Sunday Snippets

Our Week in Review.

• Sickness invaded our home this week.  We all dropped like flies.  First it was Isaac and then Alivia, then Dylan, and now the Mr. is laid up in bed with a high fever and an achy body.  I'm on the verge of coming down with it too, but I keep crossing my fingers that I can continue to keep fighting it off. 
• Alivia loves school so much she was devastated to have to miss it on Friday.  All weekend long she kept asking when do I get to go back to school?
• I got a few of our fall decorations out and put them up.
• I pulled out my sewing machine and have been working on a project I started over a year or two ago.  It's getting close to being finished, I'm excited to share pictures of the finished product.  
•  The Mr. and I have exciting plans for this next Friday (if we can both be healthy).  It will be interesting to see who gets their way, I'll share more info of that later too.  

Sunday Snippets

Our Week in Review

What a week it was and I'm so glad it's over with.

• Tuesday I took my friend to the airport to fly back home to Utah.  It was an emotional experience that made me just ache for home.  
• Wednesday morning Alivia decided to have a complete and total psychotic breakdown over her socks before school.  She would rip them off her feet screaming about how they made her feet sweaty and then she would throw them in the garbage.  I would then dig them out of the garbage and put them back on her feet and try to talk some sense into her.  We had a good half hour before the bus came so I wasn't panicking yet I figured she could get it all out of her system in plenty of time to catch the bus.  I was wrong! Nothing I said or did was snapping her out of it...She just kept screaming "no socks, stupid sweaty socks".  I threatened her with every grounding in the book and even told her if she didn't quit I'd make her miss school.  I sent Dylan off to the school bus without her and that's what finally motivated her to put on her "sweaty socks" and get to school.  As I pushed her out the door Dylan was walking back from the bus stop saying they'd missed the bus.  This really upset Alivia and she ran the neighborhood crying and carrying on like a crazy person.  As I was trying to catch her and drag her back home Isaac got loose and started running away as well.   I sent Dylan after Isaac and I continued to chase Alivia, but that was a mistake too!  Dylan was laughing and chasing after Isaac like it was a really funny game so when Isaac got brave and ran out into the road I knew I had to give up on Alivia for a minute and get Isaac safely contained.  Much to my relief a neighbor girl grabbed Alivia's hand and told her it was okay and they hadn't missed the bus and walked her to the bus stop.  What a circus!  I must have looked like an idiot mother with three really out of control kids.  I can only imagine what every neighbor was thinking as they watched everything unfold. 
• After having myself a good cry over Wednesdays mornings events I decide to get to work on cleaning my house.  I started with a load of laundry.  About an hour later I noticed this really bad smell and ran as fast as I could to our washing room.  I opened the door to find the room filled with black smoke.  My washer was billowing smoke!  I quickly shut it off and thanked  Heavenly Father that it didn't catch my house on fire.  I called the Mr. and told him that our washer was a goner!  I spent the rest of the day trying to de-smoke our house.  Yet another appliance that has bit the dust in the last three months.
• We had a lot of rain towards the end of the week.  Friday afternoon it really started to rain.  I kept watching the clock so that I could have enough time to hop in the van and drive to the bus stop so I could be there to get Dylan and Alivia since it was raining buckets of water.  Apparently the bus was early and before I knew it Dylan was pounding on the door.  When I opened the front door he was hysterical and bawling and telling me he couldn't believe what kind of mother I was for making them walk home in the rain.  As I tried to explain myself to him I noticed a neighbors truck pull out of our driveway.  Dylan kept crying and saying at least we had nice neighbors who would drive them home.  How many times in one week can I make myself look like an incompetent mother? 
• Saturday was just icing on the cake of a week well worth puttting behind me.  I was helping a friend from our ward by watching her 8 year old son.  The kids were having a good time and were wrapped up in a movie so I took Isaac outside to pull some weeds since the weather was a little cooler thanks to all the rain.  After a few minutes Isaac scurried around the corner and I heard a car door shut.  I got up to see where he had gone  and found him in the garage inside his daddy's car.  Unfortunately for me he found the lock button and had locked himself in.  It wasn't until I went in to the house to retrieve my keys that I remembered that I had left my key to that particular car back in Utah and that the Mr. was the only one who had a key.   The problem I now had was Mr. Giovannoni had taken his set of keys with him to run some errands but he had taken my vehicle. His cellphone bit the dust a month or so ago and we decide it was just one more thing we'd put off replacing so we could focus on getting things around the house fixed up, so I had no way of contacting him either.  I tried to teach Isaac how to unlock the door by himself, but he just couldn't figure it out.  I tried unpicking the lock, that didn't work either! I noticed that Isaac was starting to sweat so I knew I had to get him out.  I decided I would call the non-emergency number and see if I could get a police officer to my house to unlock the car doors.  Turns out they consider it an emergency down here and they had to send the fire department! By now the other kids had caught wind something was up, so they kept running in and out yelling about how the cops were coming to our house.   The fire department arrived and they couldn't get the equipment they had to work and they told me they were going to have to break the car window.  Thankfully (and in answer to my most fervent prayers) Isaac pushed the lock the right way and the door unlocked.  Finally he was safe and nobody had to bust up the car window.    Not even one minute after the fire department left then the Mr. drove home.  Even though I wanted to die from embarrassment and shame over the big scene we made I'm just so glad everyone was okay.  And my friends little boy had an exciting story to share about the time he spent at the Giovannoni's.....right? 
• Here's to a better week next week, I could sure use a break!

