Get Well Everyone!

This is a sickly week. It seems most everyone I call has sick children or is sick themselves. The flu, 24 hour viruses, strep, allergies- love the wind storm, and anything in between is getting everyone down. So, let's all take some extra vitamin C and use plenty of antibacterial soap. I hope all of you out there get better soon. Extra shout out to:

Butler, Smith, Powell, E Cox, ABC, Meeks, Jaime, sister Emily, Mom, Dad

Hope you all (your children) recover quickly!

January Madness

Steve and I love college basketball. I know I've admitted this many times. But I have to say we have been over the top tonight. See, my Lady Bears played Texas... but I have to listen on the internet. Then there's the mens' games... no, BU has the night off... but there are two other huge Big 12 games going on. Texas/aTm men and Kansas/K State. So, we're flipping TV channels and running back and forth to the office to hear the girl's game.

Baylor Girls beat the Longhorns

Kansas State gave Kansas their first loss of the season... have you ever seen 12,000 kids rush the floor?

Still waiting on the TX/aTm game... although aTm has it quite under control.

I LOVE College Basketball!

Coming to Highland Village...

So excited! I drove home today and saw the sign going up in the strip center next to Rosa's Cafe. I will have their number on my speed dial!

My Little Reader

Tonight Caleb got a book off his shelf to do some reading. As I was listening I realized he was reading every word. I may have read Green Eggs and Ham to him only once before, so I know it wasn't a memorization thing. I was so surprised. I knew he was reading, but hadn't realized how well he was doing. He even had inflection in his voice on the questions and a cadence to the story. I know kids now adays are doing everything younger, but I swear I wasn't reading like this in kindergarten. I just can't believe he's old enough to be reading books on his own!

Working Girl Buys a Wii!

I saved up some money from my piano teaching and bought my family a Wii bundle. While in Ohio I popped into a Gamestop and asked them the easiest way to get a Wii. The lady said to just order it online. It came in 4 days!

Steve set it up last night and we all made Mii Characters. You should see Carter's big blond fro. The 4 of us bowled and had a great time. It really is such a family fun, bonding game system. This morning Carter asked me if we could go bowling again! Maybe later...

5th Overtime- So good to beat to the Aggies!

I know some of you readers are girly girls who could care less about college basketball... but I am not one of those girls... and when it comes to my Baylor Bears, I care a lot!

BU came into this game ranked for the first time in 40+ years. We played in College Station against the higher ranked Aggies. Our chances were not the best and Steve and I just hoped for a good showing. Steve watched the play by play typed out on the internet and I would call my mom so she could hold the phone up to the Waco radio. Why is it that the Kansas blowout was on TV, but the BU/AtM game- our Texas teams were not??

Well, we were the number one story on SportsCenter ESPN this morning. It took 5 overtimes- most in Big 12 history and we scored 116 points- also the most in Big 12 history with 5 of our players fouled out. I think we finally had to put the waterboy in to play for us. It sounded like the Hoosiers movie being played out in my mind as I could only imagine the boys out on the court refusing to let the Aggies win.

I know some of you are Aggie fans, so I will keep the smack talk to a minimum... but DAMN it feels good to win!

Sic'Em Bears!

27 Dresses: the Bridesmaid Count

I saw 27 Dresses this weekend. This closet looks similar to a closet at my parent's house where they have stored all of my dresses.... bridesmaid and formals. My mom would love for me to give her to OK to toss it all. Not sure why I haven't agreed. Really, when will I ever wear them again?

After seeing this movie it led to a discussion with Stacy and Michelle: How many times have you been in a wedding?

Well, here's my answer:
Flower Girl: 1 time at the age of 6. I know Aunt Kathryn will see this... so thanks for making me your flower girl.
Bridesmaid: 8 times; I've tried recounting over and over and I think that's my final count; Hope I'm not leaving any of them out.
Pianist: 2 times
House Party: Too many to count
Bride: Once- that's all I need (thanks, Mo, for reminding to add this)

So, I pose this question to all of you bloggers... what is your count?

NCAA College Basketball AP Top 25 Poll

We made it to the top 25!! My school! My Baylor Bears!
This may be short lived, but I am relishing the moment! You must scroll all the way down to see it in print.

