I am the mother of a SEVEN year old.. OH MY!

Today is the day I have dreaded all month. I have become the mother of a seven year old! Yikes! That hurts my heart. At 3:38pm on September 18, 2001 my world changed forever! Oh, what a wonderful change it was! I have been so lucky and so blessed to be graced by God to be this wonderful child's mother. It is bittersweet watching your children grow. Today was a day filled with WHATEVER Ethan wanted and along the way we had lots of stories and lots of questions about the day he was born and "what he was like..." when he was a baby. Only a few times did I get teared up while telling a "my little baby" story. :)

My favorite book to read (aka cry while trying to read) to Ethan when he was a baby was "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. In the book the mom is growing old with her son and at each stage she quietly rocks him in her lap and sings "I'll love you forever, I"ll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be". At the end of the book, the son is a grown man the mom is very old and he sneaks in her room and rocks her and sings the song to her! You talk about a book that I NEVER made it through without crying and as I am typing this my terribly emotional self is crying. This book always hit so close to home. It made you think of the reality that they would grow up, but it also made you realize the fact that they will ALWAYS, ALWAYS be your baby! I recommend to any mother, read that book! It is not a bedtime story read, just a "every mom should read" sort of book. :)


Ethan's fun started last night. After his baseball game (which, I should say he had a great hit.. but I have no pictures.. no camera...AGAIN) we went to eat dinner at our favorite Mexican place, Senor Tequila. We told the water it was his birthday and he was SO RED in the face when they sang to him. He had the biggest smile! It was one of those smiles and one of those moments you always remember. I love the fact that something so simple can thrill this child beyond
understanding. :) Here are a couple of pictures of Ethan and Hayden during the singing and Ice Cream dessert. :) Scarlett was there, but at that very moment she has walked away for a short pout that "it is not her birthday and she didn't get any ice cream!)
















Today we spent all day at the park! We had pizza, cupcakes, candles that would not light, drinks, balls and games. The kids had a BLAST! They all looked so tired! I did charge my camera batter and did take my camera to the park, I just forgot one thing... my card! Thankfully Ms. Nancie had her camera and I will upload pics as soon as I get them. :) I found a Razorback cupcake cake and Ethan LOVED IT! Had to have it!

This afternoon we had the make the stops for all the free birthday stuff! Toys R Us, Simon Gidgits Club, dinner and soccer practice. I am exhausted!!!

This is just a small list of things I love about Ethan at seven years old:

I love that he takes life in leaps! He is passionate about so many things. If he loves something, or if he even likes something he puts his whole heart into that one thing. He is a very dedicated child. I just love the faith of a child. I love that he is so artistic. Rather it is painting, coloring, or cooking. He loves to get in there and make a mess! He loves to create and use his imagination. Remember the pirate ship??? He will do things like that all day! He can create a whole world within his mind. It is such a wonderful thing.
Most of all I love that fact that he loves his mommy!!! The first thing he does every morning is get up and find me and give me a big hug! He is so thankful for having hubby and I as parents! Some days it is hard to believe that he truly thinks he got the "great deal"! He has said so many times that "he had the best gift by having us as parents"! WOW! Talk about a "you can have whatever you want" moment! He loves his Daddy the same! He is such a loving child. He doesn't hesitate to show it! I just love that about him. Ethan is a hugger. He is the affectionate one. If I ever meet you and I tell my kids to tell you "HELLO".. watch out, Ethan will be hugging you with that hello! :) and lastly, Ethan LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his baby sister! Sure he can get mad at her, but he is also the one that always gives in to her. He always gives up whatever he has so she can have it. He tries to help her learn new things. He is so patient with her and at times I know it is hard.

Sweet Ethan, I hope today was a lot of fun! Sorry your party is going to be late, but I hope you had a great birthday! I love you so much more than I can express! I am so lucky to be your mommy!!! Happy 7th Birthday, "Eenie"! :)

Thank you Ms. Nancie and Hayden for spending your day with us. We had a great time!!!

A "i have no pictures" kind of post...

Well, I have been a slacker and not charged my camera! UGHH! Remember me telling you it went dead last weekend.. yes that is right I have gone a whole week without charging it. So in that I missed a lot of things.

