Oh those GT boys...and a bonus riddle

The younger group that I work with in gifted and talented is curiously enough all boys. We are currently working on dioramas ( scenes in shoeboxes) that show at least three living things and three non-living things. So far my box really stands out since I chose to do the seashore.

The boys have all chosen various themes of hunting, sports, or farming. Mind you these are country kids so that is what they know. The problem is that I wasn't any help at all because I didn't know what a deer blind would look to scale, or how to make the goal posts stand up using construction paper. The poor boy recreating a football game just looked at me strangely when I asked where the cheerleaders on the sideline were. He said they were not important to the game. Raising two very prissy girlie girls is going to be of no help whatsoever as the boys and I get through the year. I have a feeling I will be learning a lot.

Riddle of the day: YOU LEAVE HOME TAKE THREE LEFTS AND WHEN YOU RETURN TWO PEOPLE IN MASKS ARE THERE. WHO ARE THEY?

A Letter to the School Lunchlady

Dear Lunchlady,

My children really enjoy your food, which I know is unusual for most school cafeteria's to hear. I think it has more to do with the thought of me sending them to school with liverwurst on rye sandwiches and celery sticks than any particular thing on the menu.

My request is simple, could you possibly coordinate the dates of school picture day, so that they do not fall on the same day that you are serving Sloppy Joes. I know my girls love Sloppy Joes because they inadvertantly got them all over the lovely outfits I sent them to schoool in especially for picture day. I am sure the grandparents will love any picture I give them of their grandaughters, but having to explain the stains all over their clothing is a bit much. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely, Christine

does this blog look x-rated to you/

Well this morning I was feeding my sitemeter addiction and I noticed that continuing in the tradition of the last week or so that I have a lot of searches for one particular post. This post is of my daughter's Volleyball team, and the fact that they are called cougars.

Well curiosity got the better of me this morning and I clicked on one of the searches. To my horror along with my completely innocent blog up came a ton of sites for "cougar" porn. I am so sorry to be disappointing a lot of truly sick people but I am most definitely not promoting porn in any way shape or form.

I called my husband because my first reaction was to be completely disturbed and self-righteous, but my husband just burst out laughing at me! "Christine, do you know how many really lonely men, just got truly disappointed when they saw your blog"? OK, what? So since I have a post about cougars, I am reaching a whole new target audience than I ever intended. Sorry to disappoint this new audience....but this gal, don't fly that way!

Confessions of a Texas Cheer Mom

It really does sound worse than it actually is, I promise! For many years I have been coaching in the evening at my girls gym. It is a power tumbling, and all star cheer gym. For the first five years I managed to keep Rebecca away from the cheerleading program, and focused on my favorites...competitive trampoline, double mini trampoline, and power tumbling. I had visions of my daughter one day competing for the US Olympic trampoline team. Rebecca on the other hand just wanted to be a cheerleader.

She is so passionate about her sport! She loves every part of it from dance, to tumbling, to stunting. She would like to one day cheer for the University of Texas, just like some of the older girls who used to attend our gym. She is so motivated to work hard, and keep straight "A's" in school just so we don't take away her one great joy. I tell you though, It is a good thing I work at the gym, because this is one really expensive sport! I am really fortunate that my job there pays all my girl's bills incurred there. I haven't had to pay for uniforms, competition fees, or coaching, ever! Which is one way that we can ensure the sport she holds so dear she can keep doing.

So yes, I am a cheer mom...bring on the critics!

Bubblegum Romance and Jude Devereaux

I have a passion for reading. There is not a day that goes by that at some point during the day I read a few pages of a book. I keep novels going in my bedroom, and also in almost every bathroom in the house. It is typical for me to have several going at the same time, because I have no problems keeping plot lines straight. I can't even fall asleep at night without at least glancing at written word.

That being said, I have developed such a distaste for Romance novels. I don't mind so much the sameness of plot or the fact that it looks like there were thousands of lords and ladies in regency England who fell in love, because I guess the peasants are so uninteresting. No, what truly bugs me is the brainless heroines in so many of these.

I have never been a "damsel in distress" type of gal. I pride myself on being self-reliant....in fact it drives my husband a little nuts, because I never ask him for help with anything. I used to really enjoy reading Jude Devereaux "the early years" because she had great heroines who ran households, did it all, and were rarely out of control....and then she turned on me. The romances all became about odd time traveling sagas, because apparently the right guy isn't here...he is fighting dragons three centuries before...sorry you missed each other.

