prayer request

one of my great employee's husband passed away sunday. i have known lanette for at least three years, well before i bought the store. she is a wonderful lady, who would do anything for you. i got a phone call from her on friday saying she wouldn't be at work on saturday because steve was back in the hospital. he had been in the hospital several times over the past year, but i could tell by her voice that this time was different. i didn't know him well, but what little i did know proved he was a good man. it was too young, only 54.

they have 2 sons, thankfully both are somewhat grown, at least out of school. please pray for them because the path they are now on is not an easy one and any prayers for them would help.

thanks,
tara

wii had a great christmas

sorry i haven't posted earlier. explanation to follow.


santa brought the boys a wii and they have had a blast ever since. we spent all day playing with the toys, games, and wii that he left.


fyi: that stocking of tayte's grandma did not make. i did. it is no where near the quality of grandma's, but the same love went into it. it was my first one and i have to remind myself of that everytime i look at it compared to the others. i did finish lee's this year. so i have two stocking under my belt. i will not be taking orders unless you are fine getting yours in 2-3 years. that's how long it takes me.


each boy got clothes from lee and i, much to their excitement. tayte was too tired to open present so he laid down on the couch for half of his presents.


baylee decided last year that he wanted to buy his brothers a gift and he did the same this year. i insisted that the boys each other board games which was a big hit. we got piranha panic, rhino rampage, guess who extra, cooties, don't break the ice, ants in my pants, and wack-a-mole tower. i would suggest any of these games, we have been playing them a lot, the biggest hit being the don't break the ice. some of these games were from santa we didn't let them buy each other that many. don't break the ice makes a nice ice world for the galactic heroes they got.


i really loved how well the boys played together on christmas. that truly was the best gift. a day with no fighting.

the wii was big fun for us all. i am a super bowler in case you were wondering. papa gave the boys money so they bought extra games. for only have the thing a week they already have a large collection of games. last night we played mario party as a family so it was a blast. here the boys are playing the star wars clone wars light saber duel.






contrary to what it may look we have not had a light saber catastrophe yet.

baylee got the a.t t.e from star wars and was super excited about that. the other boys got more star wars galactic heroes, so for the third year we have had a star wars christmas.

lee got a new computer hence the delay in blogging. here is the problem: we are old school and not wireless in our house. the old computer that i save all my photos on is upstairs not next to the connection. so i finally got my photos from my computer to the portable hard drive santa left me so i could get the photos to my blog. and i don't feel right blogging without photos. i like the extra they add. lee loves his new computer so that is what matters. i don't want to slow down his new computer with the almost 12,000 photos i have already on my hard drive. that is from 2005, holy photo batman that's a lot of pictures.

i made coffee cake with the help of payton. luckily only it was only us that ate this because payton put cinnamon on the biscuit and then licked it off, but still threw it in the pan.

tara

merry christmas

merry christmas to all. i hope everyone had a wonderful day.
one thing we heard in church last night was that the lights on the houses and trees are to resemble the stars the night the angels filled the sky to tell of the birth of jesus. i thought that was really cool because before we went to church we went looking at the lights around town. we may try to make that a yearly tradition.

tara

cookies for santa

rebecca asked what was a christmas tradition we have. so every year for at least the last five years(it could be longer, not sure how old baylee was the first time, but we have done it every year since we started) we have decorated cookies for santa. this year i bought the already cut sugar cookies that all you have to do is bake them. i am really impressed at how well they turned out. to be honest i was a little disappointed at how small they were but in the end they were perfect. small enough where the boys got them all decorated before getting bored. this year we made another change, the accordian tube things from pampered chef. those are the best. if you decorate or plan on decorating cookies with your kids these are a must. i ordered replacement tips so each one could have the circle because i wasn't sure how the fancy tips would work. baylee and i played around with them after we were done and he could make some of the fancy shapes. i will be ordering another set of 3 for next year, i may even get 2 sets. payton could even squeeze the tubes.

tayte hated the tubes said they were too hard, but once i held the end and let him squeeze like baylee was he had a blast. i think it was more that he couldn't do it like baylee.

i always go way over board with sprinkles and toppings we have so many left over each year.

and in the end we had the "drinking" of the left over icing. that was a wonderfully nutritious breakfast.

when i asked tayte if he wanted some he said "no tanks." i just don't get that kid sometimes.

i have learned that if you put a large piece of foil down for each kid most of the sprinkles stay on there and makes clean up a breeze. wad up the foil and throw it away.

the cookies chosen for santa. i am sure he will enjoy them.

tara

texter

i really thought i had at least 5 more years until i had to tell baylee

no more texting.

really he is only 7. he asked about texting the other day. so i let him have my phone and told him to text a message to lee's phone. within a few minutes and several texts later we got to our destination and i took the phone from him.

the next day we were going to amarillo. we decided to eat lunch with lee. i gave baylee the phone so he could text lee to find out where he wanted to eat. then i told baylee to give me my phone so i could get it to aunt rachael's number so he could text her and let her know we would be late. "i already got it, thanks." seriously he figured out how to change people and went wild. in the last 2 days he has probably sent 20 texts. i see unlimited texting in our future. or maybe the newness will wear off and we won't have to worry about it. i also see that i will be communicating with my son through texts. for those of you already there, do you draw the line at yelling at them through texts? lol. the whole thing is so unreal for my to believe it is already starting.

