Just a minute God.

You see, last week at bible study, I told my girls about a neighbor I was concerned about. I had not seen her or her husband in about a week. It was odd. No real movement. We aren't close to these neighbors but we have trick or treated at each others house, we wave, we compliment their yard...which is ALWAYS perfect. The wife comes over when she needs something...but that is it. I have had them on my mind. I told my girls. I told them I needed to go over and check on them.

Never did.

This week Parker asked me to do something. I told him just a minute...he asked me again...and well, I continued on my computer. He asked again...I told him I would in just a minute. Finally, Stacey got up and did it. I felt horrible. I said I would...but I was taking my time.

THE NEXT DAY there was a knock at my door...it was my neighbor. She looks tired. I told her I was concerned and that I had meant to come over. She asked me if I would like to buy her swing set because her husband had lost his job, his company car, and guess what....they were renting the house from his ex-boss, so they were evicted. How is that for a Merry Christmas! I offered to help pack, wait her kids, anything.... God couldn't wait on me any more...he just sent her right on over to talk to me. I felt inches tall. Maybe centimeters.

As 2008 closes in about an hour and a half, I hope that I don't have any more 'wait a minute God' moments. I hope that I jump right on over. Grab bubble wrap and get to work.

On another note, I just have to share. We went to the zoo today, yes it was cold! I should NOT have gone, but a friend asked and off we went. We get down the road a mile....when I realized I didn't have a bottle. I had formula, no bottle. So I whipped around and came back to get one. I called friend to tell her I would be late. She informs me of a wreck on 35 and how to bypass. I kind of listened and kind of bypassed, all was well. UNTIL we hit wreck number 2, about this time, Bowden decided that he didn't really want to be quiet in the car and began screaming....and screaming.... He screamed the entire hour and A HALF it took us to get to the zoo! YEP! I only live...maybe 20 minutes from the zoo. Nice. Emaline started screaming because her bottom was hurting from sitting in the car seat. NICE. 2 kids screaming. Traffic. Late to zoo. perfect. Sitting in FOOTBALL BOWL traffic.... I see Parker cover his eyes bend his head down and begin praying. I heard the first 2 to three sentences, but the rest was covered with the screaming. When things lightening up in the car...I asked Parker what he prayed for, and he said for the traffic to go away! How sweet was that! A very proud mommy I was. At the zoo, Parker was attacked by a squirrel...maybe the same one that taunted Wade! We were there maybe 5 minutes when Parker stood on a fence right in front of the zebras and a squirrel jumped right on his head! I thought it was his chest...but he said head...and it makes a better story. He handled it great, just laughed it off. Good boy. I waited in line for pizza for 20 minutes and did not get any. Sorry kids....It was crazy. Then Emaline fell and busted her mouth wide open. Nice. Did I mention it was cold! COLD! It was a fun trip, visiting with friends, but after the zoo, to sit in traffic AGAIN due to bowl game over and a wreck...I think I should have stayed home! Did I mention B screamed again....for about 45 minutes to meet Stacey! Tonight Honey and Buddy watched grandkids...and we went to BOBO china for dinner. Now just chilling...I am ready to snuggle with husband and pray in 2009! Happy New Year!

