Material Things

I am struggling with something currently... the passion people have for material things. My son LOVES the brand Under Armour. I'm convinced he could where this brand of clothing on a daily basis for the rest of his life. But I have a hard time buying some of these things. Shirts and some clothing items I am okay buying, it's a bit pricey for me really but I understand his love for this brand. But I must draw the line somewhere. Because truthfully, what will we do with all this crap when the brand fades away or he outgrows them?! Let's move on to his cell phone. We don't have a home phone so in order for him to start staying home alone at times we had to either get a house phone or a cell phone. We went the cell phone route, it just made sense. But his phone (which we paid extra for and was actually nicer than mine or Jason's) isnt "cool" or what everyone else has. How can we compete when kids his age and younger have Blackberrys, Razors, and other brand name, expensive phones? My poor sister traded Cameron her Razor for his's phone. She tried so hard to tell him the "cool" phones arent all they are cracked up to be. But he is now the happy owner of a Razor!

I feel somewhat guilty and part of the trend. What am I teaching my child? How do I teach my 10 yr old the value of money and that it truly isnt important to keep up with your peers in trends? How do I teach him this when the world we live in is so consumed with the latest and greatest? And why are adults so consumed with name brand crap as well (purses, clothes, shoes, bags, makeup, neighborhoods, cars, etc). I cannot fathom the thought of paying hundreds of dollars for a purse or clothing items. Is it really that important? Am I missing something here? What's funny is that the brand name purse (the one that EVERYONE else has) actually brings women together! Crazy! Do people really pick their friends based on the expensive items they possess? Surely not you would think... but it does! I've seen it!

(Just a little disclaimer: I did go through a short phase in my life where I bought extremely pricey items. The worst was $175 for a pair of shoes. I now regret this because - I grew out of them, the name faded, and I have nothing to show for them today. This was a lesson I learned quickly!)

Which leads my thoughts to this... when do women grow out of clicks and gossip? Why can't we all just get along? Why do women at the old age we are still feel the need to talk about others or treat others so rudely? (Maybe it's because they dont own a brand name purse or bag!)

I just cant compete. And some way, somehow I am going to find a way to teach my children the value of money. But I will not try to keep up with everyone else and my children will learn this quickly. They may hate me today because they dont have the coolest shoes, gloves or hats but years from now they will understand and hopefully appreciate the things they did.

So tell me, AM I missing something in brand names?

First Day of School

Cameron started 5th grade today and Courtnie started 2nd grade (gulp). Can you believe they are THAT OLD? They both woke up fairly decent after having a relaxing summer. I must admit though, I did not and felt the urge to throw my cell phone with the alarm ringing ever so loudly clear across the bedroom. I did not enjoy waking so early so I guess it looks like I am going to need an adjustment period as well.

And a picture of the infamous red Nike "Shox" that only took Cameron 5 hours to find:

Colton starts in the four year old room this year. He doesnt actually start until Wednesday but I had to go up there to work for a bit so he too got all dressed up and took his teachers their gifts and used his new lunch box. He was excited too! This year he will not have a nap and will be doing more learning. I cant believe my youngest has officially outgrown naptime.

Cameron Sean Turns 10

My oldest baby turned 10 this past Friday. I cant believe it! It truly does seem like not that long ago that I brought that sweet 7lb 0oz baby boy home from the hospital. He is such a great kid, really has the best personality and such a love for life.

For his birthday party we took him along with five of his friends to see The Longshots at the movie theater, then to dinner and back here to the house for a sleepover. Out of the six boys, three, one of them Cameron, didnt go to sleep until 9am (the boys were being picked up at 9:30) and the other three boys fell asleep at 5am. Hello?? Got sleep anyone?! They had a great time though. Cameron told us that he thinks this was his best birthday party ever and that it we did a great job planning (uh-hum, Mom did the planning here).

Here the boys are at the theater:

And here they are playing XBox, the few moments of stillness. They refused to give me some decent pictures this year. They know me well enough to know they were torturing me!

