Weekend Happenings

This weekend proved to be quite... interesting to say the least. That's the nicest word I can come up with at the moment! Jason insisted as each new tear was shed, child that got in trouble, punishment that was threatened or enforced, foot that was stomped, fit that was thrown or illness that took affect that I MUST blog about this. Truth is, I'm not sure how to blog about the weekend so I figured I would start typing and see where it led me....

Friday night we went to eat at Chili's. Now I am not a big fan of this popular restaurant chain but my family LOVES it. And since we don't often eat out, one might think this is a treat and would be somewhat excited about this. Everyone was. Except Cameron. He comes in the house almost in tears that we were dragging him away from playing outside. People, it wasn't broad daylight outside or just snack time. No, it was dinner time with the sun setting and little time left to play outside. Rather than talk to us about it, we find him sulking in the car waiting for his punishment (you know, eating out for dinner).

We get there and Courtnie and Colton are in a special kind of mood. Neither of them could find a moment to sit still or behave like a civil human being. They thought it was appropriate to bounce around while waiting for our table and by bounce around I mean jump or hop from one bench to the other, play fight, tickle each other, dance and laugh extremely loud. Literally. After much patience, I finally separated them with Courtnie between Jason and I and Colton next to Cameron where he could find little to do since Cameron had been sitting there with his knees tucked up and his head down pouting. This worked for Colton. But not Courtnie. She tried to tickle Jason and I, wanted to sit/lay/jump in our laps and persisted in telling us dumb jokes she knew would irritate us further. I even told Courtnie that I was about to inflict physical pain on her as she was sitting just underneath my elbow and that if she didn't calm down I might would have to swing my arm back and prove how mad I was getting. She laughed. At this point we thought about just going home. But no, we are the parents and we will win this battle. We will have a fun night at dinner with the family. With this said, I'm certain our faces had complete looks of defeat.

Dinner wasn't so bad, we sat them in the perfect places. They were calm, complaisant and nice to each other. The waiter was a different story though. Didn't he know the torture we had just gone through waiting for our table? Ugh.

After dinner we decided to go to Blockbuster. Everyone picked out a movie and was happy with their choice. Or so we thought. Courtnie was in the back seat crying because that wasn't the movie she wanted. Except people, she CHOSE this movie! We did not pick one out for her, she walked the store and hand-picked this movie off the shelf. She refuses to watch her movie so I make her to bring me $2 because that's how much the movie cost. This makes her cry more. This child cries off and on ALL NIGHT LONG. It was exhausting for me to just watch her sulk and listen to her fallen tears. I swear it was her time of the month this weekend, if that's possible for 7 yr olds. To bed she went.

As we were getting Colton to bed, he too begins to cry. And honestly, I have no idea what his problem was. Maybe he just wanted to be more like his brother and sister? Fun.

Saturday morning we get up and moving and decide to take them to Nickelrama. It's early morning, cold outside and there was absolutely nothing on our agenda until later that night. Very rare occurrence for our house. Once again, Cameron is almost in tears because he wants to play outside. Seriously child? Are you kidding me? It was 34 degrees outside and mid-morning. There isn't much outside playing that could have been done at that time. Once we get there, everyone has a great time!!

The rest of the day was spent at home while the kids went from playing outside to inside. The house looked like a disastrous mess, but everyone seemed to be happy. We only had to intervene the three-man wrestling match a few times and only a couple of injuries occurred. Cameron had a basketball game later that evening and scored two baskets, which is great!! He has proven to be quite the basketball star this season! The younger two continued to act like little heathens but both grandmothers were there to help with their rambunctious behavior.

Sunday morning I felt horrible, still do. It's almost like the flu but my only symptom is a terribly achy body. I don't have a fever or anything else. So I'm at home resting and praying this is just nothing more than a chance for me to rest and enjoy some downtime. The Lord knows, I have no desire or strength to get up and do anything at the current moment!! Jason will be home shortly from work to take care of us all, so sweet!!

So there's the wrap for the weekend. I do think Courtnie and Colton have worn down some of their energy and we PRAY for warmer weather so they can go outside soon.

BTW, I never did use my elbow to inflict pain on my child =)

Happy Valentines Day!

Jason and I have never really celebrated this holiday as most people may. We might have dinner or have a date but as the kids have gotten older our focus on Valentines Day is much different. We have moved from focusing on each other to us putting the focus on the kids. Jason uses this day to teach the boys how to go that extra mile to treat a lady special and in return Courtnie learns how to be treated special by the boys. Great exchange! This year the boys woke up at 6am, went and got us ladies flowers and donuts. I had was able to sleep in (my only request) and when I woke up they went and woke Courtnie up and brought her to bed with me. They shut the door and then went to wake Colton up. Jason said when he told Colton that they had surprises for the girls he jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen and grabbed Courtnie's gift. This especially made our hearts melt, not just because Colton actually got out of bed without a fight but his gift was right next to Courtnie's and he never saw it because his focus was on his sister. How sweet is that?! They all brought us donuts and chocolate milk in bed. I wish I had video-taped Courtnie's reaction. She gets super excited - her smile takes over her face and her eyes widen beyond imagination. It's beautiful! And the boys are just as adorable. They actually enjoy their time with their Daddy, the planning and the preparations for special occasions like this one. I love the way this tradition has transpired. I pray my boys learn remember these times and that one day they will treat their wives like a princess everyday. I also pray that Courtnie never settles for anything less than she has been treated by her father and brothers.