The reason for tonight's minor irritation, is against my better judgement, and lack of finding anything else to read around here I picked up a Jude Devereaux novel my mom had given me in a bag of books. This one was called "Temptation" I read it and gradually realized my brain was actually getting numb with each passing word. Going to go find something that will boost brain power and not decimate it

Debating and Shopping

Ok, I did my civic duty, and listened closely to everything that both candidates had to say, but honestly couldn't bear to watch it. It was on the TV playing away in the background, while I was busy sipping cocktails and shopping!

It is not that I don't care about our country and the financial state that we are in, but did you know that Amazon was having a 70% off sale in their toys section? I have Christmas shopping to do with my own two girls, 3 nephews, and two nieces. So while I listened to the tirade of who did/did not vote for the Iraq situation. I was debating between which playdough set to buy my three year old nephew. While both candidates avoided discussing what they were going to do about the current financial crisis, I was buying board games for my 5 yr old niece. Buy the time my cosmo had reached the bottom of the glass, I had four gifts purchased to put up in my gift closet, and they were arguing on Fox News who had won the debate. I knew who had won, ME!

Having CP and dealing with "That Time of Month"

OK, it is problem solving time, and I am ready for your brainstorms. Regan will be 13 in November, and is developing pretty normally for a pre-teen. So we know on the horizon is the big "period". While her father and I have been in denial for sometime we are now ready to make a game plan, but would love any input and ideas.

She has cerebral palsy so her fine motor skills are enough that she can sort of dress herself from the waist up (usually a bra is difficult, so I help). She wipes front only, because she can't reach the back (Ugh). She is really a very average kid with needing some minor help. At school she has an Aide, but her primary function is to walk with Regan to and from classes, take her to the restroom, and just basically keep track of her. During class time, though her Aide is helping throughout the school because Regan can do 7th grade on her own.

Well with the big "P" looming over our heads the questions have come up from the school...and us too. What are we all responsible for. I can't have her Aide doing such personal things like changing pads, etc. It seems so very unhygienic and unsanitary, and I don't think she gets paid enough for that job! A doctor suggested birth control, but I can't seem to find one that stops a period completely, it either just delays it for a while, or very light flow. I can't put her in a diaper all day because she would be extremely embarrassed, and that is just not something I would not do to her. Hubby would just like to have her sterilized right away (well actually he would like this for both of the girls...but he is just being a dad), but of course that is a decision we can't make for her.

I really do need help on this topic, so get your brains working overtime and see if there is something I might be missing. Thanks!

Creative Halloween Costumes

I am a big believer that there is no reason to go out and buy Halloween costumes, just use what you have around your home creatively. It really helps the the school the girls go to really encourages the kids to either go as your favorite book character or what you want to be when you grow up.

Last year Rebecca went as Pippi Longstocking, which is just one of our favorite characters of all time. It was fun to wire her braids straight and wear the crazy color combos we could find in their closets. Two years ago Regan went as her American Girl Doll Molly. It was so absolutely cute....and all she did was wear a raincoat, and take her doll's book.

Other great easy ideas:
1.Any old prom dress with a sash, and being a beauty queen/prom queen
2.Wear a suit (male or female) and be a reporter with a microphone
3.Wear a tracksuit (male or female) and add a medal...instant Olympic Athlete
4.Make clothes a little ratty, and make a bandanna sack on a pole for a hobo.
5.Dress in Sunday best and carry your bible to be an evangelist.
6.Wear a suit and clip board, and make an IRS badge (really scares the grownups).

This year Regan wants to go as Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles....so an 80's look is what we are going for. Rebecca is wearing a huge tutu and feather boa, to be Fancy Nancy. Have fun with your costumes, and don't make them stressful. It should easily adapt to all sizes, and be fun!

My own future Rachel Zoe

Becca has a complete and utter obsession with fashion and being unique. Yes, she knows a ten year old is to old for a tutu....but it is so cute over jeans with just the right jewelry. She has been this way her entire life. Regan could care less what she has on, and dutifully wears whatever I pull out of the closet. In fact the only requirements Regan has is that it have an elastic waist (to help with her cerebral palsy motor skills) and that it be comfortable.

Becca from age four was going through my wardrobe and designing my daily looks, and is very particular about how she styles herself. She knows names of designers and and adores all things accessory, especially sunglasses and purses. She recently discovered the Bravo television show "The Rachel Zoe Project" and has found a kindred spirit and mentor.