tara

holiday treats

baylee and i spent the good part of the afternoon making holiday goodies.
i am grateful that lee just grabs the camera now. it used to be that i would have to ask him to get it, but he just thinks about it himself. so i am in pictures. he hates the new lense, but he has gotten to where he doesn't complain about it anymore. so i am happy about that.
i just got the new holiday treat cookbook from pampered chef and love it. we made a couple out of there, a cookie that has become our party taker, and a recipe i got from a customer.

we had a rice crispie ornament, chocolate covered brownie with candy cane, the easiest turtles ever, and the mini version of our big cookie. i think they look wonderful. i hope everyone enjoys them as much as baylee and i enjoyed making them. i bought the plate at the dollar store and it held som of the things in fours other things in only twos, so we had to use fancy(not really fancy) styrofoam plates for the rest of the goodies.


there was a huge mess that i tried to vote everyone else clean up, but i ended up cleaning it all up.


tara

surprised

last night i got home late. i went into the boys room to kiss them goodnight and much to my surprise my son had a tattoo. well not one but several. he looked like a "hell's angel" as his teacher today described him. he had them everywhere. two on his stomache, two one each arm, and my personal favorite is one on his neck. i am not opposed to tattoos, but this was crazy. he was so excited about them that today at school he lifted his shirt, pulled up his sleeves, and showed his neck to every teacher that would look. oh, such a proud mother am i.

stomache tattoos

neck tattoo

tara

rumor mill

this has been bugging me for days so maybe by venting here i will finally find peace about it. there is nothing i hate more than rumors. now i am not going to say that i never partake in gossip. if i don't know something to be fact then i will preface it with "this is what i heard, but i don't know if it is true." and usually it is that someone was caught doing this or that. but, it drives me crazy for someone to say something that could have a negative effect on someone. if what you have to say will be hurtful then keep your mouth shut. sorry that is my psa for the day.

tara

christmas frenzy begins

we had the first of our many christmas celebrations tonight, actually our second, but this was the first one that involved the kids. we went to our church ate dinner and visited. then santa showed up. he sat with each of the kids and listened to what they wanted.

baylee went first in our group. he jumped right up and told santa "i want a wii." they visited for a minute and then he got down.

tayte jumped up talked to santa for a while. santa asked what he wanted and tayte told him "i want a wii." this was suprising because up to this point he has said i want a video gamecube. when i told him we have one and what else he wanted he said "we have a gamecube i want a video gamecube." don't ask me what the difference is because he never told me.

payton wanted nothing to do with santa and lee tried to get him a picture by himself. it wasn't pretty.

baylee ran off and i wanted to get a picture with all three so baylee got to stand in line a second time while the rest of us just hung around and visited. when we got up there payton again wanted nothing to do with santa so all five of us got our picture taken with santa. lee holding payton as far from santa as possible.

when we were leaving i told payton to tell santa bye. he walked right up to him furrowed his brow and yelled "sanda. sanda." waved at him, opened his arms for a hug, let santa pick him up, and then wanted to kiss santa. go figure. the kid who wanted nothing to do with him i guess wanted to make sure santa knew he was a good little boy.

tara

baylee's first guitar lesson

baylee was super excited about his guitar lesson. i called home because i knew i wasn't going to get here before they went to bed. he told me all about his guitar lesson. 4,4,4, something or other, 5,4,4, this is the g cord, high e cord. i was really impressed in how much he learned in 30 minutes. he even put me on speaker phone and played a little jingle bells. when he was done i told him the jonas brothers better watch out. which apparently was the exact same thing lee said to him. his teacher is here only until february, which means we can figure out if this is a phase and be done or i will be searching for a new teacher. he really does look cute with his guitar.

tara

my grandma

i did go see my grandma tonight. the whole time i was there i kept seeing the same mannerisms that my dad had. i have always thought that of all my grandma's kids my dad was the most like her. her health is bad. she had that old lady hair that shows you really don't care. strangely enough she had the same hair as my dad. i think donnie has the same receding hairline. the kind that goes way back on both sides but stays at your forehead in the middle.

she sits like my dad with her arms crossed leaning on the table.
coughs just like him with that heaving shoulder thing.

it is funny how these things stood out. i am sure that any of her kids or grandkids could relate her mannerisms to their parent. it was refreshing to see those things again even though they are in a different person.

you can tell she is tired.

when i apoligized for not going to visit she said "i know you are busy and you have a lot going on." i told her that was not a good excuse. she said "well no one else comes either, if you don't have time you can call." so this is my nagging you that are family to go visit grandma, or at least call. but you really should go, it is amazing watching her and cindy together. definite role reversal there. it makes you have faith in people that there are still some that don't send their parents to a nursing home.

