Old Mom

Clearly my children think every funny thing they do is original. And they certainly don't fear talking about me in my presence! A conversation between my oldest children:

Courtnie: LOL, give Mom an indian sunburn.
Cameron: Mom, can I give you an indian sunburn?
Me: Um, no!
Courtnie: She's so old, she probably doesn't even know what an indian sunburn is!
Cameron: She is old, probably close to having a mid-life crisis.

They'll pay for this!

Must be nice

I was looking back through June pics and stumbled upon these.  This is pretty much what EVERY day looks like around here.  These two very rarely see the morning hours unless of course they come after midnight.  Then they do nothing all day long except eat and fight if they happen to cross paths.  You're lucky if you see them with regular clothes on.  Courtnie will move to go swimming but aside from that, not much else interests her these days.  Must be nice!

Notice they are in different rooms?  Heaven forbid we watch the same show in the same room and not have full control of the remote.  SMH... lazy... lazy...

Happy 11th Birthday, Courtnie

Paycheck and Smell

Courtnie: Mom, is Dad getting paid a full paycheck since he isn't working very hard?
Me: What? What do you mean he isn't working hard? He's at work everyday.
Courtnie: Well, you know, with his finger he can hardly do anything at work.
Me: Baby, Daddy is working, he's just doing things differently now.
Courtnie: Oh.

*I was for sure she was about to ask me to take her shopping!* 

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Colton: Mamma, I just love you SOOOO much!
Me: [wondering what he's done or wants]
Colton: You just smell SOOOO good!
Me: Oh really?!
Colton: You are so nice for taking us places. I just love you!

*I just love him, I never lack affection or the show of love from him.*

Evidence

If Christianity was illegal, would there be enough evidence to convict you? I pray for more opportunities to share my faith and stand up for right causes. I pray I have a long list of "evidence" and acts of Christianity. Would your life go to trial?

Dance World

By Courtnie Gautreaux
May 2012
5th Grade

Why the fun of Dance World was made:
Dance World was created because I love to DANCE!  Since I love to dance I thought it would be more fun to create my own studio and all of that.

Dedication Page:
I dedicate this page to my friends Aubri and Callie because at out school talent show we did a dance together.

About Dance World:
Dance World is going to be about having fun dancing and doing many things you wouldn't normally be able to do at home.  One thing you could do is every 10 minutes you could eat candy and drink soda.

[Map of her studio]

Fact Page:
The ruler of Dance World is Courtnie Gautreaux.
Here is a description of the physical appearance of our ruler:
Physical Appearance: Courtnie is always in an cute outfit.  She wears short shorts and neon colored shirts.  Her hair is always up in a pony.
Personality: Courtnie is very nice and she never yells at anybody.  She doesnt go to fast with the dances either.
These are the characters who uphold the good in the world, and a description of each: Aubri - She doesn't argue and is fun.  Callie - She's a fast learner and one of my best dancers.
These are the characters who cause problems in our world, and a description of each: Marlie - She's mean to other people.  MaKenna: She always wants to be in the center spot.
These are the people whom the inhabitants of our kingdom will always give a special welcome: Tiffany, Brittany, Jacky, and Heather

Our Secret Language:
In Dance World we always use a secret language.  Our secret language is using signals.  One of our signals is holding an X with your arms which mean you have a question.  Another one if hold up 3 fingers which means you got it down.

Decree:
We, the inhabitants of the world of Dance World, do solemnly decree these rules to govern our kingdom:
- You can get out your phones during break time.
- You can eat or drink anything you want.
- You can teach the dance to other kids once you got the dance down and they don't.
- You can call a celebrity to come and watch us dance.

The Conflict:
One day while we were performing at a competition Aubri accidentally tripped over Marlie.  As you know Marlie is one of our bad kids, so after the dance was over she started pushing Aubri down and calling her names.  Aubri wasn't pushing back but I could tell that she wanted to.  It was really hard to settle Marlie down.  When it was time for our next dance Marlie and Heather had to switch spots because we didn't want Aubri's feelings hurt again.  Well the dance went pretty good besides the fact that Marlie wasn't doing facials!!  On our way back to Dance World Marlie said sorry to Aubri and they became friends again.  We didn't really get a good score on our first dance but, we did on our second dance.

Extra Page:
On May 23, 2012 I was getting ready to go to Dance World and teach the kids dances.  When I got there all of the kids were ready to learn.  I was teaching the dance but then Callie twisted her ankle.  She said she couldn't dance anymore so I gave her an ice-pack and told her to sit on the comfy couch.  When that was all settled it was time to go in the Magic Pantry of Snacks.  I gave Callie a brownie and everybody else one.  After 10 minutes of break time we showed Ke$ha our dance.

My Role:
My part in this world is to be the teacher.  I teach the dances and I also make sure that everybody is having fun!  I am the best dance teacher ever and my students will never go home with a dull face.

The Future:
In the future I will probably still be at Dance World because it is my world!  I will always be welcome for doing my job.  I will never share my world with others because they might ruin it.  I like my world just as it is!!

The Stage:
It lights up when you step on it.

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

Colton: How old do you have to be to get married?
Mom: 35
Colton: You're not even 35! But what if I'm already in love?
Jason: Who do you love?
Colton: You know..... Emily! Why can't we just get married now? I'm in love with her! And she likes me too! 

