Catching Up

I can't believe another week has gone by...another weekend gone and it is MONDAY again!!!  Wow!  What a week!  Life is so amazing and good here in Texas.  I just love Texas.  Have I mentioned that yet?  That I simply ADORE this state and the sweet and kind people in it?!  What happened this week?  Let's see.  Ben went back in for his follow up for his contacts.  Everything went great and was hunky dory in that department.  He is all cleared and good to rock and roll with them and every day seems to get a bit easier for him with the contacts.  I picked up his new glasses today (they also look really, really nice on him), so vision wise, whatever the circumstance, the kid is set!  

I met with Max's teacher last week about his grades.  His English teacher anyway.  She was really REALLY nice and helpful and did a lot of talking with Max and I.  Max was shocked to find out that those worksheets she handed out every single week were supposed to be turned in every Friday for a grade (yeah right).   And he had a plethora of excuses about WHY he had managed to miss turning in 8 out of 10 assignments due.  In the end I thought the teacher was AMAZINGLY gracious and gave Max all 8 assignments he was missing so he could do them and turn them in for credit.  She's really, really nice and apparently had a brother very much like our Max.  So she had a real heart for him and an unusually accurate understanding of what it's like to live with a child like him.   I appreciate that young lady more than words can say  So Max worked MUCH of the weekend on that stack of assignments, getting those ready to turn in.  He also talked to his math teacher (mostly because I refused to fix this whole entire situation FOR him) and she also was gracious enough to give him an assignment to do to make up some points and try to bring up his grade of a D.  Friday is the cut off for grades...so hopefully, he made some progress in getting those up?

Ben had a project due today and he finished it Saturday night.  I took one look at it and cringed.  So, Sunday after church, we bought new posterboard and I took what he had done on the computer and tweaked it for him.  I completely  redid (I mean helped with) his project.  It didn't take me very long at all and when it was all done, it looked SO much better.  I felt good about turning it in ( I mean...he felt good about turning it in) for a grade.  

What else?  We had a GREAT day at church on Sunday.  It felt very much like home.  WONDERFUL Sunday school class...wonderful service.  My goodness it was a great day there in that church.  I can't tell you how refreshing THAT is after feeling so NOT connected for SO long.   It was our second week at First Euless and it was really, really great.  

After church we went out for a yummy lunch and then came home and tackled some yard work!  Chris and I both hit it  and had it done in no time.  I mowed while he weed whacked and edged and trimmed the hedges.  It was a job well done and the  yard looks so nice!  Of course...we'll be right back at it next weekend!  But still...it's so satisfying to see the progress and to see it shape up so beautifully and nice and neat.  I LOVE it!  

And before we knew it, it was Monday morning and we  were off!  Normally, I would have been off to the gym or off on a long power walk with the neighbor, but instead, this morning I found myself at the chiropractor....finally!  I came to a point where I could take it no longer!  And so I finally dragged myself in there and I have to say...it was a wonderful, wonderful appointment.  I learned more about what's happening with me and why in that short half hour than I have....ever!  The doctor was amazing and so sweet and the things she could see in such a short time....astounding!  She fixed problems I wasn't even aware that I was having!  I feel so much better tonight.  I'm still sitting here typing...which is HUGE, as sitting has been so painful for the past few days.  Like REALLY really painful.  But I can actually do it tonight.  I know what's causing all of the misalignment...and I know what to do to help it now.  So I'm feeling equipped in a new and useful way!  I'm bummed because I have a no exercise status for the next week until I see her again on Friday.  But confident that when I do see her, things will be looking up and up!  

And I guess that's about it for now.  Oh....I had lunch with my sweet realtor friend today.  I ADORE her.  She cracks me up...is as SWEET as they come and just makes me smile and smile and smile.  I enjoy her more than words can say.  We are going to have us a little camera day.  Seems she has been given quite a sweet little camera set up and has NO IDEA how to use it.  So we are going to go and play!  I'm going to teach her how to use it and teach her how to get it off those auto settings.  I can't WAIT!  We're hitting the botanical gardens...which should be fun, fun, fun!  I'm so looking forward to it!

And now...I'm off for some shut eye!  Sweet dreams!

