Not much time

I don't have a lot of time to update this like I had hoped. My mom is feeling terrible today and I need to get her to the hospital again this morning for the 2nd half of her thyroid scan.

I will get on here as soon as I can and update

Random thoughts

I've got tons of pictures and lots to update everyone on. We are on our way out the door, we have to take my mom to the hospital this morning for her thyroid scan.

I will write tonight so watch for lots of new stuff :)

MIA

I haven't been able to update this because my mom has been really sick. She's still sick and still at home so I'm taking care of her on top of what I usually do.

I will write when I can but I will be MIA probably until she is better and back at work

What a week

First, I have to say this before I forget--

Ryan has some really amazing people that have sponsored him for his Diabetes school walk! I'd love to mention them on here but I don't think that's the right thing to do. I was telling Ryan this morning how this was more than just a walk around the school, it was a chance for him to see how generous people are and how everyone wants to work together to fight diabetes.

Mom had been sick the last 2 days. She had some problems with her blood pressure. She seems to be ok now, she's back at work today. Hopefully she feels well enough to make it through the whole day.

Kaleigh was sick on Tuesday (the day mom was sent home from work) but she has recovered from that.

I spent most of the last two days taking care of mom, cooking her meals, getting her up to use the treadmill and making sure she was feeling ok. I think this was a huge wake up call that she just needs to start making a change. I told her not to do it just for herself but to do it for Ryan. I think she's inspired.

I'll write more later, I have to catch up on laundry and house work.

Little Miss is sick

That's right, Kaleigh is sick. We got up earlier than normal today and got ready to take Ryan to school. I told Kaleigh that because she was so good yesterday, I'd take her to HEB and we'd get some donuts for breakfast. We went there, got half way through the store and she started whining.

She didn't stop whining until about 30 minutes ago when she crawled up on the couch, got under the blanket and laid down. I just checked her temp and it was right around 100. Now we get to look forward to the constant temperature checking and medicine. I sure do hate when she's sick.

Yesterday when Ryan got home from school, I checked his school work. He got the following scores on his work; 20, 57, 67, 75, 92

We got busy on correcting that work so he can take it back in.

Here are some pictures from yesterday and today, I'll write more when I can.

Revolting developments and general confusion

So I didn't post much on here because I was sick and Kaleigh wasn't feeling well at all yesterday so I didn't have a chance to really sit down and write.

Yesterday morning my mom and I were going through Ryan's backpack and ran across a letter from the Gifted and Talented teacher. The letter started off saying that we should be proud of how creative Ryan is and he shows great potential blah blah blah. Then it goes on to say that Ryan's test scores fell below the required score to get in to the program!!! I was so confused. Ryan would have tested better if it was one on one with an adult but they did it as a group of 3. On one side of him was his best friend since Kindergarten (Bryan) and on the other side is a good friend he's known since he was about 4 years old (Brylie, who is also Trisha's daughter). So naturally he goofed off, I can understand that.

Later we find, not just in his backpack but also hidden in his room, tests, school work and homework that he received 50's and 60's on!!!

Needless to say we are VERY concerned. He went from an A student to a failing student in about a month. He went downhill after his accident on the playground. It all made sense why he didn't get in to gifted and talented after finding those papers with failing grades.

He says that he doesn't understand what he's supposed to do and doesn't understand the money work. He suddenly doesn't know that 3 quarters equal 75 cents. I'm not sure what's happened to him.

So we all had a long talk yesterday about how important school is and about the grades he's bringing home might be bad enough to keep him in 2nd grade another year. That scared him. I told him it was important to turn in work that he's proud to put his name on and that if he is confused or needs help to never be afraid to ask his teacher for help. He thinks if he asks for help that it means he's "stupid".

Because of the low grades and the fact that he was hiding them from us, he won't be allowed to get on the computer and play his transformers game until the grades come up. He also is not allowed to do anything when he gets home from school until his homework is complete and 100% right.

