Life in Cotterville

Texas Suvivor

2012-05-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

I received this in email tonight and thought it was worthy of being shared.

Due to the popularity of the "Survivor" shows, Texas is planning to do one entitled: "Survivor, Texas-Style!"

The 8 contestants will all start in Dallas, then drive to Waco, Austin and San Antonio. Then over to Houston and down to Brownsville. They will proceed up to Del Rio, El Paso, Odessa, Midland, Lubbock and Amarillo. From there they will go on to Abilene and Fort Worth. Finally back to Dallas. Each will be driving a pink Prius with bumper stickers that read:

1 "I'm a Democrat"
2 "Amnesty for Illegals"
3 "I love the Dixie Chicks"
4 "Boycott Beef"
5 "I Voted for Obama"
6 "George Strait Sucks"
7 "Reelect Obama in 2012" and...
8 "I'm here to confiscate your guns"

The first one to make it back To Dallas alive, wins.

God Bless Texas!

Dog Food and Ketchup

2011-11-02T14:28:00.001-05:00

I have said many times that there is never a dull moment in Cotterville. If I sat down and blogged about every crazy thing that happened I would never leave my computer, thus giving my kids time to do more crazy things! The only reason I'm able to blog right now is because one kid is at school, one is in bed, and the dog is outside.

So here's the story. I will start with a little background info.

We got Emma from our local shelter about three weeks ago. She was 8-weeks old we we got her. About four days after bringing her home she started coughing. It got progressively worse so we took her to the vet. They said that she had a cough and allergies and gave her some medicine to take. I have been trying several different ways of giving it to her to trick her into taking it. We've done cheese (which she stopped eating her real food only wanting the cheese). We've tried just opening her mouth and throwing it in, and We've hidden it in her dog food.

Today I decided to do the latter. We usually put a little water in her food just to soften it some. I did this and then tucked the medicine down in there. She ate just a little bit and left the food. I decided to leave the bowl down so she could go back and finish later.

In the meantime, I have been fighting all morning trying to keep Isaac out of the kitchen. Do you see where this is going yet?

After Isaac and I had lunch I sat down to do some work. I was going back and forth between the kithch/dining room and the living room where I was. No problem, or so I thought. I got up to get him a refill of milk and when I passed the dog bowl I realized something didn't look right. Upon closer inspection I found Emma's food bowl empty and her water bowl filled with....KETCHUP!

So I'm prying that Emma ate everything before Isaac got the ketchup out for her. I understand his reasoning...everything taste better. with ketchup. I"m just praying he didn't eat the food!

So what did I do? I spanked Isaac and put him in bed for nap. (It's obvious that it was nap time!). I put Emma outside and began cleaning up the mess. It was while wiping ketchup off everything that I realized Emma's medicine was in the food. A wave of fear came over me that Isaac had eaten it. I went in and smelled his breath and all I could smell was ketchup. So....I'm praying that's all he ate!

Wow...what a day! Oh and it's only 2:30!

They aren't as innocent as they look!

Who am I?

2011-10-26T01:51:00.000-05:00

I saw this questionarre on Facebook and decided to play along and answer the questions on here. So here goes.

***********FOODOLOGY***************

What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? I'm not big on going out to eat but I guess I would say Chili's

What food could you eat every day for two weeks without becoming sick? Caramel

What are your pizza toppings of choice? Pepperoni

What do you like to put on your toast? I don't care for toast but if I had to eat it, it would be peanut butter.

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

How many televisions are in your house? 2 but I think only one is hooked up.

What color cell phone do you have? Black

Do you have an iPod? Nope. But I do have an android phone with all my music on it!

***************BIOLOGY******************

Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Do babies count? If so then yes!

What is the last heavy item you lifted? It would be a toss up between Isaac and our new puppy Emma. (She is 9-weeks and weighs 16 pounds!)

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No! Not even when I got hit in the head by a foul ball at an Arkansas Travelers Baseball game. (Yes that's what's wrong with me!)

************DUMBOLOGY******************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Wow...I think at least 10.

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Never have..knock on wood.

Last person you talked to? Jordan

Last person you hugged? Jordan

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************

Season? Football...I mean Fall.

Holiday? Christmas!

Day of the week? I guess Saturday/Sunday. When the family is all home together!

Month? December

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************

Missing someone? Yes.

Mood? Tired (I should have gone to bed a long time ago!)

What are you listening to? SILENCE! This is rare in my house.

Watching? Nothing.

Worrying about? Nothing really at the moment.

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************

First place you went this morning? To get Isaac out of bed. He was standing in his crib yelling "MOM"

What's the last movie you saw? We don't get to watch movies much. I honestly can't even remember the last one I saw. Sad...I know.

Do you smile often? Yes.

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

1) Do you always answer your phone? No. In fact, my voice mail says "I'm either busy or just don't want to talk on the phone".

2) It's four in the morning and you get a text message who is from? Probably Facebook. I have a few friends that I get text messages when the update. Or at 4 a.m. it could be Chris who is already at work!

3) If you could change your eye color what would they be? I would like them to be greener. They are hazel now and I love when they turn green!

4) If you could change your hair color, what color would you change it to? I would go a bit lighter with some highlights....Chris wants me to go PINK!

5) What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Vanilla

6) Do you own a digital camera? No...Isaac broke mine. I use my phone currently.

7) Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes...Whizbang only last a few days.

8) What's on your wish list for your birthday? Well Christmas is first and I want a camera and a Kindle Fire. Oh and a gift certificate to the cake supply store by our house!

9) Can you do push ups? No, don't care to.

10) Can you do a chin up? No, don't want to.

11) Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Both...

12) Do you have any saved texts? I don't think so.

13) Ever been in a car wreck? Yes. I think 2.

14) Do you have an accent? Um, yes!

15) What is the last song to make you cry? Cinderella, Stephen Curtis Chapman.

16) Plans tonight? To go to bed and hopefully get a few solid hours sleep!

17) Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? I've been close!

18) Name 3 things you did today: Watched a great friend's kids after school, went to cub scouts, and completed a work assignment once everyone went to bed.

19) Have you ever been given roses? Yes. But honestly I prefer tulips!

20) Current worry? I'm a mom...need I say more?

21) Current hate right now? That my kids are growing up so fast. I like every other parent would like to freeze time.

22) Met someone who changed your life? Every person has changed me in some way or another.

23) How did you bring in the New Year? We were in Wichita, KS with Chris' Dad and family having an all night skate at his skating rink. We had so much fun we are doing it again this year!

24) What song represents you? Wow. That's a hard one. I am up for suggestions. This might just have to be an entire blog post.

25) Name three people who might complete this? I would love for anyone to complete this but honestly I could care less if you do :)

26) Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? I don't think so.

27) Does anyone love you? I am loved by so many people. God has truly blessed me!

28) Would you be a pirate? I would rather be a Ninja.

29) What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually the last song I heard on the radio.

30) When did you last cry? I think it was two-weeks ago while watching Grey's Anatomy. This has been a very emotional season ha!

31) Who was the last person you took a picture of? Emma. (our puppy).

32) What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? Country!

33) Are most of the friends in your life new or old? I have a wide range. I am still friends with many people from as far back as middle school (thank you band) and we have many new friends here in Texas thanks to cub scouts.

34) Do you like pulpy orange juice? I don't care for any kind of orange juice.

35) What is something your friends make fun of you for? Wow...yet again that would be another whole blog post. I think the biggest one would be that I'm usually the last to get the jokes.

36) If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Not at all...I would just have anxiety every single day leading up to it!

37) If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I rather like my name.

38) Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000.00? HECK NO!

Well that was fun! I hope you got a good laugh and maybe even learned something. If you have any other random questions you want to ask me feel free to post them in the comment section! Now I'm going to bed!

MIA

2011-10-15T23:28:00.000-05:00

I feel so bad that I have neglected this blog. I could sit here and say that things have just been too busy but I would be lying. I could have found the time to sit and do a blog post! I am hoping to get back into a routine of posting. I was hoping to use this blog as a way of scrapbooking and keeping up with the boys as they grew up. Isaac is now 22 months and I haven't talked about him at all. In addition...we have a new member to our family. We adopted a sweet puppy whom we named Emma.

As for Jordan, he is now 9 years old and in 4th grade. He is so smart! I got a call from his teacher today letting me know his test scores on their big six-week math test. She said he was the model student and a complete joy to have. That made me a very proud mommy! Jordan loves playing with his Legos and riding his bike to and from school every day. The following picture was taken today. I just can't get over how tall this kids is....He will be taller than me probably by this time next year :(

Isaac, wow where do I begin. He is 22 months old but has been in his terrible twos for a year now. He began walking a little before he turned 10 months and he has not stopped since. He eat ANYTHING, destroys EVERYTHING, and is the happiest kid I have ever seen. He is having a hard time learning how to share. He thinks throwing himself in the floor or maybe even banging his head on said floor will get him what he wants. It usually just gets him a nice spanking! He is very strong willed and independent, not to mention fearless!! With all that being said, I love watching him grow up (though it is happening too fast.) This picture was taken of Isaac today at our local pumpkin patch.

And finally I want to introduce you to the newest member of Cotterville!!

This is Emma! She is 8-weeks old and joined our family yesterday. Our local shelter posted a picture of her on Facebook and I knew that moment we had to have her! We went to look at her and Isaac and her instantly bonded! He has not stopped saying puppy since we saw her. Anyway, she was given to the shelter at about 1 week old and spent the next few weeks in a very loving foster home. She is a lab/pit bull mix. She loves to play but most of the time she can be cuddled next to someone on the couch. She is such a good dog! We have a crate that she sleeps in at night and the last two nights she has gone in without even a whimper! She is doing fairly well with potty training so I hope that won't be a very long process. It's a change having her around but everyone in the family adores her and I can tell she she is happy to be here!

I have not had a puppy of "my own" since I was 3 years old. I think I am not sure who is more excited about her being here but it would be very hard to beat my excitement!

So there is an update on Life in Cotterville. I still hope to do a few blogs about our new house and what we have been up to lately....STAY TUNED!

Teaching Your Children About 9/11

2011-09-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

I don't think I have to tell any of you that the 10 year anniversary of September 11th is coming up. But I do need your help. My son, who is 9, is asking a lot of questions about that day. We have let him watch a few shows, documentaries, on the events of that day but I'm worried that he will get scared. The media holds nothing back in their reporting. There is no easy or nice way to tell the events of that day but I am wondering what you say or don't say to a younger child. This is the first year he has really asked questions and I think he's old enough to know some of the details. He is very interested in airplanes and wants to know exactly what happened to each flight but I don't think he understands how many people died on those planes. I also don't think he understand that those buildings the planes hit were full of people. I'm just at a loss as to what to tell him and what to keep until he gets older. I am hoping that some of you out there in the blog world have had this type of discussion with your child and can give me some advice.

Thanks in advance!

Working From Home

2011-08-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

Many people have asked me what I do, how I came about doing it, and how they can do it for themselves. I have typed it up so many times that I thought it would be easier to blog about it!

