My baby girl....

is definately not a baby anymore. She turned 5 years old yesterday! I literally cannot beleive she has been in my life for 5 years. To my beautiful, sweet little girl...I love you more than I can even begin to put into words. You are the biggest blessing I have ever receivedthe very first time I l. I know that you think that the age of 5 makes you grown up, but I cherish these moments of you being a little girl so much. When I look back on 5 years, I think about the first time I laid eyes on you and how perfect you were and to this day you are still perfect in my eyes. You are so strong-willed and smart and outspoken and you make me laugh everyday whether you mean to or not. Sometimes I wonder how you can be so smart. I love you so much. I look forward to each and every day with you. Please know my little angel that you are my sunshine, each and every day. I love you.

HELLO!

People have been telling me I don't update on here enough, so here goes and I promise to update more often....Where to start....

Tyler....
He is such a little boy. Brad and I are amazed b/c he is no longer a little baby. He is a full blown BOY. If you have a boy you will know exactly what I mean. He is so different than Emma was at this age. He is always running around pretending to be a lion or bear or pretending to fix things w/ his tools. He says the funniest things and I really need to write about it on here more so I don't forget! He wanted to weigh himself on the scale this morning and when I saw 37 lbs I almost fell down! I don't know where he is hiding 37 lbs. I mean he is a broad shouldered little boy, but I think of him as tall and skinny. He must have some HEAVY bones! Today he has been slaying a dragon all day. Yesterday he was fishing....he even tried to "fish" in the toilet. So his fishing pole had to be wiped down w/ a clorox wipe. Here's a picture of the dragon slayer!



Emma...is too smart for her own good. She has been busy w/ cheerleading and school. Her latest obsession is CANDYLAND. She loves to play that game. She will be 5 on Christmas Eve! I can't beleive it. I have a 5 YEAR OLD!!!! She can't wait for Santa to come and is always threatening Tyler that if he doesn't do what she wants then Santa won't bring him toys. She also told me that "Jesus was the reason for the season" so she is also very knowledgeable about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Here'a picture of her at her last cheer competition. I am NOT fond of all the make-up, but it's a requirement and she loves it!



Baby...I will be 14 weeks on Friday. Things are much better now as far as morning sickness is concerned. I am now only nauseated in the morning and it goes away usually pretty quickly. I had an ultrasound on December 5. I was almost 12 weeks and the baby was dancing around and waving it's arms and legs. It was really funny. I have also just this week started to feel the first little flutters of movement. I know it is really early, but my doctor and lots of other moms have told me that w/ subsequent pregnancies, it is common to feel fetal movement earlier than "normal". At first I didn't think it was really the baby, but I have felt the same movements for about 3 or 4 days now and I am almost positive that is what it is! Anyway here is my u/s pic from Dec. 5. The little white spots on either side of the baby's head are it's hands!



Brad and I are doing good. He's busy w/ work and we are just getting everything ready for Christmas. If you want to see our Christmas tree pictures go to our website www.hawkinsfam.smugmug.com.

Christmas here we come!

I think I am finally turning into a normal human being again. You know, one who doesn't want to lay in bed ALL day, one who can actually eat and not want to run to the toilet every time food is put in front of me. A person who can do laundry and clean house and all of that fun stuff. Over these last few weeks I have definitely not been a normal person, but with about a week left in this 1st trimester I am finally feeling a little better. YAY! My husband and kids have been so understanding and the week of Thanksgiving I stayed w/ my mom and she waited on me and cooked for me and made me eat and also helped me take care of Emma and Tyler and I appreciate her sooooo much for it.

So I haven't really talked much about the kids on here lately, but they are doing so good.

Emma is still going to school and cheerleading. We decided to drop dancing b/c it was just too much for right now. She might take some ballet and tap classes over the summer. She has so much fun at school and is doing great at cheerleading. We have been working on writing her letters and what sounds they make, etc. She is so smart! She will be 5 in LESS THAN A MONTH. I can't believe how time flies. I swear it was just yesterday I was pregnant with her and now she will be 5. 5 is her "magic age". The age where she will be able to ride her bike w/ no training wheels and go across the monkey bars and use "poison" to help mom clean and be able to make her own dinner. So I guess my baby is no longer a baby b/c she's gonna be 5!

Tyler is also doing really well. He got a black eye at Thanksgiving from falling down the steps at his aunt's house, but that's pretty typical for him. He's just a rough kid. He always has a bump or a bruise. He is really into trucks and anything related to sports. He and Brad played "hockey" in the kitchen for about an hour the other night using plastic golf clubs and a plastic hamburger bun. He ran around yelling, "batter, batter, batter". If you tell him to make a touchdown he squats down, says "hut, hut" and then runs around like a mad man. It is really funny.
He is also counting and loves to do his shapes puzzle and has really started to like coloring.

Anyway, we are going to put up our Christmas tree tomorrow or Saturday and all the Christmas decorations, so that should be fun.

