Idiots

In the past two or three weeks, we've had two crazy rashes (one viral, one we're still not sure), vomiting, diarrhea, croup (times 3 now), and a weird episode with my youngest that threw us for a loop.  So I can't seem to think of much to write about, because all of that has been going on around here.  You think you're going to have just another normal day, and then BAM.  It's like we hit fall, and all you-know-what breaks loose.  I don't remember any other year being like this, and I hope it doesn't happen like this again.  But even amidst all of the craziness and germs, I still am thankful for so many things.  Like the fact that we have great insurance through my husband's company.  HOWEVER, they are changing things on us next year.  No co-pays.  Yep, NONE.  That means everything (up to a certain amount, depending on which plan we choose to pay for), comes out of pocket up until we meet our deductible.  And then they pay maybe 80% of covered things.  Yikes.  Right now, all of the well care visits for the children are 100% covered, which is wonderful.  I'm not quite sure if that will remain or not.  Probably not.  So that got me to thinking.... how much would we be out of pocket right if everything that happened over the past couple of weeks were to happen next year.  Five or more sick visits to the doc, blood work, urine test, strep test, flu test, EEG, and an upcoming MRI.  There goes a mortgage payment... or two.  Oh, his nice, big company will put a decent sum in a Health Savings Account for us at the beginning of the year.  Hopefully that will count toward our deductible when we spend it, but I'm not sure that it will.  Anyway... not looking forward to figuring out which plan to choose, etc.  I'm very glad we had our babies when we did, because no more baby for $100 hospital stay and $25 specialist co-pay anymore!  Yes, we had it good.  

And another thing that I get to deal with this week... TAXES.  Bleh.  We filed for an extension for the first time, because we were in the middle of moving and all of that during tax time.  Well, now we need to have it complete in a couple of weeks.  We're finally getting close, but I had to call Bank of America to ask for a specific number that they did not send.  Well, I very clearly told the girl what I needed.  She tried to look up our old mortgage, but she wasn't able to find it (I guess because it was a closed account).  So she took my information and told me she would have the answer sent to me within a few days.  Great.  But then I got their letter.  Not so great.  Not only did they send me a copy of the one piece of paper I already had, they sent me an additional letter in response to some other man who had requested information!  So now I have all of the information on his 2007 Florida property taxes.  I hate to say they're idiots, but.... I wanted to!  And I guess I'll mail that man his information, since BOA wasn't competent enough to get it to him.  It's probably not what he asked for anyway....  :)  

So now I'm going to put my cranky self to bed!

Coming to Texas

So Reagan and I are headed down to Texas this week! We wil be staying a week and I am excited! I can't wait to see my family and friends! We are coming down to celebrate my niece Aubrey's 2nd birthday! I made part of her gift (I recently learned how to use my sewing machine). I am also looking forward to seeing Erica and her little Ash! I have never seen him and can't wait!!

I also can't wait to eat Mexican food!! Here are some of the eateries I plan on hitting:

Cantina Laredo
Rosa's
Mi Chula's
On the Border
Celebrity Cafe
Corner Bakery
McAlisters
Chick Fil A (we don't have stand alone ones down here and the closest one is 30 min. away)

My mouth is watering just listing these restaurants!

Look out Texas here we come!!

Cowgirl Jeans Butt

I hate shopping for jeans almost as much as I hate shopping for swimwear. Actually, probably more, because at least I can throw a cute cover up over my swimsuit. With jeans, I can never find the right fit. Whether it's too tight in the waist, or too wide through the thighs, I very rarely come across "just right". And the thing about jeans is that once you wear them all day, that perfect pair you put on this morning may have the dreaded saggy butt and stretched out hips by the time you get home. I find that Old Navy jeans are notoriously deceptive in this way, but I was still pretty excited about their recent $19 jeans sale. I toughed it out and found just the right pair. When I got home I tried them on for my husband and he had a fairly lukewarm response, which I can live with, but THEN he said "The butt's okay, I mean it just looks like generic cowgirl jeans butt"......HOLD UP there, mister.

Let me take a minute to note here that nothing about my style is western. And I sincerely hope not to offend anyone by saying this, but I have never been a fan of cowgirl jeans butt. In my opinion, that's one quick way to destroy any semblance of an attractive rear end. There is just nothing I find flattering about that look. I'm sure there are plenty who disagree, and I can completely respect that, but it gives me flashbacks to the ropers girls wore in high school with no pockets and this mile long seam up their crack. Ew.

