Blogs

I've followed a couple of blogs for years now and recently added a third after a friend posted a link on her Facebook.  One was about the struggle of getting pregnant, which I got caught up in it after following her story in RedBook.  Another was about finding the humor in raising a family and most recently the newest was about finding Joy each day in our lives.

I'm a firm believer that things are put into our lives for a reason - I mean I didn't have difficulty getting pregnant, so why follow a blog about fertility issues?  My kids are all grown, so why did I find myself reading a blog on the humor of raising a young family?  I don't have anyone in my family dying, so why follow the story of a woman who's husband is dying?  

I can't tell you why I followed these Blogs in the beginning or why I stuck with them.  Sadly, each of these bloggers has suffered great loss since I first started following them.  After successfully getting pregnant and having a baby, the first blogger found out she had cancer.  In the other finding out she was pregnant again, this time with twins she lost the first a day before her scheduled C-Section and the other 16 months later to lung failure  In the last her husband died 120 days after he was diagnosed and a month later she almost lost her son.

In the last few days it is the woman of these blogs that have kept me going.  I don't know any of them, but it is because of them, that I have found strength.   Strength to be thankful for what I have, to find the humor in the daily humdrum we call life and to seek out at least one thing from that day, I can be joyful about.

Tomorrow is uncertain and I'll be waiting patiently for a phone call on my pathology report of the biopsies I had on Tuesday. 

What, I'm middle aged?

You'd think that I would know this.  After all all my kids are grown and I have two grandchildren.
My life style keeps me young and active, but the truth is I'm middle aged!

What scares me is that I'm closer to retirement and not sure I'll be ready when that day comes.

This past weekend my husband and I went to see the movie "Hope Springs" first indication your middle aged is that no one under age 45 was in the theater.  I place it in my top 20 all time best chick flicks.

What made it so great is that it brought on some deep discussions within my own marriage.  One specific discussion came from the question in the movie "What is your best sexual memory you have, even if it was bad".   In my mind I have a top 10 list, but when it came down to picking the best, it was that I could remember everything about that night in detail and what led up to it being so good.

Funny thing is my #1 didn't even make my husbands list.  We agreed on 4 of 10 and my husbands #1 was my #5.

I'm ok that we don't agree on this topic.  What surprised me is that for my hubby there is a theme that makes it more memorable.  Most of his list was made up from times we role played and sexy outfits were involved or times we had sex in public places.  My list had a couple of these, but the rest leaned more to the intimacy of the act and connection I felt during the experience.

Time seems to be slipping away faster and faster. I think it's time to take a look at another movie topic and get to work on my "Bucket List"

~G

Cheerleading Madness

Each year from August through November we are non stop with activities.

Sunday - 2.5 hours of recreational cheer practice
Monday - off
Tuesday 2 hour competitive cheer practice
Wednesday - 1.25 hours recreational cheer practice + 45 minutes of tumbling
Thursday - 2 hour competitive cheer practice
Friday - HS Football Games
Saturday - Recreational Cheer/Football Games

REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT oh and then add extra tumbling practice, school starting and finding time to help/check homework, daily 20 minutes of reading before bed, planning for homecoming, making weekly videos for cheer parents, coordinating, purchasing, boxing and delivering school supplies.  I love this time of year, but with mom living with us now I have constant guilt for not being home more often.

When it comes to cheer this year I'm more patient and more organized than ever before.  Firing my team mom as an assistant coach helped easy much of my previous stress... I love her as team mom, but, as an assistant coach, not so much!  Coaches have to make tough decisions and some parents don't like those decisions, she wanted to try to make everyone happy and the reality is when your dealing with 12 cheerleaders and 12 different sets of parents your never going to make everyone happy at the same time with the exception when they call your team name and announce you came in 1st place.

This year we are stunting and it seems everyone wants their child to be a flyer - 9 years olds lifting 9 year olds is not an easy task.  Many are weak, others still lack coordination, some are taller and heavier and what it comes down to is the most petite are the ones we can get up at least for now.   My job is to make sure every cheerleader knows that there job is just as important, flyers can get up without strong bases, back spots are critical to catching dismounts and/or a falling flyer.  One of the reasons I video tape all our practices is so the parents can see what we do.  Let them see how we try 12 different ways sometimes more before we get the right combination to make it work.  Maybe even see that we tried to put their child up in a stunt even if they didn't get that spot in the end.

One thing I have learned this year is the parents who do the least seem to complain the most... Can anyone tell me why that is?!?

Diet update... yes I know I said I would check in.  I'm down 4 lbs - yes not a ton of progress by that number, but inches I'm down over 12.  My hubby said it is because I've converted fat into muscle which weighs more.  I'm doing Zumba 3 times a week and cheer practice helps on the other days.  Running is really hard on my hip - so I speed walk a mile around the track after every practice.

~G

18 years 18 lbs

My husband and will be celebrating 18 years of marriage this coming September and I hope we have at least that many if not more!