tara

its iphone girl

that is how my oldest son greeted me this evening when i got home from work. i used to be a gadget girl. then i went away from it. but now i am back. i usually don't spend money like we have been, but i got a deal on this one. this is how it worked:

daniel gets iphone
i get camera
sell old camera to rachael
daniel gets new job at cell phone place
rachael won't let daniel keep iphone because won't work with new job
tara gets iphone as trade for old camera
everyone happy:)-except daniel who has to use a blackberry pearl :(

so baylee now thinks i am cool because i have an iphone. that is my goal in life for my oldest son to think i am cool(not really, i have never really cared if anyone thought i was cool). i really like it. to bad i hardly get any phone calls on my cell phone. but there are so many other things i can do with it so i am super excited.

tara aka iphone girl

everyone else is doing it...

since everyone else is posting on the weather i thought i would follow suit. it snowed yesterday(ours was here before we went to school-teasing aaron trying to get sympathy from rebecca) and baylee asked me "what is your favorite thing about snow?" that is his thing lately, asking my favorite this or my favorite that. i have intentions of one day making a list of a lot of my favorites. i always get those emails that ask and i am bad about sending them back. i need to take the time to do it. anyway, back to baylee's question. my answer was that it doesn't snow all the time. i think i broke his heart. i had to explain how hard it was to drive in snow, you have to get up earlier than usual when it snows, and remind him how much i hate being cold. that didn't work. he had that excitement that kids get about the snow and wanted me to have it too. he asked several times what my favorite thing about snow was until i gave in and came up with something he approved of. here is to a winter of little snow.

tara

horrible grandchild

once every two weeks for a long time i would go to my grandma's house and clean. then i bought the store and i quit cleaning. i miss the talks with my grandma. she would follow me from room to room and we would talk about whatever or whoever. the boys would go with me and play with her. i got some great pictures of her and the boys. i am sure these will be some of the pictures i cherish for the rest of my life.

now to the title of this post. she has moved in with my aunt and uncle. i don't go visit like a should, hence the horrible grandchild. part of it is that i don't make the time like i should. it is a lot more convenient with her being in amarillo, but i still don't go visit. the other part is that i guess it is confirmation that she is not doing well. her being in cindy's house. they tried to get as much of the furniture from the farm in that one room and it is scary how much like the farm that one room looks. that is the excuse i use to make myself feel better. you have pictures of how things are supposed to be and this new image does not fit that picture.

so i am making a new year's resolution at the end of the year. so i guess it becomes an old year's resolution. i will go visit my grandma. i am not sure how often, but i am going. this week. no more excuses.

i'll let you know when i go.

tara, the horrible grandchild

reasons why i married this man

i am extremely lucky to have lee. he sent flowers on thursday. he does stuff like that. he gets harrassed by his friends, because his friends don't think about things like that. and of course their wives make comments, which they should. he spends time with his kids and it shows. we went out the other night when the planets were next to the moon and looked through baylee's telescope. that is something that i wouldn't have done on my own, it was cold.

baylee is observant like that too. i hope that he learns lots from his dad on how to treat the woman he marries. he is learning to be a great father too(hopefully we still have decades before that happens.) he cares for his brothers. in fact last night he wanted to do something and i told him we needed to eat dinner first. lee and i were talking about what we were going to do for dinner. lee suggested the leftover pizza. baylee went to the fridge, got it out, and heated it up. not just his piece but slices for both his brothers. lee and i being good parents sat on the couch and watched.

lee is a good man and a great father. i am lucky to be married to him.

tara

a year has passed.

a year has passed since i sat in that hospital room that one night, just me and dad. the night nurse was phenomenal. all night she would come in and touch my dad while she looked at those machines. she was patient with me as i asked my questions, she kept my hopes up because during that time hope is what you need. the nurses knew more than they were telling and they were trying to comfort the one person who would remember this time. i am sure now that i was in denial. denial of what was more than likely to be the outcome of this visit. i would sit in the chair. then move to his bedside. then up against the wall. then back to the bed. every time i touched him his back would arch, he would tense up and his eyes would roll to the back of his head. i can still vividly see that image in my head. the nurse tried to comfort me and tell me that there were two possible reasons: one, the medicine they had given him in the er was finally wearing off and he was reacting to my touch, or two, he had gone too long without oxygen to the brain. it was the second reason. sometime in the early morning my mother came back to the hospital and i went home. i tried to sleep because i knew the next day was going to be just as long as the first.

around 8 in the morning the phone rang. lee answered it. after he hung up he told me we needed to get to the hospital. "oh crap" that was all i said. i knew this was the end and all i could say was "oh crap."

when we got to the hospital there was lots of waiting. waiting for amber. it was only fair that she be given the option to be there when dad took his lasts breathes on his own. i found a window and baked in it. the warmth of that window was comforting. i would wait in dad's room. i would leave. i would go back. they had given him more medicine so he wouldn't have seizures like during the night. lots of family came and waited in that one small waiting room. there are so many of us that we could not fit, so we basically took over that hall. we have a way of doing that. i guess there is power in numbers.

the time finally came, we were all there. we each took our turn at his side. to tell him goodbye. to tell him i love you. then they removed the tube. it was the worst thing i have ever seen. and i thought dad's gangrene foot was bad. i will never witness that again. i watch my fair share of grey's anatomy and this is nothing like on the show. to watch someone turn colors, the life leave them. never again.

that night i did the hardest thing i have ever done. i told my oldest child "remember how daddy told you that papa was sick and you needed to pray for him when he dropped you off at school this morning?" i had to tell him his papa died. he looked at me screaming, wailing, crying "but i love papa." if only love could keep someone alive. for a six year old child he understood a lot.

in this year there have been many things that i have missed about my dad.

