Happy 5th Birthday Ella!

Ella and Brennan have been having fun being four years old together for the past three days, but today Ella turned 5. Being the resident "Drama Queen" she went hysterical when I told her I had a doctor's appointment this morning. The wailing sounded something like, "It's my birthday! You'll miss it! What about my pancakes!?! Waaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" She calmed down a little when I told her I'd only be gone a few hours first thing in the morning and that Nana was coming over to make her pancakes for breakfast. Nana made some ginormous (Anna's new word that she enjoys telling me is now an actual real word according to the dictionary) pancakes. I had about half of one when I got back from my appointment. The kids spent most of the day playing with a neighbor friend. They spent time riding ripsticks, scooters, a razor and playing the wii. After Brennan had a nap we got ready and went to see The Tale of Despereaux. After the movie Ella kept saying that we missed her birthday cake. Nana to the rescue again. Once we got to my mom's house Ella helped put her birthday cake together. We sang happy birthday. She blew out the candles. All three of the kids are now outside playing with the candles and fire. What is it about nanas that they let their grandkids do things their kids weren't even allowed to do? I guess they just love them more! Check out my mom's blog for some pictures of the pyromaniacs and their nana. Even though Ella opened all her birthday presents on Brennan's birthday, she still wants to know if she'll have any to open when she gets home. What is that called...being a child of excess...caused by parents overindulgence...yep I think it is. Anyway, she'll have a little to open. A new toothbrush, Tinkerbell body spray, and some candy. She'll love all of it and ooh and aah appropriately because she's my Ella and that's what she does. 

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy 4th Birthday Brennan!

December 28, 2004, just three days after that great white Christmas, Brennan was born. Today was his fourth birthday. Earlier this week Brennan (and Ella but I'll get to her in a couple of days) received several cards wishing him a happy birthday. He also received early birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa Greene when they visited in November. Ella and I started off the day singing Happy Birthday to Brennan. Then I told him I would make him whatever he wanted for breakfast. What did he want you ask? Macaroni and cheese. What did he get you ask? Macaroni and cheese. He and Anna ate that while Ella and I chose oatmeal. I told Brennan that I was going to make him a walnut banana cake with cream cheese frosting. He said he didn't want that kind of cake. He wanted a strawberry cake. Thankfully, I had all the ingredients to make his cake wish come true. After breakfast I let them open their gift. Since Ella's birthday is three days after Brennan's birthday, I let her open her gift to. The other reason I let her open it was because they were receiving the same gifts. Plasma cars! They were very excited until they realized I couldn't get them put together. We had to wait until later in the afternoon when my uncle could put them together for me. They were all pretty happy to play with the wii until I was ready for church. At church, Ella told everyone that would listen that it was Brennan's birthday. She would say, "Today is my brother's birthday. He's four. I'm four too." It would take them a second before they realized what she was saying and it took each person by surprise. They thought she was mistaken. She's not mistaken. Each year, Ella and Brennan are the same age for three day and they love that. When we were through with church we went over to my mom's. We ate butter beans, spinach salad, rolls and of course...strawberry birthday cake. My uncle managed to get the plasma cars together. Brennan got a Thomas the Train DVD and a remote control car from my mom. As I'm blogging all three of the kids have figured out how to make it run along the hoola hoop and are playing very happy together. What a rare occasion!

This morning I held Brennan like a baby and said, "I can't believe that four years ago you were saying goo-goo, ga-ga." He was pretty tickled with that. Although he claims he's not my baby, I continue to assure him that he will always be my baby.

**Revision: Right before I put the two little ones to bed tonight I remembered the gifts that were sent from Jon's brother, Brad and his wife Erica. The kids loved the monogrammed backpacks.**

Happy Birthday Brennan!

Princess Needs Pepto-Bismol

Driving over to my mom's to print up some letters (my printer is broken) I stopped off to get the mail. There was a Netflix movie!! Yeah-I instantly had some incentive for the kids (at least two of them) to take a nap. Opening up the envelope I found the movie, Robots. I told Brennan, "Hey, guess what? After your nap I have the movie Robots for." He was happy about that. Ella said, "What movie do you have for me?" You see, usually we have at least 2 and sometimes even 3 movies and I try to rotate them between the kids likes and dislikes. I told Ella, "Robots is all we have today." Brennan turned to Ella and said, "Maybe you can get Princess Diarrheas." 

