Luke the Lorax

My son is so darn cute.

I bet you didn't realize that.

But he is.

Just look at him.

Awwwwwww.

I know, right?

Anyway - as you can see - today is Dr. Suess day in the 2nd grade classes.  They got to bring their favorite Dr. Suess book and dress as their favorite character.  We chose the Lorax.

And then the story gets really impressive.  

I have been so busy, I have not had (or taken) the time to shop for the pieces for his costume.  Cue - the Dad!  I totally put Josh in charge of finding the pieces for his costume and the book.  

His assignment - orange shirt (check) orange sweatpants (nope - but he looked high and low and I would have abandoned the quest long before he did!) orange hair-spray stuff (check - and ON CLEARANCE!!!!!) and finally - something yellow and fun to make the mustache (check!)  

Didn't he do awesome?  I will admit - I did cut the mustache out and glue it on the orange strap.  But Josh even found the orange strap - in his mom's old sewing box!  Whoo-hoo!
My man is awesome!

Now for the rest of life in general - Spring Break starts today!  Whoo-hoo!  I'm so ready.  And so are the kids.  Ready for a break from the grind (a break from skirt wearing every day!) and some great sleeping-in mornings.

We begin Spring Break with a trip to TX - to Amarillo to visit my parents and my grandparents.  Grandpa is not doing well, and honestly - I want to come home again and visit with him before it is really bad :(  Prayers are appreciated as you think of our family in the coming times ahead. 

When we return home, it will be just a nice break time for us all - well, except the afore-mentioned amazing man.  He still has to work.  Bummer for him.

Maybe I can take some time next week to compile some pictures for my scrapbooking album.  I sure need to.  And Sadie starts a scrapbooking project after school next week - so I guess I'm going to need some photos for her as well.  Busy times amongst the relaxation, I guess.  

Blessings to you all!  I hope to hug your necks real soon! 

 

Weight Loss Update

When I returned to blogging, I promised you all (I know - there's only like 2 of you, but there you are!!!) anyway - I promised you all updates on my weight loss.  And then I never spoke of it again.

I know you are really upset about that.

No, really - you are.  Deep down inside.

Just work with me here - you know you feel it...

Anyway - 

I have not done too well.  Until this week.

2 weeks ago, I hit a number that I promised myself I would never see again.  And then there it was - staring up at me from the scale's evil screen.  UGH.

So frustrating.  But, I moaned and groaned, but didn't really do anything about it.  So it continued to stare at me last Friday.  Double UGH.

So - this week, I girded up my loins, and got serious.

And guess what???

That number was GONE!!!!  Replaced by a happier (although still entirely too large!) number!  3 pounds gone this week!  Yip-ee!!!!

Now to keep it up this week - can't wait to see how this all turns out - I know you all are on the edge of your seats ;)

 

Snow and Lizards

I am sooooo ready for spring.

Oh - who am I kidding?  I'm ready for summer!!!  Swimsuits, lazy days, trampolines - I'm ready!  But - we must reach spring before summer may arrive.

And I must reach a lower number on the scale (and my britches!)  before swimsuit season!!!

Anyway - none of that is the point of this blog post, so I will move along . . . 

SNOW!!! 

We finally got some here in OKC.  I, for one, could live without any of the frozen, wet stuff - except on the rare occasions that it gets us out of going to school ;)

But yesterday, we got some.  Not much, and none stuck to the road, but totally enough to play in.  Now, I'm usually that mean mama that makes my kids work on homework and drudgery before they get to play, but how do you so no to snow?

You don't.

So - out my kids went, and they had a wet, muddy blast!

And - if evidenced by my carpet and hallway floor - so did the dog!

Before I knew it, they had erected this fabulous snowman that I am certain will be a lovely mud puddle (topped with a hat!) by the time we get home this afternoon.

But at least we got a picture of him before he melted away!

    

Now - Lizards!!!

Yes - we finally got them too.

And they are cute - but they eat crickets.  Who knew?  Okay - everyone knew, but this mama does NOT like crickets!!!  EWWWWW!!!!!  So, needless to say - I was pretty hilarious trying to feed these crickets to the geckos yesterday.  I'm sure it will get better - but EWWWWW!!!!!!!

Here's the pic I took of Luke with his new buddies.  When he gets them named and starts handling them, I will post some pics of them.  I think all you can see is the tank in this pic, really.  But he's excited - can you tell?

   

Critters

So - if you know me AT ALL - you know that I love animals.  Always have.  We have a dog - she is spoiled rotten and lives in the house with us.  Part of the family.  Not as spoiled as our first dog, Ritz, but Lucy has it pretty good.  She regularly gets one of the two chairs in our living room while one of us sits on the floor!  Spoiled.

When we were first married, we had quite the collections.  2 fish tanks, a cockatiel, several parakeets (only 2 at a time, but I think we had a total of 3 - or 4.  Let's say 3, shall we?)  a poodle (Ritz!) and a hamster.  All in our tiny apartment that we affectionately (and accurately!) referred to as "the Milleson Zoo."  You will notice if you are paying attention, that there are no reptiles on that list.  That is the one creature we have avoided.  Although Josh did look seriously at getting an iguana at one time, but decided, since we didn't have children yet, and were preparing to start our family, that it would be too time consuming and take up too much space when we added a baby to the mix.  

