On a Tuesday

• The alarm went off at 5:30 this morning.
• Jeff went to a Rotary Club meeting at 7:00.
• The kids and I arrived at our CC campus at 8:20, for the first day back.
• Jeff met us there at 8:30, so he could help me unload the van and stick around for the first family presentation of the semester, featuring the Watts family.
• Our opening assembly began at 9:00.
• At 9:30, I took my first full breathe of the day (or possibly the entire summer), as I sent all the CC kids to their classrooms and our semester officially began. 
• From 1:00-3:00, I stood up in front of a class of 4th-6th graders and introduced Grammar, Math and Writing concepts. 
• At 3:45, the kids and I pulled out of the parking lot and picked up snacks and drinks at Sonic. 
• We then had 15 minutes to run to the library for this week's books.
• Ruth had to be at piano lessons at 4:30.
• During the lesson, I went to 2 different banks.
• I picked Ruth up at 5:00.
• We met Jeff at a local restaurant for dinner at 5:15.
• Jeff had a Toastmasters meeting at 6:00.
• And Weston had football practice at 6:30. 
• We finally got home around 8:30.
• And got the kids in bed at 10 'til 9:00. 
• Now, I think it's my turn to hit the hay!

Amazing Anniversary Getaway

Jeff and I dropped the kids off with my parents on Thursday afternoon, and then headed north to Grapevine, where we had what may be our favorite getaway so far. We stayed at the Gaylord Texan, which is the perfect mix of elegant and fun. And, by pure chance, ended up with probably the most spectacular room in the place: a HUGE room on the ninth floor, overlooking Lake Grapevine. After checking in and settling into our room, we decided to explore the resort, which is just beautiful. At 6:30 that evening we had reservations for a 3-hour sailboat dinner cruise on Lake Grapevine aboard the Black Watch. Capt. Dave and Mother Nature took great care of us, as we wined, dined and got to unwind. We were the only passengers aboard, and we were treated like royalty. The food was wonderful, the sunset was spectacular, and the company was perfect! It definitely gets a top spot among our very favorite dates of all time!

On Friday morning, we slept in, which was delightful! Then, we made our way down to the replica Riverwalk in the resort for a late, but yummy, Mexican food breakfast. After breakfast, we had a short nap, before heading to Grapevine Mills for some shopping and a movie. We saw The Bourne Legacy at the fancy theatre, with the recliners and real food menu and waitstaff. We have seen a movie there before and, once again, enjoyed the experience. Plus, we thought this Bourne movie was the best one yet. After the movie, we headed back to the hotel, where we hung out in our super-nice room for a while, before getting ready for dinner and having a drink in the Silver Bar, down in the lobby. We had dinner inside the resort, at Old Hickory Steakhouse, which was delicious and romantic. After dinner, we did a little people watching inside the resort, before heading out with the rest of the crowd to the top of the parking garage to see a beautiful fireworks show on the lake.

Yesterday morning we got up and grudgingly checked out of the hotel. We were consoled by breakfast at Main Street Bistro and Bakery and shopping at the Farmer's Market and the neat shops in historic downtown Grapevine. Our favorite shop was the Grapevine Olive Oil Company, where we tried so many delicious oils and balsamic vinegars and spent way too much money! Finally, it was time to say goodbye to our amazing anniversary getaway, pick up the kids and make our way home, with wonderful memories and hopes for another getaway in the not-too-distant future.

A room with a view

The Gaylord Vineyard--inside the resort

Dining aboard the Black Watch

Sunset sailing

Dressed for dinner

A special treat

A long, tall Texan

The calaboose in downtown Grapevine

Fabulous Fourteen

It's our anniversary! Our fourteenth anniversary! And, I can honestly say it's more fun now than it's ever been--and, it's been pretty darn fun! I love that I get to share my life with someone who can make me laugh when I want to cry, who can whip up a gourmet meal when I think we have nothing in the house to eat, who plays football with the kids in the driveway, who would literally go with me to the end of the earth, who still surprises me and who continually makes me feel loved, honored and cherished! We're off to Grapevine tomorrow to celebrate: two nights at the Gaylord Texan, a sailboat dinner cruise, fireworks, dinner at a fancy steakhouse, a lazy river, shopping and no kids. Should be a perfect little get-away!

