Merry Christmas!!

Presents are bought and wrapped. We are just waiting for this afternoon to begin Christmas activities! We'll go over to my mom's tonight for steak and presents! Nate's screaming right now, so I must go put him down for a nap. Then I'll probably take one myself. :-)

Here comes Santa Claus!

I CANNOT believe Christmas is almost here. Christmas JUST HAPPENED. Like, 4 months ago. It seems. Anyway. Things are good. Hectic. I'm still trying to get control of all my life responsibilities. Gosh it would be easier if I didn't have to work 50+ hours a week. I miss the days of the 40- hour a week jobs I used to have. I'm determined to figure out how to juggle everything. Determined! I will. I will. I will.

This past week as particularly difficult, but after having a little breakdown to Lisa on Thurs she offered me her massage session that she had scheduled at 10am this morning. Massages always make things better. I spent the entire session concentrating on being relaxed and not thinking about anything. Anyway, I'm feeling better now.

This weekend we will finish putting up the tree and getting the outside decorations up. And then I can start wrapping presents. That will help me feel like I'm accomplishing things.

Monday will be an interesting day at work. BMC is laying off 350 employees on Monday. Of course the senisble part of me doesn't want to be one of "the ones." But the exasperated, overwhelmed part of me is screaming "PICK ME!!" Don't tell Randy I said that. My pals at work are all stressed too. It's a mess.

Keep your fingers cross (for which result, I'm not sure).

Old friends

I located a couple of old friends via Facebook recently. One is a friend that I haven't talked to in over 8 years (I was PG with Ryan the last time I saw him). I stumbled upon his information, only to find out that he is now a photographer (something I didn't know about him before). We exchanged a few "catching up" emails, but it also got me to thinking about my own photography. I really miss spending time taking pictures for fun. I hardly ever do it, and I have two of the most amazing subjects at my disposal. Anyway, I whipped my camera out the other day and snapped a few pics of Nate. I need to take some of Ryan too. He is just plain pretty. I'm posting the pics I took of Nate, and then Ryan's recent school pic.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Updates on Nate

So "Dora the Explorer" is Nate's favorite show. And anyone with a child under the age of 5 knows... Dora speaks Spanish sometimes. Well, Nate's been counting to 10 and 20 for sometime now, but yesterday he mixed it up a little. He said "one, two, tree, catro, cinco, ses, seben, eight, nine, TEN!!! The boy is scary smart if you think about that for a minute. He just turned 2 1/2, mind you.

Oh, and apparently he is potty trained at school. Yeah. They want me to bring UNDERWEAR for him tomorrow. I find this freakin' hilarious since he has NEVER PEED OR POOED IN THE POTTY AT HOME!!! Nope. He refuses. I ask all the time and he says no. We need to figure this one out... and soon.

When I put Nate to bed at night, after our story I turn the lights out to rock with him for a few minutes before I put him in the bed. A few days ago, I asked him to sing some songs with me. He started singing the ABC song. I listened and he sang the entire thing by himself. There was nothing sweeter than listening to his sweet little voice as I rocked him in the dark. So now each night after we read a story I turn the lights off and we sing a few songs together. This is currently my favorite thing to do in the world. :-)

Ryan's Party Pics

Here are pics from Ryan's birthday parties.

8

8 years ago today... I experienced one of the most tramatic physical experiences that my body has ever gone through. After 3 1/2 hours of pushing and use of various Obstectrical instruments, my sweet baby boy was born. I got to see him for a moment then he was hurriedly wisked away to the NICU. He was fine, just a small fever but I still remember how much my heart hurt that he was taken away so quickly. It took a full year for my body to completely heal from that delivery. But...

what I have gained is the most amazing little person I could ever have imagined. My baby boy turns 8 today. Eight years old. It seems like every year gets harder. It's one step closer to him being grown and on his own. He is a thoughtful, sensitive, smart, talented, funny little man. I'm so blessed to have him in my life. Happy Birthday Pumpkin.

Team Bracher!

A couple of weekends ago was the Susan G. Komen, Race for the Cure walk in downtown Houston. It was an amazing event with almost 30,000 attendees! My mom, sisters, aunt, uncle, my mom's cousin, and my friend Jericia walked together in the race.

I got so pumped up that I signed up for the Avon 2-day marathon length walk in April of next year. I'm crazy. Anyway, I hope to keep training for it and raise the required $1,800. I have my donation page set up. It's even possible to make "anonymous" donations, if anyone feels so inclined. ;-)

My NJ friend Megan does this walk every year in NY city. She talked me into it, and even promised to come down here and walk with me in it. Wish me luck!