That night Jason and I went to a friends' themed "Red Party". Here are a few pics from the night:

Storm Ready (or not so much)

Last night's storm was quite interesting here at our house. We were in bed just watching the news and Dan Henry is warning everyone in the DFW area that at one point in the night, your city will see this fierce storm. We sort-of laugh it off but stay awake to see whats going on. At one point we hear the storm sirens outside and Jason casually announces "Everyone's trash cans are all over the streets." This simple statement didn't sit well with me. All I could imagine was trash scattered throughout the neighborhood and this big green trash can flying through Colton's windows. And of course I'm gripping at Jason for not thinking about the storm and waiting until the morning to put them out. I might have even said a curse word or two at him. Poor guy, sorry Babe! The sirens continue and my thoughts of shattering glass and a four foot tall trash can flying onto my child's bed continue. So up I am off the bed, putting on my shoes to make a run outside to pull the trash cans in. That's right... The fear of the trash can crashing into my house was more fearsome than the storm sirens or the tornado warnings from Dan Henry. Jason wasn't going to let me do this alone so we make a mad dash together outside to pick up the debris from OUR trashcan and to pull the two bins into the garage. Once in bed again, Jason bursts out laughing and says "You always bring adventure into our marriage!"

The point of the story is, The Gautreaux's were not storm ready! However, we did survive and didnt have to camp out in the bathroom afterall. That is a blessing itself =)

"Daddy" by Courtnie Gautreaux

At the kids' school, the second graders had a poetry program last night. They sang two creative and energetic poetry songs and read poems aloud. They read some that other famous poets had written and some were their very own. Three children from each class were chosen to read their poems aloud and Courtnie was one of them. Her poem was about her Daddy, so sweet!

Black Eye Memoir

A year ago today, Cameron gave us quite a scare! He had baseball practice in the early afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday and Jason called me in a panic, almost in tears asking me where to take Cameron for an injury. I told him to head to CareNow and asked what happened and he kept repeating "It's not good". They beat me there and they walked in and they immediately told them they were not able to treat injuries like his and we needed to go to Baylor Garland ER. We get there and what I saw will never leave my mind. He was catching pop-flys in the outfield, facing the sun, and just completely missed the ball and it landed right in his eye pocket. By the grace of God, he sustained only a black eye. We totally know he lucked out on further injuries (a broken eye socket or eyebrow, loss of vision due to swelling, injury to the eye muscles). He was out of school for a week (more so because he couldn't see anything) and we spent many trips seeing multiple doctors just to make sure we were in the safe zone that week. Cameron told us tonight he even remembers watching last years game with one eye. Poor guy!

Home Depot

So I don't actually use the word "hate" very often and when I do I must truly feel that word passionately about the subject I'm speaking of. I certainly do not want to hear that word from my children's mouths. When talking about Home Depot, this word immediately comes to mind. You see, I am not a fan of this store and as a matter of fact, I hate this place. My husband likes for me to join him on his little adventures to this local retail shop and I don't know why exactly, its not like I'm great company or encouraging in any way. In fact, I don't care what he buys or how much it costs so long as he gets me out of there as quick as possible. Did you ever see the episode from The Newlyweds where Jessica Simpson (and DO NOT be ugly about her, she is my girl crush, I love her!) is complaining about being at Home Depot with Nick? That's me, perfectly. Today, while shopping at this popular retail store (problem #1) as a family (problem #2) Jason makes us walk up and down just about every aisle. Not only this, he thinks he must backtrack down the aisle a few more times to make sure he hasn't missed something that he MUST have. As he turns around from one fun toy to the next, so are the kids. This is when it happened.... Colton kicked my foot as he turned and broke my big toe nail on the skin. So this incident just added more humor and fun to my lovely trip. So rather than grumble any louder (which is almost impossible) I take out my camera to catch a few more highlights of our Home Depot trip. Colton LOVES this store as much as his father and actually tried to use these beloved tools right there on the spot. I even caught him unscrewing a level. Cameron would be more interested if they had a sporting goods section. And Courtnie.... well she tries to stay involved and pretends to know what things are and how they work. I guess that's better than her mother.
Afterwards, since we were all so good at the store (myself included, although my family may tell you differently) we went to lunch. Again, we had another playground disaster which required me to rescue Colton from inside the play structure. I come out just as Jason was getting the camera ready to snap pictures. LOL. Luckily, I made it out this time before a picture was taken or an injury occurred. I'm going to rethink Coltons participation in playground areas for awhile.

