New Years Resolutions Revisited

I decided it was time to revisit my New Year's Resolutions and see how I was doing, so here goes:

1)Spend more time on me - This started out promising, I was going to paint my nails more, but found that it would chip within hours, so I got discouraged and gave up, until July when I visited my parents and my sister told me she paints her nails and the polish lasts almost a week!  I was shocked, the trick was not to buy the super cheap stuff, and to use a really good top coat.  So, when we got home I went shopping and bought 4 new nail polish colors!  I have since polished my nails once a week and I love it!  I did get my hair cut and colored once, and I've been keeping up with the grays since.  I plan on getting it cut about 2 more times before the end of the year. 

2)Be more content with what we have - I think I've accomplished this.  It's also helped with me going back to work, there's not a ton of extra money for buying things, but I'm not sitting around the house thinking about all the things I want, lol.

3)Do one home improvement/decorating project a month - again, I started out good with this and have gotten away from it, but I'm back.  I made a wreath for the front door last month and I've bought the paint for the hallways, I'm planning on painting the week I'm off from school, and then I'll tackle my picture wall, then Payton's room.  So I have lots of ideas, now it's time to implement them.

4)Go to church more - Huge fail here!!!  I still read the bible and I still spend time praying, but sadly I haven't made it to church on Sunday any more then in the past :-(  It's one of the only days Matt doesn't work and it seems to be more of a family time and I can't get us focused on going to church.  But, I'm not giving up!!

5)Be healthier - I'm afraid I've failed here too.  I do cook most of our meals, but I do eat out more now that I'm working and with my work schedule I'm struggling.  Most days I work 8-2 with no break, so I get a snack, but no lunch until after 2, when you eat at 2:30, you don't much want dinner at 5:30.  So, needless to say, I have not lost the 5 pounds that was my goal, I've probably gained 2 :-(  So, this is my new focus!

Second Day

Because I need to be to work by 7:45, Garrett was going to have to be dropped off about 7:15, where he would sit, supervised until his teacher got him at 7:30.  Matt wasn't too keen on this idea, so he's offered to drop him off at 7:30 and I'll take Payton to school.  In theory this sounds great, and I know there will be days when Matt will have to be to work early so there will be times Garrett will just have to go early.  But, I can count on one hand the number of times I have not dropped that child off for school, VBS, camp, anything.  It was harder on me this morning.  I knew I wouldn't be able to walk him to his classroom but I was fully prepared to park the car and walk him as far as I could.  Well, instead, I gave him a bug hug and kiss and he left with his daddy.  And the worst part is, Matt's been working hard all day and I have no idea if Matt walked him in or dropped him off!  I'm assuming he made it to his classroom because the school hasn't called me looking for him, but seriously, that has me more anxious then anything!  I think the hardest part about kindergarten is that I don't get to chat with his teacher everyday.  I've always made it a point to be very nice to all of my kid teachers and I love to chat and get a little rundown of the day, tell them how they slept, ate, or whatever.  I can't do that anymore and I'm not liking it!!  I guess this momma needs to give up a little control......

First day report

I was dying to go pick Garrett up!  I wanted to hear all about his first day.  Because of my long days at work and going back to school, we made the decision to have Garrett go to Powersports after school everyday and I'll just pick both kids up from the same place.  This is my short week and I had wanted to pick him up yesterday, but both the school and Powersports asked me not too.  They said everyone needs to understand, including Garrett, how the system works.  They didn't want me to change things up yet.  They wanted the "bus driver" teacher to know he rides a bus and for the Powersports driver and helper to recognize him and for Garrett to understand the system too, so I anxiously did homework all afternoon until about 4:30 when I couldn't take it anymore and we went and picked them up.  Matt wanted to go too.  The funny thing was, we've been going to Powersports for 2.5 years, but now he goes to a different area and I had to bring my id because no one knows me!  He came bouncing out just overflowing with excitement.  I wasn't sure he'd want to talk about it too much but who am I kidding, that kid likes to talk!  He told me everything.  How much fun he had, that they drew, not colored a picture, but drew 2 pictures, one was dinosaurs, the other was him and I, they had recess, he saw Keira at recess, they ate lunch and he forgot his water in the classroom.  I told him if he forgot it again, he could always buy milk, which resulted in him giving me an entire rundown of how you buy your lunch.  They talked about being kind to people, and they read 2 stories.  He said one girl was really nice but he didn't know her name.  He said one boy was out of control and when I asked what Mrs. Sowell did, he said she took him aside and said "no, no, that is not how we behave in kindergarten" and he went and sat down.  He told me he had so much fun and could not wait to go back.  I am so glad, it made my heart just swell yesterday and I couldn't give him enough hugs!

