Are You Ready!?

Are you ready for this....

and this...

I am!  The evite has gone out, tickets have been bought, and a girl's night out has officially been planned!  The baseball girl's and I have planned a night of Twilight on Friday, November 20th!  We've already purchased tickets to the 10:00 PM showing of New Moon, and I am so glad we did because it's already sold out!  I cannot remember the last time I experienced such anticipation for the premier of a movie!  If you've read the saga, start making your plans...if you haven't...start reading now!!

Four Words...

Four simple yet extremely complicated words...

TEENAGERS ARE SO DIFFICULT!

End of story...

Weekend Recap!

Another great weekend that went by WAY too fast! 

• Four baseball games and 1 soccer game
• Dinner at Kobe's Steaks in Addison
• Alone time with my sweet hubby
• Preston loosing his other front tooth
• Watching college football
• My favorite sister-in-law's baby shower (I cannot believe that not a single pic of Jennifer turned out!
• Hanging out and laughing with my mother and sister
• Refreshed for another busy week!

Some pics of all the fun...

All he wants for Christmas is his 2 front teeth!

Carter is playing catcher for his t-ball team!  He looks precious in the "uniform"!

Jen's baby shower =)

The cake Jen's friend, Nina, made!  It's hard to see in the picture, but the barbie has a pregnant tummy...So cute!

Everyone wrote little messages on the diapers for Ben and Jennifer to read during those late night diaper changes. =)

Short and sweet!

Hope your weekend was just as fun!!!

Sports and Halloween!

Carter had game on Monday, Austin had a game on Tuesday, Preston had a game on Wednesday, Preston and Carter both have games Friday, and to round out the end of the week, Trysten, Carter and Preston all play on Saturday.  That's 8 games in one week!  I am thrilled to say it's Thursday, and we have NO GAMES to attend this evening, so it's finally time for some family bonding.  I'm exhausted, but not too exhausted to put up a few Halloween decorations.  My fall decor has been up since September 1st, and now that other people are joining in...and even putting out the jack-o-lanterns...I decided to "drag" out my Halloween garb!  It's so much fun putting cobwebs, spiders and bats on the fireplace mantle!  When else can you do that!?  A few pics of the madness!

The mantle!

The banner I made! I tied it with strips of fabric instead of ribbon, and I love how it turned out!

I love these little guys!  I don't know if you can see it, but I put a little spider on top of the wine corks.  The silver cup is Ryan's from when he was a baby.  His initials are engraved on it, and I filled it with wine corks from special occasions we've shared together like the night when he told me he loved me for the first time, the night he proposed, and special dinners on trips we've taken.  Most of them have the date written on them. =)

The entry table.  I love the little ghost!

How cute is this!?  I ordered the younger boys new candy bags, and Preston and Carter both picked out the skeleton.  Trysten's mom ordered from the same place...Lillian Vernon...and got the "ghoul" for him.  They were only 2 for $19.98, and that includes the personalization!  They are precious and great quality!!

A little bit of Halloween spread everywhere!

Even on the toilet in the powder bathroom!  The boys love it!

Added the black crows!

Filled the book basket with Halloween themed books and magazines for the boys to read!

What?  Hey, the monkeys needed some Halloween love too!  Just a little somethin'!

It's everywhere! 

Happy Thursday!!!

My Two Cents...

We watched the Presidential speech to the school-age children of America district wide on Monday...I know... it took the administration awhile to make the final decision to show it...and across my campus kids  had to leave their classrooms because their parents did not want them viewing it.  Really?  He's our President...like him or not, voted for him or not, what is that teaching children?  You don't need to respect authority? If you don't agree with someone's views, just don't listen to him/her?  It's a little scary if you ask me...Just my 2 cents...

Random Saturday Ramblings...

