Coach Shelley

Coach Shelley......yea that sounds strange to me too. I didn't sign up to be the coach for Skyler's team but I offered to help since I was the assit. coach the last two seasons. Now after 3 practices later the coach has been a no-show for 2 of them and get this....this weekend is opening ceremonies, pictures, team has a carnival type fundraiser booth, team also has a silent auction basket, and 1st game and guess who is going to be a no-show again??? You guessed it.... the head coach. So I guess I will be hearing a lot of "coach Shelleys" this weekend.

In coach Cody's defense he is a high school track and football coach so track meets and such come first and I am understanding....that is his paying job after all! I am an over thinker, structure liking, extreme detailed planning person so this has thrown me into overdrive! So keep me in your thoughts Saturday as I attempt to run the game and such by myself. Thanks goodness the team mom is going to help with the fundraiser booth.

"Muddy Gras"

So some of you may know that there is a little red neck in me that shows her head every now and then. :o) This weekend we went to Muddy Gras in Huntsville and had a great time. They were expecting about 2,500 people and I think there was a lot more than that.

Some random dumb guy

Us decorating our float. We got 1st place!!!
You might be a redneck if this is your truck
Some folks before the costume contest.
from left to right, My dad, random guy, friend of the family

My step-sister and I dressed up for contest.

The three of us went as a team and we got 3rd place.

Hope you all had a HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!

~ The Calling ~

Softball has snuck up on us again. Although Skyler seemed a bit rusty, she was pretty excited about her first practice Monday night. Which, I must add.... as the assistant coach this season and the coach being "conveniently" out of town I ran by myself.
We are hoping that this season she starts showing big steps towards being a better player. We are not sure yet if this is her "calling" or not so we will have to wait and see. I know that you guys are all on pins and needles just waiting to find out, right! HA!

If softball is not her "calling" we may look into some other extra curricular activity after this season is over. Like dance, cheerleading, swimming, or....

A tough faced, snazzy dressing mobster....

A crafty Martha Stewart idolizing diva,

or a tooth fairy attracting pretty little girl. (Yes, this is tooth number 2 and she LOVES the thought of the tooth fairy coming)

Wait...... now that I think about it......she does have a calling......Door-to-Door Sales!!! She sold almost an entire box of candy for her fund raiser by going door-to-door selling them by herself. (while I followed in the car) When I was a child I was so extremely shy that there was NO WAY that I would have done that. And on top of being good at it, she didn't get upset when she got a "no" and she was even excited to do it. I was the one begging her to stop so that we could go home. Silly girl!

OK, OK..... so I am not going to encourage her to sell vacuums or anything door-to-door but she has that skill, and maybe we can use it it a better venue....like selling stuff for momma! 6 is a good age to start working, right?! HA! ;o)

As I have mentioned before, Madison has had a hard time growing hair so we decided to use some Rogaine and look what happen.....

HA!!!! Its so nice to have a walking comedy show in your own home 24-7!!! :o)

Happy Valentine's Day

The girls and I made valentine cards for their friends in their classes. They turned out pretty good. We pasted these pictures to colored card stock paper. A little glue, candy and a lot of glittery fun later we had some pretty neat cards that the girls were so proud of. We put those other "store bought" cards to shame. :o)

Madison LOVES Casey. Here they are sharing hugs and kisses.

Skate-o-riffic reward

A reward for a job well done at school. Another fun filled day at the skating rink! We are so proud of Skyler...not only has she been getting great grades and conduct at school but she also got a special award given by the librarian, "wonderful library manners"!! She has also been really helping me keep her room (including making her bed by herself) and play room clean. I am so blessed to have such a good little girl. Taking a much needed drink break...skating for hours can make a kid THIRSTY!

Madison tried her hand or shall I say feet, at skating. She did as best as can be expected of a 3 year old on skates. :o) She was better on the carpet that the actual rink. She was good at keeping her feet together while I held her between my legs with my hands underher arms and skated. We could go pretty fast that way. Now my back is killing me. :o)

Rude at a beautiful wedding

Have you ever watched your children while they were having a good time and inadvertently completely ignore the people around you? Even the ones who were talking directly to you? I find myself doing that often and feel so very rude. But you know....my kids are my blessings and I LOVE to see them when they are happy. Last night we went to my cousin Jesse's wedding and that is what I caught myself doing over and over...how could I be so rude at a wedding?? I was watching Madison have the time of her life as if no one was around or watching her...she danced and danced some more. To have such peace with not a care in the world....no worrying about how you look or what people might be thinking about you must be so wonderful. If only us adults could enjoy that same feeling!!!Jesse and Joel's wedding was beautiful and Jesse was such a gorgeous bride!A little known fact is that I introduced them... I was hoping for a little shout out during the reception, which didn't happen, but they can make it up to me by naming their first born after me. HA! Congratulations Jesse and Joel....I wish you many years of happiness!!!