I've probably said more than enough about this now, and I have no idea what it was about these jeans that elicited that response, but wow did I ever want to return them after that. Ultimately, I wore them anyway, but only because I was desperate for a pair of jeans. I had worn my favorite pair threadbare and didn't have much of a choice for casual Friday at work the next morning. So I washed those suckers and got over it. For $19 I suppose I can live with a less attractive hiney, but I'm still on the search for a better pair. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time.

I love fall!

Fall is my favorite time of the year! I love the colors of all the leaves changing, and the crisp and cool weather. In fact, my hubby and I chose our wedding to be in the fall because we love it SO much.

A few other things that make me love fall...

my child's birthday, fall decorations, my birthday, Thanksgiving, 5K Turkey Trot, starting Christmas shopping, wearing cute fall clothes and my tall boots, going to a pumpkin patch, Trunkfest at church, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake...even writing about all of this makes me giddy!

So, I hope you enjoy this wonderful season...what are your favorite things about fall?

Gotta Write That Down

I've kept a book for a while now where I write the funny or clever things my children say.  If I don't write it down pretty much immediately, I can never remember exactly what they said.  And then when I'm trying to tell Chris about it, for some reason, it totally loses its humor when I can't really remember.  Me:  "But it was really funny."  (Wanting him to find humor in it, even though I can't remember exactly what it was).  Chris:  Slight grin and nod like, "Okay, sure."

So here are a few of Aidan's quotes that went straight in the books.  If you have any of your own (or someone else's), please share!

When Aidan was a little over 2, I was helping him get his undies on after going potty.  As I was helping him step into them, he looked down and said, "Bye-bye pee-pee, bye-bye wiener."

Christ tooted one day and then asked Aidan what it smelled like.  He paused for a minute and then enthusiastically said, "PEANUTS!"

(It has been brought to my attention that Christ did not likely toot in front of Aidan.  More like Chris!  Funny though, when we lived in Oklahoma, we visited a certain church once or twice.  For the entire three years we lived there, they sent mail to 'Christ & Amelia' - cracked me up every time.  They must have thought very highly of us!)

Shortly after Aidan turned 3, he informed me one morning that Emerson did not have a pee-pee.  I told him she had a girl pee-pee, and he pulled his pants down showing me his business and said, "Sometime Emerson needs one of these pee-pees."

When Aidan was almost four, he called me in to help wipe after he had dropped the kids off at the pool (that's going #2 for all of you old folks).  He looked down in the potty and said, "It's a bolcano!"  (That's how he says volcano.)  Then he got off the potty, looked again, and said in a very matter of fact sort of way, "No, it's a jingle bell."

And today when I used a flashlight to look in his throat, he said, "Wow, you're just like the doctor."  Like because I had used a flashlight to look, that made me just like the doctor.

He's such a fun and funny boy.  He gets so embarrassed when I try to repeat anything like this in front of him, and he'll grab my head and say, "No, don't tell them!"  So, sorry to Aidan!  Don't tell him I told you!

And, just so you know, we now call the pee-pee a penis.  And Emerson just asked Chris the other night, "Daddy, do you got a penis like Aidan?!"  So to those of you with children, do you call it the technical terms, or do you have another name for the parts?  

Not My Day!

Okay, okay, it's not may day to blog, but I just had to put a little request out there.  Go vote for the funniest picture at www.amypenningtonphotography.blogspot.com.  I've entered the picture below, but go vote for whichever one YOU think is funniest.  Amy (the photographer) is a friend who went to junior high with Erica and I way back in the day!  

Nine Months

So my little girl turned nine months this week. Hard to believe she has been outside my body longer than she was inside. And even harder to believe that in three short months she will be one year! Goodness!

It is so fun to see how she changes everyday! She can say dada, mama and is working on dog. She can sit up and take steps (as long as I am holding on) and rolls all over the place . She loves to play and laugh and squeal! Her first tooth has come in and it is so darn cute! This little white lonely tooth sticking up out of her gums! She loves to play with the dogs. She and Ginger (our oldest dog) have become best friends.

The hardest thing is having to put her in her crib while she is still awake. Up until this point I was either rocking her to sleep or nursing her to sleep and then putting her in her crib. But at her nine month check up the pediatrician said that was a no no. So I have been giving her a bath, reading to her and then putting her in the crib. She cries for about 20 minutes or so (feels like forever to me). It just breaks my heart to hear her cry so hard. But it has helped so much. She has been sleeping so much better and the last few nights slept for 11 hours.

