didn't want to sleep 'by himself' so he tried to snuggle in the 2person adult sleeping bag with the rest of us. Lets just say that pretty much no one got a lot of shut-eye but we did get some because I awoke to people talking. It sounded as if it was coming from inside the house. Freaked me out. After I woke Daddy Jack to check it out and scared the kids it turns out that the guest room's (just over the backyard) alarm went off at the highest volume possible. The voices were ... talk radio. :) Hahaha Needless to say we went inside to the real bed with comfort and warmth.

But what did we do in the evening... we said we couldn't go inside because we were camping afterall! So part of the fun included a treasure hunt through the woods. I hid a few random things so that the boys and Daddy could take flashlights around looking for items. (This was all Daddy Jack's idea.) the boys had a super, fun time!

Caption: Scott found the ghost village made of lollipops covered in tissue.

Caption: the boys crossing the creek to look for treasures amongst the tree stumps

Caption: Sweet Jack for his birthday celebration. I love this kid more than I can ever express in words or actions.

My girl, Carly, tied the knot

2010-11-02T06:27:00.001-07:00

And what a beautiful bride was she! After spending a week in Vegas for work I flew to Scottsdale for the wedding. Jack had already arrived as he had a golf 'meeting' earlier in the week.

Caption: me with the gorgeous bride after she had said 'i do'. i loved her dress especially the back of it which I had the privilege of bustling for her! :)

Caption: (Chris, the groom) The reason I'm in the middle of this pic? I introduced them and 'brought' them together. Symbolic, don't you think? Ok. You are right. it just looks weird. :) but a good pic of the 3 of us.

Caption: I don't have a pic with me, Carly and Becca so its me with Carly (in an above photo) and me with Becca, my work besties! :) Becca and I hung around the entire weekend. Got to spend great time eating breakfast at the cutest cafe; walking through the local farmer's market and just generally had time to ourselves. was so nice and relaxing!

Caption: Hot women (me, Cari Cooley, Becca) enjoying the wedding! This is before we hit the dance floor. :)

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2010! The boys helped me decorate the house and yard for 'Halloween' but we actually did the harvest theme. I'm too scared to look at the skeletons and gory stuff on a regular basis. Gives me the heebie-jeebies. However, on our decorations shopping trip to Garden Ridge the boys pressured me a bit so I relented and allowed a few cheerful ghosts in to our home. :) They seemed to have fun decorating and even the shopping part!

Caption: Jack Jr and Scott ready to head out the door.

Not much to report this year. The boys picked out their costumes without any rationale or seemingly any thought. Strange. But I suppose the funny thing about Scott's costume was that it scared him more than others. He refused to wear it to school for the Daffodils Halloween parade because the face was so 'scary'.

On Halloween eve

Since The Settlement in Craig Ranch has little to no trick-or-treaters and Jack's friend from school, Conor, invited us to join him for the evening we decided to head to the north side of Craig Ranch. :) Our good friends, Collin and Tina joined us. Someday we might actually have trick or treating on our side... someday. But I'm just happy we have neighbors in those old vacant homes. ;)

Caption (l-r): Ann, Peyton (in Jack's Kindergarten class), Jack Jr, Collin, Scott, Conor (in Jack's class), not sure, Lauren (Conor's sister) and not sure. :)

Lots of candy was bagged. I dutifully went through everything to make sure I got some of the good ones. Oh wait. i mean ...inspected for evil things in the bags. (Which I'm not sure why we do that. Don't we know most of our neighbors? It felt like we talked to all of them when the kids walked to the door. Oh well. Guess its a good habit to keep since I get to sort through anyway.)

Acting nutty in the yard

2010-10-31T21:30:00.001-07:00

The boys have a random, new habit... going shirtless. I'm not sure why this started but it has. Jack even keeps his shoes on. But shirt? noooo.

Well, the yard looked sooo nice and we just spent time putting up the fall decorations that I thought I'd take a picture of the little guys + the yard. Bribing them with candy will get them to hug each other but nothing will help those goofy smiles. Photo experts: how do you teach a child to smile for the picture? Both smile all the time but what is captured in the pics looks nothing like their adorableness... or maybe it does and I have blind love?! :)

Caption: Pic of the stone entryway added this summer. The arbor came from a wedding hosted at the TPC Club. Since the boys enjoyed running through it (after the wedding took place) I thought the arbor would look charming as an entryway to our back yard. Even after I offered to pay the owners give it to us for free and drive it to my house! How nice of them! I just hope it lasts a few years because the vines didn't get too far in growth this year. :)

Caption: The new walkway and porch area connecting the 2 existing porches. This was completed awhile ago but I never posted an updated photo. Before and during photos here. When I reread that entry I gave way too much credit to the landscapers. They were awful! I had to redo all the beds as they merely tilled the soil without removing the grass. Shockingly, grass grew right back where in the plants' new locations. Ahhh notice the beautiful bed along the backside of the pic. that is my (and the boys, of course!) handiwork.

5 boys?

2010-10-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

I always thought I wanted 4 boys just like the Cooley family. With 2 boys I'm halfway there! But then... my longest time friend, Steph Donato, asked me to watch her 3 boys while she hosted the First Annual Donato Golf Tournament to raise money for breast cancer research. (It was crazy successful!!) The answer was easy... of course! I love those boys and I wanted to do my part to help them raise funds for the important cause.

And I seriously thought it wouldn't be a big deal. I don't know why. 5 kids? Easy-peasy japanesey, right? Um... not so much. All day with 5 boys and I didn't have enough energy to talk that evening. I swear. The boys (all fo them) were the sweetest of angels but the most energetic angels EVER. holy cow! How do teachers do that???

Caption: 4 of the 5 looking as innocent as ever. (l-r: Jack, Jackson, Scott, Ryan)

Caption: How they really looked when I asked to take their pic.

Caption: I didn't get as many pics as I wanted to. I was running around like a crazy woman! Thankfully no one lives near us so we had free reign of the alley. Every car (2 battery powered ones, 2 bikes, 1 skateboard, 3 big wheels) and anything else kid-related in the garage came out to play with. The alley was littered with toys and balls! But it sure was fun to watch the kiddos play and devise their own games. I loved it. Though I ended up exhausted I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Sweet bedtime ritual

2010-10-28T19:19:00.001-07:00

Every night that I put the kids to bed each of them requests the same thing... for me to sing and rub their backs. 'Mommy, will you sing Jesus Loves Me'? So I do. :) Of course. But its a bit different than the song you might know.

Scott is first. Lights off. Calming down. Mommy rubs his back and the words are sung in my scratchy, off-key voice.

Verse 1 - Jesus Loves Me (just like you know it)
Verse 2 - Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise: the glories of my God and King, the triumph of His Name.
Verse 3 - And He will raise you up on Eagle's wings. Bare you on the breath of dawn. make you to shine like the sun. and hold you in the palm of His hands.

I sang this to both boys when they were babies. I couldn't think of any nursery rhymes so I just put a whole bunch of songs together that I remembered from church and that weren't Christmas songs. :) I guess it stuck. A perfect length for them to feel sleepy.

I hope someday they will recall these words and feel comforted in both that Mommy and Jesus love them dearly.

Good bye to Jack Jr's first tooth

2010-10-08T09:46:00.003-07:00

It was bound to happen; with all that wiggling and poking the tooth fell out only Jack jr was so busy he didn't even notice it! We had friends over to watch some football and the boys were having a big time in the yard and it just got lost somewhere. Jack cried serious tears but recovered quickly when we said the tooth fairy would still visit even without the tooth because she knew it was around the house. Afterall, she has xray tooth vision to know when kids lose their teeth that way she doesn't have to check under all the pillows at night.

I told Jack we (I thought I would help him) should write a note to the tooth fairy explaining the lost tooth. Well, what do you know? He was so worried about not receiving the $5 that he wrote the note himself and placed it under his pillow before bedtime!

Caption: his note. I can't get over that he doesn't know how to spell 'sorry' but 'fairy' he has correct. The tooth fairy did visit and brought him the $5!

Since the writing of this entry Jack Jr has lost another tooth! He can't wait to lose them all so he can make a lot of money. ;)

Mommy, can I play with the 'i p a d'?

2010-10-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Um yes.. Its possible there are more games on the ipad for these two than for the owners of the ipads. :)

Jack Jr, Star Student

2010-10-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

Every kid gets to be a Star Student in Frisco ISD and Jack Jr was honored with the award in September. Its quite a cute thing to do. In Kindergarten they have several activities that celebrate the child starting with creating a poster of themselves. The school gives the child a poster to fill out and add pictures to. I thought I would sit down with Jack to answer the questions. Wrong. I awoke to him telling me he already answered the questions and could I please tape the picture on to the poster? Hmmm... this should be interesting. I wasn't sure his favorite animal nor what he might write for the 3 interesting things.

As it turns out Jack's favorite animal is a scorpion! And he likes Alabama football, eating at Sonic and wants to be a Nascar driver?

On Friday of that week all the Star Students for each grade gather on the stage during the whoe school assembly. Apparently they lead the other children in the school songs. But not our sweet Jack. he stood shell-shocked the entire time. He didn't move a muscle. Not to rub his head, not to sneeze, not one movement. I'm not exaggerating.

The above picture does not do it justice but imagine, if you will, Jack (in the white shirt, 5th from the left) standing in this exact pose through 3 songs while the other children danced around and generally enjoyed being front and center. Comical describes the scene.

Caption: the famous poster

Random pics off my phone

2010-10-08T09:30:00.001-07:00

Caption: the boys having a pretend tanning oil spray war. this is while we headed off to the lake. Guess they wanted to get in the spirit!

Caption: Scott trying out the new wakeboard. Looks like he has some style and form!

Back to my first love... at work!

2010-09-14T07:12:00.001-07:00

Last week I started a new job within my beloved company, SAP. :) Yes, I truly do love this company because it has been very good to me over the years. Sure, sure. There were rough spots when I worked myself too many hours that seemed humanly possible but often that was my own doing; SAP just took advantage. :) But its like growing up with family... I've been here 12 years (with 1 year stint at a competitor).

After 5 years in Global Communications (like the group at your company that has PR and Investor Relations but I was a Dircector of Operations) I decided to head back to my roots and try my luck as a Solutions engineer (aka presales). More stress? Likely. More fun? Yes. Closer to benefitting the bottom line? Yes! I'm hoping to make a difference. :)

I will get to demo our Business Intelligence solutions to customers. Ask me about it and I'll show you the cool stuff. If you are lucky I might even create some stuff for you because I need to practice with real data. :) Software is my love as well as meeting new people trying to show them the value of these great solutions... it just can't get better. (Well, with my current education level this is the best. Some day its law school; don't forget.)

Anyway, I'm off on a new adventure! Wish me luck. :)

Party at my parents' new lake house

2010-09-14T07:10:00.003-07:00

This Labor Day we were treated to a party at my parents' new lake house on Lake Worth. Not just me and the boys but all of our friends and my brothers' friends too! So many kids attended I couldn't keep count but I'd venture to say that all had a great time. The lake house has a huge yard, a shaded porch and a fabulous 'beach' to play while others go for rides in the ski boat or paddle boat. My mom, as regular readers of this blog know, is the queen at being creative with kids' activities. I think she had them picking up 'fancy' rocks out of the gooey lake to put back in the yard. :) How she makes a paddle boat ride fun I'll never know but they clamored to join her!

Some photos:

Caption: Mia and Dylan playing.

Caption: most of the boys eating lunch. Scott and Jack on left side and Dylan, Ryan and Jackson on right side.

Caption: Daddy Jack driving the friends around on our boat. Skiing and tubing were the popular sport with the kids. The guys (Jack, Tyler, Jim, Tucker, others?) decided to disappear for 'awhile' to surf! Good thing my dad drove his boat around too or the children must have become restless. :)

But the best part is what my brother and I planned for my parents... a birthday celebration. Having their kids, kids' families, and tons of friends around was a top birthday celebration for them. We sang, ate some cake and had glow rings for the kids. Just look how happy they are! Happy Birthday, Mom and Dad! I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with you.

