Praise Be For School~~

Just what the heck was I thinking when writing the Spring Break thoughts? If only I  had known what I know now....  Spring Break 2010 was a bust..we were sick the ENTIRE 10 days..  I was more miserable than the one I spent as a hs Jr. w/ a severe and very horrific case of checken pox.. At least then, I had my little brother and older sister to hang out with, play games and watch March Madness starring Michael Jordan!!  Now that was some good ball!!

This time around.. it was spent w/my two little rugrats who were tugging at my heartstrings cause they were feeling so miserable and later into two little rivalries that only 26 months separate them and sparks unending painful battles.  Follow that with two little anarchists who have completely lost all patience, forms of civility and tolerance after an intolerable amount of time.. Trying to keep this crud from heading south into my war ravaged pneumonia battled lungs six months earlier was a battle I was fighting myself. 

So I had what I thougtht was a good idea at the time half way thru the break.  Marshes brought home a journal to write in of his spring break expereinces.  Poor guy had wrote.."Ben sick the hole time" and it broke my heart.  He refused to write anything else cause I sure he was thinking bout how his best friend was skiing in Colorado the whole week.  So I fugred since the kids were feeling better we could venture into the new inflatable indoor gym, Wazoo, located in south Austin.  Happy Meals and a nice warm feeling for mom that her little darlin's would finally have some fun later... and she could still rest while reading as they played.

And all was going good..until it wasn't..And boy was it wasn't!!  Rachel was getting restless and kept asking to go home.. I had told Marshall 10 more minutes and before I could get that out of my mouth.. Rachel threw up.. Thankfully, it was all over the linoleum and not the custom carpet..  So after helping the kid workers clean up.. we headed for home and our hibernation again..

And naturally as most horrific holidays happen.. by the time the kids are halfway feeling better again.. a cold front w/rain and high winds takes over..I could not have dreamt of a more painful 10 days..  Except now.. dad has it as well..  WE are all looking forward to school restarting again.. at least we will have a change of scenery and can get away from each other for a breather for awhile in order to begin the process of missing time spent together once again..
One little good thing  did occur.. we lost one hour during this break when we changed our clocks forward..But that one hr. still didn't dent our feelings of desperation and claustrophobia..  and we didn't get to spend much anticipated and quality time w/grandparents..  Oh yea.. and today is the first day of Spring..  Happy Spring 2010 Everyone..  May the sun be warm and not blistering and the rains come but not in floods or drought..

"I think life's sort of like a game of tennis.  You have no choice over how that ball comes to you, but it's how you hit it back that counts."   Margaret Moth

Spring Break..Already??

Spring Break..Where the heck has the year gone?  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was fighting for my breath with a horrific case of pneumonia at the start of the school year?  Then came mentoring my two favorite fellas, Christmas and the new school year.  Wait a minute.. it can't be Spring Break..That means in just a little less than 3 months, my first born will be a second grader!!  No.. why can't I just stop and enjoy these precious times without running the growth calendar in my head?  Why is it that all those painful years dragged on with a death~march pace, while these are flying by with stealth speed? 

So what do we have planned?  Definitely trips to see the grandparents.. and games and indoor campouts in the living room..Then we will also check out the new jumpy gym andmaybe even try our feet at roller skating at the new roller rink.  And then we will need to get our plants planted in our prepared garden.  and of course there's movies, and games and trips to the park... oh my..  We will definitely need more than a week.

And wouldn't you know it.. This morning both kids awoke with horrific sounding coughs, runny noses, congestion and sore throats..  So day one.. get well..  day two.. play it by ear..  But we will have fun Dang it!!  We will!! and I will try really hard to get some pictures taken..

Holy Heck.. I Can't Believe It!!

What a weird winter it has been here in our neck of the woods.. Last year was on record one of the hottest and driest in the last Century. And to be followed by one of the coldest made the shock all the rougher I suppose. Also the fact that we replaced our heater w/an expensive and upgraded heat pump that failed to measure up do to some manufacturer's problems didn't help the comfort level either. That chunk of change spent just made the anger and cold seep deeper into my bones..not to mention all the hormonal crap going on def. didn't help me in the least. I have also realized that during the heatwave, the carpet we pulled up to expose the concrete flooring is great. However, during a cold snap.. not so comfortable.

