Don't be a stick in the mud!

Where do I start? Well, it all started yesterday afternoon. We were supposed to be in Durant around 6:15 for a surprise birthday party for my cousin Heather. Johnny is out of town for a trial, so it was just the kids and me. The day started off great. We got up early and got around, then headed to the library for story time. As we drove into the parking lot, I remembered it was President's Day, so the library was closed. Eli was bummed, but got over it pretty quick. Instead, we ran to the grocery store and then headed home for lunch and a nap. We all three had a long nap and didn't wake up until 3:30. Now, the plan was to leave by 4:10 or 4:30. As soon as I saw the alarm clock, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I still had to feed Zoe and get all of our stuff together to head out for the rest of the day. When we were finally ready to go, Eli couldn't find his shoes. He is usually really good about putting them up in his closet where they belong. I don't know why, but the fact that this one time he didn't, really made me upset. Looking back, it was because we were running so behind, which is my fault, I should have set the alarm clock. Anyway, we finally found them in his bathroom behind the door. Then, I couldn't find the directions I had printed out, so I had to look them up again. It was just one thing after another. We finally headed out and I decided not to rush too much because we were going to miss the "surprise" part anyway. We made pretty good time, I took the exit off the highway in Durant, then it was all downhill from there. It was dark, the house we were going to was outside of town and there were no street lights so I couldn't see the street signs. I went back and forth several times and just could not find the street. I finally pulled over to reset the GPS and try to calm down from being so frustrated. When I thought I had it, I went to pull back onto the highway and discovered I was stuck in the mud. Again, we were on a pitch dark highway outside of town!! It looked like a grassy shoulder of the road. I couldn't tell in the dark how muddy and saturated the ground was. Several cars and pickups passed, but nobody stopped to offer help. I had my hazard lights on and after a few minutes began waving down cars. A highway patrolman slowed down, looked and just kept going. At this point all three of us were crying. I called Johnny and of course there was absolutely nothing he could do from Brownsville, but I was freaking out. I tried called Heather several times, but her phone kept going to voicemail, and I didn't have Garry's cell phone number. I left her a message and then called back a couple of minutes later. Finally I got her on the phone. They headed towards us to help. In the meantime a woman pulled over and said that she drives big trucks for the Army and gets them stuck and unstuck all the time and she could get me out. I ran down to her car and stayed with her little boy while she got my car out. I am so thankful to her for stopping. I really feel God placed her there right at that moment to help me. She grew up in Durant, but doesn't live there now. Anyway, by this time the party was over, it was 8:00, an hour after we actually arrived in Durant. My car was covered in mud and my babies were scared and hungry. We went back to Garry and Heather's and had a great time visiting and hanging out. We headed home a little after 11:00 and got home at 1:00 am.


































Then this morning I woke up to the alarming sound of EVERY SINGLE one of our smoke detectors going off at the same time. Eli kept his ears covered and it didn't really seem to bother Zoe. I disconnected three of them and that made it stop. There was no fire and I have no clue what made them go off.

I went to a Pampered Chef party with some girlfriends, then had to go to the airport. Johnny left a binder in his car at the airport that he needed for the trial. I had to get it to his office so they could overnight it to Brownsville. I came home to our awesome housekeeper making my house clean and shiny :)

The doorbell rang while Maria was finishing up and it was a man selling magazines. I usually quickly say "No thank you" and go about my day. However, something about him and his story was intriguing. He said that three months ago he was homeless and using drugs. His father was a drug addict and his mother was an alcoholic. He is 43 years old and the oldest man in the program. He is from Detroit and working for this company that has taught him communication skills and basic life skills. They go to homeless shelters and out on the street recruiting young men and try to give them a second chance. They sell magazine subscriptions and earn points. Once he earns 20,000 points, he won't go door to door anymore, he will be a youth mentor to other young men that have not made the best choices, whether it be drugs, alcohol, gangs, etc. We talked about how choices you make can greatly have an impact, whether positive or negative, on the rest of your life. He was recently saved and has developed a very strong relationship with God, you can see the excitement beaming from him. He asked me to pray for him and the future impact he can have on others. I was really impressed with his positive outlook. Hopefully his story was true and I didn't get duped into buying a magazine for nothing.

Last, I took my car to the self car wash and tried to get all of the mud off. Most of it came off pretty easy, but underneath by the tires was nearly impossible. It was so caked on and thick that it kept splashing back on me. When we got home, it was all over my pants and shirt. It was on my face and in my hair. I cannot imagine going mudding intentionally if the cleanup is such a pain. I just don't think the fun of driving in the mud and spinning out would be worth the trouble of cleaning up afterwords. I say this because in high school that was something the boys loved to do, go down to the river and go mudding. I've now had my share thank you very much. Hopefully that will never happen again.

"The Great Winter Storm of 2010"

We woke up this morning to Eli running towards our room yelling, "It's snowing, it's snowing!!" He was so excited. It was snowing big fluffy wet snowflakes. He has been talking about making snow angels since Christmas when it had snowed in Amarillo. We decided to bundle him up and let him go outside for awhile. He had on pajama pants, sweat pants, two shirts, his old tennis shoes, his heavy coat and big fluffy socks for gloves. He immediately ran to the edge of the patio and dove down to start his first ever snow angel. He later told me, "Mommy, I've waited my WHOLE LIFE to make a snow angel!" He ate snow off the tree branches, ran around, threw some snowballs and had a great time. We let him stay out for a few minutes, but it was very wet snow.