WHAT I DO:

Last October I took a job working as a legal transscriptionist. I am a private contractor. I get paid for the amount of work I do and have the freedom to say I want more or less work. I have to cover my own benefits and taxes and I'm still learning the process of all of that. When I am assigned work I am given a due date of when the file is due back. They upload an audio file to a secure server. I then go in and download the file and type everything I hear. The main account I work on is Worker's Comp Cases. That can be pretty interesting! No case is ever the same which keeps things fun. It allows me to work when I can, which is usually when everyone is sleeping.

HOW DID I GET INTO TRANSCRIPTION?

I have been looking for a job that is home based for years. There are MANY scams out there and finding one that is legit was hard. After doing some research I found an on-line school that had a four month class for medical transcription. I applied with the U. S. Career Institute and began the course. It says you can get your degree in as little as four months. That being said, you can work at your own pace. There are no due dates. You submit the assignments as you get them done. It could take a few months or a few years depending on how much time you can devote. I completed the course in June of 2010 and began applying for medical transcription jobs. This part was not easy. I am not going to lie, it is hard to find someone willing to take on a newby. Most people wants years of experience but no one is willing to give you the chance to get that experience. I applied with what feels like hundreds of companies and found that there were still many scams out there. Some people wanted me to pay them in order to get the job. You must be very careful and do your research!! Try going to Google and typing in a companies named followed by the word "scam". If something pops up instantly you know to avoid that company! Anyway, I was losing hope that I would find a job. I had tested with several employers but never heard back from any of them. Then in October I received an email that my company was looking for someone to work on the legal side. I had applied with them months prior and they finally had something come open. They told me that I could move over to medical if anything came open. After discussing the terms of the job I went for it. I must say, I actually think I like the legal side better!

HOW MUCH DO I MAKE?

Well I don't really want to talk specifics. Pay depends on several factors. Who you work for, how much they pay per line or page, and how much you work. There is potential to make a lot of money. I work on several different accounts. Some pay by the line and some pay per page. Some companies pay by the audio minute.

THE DOWN SIDE

Working from home is great but can also be a huge challenge. There are so many distractions and so many things I would much rather be doing. It is not for everyone!
I hope that I have answered some of your questions. If you have more please leave them in the comment section or send me a message!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

The grave could not hold Him. Chris has risen! He is alive!

The following song lyrics are from a song we sang in my church growing up. Today we should all take a moment and reflect on the Awesomeness of our God!

        Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior, 
 waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave he arose; 
 with a mighty triumph o'er his foes; 
 he arose a victor from the dark domain, 
 and he lives forever, with his saints to reign. 
 He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

New Beginings

2011-04-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

Cotterville is moving! For several years now Chris and I have wanted to buy a house but never had the means. Last October I got a job working from home and this has provided us the means needed to purchase our first home! If you have never bought a home, the process is fairly easy until it comes time to deal with the mortgage company.

In February we decided to start looking for the perfect house. We were referred to an agent by a friend and began the search. I went onto her website and found five houses that matched our criteria. I asked her on a Tuesday if we could make an appointment to see the properties. She called me that night and set us up for Thursday of the same week. The last house we saw that day Chris loved. I had fallen in love with another house we saw. We were torn. We debated for the next week and asked to see both houses again. One week after viewing the houses for the first time we were back seeing them again.

The house I loved had a huge yard, and updated kitchen. I couldn't get past how awesome the kitchen was. I was failing to see anything else about the house. It had many faults that Chris was able to see. We left my first choice and headed to his favorite. I walked around still thinking about the dang kitchen in the other one. We left that day still up in the air. On the way home we weighed pros and cons of both and decided that Chris' favorite was the best choice for us. As the days went by I started to love the house too. The following Thursday (2 weeks after starting our search) we told our agent we were ready to make a move. She put me in contact with a mortgage broker and the paperwork was started. We were quickly approved and made an offer! This process took us about another week. We settled on the price and signed the contract. Over the next week we had the inspection and appraisal. Everything checked out fine. Now all we needed to do was wait on our loan to come out of underwriting so we could close.

We have been the house buying process three weeks up to this point. Little did we know how frustrating this step would be. We provided all the financial documents FHA needed. We wanted. They asked for more documents, we provided those the same day. It seemed like every day they were needing something else. Three weeks later we were finally able to close on our home! We signed the papers on April the 14th.

But it didn't end there. We weren't able to get our keys on closing day because the house was still occupied. Because our loan was taking so long they could close on their new house until they knew for sure everything was going to work out. We closed on Thursday and they couldn't get into their new house until Monday. So yesterday morning we got a call that the house was finally empty and the keys were all outs!! So moving day is coming up this Thursday!

It only took us about 2 months to go through the entire process. It was frustrating at times but oh so worth it in the end.

We are so excited. I can't wait for the boys to have a yard, to have a garage, to be able to hang things and not have to worry it. There are so many things we are looking forward to about having a house! Stay tuned to the blog for tons of pictures!!

Anxiety

2011-03-15T02:32:00.001-05:00

Well it is 2am and I can't sleep. I felt that I needed to sit down and take you on the journey that is my anxiety issues. I am not really even sure where to begin because I can't pinpoint how long this has been going on. The purpose of this blog is for me to talk about it (which helps) and to hopefully help someone who might be suffering from the same things and me and feeling alone as I am.

I have always been a nervous person. For as far back as I can remember, I remember being scared of certain situations. I can remember hearing of a kid hurting himself at McDonald's and me being terrified to go eat there. I can remember getting nervous in Walmart one time when I was about 8 and crying every single time my parents would want to go there. I believe this was all the start of my anxiety.