Total Conditioning-Take 2

Today I went back to Total Conditioning.  The whole morning before I went I was filled with dread.  That class is just plain hard.  And exhausting.  But I went anyway.  Instructors are different from class to class and my friend had said that she thought this one was even tougher than the last one I tried.  Of course...everyone interprets hard in different ways!  So I went and gave it a whirl.  Here's how the class went down...First thing, right out of the shoot we did 30 push ups.  That should have been my first little warning right there.  We did 30 pushups on our toes with our hands on the bench.  I survived that okay.  Then we turned around and put our FEET on the bench and did another 20 pushups.  Can you say....eat the floor Miss Shaky Arms?!  Those were tough.  Then there were another 10 pushups where we jump down into the push up with our hands on the bench and us on our toes, do the push up, then jump our feet back up to the step, do a big jump up in the air...and then do it all over again...10 times.  Well....to tell ya the truth I was pretty tired right about then.  At the end of those pushups I felt WORKED OUT!  But lucky me...I had another 50 minutes to go!  We moved on past the push ups and into the land of the lunges.  LOTS of them.  We stood up on top of the bench....with a weight in our hand...and lunged back nice and deep.  Then back up top on the bench.  To the tune of 20 times.  Followed by then taking that lunge and when we lunged back, lifting the weight up over our heads, then lifting it up over our heads again when we came back to the top of the bench.  Then we did a bunch of jump ups on the bench to really take our heart rates right on up into the death zone.  I think they use some other fancy term for it....AT Zone...stands for some kind of something Target...I can't remember now.  It's all semantics after all....AT zone....death zone...same thing.  Anyway....we did that little lunge diddy...then did it again....and then did it again...because these things apparently come in threes.  Lovely.  While we were doing these the Police were singing "Sending out an SOS" and I was thinking yes....I should be sending one out too...I need someone to save me from this class.  Soon thereafter I began to think that "I see your SOS there and raise you some smoke signals...because I'm pretty sure my butt is about to burst into flames with all these lunges".  And the instructor is up there just smiling and asking if we are feeling it yet?  Well I had long since been feeling it and was quite ready to be over that experience.  The police song faded into the old 80's classic of "Shiree don't like that" and I was thinking that Tonya ain't so fond of it either brother!  FINALLY, the lunges all came to an end.  We moved on to some nasty little squat things....where you stand with one foot on the edge of the bench and pick the other foot up and proceed to do one legged squats basically.  You do 20 of those....then you pick up a weight and do 20 more while you press that weight up over your head.  Then you move on to some more jump things to get back into the death zone.  After all of THAT fun I was now watching the clock and starting to just pray.  Biceps were next...my thoughts on that?  Ouch.  I was thinking to myself  "HOW can so little weight hurt THIS much?!"  Because I had definitely lightened up my weights by now.  So our biceps didn't feel left out, we then worked our triceps extra hard.  THEN there was a particularly grueling exercise with the resistance band.  HOLY COW it hurt so bad!  If you're looking for some pain, take up a long resistance band (mine was red) and stand with your feet a little wider than hips distance on the band, while you bring the band up to your shoulders with your elbows bent and tucked into your waist.  Then you bring one knee across at a time and put it back down again....all the time holding that band.  Tougher than it sounds, I promise you.  Then, after you've done 30 or 40 of those little jewels, just kick the foot back against the band and alternate feet.  My poor glutes.  The honestly have no idea what happened to them today or why I surely must hate them  so badly that I would have done this to them.  Class ended with some side planked hip raises.  I was torn between just crying or laying down and going to sleep.  Instead...I gingerly walked my very sweaty self out of that torture session and drove myself home and am now just too tired to move...at all.  I need to go to sleep desperately.  It was a VERY rough day.  And THAT was my total conditioning class.  I've scheduled some maintenance for the car on  Thursday...so I won't be able to do it again.  Darn it.  :)

Weekend Wrap Up

I can't believe our long weekend is OVER!  The kids were out of school on Thursday and Friday for teacher inservice days.  So we had a glorious 4 day weekend to just kick back and RELAX for the first time since we moved here.  I'm not really good at relaxing.  On Thursday, the first day of our "vacation" I met a friend in Grapevine for some picture scoping and shopping.  That was fun.  Then on Friday, it finally stopped raining long enough for me to get out and CUT MY GRASS!!!  THAT was fun and nice, but totally exhausting.  Yard work totally kicks my butt...but I love seeing it all come together so pretty and nice!  Then Saturday rolled around and Chris and I spent a great part of the morning returning the busted curtain rods to JC Penny that I had ordered and got delivered all banged up and broken.  We picked up other ones that we liked better at Lowe's.  Then there was grocery shopping, dinner cooking and the hanging of the new curtains.  And before we knew it...Saturday was gone!  Today, we visited yet another new church.  First Euless Baptist.  It was really a very nice church, a super friendly congregation, a wonderful service, awesome music...I was nearly giddy sitting there taking it all in!  It was the very first time in nearly 5 years that I just was delighted for the whole service.  I LOVED the music, I enjoyed the message, the choir wore choir robes, the praise team was great and the music was grand!  Did I mention how much I enjoyed the music?  When the choir and congregation let loose with "All Hail the Power of Jesus' name, let angels prostrate fall..."I was just beyond happy deep down in my heart.  It was a GREAT, great service.  Loved it, loved it, loved it.  Before we knew it, church was done and we were headed home.  Once home, we reevaluated Clara's foot and decided it was time for medical intervention.  She was QUITE swollen and could barely get her foot in her sandals on the loosest setting.  Plus, there was a big red ring there and her foot was starting to feel hot on top.  Urgent care decided it was indeed time to act and start some antibiotics...among other things.  While I was there I got my flu shot...so now 4 out of the 5 Roberts clan are flu protected!  At least for NORMAL flu.  Swine flu vaccines have yet to begin for anyone...though I am quite certain that Chris and I had that beast back in early May.  So maybe we are safe?  Here's hoping since we aren't really in a "high risk" category to receive the vaccines.  Once I got Clara home from the doctor and settled with her Benadryl, motrin, foot propped up and her games and t.v., I headed back out the door to run some errands.  Namely, to stop at Kirklands and shop with my birthday giftcard and to hit Old Navy to look for a sweater I need for upcoming pictures.  Also I picked up Clara's medicine at the pharmacy and put some much needed gas in my car!  As soon as I got home Chris had to go and work with his boss for a bit so the kids and I picked up the house and cooked up some dinner.  We were just putting it on the table when Chris got back home.  And then dinner was over, and so was our wonderful weekend that went WAY, way, way too fast!  It's back to the grind tomorrow.  A full week this week!  First one in a while!  LOL!  How spoiled we've gotten with all of these days off!  Oh well....time to put our noses to the grindstones and grind out another weeks worth of hard, determined work.  Let's hope Max actually GETS determined about his tasks this week and is inspired to actually turn in his work for a change and get organized.  Here's hoping!