The show comes on Tuesday nights and it is Tivoed so Rebecca can watch it the next morning while getting ready for school. She loves all things about Rachel! The designers she gets to work with, the stars that she dresses, and most of all her vintage eclectic sense of style. This morning she was cracking me up, as she was adding a belt to her layered t-shirts over jeans ensemble, complete with sunglasses, jewelry, and the perfect shoes. She then lamented that she did not own a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. I started laughing and explained that they do not make shoes for ten year olds. Even if they did it would not be in our price range. She then asked, "Do you think Zac Posen, or J. Mendel makes clothes in my size that are affordable"?

Ummmmmm....who? Apparently those are designers that Rachel works with, and didn't I know anything? Well I did pick up on something, firstly that diva was going to be late for school at the rate we were going, and secondly that Rachel had written a fashion styling book......can we say Christmas Present?

GT riddle me tuesday

Today is Gifted and Talented Tuesday. The younger group I am working with are doing dioramas that feature living and non-living items set in a scene. The older group are working on planet PowerPoints, and than paper mache replicas of their planets.

But, I wanted to share one of my favorite science experiments from last year..... The famous egg drop. The kids have so much fun with this challenge and I thought I would list our materials so that anyone could replicate this one on their own.

Description: A team of two will construct a cargo crate to protect an egg from breaking. The crate will be dropped free fall from a height of approximately 4 meters.

Materials: Contestants may use all or any part of the following materials all of which must be supplied by the supervisor to construct a crate.
1. One 8.5" by 11" sheet of standard copy paper
2. 15 drinking straws of any size (minimum length 5 inches) in any combination.
3. 15 Popsicle sticks
4. 100 cm of string
5. 100 cm of masking tape
6. 5 rubber bands
7. Must use one raw egg.

We ended up with only one team not have an egg break, how well can you do?

Riddle for the day: A man is pushing his car. He stops in front of a hotel and immediately knows he is bankrupt. How did he know?

Shout out to Houseparties

I belong to a great website, called Houseparties.com. The basic premise is that you host a party featuring their clients, merchandise, or to watch a new show out on television. You are sent a box of items as the hostess of the party to promote whatever House parties is promoting at the moment. I have hosted parties featuring KidZBop, Lipstick Jungle, Pepperidge Farms cookies, and Margeritaville Frozen concoction maker just to name a few.

By far the Margeritaville one has been my favorite. That machine is unbelievably awesome! We now drink pretty much everything in our house with frozen crushed ice in slushy mode. We made snow cones all summer long, and frozen drinks are perfect in South Texas. I have also been the hit of the summer BBQ party circuit, because it came with a carrying case. I just pack it with me to pool parties and BBQ’s, and pretty much everyone is happy. I have gotten five other families to purchase their own after seeing mine work so well. That is definitely word of mouth marketing at it’s finest.

Just yesterday, I was accepted into a new house party through Better Homes and Gardens about Going Green. I look forward to receiving my package in the mail and sharing it with all my friends. At my house I don't need an excuse to throw a party, but it sure is bonus, to have something new to share with everyone. I can't wait to have my "Falling in love with Green" party in a few weeks.

Fall into South Texas

Well the first day of Fall is upon us. The leaves are turning, the Harvest is ready, the birds are forming large V's and heading south for the winter. The world is full of wonderful colors of red, gold, orange....

That is if you live somewhere else besides south Texas! I personally would love to see nature another color besides dead yellow/brown this time of year. I would love to know what a harvest time looks like. It has been drought time here for so long that the only green I see is the John Deere tractors in The pasture behind us.

I do have to admit though it has gotten slightly cooler. It is no longer in the high 90's it is dipping into low 90's and high 80's now. On the plus side, no one is covering their swimming pools yet, because we probably have another good month of outdoor water time.

The crazy thing is that we can look forward to the brown dead look until about March when Spring is in full bloom again. At this rate it will be shorts and T-shirts at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If you can't tell by now, Rain is so desperately needed, that people were praying for Hurricane Ike to hit farther south....no matter the damage done. At church we have been praying for rain for over a year now, and many of our rancher friends are looking for new places to dig wells for watering the cattle. I hope that these prayers are answered before to many ranches have to go under because they cannot keep cattle watered and still make a profit.

Have cerebral palsy and want to do sports? No problem!

