Black and White

“Remember, black and white is not the absences of color..”..my father has been telling me that and I have been obsessed with black and white pics ever since..I love taking them..there are some awesome shots in here..I have noticed there is a HUGE difference when I shoot in black and white and just change the picture to black and white…



(Remember you can click on the pic to see a larger version)

Happy 80th PaPa

We spent the weekend in San Antonio with PaPa to help him celebrate his 80th bday..The kids had so much fun!!! Once again my husband worked his magic and we ended up with an awesome suite..I will get pics up soon..I wanted to have them done tonight, but I ran to Best Buy when I got home and bought a new computer and have no idea how to use it..so I will be spending the next couple of days figuring it out..ha ha ha..I do have lots of stories to share..the kids have just changed dramatically the last couple of days..I don’t know if it was the hill country water or what..Austin is amazing, but his vocabulary has changed sooo much this week..I will definitely be sure to update

Couponing To Disney World

I want to go back to Walt Disney World and so do the kids..Shane says it will be too much money to go again this year, so I am gonna pay for it another way..I took this idea off of another website..she does this religiously..They do the envelopes and if she uses an Amazon gift card then the money she didn't spend goes into the fund...Right now all I am adding is any money that I save with coupons..It's not a lot and it may not pay for the trip this year, but it will be a nice chunk if we need it...


I've had quite a few people ask me how I do it..So I figured I would start a little "side" blog to my blog and update it as I have time..I have some friends that coupon as well..One in New York puts me to shame..she can walk into a store, leave an hour later with a truck full of groceries and the store mailing her a check..ha ha ha..but seriously..I will share what I have discovered, please feel free to comment, make suggestions or disagree...

I started out with a little accordian folder..I divided it up and would put my coupons into there...throw it in my purse and head to the store..that kinda worked..Target has coupons that are specific for their store and you can use them with manufacturer coupons, so I then got two accordian files..one for all my MC (manufacturer coupons) and ones for my TC (target coupons)..labeled them the same and headed out again...well..that worked for a while..But since I do most of my shopping with two kids I don't have time to search through all the coupons when I come across something for a good deal...that's where a little research and list making before we leave comes in REAL handy.....

Mommy's New Obsession

I have been really working at the coupon thing..trying to save Shane some money...here's a pic of one of my scores..$15.17..I love it..I even send coupons to friends and give free stuff to my mom..lol..here's the count:

11 boxes Finish
4 boxes Angel Hair pasta
2 boxes Ibuprofen
1 box Excedrin Migraine
1 Gallon Milk
4 boxes Green Giant Frozen Veggies
1 Box Cherrios Cinnamon
1 Bag Chips Ahoy Cookie
1 Bag Halls Cough Drops
2 Tubes Travel Aquafresh

4 Jars Bertolli Pasta Sauce..

The most expensive thing? Austin's Cinnamon Cheerios..lol

Parent Teach Conference

Yesterday we had a meeting with Keira's teacher...she has been testing the kids over the last couple of weeks to see if they are ready for Kindergarten or what they need to work on. Overall it was a great meeting. She is very happy with Keira and what she can do...There was a lot of information so I will try to remember all of it..

• She knows and can identify all the shapes and colors she is supposed to...she could do that at the beginning of the year and was one of the very few..which I found kinda shocking when the teacher mentioned it to me..4 year olds that don't know circle or purple to me seems very weird..I mean I can get Austin to identify circle on some days..
• She identified 24/26 capital letters on sight..which was the highest in the class..most get in the high teens..when it comes to her letters she tends to mix up "M" and "W" and "V" and "Y" both in capital and lower case
• She correctly finished the "what comes next in the pattern" like circle, circle, square, square ??? and even drew them..
• She can count to 29 consistently with only missing "16" and "21"..she has always had a problem with "15,16,17"
• She "hand confused" she can do things with both hands..she tends to lean towards the right, but will pick up things and do things her left
• We need to work on her grip of her pencil/crayon/marker..which isn't a big deal..we will just do more work on the "new" writing board we got for our birthday..bcuz we all know that we don't like old..lol
• She got all her opposites..left/right up/down/ above/under..she actually said below which most of the kids do say
• There was quite a few more but I can't remember them all..she has her first and last name down pat (remembering, spelling, and writing)..her address and phone number we need to work on..we have 3222 Porter, Texas..lol..and the phone number, not even close

