Merry Christmas!

We've had an awesome Christmas. Tonight concluded our fourth family get together of the month. We have a huge family and have been very busy. We'll do Santa in a few short hours and then lounge around all day tomorrow in our pj's, exhausted and just relaxing.

I'm including a new photo of "The Panari Tribe", taken after the candle light service at church tonight. (The two youngest are still nameless).

My parents are probably moving within the next year and we were all well aware that tonight was likely the last Christmas we would celebrate in the house that we grew up in. Before we opened presents, my mom asked everyone to take turns sharing their fondest memory in that house, including the grandkids. Everyone reminisced with lots and lots of laughter. Of course, no one had just "one" special memory to share, but several and it made it an extra special night.

I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas.
Jesus is the reason for the season! God Bless you all!

It's About Time!

Tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I will go to work for the school district on January 7, 2008.

I currently have a great boss. He’s put up with a lot, especially during some of my personal problems, and I am somewhat sad to leave. However, the numerous holidays and awesome work hours I will now have make it hard to be too sad. I am so looking forward to the extra time off with the kids during spring break, summer vacation, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Not to get all sappy, but I truly feel this was an answer to prayer. Les and I had been discussing how hectic and chaotic life had become, especially getting anything done around the house with us both working full-time, and were actually considering the prospect of me quitting my job altogether and going back to domestic engineering. However, it would’ve been a huge financial sacrifice and one we weren’t sure we could handle. This new opportunity will basically allow me the best of both worlds. I will now be getting off work everyday at 3pm as apposed to 5pm, but still bringing in an income. I will be working four days a week and not five. Having a three-day weekend every week is truly going to be a blessing. I can get so much more done around the house and just in general with that one extra day off.

Did I mention that I’ve been trying to get on with the school district for about four years now? I can’t help but wonder if they didn’t hire me because they felt sorry for me. After all, I’d only interviewed with them about six times in the past four years. I think they decided they may as well hire me or I might never stop showing up on their doorstep. I really don’t care why they hired me. I’m just ecstatic about my new gig. I will miss some things about my old job, but it’s time for something new and especially with such great perks. I can’t wait to be off with the kids this summer.

I am definitely taking a pay cut to do this, but money isn’t everything.

Oh, did I mention I will be off for three weeks before starting the new job? Yes, I said three weeks! Wuhoo! I am so excited! As of 5pm tomorrow, I will be on a three-week hiatus, enjoying myself, deep cleaning and sleeping in, which by the way is one of my natural talents.

My Three Elves!

Click here and laugh with me!

Update on the Kiddos

After much thought and careful consideration, Lauren has decided to stay home for one more semester. She weighed the pros and cons and decided it would be more beneficial on us all if she stayed home for the spring semester before transferring to College Station. I must admit I am very happy with her decision and proud of her for really thinking it through.

Cassidy made the basketball team. Not only did she make it, but she’ll be the starting point guard for the A team! Go, Cass!

Caden is not only addicted to buying stuff on ebay, he’s now also a seller. It’s actually very impressive. I think he's going to be rich one day.

Watch Your Eyes!

Lauren’s going to kill me for this, but I just can’t resist. She tans, but not to the point of being too dark, mostly just to keep some color on her naturally fair skin. The other night she decided to try a different method of tanning where you stand up in this room and your body is sprayed with some chemical to make you really dark and it lasts longer. It was her first time to try it, and possibly her last.

The following morning she walked into our room with her eyes as big as saucers and asked, “Do I look orange?” At the time I had no idea about the tanning so I was really shocked when I saw her face and answered, “Yes, you do. Why? What happened?” She proceeded to explain what she’d done and was panicking about her face and hands looking so orange. Her body looked fine, it was just her face and hands that looked really, really orange.

Well, I couldn’t help it but I called her Magda (from There’s Something About Mary). She didn’t remember who Magda was so she didn’t appreciate my joke but I thought it was quite fitting and humorous.

She tutors junior high and some of the kids gave her a hard time yesterday. She wasn't a happy camper. She used lemon juice and salt and scrubbed her hands and face yesterday hoping this home remedy would help lighten it up. By the end of the day it did look better but she’s still got an orange tint. She could always go to one of the football games since our school color is ORANGE! Bahahaha!

She’s actually mad that the lady at the tanning salon didn’t inform her that she needed to wash it off when she got home so she slept with it on for eight hours!

I love you, Nawen! You’re still beautiful and way better looking than Magda!

Happy Birthday, TeeDee!

