Barbie Mom in a GI Joe World

CeeCee Honeycutt and me

2011-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

I just love a good book, only problem is that I rarely take the time to read one. When I do find one I love though, I just cannot put it down! I get so immersed in the world, and the characters become like friends so when it's over I feel as though I am missing them. It's like I want to go back into their world and check up on them from time to time. Know what I mean?

My latest read is "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman. I actually found this little gem at Half Price Books while waiting for a friend. It was in the clearance section, always my first stop in that store, but it's worth SO much more than the $2 I paid for it.

It takes place mainly in the South in the late 1960's. The title character is 12 years old and goes to live in Savannah, GA with her great Aunt after her mother's passing. Her new world is rich with large homes, large gardens, large southern accents and even larger characters. It reminds me a lot of "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" meets "The Secret Life of Bees". (Also both great reads.)

Even though I didn't grow up in what some consider the "true South", much of this book speaks to me. Growing up in Texas, some of these characters remind me of the older people from my past.

Growing up, I spent a majority of my time at my grandmother's home. She lived there with her mother, my great grandmother. My Nanny and Granny respectively. My Granny was born in 1896 and from the stories she told me of her life, it was a rough one. But she was full of love. Love for life, love for family and not afraid of hard work. She reminds me so much of Oletta in this book. Just a fountain of wisdom and able to tell just the right story at the right time to really speak to me about something. She was a God of sorts to me as a child. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her. I often hear her words of wisdom in my head.

My grandmother was born in 1922. She was the only girl of 6 kids. She quit school in the 8th grade and was married by 15. She is my Aunt Tootie. She loved to drive fast, paint her nails, and get her hair done...and she was great to me. She could be tough, tough as nails, but tender too. My sister and I loved to spend time at her house. We were there every morning for a full breakfast, every day after school and all day during the summer. Our mother worked full time, so Nanny was our caretaker. I remember sitting at the vanity in her room playing with all her costume jewelry, makeup, lotions and powders. I think her bed was the most comfortable one I've still ever slept in. She used to say to me after school, "Do you hear that, Shannon? My bed is calling for you." And I'd go lay down for a quick power nap. I've never slept that well before or since. I sure do miss her, but I feel as though she is watching over me. Watching over her whole "little family" as she liked to say.

I think what strikes me most in this book, as it relates to me, is that CeeCee really enjoys her time with Oletta and Aunt Tootie and the other elder characters in this book. She admires theses older people, learns from them, leans on them, loves them.

When my sister and I were young, I remember many a time sitting on the front porch or in the living room of my grandmother's home, shelling peas with Granny. We would reach into the old sack my Great Uncle Gene had brought from his farm, and shell them into an old pot. I never ate any of these peas mind you, as I was a picky child, but the fun was in the spending time with Granny and listening to her stories and just basking in the glory of who she was. I learned a lot during those shelling sessions. A lot about her, a lot about me, a lot about life.

And then there were the the late nights of dominoes. My Nanny and Granny and other extended family, Great Uncles and Aunts, would sit up and play late at night. My sister and I would sneak out of our room at her house and listen to them from the hallway. All of them crowded around the table, Rangers baseball game on the radio, fans running to cool the air in the TX summer heat. I just loved to hear them talk and watch how they related to one another. Oh how I wanted to be at that table. I still have that table as a matter of fact. It now sits in my dining room. We sit under it only at big family gatherings like Christmas or Thanksgiving, but when we do, I feel like Nanny and Granny are there with us. I finally made it to dominoes.

I think this is why this book speaks to me. CeeCee respects her elder generation. They are her friends. She listens to them, wants to be with them, wants to please them. I grew up that way, as did many of us from my generation and those before us. I think it's lost today. You don't see the big extended families as much. My boys don't really have that, and it makes me sad. I often think that they won't have the great memories that I do. That my sister does, that my husband does. But I guess too, that they won't know what they are missing. They won't shell peas, or long to sit with the older people and play dominoes or hear the Rangers on the radio. They won't know what it's like to sit on a porch swing and drink sweet tea. But I guess they will have their own memories and I am sure they will hold them just as dear.

But I know that my elders are what made me. They helped to mold me into who I am today as a person, a wife and a mother. I learned more in an afternoon with them then I think I did all of school. Life lessons. And I think it's what "saves" CeeCee Honeycutt in this book. The wisdom and love of her elders. We really should cherish them more.

2011-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

See that "superhero" up there? That is me. No, really it is. I am a worrier. I panic. I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop, as they say. I think I have always been that way. I'm pretty sure my mother never had to warn me to look both ways when crossing a street, stay in the shallow end, not talk to strangers or any of that. I always found myself telling those things to my friends who would look at me like I was crazy as if to say "Gah! You are not our mom. Where is your sense of adventure?" I like adventure, as long as it's indoors and well supervised. That's fun too, right?

Now that I am the mom, my worrying tends to limit my kids in their lives. I don't enjoy being outside for long. I'm scared to death of bugs (wasps mainly...or bees...or hornets...or anything with a stinger) and God forbid a dog be running loose. Just typing that makes me squirm. Summer is pretty boring around here because of that. I like my boys in my sights, because then I know they are safe. It wasn't until last year that I let my oldest start playing outside with friends, on their streets or in their homes. And sometimes when he rides off on his bike to go to his friends houses, I still get a little voice in my head saying "Gosh, I hope he comes back home safe to me." Insane? Perhaps a tad. Medicated? Not yet, but might be a good idea.

But, I think the time that my anxiety is at it's worst, is when one of my boys is sick. About 4 years ago now, my oldest came down with strep that turned into pneumonia. He was on antibiotics and steroids as well as breathing treatments. It was a scary time, but nothing we couldn't handle. That all changed on an August morning near the end of his course of medicine. He came into our room saying his mouth hurt. One look and we knew that something was horribly, horribly wrong. His entire mouth was so swollen and full of grape sized blisters, that his lips were turning outward. Well of course, we rushed him to his pediatrician. She took one look and said, "It's SJS. He has to get to the hospital, now!" So an ambulance was called. My husband rode with him, while I took our younger son to stay with a friend. I have never cried so hard as I did that day. I was terrified. I didn't even know what SJS was yet, or what caused it. All I knew was that my baby was on his way to the hospital in an ambulance and I wasn't sure exactly when I would get to him.