Overall the teacher was very pleased..She is a very smart little girl, but there are a few things we need to work on and most of those we knew were issues and were working on them..LISTENING..she doesn't listen very well..you tell her something and she gets through the first step and then after that either doesn't want to do it or gets distracted EASILY..sharing..she doesn't always want to share, which she does here at home..she does really good with Austin for a while and then..NOPE, no more.. she is very, very sweet and caring about the other kids..if someone gets hurt she is the first one there, but sometimes she is too much in their face..she's not used to "personal boundaries" which we knew bcuz she isn't around other kids a lot..and my favorite thing...SHE TREATS THE TEACHER LIKE SHE TREATS ME !!!! LOL...She ignores the teacher when she doesn't want to do something and even does that little pouting thing with her too....so it's not just me...hee hee hee..overall she doesn't suggest holding her back to the intermediate pre-school..it seems quite a few of the parents are holding their kids back bcuz it is a young class..all of them are 4 year olds with birthdays in the summer, so they are younger..she didnt' suggest that to us..she thinks Keira needs to be with the older kids and it will help her become more adjusted..we never planned on holding her back, guess we are a little different than the rest..imagine that !!!!

Yes, he's our son

 You might ask..Why did she put a picture of a sippy cup on a coaster..well the answer is simple..I didn't put THE CUP ON THE COASTER..yes, yes, yes..our 1 year old son was VERY adadment about putting the cup on the coaster..he got it off the coaster so it had to go back on the coaster..noooooo nothing type A in his personality...wonder where he got it from ??

See..you sit in Daddy's chair, you lounge, you have you snack and your milk is in a coaster..I am not gonna point out that those are 2T clothes he is wearing (!!!)..they are a little big, but hey jammies are supposed to be comfortable...

"Too busy AGAIN"

It was Pinky Bear..I knew it (I even posted earlier) some poor "friend" was gonna be sick today and need Keira the pet doctor..It was Pinky Bear..poor thing...Keira came out of her room at nap time (see a pattern here) and told me she was too busy taking care of Pinky Bear to take a nap..her "ouchy teeth" had to be pulled, she had bump on her arm (right here Mom and points) that needed a bandaid and she had to make food for her to eat..so she just couldn't sleep..There was too much to do to make Pinky Bear feel better...OMG !!!
"Mom it's so hard, it's so hard for me to nap when there is so much to do..I need to take care of Pinky Bear"..really?? Already..4 years old and I have to deal with logic in our imaginary play?? Come on..

"Momma I am too busy"

I was gonna post this the other day, but didn't get around to it..can't imagine why...It was nap time (well theoretically)..Keira comes out her room with Shane's old cell phone tucked into the waistband of her jammies..Here is what follows...
"Momma, I am too busy"
"too busy for what Keira?"
"I am too busy working to take a nap"
"Keira, I don't think you are too...." (this is where it gets good)
**holding up hand** "hold on Momma my phone is ringing" **pulls phone out of waistband**
"yes, yes..I know I know, but I am working..okay..yes..hold on..Mom it's Singing Starsong (a My Little Pony character in case you didn't know) and she wants to talk to you"
well of course I take the phone..and proceed to "talk" to Singing Starsong
*hand phone back to Keira* "Now go back to bed Keira"
"Can't too busy..hold on" *rolls eyes and grabs phone again and proceeds to have another conversation with ?? and then heads into my room*
"Keira where you going?"
"To watch TV"
"but I thought you had to work, you were so busy"
"I'm gonna watch tv while work..geez"

I lost it..I let her go..that was too damn ingenious to make her go back to her room..yes i am pushover, but that took some thinking...lol

Keira The Pet Doc (at home rehab)

Meeko had three teeth pulled yesterday. We have kept her in our bathroom last night and in our room today..Keira has been very concerned about her. She goes in and checks on her, feeds her and constantly gives her "new, fresh water"..she's gonna be a very good pet doctor..i am waiting to see whose teeth are gonna be bad today in all of her "friends"

We have a lot to say...