In high school I started having issues with my heart racing. They could never find a reason. The doctor convinced me I was fine and that my heart just beats faster than most peoples. By this point I had gained a large anxiety for hospitals, doctors, nurses, anyone in the medical field, including firefighters and police officers. I don't know where this fear comes from. I don't know why I'm scared of the people who can help me the most. I took what the doctor said and the prescription Propranalol that he gave me and tried to be a normal teenager.

It wasn't until my first son Jordan was born that it really hit me. I had a hard pregnancy with many issues. At one point I had such low potassium levels that my legs stopped working right. When I would stand they would collapse under me and I would fall. This created a whole new sense of anxiety. I was scared to go out in public for fear that this would happen again and I would cause a scene. For a year I would not leave my house. I literally made excuses to make sure I never had to leave. I was also scared of being left alone because I was afraid something would happen and no one would be there to help. This was a very trying time for not only me but my entire family. My husband and I were newly weds. We had a brand new baby and I was the one needing all the attention. Finally after a year of that I decided something had to change. Actually I think my family decided that for me. I sucked up my fears and went to the doctor.. He again said that my heart was racing (probably because I panic just thinking about having to go to a doctor). He never once mentioned anxiety as being my issue. He just said I was going through postpartum depression and gave me yet another prescription. Things improved but not a lot. I was able to get out and get groceries and things but that was it.

The attacks have continued off and on since then. When I was pregnant with Isaac I felt great. I had NO anxiety. Not even at my doctor visits on the three times I went to the hospital. Once for low potassium, once for false labor, and finally for the real thing. I felt great. We were getting out of the house and doing all kinds of things together, life was great. Then the anxiety came back.

I want to tell you a little about what goes on when I have an attack. The past few days I've been dealing with this a great deal and it's fresh on my mind. I am going to be completely honest about all of this because I hope that I can help someone with what I'm saying. I'm also hoping that someone will read this and say Carrie, that happens to me too, you are not alone! I'm hoping that I can find a group of people who suffer like me so that I can have you to talk to when things get bad. It is so hard to explain and only people who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks can fully understand what it does to your body. So this is how the last few weeks, months have gone. First I'm going to give you some background of what i think is causing the anxiety.

Stress: I have been under so much stress lately. We are in the process of buying our first home. While very exciting it also comes with a great deal of stress. Not so much the process but the finances of it all. It seems like every time I turn around I"m writing a check or sending in some documents. In addition to that I the mom of two amazing kids and work a full time job from home. Yes, I've been stressed!

Caffeine: I used to be very addicted to cokes. I could easily drink a 2-liter in a day. About four years ago I decided that caffeine was doing way more harm than good so I quit drinking it. I did not have a single caffeinated drink until during the 2nd trimester of my most recent pregnancy. The doctor had told me that a little amount of caffeine could help with those second 2nd headaches. That little amount turned into being able to drink a 2-liter in two days. I was back to my old ways. As I look back, that is about the time the anxiety came back.

So what happens during an attack?

If I am out in public and have an attack, my first thought is getting out of the situation I'm in, as fast a possible. Walmart is still a source of anxiety. When i am there I get hot, my heart start racing, and all I can think about getting in and getting out. I have had thoughts of just leaving my buggy sitting there and running out. While in the check out line I wonder exactly how long it will take. I am scared I will pass out right there in line. I am scared I will forget everything I know and not be able to even pay for my stuff. I want to run out to the car and hide. I usually just take deep breaths and play with the kids to get through it. Once I get done in line I walk fast to get to the car.

Restraunts are a huge source of anxiety. I am at their mercy of how long it takes. Once I get my food I'm to worked up to eat and I end up taking it home. Everyone always says man you never eat anything. That is so not true. I take it home and as soon as we get there I eat. I do try to eat in public I'm scared I will choke. I hate this for my family because they love going out as a family and I love it too...until the anxiety starts.

When I am out in public I am still scared I won't be able to make it where I'm going. My legs feel week and I'm scared I am going to collapse. At the doctor I am scared when they call my name I won't be able to walk to the back. Then once back there I'm again at their mercy of how long it takes. By the time they get in there I'm so worked up they freak out about how fast my heart is racing...which only makes it race more! Once they leave and I get out to the car I am fine!

That however is not what happened yesterday when I had one of the worst attacks to date. Jordan left a few days ago for a week with his grandparents in Arkansas. That didn't bother me at all, or so I thought. I got up yesterday morning and everything seemed fine. Chris left for work and then it happened. I began thinking horrible thoughts. Thoughts that I do not want to share. Thoughts about things happening to me or someone I love. Me doing something to harm myself or someone I love. Once that first thought came in my mind I couldn't shut it off. It was all I could think about. I got hot, heart started racing, started breathing hard, and just wanted to run away from the situation. But I was at home alone with Isaac and had nowhere to go. Due to my vision I'm not able to just get out and go somewhere (which is another cause of anxiety). Instead, I called my Mom and a friend and told them everything I was thinking. I knew that they wouldn't think I was crazy or judge me. They both just let me talk and listened to what was going on. They convinced me that it was all anxiety and that I would never do anything to harm myself or anyone else. I knew that, but I don't understand why I think those things. I hate it. That is what scares me. As I talked to them it became apparent what the issues were. We talked about how to handle them. Then we changed the subject completely and just talked.

By the time I hung up the phone I was feeling much better but still very nervous and jittery. That continued off and on until Chris got home from work. I talked to him about everything and went right to sleep. I was emotionally and physically drained. I woke up this morning feeling much better. Chris left for work and I didn't really have any issues, until just now. Laying in bed trying to go to sleep my mind started working overtime again. I tried shutting the thoughts down before they happened but couldn't. So i decided that I just needed to come and write about it!

