Friday, August 30, 2013

Van Gogh

Madeline LOVES to paint. While I love to foster her creative spirit, the artistic gene got skipped in me. Terry has ALL the talent in our family, and it was clear when Madeline asked me to paint a key and I couldn't do it. It looked like a deformed leaf. Nevertheless, we have been painting. It keeps her busy and I feel like its good one on one time. She did paint Gizmo once, but he recovered just fine. 


Yes, I realize she has no shirt on. In her world, it's pretty dresses or nothing at all. I didn't care because although the paint says it's washable, it definitely isn't. Maybe Santa will bring her an apron!!

If you're looking for some paintings to purchase for a REALLY good cause, check out my facebook page. All of the money from the paintings will go to fund Chris' education. It costs about $40 a month for high school there. Just throwing it out there! 

Anyway, it's been a pretty good first week back for Madeline and me. She made her brave face on the first day where she bites her lip and her chin quivers. She changed rooms and teachers, and she just looked so unsure. I lost it and cried all the way to school. Then on Thursday she bawled her eyes out and just clung to my neck - she really never does that. I didn't cry but it broke my heart. I am going to start saving now so I can afford my therapy when she starts kindergarten. 

School is going ok so far for me. It is CRAZY though. LOTS of in class time and LOTS of reading and assignments. Rumor has it that this is the worst semester of nursing school. I am excited though. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we get to our pediatric and OB rotation which is something I love. I knew for sure that I did not want to do labor and delivery until I helped delivered that baby in Africa. So we'll see. 
 
Happy Friday!!!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Clearly...

I am an idiot and a little shallow too...


Saturday afternoon we took Madeline to Stango's for some ice cream. Well, Terry and I were talking about it and how much we love it. I mentioned how I put on my blog about how good their ice cream and malt beverages were and Terry started dying laughing. For some reason I got confused as to what a malt beverage is...it's definitely NOT something they serve at Stango's and I promise I have laughed about this at least 27 times since we had this talk. Terry just shook his head. He is so lucky to have me!!! 
 So to set the record straight, I'll just say they have delicious coffee drinks, ice cream, and floats at Stango's! hah
 In other big news - this cutie has mastered the right eye wink! No luck on the left eye though!

In more shallow news, I got two really sweet compliments on my hair today. One from a lady at church and one from a lady at Sam's. It made me feel so good as I never have any expectations from my hair because it has a mind of its own. It really brightened my whole day. Yes. I am that shallow - it doesn't take much! :)


And completely off subject, all our bags are packed and we're ready to go! School starts tomorrow and as much as I don't want to go, I really am craving a routine and a schedule. And I can't believe I'm typing this but I'm kinda looking forward to getting up early every day and being more productive. I sure will miss my sweet girl!!! This will be my last first day of school...hopefully. Maybe. Until grad school. haha 
Well, its 9:52 and Madeline just ran out of her room yelling, " Good Mornin, Momma" so clearly it's time to wrap this up! Hoping everyone has a great first day tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

This and That


We went to see Planes in 3D today. It was really cute. I was surprised. I had really low expectations after the last Cars movie, but this was so good! Madeline was fascinated by the 3D aspect for about 89 seconds. It was fun anyway! 


 I bought this book at Sam's to do with Madeline. I really want to work on reading readiness and writing with her. We started today and she loves doing "school". I hope to be able to do it a few times a week with her. I'm not very good at looking up things to do and executing them so a workbook works for us. 

This was the scene from last night - nail polish overload. Madeline HAS to paint her fingers and toes any time she finds nail polish. I have no idea where she got the polish last night or even when she did this. She just came to me and told me to look at her pretty toes! She is a conundrum. She has started insisting that she wear "a pretty dress" every day but she is about the dirtiest kid I know. She hates wearing shoes and her feet are ALWAYS dirty. Hopefully that will make her a well rounded adult! :)


Finally, confession time. I really struggle with reading God's Word like I should. I downloaded Glo Bible on my phone and it seems to have made reading my Bible much easier. You can highlight and make notes too. You can also choose the version you read which I really like. Anyway, it's the best app on my phone so I thought I'd share.

