It's Over...

I say the holiday time is officially over! Why you ask?! I have taken down all the holiday decorations. Once the gifts are open...its a done deal! Time to take it down! I enjoy them while they are out but once its done I like to get it all put away and get my house back in order! I do miss all the smiling snowmen! I just see no reason to leave it all up after all the family is gone and there are no presents under the tree! :(

I will have to post pictures later. I am on the laptop and all my pictures are on the computer in the office. Being lazy right now! I've also got pics from ICE at the Gaylord Texan. That was pretty impressive.

I will try to get all my post and pictures done later tonight or tomorrow. I've got to make a run to the Wally and get a few things. I think Jerrad and I are going to Oklahoma either Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I haven't decided yet! Jacob went home with my parents on Saturday so I guess I'll have to go sometime so I can get him back. Although I think he'd be perfectly happy staying with his Meme and Papa!

Merry Christmas...

this is my Christmas present. It won't really fit under the tree, so it will be staying in the garage! So, Steve and I were talking a few weeks ago about my Tahoe. Let me first tell you a little about my Tahoe...I always wanted one. Since the thing came out I wanted one. I patiently waited! Then March 2003 Steve went (on his own) and bought me one and drove it home! It was a surprise. I said it was the last car I'd own and I'd drive it til it fell apart. Well, it hadn't fallen apart but when I left it at the dealership last night I was about 250 miles from rolling over 100,000! Steve thought it might start having issues pretty soon and would rather get rid of it! He thought right now would be a good time to get one cause the car dealers are hurting to sell cars. I didn't think a lot about it cause if you know Steve you know that he researches everything to death. He will get the best deal. If it doesn't look like he will get what he wants he will walk out and just not do the deal! I didn't want to get too excited cause I knew it might not happen. So, he's been doing research and looking on the internet. My stipulations were 1) I want a Tahoe 2) it has to have the 3rd row and 3) I'd like leather. Oh and probably 4) I wanted white! And on Wednesday he says to me "we might just keep this one for a while cause I don't know that I want to spend the money on another one." Right! I saw that coming! Then yesterday he didn't want to sit at home. He wanted to go look. He was also trying to get me to look at a Toyota. He wanted me to consider a Sequioa???? I didn't even have to say no! He tried to sit in it! HA HA he didn't fit! The seat didn't go back far enough and it had a center console and his knees where in the dash! lol YEA...back to looking for a Tahoe! So, the short of the long story is...I got the Tahoe pictured above. It's a Tahoe, it has leather and it has the 3rd row! It is not white. I like the one above (color - stealth grey metallic) just have to get use to it. Steve said I was not trading a white Tahoe for another white Tahoe! He said you don't buy another car the same color! Well, you do if you don't like change! I really do like it! Its just different. The inside is light tan where my other one was charcoal - dark colors. Thats a big difference! I really do like it and I'm excited. Just afraid to get too excited...like its not real! If you know Steve he does not mess around and take big purchases lightly. I can't believe he'd buy me another Tahoe and tell me its my Christmas! Geez, what am I suppose to get him?!?!?!? No pressure!

6th Grade Holiday Party...

Friday was the last day of school before Winter Break. Friday was Jacob's last Holiday Party as an elementary school kid! Next year there won't be any room moms, planning, sending stuff and partying! Kind of sad but a nice break for a mom that has been doing this since Jerrad was in Kindergarten...10 years ago! WOW!

I think the 6th graders enjoyed it. What kid doesn't like getting fed?!?! By 5th and 6th grade they are pretty much done with the craft making at their parties. Not many of them are into that. So, last year and this year we did a gag gift exchange! This goes over great! They love it! They are all given a number. Person #1 opens a gift. Person #2 can steal person #1's gift or open a new one. And it just goes on and on. To save time we only let each gift get stolen twice. If you don't make it dead...the game goes forever. There is always a few gifts that EVERYONE wants!

I think it was a fun time. Jacob ended up "stealing" a gift. He wanted the bear mittens! Little did he know that was one of the gifts I had provided! That was one that several kids wanted too. He stole them the second time so that made that gift dead! YEA for him!

Skate Park???