1. Memphis (49) 17-0 1,777
2. Kansas (23) 18-0 1,751
3. Tennessee 16-1 1,591
4. Duke 15-1 1,543
5. North Carolina 18-1 1,536
6. Washington State 16-1 1,442
7. Indiana 16-1 1,351
8. UCLA 16-2 1,312
9. Georgetown 14-2 1,235
10. Michigan State 16-2 1,175
11. Wisconsin 15-2 1,048
12. Texas 14-3 887
13. Pittsburgh 15-3 781
14. Vanderbilt 17-2 748
15. Butler 17-2 742
16. Dayton 14-2 567
17. Mississippi 15-2 529
18. Villanova 13-3 502
18. Texas A&M 15-3 502
20. Stanford 15-3 444
21. Marquette 13-4 332
22. Drake 16-1 313
23. Xavier 15-4 230
24. Arizona State 14-3 182
25. Baylor 15-2 173

AND, not to be left out in any way.... the Lady Bears are holding strong at #6 in the nation. We have been in the top 10 for a while. Our Lady Bears now have a tradition of having a good team, but our men are just now getting a taste of it. This is the best time of the year.... college basketball. I can't wait for March Madness. Let's just hope both teams can be a part of it.

Girl Weekend in Ohio

I got back yesterday evening from my fun girl weekend away. Ohio is....well....COLD. It was 2.8 degrees one morning. Yes, they measure to the tenth degree. Sunday had a high of 14... FOURTEEN! There were times it got so cold walking outside that cuss words just flew out of my mouth. So glad the kids weren't around.
Stacy, Michelle and I had a great time together. Late night talks, playing the Wii (yes, Michelle and I beat Stacy at tennis), touring Ohio State campus, seeing 2 movies (I don't think I saw 2 movies total last year), and shopping. We didn't purchase much, but it was so fun to check out all the sales.
Thanks so much to Steve for letting us use his miles and for watching the boys. He really doesn't need me around. I think the 3 of them had a great time just playing together. I came home to a clean house, laundry done, and sweet children.

Ohio, Here I Come!

Michelle and I are flying out today to Columbus, Ohio to see Stacy! It's going to be such a fun, girl weekend. I've never been to Ohio so I'm looking forward to seeing it all. Stacy has assured me there is not much to see. All I know is it is somewhere between 6 and 14 degrees! WHAT!? How on earth does the Texas girl survive in that? Stacy will meet me at the airport with a good winter coat. :-) Michelle and I were hoping for a little snow, but for the sake of traveling it's probably best that the weather is dry.

Everyone out there... feel free to check on our husbands to see if they're surviving without us. I'm sure they'll be doing lots of bonding with their children. I'll post all about our adventures upon returning.

Girlfriend??!!

Here's my boy... off to kindergarten. I just love his winter look.

My neighbor and I both have boys who are in the same K class at school. It works out so well because I can find out any and all scoop from her and her son. He's a talker, while my child says very little about his daily activities. All I know is Caleb loves everything he's doing in kindergarten. I know he plays at recess everyday with Emily from his class. She is a sweet, sweet girl.

Today I learned from the neighbor that all of the class has picked out two "couples" to tease... saying they will get married and that they like each other. Yep, Caleb and Emily are one of those "couples."

So, I asked him today.... do your friends tease you? He just grins and tells me how everyone thinks he and Emily are getting married. He told me.... "she is a girl and she is my friend, so that makes her my girl-friend."

Baylor Basketball

WooHoo! Steve and I and the boys made a quick trip down to Waco for some Baylor Basketball. Steve and I both LOVE college basketball. No better sport. Our Lady Bears have a top-rated program and the men are improving every year. My parents have had season tickets for as long as I can remember. I've been going to BU basketball games since I was a little girl. Now, living 2 hours away it makes it hard to go to games, but we always try to make a few each season. Yesterday worked out really well because the women and men both played at home. So, we drove down in the morning.... dropped Caleb, Carter, and Elfy at the farm and went to campus. The Lady Bears defeated the Aggies (always great to beat them) in a nail-biter game... could have gone either way. It was so, so fun! Then, Steve and I had 2 hours to kill before the next game so we did some shopping before heading back to the Ferrell Center to watch the men play their first Big 12 game against Iowa State. We won again! So fun!

When most people think of Baylor, they only think of our football team... which completely sucks. But, there are so many sports at Baylor where we are really competitive. Steve has said that if the men make it to the NCAA tournament this year, then we are going.... no matter where it is. YEAH! Now, the Lady Bears are ranked in the top 10 (won the National Championship in '05 in Indianapolis- yes we were there) so I'm sure they'll make it to the tournament again.

Thanks, mom and dad, for keeping our boys (and dog) so we could cheer on our Baylor Bears! Nothing better than college basketball! Sic 'Em Bears!

