CAbi Girl, Rockwall, TX

I have not done a post in years! But Kelly's Korner is having a "Show us your Direct Sales" Linky and I thought I'd participate. I am fortunate to be a consultant for CAbi clothing and I love it! The clothing is amazing ... affordable, beautiful, flattering and COMFORTABLE; the business is sound and wonderful; and I've been so fortunate to make many new women friends! But the reason I am fortunate is that I feel CAbi saved my life, so to speak. After my divorce, I had gained so much weight, lost my home, my lifestyle and financial status had changed significantly and I just felt lost, hopeless, even worthless. Selling CAbi forced me out of my house and forced me to be around people. I remembered that I love public speaking, even though I'm really pretty shy. I remembered that I can be pretty funny and I simply started to feel like my life had purpose again. And the most important part ... I could sell CAbi on the weekends my children are with their father and it does not cut in to my mommy time at all! If you've not heard of CAbi, please check out my site, www.leahwheeler.cabionline.com

Wild Hair!!

Hello Self,

I'm sure any followers I have (or had) of this blog gave up on me long ago, but I got a wild hair today and decided to write a little nothing.

I really don't have much (or anything) to say, I just thought I'd come by and wish myself a Merry Christmas!

I LOVE Christmas so much. I love having my babies at home (although my daughter won't come home from her Nana's); I love the decorations; I love Jesus; I love it all!

This is the last Christmas we will spend in this house and, although I wish it would sell, I am thrilled to be here. This house is so warm and cozy and it is so fun to "dress up" for Christmas! I am grateful to have had the experience of living here and making the friends we've made in this neighborhood.




That was our Christmas card picture. I decided to go for the comic factor this year.

So civilized

Lindsey spent the night with a friend last night, as did 4 other friends. Personally, this sounded like a recipe for disaster to me. That many girls, an odd number, peace seems out of the question. For years, every time Lindsey would go to a slumber party, I would ask her, "Were there any fights?" I have since quit doing this because she always said no. Somehow, as we have raised these politically correct little beings who are never to say anything controversial or disagree with anyone, they are more civil.
This was not the case in my day. EVERY time someone had a slumber party or any party, for that matter ... there was a fight. I actually narrowly escaped being sent home from a party because I was having too much fun with my best friend and not paying enough attention to the birthday girl ... at a party with like 20 people. Come on! I'm still a little bitter about it. Anyway, my best friend and I were seperated and that made the birthday girl happy and we were allowed to stay.
The most raucous of fights though, was between these twins I grew up with. They would get into a huge fight at every party. We are talking hair pulling, scratching, clawing, biting fights and we were at least 8 or 9 at the time! It was amazing and mesmerizing in a sick kind of way. As much as it freaked me out, I had to watch. And it totally went against everything I believed in. My brother and I never fought. My dad would not stand for it. He later told me that to see the two beings that he had created and were part of him fighting and acting like they hated each other broke his heart into a thousand pieces and he couldn't take it. At the time, he just said, "You two, cut it out", very calmly and seriously and we did.
So, all of this fighting was truly a novelty.
Not for Lindsey though. It is now 3 o'clock and she has been with these 4 girls since 7 o'clock last night. When I pick her up she'll just say that everyone had a lovely time.
Dang!

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Today is Trey's 6th birthday. He was born at 7:28 a.m. by emergency c-section after being diligently monitored all through the wee morning hours. After finding, then losing his heartrate numerous times through the "night" and eventually having it slow to a life-threatening rate, the decision was made to get him out immediatly.
He was born with his umbilical cord wrapped tightly around his neck three times with his tiny fists clutching the cord and pulling it from his neck. It seems that he helped his doctors save his life. He weighed only 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and although, I could never get anyone to confirm this theory, it seemed that he had lost weight in his last hours/day in utero. He had a compressed cord and should/could have had all sorts of neurological or developmental issues, but he didn't. He is our miracle boy (twice over) and I adore everything about him. This is a great day!

Just Back Away ...

I drove to the gym the other day after dropping my older ones off for some intense educating. Tyler and I mosied on in to "work out", I dropped him off at Kid Zone and was ready for a little turbo kicking action!