What amazing gift God gave John and I. We love her so very much! And are excited about watching our little munchkin grow up and come to know the Lord!

Here is a picture from her nine month pics we had done this week! My little cherub!

Top 5

I thought it was time to introduce you to my Top 5. What's a top 5, you ask? Well, your top 5 is a list of your very favorite and more than likely good-looking actors or musicians. Your reasons for choosing your top 5 do not matter and you shouldn't have to explain yourself. Some of mine may be questionable but I don't care...I still like them. So...here we go...and in no particular order:

Colin Ferrell
















David Beckham




















Michael Vartan




















Patrick Dempsey


















Taye Diggs


















Yep...there they are...in all their beauty. So, who's in your Top 5? I know you have em!

Cass

Tapioca Balls

In the last few years I have been making efforts to branch out in my eating habits. I imagine this is due in part to all the Food Network shows that have worked their way into my viewing rotation, and definitely to some scrumptious food blogs that I frequent. I love Smitten Kitchen* and The Pioneer Woman in particular. But part of the credit probably just goes to realizing that my tastes have changed as I've gotten older. For instance, if you had asked me to try sushi 10 years ago I would have flatly refused. Today it's one of my favorite foods. I do admit - I prefer the cooked stuff, but I've at least attempted some of the raw.

There are things you don't outgrow though. I have tried to like mushrooms, but ew-gross-no. It's a texture thing. I've also recently realized that I love Greek food. With that revelation I decided that maybe olives deserved another chance, but when I put that theory to the test a few weeks ago I had to make a concerted effort not to gag and spit that sucker across the room. I drive Mark a little crazy because I always want to try new things, and it's a 50/50 bet whether the remainder will end up in the trash or not. It's become an expensive little habit.

My latest experiment was boba tea. Need a visual? Here you go:

I have wanted to try it for awhile, and my good buddy Staci was recently extolling it's awesomeness, so I thought it was time to take the jump. I went to Fat Straws in Plano over the weekend and ordered a boba black tea latte. For those of you unfamiliar with boba tea, boba balls are made of tapioca and carrageenen powder (whatever that is). They sink to the bottom and you suck them up through your straw as you're drinking. To some of you this may sound gross right off the bat, but I like sweet smushy things as a general rule, so I figured this would be right up my alley. I envisioned something like firm little balls of tapioca pudding, and strangely enough, that sounded good to me.

As they handed over my drink my first impression was "......." A pause, if you will. The color of the boba balls was a little off-putting, but I still had high hopes. I tentatively sucked one of those little guys up the straw and gave it a chew...and kept chewing...and chewing. The texture was slimy at first and firm in the middle. The word congealed comes to mind. Sounds appetizing, right? Definitely nothing like the tapioca pudding goodness that I had imagined. I wasn't ready to give up though. I kept sipping and chewing until I was about halfway through and that was all I could take. Boba tea and I have parted ways for good, I'm sorry to say. I would definitely go back to Fat Straws for just their tea though - it's excellent - so I'll claim a small success there.

So strike another one off the list. I won't give up though. I love food (definitely more than I should, as evidenced by my expanding waistline) and I love the thrill of discovering something new that is out of this world - even if I have to spit out a few olives or choke down some carrageenen powder in the process. Any suggestions?

*I figured out links! Somebody pat me on the back. Or at least stop shaking your head at my technical ineptitude. :)

Kauai or Maui

My husband and I got back this weekend from our 9 days trip to Hawaii.

We started out in Maui for 4 days, then hopped a one hour flight to Kauai for 5 days. Each island had amazing things to offer...in Maui we were able to take an amazing hike through the Haleakala Crater-which was unlike any hike I have ever taken. We also were able to spend a day traveling to the road to Hana- which was so special to us! Randy and I loved stopping to take hikes along the road and then come across a waterfall at the end of some of the hikes- such a treat! The scenery was unreal too! Oh yeah, and we did get to celebrate our 5 year anniversary at Mama's fish house- which was so good...I don't like seafood and I actually got fish and it was yummy in my tummy!

