Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays with their families. The kids and I came to San Antonio for a few days to visit my family. Then Monday, we're off to the Schock's house for Christmas Eve (day). We will all be home for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning together. My family will come up Christmas day or the following weekend to celebrate with us too. Brian and I will also be working hard on the home projects we've got on the to-do list! Anyway, I was late getting my pics out, and we still haven't made it in for our family portraits, so if you didn't get my photo card through snail mail, here it is... Happy Holidays!

Has it been THAT long since I posted?

Well, it HAS been a busy year, but I will try to do better keeping everyone posted with the blog. I'll probably add feedblitz to it too so you can sign up to get an e-mail anytime we update the blog. I am probably better at updating my scrap blog, but I've even been neglecting that lately. So let's catch up...
November was uneventful really. We had Thanksgiving at the Schock house and enjoyed spending time with the family. Then we blink and its December already. I tried to get most of the kids shopping done early but still find myself picking up "a little something" here and there. The adults in the family are much harder to shop for and it's to the point where I'd much rather skip gifts and just do gifts for the kids. Right now, I don't feel like the stress of holiday shopping is worth it. Ok, so there's my BAM HUMBUG!
That said, I am VERY excited for our kids this year. Jaxon has been reading on his own quite a lot lately and was reading on a website about the North Pole. He was telling me that it's much too cold there... will Santa be ok? Maybe he could move to Round Rock. Ha ha! He's too smart for his own good. Marley is scared to death of Santa (aka "Ho Ho") We have a blow-up Santa in the yard and even when it's deflated, she wants me to carry her to and from the car (you know, in case it pops up and comes after her)... what a cutie! They are sure to be adequately spoiled this year.
We are also working on some home projects for the holidays. We are planning on repainting and switching the kids rooms. Jaxon has much bigger furniture and his bedroom suite would fiot better in the other room, but since it was lilac when we moved in, we just stuck Marley in there automatically. They are excited and we hope to have the project done by the time we go back to school. We let them pick out the colors even (brave I know): Marley's room will be light purple (Behr Disney's One Enchanted Evening) and Jaxon's room will be a slate blue (Behr's Retro Colonial Blue). Fingers crossed they come out ok! We are also planning on replacing the carpet up the stairs, in the upstairs living and all bedroom with laminate. We've talked about it for awhile and think we're finally decided on getting rid of the carpet once and for all.
Anyway, I'll post again soon... no really, I will! S

A weekend without the kids... woo hoo! :)

I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family. I have 2 wonderful children and they are loved by so many. They have a close relationship with both sets of grandparents and their one and only aunt. So my mom called last weekend to ask if she could have the kids this weekend... um, no, we're busy. ARE YOU KIDDING?!? You can have them anytime you want. And kids, "Do you want to go to Grandma B's house?" They yell "YAY!" before I can even finish my sentence. :)
So last night after I dropped off the kids at the usual half-way point, I met Brian and a couple of his friends for drinks. We ended up hitting 2 spots for drinks and then headed home. It was great when you don't have to worry about when you get home or having little ones ready to get up at the crack of dawn. :)
Plus I was getting bored and don't want to take my hair shorter than the angled bob I've already got, so I went from blonde to auburn. If anyone sees us out without the kids this weekend, they may think Brian has a girlfriend or something! Ha ha ha!
Anyway, hoping to get some cleaning done around the house, some scrapping and maybe some shopping as well as a few more "dates!"

October...

I really can't believe its been a month since my last post. Here's the "nutshell" version of the past month.

Brian had a good 30th birthday- uneventful, but good. He got rid of his truck... you know, the brand new one he's had for 6 months... and got a new Accord loaded out. To say he's spoiled may be an understatement! :) He loves it though, and I feel better driving it if I have to... the gas money will surely add up as well. But, looking back at Brian's pattern of car buying, good gas prices cause Brian to turn his attention to trucks. Then Brian buys a truck and the gas prices go up 2 weeks later. So if gas prices go down (we'll say hallelujah) it's all because Brian sold his truck and you can thank him. :)

The kids have had overnight stays with both sets of grandparents giving us some time alone to relax, get things done around the house, and go on dinner dates without them kids (as much as I love them, its nice to not be mom for a day or two.)