That was a scary two weeks. He was in Children's of Dallas that long, and while they were wonderful to us, I hope to never see that place ever again. If you aren't familiar with SJS (Steven Johnson Syndrome) I encourage you to educate yourself. I won't go into details here, but for to say that my son's was actually caused my the antibiotic he was on for the strep/pneumonia.

The aftermath of that illness,though, has been tough. I am thankful every single day that physically my son came out unscathed, but I think mentally that I did not. This only fed into my anxiety and ever since then when one of my boys is sick, I think about that morning in August. It doesn't help that since that time, my oldest has also had allergic reactions to several other antibiotics. We are now down to one more antibiotic choice for him. He's taken it once, and thankfully did okay.

And that brings us to current. My youngest was diagnosed yesterday with strep and a strep rash. His whole upper body and face is covered with red itchy bumps that make him look pitiful and send my mind lurching back 4 years. And while I know that he's not having an allergy, I am having to treat him with an antibiotic. That alone makes me stressed.

I'm a mother, and mother's worry. But some think that I worry too much, and I think they are right. But, this is just an insight into one of the reasons I always jump from bad to worse where my kids are concerned. You just never know. And I like to be in control, and in this case I cannot be.

December 2009

2009-12-06T09:58:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been awhile! I am so bad about updating this blog, but I will try and get better about it.

Christmas is upon us! Hard to believe. Seems like the older I get, the faster the years fly by. Ben will be 10 in a couple of weeks and that just blows my mind. He told me that he is "halfway to 20". I told him to slow down and relish these times, because being a kid at Christmas is the best thing ever.

We did our traditional visit with Santa this week. We heard that Bass Pro shops had a pretty neat setup and it's all free. That word really spoke to Michael. lol So we loaded up after school on Friday and went. It was pretty cool and the boys got their Christmas wishes straight to Santa's ear. I think the outlook is good that they will get what they asked for. Then last night, we all made a gingerbread house as a family. I have been wanting to do one of these every year but I just never get around to buying one in time. The kids did a great job!

Tonight we are taking the boys to see "A Christmas Carol" on stage by the Dallas Theater Center. Michael and I used to go every year, but this is the first time that we are taking the boys. They don't know...it's a surprise. It's Will's favorite Christmas story (he calls is Scrooge) so I think he will be extra excited.

Merry Christmas all!

I think I have a New Kids addiction...

2009-04-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Found out they are coming back to Dallas in July!!! Tickets don't go on sale until Saturday, unless you are an American Express cardholder. Well...I am not, but I have a friend who is. :) She entrusted me with her CC info and at 10am today, I purchased 6 tickets!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am!! They are not the "best" seats because those are reserved for the big spenders and I just don't have cash to throw around. But July 17th me and 5 of my good friends will be seeing the ultimate boy band yet again! They were here in October and we had the BEST time at the concert.....I think we will have an even better time the 2nd time around. Can you feel the excitement! The countdown has begun.

Will's first visit to the dentist!

2009-02-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know.....he should have gone sooner. Sigh, but I guess my fear of the dentist makes me really hate going, even with my kids! Both boys had their well checks last week and their pediatrician mentioned that it was time for Will to see the dentist. Mike had to have a small cavity filled on Saturday morning and while we were there we made Will his appt. So at 7:30am today, we were there! Will was pretty excited and a tad nervous but I assured him that the dentist is a friend. :)

He did so well!! He listened, he answered the hygienist's questions and seemed to really enjoy the whole visit! He had his teeth counted, had x-rays, his teeth were cleaned, had a fluoride treatment and then it was time for the dentist to take a look. She said his teeth were "very pretty" and that it looks like he does a great job brushing. The only concern is that Will has an under bite and it's causing some rubbing and scratching of the enamel on his top front teeth. At this point there is nothing to do because soon his permanent teeth will come in. So...we will cross that bridge when it comes.

Will's Indiana Jones Birthday party.

2009-02-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

We threw Will's b-day party this past weekend. We decided to have this one at home since the boys are only getting older and this might be the last one we can do at the house.

Will decided on an Indiana Jones party and we ran with it. It was too much fun!! When the guests arrived we had them do a craft. They colored, or painted on a white paper plate. We let them dry and then cut them into spirals and attaching googly eyes....they made snakes. :) We then ate lunch and then it was time for the show to start.

Mike dressed up as Indy and gathered the kids around to tell them the tale of the "Hu Shur" treasure. Said he found it but that it was locked with 3 locks and he needed their help finding the keys. The first key was hidden in a bowl of mummy guts (spaghetti). I think the boys really liked this....but the girls were a bit grossed out. They found all the hidden keys in the guts and tried them all on the first lock until they found the right one. The 2nd key was hidden in snakes cave. Indy HATES snakes so he needed the kids to go in and get snake eggs and he knew that the key was hidden in one of them. We made the cave in our hallway using old sheets, and plastic table clothes. It was lit by a red party light and there was all kinds of fake snakes, lizards, costume jewelry and the snakes eggs on the ground. They found all the eggs and Indy opened them up. In one was the key...so that took care of the 2nd lock. So where could the 3rd key be?? The mummy had it! So Indy told them that if they offered the mummy a "sweet treat" on a "special day" that the mummy would give them the key. Well the kids decided that the sweet was the cupcakes and that the special day was Will's birthday. So...out came the "Hu Shur Mummy"!!! lol It was Heather all wrapped up in toilet paper. So Will gave her the cupcake and she released the key. They opened the 3rd and final lock, popped open the chest and inside was the treasure....the party goody bags.

Fun! All the kids had a really great time. :)

My baby turns 5 today.

2009-01-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that this time 5 yrs ago, my youngest and I were still sharing the same body...but only for a few more hours. On January 25th, 2004 at 3:35pm William Gabriel Moore was delivered into this world. He completed our little family and rounded out the number to four. :)

He has grown a lot in the 5 years since and I have watched him grow into the fun loving little man that he is today. He loves to laugh, loves to make others laugh and he just has a real sweet way about him. He's devious though, but man that smile would melt the coldest of hearts and because of it he often gets away with more than he should. He's my little man, my stinkopatamus, my silly Will.