So now I know

that I am blind. I finally went to have my eyes checked at EyeWorks, a great place in Southlake (tell them I sent you) where you can just walk right in and have your eyes checked by a great doctor and found out that I shouldn't be driving! Yep. CRAZY! I knew it was kind of bad...I can't read street signs unless I am on top of them. Stacey would get frustrated when he would ask me what the next street would be...and um....just wait a minute and I will tell you in a bit....didn't work. He would play a game with me and ask me what billboards would say...or signs...and I wouldn't know until we drove right up to it, UNLESS I squinted real hard. SO...I finally went and got my eyes checked. The nice doctor informed me that I would need to wear my glasses all the time...especially when driving. So, I will be starting the new year off with a new look. It even makes me think I should do something different to my hair...hmmmm...wonder what? Anyway, they dilated my eyes and took those photos...and he showed them to me. I asked what that dark faded circle was...he said I have a mole on the back of my eye! NO KIDDING! I thought that was cool. He said that 35% have them....and of those 6% can turn cancerous, so I would need to wear sunglasses. YIKES! I don't really like to wear sunglasses, but since the CANCER word has been used, I am going to try my best to wear them...and I am going to need to order some prescription ones since I now have to wear glasses. Nice. They are going to compare the photos of my eyes each year to make sure there isn't any growth. Anyway, wanted to warn you that the next time you see me don't make jokes. Parker is already worried...he told me I will look funny. I think I am going to buy the most hideous looking frames and show him those first...then my new ones so he can compare...see Park, it could be worse! A nap is calling me....since 2 are down, 1 is wearing down, maybe he will give in and we both can nap. That would be nice!

Merry Christmas...

Warning: Snapshot overload

AW STINK. Just pretend the first photo is down further where emaline is painting. Sorry.

Here is P working on some reindeer cookies.

Emaline's turn on the cookies. They did REALLY well.

How do you like the girls outfit!? She did this all by herself. Love her style!

Emaline asked for a snack the other day, and the next thing I heard was a mess...you know that 'mess' sound. When I walked over with my camera...this is what she did. She hid her head in shame!

B thought it was funny!

We painted the other day. In preschool, the kids do bunches of handprints, so the first thing Emaline did was submerse her hands in the paint for a hand print something...

And Emaline being really funny when I wanted to take her photo.Tonight after leaving dinner with friends, 3 sprites later, 2 bathroom trips later, Parker told us he needed to go to the bathroom! I was so frustrated. I told him we would be home in minutes and to hang on.   He made some really awful sounds from the back. Then he said:

It would be really nice of you to pull over.

Yes it would have, but Stacey did not. We were laughing at how serious he was being. SO funny.

Parker

saw a photo of T.O. (Terrel Owens) and asked:

Mom, is that OperaBama?

No son, that is not our president elect!

goodness it is cold!

Yes it is! COLD! A great day to have different doctor appointments for 2 different kids. My aunt Paula came through for us, allowing me to only take one kid at a time!

First, we had Bowden's GI appointment this morning. We really liked the doctor. We had to drive to Plano for the appointment, luckily Stacey went with us to this one. The doctor walked in and Bowden did his thing...rattling, coughing, hiccupping...the whole 9 almost on cue for the doctor. He told us it was definitely reflux that we were dealing with. He told us that are probably on our way out of it since we have started solid foods with B. We also are starting a prescription to help with the reflux. He also ordered an upper GI xray with the berium bottle...Bowden did great! We just walked right down the stairs and into the xray. Perfect. The radiologist said everything looked good as far as the plumbing goes, and that is why the dr. ordered the test anyway. So, good news.

Saturday Emaline started with this horrible cough. I mean horrible. Then Sunday morning, FEVER! I mean a fierce one. The highest I recorded was 102.7 and that was late last night. Luckily an old friend on was on facebook last night and talked me through if I needed to take her to an ER or not. Thanks nurse Deon. She wanted to sleep with us last night, and boy she was a furnace! This morning she had a rash and fever so I made an appointment for this afternoon. They did a strep test and flu test on her, and the strep came back positive. I didn't know that a rash could be a symptom of strep. Now I know. I just hope that B doesn't get it. I even had the doctor give her a strong warning. I think Emaline listened to her. HOPEFULLY, Parker is in the clear as well.