IKE the terrible

What a long two weeks! So Ike hit us dead on. It was the middle of the night, so Ryan and I slept in the hallway, away from any windows and we boarded up Nate's window. Randy had to fend for himself. :-) The power went out in the middle of the night. In the morning, Ike was still blowing until about 1 in the afternoon. I was watching the radar on my blackberry. Randy and Ryan put together a lego set. I played dominos and blocks and read to Nate.

When the wind stopped we went outside to assess things. Our house wasn't damaged at all. We lost a few boards from our rickety back fence, and there were limbs and leaves everywhere. Texting still worked on my phone, but it was difficult to get a phone call out b/c circuts were busy. So I went about texting everyone to make sure all was ok.

Everyone was fine. My mom's house had some minor damage when a tree limb fell on the eave of her roof. My dad lost 4 trees from his yard, one of which came crashing down on their dining room. It didn't come through the house but the sheetrock is cracked inside and tore up the roof and the frame of the house. I guess there is something good about living around no huge trees.

So, we had filled our cars with gas the night before and charged our phones, got some bags of ice and froze milk jugs full of water. We put the frozen milk jugs in the fridge and put some necessities like milk in an ice chest, things that we'd need frequently.

The city was devasted. The power was out everywhere, and lots of stores had damage, nothing was open for days. After a day or two some gas stations opened but there were lines hours long to get any gas. It was crazy.

After 2 days our power came back on. We were so lucky. That night Trevor, Christine, Lindsay, Jeff and Jackson stayed with us because they didn't have power yet. Luckily we got a cold front so the weather wasn't hot. The following night, Lisa, Ed and Laney stayed with us.

Over the next few days, Lindsay, Christine, my mom, Joy, aunt, and uncle all got power. It was still hard to find stores open. And when we did, the lines were crazy.

We spent one day at my dad's helping the cleanup around his house. It was a huge mess. When all was cleaned up there was a pile of trees, limbs, pine needles and leaves, 6 feet hight and 40 feet long along his curb. It was crazy.

So, over the next two weeks Ed, Lisa and Laney stayed with us. It was totally fun! My dad and step-mom got a generator and set up their fridge, and a/c unit and some lights. They came over frequently for dinner. It was like a big party out our house!

We watched the Centerpoint Energy website and more and more power was restored in Houston. I felt so guilty having power when my family didn't. After 12 days power was restored at Bret and Wendy's house. And last night, power was restored to Lisa and Eds AND my dad's house!!! All my peeps finally had power!!

We were all so happy! Lisa and I were a little sad though, b/c we'd had so much fun living together. Yesterday she said that we should buy a huge house and live together forever. :-) So, (you know me) I found a house for 2 mil that would fit us nicely! And even had a few extra bedrooms for when Ed and Lisa have more kids!

Anyway... we were all very lucky b/c so many homes were completely wiped clean down to their slabs in Galveston and along the coast.

The waiting

So there is a hurricane headed straight for us. We are all prepared. Got the water, batteries, provisions, beer, liquor... put everything away that was on the patio and outside of our house. Cars and barbeque pit, etc, safely in the garage...

Now we wait. The kids are going bananas (stir crazy already). We'll only get some yucky wind. The waiting is not fun. I want to get it over already. Let's get on with it.

See you on the other side!

Must be the moon

Everyone I know is having some sort of emotional difficultly right now. Stress from work, family problems, money problems, you name it. I'm feeling it too. I just can't get out of this funk. I was really looking forward to scrapbooking at the retreat this weekend, but now there is a stupid hurricane headed for us so even that is up in the air.

On another note, I'm walking in this race for a cure with my mom, sisters, aunt, uncle and a few friends. See my donation page! I'm doing pretty good with the donations! Go ahead and donate, if you feel so inclined. ;-)

Highlights from the week

I got a new haircut a few weeks ago. I'm not too thrilled with it. I look like a mom now, instead of some hot, desirable woman. Not that I was ever this totally sexy thing. But I feel pretty unattractive these days. It's not a big deal I guess.

I've been very cranky this week. Having a hard time not being a bitch to people at work. I'm highly irritable... maybe... no, that's not for another week. Anyway, I'm meeting a couple of girls at the bar right outside my neighborhood for a couple of drinks in an hour. Need some girl time.

Randy's been very cranky. He isn't happy with work, and isn't looking for anything else. Nate's going through a clingy phase. I can't do much of anything without him clinging to my legs, sobbing my name. So things have been a little tense at home this week.

Next weekend is my weekend scrapbooking retreat. I'm SO excited about it. I need some time away.

