Music Monday

We just got back from Violin lessons a little while ago. RC and I have been taking turns driving since Sydney has piano lessons at the exact same time. It was nice how that worked out for us. It was my turn to drive his week and it's in Keller, during rush hour, so it takes us a good 30 minutes from door to door, especially with the time it takes to get Addy out of the car and in the stroller, etc. Anyway, it's definitely going to be a slow process for Ash to pick up on these things...the theory just keeps adding on, and she's still trying to remember last week's stuff, etc. But it doesn't really matter, the important thing is that she's doing it and she's developing her musical brain. We're really trying to not get frustrated when she gets so frustrated, but it is hard. Luckily, Brittany came by today and she helped me decipher some of this stuff, because remember, I have never had music lessons, so this is foreign to me too!

We had a good weekend...tee-ball game on Saturday and then not much of anything the rest of the day. Brian was looking forward to driving the 18-wheeler for the band to go to the percussion competition, but unfortunately, the truck rental company didn't get the paperwork processed in time for them to rent a truck. Maybe another time...I know he misses driving a truck sometimes. Then on Sunday, Brian ended up having to work...long story, but he wasn't supposed to be working. Let's just say I am VERY disappointed in one of our employees. Me and the girls went to Jack's (Deena's son) 2nd birthday party. We had a nice time and Jack was just too cute opening all of his presents. It was at a park in Colleyville and they had baby swings so Addy got to swing for the very 1st time. I have some great pictures, but my camera USB cord isn't working, so I'll upload them soon when I get a new one. After the party, we swung by my Dad's house real quick to say hello since we were so close anyway. It was a nice little visit, but we couldn't stay long because Addy was going on NO nap and she was getting cranky, fast!

Here are a couple videos from several weeks ago that I've been wanting to share. This 1st one is of Addy giggling...I thought it was cute, but I realize everything she does is cute. The 2nd one is Ash walking into her classroom on the 1st day of school. Such a Big girl! That's her teacher, Mrs. Roberts...so far, we adore her!

I hope you enjoyed those! We really need to use the video camera more, because I love going back and watching these and being able to share them with you. The date stamp of this blog is WAY wrong...I started uploading these last week, I think, but it's really Monday, September 29th at 9:10 pm. Sleep Tight!

Video, Video, and MORE Video

I've been promising some video for a while now...and I'm finally delivering! It was all on the same DVD in the video camera and I still had 9 minutes of DVD room left, but I just went ahead and finalized it so I could put it on here. Blogger seems to be having some trouble auto saving, so I hope I don't lose everything, especially since I've uploaded 4 videos...you other bloggers know how long that takes!! The date stamp will be wrong because I started uploading video last night and then I would walk away from it...well, the premiere of Dancing With The Stars was on! I think it will be a good season! Did anyone else think that Susan Lucci would just break in half if he tried to dip her!?!? Geesh, that woman is skin and bones, just tiny!!!

My condolences go out to the Nason Family...Anna's Brother-in-Law, Dan, passed away yesterday in a 1-car accident. My heart goes out to Barbara (Anna's sister), they were married for like 35 years. It's just terrible. He has 4 children.

You guys let me know what you think of the videos. Addy has expanded her talent to pretty much anywhere...if she's on the floor, she pulls herself up on something! It makes me sad when she's in her play yard. And Ash has gotten noticeably better on her violin, so I'll have to do another video of her in a few weeks.

Oh, I was going to tell you something that warmed my heart. On Sunday morning Ashleigh crawled in bed with us (she hasn't done this in a long time, the past several months she just goes and plays somewhere) and she looked straight into my eyes when her head hit my pillow and said, "Mommy, let's talk about hearts and how much we love each other". [insert big hug here]. And I said, "Okay, you go 1st". And she said "I love hearts". And I said "I love hearts too, especially yours, Addy's, and Daddy's". And she said "Me too". And then we tickled Daddy. It was Great!

Have a WONDERFUL Day!!

Come Back, Weekend!

