:: Crafty and Crazy ::

Okay, prepare yourself...this post is jam-packed with fun stuff (possibly my longest post EVER, and all of this was TODAY!). The crafty part, because Grandma is here and we like to get crafty. The crazy part, because that is Trey these days! :) I am so glad I have witnesses to prove it after this weekend! Uncle Cody, Grandma, and Grandpa now understand what Mommy and Daddy have been saying. They have also learned how hard it is not to laugh right in his face when he smarts back, because let's face it...Trey is a 5 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body! More on that later...time for some pics. I'm going to divide these up to make it easier on ya.

First...the craft section. I have wanted to get Emery a tutu since the girl came out of my belly! However, Joe would have grounded me to the guest room if I would have come home with a $30 tutu. Hmm, what's a girl to do? Wait for Grandma to come and have her help me make one! :) I think it turned out awesome for the first try! Mom's put in your orders!

Since Em was in bed when we finished,
Trey thought he'd put the tutu to good use.
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Second, the Crazy. You see, my son knows ALL of our rules. He is a little mistaken when he thinks those rules apply to everyone else...including all adults. Some of his favorite quotes are "Don't EVER, EVER do that again!" (with his finger pointed at you), "Don't spank somebody!", "Don't talk to me like that", and the all time favorite, "Have you lost your mind?" Here are the photos to prove his sassy-ness.

This is the face right before you get,
"Don't EVER do that" OR "I don't want to!"

This is the face after you tell him, "NO!"
Which may be followed with, "But, I need to!"

This is what you get when he starts counting at you!
This picture explains it ALL. Yes, the lighting is AWFUL at best,
but that's what you get with a finger in your face.

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Tonight we just hung out at the casa and I snapped a few...

Trey, helping clean up Cody's beer. Such a helper!
Sidenote: Trey jumped on Cody's back unannounced...
Outcome? Beer on the floor, duh.

Trey and Uncle Cody

Papa and Trey

I didn't leave Grandma out of the pictures, I do have one, however, I am honoring her request! Neither of us found it necessary to put on make up today...that's why I like to remain behind the camera!

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Last, but certainly not least. I think I blogged earlier about Elf on the Shelf. I LOVE the concept, because Trey 'gets' the whole 'Santa's Watchin' You!' thing. However, someone is makin' a killin' on those! (they are packaged with the book that tells a story) I had made a mental note to look for an Elf-look-a-like, but hadn't gotten around to it. I mean I make enough trips to the mall to walk that Trey will have plenty of chances to see Santa. Well, fast forward to today and Grandma and my adventure to Hobby Lobby for the tutu-makin extravaganza. We combed the shelves for an elf. Nada. After dinner, Grandma and I had to run into Wally World for some dog food and milk (you know, essentials), and we looked again for another elf. Okay, has the Elf on the Shelf totally taken over so that we can't copy-cat? It's a conspiracy. Plan B you ask? Rudolph! Hello! Rudolph has to tell Santa how to get here, right? Works for me! Plus, $3 is MUCH better than $30! Go ahead, steal my idea...your husbands will thank me. Here's Rudolph's debut, and let me tell you...it's workin'!

There he is! The only bad thing?
I can't tell Trey he has a sad face, b/c he's smilin!
Trey and Rudolph before
Rudolph had to get to work!

In action...He's watchin' you!Okay, so now that this has become the World's LONGEST post...I leave you with this picture. Joe's new hair cut after he returned from the kids' pre-game meeting tonight. Don't laugh too hard...I kinda like it.

:: MMM....Thanksgiving! ::

Okay, in honor of Thanksgiving I thought I'd share a few recipes. My contribution to tomorrow's yummy dinner is going to be Corn Casserole. A Rhodes family staple! Yes, there have been heated arguments between Cody and I who will finish it off!