Happy Birthday to Me

Today was my first birthday in Texas.  Today I am 38.  And it has been a great day.  The kids were out of school and at MANY points in this day I was ready to strangle them all.  Clara was dangerously close to being put to bed by 6 p.m., Ben was pretty much on the road to permanently grounded by 11 a.m. and Max....dear Max...he's stepping lively and ever so precariously as he has already spent a day in the mommy hot seat and is MOST DEFINITELY on the mommy radar...he was just trying to be good and fly under the radar I think!  I spent the early morning on the phone entertaining MANY good morning wishes and songs!  My sweet friend Gillian called first thing this morning and I heard these two SWEET, sweet, sweet little voices burst into a round of "Happy Birthday to You"!  Her little Sarah and Claire were belting out the most beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday!  I've smiled every time I've thought of it today!  Then I met a friend from Florida to scope out some sights for our upcoming family picture.  Yes....I've recruited someone to deal with the Roberts family and "deal" with us and create a family memory for us!  Tracy is awesome and I know she is going to do a great job! I'm almost looking forward to it!  While we were site looking....we happened to pop our heads into an amazing little boutique called Blessings Boutique.  And OH MY!!!  What an amazing little shop! WOW!!!  It carries mostly Christian themed wares....and FUN fun stuff.   Like t-shirts, jeans, purses, jewelry, home decor, etc.  It was so awesome.  And it was THERE that I bought my birthday present.  Are you curious as to what I bought?  I think I'll wait to tell you.  Better yet...I'll SHOW you...but not tonight!  This afternoon, after we got home, the kids played outside...in the rain.  Did you know it's been raining here like CRAZY?  Did I mention that previously?  It's been NUTS!  Like I'm nearly ready to build an ark kind of raining?  I would have thought I'd be crazy by now.  I'm hanging in there okay...but it's SO time to see some sunshine!  The roofers are coming tomorrow to check out our leak.  Grrrr....hopefully they will fix EVERYTHING...but I feel like maybe they will only fix the roof and NOT the damage CAUSED by the leak in the roof that they guarantee.  Chris started vocalizing his thoughts on fixing the damage in the family room HIMSELF tonight...uh oh!  I don't think there's any good news along that thought line!  Once Chris got home, we picked up some yummy hot wings at the Wing Stop and enjoyed wings and the season premier of Survivor Samoa.  In our new house, we have Verizon Fios...and the super cool thing about that is that we can put in a TiVo request (and I use that term loosely because it's the term I know from Arizona)....we can record whatever it is we want to watch or get a season pass for a show, and then we can WATCH it from ANY t.v. in the house!!!!  Which means we can put in for a "season pass" downstairs and then WATCH it UPSTAIRS in the media room on the really BIG screen!  Very cool and totally different from the Direct t.v. we had in AZ.  LOVE IT!!!  So fun.  We enjoyed curling up on our new leather couch in front of the big t.v.  and scoping out the new Survivor candidates.  All in all it was a GREAT day and a great night.  And a very happy birthday to me!

Here We Go Again...