We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby news

I went to the doctor today and here's our baby. The pictures are a little fuzzy for 2reasons, 1) I scanned them on my scanner and 2) My uterus is extremely tilted (hence the need for C-sections!) so since the baby is still small it is hard to get a clear picture. The baby is measuring a little bigger than my dates, so he said my due date could change as the pregnancy progresses. Either way I will deliver around a week early since it will be a scheduled C-section! The baby is looking good. It has grown A LOT since my last ultrasound at 6 weeks. The heartbeat is strong and beating at 165 beats per minute! On a bad note...I have lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks and I am dehydrated...he wanted to put me in the hospital for a few days but I begged him to give me some anti-nausea medicine and promised to keep myself hydrated. He reluctantly agreed. So I start Zofran today. It is a drug that is often given to chemotherapy patients but is very safe for the baby. I have to go back to the doctor in a few days so he can check my urine to make sure the dehydration is improving. Please keep us in your prayers as always!

Still in my pj's....

Have you ever wanted to stay in your pj's and lay on the couch all day?? Well today I did...granted I also read books to the kids, played barbies w/ Emma, trucks w/ Tyler, cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner among a few other things. For the most part I layed on the couch. When Tyler took a nap, Emma watched Little Mermaid and I also took a nap. It is 6:30 p.m. and I decided to get off the couch and check the computer for a few minutes...I am still in my pajamas. To all of you who have been pregnant w/ 2 other children to chase around I commend you, I envy you...I ask how in the HECK you did it b/c when I was pregnant w/ Emma I only had to take care of me(and Brad a little, but he's pretty self sufficient if he has to be). When I was pregnant w/ Tyler it was only Emma to take care of and I could just sit on the floor w/ her and play. With two.....it's a whole other story. I woudln't trade it for the world...but I would REALLY like it if I didn't want to vomit every 5 seconds....This too shall pass, RIGHT???? Anyway, the kids have school tomorrow and I fully intend to clean house...unless I want to lay on the couch some more.... Emma and Tyler are doing good. I couldn't ask for better, sweeter, cuter more wonderful children. They amaze me everyday. Brad is in Alvarado again, but will *hopefully* be home tomorrow. Wednesday I will update again. I have a doctor's appt. and Brad and I are hoping and praying everything is progressing as it should be. Please keeep us in your prayers.

An addition...

Well we were kind of trying to keep this under wraps for a few more weeks, but word seems to have spread pretty fast, so for those of you who don't know, Brad and I are expecting baby # 3!!! We are very happy and excited. I am only 7 weeks along, so it is still very early. I had some spotting last week and went to the doctor. Everything looked good and he wanted to see me again this week. This week he did an ultrasound and there was a itty bitty baby w/ a beating heart!! I go back in two weeks and if everything looks good then I will go back to regular monthly visits. We are just hoping and praying that everything turns out okay and that we have a happy, healthy, normally developing baby. This past week I have been VERY nauseated and tired, but that just goes w/ the territory I guess. I will keep you all updated and we ask that you keep us in your prayers.

Halloween was pretty uneventful for us this year. Brad was out of town and Emma had cheerleading until 6:45. So by the time we got home and got costumes on it was already after 7. We hit up a few of our neighbors and turned in. Emma was Sleeping Beauty and Tyler was Superman. They were both very cute. I'll try to post pictures later. We hope that everyone is doing well and maybe we will see some of you with the holidays coming up and all.

We are still here!

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but I just wanted to let everyone who actually reads this that we are still here. We are doing fine. I promise I will blog w/ some Halloween pictures, etc. Brad just left for a 5 day trip to Alvarado, so it's just me and the kiddos for a few days. I am not sure what we are doing for Halloween, since Brad won't be home and we have never done Halloween in College Station, but there are plenty of things to do, so I'm sure we'll go trick or treating somewhere! Gotta run.

Don't Blink

I have been listening to that new Kenny Chesney song called, "Don't Blink". It is sooo good and if you listen closely it really puts things in perspective. What I get from the song is don't waste time b/c before you know it time is gone. It's really hard to take each moment of each day and try to cherish it b/c you get wrapped up in everything else. But this week I have really been trying to, as the song says, "Slow it down" and "Put first things first". Instead of RUSHING my kids to get dressed, get in the car and get to school, I have taken my time w/ them and I have been cherishing these moments that I share with them every single day and though it can get monotanous, one day I won't have these moments with them and I know I'll wish I would have paid more attention. I don't want to have that regret! I have also started to realize lately that I can't control other people and I can't make other people happy. For some reason that is really hard for me. I want everyone to be happy and happy with me, but the only thing I can do is make me happy and be the best mom, wife, friend, daughter, sister, etc. that I can be. I am not responsible for other people's happiness and as hard as that is for me to accept, I am happier when I do accept it. I also can't control people's actions and words. If they have words that hurt me...there's nothing I can do. I can't control them, I can only control my reaction to them. If they hurt me purposely it probably has more to do with themselves than it has to do with me. So all I can do is pray for them and ask God to help them and be with them and move on. So I'll get off my soap box now, but I do feel that I am really growing as a person lately, at least I am trying.

Emma and Tyler are doing good. Emma had picture day at school today. I ironed a dress for her to wear and laid it across the back of the chair and when I went in to put it on her she had it bundled up in a little ball!! I had to re-iron it. That little toot!

That's about all. I hope everyone has a good weekend and God Bless You, I know he has blessed me!