Amazing Little Hearts - visiting patients on Labor Day

2010-09-14T07:10:00.001-07:00

Who wants to be stuck in the hospital during a holiday? no one. I guess no one likes being stuck in the hospital anyway regardless of holiday. :) Nevertheless, on every major holiday Amazing Little Hearts brings up food and good conversation. (We are ALL talkers.) This year we had even more people, more activities and dare I say that it was the most fun holiday meal?

Caption: Adorable Gracie Lou. Supposed to be marrying Jack Jr but it seems Ms Gracie is popular so she'll get to pick her suitor. ;)

Caption: In addition to food, our gifts and a massive bundle of homemade blankets we were treated to a video by Cat (Catherine) for her Girl Scout project. Unfortunately, she was not able to make it person but she skyped us! Hi Cat! The video featured information on congenital heart defects (chd), interviews with families affected by CHDs and interviews with our beloved Doctors. Beautiful compilation!

The Girl Scout Trip also made adorable heart themed bookmarks to give to families as part of our goodies bag.

Caption: Dr Thomas (ped cardiologist) visiting with the Durhams. That's baby Tucker in the foreground and Cindi (ALH member) in the background.

What I learned on my Facebook hiatus

2010-09-14T07:09:00.002-07:00

You may know that I post to facebook quite often and have since I joined about 2 years ago. I like it. I like reading about others. I like that there exists another way to keep in touch with peoplel without having to use the phone. But ... I got a little sucked in reading about people, links the post and soon my time was lost. I opted to take a 1 month break from facebook. And I did it!! (well I cheated twice but you'll see why below.) With any self-discipline you hope to learn something from the exercise. Did I learn anything?

After a week of 'not checking' fb home page I finally felt the withdrawal symptoms subside. i'd like to say i had clarity of thought which is what prompted this move but i never achieved that. i found other things to distract my brain.

i missed being connected. working from home is lonely (but efficient!) and without extra activities i can feel very out of it.

i cheated twice because my cousin posted pics only on fb so i had to get on. i did a good job of not looking at anything else but i think i did update my status because we bought a new boat and that info just had to be shared. :)
i set a tone that i could break away which now Daddy Jack thinks i should do all the time. :(

i guess i'm narcissitic because i enjoy thinking up something to share on fb. but i also look at it like providing the missing links in my actions and thoughts. i hope that people know where i come from on a myriad of issues.

more people read updates than you think! i had many friends say they missed postings and i didn't even know they looked. lurkers!

did i get more free time? not really.

you are out of the loop if you are not on facebook - my work, my social friends, my heart group, everyone has some representation on facebook. its a great way to get and share info. if you rely on fb to provide this info then you are way lost when trying to get back in to the loop.

So i've been back full force on fb and loving every minute of it. But I search around much less and try to be 'efficient'. :)

How is Kindergarten?

2010-09-14T07:09:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I wrote the below awhile ago. His parent/teacher conference is Monday, October 11 so I'll post another update after we hear her assessment. :)

====================
Well, I am pretty sad about the whole thing but feel a bit better after speaking with his teacher, Ms Cox. Managing my expectations challenges me every day and with my boys' education its even worse. With Jack jr in particular...

I read the Kindergarten curriculum on the TEA (Texas Education Agency) site. If you are bored take a look. I cried reading it. Jack can do 95% of everything on the list... already! And its not that I think it makes him smarter than others or even smart, in general. It just means a whole year without learning new skills. blah blah I get that he will learn to socialize but it wasnt like he didn't do that at Daffodils!

At curriculum night I truly panicked. They read straight from the guide linked above. I wasn't feeling well either which may have contributed but the books and the things the teachers talked about (irritatingly, they talked to us as if we were the kindergartners) made me have tears roll down my eyes. My sweet, smart, adorable boy will get bored and won't learn much. I know that it seems like I'm 'DRAMA' and I am but it really saddened me. I love to learn new things and want the boys to do so as well. But I stuck it out and waited to talk to Ms Cox, his teacher. She made me much happier!!! She walked through some additional work she has him do and will have him do in the future. She also explained the reading program that will kick off soon allowing him to read at his level (whatever they may be) and improve from there rather than starting at the general reading bar. I'm still a bit nervous about the other things in school - a lot less education than I expected and little math - but I'm working on chilling out and going with the flow. I still supplement his work just like my parents did. :)

The good news? We are blessed with a caring, smart teacher for Jack. She even seems to have taken a liking to Jack. They have a lot of inside football jokes. ;)

Best friends at Work - Bachelorette Parteyyyy

2010-09-14T07:08:00.003-07:00

My girlfriend, Carly, is getting married this October (see story of how I get credit for this! :)) so we had to throw a bachelorette party for her! Becca (my gf from work who lives in San Jose) flew to Dallas for a weekend of good times at the Ritz. We know how to do it right, people!!

Caption: Getting ready for the party! Look at those killer shoes Carly (in black dress) has on!

Caption: ready and looking hot! (Becca, Carly)

Friday night we hosted the party with Carly's other Dallas friends. And what fun it was to meet liberals (aka leftwing nutballs) in Dallas. I had no idea there were any in this Red State. hahaha I'm totally kiddin. But they were YOUNG. Jeez. Maybe I'm just more aware of my age these days but the 5 years difference seemed like an eternity.

Surprisingly one of the gals was someone I knew from TCU! We were in school at the same time... always thought she was a cool cat and guess what? she still is. :)

On Saturday, Carly, Becca and I set out to walk off all the alcohol and food we ate the night before. We did walk far... and then found some super fun shopping at which point we decided to buy everything that fit us in several stores. :) Becca is the best shopper friend you can have... she will tell EXACTLY how you look in something. Is there a better type of person? You sure wouldn't want to spend a bunch of money on something that does not look good on you.

After shopping and eating we walked back to the hotel for some relaxation by the Ritz' pool and then off to get massages. We were so relaxed we had to talk outselves in to going out that evening. But we did. and I loved the restaurant: Tilmans Roadhouse in South Oak Cliff. Best ribs I've ever had. Ever. In fact, so impressed that I think I convinced Jack we should drive down there (45 min) just for the ribs!

Caption: Becca, Carly and Kellie in South Oak Cliff. Not the best pic because i always act like i'm about to be cut off in a picture... leaning in awkwardly every time. But my girl, Dais, is gonna help me learn to pose better for pics. Right, Daisy?!!)

Then more shopping and back to the Ritz for girl gossip time! We talk about everything - politics, work, girl stuff, life. Its really fun, engaging and makes me very happy. I love both of those two very much.

We have professional ALH photos to use now!

2010-09-14T07:08:00.001-07:00

Caption: The board of directors' heart healthy and CHD kids organized in the shape of a heart. I can't believe they all laid perfectly still for the photo! Maybe they were tired as this was after many photo shots and bagels!

Our non profit, Amazing Little Hearts, had some professional photos taken by our friend, Heather of HeatherBelle Photography. She does amazing work as you can see from the photos here. But we're most happy that we finally have some professional shots we can use in our marketing and communications activity!

Caption (l -r): Kate (HH (Hearth healthy)), Jack Jr (HH), Bennett (HH), Scott (TGA), Kellie, Clarissa, Jennifer, Grace (HRHS), Jake (CHD), Dr Mendeloff, Emily (HLHS), Cindy, Stephanie (HH), Ethan (TGA), Amy, Emily (HH), Ethan (HH), Kaylee (AV Canal), Jackie

Caption: The Amazing Little Hearts Board of Directors. (l - r front row: Kellie Fishpaw, Jackie Erwin, Dr Mendeloff (not on board), Jennifer Cooper. back row: Amy Durham, Clarissa Lindsey, Cindy Shaw)

Caption: Dr Mendeloff in the foyer of Medical City Children's Hospital. The heart artwork just happened to be the perfect background for all the CHD kids to hold hands with Dr M.

First day of School 2010

2010-08-24T17:15:00.001-07:00

The 2010 school year has finally arrived and not a moment too soon. We sure had fun this summer but something about the start of school says 'time to get serious, organized and on a schedule. Fun on weekends!' ;)

Both boys attend school. Scott at Daffodils Progressive Montessori (Lemon room) and Jack Jr in Kindergarten at Ogle in FISD! So for Scott it was simply returning to something familiar though I hope this year some of the academics will stick.

Jack, however, started kindergarten at a govt run school (aka public). Nothing wrong without that, of course. It's just that I worry about him being challenged at school. And then i worry that i'm the 'every' mom who thinks her child is smart so then perhaps I shouldn't worry. Ahhhh I will say that the work he brought home the first week almost made me cry. it was something that Scott does! I don't know what i expected the first week but i surely thought they would read or start on math or social studies? He worked on matching letters (uppercase letters)! I couldn't find the schoolwork agenda on the website but curriculum night is this Thursday. Perhaps I'll have a chance to discuss. Wish me luck that I'm not a nutcase! I just want my sweet boy to feel challenged at school and to love learning. He can't love it if the first thing he says to me is 'i already knew all of that'. (It was not uttered in a snotty way, btw. I asked him what he did at school and very nonchalantly stated it.)

So with that craziness out of the way (sheesh, kel, give the teacher's a break!)...

Caption: Jack at Meet the Teacher night. :) The whole family went to the 'show'. We really love Ms Cox: energetic, kind, able to talk over screaming kids and willingly signed up to teach kids that are the same age as her own. :) But the interesting thing for me was the lack of kids paying attention to the teacher. Kids just ran around while their parents sat listening to the teacher, the kid's teacher!!! I hope that is not a sign of things to come. :( I was also quite disappointed in what people chose to wear. To me, its one of those events where you have a chance to put your best foot forward and show your kids that this is a place to respect. Um... apparently not everyone thinks that way. Now I'm sure these are nice people! I'm not saying otherwise... i just thought people would make an effort to look better at this event. Just an observation.

Caption: Jack and Scott on the first day. They took baths the night before so the hair is a bit cuckoo and yes, it needs a cut.

Caption: Buggy striking a pose with his backpack

Caption: Jack sitting at this table on the first day of school. He didn't cry. Mommy didn't cry. The family was just fine. Why? I don't know. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem like that big of an event for me. I don't want that to take away from others at all; its only how I feel.

2010-08-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Out on the lake

2010-08-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

This was the summer of the lake. Jack Jr has become a pro at skiing; he just pops right up like he's been doing it for years! Video in the next blog post. He learned the boating signals and really enjoys telling us to go faster and slower so that he can go over the wake. :) Its funnier, though, when he points to his ears and gives the thumbs up cuz he wants the music louder.

Caption: telling us he is watching us

Caption: Scotty Bug trying to be a good sport while jack skiied and learned to wakeboard (no pictures yet)

Caption: Daddy Jack has really taken to surfing behind our boat! He even took the boys on the board as well. Here are Jack and Jack surfing!

Watching Frisco Roughriders with ALH

2010-08-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Our CHD support group, Amazing Little Hearts, wanted to have a summer get together but not at the hospital. :) So Amy D planned an awesome night out at the Frisco RoughRiders game. It was pretty darn HOT outside but we braved it as did many other friends and families out to support the group. A super nice man took a group photo of us (certain friends, Jennifer Cooper, need to send one to me so I can post it) wearing our fancy ALH tshirts. :)

The boys really enjoyed watching the game. Though it seemed like I spent a lot of the time explaining the scoreboard I'm pretty sure I spent more of it saying 'no, you may not have any more food. no, you may not get up.'

Caption: Sweet jack wants to be a baseball player

Caption: The boys being silly

Funny things they say

2010-08-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Aug 4

Schooled by Jack jr. My kids eat healthy for the most part. Jack has recently started complaining that he can't have junk food. they do get desserts all the time! anyway, i explained what a balanced diet is and why its good for the mind/body. he brought me the goldfish box and read 'whole grains are part of balanced diet' and then stated he should get more of them! yikes... better watch my arguments

Aug 11

Jack gave Scott a card. Here is what it said.
“I love you Scott. You are a good boy. You can fite”

Aug 24

Scott: While getting ready for school Scott and I discussed that he came in to our bed last night and we had to take him back to his bed. In his version ... Scott: 'mommy, that sound woke me up. Mommy: what sound? Scott then imitates Daddy snoring.

absolutely priceless. Mommy: happens to me every night, buddy.