Marley had her second birthday and we had a small family party at the house. She had a princess cake, which looked great, but the food coloring they used on the cupcakes surrounding the small cake tasted bitter (which as you can imagine made for some hilarious pictures!) Marley was having a blast, but when we put on her tiara and started to sing happy birthday, she started to cry! And I thought she'd be used to being the center of attention! Ha ha!

She made out like a bandit (as usual) with tons of new clothes, 2 new baby dolls with accessories, a baby doll stroller, light-up princess shoes (they have a heel on them and she wears them like a pro!) Her "big gift" was a pink and purple trike and she likes it, but is still a little short when it comes to pedaling. She has been taking care of her "babies" since the moment she opened them. I think it's so interesting the way little girls just take to that.

Anyway, getting sleepy and so I'll turn off my computer (even though I really wanted to scrap tonight) but I'll try harder to keep the blog updated and current so you don't get these quick little entries. S

September...

Well I can't believe how fast time seems to fly! Here's what's been happening since my last post... not much! :) Ha ha!

School is off to a good start. My PPCD lead e-mailed today and said the local newspaper is coming by to do a story on PPCD/TWC and she wants them to come and highlight our PPCD/TWC program. So fingers crossed I have a good hair day when they come! LOL! I'm actually very excited to spread the word about our program and hope that this will be a good way to do that.

I just returned today from the 3 day state conference on Autism that was being held in Corpus Christi. I'm part of the Region XIII PPCD Leadership Council, so they paid for our registration, the rooms, mileage and meals. I probably would have gone anyway, but going for free is better! :) I ended up rooming with a friend who taught PPCD and is now in a district support role. We had fun (except for a big headache episode on Friday afternoon - thank goodness for Excedrin!)

It was a great conference and I was so excited to see so many families there in addition to the professionals. It was really moving. Anyway, I also started thinking about ways to raise money for Autism research and thought I could make items with the "puzzle piece" to sell at our Greater Austin Walk for Autism and then donate the proceeds to Autism Speaks. Trying to think of what I could make that folks may want (like glass bead magents, car decals, etc.) That would be a good way to "use my talents for good" (you know rather than evil like usual, ha ha).

Brian flew with his friend Jason to Norman, OK to see OU (Boo Sooners!) play Miami. Jason's apparently a huge Miami fan and Brian just loves football regardless of who is playing, and since his birthday is coming up, it was his little present to himself. He's having a good time and will be back tomorrow.

So, my mother-in-law's birthday was today, Brian's is the 12th, and Marley's is the 28th... guess I've got some shopping to do!

Busy August update!

Sorry its been awhile since my last post... here's what been going on since my last entry.

Jaxon had his 4 year old well check and is STILL off the growth charts for height. He's 44.5" tall and weighs 40 lbs. and 8 oz.(which is in the 75-90th%) He's just one tall kid! He did well with his shots and everything else is right on target.

We went to Port Aransas with my parents and sister from July 27th-30th and had a blast. A tropical storm has supposed to hit before we got there, but we had great weather the whole trip. Click my digiscrap blog on the left corner to see some pictures.

Just after our return from the coast, I got all 4 of my wisdon teeth out. Only one on the bottom was encased in bone, so it hurt and is still a bit sore now, but the rest are fine. Apparently it takes longer to heal as an "older patient"... yes, at 29, I'm considered an "older patient" for wisdom teeth removal.

Susan, my friend and speech pathologist for our school, worked with me on a "buddy group" for some of our students and Jaxon to participate in to continue working on social skills, playing and to just have fun together this summer. It was great and came to an end the first week if August. The moms in the group told me about this cool sprinkler park nearby, so we took Jaxon and Marley and the others out there and they had fun (Jaxon and Marley had to warm-up, and then Jaxon had to remember not to wander, but it was fun).

