Our newest addition....

I must admit - I am not really a "cat lover" - I have always had dogs and my mother detested cats so much that it kind of rubbed off on me I guess. But, when I went to pick Maddie up from school last week, the Librarian had 3 little kitties she was giving away. Maddie has been wanting a kitty for a long time - so, I decided - why not?

This poor little kitty - named "Blackberry" - is literally being carried from one end of the house to the other, over and over again by Maddie and Maci - he probably wishes I had just left him in the Library!!! But, I must say, he has really grown on me...

Maci Turns 3!!!

I can't believe my "baby" is now 3 YEARS OLD!!! This year we decided not to do a party and instead, have a "family party" as Maddie keeps referring to it....we went to the Great Wolf Lodge for the weekend. Let me say, they are making a killing there....from MagicQuests, a waterpark, arcade, kids only salon, other crafts and such - oh, and when you are completely beaten down tired, they even have a bedtime story by the gigantic fireplace that all the kids come down in their pajamas to hear. We then retire to our suite that includes a private bunk bed retreat for the kiddos - to include a flat-screen TV for them to watch, play games, etc...



So, all of this sounds good, however, in reality it includes over-stimulation to create little monsters out of your once sweet darlings. Anyone remember the old horror film that came out years ago - that evil toddler, Chuckie....well, you get the picture of the weekend......And, Maddie woke us all up on Sunday at 5:30 AM!!!!!!! Anyone who knows me well, can tell you that I am NOT a morning person - for that matter, I am not really a night person - I guess I am more of a good middle of the day kind of gal...



So, we return home promptly after checkout on Sunday...oh, and did I mention how uncomfortable the beds were???? Not only did we get up early, but we couldn't sleep because the beds were just terrible. With the kind of sticker shock that the Great Wolf Lodge comes with, our beds should have rocked us to sleep, popped a Benadryl in our mouths and sang a lullaby!!!



Well, we did cap it off nicely though with MiMi and Papa and Uncle Rich (who was in town due to Hurricane IKE - glad to report that his home has little to no damage...but it was a treat to see him). We ate BBQ and had a Baskin and Robbins ice-cream cake and watched Maci play with her new things....



Happy Birthday Maci Lyn!!!

The Tale of 2 Pools.....

It goes to show you....that even if you have a fabulous pool with a deep end and diving board, kids just need a back yard and a blowup pool for a good time....


Here is Maddie at her Mimi and Papa's house:



Moral of this story, save your money and time and make a trip to Wally World.

The End.

The REAL Labor Day.....

Just for fun, I'm playing along with my friend Jennifer Liane Hunt.....

How long were your labors?

Kid #1: Watched the episode of Bold and the Beautiful, ate a PB&J and then a WHOOOOOSH sound - yep, my water broke. To this day, I still believe that Jim finished his enchiladas and margarita at Ojedas in downtown Dallas. It took him FOREVER to come get me in Sachse to head to Big Baylor. The entire staff at Mom's office listened on speaker phone until Jim arrived. Thank you Environmental Protection Agency - you timed my contractions perfectly!!!! However, Maddie had Jim's shoulders and head, so after 12 hours of labor, and 2 hours of pushing, she was delivered by C-section at 2:11 in the morning (ironically, my b-day is February 11th!)

Kid #2: Planned C-section, no labor - full make-up and hair until the guy with the epidural came in and freaked me out....so much for good pictures....

Where did you deliver?

Baylor Dallas (not my favorite)
Medical City Dallas (this hospital rocks!)

Who delivered?
Dr. Charles Brodsky (performed my emergency c-section in the middle of the night!)
Dr. Michelle Heintges (awesome and played some rockin' music during my c-section!)

I forgot that I had pictures on the camera.....

I reached for the camera tonight to take a picture of Maddie's poor face (she fell off the monkey bars today at school), and when I did, I realized I had not downloaded some cute pictures from Dolfin Swim School and Maddie earning her orange belt in karate....

So, here are a few - including Maddie's busted lip and scratched up face....:(

Farewell Summer 2008.....

Hi everyone - I just wanted to post a quick post and let you all know that I am alive - it has been a wild and crazy summer with being co-director for my church's VBS, 2 trips to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, 2 trips thru Austin, a week in Savannah at the beach with my family, 2 sets of swim lessons, a case of Crypto for Maci (unrelated to the swim lesson pools but directly connected to a waterpark that is named after a certain state located in the Pacific), Maddie beginning Taekwondo and already going to an orange belt....oh, and somewhere in there I have managed to sell some real estate!!!

Maddie started a new school this year - so, that has been a bit stressful for her - however, I think she will end up really liking it. Of course, on the 2nd day of school she tried out a couple of karate moves on her teacher, so as you can imagine, that didn't go off too well. She promptly ended up sitting in the Headmaster's office!! While in his office, she confessed everything bad she had done to her sister in the last 2 weeks.

Maci will start MDO at our church in a couple of weeks....but, meanwhile, she has begun taking dance lessons (ballet, tap and tumble). She is really enjoying it I think - they tell me that she is a "fearless tumbler" - not quite sure if this is a good thing....????? At least we are experienced with orthapedics (Maddie had 2 broken wrists by the time she was 3)....

Hope to have more pics and stories to post soon....for now, Farewell Summer 2008!!!:)

GAS LEAK!!!! YIKES!!!!

It has been crazy since my last post - after finishing up swim lessons, it was then time to get the girls ready for our trip to Savannah, GA. I will post about our trip (we just got home today) later once I download the pictures. Well, on Monday (last week) - Jim and I thought we smelled gas outside. We have a outdoor fireplace and built-in grill that run on gas....so we call Atmos Energy - and, wow - they were here in 10 minutes!!! That emergency number is highly efficient I must say!! The worker took a look around and sure enough - we have a leak ---- somewhere....!!! Mandatory shut-down at the Garland White House....UGH!!! However, we are TRULY blessed that nothing happened. In fact, we smelled gas (we thought) on the 4th - and this was a day we had 40 of our closest friends and family over for a cookout/pool party - YIKES!!!!!

So, we are set to leave for Savannah on Wednesday and now we are without gas - meaning no hotwater (no dishwasher, washer, baths, etc.). Also, no cooking...all meals out if they can't be done in a microwave (I of course didn't mind that part much...)

In a nutshell, and $2500 later.....we have the NUMEROUS leaks fixed and are very fortunate indeed. The gas was turned on, finally, on Thursday!

Well, fast forward to today......I am in Savannah with the girls - packing to leave on a lunch-time flight - when I get the call from Jim - WE HAVE A GAS LEAK! What the.....??!!! The plumber comes out only to find that Atmos Energy's technician had incorrectly turned on the gas - so, there was so much gas leaking out that the ENTIRE STREET was in danger of what they call a "flash fire". OMG!!!!!!!!! In fact, the plumber said it is the "worst leak he has seen in a while". So, he corrected Atmos Energy's work and we were asked to report the negligence...

We are counting our blessings right now - just a tiny little spark could have ignited our entire street! Whew.....moral of this story - if it smells like gas, it probably is.....:)