We had plans to take him shoe shopping today with my mom and what good parents wouldnt take the opportunity to force their child who chose to stay awake all night go shopping with the family?! Cameron thought this was an act of sheer torture but what he doesnt realize is that it was the same for me too. I honestly apologized to my mother for all the times she had to take me shopping; I was so indecisive and finicky and this trip in particular was an unbearable form of pay-back. Cameron isnt at all picky about his clothes, although he likes to wear Under Armour, he will generally wear whatever looks good. Shoes though are a different story. They must be name-brand and they must make him walk with a swagger that the ladies will love. Not only this, they must be different than all the other shoes he has - style, color, brand, etc. The boy loves some shoes! We shopped for 5 hours, thats right, for 5 hours to find the perfect pair of shoes which he must have by Monday, the first day of school. Now he already has two other pairs of new shoes and my mom offered to buy him something else, but he of course needed another pair of shoes. So after shopping for 5 hours (on one hour of sleep might I add), he was bouncing, smiling and swaggering his walk with those new shoes on. We finally found another perfect pair!! Imagine my excitement :)

I love that kid!! Although Im going to have to kick his butt for the face he gave in this picture... cant a mom get a good picture of her 10 yr old son anymore?

Texas Skatium

Jamie's anyone? Oh yes, it's now called Texas Skatium....

Jason took the following Tuesday off from our Austin getaway. I am so glad he did, kinda wish he had taken the full week off though! We decided to take the kids skating to get us all out of the house (it's been raining here for a week solid now). I wasnt quite sure how Colton would do and knew Cameron and Courtnie would love it. They have been several times before and both enjoy skating quite a bit. So we put Colton on his skates and he stands there and just starts skating (well, heavy walking really). He did so good! Everytime he fell he would just bust out in this hard belly laugh, he thought it was sooo funny. I havent been on skates in years and had fun myself. I did fall once (I firmly believing it was from holding Coltons firm grip and him not letting me go). Glad my husband didnt get that pic on camera! Anyway, here are some pictures from our skating adventure.

Austin Getaway

Jason and I finally made it to Austin for our weekend getaway, after several obstacles in our way. We had been planning this trip for months and were itching so badly to get there. We made it to our hotel a little after 4pm, ran to our room to shower and change and headed out for the wedding. We of course got lost, this we came to accept as routine with anywhere we went in Austin, and made it to the wedding at 5:56, just 4 minutes shy of the wedding starting. But we made it!

Jen and Brian's wedding was beautiful! We both felt so incredible to have made it down there to spend this special day with them. We both had alot of fun and Jason met up with a couple of friends he hasnt seen in years - Kevin Arnold, Robbie Dungan and of course the groom Brian Dungan. I did fail on my wifely duties. I didnt get very many pictures (forgive me friends!). I wasnt in my normal element and wasnt at all comfortable asking for pictures like I normally do. I did ask someone to take a picture of Jason and I though:

We went to one of Jason's long lost buddies' house later that night. The two of them talked about everything, it was great to see them back together again. I did get pictures of them though! Ronnie's wife also had her camera out so she and I were both snapping pictures. Here they are:

I must confess, we didnt do much while in Austin. The morning following the wedding, we got out of bed at 9:30 just to get breakfast, ate and got back in bed and didnt get out again until 3pm. Sad... but so incredibly needed and appreciated. I so needed that! We did visit the Capital building when we got up and moving and made a trip down 6th street. We arent much for bars and pubs so we visited with Ronnie and his family one more time. Slept in again the following morning and headed home. I know it doesnt sound like too much fun, but Jason and I had a blast! We look forward to heading back down and visiting with other friends of ours (they were out of town at another wedding). I did post all of our Austin pics on our online album, but I didnt take too many this weekend. I feel so guilty for the lack of my picture taking :(

Prayers Please

Jason and I are headed to Austin here shortly. Courtnie has her last day of cheer camp and Cameron has a baseball practice this morning. After these events we are headed out. We got a call last night that my Mom, who was supposed to watch the kids this weekend, is in the hospital with heart problems. They are keeping her to run further tests. I'm a bit uncomfortable leaving knowing that something may happen and I wont be here. I live at hospitals knowing that a family member or friend is there for a lengthy duration, aside from the fact that... this is my mom! So we got the kids situated and although I know they will be fine, they have never stayed with my Dad so this will be new for them (truly, this is just the mom in me worrying about them). So we made the decision to continue with our trip to Austin for a long weekend alone - we both REALLY wanted to go, we have plans to see old friends and even more to see friends of ours get married. But I cant shake that nervous feeling.

So please pray for my mom - for clear answers from the tests, for her to settle down and rely on God, for my sister Breanne to be strong during this time. And also, my friend Anna who had her baby at 34 weeks was released from the hospital but her baby remains in NICU. His IV is out and he is in a regular baby bed now. However, he still has is gavage tube which means they are waiting for him to eat regular feeds by himself. His family really wants him home and I completely understand Anna's dislike of going home each night without her baby, it is truly the most heartbreaking and painful thing to do.