Last Friday we went to Casa Manana for the Rudolph show. It really was cute. I bough MIL a ticket last time we went to Sleeping Beauty, but for some reason, I was feeling brave and didn't buy an extra ticket. We went in, and everything was going great. Then, Bowden got hungry. I tried a bottle, and that did NOT work. He spit it everywhere in refusal. THanks. SO, what is a mommy to do? Yep, I broke a personal rule! The one about breastfeeding in public! I am getting much better about this, I guess you have to with 3 kids. It isn't like you can isolate yourself when you are responsible for 2 others. Anyhoo. Took care of that when the lights were down. THEN, just as the reindeer were performing the reindeer games, a SCREAM came from my left. I glanced over to see Parker in total distress! I moved over a chair and began to help a friend we were there with pull him from the chairs. His leg had falled down between the seats and was STUCK! I quickly passed the babe off to a lady I DID NOT KNOW behind me to help pull on Parker who at this point is a TOTAL distraction. Kids around us were asking, "what is going on" "what happened to that boy", you know embarrassing stuff like that. Angela had to remove his shoe to get his leg out and it even scratched his leg being released. Poor guy. SO, sorry reindeer that we interrupted your reindeer games, and if I offended anyone at Casa. A girl has to do what a girl as to do. You guys stay warm! I am off to cook something for dinner, and wash my hands!

You MUST

JUST GO HERE!

I LOVE these. I love how these commerical are on mainstream TV and on billboards down roads I travel.

I AM SECOND!

The link should take you to www.iamsecond.com just incase you don't want to click on an unknown. BUT, come on, trust me!

Thank you

husband who sent me shopping tonight WITHOUT kids! It was so much fun. To be brain dead. In a dressing room by myself. BY MYSELF! While in the dressing room I over heard a mom and daughter a few stalls down. WONDERFUL mom telling her daughter that there isn't any way she was going to wear those pants, that her dad wouldn't approve, and she didn't approve they were too tight and not a good idea. That mom stood her ground about the different fads and trends that her tweener daughter wanted to wear. I fastforwarded (?) many years from now putting me there, discussing what would be appropriate with Emaline. YIKES! I wondered what the new trends would be. If things are so skimpy now, what would it be like in many years! CRAZY!

I shopped some in Kohl's, which reminded me of one of the last times I shopped there. I don't think I blogged about it, so I had to share it now. It was me, Bowden, and Emaline on a Saturday while Stacey had taken Parker to the ranch, I think. Emaline was a great shopper, Bowden was pretty good. They played in the dressing room together and had a great time while I couldn't make up my mind on which shirt I should buy. After the dressing room fun, I went to look for accessories. And more accessories. It was more than Emaline could handle. She loved all of the sparkly things! I told her we were done, and to the check out we went, and that is when I spotted the Vera Wang jewelry. I stopped to try something on, and walked over with the stroller to the cosmetics mirror to look. Emaline is on the sit and stand stroller. She thought she would pick out a new lipstick color for me. I asked her to put it back, and that is when it happened. The plastic shield fell off the shelf that holds all of the lipsticks in their place with the springy things that push them forward LAUNCHING hundreds of lipsticks all over the place! Into our stroller, over our feet, EVERYWHERE! Emaline just stared at me. I didn't know what to say. I quickly squatted down to pick them up when a lady appeared above me asking me if I was busy next week. I asked her twice to repeat herself while I was attempting to put each shade in its well labeled place. The lady then tried to convince me to come back the next week for a makeover. REALLY! I asked her if she worked there, she said yes, and that is when the 20 or so lipsticks that I had carefully placed into the shelf came pelting me when I REMOVED the protective plastic shield by accident. Emaline stared at me, not knowing what to do. FINALLY the lady volunteered to clean up our mess. I apologized quickly and left without a Vera Wang necklace. Such FUN!

Have a great weekend. By the way, it has been 1 year since my wreck. I think about it almost every day. Parker brings it up every now and then. It is crazy to think so much time has past.

WOW! This might be the longest

Sorry the photos are all up here! I can't figure out how to rearrange them with the new computer! Sorry.

blog absence I have taken. AND sorry about the cliff hanger about the allergist. That wasn't nice. 

