Planet Dixon

So, I can't sing. Dagnabit.

2010-11-29T20:55:00.002-06:00

Mommy to Brady "Who sings better, mommy or daddy" Brady buries his head deeeeeep in the chair. I ask again and he looks up out of the corner of his eye and says (questionably) Daddy?" I giggle and say it is okay. He said "ok, you sing good, but not VERY good." For the record, that is 2 of the family members so far this week that told me I can't sing. The first being Brian when I was pouring my soul into a Taylor Swift song. ;-)

ps. I think Zach would definitely tell me that I suck at singing if given the opportunity. But, he always tells me I'm beautiful! :)))))))

pss. I think (or hope) Ally would defend my singing. However the fact that I make her shut her bedroom door when she practices her violin might not help my cause. :)

I always sing really great in the shower.....to the radio in the car. And most especially (in younger days) in the pool while doing pool dances with my girls Amanda, Amy, and Ash. That's how we roll. In tune or not. :)

My little teen

2010-11-29T10:26:00.004-06:00

Ally turned 13!! We officially have a teenager in the house. We've been telling her for years that she's acting like a teen. ;-) She gets more beautiful every day and is a very good girl. We're so proud of her!

Ally and I had a girls shopping day the day before her birthday. We shopped for 6 hours straight and got a lot of cute stuff. We had such a fun time. It reminded me of when my mom and I went shopping when I was young. I'm glad she's not too cool to be seen with me and I hope it stays that way!

For her birthday, we took her and her best friend Haley to Braums, then Adventure Landing and then to the mall. They got matching shirts and jewelery and had a sleepover.

Today Ally is getting spacers and she'll get her braces on Thursday. Her teeth are straight, but she has some spaces between them that the braces will fix. She's sooo excited to get braces. I think that will wear off within an hour or two after getting them. They are a pain!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, sweet, smart 13 year old girl! I love you Ally Cat!

Brady Quotes

2010-10-17T20:06:00.002-05:00

Today, 10/17:
Brady: "Mommy, I need the keys to your car." Mommy: "Why?" Brady "So I can back it up because my tech deck is under there." Mommy "How are you going to back it up?" Brady: "I don't know. How can you?"

Earlier this week at Zach's baseball game:
Brady went up to a man, mid fifties on a pink schwinn bike.
Brady "Are you a boy or a girl?"
The Man "A boy."
Brady, "Then why are you on pink bike?"

A few minutes later at the baseball game a kid spit out his bubble gum on the floor. I asked him to get the wrapper and pick it up so no one stepped on it and he picked up the wrapper and threw it right back down.

Brady to the kid, "oooh...Jesus is going to tell the Devil on you!! Jesus is going to tell the Devil on you and the Devil lives down there and he's going to get you!"

Never a dull moment with a four year old with a big personality. :) I love that boy.

Quote from Grandma's Facebook!

2010-08-18T12:30:00.001-05:00

I'm planning to blog very, very soon..after more than 6 months of silence! I promise. But, for now....here's a quote from Grandma's facebook:

Brady is so grown up to be 4-1/2. I was keeping him last night while his mommy and Ally were shopping for school clothes. Around 9:00pm, he said, "Why is mommy taking so long, I mean can we just call her or something, is she already in bed?" Then just ran his hand threw the top of his hair in frustration - too cute that little guy!!

You're my favorite

2010-01-09T16:33:00.003-06:00

Brady told me yesterday, "Mommy, you're my favorite." I said "aww, favorite what sweetie?" He said "My favorite thing that I always want with me and that I cry for." Precious!! However, he's been struggling with separation anxiety lately so that really is quite true. He has been having a hard time going to school. He says he just wants to stay home with me all day or go to work with me. When I had a meeting last week, I was getting ready in the bathroom and Brady said, "Mommy, kids aren't allowed to go to meetings, are they?" LOL I wish I could take him around in my pocket, but he's growing up and I think school is good for him. Still, I would quit my job tomorrow and stay home if I could!!
Brian started taking him to school and he cried less the first week, but the return from the holidays was really hard. He cried the whole way to school. On Friday, we told him we would get him an Alvin and the Chipmunk toy from McDonald's if he didn't cry. He called me on the way to school with daddy and was having a hard time. I told him he could get all 3, if he didn't cry. He went limp, but he didn't cry and he didn't cry during school either. Little did I know, there are 6 characters. One day and 6 McDonald's later, we managed to find all 6 of them. They are too cute and he is SO HAPPY!

Cold Weather Blues

2009-10-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

This morning when Brady and I went out to the car he said,
"It is cold mommy!! Turn the heater on. Why is it so cold?

I said, "because it is that time of year, it is almost winter and it gets cold outside"

Brady : "Oh no! I don't want it be winter. I don't want ice to grow on my teeth!

Morning Funny

2009-10-22T10:57:00.003-05:00

This morning driving to school I asked Brady, "Are you proud of mommy? I'm doing so good not smoking." Brady said, "Yes, but you aren't driving that well." LOL.

Girls Day

2009-10-03T21:28:00.002-05:00

Ally and I had our first girls only day when she was 6, a few months after I met her. We got her ears pierced, drove around with the top down singing along to"Girls just wanna have fun", bought clothes, jewelery, went to the movies, and went out to eat. We've had girls days since then, but I don't think we'll ever beat that first one.
This year we planned a pre-middle school shopping spree. We set aside money and she got to buy a lot of clothes (and shoes). We had so much fun at the mall. She is now in the pre teen clothes, which is a lot more fun for her. She has a great sense of style and everything looks great on her! She's so long and slim...and beautiful! We got some really great deals and she got really cute stuff. We also went to On The Border. We started out with their new trio sampler dip which was great! I got tortilla soup and she got a beef enchilada with cheese sauce. It was yummy!
I love that she loves shopping now. My mom and I have had some GREAT times shopping and it is fun to get to share that experience with Ally now too. I don't know that she'll ever want to go to Ross three times a week, but I'm brainwashing her the best that I can! :)

Six Flags- August 2009

2009-10-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

I'm way overdue on this blog! Zach and I planned a special mommy and son trip the last week of the summer. He had the option to go to Hurricane Harbor or Six Flags. He chose Six Flags. When I took Ally before, she was really scared of all the roller coasters. Zach said he wouldn't be and we would go on them all. I know he was scared, but he was VERY brave. We went on The Titan right away. He was excited until we got up there, and then he looked a little worried. There were only a few people in line so we got on right away. I forgot how fast and big that thing is. Poor Zach!!! I talked to him and held his hand the entire time. He said he loved it when we got off. But when I asked him if he wanted to go again he sure said no fast! We spent the entire day there and we went on everything but the Superman. It was such a fun time!!We had lunch and Zach got a pink thing (ice cream), a Six flags favorite. I had to go on Splashwater falls (not the current name) to get him to go on the batman. We got drenched!!! Next we went into all the stores trying to find a brush. No such luck! lol Mr. Freeze and Batman were great. Zach loved driving the old timey cars. I remember waiting in line for that forever when I was little. We only had to wait five minutes. It was great that we went on a slow day. We didn't have to wait in lines. I love a lot of the rides, but my favorite is definitely the Titan. Zach really liked the mine train. There were a few others that he said were his favorite, but he didn't want to go on them again. hee hee.
Zach told me that it was the best day ever. :) It was all he talked about for weeks! Brady even knew the names of the rides from hearing the stories.
My dad took me by myself to Six Flags when I was little, and it is one of my favorite childhood memories. I have always LOVED roller coasters and it is always fun to have a special one on one day with your parent. My dad and I went back again, just the two of us when I was in my twenties. That was a great day too! I love my dad!
I don't think Zach likes roller coasters quite as much as I do. I think it is precious that he made such an effort to do something that I love and am proud of him for being SO brave. I do think he had a lot of fun, and am thankful for that special time I had with him. I hope he remembers it always. I will. :)

Baby costume

2009-10-03T20:18:00.003-05:00

Brady is so excited for Halloween. We've been talking about what he is going to dress up as for weeks. The other day, we found the cutest dinosaur costume at The Children's place. He tried on the size 2/3 and ran around the store (and outside the store after daddy once) and growled at everyone. Several people told him he was the scariest dinosaur they had ever seen. The costume was a little too small and they didn't have a size four, so the salesperson called several other stores to find a size four. No such luck. I checked online as soon as we got home. They had every size but 4. I searched for other cute dino costumes online, but this one was so much cuter, and a good deal! I called the plano location the following morning as the salesperson was unable to reach them when she tried the night before. Yippee, they had a size four!!! We had them hold it and went straight there to pick it up. :)
A day or so later a party city catalog arrived. Brady looks at the catalog frequently. He wants to them all. The kids undoubtedly thinks that every day should be Halloween. He dresses up frequently, but the dressing up and getting candy is the best. No wonder he's counting down the days.
Today I walked up when he was looking at the catalog, and he was looking at the baby costumes. He told me we need to get a baby costume. I said "why?" He said, "because we are going to get a baby." I said "Do you want a boy or a girl baby?" "Both." He replied. I said, "I don't think daddy wants a baby." He said, "Did he say no?" "Yes," I said. He said, "OK, we won't get a baby." LOL

*I went to the Children's place costume so that I could post a picture of the costume, and now they are all sold out!

Quote of the day

2009-09-27T20:49:00.001-05:00

"Mosquitos like me, even though I don't like them. Kinda like that girl in my class."

~Zach Dixon

Quote of the day

2009-09-18T10:14:00.000-05:00

My little Brady is sooo sweet. The other day, he looked at me and said:

"You are the prettiest girl ever. And Grandma. I'm going to marry you, then Grandma."

Awwww

Spanky Doodle Dandy

2009-08-13T15:08:00.006-05:00

I've had my Spanky Doodle since August of 1995. I had a chihuahua prior to him that died, and my mom and I went to Traders Village to find a new pup. The first puppy(that died) was tiny (two pounds full grown) so when we saw Spanky my mom asked me if I was sure that he was the one I wanted. He was already two pounds and didn't look like a full chihuahua breed, although they said he was. She said we could look around some more and then make a decision. Nope! I knew as soon as I laid eyes on him that he was the dog for me. We bought him and took him home that day. My mom named him Spanky, after the little boy in The Little Rascals. We've been inseparable ever since!
Throughout my single years, he was my best pal. He licked many tears away and we spent countless hours snuggling. He knows how to spoon, what can I say? hee hee.
I can't imagine what my life would have been like without Spanky. He definitely has a soul and it is connected to mine. Our heart strings are tied together.
Of course, since having a family, he doesn't get to be the one and only or get carried around everywhere anymore. We also have two other four legged friends to share the attention. He still stays right at my feet when I get ready in the morning, is sitting right by my chair as I type this, and is follows me in circles until he gets tired or I trip on him.
He's the best dog ever, period.
My little fella is getting older and until now hasn't had any health problems. Recently, he started peeing on the floor a lot and drinking non-stop so we took him to the vet. It turns out that he has liver problems and may have a tumor on his liver. For now, we are giving him medication that lowers the enzyme levels and it has helped some with the thirst and frequent urination. Other than that and the cataracts on his eyes, he is in good health. He still looks like he's smiling and doesn't seem to be in any pain. I sure hope that we have a few more years with him. I love my baby dog!

Mommy's voice

2009-08-13T14:59:00.003-05:00

The other day Brady looked at my eyes and said, "Mommy, I wish I had your pretty blue eyes." I melted and then told him that I'm so glad that he has his big gorgeous brown eyes, because I LOVE them. He said, "well, I wish I had your eyes and your sweet voice." I said, "My voice?" He said "yes, I want your voice because because I love your voice. It is a really really nice voice." Then he pointed in my mouth and raised his voice 3 octaves to imitate me and said "It is like HI!"

That was one of the sweetest things I've ever heard in my whole life.

PS. the "because because" above is not a typo. He always says it twice. hee hee. CUTENESS!

Just look at those amazing brown eyes on my sweet little cookie monster!!

FACEinHOLE

2009-07-25T10:45:00.001-05:00

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Quotable Cuteness

2009-07-09T15:05:00.002-05:00

When I was little and we were heading to the car with one adult my brother and I would shout "Shotgun!" to call dibs on the available front seat. Ally and Zach usually do not get to ride in the front seat, so the optimal seat for them is the middle seat. That seat is next to Brady and they can see out the front window better. So, they shout "I call middle" when we are getting ready to go somewhere. Occasionally when Brian takes them to school right around the corner they are allowed to ride in the front and they shout "I call front seat." So, Brady always hears them fighting about the middle and he'll even say "Ally calls middle" or "Zach calls middle" sometimes. The other day we headed out to the car and Ally called front seat, and we told her she couldn't ride in the front, then Zach called middle, and then Brady said "I call carseat!" He got such a chuckle out of me on that one that he says it a lot now. :)

8th grade boys

2009-06-18T21:12:00.003-05:00

The other day we were sitting in the kitchen and Ally randomly said "I know A LOT of eighth grade boys!" Brian said, "Greeeeeeeeat, that is exactly what I like to hear my 11 year old daughter say."
Ha ha. Middle school is definitely going to give Brian a lot more gray hair....or make him lose his hair!

Quote of the day

2009-06-18T21:06:00.004-05:00

I was just scrolling through x17online.com (a gossip site) and there was a picture of Kim Kardashian from the rear view. Brady walked up behind me and said "she looks ugly!" I said, "why do you say that?" He said, "because she has a BIG FAT BOOTIE." Three year olds tell it like it is. LOL
However, she is extremely beautiful and I'm sure there are lots of boys that appreciate all that bootie. ha ha.

Hello, Cello!

2009-05-22T13:23:00.003-05:00

Ally is just a few short weeks away from her fifth grade graduation and she will officially start middle school next year. GASP! It doesn't seem like that long ago that I met her when she was in Kindergarten! She was so shy and soft spoken and had the cutest little chubby cheeks! Now, she is becoming a young lady.

She's very excited about middle school. She is ready to meet new friends, see cute boys, wear mascara, and the food is supposedly a lot better at the middle school as well. I have to say, the elementary school food is not at all as good as I remember it being when I was young.
She had the choice to play in Band, Orchestra, or sing in Choir and she chose Orchestra. Initially she wanted to play the Violin. When she went to pick out her instrument, she ended up choosing the Cello. I think it is great that she is playing a stringed instrument. She has long slim fingers and she is a natural at the guitar when Brian tries to teach her (although she never wants to sit still and learn). I think the Cello will be a little easier on the ears in the learning mode than something like the trumpet. I could be wrong though, and I'll get back to you with an update on that one! I think it will be about as big as her and I can't wait to take pictures of her cute little self playing the cello.

Ally's not that nervous about going to middle school. When we went to the orientation, she was all smiles and excitement. They talked about the locks on the lockers and she said "that will be easy." It took me several days of middle school to be able to find my locker, and that whole 'right left right' combination thing really confused me for a while. I still have nightmares about middle school! I'm hoping that it goes much more smoothly for Miss Ally! I've heard that the 6th graders and 7th and 8th graders are somewhat separated at the school she'll be going to. I think this is great because I remember some of the 8th graders being mean! Ally is a lot tougher skinned than I am anyhow and I'm sure she'll do just fine! I'll keep you posted on whether or not Brian and I are able to survive the middle school years. :)

George Washington

2009-05-22T12:57:00.003-05:00

Zach was George Washington for the Living Museum at his school this year. We worked on the project for weeks! It is a research project and he had to do a bibliography, research worksheet, poster, and note cards. On the day of the event, he dressed up like George Washington. Brian and I both took the day off and took Brady with us to go see him in action!

All the kids line up in the hall dressed as their characters. They have a little red button on their shirts. When you push it, they tell you all about themselves either using their note cards, or by memory. They were all so cute and did a great job. We stayed a long time and went around and saw all Zach's friends and pushed their buttons!

Zach usually is sort of "bah hum bug" about school musicals, events, etc. But, he had worked really hard on his George Washington project and he was very excited and into it. He did such a GREAT job. I was beaming with pride. He memorized a lot of his cards. When Ally came to watch him, he did EXTRA good. He looked right at us and said a lot without ever looking down. Ally was very impressed, although she didn't admit it to him out loud. :) I got tears in my eyes when I watched how he acted with Ally there. He tried so hard to impress her. I remember always trying to impress my big brother too. I told him afterwards that Ally's mouth dropped open a few times she was so impressed. :) He grinned from ear to ear!

We were never able to find a wig, but his costume came with a hat. There were several people dressed as George Washington, but I have to say he was the cutest one (pictures forthcoming). His poster board turned out really cute too and is still displayed in the hall at his school. He told me the other day that someone had stolen the real dollar bill that we pasted on his board though. How rude!

Detail Oriented

2009-05-22T12:40:00.004-05:00

I was at my mom's house with Brady one night this week while Ally and Zach had a visit with their biological mom. It was the night of the Dancing with the Stars finale, and they were replaying the dances from the night before. Brady and I were playing on the floor and I asked him if he would like to dance with me. He said, "Well, no, because you are not wearing a dress. And I am not as tall as him." He's a very perceptive little guy!
The next day I picked him up from school and he got in the car and started reciting our phone number (he's known that for a while now). I asked him if he told his teacher that he knows his phone number. He said, "well, can you call her?" I told him he could just tell her the following day. He said, "Well, I'll have to tell Miss Lizzie, because Miss Shabana is out of town at her sister's graduation." I cracked up and he said "It is not funny!" I was just amazed that a 3 year old held on to that much detail about why his teacher had missed school that day.