Last year was a TOUGH year for us.  I mean TOUGH.  Maxwell was so chronically disorganized that he didn't know if he was coming or going.  He forgot major projects, lost his homework, or just did a really crappy job ON that homework.  His grades were continually in the toilet and our family was just in constant crisis mode and NONE to happy and smiley thanks to his unending state of craziness.  He assured me that we would NOT have another year like that.  I assured HIM that we would not have another year like that...not that he would live to tell about anyway.  And the year really seemed to be off to a great start.  Three weeks in so far and there's just been smooth sailing and no bumps.  Easy nights of homework and all good news.  And then this morning came.  It was a good and glorious morning.  A little slow to get moving, but good just the same.  There were the usual lost shoes and scrambling for things....guess who's shoes were lost!  But it was normal enough and not too problematic.  Then...about 2 minutes before Max headed out the door he hastily thrust a sheet of paper at me with the "Can you sign this real quick?" plea.  At first glance it was just an ethnicity survey.  You know...hispanic?  non hispanic?  white?  And so on.  Then I flipped to the  next sheet which happened to be his current GRADES standing.  And that's where the morning went all to hell in a handbasket.  I"m pretty sure my blood pressure went from low and smooth to SPIKED OFF THE CHART in about 20 seconds.  The child is currently showing TWO D's.  One of then in English and one of them in ALGEBRA.  The SAME algebra that I am making him repeat for the second year in a row.  For pete's sake!!!  Mind you...he did not flunk Algebra last year either.  He carried C's and D's and it was always a battle.  He did well enough on the tests, but always had low grades on his homework and other assignments.  He basically screwed himself in that class due to his disorganization.  We talked a LOT about that this summer.  And when it came time to enroll him here, I talked with the guidance counselor and asked that he repeat the class.  Max wasn't happy about it...but his high school transcript is taking some real hits right now.  I figured taking it a second time around would build his foundation a bit more solid and be an EASY A or B for him.  Silly mommy.  What WAS I thinking?!  The comments under this class state "assignments not completed regularly" and "lack of daily careful preparation".  SIGH.  How many times are we going to GO down this road?  I'm so SICK of this road.  I want the hell OFF of this road.  It's exhausting and frustrating and there is NO GOOD EXCUSE for being on this road.  He's a smart kid.  REALLY smart.  We should NOT BE ON THIS ROAD!!!!!!!!!!  And yet, we are.  He has a 69 in the Algebra class.  A 67 in his English class.  There are no comments for that class on the report.  And Max has "no idea" why his grade could possibly be that low.  Hmmmm.  Imagine that.  And THIS is why I am NOT going to be taking any pictures anytime soon in Texas.  There are no words to describe how angry I am right now with him.  NONE  though I am pretty certain that Maxwell has at least a hint.  To say that he was immediately and FULLY and SO completely grounded is an understatement.  If there are not at least B's in those classed by end of term, he will REMAIN fully grounded until mid term reports show either A's or B's in those classes...6 weeks from now.  And if he is still "struggling" with his organization....then he may just stay grounded indefinitely.  He and I are on some mighty bad terms right about now.  I'm just SO beyond disappointed that after all of the struggles of last year he is just going right back there.  I can't figure out how, if I am asking him every single night if he has his homework done and every single night he is telling me yes...it's done and I've studies....HOW then are they being IRREGULARLY turned in when they are being completed REGULARLY???!!!  HOW is this happening?!  GRRRRRRRRRR.  I am mad and grumpy and frustrated and disappointed BEYOND belief.  What DOES that child do when he walks out of here in the morning?  Does he not look around and see all of the OTHER children turning in THEIR work?  I keep hearing that Sesame Street song drift through my head.  The one that goes "One of these kids is not like the others".  How crazy true is THAT for my kid?  I feel like it's our theme song.  And so...it is with great frustration that I head off to the gym this morning.  It's STRIKE class again.  I'm going to do the class...but I don't think I love it.  It's tough enough...no worries there.  It's a good workout.  But it's not really fun.  Well...mostly it's no fun at all.  More like an instructor with a death wish and us there just asking to be tortured.  There is no playful and fun banter like I am accustomed to having with bodycombat.  It's fine.  But it's not fun.  After Strike, I'm off to lunch with my friend Jimma.  She IS a lot of fun and I do adore her.  She pretty much cracks me up every minute we hang out.  I LOVE to hear her talk.  Her southernisms are just so fun and her Texas accent only sweetens the pot for me!  She's a laugh a minute and I'm never bored with her.  Hopefully I can calm myself down and work out some of my frustrations with Max before I get there and can enjoy myself.  

Trials and Triumphs

Today was a better day for Tonya!  The day came and went...but not without it's share of trials and triumphs.  I had a long walk first thing this morning with the neighbor.  We detoured from our usual route, due to the mud involved with getting to our trail and walked a new route.  It was so fun to see NEW beautiful houses (have I mentioned how I SO love them here in Texas?  NOt a stucco house to be found!)  Today we walked alongside a beautiful lake.  It was cool and breezy and refreshing after being stuck in the house TOTALLY for the past 4 days due to rain.  We had a great walk, a lovely chat, and I was good and hot and sweaty when I got home.  My friend Patricia is a really good walker.  That makes me smile.  

