Snow Days, Concussions, New Jobs and BIRTHDAYS…

No, these four items have no correlation to each other but wanted to touch on all…

Snow Days

Since the Christmas Holiday, Texas has experienced bi-polar weather along with the rest of the world.  We had 2 days where we were supposed to experience very cold temperatures (20's which IS cold for TX) with freezing rain and/or snow.  The school districts decided on both occasions that school should be closed.  My office even closed which was great.  The funny part is that on both occasions although it was cold, we barely got any freezing rain/snow – depending on the side of town you live in or the neighborhood, you may not have had any at all.  The kids enjoyed their snow days drinking hot cocoa and watching movies but now they are suffering because they have to make up their days on holidays (Presidents Day and Memorial Day).

Concussions

During our last volleyball game in College Station last weekend, Kiarra dove for a ball and somehow hit her head on the gym floor (again).  She immediately had a horrible headache and was a little distraught. We saw the trainers at the school and her blood pressure was high but her pupils were dilating properly, no blood in the ears, and she was aware of her surroundings so they let us leave with her.  Pretty sure the bp was elevated due to playing all day, then crying from pain she was feeling in her head.  She slept the entire way home.  When she got up Monday morning her headache was worse than Sunday evening so I decided to call the doctor who made room in their schedule to see her.  Again, her pupils were fine and there was no evidence of blood in the ears but the doctor thought something wasn’t right.  She said “I’ve known this child for 12 years and something just doesn’t seem right”. She ordered a STAT CT Scan so we went straight to imaging for that.  The radiologist read the scan and said it looked fine and we were free to leave.  I took her home to rest and went to work because I thought we were in the clear… WRONG!  Within an hour, the doctor called and said we needed to go see a Neurologist… WHAT… a Neurologist?  They couldn’t get her in until Wednesday so we wait… She went to school on Tuesday but she said it was brutal.  Her headache had not gone down at all, if anything it was getting worse by the day.  She could barely speak more than a whisper because it was hurting so bad.  I took her to the Neurologist who spent over an hour with us going through different things and come to find out, because she wasn’t treated properly for the first concussion she had last fall, she is now suffering twice the amount because some things were not dealt with at the time.  Actually, she didn’t even see a doctor last fall because we were advised not to take her to one… I’m not going to get into those details because I’ll never finish this post but let me just say how upset I am for not following my motherly instinct and taking her to the ER but listening to those damn trainers instead.  She should of sat out for a minimum of 2 weeks yet they had her back on the court in 3 days… NOT COOL!  Anyway, the neurologist said she definitely has another concussion and should not doing anything strenuous for a few weeks.  Her balance is way off (more than normal because if you know my child you know she’s a little clumsy) and speech (at the time of the appt last week) was slow and she still has this horrible headache.  We have a follow-up tomorrow for testing.

New Jobs…

After much thought, prayers and consideration, Jeff finally took another role within AT&T.  He’d been looking into other roles for a while now but after a few let-downs, he re-evaluated what it is he really wanted to do and this one came along.  He’s worked very hard these past few years and has grown his team into a performing group.  It wasn’t an easy decision to leave them, he hated it – hated saying good-bye to them but this opportunity was something he’d really been looking forward to.  He worked out of town a lot last year, mostly in Austin and we even considered an opportunity there. I was looking at Condo’s and was ready to pick up and go. Thankfully this role came along and he gratefully accepted.  He’s now an Equipment Design Engineer and his first day was today!  I’m sure he’ll be excited to tell me all about it.  This new job means - no working nights or weekends, no direct reports, no company cell phone (ringing at all hours of the day/night 7 days a week), no company vehicle, etc.  So, he will get to enjoy his evenings with us - uninterrupted and won’t have to deal with managing people anymore.  He really did love managing the guys, but it NEVER stopped.

I’m still in the same role however our group has been re-organized into a centralized type function, part of HR.  The transition has not been good. They informed us of the transition in October and I was very positive about it at first, I could see the possibilities and was actually excited…  Then, they put the hammer down and started telling all the rules and craziness. We are majorly micro-managed.. it’s insane!  We are losing our Fridays off, our flexible schedules, and are being turned into robots who can’t leave our desks… it’s horrible. I am grateful to have a job and probably shouldn’t complain but we had a great boss with flexible schedules and portfolios and it’s all being pulled out from under us.  It’s not a good feeling.  I genuinely asked a colleague who was already part of this team “what is one positive thing about being in this team?”… he couldn’t answer the question!!  He just said “that’s a really good question” while trying to think up an answer!!  (INSERT BUG EYES FROM TRINA)… What WHAT?  You can’t think of ONE positive thing?  My oh my it’s going to be a journey.  Each morning I put my happy face on and think positive thoughts but it has not been easy…  We’ve only been part of this team for 2 weeks but it seems like an eternity.  We are treated like toddlers that are robots…. I’m not joking.  I just keep thinking “this too shall pass…”  We’ll see…

Birthdays

Over the weekend, Kiarra turned 15.  FIFTEEN!!!!   How is it possible that I have a 15 year old? It’s just crazy that they are growing up so fast.  She is such a blessing to our family.  I love her sweet smile (dimples included), her giving heart (in all she does) and her love for the Lord.  Everyone keeps saying “ you just wait,  teenagers are horrible” or “one of these days you are going to hate each other”… Seriously people, what is going on with society?  I couldn’t even ask for a better relationship with her or any of my kids.  Of course we have days that are not perfect and of course there are times I screw up and have to ask for forgiveness for using harsh words but I wouldn’t trade this for anything. She is an amazing child, a gift from God and although I’d love to slow time down a bit, I’m so grateful that I get to be her Mom!