My mom said it best I think..she said that the truck almost seems to be his security blanket..he runs over to it throughout the day..he will sit on it, drive a few feet or announce something to the world...He even uses it as a chair..

Sometimes we voice an opinion about something (watch the dog in the background..he's carrying the bag of goodies they got out of the kitchen in his hand)

and sometimes we just bounce, fall off (get distracted by lights) and walk away like we meant to do it that way (notice the pants..that's his new thing, he holds his pants)

Can you touch your toes?

This isn't the best video, but I have been trying to get a video of him doing this for weeks..when he sees his plug on the floor he will run over to it and bend over and pick it up with his mouth..yes, no hands...

Partners In Crime

I walk into the kitchen to this scene...

On the floor you will notice a box of cheese crackers..I am not sure who got them off the counter top, but Austin opened up the box, pulled out the bag and started feeding himself and the dog...hmmmmm, who's the mastermind?

Keira the Rainbow Fairy Princess

I love to watch Keira play sometimes..her imagination is amazing (I know, ALL parents say that about their kids..ha ha ha) well today she was Keira the Rainbow Fairy..this is her running around showing me her pixie dust after she made a rainbow in the sky...

Okay this isn't Keira but Kota makes me smile...he's kinda a pain sitting in the hall ALL the time, but the kids still love him and Austin will walk bye and just pet him..I mean look at that face...he's so cute..lol

Painting the Birdhouse

Keira painted the birdhouse MeeMaw brought her for V-day yesterday..she was very serious about it..The birdies had to be happy momma...wait, wait here it comes...."momma, I am gonna open it up and paint the inside" "okay Keira go ahead" "*talking to herself* let's see..first we need a rainbow on the wall to make them happy when they are inside and it's raining out side..now some carpet on the floor so their feet don't get cold..oh and a TV on this wall so they don't miss their show"..OMG !!! It took everything I had not to laugh..she was soooo serious..

Reading to PaPa

This was also a couple of weeks ago...Keira brought home The Hungry Caterpillar book from school and we had to read the book and do the puzzle and draw a picture of the Hungry Caterpillar..well she fell in love with the book and the last time we were at Kohl's they had it in their Kohl's Kares for Kids books and I got it $5.00..well it went everywhere with us, even to our weekly visit to see PaPa..she HAD to read it to him, so he sat down and she jumped right up on his lap..it was so sweet...She was "reading" him the story...

Old Pics

These are some old pics taken over a month ago I just got from Tammy. We met them at The Woodlands Mall and hung out for a while and took the boat ride around the waterway...It was pretty cool..Of course Tammy and I almost missed the boat because we were standing in line at Starbuck's (not sure who's fault that was..ha ha ha)

 The girls riding on the boat

 Such handsome guys

 I had to..Tammy made me do it !!!

 Fine, fine, fine..i will smile

Austin is starting to fade..it was past his nap time

 For some reason he loves to play with plastic bottles..so he's smiling again

Happy Valentine's Day

From my kiddos..we had a good Valentine's Day around here..Keira had a class party..I made some Valentines for her to hand out...

I know I know I'm a geek..lol..oh well..she loved them..We had a great dinner here..Shane finally listened to me after almost 15 years and bought me NOTHING !!! ha ha ha..Actually I didn't want anything. We want to work on the house some more, I don't need more plants to die, jewelry I can't wear or some knick knack i have no room for..so I am completely happy...Keira and I made dinner for "Daddy" and we had chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert.. It was really a good night..Monkey didn't make it of course, but he's been fighting a bug. Keira got lots of candy from school, PeePaw brought her some chocolates on Sunday before he left out of town again, Grandma came by with a ballon and cookies and MeeMaw brought over a singing monkey and a paintable birdhouse...The kids were in heaven, which is more entertaining to me than any flowers.

The New Table

We got rid of our old table a long time ago..it's been kinda hard on Keira when she wants to eat or color..Austin is so mobile now that he gets into everything she is doing..so we decided it was time to get a new table..Shane and I love it..We shut the TV off and eat as a family..Keira is thrilled.."Momma I get to eat at the big table with you and Daddy?" Most nights she can wait for us to eat dinner, but if she eats with Austin then she sits with us at the table..

