And on Another Note...

I forgot to mention, when I asked Landon what he was thankful for, he replied in the following way,

"I'm thankful for Nixon, Mommy, E-wie (Ellie), Daddy, Nana, Sidnee, Grammy, Pa-pa, U-cas (Lucas), and Poppy."  When Chris asked if he was thankful for some other people in our family, he said, "Yeah, all them too."

When I asked Nixon what he was thankful for, he replied, "Mommy, Daddy, Na-none (Landon), Kylee, Grammy, tractors and the cows."  How cute is that! 

As a family, we're very thankful for all of you..those listed and not listed!  You know who you are!

Ten Things Tuesday - Thanksgiving Edition

Sorry Amanda, I'm copying you..what a great idea!

Ten Things I'm Thankful for ...in no particular order.

1. Those serving our country to protect our freedom.  I feel our freedom is something that's definitely taken for granted by many.  Think of all those that serve, risking their lives daily, so that we can enjoy our freedom.  I love you and miss you Tonio.  Stay safe!

2. My job.  There's so many people without jobs right now.  I can't imagine having a job where I had to worrry if it would be there tomorrow.  Chris and I are very fortunate to have great jobs with security and benefits.
3. My moma. She taught me to stand up for myself and to be independent.  I've had to do it many times and it always worked out in my best interest.  She taught me that no one will stand up for you if you don't stand up for yourself.

4. The rest of my family..on Chris' side and mine..you know who you are..too many to name..you've always been there for us no matter what.  I love each and every one of you dearly.
5. Friends.  Old and new..I have so many friends that I've known for a lifetime it feels like!  They all know me so well..I have long distance friends that know I'm bad at keeping up with them so they keep up with me..I have new friends that I couldn't live without.  Each one of you are very special to me.  
6. My family's health.  It's something that shouldn't be taken for granted.  I hear so many stories of kids with cancer, losing husbands in fatal accidents..I just couldn't imagine life without Chris or my boys.  
7. God.  I know that he's always there for me, even when I may turn my back on Him.  It's also so great to know that Chris is 'on the same side' and that I can talk to him about anything related to religion and that we'll share eternity together.
8. Landon and Nixon. I love my two little boys so much it hurts sometimes. Sure, I'd love a little girl to add to the bunch, but I can't imagine life without my little boys. They always seem to know when their moma needs a hug or kiss, or even just to sit and hold my hand. They're the sweetest little boys I could ask for and they love their moma as much as I love them.

9. Chris.  He understands me so much it's scary sometimes. He knows when to leave me alone, when to push me and even when to aggravate me!  Even when he doesn't agree with me, he backs me up.  He's my rock in unstable times and I've told him if he ever goes anywhere, I'm going with him!
10. Memories.  I have had a great life so far.  I've done plenty of things, with very few regrets.  I've had a lot of good times, with a few bad mixed in.  I know there are plenty of memories to be made, and I hope that everything going forward will go as well as the past. 
    
    
    

Ten Things Tuesday

1. I lost the amount of weight that I gained last week.  Woo hoo..on the down side again.  I've also worked out the past two nights.  I know it's just a matter of getting into the habit, but I hate to do it!  I'd much rather go home after a long day at work.  Oh well, at least I'm teaching the boys some good habits, right? 
2. Ellie gets her stitches out on Friday and I can't wait.  I'm used to giving her a bath every two weeks and it's been a month.  I can't wait to give her a good bath and some doggy perfume!
3. I can't believe that Christmas is getting so close.  Only 10 more days until Black Friday!!
4. We took family pictures a month ago and I still haven't purchased any.  I just can't decide which ones I like.
5. Chris got a call today that he's going to be a college professor!  Johnston Community College needs a Health teacher one night a week, so starting in January, he'll be teaching on Tuesday night from 6:00 - 8:30.  My mom thinks we like to work too much, but Dave Ramsey says to pay off your debt with Gazelle Intensity.  I think we're working on it!
6. When I picked the boys up yesterday afternoon, Nixon looked at me and said, "Nesha (Ms. Tenisha) put cream on my butt."  It was the cutest thing ever!  He's had an upset stomach for about a week, so we're having to pull out the diaper cream.  When I told the teacher what he said this morning, she said, "Yea, he just laid there and said that feels good."  What a little stinker!  He definitely could be potty trained if he wanted to.  He's too stubborn to do it in my time though.
7. Landon's teacher reminded me yesterday what a good and smart boy he is.  Makes me feel good to know I must be doing something right!
8. I finally found a toy that Landon's been saying he wanted.  When you ask him what he wants for Christmas, the answer is usually a Power Ranger sword that turns into a gun.  I didn't think they had such a thing, but we found it on Friday night in Wal-Mart.  Luckily, Landon was with me so I was able to confirm this was the right one.
9. Landon told Nixon last night that he better be good if he wanted Santa to bring him some toys.
10. I don't think it's any surprise that my two boys are complete opposites, but it's amazing how you can love them so much, equally, but in different ways.  I love them more than life itself!  I don't know how any parent could do anything that would harm their child or put them in harm's way.  It makes me so sad to hear stories such as the one in Fayetteville.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Ten Things Tuesday