Well, from that time to this, all those sweet creatures have past on to wherever beloved pets go (don't get me started, because I'm telling you - Ritz will be waiting for me when I get there!) Well - with the exception of the cockatiel.  We gave him away years ago because of Sadie's allergies to bird dander, and he is still making a house his home, and loving ruling his home!  I got that bird when I was 16 years old - so he's doing amazing!  

We now share our home with Lucy dog - 

and 2 gerbils (Shadow and Brownie) that live in Sadie's room - sorry - I can't find any pics of them on this computer!  I know that makes you sad. .  

But I fear we are about to embark on a new adventure.  Luke Calton discovered the leopard geckos at Petsmart last night, and he's in love.  He has big plans for getting one on his birthday. As we priced all the stuff you need to start a reptile home, we decided it would probably be within his budget and started seriously considering this endeavor.  Then it occurred to Josh to check craigslist.

We love craigslist.  Bought Luke's loft bed (with slide!) for $50 there, and have sold many things through cyber-world and that wonderful site.  

Soooo - Josh hops on last night and BAM!  2 Free Leopard Geckos - complete with cage and food and everything!  Did you see that?  FREE!!!!  Whoo-hoo!!!!!  They are already tame, and the dude was going to give them to a teacher that decided they didn't want them after all.  But Luke sure does!  And he can still have $ left for his birthday!  (Unless we spend it all on crickets!)  

We are supposed to pick up the new critters on Sunday.  I look forward to posting some pics of our actual dudes then!  Until then - this is what they look like!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Okay - so this one is a little creepy - but I like that he looks like he's smiling :)

 Aren't they cute?!?

More on how it goes next week.  Until then - have a happy weekend!  I'm so glad it's finally here!!! (Or will be in 45 minutes, anyway!)

Spirit Week!

So - it's Spirit Week at school this week.  (That means Basketball Homecoming - if you are wondering...) It also means we get to dress up and act a fool all week :)

Today was "Will you still be my friend if I wear this?" day!  (Previously known as Clash/Bad Hair Day.)  I had a great time with this particular day.

I have embraced the clash...

Here I am with Lindsay - she is my Study Hall student during 5th hour.

Do I look awesome or what???

You cannot see the great beaded jewelry I am wearing - along with a longer crystal bead necklace.  You also can't really see that I have tied 2 different scarves together to make a really nice belt for that lovely shirt.  I think the Elmo tie is the best part.  Oh - you also can't see the mismatched earrings (the one on my right is hot pink!) and the multi-colored bows in my dreadlocks (dreadlocks match the hat!)

I'm telling you - I was rocking this thing!!!!

I am really just grateful that Lindsay agreed to be photographed with me ;)

My sweet children dressed up in "dressy" clothes today for chapel.  I took their picture at home, and it is still on my camera, so I'll have to post that later.  Luke did look especially handsome in his vest and tie.  He's just the cutest little man!!!

Well - I hope you all enjoyed the show!

Cake Wrecks and Scraping

I had a fabulous weekend, although it had a less-than-stellar beginning.

I had 3 cakes due on Friday afternoon - one of which has been finished for a while, but the birthday boy broke his arm the night before his laser-tag birthday party, and so we froze the cake to wait for the party to be re-scheduled.  

So - my plan was to finish the other 2 cakes (and 36 cuppies) on Thursday night while the first cake was defrosting.  Then I would deliver cake #1 (money!) after school on Friday - when mom picked up the kids at school:

 Cake #2 and 36 cuppies (Dr. Suess) were due at 5:00 at the church:

After delivery of cake #2, I would proceed to delivery of cake #3 (Spiderman and Superman - in the freezer)  However, when cake #3 was removed from the freezer, this is what we found...

EEKKK!!!!!!

That is NOT what it was supposed to look like!!!!  The oozing you see was completely liquified.  I still have NO IDEA what happened to this poor cake.  I had to call into work, and stay home to bake a whole new cake and get it and the other cakes and  cuppies all done before delivery time.

You will be pleased to learn that all cakes made it to their respective birthday parties on time, and everyone was thrilled with the results!

I was supposed to be at a scrapbooking retreat beginning Friday afternoon after the final delivery, however, I did not finish that cake until almost 7:00, so I did not make it to my retreat until almost 9:00!

I had a great, restful weekend after that, and got lots of memories on the page!  And then my hubby even taught my Sunday School class for me so that I could relax Sunday morning, and not come home until the afternoon!  I could not have gone on the retreat without him being willing to keep out kiddos while I was gone!  What a great man!

Oh - in case you're wondering - here is the final version of cake #3 - 

Blake, Timber, and Jackson - Happy Birthday!!!  

So glad I got to be part of your special day!!!!

FOUL!!!

Awwwwww - it's Sadie!

Do you know Sadie?  She is so cute and innocent and darling!

Even when playing basketball!

