Make up for lost time?

Nah...I'll just start anew! It seems that I haven't blogged since May...my, where has the time gone? School has ended, summer began and ended, school started and first semester ended, and of course all of the many holidays in between...all since I blogged last.

In June 2011, we went on a cruise. It was, hands down, the best vacation EVER! Disney doesn't hold a candle to a cruise. No worries...AT ALL, seriously.









Once we recovered from our cruise, it was full-swing summer here on the Farm! Craziness, I tell ya. Football practice, football practice, HOT...you know, Texas summer.

Cami started 1st grade, and then we celebrated her 6th birthday! Cami's Meme (my mom) and Aunt Lauren (her birthmom, my sister) were both able to celebrate with us :)





Cami is still struggling with her vision, it's hard to get a vision check very accurate I guess? But, the hearing is good. She struggles a bit in spelling/reading, but she is doing great in math. She really likes school, most days. She loves to annoy her brother, though she always swears that HE is annoying HER and not the other way around...uh huh, right! But, at the end of the day, they do love eachother...



Josh started 8th grade this year. Where has the time gone? Oh my gosh! We have had some struggles and we're not done...but, we're in it for the long haul, as a family. We made a decision, as a family (including Josh), to make some serious adjustments to his meds. Not going to elaborate here, but if you are interested I would be happy to let you know, personally. So far, he has done remarkably well. We are all very happy with his progress thus far. The teen years are times that can be stressful for all involved. I do remember being his age...it's very confusing. You are capable of thinking *like* an adult, but not quite thinking of *all* of the contributing factors of the issue! So, we are being as patient as possible with one another. I love this boy more than words can say...








On a personal note, John & I have started a new "way of eating". We both started in October. John has lost 10 pounds and I have lost 20! We made it through Thanksgiving very successfully. Christmas was a little more difficult, I think because our Christmas break is 2 weeks long. John has been gone this week for a Basketball tournament in Galveston. So, Cami & I are home alone. Josh is visiting his dad for the week. I haven't done so well this week. I haven't gone walking, and my eating hasn't been great. Back on the wagon tomorrow!

I will try to check in more often...if nothing else, to post a pic or two of our weight loss journey :-)

Sweet Summer Time...

School is out and Summer-time is here!

The past few weeks have been so hectic. Josh studied his rear off for finals and did well on them. He missed the A/B Honor Roll by a very small percentage. We are so proud of him, he worked so hard. The kids had Field Day last week. It was a lot of fun. All sorts of races, a pickle-eating contest, balloon pop, hula-hoop, etc...






Josh plans to be on the Drumline again next year (8th grade). We weren't sure if he was going to stick with it or not, because the year started out rough in that class. But, he has put in the hard work and now it is paying off!

Football conditioning started just before school ended. I love football season! Most of all, because it is so great to watch Josh in his element. He loves football and I can't wait till games start!

Our Baby, Cami, graduated Kindergarden!! This is such a bittersweet time for me. My kiddo's are growing up entirely too quickly :( Cami's teacher, Miss Martinez, was simply amazing. Seriously, I am so thrilled by all of the things that she was able to teach this class. It was the best Kindergarden graduation I've ever seen, and not just because my kid was graduating, really! The kids all sat on stage and they performed a variety of things that they learned this year. ABC's forward and backward, in English, Spanish and Sign Language. Counting to 100 by 1's, 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's. Counting to 20 in Spanish and Sign Language. The days of the week, body parts, months of the year all in Spanish and English. The value of money. Several Bible verses. The continents and planets. SO many things...it was just awesome! We will miss her next year, in 1st grade...too bad we can't bribe her to follow the kids on to 1st grade!



Cami had a bit of a rough year. She started off by failing her hearing test as well as her vision screen at school. We finally got around to visiting the ENT (after fighting with the insurance company over a referral) and she had to have her 4th set of tubes in her ears (which was documented in a previous post). Then, we moved on to her eyes. She has an Astigmatism in both eyes. This means that her pupils are shaped like a football, rather than normal which is round! She was learning well before all of this...but it sure is amazing what kids will learn when they can see AND hear!!