Corn Casserole (serves 4 to 5)...I will be tripling it tomorrow!
1 - can cream style corn
1 - can whole kernel corn, drained
2 TBS chopped onion
1/3 cup milk
1 - egg, beaten
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I use fat free saltines)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBS melted butter
1 TBS sugar
1/4 TSP salt
dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

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On to another staple at our house, and I can't remember if I've posted this one or not. I did a quick scan of the 94 posts (holy cow!), and didn't notice it, so oh well if it is on here twice...It is THAT good! :) Today Joe and I were cleaning up the house before he had to go to work, and I made a little bargain with my mom. If she brought me some Steak -n- Shake for lunch, I would cook dinner. What a deal! :) Here's the main dish for tonight...This recipe was one of Joe's favorites growing up and his mom shared it with me. Thanks Billie!

Poppy Seed Chicken

4-5 Boneless skinless chicken breasts OR tonight I will be using a Rotisserie and just shredding it up! (If you do the breasts, boil and cut them into bite size pieces...you could even save the broth)

*arrange the chicken on the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish

Mix the following ingredients and pour over chicken

8 oz. sour cream (I use light or fat free)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 - 2 TBS poppy seeds

Once the mixture is on the chicken, crush 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top of casserole. Then drizzle 1 stick of melted butter over the crackers. (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)

Heat casserole at 350 for half an hour. Enjoy!

Hope everyone has an awesome day tomorrow, we all have so much to be thankful for!

Not Me Monday!

Here's a first! In my claim for this blog to be my free therapy, I figured it was time to partake in MckMama's Not Me Monday...Here goes nothin'!

• I surely did not get so excited to go to a football game by myself Friday night. It definitely was not the coldest night of the year so far, and I really did not wear a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a wind breaker, a hat, scarf, and gloves to stay warm. I really wasn't toasty at all!
• This past week, I did not stay up way too late just to catch up on the DVR.
• Saturday, Joe and I did not sit around for an hour trying to decide what to do with some spare time, and seriously we didn't end up at Walmart with everyone else and their dog.
• Between Saturday and Sunday, I did not do at least 10 loads of laundry. Nope.
• I have not been procrastinating sorting thru Emery's clothes, because surely my 4 month old cannot be wearing sizes 6-12 months. Not my little girl! Really, I couldn't open a consignment store, simply from Em's clothes!
• Joe and I certainly did not load up the kids yesterday and drive almost 200 miles round-trip to trade film with the Dallas Skyline coaches in Centerville. We didn't figure that was the only time that we would spend together so we might as well! We really did not get get out of the car at Woody's Smokehouse and find out that the other coach we were trading with was a teammate of Joe's at SFA!
• Last night, when I told Trey that it was not okay to talk back to me, his answer was not "Well, actually I can". No, my sweet, loving, little Trey would not say that to me!
• And this one is from a couple of weeks ago: As I was rushing back to my classroom after working tardy sweep, I did NOT pass a student and tell him to hurry up because he was walking slower than an old man with a walker! His response to me was definitely not, "I don't want to put a crease in my shoe!" No ma'am he did not just say that to me! Wow.

Have a great week! Only 2 days of school...I think I can...I think I can! :)

Good Day!

Well, about 3 a.m. this morning, when Joe rolled in...he made my day. He didn't have to go to Dallas today to scout! He opted to stay home, work the kids out, go over film, and spend time with us! It was awesome being able to look at each other, and not be able to make up our mind what we wanted to do. What do you do? Of course you take a family trip to Walmart, hello? Actually, any time spent together is nice and I enjoyed being able to have Joe with me at the grocery store. He needed a few hints on how to load the cart, Trey in the buggy, Em up front...but all in all, he was a trooper!

While I was waiting on Joe to come home this morning, guess what we did...I'll let Emery tell you.

Laundry!

Joe just got word that he has to go 'trade film' in the morning with Dallas Skyline (team they're playing)...the catch? He has to be in Centerville at 9:30 in the morning. We are turning it in to a little family road trip. Call me silly, but I'm looking forward to it! Oh the lives of Football Families (I wouldn't want to be anything else). Thank goodness Grandma and Papa are flexible this week. In the past, we've spent Thanksgiving in Dallas because we didn't worry about the play-offs...anyway, Grandma and Papa will be joining us Thursday morning and we are excited! Hope this week goes smoothly for everyone and that we can all count our blessings this Thanksgiving.

