The Hood House

Riley is 18 months old!!

2010-06-11T14:29:00.001-07:00

Riley is such a character. She used to be so friendly to everyone, but she is in a stranger danger phase. That didn't go over so well at the doctor this morning. She pretty much cried the whole appointment, and she didn't even get any shots or anything. It would have been comical if she wasn't so upset about it. But all went well. I can't believe she's that old. *tear*

Weight 25 lbs. 3 oz.
Height 32 in.

She and Maggie are still super close in stats which I find interesting. She is a bit shorter than Maggie, but their weight is exactly the same. Spooky! :o)

I love this pic of Riley and her Oma!

Riley LOVES cake....

and sand!

Destin Trip

2010-06-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

In May we went to Destin to see Aaron's family. We had a lot of fun. I'm really glad we went then since it will probably be a mess soon. I'm so sad about that.

Maggie is 3!

2010-04-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

It seem like I'm only getting on here these days to give the stats for the kids, but I'm just not super motivated. Plus, I am just kind of tired these days. So here goes....

Maggie turned 3 today. She is my baby. She is full of life. She is full of drama. She loves to learn new things. She is so girly that I just don't even know what happened. She awoke this morning to a new bicycle with princesses all over it. I can't wait to see her ride it. She looks so cute in her little helmet. Her formal birthday party isn't for another week, so she'll be getting presents for a while. I know she'll love that since her words to me the other day were, "I want EVERYTHING for my birthday." Nice! We're trying to work on knowing that we just don't always get everything we want, but I'm not totally sure it's sinking in. I'll keep working on it. She's smarter than she should be, and I love it. Her new word is fabulous, and being the diva she is, she uses it often. :o) We went ahead and had her doctor's appointment today, and it went fine. He said she's just perfect. And I know that she is!

Weight 29 lbs. 4 oz.
Height 37 in.

My sweet girl at almost 3!

Here we are at 2...

We sure have changed a lot from 1!

Riley is 15 months!!

2010-03-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

I honestly can't believe my baby is 15 months old. Man, that makes ME feel old too! She is an absolute joy. She is such a people person. She loves everyone(a little bit scary for me). She makes friends wherever she goes. She is my sweetheart. She also has quite a temper. She's been known to throw herself down on the floor and scream....which makes me laugh a lot. She's into EVERYTHING. She still puts everything into her mouth which makes me NUTS. I just can't imagine her any other way.

Here's her stats....

Weight 23 lbs. 50%
Length 31 in. 50-75%(closer to 50)
Head...no idea but it's closer to 75%

Before I know it, she'll be two. I just can't stand it!

Time Goes By....

2010-02-24T06:30:00.001-08:00

I am not a super blogger by any stretch. There have been a few things going on, so I'll try to post some.

The girls and I have joined a moms group beyond just hanging out with my friends. It's been pretty fun. The moms are nice, and we get out of the house A LOT. Riley isn't afraid of anything, and I'll be glad when she and Maggie can pal around more. Maggie still seems to enjoy playing with older kids instead of ones her age. Oh well! What can you do?? I'm just glad she really enjoys making friends wherever we go.

Texas has had a lot of snow this winter. It's crazy. Riley and I didn't enjoy it so much. I don't like all that wet and cold. Riley just still wasn't a good walker, so I knew she would probably just face plant and then scream. Maggie LOVES getting out in the snow though. She would stay out for hours and comes in all frozen! She enjoys throwing snowballs at people. Aaron threw one too hard at her once, and it was soooooo funny. I can't help it that I like to laugh at my children. I'm sure it will give them a tough skin when they're older(hopefully).

Riley is FINALLY a walker. It only took her 14 months, and she's still not walking all the time. However, she is pretty good at it. For me, this just means that she can get into more stuff...which she's pretty good at already. On the plus side, I won't have to carry her everywhere soon, but that also means that it will take us FOREVER to walk anywhere.

They're growing up too fast. Maggie is almost 3, and Riley is almost 15 months. Sadness!

Riley loves to point at people, especially when they're taking her picture.

Look at all that snow!

Beautiful!

Please Pray!!

2010-02-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

Our friends Rod and Kamara and their daughter Aubrey are in need of prayers right now. Kamara delivered her 2nd sweet baby girl at 24 weeks. Please pray for this family. Here's the link....

www.thecoxcorner.blogspot.com

Who can resist this face???

2009-12-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Riley's 1...and here comes Santa Claus!

2009-12-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I'll try to post some pics of it at some point, but we've been having some picture difficulties. We had Riley's birthday party with the fam, and it was fun. Riley was kind of tired, but she managed.

Yesterday was her actual birthday. I honestly can't believe she's already one. We went to her well visit today, and it wasn't the most fun I've had in a while. She got four shots! Yikes! She cried forever, so I think it actually did hurt. Here are her stats though. She and Maggie were very similar at their 1 year appointment. I think that's funny considering how far Riley had to catch up!

Weight 21 lbs. 1 oz. 50%
Length 29 1/4 in. 55%
Head 18 1/8 in.

Now on to Santa....

Angela and I went to see the awesome Santa at Northpark. He is amazing. I was hoping that Maggie would be okay, but it really didn't happen that way. She wanted NOTHING to do with him. I did get a picture of him with Riley though. It's cute. Hopefully next year everyone will love Santa. A mom can only hope!

It's Halloween time!

2009-11-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't really say that I've been that busy. I just haven't been keeping up with the blog. October has been really fun...except for all the rain. I've been so irritated that so many of the activities in which I wanted to partake just couldn't seem to happen. We did manage to get out and do some things though. Without further ado, here are the pics....

Here we all ready to go to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. Maggie was NOT in a super cooperative mood, and we were only there about 45 minutes. It took us longer to get there than we stayed. *Sigh!*

Maggie goes to a great Mommy and Me class. They had a fun little Halloween party. This year Maggie was a ballerina, and Riley was a bee.

Since the first pumpkin patch outing wasn't too successful, we tried again. It was much better. However, you can tell that Maggie is NOT a Star Wars fan. I just couldn't resist this picture. I really wanted to get it for Aaron since he is a Star Wars fan, but Maggie was terrified of Chewy!

We went over to a friend's house for trick or treating. It was a lot of fun. Riley didn't think it was so great, but Maggie was in candy heaven. I am so happy that we have a family photo. We seem to so rarely take those!

Hope you all had a happy Halloween! Now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Aaron ran a 5K! and other things....

2009-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the beginning of Addison Oktoberfest, and Aaron decided to do their 5K. He did so great. I was really proud of him. Maggie wanted to run it too. She's so funny. Maybe she will be a runner like her dad and like that sort of thing. Well, that would be great. He and Maggie can go and run, and Riley and I can wait at the finish line. Works for me!

Riley is starting to look so grown up. I can't believe in less than 3 months she will be one. She is still army crawling which I think is hilarious. Aaron tried to army crawl like her yesterday, and he was exhausted after that. It's funny how she's doing something all the time that is such much harder than regular crawling. She likes to clap a lot and REALLY likes music. I'm kind of hoping that she'll take after me that way. Maggie likes to sing, but it seems to be really calming to Riley. She listens intently and even seems to try to mimic some of my singing.

Maggie is just something else. You can't say anything without her repeating it and throwing it up in your face at interesting moments. Two of her favorite sayings are "Calm down, _____" and "You're driving me crazy!" I might say the second one, but the first one is from Aaron. Her verbal skills are really incredible. I am constantly amazed at how many words/sayings/phrases she picks up. Kids really are sponges.

Aaron and I have been trying to take some nights out to ourselves. It has been really nice. Tonight will be another one of those times. Hooray!!!

Ummm...this is Maggie dancing. Notice the lips. She didn't get this from me!

Usual Maggie face.... She REFUSES to smile for the camera about 99.9% of the time. She's still pretty!

Usual Riley face.... She is so smiley!

Kelli, this one is for you!!!

2009-09-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

Flamingo’s Like DVDs Too

I LOVE peopleofwalmart.com!!!!!

Riley is 9 months old!!!!!

2009-09-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Riley had a doctor's appointment for her 9 month check-up. Before I know it, she will be one!! It's crazy to think about. Here are her stats...

Weight 18 lbs. 2 oz. 39%
Length 28 in. 75%
Head 17 5/8...not sure on percentile

She also had one shot, and they pricked her finger to check her iron levels which were great apparently. She got so mad at that nurse. It's so funny to watch her get really mad because Riley doesn't do anything halfway. She's either really happy or really angry. There's just not a lot of inbetween. As far as her stats go, she and Maggie were exactly the same on length. Riley's head is a teeny bit smaller, and her weight is a bit over a pound less. I think they would have been exactly the same if Riley didn't have that trouble gaining weight at the beginning. They're starting to look more alike to me now. We'll see how they turn out.

Am I crazy or just optimistic??

2009-08-31T12:03:00.000-07:00

So we've been potty training for a while. It's been going well...so well, in fact, that I decided to have her stop wearing a diaper for naps and at night. Naps have been good so far. She's stayed clean and dry. 2 out of 3 of the last nights she has been dry too, but then there's last night. At some point she wet the bed, but she DIDN'T GET UP. Who knows when it happened? It could have been right before she got up or at any point between about 10:30-6. Ugh! She just slept in her pee. Now this was NOT the reaction that I was looking for. I thought she'd freak out and then get up. *sigh* I'm going to continue with just panties mostly because she's done so well, but I'm starting to wonder if we'll still be working on this until we're 5 or something. I know that I'm being overly dramatic. I'm just wondering when you're totally and completely DONE with it...not just during the day but forever.

I do have to say though that I'm really proud of her. It really hasn't been as awful as I was expecting, and we don't have very many accidents at all. I just have to stick with it, but a teeny part of me is just hoping that Riley will train herself when that time comes. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

I swore to myself that I'd never post this kind of thing on here, but really...what better things do I have to think/talk about in the middle of the day??! I'll try to come up with something better soon!

So What Now???

2009-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm now officially a stay at home mom. It's the first day for teachers around here to go back to school, and I'm at home. I'm not exactly sure I can express exactly how I feel about that. I'm excited to be home with my babies, but.... My job does give me some identity. I love what I do. I can honestly say that I made a difference when I went to work. I felt like I was pretty good at it. I enjoyed the excitement that was always there at the beginning of each year. I loved fixing up my room. I LOVED meeting my kids and their families. I had a lot of really good teacher friends. So now I'm in a funk. I'll stay busy and meet other mommies and their kids. I'll take the kiddos to fun places and teach them lots of things. I'll be more sure later, but I'm worried that I made the wrong choice for me. *sigh* I'm just really sad today. Any advice out there? I know that I should feel grateful that staying home is even an option for me, but I'm just antsy already.... All you teachers out there love on your students for me. I miss it....