I really enjoyed this weekend and I don't want it to end. Monday always comes way to soon, but I know it's necessary and needed in order for a paycheck to keep coming in. We started the weekend going to Olive Garden on Friday night with the sista's and their families. We were hesitant to let the York's go since Steve was sick this week and PeyPey was questionable. We went ahead and let them go but we tried to make RC sit next to him as our 1st line of defense against his cooties since she is on antibiotics for her cyclopes eye (read her blog or details, but she was funny looking!!) I think Ally and Kevin ended up next to him though. Anyway, it was YumYum!! Then Ashleigh had her 1st tee-ball game for the season t 9:00am on Saturday morning. It was a little difficult to get both girls ready, fed, and out the door by 8:30 in order to get there by 8:45 for warm-ups. We were only about 5 minutes late. But the kids did real good and were excited play. Hurricane Ike rained them out last week. Then it was time to get ready for scrapbooking with some of my girlfriends at noon. We have a rule that husbands and children are not allowed to stick around during this event if at all possible. Since it was at my house this round, Brian and the girls had to find something to do. They ended up going down to Arlington to see his Mom and sister. It worked out good because his Mom had some honey-do things for him to do and the cousins love playing together. And my friends and I had a great time scrapping. As usual, Alma got a lot done, Deena got the next most done, and Meredith and I bring up the rear with the least done. It's always the same! But it's okay, we always have a great time. I'll see them all next weekend too for Jack's 2nd birthday (Deena's son). Then I had Brittany lined up to babysit the girls so Brian and I could have a date night. We RARELY do this, but every once in a while, we really need it. We went to the Movie Tavern for the VERY 1st time, and we LOVED it!! We saw Lakeview Terrace and it was pretty good. But we really liked the concept of eating dinner while watching the movie and then mid-way through, we ordered dessert. And the prices weren't any more expensive than going anywhere else. We went to the one on Hulen, which seemed pretty new, so it was real nice. Brittany brought her "friend" Justin with her to babysit and they seemed to have a good time with Ashleigh. They only had to deal with Addy for 30 minutes before putting her to bed. We're such party animals and stayed out until 10:30...LOL!!! Then today Brian wanted to have the boys over to watch the Steelers/Eagles game, so he went to the store, bought lots of food for them, and me and the girls went to RC's to hang out and watch the game so the boys could watch the game without interruption (really, we were kicked out as a pay back for yesterday, LOL)! Then the girls got bathed, and now the Cowboy game is on and we are winning! Woo-Hoo!!

I'm sorry it had been almost a week since I've posted, but as usual, we've been very busy. Work has gotten more hectic me. I was selected with a few others out of our San Antonio office to work on a contract we were awarded by the Mobile division of the US Army Corps of Engineers doing NEPA work (National Environmental Policy Act for those of you who don't habla). We will be doing EAs (Environmental Assessments) on Army properties that were affected by BRAC 05. I'm sure you've heard of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure)?!?!? Anyway, I won't bore you with an environmental lesson, the bottom line is that I'll be doing this new work on top of my Air Force work...busy, busy, but it's better than the alternative. I just had my anniversary with my company, so I'm hoping for a good review and a raise soon. I'll keep you posted on that!

The weather has been really nice here in the DFW area and that can only mean one thing...the air conditioning business has been REALLY slow!! Looks like another beautiful week coming up...mid to upper 80s for the high all week and sunny! I hope business picks up soon!

I have LOTS of video to share with all of you, I just need to finish the disk up so I can finalize it and convert the DVD to mpeg so I can post it. Right before we were leaving for Olive Garden on Friday night, PeyPey and Ash decided to go in the backyard and get in the sandbox...with about 6 inches of standing water on the top of it. Now, we have told Ash she MAY NOT play in that water because it is nasty. They were both ALL wet by the time we realized they were in it. Brian was acting all tough but laughing under his breath. When we asked them who got in the water first they both pointed at each other. It was really funny so I went and grabbed the video camera. I'll post that soon. And I still need to post Ash playing the violin and Addy's new trick of pulling up...in bed (driving me nuts!!)

Speaking of Addy, she's crawling good now and gets to where she wants to be in no time. The play yard I bought was an excellent investment, as it allows me to get my work done without chasing her down all day. Yet, it's big enough for her to crawl around and play. I can't believe she is 8 months old already! She has 8 teeth, she's crawling, pulling up, eating cheerios and Puffs, saying "MaMa" and "hi", and is a very happy baby. I'm just so proud of my girls! We're working on "DaDa" but she can't seem to spit it out.