Recently, I got on the scale and realized that I have gained 18 pounds since we got married.  UGH

I don't think I look bad for my age, but it is obvious that there is more to love...

Gil and I both admit that initial attraction is key, he once told me he would never date a heavy girl or anyone taller than him.

Our relationship started different, we were both coming out of bad marriages.  I wasn't looking and he was only looking for someone to hook up with, nothing serious.   We sat and talked over coffee every morning, we went to lunch 3-4 times a week, when his son had surgery I was there for him, when my son was in the hospital, he was there for me.  We talked on the phone after the kids were in bed and commented on the tv shows or movies we were watching.

My first inkling that I wanted more was when he talked about one of the new girls in the office, he said she was his type, long brown hair, green eyes, petite body frame and big chest - I on the other had had an athletic build, small chest, short blonde hair, blue eyes and stood at 5'8" 3 inches taller than his 5'5".  

I hinted to him one night while we were out at a bar celebrating a co-workers birthday as to how I felt, but, it was her he kissed that night.

If you asked I would have told you I was in love with my best friend and he didn't know it.

One day not long after that night at the bar, he asked me out to dinner and to see a comedy show.  At that point where you have to say good night, he reached out and grabbed my hands, he looked up into my eyes and said "You are my best friend, I never thought I'd have feelings like this ever again for any one person.  Your the first person I think of when I wake up in the morning and your the last person I think of when I close my eyes.  I want to spend the rest of my life with you" he then leaned in to kiss me.

Getting older isn't always easy, it is an adjustment to accept the gray hair and wrinkles I see when I look in the mirror.  Gil tells me that I'm beautiful and that I'm just as sexy as when we first met.  I too still swoon when I see him walk into a room.

After getting on that scale I decided that I can accept the gray and wrinkles, but the extra pounds must go!

I feel that if I write this down and post, it is my why of committing and working toward getting back in shape.

In 1994 I weighed 138 pounds and was a size 7 - today I weight 156 pounds and am a size 10.

I'll check in with you every few weeks and let you know how things are going.

~G

Mini Vacation

This year has been the year of mini trips.  I long to go back to our annual 7-10 getaway which I had become accustomed to the last few years.

Because of all the chaos of this past year; mom moving in, traveling for William's competitions, graduations and Matthew's big move, any plans I had to go on a big vacation we shutdown.

So instead of a cruise or a trip to some beach, we took a trip to Branson, Missouri with a layover in Conway, Arkansas for a quick visit with Matthew!

Seeing Matthew was great, but we only really had 6 hours with him over the time we were there... we arrived late on Thursday, where we basically said hi and then went to sleep.  On Friday Matthew had to work so we laid around watching TV, went shopping and did some site seeing.  When Matt finally got home we went golfing, grabbed some dinner and then headed to bed as we had to be on the road by 7am the next day.

We arrived in Branson just before noon and checked into our free hotel room... yep it was free because to pay for this vacation I signed us up to listen to a 90 minute presentation on "Time Share Ownership"

Saturday, we swam, went mini golfing, rode go-carts and did the Dixie Stampede!!!  Sunday morning we went Ziplining and shopped at the mill before we had to arrive for our presentation. 

I promised my husband we would never ever ever sign up for one of these again.  It wasn't 90 minutes, but more like 3 hours of torture.

We did however, get free tickets to Yokov Circus and we won a 4 day Carnival Cruise... well sorta free - it costs $153 per person, plus tips, plus travel to the port of call and parking, oh and the possibility of added fuel fees if the price of oil goes up!

Monday before we headed back home we went on "The Ducks"

All in all not a bad trip, however, after all the running and traveling I feel like William in the last picture of the slideshow!

Step-Dad

This post is the story of the man I consider to be one of my dads.  Yes, you read that right, dads... I have two dad's and one father and in today's society that is probably not that strange, but in the 60's and 70's in middle America it was not considered normal!  

If anyone ever reads my posts they might find this story a bit strange and in some cases it may make some people angry, however, this is a piece of my life story and it is my life story that has made me who I am today.

When I was two my parents divorced and my mother and I moved in with mom's parents.  My grandpa "Papa" as I called him is one of my two dads, but that is another story, for another time.

I don't know the exact dates, but it was sometime in the Spring of 1969 or 1970, that a co-worker of both my mom and Danny introduced them at a get together after work one Friday.  The story goes that my mom and her friend took a ride in Danny's corvette, since my mom was little she had squeezed between them straddling the center console.  This is where mom and Danny's love story began... however, it was a complicated story since Danny was already married.

Danny was always around, the only day that I never saw him was Sunday... it wasn't until I was 15 that I learned the truth, that my mom was a mistress.  Sunday's was the day Danny spent with his kids from what I thought at the time was his first marriage.  I always wondered why we never got to meet his kids as I heard so many stories about what was going on in their lives.  I can't tell you how many times I dreamed of being part of a big family, it wasn't easy being an only child. 