Bikini Time

2009-05-22T12:32:00.003-05:00

Brian and I went bikini shopping last weekend. We've done that several times during our marriage! The first time we went bathing suit shopping was a few short months after we met, b/c I had quickly outgrown the one I had due to his fabulous cooking. :) I'm happy to say that one, as well as the one from my honeymoon are now too big on me. WOO HOO! It sure feels much better to have one that doesn't fit because it is too large, rather than too small.
Anyhow, it was much more fun shopping for a bikini in a size small, I have to say. :) Although I still say they should get rid of the flourescent lights in the dressing rooms. After going to a few swim shops, Brian suggested we go to Victoria's Secret. I told him that they don't carry swim suits. I guess that tells you which one of us likes VS more. :) Anyhow, I have to say that I love their swimsuit collection. I tried on a lot and they all would have worked much better than the suits I tried on at the swim suit stores. I ended up finding two that I couldn't live without. ;-)
My mom had watched the kids while we were out so when we got home, I modeled them for her and the kids. Ally loved them both, Zach liked one but not the other, and my mom liked both. Brady is more difficult to please. As soon as I walked in the room, he said, "NO MOMMY! I DON'T LIKE THAT ONE! YOU ARE TOO NAKED!!" HA HA HA!! Isn't that great? He isn't used to seeing me prance around with such little clothing and he knew something was not quite right about that. :)

Quote of the Day

2009-05-12T16:55:00.003-05:00

The other day, I had a white clay facial mask on my face, waiting for it to dry. Brady came in the room and said something to me, and as he was walking out he said, "Mommy, you need to wash that stuff off your face." I giggled a little and said "Why?" He said, "So you don't look like a monster." Nice! LOL

Brady's First Musical

2009-05-01T15:09:00.006-05:00

Proud brother and sister with Brady after the show. They are so sweet!!

Brady was in his first musical last night. The kids at his Montessori school range in age from 2-6 years old. It was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen watching such little kids perform. They all did a great job and showed a lot of personality. Some of the kids had me cracking up. I cried, of course, when I first saw Brady singing. He was sooo cute up there and I was so proud of him! He did great!! Ally and Zach were so proud of him too. They were on their tippy toes trying to get a better view of him and they both thought he did fabulous. It was precious to see their adoration. :) After the show, we all went to tell Brady how grand he was and he lit up like a Christmas Tree. I'm attaching my first blog video, below of Brady doing the "Big Red Firetruck" song. It is a little fuzzy since we used our camera, but still super duper cute! :) Brady is in the center in a black shirt wearing a little red fireman hat.

The Squirrel is dead

2009-04-27T16:19:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning, Brady and I got in the car and were about to drive to Walmart when I saw a dead squirrel in the road right by my car. I said, "awww, poor squirrel" which of course prompted Brady to ask questions. I told him the squirrel got ran over and he was dead. This prompted intense curiosity. He was intent on seeing it, so I unbuckled him from his car seat and let him come in the front seat to look (the squirrel was still intact and didn't look squished or anything). He said, "awww, poor squirrel. Where is his mommy? His mommy is crying." After a minute of staring and talking, I managed to get him back in his car seat. However, the entire trip at Walmart was consumed with talk of the squirrel. When we got home, looking at the squirrel was Brady's first priority. We went straight to the squirrel, then went inside and got daddy and brought him out to see the squirrel. This was Brady's first experience with death (other than a bug) and he was quite fascinated as well as concerned! By Saturday afternoon, he was in the "anger" part of the grieving process. He said, "I'm so mad at that car for hitting that squirrel! I am going to kick that car. That squirrel was my friend. I love him." We went outside to look at the squirrel at least 20 times on Saturday. We had to get pretty close so that he get could see his eyes, which was very important to him. Brady even asked me to take a picture, which I thought was a little too morbid, so I did not. lol
I was beyond thrilled when we woke up Sunday morning and someone had cleaned the squirrel up. Brady seemed at peace with this, and said that the squirrel went to Heaven to play with Pepe (our dog that died when I was pregnant with Brady).
We are now on the lookout for a new squirrel friend for Brady on our street. :)

Brady's First Open House

2009-03-24T10:39:00.006-05:00

I took Brady to his first open house last week! Siblings were not allowed to attend, so Brian stayed home with Ally and Zach and just the two of us went. Boy, was Brady excited to have mommy in his class. All the other children quietly played and showed their parents their work, while my crazy child ran around the room squealing. His teacher asked me if I gave him a bag of sugar! I finally got him to calm down and show me some of his work. It was really neat to watch him go around to the different stations they have set up and watch him do his thing! We worked with blocks, letter sounds, the food guide pyramid, puzzles, counting, among other fun learning activities. I was so proud of how much he learned and impressed with the independence all the children demonstrated with their work. I love his school! The following day, I asked him his birthday and he said "December 5th." Thinking that he didn't know any months other than December, I decided to teach him. I started off and then off he went. He already knew every single one of them and pronounced them perfectly and in order!! How awesome is that? I was super impressed!

Here are a few pics of Mr. Smarty Pants at his Open House:

Matching the foods to the food groups

All done!

They all planted seeds and Brady's grew the tallest. Must be those extra sweet little hands. :)

Brady loves his puzzles!

Open House

2009-03-11T15:52:00.003-05:00

Last night we went to Ally and Zach's school for Open House. They always get so excited and are so proud to show us all their work in homeroom, and we usually visit the music and art rooms as well. We went to Zach's room first and he showed us his stuff. Brady thought it was super cool to be in Zach's class and he ran around like the wild little monkey he is. Ally was ready to leave Zach's class after about 2 minutes, but of course we stayed and saw all of his work. Unfortunately, his teacher was on vacation this week so we didn't get to talk to her. Next, we were off to Miss Ally's class.
Ally took us straight to her desk and opened up the folders proudly. She LOVES showing off her work. I really love reading her papers, so I opened that folder straight away and told Brian to chase Brady. I've always loved reading her papers. She is a good writer! The teacher came up while I was reading papers and then remembered that there was one paper she thought I would want to read that wasn't in the folder. She found it and brought it to me. The purpose of the paper was to pick three of your most cherished items to put in a time capsule, and explain why you chose those things. The first thing Ally chose to put in her time capsule was her adoption papers. She said that was because I adopted her and have been such a good mom and always have been there to take care of her needs, and she loves me so much, so she always wants to have the papers safe. I melted right there into a puddle on the floor, teared up, and hugged her so tight that she blushed from embarrassment! ;-) WOW! How thoughtful and considerate for an 11 year old. I think most of us don't really appreciate our parents until adulthood or until we have our own children. I was extremely touched. The second thing Ally said she would put in the time capsule would be her guitar, because she loves music (just like daddy) and her daddy has written 3 songs for her. The final thing she wanted to take was her waving iron. Ha Ha! She said she needed that to stay fashionable and because she loves to wave her hair.
I will save that paper forever and ever!!! I am so blessed. :)
After Ally's class we went to the book fair. Zach could really care less about the open house, except for the book fair! He got a bendy pencil, a big eraser, another pencil, a pickle, and some candy. He was happy as a lark. He used his birthday money to buy his goodies, and he even gave Ally $2 to buy a pencil and Brady 50 cents for a sucker. What a sweet little boy!!
After that, we went to the music room and beat on drums until we couldn't hear ourselves think. It was a great open house. Next stop, Brady's open house on Thursday! :)

Happy 8th Birthday Zachie!!

2009-02-26T09:30:00.004-06:00

Today is Zach's 8th birthday! Wow, it seems like just yesterday Ally was turning 8! Time really does fly!

We gave Zach one of his presents this morning (a new skateboard!) and he got to take cookies to school to celebrate his big day with his classmates. He has requested KFC for his birthday dinner tonight..yum, yum! :) He'll get the rest of his gifts and have his party on Sunday, at Adventure Landing. This will be the fourth year he has had his party there. It is a really cool place. They have games, laser tag, go karts, and miniature golf. The kids have a blast there and it is so cute watching them drive the little go karts.

We also have his boyscout pack's annual Blue and Gold Banquet this Saturday. The theme this year is Mardi Gras and the kids are allowed to dress up in costumes. They have good food, raffles, music, and a lot of fun to be had by all. It should be a great birthday weekend for Zach Attack!

Room Switch-a-roo!

2009-02-25T11:25:00.014-06:00

Ally and Zach had separate rooms when I met them, but they ALWAYS slept together. When Zach was about 3.5, we re-did the largest room for both of them with bunk beds. They were inseparable in those days.

They've grown up (and apart) quite a bit since those days where we would walk in and find them cuddled up together. Ally has been begging for her own room for the past year or so. We told her once she turned 11, and Brady turned 3, we would move the boys together and she would get her own room. Her nana gave her money to buy stuff for her new room and we had it all picked out, but never gave Ally an "exact" date on when we would do her room.

One afternoon in early January, we told the kids we were having a date day and they went to my mom's house. We spent the whole day doing the room switch, touching up paint, and hanging Ally's new "purse" border. She chose lime green and hot pink for her room and everything she picked out is sooo cute! The room looked just perfect.

My mom said Ally started to get antsy toward the end of the day. "Are they STILL at the movies? What are they doing???!" We finally finished and texted my mom to bring the kiddos home. When they got home, I asked Ally to run upstairs to Brady's room to get his 'Tickle Me Cookie Monster' to show my mom. Brian was hiding out in the room, ready to take a picture. Well, it turns out that he scared her half to death with the flash! But, she was very surprised and VERY happy. She busted into tears and thanked us profusely! She absolutely loved her new room!

Brady wasn't quite as happy about it. It took him a few days to adjust to the fact that room wasn't his anymore. He never got upset about the fact that Ally was in his room, I think it just confused him a little. What made it worse, was that we gave Ally the top bunk mattress so there wasn't a mattress on the top bunk for the first few weeks. Brady does NOT like to share his bed. We finally got Ally's bed frame and mattress last week. Brady promptly told Zach to "get in his own bed." Zach would really prefer to sleep with Brady, but he gave in and started sleeping in the top bunk. He likes it now. Brady is happy as a lark spreading out in his own bed and not having to share it anymore. Ally has asked him a few times if she can sleep with him and he says "No, Ally. You sleep in your own bed!!" He's little mister independent!

Ally is loving having her own room and now has posters all over her walls (much to my dismay..lol). She even spends time alone in her room on occasion, which she would have never done before. I think we finally have gotten the boys to stay out of her room for the most part as well.

Our next step is to re-do the boys' room. We had planned on doing that the same weekend as Ally's, but didn't have enough time. The walls are currently blue and red, with an alphabet border. We are planning to paint the walls light beige, and we have purchased a super cute "sports theme" border and throw pillows. Once that room is completed, we will have nothing else to renovate hopefully until we move into a bigger house one day.

SURPRISE!

Crying from joy. ANGEL HEART!

Brady taking over Ally's new bedAlly let Brady sleep in her bed the first night. Awww. He won't return the favor, however! lol

Ally's new room, before she smothered it in posters and clutter! :)

Brady and Zach's first night sharing a room (and a bed!) Aren't they beautiful?!

**Disclaimer**the room switcharoo was completed in early January 2009, but due to a new job, this is my first chance to blog about it. :)

Valentine's Day

2009-02-25T11:11:00.004-06:00

Well, since I missed Christmas and New Year's, I don't imagine anyone will mind that my V-day post is 11 days late. :)

When I was a little girl, my mom always made sure that we had something special for us on the table on all holidays, including Valentine's Day. Some of my best childhood memories are waking up to presents on the kitchen table!! I ended up being a lot like her, and am always trying to decorate or celebrate something! I know a lot of people dislike Valentine's Day and think it is an over-rated Hallmark manufactured holiday. I think any day that is to celebrate love and gives us all something to look forward to, can't be that bad. I love all holidays, and Valentine's day is no exception!

I bought the kids all stuffed Valentines's Day toys, tons of candy, and heart shaped donuts. I stayed up late the night before Friday decorating the table. Since they were having parties at school that day, I decided we would celebrate V-day on Friday as well. I usually drop some sort of hint, but this year, I didn't give them any idea that they had any surprises. I love surprises and I really love to see my kids beaming with joy. I was probably more excited than they were.

I went downstairs Friday morning and called them down there, and was able to catch their surprise on video. They were all very happy with their little presents and chowed down on the heart shaped donuts. After we let them consume some sugar, off to school they went. :)

I took Friday off, and had planned to get my hair done and to attend Zach and Ally's Valentine's parties at school. Just as I was getting ready to walk out the door for my hair appointment, Brady's school called and said he threw up three times and I had to come get him. I called Ally and Zach's school right away and told them to send a message to their teacher so they wouldn't be disappointed when I didn't show up for the party.

Brady never got sick again, although he did sleep for 3 hours. I went to pick up the kids after school and unfortunately, they never got the message and Ally cried during her party. I guess next time I'll call the school AND email the teacher. All in all, they had a great day though.

On Saturday, the kids' nana watched them while Brian and I went out on a date. We went to the Studio Movie Grill and saw the movie "He's just not that into you." We both loved the movie and the food. It was a great date! We took pictures before our date in a new black dress I bought just for the occasion. The funny part of that is, I ended up wearing jeans. I'm so cold natured and it was entirely too cold that day to wear that cute little dress outside the house. At least we got pictures. :)

Pinewood Derby

2009-02-25T10:42:00.004-06:00

Last year was our first year to participate in the Pinewood Derby. Brian took Zach to the wood workshop and then I helped him design it. In my naivety, I had no idea that all the cars weren't shaped like triangles. I thought that was the purpose of the wood workshop, to sand them from rectangles to triangles, as well as put the weights on the cars. Since I stayed up half the night painting his car, I didn't attend the Pinewood derby last year either (to see that all the cars weren't triangles). This year, I was on top of my game and googled cars, and to my surprise, some of them actually looked like cars! Had I known that, I would have never so proudly posted this last year. I really thought Zach's car looked great!! It would appear that it must have won "Most Patriotic" due to the fact it was the only Patriotic car. ha ha

Brian did a great job carving the car this year. He stepped outside the "box" or shall I say "triangle." We still didn't have much of an idea of what category we would strive to win. We went shopping at Hobby Lobby and found a Batman kit. I wasn't sure if the fenders and such would fit, because our car wasn't shaped exactly like the model. But, most of it ended up fitting and we improvised where necessary. Initially, Brian thought the plastic add-ons were going to look silly on the car. Once it was all painted and the decals were on, it looked great. We were all very impressed with the Batmobile!

One the day of the derby, we sat the Batmobile on the table and took our seats. A few minutes later, Zach, Brady, and I walked up to the table to look at all the cars. Everyone was talking about how cool the Batmobile was. Zach was so proud. :) I personally thought it was the best looking car there. However, it definitely wasn't the fastest! Clearly, we were going for looks rather than speed. Zach's car didn't come in last, but he definitely wasn't first either. Brian has big plans on the weight placement for next year to make the car go faster.

After the races, the winners are announced for the "looks" categories. Zach won "Most futuristic!" We spoke to one of the judges and he said that Zach's car was nominated to win in three categories, but since you can only win one category, they just had to pick. Zach was really glad to have another trophy for his shelf.

HighSchool Musical Video by Ally Dixon

2009-01-20T19:56:00.001-06:00

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Ally made this video for us. Isn't it way too cute?!!

Pollyanna

2008-12-10T16:28:00.004-06:00

One night I heard the dogs go absolutely nuts barking, so I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter (kinda like Santa does, hee hee). I took a flashlight with me and went in the corner of the back yard, where the dogs sounded like they were feeling a little homicidal. I shined the flashlight and saw an Opossum, teeth showing and hissing at me. Apparently she wasn't too happy to see me or to have the light in her face. Not knowing much about the little creature, I thought she might injure my baby dogs, or give Kiwi rabies, since at this point we had not gotten her shots.

I screamed and then called for the dogs to come get a treat (that is the only way they mind me) and ran inside. This happened a few more times during the week and each time I frantically called the dogs inside.

I noticed in the next week or so that the dog food was diminishing rather quickly. I chalked it up to the fact that Kiwi, our newly adopted dog, eats a lot. One night around 11 pm I was upstairs in my room and heard a "ching ching" sound in the backyard and saw that the Opossum was eating the dog's food! The mystery of the missing food was solved! For the next several days, I paid attention to how much food/water was left outside each night. The Opossum started to get brave and would come eat right by the sliding glass door, while we were still awake. I developed a fondness for her and named her Pollyanna. :) For the next few weeks, I made sure she had food if the dogs had eaten all of theirs. I didn't think she was harming anything, and I am an animal lover and hated to think of her going hungry! She seemed like a nice little Opossum. People tend to think they are from the rat family and that they are mean. Actually, they are Marsupials (like Kangaroos) and they are not mean, they merely hiss as a way to protect themselves. They are anti-social, but they aren't mean and it is far more likely that one of my dogs would've killed her rather than vice-versa (although I see now neither is likely!)

About a month after the arrival of my little marsupial, I took Kiwi to the vet to get her shots. They did the worm test since she was a stray, and sure enough, she had worms. Since we had her for awhile at this point, it appeared that she had gotten the worms since the time she had come to our house, because it was in the very early stages. After speaking to the vet, we determined that Pollyanna was likely the culprit. After a $200 vet bill, having to give all the dogs worming medication, and fearing that my children might get the worms (as they can be passed to humans), I decided to stop feeding Pollyanna. I've heard Kiwi chasing her once in the backyard since then, and am not sure if she is still in the backyard or not. I sure hope that she found a warm spot and some food somewhere else.

Here are some pictures that we took through the sliding glass door. She got so comfortable for awhile that she would let us walk right up to the door! Isn't she cute? Poor, Poor Pollyanna.

Pretty in Pink Party

2008-12-10T14:34:00.012-06:00

The front of Ally's party invitation

I promised a few people I would give a play by play of Ally's party here, so a few short weeks later (hee hee), here I go!

Brian told Ally that her 11th bday party would be her last "big" party, so we went all out. I designed the invitations in PowerPoint and printed them on pink paper. They turned out really cute. I spent the entire week of the party preparing the trivia, scavenger hunt, party schedule, and getting everything pink. On the day of the party, I spent most of the day cleaning and "pink-ifying" the house. We had giant pink cookies, pink punch, pink M&M's, pink decorations, pink presents, pink silverware, pink cups, pink plates, pink balloons, and pink party favor bags. I even made pink cupcakes, which just so happened to be the first cupcakes I ever made. They turned out great and I was pretty proud of them! :) On the invitation, we asked the girls to wear pink, so when they arrived to our house, they fit right in with the pink theme!