(side note: I just watched a dvr'd Law and Order SVU and I am still shaking! Have you seen the one where the agent gets involved undercover with the the animal smugglers! OH MY! I truly feel as if I just watched the scariest movie. I know I am a baby when it comes to this stuff, but you are reading from a gal who hasn't seen an R movie in years!)

Back to us! The allergist was wonderful. We really liked her, but she couldn't help us. When we walked in the door, she told us that we were at the wrong doctor. She still listened to B breathe and fully examined him. She told us this cough sounds JUST like reflux, that we were dealing with reflux congestion so now we are waiting on a GI appointment. We go next week, so I will let you know about that a lot sooner than I did with the allergist! 

Can you believe it is December? CRAZY! Our tree is up, and Elfin is on the mantle. ELFIN is our Elf on the Shelf. That is the name the kids came up with. I hope this helps with some of the surprising behavior we have been seeing. We read the book last night after SANTA brought it while the kids were in the bathtub. He escaped from his box last night while the kids were sleeping and went to the North Pole to tell Santa about their behavior and flew back home and landed on my mantle. He will leave again tonight and come back to new place tomorrow.

My photos are on the top. B's 5 month photo and a photo from this morning of the boys in their room.

Emaline: I can't buckle my seat belt.

Mommy: Why?

Emaline: I need to wipe my drops.

Mommy: what?

Emaline: I need to wipe my drops!

She then picked up her dress to wipe tears from her eyes! PRECIOUS!

just some stuff

SO, Parker had some privacy yesterday...and later I found this! The boy is almost 5!!! NOT 1!!! AND not 51! The fragrance coming from the bathroom was ...interesting. LOTS of airfreshening! and JUST look at that toilet paper! It was a new roll!Parker told me he didn't understand why I was taking this picture, I already had a HUGE one in the hallway that was black and white. I just love it!
AND my almost 5 month old! I can't believe it! We have an appointment tomorrow with an allergist! YIIPPEEEE!

So, how is that working for ya?

Last weekend, B and E had some time with just Mommy. We had a great time. On Friday night, I braved both kids to Chili's (Emaline's choice). When we arrived, it was packed. I was scared. We walked in, put our name on the list, which was 20-25 minutes, and  went to visit the bathroom. I thought we would get that out of the way. We headed back to the front, asked if someone would move over so I could rest the car seat (that thing is getting SO heavy), and they called our name! I guess we took a long time in the restroom. Emaline and I had a great time at dinner. We talked. She colored. I rocked Bowden in his carseat. She chose a cheeseburger and fries. Good choice. Then I asked the question: What do you want to be when you grow up? The answer: jump out of swings. My sweet darling wants to jump out of swings. Sweet! Bowden starts getting fussy. Our teenage waiter asks if B would like some crackers. I explain that he is too young, and he asks how old B is. When I say 4.5 months, the guy says: So, how is that working for ya? Nice. I didn't even begin to tell that guy I had another babe at a camp out.

Another moment I don't want to forget is Emaline counting in Spanish. The kids are getting spanish at preschool and it is just priceless. I hope to get a video on here soon of them singing one of their songs. When Emaline counts in spanish she says:

doyouknow

dos 

tres

qqqwwwatro

cinco....

LOVE HER!

Also, thanks to everyone for your prayers. I wish I could say b is better, but he isn't. Looks like we will be heading to an allergist soon. I am learning my new computer. Tough time to learn something new with the business. Pictures later!