Surprise!

Mr. Giovannoni surprised me by flying my dear friend Stacie down to see me this past weekend.

This picture is the only one I grabbed of us as she was leaving at the airport. 

My kids answered the door when she knocked and they nearly died from excitement.
I had been scrubbing carpets and washing beds so I was only half dressed and I was sweaty and gross, so I wanted to die when she caught me this way, but then I laughed at myself and remembered she saw me that way all the time in Utah (except the sweaty part) and she wouldn't be surprised at all to catch me this way now.  At least she came when the house was clean right?
Mr. Giovannoni rushed us out the door to grab lunch and do some errands, and allowed me so much needed time with my friend.  
Sunday morning we went to sacrament meeting, snuck home for lunch and then headed down to Galveston for a walk along the beach.  The weather was gorgeous and the humidity was low.

  

The kids really wanted to jump in the ocean and go for a swim, they were so disappointed that I outlawed the idea since it was Sunday and we were just there to look.  

The Mr. then drove us to the port at Galveston and we hopped on the ferry to Port Bolivar.  We had never done this before and didn't know what to expect, it turned out to be a short and fun little ride and we were all had a great time watching the dolphins jump in and out of the water.

 The ferry we rode on.

Monday morning Stacie gave me a much needed haircut (it's been over a year since I've had one) and then we hit the premium outlet malls to look around.  We came home and sat in lawn chairs in the front yard, and I talked her ear off all evening long.  

Tuesday came too fast and before I knew it I was driving Miss Stacie to the airport.  I'm not sure who was more devastated to see her go me or my kids.

It was hard to say good bye and I cried most of the way home from the airport, I miss my old life and my old friends!  

It was so good to see you Stacie!  Thanks for coming and brightening our lives, I know it wasn't easy to leave your own family for a while.  My kids adored having you back around.   The Mr and I had a great opportunity to play hostess and we learned a lot about how we need professional help when it comes to hosting guests.  Thanks for the haircut and the smiles and the listening ear.  

I hope you had a little fun here in Houston with us. 

I can't end without a big thanks to the Mr. for the surprise,  It tickled me pink.  I love you!

First Day of School 2012-2013

Dylan (4th Grade)

I can hardly believe how grown up and handsome my first born is.

Alivia (Kindergarten)

What a beautiful little princess we have.  I'm so excited for you to start school, what a great thing for you. 

It's comforting to know they will have each other at school, even if Dylan pretends to be mortified by her when he's with his friends.  They might have their share of brother-sister spats, but when push comes to shove they are each others protectors and defenders. 

 Isaac wanted in on the action.

One last wave and they are off to school.

Mr. Giovannoni gave each of our children a beautiful Fathers Blessing Sunday night before bed.  Alivia was very excited about the idea of having a special blessing.  Afterwards she kept saying she felt different inside.  I hope she will grow to recognize that it was the spirit making her feel different and what a blessing it is to have the Gospel in her life and a daddy who worthily holds the priesthood.  