We made a schedule for the party, so that there wouldn't be any fights or clicks or arguing about what to do. We did allot some free time, but for the early evening everything was planned. First of all, we had pizza and pretty in pink punch. I found the recipe for the punch online, and it was a big hit. I thought it was delicious! It contained ginger ale, strawberry kool-aid, pineapple juice, and vanilla ice cream.

The scavenger hunt was first on the schedule, but Ally was dying to open presents so we did that first. She got a ton of great presents!!

Next, we divided into teams and went on a scavenger hunt. There were 18 items on the list, and they all had to be pink! We had thirty minutes to find as many as we could. As soon as the timer started, the girls were off like a bad habit leaving me in the dust with my trendy little boots. Do you have any idea how fast an 11 year old girl can run? They'll give some of those Dallas Cowboys players a run for their money. Here I am working out daily thinking I'm Superwoman, and even as I ran as fast as I could and I still couldn't catch up. I decided I needed to start running to build up my stamina for any future scavenger hunts, but I haven't implemented that plan yet. :) We ran the entire thirty minutes and ended up getting all but one item. Brian's team was missing 6 items, so we were declared the winners. I bought prizes for everyone, so that no one would feel left out.

Next, we did the Jonas Brothers Trivia. All the girls loved that and really do know their stuff. All the girls knew who was going to win, because one girl in particular loves the Jonas Brothers even more than Ally does. She won, as expected.

After the trivia, we headed out to the garage for the beauty parlor. We sprayed temporary hair color in the girls' hair and they put on make up and tattoos. Brian even joined in the fun and let them "make him over."

The girls were all having too much fun to eat the pretty cupcakes! Brian and I went to our room to watch a movie, and the next thing we know the girls are sliding down the stairs on pillows. They were laughing so loud I bet the whole neighborhood could hear them. They had a blast doing that, and despite all my perfect planning, I bet that was the highlight of the party. :)

Around 11pm, they settled down to watch "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and ate more pizza. We fell asleep shortly thereafter. The following morning when we woke up, the girls were downstairs quietly eating donuts and watching a movie. They were all very good, there was no drama or fighting, and several of the girls said it was the best party ever. I was really happy that Ally's b-day was a big hit! Ally thanked me profusely for all the work I put into the party, which made my day! She is such an appreciative little girl, and that made it all worthwhile. I was very happy that Brady's party was going to be at Chuck E Cheese, rather than our house, two weeks later though! Phew! :)

All the girls (and Brian) after the make-over sessionAlly and her B/F/F Haley in matching PJ'sTwinkies! Pink Decororations

My first cupcakes! Pink Presents!

Ally opening her new cell phone (she's really not that animated, I made her make an 'excited' face for the picture. hee hee)!

Brady is 3!

2008-12-05T15:05:00.002-06:00

I still need to blog about Ally's b-day party, but I haven't gotten the pics uploaded and here it is Brady's birthday! Hopefully I'll catch up this weekend and get the pictures up! :)

I can't believe my baby is 3!! It seems like just yesterday that I was getting ready to leave the hospital, absolutely giddy, telling my mom "I can't believe I get to take him home!" What an amazing and beautiful miracle from God and my life has been immeasurably blessed by him!

It is such a fun birthday because Brady really seems to "get it" this year. He woke up this morning and said, "Mommy, I'm three. I'm not two anymore." I said, "Happy Birthday, baby!" He said, "Happy Birthday!" I tried to explain that he needs to say "thank you," rather than returning the happy birthday wish and he looked confused. He said, well you said happy birthday to me so I said happy birthday to you. Ha ha. He is so polite and thoughtful, and already always considering everyone else. He is such an amazing, special boy.

Today at his Montessori school, they are having a "celebration of life," on his behalf. I stayed up late making a poster for his class that has pictures of him as a baby, 1 year old, and 2 year old. It turned out great and all of his teachers "oohed" and "awwed" over it. We also brought muffins for the class. He had a little red ribbon that said "Birthday champ" on and he got to wear his new birthday outfit. He is usually somewhat hesitant when he enters his classroom, but this morning he was so excited, he walked in like he owned the school! :) I hope he had a GREAT day!

Tomorrow, we are going to Chuck E Cheese to have his party. My mom, Brian, and I got him a little red convertible battery operated ride on car. He is going to be stylin'! The cool thing about the car is that it has a remote control as well, so the parents can override the child when they are driving. Zachie has a little truck that Brady is always wanting to drive, so I'm sure that he is going to be elated to have his own car! I can just see them driving down our street together. They are such sweet brothers. Zach left this morning before Brady woke up and he made sure to tell me to "Tell Brady he is 3 now and that I said Happy Birthday!" When he was talking to Brady last night, he said "You are going to get lots of toys at your party, Bug!" He's a very thoughtful big brother! Ally is the best big sister ever and I'm sure she'll spoil him as always, both today and tomorrow.

I am so very thankful for my beautiful, sweet, thoughtful children and so happy to get to celebrate Brady's third birthday! We are going to have a GREAT TIME tomorrow! :) His smile lights up my world and I'm sure there will be plenty of smiles tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY!!!

The Jonas Brothers

2008-11-20T10:26:00.002-06:00

Jonas Brothers are the NKOTB of the pre-teens these days. Ally is in love with Joe Jonas, but she would take Nick if things don't work out between her and Joe. We are having a slumber party this weekend for her 11th Birthday, and one of the games we are playing is Jonas Brothers Trivia. I thoroughly researched the Jonas Brothers and came up with 25 trivia questions. I now know more than any woman in her late 20's (hee hee) should know about the Jonas Bros! The winner of the trivia game will get a zebra striped journal and purple glitter nail polish (that hopefully will not end up on my couch...)
So, we've been talking about the Jonas Brothers a lot at our house. Last night, Ally, Brady, and I went to Walmart to get a few groceries and the last of the many slumber party supplies. While we were there, Ally saw a Jonas Brothers poster and almost went into cardiac arrest with excitement. When we left Walmart, we went to the elementary school to pick up Zach from his Boy Scout meeting. When we got there, there were three teenage boys cruising across the parking lot on their bikes. Brady pointed and exclaimed excitedly, "Look mommy!! The Jonas Brothers!!" That will give you some idea of the amount of Jonas Brothers exposure that he has had lately! I thought that was just too cute and I had to share. :)

Halloween

2008-11-05T15:56:00.007-06:00

We had a wonderful Halloween. I believe I mentioned before what the kids were going to dress up as. Zach was Optimus Prime, Brady was Superman, I was Supergirl (per Brady's command), and Ally was a nerd. BUT, Ally decided thirty minutes prior to trick or treat time that she didn't want to be a nerd anymore. She had worn the nerd costume to the fall festival the week before and she was very embarrassed. She was the cutest nerd, ever, but I guess she got a little more attention than she bargained for. Luckily, I had my handy dandy bunny ears, tail, and bow tie from the year before, so she just wore leggings, a tank, and the bunny gear. She put on her own make up and did a GREAT job. She is soooo beautiful and was a stunning little bunny.

We had a great time trick or treating. Zach is our number one candy fiend. He loves candy. I mean LOVES it. He'd probably sell his siblings (and possibly even his parents) for a bag of peanut M&M's. The people that let the kids grab their own candy probably regretted it after Zach got his grubby little hands in their bowl. He doesn't take one or two, he grabs as much as he can fit in his little hand. If you aren't looking, he'll go back for seconds. HA HA. Needless to say, he ended up with the most candy. He had quite a bit more than Ally, and twice as much as Brady. He has been on a candy high ever since! No wonder he is so sweet. :)

We planned on going to a carnival near our house, but it wasn't there this year. So, we just went home after trick or treating and let the kids eat their hearts out. I always enjoy Halloween. This year was so much fun because Brady really got it and was able to walk to the houses with his older siblings like a big boy. He did great! We did have a long way to walk, since there are only a few houses per street with their lights on these days. Superman was unable to fly, so daddy carried him a lot towards the end. He was quite the trooper, and didn't scare easily. After all, he is a superhero.

Ally as a nerd

At the fall festival at Brady's school, the week before Halloween

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-11-05T15:35:00.003-06:00

We have made it an annual event to go to the pumpkin patch every year. No, we aren't looking to buy pumpkins. We get our pumpkins for the bargain price of $3.99 at Wal-mart. We go there for a family photo session. Sure, we buy lunch and drinks there in order to support the patch, but the main reason for our trip is definitely pictures. I'm a little obsessive about it. I make everyone match (of course) and I insist on taking as many pictures as humanly possible to take with 4 bored people (myself not included). This year, one of Brian's friends', Tony, came out to take the pics of us. He has a very cool camera and did a great job! :) We are really happy with how the pics came out. We had a great time, none of the kids died from sitting still for so long, and after the pictures the kids played on the many bounce houses. I got my family pictures, and we got to have a little fun to boot. Fun times!

Brady says...

2008-11-05T15:27:00.002-06:00

I know I will forget all the cute little details of Brady's conversations, so here are a few cute things from the past few days:

Last night, Brian and Brady were having a pillow fight. Brian doesn't always believe in letting the child win, and so Brady wasn't faring to well. He got in a hit now and again, but usually, right when he was bringing back the pillow and going for the blow, daddy got him first and down on the mattress he went. He got very frustrated, but kept on trying. After the fourth or fifth fall, I knew he needed a wing woman, and I got a pillow and started going towards daddy. Brady shouted with vigor, "Knock him right in the head mommy!!!," and then said "Slap each other!!!!!" He started fighting with daddy again and Brian let him get in more hits (next time I was going to come at him with a bat if he kept knocking Brady down, ha ha). Brady swung at him and Brian fell down and acted dead on the bed. Brady smiled and said in all his glory "great job, daddy!!" He then looked at me and said, "I won, Mommy! I won!!" They fought some more and Brady got knocked down again. He said "One of these days, I'm going to kill daddy every time." Ha, ha, ha. Of course, he isn't literally homicidal...they play possum when they fight. :)

This morning, we were walking into school and the wind kept blowing my hair in my face when Brady was trying to kiss me. He got mad and said (loudly) "BREEZE!!! You better leave my mommy alone!" I just love how at the tender age of 3, he is already so protective of his mommy. ANGEL BOY!!!

Dress up week

2008-10-29T13:38:00.004-05:00

This week the kids have a themed dress up day for every day of the week. I got the schedule Sunday night at around 9:30 PM:

Monday- Red, white, and blue day

Tuesday- Pajama Day

Wednesday-60's, 70's Day

Thursday- Sports Day

Friday- Crazy Hair Day

After reading it, I said the kids could do every day but 60's and 70's day, because we don't have anything that looks 70's and we already spent a small fortune on Halloween costumes. Well last night they said they wanted to dress up and I could tell it was important to them, so to their closets we went! It was really hard to find anything 70's. My hip young self wasn't alive in the 70's (ok, maybe alive, but VERY VERY young). hee hee. We looked through everything and I kept having the kids show stuff to their dad to see if it was 70's looking, and to him, it appeared that I am somewhat stuck in the 80's era. I ended up finding a paisley shirt of mine (that someone told me looked 70's when I wore it last week!) for Ally. She found a scarf for her head and we decided she would part it in the center and I would draw a peace sign on her. She also has a jacket that looked pretty 70's. We were really really stuck on Zach and it would have been WW III if Ally got to dress up and he didn't. I decided I would just draw a peace sign on a white t-shirt and found him a bandanna to put on his head as well. Let me tell you, drawing a peace sign on a t-shirt with a sharpie isn't as easy as it sounds. The shirt moves and it is very hard to draw a perfect circle. Also, the marker isn't thick enough so I had to go over it several times. I think it ended up turning out super cute. Drawing the peace sign on cheeks with an old eyeliner pencil is no easy feat either. Especially for someone who draws people as stick figures. I think they ended up looking adorable and they were very happy with their last minute costumes as well.

I did have a blonde moment when taking their pics this morning, and showed them the peace finger sign backwards. Brian said they are throwing gang signs in the pictures. Oh well, that will keep anyone at school from messing with them.

Montessori, Take Two

2008-10-15T13:18:00.009-05:00

First Day of School

About 11 months ago, we decided to sign Brady up for Montessori. You can read about how that went here and here. We have been thinking that around 3 years old, it would be good to get him in school with other kids. We didn't plan on it happening quite this soon though!! Our nanny didn't end up working out, and last Friday, we were frantically trying to find somewhere for him to go Monday. I didn't even want to consider the last Montessori that he went to, because I have very bad memories of that place! How do you leave my baby crying outside the circle during circle time?!?!?!
However, I do like the principles of Montessori, so we decided to check out a few others in the area and found one we really liked. Brady went with me Friday afternoon and he loved the school. I stressed myself all weekend getting everything ready and getting the house spotless and all the laundry done so I would be stress free the first week of school.
Monday morning, Brian and I both took Brady to school. He made a friend right away and started playing. He barely looked up to tell us bye. Nonetheless, I still cried my eyes out when we got to the parking lot. Brian took a half day vacation and picked up Brady after a few hours. He had a great day! The next day was a little rougher. He knew after I left he would be stuck there all day. I took him to his class and could tell he was very uncomfortable and close to tears, so naturally, I picked him up. I asked him if he wanted to find a toy to play with and started walking towards the toys. The teacher told me that it would be best if I just put him down and walked out. Great. Instantly tears fell down my face and I had to look away, trying my best not to let Brady see. I gulped, gave him one last hug and kiss, promised to come back later, and walked out, with him screaming "Mommy!" at the top of his lungs and bawling. Talk about getting your heart ripped out!! I called Brian as soon as I got in the car and I was crying so much I could barely speak. I worried all day and called the school to check on him all day long as well. The next day was very similar to the second day, but by Thursday, he did great! One of the assistant teachers in his class adores him and they bonded. I will be grateful to that woman for the rest of my life!!! I really think she is the reason he stopped crying. Today, she had car trouble and wasn't there when I dropped Brady off. He cried when I left. I knew she would be there later and I know he only cries for a few minutes, so for the first time I didn't cry when he cried.
Brady really seems to be a lot happier now that he is going to school. Not that he wasn't happy before, but I think it was just time for him to get some social interaction. He was bored sitting at home all day. I feel very confident that we made the right decision, and I am just boasting with pride at how well Brady is doing at school. The director, office manager, and three teachers have all told me that Brady is soooo sweet and has great manners and that it is a great pleasure to have such a well behaved child at their school. They all oooh and ahhh over his cuteness as well! That's my boy!!! Now that he goes to school, the last hour of work really drags on because I count the minutes until I can go in his classroom and pick him up! He usually does some cute little dance and gets really excited and jumps in my arms. He melts my heart. :)

Second Day of School Pics:

Princess Chi Chi

2008-10-15T10:49:00.008-05:00

Friday night, Brian looked out into our yard and saw a tiny little Chihuahua. As soon as she saw him, she ran out of our fence and into the street. I lured her back with some fajita meat, so I could see if she had tags. She didn't have tags and was very skinny, which led us to believe that she had been lost for awhile. She was frightened of me for about two minutes, but quickly decided I must be her mommy and started following me everywhere and yelping for me to hold her. I let her in the house. Shortly after, Brian said, "Do you know that dog is running around our house?" I replied, "yes." He said, "Don't you find that a little odd?" I replied, "no." hee hee
We kept her at our house over the weekend and started calling her Princess Chi Chi. She was an instant hit with Kiwi, Spanky liked her ok, and Rico wanted nothing to do with her. She insisted on sleeping in bed with me, and I have to say, she is one of the best snugglers ever! She is so tiny and sweet and curled right up to me. She was also in my lap every chance she got. She was not a fan of Brian at all though. She thought she owned me and didn't want him anywhere near me. ha ha.

Over the weekend, I looked on lost and found websites as well as searching our neighborhood for any lost dog signs. No such luck. I called the pound Monday and Tuesday and they didn't have any lost Chihuahua's reported. Yesterday, Brian told his co-worker about the dog and she came to our house, fell in love with the dog, and took her home. Either she or her mom will keep the dog. I'm really glad that she found a home. However, I am going to continue calling the pound for the rest of the week to make sure no one has reported her lost. I think we definitely would've have gone nuts with 4 dogs, but I sure do miss that little Chi Chi!!!

**Update 10/21**

My mom ended up keeping Chi Chi. YAY! I have a sister!!! My mom and I are so much alike and I knew she would love her because I adore that little sweetie.

All four dogs following me. That was an interesting night. :)

Black Nail Polish

2008-10-15T10:30:00.003-05:00

Is a big no no. Last Thursday, I was in the bathroom getting ready to go bowling for Brian's birthday, and Brady was happily watching The Power Rangers in the living room. I went in there to check on him, and he was standing up watching the movie. Two minutes later he says, nonchalantly, "Mommy, I've got paint." I ran in there to see what paint. It turns out, Ally had left her black nail polish on the couch and Brady attempted to paint his toenails with it. He kinda missed. The couch, ottoman, and Brady were all covered with black polish. YIKES! We haven't gotten it all out yet, but we have a bottle of acetone that we plan on trying this weekend.