Christmas Day

As with every day, there is an enormous hole in our lives that can't be filled with presents, food, family or friends. Jon was missed as much on Christmas Day as he has been missed every day that he's been gone. Even though it was our first Christmas without him, Christmas at the Greene house was quite merry.

I Just THOUGHT The Pistacio Incident Was Embarrassing!

Imagine...Christmas Eve, shopping for last minute items...with a three year old...standing in line at the photo center of Walgreens...visiting with an acquaintance...three year old hanging on to you...wiggling...hanging on...asking for Sonic The Hedgehog Christmas video...wiggling...hanging on...oops...there go the elastic waist shorts (mine, not his!!) down...down...down. Amazingly, graciously, thankfully, my hands weren't too full and I could yank them up quickly before too many people saw my behind. Before you go thinking, "Well, it couldn't have been that bad." think again. The shorts didn't just fall a little and of course I couldn't have been wearing one of my long old t-shirts. No, today's shirt wasn't one of those. My acquaintance didn't even try to make me feel better. Her comment, through her laughter, "Oh, I know you're embarrassed, but you've just made my day. I won't use your name when I retell your story!" The man behind me was left speechless.

By the way, can you give a three year old Ambien? The Bren man just dozed off and that is why I'm still awake at nearly one o'clock in the morning. I tried to explain to him that Santa wouldn't come if he was still awake. His reply, "I don't want any toys...oh, never mind...I was just kidding...uhhhh...I want to talk to Santa...can we call him?"

Gingerbread House Party

This morning we went to my friend Sandra's house for the kids to make gingerbread houses. The kids had a super time and it was great hanging out and visiting with my Jane Long buddies. Thanks Sandra for the fun time!

Christmas Letter & Family Picture 2008

December 23, 2008

Dear Family & Friends,

Saying that it’s been a tough year for us would be an under statement. It is beyond difficult to believe that we have been without Jon for most of this year. Despite our heartache, the kids and I have been able settle in to a new normal and carry on because of the outpouring of love shown to us.

Anna Claire (8) is in the third grade and remains on the A Honor Roll despite her not-so-wonderful study habits. She is as bright as they come, but Anna would rather be outside playing basketball, building forts, digging in the dirt, riding bikes, playing Littlest Pet Shop, jumping rope or anything other than doing school work. This being said, Anna has found a love for reading that I never thought I would see. She especially loves Babysitter Club books and of course any book about animals. This year Anna received her life long wish, a puppy named Lola.

Ella Paige (4) continues to be our girly girl as well as our resident drama queen. She attends preschool several days a week and is so ready for kindergarten. Ever since she was little, Ella has taught herself to do many things. This year has been no exception to that. Ella has learned to ride her bike, jump rope, whistle, do the Chinese splits, snap her fingers and dance like a Cheetah girl. Ella enjoys gymnastics, playing outside, riding her bike, dressing up and spending the night with Nana.

Brennan Michael (3) is proving to be both my blessing and my burden. When looking at him, he is a ditto mark of his dad. As sweet as he is, he can also be such a handful. Some of the things Brennan loves to do are zipping down the driveway on his hot wheels, playing with his sisters, throwing anything, and drinking Dr. Pepper. Brennan says and does things that keep us laughing as well as keeping us on our toes.

As for me, after ten years of teaching in Freeport, I moved to a Lake Jackson School. I’m now teaching fourth grade reading, language arts and social studies at Elisabet Ney Elementary School. This is also the same school I attended from kindergarten through fourth grade. Change is always tough, but it has proven to be a good thing. When I have free time, I continue to enjoy reading, scrap booking, making bows, resale shopping and spending time with family and friends.

One evening, Anna expressed her sadness and some of her feelings about losing her dad with me. Crying she said to me, “Mom, it’s never going to be the same again without Daddy.” Knowing what to say to this was not easy. I told her that she was right. Things would never be the same. That doesn’t mean we can’t be happy. We continue to be a family, do things together and live our lives the way we would have if Jon were still with us. Most days, we are happy. Although it is easy to slip into unhappiness as we think about our great loss this year, during this holiday season and the close of 2008, the kids and I choose to celebrate and be grateful for the blessings that we have.