It's just me and Isaac at home now and I'm excited/terrified for this next step in our lives.  I have not had the chance to have much one on one time with him, so I look forward to the opportunity.  He is going to miss his siblings so very much though, and I'm quite apprehensive of the mischief he'll get into since they are not here to keep him busy and out of trouble.  

Let the adventures begin...

Huntsville State Park

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Our friends from church invited us to come out to Huntsville with them.  I was more than happy to make one last fun memory to end our summer on.  I'm always so grateful that the Pearson's invite us along on all of their adventures, it makes my life so much more exciting and it gives our family a chance to experience the different areas and aspects of Texas.  
Today couldn't have been more perfect either.  The temperatures weren't scorching and were in fact LOVELY the scenery down there was beautiful.  The kids had a blast and I couldn't get enough of the wooded/foresty vibe this place gave off.  It reminded me of fond memories of hanging out in the canyons in Utah with friends and family. Everything reminded me of home except this of course.

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It wasn't until we were almost half way there that  I realized I forgot my camera, but I did grab a few blurry photos with my cell phone camera they just don't do the place any justice though. 
There are lots of hiking trails, a big lake with a swimming hole and a pier for the kids to jump from.  The trees offered lots of shade and there were a gazillion picnic tables. 
I most definitely will be going back there again (even in spite of the alligator warnings).  Hopefully the next time around I'll take the Mr. along and pack a great picnic lunch and maybe we can explore some of the hiking trails. 
Sister Pearson was kind enough to bring her canoe and her kayak along with her and her neighbor and friend Dan who came along rented a paddle boat for an hour so the kids kept themselves really busy. 

Alivia and Isaac out on a canoe ride

 Dylan on the Pier

 

I think jumping from the pier was probably the favorite activity though, even Isaac got in on the action.  The kids had so much fun, it made my heart happy!  I wish everyday could be like today was.  

Sunday Snippets

Our Week in Review

• Miss Alivia is finally registered for Kindergarten.  I have all her school supplies bought, but I am struggling to find her school clothes.   I have one week to get that problem solved!
• I did a lot of scrubbing this week.  One night Isaac decided to travel through bedrooms and throw-up in each one,  bless his little heart.   Thankfully it was only on the bedding so a dozen loads of laundry later everyone had a clean bed to sleep in. 
• Isaac refuses to keep clothing and diapers on.  I made the mistake of taking a nap while Dylan and Isaac were watching a TV show and when I awoke I found the WORST mess I have ever had to clean up.  There was poop EVERYWHERE!  The walls, the carpet, the blinds, the windowsills, and a poop trail that led me all the way through the first floor right into my master bedroom where I found a tub full of poop water where Isaac was trying to bathe himself.  Oh the horror!  I did a lot of crying (and cleaning) that day.  Can I just say I'm rather grateful for owning a carpet scrubber.
•  I decided to start a painting project.  It was quite a mess but I finished it none-the-less. 
• At the beginning of the week I decided I needed to be more positive about my life and my circumstances.  And then this week happened and all the positivity was sucked right out of me.  Maybe I'll start by being more positive this next week.

Sunday Snippets

Our Week in Review

• Miss Alivia had five different immunizations this week so she could get registered for school.  I had to haul all three kids to the Dr's. office.  Between Alivia's dramatic screaming and her hysteria rubbing off on Isaac I hope and pray I never have to take all three kids to a Dr. appointment again.  We were like a circus act!!
•  It's HOT down here folks this 106 degree "feels like" 112 degree temperatures are awful!  Even the pool water is hot and offers no relief.  August can't come to a close fast enough for me.  
• The two week count down to school starting has begun.  Pretty soon it will just be me and Mr. Isaac hanging around the house.  He's very attached to Alivia so it's going to be a tough transition for him I think.
• I'm headed out to Utah in October for 4 days!  It's what I live for these days.  I can't wait to breath in the cold and crisp October air.  I can't wait to see the mountains again.  I can't wait to meet my little nephew Kru.  I can't wait to spend time with my friends and family.  I have all 4 days packed with things to do I'm afraid it's going to be the fastest 4 days of my life.  Now I have to figure out how I can get the next 9 weeks to just fly by.