Ms. Reagan

Payton had a "first" yesterday too.  She is staying at Powersports, but she has a new teacher.  Ms. Devon was moved up to teach the 3 year olds.  They've been on the fence as to which class to put Payton in, but in the end she ended up in an older 2's class, so that means a new teacher.  Ms. Reagan was a teacher there before and recognized Garrett this summer, but we never had her as a teacher.  We missed Meet the Teacher night and she wasn't there in the morning so I was pleased to meet her when I picked Payton up.  She said to me "Payton is so smart", ok, now she's my favorite teacher, lol.  Honestly, I'm still up in the air on her, but I'm being open.  I have no reason to not like her, we just really loved Ms Devon and I'm sad she wasn't put with the 3's.  Payton had a new backpack, lunchbox and cup, so she was so excited to go to school.  There were new kids in her class and some old ones.  Ms. Reagan said she had a great day.  I got a rundown from Payton, "Ms Reagan my new teacher, Ms Tamara home sick, I got my clothes wet".  I guess she had a good day, lol!!  When I dropped her off in the morning, she clung to me like she always does, but then went right to the morning teacher.  I went to talk to Mimi for a second and remembered I needed to tell Payton's teacher something, when I poked my head in, she said "momma go bye bye".  I guess she was right, it wastime for momma to go bye bye.

First day of Kindergarten

Yesterday was Garrett's first day of kindergarten.  He was SO excited!!  I was too, I've always loved school and I know how much he loves reading and learning and I knew he'd love kindergarten.  I also know he was a little nervous, but so was I, lol.  It's funny, I'm not the sappy type, I'm just not.  But he has been at Powersports, with Ms Mimi for 2.5 years, so this was a big change.  He bounded out of bed, took a lot of encouragement to eat breakfast, he was just so excited/anxious/nervous, got dressed, brushed his teeth, wanted his hair down, etc. He couldn't stop talking.  Matt had already told us he wanted to go with me to drop him off, so of course, Garrett was excited about that.  We left a few minutes later then I wanted too, but I had already told the girls at work I'd be late, so I wasn't trying to rush us too much.  We got to school and I teared up!  Totally unexpected.  All the sweet people outside the school welcoming us and asking if it was his first day, it nearly did me in.  It was cloudy but yes, I kept my sunglasses on.  But, once we got inside all was good.  He was one of the last to his classroom so finding his seat was easy, he hung up his backpack, put his pencil box in his cubby and sat down to start coloring.  Mrs. Sowell had him come back over by us for a "first day of school" picture, and I was glad, it gave me a last chance to give him a big hug.  He said bye and we had to leave. So, I'm happy to report, there were no tears, from anyone.

Kindergarten

Is there anything as exciting to a little kid as kindergarten is?!?!  I'm not sure there is!!

Tuesday I had parent orientation at the school.  This was just for kindergarten parents, I guess they figure we have the most questions, lol.  It was just for parents and I could tell Matt wasn't too thrilled about going, so I let him off the hook.  It was short and sweet, we were there an hour, but it flew by.  The 3 kindergarten teachers and the principal talked us through everything we can expect.  Most of it was not a surprise, except that nap/rest time has been eliminated.  I know Garrett doesn't nap often but I think that rest time would help him, he'll just have to adjust.  The other thing that I wasn't expecting is that I have to pack a snack for him everyday.  Just one more thing to add to my list!

Garrett's teacher is Mrs. Sowell, she seems very nice, like the perfect kindergarten teacher, hugging people, laughing, lots of ideas, I think Garrett will love her.

Thursday night was meet the teacher, so we all headed up to the school together.  I forgot it was for the whole school so we were all taken back by the number of cars there, but the main crowd died down shortly after we got there, so it wasn't bad at all.  Just as I expected, as soon as Mrs. Sowell saw Garrett she hugged him.  He wasn't sure what to do or think and immediately asked if we could leave, but after I got him to relax a bit, he started noticing the room has a super hero theme and that there were books, and toys, and a whole bucket of dinosaurs.  He wanted to show Matt the library, he's super excited about checking new books out and the first thing he asked the librarian was if they had dinosaur books.  The cafeteria freaked him out a bit too.  I promised him I'd pack his lunch as long as he wanted, and if he decided he wanted to buy his lunch to just let me know and I'd make sure Mrs. Sowell helped him out.  I know all this is new and kind of scary to him, and I want him to know she's there to help him in any way she can.