We would like to wish you and your family all the happiness you deserve.

Love,
Jen, Anna, Ella & Brennan Greene

Surgery and Beyond

As some of you know, yesterday I had outpatient surgery in the hopes of fixing my severe anemia that I've struggled with for the past two years. My sister, Melissa, took me and stayed with me at the hospital. Thanks Mis. While I was there my sister, Chelle, was at my house cleaning, ordering pizza for my class' Christmas party and running errands for me. Thanks Chelle. The procedure was pretty quick and went well. Although I had quite a bit of pain and nausea immediately after the procedure, later on in the evening I was feeling much better. By this morning, I felt practically no pain. My friend Mechiel came over and we baked some cookies, fudge, cinnamon pecans and some chocolate covered pretzels. Thanks Mechiel. Ella whispered in my ear, "Mom, when are we going to make cookies?" Needless to say, later this evening, while Anna was busy delivering treats to church members with her Faith In God group, Ella, Brennan and I made some Christmas cookies. My mom was here helping too. She's been taking good care of me and making sure I don't over do it. I've taken a few pictures of the event with my early Christmas present to myself. The team of teachers that I work with brought some delicious Mexican food over for dinner this evening too. Thanks Amy, Angie, Val and Cathy. Anna was able to enjoy the cookies once she got home. My mom took the two little ones home with her so that I can have another restful night. Thanks Mom. Earlier in the day Mechiel mentioned to me how lucky I was to have my mom close and so willing to help out. She's absolutely right. I'm blessed to have family and friends who are so good to my family and I. It's been a good day.

Is Elvis Presley My Cousin?

Last night at dinner Ella asked us to raise our hands if we looked like Elvis Presley. I have no idea where she learned about Elvis. To be funny I raised my hand. Ella told me that I did look like Elvis Presley. Brennan said, "I love Elvis Presley...is he my cousin?" We all had a good laugh about that.

Greene Visit

As I was tucking kids in bed tonight, the phone rang. My in laws were calling to let me know that had made it back to Georgia, safe and sound. For the past week we had the pleasure of their company here in Texas.

Although at times my kids are too rambunctious for Faithie and Charlie, they adore the kids and it is obvious that the feeling is mutual. The kids and I always enjoy their visits.

Faithie & Charlie kept my little ones while Anna and I were at work and at school. That gave my mom a much needed break from watching them. Ella has just learned to ride her bike, so she was grateful that between Grandma and Grandpa, she was able to burn up the sidewalks. Brennan is still not too crazy about his big boy bike, but can tear up a sidewalk just the same with his big wheel.

Friday night I was able to talk Faithie & Charlie into letting me escape, I mean get away for awhile. As soon as I was done with work I raced, I mean I leisurely drove up to Houston to meet my good friend Mechiel for some scrapbooking and early Christmas shopping. Also, as Mechiel put it, she was able to twist my arm to get me to go see Twilight with her. No worries, she didn't have to twist too hard. Even though I was gone longer than I had planned, Faithie & Charlie and the kids survived without me. Saturday while I was doing my thing, Faithie & Charlie took the kids to Sea Center, Cactus Grill (the kids' favorite restaurant here in town) and then to Chuck E. Cheese (my most unfavorite restaurant/place in town). I'm not sure about the grandparents, but I KNOW the kids had a great day.


Monday night, Faithie & Charlie took us to eat at La Casona (another one of our favorites) and after that we had an early Christmas. The kids had fun opening their gifts except for Brennan who was having a difficult time breaking away from a DS game. Then my mom showed up with a special delivery, a custom made gift for my in laws that my sister has been working on for awhile now. My sister, Chelle, put together a quilt for my in laws, made from Jon's clothing. Pieces of Jon's t-shirts, boxers, shorts, and pajama bottoms sewn together into a gift too special for words. There were tears, many tears from each of us as we could each see Jon through every part of the quilt. On one square Chelle's husband, Mike, designed the wording. In a circular pattern were the words, "Wrapped in the warmth of Jon's love". Thanks Chelle and Mike. A better gift could not be bought.


Seeing that it is almost Thanksgiving, let me say that I am grateful for my in laws. In a world where raising children has its difficulties, they raised two of the best men I have ever been blessed to know. Their oldest, my Jon, and his younger brother Brad were and are the most wonderful sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, and friends that anyone could imagine. For that I am grateful.