Cami also participated (some) in Field Day. She ran in most of the relays, but the waiting is not her thing, so this is what I saw throughout the day...







Next post...Our 1st Family Cruise to Mexico! We leave in 6 days...

The end of the school year...

Here we are, at the last few weeks of school already! The kids are out of school in 2 weeks and we leave for our cruise in 3 weeks...we are all SO ready to get out of town.

John's parents have been in town for the past week. We have had a great time visiting with them. I have to be one of the luckiest girls...I have the greatest In-Laws around! We took them to the drive-through zoo, to our favorite restaurants, and just spent lots of time together.

Cami is participating in our schools' very first big musical, "Seussical, Jr.". Tonight, she had her final dress rehearsal! She will perform tomorrow night, Friday and Saturday nights. She is a "fish"....very adorable. It's really cute when she watches all of the other scenes. She knows every song in the musical. She is only in one song, yet, she knows all of them! Our musical little girl...



Josh is currently doing fantastic in school!! Yay Josh!! He has worked his tail off to get his grades up and he's doing really well. He is getting so big, so mature, just such a wonderful young man. He is still my little man though. He never fails to give me a big hug & kiss every day. He never gets embarassed to recognize me around his friends, he is just one great kid. I hope he will know one day just how much I adore him and how incredibly proud I am of him. He has had many struggles, especially this year...but he is a fighter and he has proven that he wants to do well and make us proud! We will be opening a savings account for him soon, his very first bank account. He has a check (from selling his lamb in Ag) that he is depositing into his account and over the next few years, he is planning to keep saving his money to be able to buy a car after he gets his license! Just one more reason he makes us so proud...I sure love that boy :)



We went to Fossil Rim yesterday. Lace, Julian, John, myself, Cami, Josh, Mom Minder and Dad Minder all went! We piled up in Julian's Jeep and we drove through this zoo. At first there were no animals out. We thought we had paid to just drive though a beautiful scene...but before too long, animals trickled out slowly. The zebras were super aggressive. They were nibbling on the sides of the Jeep, grabbing the seatbelts, nibbling on US! We had a great time with the giraffes. They are amazing creatures. We really had a wonderful time together.

To the point of no return...

We made him wait until he just couldn't wait anymore...Josh is shaving! I embarassed him by following him to the bathroom and totally invading his *man-space*, just for my rare photo-op of him. I know, I rarely post pics of Josh. It's because he literally hides from the camera, I swear! But, I didn't let him hide for this moment...haha!



Dad, explaining it all to him.




Got it!



No going back now...

Giggles & Frowns...

Today was the big day. Cami had her old ear tubes removed and new ones put in. This has been the most important topic around our house for much of the past week. She was getting all prepared!

We got to the hospital and waited and waited. Cami didn't get too nervous right away, she actually seemed to be very interested in what was going on. Thankfully. Becuase, I was dreading the separation that was to come. While we waited in pre-op, Cami took some pics to remember her little visit to the hospital...







They checked her out, again...and she was a trooper! Then we went to the "playroom" again. Cami & I played a Mario Wii game...we lost, miserably!



We were called back to the prep room, where Cami was to get "giggle juice". Cami took the *juice* without a problem. It didn't kick in for a little while, but once it did...IT DID! She was so funny. I asked her if she was feeling silly yet. She said, "Mommy, I don't feel silly...but my head feels spin-ny". Then she would lift her head up and giggle, I guess she felt as though she had accomplished something big! It was hilarious. Everyone should see their child on *giggle juice* at some point in their young lives...it's quite the experience!







She smiled as they took her away on her *wheel-y bed*!

Surgery lasted only a few minutes...literally, the doctor was out and talking to us about 7 minutes later. It is such a quick, simple procedure. It took her quite a while to come-to afterwards. Anesthesia kicks her butt! We sat in recovery with her for over an hour before she started to wake up...all of the other kids that went in around the same time as she did had left before she even opened her eyes!