August 29
Scott: 'Mommy. Daddy. I want to watch Indian And Jones'

Happy 12 Year Anniversary

2010-08-09T09:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary to the person who makes me laugh the most in this world... still. :)

Diet Dr Pepper, the frog

2010-08-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend we had exploring with the boys. Amazingly we had a 'cool front' Saturday morning so the boys and I decided to head out to the creek bed, all of 30 yards from our house, to see what creatures we could find. And did we! But first... while I got dressed Jack Jr packed a bag to take with us. My little organized planner... the bag had water, a snack and some baggies for our creatures. :) Mimi has taught him well because I'm not even that organized!

Off we went to find a snake, a frog and rolly-pollies (sp?). I wasn't took keen on looking for snakes but I thought it wouldn't be too bad if we found a garden snake. Jack, however, wanted to see one of the snakes that he read about ... cobra, water moccasin, rattlesnake, etc. I'm pretty sure i didn't convey to him the danger if we actually ran in to one of those because he was disappointed we didn't see one. ew!

But we did catch a baby frog, not even an inch long! I saw him hopping around so we chased the little fellow till i could put my hands over him. then we put him in one of the cups Jack brought but we had no top. Jack convinced me (seriously he had several good arguments) that he should run home and get a top. Looking both ways to cross the street he ran on home. Moments later we had a top for the frog. since it was a see -hrough cup we were able to get a good look at his sticky fingers, his breathing, his skin. Like regular science class! I asked Jack what should we name this guy and he said 'Diet Dr Pepper'. What?? The kid is obsessed with this drink he cannot have. So our frog now had a name. We carried him around while we searched for more creatures. we saw a praying mantis that jack touched and loved the fact that the mantis would just keep walking. I told the boys the mantis knew Kung Fu! ;) (Kung Fu Panda, people). After awhile we decided to take a break on a slab of concrete in the middle of the tiny creek. Jack got out the water and shared the teddy Grahams with Scotty. I decided Diet Dr Pepper was scared and we needed to let him go. But since we were near water I asked the boys if he could swim. They didn't think so but agreed i could let him out to try it. he swam! and boy howdy that was funny to watch! Jack caught Diet Dr Pepper again to touch his skin one last time. Adios it was as Diet Dr Pepper hopped far away from us.

Soon enough we saw water bugs and the adventure was on again... :)

Thompson Family Skiing Together

2010-08-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

Here we are on Lake Brownwood, Texas at the Thompson - Cooley Family reunion 2010. (Colored tshirt pics coming up soon.)

This video is only 2 minutes long but awesome in content. Tyler, Me, my Mom and Dad all skiied behind our (Fishpaw) boat! Its worth noting (though it will be obvious) that Tyler and I got our athletic genes from our parents... they are 60+!!!! And out here skiing on 1 and 2 skis. I hope I'm that in shape when I hit the same age. :)

Thanks to Jack for driving the 4 of us like he's been a trick ski boater forever. And thanks to Ty Cooley for videoing and narrating. It wouldn't have been the same without his under-the-breath commentary. ;)

Thanks, Tyler, for the crazy idea and believing it would be no problem to execute. :) This was a fun thing to do and will be a memory to cherish forever.

Another great Dr Appt

2010-08-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Dr Mendeloff did such a fabulous job repairing Scott's heart that we got another great review from Dr Thomas (ped cardiologist) and Dr Moulton (pediatrician).

Dr Thomas said his heart looks awesome. He shouldn't have any problems with his heart; can play any sport and might even be a pilot. Next appt in 2 years! I just can't believe how blessed we are to have such a healthy, happy kiddo.

Dr Moulton said he is right on target with growth - height and weight proportional. hearing, sight, development - all perfect.

Another photo of the charming little guy.

The black and white knight won!

2010-07-27T21:25:00.001-07:00

Scotty Bug loves to dress up like a knight and he loves to play fight with Jack so what better birthday present than to take Scott to the Medieval Times to celebrate? Monday night the four of us joined the Black and White team cheering for our King's knight! Front row seats to watch our guy win! Jack Jr stated later that the woman who brought food was right. Right? 'Yes' Jack said. 'She said that the louder and harder we cheered the more our knight would win'. That, sweet Jack, and some extra money for the middle section. ;)

Caption: first part of the fun... a new sword bought by Daddy

Caption: the Castle where the knights will fight!

Caption: adorable face

Caption: the family with our black and white knight hats on. In case you've never been to Medieval Times when you arrive you receive the colors of your knight for whom to cheer. Apparently, everyone is told the Green knight is the bad one who will fight against the King and his knights. So you get to 'boo' when the green knight comes out to participate in the games!

Caption: me and the boys getting ready to chow down on the food you only eat with your hands. ;) That was fun! I can't even recall what the funny things they called the food. Raven = Turkey, I think.

Caption: Jack cheering for the red knight and the black and white knight. The poor red knight lost in the 3rd round of the tournament.

Caption: the bug was so tired on the way home. asleep with his new toys and hat on. :)

And speaking of birthdays... Pres O

2010-07-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe the number of emails I've received from the President or someone on behalf of the President. At least 5 times a day I get an email from Mitch, Whitehouse.gov, Barackobama.com, etc. Today, I think they've crossed a line. Michelle Obama emailed me. She actually is asking citizens of this country to sign a birthday card for the President! Oh dear.

Like the White House PR team did not create this. A possible scenario...

PR Person A: 'I wonder how we can make the President seem like a person again. The Polls are showing that people don't like his presentation style. He seems standoff-ish. What can we do?'
PR Person B: 'His birthday is coming up. Why don't we ask all of His people to wish him a Happy Birthday. We'll even call him Barack. You know, make him seem personal. Almost human, if you will.'
PR Person A: 'Brilliant. we'll create an electronic card that everyone can sign! But the Pres won't even see it. we'll make sure that any names on the signed list are then put on other email lists. Soon we'll be bombarding everyone!'

And if you actually think Michelle came up with this idea please read parts of the email

This has been a big -- and hectic -- year for him. After signing the Affordable Care Act and Wall Street reform into law -- and completing his first year as president -- I think it's safe to say we will remember it for a long time.
And I know full well how much he credits this movement, and the work of supporters like you, for the change that we've accomplished.
So I'm putting together a birthday card that I would like you to sign. Together with other Organizing for America supporters -- and me, Malia, Sasha, and Bo -- we'll wish him a happy birthday and let him know that we're ready to take on the year ahead alongside him.

Birthdays are for parents

2010-07-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Scott's 4th birthday! my little baby woke up this morning all grown up or so it seems. I may have written this last year, in years before and will likely on in to the future as well for on this day I think of my little guy's entrance in to the world and I cry. Every single freakin time. Happy tears, of course. Relief tears too. The nervousness we had knowing about his heart. We are just amazingly blessed that he is so healthy and happy and loving. I really just want to hug him up, give tons of kisses and never let go. Whatever will i do in 10 years when he won't let me do that?!

New baseball card available

2010-07-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

These pics from my friend, Kelly, could really be baseball trading cards!

Can't you just see this as the cover... Jack Fishpaw, McKinney Royals.

And on the back this one... Runs 4.4. Batting Avg (Coach pitch): 700. Weight: 42 lbs. Height: 44 inches. Bats: right handed.

A new boat and all the fun that comes with it

2010-07-20T04:39:00.003-07:00

Ever since we had to sell our previous boat we've been itching to buy a new one. Every summer the lake seems like the perfect place to enjoy the hot weather and every visit to my parents' lakehouse brings envy of the boater's lifestyle. So... we bought a boat. Just like that. We called up Phil from Buxton Marine and told him we needed a boat. :) Naturally he had one on his lot that was perfect for us, a 2007 Super Air Nautique with a sound system only few can appreciate (I'm not one of the few) and extra tanks to make the wake super high for surfing and wakeboarding. I'm a slalom girl but I guess I'll try to pick up the other activities now that our boat is perfecto for them.

Caption: the boat. I don't have a better pic at this time. You'll just have to trust me on the cool factor. Pics of a 2010 version.

The boys like to tube right now, Jack Jr especially. he loves to bounce up and down and try to get thrown off. Scott will ride but only if Mommy or Daddy joins him.

Caption: We didn't last long in this position. scott could barely stay in the tube so he and I switched seats.

I don't have many pictures because of the 4 times we've been out on the boat drama has ensued 3 of those times. :( On the very first day we had the boat we took it out on Lake Lewisville (we have it in a slip at Pier 121) the glove box locked with our keys, camera, wallets and THE KEY TO THE glove box in it. Several hours later a nice tow guy helped us out. We did drive the boat around during that time; we just couldn't do much - like blow up the tube because some necessary piece was... in the locked glove box.

The next time we took out the boat it was Monday evening and quite windy. We weren't really paying attention to the rope cuz we focused on getting situated. Well, the rope went under the boat and promptly got super stuck on the prop. nice! we drifted right in to the marsh though Daddy Jack tried to hold us back by standing in the icky marsh and pulling the boat back. At 7:45 pm on a Monday night not many boaters in sight. Finally, the boys and I managed to flag someone down. Nice young college kids towed us in to our slip where Daddy Jack used a handy Swiss Army knife to cut the rope from the prop. So day 3 and we lost 2 brand new ropes (one cut and the other ruined from the towing.) Sweet! Just buy more because money grows on trees!

I wish that was the end of the drama but there are lots of little stories I'll have to tell you over a drink... on the boat! Even though its been a rough beginning we've also had a lot of fun. We can't wait to have friends and family out on the boat. As soon as we've ironed out a few more kinks we'll be ready to host. Get ready!

Some good reading

2010-07-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

My reading updates seem to follow a quarterly schedule. The last entry in March is hard for me to understand. I can't tell what I liked or didn't so I might change up the style. And I might keep changing it! ;)

I got an iPad for Mother's Day and have since read 4 books on it. The idea of having a bunch of books accessible at any time makes me super happy. Usually I read 3 or 4 books at a time because I just don't know the mood I will be in when I have the time to read. But absolute fav part of the iPad has to be the highlighting capability. Its kinda cool to see passages that other readers have highlighted in the book and contribute your thoughts with highlights. I can take notes that make sense to me and refer to them any time. Two tiny drawbacks are the ability to tag the note (so that you can pull up all notes with same tag) and the ability to download the notes to a file. No doubt those will come!

Books Read (in order of how I liked them but the rating is minor. I liked all of these reads.)

NurtureShock - Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. my absolute must read for every person! I'm gonna write another blog post (maybe 2 or 3) about all the cool ideas in the book
The Alchemist - Paul Coelho. I think i highlighted the entire book. So many nuggest of applicable, inspiring thoughts. I might buy the Kindle version so I can have those ideas at my fingertips.
Lone Survivor – Marcus Luttrell - about the navy seal who lost his whole team in Afghanistan. Interesting read about navy seal training and mental toughness, the terrain in Afghanistan, the love of country instilled in the seals
FlyBoys - James Bradley. Eesh. I had nightmares after reading this. I don't really recommend but at the same time its good to know history especially when its not glossed over.
The Help - Kathryn Stockett. Highly recommend.
The Ezekiel Option - Joel Rosenberg. Fiction but scary to how parallel this is to current day events. Based on the book of Ezekiel in the Bible.
Sarah’s Key - Tatiana de Rosnay. Read this for book club and really enjoyed it though it was heart breakingly sad.
The Boy in the Striped pajamas - John Boyne. very different view of the Holocaust. Wroth the quick read.
sTori Telling – Tori Spelling. Surprisingly funny. Endears you to her! I will read her other books if nothing more than she is pretty down to earth. Wish I was her friend.
Carry Me – Carson Leslie. written by a teenage boy with pediatric cancer. Tear jerker but also provides insight in to how to talk those with cancer. What a courageous boy.
Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult.