• the way he would wrap his bottom lip around his upper lip and mustache
• the way he would rest his wrist on the steering wheel as he drove
• how he put his glasses in his hat and set them on the pile of crap at the pharmacy
• how messy the pharmacy was (mark it is not normal and frankly still disturbing how clean it is behind the counter at the pharmacy)
• growing a garden with him (i don't know that i will ever be grown up enough to do one on my own)
• having to tell tayte to hush up when i told him to kiss papa goodbye (he always said papa's breath was bad)
• having dad at my side in church
• having dad at my side at baylee's basketball games
• hearing dad yell "alright, alright, alright" when he was watching a game on tv, at the football field, or playing 42
• the way he rubbed his finger on his thumb
• his daily milkshake
• the way he rubbed the boys hair from the front to the back because he believed it makes babies smarter. it stimulates the nerves in the brain
• his singing even though it was bad
• him pestering the boys all the time
• the love he had for his grandkids
• going to lunch on sundays after church
• i miss people telling me "i saw your dad getting the paper" which by itself is not that weird, the fact that he did it in his underwear is
• i miss watching him brush his hair straight back, i am thankful he never did the comb-over thing
• i am sad that he didn't get to see tayte do the hook em at the funeral home that first day
• i even miss his god awful stinky farts

the list could go on. these are the ones that i wish i could see one more time. all lot has changed in this last year. things are easier now, they say it gets easier with time. i know that my dad is still around. he tries in his own way to let me know. in fact on thanksgiving while i was taking a bath i was listening to my ipod. i had it shuffling through about 180+ songs and this is the order of songs that it played small town southern man, cowgirls don't cry, and you'll be there. i stood in the bathroom crying and yelled "enough i know that you are here." there are certain things that happen that i know he is trying to tell me it is ok. today an ambulance drove right in front of the store, to my knowledge that is the first time it has happened.

i love you dad. and will see you in time.

tara

one year ago today my dad went to the hospital for the last time...

one year ago today i left my house early so i could help get my dad in the car to go to his new doctor. we got him in my mother's car. i told him i love him and would see him later. then i went to work. that was the last time i ever saw him conscious. struggling to get in a car in his driveway. so weak that when he finally got in he was having a difficult time breathing. a man who was raised on a farm, a man that could manual labor and keep up with the best of them, a man whose body was tired.
later i got the call that no one ever wants to get. i answer my phone and all i hear is screaming. there is nothing being said that is comprehensible. somehow i was told or figured out that they were on soncy. where i had no clue. i left my kids at the store and went towards soncy. somehow i found them at furrs. when i got out of my car they were trying to get him in the ambulance. time stopped, but it seemed like days past before we got to the hospital. funny how time can do that. while we were waiting in the parking lot a cop came and starting asking lots of questions. didn't he know that i didn't want to answer those questions, all i wanted was to watch what they were doing to my dad. what was taking soooo long. your brain stops working and your emotions take over. you don't think about anything logical, your heart tells you that all the things they need to save him are at the hospital. i did ask the cop what was taking so long. he replied my dad wasn't stable to travel. that scared me. finally we left and the cop told me not to follow to close, not to run red lights, all these things not to do. seriously, who cared at that point? we made it to the hospital and they had him in the er. again it was forever before they could let us go back and see him. the tore his favorite black jacket. they ripped his longhorn shirt.
they take him to icu. they only let a few of us in there at a time so many of us have to wait in the waiting room. time again stops. sometime that night they shaved his mustache. just like now i had a meltdown. i had to leave the room. i was told it would grow back, but that never happened. when i was little my dad had to shave his mustache for a new job. i freaked out and wouldn't go to him, he wasn't my dad. he later got a new job and grew his mustache out again and never completely shaved it again. i still have the hair that they collected after shaving it.
tayte walked in while i was typing this looked at me and asked why i was crying. i told him it was because i am sad. he said no you are sad because your dad died. i guess when you never cry your kids remember the one thing that makes you cry even a year later.
if you are able scroll through my playlist until you get to the song you can let go now. it really is my story. even though i was not and still am not ready.
today is hard. tomorrow will be harder.