P.S. Just a little note that Joe's team is playing Skyline, Saturday afternoon in Waco. Go Cats!

TGIFryday! Fryday you ask? Check it out: MckMama is one of my idols. 4 kids under the age of 4, yes you read that right...and I struggle handling 2? What am I thinking. Anyway, Mckmama is having a contest for some goodies, so I thought I would participate. If you need proof of a true Godly miracle, then scroll down and read up about Stellan's story. Oh, the power of Prayer is an Awesome thing!

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On another note: Cy-Woods defeated Klein Forest tonight 22-15! This is Cy-Woods first year as a varsity team and they are now heading to the 3rd round of play offs! We will be tearing up 290 and 6 next Saturday morning on our way to Waco to play the winner of DeSoto/Skyline. You guessed it, Joe gets to drive to Dallas and back tomorrow to go scout with all of his fellow coaches. I'm actually kind of jealous, I'm ready for a road trip! However, the mountain that is growing in my laundry basket needs to be attacked. Oh yeah, and as far as Thanksgiving is concerned, this will be the first year that we have to stay home because of football playoffs. Hopefully this will happen a lot more in Joe's career! Can I just tell you how excited I am that there are only two days of school next week...that's my kind of week! :) My apologies for this completely random paragraph...it is way past my brain's bedtime. (and No, Joe is not home from his game....he's probably got another couple hours...p.s. it's 1 a.m.)

Goodnight!

:: Don't be Jealous! ::

Have I told you how much I love my job! This is our assignment today.

The picture started out looking like this:


And when we're done, it will look something like this:


This was my example that I let them look at while they are working. In case you were wondering, like my students, YES...this is my grandparents (my mom's parents). My first period is always asleep, so they didn't make the connection...however, every class after that has put it all together. Well, just thought I'd share...and maybe make you jealous that this is what I get to teach! Stay tuned, because the projects are only getting better in the coming weeks! :)

P.S. Tomorrow is Friday, can I get a Hallelujah! Is it me, or are these weeks just flying by?

* She's 4 Months Old! *

We have been so busy lately that yesterday as I was picking the kids up from Grammy's, I remembered that Emery was 4 months old! Shame on me! 4 months ago, we went from a family of 3 to a family of 4 and we haven't looked back since. Trey doesn't realize it, but he has met his match. Emery is a girl who knows what she wants, and will get it. It only took her 2 months, but she has become quite the sleeper. She is in bed most nights by 7, and we generally have to wake her up at 6 when it's time for us to go to work. How Joe and I were blessed with two of the best sleepers, I have no idea...but it rocks. I know I posted this picture already, but she's too cute not to post it again...

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On another note...I am officially disappointed in myself. With two kids, and a rock-star FB coach for a husband, it is so easy to take things for granted. I complain about not seeing Joe enough, I complain that Trey can be such a handful, and the list goes on. I know that I am so blessed with my family, and my 2 happy, healthy kids. I haven't vocalized my complaining lately, because last month I posted about staying positive. I've tried to be positive on the outside, but let's face it...the thoughts that roll thru my head sometimes are all BUT positive! And since this blog is my free therapy, I am vowing to try and prevent the thoughts from ever entering my head and just allowing myself to blessed with an awesome life. I am a blog stalker of many blogs, but one that I cannot stop thinking about is this special little girl, Kayleigh. I cannot imagine what her parents are going through, and the more I think about it, the more disappointed I get in myself for taking my life for granted! Please say a prayer for Kayleigh and her family tonight as she has been struggling the last day or so. The Holiday's are right around the corner and my new goal is to just soak it up and enjoy life as it comes and be thankful for EVERY day that I have with my family and friends.

Today I feel like being curious. I have 'stalked' so many blogs it's not even funny. It is simply ridiculous how lost you can get in 'blog-land'. I can admit that I have become addicted. Like I said earlier, FREE therapy! Anyway, I sometimes wonder who that is down there on my Feedjit reader. If you're stoppin' by...I'd love to know!