1. I don't even want to talk about how Weight Watchers went this past week..period.
2. Ellie got spayed Thursday.  When I brought her home, I had to explain to the boys that the doctor had to do surgery on her so she wouldn't get sick anymore.  I know, not the complete truth, but it's what they would understand.  Anyway, all night, Nixon would bend over to look at her scar and so seriously, he would say, "Aww..Lwie(Ellie)."  It was the cutest thing!
3. I just found out last week that one of my friend's that's due in April is having a girl..seriously, all my friends have girls but me!  I think I'm cursed! :)
4. Two people Chris and I know won a lot of money in raffles this past weekend.  I'm thinking I should've listened to Chris when he wanted to go buy a lottery ticket!
5. Nixon is very clingy lately.  At night, he loves to sit right beside me on the couch while we watch his favorite cartoons and I love it!
6. Landon can recognize the words "of", "at", and "the" now.  I bought him some Dr. Seuss flash cards with sight words on them.  I can't wait to get started on that!
7. I absolutely can't wait until the day after Thanksgiving!  I'm so excited to go shopping for the boys this year.  It's going to be so much fun!
8. I'm still  a little depressed the house didn't work out.  I was excited thinking that we'd be in there in time to decorate for Christmas and to register Landon for kindergarten. But, I know an even better one is right around the corner.
9. We paid off another debt this past week!  Woo hoo!  We're averaging paying off around $1,300 a month in debt, which is very exciting!
10. One morning this past week, Landon and Nixon woke up early and came down the stairs holding each other's hands.  I wish they could stay this sweet with each other forever, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

When I Grow Up

I had the following conversation with Landon yesterday on the way home from school:

Landon:  When I grow super-100 years old, I'm going to be a farmer.
Me:  Oh yeah, you want to be a farmer?
Landon:  Yep, and you're going to buy me a big orange tractor.

Where does this stuff come from?

In other news, Nixon says he wants to be a pig when he grows up.

Wordless Wednesday

Nixon and his girlfriend, Kylee...looks like love, huh?

Ten Things Tuesday

1. I gained 1 lb this past week. I can't say that I'm surprised with all the soft drinks I've consumed this past week..add a little Halloween candy and there's your one pound! 
2. I don't think that the house we made an offer on is going to work out.  Sunday, they told our realtor that there were 3 other offers on the table that were much higher than ours.  We didn't offer them too much less than the listed price, so I can't imagine them just holding 3 offers when it's already going into foreclosure, but oh well.  They're not going to pressure us into offering more than the house is worth at this time.
3. Nixon's never been scared of anything really.  He's a little daredevil and usually never meets a stranger.  But lately, he's scared to death of monsters and tigers in our house.  He'll be playing and say, "Be quiet, there's a monster in that room."  But if you play along and say, "Where's the monster?" he gets all freaked out. 
4. Nixon loves to sing the Mickey Mouse song..you know the one, "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog."  Whenever we eat hotdogs, he'll sing it at the top of his lungs and it's the cutest thing. 
5. Landon told me Sunday that he's so sad that Halloween is over.  Poor thing..he really loved it this year.
6. Ellie goes to be spayed on Thursday.  I'm a little nervous for her, but geez, I hope it calms her down!
7. We got our family pictures back on Sunday..now the hard part..deciding which ones to buy!
8. Today's Election Day in our Town...should be interesting to see if we have the same Mayor and Councilmembers tomorrow as we do today.
9. I asked Landon and Nixon if they would like me to have another baby.  Both said yes, but when I asked if they wanted a brother or a sister, Landon said, "I've already got a brother, I don't need another one."
10. This time change is kicking our butts. Landon has puffy eyes from not sleeping enough and I feel like the days are dragging on.  I guess it'll all even out after a week or so:)