Finally...some pictures!

Joe has been out of town this week or I might have been able to write more. However, as soon as I'm able to get the kids in bed and the house in a somewhat liveable fashion, I crash! So, here we are...waiting for Daddy to get home so I can turn childcare duty over to him and I can go into hibernation! I just don't know how single moms do it!

I had a parent teacher conference with Austin's teacher yesterday. He is apparently ready to start college, so we will start filling out applications this weekend! :) Seriously, he's apparently doing really well and I got to see a lot of the "work" he has done this year that they haven't sent home. Nothing really major to report...does this mean that he's a good kid or that he's unremarkable?! Anything's better than being the parent of "that kid", I guess!

Poor little Kayla is cutting a tooth. I'm not really sure which one, but she is drooling more than a basset hound (yes, we're familiar with them...my dear brother and sister-in-law have one!) She's also in a LOT of pain-more than I remember her being in with any of her other teeth. In fact, she really didn't show any symptoms with many of her teeth. All of a sudden, there were teeth there! I've been pumping her full of motrin and tylenol...hopefully tonight will be better than last night!

Austin had another soccer game this past weekend. There are some pictures below. He's just so stinkin cute out on that field, but I'm not biased or anything! We also took the kids to the pumpkin patch at our church. They did a very good job picking out their pumpkins, but I'm pretty sure Kayla was going to try to come home with all of them.

Here's Austin going after the ball! He sure looks like he's hustlin!

This is at the second game (I think!) Her shirt says "my brother rocks"! Hopefully she'll still think that in a few years!

You can't see the ball she's kicking in this picture. I'm afraid we're going to have many years of soccer games ahead of us!

I'm pretty sure this is the first pumpkin Kayla found and equally sure that this is one of the pumpkins we came home with! She is SO independent and "I do it" are her favorite words right now!

Austin was determined to help carry pumpkins to the car. I'm thinking this one might have been a little big!

I sure wish I could get them bot to look AT the camera at the same time. Oh well...at least they're both smiling!

Voting and Election Burnout

I have a feeling that waiting for this election to be over is going to be much like waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. Everyday seems to drag more and more. I, like much of America, want the Presidential election to be over. However, the election of much more importance to me is that of Brazos County District Attorney. It is somewhat daunting to realize that in two weeks, I may have to be looking for a job. If you know of any DA's offices around Texas that are hiring, please let me know! It is amazing to me the number of people that will vote for someone (especially someone in the position of DA) based solely on their party affiliation. I am as conservative Republican as the next person, but that doesn't mean I'm NEVER going to vote for a Democrat. In fact, I voted for 3 yesterday! I have NEVER had a victim ask me my party affiliation before we go to trial on a case, but apparently that seems to be a big deal to many of these idiots around here. Whatever happened to looking at someone's qualifications (and, frankly, the qualifications of that person's assistants) before making a choice.

I took Austin with me to vote yesterday. He was very excited, although I had to explain to him several times that he couldn't tell people to vote for "Beal" Turner when we went into the courthouse. In fact, I told him not to say a word or we would get in trouble. This was such a change as I have no shame and have been encouraging him to tell people that if "Beal" Turner doesn't in, mommy will lose her job. Like I said, I have no shame! We pulled the little chair right up to the polling booth and I let Austin "mark the boxes" of the people we were voting for. After double (and triple and quadruple) checking to make sure we had IN FACT voted for "Beal" Turner, I let him push the "Cast your ballot" button. He was grinning ear to ear when we walked out of the election room...proudly wearing his "I voted" sticker. When we came up to my office to say hi to everyone, someone asked him who he voted for. He looked at me for permission to tell...I think that's the first time he's EVER listened to me when I've told him not to say anything!

I just got a phone call from the daycare that Kayla bit someone today. I laugh when they call me to tell me that...not because she bit someone, but what do they really think I can do about it when I'm at work and she's there? It has actually been some time since she last bit...apparently she wanted the baby doll more than the other kid! Its so weird to be the parent of the "biter of the class" (as Austin calls her) when I was the parent of the "bitee" with Austin. We talk all the time about how we shouldn't bite and that its not very nice, but it seems that when the moment comes, the only way she can "get what she wants" is to lay her little teeth on the next victim. That does not bode well for us for the future. My question is how, with 3 teachers and 18 kids, they couldn't have gotten to her before it actually happened. Oh well...such is the life of a working mom whose kids are in "gasp" daycare!!

Do they make a bed bigger than a king size?

So this morning at approximately 5 o'clock, I can hear Kayla over the monitor as she is climbing out of bed. (Again...why did I buy her that step stool?!) I then hear the door open-when did she get so tall? I'm guessing that halfway out into the living room, she realized that she couldn't see because she started crying. Joe went to get her and brought her into bed with us. Not at all a good precedent to be starting, especially since it hasn't been that long since Austin stopped getting in bed with us. I'm thinking she finally went back to sleep after flopping around...I know I did! How is it that such a little person can take up SOOO much room in a huge bed?!

Well, about 6:30, I can again hear noises over the monitor. I realize its now Austin getting something out of Kayla's room. Apparently he decided that if she was going to be in bed with Mommy and Daddy, she needed a baby in the bed, too. So, Austin makes his way in and ALSO climbs up in bed...complete with doll for Kayla, blanket and stuffed animal for him. Its a good thing Austin has bunkbeds-Joe and I may be needing somewhere to sleep soon!