People are often amazed at Regan's activity list especially since we live in a very rural community. Pretty much anytime Regan wants to try something, I have learned to not say no, but instead say, "Let's figure out how we can do that". If there is one thing we have learned, is that Regan, if she is determined will do what she wants in her own non-traditional way. Here is a look at her yearly activity lists.

Cheerleading: A lot of the professional cheer companies run a disability category, or at the very least a "show" category. My younger daughter does competitive cheerleading, and Regan really wanted to also. Our cheer coach taught her a routine that allowed her to hold onto her walker and do some jumps. Then she went down on her knees and did a cheer while "tall kneeling" She surprised everyone by ending it with a forward roll, she had been working on for months. She got a big trophy, and is eager to sign up and do another competition this year.

Dance: Tap and Ballet are also taught at the gym where we spend our evenings, and Regan really wanted to give these a try. During the fall for the winter recital she works on a tap routine. In the spring she does ballet for the spring recital. Last year she did a duet at the spring recital to "Butterfly Kisses" and there was not a dry eye in the house.

Track: This is the only thing she does through Special Olympics and she absolutely loves it. She competes in tennis ball throw and the 50 meter assisted walk. She is quite known for taking 1st place these days, and it is almost embarrassing how competitive she is because the children she competes against are not.

Golf: Twice a year her hospital Scottish Rites Children's Hospital in Dallas offer a golf clinic in Austin, Tx about 2 hrs from us. They gave her golf clubs to use, and have taught her how to swing and putt. She likes the day out, but when we take her golfing, she much prefers to drive the cart.

Other activities: I plan to do another post in the future about summer camp where she swims, climbs rock walls, does the zip line, rides horses so even in the summer she never has off. We are an active family, and i truly believe that Regan should be active with the rest of us. She is not afraid to try new things, and has asked me now about ice skating. I will say there is one sport she has tried and completely hates.....snorkeling. She could not get the hang of breathing, and when we took her in the Bahamas, she just cried and drank buckets full of salt water. Oh well...you can't be talented at everything you try. I told her I would try and teach her snorkeling in a pool first before we attempt it again.

Welcome to Dumpsville

Heaven help females scorned.....especially if they are 10 and 11 years old? This weekend at our house Rebecca has one her good friends over for the weekend. I will call her "C". Well, as all good middle school drama starts they both had planned to do a lot of talking about their boyfriends (Becca's is harmless because he doesn't even go to her school, and their entire "relationship" career has been her sitting at his baseball games watching him play).

C started off with the news that she had broken up with her boyfriend this week because he was kind of being a jerk to her, and giving her the silent treatment. This was because he had heard she like someone else. She decided if he was going to not even fight for her, he was not worth it. I really like C's philosophy. Of course she came bearing the bad news with her (since Rebecca's boyfriend goes to her school) that he wanted it passed by C to Becca that it was over.

My first thought is they are way to young for any of this. My second thought, is that it happened no matter their maturity, and the good parent thing to do is guide them through it correctly. Like any good death of a middle school romance Becca had the following stages of grief.

1st reaction: "That's cool"

2nd reaction 15 minutes later: "C, lets go to my room"
I left them alone for about 20 minutes to give them some crying time...but instead when I went back there Becca was ripping apart all shreds of evidence about the boy. Journal entries, and anything containing his name were in snow of paper on her bedroom floor. I am all about healthy anger...you go girl!

3rd reaction: back in the living room for about an hour of silence and a head resting on C's shoulder. Kind of watching TV...kind of staring thoughtfully. I guess we are in the reflection stage.

4th reaction: OK my Becca is back in full form. She and C immediately start lining up the next boy for the job. Becca starts discussing the merits of other boys who like her, but would not approach her because she was taken. I do my job and remind them that as powerful and strong women we do not need a man to fulfill us. Their response; " well yeah.....but it sure is fun to have one!" I kind of have to agree.

National Talk Like a Pirate day

Ok, This is absolutely hysterical. Today is international Talk Like a Pirate Day. So to commemorate this event I thought I would tell my favorite pirate jokes.

Q:How Much does it cost for a pirate to get his ears pierced?
A:A Buck-an-ear

Q:What kind of movies do pirates like?
A:Anything rated Argh (R)

Q:Why does it take a pirate so long to learn the alphabet?
A:Because they spend years at C

This should get you all on a roll. Just buy an eyepatch, and put on your best wench dress. The Rum is flowing, and everyone deserves a little booty (sorry tacky I know, but couldn't resist)!