Happy Birthday my now big ol' 5 yr old.

And I was doing so well!!

2009-01-05T14:32:00.000-08:00

I was keeping up so well with this blog, but man I have dropped the ball yet again.

Thanksgiving was nice, we all went to my Aunt and Uncle's house. The food was wonderful, but the family time was even better. I love Thanksgiving, it's my favorite holiday. None of the gift pressures of Christmas but still with all the great food!! :)

Christmas is over and all the decorations are down. Always kind of sad to see the house looking so bare after being so decorated for over a month, but nice to have it down and out of the way. Christmas was a good one. We hosted Christmas Eve at our house again this year. We had a lot of family over and some really great food yet again. The kids made out like bandits, as usual, and were really appreciative of all that they received. Mom spent the night Christmas Eve, and we took the boys to look at Christmas lights before putting them to bed. They awoke bright and early in the morning to see just what Santa had left for them. Ben got the new bicycle that he asked for and Will finally got his blue Nintendo DS. They were both extatic! It's nice that mom is here to see her grandkids faces on Christmas morning.

Michael was off for a nice long break this holiday. He worked from home on Christmas Eve morning and then was off until today. We had a lot of fun while he was home. We relaxed, played games, went to many dinners out and just enjoyed having him here. We decided to take the kids to Medieval Times one night. We didn't tell them where we were going and man they were excited once we got there. It's kind of a special place for Mike and I. He took me there for my 24th birthday and it was also the night that Ben was concieved. We have not been back since, and it was special being there again with our now complete family.

The New Year came and went without incident. We spent a quiet night at home. We ordered in and played a little Guild Wars on the computers. A nice way to ring in the New Year!

So that is where we are. 2009 is here and I am hoping it is a great year for the Moore family as well as all of yours :) I'll try and post some pics at a later date.

Jackets win the Superbowl!!!

2008-11-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the Jackets Superbowl game vs Mesquite Bulldogs. It was a tight game. The score was 6-0, Jackets. Pretty tense. Tense and FREEZING! Man it was cold, cold, cold....but that makes for good football. The boys all got a medal, a trophy and some bragging rights for having a perfect 14-0 season! We are so proud of the entire team and in our own personal Jacket, Ben. He had a great season and really saw a lot of playing time in the Superbowl. He had a wonderful time, learned a lot about football and teamwork and made some really great friends as well. So now we look forward to next season when we will be a 2 Jacket family. Will is going to play for the flag team, and Ben will move up to 2A. We will be living and breathing football on Saturdays next year. :)

October Wrap-up

2008-11-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

I dropped the ball on posting about the end of our October, but that is just because it's one busy time!

Will had his Halloween party on the 30th. They do a little costume parade for the parents and then retreat to their classrooms for class parties. This year I am a helper to the room mother. I was in charge of prizes for games. Of course I had no idea how many games there were, so I over bought. Ah well...I just put the extra prizes in each kids treat bag. :) Worked out well that way. William had a great time and I am so happy that I get the luxury of being a stay at home parent so that I am there at events like these.

Halloween was on a Friday this year, and that may have hurt in the trick or treating department. Our neighborhood was AMAZING last year, not as amazing this year. I think more people were out partying than giving out candy and decorating their own houses. The hayride was still going on though, as was the house we loved so much from last year. These people go all out! Ben and Will still managed to get tons of candy and they had a blast trick or treating. Will was Darth Vader this year and Ben was a ninja

Traveling back in time...

2008-10-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday night, I got to travel back in time. My sister, 2 of my best friends from high school, and myself were all 15 again for a night. This past Sunday, the 19th of October we all went to see the best boy band in history perform together once again. We went to see......the New Kids on The Block!!!! It was AMAZING! I don't think I was quite prepared for how excited I would be. I think I screamed the entire show! Here I am a 33yr old grown woman, married mother of 2 and I was literally screaming at the top of my lungs "I love you Joe!!!!". Embarrassing now, but trust me at the time I fit right in. The American Airlines Center was packed with women in their 30's screaming and jumping up and down for these 5 men from Boston. There were women decked out in spandex, acid washed jeans and I even saw crimped hair! What a flashback! The show itself was phenomenal. They always did put on a great concert. It was a good mix of their old hits and songs from the new album. It all blended seamlessly. One really cool moment was when Jordan was singing "I'll be loving you forever"....the entire crowd was singing along so loudly that Donnie even made the comment that it was a cool song of Jordan on lead vocals and Dallas TX on background. Guess you had to be there to feel the magic that was and is NKOTB. It's a night I will treasure, much like when I saw them way back in 1991. They really are a great group of guys.

Mindless "super" fun!

2008-10-17T15:29:00.001-07:00

I was on one of my mom boards today and this lady posted the funniest link of herself being "super". It was so cute I had to make my whole family super heroes! The best was Will's though, as he is ALWAYS making the funniest faces. Well, they finally came in handy. See for yourself at this link:
MAKE ME SUPER!
And here we are the Super Family!!!

Daddy and Me Rodeo Day

2008-10-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a special day at Will's MDO. They had a rodeo day for the kids and their dads. I took Will to school and then Mike went up there around 10 for the fun! They had the parking lot roped off and had all of these games set up for the kids to play. They had horseshoes, and stick pony races and other things. Topped the afternoon off with a picnic with dad. They both had a fun time and I think it was extra special for Will because he doesn't get much time with just him and his dad :)

Jackets Homecoming Weekend!

2008-10-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend was homecoming for Ben's football team, the Jackets. It started off with a pep rally on Thursday night. They served everyone hot dogs, chips, soda and cake and all the teams were introduced as well as the cheerleaders. The players and the cheerleaders also exchange gifts and all receive their garters and mums. Very cute to witness and really gets you pumped up for the big game! The game was on Saturday at 3pm and the team played at the high school which they all thought was very cool. It was exciting for them to play in such a large stadium and on AstroTurf as well. Before the game they players and us moms walked onto the field where the players were announced and they gave us moms a flower. I admit, I got a little choked up walking across the field with my boy. He's just getting so big so fast. The high school team even let them use the inflatable tunnel that the HS team runs out of. Ben was super excited to get a chance to do that. It was a proud moment for him. The team played a great game and went on to beat the Hawks 31-12. The team remains undefeated and this win sealed their place in the playoffs as well. Pretty exciting weekend for the Jackets!

