While the cats are away... this mouse will play!

Even though David really misses Cal and Patti while they are at school, I think he secretly loves to have the whole house to himself!! But, it is a precious sight when we pick the kids up from school and he sees them after a long day away. He just lights up and squeals with excitement.

So, while the kids are at school....

We play with their toys.

(this was the first day of school and those are Cal and Patti's priceless Sonic toys)

We watch whatever we want on TV... preferably Yo Gabba Gabba.

We try on Patti's shoes.


We try on Cal's shoes.

And we might even try on both their shoes at the same time!

Then, we try on Mommy's shoes just for kicks.

We read their Bibles... the ones they never let us touch.

We get Daddy all to ourselves.

We get Grams all to ourselves.

And even Paw Paw.

And, we get to eat like a big boy at the table.

There's even more time to do our most favorite thing of all (other than trying on all the shoes in the house)....... Reading.

Patti and Cal's First Day of School

I can't believe I haven't blogged about our first day of school! I'm so behind. Well, my babies started Kindergarten. They are at South Knoll Elementary in Mrs. Felderhoff's room... and we love it! I've known the principal there for years and their teacher is so amazing! I asked that they be in the same classroom... easier for them and for me. Cal and Patti aren't dependant on each other. They look to each other for support and comfort, but once they get acclimated, they go their separate ways. Though "Momma Patti" tends to make sure Cal's in line most of the time. But, they have their own strengths and weaknesses as well as interests and friends.

We talked about Kinder for months trying to get them use to the idea. At first, they cried at the mention of the word. But then slowly, they started to get use to the idea of change.

I think I was more nervous on the first day (well, more like the first week leading up to the first day) than they were. I was a wreck. Luckily, I cried almost all day Sunday so there weren't many tears left for Monday.

My mom was sweet enough to come over early that morning so that we could take the twins to school and not have to worry about David (that boy can be a handful... more of that to come).

We live really close (almost across the street) to South Knoll, so we walk to school every morning (except in the rain). We have a friend in our class, Jenny, and she comes over and walks with us too. Her mom and I have known each other for a few months, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them on Parent's Night.

It is also a huge blessing to have our cousins at South Knoll with us! Phoebe is in 1st grade and Chloe is in 3rd. They are both in the Dual Language Program (which we will hopefully be a part of soon) and drive halfway across town to attend this wonderful school!

Cal's face cracks me up (as well as the above picture with my mom). He is so uncertain about what's going on. He ended up loving it of course. They've already learned so much... each day they come home with something new in their vocabulary (some not so good... we make sure we correct that right away).


Here they are in their classroom with their teacher... she's showing them where to hang their lunch boxes.

The end of Summer...

It has been one wild and crazy summer. I really don't remember any summer being as busy as this one has been. We've been having so much fun. I'm so sad that it's over. Calloway and Patti start Kindergarten on Monday. It's killing me. I'm so use to having them around, and it's going to take some time for me to adjust. I know David is really going to miss them too. We met our teacher last night, and she's wonderful. We already know two of the kids in our class.... well, I know their mommies pretty well. I think the twins are really excited too. I just hope I can keep it together. This is going to be hard. I don't want to let them go. I want them home with me. I'm already crying typing this. I know it's good for them, but I will miss them so much.

Moving on...

We spent some time down in South Padre. The kids had a blast. I wasn't very good about keeping the camera nearby... so I only took a few pictures.

Jennifer (Daniel's oldest sister... she's the oldest, but looks much younger) came down from Arlington for a few days. She has 4 kiddos (1, 4, 6, and 8). The second sister, Denise (she's also younger than she looks and wise beyond her years), also has 4 kiddos (2, 4, 6 and 8) and she lives in town. Anyway, we had a Cousin's Camp for a few days... full of swimming, playing, eating, and playing some more. I was terrible about taking pictures, so if you want to see more great pictures of all the kiddos visit Jennifer's blog: http://mihillscrew.blogspot.com/2010/08/cousins-camp-2010.html


We've been blessed to have some wonderful neighbors... the Tillery Family. Our kids get along great and have such fun together.