One of my BFF's (since 6th grade)is celebrating her 38th birthday today. Growing up, it was always me, Teresa and Carla with our birthdays during a two-week time frame. We always celebrated together. Luckily, I'm last, so I always like to pull the "I'm the youngest" trump card on them whenever possible.

TeeDee,
Have a great day. I love and miss you, girl!

PS. There's an awesome picture of TeeDee with a mullet from a previous entry in case anyone missed it before. :)

Clever Engineering Caden Style

This morning Caden was making himself two slices of peanut buttter toast for breakfast as I was making a cup of coffee. I saw that he was struggling and trying not to make a mess so I offered to finish it for him. He'd already done one piece and as I took the knife from him, said, "Mom, don't do that one, I already did it and I left a clean spot for my thumb to hold onto it".

He'd spread the peanut butter all over, leaving a small spot on the corner of the bread uncovered, so that he could hold onto it without dirtying his fingers with peanut butter. Smart Boy!

We got a good laugh out of it and thought it was quite clever on his part.

Happy 13th Birthday, Monkey!

Happy Birthday, Monkey!

It's official, I now have two teenage daughters. How many times have I said that time flies? Well, it does.

Thirteen years ago I was awakened by a sudden gush and actually thought I'd wet the bed. I immediately jumped up and ran to the bathroom. It was early morning, but still dark outside. As I reached the bathroom I felt another big gush and looked down to see a wet liquid on the bathroom floor. I jumped into the shower to keep from making a bigger mess and hollered at my mother-in-law, who was staying with us in Hawaii for Cassidy's birth, to come assess the situation.

We decided to let Les sleep a little longer while I showered and got ready to go. It turned out to be a leak, my water hadn't officially broken, but it trickled all the way to the hospital. Her labor and birth was the easiet of the three. She was born at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii and they took better care of me there than at any civilian hopsital I've encountered.

She was born wide eyed, looking around and holding her head up. From day one she was not going to sit still for anyone and no one was going to hold her back. It was all we could do to keep up with her. She was so different from our other two, and by no means an ordinary baby. She no-doubt earned her nickname.

She started playing ball as soon as she could hold one and it never really mattered what kind, whether it was a baseball, softball, basketball, football, volleyball, etc., although she prefers a basketball these days.

She's always been our strong willed, stubborn child. I've always heard the saying, "if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", and wanted to appropriately change the words to "If Monkey ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". We so need that hanging on a wall somewhere in this house!

Cass, we hope you have a wonderful birthday. We love you and hope 13 is a great year for you. (I'm posting this a little early)

All Grown Up!

I knew it was coming, but deep down, I was hoping she might change her mind. I have to stop thinking of myself and realize what an opportunity this is for her to go out into the world and experience a new chapter in her life. It’s official. Our baby girl signed a lease on an apartment this weekend. She’s moving to College Station on January 1st. How’s that for starting the new year?

I’m both excited and happy for her. I’m just sad for us. She’s gone much of the time now, but she still lives here. Having her move out will be so strange! At least now I can just open her door or peak onto the driveway to see her car and know she made it home safely.

She’ll have her own bedroom and bathroom with three roommates. The apartment is furnished so her room here will be kept “as is” for when she comes home to visit.

She’s not too happy that Cassidy will be moving into her room. It’s bigger and there’s no point in letting it sit empty, except on the weekends when she visits, so we’re just switching their rooms. Cassidy is already planning the décor and arrangement of her furniture and will probably volunteer to help her pack next week!

We’re all going to miss you, Nawen. Maybe we’ll all just go with you! Ha!

Ebay Addiction

Question: What do you call an eleven-year-old eBay addict?

Answer: Caden

Do they have support groups for this? It all started about two months ago when Lauren made the mistake of introducing Caden to eBay. He hasn’t been the same since. It was like love at first sight. Baseball cards, baseball stuff, DVD’s, (like a full season of Everybody Loves Raymond), old coins, etc. He’s used up all of his own money and now has a running tab with us. (That’s okay, it’s better than us owing him for a change).

He sits with the laptop for what seems like hours tracking bids and surfing the latest items. His first order was 1,000 unopened baseball cards for $25. He checked the mail everyday until they finally arrived. Then he ordered a glow in the dark Arizona Diamondbacks baseball and an 1892 coin.

He actually told me one day that he was going to stay off of eBay because he just couldn't take the stress of seeing all of the cool items and not having any money to bid on them. That didn't last long. He still can't control the urge to browse. He has new items to show us everyday, hoping we'll get soft and offer him additional credit on his outstanding payment history.