I'll be dropping him off early, so we talked about that too, and after school he'll ride the bus to Powersports.  He seems excited about that, but I'm not sure it's sunk in that he won't be going to see Ms Mimi or even Payton, that he'll be where the big kids are.  I think he'll be fine with all of it by the end of the first week.  He's already told me he's going to be shy his first day.  I told him that's ok, most of the kids probably will be too.

I still can't believe he's starting Kindergarten in just a couple of days!

Lost/stolen purse

2 weeks ago, on Saturday, the kids and I went to Kroger for groceries and then Target for a little baby gift.  After that I have no recollection of my purse, until Monday morning when I realized it was missing.  Sunday early evening, we had cleaned out both cars and taken them to the self car wash on the corner, we vacuumed them out really good and washed them.  I swear I moved my purse from the passenger seat to the console, but it wasn't there when we went to leave for school/work Monday morning.  Imagine me frantically searching a very clean car and the inside of the house, I ended up giving up and being very late for work.  That night Matt and I looked everywhere for it, no luck, I searched again on Tuesday and decided it was officially gone, so I called our 3 banks (yes, 3!!) and reported all 5 debit cards lost/stolen, and the replacement fun began.  Thankfully I had just cleaned out my purse, so other then 5 debit cards, 4 check books and my license, SS card (yes, I know), the kids insurance cards and some punch cards for restaurants, oh and $33, I didn't really lose anything of too much value, the purse was also at least 4 years old.  It was just the headache of having to go to the banks, DPS and SS office to renew everything.  The banks were easy, we closed one account we never use anymore, the second bank I just called and she replaced the cards for me, the third I went in and the manager ID'd me and I got new cards on the spot.  I was told to go to SS first, but once there found out you can't get a new SS card without a picture ID, and since I had none, not even a work ID, I headed to DPS.  It was way out in the middle of nowhere now and when I got there and saw how many people were there I cringed, it was already 3:30 and I didn't want to sit there for hours.  I was there less then 15 minutes!  I have no idea how their system worked but only 3 numbers were called before mine.  The lady that helped me said there was a huge increase in wallet thefts recently and mine was probably stolen.  My new license arrived Wednesday and even though I had forgotten to change out of my scrubs it's not a bad picture!  I'm still in the process of replacing the insurance cards, library card, etc, but I'm slowly piecing it all back together.  Next, back to SS office, I'm not as worried about that now that I have my license.  This is the first time I've ever lost a purse/wallet, so I guess I should count myself lucky.  I just hope it never happens again!