Being a Mother of Cougars

My girls go to a micro-public school. It is a rural school district with a little over 100 kids in pre-k through 8th grade. Because of how few kids there are my daughter Rebecca who is in 5th grade will get to play on the school volleyball team (actually she would probably prefer playing with the boys flag football team, but that's another ball of wax). Their school mascot is the cougar which right now completely cracks me up since they are calling 35+ women who date younger men the same thing. So my girls are cougars?

Well today is the first game with the pep rally around noon and then they play against another tiny micro district. We are not expecting her to get much game time, but I told her to do her best keeping that bench warm and cozy for the 7th and 8th graders who I expect will get most of the playing time. Maybe if they are doing well she will get put in the rotation with the rest of hobbit-sized 5th graders. They look so funny even standing next to the eight graders who are all going through their development stages, and already look so mature. I love watching all these kids grow up since I have known most of them since Kindergarten. Go Cougars!

Thank heavens we don't live on a Culdesac

Rebecca, my ten year old is an avid reader, and just had brought home one of the Gossip Girl book series from the library at school to do her Accelerated Reading work. So here is how the conversation went:

Me: Honey aren't you a little young to be reading that series?

Becca (rolling her eyes): Mom, Ms. J said that it was for 5th grade on up, and it is in my reading range.

Me: Hmmm, If I am not mistaken there is teen sex portrayed in those books, and I do not think that is appropriate for you.

Becca: Oh Mom, I already know everything, and this wouldn't be the first book I read from the library where they talk about sex in it.

Me (in shock): Which other books have you read already?

Becca: The Princess Diaries series talks about it (it does?), and In that Alice series I like to read, they had a stripping party on the culdesac where they lived.

Me: Now Becca, you know the difference between right and wrong, I don't want you to think because you have read it that it makes it OK.

Becca: Mom, I promise I will not have sex or stripping parties....besides (she says with an that impish grin of hers) I can't anyway... we don't live on a culdesac.

World Champion Boxer riddle

Well today is gifted and talented day, and I will leave later this morning to help kids paper mache' their planets to scale...which should be fun. GT is an absolute passion, and I love working with people who are creative, mechanical, and completely think outside the box.

One of the misconceptions is that only the smartest kids are gifted...THIS IS NOT TRUE! I can tell you a child can be learning disabled in some form and still be extremely gifted.

Riddle for the day: A boxer left the ring after winning the world championship title. His trainer took all the money and he didn't get a cent. Why not?

The Joys of a Dead Laptop

Regan who is 12 loves technology, I think for the sheer fact that there are buttons to push, and it makes things happen. She is truly an obsessed child. As an infant any V_tech toy or thing that made noise, was pressed over and over til you wanted to hide all batteries, and get in fetal position. As she has gotten older her tastes have changed.

Two years ago she wanted a laptop desperately so I was fortunate enough to come across one at a rummage sale for $10, that was a little outdated and had no internet access. She proceeded to spend hours making herself demo websites, learning powerpoint, and basically learning all ins and out of her machine. This summer her laptop died, and she still keeps it around to pretend play with her sister. Saturday they spent all morning playing "The Rachel Zoe Project" with Regan as the assistant, and Rebecca as the ever fashionable Rachel Zoe. That afternoon they played hotel to the stars, with Regan as the clerk, and Rebecca playing a never ending supply of famous people checking into the hotel with all their demands and entourage.

It cracks me up that an absolutely useless piece of equipment still gets so much use and play time at our house, that I am not sure I even want to replace it. Although both girls have asked, when a new laptop will be coming. My answer is always the same. Next time I find another one at a rummage sale for $10. Rebecca swears though that this time it will be hers just to be fair. SO anyone out there in internet world getting rid of a laptop or upgrading and wants to make two young girls sublimely happy.....just let me know.

My morning blessings...DDP

As I sit here on yet another Monday morning after getting up early to get kids dressed. eat breakfast, lunches packed, backpacks packed, and schedules coordinated. I have to thank the Lord above for my many blessings. I think the one thing I am most thankful for this morning is...... Diet Dr. Pepper.

Caffeine, what a wonderful word. It is the nectar of life that helps me be a supermom, when I would rather crawl into my down comforter cave, and yell out "figure it out yourselves"! It helps me to jumpstart my day, and keep me going til I can no longer function around midnight tonight.