Then there was a shower, a quick lunch, some laundry, and minor housekeeping tasks and I barely blinked and it was time to go pick up Ben for his eye exam.  He's a few months overdue at this point and we've noticed some increased headaches...so today was the day.  Ben has been asking for the better part of this year about contacts and if and when he can have them.  I told him we'd have to talk to the doctor and see what he recommended and go from there.  I didn't know if 6th grade was too young or not.  So we met the doctor....sooooo very nice.  And his staff is beyond lovely.  He did a very thorough exam on Ben and when it was all said and done, Ben's prescription had changed significantly this time (THAT would explain those headaches!).  The doctor also gave his blessing for contact lenses.  And so, while I went to get Clara from the bus stop, Ben stayed at the office to learn how to put them in and take them out and clean them and all sorts of stuff.  I wasn't gone too long...and when I got back, Ben practically flung himself into my car.  I told him to slow down...that I had to go and pay for his visit and the contacts, etc....and he burst into tears and told me he wasn't getting them...that they were too hard and he couldn't do it.  So just forget it.  Well...my heart sank.  I KNEW how much he wanted those contacts.  AND I know that Ben is most often my "quitter".  He quits pretty much EVERYTHING he tries.  If he isn't perfect at it practically from the get go, he's ready to throw in the towel.  So...I thought about it for about 10 seconds and decided the situation called for a mommy intervention...and that's what I did.  I told him that I KNEW for sure and certain how much he wanted these contacts...and that until I saw for MYSELF a concentrated FULL effort and was convinced that he simply could not do it, that I would NOT allow him to give up.  He was pretty mad, but I'm just so used to that by this point and three kids into the game.  Honestly...I wouldn't recognize my life if at least one of my kids at any given time didn't like me!  So I told him to suck it up and pull himself together and that I would be inside waiting for him when he was ready to get on with it.  Honestly...I had no idea if the kid would even get out of the car or not...much less try again.  This plan could SO seriously have backfired on me.  But within about two or three minutes, Ben came walking in the door.  Red eyed and sniffling...but he came just the same.  We had about 10 minutes of attitude then where he just went through the motions and made little or no attempt at following the suggestions of the VERY helpful nurse.  It took everything I had in me to remain calm and cheerful and upbeat right about then when I was really longing to just smack him upside his silly, stubborn head.  After that period of half hearted indifference, we seemed to turn a corner.  It may have been the announcement that I made that I was willing to sit there until they closed the office doors tonight and would GLADLY be there again when they opened in the morning IF that's what it took to get this done.  I think he was convinced because he started paying attention to the nurses' advice right about then.  It still took a good many tries, but with each try he was getting closer and his technique was improving.  I threw out the thought that IF he were to get these silly contacts in we MIGHT have to celebrate with Starbucks (it IS pumpkin latte season you know and a mom has to get her fix whenever she can finagle it!).  Ben let me know right quick that we would NOT be enjoying STarbucks and that I should just wipe that thought from my mind.  And then....about 5 minutes later...darn if that contact wasn't sitting just so pretty in my Ben's eye!  We were all surprised I think....even Ben! And of course...the FIRST words out of his mouth were "Can we go get Starbucks now?!".  You got to love that kid!  It only took two tries to get the left eye in...then a quick lesson in getting them out....and then he popped them both right back in again.  I LOVED watching the expression of pure joy and excitement wash over his face and to see pride and a sense of real accomplishment wash all over his joyful little face.  There were smiles galore and high fives and pats on the back.  A real moment of triumph after a more than a little bit stressful visit!  He was all smiles when he walked in the door of the house with no glasses on his face and proclaimed that he was WEARING his contacts!  He has said thank you about a dozen times tonight.  He's really glad that I stood my ground and made him try and ecstatic that he got through it and perservered and he's thrilled to be reaping the benefits of that hard work tonight.  

Clara was bubbling with her own triumphs tonight.  She is gathering sponsors for her Boosterthon run at school.  She gets people to pledge an amoung PER LAP and then, on the day of the event, she runs her little heart out and tries to do as much as she can in the time she's given.  Her dad and I had pledged $1 a lap for her and she was BEYOND thrilled to get off the bus today wearing a "team" bracelet.  In order to be on the official "team" one must have at least one pledge or flat donation on your file.  She was so happy!  She was over the MOON when I checked my e-mail and my sister had also pledged $1 a lap!  She was just giddy!  She now cannot WAIT to get to school tomorrow for more pep rally fun andanticipation of the big day...which is still MANY days away.  This run is a really nice distraction for her.  Her teacher's 6 year old son was diagnosed with leukemia last week and her teacher has taken a leave until AT LEAST February to be with Jackson.  So a new temporary teacher has had to step in at the last minute and pick up Clara's class.  She has struggled with the change a bit.  Poor baby.  There have really been a LOT of changes for her lately, with the move and all.  And she's worried about Jackson.  She prays for him long and hard each night.  And today we went and got a gift to go in a basket that her class is assembling for him.  She's trying to wrap her brain around leukemia and what it is and is trying to figure out why it made her teacher cry so hard at school.  She's seemed a bit overwhelmed processing it all...so this fun run is such a great distraction for her.  If anyone out there wants to pledge for her efforts and support Team Clara, you can do so by logging on to Boosterthon Online Pledge and entering her access code.  Her access code is VTT-KZY.  That will direct any pledges you make directly to Clara's file!  She's so fired up and excited...and I like that the focus is on physical fitness and fun...and not just another catalog full of giftwrap and other assorted useless junk!  She's so excited about running and wanting to do her very best for her school.  The really great thing is that the MOST they are allowed to run is 34 laps.  So you don't have to worry about going broke supporting them!  There IS a definite maximum!  

We finished our whirlwind of a day with Starbucks and homework and hamburgers out on the grill.  Chris is working in Phoenix for a couple of days.  So it's just me and the kiddos.  We enjoyed our cookout immensely.  We had a nice chat with Gigi wishing her happy birthday and all the kiddos were tucked in with big, sweet smiles on their faces tonight.  And you just can't beat that.  It was a great day in the state of Texas!  Tomorrow promises to be equally as great.  I'm off to lunch with my realtor whom I adore to pieces.  She's just about one of the funniest people I have ever met and she just makes me smile when I listen to her sweet southern accent roll off that silly tongue of hers!  She's a hoot and I am already smiling just thinking of our time together tomorrow!  Sweet dreams!  I'm off,  for tomorrow is sure to hold many trials and triumphs of it's own!  