A little mousy

Our house has been invaded. While watching a movie a couple of Friday nights ago, I saw some movement from the corner of my eye. A turn of my head revealed a brash little rodent, trying to make a not-so-stealthy relocation. I reacted as any mature adult, who doesn't want to wake her sleeping children would, by saying, "Mouse. Mouse. Mouse," increasingly louder and with a higher pitch, until I roused Jeff from his nightly pre-bed nap. (And, it goes without saying that I simultaneously pulled my feet up onto the chair!) I most certainly DID want to wake him up! As it was after 11, and there was nothing that could be done about it at that time, we went to bed, with me feeling certain I would be eaten in my sleep or that we would all die of the plague before morning. After allowing myself a moment to just be completely grossed out, I declared war on the disgusting little creature, not yet knowing about his other little friends lurking in the nooks and crannies. Now, if you are all green and animal rightsy, you may want to just stop reading now, because the first thing I did the next morning was to march my disgusted self down to the hardware store for some mouse poison. I am happy for mice to live long and peaceful lives in their natural environment, but I am not the least bit happy to have them do so in mine! I strategically and cautiously place child-resistant poison traps all around the lower floor of the house, making sure little people could not get them. And then, I waited for the death count to begin. Instead, I saw (and heard!) two--and Max saw one--more that were very much alive. I assumed they weren't eating the poison because they were still able to gain access to the pantry somehow. So, off we went to the hardware store again--for a different kind of poison and some steel wool. And, yesterday afternoon, the kids and I emptied the entire pantry, finding LOTS of evidence of our unwelcome little visitors. I thought I was going to puke. The good news is: my pantry has probably never been so clean. Every surface has been disinfected and every package of anything that even might have been open was tossed. We found a couple of places in there where we thought they might be getting in, so we plugged up those holes with the steel wool. Jeff's thought was that if a child couldn't get in to the poison, that it might be hard for a mouse to get into it, too, so we stopped playing around and put out something that should tell any mouse in the vicinity that we mean business. (And, of course, we put these in child-unfriendly locations). (I am secretly loving how clean and organized my pantry is now, but don't you dare tell any of the mice that)! Finally, we blocked the bottom of the pantry door with a towel, just to make sure there was no entering or exiting of the premises. I didn't see or hear anything from the mouse population last night, so I'm not sure if they have given up and decided to leave the house the way they came or if they are gathering the troops for a more serious attack. But, trust me, I will not rest (seriously!) until they are eradicated.

It's catching

Weston:  Was Grandpa strong?

Me:  He still is strong.

Weston:  What about his dad - was he strong?

Me:  I'm sure he was, since he was a rancher and did a lot of hard work on his ranch.

Weston:  Well, it's pretty catchy then.  He was strong, Grandpa is strong, Daddy is strong, and now I'm strong.

Since we've been home...

We've had:

• 1 roll down a gravelly hill
• 1 pedicure
• 2 birthday parties
• 1 scorpion sighting (inside the house!)
• 2 CC meetings
• 1 pan of cream cheese chicken enchiladas
• 1 cardiologist appointment
• 2 mouse sightings (inside the house!)
• 1 new pair of football cleats 
• 1 pickle making party, resulting in
• 14 quarts (for us, plus about that many for my in-laws) of homemade bread-n-butter pickles
• 1 batch of sour cream chocolate chip cookies
• 1 back-to-school pool party
• 2 flag football practices
• 1 gigantic homemade lasagna
• 1 new pair of cowgirl boots
• 5 days of school
• 1 day out with a BFF
• 1 fox sighting (outside the house)
• 40 loads of laundry (there couldn't possibly have been fewer than that!)