I learned the truth in a not so good way, my mom's car had some issues, when you put it in reverse it tended to stall and if your car stalls during your driver test it is an automatic fail.  I was afraid to use my Papa's car since it was so big.  Danny told me he would take me and I could use his Mercury Lynx.  When we arrive up at his office his car was not there, so I walked inside. It was either Ed or Hughie who said "he is with his wife at the hospital" I looked at him and he realized what he had said.  I walked out and told my Papa that he wasn't there that he was out sick.  I went and took my test using Papa's boat and passed!

When I got home that night I locked myself in the bathroom and refused to talk to anyone.  I fell asleep on the floor and the next morning I heard Danny's voice on the other side.  His co-worker told him what he had said and Danny was now trying to coax me out.  I was angry at the world, I didn't understand, I just remember feeling dirty and ashamed.  Eventually, I did come out...  I don't remember much about this time, probably because I don't think I talked with my mom for months.

In 1984 my first son was born and I named him after Danny "Keith Daniel" to be exact.  Danny dotted on that boy, he was a proud grandpa.  

My first marriage ended in 1994 and in 1995 I moved to Texas with my now husband, Gil.  In 1998 my mom tired of being a mistress and wanting more ended their relationship.

For years I struggled with this, I didn't break up with him, but because of their break-up I became a casualty.  In 2002 I wrote a letter, but never mailed it... Keith came home for a visit in 2008 and found the letter in my glove box, he told me that I needed to send it, I explained that I feared someone in his family would get a hold of it and my worse fear was hurting them.  Over the next couple of months I re-read that letter  at least a dozen times and in February 2009 I re-wrote the letter and placed it in the mailbox.  

Danny and I reconnected and communicated via email, text and calls and in January 2011, while I was up in Ohio on a visit, we met up for dinner.  Danny had been battling Wagner's Disease for about 6 years, he looked the same, but was obviously more frail.  I remember wishing that our time together would last longer, the next day I was flying out and I didn't know when I would ever see him again.

In the fall of that same year Danny slipped and fell, breaking his hip.  Due to his Wagner's he struggled with his therapy and in January of 2012 was put in a long term care facility.  I continued to email and text, but it would be weeks, before I got a response back.  I had a bad feeling in May after two emails and a text were not answered and my fears became reality when on Father's Day I received a message from Danny's oldest son, Craig, letting me know that he had passed away.

I flew to Ohio on Monday and attended the viewing that evening.  I stayed in the back, the only place for the mistress' child.  I watched the video history which documented him from birth until his 72nd birthday.  It felt like I was watching another life, a life I wasn't connected with.  I closed my eyes and had my own picture show of the memories I had with him.  

As his family smiled and connected with all those coming to pay their respects, I struggled to hold back my tears.  I wonder if any of them wondered why this middle aged girl was crying.

Tuesday I arrived at 10:30 and I waited until just before the service was to start to take my seat in the back.  The priest congratulated his wife, Ann, for their staying married for over 50 years, he went on to praise his children... selfishly I wanted him to say something about my mom who was a big piece of his life for almost 30 years and what about me?

I said my final good-bye as I walked past the casket, I then got in my rental car and had a good long cry.  

Danny taught me to live life to the fullest, to be thankful for the little things in life and to find humor in my mistakes.  I am sure that my love of sports, motorcycles and classic cars is because of him.  

Daniel Donoughe

June 8, 1939 to June 15, 2012

May the road rise to met you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

The rains fall soft upon your fields

Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand

May God bless you always

~ G

Flew the Coop

I'm a conflicted mama bird.  I'm happy that my Matthew is starting his life and sad that the nest at home is shrinking.

As a parent we build special bonds with each child.  Matthew keeps me laughing with his one liners.  He seemed to have something funny to say in every situation.  But mostly, he is the one who ropes me in and calms me down when my feathers are ruffled.

I've cried as each of my boys took that big step out of the nest to fly on their own, it just seems so much harder this time.  

     Filling up before starting on our 6.5 hour journey

     View from the living room window "18th Fairway
                and the clubhouse in the distance

      View from the bedroom window looking SE

For a first apartment Matthew did good.  You drive down a country road with both new and old farmhouses, most sit on 5+ acres or more.  When you get to the end of the street you see this beautiful new development of apartments which wrap around a new 18 hole golf course.  Most have been here for 3-4 years, but more than 25% have never been lived in, such is the case of Matthew's apartment.

Both my dad and hubby are a tad jealous that Matthew gets to golf for free anytime... he did pay $7 for the cart, but if he opted to walk it would have been totally free.

Prior to the trip as I mentioned in a previous post, we picked out and I bought all new tables and a couch from IKEA. Everything being in boxes made for packing the trailer easy!  This of course meant building all the furniture - this did take time because since none of us thought of bringing extra tools.  We somehow managed to get it all done with just one interchangeable screwdriver, a hammer and a pair of pliers.  