Weekend Update

2008-10-06T11:52:00.006-05:00

For some reason, last week seemed extraordinarily long! I was very much looking forward to the weekend. They never seem long enough, and I have no idea who came up with the five days on, two days off work week. I think the world would be a happier place if we could have three days off. :) I'm not asking to work more on the 4 days on either though. I'm talking about reducing the number of work hours all together. Although the weekend was too short, we did get a lot accomplished and had a great weekend.
Friday night, Brian grilled chicken and we had delicious chicken salads. The neighbors were decorating for Halloween, so the kids and I hung out there for a little while. Zach ended up spending the night with his friend Keelan. Ally was happy for a little Zach free time! Me, Ally, and Brady went to the store to get Kiwi some girly doggie stuff since we decided to keep her. We found her the cutest pink and brown leopard bed, and a pink collar with rhinestones on it. If I'm not going to get a baby girl to dress up, at least I can dress up the dog. ha ha. Ally also found some cute stuff for her "room to be." She currently shares a room with Zach, but sometime at the end of the year she is going to move into Brady's room, and Brady will move in with Zach. She has never had a girly room and has always shared with Zach, so she is VERY excited. Her nana gave her $300 to buy stuff for her new room, and she is having a blast spending it. Here is a picture of the new stool/seat she got this weekend:
Saturday, Brian took Zach and two friends to the movies, Brady spent some time with grandma, and me and Ally had a girls' shopping day. We ate lunch, got slurpees, and shopped till we dropped (4 hours!). She was so very appreciative and told me 100 times how much she loves it when it is just the two of us. I told her we would do it more often. :) I am so blessed to have such a sweet daughter who loves to spend time with me. We found some really cute stuff for her Halloween costume. She is going to be a nerd. I have to tell you though, even with the bow tie, highwater pants, and crooked pigtails, she still looked like the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. It is really hard to make someone that cute look nerdy. However, once she put the bottlecap glasses on, she looked like a nerd INDEED. hee hee
That evening, my best friend Amanda and her son Jonathan came for a visit. We don't get to get together very often, and we had a lovely time hanging out and talking while our boys chased each other with guns and swords. Zach and Jonathan are best friends and get along so well. Zach was beaming all day waiting for his buddy to come visit. Brady thinks he is just as big as them (or bigger) and was all about the sword fighting. In his heart, he is truly a power ranger and he'd prefer to do nothing but shoot guns and sword fight all day long!
Sunday, was a productive day! I did laundry and cleaned the entire downstairs and Brian steam cleaned our carpet upstairs (darn Kiwi). We went to bed feeling like a million bucks with our house sparkling. However, when we woke up, we found that our air conditioner leaked, leaving my closet floor soaked, the ceiling caved in, and the wall ruined. Thankfully, Kiwi's pretty new pink bed caught a lot of the water and may have saved the wood floor. Brian sucked as much water as he could out of the hardwood, so we're hoping it doesn't swell!! So much for our gleaming home. Brian said, "One step forward, two steps back." At least we're never bored.

Kiwi Makes Three

2008-10-01T12:21:00.011-05:00

Brady swimming with Rico (black), Spanky (white), and Kiwi (brown).

About a month ago, I got in my car and was about to pull out when I happened to look down to my left and saw a little brown wiener dog. She had tape all over her neck. I got out to check her out, and noticed the tape said "I need a home," and "Kiwi." Her owners had let her go hoping someone would A) not run over her, and B) take her in. We thought it was possible that she got out, someone found her and thought they would keep her and changed their mind, and let her go again. We couldn't imagine someone who had her for any length of time would just let her go. So, we posted signs hoping that her "original" owners would claim her. I also called the pound to see if there was a "lost report" that matched her description. No such luck.

We already have two dogs and three kids and having another dog was not at all in our plans. So, I called every shelter I could find and they were all full. I posted bulletins on myspace hoping to find her a home, and didn't get any takers. We couldn't bear to take her to the pound, so she is still with us, peeing and pooping in Brady's room. Yikes!!!

She is such a sweet little dog, and the kids just love her. Our other two dogs are chihuahua mixes and are a little snippy. Brady can only get away with so much with them. But, Kiwi would let him do just about anything (in fun) with her. They chase each other around and he squeals "Mommy, we're chasing each other" and cracks up with the biggest belly laugh that is exteremely contagious! Also, he loves to watch her "bite" the water. We'll spray the hose and she'll chase it all over the place biting it. When we try to fill up the baby pool, she jumps in after the stream and bites away. It is hilarious! Kiwi usually sleeps in Zach and Ally's room, in Zach's bed, which they love. Ally loves taking her on walks around the neighborhood. Our other dogs aren't "people dogs" so they aren't nearly as fun to take on walks and mingle with. She says everyone in the neighborhood likes Kiwi.

Recently, Kiwi started to get in the cage with Spanky and Rico on occasion. They all get along pretty well for the most part, although occasionally Kiwi gets hormonal and growls at the boys. :) We are hoping for a little progress on the potty training, but as of now, it looks like we are probably going to keep little Kiwi. So, now have three kids and three dogs. Maybe we need another parent to even (and easen) things up a little bit. ;-)

Back to School

2008-09-30T11:29:00.010-05:00

As noted in the previous blog, this blog is slightly belated. :)

At the end of the summer, we were very ready for the kids to go back to school. Not because they were making us crazy, but more because they were making each other crazy. It is so hot in August so the kids generally end up stuck inside for a good portion of the day. That coupled with inevitable boredom, leads to much fighting. At the end of the day when I would get home from work, they would run to be begging and pleading for me to come up with some fantastic idea that would cure their boredom. Of course, any suggestion I come up with, (ex: watch a movie, scrapbook, write a letter, paint a picture, ride your bike, etc) is the worst idea ever and doesn't interest them in the slightest. So, I usually just suggest cleaning and then they run away and find something on their own. :)

However, even though they were bored to tears, they had absolutely zero interest in going back to school....even though it meant seeing their friends. They got a little more into it when we got new school clothes and backpacks, and after they saw their classroom lists. The night before the first day, Ally picked an outfit that coordinated with her backpack as well as her new shoes. I may be rubbing off on her with my matching obsession. :)

Brian, Brady and I all went the first day to take Zach and Ally to their classes. Brady stood right next to Zach the entire time. It is just precious how he wants to be just like his big brother. when we arrived, we found out second grade had to wait in the cafeteria for a short orientation, and they told us that fifth grade was to go straight to the classrooms. This meant that we had to separate. I stayed with Zach and Brady in the cafeteria, and Brian took Ally to her class. She came to kiss me bye, and I had to swallow down a huge lump. I really felt like I was going to be tough this day, but I didn't plan on not getting to personally deliver her to her class. I kissed her on the head one more time and daddy took her to class. She wasn't the least bit scared, and skipped right along, which made me feel better.

When Brian got back, it was time to take Zach to his class. Zach is my shy guy, and I could tell he was apprehensive about his new class. He hugged Brian first, and when I saw how the hug lingered and how he clung to him, I knew he was scared. When I kissed him bye, I saw his eyes were watering which made me tear up, and I couldn't talk or I would have had that embarrassing/gasping/trying not to cry sound!

I worried all day, but everything ended up going just fine. Both of the kids have friends in their classes and they both like their teachers (as long as they aren't giving them work to do..ha ha). The first few weeks were a little confusing with all the folders, papers, and many different things for me to sign for each kid daily. Ally usually knows exactly what to do, but Zach is still young and really didn't know what folder to bring home at first, let alone what homework to do or what papers I was supposed to sign. Getting him to remember to get his papers/folders out of his backpack and return it to the teacher was another small feat. :) We've finally got it all figured out and are back in the swing of things! We have teacher conferences on Thursday and will get their progress reports at that time. So far, all the work that has come home has been GREAT and we are looking forward to another fabulous year!!!

Blogger's Block

2008-09-30T11:19:00.003-05:00

Is there such a thing? If so, I've definitely had it for about a month now. There is never a dull moment in the Dixon household, so I probably could have had 30 something posts in the last month, but nope...I've had zero. I was planning to post a blog titled "Back to School" about a month ago, but I never got around to uploading the pictures so I kept putting it off. I finally uploaded all the pictures off of my camera and deleted the 1000 something pics that were on there in order to make uploading a little easier next time. Finding the cord that attaches from the camera to my computer was no easy feat either. It used to be kept on my husband's computer desk, but he seems to collect cords, so finding the correct one is never easy. I now have it hidden in a very safe place, so that I will find it with ease next time. No dog, kid, or husband will ever find it and it will surely be right where I left it next time I'm ready to upload pics (unless I forget where I hid it). There's no stopping me now! :) Please remind me of that next time I'm slacking on the blogging and picture uploading. :)

Vacation Blog II - Graceland

2008-08-13T14:07:00.023-05:00

It was so hot and sticky the day that we went to Graceland. If you think Texas is humid, try Tennessee sometime. We were sweating moments after we got out of the car. We got our tickets, and then went to a little diner located on The Graceland premises. Next we bought our tickets, boarded the tram, and went across the street to the mansion.

They give you headphones and take you along on an audio tour. It was really awesome inside. I was freaked out at the very idea that I was standing in Elvis' living room! They did an awesome job of preserving everything. Everything was decorated in 70's style. We've really come a long way in our decorating sense since the 70's, I must say! :) The actual rooms are roped off, but you do get to walk through all the halls and down the stairs to the basement. Elvis always kept the upstairs of his house private, so they keep it private still today. We did get to see his mother's room. It is preserved as it was when she died, and her clothes are still hanging in the closet. Elvis was very close to his mother, and some say he never recovered after her death. The tour also includes seeing the kitchen, game room, and several living areas. Two of the rooms that stuck in my mind are the jungle room, which is wildly decorated and was one of Lisa Marie's favorite places, and the TV room, a living area in the basement where Elvis had 3 TVs. He heard that the president watched three at once, so he thought he should have 3 to watch simultaneously as well. We also saw his father Vernon's office. There is a TV in the office that plays an interview with Elvis at the start of his career. That was really cool to watch.

There were many halls and rooms full of articles, memorabilia, clothes, and so many awards! There were also display boxes, that had pictures or mannequins to signify specific events. There was one box that had their wedding clothes on mannequins and a photo of their wedding. There were boxes with specific shoes and suits that Elvis wore, and some of dresses that Priscilla wore. There was also an area that contained photos, toys, and furniture from Lisa Marie's nursery. The award rooms were amazing. They were entire rooms filled wall to wall with platinum and gold records, and other awards. He definitely was The King!

After touring the house, you can opt to go into the Automobile museum, which showcases many of the cars that Elvis had over the years. He was known for loving his cars and he often bought people cars as gifts as well. The Pink Cadillac was my favorite! :) We didn't get a chance to tour the airplane museum, which has two of his private jets, The Hound dog and The Lisa Marie.

Throughout the tour, I kept thinking about the book, Elvis and Me, and picturing those events in the room I was standing in. So, naturally when I got home, I had to read Elvis and Me again. When they talk about the kitchen or hanging out in the front room, I can form a great picture because I have been in those rooms!! That is NEAT-O. I read the book after the kids went to bed for 3 nights. I liked it even better the third time. :) ha ha

Graceland
Our new home (ha ha)
The Entry Way

Gladys' room Gladys' closet

Just a few of the MANY awards!

A few more...

Costume Showcase (one of many)

The room with 3 TV's The Jungle Room
Pool Room (check out those walls!)

The dining room

Wedding Showcase

Wedding Clothes

Portrait of Priscilla and Lisa Marie

Elvis' Grave

Vacation Blog...at last

2008-08-13T11:23:00.022-05:00

I'm finally ready to blog about our vacation! It took awhile for me to get the pictures ready. Flashes aren't allowed inside Graceland, so our pictures were very dark. It took a lot of time and even more patience, to go in and lighten them individually.

First of all, let me say that the kids were wonderful on the trip. Of course there were a few minor arguments and a mild degree of antsy-ness, but overall they were angels. I was really surprised that Brady was able to sit in a car seat that long without going bonkers! I am really glad that we split the trip up into 6 hour segments. I don't like to be in the car longer than that, so I'm sure it would be too much for my kiddos.

Our first stop was in Little Rock, AR. Our hotel was very nice and the kids loved it. They were all bouncing off the walls (and the beds). After we got lunch, we headed to the pool. We were worried it would be too crowded because we saw a lot of people by the pool when we pulled up. By the time we go there, everyone had left and we had the pool all to ourselves. We had a great time! After that, we went back to the hotel and played for awhile, then we went to the jacuzzi. Later that evening, we ordered pizza and rented a movie in the room. By the end of the night, Brady said, "Can we go home mommy? I want to go home." Awww, poor baby!

Open your eyes, Zachie!

At The Wyndham in Little Rock, AR

Snuggling

Fun in the sun!

Cheese!

Catching some air!

The next day we took off for Mt. Vernon. We spent the next day few days hanging out with Brian's family. The kids really enjoyed spending time with their cousins. The day after we arrived, Brad, Traci, Brian, Brady, and I all went to St. Louis to see Brian's old stomping grounds.

Brian outside his Elementary school

Brady playing with his cousin, Skylar

We went to see the Saint Louis Arch too, but Brady was cranky and the line was too long, so we didn't end up going up.

St. Louis Arch

Me and Brady on the steps outside the arch

Brian's parents hosted a family reunion on the Dixon side, on the last day we were there. The food was delicious and we enjoyed spending time with his family. A few hours later, it was time for Brian, Brady, and I to head to Memphis.

Catching some Z's on the way to Memphis

Our hotel in Memphis was ok, but not what you would expect from a Crowne Plaza. I'm not going to give a hotel review here, but I definitely would not stay at the Crowne Plaza Memphis again. Brady wasn't able to get a crib, so he slept in his own big bed!

Due to the length of this blog, I am going to write about our trip to Graceland in a separate blog!

Rollerskating Rocks

2008-08-12T22:23:00.007-05:00

The summer is almost over and the kids are dying of boredom. They beg and plead for entertaiment ideas, as if I am their only hope for survival. So, last weekend I suggested we go rollerskating. The kids squealed with joy and Brian even ended up coming. We had a blast!! One of the first songs that played was Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby," and I had to remind myself that I was thirty something and shaking my bootie on the rollerskating rink, would not only be not cool, but could potentially cause my children to disown me. The songs were really fun songs that you can't help but to sing along to and smile. We skated for three hours and we all had a blast!

Me and the kids went back to the roller rink tonight and skated for a couple hours. Ally is a pro, and Zach is learning quickly. He even went out into the main rink with me holding his hand (and risking my back's health to save him from falling a few times..) I think we have a new hobby! It is so much fun and it is great exercise. I love multi-tasking, especially when I can entertain my children, get a little couple's skate action with Brian, and get a little workout in.

The kids are back in town!

2008-08-01T10:50:00.002-05:00

YAHOO!!!
I am planning to blog about our vacation, but I'm waiting until we get our pictures uploaded so I have some visual aids. For now, I want to talk about Ally and Zach's vacation away from us.

We left Mt. Vernon to head to Graceland on Monday, the 21st. The kids stayed at their nana and papa's. It was just supposed to be the two of them, but Brian's sister and her kids ended up staying for a week as well. I was relieved to hear that, because I was worried Ally and Zach would be too bored and I was glad that they had playmates. The first few days, we received very few phone calls and the kids were like "is that all you needed?" when I would call them. I felt a little bit like chopped liver. They were busy catching fish, playing with their cousins, swimming, and playing lots and lots of video games. That "I don't need my parents" attitude didn't last long, at all. After about 4 days they started calling regularly, and after 6 days they started calling non-stop! Ally would call me all day at work, then she and Zach would fight when he wanted to talk too. Neither of them would let me off the phone without a huge ordeal.

They were both chomping at the bit to come home! Brian met his parents in Little Rock yesterday to get them, and they got home last night at midnight. This morning, Zach was literally clinging to my legs as we walked down the stairs. Both of the kids hugged me so tight and we were all so happy to see each other. I had to go to work, but I can't wait to love on my little angels some more tonight. I missed them so much.

Brady was beyond excited to see his siblings. They were so precious together, hugging and kissing and talking up a storm. They all missed each other so much. I loved seeing all of their faces light up when they were reunited after 10 days of being apart.

I am so happy to have my family back together. Everything feels normal again, and after 10 days of being without me, Ally and Zach sure do make me feel loved! :)

Brady The Great

2008-07-30T12:36:00.005-05:00

Cute things that Brady has said lately:

"That is ridiculous!"
"I can't believe that!"
"Mommy, the ground is slipper-ly. I have to take my socks off so I can walk."
"Freaking dogs, they pooped in my room AGAIN! I better get some toilet paper and clean it up."
"When I say cheers, you say cheers...CHEERS!" *Ally and Zach taught him to say that as they tap cups. ha ha
"You're a mean ole daddy!"

and my personal favorite:

"Can I go to time out mommy, can I?"

My Girl

2008-07-15T10:18:00.005-05:00

My little creative genius, referenced a few blogs below, now has her own blogspot!!! In just a few short days, she has managed to become a master blogger. I guarantee that every one of her blogs will give you a great big smile. I can't think of too many things cuter than her writings. Simply ADORABLE!! Check it out: Ally's World

*Update: I have now decided to make Ally's blog private. Please send me your email address if we know you/like you (ha, ha) and you would like to be added.

Vacation, Part Deux

2008-07-15T10:10:00.002-05:00

Generally speaking, I am an anxiety attack waiting to happen. Therefore, a few days prior to a big trip, my mind starts to race and my stomach turns. I think of everything that has to be done, and wonder if I have forgotten anything, over and over again. The only way I have found to combat this, is early planning! For example, I booked our hotels a month ago, I did about 7 loads of laundry this weekend, printed all the maps and directions yesterday, and I packed a suitcase for each of the kids last night. I had to run to the store last night to get a few things we needed for our trip as well. I've made a list of the clothes/shoes I'm packing and I will pack that stuff tonight. It is a hard job being a fashionista. ;-) Tomorrow night, all I will have to do is load up the car and pack items that we will need in the car on the trip. Brian is my polar opposite, and will pack his bag thirty minutes before we hit the road. :)
I feel much better now that I have gotten a head start on packing. I am still worried about our doggies though! My nanny will be coming to let them out in the mornings and my mom will come see them in the evenings. I still think they will be lonely and hope that no one forgets to feed them!!! I would take them with me if they weren't such anti-social barkaholics.
Other than that, I'm ready to rock and roll....so hurry up Thursday!!!!