You may ask why I was still in bed at 6:30...well, somehow, in my head, IT WAS SATURDAY!!! When I remembered it was Friday, I was NOT in a good mood and thus began the rush to get everyone ready to leave the house. No...I was not on time to work today!

A&M plays Texas Tech this weekend, although I think the term "plays" is probably not the proper term to use. For the first time in a LONG time (ever??), I am NOT that excited to go to football games. I know its a "rebuilding year" (what does that mean anyway? Haven't we been "rebuilding" for a while now?!), but it sure makes it hard to stomach the amount of money we have spent on season tickets. The more exciting game will be tomorrow at 9-yes, its soccer time again! Gee (Joe's mom) is coming, as well as Uncle Steven, Aunt Faye and Annie. We're very excited to see them and hang out. Hopefully we'll be able to take the kids to the pumpkin patch and get some fall pictures!

Pictures from Soccer Game

Here are some pictures from last week's soccer game. Hopefully I can get some pictures of Kayla up here soon, too!

Austin doing his best to get to the ball and move it down the field!

I think we might have been on the way to the goal on this one!

He looks so much like Joe in this picture!

Sleeping on the floor???

So, the good news is that I'm not in trial anymore this week. The defense asked for continuances in both of the cases and somehow that was still our fault...whatever!

I got home late last night after a junior league meeting and Kayla was already in bed...well, kind of. I bought her a step stool a couple of weeks ago for her to be able to get in and out of her bed. Tell me again why that was a good idea?! Anyway, she has started climbing out of her bed after we tuck her in, but she doesn't come out of her room. No, instead (from what I can tell) she has been getting books out and "reading" them and then putting herself back to bed. However, she lays down behind the rocking chair in her room, which is about a foot and a half wide between the chair and the window seat. The past four nights she has done this and has been sound asleep when you go in to check on her. Of course, we move her back into her bed, but you have to wonder how that is more comfortable than the $200 mattress she has on her "big girl bed"!

When I walked in after my meeting, Austin was sitting in the recliner...well, really laying in the recliner...watching some movie about ships on the Discovery channel. I have no idea what it is and when I tried to talk to him he told me to "Shhh, mommy!" Joe tried to turn off the TV so Austin could go to bed and he said he wanted to wait until the ship movie was over. I guess there are worse things he could be watching on TV!

Tonight its off to a campaign event before we settle in to watch the last of the debates. We're taking Austin so he can tell everyone to "vote for 'beal' turner"...although really is that needed when everyone who will be there will be supporting Bill anyway? At least he knows what buttons to push when we go to vote next week!

The start of another week...

So, this weekend went by way too fast. Have you ever woke up on Monday morning and wondered "How am I here again?" Well, that's how it was for me this morning. My mom (aka Nonnie) was here this weekend and it was a typical whirlwind! Started out with dinner Friday night and then mom putting the kids to bed. After that, she took me to buy a sewing machine. Why, you ask? Well, I figured that now that I'm 30, I should learn how to sew! And, I know I can make those cute clothes they sell in Canton for much cheaper than they sell them! I just have to figure out how to work the thing!

Saturday morning...soccer game number 3! Austin is playing soccer this year for the first time and, with the exception of the first game, he's been doing really well! For the second week in a row, he scored two goals...but who's counting? (Certainly not the parents who aren't supposed to encourage such things, right?!) The funny thing was after the game when Austin was upset because he "only scored two scores." We finally figured out that he thought Nonnie wouldn't take him to Toys 'R' Us if he hadn't won. (What was he thinking? Nonnie takes him to Toys 'R' Us EVERY time she comes!!) Of course this was after the head-on collision between Austin and two players from the other team as they ran through the "tunnel-o-parents". All in all, it was a good morning and they had a great time.

Next came the Aggie Football game...really nothing worth reporting on there other than the fact that we are continuously wondering why we paid for season tickets this year. Nonnie took the kids shopping because they apparently don't have enough clothes in their closets! I shouldn't complain...we really do appreciate everything she does for us!

After a full day of church activities and getting ready for trial, we were hoping the kids would go down early. However, Kayla had other things in mind. Now that she has a step stool next to her bed, she's already out before we can get out of the room! I'm going to have to remember to move that stool when we put her to bed at night!

So, finally Monday is over and I sit here writing as Joe watches Monday night football. Its going to be a long week because "mommy is trying to put a bad guy in jail this week." Its hard to explain that the "bad guy" is really a 10 year old kid... Nothing will put a smile on your face like the kids chasing each other through the house, having a "race" to see who can get in bed first. Keep in mind that neither of them actually ever makes it into the bed! This of course is after Kayla has attempted to turn the bathroom into one large swimming pool by dumping water out of the tub. This is reported to me by Austin who informs me that "the water is almost to the door." "Sigh"...I guess the bath mats need washed again!

So, here we go...

Since so many of my friends have a blog, I figured I'd try it out. Not sure how often I'll post, but I'll do my best! I figure this is a good way for me to keep up with our lives and memories since I'm obviously no good at scrapbooking anymore!