My Mom also had a birthday this weekend. I would throw myself in front of a bus for this woman. I am so grateful that I get to be her daughter and that she lives so close to me. I love the time we get to spend together, playing card games, watching movies, painting or doing absolutely nothing at all… just her presence warms my heart.

Reverse Reverse…

Last year wasn’t ALL about the craziness of selling the house.  There was other craziness too!! 

Within weeks of signing the papers to build the new house, we had to go to the design center to pick out everything.  Considering we are no longer rookies at this, and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted, I thought it would be a breeze…. WRONG - it was still overwhelming.  There are just too many choices!  How do I really know I’m going to like my granite when I’m selecting it from a piece that is only 5x8 in. or the backsplash from a 5x5 in. piece of ceramic tile….and what if the tile we picked doesn’t really ‘coordinate’ with either of them??  EVERYTHING is an upgrade and a big decision… countertops, tiles, cabinets, jetted showers/bathtubs, door knobs, 3 car garage or 5 ft additional space, keeping standard cabinets in kids bathrooms or upgrading theirs too, mirrors, edges of countertops, paint colors, brick colors, and light switches…ok, maybe not the light switches but seriously every inch of the house could be covered in some type of upgrade. They only have 4 standard (meaning there is no additional cost) ceramic tiles to choose from and the other 350 in their selection are all an upgrade.  Some are minor upgrades for just a couple hundred dollars more and others are thousands more.  We had 2 appointments that were each 3 hours long and I still left thinking we could have had another appointment (and could have if we’d of paid another $350 for it).  We were actually quite conservative this time around and kept to our budget.  We passed on a few of the upgrades that we really wanted because we knew we could do it ourselves for 1/10th of the cost (literally, I did the math).  I’m also looking forward to my brother coming down and putting in my wood floors. 

Over the summer, Taryn began to swim really well.  She’s quite the little fish I must say.  A friend of ours was a life guard at our neighborhood pool so we went there quite often.  Even with Kiarra in a boot, she was able to take it off to swim.  All 3 kids get soooo tan in the summer so this past summer was no exception.  I get a little jealous, I have to admit.  I can lay there and bake in the sun for 3 hours straight and barely get any color and they are in the pool for 30 minutes and get 12 shades darker.  I love their skin and am so glad they have gorgeous skin.  Taryn turned 7 and decided to have a sleepover b-day party.  Kiarra had a sleepover when she was 7 too so I thought it would be fun.  Kiarra agreed to help me so we shipped the boys to my Moms house to have an all-girls party. We had 8 girls come to spend the night and let me just tell you how times have changes since Kiarra was 7.  These girls are like little teenagers; they were talking about boys and going on dates.  I could barely handle it, Kiarra and I just kept looking at each other and saying “really?”.  I swear 6 of these 9 girls are more boy crazy than Kiarra.  We played lots of games, danced and ate pizza and all kids of goodies.  Taryn had a great time. 

Jayden played 3 on 3 (basketball) last fall.  He has definitely found his sport and is showing improvements each time he touches a ball.  He had a great coach who ended up selecting him to play on his drafted team for 5 on 5 as well.  Jayden plays best when he’s mad and as rough as basketball is, it doesn’t take much for him to get pushed and shoved around a little bit to make him angry.  I just love his face when he takes control of the ball and plows through the kids to shoot and make a shot.  He’s gotten so tall over the past year (is taller than me now by a few inches) that he towers over most of the kids.  As they get older, it’s not as funny to watch them play.  Over the past few years, Kiarra and I would literally sit there and laugh uncontrollably because the kids were so damn cute running up and down the court, dribbling it off another kids shoe or just running out of bounds - even when no one was guarding them.  Our laughing has turned into cheering and screaming (in a good way).  This is probably my most favorite video of him during 3 on 3...he is dribbling down, passes the ball, it somehow ends up back in his hands and he tosses it up backwards and makes it... 

Kiarra was a busy bee over the summer and first semester of school.  With being injured and then volleyball camps and tryouts, she stayed busy.  Before we knew it, it was homecoming and friends/family in Iowa/Nebraska; homecoming is very different in the south.  Over the years I’ve seen some things on FB about homecoming but I didn’t understand the details, I’d just look at the pictures and be a little sad that the kids are all growing up…. No one prepared me for the craziness of homecoming in TX!  The mums, the garters, the overalls, the insanity… These mums are over the top. I’m still trying to understand the purpose of them and don’t really have a clear understanding so it-is-what-it-is and I’ll just go with it.  Most of the girls decorate and wear overalls too.  They wear them to school the day of the homecoming game and then some of them wear them to the game. I didn’t know anything about under-wonder and cutting fabric and all that crafty stuff but thankfully I have dear friends who know all about it.  They helped me with everything.  The overalls ended up being very cute and Kiarra loved them.  They were also the minds behind the mum and garter which turned out amazing.  Then, there is the dance which is formal.  We found a dress on our first shopping trip and it was so pretty. They didn’t have the color she wanted so I took a chance and ordered it.  It was perfect!  Kiarra and her friends chose me to be their driver so they all gathered at our house for pictures and then a friend of mine and I drove them to dinner.  She had a great time at the dance with her date and her friends.