tara

people drive me crazy

why is it when the economy sucks, people suck too? i understand that you are pissed that you can't afford everything you want, but seriously do you have to take it out on me? owning your own business is hard on several levels when the economy is in the toilet. people become more demanding, they are not happy with the selection you have. they don't see that you, just like them, are doing everything you can to pay your bills. i actually had a lady come in a week ago and ask me, "is this all the christmas you have?" i ordered 13 different christmas lines. each line has at least 6-10 different patterned papers and several embellishments. that is at least 70 different patterns of christmas only. if you can't find something out of that you are not going to find anything at all. i am getting tired of the gotta have it now syndrome that our society has become. and not only gotta have it now it has to be exactly like i have it pictured in my head. i can't make do with what you have that could be similar. it drives me nuts. it is no wonder that stores are closing right and left.

my neighbor at the store and i were talking tonight. she had a lady come in last week and ask for something to be ready by tomorrow. my neighbor had it ready today. the lady came in and asked her why she was closed friday and saturday. she had come by both days to pick up her stuff but my neighbor wasn't open. that is when my neighbor looked at her and said "so you took off for thanksgiving too?"

if you have never worked retail you don't understand. and if you have never owned your own business you don't understand. i just wish there was a way to tell people you are being a jackass and not have to worry about them bad mouthing you. because i don't care, the customer is not always right.

thanks for letting me vent. i will try not to do this often. just one of those days.

tara

kids-parents just don't understand

why is it that you can have a toy somewhere and your kids never touch it then you move it planning to take it to the shed and they don't want to let it go? we moved the table from their room planning on getting rid of it out so we could move another table into their room. these little stinkers would not leave this table alone. it was like it was brand new and we have had it for years. i don't understand the minds of little boys.

tara

reconciliation

baylee had his first reconciliation today. he is getting ready for his first communion. i was telling someone the other day he was doing this and they asked what does a 7 year old have to confess. well baylee and i were talking about it last night and he found 3 things that he needed to confess. he was in and out quickly so he must have only talked about the three things we discussed. i will leave those up to him to tell. he looked so handsome today. he loves to dress up and look like lee. here he is doing his penance.

father john said he did a great job. he was a little nervous and was thumbing through the book he took in for help, but did a fabulous job. i am grateful for father john. he is extremely patient and sometimes i know i need that.

tara

the christmas season is here

baylee has been begging for us to put up our tree. i am a firm believer in not putting your tree up until after thanksgiving. so today we decorated our house. we have our traditions we turn the tv to christmas music. lee hauls everything in, it's cold outside. lee puts our fake tree together and wraps lights around it. i take the pictures. this year lee decided to wrap lights up the center before putting all the branches on. i do think that made a big difference.

baylee helped lee this year walk around the tree holding the strand of lights. he loves to help put the branches on as well. the other boys found anything they could do but be in the living room, which is hard because there are no video games until after the tree is complete. after the lights and branches are on everyone helps put on the ornaments. i really like to have a tree that you can tell kids decorated, which translates into all the ornaments are grouped together.

baylee putting the angel on the tree.

this year payton fell asleep during the assembly of the tree so he put his ornaments on later. he was imitating the grinch during this time, i got him to put on three ornaments and that was all. the few pictures of me during were taken by baylee. he wants me to be in the pictures as well. i always give him the same speech before i hand my camera over. but i am really impressed with how well he can take a picture. he took 4 to get this one with me only changing one setting. he is not too shabby.

i really needed this day to put me in the spirit. i really dislike the holidays, even more after my dad died. i hate the rush that i always feel: have to go here, have to leave now, now go do this. i am a real laid back kinda person and the hectic time really bums me. the last couple of years have been better because we stay at home christmas day. everyone in their jammies all day playing with the things santa left. i need to be better for my kids sake. we spent the whole day today running errands as a family and decorating as a family so maybe a few more days like today and i will be all the way in the mood.

i'll add the pictures in the morning.

tara

it's not even thanksgiving yet...

it drives me absolutely bananas. people already have their christmas lights up and ON. i completely understand putting you lights up when the weather is nice.

in fact lee and baylee did that last weekend. don't worry we only left baylee up there for the afternoon and then went back after him. he didn't yell too much.

but come on. let thanksgiving be over before you turn them on. why don't you just leave them on all year round? it seems each year it gets earlier and earlier that stores put christmas stuff out to sell and people start decorating earlier and earlier. enjoy the holiday that is here and quit hoping for the next one.

not really. we didn't even leave the yard the whole time he was on the roof.

i remember putting the christmas lights up with my dad. he would put me on his shoulders and we would walk along the house sticking the lights up there. i remember being really scared and thinking that he was going to drop me. but he never did. he may have moved a little too quickly for my liking but he never let me fall. i hope baylee has those same memories some day.

sorry for the rant.

tara

dinner tonight

we went to eat dinner at logan's. while we were there lee gets a call from a friend saying they are playing cards. lee tells him he'll be there and hangs up.

baylee looks at him and asks "who's gonna watch us?"
lee looks at him,
"you have a mother."
"oh."

lee laughs at me and says i want you to blog that. implying that i am never around the boys. apparently the time from 8 am until he picks them up at 5pm doesn't count as time with the boys. and from 5pm until 9pm when they go to bed is days long. even if i get home at 11pm we are both with them until they go to school. baylee just thought that i had more stuff to do at the store and wasn't going home with them.