Fun in the sun and sand

2009-08-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a family trip to Destin, Florida this year. We were there for a week with my parents, my sister and her fam, my cousin and her fam and my aunt. Yep, there were 9 adults and 6 kids in one huge house. Actually it was two big houses, and my parents and my aunt stayed in the 2nd house. It was wild and crazy but so fun. Now I have been to the beach before. I've been to beaches in Florida, California, Mexico and even a couple abroad. But I just wasn't prepared for how pretty the beach was. The sand was a beautiful white color. The water was so clear that you could see right down to your feet. It was lovely. It was kind of hard for Aaron and I to maneuver between the two kids on different nap schedules. Plus, Riley wasn't the biggest fan of the sand and ocean. I'm hoping that it will be better next year as we are planning to make it a yearly trip. I'm already looking forward to next year!!!

Fun in Destin!

2009-08-01T18:13:00.001-07:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

I can't believe how high he throws her. She LOVES it! Next year it will be Riley's turn too!

Doctor's appointment

2009-07-09T07:31:00.001-07:00

Isn't she a happy baby??!

Maggie's daddy makes her a "tent" in the house, and they play and have lots of fun!

I had the pleasure of taking Riley to the cardiologist yesterday for a checkup of the little holes in her heart. She last went at 1 month, so it's been a while. Riley was a great patient. They checked her oxygen level...at 99% which is great(anything above 95 apparently is fine). Then she had an EKG. She didn't love this but didn't fuss at all. Then they did a heart echo thing. This takes a while. She has to lay down, and they use a sono wand to check everything out. It turns out the holes are still there. One is now too small to measure, and the other is 2 mm. We have another and hopefully our last checkup in another year. She'll be 19 months then. That may be a very different visit! Anyway, her heart is fine and working well. These holes will not limit her, and they totally expect them to be gone by the next visit. The doctor couldn't even hear the murmur anymore. So, all in all it was a great visit. A big thanks to my parents for keeping Maggie while I went to the appointment! It sure it easier to only have one of them to cart around. Hopefully I'll be a better blogger!

Riley Faith is 6 months old!

2009-06-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor for Riley's 6 month well visit. It wasn't bad at all. Riley is really a lot better at this than Maggie was at this age. She didn't scream at all for anything until her second shot. Even then, she seemed more angry than hurt. Overall she's doing just great and has been extremely healthy. I feel so blessed having two wonderful girls!

Weight: 15 lbs. 9 1/2 oz. right under the 50%
Length: 26 1/2 in. 75%
Head: no idea but they said it was in the 50-75%

The only downside was that we were there almost 2!!!! hours. I honestly couldn't believe that both girls held it together for that long. They were awesome!

Lovin' a giveaway!!!

2009-06-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

First up is a fun blog I just found out about a.
Her stuff is sooo cute. I'm loving the little dresses and the birthday plates!

Click on the link to go to Fancy Schmancy's site and have fun browsing. Then enter to win a personalized adorable cake polka dot plate.

I'm really getting into this whole giveaway thing. It sure would be nice to win!

Maggie stats

2009-05-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I never posted Maggie's stats for her 2 year old visit. I had to go to that one, and it was not super fun. Maggie is not that fond of strangers in general, and our doctor was no exception. She hated every minute of it and pretty much screamed the whole time. Oh well. I wasn't that worried about it. She only had one shot, so that was good. Here are her stats...

Weight 27 lbs.
Height 35 inches

I'm not sure about the percentiles on those, and I can't find her sheet. Goodness knows what I did with it. We sure do love our moody, crazy 2 year old!

Maggie is 2...and has been for a bit!

2009-05-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

I realize that I never really posted about Maggie turning 2. It's just been pretty crazy around here. Some days I am pretty sure I'm taking crazy pills, but I'm sure it will get easier...some day...some year...whatever.

We didn't want to have Maggie's party at our house again mostly because it really always stresses me out, and I don't have a good time. I know it's ridiculous, but I'm constantly cleaning up, messing with food, etc. So we decided to have the party at The Little Gym. Maggie goes to class there every week and just LOVES it, so it was our first choice. We kind of slacked off getting around to firm up the date and ended up having the party the day before Easter. It was fine. We had cousins, friends, adult friends...all the gang. It seemed like everyone had a good time.

Here's what Maggie is up to these days... She knows TONS of words. I'm not even going to bother to count, but she has an incredible vocabulary. And boy, does she like to talk!!!! She can jump with both feet off the ground, drink out of a regular cup, feed herself with minimal messes, loves being outside, and loves her daddy more than anything in the world. She enjoys choosing her own clothes and shoes which drives me crazy since they don't always match. Her hair has some crazy corkscrew curls in it that we're pretty sure came from the mailman. She does not enjoy smiling for any cameras and can take a long time to warm up to strangers. We do so love her. I just can't imagine my life without her!

More pics.....

2009-05-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

What a sweet baby!

The birthday party.... Maggie is 2!! So crazy to think about!

Fabulous!

2009-04-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm not one to really look at giveaways, but this beautiful stuff was too great to pass up. Check it out here...
makeroomforstyle.blogspot.com/2009/04/spring-giveaway.html

So great!

4 months old!!!

2009-04-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

Riley had 5!!! shots today. Poor baby! Aaron said she screamed her head off and then went to sleep. I guess that will work. Here are her stats... She's still a peanut, but we love her anyway. Where are my fat rolls??

Length: 24 1/2 inches 55%
Weight: 12 lbs. 10 oz. 25 %
Head: 16 1/2 inches

Well, her head is pretty big anyway!! Ha ha!

New Riley pics!

2009-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today at church was our baby dedication. I had to turn in a picture for the slideshow and realized that I didn't have a lot of good ones. During spring break we had a lovely photo shoot. Riley was remarkably calm as I changed her hair and clothes like 4 times. Here's some of the ones I got....

Anyone care to guess which one is which??

2009-03-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was looking back over some pictures. I came across these two. Can you tell which one is Riley and which is Maggie??? I'm sure they will have their differences, but there is a lot the same!!!I promise that they aren't of the same child!

Just some pictures....too tired for anything else.

2009-03-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Aren't the first two pictures lovely??! Yep, this is pretty common!

Oma came to visit. Maggie was loving all the attention.
My favorite picture so far of Riley....

Back to the Grind

2009-02-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

I've been back at school over the last 3 weeks, and I've learned some things about myself..... Here they are in no particular order.

1. I crave routine. This is why I'm sure that it will be difficult at first to be a stay at home mom. I'm just going to have to figure out a routine for each day down to the exact time. We'll be going and doing most days, and I'm sure the kids will love it. I'll be frazzled, but it would be worse for me to just be at home all the time. I think I'd go crazy!

2. I have to know the date. I don't know why it matters, but it does. I like having the date written on the board at school. Then I never forget and don't have to think if I have to sign and date something or write a check or something like that.

3. I like to be around adults. I need adult conversation. That is why I'll have to have some moms to hang out with. I have a few in mind. Any other takers??? This will be starting June 2008!

4. I think it's important for Maggie to always be exposed to other children. I plan to do this by joining play groups, hanging out with my sister and her kiddos and by putting Maggie in "school" for probably two days a week once she is three. There are certain values that can only be learned when she is around other children. I simply can't provide everything.

5. I like to go and hang out with the girls. This is definitely something that I need. My friend Kelli has been planning some girl nights lately, and they are fun. Plus, I *might* be able to catch up on my movie-watching at some point! I also play bunco with the girls from school and plan to keep doing this even after I am not teaching anymore. That will help me still feel in the loop!

6. I feel absolutely so blessed to have not struggled to have children. I have some friends that I really love that are having some hard times with this. I pray for them every day...and every day I hope is the day they tell me they're pregnant!

So, there's my list for now...and here's some pics for your viewing pleasure!
Maggie had a tea party dressed like a princess (Thanks Howells!!)

You just can't catch Riley with a smile. They're gone in a second. This is pretty much her look most of the time. Look at those cheeks! Remind you of anyone??? Riley is finally starting to round out some....Sweet family picture...minus me, of course. Now if only we could get Maggie to smile on command. It just doesn't happen! She's so stubborn!
Maggie, Riley, and the cousins Briannah and Cadence. I can just see the excitement on Riley's face.
I totally forgot about Riley's 2 month stats. Here they are....

Weight 9 lbs. 14 oz. 10-25%
Length 23 in. 50-75%
Head 15 and ??? This wasn't written down, so we're not sure.

New pics!

2009-01-30T20:04:00.001-08:00

Pink is my signature color....
Packed up and ready to go
Sweet Riley being held by Tiffani
How could anyone resist this face??!

Twinkies!

2009-01-16T20:44:00.001-08:00

The first picture is Maggie at about a month. The second is Riley. Sure, Riley is a lot skinnier in that picture, but I know that I see the resemblance. Anyone else??

A lot going on....

2009-01-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted. It's just been crazy around here. First Aaron's mother was here. Then his dad and stepmom were here. It's always so fun to have family around, but it stressful at the same time. Anyway, now Aaron has gone back to work, and it's just me.

About Riley: Many of you know that she had some issues with gaining weight. Those issues are no more, and she's around 8 lbs. at a month old. Sure, it's not big, but it's a gain of about 2 lbs. We go for her cardiologist appointment tomorrow to check on her VSD. I'll post when I know more.

About Maggie: She's doing really well with Riley. She's not gentle, but she really wants to love on her. She also seems to be very concerned about us leaving her alone at home. Crazy girl! There are LOTS of questions about where "Baby Riley" is and what is "Baby Riley" doing. I tend to think that she's kind of bored here at home with just her momma, so we may look into daycare for February instead of her staying home when the next set of relatives are here.

I'll try to do better on posting. I do have SOME time here and there around taking care of the 2 kiddos and trying to keep a nice house. Ha ha!

Merry Christmas II!!

2008-12-20T09:50:00.001-08:00

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!!!!!!!

2008-12-20T09:41:00.001-08:00

We are home...

2008-12-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

We wanted to let all know we are home and doing great. I must say that it has been quite a change having two ladies around the house instead of one.

The doctors discovered a heart murmur in Riley on Wednesday. She had a series of test run and has a ventricular septal defect (VSD). In short, she has a small hole in her septum between her two ventricles. A cardiologist came by Wednesday afternoon and stated that she won't die, have a heart attack, etc. from this defect. The hole won't get bigger and should heal on its own. In month the same test will be completed, so please pray that her heart has healed itself by then.

Maggie had a great time with her grandparents and is loving being home with her new baby sister. She has shared tons of kisses, went and got diapers, blankets and more. They are going to be best of friends.

Mommy and Riley update...

2008-12-09T09:03:00.001-08:00

Yeah for sleep. As much as I miss my bed I must say that I love being in the hospital with so many caring people looking after us. Mommy, Riley and I were able to get a fair amount of sleep last night. Becky was able to eat some solids and is on her way to a full recovery. Below are some additional pictures, including one with Mommy and Maggie who was enjoying the automatic bed.

Riley Faith Hood is here...

2008-12-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

The surgery was a success and mom is doing great. Riley was born at 7:59 AM is 19 1/2 inches long, weights 7.58 pounds and has a full head of hair (no this isn't her hair in the picture). We are all safe and happy in the room and will post more later. Thank you all for your prayers.

Tomorrow's the big day....

2008-12-07T11:13:00.001-08:00

Miss Riley will be making her grand appearance tomorrow morning. I'll post when I can....