I finally feel like I'm caught up... what a year we had in 2013!!

And we move... again!

Grandma Bennie and the kids 2006

In November, Jeff’s Grandmother passed away.  This was the only blood Grandmother he ever had the chance to know.  We made a trip to New Orleans for her funeral and Jeff shared stories with me that he’d never shared before.  Bennie was a great lady; she always made me feel welcome and had a passion for cooking.  Although she wouldn’t hesitate to tell me that I’d gained some extra pounds (LOL), she really had the sweetest heart.  Our kids adored her and loved to play cards and Bingo with her.  We all miss her very much.

***************

Closing on our house in Firethorne went smoothly, thank God.  The buyers put us through the wringer towards the end after their final walk through but it all worked out.  We did the final repairs that they insisted on and although it was very frustrating (considering our tools, paint, etc. was all in storage so we had to buy new stuff) it’s all done and behind us.

We moved the weekend before Thanksgiving so the holiday is a complete blur to me.  A huge thanks to my Mom and some of the guys who work for Jeff, we basically did it all in one day.  The majority of our stuff went to storage so it was quite easy… well, for me - not for them.  We have some heavy stuff and it was cold and rainy but they were great. I took several loads of stuff to the new place in my truck early in the day so when Mom arrived, she helped us pack up a few more items and then she and Taryn went to  and unpacked and put away the entire kitchen and bathrooms before we even got the truck half loaded. I don’t know what I would do without her!

Now, we are living in an apartment.  There were not any 3 bedroom apartments available for us so we had to get a 2 bedroom.  It’s not ideal but it’s not terrible either, especially since its temporary.  We had a talk with the kids about it and Jayden said he wouldn’t mind camping out in the living room of the apartment.  I don’t know why I was so worried about living in an apartment. I actually love how small it is and if I could just change out some of the creepy neighbors, it wouldn’t be that bad. Well, getting groceries sucks, just getting them from the car to the apartment sucks then I realize I’ve bought way too much for this little fridge and pantry so we end up with food all over the place, not a terrible problem to have but I hate clutter and it makes cooking quite difficult when there is no counter space.  I also don’t like the noise coming from the people who live above us but again, its temporary and we are not here that much anyway.

Christmas was uneventful and quite boring this year.  We spent Christmas Eve with our dear friends and had a great time (and great food) hanging out with them.  We were even able to be part of the Melby Christmas Eve celebration at Aunt Loretta and Uncle Russ’s house thanks to FaceTime.  Christmas morning with the kids was great, well, after they finally got out of bed at 9 am…  I just love how they are so excited for each other and want to take turns opening their gifts.  Kiarra and Jayden are very patient with Taryn and allow her to take the time she needs to dwell over every detail of the gift she’s just opened.  We typically go oldest to youngest or vice versa but not this year. Jayden insisted that ladies go first which was very kind of him.  They all loved their gifts, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and had some special worship time and then we made a huge breakfast together.  I love the mess of Christmas morning, the wrapping paper, boxes and twist ties… I just felt so blessed this year to be healthy and to be able to provide for my family.  They each wanted practical and simple gifts this year which made it that much more special.  I really missed being with my family in Iowa though; there is just something about being around family all day (for days and days…) that helps make the holiday so much more of a celebration.  I think it’ll be tough to keep us in Texas for another Christmas, we are all about family and extended family so this year, we will be with family for the holidays….and it better snow!!

We brought in the New Year with some amazing friends.  It’s really great to bring in the New Year with people who would absolutely do anything for one other.  We had a great time catching up with each of their families, grubbing on Chris’s delicious gumbo amongst all the other snacks and of course popping fireworks.

All too soon, it was time for the kids to go back to school.  This was the first year in very long time, maybe 14 years that I have not taken off the last few weeks of the year to be with them.  I’m working on a very complex, high profile course at work and knew this would be the only time to catch up and get ahead of the game since the majority of the company would not be working.  Most days I worked from home or worked 1/2 day in the office and the remainder from home. I’m blessed and very grateful to have a flexible boss who allows us to do this.

We are in full swing of club volleyball for Kiarra and basketball for Jayden.  It’s a busy but fun time of year, and I’m looking forward to all the great things God has in store for us in 2014!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

We've been on a crazy ride...

Summer flew by!!  Seriously, before I knew it - it was school registrations, volleyball tryouts, back to school shopping and dreaded thought of homework!!!  I thought about writing every week but was so consumed with the amount of activities we had going on. The kids enjoyed their summer, it was just busy.

Jayden attended a couple of basketball camps, Great Adventure Camp (Christian camp), time at the lake with friends and he got the responsibility of babysitting Taryn while Kiarra was away at her activities.  Jayden turned 12 in June and we threw him a surprise b-day party.  We got him - AGAIN!  He really enjoyed that time with friends and family and want’s another “surprise” next year…. Not really a surprise if he’s already planning or thinking he’ll be surprised but we’ll see… I just may come up with something good (suggestions welcome J).