On my List

Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs (currently reading and its boring. i hope it gets better toward the end)
Rich Kid Smart Kid - Robert Kiyosaki (Time for Jack Jr to really learn finances!)
2 more books in the Left Behind series - though I'm not sure I will get to these. Kinda tired of reading about the end of times. ;)

Free Tips - updated

2010-07-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Being blonde changes a lot of attention that you get even when you weren't seeking new attention. As you know from fb and this blog i changed my hair to very blonde with many challenges. After several fixes to it its finally a decent color but probably looks a bit better than normal because i have tan. I don't know what it is but the guy at TSA commented (apparently the blonde is better than the brown in my ID), some strange dude at the gas station thinks the blonde looks good with a blue dress, a very cute young guy on the plane didn't think i had kids (flattery is a good thing) and even Jack has noticed that it looks much better! My tip? Go as blonde as you can if you need a little attention. ;)
Victoria's Secret's bathing suits are not made to go in water unless its just a 'dip'. A dip as in the kind in which you don't get your hair wet. They do not hold up well if you want to go in the waves at the beach with your kids. And they definitely should not be worn on the lake if you want to go tubing with your kids.
If you really really want to test your patience then buy a boat. Anything that can go wrong will likely go wrong. And you will fail the first patience test... Guaranteed.
Do not spray sun block in your house. Its very sticky and makes the windows, floors slippery. Plus your house smells like coppertone which would be ok if it was the oil. Not cool when its the 70+ sunBLOCK.

Just more fun times this summer

2010-07-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

In the previous post I put up a video of Jack encouraging Scott to keep trying the slip n slide. Scott was bummed that he couldn't go all the way to the end of the slip n slide so Jack decided to 'help'. I got the video without them seeing me. :)

When they get bored the creativity kicks in... here the boys made wishing sticks with pencils, glitter glue and foam stars. They learned these from Backyardigans, i heard.

2010-07-11T21:33:00.001-07:00

Golf Camp at TPC Craig Ranch

2010-07-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

The boys attended golf camp at TPC Craig Ranch last week. The camp had about 10 kids in it with most of them being 7+. Jack, Collin and Scott were the youngest but did all the same activities including learning to chip. ;)

Fortunately, they allowed Scott to attend as well. (I'm pretty sure they didn't want 4 year olds and definitely not 'almost 4 year olds'.) But he did really well according to the guys who worked the camp. He followed the big kids and tried to follow the lessons. The instructors were pleased that Scott lasted 4 days til 2 pm each day!

Caption: Of course they have their own set of golf clubs! And its not Snoopy any more. Daddy Jack bought them these a few weeks ago for no reason other than 'they needed them'. Aww 'needing' golf clubs? Only in a serious golfer family. :) But its a great sport that they will enjoy well in to their future.

Caption: Jack Jr looking so professional carrying his clubs. ;)

Bragging on the Boys - Updated

2010-07-07T06:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't written one of these Bragging entries in, what seems like, forever. As I've mentioned previously these entries are more for me. I enjoy looking back and remembering all the stages they've gone through, what they did at certain times, and cute memories. This serves as their virtual baby book since they don't have actual baby books. I never even bought one for Scott.

Jack Jr - Age 5.5

A very sweet kid. I wrote this elsewhere ... When we (me, Jack, Jack Jr and Scott) drove to Galveston for vacation everyone got tired as it was late evening. Scott fell asleep, then Daddy Jack made mention that he would like to sleep. I was the driver so Jack Jr said 'Daddy, you can go to sleep. I will stay up with Mommy.' 5 minutes later sweet Jack Jr was sound asleep. Another story: I recently read a book that gave me nightmares. (Yes, nightmares!) Jack and I discussed it the morning after. I said I feared I would have them again. So Jack Jr says 'Mommy, I will come in to your bed and hold your hand if you have nightmares again'. I teared up as I'm doing now. :)
Well mannered. At least to us he does an outstanding job of yes ma'ams, no ma'ams, please, thank you. After reminders he does a good job with other adults too. We're working on his looking people in the eyes to say 'nice to meet you'.
He agrees and thinks its hysterical to call himself any combination of the following: Bottomless Pit, turkey leg, dude, turkey, chicken head.
He likes to read everything: the newspaper, signs, magazines, books and mommy's email! Mimi bought him a subscription to 'Backyard' magazines that have articles for kids about animals, weather, and the like. He thinks he is a big kid when I let him turn on his bedside ligth and read before he falls asleep.
Loves to play 'Words with friends' on my iPad and Daddy's iTouch. Just yesterday he played all of my games for me! Usually we just play each other but I guess he got tired of looking at all the games I had not played so he did it. :) Its a really great way to teach multiplication, strategy, spelling. Not so much vocabulary because it doesn't tell you what the word means and he (like all others) will just put his highest point letters together to see if they make a word. :) He has learned so much already: more words. how to play the game. the fact that he needs to use a 'Q' cuz its a high point value and that you can't make many words without vowels. :) He counts and adds easily but adding in the multiplier is something he still practices. The strategic thinking is much fun to figure out even for me! is this the highest point total i can get? if i play here what does that give my opponent for options? Jack now lets me know when he gets high point words. I think his highest (without any help) is 35. I'm sure he will know as he keeps all those random statistics in his head.
He loves to play on my ipad and has mastered Skeeball, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and something else weird. He knows how to buy apps but thankfully does not know the password or heaven only knows what we would have on the iPad! He actually thinks its HIS to share with me! He says that I've played on it long enough and its his turn. :) When he does play just the games I try to make sure he does 25 correct Math Magic answers. Add/subtract are too easy now so I've made him go to multiplication. I'm not sure how to teach division so we'll have to wait on that for a bit. ;) He also likes the piano app, Antograms and Talking Carl.
He learned from his daddy the correct use and states it often 'Mommy, why are you slow playing me?'
He saw a pile of ants and said 'its a dogpile on the ants!'
The child is loyal to Alabama. He tells on anyone who wears Texas or other 'against Alabama' teams. He thinks he's going to Alabama (no way) and will play quarterback or some position in football. He might be as bad as his Daddy when it comes to this obsession!
He is the little observer: he doesn't miss anything and rarely, if ever, forgets things if told. Try it out. I do all the time because it amazes me what he can remember.
Very focused. laser-like almost.

Scott - almost 4

The first word he wrote without help or prompting (like in school) and was legible was 'Mom'. He loves his momma. truly.
He likes to tell Jack things. 'Hey Jack, there is a dead cricket over here.' 'Hey Jack, I just saw a motorcycle.'
He still shares just about everything. If you don't have part of whatever he is playing with he will giv eyou some without being asked or told to. He just seems to have a sense of fairness.
He is the little lover. Every morning he comes in to snuggle and give kisses. He likes to be held, give kisses and hugs too. Its the best part of my day because its incredibly sincere, sweet and even generous (he gives away free kisses all the time).
He is part cow. He drinks nothing but milk, milk, milk. Always asking for more milk... 'teeny milk?'
He enjoys identifying letters. In stores, when reading and when Jack is reading Scott likes to tell you the letters he sees. But if he misses one in a word he has to start the entire word over again so that its completely correct. I don't know why or if it means anything but he confuses j and f, d and p, a and v. He does this consistently.
He taught himself how to count to 10 in chinese since he heard Jack say it so often. I can't wait for him to start Chinese school in the fall. I think he'll really enjoy it! Or maybe I'm just hoping so.
He is a singer and dancer. Sometimes I'll look over to see him humming away and shaking his shoulders to some tune in his head. He makes up words to songs that are to his own beat. :) He tries to sing the words to real songs. Its hysterical to hear what he thinks the words are sometimes!! His favs are Nickelback and Train. Now if I could just figure out how to harness this. I don't know a darn thing about music... maybe he would enjoy piano lessons or other music lessons?

Both

The LOVE to wrestle and play flight. You can find them in our bedroom with the Incredible Hulk fighting gloves just whacking each other and having a big time. They even know when they are getting out of hand (usually Jack knows) and will take a 10 second break. Both count to 10 and then take a deep (dramatically deep) breath before they dive back in to fighting. We also play 'hooker hook' in which they try to get out of my grip either from legs or arms. Its quite the workout for me to do both as they are strong!
They have started playing to together!! Yesterday they ran through the house playing bus driver. Um what? Usually they play some crazy, creative game like that or rock collecting from our own yard. I'm so happy they enjoy each other's company. they still fight and try to pick on each other but its more good times now than not so good times.
They love Tae Kwon Do with Master Darrell. They enjoy teaching mama the moves!
Jack will ask Scott 'what color is this?' because he doesn't know, for sure, the variations in green, red and orange. Since he is color blind and we told the boys what that means Scott is always very nice and truthful in his reply. He tells Jack the color and moves on. Jack is grateful and moves on too. Its a kind, brotherly love interaction. I hope its indicative of the care they will have for each other in the future. :)
Both still fight for mama's attention. I'd say it was sweet but its become somewhat painful as its hard to provide them both attention at the same time. We're all practicing getting better.

Sick Buggy

2010-07-05T19:04:00.003-07:00

Poor Scotty Bug has thrown up all morning. No fever but he is so lethargic. Little buddy. :( Here he is lying next to Momma.

Caption: he has all his blankets and his 'baby' is kissing him. :)

Family time at the lake for July 4 weekend

2010-07-05T19:04:00.001-07:00

Have you ever tried to explain to kids what Independence day is? I think its easier to explain Memorial Day, Veteran's Day and Labor Day than it is July 4th! Jack tried hard to understand why we celerbate our independence from another country who happens to be our 'bff'. :) And Scott just looked at me funny and wanted more 'fireworks'! I guess one has to start somewhere so that maybe in a few years they'll understand.

Mimi and Pappy let us use their lakehouse on Lake Brownwood for the weekend. What fun! The lake had plenty of water for skiing and tubing. We pretty much spent 3 days in the water and just lazing around. Its hard to put in words how fun it is to hang out with the kids. I always mention how 'funny' they are but this weekend was a time to observe them and who they are becoming. Both covet attention but in different ways. Scott likes to sing and dance - his own songs that are versions of popular songs like Train Hey Soul Sister. :) Jack likes to fulfill the 'boy role' expectations - rough and tough, game for anything. He loved tubing and wouldn't stop until he the cuts on his arms were so bad they bled. Yes and he didn't cry! A huge step for him.

The best part of the weekend was the fireworks! It probably is for everyone but in this case Daddy Jack bought some super cool ones! We sent off some big ones as did our neighbor so we had our own fireworks show and a good one at that.

Caption: Daddy Jack lighting the single fireworks. We also had the 5 at a time! By the end of the night I think his finger was burned. :( I would have helped but I'm deathly afraid of the fireworks. I could barely watch them go off so close to me and the boys!

Caption: Sparkler fun!

Caption: Jack acting goofy. He had just pretended to be a quarterback throwing the ball. Not sure this move and how it relates but it was funny. :)

Caption: Nice dock! Boys getting ready for the show!

Caption: eyes to the sky!

The current 'Karate Kid' is much better than the first one

2010-06-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Jack and Scott take Tae Kwon Do from Master Darrell Bryant at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Craig Ranch. the boys really enjoy the class as most of their friends attend but also because Master Darrell is a 'master' at leading these crazy energetic kids through exercises (I don't know the official word for the poses, moves they do). Scott even tries to teach me some of the moves!

Master Darrell took kids from his classes to see 'Karate Kid' at the theatre. Thanks, CAC, for the free tickets!!

Here is a pic of the kids with Master Darrell. Clearly we didn't read the memo about wearing the uniforms. ;)

I really enjoyed this movie and found it much better than the first one. The great parts of this movie: the girl (simply adorable), Jaden Smith (great actor and perfectly cast), the mom (omg! she was hilarious), the setting in China, the emphasis on 'focus', the jacket training is more relevant to kids than wax on/wax off, the moves (love the snake charmer move and the kicking the bell training).

I didn't find the movie too graphic (as some in the media have claimed) but perhaps I'm de-sensitized. Neither of the boys seemed upset with any level of violence. But Scott did hold his hands close to his face just in case he saw something he didn't want to. :) Was very cute!

Taking a break from facebook, twitter

2010-06-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've felt that my mind is all over the place. It is because its so darn hot in Texas? or because its summer when I think many a mind seems to slow to a lull? Or because I still don't have the brain working at optimal speed after months of kinda working on it?