Gotta go take a shower and get ready to meet the girls.

Copy Cat Nate

Nate is a good talker. But he also likes to copy what we say. So the other morning I was saying things and he was copying me.

Me: Mommy's number one!
Nate: Mommy nummer one!

Me: Mommy rocks!
Nate: Mommy rocks!

Me: Mommy is da BOMB!
Nate: Mommy is da BARN!

Randy thought is was pretty funny. Also attached a pic from Ryan's first day of 2nd grade. He'll be taller than me soon.

Busy.

So I've mentioned that work is crazy, right? A colleague was laid off in March and I was given most of her work, in addition to all mine. It's been 5 months now, and I finally feel like I have a handle on the work load. I still work more than I ever have (remembering the days at IP where I'd really "work" a few hours a week). Now I work the entire time I'm at work, and then frequently at night and on weekends.

On top of that, one of my coworkers and I have started doing some Marketing contract work for a very small company nearby. It's just a few hours a week so far, but they said that it would eventually be 20 hours a week between the two of us. It's a nice balance for us, b/c she has experience that I don't and vice versa. Plus I absolutely LOVE her. She has become a really good friend and is so fun to be around and to work with. We are a great team! Maybe someday we'll just offer our Marketing Consulting services to small businesses. We both love being around a small company again. It's so much less sterile and impersonal that BMC.

Anyway, I'm here on the couch again while Nate jumps around the living room. I need to put him to bed.

Randy has finalized the new baseball team, and has some very promising kids this season. He is excited to coach again. There was a practice last night and 11 out of 12 kids showed up! Much better than the 4-5 kids that would show up over the summer. He said we might just have a real team this season. One of the assnt coaches played professional baseball, so we are happy to have his knowledge.

Well, I smell poopy pants so I'd better go change them and put the poophead to bed.

Crazy Friday...

I'm going to make an effort to check in more regularly...

So today is Friday. I generally (always) work from home on Fridays. Today is no exception. Except. I've got Nate AND Ryan home with me today. Nate is home because he has a cold and needed breathing treatments every 2 hours all night last night. The last one was at 8:00 this morning.

Right now I'm watching him throw a baseball in the air and try to hit it with his plastic bat, while wearing a plastic hardhat. I should get a pic of this. I should be worried he is going to break something with the baseball (it's a real baseball). He hasn't hit it with the bat though, so I guess I'm ok for now until his skills develop. I also guess it goes without saying that he is feeling better now.

Ryan is home b/c it's the last day of summer before school starts, and we are waiting for his firend Derrick to get home so I can take him over there to play for the day.

So, I'm trying to get work done (obviously, since I'm blogging instead of working). I worked last night though and got some things done.

Tonight I'm going over to my moms to scrapbook. Yay!

Ok, Nate is now trying to hit a balloon with the bat. Much better... but there's still the damage that can be done by the swinging bat. Funny. Just as I typed that he hit me in the knee with it. I sent him to his room to swing the bat.

Brothers

Look at these two little men! They adore each other (most times). Other times, they "play aggressively" "loudly". So, on a tangent, I need a quiet place to go. I think I want to remodel my bedroom/sitting room into a "master suite" as referred to in all those HGTV shows I watch all the time. I need a quiet place to retreat to when testosterone overtakes my home. I do love my boys though. They are so incredible in two different ways.

Ryan is my little gentle soul. Sensitive and affectionate, he promises to always be my baby. Forever. Even when he becomes bigger than me. He is a confident, funny boy who makes friends so easily. Other kids are always drawn to him, and he is typically the leader in the group.

Nate is more aggressive. He's my little linebacker. He is tough as nails, and when he gets hurt he might cry briefly (if at all) and then he moves on. Being the affectionate mother that I am, I work to bring out Nate's softer side. (Randy is afraid I'm going to make them gay) Nate has gotten more cuddly and likes to sit on the couch next to me, me working on my laptop and he watching Dora on TV. Lately, he'll hold my face in his little chubby hands and plant a kiss right on my mouth. He melts my heart.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to say today... thanks for playing.

My Daddy's lifelong dream!

For those of you who don't know, my daddy makes exhaust systems for motorcycles. In 1964, he developed a method for designing an exhaust system, which resulted in a substantial increase in engine performance. The design was so original that he decided to market this product, founding Jemco Exhaust Systems (Jon Easton Manufacturing Company) in 1969.

