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!

American Girl

We took Courtnie today to the American Girl store. She was given a gift certificate for her birthday and she wanted to pick out a new outfit for her doll. If you have ever shopped with Courtnie, you know this is a long ordeal. She is very indecisive and ponders every possibility, even the price of everything, which she defnitely gets from her momma. After walking the store, upstairs and down, she finally decided on a "Dance Team" outfit, which is very fitting for her since she will start her 5th year of dance this coming Fall. Here are a few pictures of Courtnie shopping and one of her in front of Kit's treehouse.

Couples Baby Shower

My cousin-in-law had her baby shower this weekend and it was a couples baby shower. Jason was not thrilled to be in attendance. He thinks showers are for females and for the males to stay back and have their own bonding time (ie. xBox, sports on TV, sitting back and having a cold beer). Part of me doesn't blame him, I know men do not enjoy ohing and ahing over baby clothes, the latest pack-n-play, Bumbo and Boppy accessories or the even latest breastpump. But my mom and cousin (the hostess') found a great way for the men to enjoy themselves even if it was just for one game. Here is Jason and my cousin Casey competing to see who can down sweet tea in a baby bottle the fastest. My other cousin (Cory, the dad-to-be) was also drinking away but he wasnt close enough for me to get him in the picture.

And here is Jason with his prize - a 6pk of cold beer! I'm not saying he will be in attendance at the next couples shower, but he did think this shower was worth his time.

iPods

As many of you already know, the Gautreaux's (minus Jason) LOVE our iPods. I, for one, cannot imagine my life without my iPod. Not too long ago, I accidentally spilled a 20 oz bottle of water in my purse and it ruined my iPod. Of all the things damaged at that time (my pictures, a borrowed book, papers, business cards, my purse), my iPod not working correctly was terrible, the worst possible catastrophe. I cried, yelled, swore and wished aloud my car was stolen in place of my iPod breaking. My dear husband went and bought me a new iPod the very next day (I think it was more of a way to shut me up though but it was perfect timing for a Mother's Day gift). Our older two kids also have iPods. Granted, they are handed down from my teenage sister and her girlfriend but they love them regardless (Courtnie's is pink, Cameron's is green). This is an image of my car trips these days. At first I felt a bit guilty -the car should be a time of talking and catching-up on eachother's days. But not our car, we all stick our iPods in our ears and sing to ourselves, aloud though. I also no longer feel as if I am harming my children because everyone is happy - no fighting over the arm rest, the space on their seats, who is touching who, who is looking wrongly at who, or what songs we have to listen to yet again. We all get to our destination happily! It's a win-win situation!!

PS - This doesn't make me a bad mom, does it? We dont listen to our iPods on EVERY car trip... just quite a few of them!