Thank you, Faithie and Charlie, for the visit and for everything else that has trickled down from you.

How Embarrassing

Since my students don't have lunch until 12:40, my students and I have a snack around 9:30. This morning, I was having some pistachios.

As I was cracking one of them, I was talking with a student. The pistachio flipped out of the shell and landed smack dab in my cleavage. Now you can't nonchalantly take a pistachio out of your cleavage, so I reached in and removed it as quickly as I could. Thankfully, the only student who noticed it was the one I was talking to, but it was terribly embarrassing because he was laughing hysterically which in turn gave me a bad case of the giggles! Then ALL the kids wanted to know what was so funny and I was NOT going to tell them. The uncontrolled laughter went on for what seemed like forever but was probably only a minute or less. For the rest of the afternoon, every time this student would gain his composure, he would look at me and then crack up again.

It may not seem very funny on this post or very embarrassing, but at the time, it was both.

Ripley's Believe It

This recovery may just belong on an episode of Ripley's Believe It Or Not. I'm just getting unexhausted (I know it's not a real word but I'm using it anyway) from Halloween, several weekends of birthday parties, laundry piled twice as high as the laundry basket, house cleaning that never seems to end, grocery shopping, playing with the kids and all the other stuff we do in this crazy thing we call life.

Although I was not looking forward to the trick or treating, Halloween was really a great time for all of us. Unlike my normal self, I planned ahead this year for costumes. I can't be one of the moms who buys the costume-I like to put them together-Not make them-Just put them together. My friend, let's just call her "Jane" (because she's worried that someone will hunt her down if I put her real name on my blog-hehe) shopped until we just about dropped and found wonderful pieces for the kids' costumes at our favorite shopping franchise-Goodwill. Amazing, Halloween was still more than a day away and I had just about everything for the kids' costumes!

Anna, my animal girl, was Bindi the Jungle Girl. That fits her so perfectly and although she's much cuter than Bindi, Anna did look like a jungle girl. Not that Bindi is not cute, but she's not my Anna. After a complete meltdown on the morning of Halloween while I was gathering the last minute props for that night (me melting down, not the kids) due to not being able to find our stuffed snake, my mom acquired a plastic one from a friend that ended up working out perfectly.

Ella, who is always a princess, was talked in to being a "punk-rock princess" this year. I think what finally got her to agree to it was me calling her Sleeping Beauty costume, her Stinky Booty costume. That is such a Jon thing to do, but I just couldn't help myself. Mom had arranged for a friend from church to come fix Ella's hair. I was so excited to see her punk rock hairdo, but I was met with a sobbing little princess who had just had her punk rock hairdo washed and brushed out by her hero, Nana. After our friend fixed her hair, Ella took one look at it and burst in to hysterics. All my mom could do was wash it out. Once I got there, I did the best I could to make her punk rock hairdo a little less punkish and a little more princessish. Of course, she was adorable.

Brennan, who wanted to be a train again, was persuaded to be a cowboy. Again, by me. He was by far the cutest cowboy I've seen...ever. I'm just glad no one saw what was inside his boots. My mom and I struggled, and a sight it was, to get his boots on to no avail. The wiser of us decided to try some knee highs. They worked like a charm! His boots slipped right on. It didn't matter too much though. About five minutes after we arrived to our Halloween destination, the boots came off (and the hose) and his crocs went on. Then it was about 20 minutes after that when his hat came off. I'm not sure how long it was, but not long after that his vest came off. By the time we were in the midst of trick or treating, he was no longer a cowboy, but just a regular little boy-cute as can be-but still just a boy.