She had to help us set them up..

Keira the Pet Doc

We had a small problem with our oldest cat this past week..She started behaving really funny and not eating..Most of us automatically thought "stroke"..then I look over and see a Hyacinth plant that Keira bought me a little while ago, and it has teeth marks in..so now we are thinking poison..oh no..call the vet..He has no appts. so we have to just drop her off..I spent the whole ride there talking to Keira about having to leave Meeko there and how it was just for testing..ohhhhhh the tears that fell when the time actually came !!! Poor thing, she didn't want Meeko to be alone or scared or the other cats to miss her..she just didn't know what to do with herself..all day we had to worry about Meeko..Then we get the call..the cat is fine and we can bring her home..she has a severe infection in her mouth from bad teeth..some antibiotics and then dental surgery this week and she will be good as new..NOW the funny part..Keira the Pet Doctor..she has been a pet doctor for the past three days..We borrowed a cage from my mother in law to transport the cat, well that was used A LOT the next day..Her Baby Pony (you know the one, the one on the top of the friend heirarchy)..well he had bad teeth too AND a boo boo..so we had to wrap him in a blanket, she "removed" his bad teeth, I had to put a Hello Kitty band aid on the boo boo on his leg and he spent the night in the carrier.."so he would be safe"..then she tells me that in the morning Baby Pony will be all better, but Jack the Penguin will be sick..he will fall down and hurt his wing and will need to be fixed...so in the last couple of days we have ..fixed Baby Pony's teeth, Jack's wing, saved a baby turtle from the sea and nursed it health, checked over elephant, unicorn and I am sure a few more that I didn't know about...So now she wants to be a Pet Doctor when she grows up...

And we thought Keira was bad..

So we all know Keira's nickname of Keira Kneivel..well it looks like her brother wants to giver her a run for her money....

CCCHHHEEEESSSEEE

Austin has learned another word..When you point the camera at him (and he is actually paying attention) he will look at it and say..Cheese...ha ha..No that doesn't run in the family...

The Benge City

So we all know that Houston was SHUT DOWN because of some ice today..Well Keira created a city in our living room..she pulled out the Little People airport and started playing with it..well, now we need a city mommy..so she pulled out every Little People "scene" we have..we had the airport, the freeway, the construction site, the zoo, the farm (which I put next to the construction site..NO MOMMY..the chickens will get dusty...ohhh sorry), and then proceeded to play..it was kinda funny..Austin could have cared less..he did do a Monkey-zilla a couple of times which threw her into a total tizzy..lol..So the good news is that Keira air was open for business today and they were flying strictly to Disney World (I heard her say that)..

The pictures aren't great, but you get the idear...

So it begins...

We all know that siblings fight, especially brothers and sisters..Well it has started already at our house..We all know that Keira and Austin love each and love to play with each other, BUT (yes here it comes)...Keira can play with ALL of Austin's toys, but he can't play with her's..She wants to play with him, but he better follow the rules..if she has a "city" set up, don't mess it up..lol...we are having a problem with Austin now though..he is showing signs of ....it's hard to describe...he won't let go of what he wants (no matter if he supposed to have it or not), when Keira makes him mad he reaches over and pulls her hair..yes this is deliberate..he has a terrible temper right now..if he gets something taken away from him that he's not supposed to have or can't get to what he wants he will throw himself on the floor and kick and scream...it's kinda funny, unless you deal with it for hours straight...I am a little concerned with his temper or lack of patience..I understand he's one and he will grow out of it..Shane says we notice it more with him because Keira didn't have anyone to pick on..I think it's because his brain is working faster than his motor skills..he knows what he wants, but can't explain and doesn't understand why he can't have what he wants and have it now..oh well..either way it's gonna be a long couple of months until he learns to stop pulling hair and hitting...

