Straight outta Hollywood

Okay, so you know I was totally pumped about the "Lost" season finale that aired on Thursday, right?

So, the first hour passes and not much happens. I mean, stuff happens and it is interesting, but no real eye opening scenarios, ya know? They tend to save that kind of stuff for the last 15-20 minutes of the show, right? It's called a cliffhanger for a reason.

We were watching the show and it was at the place where Kate hears a noise in the house and she is busting into Aaron's room with a loaded 9mm and what do you know, it's Claire who is sitting at the bedside and she turns to Kate and IT happened.

OUR ELECTRICITY WENT OUT! It was not raining. It was not windy. It was not ANYTHING... except for a beautiful cloudless night and YES, the electricity went out. It was as if we were starring in our very own sit-com and as soon as the power went out, the laugh track begins. But, no... it was my reality. My very own reality show.

The lights did not come back on until well after 10:00 p.m., so I have nooooo idea how it all finished up. I mean, I read how it all wrapped up, but it is just not the same.

Now, I just need to go digging around on You Tube to watch the rest of it.

Haphazard Thoughts

Okay all you "Losties" out there! Are y'all ready for tonight's 2 hour season finale? I am! And I can't wait for all of the unanswered questions to finally be solved. (yeah, right!) I've refrained from talking about "Lost" on the blog like the other bazillion bloggers out there, but I'm going to abandon my rule, just for today...

So, like what's the deal with Claire? Is she dead? Alive? And what about her father (and Jack's dad) Christian? Thoughts on Aaron, anyone? And, did you catch the fact that Ben's mother and John's mother are BOTH named Emily? Hmmmm... And who's funeral was Jack attending in last season's finale? What about Jin and Sun? Didn't Jin make it to the freighter? Why isn't he one of the "Oceanic Six"?

Okay, that's enough for now. I have many many more questions... What are your burning questions?

So, Randy started a blog last night. It's called "High-Tech Redneck" and true to form, his opening blog intro is... well, it's eye opening as to what kind of man I'm married to. Feel free to comment on his blog and issue condolences to me.
Last but not least, I've been given an bloggity award by my friend Charlotte in Denmark. She said that she awarded me this award because "If it was not for your blog - we would be TOO FAR away and I would have no idea about life at your house. And blogging about everything from your kids potty-habits to your own life, likes and dislikes in the way you do is creative IMHO. Some days a good laugh - sometimes deep thought but NEVER boring."

Never boring? Well, I have to disagree, I mean... just read THIS post!

I would like to pass along the Kreativ Blogger award to my friend Leigh Ann who is always reading new books and showing us creative and crafty goodies on her blog!

The countdown begins

Well, the countdown begins today! One more week of school. Well, really, it is more like 3 1/2 days left, since Monday was a holiday and Friday is a 1/2 day. So...

How will I spend my soccer free/ballet free/homework free last week of school before summer break begins? I have nooooo clue. But, this will be my very last week with Kyla Mae before she heads off to full-time preschool, for the very first time in her life in the fall. I'm already missing her because I know that our exclusive time together is coming to an end.

We decided to not enroll her in preschool at the typical age of three because she has an October birthday, which means, she will have one extra year of preschool than Elisan did, who's birthday is in August. So, we held her back until this coming up year, but decided that since this will be her first and only year of preschool, we'd place her in the 5 day a week program. And, since it will be at Elisan's school, we decided to arrange for her be in the 'aftercare' program so I don't have to make two trips to the school to pick Kyla Mae up at 1:30 and Elisan at 3:30. (Did you get all of that?)

So, you can see why I'm a little sad that my time with KM is coming to an end. Come September, she'll be gone the entire day. I'll miss the little toot, but she's sooooo ready for school that truly, it is in her best interest. But, I can't help but feel a little selfishness where she is concerned. I mean, she is my baby, right? There will be NO MORE babies and I am having a hard time letting go of her. But, she'll be five in October, so it's time. -Sigh-

We had a great weekend. Both sets of grandparents came in for the ballet recitals and it was great to see them all. They left on Sunday and we had all of Sunday and Monday to ourselves. It was nice.