First broken bone

2008-11-08T10:01:00.001-08:00

On Friday I had a workshop to go to in a different town. About 10:30 I got a call from daycare.....NEVER a good thing. I listened to my messages. It seems that some other child managed to pull down a shelf, and it landed on Maggie's foot. It bruised and was swelling. They applied ice for a little bit, but she seemed(in the beginning) to be okay. Then she started limping around on it a bit. The daycare was in touch with Aaron, and he was planning to come and get her after nap time. So he got a doctor's appointment and went and got her. It didn't look so great, so they sent her to a sports doctor where they could do x-rays and then give her a cast if necessary. Well, it was necessary, so our sweet baby now has a lovely pink cast. She has a fracture on the top of her foot. Normally they probably wouldn't have put a cast on it, but it's not like she'd leave on one of those boot things. I felt so terrible that I wasn't in town even though it ultimately wouldn't have mad a difference. Thank goodness that Aaron was able to leave, get her an appointment and get it taken care of. If not, it would not have been a fun weekend. She's walking around on it, and she's getting faster and faster. In two weeks they'll take it off and check it out. Here's some pics......Yes, she's eating guacamole in the last picture. Gross!

Here a link for some pics....

2008-10-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

Shutterfly pictures

Almost 19 months!

2008-10-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally go around to taking Maggie in for her 18 months well check. She's almost 19 months, but whatever.... Her daddy took her in, and that made me happy. She only had to get one shot though, so I probably would have been okay. Here are her stats....

Weight 25 lbs. 3 oz. 55%
Height 32 3/4 in. 75%

I guess they don't do head circumference anymore. That's just another thing that means that my baby is growing up. We should have some new pics next week as Halloween is right around the corner.Isn't that lovely??!!

Where does the time go???

2008-09-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say that I've just been super busy, but that's really not true. This year has been going okay. I like my kids. I'm excited about having Miss Riley in December. Maggie is doing great and growing so much. Everything is just fine. However, nothing out of the ordinary is much going on. Aaron has started getting Maggie's new room ready. It's going to look great. He's such a worker. Once he decides on a time frame for something, it gets done. I wish that I was more like that. He won't let me help at all. That's nice, but it's not really necessary. I can help in well-ventilated areas. I secretly figure he thinks he'll just get it done faster. :o) I'm perfectly okay with that. Now on to some pics.... We went to a wedding in Georgia in early August. That's some of the pics. The others are just from here and there.....

First day of daycare
Oma came to visit
Our happy family!!!!

Go Team Pink!!!

2008-07-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

We found out today that we are having another girl. Yay!! Two girls and we'll have our complete family of four(plus Puck, of course). We're excited, and everything seemed fine. She weighs about 8 oz. right now. She was so wiggly too. It was fun.

Maggie is 15 months!

2008-07-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

So, it was time for our 15 month appointment. I was sad to have to take Maggie to this one. That usually gets to be her daddy's job. I know. I'm mean. Anyway, all is good. Maggie REALLY hates it when her ped looks in her ears, but other than that was fine with the exam. However, the THREE shots did not go over well. Really big scream!!!! I always feel so bad, and I am glad that she's so small that she won't remember the shots later....well, I say that anyway. It was so funny to watch her watch the nurse put her gloves on. It was like she knew bad things were coming. We took off her band-aids together this afternoon, and all is well. She doesn't even get a fever, or a red spot or anything. She is a seriously good shot taker.

Here are her stats:

Height 31 3/4 inches--75-90% (she is seriously Aaron's child here)
Weight 23 lbs.--50%
Head--75%....I don't know the actual measurement

I'll add pics later.

Something new in the oven....

2008-06-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I figure that most of you have heard the news, but here it is if you haven't. Aaron and I are expecting another baby come December. Yep, it's true. It wasn't exactly in OUR plans, but apparently God had something else in mind. As of right now, we don't know a whole lot. I'm 15 weeks. I've gained plenty. Ha ha! The due date is December 17, but that will change if I decided to have a repeat c/s. So I'm not just hitting the twinkies hard or anything. I'm sure that pretty soon I'll look plenty pregnant. Don't plan on seeing any belly shots though. It isn't going to happen. However, I will post on here when we find out the sex, but that won't be for about another month. A Christmas baby...what a present!!

I've been tagged....by KELLI!

2008-06-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Six random facts about me....

1. Some people know this one, but I'll count it anyway. I am lactose intolerant. It stinks! I haven't had real ice cream in probably 10 years. It was the frosties from Wendy's that keyed me in to my problem, and I haven't gone back since. It's not like I've totally rid my diet of all dairy products, but no milk or ice cream for sure. This is why snowcones are my best friend!!!

2. I have a super neurotic cat named Puck. She's 16 years old and still going strong. She pulls out gobs of her own hair and has a gimpy foot because a very large dog chased her one time. She escaped but pulled a muscle in the process. The hair-pulling thing is the worst though.

3. I LOOOOOOOVE pickles. It's not just when I'm pregnant. It's all the time. Clausen pickles just make me happy. If I could live on pickles, I probably would. Of course, I only like sour ones. The other ones are nasty!

4. My husband thinks I ask too many questions. Whenever he tells me about stuff, I want him to explain it in great detail. I really do, and I really want to know. The problem is that I usually can't understand what he's talking about(take computers or cars for example). He knows that I won't understand even if he walks me all the way through it, so it drives him crazy. But I'll keep asking. One of these days I'll understand!

5. My husband and I bought a mini van on Ebay. We don't actually have it yet. Aaron is going to get it on Tuesday. After we get it, I'll let you know what we think. I just think it's crazy to bid like almost $20,000 on Ebay. Ha ha! I'm not sure that Aaron thought we would actually win.

6. Aaron and I are thinking about moving just to have a pool this summer. Yep, it's true. Texas is just too hot to do much else, so we're kind of starting the process. We'll see how it goes. There's a lot of stuff that would have to work out just right.

Okay, there you go. I'll try to post soon.....maybe with some news....

Becky

The Yellow Dog Adventure

2008-05-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a story that's hard to believe, but it's ALL true. Two weeks ago Aaron, Maggie and I were in the car headed to Lancaster for my niece and nephew's swim party. Caitlin just turned 6, and JD is 3. We were quite on time and planned to grab a quick bite to eat before we got there. Traffic was pretty heavy but not too bad. We decided to take the HOV lane on the south side of Dallas. Those of you that have gone this way know this is kind of scary. It's completely closed in on both sides, and there are no exits for probably 5 miles. I mentioned seeing a yellow dog(AKA school bus) ahead of us because I was griping about how I don't think that buses should get to be in the HOV. We were probably 15 cars behind the bus. We're moving along at a relatively good pace when all of the sudden we come to a stop. We didn't just slow down. It was a complete and total, put on your parking brake stop. Lo and behold! What do I see? That yellow dog has broken down in the HOV lane ahead of us. There is NO WAY OUT! About 15 minutes into the ordeal, another bus comes in the northbound lane and stops with the help of a police car. All the kids get out, jump over the guardrail and get onto the other bus. So they're all free, but we're still stuck. Maggie starts to get pretty restless about this time, so we get her out and let her wander free in the car. There's not a whole lot to do though. We notice the couple in the car behind us has started playing cards. At least 2 different gentleman walk up the bus to try to render some type of aid. People get out of their cars and look around. I got out to see how many cars were behind us....as far as I could see down the HOV lane. Then I took some pics and got back into the car. After sitting for an HOUR AND A HALF, a tow truck finally comes to get the bus. We sat there for an HOUR AND A HALF with a baby with nothing to do. I can't say that I was in good humor the whole time, and I can promise that I will NEVER get into an enclosed HOV lane again. Yes, people, this too can happen to you.

She's 1!!!!

2008-04-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

Maggie is 1!! We had a wonderful birthday party today. The weather was perfect. Maggie was in good humor. We were surrounded by wonderful family and friends. We couldn't ask for anything more. I just can't believe she's one. I'll post some pics later, but here's her stats.....

Weight: 21 lbs. 50%
Height: 29 1/2 in. 75%
Head: 17 3/4(I actually think they measured this wrong as this was the same as her 9 month checkup, but whatever) 75%

She got 2 shots at the doctor, and she took them like a pro. I'm so proud to be her mom. I just can't even explain it!!

Here comes Peter Cottontail.....and other such nonsense...

2008-03-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

It's so weird that Easter was so early this year. It turned out to be a pretty nice day. Maggie looked beautiful in her Easter dress. I looked all right. I got to see my family. Aaron got to see his mom. My parents got to give the kiddos lots of junk they didn't need. :o) We saw some of Aaron's extended family. People hunted Easter eggs. It was all quite Eastery!!! Loved it. Now the only sad thing is that there's only one more day before spring break is over. Not loving that! However, we're sooooo on the downhill slide. It's hardly any time at all before it's all over. That is a good thing. I'm sure I'll have more to post later. Now I'm just too tired, and it's just too late....

I'm loving the bunny ears. Thank you Target $1 bin!!!
Here's my two favorite people just chillin'. I LOVE how she's all kicked back and leaning on my hubby!Here is Maggie "hunting" eggs. Hey, she did like to shake them. I think she was just sure they were egg shakers. Loving this outfit. Thanks Aunt Kelli!!!In our Easter finery. I love Maggie's dress. Thanks Mom!!! So it's not the best pic of me. Who cares!?? Maggie looks great, and that's all that matters!!! Happy Easter y'all!!!

Just some pics.....man, she's growing up!

2008-02-21T17:39:00.001-08:00

Falling off the ends of the Earth.....

2008-02-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while, but there hasn't been much going on....just life. School is all right. TAKS is fast approaching, and I can't say that I'm excited about that. However, being the writing teacher does have its advantages this time of the year. Soon my part will be done. I'll be helping with the reading portion after that, but it's not really on my back.

Maggie is good. It's just so odd to think about that she'll be 1 soon. We had some pictures made with the cousins the other day, and they are so cute. I'm sure that we'll have pictures made when Maggie's 1 as well. I always think that's sooooo fun. Maggie's not the biggest fan, but we definitely need to have them. I'm thinking pretty dress...flowers...the works!! Good times!

Aaron will be doing some more traveling this year. I feel like a single parent when that happens, so it's pretty hard. I really don't know how single parents do it. They totally have my respect.

I hope to have more interesting things to post about soon, but no promises!!! I'll be back soon with pics....

Oh the times they are a 'changin....

2008-01-26T08:40:00.000-08:00

Well, before I get to the main point of this point, I'll update about our illnesses. Maggie had an ear infection...AGAIN! She also had managed to have a bit of an eye infection. Some antibiotics and eye drops later and she's as good as new. She still has a runny nose, but it's that time of the year. I am also feeling much better as I've been taking my OTC drugs for a while now.