I have spoken to several doctors who tell me this is normal. It's hard for me to believe that these thoughts are normal but I trust their opinion. I know it's just the anxiety talking. I think that once Jordan gets back home and we get back into our normal routine things will be so much better. I would prefer to be able to get through all of this without the use of medication. I just ask that you pray for me. Pray that this passes quick. Pray that I get some rest and that all the stress in my life decreases!

I believe a lot of my issues are control centered. I am in a constant need to be in control of every situation but at the same time I hate being in total control. I feel at times I can't win!

I apologize for how long this is...but I really needed to talk about it all! I also hope this post makes sense and I didn't ramble to much....it is 2:30 in the morning and I'm very tired so cut me a break! If you have anxiety issues I would love to talk to you about them. You can post a comment or private message me. If you don't have my email and aren't friends with me on Facebook just ask and I'll give you my info. Thanks again readers for being there when I needed to talk!

Really?

2011-02-13T17:36:00.001-06:00

So I was cooking dinner tonight and turned around to see what the boys were up to. Guess where I found Isaac....

YEP! On the computer table! He had used the computer chair to climb up there. This is a first and I pray the last...that table is high and he I would hate for him to fall off of it. Not to mention he's messing with my money maker (the computer). I know I should have gotten him down as soon as I saw him but I had to snap a picture first!

What A Day

2011-02-09T20:13:00.000-06:00

I just have one question for you. Is it possible for the terrible twos to start at 14 months? Why yes, I think it is.

A few weeks ago Isaac started taking his diaper off. I tried making sure he always had pants on and for a day or two that helped, until he learned how to take those off too. Then I tried putting the diaper on backwards, again that worked for about a day. This morning I changed his overnight diaper and then it began. I have chased him around all day putting his diaper back on him. Both Chris and I tried swatting his bare bottom and sternly telling him now. He would cry for about two seconds and then be doing it all over again five minutes later. Friends have suggested I potty train him. He's only 14 months! I just don't know that he is ready. The diaper is only coming off because he thinks it's a game. I really don't think he understand the whole bathroom thing.

As if that weren't enough. He has started climbing! Let me just add that this kid is QUICK! It started off a few days ago he would just climb up on the couch to jump. Then he started getting onto the coffee table and dancing. Now this evening it has been climbing onto the back of the couch to look through the "window" into his and Jordan's room. It is hard to discipline when your laughing. Not to mention he is so darn cute that it's hard to get on to him. But today...today he has gotten in trouble! I did snap a few shots of him in the act. He of course cheesed it up for the camera! Here are a few pictures from our day. (oh did I mention it was Jordan's fifth snow day in two weeks so he was home all day with us too.)

Notice the no pants and one sock...this is his normal everyday wear...no matter what i dress him in that day!

This is the face i got immediately after saying "Isaac, what are you doing up there?"

While making dinner, I asked Jordan to keep an eye on him and managed to throw the couch cushions off!

Just a disclaimer on the next picture. When you play on the couch...you are bound to fall off. Don't worry. He wasn't hurt at all!!

Needless to say, I am ready or bedtime. But at the end of the day we all love each other and I am so blessed to have to great boys. I wanted to share a few more pictures with you of Jordan and Isaac. They were playing very nice together!

Isaac giving Jordan a huge, open mouth kiss! (The best kind)

Jordan is growing up to be such a handsome young man!

I LOVE MY BOYS!

now I must go clean up the house....

14 Months Old

2011-02-08T20:42:00.000-06:00

Isaac is 14 months today! He is such a happy, active little guy. Here are some of the highlights of what he is up to.

HE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (now that I said that he won't)
He is saying a few words: Momma, Dad, Jordan (didin) and BOO.
He loves to bag on things
Loves anything that makes noise!
He follows simple commands like "bring that to Mom"....well sometimes. One of his favorite games is to grab something he shouldn't have...show it to you and then take off running while waving it in the air.
He chews on and eats everything!
Just this past week he learned how to blow kisses. He's been given us kisses for several weeks now....open mouth while saying Muhwah (is that how you spell that?)

We are truly blessed to have such a great baby...The following video was taken today while Isaac was supposed to be napping.

What you see here is me sneaking a video in....he never saw me but it's clear on several occasions that he saw the camera and decided to show off! He eventually went to sleep and then he woke up doing the exact same thing about 90 minutes later...I wish I had all that energy!

Happy New Year

2011-01-15T11:16:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! I know, I'm 15 days late in saying that but things have truly been crazy around Cotterville. We are finally starting slow down and I have time to blog!

I want to give you some background before I tell you about what we did for New Years. Chris' Dad Joe has been in the roller/inline skating industry for many many years. Chris grew up in skating rinks and was the definition of a rink rat. I have heard hundreds of stories about the rink and wanted to experience some of that myself. One of the things Chris has talked about is New Years Eve at the skating rink. They have an all night skate (7pm-7am). He remembers many very fun New Year's Eves with his Dad. I told him years ago that I wanted to go to one and it never worked out. This year Chris was off work for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and we decided this was a great year to go! The main reason we were going to Wichita was to see Joe, Debbie, and the girls and the all night skate was just the icing on the cake. It would be a very busy, quick trip but we knew it would be a lot of fun!

On Thursday morning we loaded up the car and headed out for the six hour drive. I was nervous about how Isaac would take the trip. At just a few weeks being one, I was scared he would scream the whole way wanting out of his seat. He did great, he didn't get cranky until about 20 minutes out of Wichita. We got there right as the afternoon session was ending. Joe had a few classes to teach that evening so we went to the hotel to rest. We met back up with everyone for dinner.