Picture of Matt building the TV stand - this was the first piece of six that we built.

Building the dresser - this was the last piece Matt and I built together - it was the most complex, but somehow the easiest.  

This is the TV stand with the TV we gave Matt when he left home for college...

This is the TV my hubby came back from the store with... just because.

Seems that when we picked up the couch they forgot to package the arms... no worries the arms are on their way - but honestly, even without them it was comfy.

The Bedroom

The Kitchen

 The Laundry Room

The Living Room

I was a soppy mess as I said my good-byes.  

Even though I know there will be visits, this mama bird is missing her man baby chick.

~G

Third times the charm...

Three graduation in 14 days, I'm wondering if that is a some type of record?!?

I must say we saved the best for last.  Landen's Pre-K graduation was A-W-E-S-O-M-E as the cheerleader in me would say.

We had singing and dancing and the guest speaker didn't put us to sleep or make us question what his point was.

Landen your Nina loves you and is so very proud of you - Congrats and I can't wait to drive you to school every day next year.  

Oh boy, that is going to be something, getting two kids ready for school, haven't done that in years.

Graduation Rerun...

Graduation number two, is now officially over.

One can not deny that UT is a party school!  Where the graduates at Matthew's sat at attention and seemed to be more respectful.  Jonathan's, had beach balls, a constant rumble of talking from the floor and  mortarboards decorated in many various designs.  

Highlights include the disco dancing drag queen and the Chancellor of the School of Communication announcing one recipient was getting a BJ in Journalism degree.  My sister said it best when she quipped "bet that sucked" 

After, we all met at Carmela's Italiano Ristorante, where Sue had reserved a private room.  The kids all joked on one side and my dad, step mom, sister, Marty, his mother and I joked on the other.  Gil entertained William and Landen and Sue just sat there quietly kinda separated from all that was going on.

Part of me wishes Sue and I could have been better co-parent mom's, but sadly, that never happened.  I'm currently struggling to find the right words to thank her for her hospitality.  She covered the expenses of the dinner, which I brought 10 family members and that makes me uncomfortable.

I had a custom card made for Jonathan and I also wrote him this letter.

Dearest Jonathan,

Society labels us with titles based on specific criteria.  I myself have many titles and the one I am most proud to hold, is the title of being your step-mom.

I have struggled to find just the right words to express how much you mean to me.  What I can say… You have brightened my life with memories and dreams and as each year passes they get better it seems.  You’re compassionate, quirky and funny as all h—l, but mostly, my life would not be complete without you in it.

I’m so very thankful that your father chose me  to be a part of his life and both your mom and dad for bringing you into this world.  Without them there would be no you and without you, I’d have missed out on one of the greatest gifts ever.

If I can pass on anything, it is that you stay true to yourself, be good to yourself, be good to others and when in doubt, wait!

Jonathan, you are the true definition of a son to me and no one can ever take that title away.

I love you.

Mom

My wallet is a pile of ashes these days...

It goes without saying that kids today are more privileged than ever before.  Growing up I never was without, but we didn't have video games, cell phones or even our own car unless we paid for it ourselves.

I admit that I've somewhat spoiled my children, ok a lot!

The end of a school year always proves to be expensive, pre-purchasing school supplies, new summer clothes, end of year school parties, gifts for for the teacher.  For my college kids the expense of moving them home for the summer.  This year with two kids graduating it meant travel costs, hotel rooms, nice family dinners with 18+ in attendance and new dress clothes.  Add in that we felt we should reward our kids for their accomplishment with some extra $$ for their pockets.  All this activity made my wallet start to smolder.

My first apartment was furnished with my twin bed from home, a beat up dresser, a card table with three chairs and a 15" black and white TV that sat on the floor in my living room.  About a month after moving in I bought a rust colored couch from a friend that I covered with a blanket because it was in pretty bad shape.  

Matthew is starting off much better. I gave him the queen bed frame and mattress set from our once guest bedroom, additionally, I gave him two chairs with ottomans from our living room and my dishes. I then took him to Ikea and bought him a new couch, coffee table, two end tables, TV stand and a dresser.  My mother bought him a night stand to match after I told him he had enough and explained that my wallet was on fire.  My mom then took him to Kohl's yesterday and got him new linens for his bed, new towels, silverware, pillows, pots and pans and a variety of kitchen supplies, but still not finished, they went to the grocery store and bought a broom, mop and a bunch of cleaning supplies because she thought he shouldn't be overwhelmed with all those additional expenses.   

Where was this mom when I moved out?

My garage is now packed with boxes and furniture and I have just spent more money reserving a U-Haul and hotel room for our pending trip next week to assist him move.  Why you may ask am I helping him move? Because the 4 cylinder SUV that I gave him earlier this year, cannot pull a trailer and because he is under 25 and legally can't rent a moving truck.  My wallet is now burnt to a crisp!