Missing Home

God I miss Tucson.  All of a sudden it's like a wave that's just washed over and I can't even see straight I'm so sad and homesick.  I guess it's finally settled down a bit and I have a chance to come up for air and when I do...I don't see a single familiar face.  Or a familiar place.  It's beautiful here...but not in a Tucson kind of way.  I miss my friends like crazy.  I miss working out at the gym with Jenny and the exact same faces that I have seen faithfully EVERY SINGLE WEEK for the past 4 1/2 years.  I miss our chats and I miss our after workout excursions to AJ's for pizza and shopping at Lucy.  I miss Gillian and her sunny, bright phone calls and our lunches at Rubios.  I miss Pei Wei lunches with Jenny and long walks with Mary.  I miss pumpkin latte season WITH someone.  It's not the same all by myself.  I miss the breathtaking view of the mountains as the sun peeks up over them every morning.  And I miss....well...there's nothing I don't miss.  I'll be 38 in 3 days...and I hate that I'll spend it alone and NOT with friends this year.  Chris will be in town...for once.  So I won't be totally alone.  But it's not Tucson. And tonight I'm mighty homesick.  I knew it would come.  So that part doesn't surprise me.  I guess I'm surprised at just how sad I really am and miserable and I guess I had somehow forgotten just how lonely it can be the first few months in a new town.  I remember now.  And I'm not a fan of this phase.  The kids all seem to be doing great.  As is Chris.  He seems happy as a clam.  I think I'm the only one floundering here a bit.  I seem to have lost myself in this move.  I'm not a photographer anymore...and no...I don't want to restart my business right now.  I'm not a workout buddy to anyone.  I'm not really anything but a lunch maker, and a house keeper in an obnoxiously big house.  I'm a dinner cooker and the one who tucks every one in at night.  But once the kids are off to school and the house is clean...that's when I no longer seem to be able to figure who I am now.  I just wait for the bus to come home with the kids so I can monitor homework and start dinner and then tuck everyone in again.  I'm feeling displaced and more than a little bit up in the air.  It's all hit at a horrible time too because I couldn't BE any more hormonal than I am right now.  Oh well....I guess this is par for the course.  Like I said...I knew it would come.  And it has.  Just have to get through it now.

Total Conditioning

Today I tried the Total Conditioning class up at the gym.  Really and truly, my only comment I can make about that class is....ouch.  It was TOUGH.  Lots of free weights...always seeming to be paired with an endless series of nasty lunges.  Elastic resistance bands and weighted bars.  There were three sets of EVERYTHING broken up by intensive cardio boost sessions.  I'll just say that anything called "prison jumps" should be avoided at all costs.  NOT for the faint of heart!!!!  And believe me when I say there were several other things in that class that I'd be okay with not ever doing again.  I was definitely challenged on every level and all but crawled out of there.  It is taking every bit of self control that I have NOT to go climb into bed and treat myself to a nap today!!!!  Amidst all of the pain today however, I did have some time for some most interesting people watching.  One notable personality that I couldn't help but notice today was a lady that I'll be calling Lips.  Lips apparently has a passion for bonding with her local collagen injecting doctor.  Those babies are seriously blown up.  And the shocking hot pink lipstick she wears on them only adds to the effect.  I'm pretty sure that Lips has a total package plan as I'm fairly certain that those boobs she's sporting were not original issue.  I'll go ahead and throw in here that Lips is probably in her 50's to early 60's.  Hers however were NOTHING compared to Bodacious in front of me who was a wisp of a little thing with her little stick legs and tiny figure.  Then teetering upon that figure were some serious triple D's if not larger.  I had heard that this area was the land of the fake boobs.  I think it's the land of plastic surgery....period.  There is actually an eye lid specialty surgery center just around the corner from me.  Seriously?  An entire practice and surgery center devoted to EYELIDS?  Not the eye BALL...just the lids!  Apparently there is plenty of indulging in the "surgical spa" arena around these parts.  Well...none of that nonsense for this gal!  I had my tush in there working on it the old fashioned way!  The old fashioned way really and truly does suck sometimes.  It's rather unfortunate that my gene pool is flooded with fat cells and sloth like metabolisms!  In light of this morning's workout I am unbelievably thankful that I got all of the FIRST floor vacuumed this morning.  It took nearly 40 minutes to do the first floor alone and I had already worked up a good sweat before I even went to the gym. It has been a most laborious day and I am certain that many MANY calories have been burned.  I am sure hoping so anyway!  Now it's off to run some errands.  I need to hunt down some weighted gloves for tomorrow's Strike class.  I can't wait for the bit of Friday fun!  LOL!  Jenny and I have long since said that it's a good thing to really shake up your workout from time to time so your body doesn't fall into a rut.  It is very VERY safe to say that my body has been shaken up....it is in a total state of shock...and awe.  And ouch.  Mostly shock and ouch!  Tomorrow is a new day!  Bring it ON!