Last weekend (which coincidentally was the last weekend before I had to go back to work), we dropped off the kids at my parents house. They stayed one night and then I came down to spend one more night there with them. They just love hanging out with their grandparents!

This week, I went back to work which was both happy and sad for me. I was ready to be back for sure, but I'll miss seeing Marley during the day. Since Jaxon is in my class, I don't get the chance to miss him! Ha ha!

I've also been working on my digiscrap stuff, particularly making LOs for the DigiTreats Creative Team. Check us out on my digiscrap blog where there are links to the DigiTreats blog and store. I have been posting in a few galleries too, but I post all my LOs here too, so you don't really need to go there unless you want to see what other folks are doing too. Enjoy!

Jaxon is 4!!!

Well, it's Jaxon's fourth birthday today and I can hardly believe it. Part of me almost feels sad as he gets older... its such a great age... but since we can't freeze time, we move on.

It was a GREAT day. We went to pick up the cake at the local bakery - it was Spiderman this year. Then we headed to the party at one of these big places full of bounce houses, slides and inflatable obstacle courses. It had just started to rain when the party was scheduled to start at 10:30, but it didn't keep any of the expected guests away. All of the kids had a great time running around, getting lost in the mazes of inflatables, red faced and sweaty. Then we all went to the "yellow party room" for pizza, cake and the opening of presents. Soon after, we left for home and opened presents from the family (we had planned on opening at home until someone voiced their concern about not seeing the presents opened).
Jaxon got TONS of fantastic toys as well - honestly too many to mention - and was beyond thrilled. It was a fantastic day for him.

July update...

In addition to Jaxon's wonderful fourth birthday, we had a wonderful fourth of July (actually the celebration we attended was on the third). Brian and Jaxon went to meet up with Rick who was playing golf. Jax got to ride in the cart and watch them play while Brian taught him about the "rules" and golf etiquette. Jaxon was so well behaved on the course, that another player came up to compliment him and gave him a golf ball. He was SO thrilled with the experience that the rest of the night all he wanted to do was play golf. Marley, Carol and I joined up with them at the golf club where there were live bands playing, vendor booths and fireworks displays. It was raining on and off, so the course was a mess, and we got soaked, but it was still fun and the kids were great. Jaxon was worried about the fireworks being too loud (as they were the year before) so we bought earplugs like they use at gun ranges. It wasn't enough, as he was still a bit put off by the noise, so I had him sit in my lap and I covered his ears and then he could enjoy watching them. Marley seemed as thought she'd seen them a million times before with no worries... they are so different sometimes.
I also began a new hobby... or I guess I should say I have a new obsession. I decided with all the time I'd have on my hands that I wanted to teach myself something new. I read about Photoshop Elements and decided to try it out. Its only been about a month since I started using PSE to make digital scrapbook pages. I've yet to print any out, but that is my plan and I am also going back to do my kids' baby books. I'm learning new things each day and really enjoy it, but I still have much to learn. Even so, I'm adding a link to the blog where I'll post my digiscrap layouts so you can see me slowly progress to being "competent!" I hope you'll enjoy the pages like I do.

Jaxon's Swim Lessons

Jaxon's swim lessons started this week and they are going great! He did such a good job holding his breath out of the water that he was in the first group sent into the water.

The other two boys he was with have siblings in the swim league and they were way ahead of him... but the thing like best about Nitro Swim is that they work in stations independent of the class, so everyone works at their own pace... and they were able to go ahead while he continued working on skill station 1.

When you finish a station, you get to go hit the gong, which makes it even more fun! He was trying to negotiate with the girl coach and wasn't quite ready to move on, so Coach Mike (the owner)took his group. He's a bit more firm and has a commanding presence, and Jax responded to him immediately. He only cried once and that was when it was time to leave! :)

Here is a pic of him at his first lesson with Megan.

Our new baby...