Now to the main reason for this post....... It's official. Maggie can FINALLY crawl!!! I know. She's almost 10 months old, but whatever! She's been thinking about it for a couple of weeks, but she just wouldn't do it. However, this morning she finally decided to get on the move. Now she's not good at it yet, and she doesn't want to do it all the time. BUT she can do it. We've both seen her. I figure it will be a couple of weeks before she's really good at it, and I'm going to try to enjoy that time until I have to put up the kiddie gate. The kitty just knows she's in BIG trouble. We're all excited and got it on video. Anyway, we're pretty excited but sad at the same time. Our baby really is growing up. Before we know it, she'll be 1!!!

Here's some pics for your Maggie fix....

Ugh...that's it, UGH!!

2008-01-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, I was okay with me being sick. I've had a stuffy nose, sneezy, coughing, etc. Maggie has also had a runny nose, but now she might have PINKEYE! Could it get any worse? Poor baby. I'm miserable. She's miserable. Daycare made her leave. I have a doctor's appointment in about 40 minutes. I just feel UGH! For Maggie, of course, I'd do anything, but if I get pinkeye......things will be ugly around here!

I'm now done feeling sorry for myself. Thanks so much.

9 months have FLOWN by!

2008-01-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

Guess who is 9 months old???! It's MAGGIE!!!!!

Here's our normal posting of stats....
Weight 19lbs. 7 oz.
Height 28 inches
Head 17 3/4 inches

She's getting so big. Before we know it, we'll be planning our 1st birthday party!!! How exciting!!!!!

More pics!!!!!!!!

2008-01-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of being tired!!!

2008-01-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays came and went, and I don't feel any more rested. KWIM? The first week was all right except that I still had to dash around buying last minute present. I'm just that kind. I'll never be that lady that is done with her Christmas shopping in October. It's just not in my nature. Then we went to Florida to see Aaron's sister and mom. I love both of these families, and we had a great time having Christmas and staying at a condo. I even managed to get a tan since we went to the pool for 5 days! Can you believe that?! But it just wore me out. I was worried about getting there since Maggie's never been on a plane. She did just fine, but I was pretty much a nervous wreck until we touched down. I didn't want to be "THAT LADY" with the annoying baby. Then we had about a 3 hour drive to get to our first destination. After that we went to the condo. It was really nice. We had our own bedroom....but the bed was super soft. That is simply unacceptable. Aaron slept most nights on the floor! I can't do that, but I sure wanted to! The time there was pretty relaxing...going to the pool and all. But I'm the type that just wants to sit around, not put make-up on, not shower(gross, I know) and hang out in my jammies all day on vacation. That did NOT happen, and I am sad. Then we went to our third and final destination before heading back to the airport to do the flight thing all over again. Again, I was a nervous wreck. Again, Maggie was fine...even though she was much more of a handful thanks to an irritating flight attendant. Here's that story----She was sleeping all peacefully when the flight attendant came to get something out of the overhead compartment for someone right across the aisle from us. Then she SLAMMED it shut. Maggie almost jumped out of her skin and immediately woke up. I could have killed her! But all's well that end's well!

All in all it was a great Christmas. We hung out with the Rouws, Hulletts, Learneds, Hoods and Frankenbachs! W e saw each side of the Christmas. We met new cousins and aunts and grandparents....crazy! I'll leave you with some pics of all the good times!! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!!!

2007-12-24T12:13:00.001-08:00

So cold...so cold!

2007-12-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

I gripe when it's too hot. I gripe when it's too cold. I am really never happy except for a few short weeks usually sometime in late April or early May. :o) It's pretty much the truth though. Sweating...gross! Freezing...not fun! I am super glad for my wonderful husband who has been making me lovely fires to get through this cold spell. I only wish there would be some snow to go along with all this chilly weather. That would be nice!

There's a lot going on around here. Last week we had our small group Christmas party. It was super fun. I ate waaaay too much, but there's nothing new there! I've been trying to get my Christmas shopping done, but it's been pretty difficult. Thank goodness for the internet or I'm not sure if I'd have any gifts! Only one more week of school to go before our break. Hooray! This week Jeff and Linda are coming to visit. They will be hanging out here until Christmas Eve. This coming Friday will be Maggie's program at school. I don't know what they're doing, but they've been "practicing" for some time. Ummmm...should be interesting. I'll let you know when I know what in the world they're doing. We're spending Christmas Eve night with my family. On the 27th we'll be heading out to see Debbie, Frank, Angela, Perry, Briannah and Cadence. We're so excited to see Cadence since we haven't met her yet! It should be fun!!! At some point this week I hope to get my hair done. Maggie MUST have her picture taken with Santa as well. Thank goodness there's no Kindermusik! Somehow I'm sure I'll manage to get everything done. I will certainly be happy when this week is OVER!

Maggie pics....

Back to the grind....at least for a few more weeks!

2007-12-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was fabulous. We always have such a great time in Little Rock. I love seeing all my family, and Aaron fits right in. This year there were a lot of new babies that joined. Since last year, there have been 3 new additions. It made it more fun, but it's pretty hard to keep everyone constantly entertained and try to keep on a sleep schedule. Whatever! I'm already looking forward to next year!!

We had some lovely family photos taken by Angela. They are so great. We will be giving many of them as gifts. Thanks Angela!!

This next Saturday the big Christmas shopping begins. I'm so excited. There will be my fav girls, yummy food to start us off and lots of money to spend. My kind of day! I only wish I knew what to get everyone....

Here's some Maggie pics to end with. Life is good.

Okay, I know I'm mean, but I LOVE this picture. So funny! Can you tell that she was fed up!??

Here comes Thanksgiving...here comes Thanksgiving....

2007-11-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it??! It's almost Thanksgiving! I can't say that I'm sorry about that. Aaron, Maggie and I are heading down to Hot Springs for a few days before heading to Little Rock to eat turkey with the fam. I'm really excited about it too. A lot of my family will be there, and there will be lots of babies! Three more babies than there were last year! Fun, fun, fun!

Nothing much else has been going on. Angela Faris came over and took pictures for Maggie's 7th month and just some family ones of all of us. They're so good. I'll put a plug in for her. Check some of them out on her photography blog. We already put up the Christmas tree. It's not all done, but it sure is pretty. This will be the best Christmas ever since it will be Maggie's first.

In Maggie news....she got her second flu shot today and took it like a trooper. Aaron will be taking her to Kindermusik tomorrow, and I'm really excited about that. I know they'll have so much fun. I'll be doing conferences...yuck!!! I'm not concerned about them though. I'm actually glad we're having them. It's been a good year....

Here's Maggie....she was a bee for Halloween but barely got to wear her costume because she was sick! We went to a Halloween thing where Aaron works. They had bubbles! Maggie LOVES bubbles! Maggie missed her school photos, so I took some. I love her outfit. Isn't she pretty!!?

First real sickness....

2007-10-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Maggie got sick yesterday. I picked her up from daycare, and she was crying and carrying on like I've never seen. Well, she had totally pooed, so they changed her before we left. When I picked her up, she was really hot. I figured that I'd take her temp as soon as I got home. I walked in with her and walked into her nursery. She got this strange look on her face and was kind of gulping. I totally knew that she was about to throw up, but I just wasn't fast enough. Yep! She threw up ALL OVER ME. EWWWWWWW! She freaked out. I got her changed and got myself changed. Then I took her temp, and sure enough she had one. We decided to take a nap after getting some meds. She was okay after that. This morning she woke up still having a temp, so I stayed home with her. She's been cranky but seems okay. It wasn't too traumatic, but it is sad to have a sick baby. Plus they had school pictures today which she missed at daycare. It made me really sad to miss that. Whatever.... Here's some pics...

The State Fair rocks!

2007-10-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that we got off to a rocky start. We went last Saturday around 11:00, and there was TONS of traffic getting there. Now those of you that know my husband know that he does not enjoy traffic. I thought he was going to turn the car around and just head home. Seriously! In the car, he is just like my dad. Anyway....we finally got there and parked. It was HOT, and people were everywhere. (Note to self...do not go on Saturday again.) We got to bypass the huge ticket-buying line thanks to my parents(they gave us a ticket) and made it in. We started with the dog show thing where they jump in the water and catch frisbees and such. Now I like this one. I've seen it before, but I have to say that I was disappointed that the pig races weren't until much later. I knew we'd never be there that long, and I really like the pig races. I don't know why. There's just something funny about it. Maggie wasn't too impressed with the dogs and did a lot of screaming. Gotta love it! After the dog show we got our foot long corn dog. HEAVEN! I only like corn dogs at the fair. They are so yummy. We plodded over to the car stuff. Maggie fell asleep, and I spent most of my time looking at mini vans. That's right, people. I said mini vans. When #2 comes along, I'm getting one. I'm not ashamed. I need convenience...and doors that open all by themselves. I got my fried cheesecake after that. We took some pics and went to the butterfly exhibit. This was neat, and I think Maggie liked seeing the butterflies. However, it was as hot as HADES in there. Sweat poured!! It was a greenhouse on the sun. Oh well! I still loved it. Enjoy the pics....

I'm 6 months old!!!!

2007-10-06T09:55:00.001-07:00

The picture above was taken at Maggie's first Ranger game. Notice all the empty seats! :o)

Okay, Miss Maggie is 6 months old. We went in for her shots and check up on Friday. Can you believe it? They gave her 5!!!!!!!!! shots plus one oral vac. Needless to say, she wasn't super happy about it, but she got over it soon enough. Here's her stats....

Height: 26 1/2 inches...about 75 %
Weight: 16 lbs. 7 oz...about 50%
Head: 17 in....no idea about %

Tomorrow Maggie will be dedicated at church. She will be wearing a super cute dress given to us by our sweet friends the McGuires. So excited!

Just a little something.....

2007-10-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Maggie will be 6 months tomorrow. Oh how the time flies! Here's some pics to show how she's growing up......

Happy 6 month birthday, Maggie! Mommy loves you more than the last number......

TARANTULA....run for your lives!

2007-09-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to think I'm never going to have a normal day at school. We were on our way outside to recess when we saw a tarantula prancing in the hall of our school building. Ummmm...hello! He wasn't exactly huge, but he was pretty good-sized. My whole fourth grade team of teachers kind of freaked out a little, and the kids, of course, want to get as close as possible. Ummm...hello again! Tarantulas jump! I've seen it, and it's scary. Sooooo....we put a trash can over it. That's right...a trash can. We were going to have the office dispose of it, but I felt kind of bad about it. It's not like he WANTED to come in the school. I mean who does??! :o) We decided to scoot the trash can to get him outside. However problems arose getting him over the lip of the doorway. Shashi(one of my team members) then got crazy with that spider. She was smacking the trash can down behind him to get him to go. He resisted, but we finally got him in the grass...hopefully to kill lots of bugs....OUTSIDE where he belongs.

On another note, Maggie has been having rice cereal for almost a week. She just has it once a day, and she likes it okay. I like that the daycare is the one giving it to her. Ha ha! No messes here. Actually she's not that messy. The very first time that she had it was priceless though. She made the funniest face....like what in the heck is that!!?? Enjoy the pics...my baby is growing up!!

Well, it's been a while....