Sunday, I took the girls to the discount movie to see "Horton Hears a Who". Eh? It was okay, but I wasn't particularly impressed. The animation was beautiful, but that is about all I can say about the movie. Oh, and that Steve Carell was one of the voice-overs and I LOVE HIM... although, I'm not an "Office" groupie.

Monday, I mowed the grass (can you say WORKOUT?) and then washed the van. Mere seconds after I parked the van in the garage it rained... for about 5 mins. That would have been enough to send me to the looney bin after I had spend 2 hours washing it! Randy says it is called 'living right'. Perhaps it is true that it only rains after your vehicle is washed. Maybe I need to wash the van more.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out. It was nice. Randy cooked on the grill and I didn't interfere and it was nice. Afterwards, with all that red meat protein coursing through my veins, I did an hour of weight lifting while the girls were watching "American Gladiator" with Randy. Good times.

So, now, it's time to head out to school. Better get a move on.

Ah, it's over!

I can breathe a sigh of relief now. Ballet recitals are over, thank the Lord! Oh, and yes! Ballet is over as well. I couldn't be more thrilled... I'm so overdue for a break, you have no idea.

Kyla's recital was at 7:30 on Friday night. Can you say, M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N? Yep, that's what happened mere minutes before Kyla was set to perform. But, the show must go on, and thus she put on her happy face and marched on stage with the rest of the class. She was brilliant, if I do say so myself... But, at 7:30? Which is typically her bedtime? I can see why she was miserable, grumpy and cranky. All smiles at the end though, so it was worth it!


Elisan's recital was Saturday morning. She loved every second of the attention. She too, was brilliant on stage and everyone was very proud of her performance.

Both sets of G-parents came in for the recitals. We're so grateful they were able to take part in the fun and festivities!

To the rescue!

Today was Elisan's last field trip of the year. We traveled to a nearby ranch that is set up for large events - including paddle boats, swimming, inflatables, basketball, volleyball, mini-golf, etc. It was a lot of fun despite a minor mis-hap that occurred while Elisan's class had use of the pool.

The parent's were originally told that the first graders would not be given pool privileges, but upon arrival, we saw that the first graders did in fact have pool privileges. I wasn't worried, until I saw that the pool was mainly 4 & 5 foot depths. The 3 ft depth was only at the stairs.

Well, in case you missed out... Elisan is super short, so 4 ft is petrifying to her - as it should be. And seeing as this was our first time to swim this year, Elisan was a little rusty on her swimming. But, that didn't stop her from pushing off the side of the pool to test her sea-legs. It wasn't long before she realized that she couldn't touch without going underwater and that she had forgotten how to swim.

I'm standing on the edge talking to her and telling her to relax and swim. She then got hysterical on me and begins to flail about and scream as she's trying to bobble up and down. Water is getting in her face and she gave me this look that said, "Mom, I really need you RIGHT now."

At that point, I didn't hesitate and jumped in and grabbed her and pulled her to the side. I was fully clothed. Athletic shoes, socks, shorts, tee-shirt... you get the gist.

Everything happened so fast, I don't think anyone even noticed that 1.) Elisan was struggling and 2.) That I had jumped in, fully clothed - not even the life guard.

After I calmed her down, we decided it would be best for her to stay near the steps. She was happy to oblige.

I'm just glad I was there. I had originally decided not to go, due to prior commitments, but one of my friends from Elisan's school talked me into going instead. I'm so glad she did.

Randy's Gene

Today, I attended the awards ceremony at school. We received a letter that Elisan would be the recipient of an award, but the letter did not state what the award was.

Well, as you can guess by my graphic, she won the highest overall average in Math for her 1st grade class! OH MY GOODNESS! I could not have been more proud!

You see... I am terrible at math. I have a literal fear of math... so, when my precious little girl won the math award, I was beyond excited for her! I thought maybe she would get the citizenship award or something like that, but MATH?!? Holy cow!