Let me just say, we have lived in Texas for almost 6 years and it took us going to Kansas to eat at Texas Roadhouse. What took us so long! The environment was a Texas at it gets and the food was amazing. We have found a new favorite restaurants. The funny thing is that we have one about 5 miles from the house. We have seen it thousands of times but for some reason never stopped. You better believe we will now.

Friday, New Year's Eve, we such a fun day. We spend the morning resting and then met up with Joe to help with the final rink decorations. He had hung up four huge bags of balloons that would be dropped about 11pm. They were filled with prizes and cash! We still had a few other banners to hang so we headed to the rink. Since there was no one else there we let Jordan put on some skates and Isaac roamed around. This was Isaac's first time out on the rink and he was amazed at the lights and how wide open it was. He smiled and laughed and ran around having a blast chasing big brother.

The only major challenge we had was keeping him from going under the ladder. I had no idea how superstitious Chris was until Isaac went under it the first time!

At 6pm we opened the doors. People had been lining up sine about 5! They had a great system for getting people in. I jumped right in helping. By 10 we had everyone in the door. I think I heard Joe said there were 675 people!!! To say it was packed would be an understatement but Joe has a great staff and everything ran perfect. Isaac and I spend a large amount of our time inside the office. Isaac was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people, not to mention he was a very tired boy. While trying to get him to take a nap he took some pictures with his Aunt Desi

Then it got to be close to midnight. We walked out to the rink to rink in the New Year!!

The boys did great but about 2am they had had enough. We decided to head back to the hotel to sleep. That was a great decision considering we had to drive home the next day. We spend New Years Day relaxing and watching football! Before we headed out we went back to the rink to tell everyone bye. It was a great weekend and we were all very sad to leave. Jordan is looking forward to spending some time with Grandpa Joe this Summer!!

Cotterville Christmas!

2011-01-13T01:37:00.000-06:00

Since pictures say a thousand words I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking. Enjoy!

LOOK AT THAT MESS!!!

A proud Texan!

We are truly blessed!

Check back soon to see how we spent New Years!!

Cotterville Christmas Eve

2011-01-13T01:27:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm still alive! I have not posted on my blog in so long and I hate that! I would like to be able to say that I do daily post but as you can tell, I'm lucky if I do monthly post! Over the next few weeks I hope to catch you up on everything that has gone on in Cotterville since Thanksgiving. We have Isaac's actual birthday, Christmas, New Years, and of course all the post about Isaac. He changes daily. He's walking, (running) and saying a few very cute words. Today I want to share some of our Christmas traditions with you.

Since we spend Thanksgiving in Arkansas we decided to stay here in Texas for Christmas. I very much enjoy spending the very special day with family but at the same time I feel it is important for "my" family to have create our own traditions and memories. We continued old traditions and started a few new ones.

One tradition that I did as a child was baking sugar cookies. Making the dough (and eating a ton of it while you work), rolling it out, using the Christmas cookie cutters, and then adding all those pretty sprinkles. This is something that I remember doing with my mom and when I had children I knew it was something I wanted to do with my kids. Jordan is old enough now to really help and the last few years we have really enjoyed this. This year we baked 5 dozen and send most of them with Chris to work. Of course we kept some for ourselves but the best part was making them with my son. Having Isaac around this year made it more interesting. It seemed like every time I turned around Isaac was grabbing stuff off the table and flour was going everywhere! That just added to the fun of it all. Next year hopefully both of my boys can help me decorate.

Another thing we do is bake a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. This is a way for us to remember what Christmas is all about and be able to have a party for Jesus on Christmas dinner. Chris is not a big fan of cake and our lives were so busy this year that as a family we voted to make a chocolate pie instead. The meaning was still there. We knew that it was Jesus' birthday pie. We sang Happy Birthday and talked about what we were celebrating. As the commercial aspect of Christmas gets larger and larger this part of our celebration gets more and more important.

Like I said earlier we started a new tradition. I have heard several of my friends saying they do this so I thought I would give it a shot. I decided to hide a family gift and then gave Jordan four or five clues to find the gift. When he found it, he opened it and found that it was something that we could do together as a family. This year it was the game Scrabble. We played a game right before bed on Christmas Eve. This is important because often we don't slow down enough to do things as a family. Obvioulsly Isaac couldn't play with us, but he had fun sitting at the table interacting. I hope that those few minutes every year will become special memories for all of us!

After Jordan found the present and we played some Scrabble (Chris beat us bad and it was his first time to ever play) it was time to open another present. This one was from Granny and Grandpa and turned out to be one of the greatest gifts of the year. Check out the pictures and then I'll tell you all about it!

My parents, Granny and Grandpa, sent the boys the book, Twas the Night Before Christmas. What made this book so cool was that they read it to them! Mom and Dad live 350 miles away so that was very special for everyone. Hearing my Dad start off reading brought back many memories for me and actually brought tears to my eyes. Watching Jordan listen to them read the story was something I will never forget. I look forward to many more years and listening to that! (at least as long as the batteries last) I hope to next year get some video of it so we can keep it forever! Thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome gift!

It was at this point we realized that the 24-hours of A Christmas Story had begun on TV and quickly turned it on to watch the first of many times through the movie. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would not feel right without this classic movie! It can be heard not only on the TV but being quoted but many members of my family!