Earlier in the day, the two of them planned their wedding colors!  This boy is going to find the love of his life and love her to pieces.  He's definitely a charmer :)

Teens

Jason: How many kids are at our house?  Did we get enough food?

Me: I think so.  Remember, God fed a multitude!

Jason: But can He feed teenagers?

We both needed a good laugh after our finger incident.  This was good for our souls :)

9.5 Will Do Too!

This is a great synopsis of our Thursday evening.... But for those who want the full story....

Jason calls about 4:30pm and casually says I need to take Colton to his baseball game, that he has "cut" his finger and his boss his taking him to get it looked at.  I had a conference call I has scheduled to attend that he knew about so this was an odd request.  I totally thought he was joking because the way he said it sounded like I already knew about the said "cut".  I decided to go ahead and make other arrangements for the kids and meet them at the clinic, which turned out to be an ER room.  Again, I'm still oblivious to the "cut" and just thinking we're in for some stitches.  I'm not sure when I realize that this isn't just a cut but a self-amputated finger. Maybe it was either the finger sitting in a cup of ice across from me or the fact that they were transferring him to Parkland to see a hand surgeon, I can't really remember which happened first.  They get him all situated for the transfer.  It was quite an exciting moment - Jason's first trip in an ambulance AND he performed his trick where he holds his left pointer finger in his right hand!

To say I was not impressed with Parkland is an understatement.  Let me rephrase... To say I was not impressed with the PEOPLE at Parkland is an understatement.  Speechless.  We get there and Jason sits for hours in a chair in the hallway back in the ER in front of the nurses station.  Not I know this isn't an emergency per say, but after a few hours and he finally walked out to come get me and bring me back to sit with him.  This time away from him really had my anxiety kicked in gear.  I still haven't seen my husbands hand or the detached finger and was told at the previous hospital that he was going to have attachment surgery, so I really have no idea what the situation looks like.  I was told at Parkland that Jason would have to tell his nurse that he has family in the waiting room for them to bring us to a different location.  We wait for HOURS.  So by the time Jason walks out with his IV pole and holding his finger in his cup, I'm relieved to at least see him and talk to him.  I go back there with him and they take another look at it and confirm it is not in any condition to be reattached.  Jason is ghost white and shaking and neither of us really care at this point.  Jason wants someone to stop the pain and I want someone to do something before he passes out and we have a bigger problem.

The "cleaning up" procedure lasted 30 minutes and was not done in the OR.  They numbed his finger, Jason quickly regained his color, and they began this procedure with Jason wide awake.  We aimed to leave the ER with 10 fingers but were content with only 9.5.

The pain level has been pretty fierce but meds and ice have helped. This wasn't exactly how we intended to spend our Memorial Day weekend but glad he is okay and the tip of the finger is all that he's missing :)

Oh yeah.... kids did great and he did it on a drill press.

********************WARNING********************

Nasty pics below!

Changes

I disappear for a few weeks and blogger has changed on me!  Seems like life is full of changes.  Being a mom to hormone crazed kids has been the biggest challenge change around our household.  The good thing is the kids are guaranteed one normal parent.  Unfortunately, that also means they are guaranteed at least one psycho parent who has lost all their patience.  The kids never know which parent will be the psycho just as we never know which kid will grate on our nerves.

As of late, Colton has been the heavenly child.  I'm not sure if the "baby" of the family is learning what makes us explode and he avoids that or if he's learned to be sneaky just enough to get by without being noticed or even if the older two have completely worn me thin I just look past his mischievous antics. Aside from having absolutely no organization or care for his belongings, he's doing wonderfully.

Courtnie has some serious hormones kicking in.  Let's just say that Jason has already talked to the boys about steering clear of their sister when she starts snapping at people.  I don't remember being so emotional at the tender age of 10, but nonetheless, Courtnie is and we love her just the same.  We're teaching her to control the emotions or go to her room and she can do with them there as she pleases.  Either way, they are not welcome to explode as she sees fit, when she sees fit, or how she sees fit.

Cameron.... oh dear Lord help us with this child!  This is a plea and desperate prayer.  I have spent the last 9 months trying to find my sweet and obedient child.  I cannot begin to explain what happens when a child turns 13 because I have no clue.  I do know that he thinks he's an adult who can talk to anybody anyhow he sees fit at anytime whether your a child, peer, or grown adult.  I could tell you how long he's been grounded this school year, but it would be easier for me to tell you how long he's NOT been grounded (maybe 8 weeks?).  I've spent time in middle school attending classes and making sure my child can behave and be respectful to his teachers and peers.  I've spent time scolding him for is craptastic behavior.  I've also spent time loving on him thinking maybe he's lacking in the affection department.  All of this and I've gathered this much information - he knows he's being disrespectful, he is choosing not to turn in his work, he understands the definition of "mouthing", and he does not enjoy being grounded from his cell phone, TV, laptop, or social gatherings.  He especially doesn't like being grounded from all of the above at the same time.

In addition to raising children, which I absolutely LOVE, I've managed to work my way into the High Risk Victim's Task Force for Dallas county doing volunteer work for children who have been abused sexually or have been trafficked in one form or another.  My marketing job working from home has really picked up too which is such a blessing.  I'm not just a ghost writer anymore, I actually have a bio and head-shot attached to my articles now!

Aside from all of this... I'm doing well and barely keeping my head above water.  The family is healthy and happy (some of us anyway) and we look forward to the summer.  I'll try to make more time for blogging.  I sure do miss it!