Yes I know it's not healthy for me....yes I know it rots my teeth, stimulates my appetite, and will probably contribute to a major illness in my lifetime, but on this morning... I simply don't care!

God Bless you Diet Dr. Pepper, or as I affectionately know you as DDP. I look forward to a long and fulfilling relationship with you.

Balloon Animals and Canoli

Last night to celebrate the fact that Hurricane Ike came no where near my house...and the fact that we did not even get an inch of rain, we all decided to take the kids out to eat in Austin. We went to a great place called Canoli Joe's... I have no idea if this is a chain type of restaurant or not, but wow...the food is great! It is an all you can eat authentic Italian buffet. We dined on Chianti braised beef, and pork scallopini. The kids got their favorites of alfredo and fried mozzerella. My sister and went back for seconds on the Tiramisu. There was so much food, that there is practically no way to attempt trying everything.

Then we had a guy come by the table to offer to make the children balloon animals for a donation. My niece requested a flower in pink since she is definitely a girly girl (her favorite colors are pink. purple, and sparkly). Regan wanted a tiger since she had seen them at the zoo and those are her favorite. Then Rebecca asked for a monkey holding a banana.. She just can't make life easy on people, and always has to go that diva extra mile. Well the guy was fabulous and each of the girls got exactly what they asked for.

Having a Frugal Birthday Bash

Regan absolutely loves her birthdays. She tends to plan them months and sometimes years in advance. She has planned already that this November when she turns the big 13...we are supposed to go to Austin for a spa day and slumber party with all the female family members only. But in this post I want to tell about the wonderful frugal party of two years ago.

When Regan turned 10 one of the Harry Potter movies was going to be premiering. She wanted to take 10 girls to the movies, out to eat, to a hotel to spend the night and swim in the indoor pool. I managed the entire night....including her birthday gift (firefly cell phone) for $85. It was a mastery of frugality if I do say so myself.

I booked the Marriott through Priceline two rooms for one night...originally $95 dollars, but when I got there, the rooms were not handicapped accessible, or connected to each other. The hotel manager and I negotiated to two rooms across the hall from one another, and he moved the price down to $65 to keep my business at his hotel. I brought from Home, bottles of water ( I filled up myself) and a cake to be eaten later.

The tickets for the movies I had gotten for free, due to lots of surveys that at the time I could get Fandango bucks for....so the movie for 10 of us was....free. I took the girls to Sam's club to pick up snacks, and it turned out to be their holiday preview snack night (I had no idea...so an unexpected bonus). So I lined up the kids at table after table, until they were completely full. I bought a box of variety candy for the movie theater, and a huge container of cheese puffs for snacks at the hotel that night. Dinner....free.

The kids just used the water fountain at the movie theater, and each girl carried two candy bags in their purses to snack on. That night at the hotel, Regan was absolutely thrilled to get her firefly cell phone ( that was free to me through BuzzAgent) and the kids swam and snacked til midnight. The next morning we all ate at the Hotel's free breakfast bar, and then headed back home. It was a truly awesome birthday. My house was not destroyed, and I did not worry about goodie bags, because we had done so much. In fact none of the kids even asked about one. In each thank you note they received a picture of the group having fun that night.

Regan's party that year was such a success.. it was copied by at least two other families that we know of....but they did not get the deals that I did.

Crafty Sisters are Tutu crazy

My sister Jennifer and I decided while I was waiting out Hurricane Ike with her that we should get started on our holiday crafts. There is a large crafts fair in my town in November, that only accepts homemade items. Since Jennifer and I both have girls, we tend to make a lot of really girlie items. This year we are making tutus, blinged out belt buckles (Texas women love these), Hair bows, decorating votives and candles. Since I have a ton of scrapbooking supplies, we are also thinking about doing some decoupage pieces. Obviously we are a work in progress, but it sure would be nice to make a few hundred dollars to go Black Friday shopping with.

One of the financial responsibilities that my husband and I agreed to was that I would be responsible for the purchase of all Christmas gifts. Considering last year with both sides of the family, school gifts, work gifts, Christmas party exchanges. I ended up needing 42 gifts total. Believe me the more money I can make before hand, the better off I will be at Christmas time. The above picture is of my niece modeling one of the tutus for her Valentine's photo. She is tutu cute!