STRIKE

Today I did my very first group fitness class up at Lifetime.  My new friend Patricia convinced me that I should give it a try...and so try it I did.   It's a bit like body combat.  There are the punches and kicks...but only crosses and jabs.  No hooks or uppercuts.  It has a bit more of a turbo kick feel to it really...it's fast and bouncy-ish.  No big deal really.  The little extra that Strike offers though, are two pound weighted gloves on each hand and the addition of a weighted bar.  6 pounds of weighted bar, to be exact.  You do all of your punching with the weighted gloves.  And after about the 4th song they start to get pretty danged heavy!  You alternate punching moves with bar lifting moves.  One six pound bar hefted up by two hands strapped with 2 pound weights on each hand makes for TEN pounds of overhead lifting!  WOW!!!  I was totally feeling that nonsense!  My shoulders were wide awake and on fire when those rounds ended!  It was a definite shamu kind of experience in more ways than one!  For one...me, the whale, was there!  In all by blubberous state!  And two, the amount of sweat I generated...I looked as if I had been front and center in the splash zone at the Shamu show at Sea World!  It was really quite nasty!!!  One of the best and hardest workouts I've had in a long time.  Well...at least since I cut the grass on Monday!   The room was PACKED tight with people.  Geez...I only THOUGHT I had space issues in Arizona.  My oh my!  It  was standing room only!  Needless to say, I was fretful and breaking out in a sweat at the sight of that crowded room....but was pleasantly surprised to realize that all of the wild, crazy, space invading people obviously live in Arizona and work out at Gold's Gym...leaving me in the midst of a very coordinated, space conscious group!  It was really a nice experience to have everyone remaining in their respective work out areas and staying in step as a GROUP...there was no "marching to the beat of anyone ELSE'S drum".  It was nice.  Somewhat more boring as there were not nearly as many lively personalities to watch!  The instructor was great.   I'm pretty sure she's related to the Energizer  bunny!  Class wasn't AS fun as combat...but it was still a good class.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Tomorrow I get to go back again and will be taking on Total Conditioning in the group fitness arena.  I hear it's dreadfully hard and very painful.  Bring it on!!!

The house is pretty much done.  We are finishing just a couple of very small projects over this next week and then I think I'll be ready to take and post some pics for you faithful blog followers!  Maybe?  We are feeling quite settled now and have found nearly everything.  There is a small lamp still missing out there in the garage somewhere.  But that's the only thing I am still actively looking for!  I'm planning to find that one tonight!  Wish me luck!  

I still love Texas.  People are just so lovely and nice here.  I adore them.  I love it, love it, love it.  My only thing I am currently missing from Arizona are my Skinny Jenny workout buddy, body combat (yes I do still miss it despite my successful strike class) and my dark brown patterned tile from the kitchen!  The light honey vanilla tile I have here in Texas is pretty to look at but is rather unforgiving in the arena of spots and spills!!!!  I prefer to NOT be acutely aware of just how dirty my floors are!  Brown does forgive a multitude of dirt sins!  All in all I LOVE my new house.  I mean, I CRAZY love it.  It's obnoxiously big and I DO get tired if I have to trek all over it too much...but truly...I love and adore it.  I love the way the finished product is coming along.  I love the way all of our things have come together in it.  And I love the new little things we've added.  I LOVE the red silk drapes in the dining room.  They are SOOOO pretty.  And I love the new picture I got for the fancy front bathroom today.  I love that I was also able to recycle several panels of those same red silk drapes that are hanging in the dining room and use them in the boy's bedroom.  They look SOOOO elegant and cool in there!  Slowly but surely it is all coming together.  Life is good in the Lone Star State!!!

Checking In

Time continues to fly by here in Texas.  After being in the house for one full week, as of this past Sunday, we are feeling quite settled.  We are still working on a couple of small projects, but for the most part really are feeling like this is home.  We had a great Labor Day weekend.  We were invited to the neighbor's house for chili and visiting and watching the football games with some of the other neighbors.  It was a good time and lots of fun getting to meet and get to know some of the folks living around us.  Chris was able to hook up with another biking/triathlon training junkie and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with some of the neighborhood women.  Then on Sunday we visited another new church.  No...this was most likely NOT "the one".  But it was okay.  There were no disco balls, and the music was quite nice.  There was something about it that just didn't call to me...but I'm still happy to keep looking around!  I have yet another one mapped out and ready for us this next weekend!  After church on Sunday we worked on a few more house projects and then went to have dinner with Chris' brother and his wife.  It was a lovely way to spend the evening.  And then on Monday, Chris and I hit the gym in the morning.  Then came home and conquered the mowing of the lawn and trimming of the hedges.  We both decided that had we recalled just how intense lawn work could really be, we BOTH could have skipped that morning gym workout!!!  It was a full program that day for sure and we fell in to bed EXHAUSTED that night!  Before we totally crashed though, we got to enjoy a nice splash in our new pool!  Yeah!  The kiddos were back at school this morning.  THAT seems to be going pretty well...at least for the most part!  I enjoyed an hour and a half long power walk with my neighbor and finished unpacking and organizing Clara's crazy playroom space.  YIKES!  That child has WAY too many toys!!!  Tomorrow and Thursday are early release days at school.  Oh...and I am off with the neighbor to try the Strike class at the gym in the morning.  We'll see how that one goes.  

I am loving Texas.  Especially when I walk each morning and see all the gorgeous stuff around me.  Like green lawns and big brick houses with flowers upon flowers and all sorts of grand beauty.  There are ponds and fountains galore along my walking path and it's just so different and pretty.  I still have yet to really get out INTO the area much and see what's out there.  I've stuck pretty close to home to this point just trying to get moved in.  But I still love it so far.  It's kind of nice to be a bit of a home body after being so crazy busy here for so long.  I'm sure I'll get bored with it soon enough...but for now I am really, really enjoying it!  

The kids seem to really enjoy it too!  One thing they have especially loved are the little lizards that are in our yard.  They have had a blast catching them!  Here are some pictures....though NOT the ones of the house!  Those are still to come.  In the meantime...just enjoy these!