I managed to survive 50 minutes of cardiac arrest, I mean cardio-vascular activity, and I was ready to pick up the little man.

I walked in to the childcare area as was enthusiastically greeted by, "Mommy!" I was immediately suspicious. First, this sweet voice did not sound quite like my son's; second, my children tend to enjoy their "me time" and usually don't run to greet me. My friends tell me that means I'm a great mom ... they're so independent, they say. I'm not so sure.

Anyway, it was not my son, after all. It was some other child, who, by now, was wrapped around my leg tightly. Now this peaked Tyler's interest.

He looked over and calmly said, "That's my mommy".

The kid (His name is Toby, I later found out)didn't budge, he said, "Mommy, let's go home." He was so sure that I was his mom, I felt obligated to take him home.

Tyler came closer and said, "That's my mommy" and begun opening the little exit gate. Toby just tightened his grip upon my leg and intensified his pleading stare into my eyes.

Finally, Tyler came over and gave the little dude a nudge and said, "That's my mommy. Now go play!" He grabbed my hand and said, "C'mon Mommy. Let's go."

(Come to find out Toby's mom and I were dressed exactly alike and do resemble one another. Sadly, that whole incident did irreparable damage to my relationship with little Toby. Fortunately, his mom went to pick him up as I was leaving. She later told me he just looked at her confusedly.)

Two good boys

Each day after school the first thing Trey says to me is (usually), "I stayed on green today!" His teacher keeps a conduct chart and green is good, yellow means they received a few warnings, and so on.

Last Thursday, when I picked Tyler up from pre-school I asked him if he had a good day and he said, "Yeah. I stayed on green."

Tonight, when Tim got home from work and asked Tyler how he was, he again responded with, " I stayed on green!"

There is no conduct chart in the 2 year old room at preschool and there is certainly no conduct chart here at home. Turkey!

Those Wearing Santa Hats ... Beware!

My boy discovered Santa last weekend and he was pretty freaked out by him. Yet after many, many attempts he never sat on Santa's lap, but he did give Santa a robust hug as only my little man can do.

Apparently though, he thinks he and Santa are big buds and he is eager to greet Santa with a big 'ol hug each and every time he sees him. Unfortunately, just wearing a Santa hat makes you Santa in Tyler's world, even if you are a very small toddler. My boy has now flattened two smaller children (keep in mind ... most children under age 4 are smaller than my 2 year old) whose mothers made the unwise decision to have their babies don Santa hats this season.

It starts out innocently enough. He kneals down and says, "Hi Santa! Hi! Santa? Hug?!?" and down they go.

It must be noted that Tyler's big brother took full advantage of our many attempts to warm the little man up to Santa. He has now told Santa everything he wants and even things he could probably care less about. He just couldn't be wasting all that face time with the jolly dude.

The Babes

Go to kimnielsenphotography.com/blog and scroll down to the second entry titled "Brrr Cold" to see some sweet kiddos.
My girl is such a good sport. She is just beginning the teenage days and the bad attitude gremlins take over her little self from time to time, but she is so awesome when I need her.
She was so helpful during this photo shoot and as the title suggests, it was freezing and so windy. She helped her brothers and made it and amazing experience. I am so blessed to have such a sweet little girl.
Kim, my friend and our photographer played a part too. :)

My Dear Friend

I have a very special friend named Stephanie. (You can see her here: estesboys2.blogspot.com). She is just about the cutest thing you've ever seen. She has filled my days with smiles since I first met her.
She used to oooh and aah and go crazy over my little Trey-man when he was a toddler starting pre-school. I would walk him by her classroom (she taught ... she was not in pre-school) and she would just melt over his funny, little, chubby, somber face. I found this so amazing because she has her own little (big) boy the same age. Even so, she could appreciate my little guy's cuteness.
Then, once Tyler was born and oh my, was he ever large, she adored him as well. She would hold and bounce and love on my big, big disgruntled baby for hours without ever complaining. She gave him so much love and put up with his ever-present moodiness.
Oh, and let's not forget Miss Lindsey. She was her Sunday school teacher for a while (which was actually a technicality because we hardly ever made it to church that year) and she would offer to come pick Lindsey up and take her to church. Stephanie lives right by the church ... we do not ... she was willing to go WAY out of her way to get my girl to church.
Ms. Stephanie is a sweet, Godly person and I am so proud she has touched my children's lives ... mine too, for that matter.