Kiarra attempted SACC (Strength and Conditioning Camp) but tore the ligaments around her ankle on day 1, so that didn't work out so well for her.  She still continued to attend most days and just did upper body workouts (boring!!)  The trainers thought it was a sprain at first so had her take it easy for 2 weeks, when they realized it wasn't getting better they had me take her to the doctor. She was in a boot for 3 weeks and got it off just tin time to attend volleyball camp. Just a week or so after camp was tryouts and this was quite stressful because of our house situation (you can read about that below), not to mention Jeff had been out of town as well (you can read about that below as well).

Taryn, oh poor Taryn… she was SOOOO bored all summer.  Kiarra and Jayden were awesome babysitters and she enjoyed them taking care of her but with Kiarra in a boot, she couldn't take Taryn to the pool and Jayden isn't old enough to take Taryn by himself.  She’s the only one that didn't have a bunch of activities so we filled up the time with sleepovers, and activities at the house.

Jeff was out of town working in Austin the entire month of August. With all the activities going on, working full time and now living out of zone for one of our kids schools, this made things quite difficult.  We drove up to Austin twice to see him. He was working 6 days a week which left no time for him to come home on the weekends so it was nice little get-a-way for us to drive up and spend time with him at the hotel.  We didn't do much while we were there; a little shopping, went and saw the State Capitol but the best part was sightseeing.  Austin is beautiful… gorgeous actually!!  We also took Jayden to see the UT campus and football field but he could care less about them since he wants to go to A&M. He was not impressed and made that very clear.  He cracks me up!  I don’t think he’ll go to A&M anyway, but that’s what he thinks at this stage in his life so we’ll just encourage it.  Before Jeff even got home from Austin, they were already talking about sending him to another city.  His boss wouldn't let him go but their Director wanted him to go to Dallas.  He wasn't even home a week and he was told he needed to go to Dallas…. Here we go again, I’m getting quite good at this single mom thing, but it’s NOT something I want to do on a full time basis (or even more than a week at a time for that matter).

Rewind a few months

I’d made it quite clear to everyone that I was not happy with the house we purchased last year.  In April I started snooping on HAR to look for another house. The market was great and we had friends selling their homes within days (sometimes hours) of putting it on the market.  We looked in a few neighborhoods to build, in our neighborhood for another house (because after all I LOVE the neighborhood, just not the house) and even looked in other cities… YES, other cities.  I do love Katy but would also welcome any opportunity to relocate.  In May we found a neighborhood just a couple of miles from our home in Firethorne, I loved it….the kids loved it but Jeff was still very adamant about staying put for a few more years.  I asked him to pray about it and he still insisted that we needed to stay in this house.  Finally, one day I begged him (ok-ok, I didn't’t beg - I only asked once) to go with me to look at a house.   He saw how happy this house made me and suddenly he heard from the Lord that maybe we should consider moving.  YES, thank you LORD for speaking to my hubby!!  The only downside was that Kiarra would have to go to the new High School and not Katy High School where we always thought she would go. I mentioned to Kiarra that the house we like in the new neighborhood is zoned to the new school and she was so excited. She expressed how she would love to go to the new school because so many of her new friends will be going there… AMEN!  This is huge.  I reached out to an old colleague of mine who is a Realtor now and we put the house on the market.  We had showings immediately, quite a lot of them actually. As you know, selling a house is stressful - always keeping it 110% picked up and clean is no easy task when there are 3 kids home all day long and the oldest-most responsible one in a boot!  We went to the new neighborhood and signed paperwork to being the process of building a new house… Let’s hope 3rd times a charm. This is the 3rd house Jeff and I have built together so as long as we can keep our sanity through this process, I think we will be in this house a very long time.

Sale/No Sale

We received an offer on the house and although it wasn't a full price offer, it was decent.  We went into contract but before the 10 day option period was up the buyers backed out.   It was devastating.  It’s now August and decision time, do we keep the house on the market or take it off and just remodel.  With school starting and volleyball tryouts weeks prior to school starting, we needed to make a decision, however Jeff is out of town, I’m working 60+ hours a week and time is just flying by. The biggest hurdle is keeping our house on the market and still allowing Kiarra to go to the new school.  This means she is out of zone and will need transportation to/from school each day.  Getting her to school in the morning isn't a problem because we are headed to work but neither of us can leave work at 2:30 every day to pick her up.  It was weighing very heavy on my heart. I simply didn't know what to do.  I’d pray about it but wasn't getting the answer because honestly, the answer I wanted was to just sell the house and move into temporary housing until the new house is ready, oh yea - about the new house, they've barely started building it at this point… I think we only had the slab!!  Of course I wasn't in a rush for it to be built because we hadn't sold the house anyway but it was still another burden in my mind.  Jeff and I finally made a decision to take the house off the market and stay put, we’d remodel, put in a pool and just be content with this decision…a decision we thought was coming from our good Lord. 

Answered Prayers…

I text a dear friend of mine, who also has a daughter going to this new school, and explained to her that the buyers had backed out and that we wouldn't be able to get Kiarra into the new school because although they would allow it, I just couldn't get her home from school every day.  Her response to me blew me away, it made me cry and I fell to my knees.  She told me she would be happy to take Kiarra home from school each day until we move.  Friends, this is HUGE.  We don’t live far from each other but this is a big deal to me and to Kiarra.  I just didn't feel right accepting this offer but she insisted.  What a blessing she is to our family.