I'll write more later, but there are pictures below for you all to look at :)

This shirt says it all!!! :)

Now I found a set of 4 of these, they all have a different soup recipe on them. I know what you're thinking, "so what" :) Well my grandma used to have these exact same cups and when I saw them at a yard sale, I got them ALL!

A really old camera from 1953

Probably the first compact camera made by Kodak, this was made in 1957 I think.

It's time to fall back...

Well I've been sick since Friday afternoon. It seems to be a sinus infection. Yesterday I went with Ryan to some yard sales and found some really good stuff. I started to feel better yesterday afternoon so I went to Wal-Mart with Ryan to buy blinds for his room but when we were about to leave there, I kept feeling like I was going to pass out.

I still feel bad, usually the worst part is in the morning and then it comes in waves after that.

Ryan will go to church again this afternoon and I think before he goes we will go pick up pecans again from the front yard.

I'll post some pictures of some of the things I bought at the 7 yard sales I went to yesterday and maybe some new pictures of the kids.

I'll write more later

Halloween Recap

We had a blast!

Yesterday afternoon we went over to Sandy's for about 2 hours. Kaleigh wore her costume only about 15 minutes though. She had so much fun out there. She got to ride in the cart and on the riding mower with Grandma. Sandy sent home a bag of goodies for both Kaleigh and Ryan.

After that we went by Great Aunt Debbies (she lives 2 houses down from Sandy) and surprised her with a visit. She wasn't expecting any trick-or-treaters so she didn't have any candy but she gave Kaleigh $5 and told her to get candy for herself and some for Ryan too.

We got home about 5 mins before Ryan's bus pulled up. I paid for another month of bus service for Ryan and then we came in the house and cleaned a little before it was time to go out for the night.

Mom came home and told me that Kyle at Covert called her at work (after she specifically told him the day before to NOT call her at work again) and he yelled at her for wanting to know the warranty information on the car. She ended up hanging up on him. He's a jerk! I told her we'd not think about or look at cars until Saturday and then we'd go up to Benny Boyd (about 3 miles away) and see what they can do for us. They have a "no haggle" policy so what you see is what you get. All their used cars come with warranties so that's a bonus. I told her if things didn't work out with Benny Boyd that we'd put money into the Mazda to keep it running until Christmas and then the Monday following our Christmas Party, we'd go to another dealership and try again. I figure that close to the end of the year they will really be willing to work with us.

We left here at 5:30 and walked across the street to Kristi's house first. After that we went about 5 blocks down on Main Street and entered Kaleigh in the costume contest for 0-3 year olds. The lady was rude and I wasn't very friendly back to her. Kaleigh didn't win but at least one of the top three winners actually deserved it. After that we tried to find Trisha but she was eating at Anita's and couldn't slip away. Her husband knows literally everyone in Bastrop so when they go out, it's a big event.

We left Main Street and walked to Pecan Street and started Trick-or-Treating. We went to probably 15 houses, it was still early so not everyone was handing out candy. After that we went to the Church festival and played a couple games then came home.

We tried to get pizza delivered but because we are in downtown Bastrop, surrounded by all those events, they couldn't even get to us to make the delivery.

Kaleigh passed out shortly after we got home, she slept good last night.

In about 30 minutes we are going up to Wal-Mart to get her a couple pairs of pants and some more socks.

Here's the Halloween Past and Present Video I just made. There are bunches of pictures in there :)

I'll write more later

Major apology!

I am so sorry I haven't been keeping up with this. It's not for lack of trying though. Things get so crazy around here so fast.

I will probably only post one more time today on here. Kaleigh and I are going to visit Sandy this afternoon then we will do the trick-or-treating thing with Ryan tonight. I'll post some pictures and video of that. Kaleigh tried on her costume yesterday and she looked so cute. I took pictures but I'm not going to post them until tonight.

Kaleigh got up this morning and said she didn't feel good, she said her tummy was hurting. If she still doesn't feel good then I might not take her out tonight. We'll just have to see how it goes today. She has had a runny nose for a while now but this thing with her tummy is getting a little ridiculous. It's like every week she has trouble. I need to start a journal so I can figure out if it's something she's eating or if it's a food allergy of some kind.