Rules for dating my daughter

Granted Lou is not really old enough to "date" yet, but I love this post from jillshalvis.com/blog about it. Cracked me up.

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you’d better be delivering a package, because you’re sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter’s body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don’t take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes to big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of you date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I’m sure you’ve been told that in today’s world, sex without utilizing a “Barrier method” of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: “early.”

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don’t you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing,holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to introduce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveways you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camoflauged face at the window is mine.

Your Opinion Please

Howdy Y'all, I mean You:

I am sad to report that it is about time for my baby boy (almost 2 1/2) to mosey on into big-boy-hood and get out of the crib. His baby room is quite baby ... pastel yellow, blue and green with frogs. I want his big boy room to be more masculine, mature and sophisticated, so I need your help.

Should I go with firetrucks, airplanes (or Up-planes, according to my little dude), Cowboy, or any other suggestions. Sports is already taken by big brother. I was slightly leaning toward cowboy because he has a print of a frog dressed in his cowboy get-up in his room now and I thought I could keep it. However, their shared bathroom is frogs and I could easily move it to the bano if necessary.

Opinions? Please.

Girls and Boys

Autumn Leaves are Falling Down,

Yellow, Green, Red and Brown,

Twirling, Twirling to the Ground,

Silently without a sound.

My Lindsey could recite this poem precisely when she was 2 1/2 (except she would say "silent leaves" rather than "silently"). Her baby brother, who is now 2 1/2 can not yet tell you his name.

You may not have heard this before, but boys and girls are very different.

On another note, sometimes I hate being an English major because people assume I know what I am doing gramatically. For instance, I have no idea whether you are supposed to capatalize all of the words of a poem or not. I think not, but it looked better that way.

I saw this on another blog recently. Since I've been in quite the blog funk lately, I thought I'd try it out. You should too.

35 Odd Things About Me

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? HATE it
2. Do you own a gun? no
3. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks? Oh, I really don't do Starbucks. I usually get either the white chocolate thing hot or the mocha frozen thingy (don't even know the size. those sizes are too confusing)
4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? water or orange juice
5. Do you do pushups? Sometimes. Clearly, not enough.
6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My beautiful watch Tim got me for my birthday 2 years ago (he gave it to me in April and my birthday is in June. He was so excited. He couldn't wait!)
7. Favorite hobby? I don't know
8. Do you have A.D.D? No
9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I have a hard time making true friends.
10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I sure hope Obama doesn't win, My husband got something from Fed Ex, Tyler fell asleep fast today
11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. Dr. Pepper, Water, Coke, Sweet Tea
12. Current worry right now? Is my boy going to figure out how to get off the bus at a stop that is different from his usual?
13. Current hate right now? the economy
14. Favorite place to be? Commerce, TX ... is that insane, or what?
15. Do you like to travel? Sort of. I love the idea of gettting away and relaxing, but the whole process stresses me out.
16. What color shirt are you wearing? Orange
17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Not sure. I have never really slept on them.
18. Can you whistle? Yes.
19. Favorite color? blue
20. If you could, would you be a pirate? Wow. No.
21. What song do you sing in the shower? I rarely burst into song in the shower. I am usually saying, "No. No. Don't open the door till Mommy gets finished."
22. Favorite girl's name? Lindsey
23. Favorite boy's name? Trey and Tyler
24. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing
25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? Bambi
26. Worst injury? I fell down my front steps carrying a kitchen table while moving and jammed my big toe. It wasn't that bad at the time. But it still bothers me daily, nearly 10 years later
27. Do you love where you live? No.
28. How many TVs do you have in your house? three
29. Who is your loudest friend? Holly

30. How many pets do you have? nada
31. Does someone have a crush on you? I doubt it.
32. What is your Favorite Book? To Kill a Mockingbird
33. What's your favorite candy? Reese Sticks
34. Favorite Sports Team? Dallas Cowboys
35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Why is Tyler crying?