The issue: I cannot concentrate like I used to.

The research and part solutions:

Drinking more water. Yes, I know that doesn't seem like it would fix the issue but the research both mine and from other sources seem to indicate otherwise. After drinking 10+ glasses of water a day I've found that my overall health has improved (general mindset seems positive in the mornings rather than negative; stress level drastically reduced; reduced headaches and reduced severity and my body shape has stayed trim without much walking or change in eating habits). Just 6 weeks ago I drank ZERO glasses of water per day. Many cups of coffee provided my daily liquid. A few evenings a week I'd change that coffee up with a drink. (wine, tequila or hot sauce mommys) The book You're not sick; You're Thirsty has provided some proof points to help me remember to drink more. I hope I find time to write more about it but to a few key points that I like to remember: 1) Water increases the body's rate of absorption of essential substances in food 2) Water is directly needed for the efficient manufacture of neurotransmitters, including serotonin. In addition, I hope over time some of the damage I've done over the years with major lack of water that I will fix the 'local droughts'.

I've added in a multi-vitamin (and yes, I made it to 36 without ever taking one.) Oddly, I always have better concentration when I remember to take it. Its just the darn remembering!!! Not easy because the size of the pill resembles something you'd give a horse and has an unpleasant aftertaste. I'm trying!!

I cut out most dairy (I won't pick off the cheese in dishes nor pizza) and seriously reduced the number of desserts I eat in a day. Down to just a cookie or ice cream every other day!

So with all these adjustments I still think my mind is scattery. I think I've found the 2 last pieces to fit in... 1) another entry about meditation and 2) starting July 1 through September 1 I will not be on Facebook nor Twitter. That may seem odd in comparison to other changes I've made. But what is the biggest time drain on my brain? Answer: Fb, Twitter... an even split between work and personal time. I spend hours (I haven't measured this but it would be a cool study) a day reading tweets, links from those tweets and facebook posts.

Most of the people I follow on twitter are work related and for whatever reason it causes me to think that to be in touch and provide value I need to read every darn thing they post. This takes forever!! I read the blogs. I read the links. I read the convo back and forth. After which I've determined that it was or was not relevant! Wth?! How did i just waste that much time?

On facebook I end up reading statuses that make me laugh (some of my friends are hysterical), cry (truly some people have such sad things happen to them) and just generally want to reach out to people to let them know they are on my mind or in my heart.

All this facebook and twitter activity leave me with little time to reply to, demonstrate care other than these channels and get my mind organized as to what I REALLY need to do and what I truly care about. So I'm taking a hiatus. I hope. Don't tempt me!! I'll be back because I do enjoy those channels!

2010 Member Guest at TPC Craig Ranch

2010-06-20T20:22:00.009-07:00

Posted without the text. now updated.

Caption: Scam, Me, and Jack heading out to the annual Saturday evening Member/Guest party. This is only 1 of 2 evenings where the better halves are invited. ;) The rest of the week the men play 36 holes every day! What I like about this evening is the good times. we dance til 2 in the morning and get to walk home.

Could these girls be any cuter???

2010-06-20T20:22:00.005-07:00

On the second half of our vacation Angie and the girls joined us. I'm pretty sure I didn't put down on Skylar the entire time. I would have held Mia but she just has too much energy! She even kept up with the boys ...

Caption: Mia with her hair done by my brother. She looks exactly like 'Boo' from the movie Monsters, Inc. Does she not?

Caption: Skylar. my fav shot of her.

Caption: Skylar doing her thing which was just hanging out like this. For the pic I let her momma hold her. ;)

Just some randomness in the Fishpaw household

2010-06-01T09:38:00.001-07:00

For whatever reason getting the boys' hair cut seems to be a major issue. Though both are just angels (now) at haircuts I still hesitate at driving all the way over there (all of 2 min) and waiting (if I called ahead i wouldn't have to wait) and debating the boys about whether they can have a treat (its a sucker... wouldn't hurt). Alas the very thought plagues me... so here is what my sweet boys look like often.

Caption: Jack posing. his hair is much like the kid in the original karate kid. but look at Scott's! He needs to keep his hair closely cut.

I know I've posted a video of Scott riding his scooter but I wanted to make note that both boys LOVE to ride these. they race around the house, through the bedrooms slamming in to each other and the walls. It could entertain them for hours if I could stand the noise that long!

Caption: coming down the hallway. Scott is the better rider but it might be because he is still smaller and more nimble. It could also be that he has figured out just the right turning radius and speed to beat jack at every turn!

The Boys' End of School program

2010-06-01T09:37:00.002-07:00

Ah... the end of the school year. It invokes such memories: lockers closing, figuring out how to keep in touch, saying bye to teachers and friends and hello to leisure time, books to read, workbooks (from my parents), swim team, bowling, lake trips... nothing but good times! What I don't recall is graduation ceremonies or end of school programs every year. Of course, I remember graduating from high school and college but nothing else. I assume its because they didn't have graduation ceremonies and for good reason, imo. Graduating preschool or kindergarten is not exactly an accomplishment in life. I hope I don't offend anyone because I don't mean to. Kindergarten? Why is that something to celebrate? Is there actually a reason that someone knows? I guess if we need something to develop self-esteem in kids maybe graduation should be done at the completion of the highest grade in that school? Such as 5th grade or 8th grade. That might be good. But apparently not for me to decide! :)

In any case, the boys' school held a graduation for the kids moving on to kindergarten. I don't know what you call this but maybe 'Preschool Graduation'. We called it 'The end of school' program. I clapped for Jack when he walked across the stage in a cap and gown (yes a cap and gown!!) I wonder if high school graduation will be special or something to look forward to if one has done it 5 times already? I'm probably making a deal out of nothing because its doubtful the kids remember this anyway... which is why I still attended the program. :) The kids were adorable afterall and had planned a performance of singing and dancing!!

Caption: Jack's class dancing. Jack is on the right with black outfit on and blonde hair. He practiced all the time!

Caption: Jack and Katie

Caption: Scott's class performing. He is 2nd from right. Look closely at his drama skills. :) He has the facial expressions to go along with the dance.

Caption: Jack with one of his best buddies, Alex.

Caption: Scott all dressed up for the performance but not happy about taking a picture.

Nickelback rocks

2010-06-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

Our good friend, Bear, lucked out with tickets to Nickelback in a suite at American Airlines Center! We had the perfect view with plenty of room to walk around visiting or dancing! ;) Since Nickelback of old and new is one of my top 5 bands I pretty much new every word to every song and proceeded to sing them for my suitemates'. Fortunately, rock music is very LOUD and no one could actually hear whether my tone/sound/whatever was accurate (it wasn't). Yet I felt like a rocker!!

Thanks, Bear, for thinking of us and inviting us to attend. Thanks, also, for inviting the Kmans. What is a party without those two?? Seriusly. :) Good times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photos courtesy of Kman Productions.

Caption: Awwww. So cute. Bout to get the party started!

Caption: A little zooming action here but this is the view we had!

Caption: Me and Dais. :) She looks good in blue!!! I have on my standard black. Of course.

Caption: they are the most photographic people EVER as are their kids.

Caption: rocking... too bad there is no photo of my hair flipping and singing. well, maybe that is a good thing.

When its ok to Lie

2010-06-01T09:36:00.001-07:00

Its ok to lie when someone gets their hair colored and it looks crazy especially when that person knows how bad it looks and has talked about it ad naseum on fb. Lie, people. I wanted to be a blonde to cover all the grays that seem to sprout hourly but the color blond was not meant to have such heavy yellow tones. The colorist clearly erred. Those of you lucky enough to see it before I improved it with blonde (white blonde) highlights had a fab view of a yellow beacon.

If you have some issue with lying then just don't say anything at all. :) I promise my hair will go back to some semblance of normal in the next few months. Just bare with me. :)

Mother's Day gifts

2010-06-01T09:35:00.001-07:00

This year I received some of my favorite gifts both expensive and inexpensive. Daddy Jack took the boys to the Jewelry store where all jewelry is a dollar or some such. Scott knew exactly what Mommy would love.. shiny, pink bracelets of course! Jack jr took some time in walking through the aisles. He finally found the necklace that I really needed: a multi-colored, multi-beaded, long strand necklace. I loved them and look at them all the time. I do fear the person who would wear these without them having been gifts from kids. :)

I also received one of my fav toys ever... the iPad. I love it. I knew I would. I've barely parted with it since the wait list cleared and the iPad came home. So much fun being connected all the time without having the horrid reboots of my laptop; being able to access the internet and email without crazy logins; games; random apps with randomly cool info (like the 3d brain!); words with friends and the main reason... iBooks and the Kindle app for iPad. I already love that i can search right away for any book. Sadly the last 2 i wanted were not available in ebook format yet. Ahhhh! So its almost perfect.

thanks, family. i love love my gifts.

I know

2010-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

I swear it happens all the time. darn life gets in the way of blogging. :) many entries coming up. As if you didn't know... i received a new electronic toy, the ipad. When i might have been updating my blog i've been playing around the ipad. But i'm gonna figure out the best way to use the ipad, my work laptop, my home laptop, and my phone and of course, what feels like 18 email addresses (only 3 but whatever). :)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

I used to think that Mother's Day was really just another Hallmark holiday. After becoming a mom the day has taken on new meaning for me, obviously, but it really makes me think more of my own mom than being one. I'd rather not so much pomp around the day but more reflection about the importance of moms in our lives. I don't need a big party or a fancy brunch but would love a card or words to describe what I am to my boys... heartfelt. Overtime I could see how our relationship has changed and that has more meaning than anything.

Did I do this for my mom? No. :) But I've been writing my mom (and dad) often on fb and here. I hope she knows that in many ways I want to be like her - always wanting the best for her children and doing everything to make it so. This includes being tough, letting me fail and learn, loving me unconditionally and providing support through the good times and bad. Over the years I've come to respect my mom and realize just how blessed I am to still have her in my life. We don't always get along (hahaha but now I take meds so its better. no, i'm kiddin) but the foundation of love and respect is there which makes everything worthwhile.

At the boys' school they had a Mother's Day party which oddly included a petting zoo. We didn't get a heads up so I wore a dress for 'tea' as the invitation said. Interesting to see moms in dresses and heals trying to corral kids through a petting zoo. But the kids had fun and that's always a good thing. :)

Caption: Me and the Angels who refused to look normal in a picture. After this many years you would think I've clued in to the secret of good pics but no....

Caption: Jack enjoyed trying to feed the goats. Yes, i know you love his orange shirt and camo shorts.

Caption: Scott found a brush and proceeded to brush (or try to) all the animals including the rooster and guinea pigs. :)

My mom and her creativity

2010-05-10T08:11:00.001-07:00

I mentioned on fb that my mom and dad have this thing for organizing my garage. its sorta become an obsession for them! How do I know this? Well, my mom was watching Skylar while Tyler, Angie and Mia were out of town and she decided that Tyler's garage is in good working order she better continue work on mine. She packed up Skylar and headed over to my house. I was working and didn't even notice she was here until a bit later. I walked into the garage to this...

Caption: That is Skylar! In Scott's old car seat that was in the garage. To appreciate my mom's creativity you'll have to look closely. she used all stuff in my garage (that i wanted to get rid of). The fan was rigged to blow on Skylar. Twine tied the circle toy to Skylar's hand so she would be entertained when she moved. (no toy bar over this car seat.)

Caption: isn't Skylar precious?

Thanks, Mom, for working on my garage. i can't wait for you to come back and finish! ;)

Working on our new backyard

2010-05-10T07:52:00.001-07:00

Since we're pretty much never gonna leave this house (ask me about it after a drink) we decided to put some money in to making our backyard more fun. We had a landscaper transplant a bunch of plants to other parts of the yard. Right now those plants look horrible! but we hope they come back with a little tlc. We then had a concrete patio made to connect the two patios we already have. (Robert from Tera Vista is the man. Great guy! Please ask me for his info if you need some concrete work done!) We'll then stain the patio dark brown and add a creative entrance to the backyard and a washers pit. Much more work to be done ... speakers, bug misters, furniture, plants... but its coming together. We hope everyone will come over anytime and often!