* Got Some Pics *

We'll start with Em first...I told y'all she was getting big! She had her first belly laugh the other night. We were shopping at the outlet mall, and I had her and Trey facing each other in the stroller. Trey was hitting her seat and yelling, "NO!" and she thought it was HILARIOUS. It was fun to see that she gets such a big kick out of her brother.


Now on to Trey. He STILL has a fever. Grrr. I talked to the Dr. today and he had me go into Urgent Care by the house to get some blood work done. The doctor and the nurses looked at me like I was a nut-so first time mom when they caught one look of him. Yes, he was running around the waiting room. They did decide to draw some blood, only after my dr. asked for it. The dr. at the urgent care did NOT want to do anything. His white blood cell count came back normal, even on the lower end, but he's been on antibiotics for 4 days which can do that. I really think Dr. Parikh wanted to introduce the urgent care dr. to Trey's LOVE of needles. (sense the sarcasm?) Trey blew the first pull of blood, and we had to get it out of the other arm. Not pleasant! The urgent care doc thought it was probably just a viral infection, and Trey simply hasn't 'turned the corner'. I think I have to agree with him because Emery has been congested, I am now getting the crud...and I really think Trey's bout with this just came with the fever too. The pics below are how Trey handles sickness...This was tonight after his bath. His temperature before his bath was around 101...he looks terribly sick, right?

Sidenote with this pic:
Who needs a $30 Elf on the Shelf,
when you have your own Santa to keep an eye on him? :)

More evidence that Trey is sooo sick.
The kid wanted to jump off of his bed,
I had to encourage him to simply jump ON the bed.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Oh yeah, Joe's team won by 1 point! I think it was just as nerve racking getting the text messages as it would have been to be there! I'm glad we opted out of going, I hear it was REALLY cold! The Wildcats now play Klein Forest Friday night at Klein stadium.

:: Fever, Fever, Go Away! ::

I did have full intentions of breaking out the camera this weekend, I swear. However, my children thought otherwise. Trey hung on to his fever today like it was his best friend. He has had 101-102 ALL day, with Tylenol. The good thing is...he is his usual non-stop, always-talkin', totally boy, self. Tonight, while at Luby's (mmmm), I decided to text the Dr. (yes, I text the pediatrician), and he called me within 2 minutes! (LOVE IT) He said since he is acting fine, just keep an eye on him, but another day and he'll want to see him again. Trey is still coughing and has a bout here and there with whiney-ness (is that a word?) Emery is on the down-side of her cold, knock on wood. So with all that said, we did not go to Joe's play-off game today at Kyle Field. I figured I might just get the award for Worst Mother of the Year if I tried to pull that off. We stayed home today and got some stuff done around the house with the help of Mimi. Hopefully tomorrow we will get the camera out so you can see how ridicuously big the kids are getting. Trey might have skipped 3T all together, this morning his 3T sweat suit looked like an 18 month outfit on him. Emery will be 4 months old next week and she is now in 6-9 months clothes. They grow up way too fast. I think with your first child, you are looking at them like, "Come on, crawl, walk, talk..."...the second go round you want to put a brick on their head! :)

We did manage to make it out to the Coles Crossing garage sale this morning. Another year, another successful trip. Trey is a great scout for toys as we drive by houses..."No mommy, those are girly toys!"..."Mommy, go get me that!"..."We don't need that!" Each of those statements came out of his mouth at least once today. Let's re-call the purchases made today! Probably 5 or 6 outfits between Trey and Emery. A radio with microphone for Trey=$1. Some more little things, and then the best deal of the day??? This car seat for $25!!! I know it's probably tacky to talk about how much I paid for something, but I am such an advocate for garage sales!

I'm a little bummed because we are going to have to stay home from church in the morning, and I was really looking forward to going. Just to start getting back into a normal routine, but I am not that parent that takes a sick kid to the nursery! :) Hope everybody is enjoying the fabulous weather, and please say a little prayer that Trey and Emery can kick the 'crud' this week!