Galveston

      We had a wedding on Saturday, in Galveston.  Matt's youngest cousin, Charlsie, was getting married.  I had never been to Galveston so I was looking forward to the trip.  We had originally planned on staying with some friends, but their house was at least 30 minutes away so we decided to see if we could get a hotel room.  It took a bunch of phone calls, but we ended up finding one we could afford.  It was off the strip and about 5 minutes from Matt's parents hotel and not nearly as nice, but in all honesty, it was fine.  It was quiet, we didn't have to worry about the kids sleeping and it was clean, it just wasn't fancy.  The first night, Friday, we waited for everyone to arrive so we could go to dinner as a big group.  There were a few setbacks with other people arriving so we didn't end up eating until 9:30, I think.  We had gotten the kids food earlier and I'm so glad we did!  We ended up going to the Rainforest Cafe, I've been wanting to take the kids there and I think they enjoyed it.  They were just so tired they weren't too into it.   Matt forgot to pack the pack and play, so I wasn't sure how bedtime was going to go.  Payton has never slept in a bed so I was a bit worried.  Garrett fell asleep rather fast, it was 11 by the time they laid down.  Payton struggled more, she tossed and turned a lot, but finally about 12 she fell asleep.  I woke at 5 with the sun shining in my eyes but thankfully the kids slept until 7.  7 hours really isn't enough for them so I was a bit nervous how the day would go!
     Saturday, we drove around a bit and found this excellent restaurant, the Mosquito cafe, it was our kind of place.  Everything was nice, the food as all made from scratch, the kids each ate a huge pancake and Matt and I enjoyed our breakfast.  They were quite a few streets up from the main strip and I remember asking Matt how far up the water from Hurricane Ike came up and then I saw on the wall a sign about 5 feet up that said water line.  I was stunned.  The lady said they had to gut the restaurant and start over!  After breakfast we met up with Matt's family and went to the Strand to wonder around. It was hot, the kids were tired and bored so I didn't enjoy it as much as I probably would have had it just been Matt and I.  After that we went back to Matt's parents hotel so the kids could swim, they had a blast doing that.  Garrett showed us how he can flip into the pool!!  I never did get that on video, I was amazed though!  After swimming a bit, we got some lunch and headed back for naps.  I think Garrett slept for 4 hours?  When he woke up he thought it was morning and wanted to go get breakfast, lol!  We got dressed and headed to the wedding.
     The wedding wa on the beach, it was a very pretty set up.  The grooms mom got in a very mild car accident on the way so it started about an hour late.  Prior to it starting there was a middle aged man wondering around in a very worn out speedo, gotta love beach weddings!!  As the ceremony was starting a storm was blowing in, it was crazy watching it build and blow our way.  We got to our cars just in time.  It never poured down rain but it did rain a bit.  The reception was also outside, other then it being very hot and very still it was a good time.  At 11:30, I told Matt we had to head home.  The kids were just done.  But, on our way back to the hotel I suggested we go walk on the beach, so we took a midnight stroll on the beach and the kids loved it!  Payton got knocked over by a wave and I thought she would freak out but she didn't, other then being soaked, she was unaffected.  Bedtime went easier, but the poor thing rolled off the bed at some point.  We were sound asleep and all the sudden we heard thump, "Wah", I jumped up and picked her up and she went right back to sleep.  I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember it at all, lol!!
     Sunday, we let them sleep in a bit, but then we headed to go back to the Mosquito Cafe, but the line was crazy long, we ended up at another restaurant, Casey's.  I would not recommend it at all.  We were not impressed one bit!  After that we went back to the beach, it was overcast and threatening rain again but we wanted to let the kids play in the ocean again.  They had so much fun!  I truly can't wait to take them back to spend more time on the beach.  Poor Matt, the kids and I slept the entire way home and he ended up driving! 
    In all, it was a great trip. Congratulations to Charlsie and Josh! 

Dinosaur exhibit

We had a wedding to attend in Galveston so on Friday we decided to head down a bit early and go to the Houston Museum of Natural History for their dinosaur exhibit.  We got a later start then we had planned, but Payton ended up taking a short nap in the car, so it worked out ok.  It was amazing!!  I've learned more then I thought I ever would about dinosaurs because of Garrett, but seeing them in person was something else.  They truly are enormous beasts!  Garrett had so much fun and I was amazed at how well he knew what all the dinosaurs were just based on sight.  He just went from one to another in sheer amazement.  We got some pictures but I'm sure they don't do justice to their size.  Payton was not as into it, she's 2.5 and her attention span just isn't there yet.  But, we managed to keep her busy and distracted and I think we all had a great time.  I think we could have stayed longer and checked out more stuff, but Payton had had enough and we still had to drive to Galveston.  I am glad we went, it was well worth the money!!

Photo shoot

On the Friday after we got home, I had made arrangements to have the kids pictures taken, of course it ended up being pretty hot, but I have to say, she got some gorgeous pictures of the kids!!  We did two different locations, one was an old white building and we also took some with trees as a backdrop, then we drove a down the street and found this cool old building that had been painted teal but the paint was chipping off badly and the orange brick was peaking through.  Garrett's shirt was orange and Paytons' dress was a brown zebra print with orange accents, the wall was perfect!  Hopefully I had attach some of the pictures so you can see.  I was definitely pleased with my decision to get their pictures done!