Once the kids were all dressed, we loaded the van and headed out to Sugar Mill. This is a subdivision on the outskirts of town. Anna's second grade teacher, Mrs. Cherry Lange, invited us out there. They have a big Halloween get together with hot dogs, candied apples, and a hayride. Around seven the hayride began. The kids, and the parents, all pile onto the tractor trailers and off we went trick or treating. You could tell the older ones had done this a time or two. Before the tractors even stopped, all the experienced kiddos starting jumping off and racing to the houses for some candy. It didn't take the little ones long to learn the routine. Their neighborhood didn't seem that big going in, but when we were still trick or treating at 10, I realized it was quite large. Even Anna (my energizer bunny) was exhausted and stopped running up the the doors. Brennan was on the floor of the trailer going through as much candy as he could. Ella was only going about every two stops. One of the last stops was a haunted house. Ella did NOT want to go, but Anna and Brennan insisted, so I went with them. We got up to the house and you could hear screams and see smoke filling the air. Anna turned to me and said, "Mom, I think I want to sleep tonight. I better not go in." Then Brennan turned around and said that he didn't want to go in anymore either. I was so grateful, because I wanted to sleep that night too. On the walk back to the trailer, Bren said, "Mom, I didn't want to go in there...it was freaking out me...it was like... my head off." The boy cracks me up. Finally, we were finished, thanked Mrs. Lange for a great time and headed home.

Unlike most kids who went to bed with no bath, mine each got baths and their hair blow dried before hopping in the bed and getting some shut eye. This is not because I'm so particular about them being clean, but it was more about the fact that my kids all have terrible allergies and we had just been outdoors for quite a few hours, not to mention the fact that we'd been sitting on hay bales too. Needless to say, there were no arguments on getting to sleep.

My mom tells me, "You're making memories." I hope that's what we're doing, because some days the memory making seems like a whole lot of work.

Too Tired...Must Sleep

Pictures tonight...words tomorrow...maybe...

How Old Is Old?

Isn't it funny how each of us have a different perception of what old is? Ella just found out how old her nana is. The conversation went something like this:

Ella: Mom, do you know Nana is sixty?
Me: Yes.
Ella: That is really old. Mom, how many are you?
Me: I'm 39.
Ella: Wow, that's a lot too. Is that older than sixty?
Me: No, Nana is older than me.
Ella: Man, I can't even count to sixty!

Sorry Nana, now everyone knows how old you are!

Anyone Up for a Game of Missionary?

Ella asked me several times tonight if we could play missionary. She's been going to Joy School several times a week this semester so I thought maybe it was a game she learned there. So later she asked me again, "Mom, can we play missionary now?" I told her I didn't know how to play and she would have to tell me how. She said, "Remember when we played the other day. We drew pictures on my notebook and you had to guess what I was drawing?" Aha! Pictionary!

Brennan's Prayer

Brennan's Prayer Last Night:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this day. Help Daddy. Help me and Anna and Ella and Momma. Help the pigs. Help the wild pigs. Thank you for the stars. Thank you for the moon. Thank you for the planets. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Family Photos

Each year Jon and I would send out pictures with our card or Christmas letters. With the exception of one year, the pictures were always of the kids. Last year I tried to get Jon to agree to a family photo for us to send out. My friend Mechiel has a great photographer that I was wanting to do the photos. Jon would NOT agree to it at all. Those of you who knew Jon well know that he did not like having photos taken. Quite honestly, neither do I! But as my friend tells me, "It isn't always about you." Can you guess how many times I've regretted not insisting that we have a family photo done? Enough said.

Mechiel told me in early September that she was going to schedule a photo date for us both to have family pictures taken. It was her Christmas present to me. What a great friend. The first weekend in October, the kids and I met Mechiel and her family at Discovery Green. It was a great place to have pictures taken. The kids had a great time and Reagan did a great job with the pictures. Thanks Mechiel.

Some time, we'll go back just to play.

Rarely A Dull Moment

Initially I wanted to title this post, "Never A Dull Moment" but then realized if there was never a dull moment I wouldn't be able to update my blog! So hence then title, "Rarely A Dull Moment". Like most families these days, in the Greene household there is rarely a dull moment. Surely, most everyone, who reads this, has had similar days as the one I'm about to tell you about.