4 A.M.

I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning to Tyler screaming bloody murder. I panicked. He and Emma were asleep on my floor. Brad picked him up and put him in bed w/ me and I asked him what was wrong and he told me that Emma bit his finger???? So I asked her why. She said b/c she was scared?????? Yeah...I have no idea what that was about, but his finger is red and swollen..There will be no more sleeping beside each other on mom's floor!
I have been really busy. So since my last blog here's what I have been up to: taking Emma to cheer, dance and gymnastics, taking both kids to school, going to playdates, making 3 meals a day, cleaning house and playing with the kids! I just haven't had time to write. The 21st of September Brad, Emma and I headed off to Galveston for Emma's first cheer competition as part of the Thunder Elite Pink Ladies. She did SOOOOOOOO good. I put pictures up on our new photo website www.hawkinsfam.smugmug.com. I also have a video, but it won't upload on to youtube?? Tyler stayed w/ my mom and went to Jake's football game where according to my mom, he was very well behaved! YAY Tyler! Then the next weekend, we had Brad's sister and brother-in-law as well as Brad's best friend and his fiance at our house. So I was occupied then as well. This Friday, I took the kids to Yoakum and took Emma to Jake's football game. We got home Saturday and just hung out w/ Brad and had some family time. It was nice. I made homemade pizza last night and we just hung out.

Anyway, that's ALL I have been up to!

Peeing Ballerina???

Today was a rather interesting day. When I was driving the kids to Mother's Day Out this morning I remembered that it was 9/11. I started thinking about where I was on 9/11/01. I was actually in College Station waiting to go to class when I heard about it. Me and my roommates sat on the couch watching all of these foreigners in other countries dance around. They were so happy this happened. At the time I thought that was really sad, but now that I am a mom I have different feelings on it. It is unthinkable to me that thousands of people died and that other people were happy!!! I mean a lot of the people who died that day probably had children. That means there are thousands of children out there who lost their parents that day. How awful to be happy about leaving innocent children without their mother or father or both. It actually made me cry a little. I was really thankful that I had 2 parents growing up and that my children have 2 parents now.

On a lighter note, when I got home I took on a major project...CLEANING EMMA'S ROOM! It was gross!!!! As I opened a little drawer on her dresser and pulled out a little pink bucket, what was in it spilled on my pants. I realized then that it was pee. That's right URINE! Emma peed in a little bucket and hid it away in her dresser. And all along I had been thinking that her matress was going to have to be thrown out..it was her urine. It's funny now, but you weren't the one w/ old pee spilled all over your pants and leg.

Emma had her first "real" ballet class today. She was a beautiful little ballerina. She did really well and she loved it.

Tyler is doing great. Brad shaved off his mohawk. So now he just has a little buzz cut. His teacher's say he is adjusting really well to school. He told me in the car today that he has a friend named Sarah! I asked him where Sarah was b/c I thought he might have been referring to me, but no, he said, "At school".

Well I guess that's all. I'm waiting for Brad to get home and that's about all.

Week in Review

Well let's just say that at this time last week, I fell asleep with dreams of 4.5 HOURS of time all to myself. I drempt of sitting on the couch reading, catching up on all my scrapbooking, folding the laundry w/out one of my children attacking it like Godzilla crashing into a building.

This week school actually started and I'll be honest...I don't really know what to do with myself. I miss them both terribly. I know it's ridiculous b/c it's only 4.5 hours and it's not like I don't have things to do, but I think of them at "school" and the fact that I can't see their little faces smiling at their friends and that I can't help them eat their lunch or put them down for a nap. I think about how next year at this time my BABY will be in KINDERGARTEN, ALL DAY. It makes me cry almost everytime I think about it. Anyway, before I ruin the computer w/ a river of tears...here's our WEEK.

Tuesday...Tried to figure out how I was going to have BOTH kids at school at 9 a.m. when their schools are about 10-15 minutes apart(w/ all these wonderful college kids here now, traffic is A LOT heavier). Lucky for me Brad was home. So he met me at Tyler's school. Tyler looked so handsome. Dressed in his GAP polo and shorts w/ his little backpack on. Well according to Brad as soon as he walked in the classroom, my handsome man turned into a blubbering baby boy and he could hear him all the way out the door! It breaks my heart to think of it, so I'm glad I wasn't there b/c I would have scooped him and taken him home away from all of those MEAN ladies at A&M Church of Christ's Sonshine School! So after leaving Tyler in Brad's capable hands I headed off to take Emma. No problems there. She looked so cute and as soon as we got there she ran off and didn't give me a second thought, which made me want to scoop her up and take her home in order to ensure that she doesn't decide she likes her teacher better than me! But I didn't. I walked to the car on the verge of tears, thinking that I must be the only mother in the world who wouldn't like a few hours away from her children. I ran errands, and at one point I glanced in the rearview mirror and slammed on my brakes when I didn't see either of the kids in their carseats. "I left them in the parking lot at the store" I thought. Oh no, they're at MOTHER'S DAY OUT!!! Then I started thinking about how they could be torturing my children. Not feeding them, making Tyler sit in diaper full of pee, pulling Emma's hair...Then after talking to Brad and him declaring me officially psychotic...I decided, I'm psychotic! So I went home, unloaded some groceries, checked my email, ate lunch and went to get Tyler. When I got there, he ran to me like I was water and he was dying of thirst!!! YAY, he remembers me. The teacher (who is really very nice by the way) told me he stopeed crying soon after Brad left and only fussed a little bit. So all in all a good day! On to Emma, she also ran to me and was so happy to tell me about the classes pet monkey, Harry and all of her new friends. THEY STILL NEED ME!!! Then off to Emma's first dance class which was totally boring. They did nothing except for blow bubbles and get their ballet and tap shoes! Hopefully next week I'll have something worthwhile to say about dancing. By the time we got home both the kids were practically zombies. So they vegged out in front of the t.v. for the rest of the afternoon...bad mommy I know.
Here are pics from their FIRST DAY.