Well, we have another busy week ahead, but I promise to post more. Sleep Tight!

Ahh, A Clean Car

I LOVE a clean car, that is why I have no idea how mine got so dirty. And I'm talking about the inside, I can't stand little toys, napkins, DVD covers, coke drips in my cup holder, etc. My husband was kind enough to take me to the shop yesterday and helped me empty, vacuum, armor all, and wash the car. The only thing I lack is Windexing the inside of the glass. Of course, Ashleigh was all to anxious to help us. We indulged her a little with the power washer and let her spray the car. The shop uses well water, and it must be really hard water because there was water spots all over the outside after we washed it and it air dried. So after we were done, we went to the $3 car wash drive thru to get the spot free rinse....worked like a champ! Ahh, I LOVE a clean car!

Before that we went to Academy Sports to get Ashleigh some new t-ball cleats. They had NOTHING is her size range. I guess we tackled this task a little late. But we still managed to walk out of there $98 poorer!! But that did include an adorable pink and black ball bag, LOL!! So then we headed to Sports Authority to see if we could get some cleats there, which we did, but they were, of course, more expensive. But at least we have them now.

Ash had her 2nd violin lesson today. She seems to be doing okay with it. We do get very frustrated with each other when she's practicing at home, but we work through it. I want it to be fun for her or she won't want to do it. I need to take some pictures of her playing (or video) because it is too cute!

Addy has a new trick that she started the past few days...she is now pulling up. However, we're not really viewing this as a good thing yet. She does it in her bed...because she can...so no matter how tired she is, she will pull herself up, stare at the door, and cry (or play). We have to go in there several times to lay her back down. She doesn't lay herself back down, she'll stand there for as long as we'll let her. It's frustrating, but she does look like a little munchkin standing there in her crib. I should get some video of this too.

Let's see, what else? Ash has her 1st t-ball game this Saturday. Actually, her 1st game was supposed to be last Saturday, but Hurricane Ike had other plans. Ike didn't affect us too bad, but we did get some rain. I think that game will be re-scheduled.

The Cowboy-Eagles game is on right now...GO COWBOYS!! So far it is a very interesting game! What in the hell was Romo thinking with that play in the end zone? I must have said it a thousand times last season to all of our players...if you fumble the ball, FALL ON IT!! Don't try to pick it back up while you're running, nothing good can come out of it (rarely anyway) and it's not worth the risk!! Now the Eagles got 7 points out of it instead of 2. Bonehead play! OMG, another bonehead play, but by the Eagles this time...the Eagle was running into the end zone, and because he wanted to showboat, he let go of the ball before he got into the end zone...what an idiot!!! Okay, this game is making me crazy!

Gosh, not much else going on in our lives, I guess no news is good news. I know I bore you all to death with these blogs. But I do appreciate you checking in with the Linder's to see what's going on. I was surprised to see it had been since last Tuesday since I blogged last. It doesn't seem like it had been that long! Sleep Tight!

Weird Shopping Experience

I decided to pick up a few groceries on my lunch today since Addy was completely out of veggies. And since I needed to go to the bank, I decided to go to Albertson's. So me and Addy grab a cart and go about our business and when we get on about the 3rd aisle, this male employee starts talking to Addy and stroking her face and arms. I realized pretty quick that this guy was young and had some sort of disability so I just kept a close eye on him. As I was pushing the cart away he just kept walking along with us and he said "her skin is so soft". I said "yes, thank you" and started walking faster. He finally left us alone. Then on the very next aisle he shows up again and started doing the exact same thing again. Luckily, after a minute or so a Manager with a pack of disabled kids showed up and he told "Junior" to come on. Thank you Mr. Manager, I didn't really know the best way to handle that situation. Well, then I'm checking out and the bagger girl asks me if I'd like help to the car. She seemed a little "off" too but I couldn't make out a distinct disability. Anyway, the checker lady told her "don't ask, you should just do it" and I said "well, I usually turn it down, but since it's raining and I have some heavy items, I'll take you up on it". So we start heading to the car and on the way out that Manager guy told another girl in his "pack" to come help this other bagger girl. So we get to the car and the 1st bagger girl starts to get Addy out of the cart....ummm, excuse me, I'll do that. I mean really, I don't know if she is going to take off running with her. But she says, "it's okay, I love babies". So I quickly assess the situation and realize this girl is pretty small and Addy is not light, so if she starts running I can make a quick tackle! So I just assist her getting Addy out and I kept one hand on her on the way to her car seat. When she tried to get Addy in the seat, her arms were shaking vigorously so I just took her and did it myself...I did not want her to drop her for goodness sakes. All of these people were very nice and apparently LOVE babies, I just thought the LOVE was taken a little too far all the way around! But Addy did like the attention, so at least something good came out of it. When I told Ally this story she mentioned she thinks Albertson's has a program that allows young adults with disabilities to work. I think Tuesday was the day! I felt like I was in a Twilight Zone or something....I certainly didn't want to be rude, but I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks either.