2007-09-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

School is just crazy right now. I always feel like it takes me FOREVER to get into the swing of things. This week is nutty because my kiddos are swimming all week. Yep, we swim. Really it's more of a safety thing. They learn how to feel more comfortable in the water. It's fun to watch them improve. The kids are sorted into 4 groups based on their ability. The lowest group is REALLY fun to watch. These kids really start to blossom after a few days, but they are sooooo timid at first. I just don't remember being scared of the water, but many of these are. They call them the Flippers. Here's a funny thing that was overheard.... The Flippers were complaining how they would rather be Dolphins(the group second from the bottom). Then one of my rather bigger kids said, "I don't want to be a dolphin...I want to be Shamu." Ummm......what do you say to that? Anyway, it was funny!

Maggie is coming up on 6 months. It's still a couple of weeks ago, but that just sounds so old. We are STILL working on rolling from back to front. She just can't seem to figure out what to do with her arm. It stops her every time. We MIGHT start some rice cereal this weekend. As of yet, we haven't had any solids. We went to a Kindermusik class tonight. We're in the Sign and Sing group. It's really fun. I think Maggie liked it. Hopefully she'll be signing before I know it. We're also still working on sitting up. She can do it for a short amount of time, but then she messes it up by grabbing her foot and sticking it into her mouth. She loves sucking on her feet right now, but it does make it a little bit hard to balance! It's pretty funny to see her bending like a pretzel. And for those of you who know how much it was bugging me....Maggie is finally supporting her weight. For the longest time, she just wouldn't. I knew it had nothing to do with leg strength since she regularly kicks me....hard. I think she was just being stubborn. I see that streak in her already. What did I expect really!!!???? I'll post some pics hopefully by this weekend. I know. I've been slacking off.

Labor day fun....

2007-09-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Chuck and Sharon's for our pre-labor day celebration and had barbecue and fun in the pool. The pool was lovely(and heated), and Maggie LOVED it. So funny! She just kicked and acted like she totally knew how to swim. We had such a great time. Aaron's mom Debbie was down this past week. I'll blog about that later. For now, enjoy the pics!!!!

Woo hoo...2 posts in one night....

2007-08-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

I will post the pictures later, but I wanted to tell you all about our trip to get our hair cut. Well, Maggie got hers cut, and I just sat there. So here's the story....Maggie was getting a mullet, so I tried to cut her hair. It didn't look so hot, and Aaron gave me a super hard time about it. Ugh! So Kelli and I took Maggie to Cool Cuts for Kids. It was pretty fun. A lady named Delilah(who names their child this??) cut her hair as she sat in my lap. It was funny since I had to wear the lovely gown around me too. Maggie didn't fuss at all. She just sat there. Afterward they took a cute picture and gave me some of her hair. It was a really great experience. I would highly recommend it to those whose husbands apparently have nothing better to do than gripe about haircuts. :o) Just kidding! It really did look good though, and it was finally out of her eyes. Too cute!

Here are some pics.....

2007-08-28T19:55:00.001-07:00

Hail, hail the gang's all here. This was on vacation in Galveston. I love how Maggie is just ignoring everyone...including me behind the camera.

Can't you tell that Maggie's having a wonderful time with her cousin JD. She just looks soooo happy!!

I just love this picture because she looks like she's pouting. Check out that lip!

4 month appointment

2007-08-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

We went in for Maggie's four month appointment on Monday. The thing about going to the ped is that there's good and bad stuff. The good first..... Maggie weighs 14 lbs. 3 oz. Yeah, I knew she was packing on the weight. :o) She's 25 1/2 inches long. Her head is 16 1/4 inches. Big head=big brain! She actually moved up on her growth curve. Yeah me!

Now the bad.... 4 shots again! Ugh! I do not do well when this happens. It just seems so mean. She can't understand what's going on. It's not like you can explain to her how very important it is to get shots. Nope! She just cries. So sad! Then she was horribly fussy yesterday....all day pretty much after that. Today was much better!

Okay, that's it for now.

First vacation....

2007-08-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that I said that I would post about our trip to Galveston. Maggie and I went with my parents and 1 niece and nephew and stayed in Galveston. On the way we stopped off and hung out with my cousin and her new little boy Cameron. He's a cutie! Then we traveled on. It was Maggie's first taste of the beach, and she wasn't overly impressed. It was just too bright and humid for her. I kind of got a kick out of her pretty much burying her face in my shoulder every time we walked outside. Silly girl! My parents with the older grandkids in tow went to Moody Gardens and had a good time. Maggie and I stayed at the house. I just couldn't imagine carting her around all day. Oh well! There's always next time. We went down to the Strand to do some shopping, but my only purchases were a magnet(see my fridge next time you're over) and some saltwater taffy for my lovely husband who wasn't able to go with us. :o( I think that I'll wait until Aaron can go and Maggie is older to do that again. I just kind of felt left out....she's just too little still. There will be plenty more family vacation to come. I'm sure we'll look like the Griswalds, and it will be sad!

Hi, my name is Becky, and I'm a shopaholic.....

2007-08-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

It's true. I really am, and this is NOT about me. I LOVE buying stuff for Maggie, but it's getting out of hand. Seriously! It's like I can't even leave the house without buying her something. When I was her age, I probably had like 7 outfits that my parents just rotated. :o) Well, it probably wasn't that bad! I just feel like I spend a ridiculous amount of money on this stuff. I just have to see her in cute stuff. It's really a disease. People will GIVE me stuff. Am I gracious about it? Heck no! If I don't think it's cute, out it goes. I'm not kidding. Like I said, I have a problem! I don't really see how I can make it better, but I wanted to just put it out there. Now you know.......(and knowing is half the battle)....

All I want for Christmas is....

2007-07-24T20:50:00.001-07:00

Maggie has her first tooth. Yep, she's not quite 4 months old, and there it is. I'm a little afraid of her getting teeth though...you know, the biting and all. Ouch! It's making her pretty cranky too. I think it hurts her, but it's not like she can tell me or anything. I hear that genetics plays a role in how early you get teeth. I guess it's true. I had my first tooth at 4 months, and Maggie even managed to beat me. Now we're just waiting for the next one. Hopefully at some point I will be able to get a picture of it even though Maggie refuses to smile when I bring out the camera. Oh well!

I know you can't tell, but I had to cut Maggie's hair a few weeks ago. I was a little concerned that she seemed to be sporting a mullet. Now we can't have that! Since then I have been doing some hair experimentation, but it's not working so well. See picture above. Her hair is just so baby fine like mine used to be. It was such a pain when I was younger, but maybe hers will get better.... But it's still cute!

Dang it....I've been tagged!

2007-07-24T09:54:00.001-07:00

1. First memory:
Well, I do remember being about 3. My sister was starting kindergarten, and she got this cone thing with all these gifts in it. I wanted ALL her stuff, and Khristy, as usual, gave it to me! :o) I'm so bad!

2. First kiss:
A boy named Michael, and he was actually a good kisser. I was 12.

3. First concert:
I saw Steven Curtis Chapman when I was in middle school. I guess that counts. I didn't even know who he was at the time. My friend Heather invited me.

4. First Love:
A guy named Michael(not the same guy I kissed). We dated for a looooooooong time. He was a high school sweetheart, but I knew when it was time to move on.

5. First crush:
I don't even remember.

6. First thing you think in the morning:
Is it time to feed Maggie already? :o) It was 5!

7. First book you remember loving:
Trixie Belden....if you haven't read her, try and find one. She's awesome...kind of like Nancy Drew but better and sassier!

8. First pet:
A cat named Grub.

9. First question you'll ask in Heaven:
Hmmmm...that's tough! Maybe...where's the rest of my fam?

10. First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation:
Anywhere away from home at this point! I do so love going places. Right now the word Italy comes to mind...

11. First best friend:
Gosh, I had lots in elementary school. My best best friend was this girl named Chrissy Massey. We were certainly a pair. She lived about a mile from me, and we were inseparable! Then I moved to Texas!

12. Last time you dressed up:
Britney and Brad's wedding

13. Last thing you ate:
muffin for breakfast this morning(it's weight watchers, no worries!)

14. Last CD you bought:
I bought the Wedding Singer soundtrack

15. Last book you read:
Can't remember the title. It's by Linda Howard.

16. Last time you cried:
I cried this past week when I saw Maggie roll over for the first time. It was a happy moment, but I was sad that Aaron wasn't there!

17. Last movie you saw:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Love it!

18. Last time you told someone you love them:
Aaron...just a little while ago.

19. Last really funny thing you did:
I can't remember. I'm not funny at all. :o)

20. Last thing you watched on TV:
Baby Einstein video

21. Last Halloween Costume:
I haven't dressed up in a long time. It was probably about 4 years ago. I went to this party dressed as Bonnie...from Bonnie and Clyde. LOVED the costume! I had fishnets, a beret, the works!

Well, there you go. I did it. Ugh!

Later, I'll post about my lovely trip to Galveston! I'm sure you're all waiting with great anticipation!

Harry Potter.........

2007-07-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, JoeDan and Kelli took Aaron and me to see the Harry Potter preview last night. First of all, let me say that I really do miss going to the movies, and Aaron and I are going to try to do it more often. Now on to important things.......

I am really more than a little bit obsessed with the Harry Potter books and movies. When the movie actually started(after about 20 minutes of previews), I actually got tears in my eyes. It's like I'm seeing friends that I haven't seen in years, and I genuinely miss them. Sorry if you think that's weird, but that's always how I've been with books. The characters become my friends, and I miss them when they're gone. I won't bother with the plot since the book has been out for years and all, but this has been my favorite book for a long time. I reread it in anticipation of the movie, and I wasn't disappointed. The movie was good. It's never as good as the book, but that's to be expected. I try really hard not to expect too much because then I'm always disappointed. I believe that's pretty natural. But here are some things I liked and didn't like....( Kelli, I swear that I'm not copying you. :o))

Likes:
*still think they do a great job on the characters...I applaud their choices
*glad to see Neville looking a lot less goofy
*pleasantly surprised that I liked Snape in this one...even though he wasn't in it much
*interesting to already see Ginny looking all jealous...and glad she's getting so precious
*enjoyed Tonks but wanted bubble gum pink hair
*really liked the big battle scene even though it wasn't what I pictured
*Voldemort is super scary and icky to me...it's good to have a really BAD villain

Dislikes:
*I will never like this Dumbledore better than the first one. I know the first one died, but it's just how I feel.
*wanted to see how the DA couldn't see the thestrals and how weird that would be to ride on them when it was just like air to them
*like Kelli I was looking forward to seeing the fountain...come on people, it was right there!
*wanted more development on the people in the Order

I do want to say that I liked the movie. It was good. Now I am so waiting for the last book....

LIVE HARRY! LIVE!

Why...why...why am I up???

2007-07-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

Here's some of Miss Maggie..........who you all really want to see....