When she finally started coming out of it, she was very disoriented...as expected. But, she would ask "are we done yet?". John & I would tell her "yes, you're all done". Then she would tear up and say "NO, it can't be done yet". It was so strange. She did this for a while before she really woke up good. Finally, she was a little more alert. At that point, she didn't want a drink, she didn't want a popsicle, she didn't want jello...nothing. We had to have the anesthesiologist come by to make an exception for her to go home without eating or drinking before leaving, since she would not do it! She said she wanted to stay at the *hos-ipal*! I don't know what was going through her mind.

We had to dress her and get her all ready, all while she was crying because she wanted to stay. All I can figure out is that she had gotten all prepared for this day and thought that she knew what to expect, but then after she came out she couldn't remember anything! That just didn't sit well with her. She couldn't remember anything, so we *must* not be finished, so "I'm staying"!





We finally got her to the car, and she covered her head with her blanket and didn't talk to us until we got half-way home! When we stopped to get lunch, she perked up and told us she was starving. She ate lunch and seemed fine.

She has been fine all afternoon and evening. Thank goodness it is over...I do not want to deal with that cranky thing ever again!

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers today...and to my awesome, good friend Emily...for a wonderful dinner. You are amazing, my friend!

Teeth & Ears...

We started the day off rushing to leave the house on time! We made it to the dentist right on time. Cami talked (nervously) *all* the way there. She talked about how much she loves the dentist, that she can't wait to get this filling filled and see if she will be able to get a little baggie with a new toothbrush and dental floss in it. Because, we all know...bribing children WORKS.

She hopped right up in my lap as soon as we finished checking in! She finally admitted that she was nervous. She was called back and Dr.P *tickled* her teeth a little bit, took some *pictures* of her teeth and we were finished. Dr.P says that her big girl teeth are just behind her baby teeth and that she should begin to lose those baby teeth soon! This led to lots of conversation in the car later.



We talked all the way to the next appointment about thumb-sucking. I told Cami that she really needs to start trying not to suck her thumb anymore. She is very attached to her thumb, especially when she's sick or sleepy. So, she said that since her big girl teeth will be coming in soon that she wants to try to stop sucking her thumb so that it won't mess up her big girl teeth! I was super excited to hear this. Because just the other day, I was talking to her about it and she simply told me "Mom, I'm just not ready yet". And that was that...conversation over! Maybe we'll be moving forward soon...

On to the hospital for Pre-Op. Cami's tubes will be redone (for the 4th time) on Friday. The last time she had them done, she was only 2 1/2 so she really doesn't remember that experience. This time, she was able to actually talk to the doctor, anethesiologist and nurses. The nurse explained that they will give her some *giggle juice* to drink, that will make her feel silly. Then she will get to take a ride on the rolling bed, wearing a special hospital princess gown. After that, she was asked to choose a scent for the *sleepy mask*. Cami chose cotton candy! And the best part...when she wakes up, Mommy gets to be right there and she gets POPSICLES. She was very excited about that part!





Cami was a trooper when they took her Oxygen level, Blood Pressure and heart check. The nurse checked her height and weight too. She weighed 17.2 kilos, which is 37.9 pounds (why they log it in kilos when we use pounds is beyond me) and she is 41 inches tall! We were finished.

Oh, wait, one of the most important parts...how could I forget. The nice nurse told Cami that she could bring 2 things into surgery with her on Friday! So, we went to the Disney Store and got 2 very special *friends* to accompany her on this important day!



Once we got home, had dinner and were just hanging out, Cami began playing *office*. She sat up this little makeshift office and started out asking us all sorts of questions.
"Mommy, what kind of medical problems do your children have?"
"Daddy, Do you have any *medical allergies*?"

Slacker...

Apparently, I'm not such a great blogger! I slack.

What's going on with us right now? Let's see...Josh has stirred things up for us lately. He was really acting up at school. There have been a couple of new kids introduced to the mix of the 7th grade boys class...it's amazing how a couple kids can just change the dynamics of a class. Josh is a class clown. He always *has* to have the last word. I guess, to sum it all up...Josh is experiencing a serious sickness...TEEN-ITIS! I get glimpses of my sweet, caring, thoughtful, tender-hearted boy every now and then. Other times, he is a hormone-raging, girl-crazy, mouthy TEENAGER. I hear, (from other parent who have successfully survived the teen years) that this part of the teen phase tends to drag on until about the end of 9th grade! ~WOW~ Hopefully this isn't entirely true.