Parking Lot Wars

I went up to the hospital yesterday evening to see my friend Anna and her baby again. I only had a $20 bill on me and had planned to just use it to pay for my parking. By the time I left, the attendants were gone so I just put my $20 into the automated machine and it printed a receipt for me to bring later to be given my $17 owed. Not a problem really since I had plans to go visit again the very next morning and again on Saturday. Jump ahead to Friday morning - I pull up to the booth at 12:03pm and try to hand her my receipt. She tells me she is closed and doesnt have the cash right now. So I kindly ask in my nicest voice how long it would be until she was open (you know since its now after noon and she is in the booth already and curious when the cash for the day magically appears) and she tells me in 10 minutes. So I back up and wait (hey, we're talking $17 here, that's a trip to Kroger for me!). So she finally decides to stop gabbing and opens her booth for the afternoon. I drive up, hand her my receipt and here is our conversation:

Attendant: "I cant give you $17, our machine doesnt take $20 bills."
Me: "Well, it took my $20 and it says on the receipt that I am owed $17."
Attendant: "I am not giving you $17."
Me: "Can I have my receipt back please?"
Attendant: "No. I will not give you $17."
Me: "Give me my receipt... now."

So she hands me my receipt (I must have had a mean face on) and proceeds to chant, "I will not give you $17" while her friend starts mouthing. So I put my car in park and call the Baylor Parking Services Office. As I am doing so, the attendants ask me who I am calling, and I tell them, and they proceed with their chant in complete refusal. Our conversation now:

Me: "I was here yesterday and left late at night and put a $20 bill into the machine. My receipt shows that I am owed $17 and the attendants will not give me my change."
Office: "They should, why wont they?"
Me: "I dont know, but they are refusing to give me my change."
Office: "What lot are you in?"
Me: "I dont know, does it say on my receipt?"
Office: "No. Ask the attendants."
Me: "Are you serious? Do you truly think they will tell me correctly?"
Office: "They should!"
Me: "What lot is this?"
Attendant: "Lot 5" [in her snottiest voice]
Office: "Hold on, I will call their Supervisor and she will tell them to give you your change."

Meanwhile, one attendant continues with the "I will not give you $17" chant while the other is on the phone with the Supervisor. She gets off the phone and they both STILL continue to refuse to give me my change. Seriously, they REFUSE to do as their supervisor has just told them!

Office: "They should give you the change now."
Me: "They still will not give me the change." [trying to laught this off some]
Office: "Go ahead and come into the Office and we will give you the change...."

Can you believe these two were refusing to hand over change owed to someone even though the receipt clearly shows the amount due? And even after speaking to their Supervisor? What has the world come to? My heaven's! Do you not appreciate your job in an 8x5 booth? It cant possibly be that difficult. This whole ordeal lasted a solid 10 minutes.

After all this happens, what do I do.... CRY! Why do I cry? Why does pure frustration lead me to tears. Everytime. I cant help myself. I cry everytime I am offended in some way or another and once my tears start flowing, they cannot be stopped. I didnt let them see me cry though. Jason always says, "Never let 'em see you limp." They didnt see me cry babe, but I was certainly defeated. That was hard work trying to get my $17.

Water Fun at Home

We have a bounce house water slide at work that I brought home for the last two weeks of summer. We pulled it out today since Courtnie had friends over, Emily and Macey. Usually my kids sleep until 9ish and Courtnie will wake around 10 or 10:30 in the morning. Not this morning; they were too excited since they knew my plans for entertainment. They were all up bright and early and outside playing at 9:30am. Here are some pictures of the fun we had. Cameron was only here for a bit. He left us to join his friends to eat lunch at Snuffers and bowling.

Cameron surfing down the slide:

Courtnie sliding on her belly:

Emily sliding down on her back:

Macey also trying to surf down:

And Colton merely observing, afraid of the other four wild children:

And here is Colton after his mean mommy forced him down the slide. I just knew he would like it if he went down just once. You might think he was traumatized but he isnt! Do you see my wasp spray on the picnic table? Yeah, my neighbor has a horticulture center next door. Thanks to him and his lovely creation we now carry wasp spray like we do our cell phones, its a must at our house.

He liked it just enough to get in the pool of water that collects at the end of the slide. He never did go down the slide.