Everything is so busy right now and I am so overscheduled a lot of days that it is getting hard for me to keep my calendar straight! Here is an example of how bad it has gotten. Friday night I was dreading going to work, drug myself into work at 6:30pm and didn't have a work load. OK, maybe I have the ER, go ask for the pager.. I don't have the ER.. I am not on the SCHEDULE! I didn't have to work, but on my calendar it said I WORK so I got ready and went off to work, only to be clocked in for six minutes! ha! I was happy driving home.

Ethan plays for the Arkansas Soccer Club. This is his fifth season to play, and he loves it! He had his first soccer game on Tuesday night and another on Saturday morning. We moved him up to the next age level so we could fit baseball into our schedule and I was concerned that he might be in over his head but after he scored five goals in his game I felt a little better. :) He will be fine, he has a real "eye for the ball" according to his coach. He finally has a real team with a name. He is part of the Arkansas Burn! :) Go Burn!!

I have been ironing, hanging and tagging clothes for our consignment sale here. I have to take them and drop them off tomorrow morning. I think I must have overbought for my two children! My house is covered with winter clothes. While I didn't have 30 pairs of shoes for Scarlett last winter like summer, I did have about 20! My goal this year is to skim it down a bit.

I was looking through my pictures on my phone and found this:

I think Ethan is afraid I may forget his birthday! Not a chance! Although I do wish he would just slow down a bit!!!

With all that, there is still a house to be finished, packing to be done and the regular duties of cooking and cleaning! UGH!!! Thankfully Scarlett likes to get in the kitchen and help me. :) Photographer Ethan took a picture of us making spaghetti sauce the other day.

A day to be remembered...

Today should just be another day on the calendar. It should just be a Thursday like any other day. Today should be September 11, 2008 but it will never JUST be September 11th again. Not after 9/11/01 that changed everything. I remember so vividly that day. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Ethan and was already placed on bed rest so I was confined to my house. I was still in bed when the phone rang and I remember my husband on the other line saying ".. you might want to get up and look at the news, a small plane just hit the World Trade Center...". I got up and by that time they knew it was no small plane, they also knew that something was very, very wrong with another plane. I watched in horror as the second building was hit. I remember my dad calling to check on me, Angie my sister in law came to sit with me knowing I couldn't go anywhere. We watched as t he building collapsed and our world was changed forever. We were so shocked and horrified and at the time felt helpless and defeated.

I remember thinking at that time how could I be bringing a child into this world? How could I be excited when these horrible things were going on right outside my door. Everything was filled with such horrible images but in that we saw the true spirit of America. We came together like never before. There was such pride and such love being shown every where. I think we realized that even though we are truly the greatest nation we are vulnerable. You saw American flags being flown, you saw selfless heroes immerge, you saw a new pride in our nation.

We are so blessed as American's. We live in a country that is free. We can speak our thoughts, vote on our nation's leader, we can truly live in peace. I am reminded daily of how wonderful we have it here in America. On 9/18/01, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The TV was still filled with the horrible images from 9/11, life outside was still turned upside down, there was still great sadness but I knew we as American's would be okay. Feeling defeated and the thoughts of "why would I bring a child into this world" was exactly what the enemy wanted! They wanted us to feel hopeless and like we should " give up" but guess what they didn't get what they wanted! I was so very happy and filled with such pride. My son would know about 9/11, he would be lucky enough to avoid the horrible images but what he would know is the wonderful dedication of our servicemen and women, the "real life" heroes we saw that day, the pride in a great nation. That was not what the enemy wanted but that was what my son would know. He would grow up in a land that was free! He would be so very blessed to be an American!


"Our God is an awesome God! He reigns from Heaven above! With wisdom power and love, our God is an awesome GOD!" What a wonderful song that is and so very true! God is awesome and he watches over our great nation! May he continue to watch over our service men and women that are risking it all daily. May God watch over us as a nation.

WOOO PIG SOOIE for TWO with a piece of GNO

Well, Saturday came and went and the Razorbacks are 2-0! Yippee!! I am not sure the rest of the season will be as exciting. None the less hubby says there is plenty of talent and lots to build on so he will be okay this year if it is not a winning season. But who knows, I have seen it done before. They had the best time at the game. Ethan made a friend and shared popcorn, funnel cakes and lots of football talk with the nice guy that sat beside him. My kids will talk to anybody and if you act like you are listening you might as well get comfortable because they can go on for quite a while. They tailgated before the game. I think Ethan enjoyed that part as much as anything. They packed up hot dogs, chips, dip and cokes. I sent them with a football platter and Razorback cups. They were all fixed for the excitement. Here is a picture of them before they left. Ethan enjoyed the tailgating but was excited to get to the field. When he got home he told me that Fayetteville was fun and the field was nice, but Little Rock was LOUD and likes LOUD! Of course, the game he went to in Fayetteville, we were winning 56-10 and the crowd was dwindling. Leave it to me to forget to charge the camera battery and it went dead on them before they ever made it into the field! I hate that! But that left Scarlett and me alone from 12-11pm! We had a day! Have you ever let a five year old guide the activities? My advice is DON'T! You will be worn out! First we had business to take care of, we had to return soccer cleats and buy different ones. CHECK! and then it was left to Ms. Scarlett to do whatever she wanted so here is how our day went:

