Goodbye Elementary... Hello Middle School! Yikes!

My beautiful Katie Bug, as I affectionately like to call her, has officially graduated Valley Oaks Elementary School! She walked in, she strolled across the stage, and my tears rolled. She has attended a wonderful elementary school for six years (kinder - 5th), she has met so many super-friends, and quite a few BFFs! I have had the pleasure of watching my daughter blossom from learning her ABCs and 123s, to learning how to write really good stories and spell words even I have trouble with, to learning how to properly research science and social study projects. At the moment, the word 'proud' is a huge understatement of how I feel. So, goodbye to elementary school...

...And hello to middle school! This fall Katie will be attending Spring Branch Middle School for the next three years! Let's face it, we've all heard the horror stories about middle school, and this mamma is a little nervous. But, Katie is a very responsible, mature, and cautious kind of gal... at least so far. I keep traveling back in time to my own days in middle school, which scares me! When Katie was first born I can still clearly hear what my own mother told me, "Ahhh, paybacks are hell; hahaha!" Even though she was joking, I know EXACTLY what she meant; my days of 'rebellion' began in middle school. Katie has been a mini-me thus far, basically a goody-goody, and middle school is when I said goodbye to my 'goody-goody' days.

This is the part where I have to 'practice what I write', and learn to be the kind of mother that will always be there for her through support and trust. (Yes, I am fully aware that this is easier 'said' than 'done'.) She will be shaping her own personality styles, and I just hope she doesn't come home one day with jet black hair, wearing a black t-shirt that says 'Rebel' in red lettering, black acid-washed jeans with chains for belts, black boots up to her knees, thick black eyeliner, and midnight black lipstick! Hahahaha! (Of course, I don't think I will truly start panicking until she asks me if she can go out on a date, or shows up at the house with her 'boyfriend'!) Lord help me!

Luckily I can't see into the future, so until then, I will enjoy taking one-day-at-a-time! 

I love you Katie Bug!!

Is Mother's Day Overrated?? I think NOT!

With Mother's Day only a couple days away, I've been hearing and reading stories about the best and worst gifts to give a mother on her special day. On the list of 'bad gifts' were vacuum cleaners, a new washer/dryer, scented lotions/candles, and plants. Also on this list of big no-no's was household appliances, which is a good thing since my hubby has banned me from our kitchen in fear of me burning the house down. Ha! Apparently, all of the above mentioned gifts are 'evil' because they give us mommies 'extra' work in a round about way. (I have to admit though, a new washer/dryer would be nice... hehehe!) But, there are a few gifts that were worthy enough to be placed on the 'good gift' list. Day Spa certificates, movie tickets, take us out to dinner instead of us making it, and of course the obvious favorite, diamonds. These type of gifts help 'relieve' a mother from her daily chores/routine.

Now, what about the gifts we receive from our younger children? They obviously can't afford to 'buy' us gifts, and if they did, I'd seriously be playing 20 questions to find out where they got the money from! So instead, every year, we get those oh-so-cute handmade picture frames, plastic beaded ribbon necklaces, handprints with a nice sappy poem, and handwritten colorfully decorated letters on lined notebook paper. Don't get me wrong, I love getting these kinds of gifts from my kids, and I even go as far as save these wonderful gifts in a special container for future memories. BUT....

Here is MY personal Mother's Day Wish List:

1) For one whole week, I'd like my kids to have their homework finished before I come home from work.

2) One whole day ALONE at home...

3) A 1-hour foot massage. (Without the hubby hoping it will lead to a 'happy ending'!)

4) And finally, a clean house. (This includes doing laundry.)

My list is short, sweet, and simple. Yeah, right! You see, in my household, we do not live 'simple' lives. Time is a virtue, and to be honest, I would probably feel like I've 'fallen behind' on my normal chores if I were to 'do absolutely nothing for an entire day'! Ultimately, the best Mother's Day gift I could ever ask for, has already taken place, and will bring me joy until the day I die. My kids. In my opinion, Mother's Day is everyday, 365 days a year. (366 on leap years!) Our kids bring us joy and fear, love and pain, laughs and tears, and put us through  endless emotional roller coaster rides. But at the end of every night, I go to bed smiling because I simply feel blessed to have them in my life. Every time I get hugs from them is Mother's Day for me!

Happy Mother's Day to ALL mother's out there! (Even if you're only a mother to four-legged furry kids!)

Life is a Highway!