Ryan started his "official" testing for Gifted and Talented on Monday. I just found out about it yesterday though. He was telling me he won't get in to the program because he's "not THAT smart". I told him not to think like that, I told him that he was extremely smart and that Miss Morgan would see that. She's been working with him for a month now so I know she has recognized the difference between him and other kids.

The new car drama that won't end. I mean that statement basically sums it up right? Yesterday Kyle at Covert called mom (at work) about every 15 minutes. He wants to get her in a car with NO WARRANTY at first for $300 a month and now for around $200 a month. She's going to tell him today that if she takes it with no warranty, she wants the car for closer to $100 a month so she has wiggle room for repairs if it needs it. I don't think that's too terribly unreasonable. She can get a 2006 PT Cruiser with low miles and a 12 month warranty at another dealership in town for the SAME monthly payment. I think we are going to talk to them on Saturday.

I just got Kaleigh's bath started, she's all kinds of excited about today. Regardless if she can go out tonight or not, she'll get to wear her costume this afternoon and have fun with her Grandma.

I don't feel very good this morning. I'm really shaky. I thought I needed some caffine but my coffee is making the shakes go away so maybe I need sugar.

I got a bunch of sleep last night. I was asleep before 8pm :)

Ok I'll right more later, too much to do and not enough time

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

No rest for...

me!!

I thought I'd get a weekend off but that didn't happen. Saturday I was up early and started rearranging the back porch (it's like a sun porch) and then I went grocery shopping for Ryan. Then in the evening, Ryan asked me to go throw the football around to him so I did. That lead to a basketball game which I had to let him win because he told me "If you win, I'm going to cry harder than you've ever seen". I laughed so hard when he said that.

And then yesterday I mowed the front yard. I took Ryan and Kaleigh out before that and we picked up pecans in the yard. We must have 10 lbs at least in the kitchen now and there are a bunch of pecans still sitting out there.

Our neighbor brought over two hedge bushes that she pulled out of her yard. I planted both of those and she said she'll bring one or two more over depending on how much space she needs to make.

Ryan went to church yesterday, Kaleigh was a good girl so all in all Sunday was good.

Now today, I feel so sick. I think it's from being outside so much.

I'll post some pictures and maybe a video a little later.

Brrrrr...

The cold front came in at 5:28 this morning! It was cold and rainy until about 7:30 am and now it's just cold.

I woke up at about 5am and Kaleigh woke up around 6:30 this morning. I got her all dressed and bundled up so we could walk Ryan across the street to catch his ride to school.

I'm posting this early because I'm going to be busy most of the morning. I have to burn a DVD for a family member and I've got some cleaning to do. Yes, I'll probably do laundry too :)

I LOVE this time of year. The weather for the rest of the week is going to be perfect. I think every day, Kaleigh and I will have a picnic in the backyard and I'll take her to the park for a special picnic on Thursday.

Mom has another meeting after work tonight, it's called E3. A bunch of influential people in the community get together and plan out things for the school and troubleshoot. It's a cool thing that she gets to do but it's complicated by our car trouble. We'll take her to the meeting at 6pm but we won't be able to pick her up at 8pm because of the trouble with the headlights on the car. Have I mentioned yet how happy I'll be when this car drama is over??

Kaleigh is in a great mood today, hopefully it will carry over to the afternoon. Everything usually starts falling apart around 10am when her nap time is getting close.

Here are some pictures as promised. I'll write more later

Kaleigh and Ryan playing on the back porch on Saturday.

Ryan playing with his army toys.

This is Kaleigh running around on the back porch Sunday morning in her PJs.

The life of a cat must be amazing! This is how Baby Kahn and Sasha spent the weekend.

Here's Kaleigh this morning with her special winter rain gear on.

And finally, here's Ryan just before we left to take him to catch his ride.

It's a new day...