Little Bitty Man Love

This morning I had this squooshy little dude in my lap and I just couldn't quit squeezing him and kissing his fat little heavenly cheeks. I even lightly rested my head on his soft little head with feathery white hair. He smelled like sweet little Wheeler baby. Yum! (My kids have all had this same scent)

You see, I'm a bit blue today. I am "in charge" of this group of young moms and they are not happy. Everyone seems to want different things and I am not giving it to them. That bums me out.

But my little man with those cheeks cheers me up and makes me feel oh so successful ... at least in his eyes.

"Maam, Could You Please Just Read the Schedule"

Lordy, Lordy. My precious little angel is doing great in volleyball. We have found a lovely girl on our street to watch the boys so that Tim and I can go to the game and actually focus on the action. All is going swimmingly!

Tonight, our sweet sitter arrived, received instructions, and we departed with plenty of time to see the game and even catch a little of the B Team game. So, off we went ... all the way on the opposite side of town to Cain. It is about a 15 minute drive, but we were still doing ok. When we arrived, there was a lovely choir having a presentation .... but no volleyball. Lights out on the court people.

So, off we went to our school (by the way, if the eighth graders are playing at home, the seventh graders would be at the away campus). After another 20 minute drive back to the other end of town and our school, we got out with just enough time to see our girl play. Ahem, she was not there. Her crazy mom did not read the schedule and was sure she remembered lots of talk about playing Cain. We play Cain next week. My girl was in Wylie tonight and I missed it.

What the heck?

Cool Rule!

My boy had a funky fever illness this weekend. Started running fever and ran it for 24 hours. At bedtime tonight, he felt perfect. This means that since he still had fever this afternoon, I get to keep him home with me tomorrow! Children must be fever-free for 24 hours before they can return to school. I LOVE this rule today. I have been missing my little man so much since school started and I get to hang out with him all day tomorrow.
Alright, that's all folks!

It Just Keeps Getting Better

I got together with my high school girls the other night and it was amazing. We were celebrating another little one born to one awesome mama. Let's see, I think that makes 20 kiddos among us ranging from 13 years to 3 months. What a legacy!

It seems that each time we are all together, our bond is so much stronger. I'll be honest, there was a time a few years back when I was nervous and unsure of whether or not I wanted to attend our little gatherings ... I mean, take a look at all of those beautiful women. It is understandably intimidating. Fortunately, all of that beauty goes much deeper than the surface and all of these girls are amazing.

Each one of these ladies are amazing wives and mothers, but we all still have that bond from our youth inside. I love it that I can be so real with these girls. I am so thankful that they are all in my life.

Who'd a thunk it?

Probably anyone who knows me and my computer skills.

Here's the deal ... I can't figure out where to put the little photo card in my new computer. I do not have the manual because it's technically Tim's laptop for work and all of that stuff is at work. "Have him bring it home", you might say. Oh, ha ha, you are so funny.

So, I'm still waiting to download our summer of fun.

Okey dokey then ...

Not quite yet

I composed this message earlier in the day and I have pondered posting it all day. It's kind of serious and I don't like to be all that serious most of the time, but the following really hit me and I felt like I should post it. But, then again, I don't like to be serious, especially on this blog where all kinds of people come to be entertained. Then I remembered that noone reads this blog and I decided, "what the heck." :)



I still have not gotten around to the whole photo show I am planning, but I read something on another blog, http://www.lotsofscotts.blogspot.com/, that really intrigued me.


It said,

"Comparison is the thief of all joy."

Wow! Did that ever hit me. I have been so guilty of this for years ... comparing my kids to other children or each other, comparing my husband to my friends' husbands, comparing my parents to my friends' parents, etc. It truly does steel your joy. There is always someone who seems to have it better, just like there are many, many people who have it far worse. I am working hard on being thankful for all of the great gifts the Lord has given me.

I want to hold on to my joy. I want to cherish each and every moment of my children's childhood. I want to appreciate what I have. I have a lot of love in my life and it's high time I am grateful for it!

Later ...

It's here!

Hello fan,

The new computing device has arrived. Despite the fact that it seems to have taken away all typing ability (not much) that I once had, I am very excited.

As soon as I figure out how to download my pictures on this new machine, I will add lots of new posts.

Stay tuned...