Geez, has it really been almost six long months since I last posted a blog on here? I guess it's true what they say (and sing about)... "Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long". Except my highway has been full of traffic, accidents, and apparently speed bumps; what the heck are speed bumps doing on MY highway?? Luckily, traffic has died down a bit, I'm recovering from the accidents, and I'm hoping I've run over the last speed bump for a while.

I am endlessly amazed at how busy life can get every now and then for me. Still trying to figure out if I just have a problem saying 'no', or if I simply enjoy staying busy. Either way, I think I am finally coming to my senses and realizing I needed to throw something out the window; figuratively speaking of course; ha! The last few months I have been working toward working only one job versus the two I had been working just so I could make time for the ten billion other things I had going on in my extra curricular life. Yes, I am only working one job now, but it seems it may take a little more time to scratch off the other ten billion things... well, I'd be fine and dandy just cutting it down to five billion. It's a work in progress...

Throughout my super busy schedule, I always look forward to seeing my kiddos' faces when I come home from work. Even when I come home late in the evening and the first thing they do is bombard me with "I need help on this homework question", "Can I go to so-in-so's house?", "Mom, sign this so I can go on the field trip", and my favorite one is, "I'm bored". Yes, even through my exhausted eyes, they make me smile and my heart grow. In fact, my kids are one of the many reasons my schedule stays busy. I like being as active as possible in their school functions, so this is where my problem saying 'no' comes into play. Earlier this week, while home sick with bronchitis, I made 12 dozen confetti eggs for them to turn in at school as part of a contest for a popsicle party. The confetti eggs are sold at an annual Jamboree event they have at school, so making the eggs was my way of contributing... BUT, I am also chairing the 'Art Booth' at this Jamboree, so that means I have to have my craft examples made, have enough supplies ready the school-wide event, and have decorations for my art-tent... I have 2 weeks left. THEN, at the end of May, the 5th graders go to the University of Houston for a day and participate in a few activities. Yes, this overachiever (as I am often called) signed up to help decorate the tables for all 95 5th graders; so I am now in charge of the table centerpieces! So needless-to-say, by the time school ends at the end of May, my list of 10 billion things to do will have successfully been cut down to only 5 billion things to do... hehehe!

Until next time...

Like Mama, like daughter!

You've heard the phrase, "Like father, like son", right?

Well, I'm super-glad to announce this story is about "Like mama, like daughter"!

My daughter Katie has recently taken up an interest in blogging... just like me! Yippie! She has decided to blog about the many pets we share a home with! I must say this is a great place for her to begin utilizing her typing/writing skills since our pets are ALWAYS giving us something to laugh (or scream) about!

I can see it now! My daughter, the award-winning author of many books! (Below is the picture that you would see on the back-cover of all her top-selling books!) LOVE IT!!!

Go see her blog at www.belle-mypets.blogspot.com

Until next time...

Little League Soccer Season!

Nathan has officially begun his first soccer season ever! Now before I continue, let me reiterate that the SuperSilly Brown Family has NEVER been to a single soccer game, we have never seen a game on television, and we had not even played soccer in our front yard! But let me tell you that our son Nathan must be athletically gifted (or the quickest learned I've ever met) because he played like a champ during his very first game last weekend... after only 2 practices!

The name of his team is called "Thunder", and they won their first game 11-0!! Deep down I felt real bad for the other team, but super-excited for Nathan and his teammates! The coach even put Nathan as 'acting goalie' for a little while... even though there is no 'official' goalie for this level of kids! BUT, even when Nathan was on the sidelines watching his teammates play, he was very intent on watching the game and cheering for his friends! Super-cool!

Chris took 69 pictures throughout the entire game, but below are my 2 favorite pictures of Nathan! Super-dooper job #12!!

Until next time...

Super-Silly Shoes!

The same day my kiddos started school again, I was lucky enough to start a new really cool and super-fun job with a company called iKids! The super-cool thing about iKids is that they offer so many different classes for employees to teach at a large range of schools and offer after-school stay-n-play (daycare) at 2 different schools right now, which will expand my knowledge of teaching! I have been working there 2 weeks now, and so far I've taught art (my specialty), sewing, the stay-n-play craft, a class called 'Brain Games', and I stay to help with one of the Stay-n-Plays; and I've assisted with classes like Lego Robotics, and Little iKids Computer! (This week I get to be the teacher for the Little iKids Computer and have someone else assist me!)

I am absolutely LOVING this job!! So, to get into the 'spirit' of my excitement, I went out and bought myself a pair of tennis shoes to wear everyday I am working for iKids! These shoes are wacky looking, but most importantly, they are meant to be super-silly-fun for the kids! (It helps that they are super-comfy too!)