Update

Bryce has worn the boots to school everyday this week.

Rain, Boots, and Football

So, how much rain can we take? We were in a drought the last couple years and now we can't seem to get it to stop raining! Look at poor Rosco, doesn't he just look pitiful. Don't believe it! He is a lap dog and such a baby he would stay inside all day if he could. Most of the time it is okay but he sheds and it can drive a person crazy! But he is super sweet.


We did have a great time on Saturday watching the football game. The kids and I went and visited my Grandpa in the morning and we had to get Steven fitted for my sister's wedding. This wasn't supposed to take too long and we thought that we would be home in time for the game. Well, as usual, we took forever and thankfully we have a DVR. We started the football game around 4. I made some rotell dip. I don't think that Steven has ever had it. He looked at it like it would kill him at first. He has a fear of tomatoes! We all starting chowing down and Steven decided he would try it and now he is hooked! The Tide did great this weekend and we all enjoyed rolling over those Hogs!



So, I mentioned that Steven was getting fitted for his tux on Saturday. While we were there, which was forever, Bryce talked Grandma into buying him some new boots. He is usually a shoe hating boy but he fixed his eyes upon these Thomas the Tank Engine boots and fell in love! Since the moment he put them on his feet his hasn't worn anything since. He even wore them to church on Sunday. (disapprove if you must but some battles are just not worth it)

I know that this looks like a mug shot but he will not take pictures for me anymore. I had to beg and plead to get this. I love it because it is so him. He likes to work on anything and this little tool box is perfect for him.

Six Years

My whole life changed six years ago. Wilburn King was murdered in our karate studio, King's Southern Karate. I never thought I would be good at Karate. I didn't even want to join. I signed Steven up when he was 4 and after about a year Mr. King asked me what it would take to get me to join. Be skeptical, I told him I didn't have the time or the money. I had the time; I just didn't have the money or the drive to participate. He was very persuasive and he even offered that as long as Steven was taking that I did not need to worry about the money, just find the time. I eventually caved and thought well I might be able to do this. After all there were plenty of people older than me that were doing it. Mr. King himself could still get into a fully hyper extended Chinese split. He was a very traditional teacher. We learned point fighting, hold breaks, and forms or katas. I never realized how much fun it was going to be. I also never thought that I would be good at this! We went to tournaments almost every weekend. Steven had a very large division and being a woman we had at the most ten. We always came home with trophies and after six months I was the national, regional, and state champion in the 18-29 women’s intermediate division. Then the floor fell out from underneath us. Steven had a little boy in his class whose mother did not like the way Mr. King would discipline the kids. He was a rough teacher but nothing that I wouldn't expect out of a coach. She took her son and went to another school. Well that school closed and she tried a lot of other schools but nothing suited her. She tried to get her boy back into our school and Mr. King would not allow it. She had defamed his name in public and was just a problem all together. This didn't sit well with her and she killed him. KILLED HIM OVER KARATE! Now I am not saying that this chick wasn't nuts but it's karate! Everything changed. The school moved and had to have a new owner but it wasn't the same. I left the school and tried others but it still wasn't as pleasing compared to taking from Mr. King. He was inspirational. He made you want to do better. Today is the six year anniversary and I cannot believe how everything has changed. I am a brown belt but became pregnant about 3 months before I would test for a black belt and now that we are in full swing children mode there just isn't the time for it anymore. I still want my blackbelt but I will most likely never compete again. This man showed me that I was a very strong girl, unfortunately I found out in more than one way. Rest in peace Wilburn, you are truly missed!

Way to go Steve-O!

Steven tried out for stage band this year and has been chosen to join!  He also moved up seats from fourth chair to third chair last week!  Being a former bandie myself, this is awesome!  We are off to a much better year this year and he is trying very hard.  Way to go Steven!  I love you very much!

It's difficult!