First, my day at work was packed from the moment I stepped into the building. I'm not sure if I'm still experiencing the backlog from Ike or if I'm way behind because of being at a new school or if it's all of the above. Let me back up a little and say that the evening before, I spent most of the evening making ghost cookies with Nutter Butters, white almond bark and mini chocolate chips in an attempt to be prepared to Boo some friends the next day. (Thanks Carolyn for your help with those cookies and the yummy cabbage rolls you brought over-YUM!) At the end of the day I had to deal with an upset parent-too long of a story to include in my blog and it's quite boring. So, finally I'm able to pick up the kids from my mom's house. Pretty quickly after picking the kids up, I was able to conclude that Miss Ella had not had a nap. You know the signs...screaming as if her fingers had just been chopped off for something minor, wilting to the floor because she wants to "stay with Nana just one more night", or my personal favorite, the drooping of the eyelids and nodding of the bobble head in the four minute drive back to our house. Of course, Ella was in need of "a little room time" for all of you Love & Logic fans. Once she was ready to be nice, she, Anna and Bren took Lola outside and played for a bit. This was my opportunity to fix a little dinner-fish fillets, cooked carrots and rice. The kids came in, washed up and started eating dinner. About half way through eating dinner, Brennan took a bite of fish and then looked like he was about to spit it back out. For those of you who do not know Brennan, this is a very common occurrence for him. He has this "thing" with certain textures. I quickly told him to go spit it out in the trash can which he very obediently did. Unfortunately, after taking a look at what he spit out, he began to spew his dinner all over the floor. The girls ran out of the kitchen just in time for Brennan to throw up more all over the chairs and floor by the table. I was a little frustrated and I asked Brennan, "What did you eat that was so bad?" Brennan took a deep breath and said, "I have NO clue." Can you guess? That is his newest phrase. I sent Brennan to the bathroom to get into the tub while I cleaned up the kitchen. Right after that I bathed Ella.

By this time it was just about dark and getting time for us to go Boo some friends. The kids took Lola out one more time before we left and I took these few minutes to check my email. After about a minute of quiet time there was a banging on the back door and shrieking. I jumped up and rushed to the back door to find Anna screaming but I was not able to understand her. I got her to calm down long enough to explain to me that Lola had crawled under our back fence and into our back neighbor's yard where there is a pretty large lab. Needless to say, she and the other two kids were hysterical. We called to Lola but all we could hear was her yelping a bit. I gave Anna a boost up to the top of the fence so she could look over the edge. Now, I'm not sure that was very smart, but at the time I thought it was a good idea. Anna was able to wedge herself up there and stay there while Ella, Brennan and I ran to the car and drove around the block to our back neighbors house. Long story a little bit shorter, we got Lola back and she was a little shaken and a little dirty but not hurt at all. Anna was so happy to get Lola into her arms. She said, "That dog was just wacking Lola in the head! Well, at least she found her bark." I thought that was a cute comment because we've never heard Lola bark until then. Also, I thought it was pretty sweet because Anna said, "I think Lola is okay because I said a prayer."

The next part of the evening was pretty fun. The kids and I (and Lola) loaded up to Boo friends. We chose 4 families to boo. Two of our booings went off without a hitch. At one of the houses, Anna and Ella dropped off the stuff and ran. When they got back to the van they were just laughing and laughing. Ella said, "They didn't even have a doorbell! We were saying what in the world! Anna was like freaking out! I thought I was going to blow it!" Too cute. One of the families wasn't home (didn't find that out until today) so I'm sure the raccoons got a nice treat that night. Our last family was actually headed out the door as the kids were creeping up to their house, so that one wasn't such a surprise. All in all though, the kids had a great time.

Once we got home it was late and I was exhausted. Remember, Ella hadn't had a nap so I thought she would have been ready to fall over. Where is Super Nanny when you need her? I really could have used her that night. I did manage to get the kids laying down by about 8:50, but I was still dealing with a couple of them (Ella and Brennan) as late as about 10:45. And I wonder why I'm so tired!?!

It's a good thing these kids are cute!

We Just Got Booed!

This evening the kids were bathed and watching the Huffalump movie at about 7:00. As I was updating and installing software on my computer and the kids were watching the movie, we heard a "ding-dong" at the front door. Of course ALL the kids go running to the door, even though only one of them had clothes on, to find that we had just been BOOED! The funny thing is that I didn't even know what this was until this past weekend when I was in Lake Charles at a scrap booking retreat. For those of you who have been sheltered and don't have a clue as to what this means, here it is: Someone brings treats to your door, leaves the following poem, rings the doorbell and then runs away. Then, you and your family enjoy the treats and boo someone else! Here's the poem and a picture of the kids enjoying their treats. I'm so grateful that someone loves us enough to "Boo" us!

"Boo" To You!

We really don't mean to be so rude,

To tell you that you've just been "booed".