so i blogged that. he can't say that i don't tell all the stories.

tara

the polar express

we left panhandle early enough to do a little shopping before we went to lubbock. the boys got kung fu panda to watch on the way there. i am thankful for dvd players in cars. the ride there was great. we ended up in lubbock about the time the movie ended. we met daniel's family at fuddruckers and had dinner before we went to the train depot. when we got there a long line had already formed, but i thought it was great. we were almost to the end so we didn't have to feel like we were in a rush to get on the train we could take our time, perfect for picture taking. as we were standing waiting i got some great shots of the boys looking at the train.
the best part about most of my photos is that they are not staged. most of them are the boys in the moment. i loved how the light made the perfect shadows on the boys. every child was in their pjs and even some adults. i searched everywhere for these jammies and was super excited when i found them. my favorite photo is this one:

baylee has already started asking the question but when i took this photo the light was right and the magic ticket showed. the tickets are a baby blue very similar to the ones you get at the movie theatre, but because of the magic of santa this one turned green. then we heard it.


"all aboard"




just like the movie. you climbed on and found your spot. we were upstairs on top level of the car. i was so impressed with how hard they tried to make you feel like you were in the movie. there was singing, dancing, balls thrown in the air, hot chocolate and cookies. the conductor came by to punch the tickets. they read the story while we went to the north pole. you could walk around and you had to be careful because the train rocked, a lot. then we got to the north pole surprisingly enough it doesn't take long to get from lubbock to the north pole. they did tell us when we got on that it may not look like we are going fast but we were speeding through quickly. santa was waiting on his own train with all the elves jumping up and down. they were so excited to come onto our train. santa came on and talked with every child. he gave every child their own bell. baylee loved it. the bell was his favorite part. tayte didn't want to ride the train, but as soon as he saw santa he changed his mind for a minute (he always needs nudging for everything). payton wasn't sure about santa either. he did take the bell though.


the elves came on with santa and talked to the kids as well. baylee had a long conversation about the wii. according to this elf they spend a lot of time playing wii on the north pole. i always thought they made toys all year but apparently they try the toys out to make sure they work. also santa says he doesn't make the wii's. he has elves that make the electronic gadgets. the elf talked with baylee for quite some time. the other boys weren't quite sure about her either.


lee was not impressed. he wanted more. he has forgotten that you have to view these things through the eyes of a child and not have such high standards. but i am grateful that he went and he didn't complain to much and he even took some photos. he really is a great dad.


on the train ride back to lubbock there was jokes being told, more singing, and more dancing. the elves said there were no parents dancing but i have the pictures to prove that i danced. rachael made fun of me saying that i look 12 so that is why the said none of the parents danced.


i also noticed that santa is either worried about his health or mrs. claus is using fat free ingredients. he has slimmed up some since i last saw him.


i am glad that we went. i am grateful that i have a friend who finds out about these things and spreads the word. i get so much pleasure out of watching the boys during events like this. i hope we can keep this magic for ever. i may have to pull out the ticket picture just to prove the magic behind the whole thing. i would recommend this to anyone with small kids. you may not enjoy it as much as they do, but to see their face when santa walks aboard is all you need.



tickets for a family of 5: $95
dinner for 5: $40
gas to get there: $30
watching your children through this ride: priceless.


tara

boy scouts

monday was boy scouts. you have to start out with the pledge of allegiance and prayer. you also have to do the boy scout salute. this is payton's interpretation.

it was awards day for various things. badges were given to the scouts who move up. those who earned different belt loops at camp. there were prizes and badges for popcorn sales. baylee sold over $600 dollars in popcorn. way to go. you got to choose from several different prizes and this is what baylee wanted. he got a telescope and microscope. every day for the longest time he asked when his prize would be in. the popcorn came and was delivered, but no prizes. he was super excited about this.

then to finish the night the boys were supposed to bring a collection and talk about it. baylee brought his seashell collection. i was really afraid he was going to pull each shell out and tell where he got it. i think he made it through around 10 before i could catch his eye and tell him that was enough.

it was a good meeting.

side note: baylee has really become interested in reading my blog while i type it. really annoying especially when your 7 year old catches your typos.

tara

my me.

until payton we never had a kid that had to have a specific thing to go to sleep. baylee loved his elephants but never had to have a specific one, as long as we grabbed one when we headed out the door that was fine. tayte is so easy going that nothing really phases him, so he didn't need anything. then came payton. somehow this blanket became his "me." not quite sure how it came to be this blanket or even why it is called a me, but everyone knows what to look for or grab when we talk about payton's me. he has always been a blanket over the face kind of kid. it use to freak women out at the store that i would lay him in the floor and as soon as i put his blanket over his face he would quit crying. now i didn't leave it there for hours, but if you pulled it off he would fight to get it back on. so he has a me. and he sleeps with it every night. when he wanders from bed to bed he brings his me. the other night he came crying into our room saying his me was stuck. i went into the room to see and when he pointed to where it was i could quit laughing. lee and i had been fighting him all night to get in his bed and stay in his bed. so he climbed into bed with baylee and baylee rolled over onto payton's me. it was stuck and payton couldn't get it. you can see the love this blanket has been given. thankfully that is the only tear we have and this blanket lasts until payton is ready to give it up.