Vacation

2008-07-14T14:45:00.002-05:00

We are leaving Thursday to go on vacation! Well, that is if driving cross country with three kids can still be coined a "vacation." :) I am really excited about our trip, although I know it will be trying at times. We are driving to Brian's mom's house, but since it is 11 hours away, we break our trip up in segments. Thursday we are driving to Little Rock and spending the day at the hotel. I remember when I was a kid, I loved hotels, so we figured we'd get there early enough for the kids (errr....kids' mommy) to enjoy it. I'm planning to spend the whole afternoon out by the pool. I don't imagine there will be too many people rushing to The Wyngate in Little Rock on Thursday, so we should have it pretty much to ourselves. At the public pool, kids aren't allowed to wear floaties, which takes away a lot of the enjoyment from the kids' parents. I'll be glad to be able to move around a little bit without Zach and Brady both clinging to me for dear life. :) Friday morning, we'll drive the rest of the way to Mt. Vernon. Brian's brother and sister and their families will be there for the weekend as well. The kids are chomping at the bit to see Uncle Brad. Everyone loves Uncle Brad!! Saturday, we are driving another 2 hours to go to St. Louis and see the house where Brian and Brad grew up. Brian hasn't been back since he was little, so he is really excited to visit his old church, see the town, etc. Sunday is the big family reunion, and the extended family will all be coming over for that. Late Sunday afternoon, we are heading to Memphis. We are going to spend the day at Graceland Monday!! When I was a teenager, I had my whole room decorated in Elvis, read Elvis and Me twice, and always wanted to go to Graceland! I am very excited and can't believe I will actually be in Elvis' house in just a few short days!!! :) YAHOOO!!!!
However, I'm less excited about the fact that we are leaving Ally and Zach at Nana and Papa's for two weeks. Brian wants them to get to know his parents better, and they are both excited about their stay there. I'm sure they will have fun, but two weeks is a really long time. I've never been away from them for more than 4 days, which was on my honeymoon, and I still cried! Brady just isn't going to know what to do without Ally and Zach. He loves them sooo much. I'm sure it will all be fine and I'm just being the worry wart that I am. GULP.

At last!!!!

2008-07-09T10:01:00.003-05:00

So, 2.5 years, 1000 diets, 5000 workouts, and 10,000 tears later....I am FINALLY at my pre-pregnancy weight. Hallelujah!! I was doing everything I could, but just couldn't lose that last 7-10 pounds. The final key was to stop taking Paxil, a medication that I took that causes weight gain. I gained 10 pounds 4 years ago when I started taking it, but then I worked out 10 hours a week to lose it for my wedding. Everything I read about Paxil on the internet, was that it causes weight gain and discontinuing it will make it way easier to drop the pounds.
I went to the endocrinologist to re-check my thryoid levels because I was tired all the time. He said that my thyroid levels were normal with the thryoid medication, and that I should consider discontinuing the Paxil, as it can cause fatigue and weight gain. I slowly tapered off the medication and was completely off of it in 4 weeks. I have now been off of it for about a month. Not only did I lose those last few stubborn pounds, but I am not nearly as sleepy as I used to be. YAHOO!!!

So....whatcha doin' mommy?

2008-07-01T11:18:00.005-05:00

Brady's conversations have gotten cuter and cuter. It is almost to the point that the whole family laughs every time he speaks. The other day, I was on the way to pick up Zach and Ally from their nana's house. Brady is quietly enjoying the ride in the back seat, and then busts out with "sooooooooooo, whatcha doin' mommy?" I giggled, then said "I'm just driving to nana's baby. What are you doing?" He said, "I'm just chillin' out in my car seat." Yep, he said "chillin' out." He also says "hanging out." Those two phrases should give you some indication of exactly how cool the Dixon family is. ;-)

My Creative Genius

2008-06-18T15:49:00.005-05:00

I am a huge slacker when it comes to uploading pictures. I'll snap them until I have arthritis in my forefinger and my kids are crying and begging me to stop, but for me to actually sit down to upload them is a different story. First of all, getting a seat at the home computer is a big chore (Brian is a slight computer addict). Secondly, I take so many that once I upload them, I think I should probably delete the pics that are very similar and keep the best ones, so I don't end up having 200 pics from one week. Well, I don't know about you, but for me deleting pictures (even if I have another one almost identical to the one I'm deleting) is next to impossible. So, once I get seated, upload the pics to our home computer, attempt to delete the duplicates and end up deleting one or two pictures, and upload them to Costco to order prints, I'm over it. I usually blog at work, so in order to post a picture on here, I have to go out to Costco and save the pics to my hard drive. Needless to say, that is why my blogs have been lacking lately and the reason why they are rarely blessed with photos.

Back to the subject....my creative genius. Back in early May, Ally had a project to do for her Science class at school. She did it at her friend Yazzi's house, and brought home the finished product. She is extremely artsy and creative, and I was amazed at how great she did. I instantly took a picture (um, make that 7 or 8....). Even though it is a month or so later, I would like to take this opportunity to brag on her and show you a few pictures of her project:

The project was to create a Biome, defined in Wikipedia as follows: A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, often referred to as ecosystems." Didn't she do a fabulous job?! The sun and stream are made of play-doh, as is the dead and bleeding zebra. The other little animals are plastic. The stream is outlined by real rocks that she found outside and she also has real sticks and grass throughout her "biome." I'm incredibly impressed at what a great job she did. After the project was graded, she gave it to a little boy at school that begged her for it. Not only is she creative, but she has the sweetest heart ever as well. :)

YOU ROCK ALLY CAT!!!!

This Weekend

2008-06-02T14:44:00.004-05:00

* I typed this on 6/2, but am just now posting it, so please realize it is a little dated! :)

We had a fabulous weekend. Saturday afternoon, we went to Walmart and got a blow up pool for Brady (and Mommy!) By the time we got home, it was nap time for Brady, so I did a little quality assurance work lounging in the pool to make sure it was good enough for my kids. It is so relaxing to lay in the warm sun and the little pool to cool off in made it just perfect.

Saturday evening, my mom and Michael took the boys to a Rough Riders game in Frisco. Her boss has season tickets, so she got booth tickets for all of them, and had access to free food as well. The boys ate hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and cotton candy. They also both got a rough riders baseball cap. They both had a blast at the game. Meanwhile, me and Ally went to the movies! It isn't very often that we get girl time and we really enjoyed it.

Yesterday, we had more fun in the sun. All three kids splish splashed around and had so much fun. The most fun was watching Brady crack up when he would jump up and fall down on his bootie. Zach did it and Brady kept copying him and laughed hysterically each time he fell. Also, we took turns spraying the hose at each other, which Brady thought was great. He sprayed the cold water all over me before I had the chance to get my swimming suit on. Apparently, that was pretty funny to all the kids as well. After about 2 hours outside, Brady took a nap, and I went on a jog/walk (mostly walk, hee hee). It sure was hot out there. I was bright red when I got home. I would take the heat and sunshine over winter any day of the week. I'm looking forward to many more "poolside" weekends. :)

The Zoo

2008-06-02T14:34:00.007-05:00

First Time at the Zoo!

Look at my new hat!

I am so taking this pony home, mom.

I took Brady to the zoo three weekends ago. I figured at 2 and a half, it was about time he meet some of Brian's relatives. hee hee. Ally and Zach were at nana's and Brian isn't fond of the zoo, so it was just mommy and Brady day. We had so much fun! Brady loved all the animals. We saw the elephant pick up grass with his trunk and eat it, and Brady told everyone about that for days. He told Ally he saw "A giant elephant and giraffe." He kept telling me, "Mommy, I wanna go see them!" He didn't like that he couldn't go right up to them and pet them, pull their tails, ears, etc. However, when we saw the crocodile, he said "GRRRRROWL....He might bite me!!!," in his little monster voice. He definitely didn't want to go in that cage. We walked around the zoo for several hours, had lunch, and walked around some more before we were finally ready to head home. Brady was asleep in the car in about 2.5 seconds. I had such a fun day with my little angel!! :)

Hanging out at the Zoo is hard work!

Amanda Garcia

2008-05-21T14:58:00.003-05:00

Today is my best friend, Amanda Garcia's birthday. I would like to take a moment to honor her on my blog. We have been friends since we were five years old. We met at church and clicked right away. We lived across town from each other, so we went to different schools and didn't get to see each other nearly as often as we would've liked to. We did still get together for each others' birthdays and had sleepovers, shopping trips, etc. Then, the summer before sixth grade, she moved to my street, about 7 houses down from me. We were happier than a baby with a lolipop to be within walking distance from one another! After that, we were inseparable. We saw each other every day and shared everything. Summertime was the best! We swam, walked around town looking for boys, played with barbies until we were 12 (as per my suggestion), and spent most nights together watching movies and eating popcorn in my living room. I've probably never laughed as hard with anyone as I did with Amanda. We had a blast together and probably have 10,000 inside jokes stored somewhere in our brains!

We have both been through a lot since our childhood, but nothing has ever kept us apart. We have stood by each other through everything and we are as close as two friends can be. Some of my best memories are from when we worked together at Papa John's, delivering pizza while I was in college. We were some hot pizza delivery girls, no pun intended. :) We truly are like sisters.

Amanda is an amazing person. She is sensitive, loving, thoughtful, forgiving, caring, and the most selfless person I know. She wouldn't hurt a fly, which is the best kind of friend for me to have since I am hyper-sensitive. I am so very blessed to have her in my life and I hope that we are laughing through our dentures together when we are 80.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful friend!!!

The Sweetest Thing

2008-05-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

Everyday when I get home Brady runs to me screaming Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! and jumps in my arms. It is my favorite part of the day! Yesterday it was extra special. He ran to me and jumped in my arms and said "you are the best mommy ever! You saved my life!" and gave me a huge kiss and big hug! I melted into a puddle on my kitchen floor. I think he got the line "you saved my life" from The Lion King II, but whatever...I'll still take it and love it. hee hee

Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-15T10:36:00.003-05:00

Brian's parents drove down last weekend for a visit, and to pick up their new car and sell us their old car. I'm driving the new one because Brian thinks it is a "boat" or a "grandma's car" and he's far too cool for all that. I, on the other hand, am in love with the new vehicle. I guess that is not surprising to those of you who know that my dream car is a mini van! It is a 1999 Buick Park Central Ultra. It is super charged also, not that I will ever use that since I am ALWAYS in the slow lane. :) We bought it because it is in immaculate condition and only has 36,000 miles, most of which are highway miles. Brian's mom doesn't drive much, and took great care of her car. I swear, after 9 years of minimal driving, it still has the new car scent!!! The most fabulous part of the car has to be the heated seats. I have a really hard time exiting the car. The seats feel so good on my back! I'm very cold natured, so I will really be loving the seats in the Winter! I think it drives like a dream as well and I couldn't be happier with a brand new car (well maybe a little bit happier). hee hee.

We had a great weekend visiting with Brian's parents. We took them to some great restaurants, to The Dealey Plaza, and thanks to Brady, they got to watch The Lion King at least 3 times. I think he might be OCD. ;-) I had never been to The Dealey Plaza, but I've read a lot on JFK's life, so I was really excited to see the museum. Well, I was in there for about five minutes before Brady decided it would be fun to run around, roar, and try to eat me(another benefit of The Lion King). About two minutes later, Zach handed me his earphones and proclaimed extreme boredom. Much to my dismay, I had to take the boys downstairs and wait for the others in the lobby. Hopefully, Brian and I will be able to go sans kids someday!

Mother's Day was wonderful. I had already bought myself an outfit and some make up to take any undue pressure off my poor husband. I did it for him. Really. Ally had a beautiful card for me when I woke up. It had her picture on the front, lots of cool stickers, and said something like this "Thank you so much for adopting me. That paper changed my life. You are so beautiful and the perfect size. Don't ever think otherwise. You are the best mommy ever and I love you so much." Are you crying yet? How sweet was that? Have I ever mentioned that my children are perfect???? Because they are!! Zach gave me a giant picture he made in school and had a precious card for me as well. It went something like this " I love my mommy because she loves me. My mommy takes care of me. My mommy buys me candy. My mommy goes to my parties at school." To think we think all of our work goes un noticed! I am so thankful that my kids are so appreciative and thoughtful!

For lunch, we all went to eat at Cozymel's, which I have to say is the best Mexican food ever. We met my mom and her boyfriend there. My mom had already given me an adorable white purse a few days earlier, and I gave her some fabulous face cream....beauty in a bottle! :) I don't know why she gives me gifts for mother's day, but I'm not complaining. She brought three little gifts for me at lunch for the kids to give to me. She showed them each the present, and told them that they would have to do chores to earn them. Zach quickly agreed and gave me a picture frame. Ally saw the jewelry box that was to be from her and said, "well, ummm....how much was it?" I cracked up! I guess if it was going to require too much cleaning, she would've just let Zach give it to me. Brady was really proud to give me his gift and he even helped open it. It was a little statue that said "I love mommy." That's my precious mommy's boy!!!

We just hung around the house for the rest of the day, and nana and papa left around 4pm. Hopefully, we will get to go visit them sometime this summer. For the rest of the day, Zach probably hugged me 100 times and said "Happy Mother's Day" at least 50 times. He even got Brady saying it. Brady would have been much more excited about the day if it had come with cake. I don't think he gets any celebration without the cake! He is all about birthday parties. For me, the day couldn't have been any better and I feel like the most loved mommy on the planet!

The Bouquet

2008-04-30T16:07:00.004-05:00

Our friends Dawn and Steele Lane got married in July, 2004. Brian and I attended the reception and I caught the bouquet, but I never got home with it. Nonetheless, nine months later Brian and I were married and Steele volunteered to be our videographer when we didn't have one at the last minute. He did a fantastic job and we treasure our wedding video! Almost (hee hee) nine months later I had Brady, and Dawn got pregnant shortly after. We emailed each other daily for the first few months because she was having a hard time and needing advice, which I was happy to give, since I had just endured a difficult pregnancy. I encouraged her by telling her how amazing motherhood was, and that puking 20 times a day was definitely worth the priceless angel you get after 9 mos! Dawn gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, and they named him Brenden. She had tried for a long time to get pregnant and was ecstatic to have her perfect little boy. Shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with cancer and she died on Feb 14, 2007. Dawn was such a beautiful person, full of life and love! We will always miss her.

Thankfully, God sent another angel to Steele, Carolyn, who is an amazing mother to Brenden and her daughter from a previous marriage, Hali. We attended their wedding a month ago. We couldn't be happier for them!

Today, on our 3 year anniversary, Brian's friend Johnny from his band, gave him the bouquet that I caught at Dawn's wedding. He had picked it up and forgotten to give it to me, then he lost it and recently found it when he was moving. He saved it to give to us on our anniversary. What a beautiful, special gift. It brought tears to my eyes.

3 Year Anniversary

2008-04-30T10:00:00.007-05:00

Today is mine and Brian's three year wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary Babydoo! It is hard to believe that 3 years have past! Wow, how time flies. I've been co-habitating with him for 4 years now. At first, Brian was reluctant to change anything about his house. But, I am happy to say, that four years later I have managed to redo every room in the house, with the exception of the downstairs bathroom and the kids' bathroom. Slowly but surely, Brian let the old stuff go and we picked new paint, colors, blinds, floors, wall hangings, etc. together! It has been a lot of work for him and it has taken a long time. I'm so proud of him for sharing his home with me and allowing me/helping me to make it my dream home. THANK YOU BABY!!!! I am so thrilled with the outcome. I love that we picked everything together and now it really feels like my home. At this point, I wouldn't change a thing, which is a good thing, because if I suggested him doing one more thing, he'd probably shoot me. Well, actually, he does still have to hire painters to paint the staircase and upstairs hall... hee hee. We are in no rush to do that though. My dad is going to come replace our sliding glass door with french doors sometime in the near future as well. That will be really nice because being the paranoid, psychotic freak of a mom that I am, I cringe every time my kids get near that thing with their swefaet little fingers! YIKES!

Brian went and got our Entertainment center for our GIANT TV last night. He has been looking for one for a week now and spent all day yesterday finding one, picking it up, renting a truck, unloading it, moving the old one to the garage, and hooking up all the electronics on the new one. PHEW!! I can't tell you how much I love it!! So much in fact, that I made a new family tradition. Every Tuesday night is now Family Movie and Pizza night at the Dixon household. We just love to watch movies and all cuddle up and we are REALLY going to enjoy watching it on the big screen.

I am planning on taking pics of the entire house sometime in the next week and posting them, but in the mean time, here are a few shots.

New Entertainment Center (you can see the stained cement floors good in this one as well):

Mantle and the "D" that my good friend Mandi got me for my birthday:

Entry way: (Brian took this a month ago. Excuse the mess. Doesn't he know it has to be spic and span to take a picture??! Of course, this was the only day in the past year or so that the house wasn't perfectly tidy. wink wink. Also, we have since replaced the shelves under the mirror with a fab new bookcase, which will be posted in the new pics!)

Who is that guy?

2008-04-25T22:13:00.003-05:00

The other day I took Brady with me to the dry cleaners. I haven't been since last Spring, and when I do go I go right after work, so he doesn't go with me. The gentleman that works at the dry cleaning took my clothes, and then we drove off. Brady scrunched his nose and said in a very concerned tone, "who is that guy??" I said, he works at the cleaners. He is going to take my clothes. The scrunch deepens, eyes squint, head cocks slightly to the side, and he says with conviction "I don't like him!!" I said, "why don't you like him baby?" He said, "Because he took your clothes!!!" LOL!! The boy knows how serious I am about my outfits. He has spent countless hours shopping for those very clothes. :) I reassured him that he was just cleaning my clothes and that I would pick them up the following day.