However, Kauai was so amazing too! We had been to Kauai 3 years ago- so we weren't sure if it would be as exciting to be back...and that question was quickly answered once we got there...we were sooo hyper and excited once we stepped into our condo- so fun! We were able to do a few things we did last time we visited(4 wheeling trip, hike to Waimea canyon) and made sure to mix it up with things we had never done too. We took an amazing hike along the Na Pali Coast line- it took us 4 hours and was pretty vigorous, but it was worth every step for all the beauty we were able to see and take along the way. We did spend time relaxing on the beach and boogie boarding- which was so nice. It was fun to be boogie boarding and then see a big sea turtle swim by me- it was unreal and so cool! Loved it! There are several details i am leaving out, but for the sake of wrapping things up I conclude in reflection...I would have to say that Kauai is my favorite island of the 2 places...it has a little more adventure to offer and a seems a less touristy- which gave more room on the beaches to do things...

Oh yeah, we went on this trip with some of our friends, Mark and Laura- which was soooo fun! They are hilarious, love good bathroom humor and love to do adventurous activities too- so we included them in several of our activities there...

Oh yeah, by day 7 though, we were certainly missing our baby girl...I doubt we will ever take a trip that long again...it was great for Randy and I to get away together- which we DEFINITELY needed, but we really missed Allie after a week and couldn't wait to see that sweet face...it was priceless to see her! (I posted a pic of her so you can see how sweet her face is!! Love her!)

Amelia- I posted one of those pics just for you- I'm sure you can guess which one?? Ha!

Shrooms

So I pull into the driveway today only to notice what I immediately described as a forest of mushrooms.  We've had quite a bit of rain lately.  Usually, a good rainfall causes a few (2-3) mushrooms to sprout up in our yard, but today it was more like 48.  Yes, I counted.  So this got me to thinking... what makes these pop up after a good rain?  So after a little googling, I thought I would enlighten you as well.  Long story short, there's probably some sort of decaying matter in your soil.  That could be dying tree roots, dead plant roots, building materials from when your house was built, etc.  So when mushroom spores (that can come from anywhere and possibly just floated in the air until they landed in your yard) germinate, they send out long, thin filaments called hyphae (this is where I get lost/uninterested).  Basically, those hyphae then help the decaying process of whatever is in your soil.  So mushrooms are a good thing, because they are a sign that something that needs decomposing in your yard is actually doing so.  They are quite often poisonous, so don't serve them for dinner!  You can mow over them or just kick them off if you don't enjoy the view.  And now you know.  :)  

Kodachrome

Last week when I went back to work, just about everyone wanted to see pictures of Ash. It was then that I realized I only had a few, and they weren't that good. The only reason I even had those was that something happened to the memory card in my camera and I couldn't take any more pictures until I re-formatted it, meaning I had to print and delete the pics that were on there. Anyway, I was a little embarrassed not to have any good pictures of my baby to show off, and it got me thinking...

Remember the good old days when you would take 24 or 36 pictures, having no idea whether or not they were good until you got them developed? And remember when you would sometimes have to wait 3 or 4 days to get them back after dropping off your film? Ah, the anticipation! And the agony when you would go to pick them up and they weren't ready or, worse yet, they just couldn't find them!!! By the way, do they even sell those cartridge-type film rolls anymore? The ones that look like miniature telephone receivers? Those were awesome.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as big a fan of digital cameras as the next person (instant viewing! instant deletion! ability to take hundreds of pictures without carting around tons of rolls of film!), but it definitely makes me lazy when it comes to actually printing them out. I mean, I already know what they look like - the element of surprise is totally gone (don't you sorta miss looking through the pack and finding those random pictures of the inside of your purse or the ground?). So even though it only takes a few minutes to get pictures from one of those kiosks at CVS or Target, I only have a few so-so pictures of my baby to show my friends and coworkers. (And even when I do print them out, it takes another lifetime for me to organize them or put them in a photo album, but that's a whole other post!!!) So, in conclusion, it is apparent that now that the process is now easier and faster, I have less motivation to do it. Bizarre!

(Just for fun, here's a recent pic of the boy - he's a keeper!)

New Season

So here we are in mid September. Which means the new television season begins soon! And I am so excited! I am glad to be done with the re-runs and ready to move on to the new! Here is my list of shows I am looking forward to:

House
The Office
Numbers
The Mentalist
Criminal Minds
NCIS
CSI NY
CSI
CSI Miami
Law & Order SVU
Big Bang Theory

I am sad to see The Unit and Without a Trace go! Both were really good shows.