well after payton had a me, tayte saw the affection and care he took to his me and decided he needed a me. so we have larry the cucumber. we have had this stuffed doll for ever and no one really played with it. then tayte took it over and decided it was his me. now him and baylee fight over it all the time. but it goes to tayte because he decided it was his me. that one thing that you cherish and love. now you find larry everywhere you find tayte. and if tayte leaves it in another room payton brings it to him because you always have to have your me.

finally, baylee decided he needed a me. since i am all about them being kids as long as possible and keeping their innocence i let him find one. again another stuffed animal that no one ever played with became something that you have to kiss and hug goodnight as you kiss and hug the children. but, i am sure that baylee would never admit to his friends that he sleeps with a dog.
so we will love these cherished belongings as long as the boys see fit. and then we will pack them up and give them back to them when times get hard. because what sooths us as kids usually can make things a little better as adults.

tara

why's

i am reverting back to a 2 year old:

why does ice cream sound so good when it is cold outside?
why when things are hard do people have to be mean? don't they see that is it hard for lots of people and by being nice you might make someone's day?
why are plaid coat-topped pj sets so hard to find? i seriously checked out 7-10 different places.
why do people feel they are entitled to certain luxuries just because they breathe?
why does that woman walk her bike almost every day? i have seen this lady walk her bike any where from highland park almost to the big texan. why?
why am i still tired after i wake up in the morning?
why do i feel like i haven't done something if i don't post something every day?

these are just some of the things i wonder. if you can answer them feel free, especially the one about the lady walking her bike. or add your own why's.

tara

i lost my child today

don't freak out he is here beside me now, but...

also, remember that people lose their kids all the time and find them so the story i am about to tell is not the first nor will it be the last time this story is told. or maybe he ran away. and also remember that i did break a mirror the other day so my 7 years are beginning (maybe the last year can count as time served).

tayte had a couple of friends over to play. they were running in and out of the house so i left the backdoor open. it could do the house some good to get some fresh air in, right? anyway payton went outside, he came in, went back out and so on. he was upstairs in his room pulling every toy out of the crate the last time i saw him. i went about changing sheets, washing sheets, picking up and so on. well it had been a while since i had heard anything from him. he can spend a lot of time in his room so i ran upstairs to check. not in his room.

not in the bathroom (another favorite place because of the water).

not in my room (loves to pull out all my scrapbook stuff).

checked his room again, maybe in the closest, or under the table. nope.

checked in the backyard. yelling his name. nothing.

at this point i am beginning to freak out. he will answer when i yell at him.

go back in the house to see if he is inside, i must have missed him. yell at tayte and caden to help me find him.

surely he didn't get in the front yard. he can't open the front door or the door that leads to the garage-God bless a settling house. i ran in the front yard, yelling his name like a crazy person, and across the street there he was. the lady who lives 4 houses and an empty lot down the street had him.

he had been gone long enough to walk down the street, stand in the ditch crying, her find him, her walk him back down the street checking each house for someone who knew who this kid was. all the people on our block who know us were at work. and usually the boys play in the backyard so the old guy across the street didn't know who he was either. she was about to call the police and the two things that would have brought him back home were: most of the police force know us (no we are not in trouble the police-chief of police lives down the street) and the other thing is the little stinkbug had taken a card baylee had made that had a picture with baylee, tayte and i on it.

that is another reason we love living in a small town. this bad situation could have been worse. much worse. much, much worse. but he is home without anything wrong with him. except maybe his eardrums are sore for me yelling at him that he can't wander off like that. that little stinkbug.

tara

missing lee

lee had to go to san antonio for work. he left sunday and won't be back until tomorrow. we really make a good team and divide the parenting tasks equally (or pretty much equally). so to go 3 days without him has been hard. i have felt like a single mom and not so much a fan of it. don't think i will be doing it anytime soon. there are tons of other reasons i will be staying with lee but, that is for another post. i've not really enjoyed getting into bed by myself. the upside though is that i could lay in bed and watch tv until i wanted to stop. i like the feeling of knowing that lee (even though very ocd) locks every door.

i have not been the only one missing him. each night the boys have talked to him on the phone to tell him goodnight. tonight tayte started crying. it was a long day and to add to it not seeing his daddy was more than he could take. he is used to his daddy picking him up from the store everyday and getting to come home. so since that was not the case he was already in a mood. baylee is older so he understands but, that still doesn't make it any easier. i noticed his voice kinda soften when he told his dad goodnight. he asked if he was coming home tomorrow a couple of times. payton has been non-stop since sunday. he definitely is acting different so i think he misses his daddy as well. he even pointed to the office earlier today and said "daddy."

lee says with his promotion there could be more traveling. we all are ok with a night but, three nights is hard on us all. we only have to make it one more night. we can do it.

tara

i've been tagged

ok tag, and i'm it! my friend tammy tagged me and mentioned that this was a good way for jump starting your blog when you seem to be in a blogging rut. link the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

*share 7 random/weird facts about yourself.
*tag 7 other people and link to them at the end of your blog.
*let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment.