Evacuation Time

Well, our town was under voluntary evacuation yesterday since Hurricane Ike looked to be heading straight to Port Lavaca, which is about an hour from us. I live in what is considered the coastal plain of Texas, so any large they thought that the surge, tornadoes spinning off, and flash flooding, along with the winds would affect the whole area. Of course we evacuated two years ago with Hurricane Rita too, and it went much farther north than originally expected.

The girls are of course thrilled that school has closed for Thursday and Friday, and we all decided to just head to Austin to my sister's and make a fun weekend out of it. We left this morning around 7:00 am, after I spent yesterday getting my house storm ready. the traffic was not bad at all, but I avoided all interstates, and of course I don't have to deal with the problems of getting out of Houston. I have a feeling it won't be nearly as bad as two years ago when Houston evacuated for Rita, but as we drove past I-10 it was definitely more congested than a typical Thursday morning, as some people get an early jump on leaving.

I am blessed that I had an easy trek out, and now I anxiously await what kind of damage this storm will bring. Good Luck all of you who have decided to stay and hope for the best!

Preparing for hurricane Ike

Well my family and I discussed this morning our hurricane Ike strategy. We are about 60 miles inland from the coast, and we understand that puts us in the evacuation zone if it grows bigger. Basically a 3 or 4 and they like to evacuate up to 80 miles inland, especially if you are on the northern surge side.

On the plus side, we have been in a drought for so long, most people are looking forward to the rain despite the damage it might cause. most of my friends have left to board up their coast houses, before they come home and decide what to do with their main homes.

My girls were concerned with what goes with us if we evacuate or not. That is really a great question! They of course want to bring all their stuff, because to a ten or 12 year old that seems most important. My main thought was all my scrapbooking I have painstakingly been doing for years, and my jewelry. My husband was more concerned with his golf gear and his office. You can tell how varied our priorities are. So this morning, I am obsessively listening to the weather channel, I am getting some work done on a tutu I am making for the weekend, that someone ordered. I still have a few scrapbook pages I need to finish for a client, plus I am prioritizing my house. Ugh!

My Gym Kids

One of my most fun moments in life is that I get to teach at a power tumbling gym three nights a week. I have been doing this for about six years, and it is a never boring, always crazy job. I get the joy of coaching the beginner classes with tumbling and trampoline. There is such awe in a three yr old's face when they first learn to roll, or jump on the trampoline, or learn a cartwheel. I love that I am giving the basics to a future high school/college cheerleader, or that I may have taught a future olympic trampolinist.

Tonight one of my favorite kids just jumped up and hugged me as soon as I saw him. His dad said, that every morning he wakes up and asks if today is his tumbling day. Things like that completely warm my heart. My girls can always be found on a trampoline or helping with a class some way when they are not taking their own classes. We are like a big family over there, and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge my evening job. By the way the photo is of my 10 yr old, Rebecca, when she was competing junior olympic trampoline. She has awesome kickouts!

Horse on Friday Riddle

Helping run the GT group at my girl’s school has all kinds of challenges. First of all if you are planning a research or writing project, the boys completely check out. They are simply not interested. They want science and mechanically minded activities for the most part. The girls don’t mind research, but don’t want it to always be about science. They tend to be more artistically minded. The challenge is to find projects that meet the TEKS for several different grade levels (our group is 4th thru 8th grade) and suit personalities of about 8 kids. One thing they all agree on and love are logic riddles. I have a passion for riddles, and have memorized a ton of them to have on hand for any given moment. So if we have a quiet working moment, or it nears the end of GT time, a riddle is always requested. From time to time I will post them on here too. Feel free to leave the answer in the comments section if you know it or figure it out.

Riddle of the day: A man rides into town on Friday, stays two nights and leaves on Friday. How is this possible?

Love our Scottish Rites Children's Hospital

When our daughter Regan was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at age 2 1/2 we knew that medical care was going to be a expensive. Very good friends of ours had a son that was several years older with CP and we turned to them for medical advice and which doctors they reccomended. They had been taking their son to Scottish Rites Children's Hospital in Dallas, TX.

Scottish Rites is operated fully on the generosity of the Masonic organization. They exclusively see kids with neurological and orthopedic conditions, and also have an incredible dyslexia program. The way to get in is to find your local masonic lodge and get them to reccomend your child for services, and go through an application process.