1. Lunch because she was "eaty".. which for some reason is what she has always called being hungry. We laughed and had "girl" talk during lunch. She had lots to talk about!
2. Chuck E Cheese to play games. Fifty tokens, 100 tickets, and a plastic headphone set later, we are off to do something else.
3. To the stores to look at "fashion". She wanted to check out the "girly" stuff. So we went off to a few different stores. I did not quite have THIS in mind, but of course this is the sort of thing that got her attention. We tried on every single mask Target had to offer. :)
4. She wants to "make something". We head off to Hobby Lobby and get a kit to make you own garden stones. Looks messy! YEAH! She wanted to make her own BLING shirt but I talked her out of that for now.
5. Guess what.. she is "eaty" again! So we grab some nuggets at Wendy's and that makes her happy.
6. Target and rummage the dollar shop. She finds a cool microphone to go with her headphones. She is ready to go home and make her "stuff".
7. We make the garden stone. Turns out really cute, and now that I have a picture added you can see it, too. :)
8. We spent the last hour making a video. Actually we made several videos. She had her microphone and her headset (she tossed it) and she went to town. She was a SUPERSTAR!


A while back I told her I was going to send her to Hollywood! She had so much drama and sass that she would be just perfect. She was happy with that and wanted to be a Star.. until we got home. Mean little Ethan got the map out and showed her where we live and where Hollywood is and that was the end of that. Don't even mention sending her to Hollywood! She gets very upset! ha! Hope you enjoy her videos. We have an hours worth of singing, acting and even her bear, Kia, got in on the action. Scarlett made a movie starring Kia. Apparently at some point she had my phone and was taking lots of pictures. I just found about twenty shots of Scarlett making faces on my phone.

***Just in case you are wondering, the first song is "Burning Up" from the Jonas Brothers, witha few ad libs from Scarlett. Such as "I could look cool, or I could sit in JAIL!" definitely not what they say, I looked it up to be sure! ha! and the second song is "This is Me" from Demi Lovato. :)

Weekend Randomness

I should be up getting my winter clothes ironed and tagged for the consignment sale coming up, I should be at the "new" house painting, I should be getting the house clean.. lots of "SHOULD BE's" but for now I am wasting time on the internet! One of my favorite past times. I started looking for the kids Halloween costumes. Our catalog came yesterday so that got me to thinking about this year and what the kids would be for Halloween. Ethan seems to pick a theme and stay with it for a while. He was a Power Ranger for two years, and apparently this will be the third year he is a character from Star Wars. We have been a Storm Trooper and Darth Vader, and this year he has decided on Jango Fett. Scarlett on the other hand has always let me pick her costume out. Of course I knew just what she wanted to be. She has been JoJo the Clown (which is still one of my favorite costumes), Minnie Mouse and a witch. I just loved the little witch last year. I dressed up, too and had the best time. It was the first time I had dressed up since I was little. This year I am trying to decide what I can be for Halloween, too. Scarlett decided she wants to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I think she just wants to carry a basket with a stuffed puppy.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love Friday night football games, cool morning soccer games, and all the beautiful color. I just LOVE fall. I love decorating for fall! I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch and taking pictures. My mom always makes Scarlett he cutest outfits to wear to the Pumpkin Patch. I just LOVE them! Here is an older picture of my mom and Scarlett. She loves her Nana SO MUCH! If I don't give her the right answer, AKA the Scarlett answer, then she wants to go to her Nana's house!
So, with all that said I am SO excited to start gearing up for fall! Ethan had his first soccer practice this morning. I raced out at 8am to buy him new soccer cleats since we discovered last night his from the Spring were too small and I got home and found out I was no longer "with it". He didn't like the cleats I picked out so I have to back to the sports store and return them. I think I may have reached the age that my taste is no longer cool to a ALMOST seven year old little boy! :) Ethan always looks so cute to me with his big soccer back pack on and his mis match clothes. I was told it was okay for soccer players to have on socks that don't match their shorts. Go figure. After practice hubby and Ethan are off to the Razorback game. Ethan is so excited! He just LOVES his Razorbacks. They bought a new tailgate grill and everything. They are going to do the "boys things" all day! Scarlett and I will be left home alone. What on Earth will we do??? I am sure we will come up with something fun for a girl's night.