Obviously I didn't make the evening post. I think I need to change the update time in the evening. So now I'll update at 10am, 2pm, 4pm and 8pm (CST).

Mom is stressed out today. Something happened at work yesterday and unfortunately she will have to take the blame for it. I think some people have it out for certain other people and because the person that started it all is working in mom's office, she has to take the heat for it. She is so nervous and scared. It will only be a lecture but still, nobody likes to get in trouble at work. She thinks that if she just lays still that the principal will just sniff her and leave her alone. I told her to apologize constantly and maybe he'll get tired of hearing it and let her leave his office.

Kaleigh woke up in the most amazing mood today. The first thing she asked me was "where are Mimi and Ryan". I told her that Mimi went to work and that Ryan was at school but they'd be home really soon.

I've done 4 loads of laundry already, I've got a lot more to do though. I did all the towels last night so the hardest part is over. I just have a lot of folding and hanging up to do today.

Today is Ryan's picture day at school. He's very nervous that everyone will be able to see the scar on his head. I told him to just tilt his head up slightly and look to the right a little and it should be ok.

I've come to the conclusion that Ryan was accepted into the Gifted and Talented program. He meets with this specific teacher every other day of the week and they do one on one time once a week. I asked him if he was the only one in his class that got to do that and he said yes. They do special projects that the other kids don't get to do. Nothing official has come from the school yet so I'm not 100% sure. Mom says they may do that with him because he's "high risk" because he doesn't have a dad. The teacher was talking to him yesterday about marriage and divorce. I guess she wanted to know more about the situation between mom and Ryan's dad. Ryan said he didn't know but all he knew was that he didn't have a dad.

The cats are in their usual spots. Sasha is hiding under the bed and we won't see her until 3pm when Ryan gets home. Baby Kahn is in the window and Derby is laying on the chair.

It was nice and cool this morning, cool enough to where I needed to wear a light jacket. I love this time of year!!

So like I said yesterday, Halloween is coming and I'm so excited. This is the first year that Kaleigh REALLY understands what's going on. Last year she kind of got the idea but this year she's super excited about it. We usually leave the house at 5:30pm and walk to the street behind us to do our trick-or-treating. They block off the entire street and all the kids in the area go there to do their trick-or-treating. Then towards the end of that street (about 2 blocks from our house) the church has this festival. It's free to go to and they have games and stuff for the kids where they can win Halloween prizes. The only thing you'd have to pay for is food or drinks. Last year we didn't get back from doing all that until after 7pm but this year I'd like to be home earlier.

I'm feeling better today, not in as much pain as I have been. I've got to look for Kaleigh's winter clothes this weekend and pull out all the things she can still wear so I can determine how much money I'll need to spend on clothes. The great thing is that I think she can wear almost everything from last year. :)

Every day that passes we are one day closer to Melody's visit! I'm sooooo excited! I can't wait to see all of them again and I know Kaleigh is excited too. She asks every day if "Miss Melody" is coming.

I should have some pictures to post later on, depending on if anything exciting happens. I think the dryer is done so it's time to move everything and start a new load of laundry.

I'll write more later

Exhausted yet calm

So yeah, you probably noticed that I didn't post at 11pm last night. I fell asleep with Kaleigh at about 8pm. I didn't mean to fall asleep but I was so tired that I just couldn't stop myself.

So here is how last night went:

I went grocery shopping, spent $68 on food and lots of tylenol. I got home and for some reason I was shaking. I made dinner for the kids (mom went out to eat with some friends). Ryan took his bath at 6:30 and was out by 7pm, just in time to watch Kid Nation. Do any of you watch that show?? Last night was probably the best episode to date.

Anyway mom gave me specific instructions to have Ryan in bed at 7:30 so when that time rolled around I told him to go lay down in bed and turn on the radio. He whined and pleaded but I told him that mom said he needed to go to bed. He came up with every excuse to get out of bed, first he needed a drink then he needed to finish his homework and then he was hungry again. Finally mom got home around 8 and put an end to Ryan's stalling.