Doing the "We're the Jackets" cheer.

William being goofy before the game.

Dinosaurs Alive

2008-10-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Shannon and I decided to take our boys to see the dinosaurs alive exhibit at the Heard Museum this past Friday. The Heard is a nature museum and mostly outdoors. The dinosaurs are animatronic and pretty large in size and very cool as Will observed. Heather and Acelyn came along as well and we had a pretty great day! Will was a little scared when the dinosaurs would roar, and one dino even spit water on him! We all got a good laugh at Will's expense on that one!

2008-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ben got braces last week. My boy is growing up WAY too fast. His braces are much different than mine because I was older and had lost all of my baby teeth. He is still losing some so as they fall out and the permanents come in then they will get brackets. So far he only has 3 on top and 4 on bottom. The wires are called "baby bypass wires" so they leave the baby teeth alone until they fall out and then they are bracketed. He was in some pain for the first couple of days and eating is still a chore, but he's getting used to the idea that these are permanent. He looks so cute in them though!!! He even chose black and orange rubber bands because those are his football colors. ;)

A trip to Cavanaugh Flight Museum

2008-09-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Our playgroup decided to hit up the flight museum this past Wednesday afternoon. It's located at the Addison airport and is a pretty neat little place. The kids love to see how big planes are up close and they even got to see some private planes taking off as we got there. It was a fun afternoon and it was all boys! We had 7 boys total all ages 4 and under.....and yes we are crazy. lol

Here are the pics.

Will started preschool.

2008-09-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Will went back to his MDO this last week. This is his last year before kindergarden. He was so happy to be back at school!! This year he is in the same class as his best bud, Jonathan. I hope the teachers can handle it! And I have to say that these were taken after school, as I had a dumb mom moment and FORGOT my camera that morning! I felt like an idiot. But at least I had it after school and I took him for a shake a Sonic as a special first day treat.

Ben's in 3rd grade!

2008-08-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today was Ben's first day back to school. He's a big ol' 3rd grader now. :( Hard to believe, but he's growing up too fast. He was going to ride the bus, but changed his mind at the last minute and wanted Mike and I to take him. He just had us drop him at the front door.

He said he had a great first day! Loves his teacher and is making new friends already. Looks like it's going to be a wonderful year for him.

Here's a look back over the years.

3rd grade

2nd grade, only a week out of the hospital.

First grade

Kindergarten

2008-08-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Had a little visitor in the garage tonight. YIKES! Mike killed it with wasp spray, but not before we got a shot of the nasty thing. ICK!

Musings from Will

2008-08-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

So we took a walk around our neighborhood the other night. It has been a stormy few days and so the temperature outside was almost fall like. Really nice. We started talking about how soon Halloween would be here and what did the boys want to be. Will is set on Spiderman, just not sure if he wants to be red Spidey or black. Ben is thinking something scary. Here is what Will had to say about being scared:

"I'm scared of witches, but nothing else"....."I'm scared of witches, and ants but nothing else"..."I'm scared of witches, ants and skeletons but nothing else"..."I'm afraid of witches, ants, skeletons and bees...but nothing else"

This went on and on and on! It was so funny. Mike and I were trying to stifle our laughter. Will can be just so stinking cute at times.

Update on Urologist

2008-08-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well apparently.....there is nothing wrong with me. Don't laugh, as I am sure many of you think there is "something" wrong with me.....just not with my kidneys. lol So the Dr. said he could find no urological reason for my pain, so perhaps a visit to the chiro is in order. So...no more water for me!! Hooray!!! I'm back to drinking Diet DP and loving every minute of it.

Thanks for the well wishes, thoughts and prayers. :)

2 games down....quite a few to go.

2008-08-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

We had our 2nd and last preseason football game yesterday. The boys did GREAT! They have won both of the preseason games. The first one the score was us 25 and them 6, last night was us 29 and them 0. The boys are doing so well working as a team and I cannot say enough good things about the coaches or the Jackets football organization as a whole. I am truly impressed. So regular season starts the 23rd and then we have games through November, followed by 2 out of town tournaments. Looks like it's going to be a really fun season for both the players and the parents. :)

Here are pics from both games: (they are in their orange practice uniforms....Ben is #19)

Football season is upon us.

2008-08-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd season that Ben will be playing for the Rockwall Jackets 1A select football team. We are loving the new coaches! The previous coaches moved up to 2A with the older boys and the old flag coaches moved up to 1A. These are the coaches that took the flag team to win the Superbowl of the league in their divison. They are awesome coaches and Ben has already learned more this season than all of last year. He's doing well and really seems to be a strong force on the team this year. He's one of the older boys now, and he really looks the part out there. They have their first game this Sunday night, but it's a preseason game. Regular season play starts in a couple of weeks. They get new uniforms every year, so I will have to post more pics when they come in. For now they practice every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6-8pm and man is it HOT! We hit 107 yesterday, and today is more of the same. Water is now Ben's friend and we are keeping him hydrated so that he can play and practice with little problem. I'll have to get some more recent pics of them all practicing in full pads...these are all helmet only practice pics.

Urologist? Yup...I'm old.

2008-07-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

So I've been having some issues with my kidneys. They hurt...a lot. At first I thought it was perhaps a kidney stone, but now I am not so sure. So I saw the urologist yesterday and I have to go in on Monday for a CT scan of my abdomen and my pelvis, with and without contrast. Then a week later I go and see the Doc again and find out my fate. Could be a stone, a blockage of some other sort or perhaps a prolapsed bladder from what he tells me.

I have to tell you guys that I was the youngest person in there by at least 30+ years. I am not kidding. And it's a small office and it was packed! So guess who stood the whole time. Well not the whole time...I did have a seat for about 5 mins until this old woman came in and gave me the evil eye and I realized that the polite me should give her my chair. So I minded the polite me and did just that. At least she thanked me. And while I was in there admiring all of the wrinkles and oxygen tanks my urology buddies were sporting I made an observation. Why is it that older women write lists on old envelopes and then have them stick out of their purses longways? I noticed a couple of older ladies there with said lists and it reminded me so much of my grandmother. She did that EXACT same thing! So I got to thinking that this must be a practice of the elderly. I texted my sister about it, and I am quite certain she thought I had lost my mind. When I left I called my mother and mentioned it to her and you know what....she does it too! Now..she never used to do that so I am thinking the phenomenon happens sometime after your 50th b-day. So beware if you are fast approaching that magical age.