The sacrifice for all this spending, no vacation this year... those were covered by William's competition trips, trips out of town for graduations and now a moving trip!

Even now that my wallet is a pile of ash, I would do it over again knowing that my kids started out a little be better with less struggles.  In the mean time while Matthew is enjoying steak in his new comfy apartment and knowing William will smile when he gets his pre-packaged school supplies, we will be living off hotdogs, mac-n-cheese and soup the next few months in attempts to recover from this past month.

Hugs

~G

Tears and Cheers - Matthew Graduates

I wasn't a blubbering mess as some had thought I'd be, but, I did cry!

Annie said it best when she asked Matthew if he felt like he was in a bubble - I myself felt like that.  I was there witnessing it all, but it felt like I was floating seeing it and not living it at times.

My heart raced when I first saw Matthew enter in the procession. When his name was called the 16 of us all screamed - at that moment we had been the loudest to cheer, however, after that it seemed everyone was determined to beat us!!!

My favorite moment of the day was when the Chancellor asked all the mom's to stand - Matthew and I locked eyes and he mouthed "I love you mommy"

Later at the family dinner I presented Matthew with the following letter.

Dearest Matthew,

I can’t begin to tell you, just how loved you are. I can’t believe how time has flown and how you’ve come so far.

Forgive me when I stop and stare and tears fall from my eyes. Time flew by too quickly, I can’t believe where in time we are.

I asked you to stay little and to always be my baby. You said, “You’d try” but, then later you said, “I’ll have to grow up...maybe.”  Now here you stand before me, a respectful honest man, so loving, kind and giving.

As you move into the next chapter of your life I only ask one thing.  Wherever life leads you, no matter what you do, remember that I’m your biggest fan and I’m always here for you.

I love you bunches.

Mommy

Crazy May and it just started...

So many things to update and honestly I don't know if I can even express properly my feeling of everything that is going on...

I feel both excited and  stressed,  but mostly, I feel like I don't have time to really absorb and enjoy each event because I'm focused on the next one.  It is the OCD that I have to be in control and I honestly feel out of control at the moment.

The kitchen is done with the exception of the plumbing being hooked back up - doing dishes in the bathroom sink really sucks, but maybe next week we will find time to call in a plumber.  See the video of the transformation start to finish.

Sunday was William's end of season banquet for Pro Spirit.  He was honored with being the first Prince nominated to the Princess Court... The smile that beamed from his face as he approached the stage as everyone in the room began chanting "William".  He didn't win the crown, but he made us proud for all his hard work and dedication this past year.  Not many 8 year olds could handle 8 - 12 hours a week of practice and still be excited about going back the next week!

The Banquet Theme was "Pretty in Pink" William was a trooper and wore a pink pin striped shirt.  It is fun dressing up every once in a while!  Lucky for us we get to do it 3 more times this month.

 The Princess Court

 Prince William!

Family Picture before heading to the Pretty in Pink Banquet

Wednesday William had two big events - first thing in the morning he was in the school talent show - he sang "You Make Me Feel"

I of course can chalk this up to another epic fail on my part.  I put new batteries into the Flip camera only to allow the young child next to me kick it out of my hand and of course it broke.  I then quickly reached for my cell phone, but, somehow failed to hit the record button.  He was about  2/3 through when I realized the blinking red light was not blinking.  I capture the last 20 - 30 seconds of him singing "na na na na na"

His second event was tryouts for the upcoming 2012-2013 season.  We won't know until Monday what team he made, I just hope he makes the team he wants.  He worked very hard these last couple weeks perfecting old skills and learning new ones and as a parent/grandparent you never want to see your child disappointed.

In two days I'll watch Matthew cross the stage and receive his college diploma, well a fake one, since they told us the real one will be mailed in 6 - 8 weeks!!

There are so many things I want to say - like "The road was bumpy at times, but we made it to our destination" "The tassel is worth the hassle"  I'm just hoping when I see him that the words come out right and that he knows how proud I am of all he has accomplished.

Yesterday he tweeted a picture to me after he picked up his cap and gown.  At first I smiled, then I cried.  Yes, happy tears but also tears that he is grown up and the realization that he is moving away in three weeks to start his new life post college.

What can I say, he is my baby.  Can someone please tell me where the heck the last 28 years of my life went?

I want to add one more picture... When William performed at Cowboy Stadium the set up this shot - they provided a copy to me at the banquet.

Kitchen Remodel

When we bought our house it had the typical builder quality kitchen, which essentially means CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP.

After 10 years I was tired of the ugly now yellowing formica countertops, scratched and stained sink and pealing laminate that represents what they call wood.  It didn't help that we had a major pipe break a couple years back which caused damage to the base of the sink cabinet and the one next to it.