Michigan Trip

      On Sunday, we woke up and headed to the Kilpatrick family picnic, it was great seeing all my aunts and uncles, cousins and their kids and/or spouses.  The kids had a blast, after we hung out and ate we headed to the splash pad, and a rain storm blew in.  So we hightailed it to a covered pavilion and the kids enjoyed ice cream while it rained.  Then we headed back to our picnic site.  My kids were exhausted from the day before so after visiting a bit longer we headed home for some much needed naps.
    After their naps, we headed to Scott & Beth's new house for dinner with my mom's sister and my Grandma.  It was great seeing Scott's new house, it truly is gorgeous!  The kids had a lot more fun playing while we were able to visit some more.  The ride home was long, neither kid fell asleep like I had expected, instead they whined most of the way.  Bedtime was a welcome thing!!
     Monday morning, Matt and Dad got up and went golfing, Mom and Heather played with the kids while I finished a project I had for school.  After naps we headed out to dinner and then us girls went and did a little shopping while the boys headed home.  Payton made it through a few stores then was super bored, so she went with my mom and listened to music and then played on this playground the outdoor mall has.  It was much more of a relaxed laid back day.  It was also super hot!  It was hotter in Michigan then back home in Texas.
    Tuesday started out very hot again and with no real plans we opted to head to the mall where there is a carousal and other things for the kids to play on that would be inside and air conditioned :-)  After lunch we headed home for naps.  Matt and Dad left to meet Scott to play golf, and after naps, we headed to Scott and Bath's to swim.  Unfortunately, it was just too hot to swim so we just hung out and let the kids play some more. 
     Wednesday, our flight wasn't until later, it ended up raining so we moved the cars out of the garage and just let the kids play with chalk and bubbles.  The flight home was very uneventful other then Payton peeing about 6 times.  She did much better on the second flight, she was pretty bored though.  Flights are definitely when I wish she enjoyed watching tv more!
    In all it was a great trip home, we saw almost everyone we wanted too.  I did not get to see any old friends and we never did make it to the Pawn Shop to check it out, maybe next time....

Michigan Trip 2012

        I'll probably break this into a few posts, but to start, we flew out on Sat, July 14.  For the first time, I printed our boarding passes at home and thought maybe this would save us some time and trouble.  Sadly it did not work out that way!  We arrived at the airport parking with exactly 1.5 hours to go until our flight left.  It took exactly 45 minutes for the shuttle bus driver to get us dropped off at our terminal, yes 45 minutes!  We probably could have walked there faster!  The line at curbside was about 6 families deep and I was starting to get a bit anxious, after 15 minutes I cut to the front of the line and asked what our options were, only to be told there's a 45 minute cutoff to check your bags.  So, the curbside guy sent us inside to see if we could get pushed through anyways.  We walked inside to see about 500 people waiting in line.  I had a mild panic attack until I asked someone what we could do, she sent us to priority boarding.  There were only 5 people in front of us, but every single one of them needed help!!  By the time we got help, we had 20 minutes.  The lady was kind enough to notify us our only option was for me to drop the bags, leave Matt and haul ass through the airport with both kids and hope I caught the flight.  But, we turned the corner for security and found out there is no, "I'm super late for my flight line".  After not moving for 10 minutes, I went back to the same lady who told us, yes we were out of luck and our next option, our only option was standby at 4:30, it was 10 am.  I immediately burst into tears while Matt took the kids to the bathroom.  The lady barely apologized and gave me new boarding passes.  So, we spent the day wondering the airport, we probably walked a few miles, of course, I packed Payton's giraffe and paci so a nap was out of the question.  When I saw an attendant at our gate I approached her to ask what our chances were of making the 4;30 flight, she notified me we were at the top of the list and our odds were good.  It came down to the wire!  After everyone boarded there were 4 seats left, that's it, 4!!  I again burst into tears.  None of our seats were together but I figured no one wanted to sit next to an unsupervised 2 or 5 year old so I figured we could get someone to swap seats.  After some begging, we did get 3 seats together only to realize there was no 4th seat!!  Matt had no where to sit.  It turns out they were supposed to bump someone to first class but they had forgotten, so they reopened the doors and the gentleman right behind Garrett was lucky enough to get moved to first class and Matt was able to sit right behind us.  Then we waited, for 45 minutes on the tarmac!  Payton ended up having to go potty twice!  Poor thing was exhausted and excited and she just didn't know what to do.  She kept laying down on the plane and just crying for her paci.  Needless to say, it was a LONG flight.  Then when we got to Detroit for some reason it took a ridiculously long time for all the bags to be unloaded.  at that point I was just thankful our bags made it!
         We were supposed to have dinner with Grandma Kilpatrick, but we completly missed her :-(  Kids were exhausted, jack tried to stay up for us but couldn't do it.  Everyone fell into bed that night.