I will let you know how the CT goes. And maybe I'll have more insight from the older set then as well.

A fun 4th of July!

2008-07-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty fun filled 4th! We started the day with swimming at the community pool. I love to go in the mornings when it's fresh and clean and not too crowded. It was a hot morning though! Summer in TX is offically in full swing for sure. Came home from the pool, showered up everyone and had some lunch. Spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing until time to head out for my friend Patty's house. Patty and Jesse invited us over for a 4th cookout. We had a BLAST! William just loves her older son, Jonathan....and Ben is popular with all the smaller kids. The food was wonderful! They had bought all of these poppers for the kids to use and they had a great time with those. I wasn't sure if William would like it or not...but he was a poppin' fool! They also played with water guns, water balloons and jumped on the trampoline. We adults go to just sit around and shoot the breeze while enjoying the gorgeous Texas evening. Around 10pm we all got to see fireworks from about 3 of the local shows. That was pretty neat! We got home about 12:30am and were exhausted! But wow...what a fun day we all had.

Slip n Slide Fun with Cousins

2008-06-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Rhonda, invited the boys to come over and play on Jimmy's new slip n slide. The boys had a GREAT time! They always do when they get to play with Jimmy. It was a nice day and It was nice to sit and chat with Rhonda and my mother. We should do that more often.

It's official....Ben's a 3rd grader!

2008-06-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of school for Ben. They had an awards ceremony at 1pm in his classroom. We all watched a video of the performance they did around Valentine's Day and then his teacher presented everyones awards.

Ben got A honor roll, a citizenship award for being neat and orderly (no laughing some of you), and 3 ribbons for field day. He came in 2nd in free throws for the entire 2nd grade! Pretty cool! Then after the awards were all handed out, there was cookies and juice for the kids. Even Will got one, so that was nice. It all ended about 2pm and most kids left with their parents, but Ben wanted to stay so that he could ride the bus home one last time for the school year.

Hard to believe he's going to be in the 3rd grade!!! Wow!

Ben getting his awards from the teacher.

Schools out for summer! lol

Ben with Mrs. Brawner

Ben and his crush, Haley. So cute!

The great turtle rescue!

2008-05-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

So around 7:30pm last night, Michael took the boys outside to toss around the football. I chose to stay inside and relax. William comes running in to tell me that daddy needs me right now and it's important. I go outside and Ben says that they found a turtle. I'll say they did! It was huge! I expected baby or something, but this was a full grown turtle. We wondered how on earth he got to our yard. There is a large pond at the front of our community that has turtles and fish in it, but it's over a mile from the house. That turtle must have had quite the journey! So we decided to put him in a container and drive him back to the pond and reunite him with his family. The boys loved it! He was let go and went right under the water and then poked his head up a few feet from shore. The kids said he was saying "thanks" and "goodbye". Will and Ben watched from the shore for several minutes. William named him Speedy. Pretty good name for a turtle. Hope he's enjoying the pond today, and staying a little closer to his home.

My Sister.....My friend

2008-05-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

So my baby sister turned 30 this past week. Yup, hard to believe. Seems like it was just yesterday that we were little girls. But no matter how many years pass, or how many miles seperate us....she will always be my little sis. Many memories flood to mind when I think back on growing up with her. All the hours spent playing with our neighborhood friends....games of "red light green light" and "ring around the rosy". All the times she played Barbie with me, when I know she would have rather played with her Transformers. The times we fought, the times we cried to one another, all the secrets we shared. All the hugs over heartbreak, and all the celebrations for accomplishments. I honestly could not have asked for a better sister, or a better friend. It's fun to watch who she has grown into, and exciting to see where she will go next. She's gone from that rag a muffin of a pest that used to follow me around, to a gorgeous woman who knows what she wants and how to achieve it. So this is for you sis! I love you all the world and Farmers Branch!!! (and then some)

*There is music to this slideshow...so pause the slideshow and then scroll to bottom of page to start music. Once the music is started you can unpause the slideshow and enjoy*

Ben's Field Day

2008-05-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

Ben had his field day today! I didn't get to stay for the whole thing, because they broke for lunch so Will and I went home to eat. I did stay for 3 hours though and got to see a lot of the fun! I think Ben had a really good time, esp in the 3 legged race. That was a hoot to watch! Hard to believe the year is almost over.

Summertime is approaching

2008-05-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again.....summertime! Will's last day of school was yesterday and they had their end of the year program. He sang his little heart out, and we were proud of him. He's got one more year of school before Kindergarten.....wow.

With the gas prices fastly approaching $4 a gallon (don't get me started on that one) I am sure that we won't be going many places this summer. Kind of a bummer. I am thinking that the boys and I will spend a lot of time at the community pool. We only have the one, and it gets a little crowded, but they have a great splash area. I took the boys yesterday before Will's program and they had a great time!

We had some friends over today for pizza and a little splashing around in a shark shaped pool I bought for Will. Those kids had a blast! I took more pics than I care to admit, but I will have to post those later.

Field Day....well that's what they called it.

2008-05-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Will goes to a Mom's Day Out program on Tues and Thurs. This week was their field day. It's the first time they have done something like that. I assumed it was like other field days and there would be games and such. We were told to come up there around 12:30 to see the goings on. Well apparently they did some races and games during their recess times so when we got there it was just kind of a fun break. The kids got Popsicles from an ice cream truck that came to the church and they had a military vehicle that the kids could look at as well. They all loved it of course and then the kids just played with chalk and bubbles. Not the "field day" I was expecting, but cute and fun nonetheless.