Lately Jacob has been playing with those fingerboard skate boards or otherwise known as Tech Decks. He has two pieces to the Tony Hawk SK8 parks thing. He asked for several more for Christmas. In the meantime, I guess this is his skate park. I found this in his bedroom floor when I went upstairs this morning! Yes, those are bowls from the kitchen! He also used PS2 games, a yearbook, he has cut up boxes and taped up a "half pipe". I really like the two large skate ramps - that came from the garage! Yuck! They've skated on those outside! I'm sure those aren't dirty!

Service King Christmas Party...

Thieves...

So, yesterday morning my alarm goes off at 6:30 A.M. I lay there until about 6:40 when I jump up realizing the alarm at 5:45 did not wake me up! (I was suppose to put a 20 pound ham in the oven for Steve's shop lunch) I go in the kitchen stick the ham in the oven. I get back in bed for a few minutes. Jerrad leaves to catch the bus, Steve leaves (all around 6:45). I can't doze off for a few extra winks of sleep cause the dog is on the side of the house my room is on barking her head off! She never barks unless someone is outside that she doesn't know. Well, on the other side of the wall is a sidewalk. I just figure someone is walking and she'll stop - eventually. As I'm listening to her bark I hear tires squealing. Think nothing of it. Its about 6:55 and I get up to get Jake up. We go about the usual routine. He goes to catch the bus. There are two Arlington police cars out front and my neighbor across the street is talking to them! I wonder what could've happened. I get Jake off and I wait til I see my neighbor go to work and I call his wife to make sure everything is ok. The neighbor is a locksmith and he has two vans. A work van and his person van. He drives a different one home all the time. Just so happened the night before he'd driven his work van home. Well, someone had broke into it! But we are not talking about broke into it during the night. It had happened in like five minutes. They had done it between the time all the kids left on the bus, Steve left for work and the time my neighbors wife looked out the window! That was gutsy. People are leaving at all times for work. The high school kids are out there to catch the bus! Its crazy! My neighbors wife told me that she had gotten up after her high schooler left and heard our dog barking. She just happened to look out the window and noticed a car in front of her mailbox and she saw feet around the van and white tennis shoes. Being still half asleep she thought it was her husband. She went to the kitchen and looked a the time - 6:52. She paniced...that wasn't her husband - he is still in bed. She yells at him someone is breaking into the van! As he's getting up she walks outside and says "What are you doing?" There was a driver already in the car and the other two people jump in and the take off! Those were the squealing tires I heard! Our dog had been barking cause there were people out there! Steve and Jerrad both said they'd seen a car yesterday but paid no attention to it. Its still dark when they leave and yesterday it was drizzling too. Steve said he thought it was weird cause he backs out of the drive that way and he'd never seen a car in front of the other neighbors house at that time of morning. They had to have been sitting in it! Anyway, the neighbor thought that when they pulled away they'd turn left and they could get a license plate number. Well, they turned right. Which means they knew where they knew exactly where they were going. Cause when the cops came they came for the I-20 service road - they said they passed no car with the description she gave them. She said thats because they went the other way. The police said there is no outlet that way! OH YES SIR THERE IS! There is a sign that says No Outlet so people will stop going that way. The police didn't even know you could get out! Those people went that way so they knew. Either they came from that neighborhood or that area but obviously they'd scoped things out. I'm just thinking if I'd got up and looked out or something when the dog first started barking - they might've been caught! In that short of time they had gotten in the van and stole some very expensive tools! I still can't get over the fact that they would pick that time of day to do it! CRAZY! I hope they get caught!

Service King Christmas Party...

what a night! Once again the Christmas Party was at Gilley's in Dallas in the Palladium Ballroom. Lots of people. Lots of drawings for all sorts of amounts of gift cards and even 2 plasma TV's were given away. They added something new this year...Service King Idol! Long story short is Rob and Steve were going to sing Man of Constant Sorrow from the movie O Brother Where Art Thou. Well, everyone knew so they decided to change it up and not tell anyone! This is what everyone at the party saw!

I must say it was pretty hilarious. You can tell the music (I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred) is sort of hard to hear for all the screaming and laughing! It was also hard to get a good video. The lighting on the stage makes it look really bad. Then Rob and Steve kept going seperate ways and I was trying to get bits of both of them. So, the video is not the best quality! They were the only act that actually made money!

Medicine...