* Well... *

Okay, this is going to be a random post. We have not been up to much this week. Joe has been working lots to get prepared for this weekends Play-Off game. The Wildcats are playing at Kyle Field Saturday at 3. Go Cats!

Miss Emery decided to get her first cold this week. She is taking it like a champ. God blessed me with 2 kids that will sleep thru almost anything, even Ike. Even though she sounds like a rattle box, she still sleeps. Thank goodness for Vapor Plug-ins! Trey in turn followed suit and started coughing Wednesday and sounded like a barkin' dog! I wouldn't have taken him to the doctor, except yesterday he was pretty warm when I picked him up from Grammy's. Have I mentioned I LOVE my 'pediatrician', that is better known as the Cy-Woods team doctor? Dr. Amit Parikh, if you wanna look him up. Let me just tell you about how Trey can play thru any illness, so he's runnin' thru the office asking them for their toys and turning the dr.'s rollie stool into a missile. The doctor took one look in Trey's mouth and his exact words were, "Have you looked in his mouth lately? His tonsils are MASSIVE." Diagnosis: Tonsilitis Remedy: Antibiotics! He then told me that he would see me at the game Saturday. Yep, that's my pediatrician!

Can I tell you how SUPER-PSYCHED I am for the Annual Coles Crossing Garage Sale? I already have my alarm set so I can get out there in the morning. If you don't know me, well I LOVE a bargain, and I am not ashamed to buy my kids second-hand stuff. For instance, I got this toy at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago for Emery, for one dollar! So as all of you are sleeping in tomorrow morning, I will be out runnin' thru the streets of Coles! :)

Anyway, the following picture is an example of the project we are doing in my class at school. The kid's get to pick a coloring book picture out, from about 500+ images. Then they have to color it using PhotoShop, but they can't just click and put one color. They have to use lots of techniques to make it look better. Nope, I don't teach Kindergarten, I teach Juniors and Seniors. I was finishing up their example today and thought to myself, "Wow, I get paid to do this!" Just had to throw that out there! :) Well, that's all for now. I hope to get the camera out this weekend so I can get some more pics on here!



P.S. Come on cold front!!!!

:: Cuteness ::

As I was putting Trey down for bed tonight, we decided we would read 2 books. One truck book, and then his new favorite...the Walmart Toy catalog. After I read them, he had to read them back to me. Make note that his Mickey cell phone was in bed with us. As he was 'reading' the catalog to me, and asking me if I wanted a new Transformer.....he snatches up his cell phone and says, "Hello Santa?" Okay, at this point I'm losing it and he matter of factly looks at me and says, "Shhh, I am on the phone with Santa!" If you could only see his face when he says that, because it is very animated and strongly resembles the way I tell him to get quiet when I'm on the phone. I'm STILL laughing and he is STILL telling me to zip it. He finally decides he has told Santa all that he has to say, and tells Santa goodnight. It's moments like those that make all of these temper tantrums worth it.

P.S. Don't tell on me...YES I'm using Santa as leverage and it's only November 9. ha!
Another P.S. Congrats to Joe's team (Cy-Woods), they made play-offs! They play at Kyle Field Saturday 11/15 at 3. This will be my first game at Kyle Field!

:: PC ::