Wednesday...I took the kids to a playdate at the Children's Museum. They had LARGE, LARGE fun. They painted, the played the million and fifty instruments, they shopped at the pretend grocery store, they rode in the back of the fake ambulance. Tyler spent a lot of the time running around shouting, "WOOHOO" which is his new favorite thing to say ANYTIME something good happens to him. Then we met Brad at a Mexican food place that is the best in Bryan...which isn't saying much b/c Mexican food here is lacking to say the least. We went home, TYler napped, Emma "rested" which amounted to her coloring in a coloring book and I made a feable attempt to clean the house. Then after Tyler woke up, I attempted to get Emma to take a nap by going for a ride in the car..didn't work. So then Emma had cheerleading at 5:45. Now there was definately some action there! They are learning their cheer (which is kind of like a little dance). If you have never seen 12 3-5 year olds shaking their booties in unison...you are missing out. It was too cute. We have our first competition on Brad's bday (Sept. 22) in Galveston. I'll be sure to video it. Anway here are some pics from the museum.

















Thursday...School again. I managed to drop Tyler off 5 minutes early and then Emma was only 5 minutes late..which according to her teacher is fine. They both went to school again in really cute outfits b/c I really like my kids to look cute. But they both came home w/ HUGE STAINS. So hopefully I can get them both out since they both had on BRAND NEW outfits. So, play clothes from now on for sure, unless there's something special going on. I ran more errands and then instead of cleaning house...I did something totally unexpected...I took a 2 hour nap!!!! I am not sure I have done that EVER since becoming a mom. Anyway, this afternoon, I took Tyler to get a mohawk!! He looks so cute!! In these pictures it is all spiked up, but it looks really cute just laying flat too, which is probably how he will wear it most of the time.





Friday...We really didn't do anything. We messed around the house and just hung out. Brad's parents were here this weekend. So we just hung out w/ them.

I also wanted to share this prayer for all the rest of the moms out there that I love and I try to say it everyday.

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Gitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last week's mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I seen then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile

Lazy Labor Day

As I sit here and type, I am looking at a list of things I WAS going to do today. Granted it's only 4:30 and I could maybe get some of them done, I can't help but feel a little lazy. This weekend was really nice. Saturday night we had our friends Jason and Mariah and Lowell, Mary and Tristan stay at our house. We also had 2 of Brad's friends over and his brothers. Brad cooked 4 slabs of baby back ribs(ohhh, they were good) and beans and potato salad. We had a great time and didn't go to bed until after 2 a.m. The kids of course turned in a LOT earlier. Sunday everyone except for Lowell, Mary and Tristan went home and the 7 of us piled in my Expedition and went to Gander Mountain (an outdoor store) and looked around. Brad and I priced some guns and are hoping to get them in time for deer season. Then we ate Layne's Chicken Strips and played some dominoes and that was about it. They left around 10 this a.m. and Brad and I had ambitions of getting a bunch of house stuff done. But..it's raining and we are sitting around playing with the kids and watching a little T.V. This week is going to be soo busy. The kids start Mother's Day Out tomorrow. So I will have to get into the swing of that. Next year at this time Emma will be in kindergarten, so I am going to be sure and treasure the days she is at home with me this next year b/c before long she will start the long haul of going to school 5 days a week all day. What will I do with only my baby Tyler at home??? I know for sure he is going to miss her terribly :(. I may have to increase his time at Mother's Day Out to 3 days a week just so he won't be lonely. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

So tomorrow I have tons of errands to run, plus housework to catch up on. I have to check on when Emma is going to be going to dance class and I have Tyler's 2 y/o pictures to mail and I have to buy my book for book club and go to the bank among other things.

Wednesday I am taking the kids to the Children's Museum in the morning and in the evening Emma has cheerleading class.

Thursday is back to Mother's Day Out and hopefully I will be able to do a little shopping and maybe some scrapbooking

Friday-We are planning on going swimming as long as there's good weather.

Weekend Plans-depend on if Brad is working or not. We have been wanting to go to Lake Bryan and go fishing,but we'll only do that if Brad is off.

Next weekend we are planning on going to Yoakum to visit. Anyway, Brad is in the bathroom cutting Tyler's hair so I better go and assist.

The End of Summer!!!

Well this has been ONE LONG HECTIC Summer. But it is coming to an end and I am NOT sad to see it go. Lots has been going on at my house and in my life and I am hoping that with the end of summer will be the start of normalcy again! But here's a recap of what has been going on as of late.