Enrollment

So now that we had transportation sorted out, there was no time to wait.  We literally had to get Kiarra enrolled within a couple of days so she could attend volleyball tryouts. I thought school sports didn't start until school started, boy was I wrong (OMG, I think I just sounded like my Mother).  I’d been talking with the school for months so I knew everything I needed to do, the registrar went over it with me many times.  Kiarra and I walked into that HUGE, seriously GINORMOUS school to register her and I hadn't followed the right steps. I thought we were “pre-registering” her but what I actually needed to do weeks ago was go to the Administration building, and pay a fee and apply for her pre-registration…or something like that, I don’t even remember. Seriously, it was all so stressful. Just when you think you have everything you need, birth certificates, contracts for new build, physicals, etc…. not to mention Jeff had just left to go out of town.  Then, once the board or whoever approved it I could officially register her.  I remember this very clearly, it was a Wednesday and tryouts started the following week.  Eeeek!  They said it can take up to 10 days to receive the approval… TEN DAYS!!!  As much as I’m trying to stay calm and collective, this panic came over me and I got very frustrated.  It had already been so emotional from the moment we put our house on the market I just thought maybe this was Gods way of telling me that we just need to stay put. Then out of nowhere, a very nice lady at the administration building approached me promised to help us and see this through. She was another blessing.  Before noon on Friday, we had the approval.  AMEN!!  I was working that Friday but as soon as I got the email, I was off to the school to get her registered. We arrive to the school and there is not a person in site. It’s practically empty, only a few construction workers finishing up some last minute touches.  What am I going to do now? She can’t attend tryouts on Monday if she’s not registered…  We waited around a few minutes thinking maybe everyone was out to lunch. Just as we started to walk back to the car, I see someone in the office.  I knocked on the door and it just happened to be one of the principles.  He opened the door and explained that no one in the office works on Fridays during the summer… WHAT!!??  I felt my heart drop again and Kiarra instantly had tears in her eyes.  I explained to him that with tryouts being on Monday, I really need to get her enrolled and I asked what time they will be there on Monday so I can come back to enroll her.  He was so nice and said “I think the registrar is here, let me see if I can find her”… Seriously friends, one blessing after another!  The registrar was there and although she wasn't super happy to help us, she took the paperwork, reviewed it to ensure we had every I dotted and every T crossed and then said that she’d finalize everything on Monday but that Kiarra could go to volleyball tryouts on Monday. We both shed tears of joy on the way to the car. AMEN!

Volleyball/Back to School

After all that craziness with getting Kiarra enrolled in school, she was able to try out for volleyball and she made the Freshman A team.  All in all they had a pretty good season.  There were too many girls on the team and the coach liked the “fun/fair/positive” crap but other than that they did well and Kiarra was able to play a lot.  I always thought football was the rough sport so when she suffered a concussion during an intense game against Katy I was quickly brought to reality and that every sport is kind of dangerous.  I always thought it would be a rolled ankle or jammed finger but a concussion…only my child J

The kids were excited to go back to school this year.  Kiarra in high school, Jayden in Jr High and Taryn in 1st grade. 3 kids in 3 different schools, working lots of hours, husband out of town, house on the market and volleyball games twice a week was all quite overwhelming but you know what, I wouldn't change it for the world.  This is my life and I love it.

Sale of House

We received other offers on our house and had many people interested in it but unfortunately our Realtor didn't do her part to see those through.  We lost one deal over a simple $250 neighborhood deed restriction rule book that she refused to let us pay for.  Seriously, $250?  Ugh!  After many prayers, discussions and considerations we decided to let her go.  So now what??  We have to sell this house by December 20th or Kiarra will have to transfer schools back to the school in our zone.  Again, after many discussions, prayer and tears, Jeff and I decided that at semester break, she’d just have to transfer to Katy High School.  End of discussion…. Or so we thought.  I was content with the decision and although I wasn't happy about it, I knew it was the right thing. I went to the sales associate at the new builder and explained to them that we needed to go ahead and cancel our contract. I hated to do it but there was just no other choice at this point.  I didn't even care if we lost our earnest money, we just needed out of the contract.  Here we go, another blessing… She was amazing. She explained to me that we just had a bad experience (a very bad one I might add) and not to give up yet.  She asked if we’d trust one of their preferred Realtors to re-list our house and was so positive and refreshing about the entire situation, something I was not used to because our other Realtor was not that way.  I couldn't even contain myself, I was so emotional. I was happy/nervous/stressed/anxious/overjoyed all at the same time. Mario called me later that day and we talked for a very long time about what we (Jeff and I) wanted and how we were going to tackle this.  See, we missed out on the prime time to sell our house over the summer and now school has started so I didn't have high expectations.  Our new Realtor came by and gave me a ton of tips to make the house look bigger/better.  Again, during this time, Jeff is STILL out of town (have I mentioned that enough in this post)… so the kids and I moved furniture around and sure enough, the house looked great.  I almost fell in love with it all over again, but shhh - don’t tell Jeff, he’d kill me.  LOL.  The house went back on the market in October and within a few weeks, we had an offer.  It wasn't the best and it wasn't our asking price but it was an offer and we were elated.  After a little negotiating, we signed the contract, inspections were schedule and we started packing.  I’d had my eyes on a few lease houses over the months but of course those were long gone.