Ok, so its furry and has 4 legs, but its the closest thing to a baby that we'll be having anymore! It's "2 and through" for us! :) Brian and I started talking about getting a friend for Bevo a long time ago. We kept going back and forth with the idea for a few reasons.

We wanted to have a friend for Bevo (since she's always taking "under-the-fence adventures" to play with the golden retriever next door.) BUT we felt that Bevo was a very good and balanced dog with some training under her belt. We didn't want to have to start over again if we brought a new dog into the house. We also wanted to be sure we could trust a new dog around the kids as Bevo has full access to them. We wanted a dog that would enjoy playing with Bevo, but also know that her "people" were in charge. Most importantly, we wanted another dog that would be a companion like Bevo...

And we think we've found one! After many e-mails to a fantastic rescue group called Austin Dog Alliance, we found Jett. I had seen a dog on their website that looked a lot like Bevo and wanted to adopt him, but someone else had already been approved and was about to take him home. So then I saw two other dogs that Brian and I thought were cute, but the great folks there said that they'd be too high energy and may not work well with our family. The fact that they worked so hard to find the RIGHT homes for the dogs made me trust them completely. So I wrote and asked which dogs may be a good match for us and they suggested an 8 month old purebred black labrador named Jett (formerly with 1 t but Brian thinks 2 t's are cooler!)

We went out to meet her and when we first arrived, she was very nervous, barked a little and tried to hide. The great lady who was fostering her at her training facility visited with her to get her to calm down. Then I got to meet her, Brian, Jaxon and Marley...once she figured out I was ok, the rest of "my pack" got easier and easier to introduce. We spent almost 2 hours out there letting the dogs get to know each other. We were happy to see that Jett had training (and actually has better training than Bevo). The folks at Southern Star Ranch are serious trainers who not only took lots of time to be sure the introduction went well, but REALLY know their stuff and we may be back to visit them very soon. By the time we left, Jaxon was walking Jett around by the leash!

Once we got home, we spent some time in the yard. Jett even got to meet our next-door neighbors. When we went inside, Bevo showed a little bit of the "little dog syndrome" and seems to be trying to establish her dominance, but that's to be expected as she's always been an only dog. Today, they're both happily chewing kongs and laying at my feet. They're both on leash just in case, but we haven't needed to correct them, so we're optimistic that this is a good match for us.

We're so glad to have found a friend for Bevo and a new GREAT dog for our family too!

April 2007...

Well long time no post, but for good reason... first our laptop went completely black. Its only a little over a year old, just out of warranty, and the part that it needs, can't be sold separately so our laptop would basically be a $1200 paper weight! Then, while Jaxon was playing on the computer (his new favorite thing to do) it froze, got stuck on task manager and then went off. Now on start-up it says "Cannot locate hard drive" Eeek! Thank goodness I had backed up all of my digital pictures to the my book I got for Christmas or ALL of my photos may have been wiped out. We're still working on getting that fixed and meanwhile have a new laptop.

The kids are doing great - Jaxon is doing a fantastic job at school. He gets along with the other kids and is more advanced than some of the other peers in academics as far as letters, numbers, counting objects, etc. But he is behind a bit in writing (at least behind the girl peers - we all know they talk and write sooner though so no worries.) Marley is amazing! She is SUCH a talker already and went from only sating "dad" a few months ago to saying just about anything you say (she says "zja-zja" for Jaxon but most everything else sounds like the "real words.")

Bevo completed her training and has done very well. I want to be sure to continue her "training career" as she seems to enjoy and parctice makes perfect! She is still being Houdini - crawling under the fence as soon as we leave for work to play with the next-door neighbor's golden retriever Amber. We're hoping to work on that as it can get pretty muddy... but I can't blame her for being lonely.

My sister's divorce is hopefully going to be final at the end of the month as well. Its going to be a big relief for her and our family so fingers crossed that it ends as peacefully as possible. My birthday is this month too and probably will be uneventful, but we hope to get out and celebrate somehow! :) S