1. i don't eat cheese often. it is the texture thing. gross.
2. rachael calls lee's friends and us saved by the bell: the married years because most of us met and dated in high school.
3. in high school i once dated 3 guys that were friends and guess still are friends. not at the same time one after the other.
4. even though payton will be the death of me i still want a fourth child. as i type this he squirted half the boys toothpaste in the sink.
5. i always have a jacket in my car especially in the summer.
6. i only wanted to boys and then no more children.
7. my best friend growing up was also named tara.

now i tag 7 people. some of these people may not even know i blog yet. hehe. they are rebecca, jen, cassie, brenda, and brandi sorry that's all i got.

i had to think about some of those.

tara

shouldn't have gotten out of bed

do you ever have those days when you know you should just climb into bed and pull the covers over your head? that day was today. this is how my day went:
first thing this morning:

baylee: mom come see what payton did to my bed
me: what did he do?
baylee: just come see.

so i walk into the boys' room. my eyes for some reason where so dry. i opened them and i swear i ripped my eye in half. (this evening as i type this my eye still hurts). i look at baylee's bed and there are circles the size of softballs, purple, orange, yellow and green. some time in the middle of the night payton got up got markers out of the closest and colored his skin and left the lids off and laid them in baylee's bed. luckily he didn't color baylee's skin, because there was no time to take a bath before school. and according to baylee, "luckily i am wearing long sleaves." they both had marker all over their skin.

this was the rest of the day:

• pulling out of the garage (running late because payton wouldn't get in the car) knocked the passenger side mirror and shattered it. $85 to replace.
• get to work have a customer ask: aren't you the only scrapbook store in town? (yes.) oh, i thought you would have had a better selection being the only scrapbook store in town. i found what i wanted at hobby lobby but i didn't want to buy a whole pack. (what i wanted to reply was go buy at hobby lobby i don't want your snootiness buying 2 sheets of paper. instead i just let her look and walked away). the joys of owning your store. (side note: there are a few girls that i met at the store please remember to take everything i say about the store with a grain of salt. i truly love owning the store, just every once in a while as with any job it sucks and i need to vent.)
• for some reason the boys were extra whiney-so they took a nap to save everyone's sanity.
• raced back to panhandle to go to boys scouts.

now it is time to go back to bed. tomorrow can't be any worse- equally as bad just not worse.

tara

it's a small blogosphere after all

ok. my first weird blog connection.

my friend tammy started a blog. she follows three blogs: mine, karen russell (scrapbook celeb) and kari's. i know kari so i decided to see what they have been up to since they moved. i was looking at her blog list. there was one that stood out, so i click on it. i thought the name looked familiar and sure enough it was one i had seen before. it is the blog of jen's (my cousin's wife) friend from forever. that is not the only blog they have in common:
the pioneer woman
patiently waiting for heaven
and now my blog.

i had no idea that jen and kari would be linked at all, but to have several blogs that they both are interested in still is crazy to me.

crazy.

crazy.

tara

bowl-a-rama

what was i thinking?

kelley's girlfriend's son, jayden, had a birthday party at western bowl. we have never taken the boys bowling, but i decided to take them. it wouldn't have been a big deal except lee is out of town until wednesday. so i, the single mom of 4 days, decided to go to this party. i am really glad we went the boys had a blast and i got some great pictures. the poor lady who's son played with us. the boys weren't bad. they just were going 90 mph the entire time. i never sat down. it worked out really well that all of our kids were together. mackie, caden, tayte, and wyatt were on one lane. baylee, payton, will (poor lady's son), and leah were on the other lane. so we were on the end together. away from the majority of the people. the boys had a blast. for the most part. i had a 3:1- kid:adult ratio. so i really messed up the odds. everyone one else had a better ratio so when they could they did help out. this is what happens when 7 kids bowl with 4 adults supervising. at least to my kids.

payton wouldn't quit pushing the balls trying to get them in the hole they come out of.

tayte hurt his hand within the first 5 minutes of us being down by the lanes.

baylee was my lifesaver. if it wasn't for him i wouldn't have gotten to take any pictures. he kept helping payton get his ball up on the rack so he could push it down. he is growing up too fast. i did tell all the boys before we left the car to stay with me, but that was all. baylee saw that i could use some help and without me asking really showed what a great big brother he can be.

around frame 8 payton had a meltdown and was done.

tayte hated bowling, then he liked it, then he hated it again. at least thats what he said in the car.

baylee wanted to keep playing after our game so he became everyone. at least until we went to play video games.

baylee and caden each had a strike. payton, mackie, caden, and wyatt each had a spare. pretty impressive since they are all under the age of 4 except baylee. caden won by a lot, then wyatt, mackie and finally tayte. for the other lane i think baylee won, then will, leah and payton (not sure on this one because i didn't get to see the final frame).

all in all we had fun and i will do it again. after a long rest-kinda like childbirth, to forget the pain. and when their daddy can come.

tara