Now where are we going to live??

Closing was scheduled to be within a month so now we needed to find a place to live. There were only 2 lease houses in the zone we needed and those were not going to work for us so I went to the only apartment complex that is zoned to the High School and Jr High (so the kids can ride the bus).  I've not lived in an apartment for 15 years.  My oh my, these apartments seem so small!  Closing is scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving and we are just praying all goes well and we can finally be done with this house…

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMERTIME….

Whew, another school year in the books!  What a milestone year we've had in the Dailey house.  Taryn just finished up Kindergarten, Jayden finished 5th and Kiarra finished 8th so now we transition Kiarra to high school, Jayden to middle school and sweet pea will be a big 1st grader!  

3 kids in 3 different schools - YIKES!!

With his certificate... woo-hooo, onto Jr. High

Jayden had an amazing fifth grade year.  He was awarded with the Presidential Award at the end of the year and that’s something we are very proud of.  This basically means he had a great GPA all year, tested great on his STAAR tests (actually only missed one question on the math test), had a recommendation letter from 2 of his teachers and was considered an outstanding student for his behavior and attitude. I received many praise emails for Jayden throughout the year.  The compliments from teachers, front office staff, the principal and many others bring pure joy to my heart. I thank God often for my only son.  He is really excited about Jr. High and I’m excited to see him excel.

Miss Bailey, his homeroom teacher.

Mr. and Mrs. Wolman

Taryn had a great year too.  She absolutely loves school and cried the last few days knowing it was coming to an end. Her teacher was fabulous, seriously amazing…especially for a first time teacher (which I didn't know until the last week of school).  I was (and still am) often called Miss Martinez at home. Taryn catches herself quickly now and realizes before she fully says the name but I don’t mind. I’m honored to be called that name because she’s taken such great care of my baby girl these past 9 months.  Taryn finished up school reading at a level G (only need to be level C to pass), she knew every site word, sound, vowel, letter, etc. that she was tested on and that appears on her report card.  She is more than ready for first grade and if it was up to her, she’d start tomorrow!

Miss Martinez

Mr. and Mrs. Wolman

Kiarra has had a great year as well.  I previously expressed my apprehension for her going to a new school her 8th grade year, but I’ll say it again… she took it on with great courage and I’m so proud of her for stepping into this unfamiliar space at this age.  WoodCreek Jr. High has been a really great experience for all of us and I’m actually very glad we made the move when we did.  God timed it all perfectly for us and I’m so thankful. The 8th grade dance was here before we knew it and she looked so beautiful in her dress with her long straight hair.  We don’t straighten it often but when we do, it’s absolutely gorgeous.  She had a really great time at dinner with a couple of her closest friend and said the dance was a lot of fun.  The morning after the dance she has an audition in which she received a call back.  Nothing major but she’ll be performing in front of some top agencies in August so she is starting to prepare for that now. The athletics dept. at WoodCreek Jr. High conducts a huge sports banquet each year (I mean huge) and I was so excited that Kiarra won an award.  Again, being new to this school I was shocked that she made the volleyball team, let alone the A Team and then she got an award to top it off.  The final event of Jr High was the pop show for choir where she had a small solo in the Beyoncé hit Single Ladies.  She did a great job!  Her last year of Jr High was very memorable and one I hope she cherishes for years to come.  We also celebrated her 14th b-day in May.  It was a BUSY month for Kiarra.  She had a handful of friend over for a sleepover and we may or may not have gone to HEB and acted a little crazy….

We finally heard from Tamia.  She reached out to Kiarra so we now know all is ok with her. She said she finished up the year with good grades and is happy that it’s summer.  We typically have her for 30 or more days in the summer so it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out. She also mentioned that she moved again.  Not sure where to as her Mom hasn't told us anything about it and if we ask Tamia too many questions, she’ll get punished for answering them so it’s best we just keep quiet.

Logan receiving his diploma (or 1 of the many scholarships)

In May, we drove to Iowa for my nephew, Logan’s, high school graduation.  First of all, I shouldn't be old enough to have nephews/nieces in high school (or kids for that matter), let alone GRADUATING! I had tears; I’m not going to lie.  The graduation was quite interesting. I've not been to a small town graduation for years so it was very interesting to Jeff and I that they announce EVERY scholarship for EVERY person.  I am very proud of Logan for his scholarships.  Some we knew about and others we didn't so they were a great surprise.  I’m a proud auntie!!  Congratulation Logan!!  After the ceremony, we headed to my brother’s house for the celebration.  We got to catch up with family that we hadn't seen since Christmas and meet the newest member of the family Caeden (that I made cry - still sorry Brent and Kelly).  It was a really short trip so we didn't get see everyone.  We drove up on Thursday night/Friday and back on Sunday evening/Monday.  Since we were there on Mother’s Day, Teige (and family) and Talan came over to Grandpa’s house that Sunday and after lunch we hung out all day.  The weather was beautiful!  I really enjoyed that time; it was great to catch up with them. My nephew will be going to college in the fall to play football so I’m looking forward to this next chapter in his life.  I was really sad that I didn’t get to see my niecers Makenzie but she was away at an all weekend softball tournament.  Can’t believe she is officially a SENIOR now!  Maybe she’ll come to Texas to go to college…

My other little cutie patootie niece turned 1 and had a very colorful birthday party.  She looked crazy funny in her big ol fat tutu.  We already know she is going to be spoiled because she received a sports car that she was pushed around in by Taryn.  That girl is a hot mess; she is the cutest 1 year old on the planet.  Taryn absolutely adores her (as we all do) and loves that she gets to be a big cousin to her.