Anyway, the last week has been busy and crazy and fun, just like we like it! Hope your week has been wonderful!

And, just like that, summer is over

Watts Homeschool will, unbelievably, resume classes tomorrow! We have three eager students ready to take on the new challenges of the school year. So, here's the class line-up:

Max will be working on Reading, Writing, and Math. He will also be working on some calendar skills and the CC memory work, when those classes start up in a couple of weeks.

Weston's schedule contains Math, Grammar, Reading, Writing, History, Spanish and Spelling, along with the upcoming CC memory work.

And Ruth will study Math, Spelling, Grammar, Writing, History/Geography, Latin, Biology, Spanish, Logic and Music, in addition to CC work.

We are all looking forward to jumping back in to the routine, even if that means I do have to set my alarm for 6:00!

Happy Day

Today, I turned 35. It was a very happy day. I got a pedicure and did a little shopping in the morning, and then met up with my sweet family at lunchtime for some wonderful Asian cuisine. Jeff and the kids worked on cleaning up the house and putting away all the laundry while I was out, which was a real treat. My parents came over for dinner, and Jeff prepared the most awesome meal I think I've ever had: mango Mojitos, coconut shrimp with orange marmalade sauce, cilantro rice, Jeff's special Waldorf salad and bread pudding with mango rum sauce and whipped cream. My taste buds are still smiling! I felt so loved today, with all the well-wishes. I am truly blessed beyond words! Happy Birthday, indeed!

It's all downhill from there

We are home from our two-week tour of Texas, and we had a wonderful trip! Lots of dirt, delicious food, game playing and visiting with friends and family. Today, it was back to reality, in so many ways. One of the fun things about coming home from vacation is that there is always a day or so of behavior issues to deal with--just so the kids can find out if the rules have changed while we were away. The rules never do change, but the kids insist on checking anyway. At one point today, Weston was sitting on the stone bench right outside the kitchen, that will one day surround our yet-to-be-purchased hot tub. For now, this area is strictly off-limits to the kids, as it is quite a safety hazard. There is a precarious pile of dirt and gravel just beyond the bench and a fairly deep drop-off to the slab for the future hot tub. So, Weston was sitting there, specifically to see if we still had rules about that. Well, we do. So, I opened the kitchen door to tell him to go play somewhere else. He took that opportunity to see if we still have rules in place about back-talking. Well, we do. So, I took a step toward him and took hold of his arm to get his attention. The next thing I knew we were both rolling down the gravel hill. It was maybe the biggest parenting fail of all time! Weston was scared stiff, and he scraped up his elbow and neck a little. But, I came out far worse than he did. I scraped my ankle, my knee, my hip, my hand and my elbow, and was in no position to issue punishments. And, worse than that, my pride was wounded something serious. I mean, I don't even remember the last time I scraped up my knee in the gravel! It was the most ridiculous thing ever! But, at least I didn't rip my pants or something on the way down! The last few weeks of 34 have certainly been interesting. I hope it's not telling of what 35 is going to look like.

Texas in just over a month

1. June 29-July 1--Jeff and big kids fishing at Devil's River

2. July 1-6--Visiting my parents in Belton

3. July 8-14--Ruth at singing camp/visiting my grandparents in Haskell

4. July 15-18--Big kids at Nana Camp in Port Aransas

5. July 27-Aug. 1--Jeff's grandmother's birthday party/visit to family ranch

6. Aug. 1-10--Campmeeting, just outside Ft. Davis

And, that, my friends, is how you do Texas in just over a month!

Biscuit Brothers

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to see the Biscuit Brothers in Austin. And, today, we got to see them again at Children's Day at Art Park. It was our first time to attend this event, but now that I know about it, we will make a plan to visit again next summer. (This was their last show for this year). The kids enjoyed jammin' to the music, visiting with the clowns, drinking the 10 cent lemonade, munching on the free Blue Bell bars and using their imaginations to create some original art.