Brady Crumpton

2008-04-24T09:33:00.005-05:00

This past Saturday, April 19th, was the anniversary of my brother's death. Definitely not something you celebrate, but I thought I would write about him a bit. It has now been 12 years since he died. I can't believe that much time has passed. On the other hand, it does seem like an eternity since I saw his face or heard his voice. I still miss him terribly. One of the worst parts about losing someone, is that you inevitably end up blocking out some things in order to cope and get through the loss. I feel like I lost a lot of my memories during the grieving process. My mom still gets gloomy every April. It sneaks up on her and she just feels really sad around April. I can't imagine losing my child and I hope to God I never have to. My mom is so strong, but she and my brother were very close and it has taken its toll on her. She would give anything to have him back for five minutes, as would I.
I don't know what people do that don't believe in an afterlife. I would feel completely helpless if I didn't know that I was going to be reunited with Brady in Heaven. He was such an amazing, charismatic person. He demanded the attention of everyone in the room and always made everyone laugh. I've never met anyone with more personality. Despite his popularity and tough guy attitude, he had such a sweet and caring heart. He was always looking out for me. That is probably the part I miss most about having a big brother. I love you, Brady Crumpton, and I cherish every memory of you. I think you are amazing and I will see you in Heaven, my brother.

Bingo Update # 2

2008-04-24T09:26:00.005-05:00

*For previous Bingo stories, please see: BINGO and BINGO UPDATE

Brian went outside last night to pick up some branches from our tree that recently got groomed. He saw a found dog sign posted on the pole on the street corner (we are on the corner lot). He went to get it, and sure enough, it was BINGO! Apparently, he got out again and someone found him and is holding him until the owners claim him. Brian said we should call and say the dog is ours and then sell our poor little psycho dog, Rico. He was kidding (I think??!?!). Also, one of the kids on the street said they had spotted a beagle in our yard. See! He was trying to find his way back to the Dixon household for another sleepover. Brady was so cute when he saw the sign. He carried it around and told Zach "Don't take it Zachie. I'm looking at it. Look, it's my Bingo!"

I found a picture I took of Bingo on my phone when he stayed the night at our house.....

Weekend Update

2008-04-23T16:10:00.005-05:00

We had a fabulous weekend. We went to visit our friends Scott and Kim in Waxahachie. The boys all went camping (sans Brady), and me, Kim, her daughter, Macy, and Ally all stayed at the house. I'm way too girly for all that camping business. Seriously, Hell would freeze over before I would poop in the woods. I really like the outdoors a lot, I just prefer to sleep, eat, bathe, apply cosmetics, etc. indoors. I'm surprised my husband went. He rarely escapes the confines of the safe indoors. I don't think he has ever gone that long without an Internet connection. But, they made a fire, made smores, played football, and apparently, taught my son that it is OK to poop in the woods. He wasn't at all happy about it though. He said, "it was dark mommy, and I really don't want to talk about it." Poor Zachie. There was a restroom five minutes down the road, but I suppose that wouldn't teach him anything about "roughing it."
We all decided on a less nature-esque day and went shopping! I got Ally a bunch of really cute outfits that she looks absolutely precious in. The girl has a great style, and she looks fabulous in anything. She is such a beauty. Kim and I both found a few things for ourselves too, which is always fun! We went to a store in Waxahachie called Burke's Outlet. I had never heard of it, but I'm going to find another one because I got the cutest camo short shorts and I want another pair! After we got back to Scott and Kim's house, we cooked, ate dinner, talked for about five hours and then finally put in "The Notebook" at about midnight. We stayed up past 2 AM. It was a really fun sleepover, but I'm just not as young as I used to be. I was tired all day Sunday!! This weekend, I am going to stay home and do some spring cleaning!
OH! I almost forgot! We also got a huge 58" HDTV and a new leather recliner on Friday. We purchased them off of Craig's List and got a really great deal. They are both less than a year old. We are all SUPER excited about our fabulous TV. I rarely watch TV, but I do love movies. Mostly, I love to see how in awe Brady is when The Lion King plays on the big screen.
All we need now is an entertainment center big enough to hold that monstrosity! My house is finally remodeled and ready for "After" pictures. I hope to post some in a week or two. I didn't take any "before" pictures because our carpet was really a little bit embarrassing. :) In the meantime, here is a picture of Brady showing off his GIANT (as he calls it) TV. :)

My little Boy Scout

2008-04-18T10:41:00.003-05:00

My mom is Zach's asst. troup leader, so she usually takes him and I stay at home with the other kids. This week, Brady and I went too. Brady was sooo happy to go, because anywhere Zachie is, is the cool place to be. Zach was thrilled to have us come as well.
Once a month, they have the pack meeting, which includes four troops from grades 1-5, which equates to about 40 people. Periodically during the meetings, boys will go to the front, borrow the Mic, and say a joke. Zach has never been brave enough to do so. He decided to show off this week for mama though! He asked me and his leader for permission to go tell a joke, and then he went right up to the mic. SO BRAVE!! He said his joke perfectly, and the whole crowd (with the exception of mama, who is now so proud and fighting back tears of joy) erupted in laughter. His joke was "Why did the orange stop running down the hill? It ran out of juice." Pretty cute, huh? Zach has always been shy, and I was just beaming that he went in front of all those people and told a joke. He ran to me right afterward and I gave him a big high five and a giant hug!
Throughout the rest of the meeting, Brady ran back and forth from me and my mom to Zachie. They hugged at least 20 times. He ran around with the other boys just like he was one of them, and Zach couldn't have been prouder than to have his little brother tag along.
I am so incredibly blessed!!!

Bingo Update

2008-04-16T15:13:00.002-05:00

So that cute little dog that we found in our front yard and fell in love with was reunited with his family the day after we took him to the pound. I hope he gets out sometime and comes back for another sleepover, I miss that little guy. :-)

Random Updates.....

2008-04-11T23:07:00.002-05:00

I am now officially 33 years old (ouch! It even hurts to type it) and I think I'm having another mid-life crisis. Clearly, I was in some sort of mid-life crisis back when I was 21 and decided to tell my parents and friends to start calling me Nicole, my middle name. :) Anyhow, I went birthday shopping and I noticed I was shopping in the juniors department a lot more than the misses. I even went into the store Forever 21, in hopes they might have some fountain of youth inside. ;-) Alas, they didn't, but I ended up finding some really cute clothes and I had so much fun shopping! Also, I did notice tonight when I took Brady to the park, that I was the only mom hanging upside on the monkey bars with her two year old shouting "Don't hang upside down, mommy! Get down!" At least I'm still young at heart. :)

In other Dixon news, Zach is a rock star at Super Mario Brothers on his Nintendo DS. Nana bought Ally a Nintendo DS for her birthday in November and Zach played on it whenever Ally would let him (which wasn't all that frequent, as you can imagine). :) In February, Zach got his very own Nintendo DS from nana and grandma bought them both the Mario Brothers game. We haven't heard from him since. Just kidding, but the boy really does have a serious Nintendo addiction. The first time I saw him bopping around, getting coins, and squashing those pesky little turtles that fly, I was impressed. I can pass levels here and there, but he can run circles around me. Ally is really good too. Her favorite game is Super Mario Brothers as well. She doesn't play it nearly as much as Zach, because she is a little social butterfly and loves to go outside and play with her friends. She always lets Brady play her Nintendo. He begs and begs to play and she usually says yes. She is seriously the sweetest big sister ever! He could push buttons on that game for hours; he gets so excited and when he dies, he says "oh man, I died!" I bought him a little handheld game so he would leave them alone, but to no avail. He's too smart for all that. He wants exactly what his cool big brother and sister like. :) Zach doesn't like to share his Nintendo (He says "Why do you have to break everything Brady?"),but he's super sweet to Brady in general. His voice instantly softens when he speaks to Brady and he is so considerate. Brady is so blessed to have such wonderful siblings. He is absolutely enamored with both of them!

Ally is growing up so fast. I can't believe she'll be a teenager in a few years. GASP! She is really getting into clothes now, which is a lot of fun for me. :) My mom and I are taking her on a girls shopping trip next weekend. She never really has liked shopping before, and since it is one of my favorite past times, I'm glad that she's starting to get into it. She has such a cute style and she is very particular about what she wears. She's really into those baby-doll shirts and leggings. So, being the young hip mom I am, I decided I would try to be more fashionable like my daughter and Lindsay Lohan, and bought a baby-doll top and leggings. It is now my favorite outfit (reference mid-life crisis above). Ally is really good at figuring stuff out. Give the girl a treo, and she'll be downloading her yahoo email and checking out websites within minutes. The other day, she sent me a video message of her and her friend playing in the club house they made. I had no idea that her phone even had video capabilities. Yet, another sign I'm getting old. Are you seeing a pattern here?

Brian and I rarely watch TV, but this season Brian decided to start watching American Idol and I followed suit. We've never watched any show on a regular basis, so that is pretty huge for us to give that level of commitment to a TV show. We have 3 kids! :) Anyhow, we both really enjoy the show and have gotten very into it. It has turned into a family affair, and Brady gets excited and says "I want to watch American Idol." When I was watching it this week though, he wasn't in the mood to not be the center of attention, so he went to the TV, turned it off, and said Mommy, no more American Idol!" After we finished watching, Ally went to the computer and navigated to the yahoo homepage. Brady saw a little picture of Paula in the news headlines and said, "Mommy, Americanidol.com" How cute is that? He recognized Paula, connected her to American Idol, and even added the dot com. Anyhow, Brian is rooting for Kristy Lee Cook (based mostly on her physical appearance.:) and I love Carly! I really like almost all of them, except for Kristy Lee (mostly based on the fact that Brian likes her appearance). LOL Not really, she is one of my top 3 favorites. They are all so good and I hate to see any of them go.

My mom kept Brady a few days this week while I was at work because Yvonne is on vacation. I told him the other day, Grandma is going to babysit you while mommy goes to work. He said, "Don't go to work, mommy-sit me!" My mom worked on potty training him. We haven't pushed it, because he is pretty adamant about pooping in his diaper rather than the toilet. This afternoon, he was running around without a diaper and all of a sudden shouts "Mommy, I spilled my pee........ ewwww, I stepped in it!" He made a huge puddle in the living room floor. Thank God we don't have carpet. Everything that comes out of his mouth is so freaking cute! I need to work on writing the cute things down that he says, because I always forget. I think I'll dedicate my next blog to cute Brady phrases.

4 Day weekend!!

2008-04-04T13:21:00.002-05:00

We have an exciting weekend planned. First of all, Uncle Brad and Aunt Traci are coming in town today. No one is more excited about that than Brady. He loves visitors and he is borderline obsessed with Brad and Traci. I think he has a mini crush on Miss Traci. I'm proud of him for choosing blondes so early on in life. ;-)

Tonight, I'm taking the boys to a birthday party. It is at "Going Bonkers" in Lewisville. We've never been there before, but it looks like a lot of fun. Zach's friend Logan is turning 7. He just loves Logan, so I'm sure it will be fun!

Tomorrow, Traci and I are planning to get up early and go to Jazzercise. I guess that really depends on what we decide to do after the bday party tonight, though! I would venture to guess we'll end up staying up late talking our heads off and won't make it in the morning. We shall see!! Tomorrow evening, our nanny is babysitting and we are going to Dave and Busters. Sunday, Brian, Brad, and Traci are all going to Nascar, and I'm taking the kiddos to Planet Pizza.

I'm off on Monday and my mom is taking me shopping for my birthday. Our little shopping buddy Brady will come along as well. We are going to go out that evening for my birthday dinner. I took off Tuesday to stay home with Brady because Yvonne needed the day off. I don't have any plans during the day, but I'm meeting two of my friends for dinner for another bday celebration. :)

I can't remember the last time I had such an exciting weekend planned, and I can't wait!! :)

B-I-N-G-O

2008-03-31T10:12:00.002-05:00

Brian and I went to the movies on Saturday night and nana watched the kids. After the movie, we picked up Brady and headed home. When we got home, there was the cutest black and white beagle mix in our front yard. Brian immediately liked him, which is saying a lot, because Brian doesn't like dogs much. We decided to take him inside and try to find the owners.

Brady was so excited about the new doggie and began chasing him and giggling right away. I asked him, what should we name the dog. Without hesitation, he said "Let's name him Bingo, Mommy." How cute is that?!!! We sing the Bingo song during bathtime! I can't believe he is already so witty!!

Bingo stayed the night with us, but the pound came to get him the next morning. Brian promised us that if the owners didn't claim him, we could keep him. The last thing we need is another dog, but we certainly can't risk him being put down! I'm secretly hoping no one claims him, because I'm kinda in love with him already. If we do end up adopting him, we will definitely name him Bingo! :)

Harley Baby

2008-03-19T11:19:00.007-05:00

My dad bought Brady a Harley trike for Christmas and he received a Harley jacket from a friend of ours. My friend Traci from work loves Harleys and asked me to take a picture of Brady in his Harley garb so she can have a picture of it on her desk. I knew he was destined for fame! Between, my mom, me, Traci, and Randi...Brady's pictures are going to be all over this office! We had a blast taking the pics and I think they turned out adorable!! Here are some of my favorite shots:

Alvin and The Chipmunks

2008-03-14T22:52:00.002-05:00

Me and the boys went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks tonight. It was a cute movie, but it was a little long for Brady. At the end of the movie, he asked to get on Zach's lap, which was right by the aisle. He hopped off and ran to the front of the theater by the screen, looking back with a smarty pants grin the whole way. I ran after him and took him back to the seat, which in turn, made him cry, because that running down the aisle stuff while mommy chased him in heels was fun! Thank goodness the movie ended about five minutes after that.
Zach really loved the movie. He cracked up several times. Also, I left our drink at the concession stand and didn't realize it until we were in the theater. I was carrying a diaper bag, purse, and a squirmy two year old, so I asked Zach if he could go get the drink. I sat on the edge of the chair, clutching Brady and the diaper bag ready to go get him for the whole two minutes he was gone. I worried that he would get lost, but it was right around the corner and he did great! He came right back to me, Diet Coke in tow. He is getting so big and I was really proud of him for being such a little gentleman.
But, the best news of the night is that Brady went to sleep for me. Brian had band practice tonight, and Brady usually lays in my head until he gets home. He falls apart if I try to put him in his crib. But, I talked to him tonight (and bribed him with candy for breakfast tomorrow) and he laid right down and went to sleep. I told him how proud I was over and over. He reminds me so much of my brother Brady. He never wants to go to sleep because he might miss something. He sure didn't get that from me. I love me some zzzzz's!

Brady's First Sleepover

2008-03-13T12:29:00.004-05:00

My mom lives just a mile from me and has been eager to keep Brady at anytime since his birth. However, I've never been able to bear the idea of him being away from home overnight. I rarely do anything that requires a sitter at all! I leave him all week long while I go to work, so outside of that, I enjoy every moment with him. Kids grow up waaaaay too fast and I have enjoyed every baby moment possible!!

Brian's band is planning a trip to Puerto Rico this summer and I'm pretty sure my honey is looking at the trip as an opportunity for us to have a trip alone. Unless I can smuggle Bug in the suitcase, he isn't going to join us. In order to prep myself for this, I decided it was time that Brady had his first night at Grandma's house last Saturday. Brian and I had a bachelor/bachelorette party that evening so it worked out well. Brady went to Kobe Steakhouse with my mom and her boyfriend, then back home for some more fun before finally crashing at 11pm. Of course, he was back up and crawling into her bed at 2:30 in the morning! :)

I didn't sleep all that well and it was weird to not have him in his crib when I woke up. I called my mom first thing and she asked if I wanted him to go ahead and take his nap there so I could have more time to rest (we didn't get home from the party until 4AM!!) I said, "No, bring him to me now, I need my baby." All in all I think I did pretty well with his first sleepover and he did even better!! I still have a long way to go before I'm going to be ready to leave him to go to Puerto Rico though! Maybe we should postpone that until he's five......

Just Ask the Two Year Old

2008-03-13T12:22:00.002-05:00

If I ever want to know the truth, I know to ask Brian. He is always brutally honest. Don't ask him if your butt looks fat in something unless you want to know the truth. If your butt looks fat, he'll be the first one to tell you!! Sometimes in the mornings I'll ask him if my outfit is cute. If he doesn't like it, the response I'll receive is something like "Are you serious? You aren't really going to wear that with that are you? Sometimes I wonder about you."

Well, last night I was trying on some spring clothes since the weather had warmed up a bit. I had barely gotten the first dress on when Brady looked at me and said "You look pretty mommy." AWWWWW!!! I tried on the next outfit and asked Brady if he liked it. He said (with his paci in mouth) "It's perfect." I said, "what?" because of the paci being in his mouth initially I wasn't sure what he said. He then said "It is beautiful mommy." Talk about getting your heart melted!! I kissed him 1o times and told him how sweet he is!!

So, from now on when I want an opinion on something, I'm skipping my husband and just asking the two year old!!

My Rock-star

2008-03-11T15:53:00.007-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I married a rock star. Yes, it's true. Who would have thought that preppy little pop lovin' fashionista Nicole would end up with a rocker? I'm definitely not the 'rocker' kinda chick, but I've managed to hold my own at his shows. I've even managed to dance on stage and do some back-up (albeit tequila induced) vocals a time or two.

Brian is now in three bands:

Habitual, Brian's original band and my personal favorite. He wrote most of the songs and I love every single one of them. Brian is the lead singer and one of two lead guitarists in this one. They don't play out as often as they used to, but when they do, they ALWAYS rock the house. Long live Habitual.

Dreamsryche, a Queensryche tribute band, is still a work in progress as they are still practicing/refining. I assure you that every Geoff Tate fan out there is eager to hear Brian wail like only Brian (or maybe Geoff Tate) can. They are planning to have their first show sometime this summer.

Judas Rising, a Judas Priest Tribute Band. I don't think I ever really heard a Judas Priest song on purpose until I met Brian. That being said, it isn't my favorite type of music, but I have to admit they do it well. They get all dressed up in leather and sound very close to, if not better, than the original songs.

Now, that I've introduced you to Brian's three bands, I have to brag (I'm good at bragging...) DFW Noise attended Judas Rising's last show and posted a blog about how fabulous they are and I am in turn posting a blog to reiterate their fabulous-ness. :) He was also able to capture some great pics of the guys. I love the tough look on Brian's face, but don't let it fool ya, he is as squishy hearted as they come! Check it out below!