Ryan's wedding-Brad's sister got married on August 11. Me, my 2 kids, Heather and her son and Tina went on August 7 to do wedding stuff. The wedding was nice except for my Olivia Newton John hairdo which you can see on my picture website along with other wedding photos. I didn't take a lot of pictures b/c when you have your husband, 2 y/o son, 4 y/o daughter and yourself in the wedding you really don't have time for pictures. I am hoping that the photographer got some good one's of my little flower girl and ring bearer. Anyway to see those pictures along w/ ALL of my summer pics go to www.picasaweb.google.com/bsethawk

My Anniversay-was on August 17. My wonderful husband suprised me with a trip to Vegas. IT was so fun. A great relaxing long weekend. Brad's mom kept the kids and we just had a great time. Once in Vegas Brad suprised me w/ a Coach purse. Yes I know I have a wonderful husband. There's also pics from our trip on my website.

My Birthday-I told Brad not to get my anything after the trip to Vegas and the purse and all. I was at my mom's on my bday b/c Brad was out of town, when I got home that evening I found a cake w/ candles, a card and some makeup I had been wanting!! He did all of that before he left for work. He's so sweet :)

Yesterday Emma had a meet and greet at her school. She likes it and her teachers seem very nice. Her first day is Tuesday!! Here's a picture of her at school yesterday


Speaking of Emma, she is now swimming. After many swimming lessons and many different attempts by me, Brad and my mom to get her to swim w/ NO results, she just decided she would swim. Here's a VERY short video showing my new little mermaid!


Tyler is doing good. He is really growing up so fast. He's been learning his colors. He already knows his shapes. We have been working on counting and he can count to six. He has been watching preseason football with me whenever it's on. He will start Mother's Day Out on Tuesday as well.

I guess that's about all. I am ready for Sept. to start. The kids will have school, Emma will have her 1st cheer competition in Galveston on Brad's 30th Birthday and she starts dance this month too!

Normal?

Shhhhh.....Can you hear it?? I think if I listen really hard it almost sounds like things are back to normal at my house. Yep...the wedding is over, I'm back from Vegas. I don't have anyone staying at my house and Mother's Day Out and preschool start on Sept. 4. YEAH!!!!!!!!! If you could see me right now, you'd see that I am doing a little happy dance in my chair. The kids are jumping on the bed and they don't see my happy dance but that's okay b/c I am soooo happy about returning to normal. While my summer has been crazy and fun and we've gotten to spend time with all of our family...I am so ready for a ROUTINE. You see w/ two kids, a routine is a MUST HAVE--at least w/ my crazy kids.

Anyway, we are doing good. Brad has once again been gone since Tuesday, but that's neither here nor there since that seems to be the norm w/ his job which I won't get into b/c I could complain all day about HOW CRAPPY things are run at his work. Let's just say it's a far cry from the organizational masterpiece that was his job in Victoria. If we didn't like College Station so much it would be unbearable, but thankfully we like LIVING here, Brad just HATES working here!

We are going swimming with some friends later and hopefully my husband will be home this evening and get to eat something other than WAFFLE HOUSE in Alvarado!

Oh and check out the rest of my Vegas pictures at www.picasaweb.google.com/bsethawk

Vegas pictures

 

 

 

 

Here it is

The thing that I was asking for prayers for was b/c I thought we were going to be moving. Brad was possibly going to be transferred to Fort Stockton....(that's in WAY West Texas). It wouldn't have been to bad. Brad grew up in Wink and the schools there are very good and almost all of Brad's uncles and cousins live in West Texas, but it turns out that FOR NOW we are going to stay put in College Station at least until NEXT August. I am a little releived, since we just moved here I wasn't quite ready to pack it up and move again. Not to mention all of the money I have put into Mother's Day Out for Emma and Tyler and EMma's cheerleading. I would have just LOST that money! So that's about it. Brad's sister HEather is here w/ her son Reagan and we are just hanging out and letting the kids play..or watching Tyler torment Reagan!! We are taking them swimming later. That's all for now!

Back to Reality

We're back from Vegas. It was INDESCRIBABLY AWESOME. Really, I can't put it into words. You could stay there for months and STILL not see everything there is to see. We had a blast. I only got 2 hours of sleep on Saturday night and as I'm sure the rest of you mom's know that when you get home to the kids there is NO REST. So I'm a LITTLE tired but I was so happy to see Emma and Tyler. This is actually the LONGEST period of time I have spent away from them and I missed them so much. In Vegas we walked the strip. It was HOT but there's no humidity there so it didn't bother us. We gambled and saw a show and shopped and went into a BUNCH of other neat hotel's and checked out their shops and casino's, restaurants, etc. We stayed at the Luxor, the hotel shaped like a pyramid. It was very nice but it's like it's own little city. Seriously, you get totally lost in the hotel. That is how they all are, HUGE.

I will post pictures later.

Other than that, still keep us in your prayers b/c we definately have something big going on. I should know something for sure by Wednesday, so for all of those who are curious and have sent me emails about what is going on, I'll let you know soon.

I'm on my way to VEGAS BABY!!!