And this brings us to SUMMER!  Thank GOD we all survived another school year.  I plan to take off as much time as I can to spend with the kids because 2013-14 school year will be starting before we know it.

Another cute little pic of Taryn and my Grandpa.  She was begging him to come to lunch with us on Mother's Day...

15 Years and Counting

Jeff and I met 15 years ago today, almost at this very minute. We met through mutual friends (many of you know our story so I won’t bore you with the play by play) and it’s a night we’ll never forget. To sum it up, Jeff’s friend was coming to my apartment to see my friend and couldn’t come unless he brought a friend. I’d only lived in Houston a few months and couldn’t explain to them how to get to my apartment so I decided we’d meet up the street in a parking lot and they could follow us. Looking back, this is so scary…two young girls meeting up with 2 guys in a parking lot and I didn’t know either one of them! Anyway, I was driving my little white sunbird and I whipped into the parking lot and they were already there. Jeff was immediately mad with his friend saying things like “you know I don’t like white girls man”... We chatted for a few minutes in the parking lot and they followed us back to my place. Our friends went out on the balcony which left Jeff and I stuck in the living room to entertain each other. Oh wait, at this time I only knew him as JD. Nothing was on tv on a Wednesday night and I have no idea what to talk to this dude about. After a few shots (yes, I broke out the Jack Daniels) we loosened up and started talking about all the “first date” type of stuff, where we work, where we grew up, our interests…. One conversation led to another and we had a great evening getting to know each other. The following two nights we went out and the rest is history. That is a picture from the night we met.

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Kiarra just finished club volleyball for the season. She played very well this season and we are extremely proud of her. She will attend the National Junior Honor Society ceremony tomorrow evening. She would have been inducted last year had Katy Junior High been a little more organized and not used an address and phone number for us that was 3 years old. It still blows my mind that they could get report cards to us at the right address, and call our cell phones several times a week with messages from the principal that were totally irrelevant but when it came to something this important they somehow didn’t have our current information… Ugh! Anyway, I’m very happy with this school and that she is able to be inducted this year and knowing she was supposed to be last year makes me proud as well…just wish she could of gone through it with all her friends. She also has her 8th grade dance this Friday evening and an audition this weekend. It’s a VERY busy and exciting week for Kiarra.

Jayden should be getting his leg brace off this week. He has a sleeve fracture of the patella and as of last week it was healing nicely so the doctor thought he’d only have to wear the brace another week. He’s been pretty cooped up for the past 3 weeks or so. He’s also been sick several times over the past few weeks. He caught some kind of stomach bug that would come and go. He’d be real sick one day and fine for several days and then sick again. I think he’s on the mend now. Thank God!

We’ve been debating on putting Taryn in gymnastics. I've been told she has perfect form when doing cartwheels and round-offs. I’m so used to her doing these all over the house that I didn’t really notice how awesome they were until someone at a volleyball tournament pointed it out to me. They asked me how many years she’s been in gymnastics and were surprised when I said she’d never had formal lessons. She basically taught herself with only a little coaching from me.

We haven’t seen Tamia since January so we can only hope and pray she is doing ok.

My nephew is graduating high school in just a few weeks. I can NOT believe he is going off to college this fall. It just doesn’t seem right that they are all growing up so fast. We can’t wait to see him walk across the stage to get his diploma!  It will also be great to see all of my family again.

SURPRISE SURPRISE

I love the month of February.  Things are back to normal after the holidays, the kids are counting down to spring break, Kiarra and my Mom both have birthdays, volleyball and basketball are in full swing and it’s a few months closer to school releasing for the year (something I look more forward to than the kids).