By this time it was getting late and it was time to get the milk and cookies ready for Santa. I had a ton of gifts to wrap and was very excited to get to bed so morning would come! I think I was just as excited if not more than Jordan. Since we had baked sugar cookies earlier in the week we decided to bake Santa some chocolate chip cookies. I promised Jordan that when I went to bed I would set it all out (we didn't want the milk to get to warm) and with that Jordan went to bed. I will leave you with a few more pictures. Stay tuned for a post about Christmas Day!

Playing Catch Up!

2011-01-10T22:02:00.000-06:00

It has been Thanksgiving since I blogged! Nothing is wrong with me or anyone in my family, we have just been very busy having fun! Over the next few days (weeks, months) I hope to catch all of you up on my blog! I will start with a Christmas Traditions blog, followed by Cotterville Christmas, an exciting trip to Kansas, and tons of new stuff about Isaac who is changing daily!

I can't wait to share everything with you!

Isaac's Early Birthday Party

2010-12-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

Over Thanksgiving we went to Arkansas to be with family and friends. While we were there we decided to celebrate Isaac's first birthday a few weeks early. We thought it would be great because all of our friends and family there could help us celebrate.

Isaac loves Mickey Mouse. We went to Disney earlier this year for my Brother Jon's wedding. Jon and Gina got Isaac a MIckey doll and he has loved Mickey every since. So it was a no-brainer to me that his party would be Mickey Themed. Thanks to Nana (Chris' Mom) we had great decorations! Thanks to Jessica we had awesome cake! And thanks to everyone who came, we had an awesome time!!

There was only one "fail" and it came with the birthday banner. Check out this picture.

Do you see it?? Look closer!

Yes, the wonderful Disney banner that we purchased at Walmart said "HAPPY BIRTHDRY". We all got a great kick out of that one!

So the decorations were up and it was time to get the cakes out and ready! A friend of mine from High School, Jessica did the cakes and they turned out great. if you live in the Central Arkansas area I recommend her! She made a Mickey cake, a cake for Isaac to destroy and a few cupcakes. I was scared we wouldn't have enough so I made some cupcakes in addition. Below are some pictures of the food!

The next picture is Isaac's reaction to the Mickey Cake....

(Isaac with Granny, my mom)

We had a lot of friends and family there! Here are some pics of a few of the guest.

Long Time Friend of our from High School, David.

More great friends from High School; Jennifer, her daughter Alexa, and Marie.

Todd and his girls Christen and Emily.

Nana (Chris' Mom Darcy) with her grand babies) Jordan, Isaac and Noah.

Mom and Dad (James and Jenny) with the boys.

We decided to do things a little out of order. I thought that we should do presents first since Isaac would be making a HUGE mess with his cake. So we gathered everyone around to open gifts. Isaac got a lot of great stuff but here are a couple pictures of his favorite items.

He got a cowboy hat just like Daddies!

And the star of the show Dance Star Mickey!

After presents, it was time for cake. Isaac has had little bits here and there or sweets over the past eyar but nothing like what he was about to encounter!

He wasn't sure what to do at first....

But he quickly figured it out!

We had a great trip to Arkansas and a blast at Isaac's party. Thank you to everyone for a great weekend!

Just as a side note...you might notice the band-aid on Isaac's forehead. He decided 2 hours before his party that he wanted to go to battle with the coffee table and the coffee table won. Being a head wound it was a bleeder!! It sure didn't slow him down any!

What is it?

2010-11-17T19:25:00.000-06:00

What is this?

If you said the lid to a bottle you would be correct. But is that the only use for it?

Nope! Isaac thinks that you can hold it in your teeth and use it a a nose! Is that all?

No again! When you get done using it as a nose, you can use it like a ball and throw it! I am happy that I caught the lid actually flying through the air. Look at that face, he is watching it's every move!

11 Months

2010-11-08T15:44:00.000-06:00

Eleven months! Wow! So what is Isaac up to? Well, let me start with a picture.

Isaac is walking, no running everywhere! He is very much in to everything! He loves playing with anything that is not a toy and loves the taste of important papers. Jordan could very easily go to school and say "my brother ate my homework"

He has started babbling a ton this month. He says Momma, Dadda, and Bubba. Just within the last few days he nods his head in a "yes" position.

He cries if I even act like I'm going to leave the room, and then if I actually do, you would think the world was coming to an end.

He is still not sleeping through the night. He is on a schedule for waking up though. He goes to bed about 8:30 every night and like clockwork wakes up at 12:30 and 5:30. For some reason he hates his bed. I'm not sure what hte issue is...he's not in there alone because he shares the room with Jordan. This is something we are really working on.

Up until this past month he was not a nap taker. Now, thankfully he takes a two hour nap every day! This allows for me to get some work and or housework done!

As I write this...he has found some papers to destroy and found where Mommy keeps his baby food. He just emptied about 10 jars off the shelf......

Ohh and remotes. HE LOVES THE REMOTES!!

What a fun but at times frustrating time. I would like to say my house is baby proof but it is not. I honestly don't think there is any way to totally baby proof a home. You always have to be on your toes and watching out for your little one!

I look forward to updating you on how Isaac is doing next month. Later in November we will be having an early first birthday party for him. The theme is Mickey Moues and I am very excited! I still can't believe how fast this year is going!

10 Months Old

2010-10-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Wow!! Isaac is 10 months old today. In the past month he has really taken off with the walking. He is almost running at times!! Here are a few pictures I took this month.

The next picture is of Isaac's first experience with BBQ. We took him to our favorite BBQ place North Main BBQ in Euless. He loved the meat and chicken!

Some of his favorite foods include mac-n-cheese and pretty much any fruit or veggie you throw his way. He loves the baby food ham, chicken and beef (as long as I mix it with something else).