This is definitely a gene she picked up from my chemical engineering husband Randy, who by the way, has already taken credit for Elisan's math accomplishments. But that's fine with me. He works tirelessly with her, making math fun for her, helping her to 'see' the equations in her head and helping her to think beyond the limits of first grade math.

Mean Grrrls

Two years at Elisan's PreK-4 end of year conference, the PreK teacher suggested that we hold Elisan back from entering Kindergarten based on her maturity level. At the time I was appalled. Why on earth would we hold her back for a year? What was this lady smokin'? I mean, afterall, Elisan learned her ABC's (not just memorized the silly song, but actually recognized and stated the letters) at 18 mos (for crying out loud!). Sure, Elisan was immature, but she was 4 years old at the time and as I recall, the 5.5 year old girl in her preK class was the most unruly child I've ever seen. How was it that my little girl was worse than her? Besides, we had already enrolled Elisan into the private Christian school she attends now and tested into the faster paced class.

So, come August, Elisan began Kindergarten. She did well. We were pleased. I don't recall her having any social type problems and nothing was ever brought to my attention.

Because Elisan's birthday is in August, she was/is the youngest child in her class. Her birthday is a week before school begins each year. This year, it seems as if most of the kids have already had their birthdays. Heck, there is even a child in her class who is 8. I didn't begin to notice a "problem" until this year.

This year I've noticed that she doesn't have any friends. Oh, she interacts with the other kids socially on the playground, but she is not really playing 'with' them. It is more like she is playing alongside them. At the most recent field trip, several of the little girls were latched on to each other like Siamese twins, but not Elisan. She was more content to hang out with her four year old sister.

The other day, we were talking about playing with the kids that didn't have any friends to play with and we were talking in particular about the little girl who is eight years old. She's recently transferred to Elisan's school, so she hasn't made any bonds with any of the other kids.

I said, "Wouldn't it be nice to play with Sarah? She doesn't have anyone to play with. Don't you think that she might get sad when no one plays with her?" And Elisan said, "No, I don't think she gets sad that no one plays with her. I don't get sad when no one plays with me and I play by myself all the time."

And today (which prompted this blog entry) as I was waiting in the pick up line watching Elisan's class at recess, I noticed that Elisan was trying to play with two little girls and both of them physically (and brutally in my opinion) turned their backs on Elisan and walked away. The even had their arms folded across their chests and flicked their heads as they turned away from her!

I sat there and tears filled my eyes. Why were those girls treating my baby so badly? Is it because Elisan is immature? Is it because she's an innocent? It is because she is not old enough to be their friends?

Why doesn't my child have friends? I keep coming back to the idea that perhaps she is immature and young. That, although she is super smart, maybe, just maybe she is not emotionally ready to face the rigors of the social climate of elementary school?

And, when will she grow into her maturity? Will she always be a step behind? Will she try to overcompensate as she grows and fall into the wrong crowd?

I don't know why I am so worried about it, but as a woman, I am a social creature. Having friends is like a life-source for me. I want the same for my child. Randy thinks I'm being ridiculous, but I have to wonder if we are doing wrong by our child by continuing to place her in an environment in which she is possibly not thriving? Or is she? I mean, she said it herself that she doesn't mind not having anyone to play with... maybe it's just me that has a problem with it. Which is probably just the case.

No one told me that parenthood would be so hard... (sigh)

Big Muffles

Workout Secrets Revealed!!

Haphazard Thoughts

Lots to talk about and not a lot of time to cover them all...

So, soccer is officially over! O-V-E-R! Yippee! I can reclaim my Saturdays again. Now, we can laze around for several hours in the morning again! No more Tuesday practices! YES! Here are the pictures to prove it!

My dad came for a visit and brought 20lbs of crawfish with him! YUMM-O! They were so good! Here are a few pictures of crawfish fun! Thanks Dad!


So, Randy has a friend at work who is about 6 months ahead of Randy in the working out routine. So, Randy will come home and tell me new knowledge that Sam imparted to him while at work. So, the newest thing is protein drinks. While they are not "new" new, it is new to us. So, Randy sent me to H-E-B to purchase EAS Myoplex™ Precision Nutrition Formula® in chocolate. It's a protein powder drink mix. It is the equivalent to 42 grams of protein per serving. That is like eating 2 chicken breasts!