My dream kitchen which would have meant moving walls and replacing everything floor to ceiling would have cost between 40 and 50k... yep this was not in the budget.  This lead to research and compromise.  I found a highly recommended contractor that modifies and reinforces the existing cabinets, but builds new doors and can convert cabinets that had doors and covert them into drawers.  We did remove one wall of cabinets and contracted him to build new from scratch pantry cabinets floor to ceiling.

Of course you can't just do the cabinets, this also means new countertops and backsplash and if we were going to do all that then we definitely needed to get rid of the ugly overhead fluorescent light over the island.

We are now in the second week of this project - week one was all about the electrical updates which included adding 6 can lights on a dimmer, removal and installation of a new island light and adding two pendant lights over the breakfast bar.

Yesterday our contractor began the demo, but we somehow never  thought about the fact we wouldn't have a sink, dishwasher, microwave or stove for then next two to three weeks.  See until the new cabinets are built we can't have the granite company come in to measure - current estimate that will be Friday.  It will take 2 weeks from the order date to get the granite, once the granite is in then it will be another couple days before we can get a plumber out to install the new sink and to hook up the garbage disposal and dishwasher.  After that we have to have the tile guy come out and then we will be able to put the stove and microwave back... basically as all projects usually go, the snowball gets bigger and bigger as it rolls down the hill before it finally crashes against something and stops!

These are the pictures to date:

Easter 2012 - one might say good, others might say epic fail

I have to come back and blog about William's birthday, however, Easter was just two days ago and after the last couple of days, that data is easier to get to from within my memory bank.

It all started Saturday night, we had gone to an Allen American's Hockey game and when we returned everyone headed to bed leaving me to deal with the bunnyigans.

My mother had purchased these giant eggs and mini eggs for Easter and kept telling me that I had to plan something.  Great, pressure!

After reading in a magazines that good parents make their kids hunt for their goodies, something that  I obviously failed at the last 28 years, the plan was now to at least do better from my grandkids.

My plan, put a video game into the biggest egg with a clue where to find the next egg.  This big egg would be right outside William and Landen's bedroom door.

It was 11:30 at night and either I was not mentally all there or I actually found my creative side from pure exhaustion...

In their BIG EGG the notes started - Hip Hop its time for the Easter Hunt, read below for your first clue to finding your Bunny Treasure.

Clues led them downstairs in the family room, outside in the front yard, outside in the back yard and finally upstairs.  Landen's last clue read "Rub and Dub, I'm hiding in the Tub" and William's was  "Arkansas is my theme, drumming is Matt's thing"

My rhymes were not all that great, but when one waits until 11:30 to start planning it takes time...  I was lucky that I finished at 1:30 and not 6:30.

While the kids hunted and tried to decipher their clues, my mother bounded downstairs with a basket for me...

This is a reminder that I failed at Easter until my mother moved in and told me that Easter Hunts were mandatory.

As mom presented me with this basket of goodies left by Mr. Bunny, I could see that she herself was wondering what that dang rabbit left for her... my best offer was breakfast at IHOP, which I can only think is owned by a member of the Rabbit family, hence the name!

My little hero and new rules...

Saturday was the DCCC "Dallas Cowboy Cheerleading Championships" since we didn't perform until early evening, we got up early and started trimming our live oak tree in the front yard.

I got some tips from an arborist while we were visiting the Alamo and I convinced my hubby and son to help.  First thing, you should only trim a tree in a month that has an "R" Second rule, find the natural "Y" in the branches and clear everything back toward the trunk.

Zak climbed into the tree and I stood on the ladder.  I must say the tree looks amazing.  We finished it off by hanging two of my moms wind chimes and 6 large eggs in honor of Easter.

Gil, William and Zak then headed to the dump to drop off the truck load of branches.

The plan was for them to pick up some breakfast at Chick-fil-a, however, Gil deviated from the plan and made a stop at the pool store.  When William got out of the car he accidentally slammed his middle finger of his left hand in the door.  Keystone cops followed, Gil locked the door when he closed his door and the fob is broken so Zak couldn't get the door open.  William began trying to yank his finger out while Zak tried to hold him still.  Gil unlocked the door and freed William from the door.

I was mowing the front yard when my mom ran out with the phone.  I raced the the ER.  I'm normally calm in a crisis, but, when my baby is hurt, not so much.

William was upset he would be letting his team down.  After consulting with the doctor, he told us he could numb up the finger and it would last long enough to get through his performance.  Additionally, due to the fluid building up under the nail, it required them to drill a hole through his nail.  A few screams and we were good to go.

We raced home, got showered and packed and were off to Cowboy Stadium.

I was a nervous nelly, worried about William's finger.  He sucked up the pain as the medicine had started to wear off.  The show went on and William and his team were phenomenal.

Immediately after I could see tears and then a thumbs up.   At that moment I realized what a trooper my little guy was.  William officially became my little hero for pushing through the pain, not for us, not for him, but for the 33 girls on his squad and their families, he said he didn't want to let down.