HELLO!!!! I know it's been awhile, but WHEW! it has been crazy. The wedding was very nice. After an 8 hour drive there and then running ALL over West Texas and then a 9 hour drive home the kids, Brad and I (and I'm sure everyone else) were exhausted. And to top it all off, Brad got a phone call right before we left Sunday that as soon as he got home he would have to drive to ALVARADO for a job (another 3 hours). UUUUUGGGGHHHHH! I hate Brad's boss. Anyway, Emma & Tyler were cute. They got a little rowdy during the ceremony but they walked down the aisle PERFECTLY! During the ceremony Emma threw rose petals at me and then kept writing messages for Heather (the matron of honor) to deliver to Ryan (the bride). But it all went well and IT'S OVER!!!!! My fifth wedding anniversary is on Friday---yep that's right---5 years!!! Brad suprised me with a trip to..........Vegas. We leave on Thursday and we'll be back on Sunday!!! YEAH!!! I'm super excited.

Other than that just keep us in your prayers. We have something going on right now that is PROBABLY going to create some BIG changes for our family!! More on that when things are more final.

Tyler

Here are my adorable, handsome, sweet, photogenic son's 2 year old pictures!
Since Brad's cousin is giving me hell, I had to come back and add that I know his glove is on the wrong hand, but he wouldn't put it on the other hand. I think he might be a lefty!! I'm gonna get him a lefty glove.

My wonderful family

I went to take a shower and when I got out and went in the living room this is what I saw. The funniest thing is that I took about a million pictues and not one of them flinched!!



Oh and Brad went to the dentist Friday and had some work done. His top lip was numb when he got home and the facial expressions he was making were EXTREMELY comical. When he saw it he laughed so hard which made me laugh even harder b/c of the way he looked.

Hello

I thought I'd drop in and blog real quick. If you haven't seen my slideshows below take a look at my darlings! Today is kind of a lazy day for me. I am trying to get everything done before I leave here on Monday but I'll be honest I'm kind of puttering out of steam. I need to start packing and I have some loose ends to tie up before I go. Emma & Tyler start school on Sept. 4 and I went to my favorite clothing boutique to find Emma & Tyler's outfit's for the first day of school. I need to get them now b/c I'm sure I'll be really busy when we get back, etc. I got Tyler's no problem, but of course they didn't have anything in Emma's size. So I got some of the websites were they have the same kind of clothes, my only problem now is tooo many options. So I figured you all could help me decide which one is the cutest. So leave me a comment and VOTE. Hurry so I can order on Monday.

Slideshows

SORRY!!

I know it has been awhile since I last blogged, but I am CRAZY busy. I might blog later this week, but I will be leaving on Tuesday for my sister-in-law's wedding and won't be back until Sunday!!! I have been running around like a mad woman and just trying to get everything situated. We are taking a babysitter to West Texas w/ us which is going to be a HUGE, but expensive help. I am just hoping to win the lottery between now and the wedding so I can pay for some of the stuff I have to buy for the wedding!!! Who knew it could cost so much just to be IN a wedding!!! The kids are doing good, Brad's good. I'm GOOD! I'll try to update later.

I HATE THE RAIN

Yep, it's raining here..again. So today was pretty boring at my house. I scrapbooked, the kids colored, we played, we watched a movie, I did laundry and then I took Emma to cheerleading. They got their outfits....SOOOO CUTE. I will take her picture and post it on here soon. Then tonight I went to a PartyLight Candle Party. It was fun, I bought some candles, but when I got home Emma had a suprise for me...she cleaned the toy room. She was so excited to show me and quite honestly it was a REALLY GOOD suprise b/c I always dread cleaning the toy room at the end of each day.

Mom Moment

For all of you who are my myspace friends...this blog is the same as the one on my myspace page, but I wanted to post it here too.

Beware this is going to be a little mushy and for those of you who don't have kids you may not get it, but I had to share nonetheless.

Today I took Emma & Tyler to see Curious George at the movie theatre in College Station. I was a little nervous b/c since Tyler has hit his "terrible twos" (which really aren't THAT terrible by the way) I have not taken the kids to the movies by myself. Brad went w/ me when I took them to see Shrek 3. But it was soooo worth it.

 

We sat down and Tyler sat in my lap and I'm not really into Curious George so I watched him as the movie began. The smile on his face when George showed up was priceless. So the rest of the time I sat and watched Emma & Tyler's faces and I was just so thankful to have them and so thankful to have that moment to get to see through Tyler's eyes. I am so blessed. I am not sure what I did to deserve such wonderful, beautiful, intelligent children but I am so happy to have them.

 

Anyway...here are some pictures of them before the movie...

 

 

 

Funny Girl and Good News

Emma is always saying CRAZY things, I don't know where or how she comes up w/ them. Today we went swimming at the pool and afterwards Emma and Tyler were in the shower and Emma told Tyler, "Let me sing you a song my mother used to sing to me when I was your age". I tried not to laugh b/c she gets so mad if you laugh at her, but it was toooo funny. At the pool, she helped a little girl up after she fell and her mother told Emma thank you and Emma said, "anytime, anytime". Oh and one more, last night I asked her if she wanted to talk to my mom (who was on the phone). She said in her best rapper voice, "yo, yo, yo give me the phone mommylicious" LOL! She's tooo funny.