You know how if you drink a slim-fast drink it is supposed to act as a meal replacement drink? Well, forget slim-fast! Try this stuff. I mean, I drank some and the thought of food... well... it is not there. There isn't a thought of food...which is a nice surprise, since I tend to think on food a lot! H-E-B also sells them in the ready-made version for a whopping $2.99 each. Not bad if you are drinking it as a meal replacement! Who wants lunch?

14 more (actual school) days until school is out. I'm actually looking forward to it! I am looking forward to having my girls together again. (Lord, please give me patience... and quick!) Until then, we still have ballet recitals to get through. Here's sneak peek of the costumes, modeled by Kyla Mae! (Shhh, don't tell Elisan that KM tried on her dress. She would have a COW!)

(Elisan's costume)

No pictures from Mother's Day! We went to church Saturday night so mama could sleep in on Sunday. It was sooo nice sleeping until 8:00 a.m. Sure beats my usual 5:30 a.m. I was awakened by my sweet Elisan whispering "Happy Mother's Day" in my ear. She and Kyla had cleaned the entire house before 8:00 a.m.! They made their beds, cleaned their rooms, picked up the toys in the game-room, straightened up the living room, laundry room and kitchen! They did a fabulous job and I was extremely proud of them.

Not only did Elisan orchestrate the cleaning, but she also acted as my very own personal shadow the entire day. She followed me around (relentlessly) so I would have someone to talk to. I did manage to use the potty once or twice without interference though. To reward them (and me!) for their efforts, I took them out for ice cream later that afternoon.

Randy got me an "airbrush" tanning session at the local tanning place. So, look for me to be sporting a "canned tan" in the coming days.

A good weekend was had by all!

Want a life? Get a blog!

I know my blogging as been lackluster as of late, and I'm sorry folks, but I've been busy. Busy with school stuff, soccer stuff, ballet stuff, life stuff... And, I don't anticipate it getting any less busy in the coming weeks (heck, maybe months... because then we have summer which means a week long Sullivan vacation at the beach, swimming lessons, our cruise, etc...you get the idea.)

So, I'm here, I'm reading about your life... I'm just not blogging about mine (as much!)

Weekend Fun!

Our church had a grand opening of our youth facility called the "HEROES" building (meaning heroes for the next generation!) and the church had a family picnic event to celebrate it! Here we are!

Randy and Erica

Elisan and Kyla

Thanks Kristi for sending the pictures!

A Quarrelsome Wife

Did you know that the word quarrelsome is used in the New International Version of the Bible 7 times? And that five of those times it is used to describe wives? Apparrently, Solomon had a lot to say on the matter...

• A foolish son is his father's ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping. (Proverbs 19:13)

• It's better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife (Proverbs 21:9)

• It's better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill tempered wife
  (Proverbs 21:19)

• It's better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (Proverbs 25:24)

• A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day. Restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. (Proverbs 27:15)

Several years ago, I read the book, "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Okay, roll your eyes if you must, but I will say that her book changed my outlook on my marriage, my life and my man. It was like I was seeing him for the first time in our marriage. What he needed and what he wanted. Oh, and how he saw me, which was huge for me...

I'm sure there are Feminazi's out there who quite literally would rather stick their finger in their own eye than go out of their way to please their man. I'm not even talkin' about sex... I'm talking about little stuff like a kind word, a loving glance and calming spirit over a chaotic home. And it's sad to know that there are miserable marriages out there that could easily be repaired if only the WIFE (yes, wife!) changed her attitude and outlook about marriage and men.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the poster-child for Dr. Laura's book! Randy and I have our difficulties, just as any other married couple... (remember, I suffer from PMS, right?!) But, I make the conscientious effort to be the wife that he desires, not the wife that he detests.

So, stop and think for a moment? Are you sending your husband to the roof or are you a blessing?