Caption: Jack posing oddly for the pic. Say goodby to the tree and all the plants that are on the walls of the house. And the really-hard-on-your-feet crushed granite.

Caption: pretty sorta but all of its gone! What a waste of space. And whoever decided to put huge shrubs in front of the windows! I have to constantly trim them because they look like crazy legs sticking up when seen from the inside.

Caption: Jack jr watching the workers pour the concrete. they did a really great job. and were super nice to let the boys sit that close!

Caption: Jack Jr posing (that boy just does not want to stand normal). You can see the new concrete patio! Look how our yard has opened up.

Don't worry about the lack of plants. I'm adding back a bunch in containers! So the reasons we did this: 1) play area for the kids especially when ground is muddy from rain. they can ride cars or play with their cars. little kids can crawl around now while parents are sitting near. 2) change the view from the inside - potted plants 3) more seating areas around the sand pit (that will become a fire pit) and to watch kids play in the yard 4) watch people play washers! 5) i can't remember the other reasons but i hope they were good cuz we've already done it!

I love CA - did i really just write that?

2010-05-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Just spent a wonderful week in CA with the greatest of colleagues. 'Work hard. Play hard' ... truly was our mantra. Great conversations. Productive work. Met new people. Fun times. Even got myself a publicist and a life coach. ;) haha

So maybe I don't love the state itself but I certainly enjoy visiting and look forward to going back. :)

Sip n See for sweet Skylar Grace

2010-04-26T18:10:00.001-07:00

This might have been the fanciest Sip n See I've ever been a part of. My niece, Skylar, was born in early March. With the holidays and such we didn't get a chance to have a shower so we decided on a Sip n See. Aka Drink and eat while watching an adorable child sleep. No gifts. just company. Jenn and Cindy sure know how to spruce up a party. Look at the directions! My skill came in handy when I bought the cake and the cake balls. :) Then I took lots of pictures so I could copy this again. Ha

Caption: This is the dessert table. We could have fed an army. Alas there were only tiny women present so we might have done better had we served fake desserts. No one ate a thing!

Caption: another table of beautiful glasses. Look at the flowers! I didn't get a good shot of the champagn glasses but they were prepared with a frozen raspberry and chambord and of course, pink sugar rimmed. (Oh look. they are in the background of the next picture!)

Caption: my sil and Skylar's mom, Angie, and one of the hosts, Jenn.

Caption: sweet baby Skylar being held by the homeowner, Liz. How cute is my sweet niece??

Gardening 101

2010-04-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

I need to take Gardening 101. Its not as easy as it appears. or maybe it is and I'm just not concentrating. Silly caterpillars decided they LOVE my spinach. Its so wrecked there is not a piece to be eaten. Now off those things go to my peppers and mezclan. But... I went to Calloways and bought some organic (smelled like lots of pepper) stuff to kill those suckers off. I'm sure the rabbits will be next - to eat my veggies not to be killed. Ew! Anyway, next year is my target year for a good crop. ;)

Caption: my spinach in happier days. The last bed does not have any plants in it.

Caption: Jack Jr and Scott sure love to help me! Scott especially likes to water the plants and dig up and replant the flowers. :) Very very helpful! But he is such a joy and really tries. Jack is on a mission to have his own garden. I'm not sure what prompted this but he made a garden in the back of his plastic kids' car. See the flowers and leaves. He even watered it. Guess we need to discuss roots again.

Scott knows style

2010-04-26T09:10:00.003-07:00

This was his outfit for school a few days ago. Yes, a tie... with a long sleeved shirt and corduroy pants in springtime. But he was sooo proud of his selections I had to let him wear it. Most days he does pick out nice shirts. He likes to look 'handsome'. :)

Easter Celebrations - Part 2

2010-04-26T09:10:00.001-07:00

Caption: Cousins! Jack, Josh, Ryan (Danielle's beau), Danielle, Mia, Alex, Brandon (Alex's beau), Chris and Scott.
On Easter Sunday the whole family (well not everyone) but a large group came over for brunch and some little kid nest hunts. :) Jack's family tradition involves finding colored nests with little gifts on the nests. Each child gets a specific color and they must look for that color. Mia got to participate this year which was hilarious! Daddy Jack is in charge of the shopping for Easter and the nests ... Mia got a plastic shark and a plastic purse with nail polish, clippers and other random stuff. She is 15 months old. Gotta love Daddy Jack. :) He tries.

Caption: An example of a nest

Caption: Jack jr found some bubbles in his nest. :)

Caption: Tyler, Mia and Angie. Skylar (not pictured) is just 3 weeks old at this time. See Angie! Are you kiddin me? She just gave birth!

Caption: Scott will take on anyone, big or small. :) They are hitting with the huge Hulk hands given to the boys by none other than Uncle Tyler himself.

Pres O emailed me

2010-04-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

I decided to put my political thoughts and rants on my other blog, Texas Tornado Rants. I don't know why but I always feel a bit bad mixing up my family and happy life posts with politics and what not. :)

Check out Pres O email comments here.

For Mimi

2010-04-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Angie remembered to get a cousin pic. This is the attempt. :) We tried just for you!

I spent 10 straight hours at TPC Craig Ranch in one day

2010-04-13T11:57:00.001-07:00

So continuing on the Saturday Easter celebration I spent the entire day at the TPC and ate every meal there. I felt like David Craig! What was I doing? Well, it started with Easter brunch with Tyler and the fam at 9:30. Tyler stayed till about 11:30 so I had to give Skylar back and actually go outside to watch my kiddos play in the bounce houses. The weather was gorgeous and only 4 kids were outside! Jack, Scott, Collin and James. So why take them home when they can play outside (like crazy people) with friends? After several hours I learned that the bounce houses would be there until 3. :) So we continued to stay until more people just started showing up to visit. Kids played. I chatted on the porch. Then Daddy Jack finished golf with his buddies. They promptly sat down and ordered drinks. So we figured... may as well eat dinner here too? Tina and I just continued on chatting about random stuff and watcing the kids play. Finally the entire family was exhausted so we walked home at about 7:30pm! Was a really great day... very relaxing and enjoyable.

Caption: jack and collin shoeless and taking a break from jumping around

Caption: jack and collin discussing their career paths. :) kiddin. who knows what these two were talking about!? likely transformers or their friends at school or how much they love chinese school. :)

Caption: the 3 boys having a treat out on the lawn watching the golfers. Absolutely priceless.

Saturday Easter Brunch

2010-04-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday (day before Easter) we celebrated with Tyler, Angie and the girls at the club. I always enjoy spending time with the fam but sometimes I find my kids energy a bit much for the formal dining table. :) Thank goodness for the other kids, the Easter egg hunt and the bounce houses. And... the fact that I got to hold my niece, Skylar, the ENTIRE time. :) I had no parenting duties because... hello?... i was holding the baby! :) And what a snuggler she was. Oh and smells so much like a new baby. Loved it!

Caption: i never did get a cute one of these turkeys. in each photo they did goofy smiles, sad faces, rock star faces (that's what this one is). but i love their white chinos that sadly are not white anymore. :(

Caption: Living the Dream! we walk every time we go to the club unless its raining or we are heading there from somewhere else. How angelic do the boys look walking with their Easter baskets? Guess who carried the baskets home? Yep, mommy and daddy cuz the baskets were full!

Caption: Mia took Scott's hand and walked inside with him. I have no idea why she picked Scott - did he say something? did she want to hurry? who knows but it sure was sweet. The boys (and all of us) really love Mia Mia. She is like a doll!

Caption: Uncle Ty and Mia during the Egg hunt. Good times! I don't know if she found many but jack jr did. we made him give some away to other kids because (it seemed) he picked up every egg in his eyesight. Scott just opened the eggs to see what was in them before deciding whether he wanted the prize or not. He then proceeded to discard the egg!

2010-04-12T09:48:00.001-07:00

Good times with friends

2010-04-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we had some great friends over for dinner and catching up. While the adults chatted away (and boy can we talk) the kiddos ran crazy around the house. Not really. :) For the most part they were the entertainment. Wait till you see the video I'm gonna post. Holy moly! we have these super fun scooters that we allow the boys to ride in the house though they make awful noise! The kids enjoyed being competitive racing through the kitchen. Donato boys vs Fishpaw boys... Jackson cracked me up trying to get Ryan to go as fast as Scott. Little Mr Competitive! Scott got hurt so he was on a mission to prove himself 'the man'? I'm not really sure. Check out his determination on his face.

Caption: here they watched a movie together sharing the bean bags. So Sweet. Scott, Lauren, Jackson, Jack Jr and Ryan.

Caption: Tuckered out from all the activity. Not pictured: Scott and Ryan. (Scott was in his bed. Ryan thinks he is an adult and hung out with us the whole night. ;))

how does one become disciplined in blogging?

2010-03-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

I always seem to get behind in updating my blog. I end up writing 5 entries or so at one time. Like I did last night and today. So... even though the video didn't change many entries preceding that one did. Take a peak.

Back to figuring out when to write. I read somewhere (I think a chapter in What the dog saw) that gave the advice of just sitting down and writing every morning. Is that possible? I try but then get sidetracked by reading. I find that i have notes all over the place too! Perhaps i will try to organize my notes, pics and ideas and then try to find the time to write or maybe vice versa? maybe if I keep this up I'll never make progress and will just end up writing 5 entries in an evening. hmmmm

2010-03-29T20:27:00.001-07:00

Watching baseball

2010-03-29T20:21:00.001-07:00

Scotty Bug is a great brother. :) He loves watching Jack and team play! Actually he wants to be them... he wears a smiliar outfit; wears his glove; hits the 'ball' and has his own Lowes bucket (just like the team). He even said he missed Jack and wanted to sit by him in the dugout. So sweet.

Caption: watching the game

Caption: practicing his swing

Jack Jr started baseball

2010-03-29T19:27:00.005-07:00

Playing for the Royals coached by Daddy's golfing buddies, Weber and Tallo. :) I don't even know where to begin with documenting the firsts in baseball. I guess I'll say that I think Jack is gonna be a baseball player. Somehow it seems he 'gets' this game but only after being told. You just have to watch him play (every Friday night) to see him stand in 'fielding position'. He never, ever plays in the dirt or talks. he is always 'ready' but so much so that its funny. Play is over. ready. ball didn't go to him. ready.

caption: Ready. :)

Caption: First at Bat! With more practice this kid will be a hitter! He has great hand/eye coordination and an uncanny ability to concentrate. In the 2nd game he hit 2 coach pitches vs hitting off the tee. Yay Jack!

Look how skinny he looks in this pic. He is not the biggest nor the smallest but he sure hangs at the lower end of the small kids. Although some players on the team are 6 already (Jack jr is almost 5.5) he is still a but shorter and thinner than the other 5 yo. Hmmm... more meat? Not that it matters because he is a good little baseball player but I always thought he was a 'bigger' kid. Kinda shocking to see that he is not. :)

We really like going to the games too. So fun to cheer for the other kids and watch them learn. I tell you there is just not much more entertainment than watching 5 year olds learn to play a 'simple' game. Absolutely adorable.

Jack Jr played outfield, short stop and first base. He says first base is the hardest because you have to catch the ball AND then step on the base. He tried just stepping on first base without the ball but that doesn't get the runner out. :) So cute. Coach Weber is awesome. he told Jack exactly how to play first base: foot on base, ready to catch ball, catch ball. :) I think he'll get it next time! Although I think Jack wants to win 'best player' next game. He says he was 2nd best because he paid attention (which is how they win best player).

Caption: Jack sitting on the bench exactly as told. Didn't move until it was time to bat or field.

We are just so proud of our little guy - learning and trying so hard to get better and better. Great goofy grins too.

More snow!

2010-03-29T19:27:00.003-07:00

It feels weird posting the snow pics when its 75 degrees outside but ... that's Texas weather. Snow just 2 weeks ago followed by snow/windy (when these pics were taken) then warm/ windy weather. Now its windy and warmer. Soon it will be HOT just like that. :) I'll have to look at these pics to be reminded of cold times.