This year my Mom was turning 60 so I wanted to do something special for her. I was plotting with my brothers to come down and surprise her and I was going to put a small party together for her.  She hates surprises (like mother like daughter) but since it would be her kids and grand-kids coming, it would have been worth it.  Teige and family had a lot going on with Logan being a Senior, wrestling at the state tournament, etc. so they didn't think they were going to be able to make it.  I was trying to plan anyway but thing just didn't work out as I hoped for. There was a massive snow storm coming their way and the weather was looking real ugly all through Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.  Talan, Mollie and Makenzie were still planning to come so I was planning out how we’d do the grandioso surprise.  Since they were going to be driving all night Friday night, I gave them directions to the school where Jayden would be playing in his basketball game on Saturday morning. Thursday came and Talan started asking me questions he normally wouldn't ask.  We don’t talk often so for him to ask me ‘so, what are you guys doing tonight?’ and ‘what time do you get off work tomorrow?’ was so very suspicious to me.  BUSTED!!  I knew they were already in Houston or close by.  See, I hate surprises too so my head is now spinning at the fact they can show up at my house at any moment. Holy smokes, we kicked into high gear trying to get laundry done, toys picked up, sheets changed, and to top it off, I hadn’t got groceries yet!!  I was planning to do all that on Friday since it was my day off and I quickly realized I had less than an hour to do it all.  YIKES… well, laundry and groceries waited until the next day but the kids and I managed to get the sheets changed, dishes done, floors swept, carpet vacuumed and Taryns toys picked up in time for their arrival… but now how are we going to surprise Mom. I know she is in Katy on Thursdays after work so I called her and pretended like I was really upset about something and asked her to come over so I could talk.  At this point, I know Talan is already within 30 minutes from our house and she could take anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes. My heart is racing, who is going to show up first.  Thankfully, Mom showed up first so I laid a sob story on her and told her I quit my job… I even had tears (I should probably be an actress J).  I actually laughed a few times at the ridiculousness of my story but pulled myself together so she wouldn't notice.  Ok…on to the surprise.  I left the garage open so they could just walk into the house.  Jeff had to leave to pick up Jayden from practice at the same time I got a text that they were outside.  P-E-R-F-E-C-T!  Jeff started to leave and in they walked.  Talan said “Happy Birthday” and Mom just stared at him, did a double take and jumped up.  Priceless!  Mom was pleasantly surprised and I quickly confessed that I didn't quit my job.  They were pretty exhausted from driving 14 hours, many of them through snow and ice and since I had no food we had to go out to eat.  What better than taking them to our favorite Mexican restaurant Chuys. We had a nice dinner and went our separate ways. Talan and Mollie stayed with Mom and Kenzie stayed at our house.

Mom was supposed to work on Friday but her boss let her take a last minute vacation day to spend time with them while they were here. Our kids only had a half day at school so it all worked out well.  Jeff and Talan went bowling Friday morning while Mollie did some homework.  Makenzie, Kiarra and I loaded up on groceries and made snacks, cake balls, dips and food for the weekend.  Once Mom, Talan and Mollie finally came over, I took them around town to show them where the kids go to school, where they will go to high school, the new humongous high school, etc.  The remainder of the day we decided to just chill out and go to Katy Mills mall for a little shopping. Although Makenzie already has her prom dress, it was fun to look at dresses and see what she might like for next year. After our little shopping escapade, I made dinner while the rest played cards.  Taryn whooped everyone in the polish poker games that evening!

Saturday, Jayden had 2 basketball games so they were able to see him in action.  He played really well and had several points.  After his games, they all went to Traders Village while Kiarra and I worked on her scrap book.  I grilled up a feast including wings, burgers, hot dogs, bacon wrapped shrimp, queso, mac & cheese, baked beans, grilled veggies, etc.  After eating, I suggested we play hide and seek in the dark.  Talan, Mollie and Makenzie hadn't played this before and they later told us that they didn't think it would be fun.  We proved them wrong.  We had lots of laughs, and memories that we will talk about for years.

Sunday, we all slept in and it felt great… well until I realized we missed church.  Oops! We went to Moms for lunch and then headed to the outlets in Fairfield.  We did a lot of shopping while they were here.  We wanted to go to Galveston but it was chilly and it would have been late by the time we would have got there.  Makenzie, Kiarra, Jeff and I went to our favorite Sushi restaurant for dinner while the others stayed at Moms and ordered pizza.  They were planning to leave at 1:00 am so we let them rest and headed home to get our kids to bed.

It was so great to see them and spend time with them.  Each time we go to Iowa, everyone is always busy so we are limited on the time we get to see them. It was great to have them for 3 days, all to ourselves…especially you MAKENZIE!!

Kiarra has had several volleyball tournaments this year.  She has improved greatly and gets a lot of play time.  Tournaments are so exciting… stressful but exciting.  My back always hurts for a day or so after we have one from the intensity of each game.  We only have 3 tournaments left before the big 3 day, Lone Star Classic in Dallas in April. She’s done well in school, kept her grades to all A’s and B’s which I’m happy with.  Her 8th grade dance is in April which she is really excited about. 

Jayden has had a basketball game each Saturday for the past 2 months and has done really well.  Last night he scored 12 of our 25 points. They have a play just for him called ‘FIRE’ where he is able to make a fast break and go for a layup.  Basketball is pretty exciting too.  They are really rough with each other considering they are only 5th graders. Some kids think its football and go for a tackle.  It’s quite funny.  Jayden has maintained all A’s again.  He has really matured this year and has become so responsible.  I’m very proud of him for stepping up and taking on additional responsibilities.

Taryn is now reading level D, and may be moved to level E today.  It’s amazing to see how much she’s grown up this year as well.  Although she is still super cute, she’s not the cute ‘little’ girl anymore. She still loves to play babies and barbies and all that little girly stuff but she has so much ‘adult like’ behavior as well. I guess it’s because she has older siblings but I hear the other Kindergartners in her class and they all sound like babies, whining and throwing fits during the class parties.  She looks at them like they are crazy.  She comes home with the greatest stories.  I love her personality and the little lady she is turning out to be.  She’s always been our sassiest and I’ve prayed we don’t let her become too sassy.

Jeff and I are starting to make some changes around the house.  I’m super excited about this.  I’ve got someone coming to paint next week and then it’s onto light fixtures, ceiling fans, the kitchen and the pool!  I think we now know exactly what we want so it’s time to get it done!