Memories with Mom this morning

2008-05-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ben's school had "Memories with Mom" this morning. It's held before school and they serve muffins, donuts as well as coffee and juices. It's a time to sit with your kiddo(s) and talk about a nice memory with them or of them. Ben asked me what mine was of him and I thought about it and said that one would be when his little brother was born and Ben came to meet him for the first time. How neat it was seeing the look of amazement on his face as he held his new brother. Sweet right??? Well I asked Ben what his was of me and he thought and said...."I got nothing". WTF! Well, he is only 8 I suppose and probably it isn't "cool" anymore to have fond thoughts of mom. I'll let it slide I guess. Oh, but next year I have a new memory of Ben to share. While we were sitting there eating our muffins....Ben almost choked to death. No joke. He got all red and his eyes were bugging and I was banging on his back. Just as I stood up to try the heimlich on him (which btw I don't know how to do) he managed to get the muffin dislodged. We did create quite the scene though! So memories with mom...well that title is right on the money!

Dr. 2 times in 2 days

2008-04-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Had to take Ben back to the Dr. yesterday after school. Went to pick him up a little early and the nurse came out to tell me that Ben had been down earlier in the day complaining of his ear. She said it was oozing and swollen. Wonderful! :( So he gets to the office and I see......more bumps on his face and around his eyes. I call the pediatrician from the car and take him in. This time he gets to see his normal Dr. that we LOVE and the one that treated him for SJS. She took one look and said that ALL of it is impetigo and to get the antibiotic cream that she called in and start it right away. She went ahead and took a culture of it as well just in case it's an antibiotic resistant strain. She also said that normally she would prescribe an oral antibiotic as well....but not for Ben. (Think that SJS scared her pretty bad last summer). He's out of school until it's healing. Good news is....he is looking better today! His ear is still pretty gross, but the swelling is down and his right eye is back to normal. :)

He sees his allergist again May 7th and hopefully we can get this crud resloved for good!

Ben and his allergies

2008-04-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Got a call while I was at the McD's playdate from Ben's school. Apparantly the lunch lady told Ben that his eyes looked terrible and that he had to go to the nurse. She took a look at his eyes and nose and called and said he needed to see the pedi. before he could come back to school. I told them it's allergies. Anyhow....took him in and he does have allergy eyes, but his nose did at one point get infected but looks better now. So she has a call into Ben's allergist to see what kind of allergy eye drops they can give him and then she's going to call in a topical antibiotic for his nose. (Pray for no reactions.)So he's cleared for school! Poor kiddo.....allergies are kicking his butt.

A trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo

2008-03-20T12:34:00.001-07:00

So the boys are off this week for spring break. Michael and I had thought of going out of town, but decided to just stay home and do a few fun things around DFW. Yesterday we took the kids to the Ft. Worth Zoo...and we had a great time. The weather was gorgeous and all the animals were out enjoying the spring weather. Thought I would share a few pics.

UGH! I blogged too soon!

2008-02-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

Ben woke us up this morning with a fever of 103.5! I gave him some Tylenol and laid him back down. Tylenol got it down some but it never broke. By 11:30 he was at 104 so we threw him in the tub and took more Tylenol. He's down to around 101.5 and that's about as low as it wants to go. He's scared. He's so afraid of getting SJS again and asked me if that was going to happen. I told him I doubted it very seriously but I cannot tell him that it won't ever happen again. So I guess there is no allergist tomorrow and we will be at the pediatrician instead. Ben told me he is NOT taking any antibiotic that he will just fight this himself. Poor kiddo :( I told him that an antibiotic might be the only choice we have. He told me "Well I won't take it!" He's scared, but so am I. Thoughts and prayers please.

The den of sickness!

2008-02-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

I swear, I am so ready for spring. We are drowning in Dr. copays over here. First Ben got an ear infection. He's 8 now and it's the FISRT one he's ever had. Dr. prescribed him the Z-pac b/c after the SJS he cannot tolerate Penicillans. He actually took a Z-pac while being treated for SJS and so we assumed we were in the clear there. Wrongo! The day of his first dose the school calls to tell me that Ben has broken out in hives all over. WTF! So I call his Dr. and get him in immediately. Yup....allergic reaction. So now we have an allergist appt scheduled for Monday. We need to determine why Ben's reacting to all of these antibiotics. I hope we get answers soon. So there was $40 for the visit....and $15 for the script....and another $50 when we go to the allergist. So a couple days later I wake up with a raging UTI. Luckily I bypass the Dr. visit (and copay) by calling my OB who calls in Macrobid for me. $15. I'm on this for 2 days when I start having stabbing kidney pains that are so severe that Mike takes me to the ER last night. $100 ER copay and $30 for the meds. I have a kindey infection and am now on Cipro and a pain killer. And if that wasn't enough $ on Dr's.....both kids have their well visits (irony noted) on Wednesday and so that is another $80 for the 2 kids copays. And I also have my well woman exam the first week of March and that's $50. I mean OMG! We are just single handedly supporting the medical field. lol And we haven't even begun to pay off the bills from Ben's hospital stay this past summer. So hopefully we can get through this next few weeks and take a break from the guys in the white lab coats.

Young Hollywood loses another

2008-01-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

Heath Ledger found dead in a NY apt today. Apparently his housekeeper found him unresponsive around 3:20pm and called paramedics. He was pronounced dead at the scene. They are now saying his room was strewn with sleeping pills.

What is wrong with young Hollywood. Hearing all the day to day activities of Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse....I would expect one of them to wind up dead. I didn't, however, see this one coming. It immediately reminded me of hearing that River Phoenix had died. That was surreal as well. Both were very talented actors who died way to soon. Heath was 28. I also am so sad thinking about his baby daughter who now has to grow up never really knowing her dad. That just breaks my heart as a parent. You have to wonder what was so bad in his life to think that ending it would be a better choice.

I am in shock. He was actually my favorite actor and I was so looking forward to him as the Joker in the upcoming Dark Knight. It has wrapped and so I assume will still be released. But now I will just be sad watching the movie and thinking what a waste of such a great talent.

I suck!

2008-01-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay....so I totally suck at keeping this thing updated. I have tons of pics and am too lazy to post them all. lol We had a great Christmas. The entire family was over for Christmas Eve, and even Santa made an appearance. ;) The boys got everything they wanted and then some. Michael and I have been playing Guitar Hero III for the Wii, and getting so frustrated! Man that is a hard and yet very addictive game. (It was Ben's present, but I think we play it more than he does. lol) What else...oh, got a new camera that I have been coveting and I am hoping to learn to take some really great shots with it. I have already taken a few of Will that I think are pretty good. Will's b-day party is coming up in a couple of weeks. He will be 4. I am not sure where the time went, but he's growing up to fast!!!