Here is the original blog.

Have I ever mentioned.....

2008-03-05T11:30:00.002-06:00

that Brady is a genius? Yeah, I kinda thought I might have eluded to that. hee hee. Well, I tell people all the time about all of his fabulous sayings, but once they arrive, he won't speak. Usually when I try to video him to preserve the cuteness forever, he refuses to talk as well. But, last night I got lucky. I started videoing him and got him to spell his name "B-R-A-D-Y!" Applause!! Then, he started counting on his own (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 8, 9 10). Hee Hee, 7 and 11 get confused sometimes. But, he got it right the second time! Then, I asked him to do his alphabet. He tried once, and couldn't focus long enough to get through it. But, the second time, he said every darn letter!! I shrieked with excitement and said, now I have you saying your ABC's on video and you're only 2!!! Now, if I can figure out how to get it off the tape onto a dvd, I'd love to post a clip of it. I'm certain it would be the most viewed clip on Youtube. In the meantime, I think we'll start working on quadratic equations and chemical compositions. Now that the ABC's are down pat, I think he's ready. :) hee hee

"Mommy, don't act like that"

2008-03-04T15:19:00.004-06:00

I just think it is the cutest thing EVER when Brady tells me that. Part of it, is the grown up bossy expression that he has when he says it, and part of it is the seriousness of the tone of his voice when he says it and the look of disapointment that he is even having to tell me. I mentioned in the previous post that he said that to me when I kept telling him it was Zach's party, not his. The other morning I was being silly, growling like a monster and acting like I was going to eat him. He usually cracks up. But apparently, he was in the mood for mommy to act like mommy and NOT like a monster, so I got the look and "mommy, don't act like that. " I cracked up instantly. Something about it is so funny.

I guess he must've gotten that phrase from me. Whenever he starts kicking or screaming if he doesn't get his way, I just hug him and tell him please don't act like that. He usually stops right away. I think if I were to yell at him (yeah, like that's possible!!!!) he would probably get even more upset. So, I've never gotten mad at him or said NO! or anything, I just calmly persuade him to not do it and he stops. So, I guess since it has worked so well on him, he is trying to see if it works on mommy!! With those huge beautiful brown eyes, there isn't much that isn't going to work on mommy, honey!

Zachie is 7!

2008-03-04T14:26:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful seven year old sweetie pie! Zach turned 7 on the 26th and we had his party on 3-1. It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since I attended his 3rd bday party. I had only known him a few weeks at that point and he was still very shy with me. Within a few weeks, he clung onto me like superglue and I carried him EVERYWHERE until I got pregnant with Brady. The last birthday party his biological mom attended was his third birthday as well. She was recently released from prison and is doing very well and staying sober, so we invited her to come. Zach and Ally were both very happy to see her. After 6 months of sobriety, Brian will talk to her about having more regular visits with the children.

For the third year in a row, Zach had his party at Adventure Landing. He just loves that place! They have go-carts, laser tag, miniature golf, and video games. The weather was perfect the day of his party and the kids had a blast riding the go carts outside. Zach and his best friend Jonathan are much better drivers than they were last year. :)

Brady was very excited about going to a party, but he was certain that it was HIS party. I kept telling him we are going to get cake for Zachie's party, and he said "no, mommy, it is MY party." After about the fourth time of me correcting him, he looked at me solemnly and said "Mommy, don't act like that." LOL! How dare I tell him that it wasn't his party!!! When Ally and Zach were younger we would always give them one gift at the other sibling's party, so we decided to do that for Brady as well. We bought him a cute little cars handheld game. I knew Zach was getting a Nintendo DS, so thought this might help Brady leave Zach and his game alone. Zach also got some DS games, carry case, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 Tranformers shirts, a Pogoball, 3 Transformers robots, Power rangers toy, and an art set. He had a great day!!

Later that evening, we all went to the Boyscouts Blue and Gold Banquet. We bought raffle tickets for the kids and Brady and Ally both won 2 prizes each! No one could believe our family won that much. We got a $50 gift card to WingStop, Starbucks giftbag including a bag of coffee, two tumblers, a mug, and a $15 gift card, a fishing pole set, and a big basket of about 20 toys (that Ally LOVES). I was probably more excited than anyone. I just love to win prizes!!
All in all it was a fabulous day and I'm always so happy when my kids' bday parties are a big success. :)

A little funny

2008-02-29T15:26:00.003-06:00

Our friends Brian and Tracy came over last night so Tracy could cut all of our hair. Brian saw Brady taunting the dog and told us how earlier in the week his 3 year old, Haley, was hitting their cat with a stick. He told her twice not to. She went ahead and beat the poor cat a third time, so he swatted her butt. She walked around the room crying for a minute or two, then walked up to him and said "My ass is bleeding. I need a bandaid." He had stung her butt, and to her it felt like it MUST be bleeding. I laughed so hard when he told me that, so I figured I ought to share. I'm also glad to know that Brady isn't the only one that experiments with cussing. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-19T10:54:00.003-06:00

I just love Valentine's Day. I know a lot of people think it is over-rated and just an attempt by Hallmark to rob us blind, but any opportunity to celebrate love and have a holiday is A-OK with me! I love all the pink and red and hearts everywhere. If I had more time, money, and energy, I'd likely decorate the entire house in Valentine stuff! :)

This year, I was able to take off half a day and attend Ally and Zach's Valentine parties at school. I went to Zach's party for the first half, and then went to Ally's for the last half. They were both giddy. They love it when mom or dad get to come to their class! Zach class had sundae's and cupcakes and then opened their Valentine cards. He got a lot of candy from his classmates! Ally had chips and cookies at her party, then we played Bingo. She won the very first game! I was so proud, but managed not to stand up and scream "Ally ROCKS!" in the interest of not embarrasing her in front of her classmates.

After class, we went to my car and found that Brian had left me a dozen beautiful roses on my seat. What a nice surprise!!! :) Then, we all went to the movies to see The Golden Compass. We all really enjoyed the movie and Brady enjoyed bouncing back and forth from me to Ally and eating as much candy as a 2 year old can consume in a 1.5 hour period. :) We kept giving him more in an attempt to keep him quiet. By the end of the movie, he had mastered the whisper.

Brian is not usually really big on holidays, but he really surprised me this year! He told me he had written a song for me, but had never told me the lyrics. The morning of Vday he sent me the lyrics and then the following evening he sang the song at his Habitual show. I was moved to tears. The song is about me losing my brother, being lonely, and desperately longing for a family. It is the most beautiful song I've ever heard and I'm simply amazed at his talent and how in touch he is with my feelings. I'll never stop thanking God for bringing me Brian, Ally, and Zach. They healed my heart and made me whole. It truly is where I belong.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

Where I Belong

Wait for me, I’m coming
Can’t you see, where I belong
Tragedy, has caused this pain
But where would I be
If I left it all inside my head

Lord, Lord I’m breathing
And I’m calling
For you to see
That I’m lonely
So lonely
I’m calling

Fantasy, you’re here with me
I can’t believe that you’re gone
Reality, it still remains
But who would I be
If I left all our memories behind

Lord, Lord I’m breathing
And I’m calling
For you to see
That I’m lonely
So lonely
I’m calling

Wait for me, I’m coming
Can’t you see where I belong
Tragedy, has caused this pain
But where would I be
If I left it all inside my head

Lord, Lord I’m breathing
And I’m calling
For you to see
That I’m lonely
So lonely
I’m calling

Football Player

2008-02-05T10:16:00.000-06:00

I would rather be shot in the foot than to have to sit through an entire football game, but nonetheless, I still want the Cowboys to win and consider myself a fan. I don't know how you can not like Tony Romo. He is an awesome player and he is always so humble. The dimples help as well. ;-)

Brian is a die hard Cowboys/Romo fan! This has rubbed off on Brady. He loves to watch the "football players" with daddy and he can throw a mean pass for a 2 year old! He has a cowboys football and anytime he sees a Cowboys star or emblem, he says Cowboys!

The other day, I tried to teach him to say Tony Romo when I asked him who his favorite football player is. I asked him last night, thinking for sure he would have forgotten, and he said "ROMO!!!" We were shocked he remembered after me only telling him a few times, so we clapped and woo hoo'd! After that, he would throw the football in his basketball hoop or to me or daddy and say TONY ROMO!!!

Later in the evening, we were singing and I asked him if he was going to be a singer when he grows up. He loudly and passionately exclaimed, "No, I'm gonna be a football player like daddy!!" Too cute that he thinks daddy is a football player! Watch out Cowboys. I think I have the next Tony Romo on my hands. :)

Live and Let Lie

2008-02-04T14:32:00.000-06:00

Let me start this off by saying that Brady is obsessed with Shrek. After he outgrew Baby Einstein, he was addicted to The Wiggles for months. His last nanny introduced Shrek to him and now that is the only thing he is interested in. We have watched Shrek I, II, and III countless times! They are really good movies and all I can say is thank GOD it isn't Barney. I told you my kid was smart. :) hee hee

So, at the beginning of Shrek the Third, the "Frog King Dad-in-Law" dies. At the funeral, there are tons of frogs sitting around singing "Live and Let Die." Brady likes to randomly sing this song. He doesn't just sing it in a happy go lucky fashion though. The song played at a funeral in the movie, so when he belts it out, he gets a very serious face, his voice deepens and he lets out a very solemn (yet adorable) "Live and let liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie" There is no way that I could ever describe the cuteness of this. You can probably almost imagine how precious it is if you know Brady personally, and know how dramatic he can be.

Anyhow, the other day Brian was playing with him on his See-N-Say. The conversation went something like this:

Daddy: What sound does a cat make?
Brady: Meeeeeeeeeeeoow
Daddy: What sound does a dog make?
Brady: Ruf! Ruf!
Daddy: What sound does a rooster make?
Brady: Cockledoodle doooooooooooo!
Daddy: What sound does a frog make?
Brady: (insert solemn face and deep singing voice)LIVE AND LET LIE!!!!

Brian said he and our nanny couldn't stop laughing!! :) They then told him that a frog says ribbit. So, when I got home from work I asked him what a frog says. He sang/said "Live and let lie. Ribbit. Ribbit. "

I just love two. It is such a fun age and I never stop laughing! :)

Most Patriotic!

2008-02-01T09:54:00.000-06:00

Ohhhh, I do so love to win. For as long as I remember, I've been pretty competitive and have tried to win any contest/sport/prize that I could. I get a little evil at baby showers. I was never any good at sports as a child, but I could play a mean spelling bee! :) That being said, the only thing better than winning yourself, is to have your child win!

About a week ago, I knew the Pinewood Derby for boyscouts was approaching, but all I really knew about it was the fastest car wins and being the girlie girl that I am, I have absolutely no idea how to make a wooden car go faster. But then my mom (the asst. troup leader) gave me the handout, and I saw that trophies are awarded to several categories, including most creative, scariest, and most patriotic, among others. Well, originally Brian planned to just paint it solid blue. So, I figured most patriotic would be my best bet. This was about 8pm the night before the race that I decided I needed to get involved and make it pretty.....that a solid blue car just wouldn't do. Zach has an obsession with trophies, and I needed to make a good effort to try to get him one!

We decided to paint the car white, then put stickers on it that said USA and Dixon, then paint it blue, and peel the stickers off to reveal the white underneath. Zach loved this idea and couldn't wait to see the finished product! While we are painting, I have Ally desperately searching the house for star stickers, preferably red, or anything else patriotic. We finally found some star stickers and I painted them red, somehow thinking they would still function as stickers after the paint dried.

Meanwhile, the blue paint on the car had dried, so I started to peel off the stickers. To my dismay, there was blue paint all underneath my carefully placed "USA." I got the white paint and tried to fix the letters, but it just got all clumpy and at this point Brian came in, saw the mess, and realized that we shouldn't have used the blue latex paint to begin with! It was all peeling off. He washed it off, spray painted the car white, and we were back to square one!

I found more letter stickers that I would stick on the car after the paint dried. The painted red stars would not peel off (duh) so I found some little usa tattoos and flags and prayed that the image would transfer onto the very plain solid white, un-patriotic car! Finally, I found a little plastic star and stuck some of Ally's blue and red rinestone's on it. It was going to be the hood ornament. At this point, the car was still wet, and it was 1:30 AM, so I set the alarm for 6:30 and went to sleep.

The next morning, I got up and headed to my not-quite masterpiece and began working. Luckily for me, the tattoos did in fact transfer to the car, with a little work, and the stickers looked great as well as the hood ornament. I also cut Zach's face out of one of our Christmas cards and glued it to the side. Now, that was cute!! His perfect little face right beside the Dixon letters!! It was complete and I was pretty proud of what I'd managed with little time or supplies! :)

I woke up Zach and showed him, but he wasn't all that excited about it. He thought the original sticker under the paint idea would have been much cooler. He also thought it was very weird that I put his face on the side of the car. Sigh.

The final step was for Brian to put the wheels and weights on the car. Oops. I had forgotten about the wheels. One of the wheels covered half of that perfect little face that I had cut out so carefully and glued on the side of the car. MAN!!! Too late to move it now, it was time for the boys to go, so off they went. I still wished that I had been able to find some shiny bright red stars to stick all over the car. Oh well.....

Brian had repeatedly told me the night before that people had been working on their cars for weeks, and ours was certainly not going to win. Nonethelss, about five minutes after he left the house, I began texting him asking "is Zach's the most patriotic?" "What do the other cars look like?" Brian responded with a very big LOL, and told me there were some extremely fabulous cars, so perfect they were likely made with kits purchased off ebay.

So, imagine my surprise when my boy comes in the house, gleaming, thanking me, and proudly showing me his VERY FIRST TROPHY!!! "I won most patriotic mommy!" YES!!! Turns out I made a good choice and no one else felt very patriotic this year. So, despite the fact that I didn't have many bells or whistles to make Zach's car as fabulous as I would have liked to, it still was the most patriotic and took the prize!!! I know he was just giddy and I am sooo happy for him!! He even slept with the trophy the first few nights!!

Now that I know about the categories/prizes, I am all over this contest next year. His might not be the fastest, but it will definitely be the prettiest.

And The Winner Is.....

Zach's first trophy. Isn't it cute?!

The trophy and the car (notice the little face hiding beneath the wheel)

Brady joining in on the glory

A Congratulatory Kiss!

Our Little Chatterbox

2008-02-01T09:30:00.001-06:00

You'd never know it if you met Brady, but he really does talk a lot. I promise. Of course, if he gets around people, he immediately clings on to mommy for dear life, tucks his hands under his tummy, and hides his precious face. He is a little bit shy, that one. :) But when no one is around he has full conversations with us. Since you will likely never hear him utter more than a shy "bye," I'll give you an example of one of the many endearing conversations I have with him. The other morning he woke up and came to bed to snuggle.

Brady: I wake up mommy. I come to mommy's bed.
Mommy: awww, I love you baby.
Brady: I love you mommy. You go work mommy?
Mommy: Yes, Baby, mommy has to go to work today.
Brady: (cuddles up closer and melts mommy's heart...) don't go work mommy. Stay wif Brady.
Mommy: Oh, I wish I could angel.
Brady: You have to mommy?
Mommy: Yes, sweetie, I have to go to work.
Brady: Miss Yvonne coming?
Mommy: Yes, Miss Yvonne is coming to play with you!
Brady: (sighs) Ok, mommy

If you could only hear how he says the words, it is ever cuter. He has the most adorable expressions and you've never seen a cuter dissapointed face. Don't let the sigh fool you. He really does love his nanny, Miss Yvonne. She is awesome. But, he's a mommy's boy and he'd always prefer that I was right there with him, doting on him and begging for more kisses! I can't wait to tell him when I get home tonight that mommy doesn't have to work tomorrow. He'll be so excited, but not half as excited as I'll be to stay home "wif Brady."

Ally's Haircut

2008-01-23T14:41:00.000-06:00

Ally has been begging her dad for about a year and a half now to let her cut her hair. He is of the strong mindset that all little girls should have hair to their butts, so he would never allow her to cut more than an inch (usually 1/2 inch!)

A few weeks ago, he looked at the Google drop down list and saw "how to get your daddy to let you cut your hair." I think that heavily influenced his decision to allow her to cut it. He told her she could get 5 inches cut off and get layers. She was beyond Elated!!! My friend Randi came over and did a FABULOUS job on Ally's hair. Ally hasn't stopped looking in the mirror since. :)

Ally getting her hair cut and Brian watching closely to make sure Randi doesn't cut it chin-length....

Dead Ends- Be gone!!!

The finished product and the VERY happy little girl! Isn't she gorgeous?!

Him or Her Survey

2008-01-15T11:30:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged by Beth, so here goes!

Him or Her?
How long have you been together? 4 years
How long did you date? 14 months
How old is he? 38
Who eats more? Brian!
Who said I love you first? Brian. I freaked out the first time I thought he was going to say it and left. I was ready when he actually said it though and I said it back. :)
Who is taller? Brian
Who sings better? He is the lead singer in 3 bands and I make the kids cry when I sing, so I'd have to say him.
Who is smarter? He definitely has more useless knowledge, but I probably have a better memory. We're both pretty intelligent peeps. :)

Who does the laundry? Me and that's crap! Thankfully, our nanny helps with the kids' laundry during the week or I'd die. ;-)
Who does the dishes? Me, Ally, and Yvonne (our nanny)
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? him
Who pays the bills? Brian
Who mows the lawn? the lawn service, Brian and manual labor don't mix. :)
Who cooks dinner? I usually prepare dinner, but Brian is a way better cook than I am. If we have guests or a holiday, he prepares the feast. He is quite the chef.
Who drives when you are together? Brian
Who is more stubborn? Him, but not by much!
Who kissed who first? He said, how badly do you want me to kiss you? Then, we kissed!
Who asked who out? he asked me, but I stalked him on Americansingles.com first! I would look at his picture 10 times a day until he finally emailed me!!!
Who proposed? He did
Who is more sensitive? I am WAY more sensitive. I cry during commercials.
Who has more friends?He does. He is way more outgoing and social than me and on the phone with friends more than any chick that I know.
Who has more siblings? He does
Who wears the pants in the family? I think we are pretty equal because neither one of us would settle with less than being the boss, so we share. :) Still, I think I'll go with Beth's husband's answer "we are a pants free family." hee hee

Daddy Says....