CRAZY

Well, the past few days have just been that! CRAZY! Let me start by say I kind of threw out my back! Yep, crazy. So last week I went to the witch doctor to help. She also noticed that B was still congested (going on 2.5 months). His cure lasted longer than mine. By the time I walked to my car from her office, my back was out of whack again. Bowden's cure....well it lasted  24 hours. Then all the congestion came back. My back is still HURTING and B is still having trouble breathing. He isn't breathing well, which makes his eating irregular, causing HARD nights. On Saturday, I was working on my computer when it restarted on it's own! OH NO! I ran to get my external drive to start backing everything up...I just had an idea something was wrong. After the computer restarted...the screen went black and just kept kind of revving up. It was shot. BACK HURT, NO COMPUTER, CRANKY 4 month old= NO GOOD! My back did well during a session on Sunday, actually was pretty good. Sunday night was AWFUL! Bowden cried ALL night long. Stacey and I were exhausted. I took Bowden to the doctor, and Stacey took my computer to the doctor on Monday. The doctors are stumped. They don't know what is going on with Bowden. They called it chronic congestion, but really, they don't know what is wrong. The congestion isn't in his lungs. It is high, and unreachable! Trust me! I have suctioned that little guys brain out! Nothing. SO, they are going to treat him for reflux for 2 weeks and if that isn't the cure...then they will refer us on to an allergist. Really frustrating. We just want him to feel better. My back still isn't great. BUT....my computer, GONE. Don't worry all of you who might have had photos on my computer! I have them. I have them on my new MAC! Yep! I have a brand new computer because the other one is a shot. My windows operating system...kind of blew up! Way to go VISTA! SO, thanks to my husband, I am learning how to operate this new machine. I am sure I will love it, but right now...not really. SO bare with me as I battle through my new machine! 

The photos are from today. My sweet congested little guy!

some photos

Gas on Halloween night in Denton!!! It was a madhouse! Trunk or treat at Mamma's church.

We went to visit Aunt Martha, the day after her birthday...She is the youngest Cagle, the baby.

Emaline was quite the ham.

This is from preschool. Bowden helped pass out the candy! He did a great job, but ended up going to sleep! The baby on the right was a SKUNK and her shirt said 'little stinker'! SO cute.

My guys at preschool.

gotta jet... I really am trying to be a better blogger...I promise. This is my busy season with photography...and with the added addition to my family who needs me every 3 hours...well, things are a little crazy right now.

Trunk Or Treat

Some photos from our Trunk or Treat at church. I was a SUPER MOM and P was a police SWAT man, Emaline an angel, and B a pumpkin/honorary police man.

B's lips look a little swollen...not sure what was up with that!

Bowden tried cereal for the first time this week and LOVED it!

ACU homecoming

We went to Abilene last weekend for our 10 year reunion. We went with the Quile's and had a grand time. We arrived Thursday just in time for Chapel. I text my cousin Morgan...and got to sit with her. Chapel has come a long way since I was there. I know it was singing chapel, but it just looked different having boys and girls up on stage. The singing was amazing. One major difference since we were there...cell phones! Everyone was texting during chapel!!! not cousin Morgan! I bet she never does that! Emaline got her face painted at the carnival.

Our friends Ms. Emily and Ms. Kim (Parker's new favorite person).

Proof Bowden was there.

Parker's face painting. By the way...HE DID NOT WANT TO WASH IT OFF, so he wore it all weekend, or atleast pieces of it. SO if you saw us....that is why half his face was green. We knew his face looked dirty...but what can you do.

COUSIN MORGAN volunteered at the carnival at the bounce house! What a good freshman!

Emaline with Foster Capshaw. Her daddy and his daddy went to high school together....mom's and dads went to ACU.

Ko Jo Kai breakfast, at 7 am!

Brittany goes to church with me now. I always forget she was...oops, is a Kojie.

Sweet Hayley! I HAD NO idea she isa kojie! This Kojie is from Paris. Now I feel old!

Jenise and I made a Sonic run after breakfast before the parade. I look like I need a nap...oh wait...I DID!

Emaline greeting everyone at the parade.

Bowden proof.

cousin Jaymie was there. NICE surprise.

Parker with his FINGER!

I guess that is all the photos I have of Homecoming, other than random ones Emaline took with Stacey's camera. We did camera switching all weekend. I didn't want to hall my camera everywhere, so we took Stacey's lots of places until his battery wore out. stink. That was right before we saw some good friends who have moved to Sweetwater.

Now, off to bed. Happy Halloween everyone!