I'm sure he'll eventually get over this obsession so I'm not too worried, yet. If not, we may look into that support group, after all.

Diagnosis: Dishwasher Anxiety Disorder

I have obsessive-compulsive disorder about many things. Too bad it isn’t a spotless house. I do try, but some people (ahem....no names mentioned) make that an impossible task.

One thing I just can’t seem to do without my OCD rearing its ugly head is loading the dishwasher. It absolutely drives me insane if I can’t fit everything into the dishwasher before starting it. I also hate to run it if it’s not at least to full capacity, which probably contributes to the other problem. I will literally spend fifteen minutes rearranging the whole thing if it means I can squeeze one more bowl or pan in. I think I could be considered a dishwasher loading professional. In spite of that useless quality, there are still times, like tonight, when I just have to accept the fact that I am going to be forced to start it with a few extra things staring back at me from the kitchen sink.

Lauren ate with us tonight, which is rare these days, and on top of her joining us for dinner, she also helped me clean up a little without any prompting on my part. It was during my futile attempts to cram every last thing in that I shared my disorder with her and she laughed that I actually spend time on this.

I also tried to talk her into not making any cookies because then I would have more dirty dishes waiting on me in the morning. She won that battle and I’m off to enjoy a warm cookie. I hope I can walk quietly away from the kitchen without trying one last time to make everything fit.

Taste Buds

This is a list of the many foods that I missed out on for years because I was so picky and afraid to try new things. Most of these things were introduced to me by my husband, though he would now like to kick himself every time our restaurant bill is placed on the table. I used to be so simple minded and easy to please, not to mention a cheap date.

As a teen I lived on salads with lots of cheese and ranch dressing. On our first date I ate the salad bar and nibbled on some chicken. Oh, how he wishes that was still the case.

When we spent three years living in California and he used to go down to Fisherman’s Wharf to get fresh clam chowder. I never even wanted a bite. I now love clam chowder and can’t believe I ever passed it up. This was also the case with seafood gumbo.

I didn’t eat shrimp in any way shape or form until we moved to Hawaii. I was 23 or 24 at that time. What was I thinking? Now I eat it every chance I get. I had my first lobster five years ago and have been hooked every since. I started eating crawfish about seven years ago at the age of 30!

I didn’t eat strawberries until I was in my late twenties. I recently discovered that mango and papaya taste pretty good, too.

I used to never dream of eating a mushroom and now I can’t get enough. I tried my first sweet potato just a few years ago.

I have always loved corned beef sandwiches but sauerkraut? No way. About two months ago he talked me into trying a bite of his Rueben sandwich and I almost ripped it out of his hand to finish eating it. We went back to eat there three times that week just so I could have a Reuben before finally buying the ingredients to make them at home.

The list could go on and on.

As expensive as it’s been for me to try and like new things, he actually loves it when he turns me onto something new, especially if he gets to do the “I told you so dance”!

I'm It!

Ronni tagged me back several months ago, but I procrastinated and never got around to posting. Now Darla has tagged me so I better go ahead this time and share eight random things you may or may not know about me.

1. I really like old people. They really touch my heart, even more than most kids do.

2. I’m terrified of parking garages, even in the daylight. They totally creep me out, especially if I have to do the elevator or stairs all alone.

3. I still love Urban Cowboy, Breakfast Club, Footloose and Steel Magnolias. I can’t change the channel if I come across any of them playing.

4. My first bike was a pink Huffy. My brother’s friend broke my seat and my dad replaced it with a blue banana seat. It was very mismatched and I was so mad but still rode that thing all over town.

5. I loved Barbie’s. The last time I actually played was my ninth grade year of high school in Susie Hiskey’s attic. I never wanted to outgrow Barbie’s!

6. My first real kiss was Tater Cox during spin the bottle at a party in seventh grade. He was later accidentally shot and killed by a friend the summer before his senior year. The entire town was shocked and devastated. He was an all American boy. I always think of him when I hear two Kenny Chesney songs.

7. I was afraid to spend the night away from home until Jr. High. I would go, but call home when it was time for lights out and mom would always have to come and get me. I was a big chicken butt!

8. I was President of Student Council my seventh and eight grade years. My mom made me the coolest campaign signs with catchy slogans, like sticks of gum with wrappers that read “Stick with Carri for President”. I had to speak in front of many schools from all over Houston at this one event and had terrible stage fright but I somehow got through it.