It's pretty quiet around our house this weekend since we seem to be passing around the same bug that went through Trysten's mom's house and caught a few of Casey's kids after staying with them this week.  It's rough, people...no fun. The picture below clearly represents the activity level currently among our family...well everyone but "The Teenager":

Austin went to a sleepover last night with about 15 other boys...can you imagine having that many teenage boys in your house...no thank you...and is gone again with his friends.  We're trying to keep him away from the germs!  When he came home this morning, he informed me that his friends voted on who had the hottest mom last night, and I won...Gee...thanks...That kind of creeps me out.

Preston finally pulled his hillbilly tooth today!  Love it when they lose their front teeth!  The other one is on its way out, and I cannot wait because both of them are "dead" due to Preston's father's ingenious idea to take him on a four wheeler without a helmet, where he hit the metal handles with his 2 front teeth causing the roots to "die'.  That's a topic I won't go any further on.

One last bit of randomness...If you are intersted in changing the font of your post titles, etc., click HERE for instructions, and HERE for instructions on how to change the font of your posts.

ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR WEEKEND!!

What is it?

What is it with boys?  Why is this so fun?

 

There is so much that goes on in my house that will forever be a mystery to me...

but I love it!!!

At the Same Time...

I walked by Preston's classroom yesterday after a meeting and noticed a display of "I Am Special" books his class had made.  After searching for the cover with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy, I took a peek at Preston's work.  I read through pages with illustrations and 2 stood out among the rest...at least in my perspective. The first page was called, "My Family", and Preston had drawn a picture of Ryan, Austin, Trysten, Carter, himself and me...I couldn't help but notice who was missing...The other page said, "When I grow up, I want to be a father."  Are you kidding me....my heart broke and melted at the same time.

Makes you wonder what is going on in their precious, little heads. 

Decisions...

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.

~David Russell

The current state of my being...

I Heart Halloween!

It's no secret in my house just how much I like love Halloween!  I love everything about it...decorating for it, dressing up for it, trick or treating, making Halloween crafts with the kids, watching scary movies...So much fun!  The best part is that the kids love it just as much!

Last year around the same time, we were in a tight financial situation, so most of our Halloween decorations were either made by the kids or given to us by Ryan's parents, all of which we will use again this year, however I have added a few to our growing stash! I had nothing else really exciting to blog about, so here are some of my recent goodies...

Am I weird that I got so excited about these? 

How cute is he!?

And this little guy from Hobby Lobby!  I bought 2 for $10.00!

I bought 3 of these black crows to add to the fall decor that I already have outside...When I opened the package, Carter immediately broke all their legs off.  Glue guns are awesome.

I'm making a banner for the mantle =) 

So...are you Halloween crazy like me?  How do you decorate for Halloween? 

Weekend Recap!

It was one of those weekends that you can kick back at the end of it all, and know you got everything out of it possible!

Top 10 of the weekend:

1. Waking up to a sweet message  from my hubby written on our bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker on Friday...
2. Sushi and sake at Naan where they have put "our" sofa back!!!
3. Sleeping in on Saturday morning
4. Waking up to the sound of rain on the windows
5. Spending almost an hour at Petsmart on Saturday looking at all the pets for no reason other than because we could...Ryan tried to convince me that we should buy a hamster..."Tried" being the key word!
6. Cooking out at home on a quiet Saturday evening after a long day of shopping and running around.
7. Almost beating Ryan at a game of pool!
8. Planning a few fall and Halloween crafts for the boys! 
9. Feeling refreshed and ready for the week when my boys walked in the door from their dad's.
10. Continuously being reminded how happy I am!

Happy Monday!!

Blind Date...

I will never forget the words spoken by a friend and coworker..."I want to set you up on a blind date with Ryan Soladay."  My response,"Trysten's dad? Okay...sure!".  (I was the director at the daycare where his son attended.) Three years ago today, I went on a date with a man that changed my life in so many ways.  I met my soulmate, my best friend, my confidant, a role model for my boys, my perfect match.  I will also never forget my phone call to my sister-in-law the next morning..."Jennifer, I am going to marry that man!"

  

I love you, baby!!!

The Timing Couldn't Be More Perfect!

This arrived in the mail today for Austin from Ryan's parents...The timing could not be MORE perfect!