But that's what happens to friends of ghouls,

And who are we to break the rules?

1. Attach the ghost outside your door.

2. Enjoy your treats, but then there's more.

3. Make 2 more ghosts and copy this rhyme.

4. Surprise your friends with treats sublime.

Don't get caught. That's the most fun.

Ring the doorbell and then RUN!

What I Love About Ella

Of course there are many things that I love about my Ella. The one thing that is just too tough is the way she still loves to twirl and smell my hair. She'll wake up and first thing she'll climb on my lap and ask, "Can I smell your hair?" After she twirls a small amount of my hair, she takes a great big sniff and says, "Mmmmmmm, your hair smells good." Not every time, but sometimes she tells me, "I wish I were you and you were me and I could smell my hair all the time." That's when she'll sit with me, sucking her fingers and twirling my hair for about as long as I will let her.

Probably Shouldn't But I'm Gonna Post Anyway...

Last night I told Brennan it was time for a bath. Unlike his normal routine of fighting me tooth and nail, he ran like lightning into the bathroom, stripped down and hopped in the tub before I even got in the room. Surprised, I asked him, "Who are you? You can't be Brennan because he never jumps right in the tub without arguing with me?" He replied, "Yes, Mom...it is me...because I have a penis."

Missing Jon

There's no rhyme or reason to why I miss Jon some times more than other times. Right now seems like one of those times. While the kids and I were evacuating, I found myself missing him for selfish reasons. It's tough to get a house ready for evacuating while also watching three children, two cats, a guinea pig and a brand new puppy. Thankfully my mom was there helping me through it all, but it's not the same.

Now that things are slightly back to normal (because of the hurricane) I find that I'm missing him even more. When I take the kids anywhere and I see dads with their kids, my heart breaks. Jon should be out with the kids (and with me!) at the park or at the movies or just swinging them in the yard. How can I be so jealous and still not wish anyone the same sadness we're going through?

I'm not going to write much more tonight because it doesn't seem to be helping me. Really it's only made it worse tonight. Besides, it's 8:20, Anna is attempting to do her homework while the other two sound like they're bouncing and hollering like a couple of monkeys. I'll be off to participate in the nightly rituals of getting everybody off to bed.

I'll end with this. Although I KNOW I am blessed, beyond what words can express, to have been loved by Jon and to have been married to him for almost 9 years, to have three beautiful children that are a testament to our relationship, to continue to have the love and support of family, friends and loved ones, there are days when that is just not enough and I want to stomp my feet like a 5 year old brat and scream, "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

More Fun Phrases From The Bub Man

Right now, Brennan is at that stage where he can be so funny. Most of the time you have to be there to hear this deep voice he uses when he talks. Also, his thought process is hilarious to follow when we're having a conversation. You know how kids go through "phrases"? Here are Brennan's most recent phrases that we've had fun with.

A few months back he would say, "Shuwa" about everything. Translation-sure. Then came the phrase, "I know it." Not my favorite, but that one stuck for quite awhile. Next came one of my favorites-"Trust me. I trust myself." Last weekend he came up with a new one.

Over the weekend I had taken the kids to Pearland to the splash pad. After that we had a nice Chinese dinner. Before we headed home I took the kids to get some ice cream at Coldstone. To keep from giving you a ton of details, the line was long, the kids had trouble deciding what they wanted (then they decided on plain vanilla, strawberry and sweet cream!!), then to top things off, I couldn't find my check card to pay for the ice cream. This is one of those times that is so embarrassing you just want to crawl into a hole. I had three dollars cash and was digging through my purse to find the rest of the bill which was only $3.46 more. Do I need to explain how stressed out I was after this? Anyway...in the car I told the kids, "I'm sorry about all that." Bren said, "It's okay Mom. You didn't do nothing to us. It's okay. We're family." Then Anna from the back of the van said, "Oh no, that must be his new phrase." Remember that was just Saturday.

When Sunday rolled around here's how another conversation went. While filling up my tub to take a bath before church, Bren came in and asked me, "Why do you have many water in the tub?" I told him, "Because I'm taking a bath and I need that much water." Brennan said, "The policeman is going to come take you to jail...he's coming right now...can't you hear the siren...he's gonna put you in jail." While I was laughing I told him, "Well if he takes me he'll have to take you too! Remember, we're family?" Brennan never missed a beat with his reply. He said, "Well, not all the time." This has been the last time I've heard his "we're family" phrase-shortest phrase of his life!