Ashleigh had her 1st violin lesson yesterday. It went pretty well. It's at the Fine Arts Academy at the First Baptist Church in Keller. We had a hard time finding the room. Luckily, RC and Syd were with us because Syd has her piano lesson at the exact same time so that we can take turns driving each week. Since Addy was with us in the stroller and the lessons are on the 2nd floor, we hop on the 1st elevator we see. Walk around and realize we need the other side of the building, only to realize the floor doesn't go all the way around the 2nd floor. To get to the other side you have to go down the elevator walk to the other side and then back up the elevator. Geesh, I'm sure people were laughing at us! Ash and Syd were all confused as to why we were "playing" in the elevator. When we were leaving for the lesson Ash said "are we going to my show now?" Since the only side of music she has seen is Brittany's performances, Syd's recitals, etc, she thought she would be preforming as well. I think lessons are going to be a disappointment to her for a while. Her teacher told me she told Ash they were going to do a "pepperoni pizza" rhythm, and Ash told her "but I don't like pepperoni pizza, I like CHEESE pizza". I'm sorry Mrs. Lisa, you're going to have your hands full with this one! LOL, too funny!! The hard part is that I know NOTHING about music, so I'm not going to be able to help her much at home. Should be interesting!

Brian barbecued some yummy country style ribs tonight and I made Stove Top stuffing and baked asparagus (yummy with garlic herb seasoning and butter). The York's turned down our invitation but the Harris' joined us and we still had a couple of ribs left. They put so many in that package! Of course, the 2 boxes of stuffing were long gone!

I can't remember if I told you, but one of my co-workers in Wyoming passed away and he was only 40 years old. He was complaining that he didn't feel well so he went to bed and never woke up. So sad. I think we are still waiting to hear what caused his death. It is just so very scary that you don't know what tomorrow will bring. Live every day to it's fullest and enjoy every moment!

Okie dokie, I'm going to watch the news. Sleep Tight!

Go Cowboys!!

The Harris' decided it would be a good idea for me to give Brittany's senior pictures a shot. So we headed out to the Botanical Gardens in Grapevine this morning. We were there 2 hours and got some really good shots, or I think so anyway. There are so many beautiful places out there to get great pictures. Here are a few unedited shots from our session. Let me know what you think:

I took 238 pictures, so naturally, this is just a small sample. I still have to edit them all, but I hope the Harris' like them and can save some money by using these as her casual shots. She had her official cap and gown pictures and others made through the school.

We went to Dad's for a little while after that for lunch and swimming. Then home for the Cowboy game...Yup, they won!! Woo-hoo!! They looked pretty darn good too!! Overall, though, I really sucked it up this week in the Football pot. Oh well, there is always next week! Yes, I like to make a little wager here and there, but I always lose so I don't know why I do it year after year. It's fun.

We got awoken at 5:00 am Saturday morning by one of our employees that one of the service vans was broken into in front of his house. Of course, this was Brian's van and ALL of his tools of the trade were stolen: his tool bag with all of his hand tools, 3 drills, several meters, 4 sets of gauges, bag of duct tools, electrical saws, and the list goes on and on. At 1st estimation, we think about $11,500 worth of tools and materials were stolen. We both literally felt sick to our stomachs and I immediately got a headache. Ugh, I know that's why we have insurance, but what a pain! And I think our deductible is really high, so we'll be out quite a bit. That just pisses me off.

