What is up with Halloween these days?

(Just a fun picture)

Is it just me or is Halloween getting scarier in the stores? I am not one to really get scared of spooky things but lately I feel like I am walking right into a horror movie just going down the Halloween isle. I can't even take my kids down one now for fear of them seeing something that will give them nightmares. Is the blood and guts really necessary? I hate to sound like an old person but "back in my time" we just had sweet mask. Remember Holly Hobby? Smurfs? and if I remember right the scariest thing they had was a green witch mask with a wart on her nose. I thought that was a big deal then. ........but now?? Not trying to sound like a Debbie Downer but I am really not enjoying going to the grocery store lately for fear of my 9 year old will start crying because of the shaking skeleton with glowing eyes yelling at her. Yuk!

In our neighborhood we get a TON of kids (I do mean they bus them in!) mainly because of a nice preacher that lives down the street. He throws a Halloween party (blow ups, games, candy) at his house. This makes it a little crazy and hard on the other neighbors because we quickly run out of candy. My kids almost like giving out candy more than trick or treating because they get to see all of the costumes.......but the past two years it has not been as fun for them because of bloody costumes that some kids like to wear. Casey has even stopped them halfway up the sidewalk to tell them to go to another house with that on.

Call me old I guess......Halloween just isn't what it used to be!

Luke's Invention

At 5 years old, Luke has created the "Vacuum sucker" with a bungie cord, skateboard, small air compressor that is used to blow up a blow up travel mattress, and a small part from a broken weed-eater. We were amazed! This kid has always been very meticulous. I think we have a future engineer on our hands. (turn off the Mp3 player to hear him on the video). Silly boy!

I have a new respect......

for photographers! This weekend we tried to get a few pictures of Lauren, Luke, Landry, and cousin Zoe. We took them to a beautiful place and just let them play. I could get a nice shot of each child having fun but when it came to a group picture....look out!

This is when it all started to go down hill. I will spare you all of the 125 group pictures that I took. It really is a chore to take a bunch of kids pictures! Now I know why photographers cost so much dang money. haha. I even tried bribing them with suckers! (a brave thing to do when they are all wearing white I might add. I was desperate) Still no luck. If my friends saw me they would have thought I had lost my mind. I was trying anything and everything to get them to ALL look at me and SMILE. How in the world does a professional do this? I guess I just answered my own question. That is why THEY are a professional! haha

You ask sweet Zoe to give Landry a hug and she gives him a tackle!
Here are the only 2 that might work.

I have to say as silly, nutty, frustrated, and a chicken with my head cut off (a Texas saying) it was still fun to watch them giggle and run around. I guess sometimes you just have to give it your best shot and just let a kid be a kid..........or hire a PROFESSIONAL! haha.

Happy 2nd Birthday Zoe!

This weekend we got to celebrate Zoe Kate's 2nd birthday at our house. It is hard to believe this little girl was once 3 pounds when she was born. This really is a special day for us to help celebrate how far she has come. She is simply perfect in every way!
We had hot dogs and enjoyed the pool. Zoe and Lanny (as she calls him) were like two peas in a pod. They had so much fun together. I love this picture of these two until I noticed all the icing on Landry's face. ha!
Landry, Uncle Coby (Casey's brother), and Zoe
Happy Birthday Zoe Zoe! Uncle Casey, Aunt Robin, Lala, Wuke, and Lanny love you sooo much!

My sun bathing beauty!

Here is sweet Lauren soaking up some rays by the pool reading her American doll magazine. I can only imagine what life will be like in a few years with her. Laying out by the pool, working on a tan in her bikini, and reading her Teen magazine. I am sure daddy will be close by to make sure no boys are around!
I love this time with her. She is growing up way to fast!

Loving Life!