Now I have to tag eight people. I don’t know eight-bloggers who haven’t already been tagged so I’m tagging my blog-less friends and they can just post in my comments section. (unless like Jenn, they have a blog to post to)

Teresa (teedee)
Kelli
Jennifer (Preston’s Girl)
Carla
Iptnetworkers (Come on! Don’t be shy. I’m curious to know who you are, Cottleville, Missouri!)
Mom
Stephanie W.
Shelli

You Might Be a Redneck if.......

This is what you do at your Grandma's house for fun.

Those Bangs

I was always a strong willed child and a “had to have it my way” kind of kid, not necessarily with my friends, but definitely whenever it involved my parents and discipline. I was stubborn and head strong to a fault, but I like to think I’ve outgrown that now. (Although at times that’s still questionable)

It was seventh grade and two of my best friends and me were going to have our pictures taken together the following day. Winn’s was having a portrait package special and “friend’s pictures” were the “in” thing to do at the time. We carefully planned what we’d all wear making sure we'd all be dressed to match. How cute! (NOT!) Too bad we’d outgrown our personalized best friends T-shirts from our sixth grade year. We were all set.

All I needed now was a good bang trim, since they were growing down over my eyes, and I'd be all set. Unfortunately, my mom was too tired to take me after work, regardless of how much I begged and pleaded with her. She flat out refused to take me for a haircut on such short notice. (Now that I’m a working mom I can so relate to that whole last minute/short notice thing). She said she was sorry but I’d have to wait, pictures or no pictures. I was furious. I couldn’t have my picture taken with my bangs that length. They were giving me problems staying styled and out of my eyes. Plus I had to look good for our pictures. I continued to beg and plead with her to take me but she was adamant that she was too tired and this was one time she was not going to give in to my whining and begging.

I never took no for an answer very well so I brewed on that for a while before getting myself so worked up that I decided I’d show her and just cut them myself. I went into the bathroom and shut the door and stood in front of the mirror with the scissors in my hand, knowing nothing about trimming or cutting hair. I combed my bangs down over my eyes and stood there. Don’t ask me why, but I thought I’d get a better cut if I pulled them all together in a clump and twisted them a few times, like a pony tail. I know, I know, this makes no sense now but at the time it seemed somewhat logical. Plus I was operating on pure anger and not thinking clearly. I snipped at the base of the hair and this is the end result of my temper tantrum and self-inflicted haircut.

Take a good look at hard headed, stubborn as a mule Carri. Yes, I had to go to school like that the next day and every day after. My mother definitely got the last laugh on this one. I think it took six months to grow them back out. Ha! Don't we look stunning in our matching outfits? Let it also be noted that I worked very hard on those wings, even without the bangs to go with them. Bahahahahahahaha!

Teedee posted these on our reunion website, but I guess she still owed me for the mullet picture post. I'll never live down those bangs. They were literally not even a quarter of an inch long when I got through with them. Maybe no one noticed because they were too busy looking at my bright, loud shirt. Ha!

Hospitals, Dogs and Remote Control Cars

We had an interesting weekend. We had planned on being in San Antonio for the long weekend, but thanks to me and Cassidy being sick, we had to postpone our trip. We spent most of Saturday at the E.R. with Cassidy. She's had some unfortunate female related issues over the past several weeks and was dehydrated and her hemoglobin was low. She almost fainted on us a few times and after seeing the doctor twice last week we still ended up in the emergency room. She had to have her blood drawn and got two bags of fluid through an IV. I still have the scratch marks on my hand showing who she squeezed during the procedure. She and I also make a great team when it comes to using bed pans. They wouldn't let her stand so she had to go the old fashioned way. Ha! All she cares about is volleyball tryouts and making the team. According to her coach, she did very well last week during tryouts, even with the dizzy spells and weakness. Tryouts last through the end of this week. She made the first cut but I don't see how she will physically be capable to finish tryouts. As it is, she can hardly walk through the house without blacking out and feeling faint. Those who know her know she lives for playing sports, so I'm sure we'll have a battle of the wills over what she wants to attempt to do tomorrow. She's home from school today and will see a specialist tomorrow. We haven't exactly gotten off to a good start of the school year, but it could be worse. She wants to be up and running but she's just too anemic and weak to do that right now. It'll be a tough decision to make, especially with her strong will and determination, but she's just not in good shape right now. Wish me luck with breaking that news to her and pray she will soon be better!