Oh and some good news!! Tyler got into the A&M Church of Christ Mother's Day Out Program. I either wanted him to go there or to one other one, but he got in there so I'm SUPER EXCITED!!! YEAH!!!!!

Just checking in

Well this has been a blah kinda week. We have just trying to get back into the swing of things and get back into our routine. I have a HUGELY busy month in August. We will be traveling to West Texas for about 6 days for my sister in laws wedding. Brad, the kids and I are all IN the wedding so it should be HECTIC. My 5th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY is on the 17th and Brad is off that weekend, but I'm not sure what he has planned and he doesn't seem to be telling? I am also hosting an evening get together, bunco, a sip and see and a playdate at my house this month as well as taking over duties of Membership Vice President of my MOMS Club, plus Emma has golf camp, cheer and at the end of the month a party at her NEW preschool!!! So I've definately got to get the kids back to normal before all of that starts to transpire. In September Emma will start preschool and Tyler will start Mother's Day Out on Tuesday's and Thursday's and Emma will start dance and I'm gonna take both of the kids to Kindermusik. They also have a pre t-ball league here for kids ages 3-5, and Brad and I are debating on it right now. We don't want to involve her in to much, but she is also the kind of child who needs to stay busy and she thrives on interaction with other kids. It's only 1 night a week, so we'll see about that. She says she wants to play and then the next minute she doens't??? A true woman! Other than that the kids are great. Tyler's potty training is much different than Emma's but we are both hanging in there. This weekend Brad has been working w/ him a lot b/c he wants to do EVERYTHING Brad does, so hopefully that will help. Brad had a weekend off and it was nice to have him home. I was sick last night and this morning with an intestinal thing. Brad drove me to the emergency room but once we got there I talked him out of going in. I am feeling a little better..hopefully I will stay that way.

GIVE ME A BREAK!!

I had someone email me about this blog and tell me that they that I sounded a little big headed about my children and that I brag about them, my life and my family too much. So I just want to say if you don't like my bragging then don't read my blog. I love my kids, my husband and my family and this blog is just as much for me as it is for everyone else. It is a way for me to keep track of the things that my kids do and what happens in our lives. I print these blogs out and store them in a binder and one day my kids can look at them if they want. People brag about their jobs all the time, well this is my job and I love it and I will NEVER stop bragging about my children or my husband. I love them, I am proud of them and they are my life and I encourage everyone to be as enthusiastic as I am over their loved ones b/c at the end of the day they are all you have. So get over it and get over yourself. For those of you who like reading please continue, leave me a comment and let me know you are out there from time to time. I don't mean to sound mean or gripey, but that was the most ridiculous email I have ever gotten. I am not going to talk about it anymore except to say, If you don't like it, don't look!

I'm HOME!!

Well let's just say our SECOND trip to the beach was not so much fun. I think I was just SUPER tired and Emma and Tyler are so in need of getting back into a routine that they just were not functioning properly so the kids are I are at home and I am attempting to get them into some sort of routine again! We used to have such a lovely routine and it made the days go so much smoother and the transition back into that routine will probably be a little difficult but I GOTTA DO IT! So right now is the kids scheduled TV time so they are watching Sesame Street (my favorite) and coloring at the kitchen table (hopefully not ON the kitchen table). I can hear them through the monitor (yes I still use a monitor even though they are 2 and 4) and they are just so nice and quiet and they are not fighting. Emma is helping Tyler pick a color and Tyler is laughing at Oscar the grouch :). Ahhh...these are the moments I love! We are going full force into the potty training. We had a little accident this morning, but those are to be expected. Emma starts school September 4 so this morning we practiced writing her name and with just a LITTLE work she is already writing it much better. Tyler and I did shapes and colors flash cards. He is doing soooo good. He knows circle, triangle, diamond and square. He calls the rectangle a door and the oval an egg but that's close! His colors are going okay too. He knows blue and white and black, but he calls red, yellow and orange all ORANGE. I really think he just likes the way it sounds b/c he repeats "orange" over and over again. Brad is home this weekend so we are looking forward to some "daddy" time! I guess that's about it.

Beach Bound AGAIN

Well, the kids and I are going to the beach in Port Aransas again. We are going to Yoakum tonight to stay at my moms and then getting up and going w/ my mom to Port A. on Monday. We will be back in Yoakum on Wed. night and I'll be on my way back to College Station on Thursday to make it in time for Emma's cheerleading class. My grandparents (Dodo & Dado) and my aunt, her kids, my uncle, his wife and their kids are down there and they invited us to come along. I wasn't going to go but Brad left for Alvarado and won't be back until Thursday or Friday so I figured why not. Yesterday we had a really good family day. We did a little shopping and then came home and swam in the pool in the evening and had chili cheese fries for dinner. I know it doesn't sound like much, but Brad, the kids and I have so much fun together that it is like the best thing in the world to us to be able to just hang out at home and have some family time. So after tomorrow I won't be around a computer.

Tyler's swimming and Emma's going to school

Brad is watching the kids while I am "getting dressed" for bunco. So I had a quite few minutes and thought I'd blog real quick.