Anyway.. all around us snow would be forecasted.. Even for us.. But no.. Never us!! We watched as areas all around us got to experience the white fluffy stuff.. I'd get my hopes up, only to have them squashed once again. Poor Marshall told me he had set as a lifetime goal (this coming form a 6 yr old) that he Was going to go to Alaska and/or the Himalayas before he was 10. 10?? 10!!

WTH? Why 10? Then it hit me.. he honestly never thought he would see any snow while he was a young enough kid.. Poor guy.. that's quite a goal.. Is that really too much to ask for a cute little fella? So finally, we get some flakes.. We actually got some Snow!! NOt much granted, but at least he could make a snowball (probably more like a snow hail ball) at school.. By the time he came home, it was pretty much gone and over.. Not that it was much to brag about..But man.. in these neck of the woods.. Anything is better than Nuthin'!! I was very tempted to take a roadtrip to a college friend who now lives where they got 12".. Just like what I got to experience when we lived in the Metroplex and got to miss school.. over something vast more thrilling then 1/8" of black ice!! Anyway, the picture of Marshes eating the white stuff was what he called "the BEST snack" he's ever eaten.!! His best friend Mike left for a ski trip to Colorado for Spring Break.. It broke Marshe's heart that he couldn't go.. I better find that child some snow before he decides to move far far away when he grows up..=D

The Difference a Year Makes

I Love this photo. It is Marshall & Rachel
w/ their PawPaw Jimmie last year
right after he came home from the
hospital after suffering a stroke.
My FIL took a major hit to his brain after
what they were 3 strokes. It's been difficult
to watch such an incredibly talented
and very independent man learn to live
life with new restrictions. We are very lucky
he is still with us. He was fortunate enough
to receive new medical advances just hrs after his stroke.

As much as I love this photo.. I yearn for the photo that I failed to take just a week before his stroke when he took
Marshes for an exereince of a little boy's lifetime..the chance to work and play with the excavator at Jimmie's dirt pit for work. The two of them were so incredibly happy and adorable as PawPaw taught Marshall how to load the scoop, dump it and then turn the cab. Marshes was beside himself with JOY. And Jimmie had joy written all over his face as he trained Marshes. He then allowed Rache a ride but she was too scared once she got way up high in the cab.

The irony of the day? I felt an incredible joy and sadness at the same time that day. For some reason, I just knew that this was a very special day.. Way more special than what it appeared to be. And I remember telling my MIL how I felt horrible that I had forgotten the camera. Later that day when we were saying our goodbyes to head home, I remember kissing and hugging Jimbo even harder that time. For some reason, I sensed that something special had occurred that day. It was an unsettling feeling that came to fruition a couple of weeks later when the stroke hit. Jimbo was telliing the nurses and bragging at the hospital how he had taken his grandson up in the excavator .

Jimbo loved working out at the dirt pit for his company. It was one of the ways he worked out his problems and de stressed.. It makes me sad to know that he no longer is able to do the things he once did. And it was very ironic that on that special day, I recall telling my MIL that I could never see Jimbo being happy at retirement. He just loved his job and company. I guess he never wouldhave given up and retired, so maybe retirement had to be dealt this way. Who really knows. All I know is I am thankful that he survived and we love him very much..
And I will cherish this picture always.

Diva does new do...

So after fusses, fights and absolute hissy fits.. Darlin' Diva Doll finally decided to change her do to short locks to forego all the horrific tangles and pain. It amazes me how one child can walk on every imaginable painful surface (stickers included) without her most revered SHOES. And yet, her little head can not tolerate one comb or brush even with the precious detangler without the most venomous screcching, squealing and fighting. One would think that this child is coming just short of death at the sight of a comb.. She will scream as if she's auditioning for the latest slasher movie. She sees it and she will yell bloody murder. Who knew that some of the most horrific cries of horror could be rendered by the sight of a brush? Not sure if this is performance art or what..but she let the stylist chop and cut away..And I have to admit it looks really cute.. but on the otherhand.. mom and dad almost cried when we saw the result. Our little diva-doll looked great.. Just all grown up.. It's the beginning of looking at her from a more mature angle. And it's so nice not to have the fights and the hissies.. but oh do I miss the 'little' girl she was.. It's gonna take us some time to get used to, but she's happy happy happy.. And oh so ever confident. Her dance teachers said she couldn't stop flipping her head and glancing in the mirror at dance..