I have to tell on myself. This has to be one of the stupidest things I've done! Saturday morning we slept in. When I woke up I had that feeling my allergies were going to kick in. So, I got up to take my pill. I take a Claritin every morning. Jacob also take a pill for ADHD every morning. This particular morning I got my Claritin out. And its not in a bottle or anything. You have to peel it out of that foil/plastic packaging. So, I lay it on the counter. I open Jake's pill bottle and get his out. Pill still in my hand I get him a cup for water (he can't reach them in our cabinets that are built for 6 foot tall people!). I think to myself I'll get Jake some water and take my pill and then give it to him for him to take his pill. He's still not downstairs yet! Fill the cup up and pop that pill in my hand right in my mouth! About the time I'm swallowing and turning around I see my little white allergy pill on the cabinet! YEP! I swallowed the blue capsule! How do you mix those up? It was in my hand and I was totally not paying attention! I just started hollering at Steve! I took Jacob's pill! OH NO! Jacob walks up to me and says "you better be good today!". Judging for the affects I think its safe to say I'm not ADHD! I've read if you are not it does the opposite of what it does for a child with ADD. It didn't slow me down. I sort of felt a little funny. Kind of jittery on the inside. I felt like I could just go all day! Talk...oh my I felt like I could've talked forever (I know that seems normal - but it was lots more!). It was crazy. I do see how people have used that for dieting and could loose weight. I really understand how it suppresses Jacob's appetite. I certainly did not have one all day and we even went to Pei Wei for lunch! I had to get a box to go! I have to say that's one of the dumbest mistakes I've made!

Thursday night...

Miller has started having these family fun nights. The staff did one on October around Halloween that was called Math-O-Ween. It was a night of math games. For one reason or another we didn't go. This month they had Traditions Around the World and it was using Social Studies. Jacob asked a week or so ago if we were going. I told him if he wanted to I'd take him. Ok, I swear I never heard him say one way or another! Well, Thursday afternoon I was going to ask him again and totally forgot. He went to play and I had started watching one of those Lifetime TV movies I'd recorded! It was about 6:45 when I thought "oh, I forgot to ask him". So, I thought maybe he'd forget. Well, not so much! At 7 as he is sitting down to eat dinner he asks "is that deal at school tomorrow night?" OH NO! I said had to tell him we'd missed it. He was not happy with me. He wanted to go! So, later that Kristy texts me wanting to know why I wasn't there. Then she tells me Jacob had artwork displayed! Jacob had told me that Mrs. Stroup had given him a couple of things to draw. I missed the part that they were pictures for the Traditions Around the World night! I felt so horrible! But my wonderful friend, Kristy, did take pictures of it for me! Just give me the Mother of the Year Award!

The Quilt...

so, we had craft night at Kristy's on Saturday. Jennifer, Dawn and I worked on scrabble tile necklaces. So easy to make! We did this while Andrea showed Kristy how to make a rag quilt. It looked so simple. It was really cute. I wanted to make one. I took notes on what I needed and what size to cut everything. How hard could it be. Well, let me tell ya...if you get batting of the wrong thickness...it can be very hard. Ok...maybe not hard but it made it difficult. I'm kicking myself now for not stopping when I realized the batting was too thick and getting some that was thinner. That mistake will not be made twice. Since the batting was thick it kind of messed up the some of the stitching and not all the squares were exactly right. The back of the quilt looks like a train wreck. It will not be pictured here! No one will see it til I make one that turns out good!

Jerrad did tell me last night he'd be honored to have my first quilt. I told him he could have it or I'd probably have to send it off with the goodwill stuff! So, he is keeping it although its not perfect. Which might be good cause no telling what will happen to the poor quilt once it gets to his room! At least if he ruins it - I won't be devestated!



I am going to try to make another one. I think with the thinner batting it should be much easier and I think it will turn out better!

Teenagers...

the things they will do when they are bored!

Things Jacob says...

