Happy Halloween!

This big Dinosaur was my buddy the whole way to work this morning. He kept the outfit on the whole day.

Tigger and his double chin were fed and happy when I dropped him off at school.

I was a catcher of the AHHS baseball team. "I'll go to bat for my students."

Jackson made it through half the trick or treating with his hood on, but toward the end of the night just walked like this.

I think this picture is so cute. He is going through his bag from school and his face is in the bag but you all you can see is his Dino head. Today was fun with the kids. I had a super big crisis at work that kept me from getting pictures with Maile - my one shot to have her take some pictures of the boys. Ugh! Maybe next year. I hope everyone got a great bag of yummy candy and had a fun day!

No honey, you don't fit.

Cute as a Pumpkin

Motherhood can be hard sometimes. So, why not have some fun? This is what I came up with before the boys fully carved our pumpkin. Be ready for more pictures, I dont think I'm done having fun with this little guy. Yes, he is inside the pumpkin, sitting crosslegged. What a great sport.

After the laundry is done

I hate laundry, cleaning and picking up. I really hate to do it. Yet, I love a clean house. Love it, love it, love it. I mean if I was rich I would not quit my job, I'd get a maid weekly or better yet, twice weekly...is daily an option? I struggle with keeping a picked up house and spending time with the boys. It seems it is harder to enjoy my time with the boys when I feel like I have house work to do. Yet, I was able to fold some clothes this weekend and think of a new use for the laundry basket. Our little Harrison is now 16.8 pounds and 5 months old, wow. Time is passing too quickly. Oh, and he has found his toes, and boy are they yummy!

Happy Fall

We had a great Sunday. We went to the pumpkin patch at Apple Creek Orchards. It was far but well worth the drive. The crowd was nice, it was pretty cool outside and there was plenty of room to move around. It is always nice to get out of town, even if it is just Medina Texas. I hope each of you can enjoy some family fall fun too!

Even in the tough times, Count your blessings

This week has been tough at work. Two students I work with lost their mom in a tragic car accident. The mom was 38 and she leaves behind 17 and 12 year old daughters and a 14 year old son. And a loving husband. And her mom and her dear abuella. So, many people loved her. Wow...it takes my breath away to think about this family. They will make it and stick together - I can already tell.

Love your kids and love them hard. You never know what is going to happen. And even when times aren't the best - know that you are all together and loved.

It takes a lot of bad pictures to get the great ones, and maybe sometimes it's the bad pictures that make us family. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday Mom!

In Honor of my mom's birthday I wanted to share some fun facts about her.

1. She is a fantastic mom, grandma (Ga Ga), wife, daughter, sister and friend. I think the reason I have so many great girl friends is because she was and is such a great mom to me. 2. She is a fantastic cook. She can make anything. And in our family she is famous for the variety of food she cooks. She can bake (I always requested her upside down pineapple cake for my birthday each year.) - she also bakes a green nut swirl cake, and rum cake... yummy. She is an international cook too! She can cook Italian food, Turkish food, German food and Chinese food. Hey mom, after you read this, can I come over for dinner???

3. She loves all my boys. I mean Shaun too! She doesn't even get mad when Jackson used to climb in her dishwasher or take out all of her Tupperware. She even has a favorite song that she sings Jackson and now Harrison. They both light up when she sings, "Ga Ga's little baby."

4. She loves to shop. Really shop. I can't even keep up with her anymore. This woman can go for hours (like 10). She loves to shop for make-up, gifts, clothes and shoes. And she loves color. The more color the better. (Did you know that she had her living room painted purple?) Every Saturday when I was growing up we'd go run errands together. I remember that she'd always have me take out her wallet and count her cash so that we knew how much we could spend that day.

5. She has moved over 11 times in the last 20 years. I'm sure she will correct me on this fact; it is probably more like 16, but 11 is all I counted. She and my dad even lived with Shaun, Jackson and I for the first 6 months of Jackson's life and we all survived.

6. She has great legs. The kind of calves and ankles that many women work out daily for. She has also lost 70 pounds in the last 2 years. Way to go mom!

7. She does not drink coffee. But she loves to be the center of attention. She is a great story teller and loves to talk. (That doesn't sound like me, does it?)

8. She is always full of great ideas. Like taking this picture just two days before I delivered. See how she is so thoughtful. She is beautiful on the inside and out. And she keeps an immaculate house; she did when I was growing up too. I always knew when she was going to bed because I could hear her fluffing up the couch pillows. Her tidy house is one of the many traits I envy in her.

9. She loves to travel and has always encouraged me to follow my dreams. She is unjudgemental and liberal. She loves to laugh and together we sometimes laugh until we cry. Like this one time at the Black Eyed Pea Restaurant, we had this weird waiter. My mom started cracking jokes and we had to leave we were laughing so hard. She has a wonderful sense of humor.

10. She takes fantastic care of the people she loves. She has committed to taking care of my boys every Monday night so that I can take a graduate class and Shaun can teach. Then she even told Shaun that he didn't have to come straight home after teaching. She said, "take a karate class and go get a fire house sub (his favorite) and then come home." She has also been taking care of my grandmother for a number of years. She makes sure that my grandma has everything she needs and really dotes on her.

All in all she is a wonderful lady. I feel like I am the woman I am today because of her.

She comes from a great line of outstanding women in my life. Now that I am a mom, I realize how hard she worked and continues to work. Now I understand how much she worried about me, sacrificed for me and all the wonderful values she has instilled in me. I am so lucky she is my mom and my boys are truly blessed to have her as their grandmother. I love you mom!