Abby has a new brother. Meet Jaxon. We saved his life from the animal shelter. (All credit goes to the husband for saving Jax. Dog # 2 was all his idea.) I sort of feel like Angelina for changing his name on him from Sancho to Jaxon, but at least he's only eight-months-old and not four-years-old! He's quite quite a character and provided much entertainment this weekend when we were stuck home being "sick". Caden got out his remote control cars and drove Jax absolutely nuts chasing the dog with them. He has a ferocious bark but he's just a big baby at heart. He went nuts barking and running away from them. He also tried to attack the broom while I was sweeping the kitchen. He’s also afraid of the washing machine. We went through lots of batteries this weekend. It was quite a show. As soon as Caden powered up one of the cars, Jax went ballistic. I'm not too proud to admit that I'm all about cheap entertainment.

Been MIA But Still Among the Living

If you aren't a regular reader of my blog, then most of this may be lost on you, as much of it pertains to previous stories I've shared here in the past, and a few inside jokes. However, you're welcome to stay.

So, where should I start? I guess with some updates and as always, a little rambling.

I absolutely love summer time. I love getting to sleep in an extra 30-45 minutes, not making lunches, no backpacks to sort through, mounds of school papers to read, no homework, no school meetings or big science projects. I can't believe it's almost over. As always, the kids are keeping vampire hours. It's rare to find anyone awake when I go home for lunch. Every year I tell myself that I'll start making them go to bed early the week before school starts to get them back on track, but it never happens. The first few days of school are brutal on their systems but they always survive and adjust by the weekend. (Granted they’re in a zombie like state, but they manage). I felt so much better after telling their former teacher about their insane night time hours and her saying that she's just tired of her kids coming downstairs at 2:30pm everyday asking her what's for breakfast. Maybe I still have a shot at that Mother-of-the-Year award after all. HA! This will be my first year without any kids still in elementary school. That's so hard to imagine. They really do grow up fast.

Congratulations to Teedee!
Baby #2 is on the way!!!
At least you're due before our 20-year reunion. It would really suck to be in like your 8th month for that, right?

Dad/Paul/Grandpa Paul has had a busy summer and doing very well post bypass surgery. We've had the pleasure of spending a great deal of time with him over the past few months. He's come down to visit on several occasions, once for two weeks and then a few days here and there. He spoils us with his cooking skills and never has to twist my arm to be the chef in the house. I’m very impressed with how well he handled being "Grandpa" in charge of seven of his grandchildren for almost two full months this summer. He had help from "Grandma", but to his credit he took them on several long road trips without any other adult assistance and managed them well, even with a handful of puking car sick kids to tend to. These are our nieces and nephews who lost their mother, Jamie, to cancer last year. They range in age from three to thirteen-years-old so he obviously had his hands full and did an awesome job making sure they had fun and got to see all of the family while they were here.

Well, we have a new guy at work and I could probably do a month's worth of writing on him alone, but I won't. He's truly a nice man, but has some very annoying habits. I'm so tempted to unleash on him but would hate for him to accidentally stumble upon my blog one day, so I better refrain (for now).

Lauren has rescued two more birds since the bird rescue entry. I think we're almost up to double digits now and have definitely contributed to the bird population in our area. Ha!

I deleted a previous entry from several months ago regarding some difficult times for me and my family this past year, so I feel obligated to at least acknowledge it. Let me just say that life hasn't exactly been a cakewalk this past year, but it's definitely getting better every day. We're just taking it one day at a time.

My husband surprised me with a new I-phone. Lauren bought herself one a few weeks ago and made the mistake of showing it to her dad. He was instantly hooked like a kid in a candy store and bought us both one. I'm not even a big electronic nut but I love what this phone can do. I'm surprised it can't balance my checkbook and clean out the frig. Now if only I can keep from dropping it. I've never had or really wanted an expensive cell phone before and am famous for dropping mine all over the place. Now, I feel like I'm walking around with a baby. The only downside is that it's not a flip phone, so I'll have to watch myself carefully.

Summer Fun II

Summer Fun

In Loving Memory of Kimberly Ann King

It's been one-year today since Kim passed away. She's been on my mind all week long. A few days ago I re-read the last email she ever sent me, right before heading off to bed for the night and never again waking up. I still have her phone number programmed in my cell phone and her email address remains in my contact list. I still can't bring myself to delete them. I still miss her very much and can't help but smile when I think of her cheerful demeanor and what a great friend and person she was.

RIP, Kim.