*****   *****

I wanted to mention my anger about one of the new USASF rule changes announced on March 28th.  I can say something about all of them both positive and negative, however, I can't find anything positive in the ruling that males should not use excessive theatrics during performances.  First this is discriminatory on so many levels.  But, it also in my opinion implies, that males in the sport of competitive cheer are gay.

As a family we all have been asked why we let him participate in a girl sport.  Note it isn't a girl sport, it just has more girls than boys.  Our answer is what it is...  this is the sport he fell in love with, this is what he wants.

We have always encouraged our children to be who they want to be.  We tell them to follow their dreams.  My husband and I only provide the means to help them pursue their dreams.  William puts in the hours, he decides how hard he wants to push himself, he sets his own goals. Our job is on the sidelines watching, encouraging and cheering.

I'm sad that I have to tell him that next year he can't try to win a WOW Award - that is because it is awarded to those that show great facials and use of theatrics which obvious by the new rule, boys no longer qualify.

~ G

Stop Sign

Talk about a full house - my mom's best friend, Donna and her daughter, Clarice were visiting as well as my sons Jonathan and Matthew were home on Spring Break last week.   Matthew, Annie, Clarice and myself went out to get gelato one evening and on the way home Annie spotted a downed stop sign sitting in the ditch... Clarice joked we should stop and pick it up, but we didn't.

Jonathan arrived sometime later that evening early morning... around 1:30am I awoke to some loud giggling.  Since I had to work the next day, I got up to tell the kids to be a little more quiet... I walked in to find Jonathan, Matt and Zachary all giggling about their adventure of fetching the downed stop sign - they directed my attention to the back yard where perched against the fence was the sign, post and about 50 lbs of attached concrete.   My initial thought was oh boy, this is not good, who is going to jail!!

Within hours of the stop signs arrival good things started to fall upon us:  Matthew got a job offer post college graduation, Annie got her dream retail job, Jonathan made a connection with a production manager in Hollywood and got a lead to be a personal assistant to a famous director and William's cheer team won a National Title.  I'm a little worried about what may come should anyone find out about my kids adventure - guess that is the parent in me, but for now we are all enjoying the luck of what has happened since the stop sign found its way into our backyard.

~G

4am wake up - another adventure of having your mom move in with you...

Saturday, my hubby and I started to tackle some outdoor projects, with the beautiful weather we were up by 9am and off to buy mulch and other stuff for the yard.  We have a very shady section which grass struggles to grow.  We opted to cover it in mulch and leave the rest of the back yard grass, hopefully, reducing muddy paw prints roaming the house!!!

By 9pm we had hauled and laid 60 bags of mulch.  Needless to say hubby and I were both exhausted.  After cleaning up we headed to bed in hopes of resting our achy bodies in the wonders of our tempurpedic mattress.

Then....

Just before 4am I was startled awake by what sounded like the heater in the attic getting ready to explode - I do wonder how my husband laid in bed those first few minutes oblivious to the noise, and me screaming somethings wrong, we have to get the kids and mom out of the house and where the hell is the cell phone we have to call 911.   Yes, I admit I was a bit panicked, but I was just jolted awake.  I ran out into the hallway toward the thermostat key pad,  I turned it to off, I then ran downstairs to do the same with the other thermostat.  Gil opened up the attic door and proceed up into the attic, but couldn't find anything wrong.  I ran back upstairs and as I approached the kids bathroom said whatever it is it is coming from the ceiling above their bathroom, I woke up my son Zak  while Gil ran outside in his underwear to check the air units on the side of the house I was going toward William's room to get him up and have Zak carry him out to the front yard, when Gil ran back upstairs saying he can't find anything wrong, he again started back up the attic steps and I walked into the hall bathroom.  The noise was intense and fearing an explosion I didn't turn on the lights- I walked over to the tub and screamed for him to check the water tank the noise sounded like it was coming from the pipes.  Just as I got the word pipes out, I saw it...  jumping around the bottom of the tub, I bent over to pick up my mother's facial scrubber.  Yes, her facial scrubber was vibrating across the tub floor making all that intense noise - that morning she went to use it and it didn't work, she thought the batteries were dead, thus never turning it off.  What happened water had gotten into the unit and when it finally dried out it turned itself back on...

The first couple hours no laughing, we were tired, sore and now awake and unable to fall back asleep - move the clock forward a day, it isn't funny, it is down right hilarious!!

~G

Cheer Nationals 2012

I've been to about a dozen competitions since William started competitive cheerleading, however, NCA Nationals in Dallas - wow... over 600 teams over 66,000 people 5 stages, it is overwhelming but, exhilarating at the same time!