The wind blew the snow into some awesome sized snowdrifts. the boys enjoyed getting buried deep in the piles.

Caption: Jack Jr in the bank of snow smiling and loving every minute of it.

Caption: Daddy Jack took the boys outside (cuz it was way too cold for me). Can you believe how deep the snow is?

Caption: Collin came over to play! The boys got a big kick out of putting their heads in the snow and pretending to be stuck. Oh the minds of kids! Such imagination. :)

Mini vacation at the Hyatt Lost Pines

2010-03-29T19:27:00.001-07:00

Caption: On the 'beach'

At dinner recently my girlfriends discussed Lost Pines and how much fun it is to take your family. Jack and I have wanted to take the boys on a vacation (not just the lake and beach though we love those places too!) but somewhere not too far yet a break. Great Wolf Lodge would be fun but it soooo packed. Since Spring Break left us with some time to fill we checked in to Lost Pines. Its a Hyatt!!! Jack always stays at Hyatts when he travels because their reward programs are the best. We got to stay at Lost Pines using Hyatt points. What luck!

Drive down to the Austin area was super easy and fun. We checked in and immediately went looking around the grounds. Pool, slide, beach, Lower Colorado river, trails, wildlife, horseshoes, horseback riding, big firepits, lawns for games, bike riding and more! It is so family friendly that you feel as if you're 'friends' with the people you see often at the activities.

Caption: lots of places to sit and watch the river. so peaceful.

Naturally, I forgot my camera so I only have pics I took with my cell phone. Not bad but its not fun taking pics with a blackberry... to me at least so there are not many pics.

Caption: First activity we did was the GPS hike. This sign scared me. ;) I have had a few run-ins with poison ivy and oak and its not something I cared to repeat. Therefore, most of my 'hike' involved looking for these plants so as I not to touch them! We did a lot about the LCR, the wildlife and even saw a beaver's work.

Caption: Horse back riding! Posing with the hosts! The boys loved riding on the ponies. Scott just walked right up to it like he's known them forever. Future equestrian?

We had such a big time. I can't wait to go again. I just hope they have MUCH better food. Thank goodness for refrigerators in the room! That was our chief complaint... with so much activity and outdoorsy stuff you would think the food would be healthier or at least offer healthy options like fresh fruit! But you can't everything. :) We highly recommend and will make it annual adventure.

Finally... time to read

2010-03-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

oh happy 2010! This year hasn't nearly taken so much from me as the past few years have. And for that i am incredibly grateful because I've finally had a chance to get in some really great reading!

Since my last post I've read I think (my records are a bit off cuz I can't find my famous xls that I started in 1998. i've got to go through all my notes. arrgh) In red are the ones I highly recommend reading but all of them were enjoyable.

What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell
The Piano Teacher - Janice Y.K. Lee
**Same Kind of Different as Me - Ron Hall and Denver Moore
**One Simple Act - Debbie Macomber
Sway: The Irrestible Pull of Irrational Behavior - Brafman
**Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
**Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
Superfreakanomics - Steven Levitt
Always Looking Up - Michael J Fox
The Age of Speed - Vince Poscente
Lighting their fires - Rafe Esquith
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

**I was driven to read a few of these books by The Man Upstairs. I felt that He called me to become more compassionate and each book helped me along that journey.

And no, i didn't read all the ones on my last 'whats up next' list. Sometimes I just can't get in to the books i think i want to read.

What am I reading Now

StrengthsFinder - Tom Rath
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
Leading Quietly - Joseph L Badaracco

What's up next?

Unstuck - Jane Anne Staw
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
Sarah's Key - book club pick! - Tatiana de Rosnay

7 Songs that keep running through my head

2010-03-20T18:22:00.001-07:00

Great songs that periodically run through my head and just won't leave. You know the kind... the one your friend sings only a part of the lyrics and suddenly you hum the tune all day! (And you don't know all the words... ;))

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance lyrics
Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again lyrics
Lady Antebellum - Need You Now lyrics
Finger Eleven - Paralyzer lyrics
Train - Hey, Soul Sister lyrics
Daughtry - No Surprise lyrics
Journey - Separate Worlds (Worlds Apart) lyrics

A quintessential Californian

2010-03-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

Big day for tolerance and understanding. :) While flying home today I convinced my seatmate, a California liberal, that politics are not what they seem. After 30 minutes she even thought I should run for political office! Can you imagine that? I say this kinda jokingly because she was a very kind person and we had a wonderful discussion about healthcare and other political issues. This woman was very pro govt run healthcare option; big fan of greenpeace; on a watch list for protesting the wars; lover of animals; proponent of gay marriage and a hater of guns. :) But that didn't stop me from trying to convince her that govt should be smaller not bigger! The more we talked the more she became respectful of other's (mine in this case) thoughts and ideas. At one point she even said 'Kellie, I like you. I can't believe you are from Texas.' Not sure what exactly she meant by that but hey, she liked me! Score one for open-mindedness and education rather than ignorance and intolerance.

Race time

2010-03-14T19:48:00.001-07:00

Lately we've noticed how much the boys love to run. they run anywhere and everywhere. Its not just sprinting but running with pretty consistent strides. So when I saw the ad for the Allen Eagle Fun Run (1 mile) I thought we should try it out. Jack Jr and Scott ran their first 1 mile race!

Caption: Starting off the run... I think Scott was the youngest kiddo but it was pretty impressive to see so many kids out there. American kids are not as out of shape we thought! ;)

Caption: Scott running during the latter part of the 1 mile. He kept up that pace throughout the race.. well until he saw me. :)

Caption: Jack Jr's stride. He seemed to really enjoy this run. lots of big smiles every time I saw him.

Caption: Jack jr crossing the finish line ay 9:24. If he wasn't slowing down looking for Daddy Jack and Scott then he probably could have finished at 8 minutes!

Caption: Finished. Whew

I think we'll start entering them in more races... I hope they continue to enjoy running through life.

I want to marry again

2010-03-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

Just to do the wedding all over! Have you seen the beautiful dresses, cool invitations, creative cakes and fabulous decorations available for wedding these days? People, you can do anything!!! And everyone is going nutty cool at their weddings. I wish i could attend some just to see the cakes and tablescapes which seem to run from whimsical to breathtaking and everything in between!

Why I am looking at wedding stuff you might be thinking... afterall I'm already married (almost 12 years). :) Well... my good friend and colleague is newly engaged to my longtime, hometown friend!! Congratulations to my friends, Carly and Chris! I'm so happy for the both of you. :)

Their introductory story is one for the records or at least one for my records (as noted by a blog entry). I've known Chris (Cooley boy cousin) for years... since we were teenagers. Always kind, funny, smart and a better looking version of Hugh Grant it amazed me that he wasn't married off early like the rest of us. ;) Carly joined SAP 2.5 years ago and we became fast friends working too many hours and consoling each other in office politics. Carly, too, shockingly was single! She's beautiful, smarter than Chris, has a cool sense of humor and loves the Dallas Cowboys. How can these people not have been snagged?! Well, I know. Chris lived in Dallas and carly lived in New York. Durf. they wouldn't meet until I (yes, i will take ALL the credit) introduced them. :)

Both of these turkeys asked me to set them up with a single friend. I really don't have any and definitely didn't that were in their respective locations. (Technically, Carly did not ask me to set her up. It sounded better in my writing. I just brought up Chris while we were gossiping about men and the lack of smart, attractive guys in our industry. No offense, work friends! Single. I mean single smart, attractive guys. ;)) Anyway, i told Carly about Chris in a nonchalant manner. Chris seemed to think i was joiking when i said i had no single girlfriends. He asked me repeatedly over a few months. Finally... i sent him Carly's name and described her. He wanted to know what she looked like so i said 'shes on my facebook'. He friended her that instant!!!!!!!!!!!!! I freaked a bit because i forgot that i told Carly about Chris and worried she might be upset that someone she did not know friended her. Nope. She remembered and was all to happy to accept that friendship request. :) Then i panicked again and warned Chris that Carly did not share his political views which he'd been ranting about on facebook for days (this was all during the Obama/McCain campaign). Turns out they love debating politics!! ;) Well, i'm not sure they love it but it seems a healthy debate amongst two intellectuals. I can't wait to join in.

And the rest they say 'is history'. Carly and Chris dated long distance for a year or so. Then good ol Texas finally sucked in our girl. Carly will obviously spend more time in Dallas than her previous love NYC. now they can root on the Dallas Cowboys from Jerry World anytime!

Congratulations, again. I can't wait to help with the wedding planning! And be a part of your lives. Cooley-Thompson lakehouse reunion just got bigger!

Slow death of an Idea

2010-03-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Something I'll need to get used to but really don't like. The following story illustrates the slow death of a good idea. to me it represents why it always seems we take 1 step forward and 2 steps backward and i do mean it that way.

After studying a topic for months and reviewing the analysis on said topic i brainstormed ideas that would help our company further improve in this area. The ideas were well received even by the EVP of Marketing who has the power to demand implementation of the idea. but such is not his manner. i was TASKED with trying to get the idea implemented by people with whom i do not even work nor am I even on the same team. No problem, right? wrong. after figuring out how to implement the idea i presented it to the 'not-confirmed but presumed decision makers'. they did not agree with me. ok. i assumed this would happen. i tried every possible way to explain via email and phone calls but just couldn't get them to see the value. one disagreed because the reason for the idea was not well understood but would have gone along because this person understands you can't be the expert at everything and have to take advice from trusted sources. the other disagreed because this person is old school (working in the newest areas of the company!!!) and though an alternative was not suggested the idea was squashed. fine. i'll lick my wounds. in my head i think ... 'the EVP already signed off. y'all can tell him you don't like the idea and why.' nope. they didn't want to so i told him. his reply 'sigh'. yep, that's it. key decision maker at this company and 'sigh' is his response. well, what do you know? you might think i'm bitter about the death of the idea. nope, not at all. that happens. i get it. BUT with incredibly weak arguments by the dissenters, no actual decision made, no final explanation from the 'decision makers' nor the EVP, and a sigh... it leaves me with a bad taste. this is how you kill the spirit. how does improve from this? what is the lesson learned? what about the idea? is it dead? is someone else going to look at it later when more time, resources? who will write about losses for not doing this? And for employees at my company (me, in particular) after this happens a few times do you think we'll to continue to put forth ideas? its doubtful. and not through the previous channel, that's for sure.

this turned out to be a gripe blog post but i didn't intend that. I guess in every line of work one can feel like a policy analyst - constantly churning out well researched, thoughtful ideas that are denied by reason of politics, personalities or lack of understanding of the idea. thank goodness I'm not a policy analyst i couldn't handle this type of frustration on a regular basis. those people must be eternal optimists... :)

Welcome to the world, Skylar!

2010-03-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

My brother, Tyler, and his wife, Angie, had their 2nd baby girl yesterday! Welcome to the World, Skylar. We've been excited to meet you. :)

Yesterday the whole family visited Angie and new baby in the hospital. Oh my goodness is Skylar a big girl. 10 lbs of love with some awesome, chunky cheeks. Amazing since her parents are tiny people! She LOVED her Aunt Kellie. And why wouldn't she? She can tell I would love to have another baby (but i have been struck down so many times I'm pretty sure it won't happen) but that I'll settle for loving on her. I held her the entire 45 minutes we were there. She opened her eyes and listened to me talk. She let me comfort her when she got fussy and she fell fast asleep in my arms. How I so enjoyed it! I can't wait to get on back over there to hold her again. :)

The boys and Mia are just as funny as can be. They looked at Skylar with true wonder. Jack Jr told her to 'get bigger tomorrow'. I assume so they can play with her. :) So cute.

Caption: Scott acted the fool around the new baby. He was goofy-giddy.

Caption: All the grandkids!

What was really special is that my brother, Angie, Mia, sweet baby girl Skylar, my mom and dad, Daddy Jack, Jack Jr and Scott were ALL together in the hospital room. I felt blessed to have such a wonderful family. I'll bet my mom and dad felt the same ....