We got a pool today. It's just one of those easy set up ones. It's 12 ft x 3 ft. So Emma can stand in it but it's a little over Tyler's head. Anyway, when we were filling it up and the water was only up to Tyler's waist, the kids came outside and Tyler jumped right in and was jumping w/ his WHOLE HEAD under water and doing his arms like he was swimming. Brad would tell him go under and he'd "dive" under water while holding his breath!!! I think he'll be swimming on his own by next summer! Brad says by the end of this summer, but I think that's a little soon!

I also got a letter from Emma's preschool. She will be going to Kingdom Kids at Grace Bible Church. It's a non-denominational church in College Station and I have heard A LOT of great things about it from other moms. Brad and I are going to try the church out this Sunday b/c I've also heard a lot of good about it. So we will see. Anyway, Emma's school starts on September 4th. We will have a meeting with the teacher in late August and then they have a class party and "orientation" on August 30th. I'm excited. She'll only go Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2:30 p.m. I doubt I will be excited next year when my baby starts KINDERGATEN!!! I think I'll probably cry my eyes out!!!

From the looks of things Tyler is going to be going to A&M Church of Christ's Mother's Day Out program. I've heard good things about it as well. I'm not sure if I will send him one or two days a week yet!

Anyway...that's about all that is going on here. I better go get dressed for BUNCO now!

Beach Trip Recap

Okay....here's a rundown of our trip to Port Aransas.

Saturday Brad, Granny (my grandmother) and I left for Port A. at around 8 am to try and catch the gambling boat that leaves at 11 am. We were really cutting it close since the gates close at 10:30 but we made it!! I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures, but we had a lot of fun. The food was okay and the drinks were okay. I played slots and blackjacks and did pretty well. I only spent $2 when I added it all up and that was after gambling, tipping the dealers and waitresses and giving Brad some of my chips..so I did pretty good...Brad? not so much.

After getting off the boat we headed to Port Royal where my mom,dad, Emma, Tyler and my brothers and their friends were waiting. We ate some pizza and headed down to the beach. The kids played for a while and we went back to the room for some REST!!!

Sunday we went to the shops, beach and HUGE pool. Tyler decided he wasn't scared anymore and was jumping around and swimming in between me and MiMi!! Emma is fine...as long as she has her floaties and doesn't have to go under water! Tyler will probably swim before she will! I got the kids a "beach" outfit and some really cute picture frames at the shops and I bought Emma some seashells b/c there really aren't very many on the beach???

Monday we did the same beach, pool, fed seagulls...all the stuff you do at the beach!

Tuesday, we took the kids to the beach early in the morning and Brad had put out the bought seashells for the kids to "collect" They were so excited. Then we all headed home. We stopped at the Big Fisherman in Rockport for lunch and on Tuesday's they have all you can eat CHICKEN FRIED STEAK for $1.75. Yep that's right ONE DOLLAR and SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS!!! Tyler loved their potato soup and Brad and I got fish so I'm not sure if the Chicken Fried Steak is anygood, but for $1.75 what more can you ask for??

Everyone had a lot of fun. The kids both really love the beach and they both behaved really well except for about one "breakdown" apiece.

On the way home Emma said to me, "I have a crush on Ryan" one of Jake's friends. She told me, "he's very cute"!! She's BOY CRAZY! What have I gotten myself into??

Anyway, pictures are on my photo website www.bsethawkins.photosite.com

Back to reality!

Well we are back from our beach trip to Port Aransas. We had SOOOOOOOO much fun and it was so relaxing, but for some reason when you come back from vacation it seems like you have so much to do to catch up from being gone. I have enough sand filled laundry to do to last me 3 lifetimes!! The kids had a blast and they did sooo many cute and funny things, but I just don't have the time to post them all right now. Brad had to leave for work as soon as we got home last night so I am totally swamped w/ unloading the car, luandry, running errands, the kids and the yard needs to really be mowed after all of this rain that we had and I'm not much of a yard mower, but I would love to do it for Brad so he doesn't have to when he gets home. I feel really bad for Brad, he had to go all the way to Alvarado last night and didn't get there until 11 pm after having to drive 5 hours home, but he never complains so I guess I shouldn't either..at least he has a job and is making money right? I have a ton of pictures so I'll try to post later today or tomorrow w/ a few more details on our FUN, FUN trip and the pictures.

4th of July

We went to Lake Sommerville for the 4th. Brad's work had a bbq. It was kinda rainy but both the kids "swam" in the lake a little. Neither one of them was too impressed w/ all the grass but they swam anyway. It kind of reminded me of being younger and swimming in the tank and all of that and how I would probably NOT do that now just b/c I am paranoid about snakes, etc. Brad had to go to work that evening, but before he left Tyler managaed to get into the laundry room and pull down the HUGE tub of Oxi Clean! But we got it all cleaned up. We are fixing to leave to go to the BEACH!!! So I thought I'd post our 4th of July pics before we leave b/c I'm sure I'll have a lot of pics to post after that. Brad and I are going out on the gambling boat tomorrow w/ my grandmother and we are all ready to go FISHING!! So I'll update again on Wednesday!