Thankfully, he has pulled his head out of his rear and returned to his *normal* self recently. After having everything he knows and loves taken away (material posessions, that is) he is coming around. Now, hopefully, we'll begin to see that human side of my sweet boy again.



This, my friends, is a work-in-progress...but I love my boy, and I have to tell you that I still sneak in his room either at night after he's gone to sleep or in the morning before he wakes up and I watch him sleep! No matter how old he gets, he'll always be my little boy...I love him so much :)

On to the Princess of the family...Cami! She is doing great in school. She is a dainty little girl, she is rather sassy and for the most part (I guess it runs in the family) she is *always* right. Math is definatly her favorite part of school. She is always counting...by 1's, by 2's, by 5's and by 10's...all the way to 100, many times every day! Reading/Spelling/Grammar, however, not a favorite.



We have determined that she is not hearing properly. She's always had ear problems, chronic ear infections from birth until age 3 and having 3 sets of tubes by age 2 1/2. So, we figured we'd continue to deal with *ear issues* for some time. Right again! We took her to her ENT and one tube is still in place but beginning to *clog up* and the other is dislodged and not working at all. This ear has lots of fluid built up in the inner ear, which means she's probably hearing as if that ear were under water. Gee, I wonder why she's having trouble with Reading/Spelling?



Tomorrow will be an eventful day. First thing in the morning, we go to the dentist. Cami has a tiny cavity and is having it filled. Then, we are going to Cook's for her Pre-Op appointment. She is having her tubes removed and replaced on Friday. Tomorrow, they will give her a tour and explain everything to her. This is pretty neat, since every other time she's had this surgery she's been too young to understand it. She's been a little nervous, but not too bad...hopefully it will all go without any problems (or too much clingy-ness to Mommy, since Daddy doesn't do the scared-child-in-hospital-thing!)



I'll try to get pics and post them tomorrow and Friday. But, these are the most recent pics I have. (Taken by a friend and co-worker, Christy Dodson...check out Dodson Photograpy on Facebook)



I guess that's all I have for now. On to finish watching "House" with the husband...

It's been a while...

It's been nearly a month since I've posted anything on here...so, I guess there's quite a bit I could update you on!




This time of year is not really my favorite...cold one day, hot the next. Last week, the weather was awesome! We took our kids down to clean out the horse barn, in shorts. The boys did a great job, while Cami & I supervised! This week, however, is not so warm. Not the least bit warm, actually. We are on day 4 of cancelled school because of the snow/ice. Needless to say, the kids are more than ready to go back to school. They have watched every movie we have, drank as much hot cocoa/apple cider as they can stand, slid down the hill of ice on the board of a skateboard, had a snowball fight, made "snow-cream" and now they are on to staging videos and recording them on Josh's ipod! They are doing much better than I would have expected, being cooped up for days...and there are still 2 days left! Our imaginations are getting a work out...

We took Cami & Josh to the park again last weekend, I'll put some pics up from that outing in a minute...John & Josh enjoyed playing basketball while Cami "cheered" from the side! We also went shopping at Grapevine Mills that weekend and had Rainforest Cafe for dinner...









An update on Josh's mid-terms from a couple weeks ago...he passed them ALL! He studied and studied...and I think he is learning that procrastination is not benefitial when it comes to school work. I can only hope that he's learning that anyway. Cami recieved an "outstanding student" award at her 2nd 9 week awards ceremony! We are extremely happy with how Cami & Josh are doing in school...



Our next vacation is...a cruise in June! We are really looking forward to it. Lace & Julian are going with us. Lace & I are a little (okay, maybe more than a little) nervous about cruising...but, we are going to go anyways! I am (nervously) looking forward to it and Cami is counting down the days. I should know by now not to tell my young child that we are doing anything exciting so far in advance!

Okay...I guess that's all I am thinking that I need to share right now...I hear Josh, giggling, in the other room...I better go check them out!