This is a competition where the best of the best from all over the United States come to compete.  As a parent you make many friends and sometimes just as many enemies... Front row seats are a premium and to secure a seat you either have to arrive early in the morning or slowly move up as people leave and to do this you need to make friends fast!!!  The best we got was 2nd row center stage, however, I made friends with the ladies just in front of us and when it was our teams turn they were willing to swap seats so my husband and I could see it all.  On the second day they made it to the front again and again they swapped with us when it was our turn to perform - Love me some ACX Cheer Parents :)

We learned a completely new routine in less than 3 weeks since the last time we competed... this is a fantastic routine and I'm not just saying that since William takes center stage for about 30% of it...  The entire team executed almost flawlessly over the two days we had less than 1 point in deductions.  Varsity.com shows about 2 minutes of each teams 2 1/2 minute performance - you can view by clicking this link http://videos.varsity.com//competitions/NCANDA/2012%20nca%20nda%20allstar.aspx#ooid=lvbWlsMzoN4DeMtukC5NbS2T6rfEn1AY

We did find some time to have fun, just outside the convention center is an art installation of a stampede of longhorns - at any given time you would see at least 50 cheerleaders climbing up for photo ops... not to be left out William did too.

This time no pictures during the event and I didn't video either - I wanted to take it all in and I bought a copy of the professional video which I should receive in 4-6 weeks!!!  But as they gathered on stage for awards I did pop out my cell phone and captured William and his team on stage.

Pink Panties and my Mom

This story falls into the category "joys of your mom living with you"

I'm kinda boring in most senses that my typical under garments of choice are beige, white or black and are of the cotton variety.  However, I do from time to time wear more colorful and sometimes less material non cotton type under garments.

This past Saturday my husband and I planned a night out - it was the local PNO (Parent's Night Out) at ASI which gave us 4 hours of quality time together.  It was also the weekend before Valentines - not that we really ever celebrate valentines officially since we got married 18 years ago...  note we are both believers that valentines is a holiday more designed for singles to celebrate.

Our date didn't include much dressing up - I was still in jeans and a sweater, but it was date night and I decided to wear my hot pink thong panties and matching bra.  I will leave what happened later to your imagination.

Monday our normal routine - Gil and I went to work, William to school and mom stayed home with the pets... sometime during the day mom decides to do laundry and goes upstairs into my master bath to grab the towels to wash, however, as she is walking out of the bathroom she noticed laying on the floor next to the bed my pink panties...

Later that evening while I'm prepping for dinner, my mother walks in and proceeds to tell me that she did laundry and she washed my pink panties.  I was mortified, but I just kept chopping those onions, never looking up.  Roll the clock ahead 45 minutes, we are all sitting down at the dinner table when my mother tells everyone that my darling daughter always seems to be yelling for everyone to put their clothes in the laundry hamper, and goes into this story how she finds some of my clothes laying on the floor next to the bed.  I hold my breath fearing what words are going to come out in her next sentence - she casually looks over at my husband and asks "so what did you think of my daughters hot pink panties?"

SILENCE....

She then mumbled guess we know what you were doing last night...

Joys of having your mother live with you.

~G

Baby Wills Adventures

We were in Houston this past weekend for NCA Cheer Nationals - sadly even though our team performed well both days and had zero deductions, we came in 3rd place.  The notes provided from the judges complimented the team for execution, but stated the reason we lost, was due to the skill level performed. We need bigger and better stunts.  For the next three weeks we will be practicing 5 days per week to learn a new routine in time for the next Nationals event in March.


What parent has not used bribery to get their child to do something?  Ok, I'm sure someone out there has all the tricks and bribery isn't one of them... We, on the other hand, from time to time use bribery!  William was not feeling 100% on the first day of competition, we talked about accountability, responsibility and commitment - we explained that he was given this awesome opportunity to be a member of an elite team of kids and travel to different places to perform.  In the end we promised if he gave 110% even while not feeling 100% we would let him pick out anything he wanted from the vendor tables.

William knocked it out of the park and his gift a small giraffe stuffed animal which he promptly named "Baby Will"  Baby Will was now required to go everywhere we went and when we didn't win or at least get 2nd place, Baby Will helped to comfort us while we were down.

Monday, William smuggled Baby Will into the car, just before he was to get out, I noticed Baby Will and reminded him that he isn't permitted to take toys to school.  Tears welled up and he then asked if I could take him to work and  let him see what it is I do all day?   I replied "sure". 

When I arrived to work and was about to get out, I looked over and saw Baby Will on the seat - my first thought was to just leave him in the car, but I couldn't get William's sad face out of my head and I grabbed Baby Will and headed into the office - it was then my bright idea to stage pictures of him doing various things around the office.  I was caught three different times by co-workers and resigned to say that it was a school project I was helping with! I do believe a couple of those that caught me thought I was loco.

Pictures of Baby Will's adventure (first two are in Houston)

Not so happy with the losing :(

Poppy and Baby Will enjoying the Competition

Will arrives to Nina's work in style

Baby Will studying for the CCNA Exam

Taking Calls

Answering emails

Coffee Break

Afternoon Break

Testing in the lab (love these Video phones!)

That was "EASY"

Washing my hands