Weddings, especially sweet and romantic weddings make me think about how happy I am and how much I love my husband. Babe, you may not be perfect but you are perfect for me. I love you more today than ever.

And, I love these girls! :o)

Team Name Needed?!

A few friends and myself are trying to raise the required money to walk the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Houston April 4-5. However, in the mean time we are working on getting a team name. Any advice??? Here are some ideas that we have so far.
The Pink Ribbons
Hike for Healthy Hooters
Breast Buddies
The Jogging Bras
Marching Mammaries
Bosom Buddies
The Pink Mafia
High Heels for Hope
Our Cups Runeth Over
The Rack Pack

Is she really 3 already???

Is she really 3 already??? I can't believe that my baby is 3. Happy birthday Madison!!! We love you so much.

Madison's 3rd birthday went great! This is what she insisted on wearing before the party started. I finally talked her out of the hair and skirt though...(thank goodness) :o)

Carleigh and Madison decided to play dress up and the "dress up hair" had to come back too. They were so cute.

I would never...

I would never let me child wear her "dress up" clothes to dinner nor would I ever let her sit on the counter and lick the bowl after making blueberry muffins. I am so not one of "those" moms!

No place like home (again) / Smarty pants

There is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!.....especially my BED!!! So, it seems my fear that Madison was getting dehydrated was correct. At the pediatrician on Monday he informed us that she needed to be hospitalized for a while to get her over this hump. We were admitted Monday thinking it was going to be a 24 hour visit and we ended up staying for 3 days! she was pretty dehydrated, running a fever, hurting and just not eating or drinking. They gave her fluids and steroids and she seems much better this afternoon. We are both glad to be out of that hospital. No more 9pm, 1am, and 5am visits from nurses or beeping machines for me PLEASE! Oh and as I have mentioned before "mommy beds" in hospital rooms are soooo NOT comfortable!
~

On to my use of "smarty pants" in my title.... Skyler has really impressed us all in her schooling. She got her report card today and she has been getting real grades. She got...

95 Reading (Expected reading level is 10 and she is reading at a 17!!!

93 Language

94 Math

95 Science/Health

96 Social Studies

Exceeds Expectations Comment in EVERYTHING.

There was even a handwritten sticky note from the PRINCIPAL in her report card that said...

"outstanding grades Skyler! Love Mrs. Craft!!!" We are so proud of her, she has totally earned another trip to the skating rink. WAY TO GO SKYLER KEEP IT UP!

This weeks up's and down's

This past week has had ups and downs. One minute it seemed as though Madison was starting to feel better the next she would down and out again. She has been doing a lot of crying, a lot of sleeping and wanting to be held almost all the time but she has been a real trooper. She wants to be held to fall asleep which is something that we have not done for them since they were little babies. This weekend it seemed as though her throat was not hurting as much as it was in the beginning but I think she was getting pretty dehydrated. She has not been eating or drinking much and even giving her the pain medicine has been a drop down screaming and crying struggle. To get her to drink I was begging, then bribing and then resorted to threatening with having to go back to the hospital and get a shot (fluids) and I think that one finally worked. She has really been trying to drink today which still wasn't much. She had maybe 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup of Pedialite COMBINED throughout the day. I even give it to her in the middle of the night but mostly she only takes tiny sips. I am keeping a close eye on her though since she has lost a lot of weight. She is a week shy of 3yrs old and was 29 lbs the morning of the surgery and now is about 24lbs. Almost 5 lbs in a week. I am still worried but I think she finally started to make a turn around this evening.

One afternoon she thought she heard the school bus so she opened the door. It was not the bus but she wanted to wait for Skyler outside. She was still pretty sickly and it was a bit cold outside so I let her keep the door open but stay in the house. In a few minutes she was laying on the rug, so I got her a pillow and blanket.

When Skyler's bus got there I grabbed my camera, took a picture and noticed Madison didn't move. So I stepped around to look at her face and saw that she had fallen a sleep. Poor thing didn't even get to see Skyler get off the bus.

AH...here is that smile that we have been missing, it seems as thought it was finally starting to come back this evening.

As for Skyler, she has been doing great at school and we could not be more proud of her. Skyler is one of the friendliest and happiest little girls I know. She can seriously make friends anywhere. she just has that type of personality...it's hard to explain...maybe the future class president??? It is a bit strange sometimes...for instance we were sitting in a restaurant the other day and sitting very close to the bathroom. We could see the doors leading into the girls rest room and she had to go so we let her go by herself. A few minutes past and seeing a few people go in and out, I decided it was time to go see what was going on. As I got up here here she comes walking hand-n-hand with another little girl. She said "Mommy, this is my new friend, can she come over to play? Or to Madison's birthday party? Her birthday is February 9th...right after Madison's." HA! She cracks me up! Who makes friends in the bathroom??? And how did you find so much information out in the short bathroom "meeting"? Did she interview the girl??? :o)Skyler blogging...she doesn't get to do it often but she LOVES it and is so proud of herself whens he does.