I can't begin to tell you what a great feeling it is to see this little boy so happy at Miss Heather's school. (what Landry calls it) When I was given the opportunity to go back to nursing part time I really hesitated because of one thing, Landry. With his allergy what would I do with him? He is my last child so should I stay home with him full time? I decided that if this is something God wanted me to do then I would wait and let him show me what to do with my sweet boy. Things quickly fell into place (thanks to a beautiful friend)and looking back I see God's hand in every part of it. He led the way. Landry couldn't be any happier at this place. He has the best time and is surrounded by some beautiful girls! This is Landry and Camy. They are two peas in a pod from what I hear.
He is one lucky kid. Haddie, Landry, and Lucy
I truly thank God for this time in my life on getting to be a nurse and a stay at home mom.
Here is my little ray of sunshine!

Subject: Hair removal

TRY & PUT YOURSELF IN HER SHOES, THIS IS HYSTERICAL!(I don't have a clue as to who wrote this, but....WHAT A HOOT!) I normally would not post something so out there but since most of the people who read my blog are women I thought you would get a kick out of this! (warning: a little graphic)

All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on......... My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: 'Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.' So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!) So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ('Cold wax,' yeah...right!)I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works! OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skinextraordinaire. With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!! I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY .......!!!!!!!!! Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted. I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal. I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip! There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX??? Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch. I am touching wax. I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut! I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!' What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand, into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? *WRONG!!!!!!!* I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit. Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bot tom of the tub....in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax. So, now I'm stuck to the bot tom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!! I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter. 'So,my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bot tom of the tub!' There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, 'Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?' She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box. YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor .. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event. My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY .......!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. IT WORKS!! It works !!' I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT! So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point. Next week I'm going to try hair color......

I can't believe it has almost been 2 years.....

since Landry's allergic reaction to antibiotics. This had to be the hardest thing Casey and I have ever gone through. I remember it like yesterday. It started off with a simple strep throat. A doctor gave him penicillin to help him get well. We met our Arkansas friends in Dallas for the weekend. He developed "bug bite" bumps on his face and then they spread to the trunk of his body. We went to the ER in Dallas only to be told it was a bug bite. I knew in my heart it was something else. After a phone call to the pediatrician on call he told us to go to the Waco ER. They said it was a simple penicillin allergy, gave us some different meds, and sent us home. That night he was so swollen. He was leaking fluid out of his skin everywhere. Another trip back to the hospital they said it was Erythema Multiforme which is a severe allergic reaction. One more time we were sent home with another antibiotic. The nurse in me was determined this was not right. There was more to this. Why is he not getting better? He was getting worse. Temperature was 105 and the hives were traveling (eyes, throat, bottom of his feet, etc.) Baseball size bruising all over his body. By now we were on our 4th antibiotic. He couldn't bend his little fingers because they were so swollen and leaking. He was in severe pain, crying, hungry, and tired. Casey and I were scared to death. We prayed and everyone we knew was praying for him. Finally our pediatrician was back from vacation. He called us in after he heard about Landry and was shocked at what he saw. Landry's body was shutting down. His kidneys were not working. They put him in the hospital. He had Steven Johnson Syndrome (the worst allergic reaction). They had the hardest time getting an IV on him and talked about doing his neck vein instead. The POWER of prayer was all over Landry that day. They got it on the last attempt. After several days in the hospital we now know he is allergic to ALL antibiotics. The more antibiotics he was given the more his body hated it.

Here are a few pictures of what happens to Landry if he takes antibiotics. These are not even the worst ones.

Since going through this, we have been to several Immunologist and Allergist on what to do if he ever needs an antibiotic. Their answer? They don't know. This is so rare. They want us to be admitted to the hospital if he gets sick to where he needs an antibiotic so they can "try" ideas on him. This is something he will not out grow. We have done the testing, invited to be part of research, and taking the precautions to prevent illness ( had tubes put in his ears so he will never have to take antibiotics for ear infections). Landry does not go to preschool because of the amount of sick kids he would be exposed to. He goes to a sweet lady who keeps 3 other kids. Fall and winter times he doesn't go to church. Casey and I take turns staying home with him. He stays home!