Lots of distractions kept eyes from the camera

Visiting with one of the clowns

The Biscuit Brothers

Ruth's clay turtle

Silly Weston and his creation

Max's sailboat

All-American Diner

Last week, when I wasn't quite with it, my sweet big kids made a dinner plan. They spent the better part of the day creating a menu and cleaning up the loft, so that they could open a little "restaurant" for Jeff and I to go to on a date. They set the table, took our orders, cooked all the food and attentively waited on us. They also managed to feed themselves and their little brother, without Jeff or myself having to lift so much as a finger. It was just the sweetest, most creative thing!

What's on the menu?

All set

Cutest waitress/head chef/restaurant owner ever!

Check, please!

My Heart is Overwhelmed

Oh Lord, you know that my heart is overwhelmed this week--physically, with this crazy Prolonged QT Syndrome diagnosis, and emotionally, with all the questions: "Why did I pass out?" "Will it happen again?" "Will I be holding Clay next time?" "What if Jeff isn't here?" "Could it be worse next time?" Yeah, my heart is just a little overwhelmed. And my head is foggy. So, today I was engaged in a completely brain-dead activity--searching around on Pintrest--because that's all I felt I could handle at the moment. And, You, You met me right there. Right where my heart was so overwhelmed. And, where did you invite me to go? To the Rock. The enticement of a firm foundation was so very necessary to me, who has recently lost her footing in the most literal sense. But it wasn't an invitation to just any rock. It was to "the Rock that is higher than I." It is beyond my strength. Beyond my understanding. A place with a better view. So, that's where I'd like to go. Lead on.

What a headache!!

On Saturday, we dropped the big kids off at my parents' so they could begin their Nana Camp adventures. On Sunday morning, Mom called to say that all three kids had been throwing up and having diarrhea all night. They weren't feverish and felt fine between spells, so we decided it was probably food poisoning and to wait and see how the day progressed before pulling the plug on Nana Camp. Meanwhile, at our house, Jeff had woken up with much the same problem and proceeded to spend the rest of the day zonked out on the couch. Mom called several hours later to report that the kids seemed to be feeling pretty good and were all loathe to give up their Nana Camp, so off they all went to Port Aransas, and they having been feeling good and having fun ever since.

Clay and I had not felt even a flutter of the tummy bug, confirming the food poisoning theory. I was determined not to be sick, regardless, because I had a very busy week ahead, teaching a class for new and returning CC tutors and helping with the CC conference on our campus. As I prepared for bed last night, I was joking along these lines, telling Jeff I would just have to blow him a kiss goodnight, since I couldn't risk getting sick.

Well, about 1:30 am, I woke up and needed to go to the restroom. And that's where my plan broke down. And, where my memory starts to have gaps. Either before I actually made it to the restroom or right after, I felt a bit dizzy and thought I would just grab hold of the counter for a moment to steady myself. The next thing I knew, I was feeling a cold, hardness underneath me and a crazy stinging in my eyes. And, a little while later I realized I was lying on the bathroom floor, vomiting. I rolled over to my side, to try keep further debris from my eyes, and that's when I realized that my head hurt really, really badly. I reached up to touch it, noticed that it felt wrong, and surmised that I was having that dream of everything going wrong before a big event. This wasn't happening, it was just the stress in my head getting to me. Oh, but the headache just would not quit! I tried to find my voice, but, instead, only heard myself moaning.

Jeff had heard me get up and heard me throwing up but had assumed that I had caught what the rest of the family had and wasn't too worried. He heard me hit the floor, but in his middle-of-the-night fog, thought the crash was coming from outside. Eventually, he called out to see if I was all right, and I finally found my voice long enough to utter his name with some urgency. Imagine his surprise when he entered the bathroom, to find me lying in a pool of my own vomit and blood. He was talking to me, but I couldn't really make sense of his words. And then, he was trying to clean me up. When I went into the fetal position in the shower, cringing at every touch to my head, he declared that we were headed to the ER. I was in no position to argue, so off we went.