I had been looking forward to the new 90210 but the first of the new season was last week and I watched. But I wish I hadn't! It was horrible! What happened to the level headed adults that had been on the show. That one has definitely been deleted from the TIVO docket!

So what shows will you be watching this season?

Répondez s'il vous plaît

According to Wikipedia: "Répondez s'il vous plaît", a French phrase that translates to "please respond" or "respond if you'd please" and word for word means "respond if it pleases you"^[1]. It is with this meaning that invitation cards and similar documents are often marked with "RSVP." In Western and European culture, it is often considered rude to not reply to an RSVP request whether confirming attendance or declining.

Over the years I have had the pleasure and honor of being a hostess to quite a few showers (bridal and baby showers mainly) for some dear friends and family. A lot of preparation usually goes into each shower, including what food to serve and how much we think we are going to need. On every invitation ever sent out we have always included RSVP by this date to this number or email address and without fail we always end up have a ridiculous number of invitees that do not follow those easy instructions. And it's not just my generation, it's every generation!! Young and old. It doesn't matter the age. If you've ever hosted a shower, you know how frustrating this can be. So I thought it would be nice to give everyone a little reminder on how to RSVP. Here we go:

Me: Hi Staci, this is Cassandra.
Staci: Hey Cass, what's up?
Me: I was just calling to let you know that I will be at Allie's birthday party but Scott will not. He has to work.
Staci: Okay, great. Thanks for letting me know.
Me: No problem. Talk to you later.

See how easy?! And now Staci is able to have more of an idea as to how much food to serve. It's really easy people...just pick up the phone or send an email and let the hostess know whether you will be attending or not.

This concludes our lesson for the day. Hope everyone took notes.

Cass

Know When to Fold 'Em

My husband Mark and I took a little trip over the holiday weekend that involved a variety of activities. We did a little shopping at First Monday in Canton, ate some award winning ribs at the Country Tavern in Kilgore, got chased by some crazy people in Tyler, and made a little excursion to Shreveport to round things out.

Mark loves to play poker, but I've never been much of a gambler. However, our last trip to Shreveport almost changed my mind. We had decided to drive out to celebrate our anniversary back in July. We were already in Tyler at a reunion and got the idea that a spur of the moment Shreveport trip would be fun. We drove in that evening, had a great dinner out, and then headed to the hotel. I was ready to crash, but Mark headed to the poker table, where over the course of a few hours he won big. We're talking several hundred dollars, which in my world is a lot of money. And then, as poker would have it, he got a bad hand and lost it ALL. We were a little bummed the next morning, and though I had planned to hit the slots, I was in conservation mode at that point. At the last minute I thought hey, I should have a little gambling fun on this trip too. I'll just take this $10 bill to the slots, play for a few minutes, and then we'll head home. In less than 5 minutes I won $230.00, which covered almost exactly what we had lost the night before. (Not the winnings he had - but the amount he walked in the door with.) I immediately said "Thank you God!", cashed out, and walked out the front door. (A little wrong to give God credit at the casino? I don't know, but I certainly was thankful.)

So when Mark wanted to include Shreveport in this past weekend's trip, I was game. I knew it wouldn't entertain me for long, so I dropped him off, did a little outlet shopping at the Louisiana Boardwalk - which is awesome by the way - and then I was off to the casino. I had budgeted $80 to play with, naively thinking that I'd at least walk out with one or two hundred. I mean, I won last time, right? And that is how gamblers are made, my friends. A few minutes in, I won $60. I thought to myself, I should cash that out now, and just play with the other money I have left, and then at least I walk out with $60. But the budding gambling addict in me just kept punching the spin button. Within 30 minutes, I lost every penny. My spirits crushed, I sent Mark a text that said something to the effect of, "I'm broke, we're leaving". And just like that, my love for gambling left the building.

In the words of the ever-wise Kenny Rogers, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run." Notice that they never play that song in the casino?

Tattoo?

Since Staci's still living it up in Hawaii, I thought I would throw in a little randomness on her blog day.  So out of all of us, who would you guess has a tattoo??  :)  Anyone... anyone.....??