Happy Mid-Week! School starts in 5 days. As much as I am dreading it, I am just as ready to get it going and over with. 8 months and 18 days or 261 days until I graduate!!!!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Post You Haven't Been Waiting For...

I finally chose bedding for Madeline's room. I really liked this pink set at Pottery Barn but it was expensive and it was light pink. I just knew it would be just a short matter of time before Madeline ruined it. Maybe in our next house...I really want to a pink and gray bedroom. Anyway, for now I do like the colors in her room but I really didn't want it to look too busy in there. So I ordered a set on Amazon and I like it. I think. It takes me a while to decide things like this - you know life-changing matters! :) I took out her rug to de-busify the room!


I also rearranged her room. Again. It just looked so crowded after we put the big bed in there. It still is because the room is small but I like it much better this way. Overall, I'm pretty pleased and her bedding was a fraction of the cost for the one at PB. Still I do love me some PB. 
 Notice the missing blinds? I took them down to clean them and accidentally melted them in the bathtub. Not like totally melted but they were deformed after I cleaned them so I have to get new ones! Pretty sure these are problems unique to me.
 And, yes, that's a TV in her room. That was a little present from Daddy while I was in Africa. She almost never watches TV in there though. Sometimes I really wish she would! haha


Thursday, August 15, 2013

Arkansas

I spent last weekend in northwest Arkansas with Project Humanity for a staff retreat. I was so impressed with the bathrooms in the airport in Arkansas. The toilet had this automatic cover thing. You just push the green button and your booty is protected! haha 




Our meeting didn't start until Friday night so I got to spend some time with my best friend, Haley while I was there. I stayed with her in Siloam Springs - which is one of the best small towns in America according to Smithsonian Magazine! :) It really is beautiful there and there's good shopping too! 

Friday Haley took me to the Crystal Bridges art museum. Oh. My. Gosh. Clearly, I am not a really sophisticated person but I loved it. It was beautiful inside and out - there's a walking trail but we didn't do it since I was dressed for the meeting already and it was hot. But anyway, it was so neat. While I don't think I appreciate art the way some people do, I could definitely see how people really get into it. 
Outside the museum

This is kind of a terrible picture but the museum is about 3-4 "crystal" walkways that all connect. It was so cool!

This guy was one of the exhibits - How REAL does he look? I think its pretty amazing! Right down to the wrinkles and scruffy facial hair!

This guy looked more real in person. I am dumbfounded by the talent that God gives people. There were a ton of paintings and stuff too but these just really impressed me. There was also a neat George Washington exhibit but photography was forbidden.

After we went to Crystal Bridges and Target, we got a cupcake at Bliss Cupcakes. I had read about Bliss on another blog but honestly I was a little disappointed. This isn't the best picture of either of us, but its the only one we took! 




As far as the staff retreat, it was pretty good. PH just got a $25,000 grant from Chase so we talked about how the money will be used. We also discussed how to help a school on Mfangano which I will post more about later. It's pretty incredible how far just a little bit of money goes over there. 

I had so much fun in Arkansas - it was a short trip but  good! One last thing I have to mention...we've flown out of San Angelo several times now. NOT ONCE has our flight been on time  or at the correct gate in Dallas. I got the the airport Sunday at 7:25 just to learn my flight had been delayed until 9:35 and I would miss my connection in Dallas. Thank the Lord for the USO lounge. I spent a good part of my Sunday in it. Just had to throw that in there - American Eagle Airlines - get it together! :)

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Twenty Dollar Tuesday

Yesterday was one of those find $20 in your old purse kind of days! It was just a good day! 

Madeline and I went to the nature center after we ran some errands. 

This picture is mainly for my sister who loves roaches! :) But look at his face - it's like he's sad that he's a roach. Permanent frowny face.  I'd probably be depressed too.

This is Luke Skywalker - we got to pet him yesterday. Madeline loved him!