Yep, it's really late on Thursday night, and I'm still up. It's pretty terrible actually. I really WANT to go to sleep, but I just can't yet. Here's why....I have a UTI! Ugh! Sorry if that grossed anyone out. I'm just pretty mad about it. If you've ever had a UTI, you know why I'm still up. So, here's my topic of the night....Doc in the Box. I went to one for the first time tonight. That's what happens when you need to see someone after 9:00. Anyway, it wasn't so bad. I was just glad I had somewhere to go. Then my sweet husband went to the 24 hour CVS pharmacy just for me! It was probably the greatest gift I have ever received. :p So here I am just waiting for the meds to kick in, but back to Doc in the Box. I had to pay more than the usual copay. WHAT!?? Does this make sense to anyone? If I could have waited until the next day, I certainly would have....and the copay would have been$20 less. That's right...$20 less. That stinks! Then I had to you know what...pee in a cup. I was just hoping that was all over after the whole pregnancy thing! Ugh! Anyway, I just want to say that it wasn't as bad as I thought it could be.

Now on to other not so gross topics.....
The 4th of July was fun. Actually all the fun started on the 3rd. We went to see Kaboom Town. Always a good show! Maggie woke up and got to see her first fireworks, and she wasn't scared a bit. I'll post some pics of that soon. Then on the actual 4th we went to Kelli and JoeDan's to have a cook out. Fun times! Fun peeps were there. I didn't do so well on the eating front, but it could have been way worse. That's all for now. Hopefully I'll be in my bed soon........

Here are some pics.....

2007-06-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here are some pics of our sweet girl. I guess it's pretty bad when other people(like Kelli) have put more photos on here of Maggie than we have! I should say I have. Here's the deal though....I never seem to be able to find where Aaron stashes all the pictures. You'd think it wouldn't be hard to find them, but I seriously have the absolute worst time. I am just so tired of feeling like a big dork on the computer. Seriously! It's pretty bad.

Back on subject.... Maggie is great. She is getting close to 3 months. When I thought about that today, I totally teared up. Time really does fly. I mean, look at that first picture. I LOVE her in the monkey outfit. She has now outgrown it. Yep, it's not long enough. My baby is growing up already. I'll try to do better at posting pictures, but don't hold me to it. I read other people's blogs way more than I pay attention to mine..... :o)

Nothing much to report....

2007-06-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Not much going on in the Hood household. Maggie is simply my pride and joy, and I can't get enough of her. It's good that I'm getting to stay home with her right now. I honestly think Aaron will have to kick me out the door when I have to go back to work at the end of August. I'll be the one kicking and screaming and holding on to the door frame. I just can't imagine someone else taking care of her daily needs. I know. I guess I'll have to get used to the idea. One step at a time....

My fam is taking a trip to Galveston next month. I'm not much on Galveston, but I like going on vacations. Hmmmm.....I haven't been away from Aaron for the long ever since we've been married, but the beach(even a kind of nasty one) might be nice. :o)

I'm planning to start Weight Watchers. No, it won't be fun, but I really want to lose some weight. I'd probably be okay if I could commit to working out, but I'm not super motivated. I'll use Maggie as my excuse, but that's just what it is....an excuse. I can do plenty. I just really want to get any excess weight off before we decide to try for number 2. No, that's not soon, but who knows how long it will take me and my unmotivated self to lose the amount of weight that I want to lose!

I'm joining a book club with some teachers at my school. I'm pretty excited about it. I read a LOT of books, but I never much discuss them with anyone. Our first book is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It was REALLY good. I totally liked it. The best part is that I can totally recommend it. If you don't like this book, there's something really wrong with you. It's not even the kind of book that I usually read, but it's just super.

Okay, that's all for now. I'll try to do something really crazy so I have better stuff to write about!

Things I LOVE!!

2007-05-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

I decided that I needed to write a positive post....so I decided to write about things I LOVE!! Now these are not just things I LIKE either. Here goes....

I love the fact that I'm now a mom. It's pretty weird to think about, but it just feels so right. Maggie is the sweetest ever!

Along with that I love the fact that I'm married to a wonderful man. Just think....less than 2 years ago I had no husband AND no baby. How time moves along!!

I love hanging out with my family. They are super good peeps. Plus, it's always crazy around the Rouw household, and that suits us all just fine. Conversations overlap, and it's a wonder anyone ever knows what anyone is talking about.

I love that I have good friends. It's fun to hang out with "the girls" and just be me. I do NOT love that we are losing one Becky.......

I love dark chocolate. One might think that's not that important among all those other things I love, but I really do love it. There's just something about it. It makes me happy. Plus, there are apparently some health benefits that go along with it. I'm sure that's why I love it.

I love good food. As much as I sometimes want to diet, the food wins out. Sure, people say you can diet and have good food, but who are they kidding??? Mexican...Italian....Chinese...whatever! I like it all!

I love having a house. It's a lot of work, but I love that it's mine. I can change it whever I want. I can buy pretty things for it. It is comfortable. I love it.

I love being a teacher. It's true. I really do. I like my fourth graders, and I'm somehow always optimistic that I can turn them into smart, super well-behaved people. AND it somehow works! I love seeing that light turn on. I love kidding around with them. I love the fact that they know that I am there for them. Going on year 11!

I love a pretty outfit. I'm not sure that there's anything that can make me feel much better than buying a super cute outfit. It makes me feel good about myself. I know that's shallow, but so what??! Just one cute shirt can totally make a day better!

I love my Nissan Murano. Right now it's at the shop, but it will be mine again. It's just funny to me because I've never really felt anything for any of my vehicles. They were used to get me from point A to point B. It's somehow different with the Murano. I just like it. It's fun to drive. There's room for Maggie's stuff. I'm comfortable in it, and I feel just a little bit cool!

I love that I'm an optimist. I feel that it is a gift that I have to see the good in people...even in those ones that cut you off on the interstate and then give YOU the bird. :o) This gift helps me in my teaching and in life. It's so nice to see the glass half full!

I love that my husband is a good cook. I stink at it, and I don't really have any desire to get better. Oh well!

If you're still with me after all of that.....well, then I love you! Have a good rest of the week!!!!!

Bunches of stuff!

2007-05-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

I do love being a mom. It's totally true. I didn't know how I would adjust, but there's really been no adjustment. I just love her totally and completely. I guess I didn't maybe know how much until yesterday.....

Those that know me know that I am relatively level-headed. Sometimes I get worked up about stuff, but I do tend to be more laid back. Work rarely gets me down, and I never do more than is totally necessary(while still doing a good job, I mean). I usually don't get too upset about things and tend to give people the benefit of the doubt(like silly drivers and kiddos who get under my skin). Well yesterday was different.

My day started off pretty normal. I went to Mesquite to my old school to eat lunch with some buddies. I was actually heading to my current school when it happened. I was on 635. The guy in front of me stopped. Then I stopped...but the guy behind me was just going too fast. He wasn't able to stop. He slammed into me, and I slammed into the guy in front of me. It was awful. I immediately freaked out because Maggie was with me. She was screaming her head off. I got out and went to her. The guy in front of me called for the police. Then the paramedics, firemen and police showed up. I was shaky and crying. Anyway, both of us are all right. I am plenty sore, but we took Maggie to get checked and all is well. Thank goodness for a good carseat. Of course, I now don't have a car. It was taken away on a tow truck. Most of all it was just too scary. We got a new carseat...just in case. Now I am pretty much scared to have her out of my sight. I am scared of driving. I am scared of other drivers. I am a mess.

I guess my point is to hug everyone you know everyday and tell them you love them. Scary things can happen. I am just soooooooooo glad that Maggie is okay. It didn't matter if I had been injured.... She was all right. Now I do know how much I love her. And I love all of you that read this!!!!

Well....I guess it's about time that I post....

2007-04-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Maggie Grace was born on April 2 at 12:20 pm. She weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 22 inches long. She was just a little bit late. I'll tell the story in a nutshell.....

On April 1 I woke up around 7 with contractions, but I thought it might be false labor. I didn't want to end up at the hospital only to be sent home! So I just hung around the house. Aaron and I watched tv and even went for a walk around the neighborhood. I didn't feel TOO terrible at that point. Finally around 6 that night, we decided to go to the hospital. Sure enough it was the real thing. Hooray! My contractions were actually pretty strong, so I got a little bit of meds through my iv. That made me pretty loopy. Later that night I got an epidural...which was nice. My doctor came to check on me at 7 that morning, and there was little change....so they introduced pitocin. Ugh! That stuff was bad. I was on it for 2 hours, and they kept upping and upping the dosage. After 2 hours of that awful stuff...well, 1/2 cm. change. At that point we went the c-section route. It was all okay though. My body handled the c-section well, and we went home on the 4th after only a few blips in the road.

Now to Maggie....she is doing well. She has surpassed her birth weight and has even been to the pediatrician twice. She didn't like it much, but we managed. She is absolutely beautiful with lots of dark hair and long skinny(Aaron) legs. At some point I will post some pics, but it's been pretty busy around here.

We went to church for the first time last night. That was an experience. I spent the majority of the time in the cry room since the velociraptor decided it was time to eat! Considering all things it was a good outing.

We have had lots of help at home and great friends have been bringing us food. So super! I'm sure when all that is gone and it get back to "normal" around here I'll really miss it. For now, I'm enjoying it!!!

I promise I'll be a better mommy/blogger...when I have the time anyway.....

Still preggers

2007-03-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

I'm about to hit 40 weeks, and I'm still pregnant. For those of you who want more info on what that means, I'll just say this....there is NOTHING happening. Now I was pretty down about this since I'm pretty tired of being pregnant and seeing all the GREAT spring clothes out there. I may just go on a shopping spree just to have some super looking clothes to look forward to. I don't think I'll be pregnant forever anyway. I'm feeling more upbeat about it. I guess that Maggie is having a super good time in there, and I really don't have any choice in the matter. Hopefully God is deciding that my time is growing short. Knowing how little patience I have in general makes me wonder if God's playing a little bit of a joke on me. I probably deserve it. Let's only hope that I learn from it!

On another note I'm DONE with work for the year. Yes, I have to do lesson plans for my sub and put in grades at the end of the nine weeks, but that's not a big deal. I'm just glad to not be on my feet any longer. Now I feel like I can put my feet up, get some last minute chores done, and WAIT.... Now the waiting is the hardest part(Thank you Tom Petty), but I'm sure I can find some stuff to keep me occupied.

Yeah for basketball! I just love this time of the year. There's good basketball on almost all the time between March madness and some pretty good NBA games(Go Mavs) as well. I'm enjoying it immensely!!! I was quite disappointed by the showing of Kansas yesterday. Ugh! They played just terribly! I was hoping for all #1 seeds in the final four, but it was not to be! Now I guess I'll be routing for anyone against Florida(sorry Josh). It's not even so much that I don't like Florida, but I don't want the same team to win 2 years in a row. Plus, I can't stand to hear the name Noah again. Seriously, get off his bandwagon. He's good. We get it!! :o)

Please send labor vibes my direction. As much as I'd probably prefer Maggie to have a diamond birthstone over an aquamarine, I am ready to kind of have my body back. The parasite must go!!!!

I'll keep you informed..........

Seriously...isn't she baked enough?