Government Schools own your kids

2010-02-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

In looking to register Jack Jr for Kindergarten I read the flyer asking for the following:

To Attend Kindergarten Students Must be 5 Years Old by September 1
When Registering • Please Bring

Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Immunization Records
Proof of Residence (For Example: Utility Bill)
Parent Driver License

Anything else? Gene map? Parents' blood type? Mother's maiden name?

This is a perfect example of the government punishing everyone for a few. (you just defended this in your head by saying 'what about all those people that shouldn't be registered there cuz they are illegal or cuz they want a better school?' what about them? we already pay for kids to go to school anyway whether they have the above documents or not. Check in to the El Paso school district. seriously. And vouchers would solve the 2nd issue.)

Why do they need birth certificate and social security and drivers license and address? Can you imagine how this data is misused? (ie we are punished if it does get misused.)

Wish me luck in my quest to provide only 2 of the things they request. ;)

2010-02-21T20:08:00.001-08:00

He speaks Chinese!

2010-02-21T19:00:00.001-08:00

Jack Jr is in the conversation Chinese class at Hua Hsing Chinese school. To celebrate the New Year (Feb 14, 2010) the school held a celebration with some classes performing, traditional music, taekwondo and dragons! We loved watching the kids and seeing the culture represented throughout. The emcee spoke mostly in Chinese so we hardly knew what was being introduced but we sure tried. Hopefully, Jack (and some day Scott) will translate for us. :)

Jack's class. His line was 'ping ping an an'. After each group spoke they all said well wishes for the New Year. See the video as Jack speaks his line loud and clear with no hesitation. Listen closely because the crowd loved it too.

The dragons danced around with the big drums and then walked through the stands. the kids enjoyed when the dragons came close!

Fun in the snow!

2010-02-21T18:34:00.000-08:00

With school closed it was time for some fun with the snow! Jack had a big time running around. Scotty enjoyed it for a bit but decided the cold was a little too much to overcome.

Caption: the Fishpaw snow family. (l-r) Jack Jr, Scott, Mommy, Daddy. Daddy, of course, has an Alabama hat on!

Caption: Scotty has on goggles cuz he wears odd things ALL the time. You can't tell in this photo but Jack jr has some funk snow on his head.

After the snow family we built a snow wall. ran around in all the empty lots just falling down and acting nutty. made snow angels. tried to play with trucks in the snow but according to Scott that doesn't work!

Daddy Jack was stuck in LA during this fun snow storm so i got to take the kids sledding too! I would say it was fun but the first hour was a bit tiring. i had NO IDEA how to make a good sledding surface. we took cookie shoots and i tried super hard but i just couldn't. so we traipsed through the woods to watch the tree branch break and then joined some other families who clearly had experienced snow sledding before. :) the boys really enjoyed sliding down on the backs, doubling up in the other family's real sled and making jumps on the super cool ramp someone built. Exhausted they were but not as much as I. we headed home for a nap. i'm the only one who fell asleep so the boys decided to play outside with just their jammies on and snow boots. not sure what the neighbor's thought about that. :)

Caption: this is Jack going down the hill not 50 yards from our house. and the one on which i couldn't make a good sledding run.

Record Snow in Dallas!

2010-02-13T21:10:00.002-08:00

I read on weather.com that 49 out of the 50 states all had snow on the same day. They've never kept the record before so no one knows its happened prior to last week. The northeast was blanketed in a blizzard; Washington DC was shut down and McKinney, TX had 1 foot of snow. 1 FOOT!!!! that beat the record by 6 or 7 inches. Snow rarely sticks to the ground here... if it does we have enough to carpet the yard but this snow was amazing.

this picture is how the early morning started last Thursday.

And then it continued to snow all day. I watched the beautiful white sky drop snow flurries. Wow. With my limited vocabulary I can't find the words to describe this. Clean, peaceful, heavenly. The evening was light because of the reflection of the snow and the snowfall. Morning brought these scenes...

Happy Birthday, Daddy Jack

2010-02-13T21:10:00.001-08:00

you are very welcome...

One of the best dates ever

2010-02-09T08:48:00.001-08:00

with my sweet Jack Jr. :) My long-time friend, Steph, invited me to attend the Mother-Son Dance in Allen last weekend. She took Jackson and Ryan and I had Jack. I had planned to take Scotty Bug but he was not feeling well and really really needed sleep. :) Parties starting at bedtime are not up his alley yet though he would have loved the dance!

Caption: Jackson and Jack Jr ready to go and looking handsome! Watch out, girls.

Caption: Mommy and Jack Jr. what a cutie. :)

We arrived right on time (thanks to Steph) and promptly got in the picture line so we wouldn't have to wait. Um that would have been a long wait and probably not one I would have done had we arrived even 5 minutes later. After pics we went in to the dance floor where the hilarious DJ was already leading moms and sons on the dance floor. All sorts of crazy moves, fun songs and even the DJ telling the boys when to get their moms to dance.

Caption: the boys dancing though I think they enjoyed playing chase more. :) Ryan was the star dancer with moves I've not seen before and a beat all his own. Adorable to watch. Jack jr just didn't know how to process all of the activity. When the Donatos left Jack moved up to the front with all the other boys and just stood there staring. He barely attempted the moves as he sat mouth agape watching the DJ and the high school dancers perform. It was precious to watch though and naturally moved me to tears. Often he ran up to me to say he loved me. My heart swelled like you can't believe. We did dance one slow song and I held him. He put his head on my shoulder and let me just love him. it was so sweet and one I will treasure forever cuz Heaven knows they do not stay little forever.

After the dance I took him to McDonalds for dinner. yes, it was late but I didn't read the flyer (shocking, I know) and didn't realize no food would be served at the dance except cookies. Nice. But i'm really glad we had the dinner opportunity. Just me and Jack talking. we toasted to the night and fun times.

Top 3 best dates I've ever had...

Jack Jr is color blind

2010-01-19T13:26:00.001-08:00

Its true. We noticed over the last few months that he often mixes up the colors red, green, brown and orange but usually the variations of those colors not the dominant color learned in preschool. I first noticedf it when he and Scott got in to a fight about a color of a car that was burnt orange. Scott said 'orange' and Jack said 'green'. I had to tell the truth when I was asked to weigh in on the topic. :( After a few months of not really believing it we asked Jack to take some color vision tests (ishihara) online. Sure enough he definitely did not see the numbers within colors that we see and in the reverse he saw the numbers the color blind people see. I cried. Why? things could be worse but at that time (and still sometimes) my heart breaks thinking of the colors he won't see; the sunsets; the trees and greenery that I know he would love and of course (as the dr said) because he can't be a pilot. I know that things change and he might be able to be a pilot by the time he reaches the appropriate age... its just.. its out for now.

I've already learned a lot about his color vision (red-green color blind) and sorta how to help him. I told him straight up that he can't see the same colors others do but not too worry or get upset. We'll help him figure it out. Though I've heard its very common I read it affects 8% of boys which doesn't seem all that common but i guess it is when i think that 1 in 100 births have a heart defect.

We did take him to the doctor to confirm so that we can notify his teachers.

Thankfully, he is 20/20 unlike his daddy who is literally blind without glasses.

Caption: this machine shoots air at the eye. Jack thought it was hysterical.

Caption: he enjoyed all the eye tests and kinda acted like he was taking a real test.

Caption: can we get the verdict soon or let me take more tests??? :)

Some days my kids just get cuter

2010-01-19T12:53:00.006-08:00

These pics speak for themselves...

Caption: Jack Jr at Discovery Green park and Scott in Houston

Caption: Watch out! this smile will charm anyone.

Caption: not the best pic but Jack is wearing his pilot's shirt for the flight to AZ. A nice man asked Jack if he was flying the plane today?

Thank you, Mimi and Pappy

2010-01-19T12:53:00.005-08:00

Thank you, Mimi and Pappy for loving Jack and Scott and caring for them as if they were your own kids. I'm so grateful. And incredibly blessed.

The BCS National Champions: Alabama

2010-01-19T12:53:00.003-08:00

If its not clear reading this blog that we are Alabama fans you must not have looked at the pictures too closely. :) Jack graduated from Alabama and has forced the whole family to become worshippers of the Crimson Tide. A little background with the obsession ... Daddy Jack tivos every Alabama game and watches every down. Even for the games when they play the smallest schools with no chance of winning. He reads every website and watches every sports show that might mention Alabama. You can imagine how much fun its been with the National Championship on the line. oh my! A wife can only take so much!!

But I was a good wife and hooked him up with MY friend, Justin, who had a connection for the National Championship tickets. And so the story goes...

After leaving the kids in AZ we fly to John Wayne airport. Justin picked us up with a hounds tooth jacket on and a sign that said 'Dr and Mr Fishpaw' You knew it would be a good time! He then drove us the scenic route (who hasn't seen a freeway?) to San Clemente. We saw houses on hills that looked like they would fall off any second, adorable shops and beautiful views everywhere. I can see why people choose to live in CA.

We finally made it to Justin and Kristin's house where we met their adorable kiddos. I'm not going in to a play by play of our trip but we had an OUTSTANDING TIME hanging out with the kids and the parents. I loved their house, the cute restaurant we went to, their backyard, going for a run on a beach trail and having coffee looking at the beach. Our hosts were the best we've ever had. (I hope that doesn't offend anyone but the bar has been set super high now!!) :) Justin had a printout of the weather, how to access their internet and all sorts of hilarious random stuff. This was in our room each day! We even had a chocolate on our pillow at turndown.

It just got better as we headed to the game. On game day they had everything prepared and ready to go - chairs, food, drinks, music (yes, even the Alabama songss!!), footballs and Bama clothes. Such good friends! We got the tailgate setup and were ready to party!!

Caption: Jack and I on the public golf course where parking was encouraged. Um. Weird. Can you imagine playing golf on that course anytime after the bowl games?

Its a small world, afterall... keep that song in your head as you read this. Not one row away and directly in front of our car was Jack's work friend from Texas! Without planning, coordinating and nothing more than 'hey, i'll see you at the game!' It gets smaller... I texted Allison (Texas fan) to say that we were tailgating. She said they were too. And where were we? I replied that we're on some golf course. Yep, so was she. In section 8, So were we. By a pond. Yep, us too. We called each other and she said 'turn around'. Literally across the pond was Allison!! That means we arrived at near same time because the parking filled up quickly. And no planning on our part either! Amazing. So, of course, i walked over there cuz Al is one of my greatest friends.

Caption: Me and Al showing our TCU pride while wearing our respective husbands' team shirts. Aren't we just something special??? I also got to see some friends that i haven't seen in years at Allison's tailgate, a mini reuion. Can this day get better?? Yes, it can and does.

Some young kid who worked for the Rose Bowl happened to be out in our area with a golf cart. We asked him if he would take us to the stadium on the cart for a tip? He sure did!! And gave us his cell phone number to call him after the game and he would take us back. Amazing! It wasn't even a handicapped cart so don't think we took up someone's space. We just asked and he obliged.

Caption: Here we are and ready to root on the Crimson Tide! Kristin, Justin, me, Jack. I don't know what i stand like that. For whatever reason I think i'm huge (tall and width) and am afraid my stature will block someone. Seriously. Look at most of my pics. I lean in so far I'm about to fall over. :)

Once inside that stadium we did not move. we were packed like sardines! I don;t know what i was thinking but i think i expected actual seats like other stadiums. here: bleachers. We stood like the Aggies for the whole game. Was tons of fun! And this adorable mom in front of us had her 2 sons (in college at Texas) there. They were so well mannered. Most of the time I kept thinking I hope i get to do that someday with my sweet little guys!!

Caption: Jack Jr made me a 'sign' so I could be sure to wave it at the game. ;) He even made one that said 'McElroy' the Alabama qtrback. Told me to give the sign to the cheerleaders so they knew to root for him. Can he be any cuter???

Caption: Daddy Jack looking all serious which he do most of the game. Thankfully, i was entertained by Justin who has a joke a minute or maybe more. he cracked me and Kristin up the whole time.

Caption: And there you have it... National Champs!

Congrats Alabama and Nick Saban. :) And many many thanks to Justin and Kristin for their kindness, friendship and wonderful hospitality. Please come to Texas soon!