It FINALLY happened!

Today was the day... a day Caleb probably feared most, but Steve and I are thankful for. He changed his color at school. That's right. He's been "on green" all year long. Today he finally broke a rule... a rule bad enough for his teacher to call him out and have him change his color.

For those of you unfamiliar with the color changing system... it's basically a classroom management/discipline system that help reinforce the rules. All the kids have their name on a pocket with various colors. Everyone starts the day with green showing. If you break a rule you get a warning and then next you must "flip your color" or "change your color". It goes from green to yellow to red... maybe there's another color in there before getting to red. I really don't remember. Anyway, you DON'T want to get to red.

So, what was the big offense????

Talking during quiet time.

What? Our Caleb? He talks? Hmmmm

Steve and I were laughing on the inside, but put on the parent face and asked him what happened and how that made him feel. Poor boy just got quiet; looked down on the floor and said it made him sad. Then he ran to us to give us each a big hug. Oh, my heart broke for him. We assured him, of course, that life was fine and all would be ok. Knowing him he has carried a very big burden this afternoon and has already beat himself up over it.

So, although he his heartbroken, we are rejoicing... so glad to have that first color change over and done with. I almost want to send a thank you note to the teacher.

Impending Baby News...

My best friend is having a baby. Due in a matter of weeks. We talk about once a week or every few weeks- you know, good old friendships don't need lots of maintenance. But she called yesterday on my cell and didn't leave a message. This is her first baby. I don't think she knows that you can't call without leaving a message. It throws my mind into all kinds of crazy scenarios. So, I finally got ahold of her.... no big deal. Just some chit chat. She now knows to start all conversations with, "no, I'm not having the baby yet...."

Stuff

So, I thought I got cleaned up from Christmas... at least all of the decorations are gone. But, now I'm left with 2 laundry baskets filled with stuff. One for Caleb and one for Carter. I really did clean out before Christmas in preparation for the stuff. But their new stuff is different from their old stuff so it doesn't fit like before. And now there's all these parts and pieces. The Transformers, Star Wars toys, TMN turtles, Imaginext.... they all have parts that I'm afraid will get lost among all the other toys. So, where should it all go? Their bedrooms, the playroom, or just downstairs hidden away in baskets? All I know is it needs to be moved out of my living room where my students and I keep tripping over it all between lessons.

The Wii

Ok, I had my first Wii gaming experience over Christmas break. I decided I want a Wii. Or, I think my family wants a Wii. Steve thinks I should use my Christmas money on that... but I think it should be a family purchase for us all to enjoy. Either way, it would be fun to have. So, all of you out there... next time you're in the stores and you see one sitting on the shelf just give me a call. Being in the metroplex would be helpful, but if you're calling from another state (my sisters)... then we might be able to work out a way to get it here. Hey-may be a reason to come visit you! If you require a "finder's fee" then I will pay up with a Sonic or Starbucks gift card- your choice! Let the searching begin!

Back to Life

Well, we left for our holiday extravaganza on December 21 and finished New Years Eve. Then spent all of yesterday taking down Christmas. My carpet has fake pine needles all over it, but other than that you would find no sign of Christmas. (except all those new toys that need to find a place.)

Now, it's back to the grind of life. I feel very "out of it" in terms of keeping up with my friendships. Other than my blog comments section I haven't reconnected with many of my girlfriends. I guess it's just the fast pace of the season. I fully embrace my family- both sides- and ignore everything else around. It's kind of nice to disappear for awhile; when crisis occurs, I am reachable; but for the most part I do enjoy checking out of the role of friend/piano teacher/ choir leader/bible study participant/ MOPS member and just become Jenny, the daughter/granddaughter/cousin/niece/sister/aunt. I always wear the title of wife/mom in any situation, but it's nice to get back to my roots and feel the love and connection from all my family.

So, now it's time to put back on the other hats and jump back into life. I'm looking at this new year and trying to figure out exactly how many of these hats I want to continue to wear. I'm learning that with the more things I add to my schedule the more it takes away from my boys- all 3 of them. And they are my number 1 priority, right?

New Year Resolution.... silly to make them because it's just a big guilt trip as soon as you break them. Of course I have the same one of hitting the gym more and getting in shape. This will actually be a necessity because I will be walking the Breast Cancer 3Day in November. But, a bigger resolution for me will be to seriously evaluate my commitments. To think before saying yes. To step back when feeling led. To enjoy being a wife and mom. No need for so many hats.