Conspiracy

After getting the kids bathed and down the other night, I did my usual of putting all the sippy cups and remaining dinner dishes in the dishwasher.  Tidied up a bit and finally headed for the bedroom.  Our TV in the living room is not working right now.  Anyway, I very much look forward to a little TV/zone out time after all is finally quiet in our house.  So I come in to the room to see that Chris has already settled on a show about Conspiracy Theories.  I usually am not as "into" things on the History Channel as much as he is, but it did sound a bit interesting.  As we got further into it, I realized I was getting more and more tense.  The main point of the show was debunking many of the conspiracy theories about 9/11.  The debunking came from well-educated people who could explain exactly why these theories and claims were false.  While I felt that each and every claim was sufficiently debunked for me, I definitely do not claim to be an expert in any of those areas, nor do I claim to know the absolute truth about what happened and how on that day.  I understand someone not being willing to take someone else's word (i.e. the government's explanation) on something as absolute truth.  That's fine!  But the fact that some of these people claim to know everything just makes them look like a fool in my mind.  Have your crazy ideas and theories.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.  But to claim that you, and you alone, know the truth, based solely upon what you think  could have happened is just crazy.  Since when did coming up with a possible explanation make something fact??  And the one thing that really got me mad was that they've even started claiming that the calls to relatives from the planes were fake.  Okay, so now you're going to tell the surviving spouse that her last words with her husband were not even real???  That is just plain mean.  And it made me mad.  So I finally took some Ibuprofen, watched a little Chelsea Lately, and headed to sleep.  Now I'm getting worked up again just writing about it!

Regardless of what you think may have taken place on 9/11, please pray for the families who are missing their loved ones and also for our country and its leaders.

  

Back to work

So right now I'm sitting on the couch watching sweet little Asher take a nap in his swing, trying not to cry as I contemplate the fact that today is my last day of maternity leave and I start back at work tomorrow. BLAH! I always assumed that I would stay home when Adam and I started a family; it is something we discussed frequently because we both grew up with stay-at-home moms. Due to a combination of circumstances, however, it turns out that Adam is the one who will be staying home with Ash, at least for a while. Frankly, I think it will be good for both of them and I'm excited about it from a practical standpoint. From an emotional standpoint, though, I'm pretty sad. I've never been away from my baby for more than a few hours - I'm really going to miss him! I think it's going to be hard to focus on (or care about) my job for a while, but I guess I'll just do the best I can. Surely it will get somewhat easier with time (?), and maybe before long Adam and I can switch places. Until then I will just praise God that we can afford for one of us to stay home, and I'll ask for prayers that I can continue to focus on that through this time of transition!

Public School vs. Private School

Ok so I have always known that if at all possible I would like my children to go to private school.

I went to public school k-12. And I think I turned out just fine. But I think times have changed. Puberty is starting so much earlier. Kids are talking about things and doing things I never even knew about at that age. Discipline is a huge problem in the public school classroom. You have deadbeat parents who could care less about their child's education. Now I know private schools cannot guarantee my child would be sheltered from all that. And I know some very good
public school teachers!

But today as I was sitting in my Sunday School class (we use a Maryville Christian School room) I looked over and saw Psalm 56:3 written on the whiteboard. And paper crosses that the students made were hanging from the ceiling! And absolute peace came over me. I know that I want John and me to do everything in our power to send Reagan to private school. Not necessarily because I think the curriculum is better or that I think discipline problems are rare.
But because I want to know that the same Christian values and beliefs that are taught at home are being reinforced in the classroom!

PS. Reagan said MAMA for the first time tonight!!!! So exciting!!

Romoliscious...

...that's my Fantasy Football team name. This is my second year to play Fantasy Football. Last year we started a family league on my dad's side and we had 6 teams (me, Scott, my aunt and uncle, and my brother and his wife). It was a lot of fun and I really got into it. Each week I'd check to see how my players were doing and if I happened to be beating my opponent of the week. As luck would have it, I ended up being the Family Fantasy Football Champion and winning $100. This year we have 14 teams! We hyped it up so much last year that we had several other family members want to join in on the fun and a chance at winning the cash prize. So as the pro football season gets under way in the coming week, I'd like to send a shout out to my team and wish them a great year (because momma wants a new pair of shoes!) My starting lineup:

QB - Tony Romo - Dallas (wasn't my first choice but decided to give my boy a shot...besides, all his distractions should be out of the way this year)
WR - Calvin Johnson - Detroit
WR - Terrell Owens - Buffalo
WR - Jerricho Cotchery - NY Jets
RB - Chris Johnson - Tennessee
RB - Jonathan Stewart - Carolina
TE - Visanthe Shiancoe - Minnesota
K - Nick Folk - Dallas
D - Baltimore

Bench:
QB - Marc Bulger - St. Louis
WR - Domenik Hixon - NY Giants
WR - Steve Smith - NY Giants
RB - Jamal Lewis - Cleveland
TE - Billy Miller - New Orleans
D - Tampa Bay

Of course, this is all subject to change based on performance, bye weeks, availability of a better player, etc. Romoliscious is ready to get this party started...and dominate a second year in a row!