2007-03-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

There comes a point when you're just ready.....ready for it all to be over. I am so over the big belly. I am so over the cankles that I now have. I am so over having a hard time tying my own shoes. I am so over her just about killing me with all the kicking and turning! Enough already. I am sending the eviction notice. I'm full term. Of course, I know it's easier on this side, but I'm just about done with this side. You know??! I realize I shouldn't complain. I've had an easy pregnancy overall. I'm still sleeping at night. I know that the swelling could be way worse. My health has been fine, and Maggie is doing well. It just kind of gets hard to count your blessings at the end.

Enough about being pregnant.......

It's almost spring break! The weather is beautiful. The grass is growing. Trees are blooming. Short-sleeved shirts are coming out of the closet. I think I'll leave the shorts in for a while. Ha ha! I just love this time of the year. It's just about perfect. Not too hot....not too cold. Beautiful! No work for a week!!!! Now that's really lovely!! I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe spring break. For those of you who don't have any time off, get out there and walk or bike ride or something..... You know what's coming.... TEXAS SUMMER! Walk in the sunshine...go for a picnic....enjoy all that God has created!!!!

Things you should NEVER say to someone pregnant.....

2007-02-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

1. Are you having twins?
2. Wow! You're really getting big.
3. That must be a big baby!
4. Are you due soon?
5. Will you be able to fit behind your steering wheel to drive?
6. You look really tired.
7. How much weight have you gained?
8. Should you be eating/drinking that?
9. That's not really good for the baby.
10. I don't think you're going to make it to your due date.

Okay people out there. There is NOTHING nice about any of these things. Perhaps you think you're being helpful. Perhaps you just like to comment on everything. Perhaps your mouth opened before your brain kicked in. I don't know, but none of these things make a pregnant woman feel good. Remember if you don't have something nice to say.......

Any yes, I have have almost all of these things said to me at one time or another. I really haven't lashed out, but it's mostly because I have no idea what to say. I assume that people are not trying to be hurtful, but still.....it does hurt.

And for all the people who have been so supportive and said REALLY nice things, you are loved and appreciated more than you know.

4 weeks to go!

And the worst blogger ever award goes to.......

2007-02-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's pretty hard for me to remember to do anything these days, but I really have no excuse this time. Aaron got our home computer back up and running, so I should have some time to blog....at least every once in a while. I'll do some filling in on events.....

I'm still pregnant. Ha ha! I'm not at 33 weeks. Not too more to do even though I will say that this belly continues to get bigger and bigger and get on my nerves when I can't do things. I love Maggie, but seriously!!! Can it grow ANY more???? I am hoping not. :o) We've been working on the nursery. It is coming along. I figure we'll be done with it in a week. Fingers crossed!!!

My super best friends Kelli, Chrystal and Becky hosted a baby shower for us yesterday. It was so fun. I loved seeing all my friends....eating things I know that I shouldn't....opening gifts for Maggie! I am glad that all my friends have such good taste. No wonder we're friends!

My sister had her baby boy on Tuesday. He was about 4 weeks early because of her blood pressure issues, but all is well. They're home from the hospital. His name is Quinn Alexander...finally a name for the no name baby! He weighed close to 5 and a half pounds but has dropped some. However, our prayers for yet another healthy baby were answered. Thank you God!

Besides that we're just rolling along. Nothing too exciting except the baby stuff. My kiddos at school are great. We have the writing TAKS coming up soon, so that is kind of scary. But my students are all working really hard, and I am proud of them.

In my next post I will list things NEVER to say to a pregnant woman. Yes, some have been said to me, and some come from others. You will probably be shocked. So expect that list AFTER Maggie is born. Just kidding. I'm really going to try to do better. I'll just say that I get all my inspiration from Caroline! Ha ha!

Yay! Still on vacation!

2007-01-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas was absolutely great. We had Aaron's dad and stepmom down a couple of weeks before Christmas and went to the Nutcracker with them and some of our friends. Then we had an early Christmas. Fun times! On Christmas day, my parents, sister, brother in law, niece and nephew came over. Whew! It was a whirlwind day. We did the whole Christmas dinner thing after eating a late brunch. I am soooooooooooo glad that my husband can cook, or we'd have been in some serious trouble. :o) As much as we're ready to have a baby of our own, spending the whole day with my niece and nephew was exhausting. They're everywhere and into everything. Man, parenting is hard. How do you even keep up??! Now it's New Year's day, and I've pretty much been trying to get the house in order while keeping up on all the bowl games. Some Christmas stuff is put away. The house looks to be in semi good order, and I've done about a million loads of laundry. This is what happens when you procrastinate! I don't mind doing laundry, but I let it pile up on me until it's out of control! Crazy me! Our friends Josh and Angela had their sweet baby a few days ago. So exciting! Beckham is precious.

So all in all it's been a lovely holiday. I'll be so sad when it's over, but for now, I plan to relish these last couple of days off and know that having two days with the kiddos shouldn't be TOO bad. Then it's the weekend again. Hooray!

Perhaps later I'll get some Christmas pics posted....but who knows??? I don't want anyone to get their hopes up...... :o) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Are we ever really ready??

2006-12-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Over the last few days, a lot of people have asked me if I'm ready for Maggie to come. Hmmmm...is anyone ever ready? The closer that I get the more I realize that I have NO idea how to really be a mom. I'm not even talking about raising Maggie right. I'm just talking about taking care of her physical needs. I guess every new mom feels like this, but some seem to be better than others. Someone said you're just in "survival mode" at the beginning. That doesn't sound very enjoyable, but I'm sure that's where I'll be. Then I start thinking about how huge of a commitment this is. I mean we'll be worrying about Maggie for the REST OF HER LIFE. It actually never ends. Again, not sounding very enjoyable. I have actually been hoping that she doesn't come early, so I actually get spring break off with nothing to do. I figure it will be the last time that I can say that for the next 20 years. :o) But then I start thinking of all the wonderful things.....how it will feel to hold her...how she will smell...how it's up to us to raise her right...how God has given us this blessing. Then I start thinking that tomorrow wouldn't be too soon to see her. Wow! Talk about pregnancy really messing with your mind!!! So I guess I'm ready....as soon as we get through a million things we HAVE to do before she comes. :o)

Hooray for Thanksgiving!

2006-11-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here's my new pet peeve of the moment....it's when people write T'giving. Yeah, let's take the THANKS out of Thanksgiving. It's like the people who put Xmas. Yeah, let's take the CHRIST out of Christmas. So anyway, what's wrong with people that they want to do that. If you do that, all you have left are two holidays where people just pretty much eat themselves sick.... What's the good in that??? Anyway....on to better things...

Aaron and I are going to Little Rock for Thanksgiving. It's pretty much what we do every Thanksgiving. Fun times will be had. Also, Aaron and I are going down on Tuesday night after work. I'm really excited about a road trip for an extended amount of time with just my husband. Things have been crazy for the last few weekends, and I feel like I've barely seen him. We're trying to get some more house stuff done. Well, Aaron's trying to get some more house stuff done. He's painting the outside of the house. It looks super, but he's fighting against time. It has to be warm enough to paint. So far we've been lucky. It's been nice here. I'm in charge of inside the house stuff. We're trying to get our holiday decorations out BEFORE we go to Little Rock, so they'll be up for us to enjoy as soon as we get back. Have I mentioned this before?? I HATE BOWS!!! I want bows on one of our trees, so I figured that I'd make them. BUT I HATE MAKING BOWS. I'm having flashbacks....no, not from acid. I worked at The Bow Store when I was in college for a few months. Worst job ever!!!!!! Little old ladies would drop off TONS of ribbon, say they want 20 bows...and they'll be back in an HOUR! Ugh! Hated it. And yet, I still continue to torture myself. Whatever! I need a little more holiday spirit. I will get the bows done....I will get the bows done......

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Start listening to 103.7. The Christmas music is already on. Happiness!!!

Oh my gosh! I'm turning into my mother!

2006-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

Here's what I am beginning to realize.....I am boring! I don't know exactly when it happened, but it is totally true. If you ask what I'm doing on the weekend, I'm likely to say laundry. That wouldn't be a big deal except that I'm EXCITED about it. I look forward to having nothing to do. I just want to sit here and watch Discovery TV or TLC. OH MY GOSH! I think I'm going to have to blame it on getting married. You people know me. I'm the girl who could stay up until 3 in the morning any day of the week. I'm the girl who was up for entertainment of all sorts....providing that it was actually entertaining. I'm the girl who didn't kill the McGuires even when they wrote in permanent marker on my face. Where did that girl go? I'm now the girl who is in bed by 10. I'm the girl who spends more time at Lowe's than just about anywhere else. I'm the girl who is excited about lounging around in her pj's ALL DAY. I'm sure people would say that I'm just "growing up". Is that what being a grownup is? How boring! And now I'm boring....boring Becky.....might as well just call me that.

Maybe I should be a pirate....

It's a girl!

2006-11-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

We found out today that we're having a girl. The sonogram was totally fun. The lady was seriously good at it too. She was lightning fast. We got to see all kinds of things. Everything was normal, and we're right on track as far as weight and length. She weighs 8 ounces, and all her parts are there. She said it all looked great. She was squirming all over the place. We practically had to pin her down to see the sex. :o) I actually had to turn on my side because she was being difficult. Dr. Siri upped my due date....by 1 day! I don't think that matters much. My doc seemed pleased with everything, so hooray!!! When we're sure about a name, we'll get that info out there. We will decided soon I'm sure! Yay for babies!

Ugh....I feel sick!!

2006-10-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I just want to start off by saying that I LOVE candy corn. All you see this time of year is candy, candy and more candy. However, the candy is NOT loving me. I've had so much sugar since Thursday that I am actually physically ill. That's right. My stomach is in complete rebellion. I'm sure the baby has been having a wonderful time, but his mother is not doing as well!! Aaron and I managed to work at two Halloween carnivals today, and I just kept on eating candy like it was going out of style. Why? Why?? Why??? Seriously! Right now the thought of even one candy corn makes me gag. I know you all feel that way too!!! I figure that candy is kind of like the devil. It's all yummy and sweet for a little while. Then you realize what you're doing to your body and your teeth and you come to your senses. Wouldn't it be great if we could JUST SAY NO!!!!

Have a happy Halloween anyway! Don't let your teeth rot out...and don't jump out and scare people. I HATE that!!!

I really do think I have baby fever....

2006-10-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm starting to get really excited about being pregnant. At first, it was pretty much like it wasn't real. It's not like I knew what it felt like or anything. Then I had NO symptoms of even being pregnant...no morning sickness, cravings, or nausea of any kind. I am in my second trimester and still have no symptoms. However, there are differences. I've had some semi-cravings. I really like Ranch dressing, but that's about it. Occasionally I want ice cream, but I pass. Being lactose intolerant is not a good thing!! I am definitely gaining a belly and some weight. It's not like I didn't think that would happen, but it's still kind of surprising as it does happen. But here's the big difference.... I am drawn to all kinds of baby stuff. I watch baby stuff on tv. I look up cribs and baby furniture on the internet. I am counting down until I can HOPEFULLY know the sex of the baby. I've even looked into some of those old wives' tales to try to know the sex ahead of time. So crazy!! I decided to pass on the Clorox thing, just in case of explosions! I thought I'd give a bit of info for those who are excited along with me. Others of you may feel free to check out now. I am 112 days pregnant. I have 168 days to go until our due date of March 26. I'm in my 15th/almost 16th week. I have gained 7 pounds. I have my sonogram appointment to check that all is okay and see the sex on November 1. Hooray! I'm sure I'll have something to blog about after that point. Now on to other things........

