Voigts Fall Festival

That was tonight. It was from 6-8 pm. My daughter is in a Girl Scout Troop and they volunteered to do some of the games. Well we (hubby and the kids and) stayed until 7.30 before the babies started getting fussy. Kyle and Lauren had so much fun doing the ring toss and the football toss. They had a little baby pool with ducks in it...they just pick up a duck and on the bottom is a number. Based on the number is how good of a toy u get...they both got 2. We also bid on some baskets and won 2.. a puzzle basket and a music basket. The music has the little tykes kid guitar, tamborine, and small bongo drums. Its cute. We had to pay $1 for each pizza slice we had and $1 for drinks and $1 for the nachos (that was purely hubby not me). All in all it was a good night. After taking the babies home I came back to get Katie since she was still working..there weren't many games left open. She did the ring toss and then decided to go. She had fun. We had fun. Not too shabby. Now if only I can get my 2 year old to realize he is tired and go to bed.
And yes hubby and his 17 yr old son are in the living room playing Halo 3 and heaven forbid they are interrupted.

Gossip

Have you ever found yourself gossiping about someone to God or just your spouse? I realized this week that I have been doing that with my husband about someone. At first, we would/were just talking about the problems this person had and what should have been done. Now I realize that we keep doing this and all the mistakes this person continues to make and how that person should things and everything that we disagree with. We say things like..how dumb..what is that person thinking?..etc. Not very nice things. On the other hand, this person is very frustrating and I think this is a way of releasing our frustration. So when does casual conversation about someone turn into gossip? Or is there really a such thing as casual conversation? I don't know. Can it be gossip when you tell God?
My christian online group just did a conversation/disscussion on gossip. A lot of opinions and ideas were thrown out there. I think there is just some things that we just need to figure out on our own and what is in our hearts. Don't ya think?

TGI FRIDAYS

These are from July but I thought you all would like to see some recent pics of me and the family.

Wanting a house

Okay I really wanted this lovely house that we saw. It required no money down, we could afford it and it had 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. The problem. They wanted a check for $500 and I wanted some time to pray about it. The thing is I couldn't remember how long you are supposed to pray for before making a decision. We got approved for the paperwork on Sunday. I really wanted this house and so I kept praying about it. I let my mind be clouded with thoughts of the house. I started getting frustrated with my family; and with God. Later on Sunday my husband and I went for a walk. The thing was having that house would make money seriously tight. Plus, the neighborhood, although brand new, had questionable people living there. What I mean by questionable is that you could tell that it would soon turn into a low income neighborhood. There was loud music playing (yes you could hear some of it in the house) and people had like 5 cars in the driveways..old cars. It was the way they acted..the way you saw them walk around. This company, this neighborhood went after people like us, people who would barely be able to pay the monthly payments, get evicted, have the houses bought by other people to be used as rental homes. Plus, the school district was in Manor. Nothing against Manor but those schools are worse that AISD. We decided not to do it. Which was good because on Monday the realtor told us that each year the rent would actually go up and in year six is where it would stay at. Umm...no thanks. I'm glad that I didn't give in and was patient and didn't just jump in. I'm glad I prayed.. I do believe the Lord helped me in this manner even if on Sunday I wasn't really looking thru with clear eyes. I am thankful for the patience I have learned thru life and am continuing to learn.

None Really

So again its been awhile. It has stopped raining here in Austin/RoundRock. So we've finally been able to go on walks and swimming. Katherine is having a very hard emotionally (I guess I am too). She is still seeing a therapist; her frustration at everything seems to have been getting worse or maybe she is just venting it more..not sure on that one.
Kyle is doing great. He had is adnoids removed and ear tubes in. He seems to be doing alot better and is catching up very quickly. He can count to five (well he doesn't want to say two so he says one, three, three, four, five). He recognizes most letters but still doesn't know the order of them. He was sitting on the potty but now has decided he wants diapers. He goes thru phases so maybe after 3. Kyle doesn't like to take naps anymore but i still put him in his room for 2 hours just to have some downtime. Actually everyone goes to sleep or has downtime..has seemed to help katie too.
Lauren is growing so much. She recognizes some of the letters but she hasn't attempted to sound any of them..she says alot of B words..but hasn't tried to say much. She says baba, baby, blue, black, dada, bye bye, bam (still trying to figure what that one means), uhoh. That's pretty much it. She is still wearing 9-12 month clothes..but some of the 9 months don't fit. Kyle and Lauren love to tackle each other, they chase after one another. Its pretty funny. There are other times when they are really mean to each other though.
Swiming is something everyone loves. Kyle practically runs out to the pool himself. Lauren loves to be in her floatie but kyle refuses to go in his. Its good excercise to carry them around the pool a few times.
I am doing okay. I am having some really difficult times right now. My depression has been really severe, even with my workouts (which i don't due fully). I am losing some weight. I went on an eating binge for 2 1/2 weeks and gained 7 lbs. Now I'm trying to work that off. Just trying to enjoy the last few weeks katie is going to be home. Next week she is going to go stay with my parents in Beeville for one week. She really needs a break from the little ones. I sure am going to miss her.