How's that for some weekend randomness? We have a busy schedule ahead of us so I am sure there will be lots to post. Baseball starts Monday night, first soccer game Tuesday, OH BOY! Our NFL kick off party at our house is Monday night. Fall is truly arriving! :) I am so excited!!!

Have a great weekend! GO Razorbacks!!!!

TGIF!!!

This has been a VERY long week for me. I am so tired. I have worked far more than I normally do, plus I started "half" days for school this week to get Scarlett geared up, and working on the house.. which I managed to do nothing on all week! I really would have but I had no time! Next week starts soccer and baseball for Ethan so five days a week will be spent at either practice or a game. Gotta love being a mom! :) Now if I can just get Scarlett interested in something my schedule would be full.

We started Wednesday with a scaled back day of school. I wanted to ease Scarlett in to the routine. She has done SO WELL! I am so proud of her. She has really shown excitement which is just wonderful. I went to work one night and they did extra pages in their books! I am just thrilled that so far it is going well. I know it is only two "scaled back" days but I was even worried about that. Monday morning will be the big breakfast and pictures with our sign that says "Welcome to Kindergarten!". I did take a few pictures of her hard at work. Can't you see the concentration!

Ethan is doing good, too. He is actually asking to read. Which is something I Have prayed would happen. Some days that is the one area I really question my ability to motivate or teach.

I decided that Scarlett was definitely going to need lots of positive reinforcement from me. So I took a little idea from Nanny 911. :) Yes I occasionally have stumbled upon that show. She told the mom to give away "hearts" with something good written on them for each of her children at the dinner table. I thought that was such a great idea. Kids need to hear everyday what they do that is great, what they do that you really noticed and appreciated. I was so afraid in being their "teacher" they would only hear correction, see disappointment or feel frustration and think that those feelings carried over as "mom", too. I started writing a little note on a star and giving it to them at the end of the day. Scarlett was so proud of that star! She wore it all night.

It really was a great motivator for her. Positive reinforcement is going to go a long way to encourage this girl.


We are off to do more fun things today. I can't wait to see what this year holds for us. :) Have a great weekend!

Train up a child in the way they should go...

While I am positive that is not meant for football! Ethan is being trained very well on the ways of being a True, RED, Razorback FAN! He and his daddy are true blue fans! I live in a household with two people that can not get enough of football! Ethan and his daddy live and breath football from August to January. Ethan is so funny, we took him to his first Razorback game last year and we are winning 56-10 but that boy stayed in his "stance" the whole game and clapped for the last play just like he did the first. He just LOVES football so much! His daddy took him to a pre-game walk through last year and afterwards I got a phone call from Ethan and he was so excited he had met and had his football signed by Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. He was beyond cloud nine! Before Ethan could walk or talk he was carrying a football and he knew how to call those hogs! Here is a picture of his with his daddy just before his first Razorback basketball game.
Ethan and hubby are going to the football game Saturday in Little Rock. Ethan is SO EXCITED but he informed me that he needed a new Razorback shirt!

I have learned to expect my Saturdays to be filled with football. I planned a wedding around football and I have planned seven birthday parties! It is a way of life in my house. You learn to deal and sometimes you even learn to play along! That is exactly what got me started playing Fantasy Football with my husband and his friends in Tennessee. I LOVE it! I take it very seriously and I am a very bad loser! Lucky for me, I have won the championship TWICE! I won it the very first year I played. The money and trophy was nice.. but the glory was even better! Sunday night we had our draft and I got some really great players. I am excited about football this year. My team is called the River City Riveters and my logo is of course Rosie the Riveter


I am excited about the NFL kick off on Thursday night and a double header on Monday! GO RIVETERS! ha! I laughed during the draft the smack talk had began. I think I enjoy that as much as anything. My favorite is singing at the NFL kick off! That is right KEITH URBAN! Does it get any better??? I don't think so! I am excited!!!