No, today in our house that does not stand for politically correct...it stands for POISON CONTROL. I'm only able to laugh at this now, 2 hours later. I'm not really laughing, maybe I'm just nervous. Here's the story (b/c I know you are all still hung up on POISON CONTROL): I was feeding Emery in the living room, and I thought Trey was playing with his ABC's on the refrigerator. That's what I get for thinking. The next thing I know he's running into the living room with his mouth open pointing to the kitchen. I FLY off of the couch and immediately look by the sink...no cabinets open, nothing out. WHAT IS HE POINTING AT?...then I see it. There has been a small bottle of flea dip way back in our pantry. I thought the stuff was gone..but even if it wasn't the lid was supposed to be child-proof. I look in the bottle, thank GOD there isn't much out of it, but none-the-less Trey had some in his mouth. I am shaking at this point. I am running around the kitchen trying to figure out what to do. I got some water in his mouth and was making him spit. I then decided I better call poison control...they are FAST. I was on the phone with someone in no time. I'm telling her that he probably ingested about a tablespoon and that it didn't look like much was gone. She informs me (learn something new every day), that when a child swallows, it is about a teaspoon and that is a huge difference. Really? Yep, really. Anyway, she very calmly told me to keep an eye on him and look for things like difficulty breathing, seizures, etc. Yes, she is calmly telling me that. We hang up and I can't take my eyes off of Trey. Emery can scream, but I'm going to keep an eye on him. The lady calls me back within a minute of hanging up and tells me to get the kid some sweets...cookies, chocolate, juice. I said that is not a problem, he'll probably think that he should ingest some more of that stuff if that's what he gets! Anyway, Trey went on to eat 4 cookies, drink a full glass of non-diluted apple juice, a sweet potato, corn chowder, and mandarin oranges for dinner. I think he is fine. :)

* Sticky *

Well, the last couple days have been a little trying in our household. Trey has decided that it is time to buck the system. I say up, he says down...I say black, he says white. Doesn't matter what the situation is, it will be one way...HIS way.

Example #1: Yesterday at Walgreens we had one of those "where are your parents?" moments. I have to take the blame myself, because the whole situation could have been avoided had I taken them in in the stroller. I LOVE my stroller but it takes a few minutes to get it down and set it up, and I didn't feel it necessary for a 2 minute run into Walgreens. So, I opted to carry Emery in her carrier and make Trey hold my hand. All was well, until we passed the stinkin' dancing Christmas penguins on the end of the aisle by checkout. He had his heart set on that penguin, and I had my heart set on getting out of there to get home. Picture this...Trey on the floor kicking and screaming in the aisle at Walgreens b/c I was telling him it was time to go home and that we would not be taking the silly penguin home with us. Can we say embarassed? I have learned my lesson...the stroller is ALWAYS worth it!

Example #2: About 30 minutes ago. Trey has a house FULL of toys, but if there is something better that catches his attention than he would rather play with that. I.E. the CPU, the printer, Mommy's sunglasses, the Dr. Pepper's left on the kitchen counter. I was on my way into the kitchen when I noticed Trey's hand digging in the DP's on the counter....it was slow motion at that point. Out came his hand and about 3 other DP's. Straight to the floor. They couldn't just fall on the tile and get shaken up. Nope, they needed to spew DP all over the kitchen and on my face/hair/arms/clothes while I played hot potato with 3 cans. Yes, situation could have been avoided again by me had I just put them in the pantry. I will learn...one day.

Wednesday nights are good margarita nights, right? Hmmm...why can't we have drive-thru daquiri shacks like Louisiana? I could keep them in business on nights like tonight! :)

Thank goodness Trey is such an easy little boy to love...he does have his moments. He seems to know just when to come hug my leg and say "Mommy, I love you"...I'm waiting for that tonight so I can take a deep breath! :) Hope everyone is having a good week! Last district football game on Friday night, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!!

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P.S. I needed some scrapbooking therapy so I went ahead and prepared the blog for Christmas time! My favorite time of year....

Halloween and More...

Well....we got a costume on!!! I painted his face with glow in the dark paint, but you can't tell. I'm okay with that, because I was just glad he had a costume on! Hey Joe, let's not tell everybody that we had to pin him down kicking and screaming to get it on....Before you start tracking down the CPS number, he actually ended up loving his "bones" and didn't want to take it off....just took some convincing, that's all!

Candy!

Trick or Treating in Prestonwood!
That's Emery with Mrs. Schier...

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I had to dust off the camera today...Enjoy!
Plus, I needed a good excuse to get Emery in this dress before she out grows it!

Aww...he does sit down...sometimes.

Fists up...Ready to throw down!
(Or just keep her brother away!)Sweet face...
I'm this many...but not for much longer.
This is the dress....too cute!

Emery's face says it all...

Poor girl...I didn't post the one where the
octopus ended up on her face.
She is a good sport!