He just recently started being able to drink from a bottle or sippy cup. He has a favorite bottle and a favorite cup and loves when mom puts apple juice in.

He is just growing up so fast. Just tonight I told the family the date for his first birthday party!! Now I just have to find a warm place to have it. I'm not use to having December birthday parties.....Jordan is a May baby!

I can't wait to see what Isaac learns this next month. He is such a smart kid and loves all the attention he gets from all of Jordan's friends!

And just for fun...Here is a picture of me one year ago...Wow..what a difference a year makes!!

5 Ways Babies are like Puppies

2010-10-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

My son Isaac, who will be 10 months old next week, has inspired me to share with you how I feel having a 10 month old is like having a puppy.

Drool drips from the chin. I mean seriously, it's like a water faucet!!
They will chew on anything. I mean anything...Isaac loves paper, cords, shoes, socks, toes (mine and his) and anything else that is left out...
They will eat anything they find on the floor. It doesn't matter how often I vacuum the floor, Isaac will find the smallest of crumbs and eat it...They stand around while you eat hoping you will drop something!
They sit around while you eat just waiting on you to drop something.....while begging for food off your plate.

And finally number 5

They run soaking wet through the house after a bath!! Isaac loves to take off in search of Daddy after his bath every night. Most nights I can get him dried off first but there have been several occasions where he has gotten away soaking wet!

Did I miss any? I had a whole list going in my head but now that I am sitting down to write I can't think of anymore.

Cry It Out?

2010-09-26T01:13:00.000-05:00

Hey friends and family, I need your help. I am having a rough night and I need your input on something.

As many of you know, Isaac is almost 10 months old now and still not sleeping through the night. He still wakes 2-3 times a night to eat (breastfeed). I am trying to break him of this habit and it is very hard on both of us.

Isaac shares a room with Jordan who is 8 and in third grade. Up to this point I have not really allowed Isaac to cry in his bed until he falls back asleep. I have always gone in there and picked him up and took him in another room. Boy am I regretting that now! The minute he wakes up he stands up in his bed and starts screaming because he knows I will come running. I did not do this with Jordan. He would go right to sleep and if he woke up he would just play or talk and fall back asleep. I am clueless as to how to get Isaac to like being in his bed and to lay down and go to sleep.

At 9:30 tonight I fed Isaac and he fell asleep so i put him to bed. He has a light and some soft music that plays. (just started the music last week hoping it would help) About 90 minutes later he woke up. I went in and talked to him and laid him back down. I rubbed his belly and talked softly to him but he continued to cry. The minute I stopped rubbing him he would stand up and start jumping and yelling louder. He has a pacifier in his bed along with his favorite toy, Mickey Mouse, but he wants nothing to do with them. He actually throws them when I try to give them to him.

I had read somewhere that for the first few nights I should stay right beside his bed and talk to and comfort him until he winds down and falls asleep. I tried this for an hour and it didn't seem to be working....He would walk up and down his bed and reach out for me. I feel like me being in there was just making it all worse, so I left the room. He is still in there screaming. I don't think he is hungry and if he is, it is only for the comfort that breastfeeding brings. He is a little wet but only because he has been so worked up for the last 2 hours. The last thing I want to do is pick him up and give him exactly what he wants.

How long do you let him cry? Do you have any other suggestions? I really need input from the fellow moms out there!! Please help! At 10 months old he should really be sleeping more than 3 hours at a time......

Rainbows and Full Moons

2010-09-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

The last two days have reminded me just how amazing our God is.

Yesterday, while rushing around trying to get ready and leave for cub scouts, we went out to find a beautiful double rainbow! There is just something so calming about rainbows. All the stress and anxiety I had been feeling that day left. I watched the rainbow the entire way to scouts and when we got to the church for our meeting it got even brighter! The first picture is of the rainbow outside our house and the next few are of it over the church.

As if that wasn't enough, tonight was a full harvest moon. Tonight marks the end of Summer (HORRRAAYY!!!) and the begining of Fall. The moon was huge and bright and absolutely beautiful. It is hard to catch how pretty it is with my camera. Chris and I were amazed that you could see the dark spots so clear.

I hope you too got to see these!

9 Months Old

2010-09-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to believe that 9 months ago I was in the hospital with my brand new baby boy! He changes daily. Time is going way to fast, I want to push pause and enjoy him at this age for a while longer.

So what is Isaac up to? He is eating everything he can find and put in his mouth. This includes but is not limited to baby food, crackers, bananas, bugs and grass. Yes, he is all BOY!

Isaac is crawling up a storm and has just recently started standing up on his own without holding on. I am sure we are just days away from his first steps!

If it is not a toy he loves to play with it. This includes cords, shoes and remotes.

Isaac's best friends right now are Daddy, Jordan and his toy Mickey Mouse. He loves to bang things together and make lots of noise.

He has discovered how to climb and is practicing that skill every chance he gets.

He will not let mommy leave the room without making is hurt and frustrations known.

Isaac's favorite thing to say is Dadda. He says it all the time while looking around for Chris! He gets so excited with Chris and Jordan get home from work and school.

Isaac is not a sleeper. Just recently he has started taking naps. The last couple of nights he has slept about 11 hours (with waking up 3 times) during the night and taken 2 naps during the day. This is very rare and I like it very much!

I can not wait to see what the coming weeks hold or my little man! Here is a video that is sure to make you smile! For some reason Isaac loves it when I hit myself in the head. In this video I was hitting myself in the head with an empty coke bottle.

Brothers having fun

2010-08-29T16:51:00.002-05:00

I sure wish my cell phone took better pictures!!