We've also been practicing our meditation. Just having some fun...

A Little Boy and some Guacamole

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved guacamole. One day, he found an unclaimed bowl of yummy guacamole on the kitchen table. To his surprise, there was a spoon already in it. So, he decided to just help himself to this delicious green treat.

It was so delicious and so yummy. It was just so incredibly wonderful that he decided to forgo the spoon and use his hand. He just couldn't help himself.

And then his mean mommy took it all away and ruined it all.

The End

The Seawall Half Marathon

Well, it's official.... I'm running a half marathon in November. I registered yesterday... paid my $60... now, there's no backing out. I've always hated running. So, why run 13.1 miles you ask? Because I'm nuts! And because I have a friend that's nuts. She and I have been running together since February (is that right, Shelley?). We started by running some local 5Ks together. We had so much fun... and then I guess we got a little confident and decided to run this half marathon together. We've been running 3-5 miles every Tuesday morning. It's been hot and humid. Good. Grief.

Anyway, it's time to step it up a little and get some more miles in. I am just taking it one mile at a time... hoping to get a good 8-9 mile base in by September. I'm still trying to decide if I actually like this running thing. I think I am.... at least I like the feeling of accomplishment after a good run. I normally don't share a lot about me personally on this blog... it's mostly about my kids. But, I figured that if I told all of you about it, I'd have all of you to hold me accountable! And, how embarrassing would it be if I slacked off and didn't do it! I've started lots and lots of things in my life that I never followed through with. I'm excited about the next few months... and proving to myself that I can do this!

Here's the hard part... I have been pretty lazy lately. In fact, one of my trainers called to check on me after she kicked my booty during our workout this morning. She even noticed my lack of motivation... and stamina. I think it's the "end of summer blues." There's no routine or schedule... always something happening... kids home 24/7 and need to be entertained... vacations.... etc. And, did I mention that Cal and Patti start Kinder in just a few weeks???? That's stress enough for this mommy.

I probably won't post anything else about this run until November... so, if you're thinking about me, just say a little prayer :) Thanks!

And here's July....

Has it really been more than a month since my last post? Well, I guess I have lots of catching up to do. So, this is going to be the mother of all posts! (This one's for you Lee!)

I was chatting with my sis-in-law about this and that concerning house remodeling (she just bought a new house). I mentioned that my ceiling was looking pretty rough.... and that I had just noticed some water on the fireplace. I went to gently push on the ceiling to see if it was wet, and my whole hand went right through. Sigh.

Evidently the shower upstairs was leaking for a long time... probably years. What a mess. It took 2.5 weeks to get it all finished. Well, at least we got a new bathroom and ceiling out of it (new pictures to come).

11th Annual Livingston Family Reunion.... July 9-11.... Gainsville, TX

The place we stayed at (same place as last year) has this great stage. The kids love to run around and jump off of it. It was exhausting trying to keep David off of it. We had such a wonderful time. I didn't take very many pictures, but if my sis-in-laws share, I'll post some more.

Denise and Jude

Do you think they planned this?

Sweet Patti loves to ride horses... she had so much fun.

I snapped this picture while she was smiling at her daddy... isn't that just the sweetest smile?

The Davids had some bonding time. Isn't that sweet?

Exhausted...

David is up to his usual shenanigans. That boy is into EvErYtHiNg!!!! Here are just a few of the things I was able to catch with the camera....

He loves shoes.... this day, he was a Yellowbox fan....

Patti can't get any peaceful computer-time with David around. He loves to go bang on the keyboard while she's playing....

Ooooh, busted.... trying to climb onto the counter.

Sweet Patti....

Ooops... busted again! He even knows how to open the computer.... thought I could out-smart him by closing it.

Cal and Patti are playing their DS (it's on the windowsill because it was being charged).... David decided that he needed to see what was on the breakfast table. Seriously, I was out of the room for a couple of minutes.

What a handsome boy!

We're obsessed with toothbrushes now. He's collected the kid's "old" toothbrushes (yes, I washed them) and carries them around all day... periodically trying to brush everyone's teeth.