What do you do all day?

I have had this asked to me numerous times over the last 10 years of being a stay-at-home mom. And sometimes I don't have all the answers. Truthfully, there have been times I've asked myself the same question; I've wondered why I am so exhausted and haven't sat down all day and yet nothing on my to-do list was checked off. So AMEN SISTER to this article written for all mothers. If you are a working mother, AMEN as well because you do all of this and work.

Colton's "C" Book

Upon a friend's suggestion, I did this book with Colton to try and keep him entertained on this freezing cold morning. He is very reluctant to learn for some reason and since I wasn't blessed with an abundance of patience, we do not make a very good pair sometimes. BUT, we did finish the book and he is very proud of it. I cant however figure out how to get him to tell me that it's the letter "C", he keeps telling me "I don't know. I don't know." For reference, his "car" he can drive across his book, the cross moves around like an accordian, and behind the "C" cover page is a page where he traced upper and lower case "C"s, and the smaller pictures are things that begin with the letter "C". If you are a teacher of any age -bless your hearts.

Playtime Woes

Even with the wintry forecast being predicted for today and tomorrow, my good friend Anna and I braved the weather and made it for our routine Tuesday storytime. Afterwards we went to eat lunch at a popular fast food place where the kids could play and run off some of their stored energy. One of Anna's little girls runs to me and says Colton's stuck inside the play structure (I'm certain my face went from smiling happy to fearsome). I immediately look at this play structure and it instantly starts to grow into this monstrous size; I'm not near as small as I once was. Anna laughs and comments on the fact that she wishes she had her camera. I am finding appreciation in the small blessing that Anna doesn't have her camera because all I can imagine is a picture of my massive size butt hanging out of one of the entrances, windows or slides. On my way up to the top (because he certainly couldn't have gotten stuck towards the bottom) I hit my head not once, but twice on solid plastic. Keeping my teeth clenched from cursing this structure, I get to the top and there Colton is - sitting at the top. "Hi Mommy. I'm stuck." Interesting, he doesn't look stuck to me. At all. He's merely sitting there chatting away with his friends. He claims he couldn't get down, except by the time I made it to the top, which was not an easy task, he mustered up enough courage to move and head down the slide. So the kids are headed down and I just sit there rubbing my head trying to figure out the best way to get down with the least amount of injury. So down the slide I go. Did you know that the cracks on the slide are painful to the backside? No really, surely kids feel this. They have far less padding on their tush than I do. So along with the grimaced look on my face, my hair has been completely taken over by static. That would have been a lasting picture. Thank you Lord for keeping Anna's mind distracted this morning and forgetting her camera =)

If Mama Ain't Happy....

I try not to vent on my blog but I have been deemed the worst mother and wife of the year today. This evening rather. I had a great day actually! While at work today I received a call from a marketing research company and they needed Cameron and me to come tonight to a study that paid $100 per hour. Of course I'll be there! And it's a great opportunity for Cameron (plus he owes me money). Jason and I had also talked about taking the kids to my moms to spend the night and after the study going to see a movie.

I left work and called Jason only to hear he was in a terrible mood. (I still haven't figured out why though and he is standing his ground that he is not in a bad mood. Hmm.... denial. Isn't that the first sign?) Cameron gets home from school and is ticked about going tonight. Because you know, going to a study to talk about watching movies in a theater for $100 an hour is sheer torture. We are on our way there when it dawns on me that I'm an hour early. However, this is a perfect opportunity to have dinner with my son. Right? Apparently not. This to Cameron is like throwing him to the wolves because now he wont talk to me. Great. So here I am tonight trying to make a little extra cash, broadening Cameron's horizons, trying to have a date with my child and everyone is in a TERRIBLE mood. I was feeling totally frustrated and resentful (still do as I write this). We ordered our food and sat down to eat and my son still wouldn't talk to me and Jason kept calling to release his frustration (except remember he wasn't in a bad mood). I sat inside the restaurant and just cried. What else does a woman do at this point? Smile and talk to herself?! Just how I had planned my evening. It gets better....

We get to the study and apparently the lady I talked to had two studies confused. The earlier time was for kids and the time slot they had me in was for adults. So they kindly ask me if it's okay that Cameron wait for 90 minutes or so while I do the study. Uh no. My son may be acting like a jerk, but I however am not that cruel. It would have been fine for me to sit for 90 minutes while Cameron did the study because that's what mothers do - we sacrifice. But I'm certainly not going to make my son do that. I'll take the hard piece of bread, the dinner scraps and cold showers, but I'm not about to make my kids sacrifice on my behalf. So we left.

So here it is Friday night. I'm sitting at home in my pj's with everyone mad at me. And what did I do to them? We'll see who gets homemade meals this weekend.... If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. They'll learn that rule soon enough.