My Sister

My sister called my brother and gave him her myspace page. He gave it to me. I looked her up and she seems to be doing well. She posted that she is a Christian now and is no longer drinking or doing drugs. I really hope so. Our relationship was rocky to say the least and right after Kyle was born I told her I didn't ever want to talk to her again. She wanted to live in the past and blame other people for her problems. I couldn't do that or be apart of that any more. I don't know how our relationship is going to be now. I sent her an email saying hi and that I am glad that she is doing well. I have thought of her often and I truly have missed her but I feel like she needed to grow up. I really want to have a relationship with her and hopefully we can, leaving the past in the past and all the hurt that has been done to both us there in the past.
PS.. I promise to update more..life just got hectic.

Safety Patrol

Katie is now a member of the safety patrol at school. She started today. She couldn't do it in the afternoon today because Kyle was napping so I called her teacher to tell her to ride the bus home. What sucks is that she has to be there right at 7.15 so I have to take her to school (which is fine because Lauren has been waking up at 6 am) and it ends at 3.00 so I have to pick her up at school, which may be difficult because sometimes Kyle is still napping. For those of you who don't know what safety patrol is, its the kids who help/open car doors for the car riders who get dropped off and picked up. They also help keep the line of traffic going. She is very happy that she gets to do it because only the good students get to do it. Also she is one of the few 4th graders who get to do it because its only supposed to be done by 5th graders but they fell short so they selected a few 4th graders and she was chosen. Very proud of her.

Being Kids

Puddle Fun

Monday it rained here. When I went to the gym yesterday there were rain puddles everywhere. As we were walking to the car, Kyle had to splash in every single one. It was so cute they way he kept laughting and saying rain. I think even Lauren had fun seeing him splashing and making a mess everywhere. Wish I had a video camera for that moment.

Hungry Girl

Lauren is eating cereal for breakfast, then about 4 oz of formula (7-8 am). Then for her second feeding I give her bananas (9-10 am) and about 4 oz. The around 12-1 she eats a 6 oz bottle to try to take a nap. Around 2-3 pm she eats carrots and another 4-6 oz. Around 6-7 pm I give her cereal and another 4-6 oz. Then around 8-9 she eats another 6 oz. She usually wakes up somewhere between 10-12 to eat another 6 oz, at 2-4 am to eat 6 oz, 5-6 am to eat another 6 oz. The it starts all over again. Should I give her water at night to keep her from eating so much formula or should I increase her solids?

BTW, she did the cutest thing today...She stood up on her own for 45 seconds and put her arms out for a hug from Kyle. He pushed her down; she cried. Sibling love...so sweet.

Wrestle Mania

Today my children made me laugh. Lauren was playing with the phone and Kyle saw her so he went to grab it from her. She then started to climb on him to get the phone back. He pushed her off him and she came right back and tried to sit on him. He leaned against her so she fell and laid on her so that his head was right underneath her chin. She managed to squirm away from him and then got ontop of him. I think she scratched him because he had a scratch mark on his face. This went on for another 10 minutes or so. Sometimes they were laughing and other times they were screaming at each other. It's funny because Kyle has taught Lauren how to scream exactly like he does and sometimes they get into screaming matches. They just made me laugh when I saw them wrestling like that. It really was like watching the WWF.