Connected Again

Well...it's been a really long haul...but I FINALLY have internet connections up and running in our new house!  It was called to my attention by someone that she had missed my blogging and had logged on in the middle of the night recently hoping to find something new to read since she couldn't sleep...and found nothing!  It's hard to blog when you have no internet connection!  Anyway...I wasn't sure if I should take that as compliment or insult.  Do people read my blog because they are just so entertained and curious as to what's happening?  Or because they need a sleeping pill?  I'd probably ponder on that for a long time except that I'm drowning in boxes here and simply cannot deal with that right now.  Maybe later.

Okay...update.  We are finally in our new house.  Having our own space is DIVINE!  I can't tell you how much I don't like apartment living.  It's the pits!  I'm loving the new house.  Now that I am really in it and have had a few days to roam around in it, I have been blessed with many surprises.  Closets for one.  There are bazillions of them.  Okay....well, maybe not bazillions, but there are a LOT!  And it seemed like a found a new one I did not know existed every day for the first 3 days that we were here in the house.  There are 7 closets on the first floor NOT INCLUDING the master closet or the guest bedroom closet or the pantry.  After coming from Arizona and a house that had exactly ONE closet, and a small one at that, on the first floor besides the master closet....well, I think I've died and gone to closet heaven!  I am keeping in mind of course, that closets are dangerous, dangerous things that can fill up and be magnets for crap.  Goodness knows I managed to stuff enough of that into the closets we DID have in AZ!  What else in this house?  The crown molding is CRAZY in this house.  It's gorgeous.  And deep, deep, deep.  Not sure if that's the right term for it or not.  Maybe I should say thick, thick, thick?  And every single room has it.  EVEN my laundry room!  Who the heck pays to put crown molding in a laundry room for pete's sake?  Anyway, it's there and I adore it.  All in all I'm loving the house.  I have to admit that I can't wait for the polish on the hardwood floors to wear down a little bit.  They are slicker than snot and not one bit conducive to being in a hurry!  It's hysterical to watch Oscar try to get his footing on them when he forgets and heads across them too quickly!  He approaches them with MUCH more caution now than he did when we first arrived here 5 days ago.  He's a smart cookie, that one!  What else?  Oooh...I'm happy to report that the fascination of the intercom system for the kids wore off quite quickly.  Mommy however, has discovered it and is having a GRAND old time with it.  At the punch of one small button in the kitchen the whole house will fill with music!  I generally head into the kitchen about 6:10 a.m., punch the button to start my coffee, then punch the button that starts the tunes up in the house.  Then I tread back to the master bedroom.  By the time I get back there and brush my teeth, the kids have a couple of minutes to enjoy the musical tunes drifting through their sleepiness.  And that's when I head to the control panel and start my "Morning with Mommy" broadcast over the intercom system.  It all goes something like this...

"Good Morning boys and girls!  Welcome to the Mornings with Mommy show!  Today is Thursday...the 3rd day of September and it is 6:15 a.m. local time.  You're looking at a beautiful sun shiney day with a temperature high of approximately 90 degrees with little to no chance of showers.  It's a GREAT day to be alive, so step lively my wee ones.  Up and at 'em!  Let's get those beds made and head on into the kitchen for some breakfast goodness!  Gooooooooooood  MORNING!!!!!"  

And then there are periodic updates and check ins.  When Elvis comes across with "Love Me Tender" then I chime in that I love them tenderly and to pieces.  When the song "Monday Monday" comes on I remind them that it's actually Thursday, Thursday.  When the Beatles sing out that "we all live in a yellow submarine", I remind them that we actually live in a red brick house in Texas and so on and so on....I am having some BIG fun with that intercom in the mornings!  The kids seem to like it too and at night when they go to bed, ask if the "morning show" will be on again tomorrow.  I assure them that it will be and then can't wait to push that button again the next morning!  Who knew an intercom system could be such fun. The only down side to the system is that I didn't realize until this morning that we have a receiver outside on the back patio.  And so...anyone around us that was out in their backyard for the past few mornings has also gotten to enjoy the "Morning with Mommy" show.  I found the volume out there to be set full blast, wide open.  Awesome.  Once I realized that I immediately thought....oh dear....what MUST the neighbors think?!  But then...you can only keep this much weirdness under wraps for a short time, right?  Sooner or later they were bound to find out.  

What else?  Can I just say that the people in Texas are SO stinkin nice?!  I mean....SOOOOO nice.  I have NEVER had such great service at stores.  ANY store.  Whether it be a toy store, or a home store or a GROCERY store.  It's unbelievable.  And everyone calls you sweetie and honey and hon.  It's about the cutest thing you've ever seen!  I LOVE it.  They are so full of funny sayings and expressions.  I have to say that I adore these southern souls!  

I guess that about wraps it up for now.  I know, I know...some of you are looking for the pictures.  They are coming.  Soon.  But I need to finish with the boxes first and hang some pictures.  And they are delivering a new leather sectional tomorrow for the media room.  I want you to have the COMLETE and pretty pictures!  Besides...I haven't hooked up MY computer yet.  And that's the one where all the picture action happens!  Soon and very soon friends.  Soon!  Stay tuned!