Guess that is all for now. I will try and keep up with this thing better. :)

Oh....and the Cowboys lost. But I bet you knew that.

A visit with Santa

2007-12-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

Took the boys to the mall this morning to have their pics made with Santa. Ben's last day of school was Tues, but many don't get out until Friday.....so we beat the rush. ;) The line was very short and we were in and out in no time flat. Heather is in town for the holiday, so she met us up there for some quick lunch. The boys did great! Will asked for a pirate ship playset and Ben asked for a Wii video game. We shall see, but I am thinking Santa is going to come through for them.

Crazy holiday time

2007-12-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Man it's hard to keep up with this! I have tons of pics of the parade Ben was in, but for some reason I suck at adding pics to this page. I have tried and tried and they come out all crazy. They are posted on my Myspace page though...so you can look there if you desire. www.myspace.com/pinkladyshay

School is officialy out for the holiday. Both boys last day was today. They are both so ready for Christmas to get here. I cannot believe it's only a week away!!! Heather is in town now and I am looking forward to seeing her soon. It's hard not having my sister here all the time, but I just try and cherish her when she is. We should all be getting together on the 23rd for Ben's 8th b-day. He had a sleep over a couple of weeks ago as his party, but we always do dinner on the night of his actual b-day. Hard to believe that my first born is going to be 8!! I mean how is that possible!

We are hosting Christmas Eve at our house this year. We are super excited! We love the new house and are happy to celebrate Christmas with the extended family at our new home. I think it's going to be a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Anyhow, I am sure I won't blog again until after the holiday. So from me to you....Merry Christmas! May you celebrate the joy of the season.

Ben's in the Dallas Morning News

2007-11-30T14:02:00.000-08:00

Boy appearing in parade after recovering from rare, painful illness
7-year-old appearing in parade recovered from rare, painful syndrome
12:00 AM CST on Friday, November 30, 2007 By JENNIFER AREND / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

MIKE STONE/Special ContributorShannon and Michael Moore (right), shown with children William (left), 3, and Benjamin, 7, were terrified when Ben was hospitalized with Stevens-Johnson syndrome. 'The biggest fear was: 'Is he going to be OK?'' Mr. Moore said. 'And then we wanted to know whether there would be permanent damage.'

In August, 7-year-old Benjamin Moore came down with strep throat, which then turned into pneumonia.
After taking antibiotics and steroids to combat the illness for several days, the Fate boy woke up to find his mouth swollen.
"I knew something was wrong," said his father, Michael Moore.
Immediately, Mr. Moore went to his computer and Googled Ben's symptoms. What he found was horrifying.
"I saw photos of people with SJS," he said, referring to Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Mr. Moore made sure not to show the photos to his wife, Shannon. "I was just hoping Ben had eaten something."
Stevens-Johnson is a severe hypersensitivity complex that can cause extensive red rashes that can develop into blisters.
"It's not a common disorder," said Dr. Bharath Thankavel, a pediatric hospitalist at Children's Medical Center Dallas who said he became attached to Ben as he treated him. "It's an immune response that forms a very complex allergic reaction that affects the skin and mucous membranes."
Ben, a second-grader at the Rockwall school district's Celia Hays Elementary, was one of the children chosen to ride in Saturday's Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade in downtown Dallas.
Renee Caskey, a child life specialist at Children's, nominated Ben for the honor.
"It was a very painful and really tough diagnosis," she said. "Ben coped really well."
Among other things, SJS can be caused by a viral infection or by a reaction to medicines. The syndrome has a wide spectrum of severity, and Ben's case was relatively mild, primarily affecting his mouth. However, SJS can spread, damage organs and cause blindness and even death.
"Often, you don't find the cause," Dr. Thankavel said, adding that SJS patients are treated almost as if they had second- or third-degree burns. Once patients are treated, they are advised to avoid certain medications to prevent another SJS occurrence.
"The biggest fear was: 'Is he going to be OK?' " Mr. Moore said. "And then we wanted to know whether there would be permanent damage. We also thought, 'Oh, my God, don't let him see himself.' "
Mr. Moore said Ben's mouth "looked like a grenade had gone off in it." Blisters covered the lining to such an extent that he couldn't eat or drink, and talking was virtually impossible.
Every night at the hospital, Ben's mouth had to be scrubbed out. It was painful, and Ben didn't want his mother to have to see his upsetting treatment. So he asked his dad to stay with him at night.
"This really did tear Shannon up," Mr. Moore said.
Even now, a few months later, Mrs. Moore said recalling the ordeal is emotional for her.
"I don't know if I can talk about it without crying," she said softly.
As Ben's mouth would heal, his lips would seal shut – forcing doctors to separate them with a scalpel. Ben spent 12 agonizing days at Children's.
Mrs. Moore said one way of dealing with Ben's condition was to spread the word about the relatively unknown condition to her friends. She is part of an online network of Collin and Rockwall county mothers, and she made sure to warn them about SJS.
Ben's condition took several weeks to heal, and he missed the first two weeks of school. For the first few weeks back, his mouth still looked red and cracked, and Mr. Moore said some classmates teased Ben, causing him to withdraw.
Slowly, Ben returned to his normal self and got back to playing football. His parents said he's doing well in school.
Ben is looking forward to riding in the parade Saturday. "I think it's going to be fun," he said.
Jennifer Arend is a Dallas-based freelance writer.

2007-11-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well as is tradition at our house....we decorated the house for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. This is something that the whole family looks forward to and enjoys. We were even more excited this year though, because it will be our first Christmas in the new house! I finally have a staicase with spindles that I can decorate. Oh how I have longed for that ever since I was a little girl. So we looked through all the old decorations and decided what we needed new. We went to Garden Ridge and bought some garland for the stairs and a huge Santa to put up in the niche in the stairwell. Other than that....we had many great decorations already. We did buy new stockings as well though. So now we are all set! The house has a warm, inviting, holiday feel and I love seeing the boys faces light up whenever we plug the trees in. Christmas is truly all about the kids.