2008-01-11T12:23:00.000-06:00

For those of you who know Brian personally, you know that he isn't fond of those societal rules that prevent him from saying certain words. Therefore, he ignores them. He also isn't fond of sheltering our children. He says, they'll hear cuss words eventually and might as well get used to it now. I don't necessarily agree with his theory, but I just go with it and hope that the kids will take after me and not potty-mouthed daddy. ;-)

We haven't had such luck thus far with Brady. He is a little walking dictionary, learning and proudly speaking new words daily. He decided a few weeks ago he would try out the "F" word. I said, "what baby?, " secretly hoping he had said "duck." He said it again. Nope, that definitely wasn't a "D" at the first of the word. Brian quickly told him that is daddy's word but that he is not allowed to say it. That is a bad word. We had a few more run-ins like that, and Brady stopped saying it.

The other day, my little smarty pants figured out a way to say it. He was standing at daddy's desk and proudly announced: "Daddy say f*ck. Daddy say f*ck. Daddy say f*ck. Daddy say f*ck." We tried our best not to laugh, but it was kinda cute. How could we argue with that logic? Brady wasn't really using that word, just stating the fact that daddy uses that word. We thought the best thing to do was just to agree with him and hope that he never decides to tell our preacher (when we get one!) that tidbit about daddy. :)

Last night, we were watching a video of old pictures that Brian's sister sent us. When an 8 year old pic of Brian with huge brown eyes and his signature smile popped up, I exclaimed, "you were so freaking cute!!" Brady quickly chimed in "Mommy!!! Don't say that. That a bad word. " It is funny how daddy can say "f*ck" and Brady is almost proud, but I get my hand slapped for saying "freakin." At least he is getting the bad words down, and hopefully will not be repeating them much in the future, or at least not in public.

Baby Einstein

2008-01-10T15:19:00.000-06:00

So, this is my blog, so therefore I am entitled to brag a little bit (or a lot). Our fabulous nanny Yvonne, must be working with Brady on his ABC's. Yesterday, Zach and I started singing the ABC song in the car, and Brady chimed right in! He sung A-G all by himself, then let me sing H-P, then he amazed the heck out of me when he chimed back in and sand Q-Z! If I remember correctly, I didn't learn my ABC's until I was in Kindergarten. My child prodigy is saying his at the tender age of 2. He can also count to 10 (when he wants to) and speaks in sentences and surprises me by his ever-growing vocabulary each day. He is destined for great success and perhaps even a few Guinness records I would imagine! :)

Did I mention that he is as sweet as he is cute and smart? Yesterday when he woke up from his nap, he told our nanny, "Mommy loves me." He sure is right about that!! Whenever Zach gets in trouble or gets hurt, Brady runs and hugs his legs and says "It's OK Zachie." He is always looking out for his older brother (unless he is stealing his toys...:) Ally is Brady's second mommy and he will sit on her lap for a long time snuggling and watching TV. He cries when she leaves to go to her friends' houses sometimes. He'd ride around in her back pocket if he could. He tells her, "you're the best sister ever!" That statement was likely coached, but it is cute nonetheless!

I am so very blessed to have three beautiful, sweet children! I am so very proud of all of them. There is nothing quite like being a mommy!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-10T15:05:00.000-06:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. Our family certainly did! We spent Christmas Eve with my mom. Christmas morning, we opened presents from Santa and each other, then my dad came over with more gifts, then the kids' nana and papa came over with more gifts!! We also got gift cards for Toys R Us from another set of grandparents and money from Brian's mom and dad! I took the kids to Toys R US a few days after Christmas and they were able to find a few things they didn't own already! ;-)

Zach's favorite toys are his Little Tykes Digital Camera and R/C Mustang car. Ally's favorite presents were Nintendo DS games. She lives on that thing!! Brady loves his choo choo train and Baby Shrek talking doll. However, none of his new toys even come close to comparing to his obsession: balls! He has every kind of ball you can imagine, and he loves to play basketball!

I took two weeks off for Christmas and it was wonderful to have the extra time with the kids. I would LOVE to be able to stay home with them every day! :) I would definitely have to come up with more of a schedule though. We lived the life of leisure while I was off.

Brian had a show on New Year's Eve, which didn't end up being much fun for him. I stayed home with the kiddos and they discovered the magic that is egg nog. They fought over the last few sips and have been asking for more ever since.

Both Brian and I are trying to lose a few pounds, so I suppose that will be our official resolution! I've started back to working out during my lunch hour, and Brian is eating lots of salads and going to work out with me this evening. Neither one of us have lost anything yet, but we'll keep trying until we do. If nothing else, it sure is a great mood boost to work out. It is probably my favorite hobby, other than kissing my babies and Brian. :)

I hope that you and your families are very blessed in 2008! Happy New Year!

It's not gas!!

2007-12-06T12:22:00.001-06:00

About three months ago I had terrible pains in my side and almost OD'd on gas ex because I was sure it was gas. Brian told me to go to the doctor but I said I would wait until the morning. By the morning, I was urinating blood, my temp was up to 103 and I was vomiting. I still refused to go to the ER. I thought that was over-reacting so I insisted we go to the regular doctor. So, we did and he promptly wheeled me over to the ER and I had to be hospitalized for a kidney infection. You would think that would have taught me my lesson with regard to gas...but not so much!

Last Thursday, I had terrible pains in my lower abdomen. I had shooting pains in my rectum as well. So, naturally I attributed the pains to gas/and or constipation. When I got home from work, the pressure was pretty bad so Brian felt around and I started screaming when he got near my cervix. He said, "You should probably go to the ER if it hurts that bad." Well, I'm a chick and so I assumed I'm just a wimp and probably didn't need a doctor. I decided to be safe and call the United Health Care line. After describing all of my symptoms (did I mention I had been bleeding for 13 days) the nurse told me I should go to the Urgency Care Clinic.

I checked in and they told me it would be two hours. So, I left and thought I might not even go back. I probably wouldn't have except that the pain worsened when I walked so I was a little worried. After an hour, I went back and she said I still had 45 minutes to wait. By the time I finally got checked in at the clinic, I had a fever and the chills. The doctor came in and said "I'm confused. Does your cervix hurt, or your rectum, or your bladder?" HELLO!!! You're the doctor chick. They all hurt, you figure it out. She asked me if there was any chance I could have contracted gonorrhea or chlamydia (thought the pain might be PID). NICE. Make the sick girl second guess her husband why don't cha! ;-) She ended up doing a urine test and a pelvic exam. The pregnancy test was negative, the urine was clear, but there was a large mass on my fallopian tube and I was shaking pretty badly and in a lot of pain at this point. She looked extremely worried and told me I needed to get to the ER right away. She thought I had an abscess on my Fallopian tube.
So, shaking, crying, and thinking that I'm dying, I drove myself to the ER and checked myself in. After another urine test, blood test, and a very painful intra-vaginal ultrasound, the doctor comes in and tells me I am in fact pregnant and that it is a tubal pregnancy. I immediately busted into tears. I was scared, and no one likes to think they just lost a baby, even if it wasn't quite a baby yet. :( That doctor looked pretty scared too and told me he would be back. He called my gyno and she was there within an hour ready to operate. I trust her and think she is a great doctor, so I felt comfortable with her performing the procedure. She said since I had gotten pregnant and my IUD failed, that we would go ahead and remove it and asked me if I wanted to tie my tubes. I burst into tears again at the thought of never being able to have another child. I opted not to get my tubes tied in the hopes that one day Brian may change his mind and want to add another child to our family.
The surgery went well and they were able to save my tube. The first few days were tough, but my pain is controllable now and I'm finally getting some energy back. I'm still very emotional, but hoping that my hormones will level out in the next week or so and I will be back to my old self!

I know one thing, the next time I have gas, I'm going straight to the ER! :)

Oh Christmas Tree

2007-11-29T12:21:00.001-06:00

I am a little particular about my Christmas tree. We got a huge tree last year and I had it decorated to the hilt. It was all perfectly coordinated in white and silver, with little silver bows, glass balls, silver snowflakes, garland, and porcelain beads. I was so into it being perfect, that I didn't allow any 'not white or silver' decorations on it. It looked perfectly beautiful!

This year we downsized. Our house isn't big enough for the monster of a tree we had last year and Brian almost threw it out the window last year when he was putting it together. So, I got a simple 6 foot pre-lit tree, but still had every intention of making it perfect. However, when we were decorating it last night, I decided it would be more fun for the kids if we made it a little less perfect and a little more fun. I got mine and my brother's old decorations out of the attic and asked the kids if they wanted to hang them on the tree. They were thrilled to see the decorations I had when I was a kid and even happier to get to hang them on our family tree! We turned on some Christmas music and had a blast decorating the tree, with all the old ornaments. They brought up a lot of beautiful memories of my childhood. I told the kids when I was young, my mom would give my brother and I an ornament each year and that I think that would be a great idea for us to have that tradition in our family as well. They each picked their favorite ornament out of my childhood ornaments and Ally wrote her name on hers. She said she would give it to her daughter when she grows up. Awww!!! :) I'm going shopping this weekend to find a special ornament for each of my children, and we will open that present on Christmas Eve, and put the final touches on our tree!

So, in closing, I'm pretty proud of myself. The tree isn't perfect, and not as pretty as last year, but it was a lot more fun decorating it and has a lot more heart in it. Live and learn! :) From now on, anything goes on my tree, as long as it makes my babies smile. That is true beauty.

This, That, and The Other

2007-11-29T12:06:00.000-06:00

We've been some busy bees the past few weeks! Brian's brother, Brad came in town two weeks ago to replace our floors. Initially, he was going to just be here a few days and just do the floors. We decided the walls were in desperate need of some paint as well and then we'd have to replace the baseboards too! He ended up being stuck here for over a week, and that was with about 3 workers hired to help him each day. I'm sure he is glad to be back in Georgia, and I know his wife is thrilled to have him back, but we sure enjoyed his visit and we love our beautifully re-modeled home! :) We got cherrywood hardwood floors in our office, foyer and hall downstairs, ceramic tile in the kithcen/dining area, and stained cement in the living room. It all looks great. We chose two different beige shades (one with a brownish hint, one with a goldish hint) for our walls. They look AWESOME! We did have flat paint, which showed every little finger smudge, so we are so thankful for our new semi-gloss walls.

The kids were absolutely enamoured with Uncle Brad. Brady was pretty close to obsessed. :) All he could say is "Uncle Brad, Uncle Brad, Uncle Brad." Brad was never too busy to stop and give him a "BIIIIIIIIIIIIIG HUG!" Thanks for everything, Uncle Brad!

After Brad left, we decided that we needed a new stove and microwave to go along with our new floors, paint, baseboards, etc....!! We got the new stove last night and it looks fabulous. Good thing, since we are darn near bankrupt at this point.

Ally's birthday party was on November 17th. It was a magicial hit! We hired a magician who I babysat when I was a teenager. He was FABULOUS!! He came in on stilts and had to bend over to fit in the house. He juggled flames, daggers, and had some incredible tricks. Ally said it was her best party EVER. That made me feel so good because it takes a lot of effort to plan a birthday party! :) I would highly recommend the magician, for your future parties- http://www.danny-stueber.com/

Brady's party is Saturday, December 1st. I'm tickled pink about his party. It will be the first year that he really knows what is going on. I know he is going to be so excited to open his presents. We are going to Chuck E Cheese and I'm sure he'll think the dancing Chuck E is the best thing ever. He knows what birthdays are now..if you say birthday...he'll say birthday cake. :) It is all about the cake!! He told Ally "Happy Birthday, Ally" on her birthday. It was just precious.

Photo shoot

2007-11-15T10:40:00.000-06:00

Here is the link to our latest photo shoot. We got pictures of all the kids together, and then we had Brady's 2 year old shoot. Now, I've just got to decide which ones to order. Decisions, decisions.....

http://home.tx.rr.com/imagesbyshelby/clients/dixon/

Happy Halloween

2007-11-07T14:23:00.000-06:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We had a great time on Halloween this year. Brady is now old enough to understand the concept, and there isn't much he won't do for candy! He figured out right away that we go to the door with the lights on and would say "Mommy, come on! Lights on!" He ran to the door right behind Ally and Zach. Even the skeletons and scary music didn't deter him from his "sweet" goal! He carried his two ton bag of candy like a champ as well. I offered to help him a few times and he responded by hugging it close to his chest and saying "mine, all mine!" lol

Ally dressed up as Brian this year. How cute is that? She looked adorable with her little goatee and attempted to make "Brian" expressions in all of the pictures. She even spanked my butt once in an attempt to be like daddy. She is really becoming a young lady these days! She is so grown up and her little personality is blossoming. She has a GREAT sense of humor! She got several laughs at the doors when people realized she was dressed up as daddy. It was too cute and it was her idea!! :)

Zach was Darth Vader. We looked at tons of costumes and he didn't like any until he saw darth vader. My sweet baby boy is growing up too and he doesn't like the cutsie costumes anymore. Ally suggested that he dress up like mommy, but when I told him he'd have to wear my bra so he could have boobies, he said ewwww. That killed that idea. He was an adorable (yet tough) Darth Vader and he was a trooper walking from door to door at a super fast pace to keep up with daddy. He didn't complain one bit.

Brady was an adorable little furry monkey. I really hyped up the monkey suit a few days prior in order for him to wear it. Brady would go to the door with a whole crowd of kids and get the most attention. They would be oohing and awwing and say things like "You get candy first little monkey because you are soooo cute!" Ally and Zach said he got more candy because he was so cute. He is more than willing to share with his big sister and brother though!

Brady was really sad on November 1st to see the halloween decorations on our door come down. I was kinda happy, because now he can't make me go to the door 100 times a day saying, "Halloween stuff. Halloween stuff right now mommy!" He called the skeleton "big scawy" and he thought the pumpkin on the door looked like he was laughing, so he would laugh when he looked at it. He was borderline obsessed with "Big Scawy" and would shake his hand and say "nice to meet you!" TOO CUTE!!! I'm sure he will be thrilled in a few weeks when we put up the Christmas decorations. Santa is going to be way better than "Big Scawy"...he is cute, cuddly, and even brings toys!!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-07T14:07:00.000-06:00

The Dixon's 2007 PUMPKIN PATCH Adventure!

We went for our annual pumpkin patch visit the weekend before Halloween. We were supposed to go the weekend prior to that, but Ally got strep throat. :( The weather ended up being perfect. It was 70 degrees and sunny! Everyone wore their black shirts and jeans. Zach wanted to wear a different shirt and asked daddy if he could. Daddy said "we wear what mommy tells us to wear." Good husband, and GREAT ANSWER! hee hee. I am a little bit of a nutcase when it come to pictures. You don't get the childhood years back, and kids grow way too fast. I want to have a whole library of picture memories! Brian gets a little sick of the many photo sessions. Especially since it takes about 100 pictures to get one that I like of myself. After our grueling (it takes a lot to get five people looking the same way..!) photosessions Brian has to deal with me getting depressed about the pictures that I don't like. I'm a mess, I admit it.

We took 100 pics at the Pumpkin patch this year and I only deleted 15. That was pretty good! The lighting wasn't as good as last year, but they turned out pretty good. My mom was able to go with us as well. We finally got to take some mom/daughter pictures. She looks more like my sister than my mom! I hope to look half that good when I am a grandma. My mom is sooooo beautiful, inside and out!

The kids had a blast playing on the hay stacks and running through the maze. At the pumpkin patch, they sell the most delicious kettle corn and we took a break from the fun to munch on that!

Brady LOVES pumpkins, so the patch was his dream playground. He ran around the pumpkins giggling. It was pretty difficult to get him to sit still for the pics! But, we managed. Here are a few of the pics:

Fall is finally here!!

2007-10-16T12:28:00.000-05:00

It is chilly outside! I wasn't expecting it and my capris and sandals aren't cutting it! I'm definitely wearing long pants and a jacket tomorrow. I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather! I'm really excited about Halloween! It will be Brady's first Halloween that he really knows what is going on. I imagine he will think it is the coolest thing ever that people will be giving him gobs and gobs of candy! The boy has his daddy's genes and lives for candy. I'm not sure how he'll take the scary decorations though. Zach tried on his Darth Vader costume and Brady said, "Off Zachie, OFF!" He didn't want him to come near him with that mask on. Our neighbors have a skeleton in their front yard and Brady says "Scary mommy, scary!" Brady is going to be a monkey for Halloween. I ordered him the cutest little fuzzy Old Navy Monkey costume off of ebay. It is very fitting since he is such a monkey....always climbing on everything! Ally is dressing up as daddy for Halloween. She has a little dress shirt, dress pants, daddy's tie, and we got her some patent leather boys dress shoes. She has a black wig and we practiced drawing a goatee on her face the other day. Brady didn't like that much either!! I love to dress up too, but not sure if I'm going to dress up or not this year. I've been too wrapped up in the nanny/daycare situation to think about it much.

Some of my favorite family pics ever are the pictures that we took at the Pumpkin Patch last year. We are going to go back this weekend. I hope we get some more good shots! I really like pics in the natural light. They seem to turn out the best. My mom is going to be out of town this weekend, so she won't be able to join us at the Pumpkin Patch. I'm hoping to harass some poor stranger into taking some shots of all of us. Ally and Zach are both really good at taking pics too, so I'm sure they'll be happy to step out of own or two shots to be the photographer. They love it when I post a picture that they took on my myspace. :)