Anna's First Day of Third Grade

How can it be that my first born is already in the third grade? It's something I have to keep reminding myself. The only picture I got was one with her teacher, Mrs. Carpenter. I know it looks like Anna is a really big third grader or that her teacher looks like just another third grader, but it really is the teacher. Once again, Anna has been blessed with a super, sweet, talented teacher. Now if I could only get her to enjoy reading! I told her one time, "You know...I think you don't like reading just to spite me because I'm a reading teacher." Anna said, with a voice of surprise, "Mom! I didn't even know you were a reading teacher until just now!"

Kids Say...

It appears that we have a raccoon problem. Each night now, we have to take the cat food into the house before it gets dark, otherwise it's gone the instant night sets in. Last night, while getting ready for bed, Brennan said, "Mom, I wish I could pet a raccoon. Don't you wish you could pet a raccoon?" I explained, "You can't do that because raccoons are wild, and they would bite you." After hesitating just a moment he replied, "Well I wish raccoons would not be wild...but they are right now...maybe later."

Last night Ella said something pretty cute too. My mom had company coming to her house. They are the same couple that we stayed with in Lancaster during Hurricane Ike. Ella became very fond of her nana's cousins. So after I told her that Jynnifer & LG were coming to Nana's house ella said, "My heart is singing."

Froggy Went A Courtin'

Can you say priceless video clip? Back in July, we visited Jon's family in Georgia. During one of my trips to Goodwill, I ran across a book on origami and bought it for Anna. Together we put together these precious little origami frogs and made one for each of the kids. All three of them got a big kick out of these frogs because they would actually hop when you pressed its bottom. As you can see, even Grandpa had fun with Brennan playing with froggy. Honestly, I'm pretty sure both were oblivious to the fact that I was taping them.


One thing you can't really tell from the video is something Brennan says at the end of the clip. You can hear him asking Grandma, "Is it ready yet?" Faithie was making spaghetti, Bub's favorite meal, and he kept asking the same question about a gazillion times. Too cute!

Bee-utiful!

Chelle and I have done a couple of bow/t-shirt combos for my friend Mechiel. Here's the latest one. We think they've turned out pretty cute, and we've enjoyed making them. Of course, Chelle does the hard part, and I just make the bows!

I-YI-IKE!!

Today marks day 12 that we've been without electricity. Thankfully that is the worst damage that was done to our house. There were lots of branches in the yard, but some "elves" must have cleaned them all up before I even got back from our evacuation (thanks Cal, Chey & Ci). We spent some of our evacuation time with my mom's cousin and his wife in Lancaster, which is near Dallas. After that we spent another couple of days with the Rozas. Finally we made it back to LJ and stayed with my mom. My uncle let my mom borrow a generator that kept us from melting completely as we waited for power to be restored. Mom got power late last night, but lost phone service and her a/c wouldn't work. Today I got power and it couldn't have come a moment sooner. Life is good again.

Her Name Was Lola

Some of you know that I finally broke down and got the kids a puppy. Anna has been asking for one ever since she learned to talk. Her name is Lola, but Ella is constantly calling her "Honey" so that's probably what she should have been named. Brennan loves her...sometimes a little too much. Needless to say he's learning how to treat a new puppy gently.

What is really important?

Thursday night, while I was getting our things together to evacuate, my sister-in-law called to make sure I was preparing for this storm. She has a weatherman friend who told her that we needed to make sure we got out of the area because Hurricane Ike was heading directly for our area. Before we hung up, she reminded me that I needed to take anything of Jon's that was special to me. She even made the comment that she knew I wasn't a "thing" person, but wanted to remind me anyway. I thought about that as I packed up the car. She's so right. If there's one thing I've learned in the past 7 months, it is that things are not that important to me. As we were leaving Friday morning, evacuating to Lancaster, I made sure to take the three most important things that remind me of Jon...our three little ones.
Although we haven't made it back home yet, my sister has gone by our house. We do not have electricity and there are some branches down, but unlike Galveston, we were spared any serious damage from this hurricane. For that, we are extremely grateful.