This morning was a difficult morning.  A working mother always has its advantages but there are so many disadvantages also!  Steven was supposed to have a pep rally last week for his big cross town rival game.  I should have stayed at work but with it being his first pep rally I wanted to be there.  My boss is awesome and usually has no problem with me  leaving but last Thursday everyone in the office would be gone except for him.  He did allow me to take time off and I rushed to the school and mom picked up Bryce for me so that I could take him.  I get to the school and notice that it looks pretty normal in the parking lot and there were not a lot of people there.  I walk into the office to sign in and notice everyone is still in there, so I ask the principal and she said they just were not ready.  There was no announcement that they were not going to have it or anything!  It was on the school websites schedule up until that day and I just didn't put it together that they would cancel it.  I digress...this morning as I am about to walk out the door Steven asks, "Are you coming to the pep rally today?"  Now this one isn't on the schedule or anything!  This is the only one that they will have and now I cannot take time off for it!  To make my day even better, as I walked Bryce into daycare this morning he would not let me put him down.  This is not normal for him as he is a very independent child and he likes to do everything himself. We were walking down the hall and as we approached his classroom he puts his head on my shoulder!  He might as well just ripped my heart out of my chest!  I was so ready to cry.  I gave him his kiss and hug and handed him off to his awesome teacher and just had to walk away.  This is so hard.  I think it is worse for me than him.  I am lucky to have a job and be blessed to be able to provide the things we do for our children but these moments make me want to be a stay at home mommy that much more!  While I believe that school is very important for Bryce, there are so many moments that a parent misses when they are working.  More and more mothers are now working and for me it was never a choice.  I have always worked for obvious reasons but now, even though I have a wonderful husband that provides for us, we like the extra money two jobs gives us.  It is just an awful downside to the world nowadays.  Somehow my dad and I were talking about gas prices and I said I remember when gas was only .99!  He said well I remember when it was .39.  (wouldn't that be awesome?!)  You know in the last ten years everything has increased in price drastically.  It took 30 years for gas to go up .60 but only 7 years for it to be $2.50!  No matter mommies are missing out!  Sorry, I know that this is a rambling post but my heart is heavy this morning wishing I was with my kids and attending a pep rally this afternoon.  Keep Steven in your prayers today and ask that he may be able to understand that I am not there but would give anything to be there!  Also, Kelly from Kelly's Korner has asked that we remember all children today that are having any medical issues.  This is just one huge overall prayer for all suffering children!  We have one very close to where we live, Molly Moses.  Have a great day everyone!

See aren't they cute! 

Catching up is hard to do

Well, I have been noticeably absent for the last week.  It is not that we haven't been busy just tired and trying to still get used to the routine of school and work. I don't think that any of us actually get used to the routine but we just move in the motions.  I know that we, and that means all of us, love to stay at home and be together.  So, I will catch you up a little.  Steven had his third football game on Thursday.  They played our cross town rivals and wow what a game!  It was a nail biter for sure.  They were tied 6-6 the whole game and even went into overtime.  The other team won the coin toss in overtime but our boys were able to hold them back.  When we took the offensive side it was down to the last pass and we were able to move out of their hold and score!  It was awesome!  Here are the boys getting ready after halftime!  I love it!

And here is Coach doing what he does best!

And here is little brother ready to go cheer for Steven!  He said Go Bears about 50 times on the way there!

We didn't do too much on Saturday because of the hubby's riding mower being fixed!  We had a smaller yard at our old house and when we moved the backyard took so long to cut by push mower.  Blake and I very rarely buy things for ourselves so when the stimulus money came, we did what the government wanted and deposited right into commerce!  Viola! Well after a year we had somehow made the blade uneven and Blake could not fix it.  It had been gone for two weeks and our yard was looking pretty shabby.  I also had a lot of flower beds to tend to and my crepe myrtles had truly been negleted.  So we did a lot of yard work on Saturday and tried to catch the Bama game on espn360.com.  It was a pay per view game so we had no luck with that option.  Steven has been helping my parents build a deck so he was gone most the weekend also.  Here he is before going to work on Sunday.  He has grown so much since last year!

After we dropped off Steve-O at Grandpa's, we took Bryce down to the river to get in a little fishing.  He just loves being outside!  He was an excellent cricket catcher!  I don't know how he did it but he would catch them everytime!

Not much of a fisher myself, but these two look like naturals.

I love this shot! 

We ended the day in the backyard again swimming in our pool.  He loves to splash but in the middle of playing he had to potty.  Well that is for sure the best part about being a boy because you can go so easily.  I couldn't resist snapping a few.  I will hold on to the good ones until his senior year but this one is too sweet not to share!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  The SEC didn't do too bad this weekend either, at least from our state!  ROLL TIDE!

Happy Hump Day

09.09.09

Today a pretty cool game came out and my super awesome Daddy said to get it!  This has got to be the first video game that I could ever sit and let them play all day!

We have another Milestone!

This weekend we took the paci from my sweet baby.  I know he is too old for it but it is hard to watch him suffer through anything.  Above is orange and blue paci.(that's what he called them)  He only used it at night and naptime but not ever at school.  Well recently it seemed that at home he was wanting it a lot more than usual so on Saturday I told him that we had to be a big boy and stop using it.  I noticed that his teeth looked as if they were shifting and I surely didn't want to damage his pretty teeth.  The first day he whined for about 20 minutes in the bed for his colored friends but it has been a pretty easy transition.  However, yesterday I went to get him up from his nap and that little stinker popped up and said, "look what me find mommy" and of course he found the one paci that I hadn't located.  I don't know where it was in his bed but he must of hid one in his pillowcase because I had pulled out his bed trying to purge them before I took it away.  So the only other step before my baby is a true big boy is to get rid of the crib.  We are really just waiting on that because he has no problem in the crib and never tries to get out of it.  Plus he is upstairs and the master is downstairs and it scares me that he could get out and knowing him he would climb any fence to get down the stairs!  Sorry I have no pictures but I have been awful about bringing my camera.  I promise I will shape up!

Are you ready for some Football?!

I am ready!  Roll Tide!