And here are the girls once they got done playing on the slide. Wow! They are certainly fashion divas with the hopes of blue eye shadow making a BIG come-back.

Decision Confidence

Last night I went to the hospital to see my friend Anna's sweet baby Luke. He is doing incredible! In a regular isolette, with only IV antibiotics for precautions - at only 34 weeks! Prayer is such a powerful thing!! As we were all gabbing together, one mom-to-be was expecting her 3rd child and as she was telling us this she felt the need to explain to us why she was have a c-section. My heart hurt for her a little. A week or so before a dear friend of mine was nervous to tell me she has decided to homeschool her children. Why? My heart also hurt for her. I want to be there and cant if you dont try me. I may have an opinion but it might just be wrong (save this, I dont admit that often)! So it led me to this blog....

Whatever decisions you make in life - c-section vs vaginal birth, cloth diapers vs disposable, homeschool vs public, breastfeeding vs bottle feeding, co-sleeping vs cry-it-out, stay-at-home mom vs work-outside-the-home-mom, etc. Be comfortable in your decisions. Be confident in your decisions. We all have opinions about one topic or another and some we may even be passionate about. But true friends do not judge, true friends accept and listen and they may just have a new door opened by your decisions. For instance, I think I am sold on cloth diapers. If I were to EVER have another child again, not in my plans though, Im certain I would go this route. Never did I think I would do this. If someone asks about your choices, tell them without feeling the need to explain. If they ask why, be honest and open your heart about your reasons. This to me is a sign that they genuinely care and may have tossed the same idea around and are interested to hear more.

So, my advice for today. Be confident, know your prayers and heartfelt decisions. It doesn't matter what others' opinions are, so long as you know in your heart the ones you are making are best for you and your family. Be confident in yourself and who knows, you may have just shined a new light on someone.

Mr. Investigator

I had a different experience today, one that I have never had before and one that I hope to never have again. I had to take a trip to the Criminal Investigations office at a nearby city police department. I can't speak of the case, so please don't ask me, but it was far different than what I watch on TV. The investigator was extremely nice and understood how nervous I was. The room was no larger than 6ft by 5ft with a small table and two folding chairs (not even cushioned chairs). I didn't even get a see-through window! He did however promise not to throw me against the wall, slam a book down on the table, blow smoke in my face or yell at me in any form. Thanks Mr. Investigator! (BTW, I didnt do anything wrong, just needed to give my insight on something.)

On a different note, a friend of mine (who I have grown quite close to in the last two months) is having her baby as I type. She is just 34 weeks pregnant but that sweet baby has been trying to get here for awhile now. So if you can, please say a prayer for them. His name is Luke and he has two older sisters who have been patiently awaiting his arrival. I cant wait to see them all tonight when I go up to visit.

My Child of Pure Energy

Remember my honesty post below about my oldest acting wild and remember all those punishments he was given? Ask me, "Brandie how is that working out for you?" It's okay, pull a little Dr. Phil on me.

My response was, "Well, he is behaving, being super kind to his siblings, stepping up around the house willingly. I think he may have gotten the hint."

Wrong! My response right now, "If that kid doesnt settle down, I'm really going to SCREAM!" I have been in school all summer long which has made for my household duties to slack some (okay, a lot). So in between studying for my final this evening and trying to clean the kitchen and sweep and mop all the floors in the house (which all needed some serious love) my kids were acting pretty good. That is until I come around the corner from cleaning the master bathroom to find my oldest child mid-air, jumping from the couch onto this big red blow-up ball we have (it's 4 ft in diameter just to paint this picture for you). As he jumps, he knocks over the barstool that is sitting behind the couch because I had just mopped the kitchen floor. Down goes to barstool, slamming onto the tile floor and pieces flying through the air (hey, just as my son just did!). As I am glarring at him and showing him the pieces he has just destroyed, there goes the youngest child jumping from the couch onto the big red ball. Does no one care or even recognize my face of fury and frustration???

I am so freakin' mad right now. I honestly do not know what to do. This is why I try to keep them busy every day of the summer. Because inevitably, I stay home one day to get some things done around the house and a catastrophe occurs. For the love of God, what do I do with my child?

Family Pictures

The family picture we had taken on the right was snapped by Rachael Leigh Photography. I loved the picture so much we schedule a full session with her. I am in love with them! I have no idea how I will ever decide which to buy. I definitley will want 4x6s of them all but not sure about the other sizes. Thank you Rachael for your time and evergy into our family photos, we greatly appreciate them!