My favorite animal there. I can't get over the crazy hair!

My sweet baby and me!


This girl has the time of her life every time we go. I hope she's always this easy to please! 



We had such a good day. I'm trying to squeeze in every single last minute household project with everything fun over the next week and a half. School starts in 10 days!!!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Crappy Summer

If you don't love animals, don't read this post.

Thursday was a little crazy. I had to leave to go to a staff meeting in Arkansas for Project Humanity that night so I spent a good part of the day making sure things were in order for me to go. I also had to finish a project for my class -  Thursday was the last day and naturally I procrastinated so I had to get it done. Anyway, all that to say around 2pm I thought I'd fill Madeline's pool so maybe we could spend some fun time before I had to go to the airport. I hadn't packed yet but was waiting on one last load of laundry and I knew it wouldn't take long to pack since it was just a weekend trip. Anyway, I went out side to fill the pool but forgot one of the plugs so I came back inside to get it. Madeline showed me her arm and told me Gizmo had bubbles and he got them on her arm. It was obvious from the saliva on her arm that he must have been foaming at the mouth so I asked her to tell me where he was. 

If you aren't sure of my affection for this dog, please see my earlier birthday post. And let me tell you his birthday parties now are nothing compared to what they once were. This dog is my boy, my first baby, and a good piece of my heart. To say I adore him is a vast understatement.

Anyway, Madeline pointed to my bathroom where I found my sweet boy unconscious with foam all over his mouth. I picked him up and brought him into the kitchen. He was not breathing, blinking, and had no heartbeat. I was hysterical. I happened to think that maybe Madeline fed him something so I opened his mouth and discovered he'd apparently choked to death on a piece of apple. I was convinced he was dead as I had no clue how long he'd been without oxygen. I got the apple out after 6 or 7 tries and he still did nothing. I assumed he was gone but decided to try CPR on him anyway. I wasn't exactly sure how to do it on a dog but I just based it off his anatomy and gave it my best shot. After what felt like an hour, he still did nothing. It was maybe 30 seconds to a minute in real time. After probably 100 chest compressions I got him to gag. I had a tiny bit of hope at that point but he still wouldn't breathe. So I kept going I think more out of my own hysteria than the thought that he would actually survive. I was praying out loud that he would make it - may seem silly to the average person but we've had our share of heartache this summer. I couldn't bear the thought of telling Terry that Gizmo had died. Well, after about another 30 seconds to a minute, he started to breathe really shallow but he was breathing. I took him to the vet and by the time we got there, he had perked up a little. Before we left he was wagging his tail, and they said he'd be just fine. They said I saved his life. I'm not going to lie, I was kinda proud and I think Terry was too. ( I called him at work and told him what was going on so he just met us there) 
All of that to tell you, after we got home and the hysteria had died down, I had a vivid memory of telling my friend earlier that day that I was so sick of having three dogs. Gizmo had just eaten poop and I had to clean him up. So there you go. I gave CPR to my dog who hours earlier had eaten dookie. I doubt it would've changed anything had I remembered but still. Gross. Thankfully, I don't have botulism, e.coli, or any other horrific disease. We're both alive and well! 
Happy Monday! 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Whoa Wednesday

Yesterday I went horseback riding in Cristoval with some friends. And now I need a horse. I had so much fun! I only got hit by a branch once and my horse took off once and gave me a little scare. I loved it though! 


This was my horse, Dixie! Good thing she isn't for sale or I would've had to bust out my credit card and build a stable in my 1/10 of an acre backyard!


And just because we're over halfway to the weekend, I'll leave you with some JT and my FAVE song of summer!! 



Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Birthday Boy

Thursday was my favorite boy's 10th birthday! We had a little party for him!



While this picture doesn't show it, Madeline was beside herself with excitement! It was so cute!

Phoebe was a good sport...Polly  not so much!


Gizmo has grown up with us over the past 10 years. He's brought us so much joy, and we're so thankful for our sweet pup! Happy Birthday, boy! We sure do love you!