Sleeping

So Lauren hasn't been sleeping well and quite frankly Micau and I needed to find a solution. You know me...I always turn to books. Found this great one that we like. Turns out I believe Lauren is overtired. She isn't one for taking naps or when she does they aren't very long or sometimes it can be a 4 hour stretch. She doesn't really have a regular schedule. This book says that she needs two naps at about 1.5-2 hours each. So I've chosen between 9-10 am for her first nap and 1-2 pm for her second nap. The book also suggests setting up a nightime routine and letting her know when its bedtime. This we haven't done. And to start her off earlier because she has a tendency to stay up until 1-2 am. So we are going to try some of the strategies...the book says it may take up two months for them to get used to a schedule, to have patience and not give up. Hopefully we can do this. Its gotta be better than getting no sleep at all.

New Books

We had 3 giftcards to Barnes and Noble that we hadn't used yet so I decided this morning to go since we couldn't do much else today..it's raining. I took Kyle over to the kiddie section and let him play with the nice train set they have there. He is so possessive...he thinks everything is his. He kept hogging the trains and screaming when another kid got one. Lauren did well in the stroller. She actually stayed in it for about 10 minutes without crying. Gotta savor the accomplishments.
Anyways, I looked for the book I wanted to get and also saw some potty training books. I think I'll look for them at the library before actually buying them. I also got a baby/toddler play/activity book. I think it has some neat ideas. I am one of those moms without a creative bone in her body.
Kyle got a cute counting dinosaur book. Lauren liked it more than he did I think. I got Lauren a lift the flap book for animals. She was more interested in chewing on it than actually reading it. She does pay attention when you read to her though.
Katie of course got another fairy book. There is a collection of fairy books and she got the new one..they didn't have the newest one and I didn't realize we could order it; micau informed me later.
What's so funny is Micau checked his email after getting home from work and he had a 15% coupon for Barnes and Noble and 25% coupon for them. Kicking myself in the butt. Oh well.

Spring Break

Yesterday we went to the San Antonio zoo. Today we did absolutely nothing because Lauren didn't want to sleep last night. Katie had a birthday party to go to so she did that for 2 hours. I watched Van Wilder on comedy channel..I love that movie but boy does it suck on network TV. I think I'll put it on Netflix to watch the entire film unedited. I have no idea what to do for Spring Break. I was going to go to this park that has all kinds of stuff to do (hiking, rafting, canoeing, and playgrounds) but it is supposed to rain until Thursday. So that idea is shot. Guess we will have to think of something.
Micau's son GC had a rowing competition today. He placed first in three categories so he is going to nationals. Micau is very proud of him. He also has a girlfriend..well sort of. Her parents are real strict. She isn't allowed to go to the movies or even to a dance. Micau and his ex are hoping that he will just follow her around for the next 2 years and not be involved with anybody else since she is a very good girl. I personally think it kinda sucks to have your whole life planned out for you; to have such high expectations. I see this girl going totally wild in college or maybe not. Maybe she will do just what her parents want her to do. Of course, I'm no example so I guess I should keep my mouth shut. Anyways, we are going to have to save money since the nationals are in TN this year. I think is a 2 week event. Go GC.

The Babies

Okay so technically Kyle isn't a baby...he is a toddler but they are the babies of the family. Anywho...yesterday was Lauren's 9 month checkup. That's right folks she is 9 months now. She is 26 1/2 inches long and 18 lbs 14 oz. She only got one shot..the flu shot, which she had a very bad reaction to. She's been feverish and throwing up all night so all she's had to drink is pedilyte (only 2 oz at a time). She hadn't really kept any down so we are taking her back in this morning just to be sure everything is alright. Not to brag about my little one but she is already doing things that a 10-12 month old is doing. She waves bye bye and hello, crawls, cruising (getting ready to walk..we think in the next 2 months), trying to feed herself, can stack 2 blocks together and already knows some colors. She is one smart cookie.
While with the doctor I mentioned that we are planning on putting Kyle into a school when he turns 3. She advised against doing that since public schools are hard on austistic kids. Whoa. Wait a minute. The neurologist told us he isn't autistic. According to her records he is a bit on the lower spectrum of autism. In fact, because we live in Round Rock, the school system has a very good program starting at the age of 3. She wanted us to go ahead and get the ball rolling on that because its alot of paperwork. She doesn't think Kyle would do well in a regular daycare/school place and the program here in RRISD is designed for kids like him. So we have to start doing that. She seemed a little concerned about some of his obsessive compulsive needs (such as doors being closed). But it is a little early to set him up with a specialist..she is hoping he outgrows it. Since he is on the low spectrum he may grow out of it or it may get worse. She can't say as it is too early. But he hasn't advanced too much on his development..even talking he is still way behind other kids. She has grown concerned about that. Hopefully the program will help out. It is based on income so that is a good thing..we won't have to pay and arm and a leg for it. I hope it won't be too expensive.