After administering an EKG, a CT scan, an i.v. and a shot of morphine, they began the process of trying to clean me up. When they finally got down to the wound itself, they determined I would need 8 staples to close up the 2-3 inch long gash. The sight of the staple gun terrified me, but with all the numbing shots and morphine, the installation of the staples wasn't too bad. And, fortunately, they didn't have to shave my head--just trim the hair in a few places. The CT scan reported no problems, but the EKG showed that I have Prolonged QT Syndrome, a congenital arrhythmia in the heart that may cause episodes of fainting. They don't know for sure that that is what caused me to pass out, but they did recommend I follow up with a cardiologist.

So, 2 1/2 hours later, I left the ER with a head full of staples, a prescription for pain meds and anti-nausea meds, and the worst headache of my life.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to my class today. My wonderful in-laws were here babysitting Clay and myself, while Jeff was in Austin. They were taking care, not only of us, but the house and laundry as well. I'm taking the pain meds and am resting, and obviously, have lived to blog another day. I hope to be back to my normal self before too many more days. The staples will come out in a week, and hopefully, the headache will go away before that. If it weren't for that pain, though, I would definitely feel like I was living in some made up drama. I have never, ever done anything like this before, and I hope to never do it again!

My new, fancy hair accessories

A pictorial journey of the last week

Fun and games on the first night of singing camp

The theme of the week for the boys was to see how many
playgrounds they could play at. This was the first of 10. 

Having fun, old-school style
(These merry-go-rounds have been at
this park since I was a little girl!)

Slide races

Mr. Monkey

Crazy climber

Good times

Hanging out

Cuddling with Grandaddy 

Playing with Granny

Bottoms up!

A trip to the Abilene Zoo, with one of my oldest
friends and her sweet little boy.

Feeding the friendly giraffe

Stylin' 

Half-birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's

Half-birthday gifts

Beautiful Ruth posing on the last night of singing camp.
She did such an amazing job at the performance!

The big kids got their beach bum on, and headed to Corpus for Nana Camp.
(The "beach bum" in the background was actually a cleverly wrapped,
early birthday present for me--a Keurig coffee maker!)

Walking around in my past

I am definitely not one to dwell on the past. But last week and this week have found me literally wandering the streets of my childhood and adolescence, revisiting the people and places of my youth. And, memories are a funny thing. They can be repressed for decades and then just come unbidden right to the forefront of your mind, with the slightest provocation, as if they happened recently. It's really weird. And, it's also weird that your hometown changes. Stuff that was there isn't there, and instead, new stuff is in its place. But, then, it's also weird that things you would have expected to change, haven't. The same thing happens internally. You find that you are not the same person you were (not even remotely!), but some piece of you remains the same. Those people and places have helped to make you who you are. You are new and old, all at once. I'm so thankful for where I have come from and for every single experience I've had that brought me to this point in my life. It has been an interesting exercise to walk around in my past for a while and to remember. And, it's has been even more fun to share that with my kiddos, because what has shaped me is also what is, in part, shaping them.

Gone Again

We spent most of this last week at my parents' and just got home last night. From the moment we walked in the door, I have been doing laundry and repacking, so we can take off again. We will be in Haskell for the next few days, staying with my grandparents and exploring the Big Country, while Ruth attends singing camp. The adventure never ends, people! Check in again soon, so you don't miss any of the excitement.

Waco Children's Museum

Blocks! 

keyboarding, old school style

The poor little homeschool kids don't know how to ride in the bus

Drive time

puzzled

horse lover 

horsing around

The train, the train!

Cowboy Max

John Wayne faces

This girl was born int he wrong era. She was meant to be a pioneer woman.

Clay's very favorite exhibit

Little drummer boys

Music Man

Body Bubble

This fashionista tried on every single outfit in the dress-up room.

Tea Party