Thank you Ed and Carol!!!

Random, Little, Sweet Moments...

I am such a sentimental fool...true romantic...born again believer in happy endings, and I think I appreciate my life's random, little, sweet moments so much more than I would have if I hadn't travelled down the bumpy road I did.  I honestly feel, for the first time in my life, that I have made the "right" choices for myself and my children on so many levels, that when I see goodness surrounding me, I can't help but smile...

Moments as of late...

Listening to uninhibited laughter of innocent little boys playing hide and go seek upstairs...
Hearing them tell each other goodnight followed by, "I love you"...
Watching Preston attempt to teach his younger brother the proper technique of tying his shoe...
Seeing my little boys walking in line with their classes, while waving at me with huge grins stretched from ear to ear...
Walking into the family room and finding Ryan looking at our wedding album with a smile on his face...
Watching our children compare their muscles in front of the bathroom mirror...=)

It's the sweet little moments that life is all about.  It's not the brand name clothes, the neighborhood you live in, or the fancy car...it's the moments that make you smile...

Have a great week!

Am I the Only One?

Am I the only one who has already put up the fall decor around the house?  The next 3 months are my favorite for decorating, so when September 1st arrived, so did the wreath on the front door!  My neighbors must think I'm jumping the gun....but I love it!

The mantle...It's hard to see, but I have a fall garland with small pumpkins scattered throughout.

All I did was add a little pumpkin for some color. =) Carol...do you see the pumpkin you gave us last year sitting on the table in the background?!

A little scarecrow to continue the fall theme!

A little pumpkin pillow for the chair

The front door =)

Another little scarecrow =)

Please tell me I'm not the only one! =)

Happy fall!

Happy Birthday, Austin!

I honestly cannot believe you are 13 years old...I honestly don't know where time has gone.  Over the next 5 years, you will love me, and at times you will think you hate me...But please know, Austin, every decision I have made since the day I knew you were growing inside me, has been made with you in mind.  There have been trials and tribulations in your first 13 years, but I take so much comfort in knowing that the next 13+ years will be full of happiness...even when you're angry with me...support, love and family.  You have such a compassionate, sincere heart, and nurturing that part of you is so important to me.  I feel immense excitement to see what the next stage of your life holds, and it brings me such happiness to see you feel the same.  Happy Birthday, Austin Michael Watts, and no matter how old you become....you will always be my little boy.

After I spent the day with Austin, Ryan took him to Kobe's for some stepfather and stepson bonding time...Here are my 2 handsome men before they left for dinner...Love these two...

Happy birthday!!!

Amazing Jakes!

1. Filling up the empty tank of gas in the SUV in order to leave the house.....$56.00


2. Admission to Amazing Jake's for 2 adults and 4 kids......$ 120.00


3. Four hours of continuous family-filled fun.....

Yep....PRICELESS!!!

If you have never heard of Amazing Jake's, you have now, and if you have one close to you...drop what you're doing, pack up the family and go!! We arrived shortly after 6:15 PM on Saturday night and did not pass through the exit doors until approximately 10:30 PM! The Amazing Jake's close to us is located in Plano housed in the old Mervyn's department store building in Collin Creek Mall. It is 2 stories of arcade games, go-karts, bumper cars, a train ride, a carousel, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, laser tag, jet plane ride, pizza, pasta, salad bar, dessert station, movie room, bowling and more! The night was expensive for a family of 6 but the good time was worth EVERY cent!

Preston and Trysten...Best buds!

Carter loves to dance! Wonder where he gets that from!? =)

Carter buckling himself up for the go-karts..."I can do it, Mom!"

"See...Told you!"

Preston and Trysten making their way to the top!

Austin's turn!

Carter wasn't quite heavy enough for the rock climbing...=(Silly...=)

The teenager...where did my little boy go?!
Not a great picture, but I included it to show the really cool bowling game there! Just his size!

The Jet Plane! Austin made me promise not to ever tell his friends he rode this!

Sweet boys

Just a little video of the fun!

GOOD TIMES!!!