So why is two years such a big deal to me? Two years of a HEALTHY Landry! God has covered this little boy with so much protection over the past two years. I can't begin to express how that feels. With tears in my eyes, I am so grateful for Landry being so healthy. Thank you Lord! I know there will come a day when we will have to face the next challenge on this and make some hard, hard decision. I know God will lead us through that too!

Prayers for Texas

Praying for all of those being hit by Ike right now. My heart just breaks to think about what this is doing to the state I love so much. It just looks awful from what we see on TV. We are supposed to get some of this around noon today. The winds are picking up and you can tell a storm is on its way. Join me in prayer for Texas today and the wonderful people in it.

Our baby dolls were ready..........

for precious Haddie coming over to play this morning, but.... Haddie wanted to play cars. Landry was thrilled. This is his kind of Girl!
I could have watched these two play all day long. They giggled, squealed, and just about ran the wheels off the little cars. They were having so much fun. I love a house filled with the sound of kids having fun. I am soaking this in because I know one day all 3L's will be in school all day.
Landry was pretty smitten with Haddie. I caught him acting like he was reading a book to her.
Then Haddie giving him some love. Landry's first kiss! Careful Landry she will melt your heart. She is soooo sweet.

Giving RoRo some love!
They had the best time today and I got to get in some little girl lovin too. Oh, I miss Lauren being this age. Thanks Mindy for sharing her with us today. She is just simply precious. A picture for Lauren. Thanks for letting us play with your pet shops La-La!

"This is the best day ever Mom"..........

are the words I heard from Landry as we sat and counted porto-potties. (thank you Jeanne and Saxon family for letting us know about this place). As you can see we made a special trip to porto-potty heaven this morning. I now have officially lost my mind! haha. I must say that Landry can count to 60 by himself now and can tell you the difference in turquoise blue and navy blue. So maybe this wasn't such a crazy idea after all? I just hope that when he hits kindergarten in a couple of years that he does not spill the beans on how his mommy helped him learn to count and know his colors.


We found a special potty with a flag on the side. As I drove by, Landry said "Mommy there was someone in there!" I turned around and sure enough there was. Someone at the porto-potty place has a sense of humor. There was a dummy sitting in there. Now try to explaining this to a 3 year old. Oh my?!?
As if our day wasn't complete after our fun morning, look what we saw on the way home. A potty in the sky. Landry was sooooo amazed at this.
So there you have it. Our porto-potty book is complete (for mom it is). We had to hurry home before we had to stop and use one of these. haha!

Landry has a new obsession.....

Porta-potties! Every since we have had a porta-potty in our driveway (for the workers building the pool) he has become obsessed with finding other porta-potties around town. And did you know they come in different colors? This kid is cracking me up! It has now become a game to him when we drive around town as to how many he can find and what color are they. The way I look at it is "Hey, that is one way to reinforce his color learning." I shouldn't put all the blame on the porta-potty in the driveway because I think I am only encouraging him. I admit to taking detours to where I need to be going only to help him find a certain color potty. Landry and the driveway potty. (on the front of the door it says taking care of business. ha!)

He now ask for me to take pictures of them so we can print them off for his porta-potty book. Yep, you heard right.........hey, I will do anything to encourage learning. I can't count the weird looks I get from workers around a site watching me take a picture of a potty! Oh, the things you will do for your child.

Future Vice President????

Today I was getting ready to sedate my patient for surgery when she asked me if she could tell me something funny. She said I look like Sara Palin the Vice President candidate for McCain. I thought it was funny. Then the mailman dropped off the new time magazine at work with Sara Palin on it. Before I knew it I was being passed from OR to OR to compare. I still thought it was funny. UNTIL, I called my mom to tell her about my funny day when she stopped me to tell me "Hey, you look like Sara." Oh my! Do I really look like her? I do like her and thought she did an awesome speech at the Republican convention. I guess if I do share some kind of comparison to her I am honored! I am not sure.....do I look like her?

Go Cowboys!!

Go Cowboys!! (Silly like their daddy)