The boys tree

The family tree

The niche in the stairwell.

The mantle.

The stairs.

Look Alike Meter

2007-11-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma Football Tournament

2007-11-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

Well Ben has successfully competed in his first ever football tournament. Usually the kids his age don't go because in Oklahoma kids in Ben's divison can be up to 10 yrs old. So usually Rockwall sends their older 1A players and then bring down some of the younger 2A players. We weren't planning on going but Ben was doing so well in the practices that we decided along with the coaches that Ben should go. We headed out Friday morning, the 16th and were in OK by dinner time. The kids all met in the lobby of the hotel and we headed over to registration. Our first game was Sat. morning. They won the first game so that meant another game at 2pm. Broke and had some lunch with another player and his family. They lost the 2nd game (rigged I tell you!) and so that meant another game at like 7pm. They won that game so we were up and at the field's again Sunday morning for another game. Had they won that game (and would have if not for bad calls) then we would have played for 3rd place. They lost but the boys really put up a good fight and gave the other team a good hurting. Guess that is what TX football is all about....hit hard and make the other team cry first. lol We headed to the OK aquarium on our way home and that was a fun time. The kids got to see some sharks up close and personal and they were excited about that. All in all it was a good time and we will go again next year. Ben will be a Sr. player for 1A next season so that means more playing time and he is excited about that prospect.

Lining up before the 1st game. (he is #19)

He's out there somewhere! lol

Ben going out as captain before the game.

Ben and Will.

Rockwall Jackets 2007 Oklahoma Tournament team.

2007-11-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

William had his first music program of the year last night. Actually it's his first ever program! He is in a Mom's Day Out program on Tuesday and Thursday and they had a little music show for the parents. It was really very cute! He did really well and sang really loud so that we could hear him. His best friend, Jonathan, goes to the same school but is in a different class. Jonathan did wonderful as well. Here are some pics that Jonathan's mother snapped.

Will and Jonathan after the show.

A new son for my dear friend.

2007-11-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

My very dear friend, Shannon, had her 2nd son this past week. She delivered him on November 7th at 12:06pm. Cooper was 8lb 13oz and 20 inches long. Born with a full head of brown hair. She has another son, Carson, who will be 4 soon. Carson is so excited to have a new baby brother to love and to play with. Carson and Cooper are almost the same age difference that my 2 boys are so I know that in a couple of years those two are going to be the best of friends! So welcome to the world Cooper! Looking forward to seeing you grow up!

Group gathering for Eastside Moms

2007-11-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

We had our family playdate this past weekend at Shannon's house. She has such a great home for entertainig and she still had the bounce houses up as well. It was a great Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I am a true foodie. I LOVE to eat and it's the one time of year that gorging yourself on food is not only expected, but acceptable. The food was excellent and the company was wonderful as well. Mike and Ben got in some football time, Will had a great time on the big slide, and I got my pumpkin pie fix a little early. Only 16 more days until Turkey day!

The bird

Mike assists Scott in the carving.

Michael and Ben playing some catch.

Will enjoying the big slide.

A week of tricks and treats!

2007-11-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

We had a fun filled Halloween week! William had his costume parade and party at school on Tuesday. It's realy cute! The kids all dress up and then parade up and down the worship area and get treats from the pastor and others. Then they head back to class and have a party later in the day.

William and his best pal, Jonathan.

Getting treats from the pastor!

Class photo

My little skeleton :)

On Halloween day we headed over to my friend Shanz's house for a Halloween play date. She is the best hostess....always! She had 2 bounce houses up and served lunch for all. When we left she had goody bags for the kiddos and even a treat for us moms. She is a special lady. :)

The bounce houses...too cool.

William bouncing with friends.

Playing with the trains with Blake.

He wanted to get a pic of his shirt..glowing. lol

After dinner we headed out to trick or treat in our neighborhood. Since we just moved here in May, we weren't sure what to expect. We were shocked by how "all out" our neighborhood goes! There were hundreds of kids...no joke! Many of the houses were decorated fully and a few even had "haunted houses" set up in their garages. There was a man driving around the neighborhood in a hurse wearing a werewolf coustume...priceless. One house even does a haunted hayride...for free! While you wait in line they have movies playing on an outside projector for the kids to watch. Very, very cool! We cannot wait to see what they all do for Christmas.

Ben as an executioner and Will as a skeleton.

Trick or Treating!

Ben in front of one of the "haunted house" garages. Will was too scared.

One of the cooler houses in the neighborhood.

Same house.

I call this the "horor movie house".

Freddy peeking out! Creepy!

The girl from The Grudge. SCARY!!

Got the boys home and off to bed. Then I watched a little LIVE Ghost Hunters. I love that show! Hope you all had a fun filled Happy Halloween!!!

2007-10-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

William with scarlet fever. Taken on 10/27.

You can see here that his left side is swollen.

Taken this morning....doing MUCH better.

Cookie Making and Scarlet Fever

2007-10-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

We had a cookie decorating playdate on Friday at my friend Amy's house. We had such a great time! So many moms turned out and the weather was gorgeous! We baked some cookies, ate some lunch, let the kids play and then the kiddos decorated like crazy. Everyone had a really good time! We ended up staying at Amy's until almost 4pm just talking and having fun. When it was time to leave I noticed Will had a nasty looking rash. Ran him to his pediatrician and made them see him. They did a strep test and it was positive. Strep with a rash is scarlet fever. So he's on an antibiotic and you all know how I feel about those after Ben's SJS this summer. Yikes! But today he is looking much better and seems to be on the mend. Thank goodness! Funny thing was he never ran any fever and had no symptoms other than that red itchy rash. Crazy I tell you! Anyhow...here are some pics I snapped.

The "gang" hanging out waiting for cookies to bake.

Jonathan and Will

Will and his serious look. Guess he wasn't feeling well.

Acelyn swinging

Ashlyn and Haley

All the icing colors...what yummy fun!

Will hard at work...can kinda see the rash here.

Staying in touch

2007-10-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

A friend turned me onto the idea of blogging, and I thought I'd give it a go. With my Dad in Georgia and my sister in Seattle this will be a great way to let them see what goes on in our world. So here is to hoping that I can keep up with it.