Driving Crazy

Okay so I am not a multitasker when it comes to driving. I am one of those people whom you probably have cursed at because I can't drive while changing the radio station or eating an ice cream cone. Cases in Points: A couple of days ago we went to Sonic and I got an ice cream cone. Well I'm trying to drive around the curb turning the steering wheel with one hand. Almost hit another car. It is just so much more difficult driving the Armada than the Malibu. I'm not used to big cars...just small cars (no dirty thoughts please...lol).
#2..I forgot to brush my hair and didn't realize it until I was on my way to meet up with a friend. So I'm trying to brush my hair while driving. Again not a good idea for me. You'd think I'd learn my lesson. But no.
#3..Talking on my cell phone has also posed a problem with the Armada..wasn't too difficult in the Malibu but for some reason I just can't drive one handed in the Armada. I not only got distracted while talking on my phone..i changed lanes without realizing i did until another vehicle honked at me because I cut him/her off.
So I have learned that if I need to do something wait until I am stopped or at my destination and try not to call or answer my cell while driving. At least I realize I'm not a good eater/talker/makeup artist while driving. Think of all those crazies who still get on the road and think they can drive while getting dressed, putting make up on, talking on cell, eating, and etc.

Other People's Kids

Okay so I have befriended a 23 year old mom from church. She has a very active three year old and a 5 month old. Her three year old is very much a discipline problem. He has been kicked out of 3 preschools and acts up at the daycare during church. He bites, hits, talks back (mostly he says he's the boss when you tell him no), he doesn't listen, i mean there is just so much. This is what i observed when they came over yesterday. It was the first time I really gotten to talk to her and meet her kids. In my house, I tell my kids no three times and if they continue to do the same thing then I punish them. The mom kept telling him no and he wouldn't listen but she wouldn't punish him. She says they have tried time outs and spanking but it doesn't work and even tried taking toys/movies away. I just don't know what to tell her. But I feel like if I have them over again then I need to explain the rules and enforce them. Is that okay to punish someone else's kid when they are around and they don't do anything?
She just is very lonely because she doesn't have any friends and I have a feeling its becasue of her son. I honestly think if she was more consistent with punishment and not let him think he was the boss then maybe he would be better behaved. I would like to be her friend because she needs one but I also don't want his bad habits to rub off on Kyle. Any advice?

Getting Car Fixed

Today I had to take the Armada to get a few things fixed since we haven't had it for 30 days yet. The air pressure light keeps coming on, the back window won't open, and there is a plastic part for one of the seats that needs to be put on. I didn't think it would take that long. I dropped it of at 8.30 am and they said it would be about an hour before they even looked at it. Well there is a Walmart about 15 minutes down that we walked to. After we got done shopping I Katie was a little hungry (10 am) so we ate where I noticed that Kyle had taken one of his shoes off. I walked around the entire store to find it and asked the layaway dept., customer service and the ladies changing room area if they had it. Nope. So I left my name and number with the CS lady, thinking it wouldn't be found. Oh well, had to buy him sandals anyway.
We get back to Carmax at 11 am. They said the guys were working on the window still. So I tried to call Micau to meet for lunch at the Village Inn. Didn't get ahold of him. Around 12 we walked over to the Village Inn for lunch, and after already eating my chicken noodle soup he called and decided to come over. By the time we were done it was 1.30. Walmart called to say that they found Kyle's shoe. Yea. Micau gave us a ride over there and then back to Carmax. He went inside to see how much longer it would take. Turns out our low tire air pressure light was coming on because of the right rear tire was a spare full of patches. Have to order a new tire which won't get there until tomorrow. So he gave us a ride home. Now I won't have a vehicle until tomorrow afternoon. That's okay though. At least we are getting it fixed.

A Well Week

I really don't mean to complain but would it be possible to have just one week of kids that are well in this house? It just seems like for the past 3 months two have been sick at all times. Right now Lauren is getting over a cold and Kyle not only has an ear infection, bronchitis..he also now has that awful stomach bug. Well here is to go do more cleaning (I have been bleaching my house every week and the kids toys too..and using Lysol spray on the things that can't be bleached). I don't know what else to do. Anyone have any suggestions?