It was shortly after that when Kaleigh and I crawled into our beds and fell asleep.

This morning I woke up around 6:30, took my usual round of tylenol and antibiotics and then walked Ryan across the street to Kristi's house. Kristi offered to give Ryan a ride to school in the mornings until we finalize this new car thing or until the time changes (whichever comes first). Kaleigh slept in until 7:45 and she woke up in a great mood. She's been in the living room playing quietly and watching her morning cartoons.

At 9:30 we are going to run my mom's lunch to her at work (she forgot to take it with her this morning) and then we'll come home and Kaleigh can take her nap.

I just took some pictures of Ryan's artwork and his "fish tank" that he made yesterday, hope you all enjoy them!

I'll write more later

Here is the fish tank, it's kind of hard to see. I must have been too close when I took the picture. That redish thing to the left, that's his "fish"

This is MY favorite of all the things that Ryan has made.

I'll be honest, I have no idea what this is but it's pretty neat.

Ok for those of you that don't have little boys around, this is a Transformer :)

Ryan is making his own book called "Kat Kong", I'm not sure if he's copying a book he picked up at the library or if this is really his own creation. This is the cover to his book.

This is mom's favorite. It seems like it's been on the refridgerator for YEARS but apparently it's only been since March 2, 2007.

And so it begins

Fall is here, the leaves are falling, the mornings are cool and cloudy and let's not forget---all of the children are getting sick!

Sunday Kaleigh was really sick. She was throwing up all day and wasn't able to keep anything down. Last night, Ryan was up most of the night doing the same thing. So needless to say, he is home with us today and in case you are wondering...it's insanity!


You wouldn't know it to look at him, he doesn't even look sick and certainly doesn't act like he's sick. I like having him around but he's always on patrol (he's like an undercover police officer).


So Ryan woke up at 7am, Kaleigh woke up shortly after that at 7:15. They sat down, had their toast and started watching PBS. See, Kaleigh and I have this routine where we take Ryan to school and then come home to have breakfast and she watches her favorites on TV (Curious George, Clifford, Super Why and Dragon Tales). While she's watching those, she'll come check on me or try to help me with what I'm doing but it is our morning quiet time and I enjoy that. After Dragon Tales is over, she knows it's nap time and/or quiet time. I don't really care if she naps or not just as long as she "rests".


When you throw Ryan into our daily routine, it makes it complicated because he's so active. So far it hasn't been too bad though. I've had to get on to Ryan about running around and yelling (more proof he's not THAT sick) and Kaleigh has been good.


I still don't feel good, I'm hoping I start feeling better soon though. I think some of it has to do with the weather but a big part of it has to do with how I feel mentally. It's been up then down then up then down, nothing constant and it's wearing me out.


On a good note, Kid Nation is on tonight. I don't know if any of you watch it but I think it's a good show. I can't wait to see the episode tonight!!

Here are some pictures, as promised. I will write more later.

Ryan the day he busted his head open (after we came home from the hospital)

And here's what his head looked like last night

And here's one of Kaleigh playing basketball with her football...go figure

Welcome

And here's my first post on this blog. I have 2 other blogs that I manage, both of which are family blogs that help me to keep in touch with my family.

This blog will be updated mulitple times during the day (depending on how much the children give me to write about).

Look for updates at the following times;

10am CST
2pm CST
4pm CST
11pm CST

A little bit of background-

I am a single mom who is also lucky enough to be a stay at home mom (temporarily). My daughter is 3 years old and her name is Kaleigh.

I am also a big sister! My little brother's name is Ryan and he is 8 years old. We are 20 years apart in age (long story) but I adore him.

We live in a small town just outside of Austin, Texas. I was born and raised in the Austin area and it's the only place that will ever feel like "home".

We live very modestly, getting by with what we absolutely need. That adds to our daily drama but all in all I think that we have a good little family.

Here's a cute video of Kaleigh and Ryan






I will write more soon and I hope you all enjoy this blog