New Photo

Let me explain the reason I changed my blog photo.  I LOVE the photo that was there before.  That picture was taken by my friend Amanda when we were in South Lake Tahoe last summer.  Its a great family photo which we don't get very often.  I took the photo off because we have all changed so much in almost a years time.  I wanted to put up something that was more up to date.  I anticipate being able to take some professional family photos after Dominic gets home.  So until then, this one will have to do.

No Sleep

Poor Dominic.  I feel so bad for him.  He shares a room with two other guys.  One plays video games on his laptop and won't use headphones.  The other talks in his sleep.  Dominic is so tired of living with these two.  He said he will go to the room because he knows they are both not there and within minutes they follow.  He is tired of having no privacy.  There is nowhere to go to get away.  Everyone needs a break especially when you are trying to stay away from certain people.  Dominic is so ready to come home.  He even said that he hates it now.  Well we have about 2 1/2 more months to go.  On a better note, Dominic is going to take a math class while he's there.  He's only 16 units away from getting his AA.  I think that him taking a class is a really positive thing and it will give him something to keep his mind on.  I'm excited for him.  He says that he's nervous because its been so long since he's gone to school but this will be different.  He'll do great.

Things here at home have really calmed down.  Christian is done with Sylvan now.  The only evening activity we have now is Cub Scouts.  Its nice and I am enjoying not having to run around constantly.

Its supposed to be windy this weekend.  Its been a little chilly too.  We don't have any plans.  I wanted to take the boys to the park but we'll have to wait and see what the weather looks like.

Rough Mornings

Christian can't seem to get himself up when the alarm goes off!  I set his alarm for 7:10 am.  The clock stays in bed with him which clearly is part of the problem.  He turns off the alarm and goes back to sleep.  He stays up playing and reading in bed until all hours.  I allow him to read until 9:30 then its lights out.  Well that doesn't always happen.  So this morning I woke him up at 7:40.  He has to get to school by 8:30.  He spends what seems like an hour in the bathroom, takes forever to get dressed, eats breakfast and so on.  This morning he had to eat breakfast in the car.  Should I let him be responsible for being late?  If I didn't rush around he would surely be late.  One thing is for sure, tonight, lights out at bedtime.

More Color

I did some tie-dye stuff when Mason was born inspired by a friend who did some for her son.  Here are some new ones that I will give to my sister and her two best friends that are all expecting babies.  Its really fun to see how they turn out because you never know until you unwrap them.  I am so happy with how these turned out.  I hope they are too.

Colorful Day

Poster painting.

My very colorful cake.

Positive Note

I finally got a nice note from Christian's teacher.  She is seeing some improvement and she thanked us for the flag!  I think this is a huge step forward.

Memories

Okay, I know this is kind of silly but I'm doing it anyway.  This picture was taken before we got married.  We were young and skinny.  I cut my hair short because Dominic likes short hair.  I hated it but I am considering cutting it short again.  I need to loose more weight before I even consider doing it though.  My face is too round at this point for such short hair.

I can't believe I was ever so small.  Those jeans were my absolute FAVORITE jeans!  I know that I will never look like that again.  I have three beautiful kids to thank for that :)  I just wonder what I will look like when I get to my goal.  

I'm going to be candid.  I was really tired of being the biggest woman in a room of people.  I felt embarrassed for Dominic to be married to me although he has never made me feel like he was embarrassed.  I want to be healthy more than anything.  Being thinner and buying normal sized clothes is just an extra, a great bonus.  It takes time and I am perfectly okay with that.  When I get there, we are going to take another photo together.  We will be 10 years older, he will be bald and I might have short hair again.  However, the best part is that we will be together.

100th Post

Yes, this is my 100th post on my blog.  Okay, I know its not that exciting, its just life.  So yesterday was a pretty great day.  I had Sarah, the babysitter, come over at 11:30 and I had a waxing appointment at noon.  I mailed a package to Dominic and bought some Forever Stamps since the price is going up AGAIN!  I grabbed some lunch.  Quiznos has these cute little Sammies that my sister introduced me to.  I LOVE the veggie one, so good.  Try them if you haven't yet.  After lunch I went to Kohls and picked up a new pair of shoes, some shorts for Mason and a couple other things.  Then it was time to get back home.

I also stopped off at Lowes to order the cabinet doors for the kitchen.  It should take about 3-4 weeks to get them in.  I'm realizing at this point that I will not have the kitchen done by the time that Dominic gets home.  By the way, Dominic managed to find out about the kitchen as he does ALL of my surprises.  He logged onto our snapfish account and saw the album of pictures.  Figures!  He never mentioned it until one day I realized that he probably saw them.  I asked and he said yes.  He said that it will still be a surprise because he doesn't know exactly what I'm doing and by the time he gets home it will be 7 months since he's seen the kitchen anyway.  I was disappointed but oh well.  Nothing I can do about it now.

Yesterday was a gorgeous 80-something degrees.  Today its supposed to snow.  Welcome to Texas in March!

Dominic called last night.  We talked a lot about how much we miss each other and started making plans for when he gets back.  He wants to have some people over and he definitely wants to cook.  He wants tacos, fajitas and BBQ.  The boys are missing tacos.  Maybe I will make some this weekend for them.  We still have a bunch of tamales to eat too.

I made the reservations for the Vegas part of our vacation this week.  We are going to stay in a spa suite at the Luxor!  I cannot wait!  Its going to be so great!

Update on TAKS

Yesterday I got the official results of the TAKS test that Christian took.  I found out that this portion of the test was for reading and the math TAKS will be at the end of April.  Christian answered 35 of 36 questions correctly.  He scored a 2502 on the scale.  Standard is 2100 and Commended Performance is 2400.  Again, I am so proud!

I emailed Dominic and told him to call when he could so that Christian could tell him the news.  He called that evening and spoke to both of the boys.  Dominic was very proud of Christian as well.  

Yesterday Mr. Page spoke about Christian's Flat Stanley and the flag also.  I asked him if that made him feel special, he said yes.

The little boys and I went to Walmart today.  We needed a few groceries.  It figures that when we are almost done and almost to the front of the store, Ayden has to pee.  I prefer to take him to the family bathroom where I can leave everything in the cart including Mason and just watch Ayden from the door.  Otherwise I have to take Mason and the diaper bag out to go into the bathroom with Ayden to supervise and help...one handed.  The family bathroom is just plain easier however its at the back of the store, figures.

So proud!

I just picked up Christian from school and he gave me such great news I almost cried!

Christian took to school his Flat Stanley scrapbook, American flag and certificate stating where the flag was flown.  Dominic flew the flag on two missions with him in honor of Christian's class. It was Dominic's intent that Mrs. Hill keep and hang the flag in the classroom however we sort of expected another misunderstanding, somehow.  Thank goodness that didn't happen.   The first thing Christian told me when he got in the car is that Mr. Page (the principal) might talk about the flag in tomorrow's morning announcements to the whole school!  How awesome is that?  Christian is SO excited!

The second bit of news that I almost cried about is that Christian only missed ONE (yes, you read that right) question on the TAKS test!!!!!!!  If I could have fallen out of the car I would have.  I am SO PROUD of him.  What an amazing accomplishment!  He is so proud of himself and was so giddy and excited to tell me.  What a smart kid we have :)  Yeah, Christian!

I can't wait for Dominic to call so Christian can tell him the exciting news!