But his real passion has been kit cars. He built two kit cars to completion about 25 years ago, and then sold them with intentions of moving on the next project. He then set his sights on a Lamborghini replica kit. He purchased a kit, however the body was of such poor quality that it was difficult to build the car, much less make it look like a real Lamborghini. So, he worked on the body panels, shaping them to be an EXACT replica of a real Lamborghini... so much so that the authentic Lamborghini windshield could be used in the body. From there, he created molds of the body panels, and found there was a market to sell these high quality body panels. People would purchase them and use them to complete their own cars. Daddy has always wanted to make a car of his own, but every time he'd get close to finishing one, someone would come and buy it from him.

A few months ago, he found that someone who had purchased a body from him and completed the car, had the car up for sale. After much deliberation, and with tremendous support from us, he decided to buy it!! Well it arrived last week and is GORGEOUS!!! See pics attached. Look at how HAPPY my daddy is. He has his dream!

Gulf Shores, Alabama

We had the BEST time at the beach for our week long vacation with our great friends Wendy, Bret and Sydney Gibbs. It was sooo relaxing! I even read a book! Crazy huh? We spent 5 days laying on the beach doing nothing (and drinking beer). I needed the down time so much. I came back to work feeling relaxed and revived. Things are crazy and hectic again, but it was great to have that week to recharge.

Crazy times

Things have gotten crazy lately with me. My workload has doubled. They laid off a colleague of mine and gave me all her work. So, I've been working at night and on the weekends to get things done. I'm hoping that once I get used to her duties, things will get easier for me and take less time. We'll see, because working "Randy hours" is tough. Especially when you have to be the mommy and run the house. I actually told Randy the other day, that I needed a Crackberry. I just can't stay on top of my work unless I'm online all the time. :-( I guess I'm earning those big bucks now.

Anyway, Nate has continued to amaze us. Yesterday we noticed him doing "pretend" play with his cars. I thought kids didn't start that until they were older, but this little man continues to be pretty freakin advanced.

It was so cute to hear him play. He was saying to one car in a high voice "you gonna be nice?" Then in a deep voice "NO!!!" Then in a high voice "YOU go to time out!" I wonder where he picked up that scenario...

Yes, Nate has a strong personality and says "NO!" and "YOU stop it!" quite a bit. But when he gets in trouble and makes mommy have a mad face, he smiles and looks at me sweetly and says "hi mommy." He's a little charmer, that one.

Ryan finished First grade with almost ALL perfect scores on his report card!! His conduct marks weren't the best, but I'm not worried about that (right now). It's obviously not interfering with his learning at all. He is such a warm caring little boy. But he's also the class clown. Which isn't a bad thing really. It takes someone with a strong, confident, interesting personality to make the class laugh. I actually admire that in him, as it's a trait that I never had growing up.

He's also finishing up his baseball season. We have a really bad coach this season, but Randy is the pitcher (it's coach pitch) and helps with the practices. Ryan hit 2 homeruns in the last game! He's got some skills. Randy is going to coach the team in the summer league and we hopefully go AA in the fall. I'm not looking forward to the hot summer baseball season... we'll see how that works out.

On Wednesday we are leaving for Gulf Shores, AL for a condo on the beach with Bret, Wendy and Sydney. We'll be gone 6 whole nights. I cannot WAIT!!! I need the vacation so bad! So does Randy. And you know, I don't really care (that much) about what happens at work while I'm gone. (yeah, but I'm bringing my laptop) Anyway, I'm gonna try really hard to relax.

Two days after we return, Robin, Jim, Samantha, Lauren, and Gramma Karen are coming for a long weekend! I can't wait to see them! We haven't seen them since Disney World in September.

The week after that, my mom and step-dad are taking Ryan on a special trip to Yellowstone! They are going to do so many fun things, I'm jealous! He is going to have an amazing time.

After that, we get a few weeks to rest and then Ryan and I are taking a special trip to Boston to go camping with Robin et al. I'm so excited about that. And looking forward to seeing Robin's new crib. I've seen pics and videos and it's just gorgeous.

So that's what we have planned. Hopefully I'll check in with pics from each event!

My baby is TWO

Nate turned two today. What a big boy he is. He is amazing, as my children typically are. :-) He talks so well, you can pretty much carry on a conversation with him. In the morning I ask him how he slept. He says "Good." I say "Do you want some breakfast?" He says "Yep." He speaks in sentences and understands so much, you can reason with him kinda. He even asks "Why?" when not allowed to do something, although he might just be mimicking his brother on that one.

I'm so proud of him. Here are some pics from his birthday party this past weekend.

Laney's Baptism

Laney was Baptized last weekend, the little princess. Here is a pic I took of her 2 weeks ago when I babysat her, and then some pics from the Baptism Day.