School is good. I like my classes this year. They are EXTREMELY excited about the fact that I am pregnant. It's funny. They are smart and overall very well-behaved. I feel so blessed!

Aaron and I are super. He's excited about the baby. He wants a girl, but whatever is fine. :o) I think that's sweet. He'll be a super good daddy.

That's all I have for now..... Love you all!!!!!!!!!

Hmmmm.......

2006-09-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you get older, you start worrying about "grown up things." Right now I am kind of doing that. I worry there won't be enough money to take care of my parents when they're older. I worry that something bad will happen to them. I worry I am not strong enough to deal with it. Then I think about all the strong people around me and know that they will help carry me. That's all I've got. Have a wonderful week and tell all the people around you just how very much you love them!

I haven't been dishonest, but I've definitely been hiding.....

2006-09-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, the fact of the matter is that Aaron and I decided in June to start trying for a baby. Even though we've only been married a year, our age played into the decision. Yes, we're old. Besides, we're financially stable....blah, blah, blah. So enough background.... We are now 11 weeks pregnant. Apparently our timing happened to coincide with God's timing. :o) So, I'm offically putting it out there. I've had people making comments about it, plus the rumors have already started to fly. It is official. We are pregnant. Like I said, I wasn't really hiding it. We kind of wanted to wait until after the first trimester to really start telling people. My family has had some issues with keeping babies, so I am certainly more than a bit paranoid. So now we can all talk about it and be happy. Some facts for you left brainers out there..... Our due date is March 26. The baby is probably about 2+ inches long at this point. Some blessings....I haven't had any morning sickness at all. I seem to be able to eat just about anything. My personality has pretty much stayed the same. Ha ha! Aaron might disagree with that, but whatever! Anyway, feel free to pass the info around. No more hiding for us! Love you all!!!!!

P.S. to Kelli.....this will not be a baby blog from now on even though I'm sure I'll write about it occasionally...ha ha!

I've been filtered.....

2006-09-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

My school has decided to filter out blogs. Yep, I think it's pretty stupid. The worst part about that is that was where I mostly blogged from..... So it's been a while!

Life is good. We're getting ever so much closer to being done on the house. Aaron has been such a trooper. He's been painting and putting up doors all over the house. He's actually planning to repaint our bedroom because I really don't like the color. I think that's so sweet. He wants to get the crown moulding done before his dad and stepmom come in early October. I'm sure it will happen. Aaron doesn't sit around well. He's in constant motion. I on the other hand..... :o)

School has now been in for three weeks. It's going okay. I don't think I have a grip on all of it yet, but I'm getting there. Best news of all is that it's FINALLY getting cooler here. It has been pretty miserable, but it's been getting nicer....AND we've even had some rain. Crazy, I know!!!! Going outside for recess is no longer torture for us. Fun times!

So my husband and I went out to eat with some of our friends after church last night. We split up into a boys table and a girls table. Eating with the ladies....! My friend Becky was telling a story about how she bought the DVD Stargate at Target the other day. The girl that was checking her out was like..."You like sci fi?" It kind of made Becky feel bad. I really couldn't believe it. Do we really need a commentary from folks at the checkout about what we're buying? You think they'd keep their mouths shut and encourage us to buy MORE. That just bugged me! Girls can't like sci fi?? How lame is that anyway?? I LOVE sci fi...books and movies. That doesn't make me weird...just eclectic. Seriously....all you checkers out there listen up. We do not WANT nor do we NEED your okay on our merchandise. Just zip it and ring it up already!

Yep, I do feel better...and I do apologize if I offended any checkers in any of my previous statements. Ha ha!

1 day down, 1 million to go!

2006-08-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

It's actually over already. Yep, the first day of school has come and gone. It was a good one, I have to say. My kiddos are fun, and they seem to be willing to discuss things. I think that's a good sign for day one. I saw a few signs of those who will be more difficult, but I have done this for 9 years. It's nothing a good whuppin' wouldn't fix! Just kidding. Corporal punishment is a thing of the past....unfortunately. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that a bit of spanking and possibly a soapy mouth would fix most problems. Of course, CPS kind of frowns on this kind of thing, so there you go! I doubt, when I'm a parent, that I'd be in for the spanking and the soapy mouth either. However, there is another option. Let your children have a bit of healthy fear. I LOVE my dad, and he spoiled me rotten. BUT I knew there was a line....and one step across would mean BAD things. Those bad things never came to pass since I kept a toe always in place, but I knew where the line was. All that to say that I think I have a great class! Fun times are full steam ahead. Woo woo!

So much going on....

2006-08-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I have been super busy lately....it's all good stuff, but still busy! This past weekend we went to a going away party for some great friends of ours: Caroline and Matt. It was fun. I sure hope the huge picture that we took turns out great. I'd like a copy of it myself! Anyway, we love y'all and are excited for you going to D.C. They're pretty lucky up there to get such a wonderful couple!!

And on to other news....our church is putting together backpacks for kids at a couple of different schools. Well, this was meant to be a small group activity, but that's not really happening right now. We didn't meet this last week, and this week is our branching out. So Aaron and I decided to take this on ourselves. Aaron didn't think it would be a big deal, but I thought differently. I was sooooo right. Those 4th and 5th grade teachers at the school that shall not be named are PSYCHO! I couldn't believe what was on their list. And this is an underprivileged school??? WHATEVER! I work at a school like that, and we certainly don't ask for all that stuff. What are they thinking?!! Aaron and I had to go to like 4 different stores to get all the stuff, and it has cost a bundle. It's not about the money. The church is taking care of that. It's just the principle of the thing!!! Okay, enough ranting and raving. I've been driving Aaron crazy with all my talk about it!

We went back to school today, and it was all right. I always think the first days back are boring, but that's just the way it is. I'm still pretty excited about the first day, but I'm a little worried about some of our other teachers. I won't go into it, but I'm just worried. Hopefully they'll get it all figured out, and it will be wonderful. My fingers are crossed.

Have you ever just wished that other people were a little more organized? I know that I have. It's not like I'm always organized, but I'm pretty good about getting people what they need in a relatively timely fashion. Aaron and I are going somewhere this weekend, and we don't know any details. Driving me crazy! I am a planner, and I NEED TO KNOW! Happiness is a plan about a month in advance. :o)

Happy trails!

Nothing out of the ordinary..

2006-07-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the trips of the summer are over. Aaron's mom came and stayed with us for a few days. We had lots of fun, and I ate so much I thought I would pop. Whenever Debbie now comes to visit Texas, she eats "Texas" food. There's really nothing better, but you want to talk about fattening! While she was here we had fajitas(yes, these don't have to be fattening--if you don't add sour cream, cheese, etc.), ribs, and then more Mexican food. While she was with her other family/friends that live here, she also did chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and barbecue. I felt like I gained 5 pounds while she was here, but now life is more back to normal. Kelli and I are back on the working out wagon which is a super good thing. I feel quite lazy here right before school starts, so I need some motivation. Also, I've been up to school the past few days......it's almost here already. I enjoy getting ready ahead of time though because you're never sure how long some stuff will take. Never good when there's not a lot of time to spare! :o)

Kelli and I have decided to go to jazzercise class. I'm sure this will be quite comical. I know that I will go because paying for stuff like that motivates me. I only hope we can keep up with all those who've been going for a while. We'll be those two girls in the back who keep looking around, hoping NO ONE is looking at us! Y'all know what I'm talking about. You've all been there.

Besides that, it's all about school for me now. I always get SOOOOO excited at the start of a new year. When that doesn't happen anymore, that's when I'm done as a teacher. There's always the fresh start of a new year. Looking forward to it......

Ignorance really can be bliss!

2006-07-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of things that I will say that I am relatively proficient. Computers is just not one of them. Now before you all think I'm an idiot(I'm talking to you geeks out there), I know how to do what I consider to be regular stuff. I can email, blog, change my computer settings as I please, do powerpoint, great in stupid old Word, manuever around the internet, etc. So I can do some stuff, but the jargon alludes me. The Verizon folks came today to put in cable and computer stuff. We got rid of Comcraptastic(as Aaron refers to it). The guy is attempting to show me the remote first of all, and apparently I didn't get enough sleep. He was telling me stuff about a million miles an hour. I uh huhed and nodded appropriately, but seriously!! I'll just figure it out myself or, heaven forbid, read the instruction book. Whatever....it's a remote! But then this other guy(how many Verizon guys does it take to screw in a lightbulb?.....3!!) started chatting with me about the computer stuff. He was telling me about where the router number was and other information that I might need if I wanted to change the router number blah, blah, blah, blah. What in the world? Is that really something that I need to know? If so, could we put it into layman terms?? I don't begin the year discussing fluency levels and talking about ways to bolster their comprehension levels. When we begin discussing onomatopoeias, I call them sound words. I figure it takes a while for them to get those kind of words. Why don't these Verizon people figure that some people just have NO IDEA what they're talking about?? Plus, does anyone really care? Hmmmm.....I've managed to get through 31 years(yep, I'm old) without my life falling apart because I don't know what a router number is. Who cares anyway?? :o) I'll just go and look it up so I won't feel stupid next time....

We're NOT pregnant....seriously!

2006-07-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, for 4 days to go to a family reunion. It was actually his stepmom's family, but it was fun. I got to meet the step siblings and all their families. Plus it was fun to see where Linda(stepmom) comes from. Here was the downside.....EVERYBODY is pregnant. Aaron's sister is pregnant. Aaron's stepsister is pregnant. Aaron's step sister in law is pregnant. So basically they're all due within 3 months: one in December, one in January, and one in February. The whole time people were asking if we're shooting to have a March baby and stuff like that. Give it a rest, people! It's stressful enough thinking about having a baby without everyone acting like you need to get on the ball and do it already. Seriously!!! :o)

A whole year!!!!

2006-07-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe....but true. Aaron and I have already been married a year. Our anniversary has actually already come and gone a few days ago. For our anniversary Aaron took me to Denver to see Tom Petty(with Pearl Jam to start). It was awesome. I've actually been to only one other "real" concert. I saw Widespread Panic with Aaron last year. I have been to some Christian concerts, but none of them were super big. Plus the atmosphere is totally different. I had such a great time. WE had such a great time. We made our way around Denver like we lived there or something. We rode the public transportation and never got lost. It was not too much cooler there than Texas during the day, but the humidity was much less. I was almost sad to return today because the sky there was crystal clear, there was a breeze, and it was lovely. Oh well! In another couple of days we'll be heading to South Carolina. Fun times! For all of you out there that LOVE family reunions, you understand my pain. :o) Just kidding! I've never been to South Carolina before, so it will be yet another adventure. Go Tom Petty!!!!!!!!!