The wonderful thing is that almost everything we do through Scottish Rites is free to us. We see a pediatric neurologist, pediatric orthopedist, she gets her AFO's free too. Now when we order major equipment like a new walker or wheelchair, then we have to go through our insurance. But because I don't have to ask them for every single thing, they are always more than happy to oblige us on the big things.

Now Dallas is a 5 hour drive for us, but the two times a year we make the trip is still cheaper than us paying medical care. We always try to get several appointment in one day, and drive up and back in one day. They also have an incredible resource center, that we found out about many of Regan's summer camps through, which I will talk more about in a later post. I highly reccomend this faciity, and our care we have received from them has been excellent.

I thought my Kids were Country?

By most standards, I have country kids. We live in a small town of about 5,000. My girls see deer on a daily basis, we have cattle in the pasture behind us, we pick blackberries on the side of the road in springtime, and they walk barefoot with the best of them.

This weekend we went to stay with friends of ours at their ranch, and I realized even my kids aren't as country as you could be. This weekend we had to run around pastures to count cattle, and calves (because of the coyote problems), feed catfish, and shoot at water snakes. The girls had a blast running through cow patties on a go-cart, and learning to drive the farm truck.

I always lament the fact that my children do not get some of the benefits of living in the city. They don't get to see museums, plays, the ballet, as often as I would like them to to grow culturally. This weekend made me assess that they are growing in all kinds of other ways and gaining knowledge of the world around them, that although may seem culturally inept, will make them better and well-rounded people.

I could see being a Storm Chaser

I don't know why I am such a storm lover, but hurricane season always seems to bring out the best weather! I have grown up in the coastal plains of Texas, so Hurricanes and Tornadoes are common this time of year, and Honestly I just love them! Partly because I am not so close to the coast to get much damage, and partly because I just love rain and storms.

The weather channel is back on again while I track Hurricane Hanna and Hurricane Ike, neither which look like their heading anywhere close to us. Down in South Texas where drought has been the talk for nearly a decade, and our house foundation is finally starting to take notice. People are putting soaker hoses around the bases of their homes just to keep from having major foundation problems. One really terrific storm, that just drops buckets of rain , and causes very little damage (although I could use a new roof) would be perfect.

That movie Twister with Helen Hunt and Bill Pullman is my favorite storm movie. My ten yr old was convinced she wanted to be a storm chaser after watching this movie obsessively for several months. She loves to go out on the back porch and gaze at the sky. She quotes Twister lines, like "It's goin green mom" and "Definitely a half sky" like she is some sort of tornado expert. She is really disappointed we hadn't actually seen one yet. A friend of ours had a tornado go through their pasture a few years ago, and Rebecca, wanted every detail.

Well as Hurricane Hanna and Ike move closer, I wish all of you in it's path the very best...and if you want to blow it this way, there are two nutcases in south Texas who would appreciate it.

10 yr Old Mean Girls

I had seen the movie mean girls a year ago, and remembered girls who had been like that in high school, and now I am seeing mean girls around my ten yr. old

Rebecca has one friend who loves to put down others depending on the labels that they are wearing on their clothing. She has another friend who wants to put down any athletic skill you have to show she is better. Another little girl has a mother who will take certain "worthy" friends to concerts like Cheetah Girls and Jonas Bros. Which then has the group all competing for the invitation. I am completely fed up! Now by no means is my child perfect, but I am trying very hard to raise her to be nice and respectable. To raise her to understand that material things are not the end all,and you will be remembered more for how you treated people, than what you wear. But these girls are making it very difficult.

The easy solution would be to have her make new friends, but she has only 14 kids in her grade at school (they go to a very small public school), and honestly she really has not that much more to choose from. Since when did being nice become such a hassle?

I miss the days of elementary when everyone played nicely and were friends, but now I just feel this is our new challenge to face, and still try to come out of it with our heads held high.

Labor Day?!?!

Well my girls were under the impression that Labor Day was a national holiday to celebrate pregnancy. So in Honor of all Pregnant Women, especially my gorgeous sister Jennifer, I wish everyone a Happy Monday, and know that misguided children everywhere are thinking of you.

Regan, my 12 yr old, thinks it would be really funny if some of you actually went into labor on labor day. She was actually cracking herself up over this one. This of course led into a big discussion on labor and delivery itself, in which I had to go over each of their individual labor processes when they were born. I probably went into greater detail on the horrors of the pain a little more than necessary. This is a "good parent's" way of pre-planning that your children do not want to have sex for many years to come just to avoid that amount of pain.