Brian and I just watched the U.S. Open...what a great Women's final. I'm glad Serena won, she is back in the #1 seed after like 6 years of not being #1. That's pretty amazing. That Jancovic chick is freakin' weird!! They were interviewing her during the awards ceremony and she was thanking her drivers and everyone else under the sun while she grabbed the microphone out of the interviewer's hand. And then she was like "how much was my check" when they were in the process of giving Serena her trophy...poor sportsmanship!! Weird chick!!

BB10....GO DAN!!! Definitely my favorite for the past several weeks! He is so smart and so funny!! It's down to the final 4 and Renny got the boot last Thursday. I was sad for her, she is so funny. I really cracked up when Dan and her would get into their little spats. Too funny!

We lowered Addy's crib a notch since she is starting to pull up on her railings. I don't think she likes it because she has been a bit cranky at bedtime ever since. She kept hitting her head on the wood, so we had to put her bumper pads back in. I didn't want her to be able to use them as a step up, but we'll just lower it again if it comes to that.

I cut Brian and Kevin's hair tonight....fun times! I only do cuts that require nothing but clippers. They get worried when I break out the comb, LOL!!!

Goodness, 11:00, time for bed! Sleep Tight!

Already A Color Change?!?!

My dear Ashleigh has already received a color change at school...on day 6!! For those of you who don't habla, the schools use a color change system as their behavior modification system. They start out on green and then it goes orange, yellow, blue, then red. There were no repercussions for the orange except that it's recorded as such in her Communication Folder. We had a talk with her about it and today was better. It's such a drastic change from her days at Parent's Day Out when she was so shy and wouldn't say a word, except to Mrs. Carol. Now we're fighting the opposite extreme. We'll see what happens. But she seems to be really enjoying school.

We went to Albert Pike this Labor Day weekend and had a great time. It was hot and humid during the day, but cool and nice during the evening and early mornings. We went swimming, Brian did a lot of hiking with the younger folks, relaxed, roasted marshmallows, etc. Addy did okay for the most part. Though, her tiredness caught up with her on Saturday night and she woke up crying 2 hours after going to bed, which she NEVER does. She cried, and cried, and cried, well you get the picture. Brian took her in the truck to avoid waking up Haylee (Justin and Brittany's daughter a month older than Addy). He was gone like 20 minutes and then I heard his truck start so I figured I better go see what the deal is. I get in the truck and Addy was still crying. Brian had to turn on the truck because her crying made it so hot and humid in there. So the A/C did make her feel better and she eventually fell asleep on my chest in the truck. Luckily, she stayed asleep the rest of the night. The next night was Haylee's turn, she woke up several times crying, but she didn't wake Addy up. Anyway, it was a good time. We took a few pictures, but they all seem to have me in a bathing suit, so you'll have to live without seeing them! LOL!! Thank you to Ally and Steve for watching my dogs!!

The first SHS football game was Friday night. I went up at half time to watch Brittany's band performance and it was great! I wish I could have seen it up high to make out the different "pictures" they made...their show is "LOST". Too cool! Brittany's best friend, Justin Canfield, and the Band Director's son was in a major accident at about midnight after the game on his way home. A drunk driver ran a red light (right by Ash and Syd's school) and T-boned him. His younger brother (a freshman this year and also in the band) was in the car too. Justin had to be Care Flighted to the hospital where he remains in ICU. He has a brain hemorrhage and was in a medically induced coma for a couple of days. The neurosurgeon told the family he would never talk again and would never have a full recovery. He woke up from his coma talking, a true miracle!! He has since been walking and will hopefully get out of ICU anytime now. His brother, Jacob, was bruised up pretty good, but basically was fine. The drunk driver was sent to JPS or his trauma but has since been released and is sitting in jail. Please keep all of these families in your prayers. Brittany really misses him, as they were attached at the hip constantly!!

We found out today that Jessica is having a girl!! I was really hoping for a girl for her since she already has 2 boys. I'm so happy for them and a girl will put such a different perspective into their lives!! Congratulations Rogers Family!!!

I really should try to straighten up a bit, so I'm going to say Good Night, Sleep Tight!!