Oh...and a shout out to my Red Raiders for winning yesterday!

Cass

Dang Bangs

After arriving home from work yesterday and realizing I looked a mess, I did what any rational (ahem) female would do, and decided I should cut my bangs. Just a quick snip, no need for a salon, right? Anyone who knows me probably uttered some form of "Oh honey, no" after reading that sentence. I have always found haircuts a little traumatic, and in my early twenties (okay, okay, my WHOLE twenties) I would often come home and cry as if my life were ruined following a haircut. My roommates were always a little dumbfounded, because usually it looked pretty much the same as it had before, only shorter. But being the good sports they were (thank you Amelia & Cassandra) they were always sympathetic and encouraging, and a day or two later we'd usually have a good laugh and eye roll about the whole ordeal.

Now this is not the first time I've had bangs, but it is the first time in the last decade for sure. My first go at bangs was sometime around third grade. It's worth mentioning that this was also the year I decided that my stick straight, fine hair needed a perm. Witness those results:

Note: I have no idea why there is a line drawn through this picture. Beth scanned it for me from an old church directory she found back when she worked for FBCE. Apparently we were blacklisted at some point. I jest, I jest.

So yeah. Third grade was not my finest year. (But isn't my little brother absolutely precious in that suit??) Third grade was also the year of mean teachers and multiplication tables. Seriously - kids were throwing up and peeing their pants in class constantly that year. According to my mom, so many parents complained that the principal sent all of the third grade teachers to sensitivity training. (I'm sure they loved us SO much more after that.) I blame my lifelong hatred for mathematics and public speaking solely on Mrs. Bullock, for making me stand in front of the entire class all alone until I could correctly recite my multiplication tables. I don't remember much about elementary school, but I certainly remember third grade. And with that hair, how could I forget?

I seem to have gotten off track. Back to the bangs. I gave them another go in 7th grade. That time they were paired with braces and flowered rompers, and I only wish I had a picture I could show you. I may have to find one to post at a later date. The best way to describe them would be to imagine draping a daddy long legs or two over your forehead. They were sparse...at best.

So last night's little styling disaster was minor in comparison to my history with bangs. But really, you'd think I would know better by now.

Numerically Speaking

So I have been married for approximately 2,136 days.  Out of those 2,136 days, I have been pregnant for approximately 805 days.  In addition to that, I was breast-feeding for approximately 901 days.  So, to sum it up, I have been pregnant or breast-feeding about 80% of the time I have been married.  I guess that leaves me with about 430 days that I haven't been sharing my body with another person (aside from my husband).  No wonder I'm tired, and NO WONDER my body is jacked up!  And slowly this 80% is decreasing.  And I like that.  

We have lived in 1 apartment and 4 houses (all houses that we purchased) in the last 5 1/2 years.  In fact, we still own an extra one if you would like to take it off our hands, and I'm really hoping to stay in our current home for a long time.  We lived in Oklahoma City for 3 years, so that leaves 2 1/2 years for the other 4 places.  Chris has been promoted to 4 different positions within the same company since we married.  

I have only had to call poison control 2 or 3 times, and those were all for my firstborn.  If you know my children, it's probably surprising that it wasn't the other two... yet.  The only trips to the emergency room have been for my husband.  Two for eye issues and one for a crazy rash.  I have never run out of gas (ahem, Beth!).  We have had 1 pet (a fish).  I have rear ended 1 car and backed into 1 pole (Please ask Staci her numbers on this topic!).  I have had 3 Hondas, and I didn't have my first one (used) until college.  By the time I sold it, it was 13 years old and had over 200,000 miles on it.  And, yes, someone bought it.

I majored in Finance, and I like numbers.  Obviously.  And while I was just typing this, my youngest child bit off the top of a marker.  I guess I better get back to my job.  And I do love my job.

Happy Humpday!

(That picture is from the night I was in labor with Ivy!)