The Fire Station

Keira has been dying to go a Fire Station and talk to the firefighters and look at the trucks..well she finally got her chance..her school took a field trip this week to one in  Kingwood..it was a lot of fun..the firefighters had no clue we were coming, but were good sports and kept the kids entertained..they made sure to to go over what to do in case of a fire (they learned 911 and stop, drop and roll this past week) and they made sure to put on the gear that they wear to show the kids what they look like and to not be scared when they see them..which I think was a big deal..those suits can be kinda scary..Austin got to go with us and was kinda cranky the whole trip since it was WAY past his morning nap, but we all survived..She had a blast and even got to try on the "fireman's hat" (his helmet)..of course I was in the back with Austin so all I got was her hair, but it looked good in the helmet..ha ha ha..I did forget to mention her problem with Austin..we stayed kinda in the back bcuz Austin was getting cranky...she was very UPSET.."Momma..Austin didn't get a good look at the fire truck"..And then when she got to go through the fire truck she was very disturb again.."Momma, Austin didn't get to go through the fire truck..he didn't get a good enough look at it"...that is sooo sweet...

Snow-Mageddon 2011

The news folks acted like the end of the world was coming these past couple of days..we were all gonna be covered in INCHES of snow..uhm, we didn't see any..don't get me wrong it was COLD..there was lots of ice, but no snow..the dog enjoyed the cold weather so much..we had a hard time getting her to come inside..I took some video of her playing outside..

From January

This is a pic of the "dolf" eating the icecles on our porch..nice uhn?


Tikanni's "hops"..I have been telling Shane about her hopping while running with her friends behind..I was finally able to get it on video


Noooo nothing Artic about this dog..lol..she HATES this weather


She is digging at the ice on the on B.A.D to get it off so she can eat it and play with it...

Adventures in January

Yes..Yes..Yes..it's a little late..I am posting some pics from our adventures in January..other than Austin's b-day party it was pretty quiet..Shane got the new truck (which you saw already) and the kids basically played with all their new toys and enjoyed a more "relaxed" schedule..Johnna did buy Austin the most evil contraption for his bday..it is a ramp/city with cars, that has to be ASSEMBLED !!!

 It took Keira (bcuz you KNOW she had to help) and I over 15 minutes to put it together..oh well they both love it..We did a few things, but other than that it was a pretty quiet month (no, really)..

My mom did have to work during Austin's bday party so we had a little "mini" party at her house right after..she got him his first wagon..he LOVED IT

Keira wanted to play with Grandma (of course..Austin can't get all the attention) so she made my mom hula hoop in the kitchen

 We finally made it over to Aunt Beki's to do Christmas (so it was few weeks late)..between her schedule and mine it was crazy (surprised with 4 kids between us to arrange..lol)..the kids had a blast..She had just sold her furniture and the new stuff was going to be delivered the day after we were there so it was free reign..Austin just ran around, Taylor (her little girl) just chilled and watched up and Keira and Reagan chased each other on the scooter and trike..they kept switching..

The Tent

MeeMaw and PeePaw bought Keira a tent months ago..she has been obsessed with it recently and I HAD to set it up for them to play with..If you listen you can hear Keira tell Austin to "not mess up the blankets"..nothing Type A about my daughter..lol..wonder where she gets that from? Oh well..they both actually love it !!

Austin took his radio in there for some music while they were "camping"

Keira, Austin and Texas

Keira's stick horse is named Texas (after the horse she rode at the Rodeo years ago)..she loves to ride him around the house...well this time Austin wanted to "ride" with her..it was hilarious...It's a good thing she is so patient with her little brother (most times)

My Son

Today when we get home from shopping I offer to get Austin some milk.. he goes running for the kitchen and waits..I grab his new Mickey Mouse cup Aunt Kellie and Uncle Shannon got him for his bday and open the fridge..well he already has a cup, so I hand him that one instead..NOPE..he throws the cup down and says "Mickey"..I tell him Austin, Mickey is empty, here and hand him back the cup..he bends over gently sets the cup down (like that's why he got in trouble) and said "Mickey"..."Austin your Mickey is empty"..wait wait wait..."Mil Mickey"..yes yes yes..he said that..so I poured his milk into the Mickey cup and he was very happy..grabbed the cup and took running..well then came nap time..you think he was giving up that cup..NOOOOO !! The only way i could pry it from his hands was to switch it out with his stuffed Mickey and we still weren't too happy...nope not my kid at all..lol