To Give A Life

I was totally going to write about my workout today but instead I'm going to write about life. While rocking the baby I watched Saving Private Ryan. At the end of the movie he asks his wife if he has lived a good life. This made me think. Do we live our lives as if someone has died for us? What I mean by this statement is that there are people out there who give their lives for us everyday and people who have given their lives. I'm not just talking about Jesus, but about our soldiers, our police (although we don't think of them that way), and firemen. These men and women have laid down their lives and put their lives at risk for you and me. Think about that for a moment.
Just because we did not witness the death of Jesus or all that he went through doesn't mean it has lost its importance. Just because we were not alive during all the battles this country has fought doesn't mean their lives have lost importance. There are battles being fought today for our country. We (well at least me) do not keep this in mind always. Do I live my life good enough for someone who has died for me? I don't think so. I have things that I worry about that I shouldn't, I tell little white lies and a few times a big lie and no matter what the justification is for lying..a lie is still a lie. I have hurt people..deeply. Although I have changed alot of things in my life, I still am not the best I could be. I don't think I truly appreciate what Jesus or anyone has done for me.
So here is a salute and very big heartfelt thanks to those of you who have done so. And a big taste of humility.

Stories/Tales

Micau's Dad

He is doing just fine. The doctors said it was a mix of his medicines. He was cleared to resume regular activities on Saturday. This was his third stroke and he hasn't had any side affects from it. He is really lucky. We didn't go see them this weekend becasue Kyle has a cold and an ear infection and both Lauren and I have a cold. We figured his dad needed to rest and not be around screaming children. Thanks for all the well wishes.

Table and Car

Last month we got a table from Ashley furniture. It is really nice. We got a good deal on it since it was discontinued. It is square and seats about 6-8 people but we only got 6 chairs. Dealing with Ashley was a pain in the butt; other than that we really like it. We got a tablecloth for it this weekend and now it just looks beautiful. The tablecloth looks great on it.

Well we finally joined the SUV club. Don't know if you all remember but in the beginning of January my niece and nephew came to stay with us for a few days. We rented an Armada. Well is just so happened that two weeks ago our local Carmax got one in inventory. I loved the color and the seats. So we thought about it and looked at Micau's car trade in value. We were disappointed with what they were going to give us for his car but we really liked the Armada. We got approved through a local federal credit union and we decided to go ahead and get it. So far I really like it. Why is it when you go do the paperwork it always takes forever? It literally took us about 4 hours to get the vehicle. A bit frustrating but I suppose worth it. Kyle was unsure of it; he really doesn't like change. Katie loves it because now she has some room. Even Micau's son GC likes it. So everyone is happy. I am queen of the roadway people..lookout.

Deodorant

So what if I don't spell it correctly..you all know what I'm talking about..the stuff that makes your armpits smell good. Okay so while I was pregnant with Lauren and before that I was using Sure. Ever since I had her it really wasn't working that well. When I go to work out it quits working after 10 minutes (I don't sweat I just get stinky). And even without working out, It would quit halfway through the day. Micau said that sometimes your hormones change after having kids and it was time to switch to something new. You understand why he would want me to..no one wants to be around a stinker. I decided to try Degree and so far it has worked very well. So now I have a new deodorant.

Mr. Door Opener

Kyle has learned how to open doors. Unfortunately, the door to our garage isn't a round handle so we can't put a child protector on it. This morning we are getting ready to go to the YMCA and Micau to work. Well we were in the bedroom and all of a sudden we hear Kyle open the door and go out. We walk to the door and open it and there is Kyle in the garage saying bye bye and Lauren crawling to him. He actually opened the door for her so she could get out and escape. It was so cute and funny. We really have to remember to lock it because he hasn't figured out how to unlock yet. Just so funny because he hadn't done that before.

Micau's Dad

Had a stroke yesterday. They think it was caused by all the meds he was on and the interacted with each other in a bad way. His parents live in Beeville and they had to travel to San Antonio to the military base since he is retired navy. They had to do an MRI and they are keeping him until tomorrow. He looked well but tired..said he hasn't gotten much sleep in the hospital. He enjoyed seeing the grandkids. This is the third time he has had a stroke. He has diabeties, heart problems, and high blood pressure. Anyway, he is okay but we just a little worried. We will go visit them over the weekend to help his mom out since she has a cold and sinus infection.