First I have to tell a little back story. Jacob has a way of loosing things or misplacing them! A couple of years ago after spending much of his birthday money at Toys R Us he lost his wallet. We were leaving and he decided to use his change in one to those machines by the exit. He laid his wallet down. Well, we where half way to the car when I thought were did his wallet go. I was going to put it in my purse. Cause I kept his wallet so he didn't loose it at home! I sent Jerrad running back in. There was a mother and her daughter at the machines. They said they didn't see a wallet. No one else had left the store. Who knows what happened to it. Jerrad swears that lady and her daughter took it. There is no proof. From then on Steve said he could not have any of his money he got. I've always kept it and his wallet. You know you forget and he takes it somewhere to spend money and I just forget to get it back. Well I took it back a couple of months ago when I found out that he had $100 cash in it! First reaction was he should not be carrying that around! Second, where did he get that money? Seems that these Bakugan toys he has been collecting...he has also been selling them at school! I put a stop to that real fast! Steve was a amazed he made that much money! He wanted to start selling them on eBay! lol So, I have the wallet again. Jacob got a good report card this last six weeks. Its been quite a while, if ever, since we've seen a report card with no "c's". A long time ago I had told the boys I'd give them so much money for each "A" and a little less for each "B". Well, Jakes grades have not been great so he has not seen this money! Well, this report card he added up what he should get. The sweet thing is so innocent he asked if he could have that much money out of his wallet! He was ok with that. I tried to explain I'd give him the money or buy something but I wasn't giving him his own money for his grades! He so funny! So, then he made a Christmas list. #7 on his list is...my wallet back!

Christmas...

I love the holiday season! I love getting the decorations out and put them around the house. I love having the tree up! I like to listen to (some) Christmas music. Celine Dion's CD is my favorite! So, today I drug out all the decorations out of the attic. Got the tree up. I'm guessing that the last two years I have placed the tree in a corner. Therefore, only decorating three sides. Only buying and using enough garland for those three sides! Well, this year I decided to put it right in the middle of the window! See where this is going?!?! Not enough garland to go all the way around! Those pieces say 12 feet long but I just don't see it! One piece barely went all the way around the bottom. I wanted the tree in the middle so I headed to Hobby. On the way I got to thinking I'm not sure if I bought that garland at Hobby or Wally. Got to Hobby...nothing matches what I have! Great. I decided to go with white! After picking up several of those and some new ornaments I headed to the checkout. Standing in line and I think "oh, I should get cardstock to make my gift tags while I'm here." Head to scrapbooking. Pick up some cardstock. Head back to the front. "Oops...probably should get the stuff for Jacob's project as long as I'm here!" After I think I've gotten everything I finally checkout. Well, since I'm so close to a Wally I thought I'd just run in there and check to see if they had the same garland. Yes, I went to the United Nations on Cooper St. Luckily I parked close to the garden area and went in that side door. Quick in and out. Real quick cause they didn't have my garland either. So, back to redoing it in white! Got home. Took the old garland off and put the new on. Probably could've used one more strand but this will have to do this year (note...buy more before Christmas is over and save it for next year!). I start hanging the ornaments. Remember I said I bought some new ones. Well, I'm two short now! Yep, I dropped two of them while putting them on the tree! The wood floor was not forgiving. And they had glitter on them...now my wood floor is sparkly!!! I guess eventually it will come off!

I am way ahead of schedule this year. I've already wrapped all the gifts I bought this weekend. No, I'm not done shopping but I've wrapped what I've already gotten! Still shopping to do! My cards are done. Just need to get a picture of my family to put in them. The two we took this weekend did not turn out well. Hopefully I can get this done one night this week so I can get those in the mail.

I used my sewing machine! I made gift tags. Nothing fancy. Some look better than others. Mostly tags for kids so they won't be paying much attention to them anyway! Still learning the machine. Kind of scary! I think it will be fun once I get use to it. I might need some tips from Andrea and Kristy!!!! I can't wait to scrapbook and stitch a page!

Jerrad mowed and weed eated the yard this afternoon....so, that means tomorrow or Thursday I will get out there and put my lights in the yard. I love that too! All clear lights in the yard! I think its so pretty! One of these days maybe I'll get Steve convinced to put lights on the house! He use to at the other house. Of course that was easy. He used the staple gun to hang them up. He didn't even need the ladder. Just reached up and stuck those suckers up there. Well, now its a little harder! He has no interest in hanging them for a two story house! I was so determined to have lights the first year we lived here...I tried to hang them. I thought I could at least hang them on the areas that were only a story high! Wrong...oh so wrong! Its really way up there. And a 6 foot ladder really doesn't help me much! It was just a disaster! So, we have not had lights on our house here! Probably won't til Steve lets me pay someone to do that!