When we got back inside I was watching the news. The weatherman called it "The Great Winter Storm of 2010." They are expecting a whopping 3-7 inches, "the most snow Dallas has seen since 1978." It's wet slushy snow. The pictures of the highways look more like it's raining than snowing. Some schools have already canceled for today AND tomorrow. I don't mean to be a snow snob, but come on, I wouldn't exactly call this a great winter storm. I can remember in 7th or 8th grade one time there was snow up to my waist. They finally released school early, and that was only because most parents had already picked their kids up.

This afternoon, Zoe went down for a little nap and Eli and I got outside in the snow and built a snowman. It's been a fun day watching all the kids and parents on our street out playing in the snow.

Zoe's in the bastick (basket)

Eli was playing in this basket that we use to keep all of his balls. Zoe kept rolling and crawling over to it and pulling at the sides. Then Eli had the idea to put her in it instead. She loved it. He also ran and got his camera when I got mine so he could take some pictures of her too, so cute. He has really used his camera a lot that Johnny's mom got him for Christmas.

I Miss My Daddy :(

Johnny is out of town for a pretrial in Houston. Last night was the second night that he has been gone. At bedtime Eli really started missing his daddy. We had laughed and had fun reading a new book, brushed his teeth and gotten into bed. Then the crying started. I had let him sleep in my bed the night before and we made a deal that if he went to bed in his own bed with no complaining, crying, whining, etc., then he could sleep in my bed again the next night. So, when he started to get upset, he very quickly let me know it was only because he missed his daddy, not because he was having to sleep in his own bed. I tried explaining that Daddy had to go for work and that he'd be home in a couple of days and that we had fun stuff planned for the week. He just wasn't buying it, he wanted his Daddy. So, I gave him a picture of Johnny and I to sleep with. That helped some. I went in to check on him about 20 minutes later and he was just holding the picture and staring at it. He was still saying, "I just want my Daddy." I hugged and kissed him and left his room. I went back again after another 20 minutes and found him sound asleep. The picture was propped up against his legs and his hands were folded across his chest.














Zoe woke up at 5:00 am and wanted a bottle. When I went to her room, I heard Eli calling out, "Anybody, anybody!" I went into his room to see what was wrong. He was half asleep and only half making sense. He had turned over and couldn't find the picture.

Eli: I can't keep the picture all night long or I may lose it.

Me: You won't lose it, it will be somewhere in your bed.

Eli: No, mommy I can't do that, what do I do with the picture?

Me: I'll put it on your dresser and you can get it in the morning when you wake up.

Eli: No mommy, I need it. I really miss my daddy!

Me: Well we could put it under your pillow so it'll be safe.

Eli: Okay, but what if I forget where it is?

Me: I'll remind you if you forget.

Eli: Okay, good night mommy.

I swear he was snoring before I closed his door.

Ice Skating

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Peas Please

In our journey of baby food, Zoe tried peas for the first time tonight. As you can see, it wasn't quite as successful as I would have hoped :)


If you look closely, you'll see peas above her right eye. This is from her trying to knock the spoon out of my hand.

Eli on the other hand, tried them and liked them, just like he did when he was a baby. I don't remember him not liking very many of the baby foods. I have a feeling that Zoe may turn out to be a picky eater like her mama. Oh, well, we'll keep trying different things. She loves carrots, so at least she'll have good eyes.

Next (Door) Neighbors

Since Eli has been able to speak in full sentences, I have made him promise that he will never leave me. We have recently decided that he doesn't have to live in my house forever, he can be our next door neighbor. Here is a piece of our conversation this afternoon.

**There are new houses being built in our neighborhood.**

Eli: Mommy if those men try to build me a new house, I will tell them they can't do that. Build it for someone else.

Me: Why, you wouldn't want a brand new house?

Eli: No, remember mommy I'm going to be your next neighbor when I'm big like you and daddy. If you had to go on an airplane to get to my house, you'd be sad wouldn't you?

Me: Yes I would.

Eli: Maybe Zoe can be your other next neighbor, because next neighbors are family right?

Me: That would make me very happy Eli.

Eli: Me too, so that's our plan!

Busy Day

Johnny is out of town for work and will be gone four nights in all. We are trying to keep busy to make the time pass quickly. I started a new Bible Study at church this morning. A new friend from RPA invited me to join her. It was the second class, but the first day of discussing the book. Then we went to meet our next door neighbor at The Little Gym for free play, to discover that they no longer have free play. So, we went to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Chiloso, instead. After that we all needed a nap. Zoe slept for almost four hours!! After naps, Eli went next door all by himself to play with Caleb. Lisa, our neighbor, and I stood in the driveways and Eli ran down the sidewalk. He was so excited. Caleb is 20 months old and they have so much fun playing together. He also ate dinner at their house, which was another first.

I watch him do all these "little things" and realize my little boy is growing up right in front of my eyes. I am so proud to hear him using his manners and to see him being respectful to others without having to be prompted. I guess it means we must be doing something right. I just hope that follows him into his teen years and adulthood. I am one proud mom:)

School Lunches

Eli is obsessed with the idea of eating lunch at school. He will be starting Pre-K next year and I have to keep reminding him that he won't be eating lunch at school because it's only 3 hours. He will eat lunch at home, either before or after school, depending on whether he is in morning or afternoon class.

He will start talking about it at random times. This is our conversation in the car yesterday:

Eli: Mommy when I eat lunch at school next year you can come eat with me.

Me: That sounds like fun, but remember it won't be next year, it will be the year after that when you're in kindergarten.

Eli: But Mommy how will I get lunch next year if I don't eat at school?

Me: You will eat at home with Zoe and me.

Eli: Oh yeah, I forgot. But when I do eat at school I'm sure my teacher will have 2 chairs for me so you can come eat with me too.

Me: Ok, can I bring Zoe too?

Eli: Oh, ok, only if she's bigger because they won't let babies into the school to eat.