So - she is not the most aggressive player to ever hit the court.  She is normally hanging on the edge of the action, just watching her team.  She is a great sport, and tries to just have fun and, honestly, just not mess up ;)

She is also well-known for her ballet-ish moves down the court.  She's not the one seen streaking down the court at a dead run, and really serious about the game.

Well - at least not until this past Tuesday.

All bets were off for the last game of the season.  The game started pretty normal.  She was on the bench.  Hanging out.  Waiting for the subs to head in.  Finally - in she goes...

And suddenly - the ref blows his whistle for a foul, and calls the number - 2 - 6

Wait - what???  Did he just say 26?  Are we sure??? Was that really Sadie???

YES!  Yes it was!!!!!

Now, please note - we do not encourage fouling generally.  But she was playing really hard.  She was right in the middle of the mayhem on Tuesday night.  I don't know where that little player had been hiding all season, but she suddenly came out of her shell.  

She fouled the girl, then she proceeded to get knocked down while trying to get ahold of the ball.  She normally is never close enough to any player (or the ball, for that matter!) to ever even almost get knocked down.  She was guarding this GIANT girl at one point, and actually doing a pretty good job at it.  She was really working to try and get a rebound, and I just generally could not believe that was my girl out there playing so well.

She has always had a great attitude when playing, but this she really looked like one of the team on Tuesday.  I was so proud!

Maybe we do have a basketball player in the making!

*Note to Sadie - if you are someday in the distant future reading this, and you are an amazing basketball player - just remember we always knew you had it in you!  I am so proud of you - whether you are the "least awesome" player on the team, or the star!  

CAKE!!!

Love this darlin' Snowman cake I made for a friend's daughter's surprise birthday party this weekend!  I love Snowmen!!!!

 My cake business has really taken off this week!  I have 3 cakes due on Friday!  Wow!!!  One of them has been in the freezer since the birthday boy broke his arm the day before his party!  Finally got it rescheduled, so I get to deliver it!  Then I have a Money cake and a Dr. Suess cake with some Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes that day also!

It's going to be a busy busy week around here!  Sadie's basketball tournament starts this week.  First game on Tuesday evening!  (Second game on Thursday - but only if they win Tuesday!)  Then I have a scrapbook retreat this weekend starting Friday as soon as I get my cakes delivered!  I am soooo not organized and have NO pictures ready to go!  Guess I better get some printed!!!

Well - that's about all I have for you today!  Blessings to ya!

 A few snippets of our year...

Luke Calton FINALLY learned how to ride his bike (I know - worst parents ever, right?) In his (and our own) defense - we have no sidewalks, and it's hard to learn on the grass!  And I am just not one of those moms that lets her kid ride their bike down the middle of the street.  Just can't do it!

Kiddos played in the rain this summer at Mammie and Pappy's house.  Sadie wasn't too sure about this playing in the rain business, but Mammie drug her out there, and before we knew it -they were rapping and busting a move out in the rain!  Sweet memories!

 Dropped Sadie at camp at Hidden Falls Ranch this summer.  What a great time she had!  Love these pictures by the canyon.  And she finally decided horseback riding is NOT scary, but pretty darn cool :)

The kids once again entered  the pancake making contest at the fair.  This photo was taken by a reporter at the paper - we were really hopeful that Sadie would make the paper, but she didn't :(  But she did walk away with 1st Place!!!  Delicious pumpkin swirl pancakes!

So - not even close to "A Year in Review" but at least it's a little of what we did last year.   Hopefully I can get some pics up from this year sometime next week! 

Also - it's Friday - my official Weigh-In Day at Weight Watchers.  I am pleased to announce I lost 1.8lbs this week!  I didn't quite make the goal I set for myself, but I am happy with the loss!  I plan on trying to update every week on my weight loss journey.  Just to keep me accountable!  I will try to not bore you all with every little detail!  I'll save that for my WW Blog!!!  (You're welcome!!!)

Looking forward to more great blogs next week!  

Happy Weekend!

Fun at Work :)

I must be on some kind of a blog-high or something!  I'm posting like crazy around here!!!  I'm also blogging on WeightWatchers Community, so that is fun - totally different blog, but fun.

Anyway - I just have a great photo that needs to be shared to show you guys what fun we have here at school!

This is Khurry!  She is a senior this year, and she's been having a problem with her locker for about 3 months now...

She solved it this week.   
Yes - that is a mouse.
And Yes - she caught it in her locker!!!
EWWWWWW!!!!!!!!
What a good sport she is, though!  Look at her - holding it!!!!  I wouldn't be holding it!!!
(Luke would be though!)    

I love the kids at work!  
They make my job so much better every day!

Josh's New Job

Here goes my man!  Off to work!

Today is a big day.  We have been praying and searching for months for a new job for Josh.  Today, he gets to start one!  He will be working at the Devon building downtown (the tallest and newest building!) He is super excited!  His current job will be replacing lights (we call him the "master lampist") as well as changing filters and possibly taking care of the water-features.  

He has also been informed that there is LOTS of room for advancement and has already been told that he will probably end up with a different job before long.  We are so excited, we can hardly stand it!

Tomorrow, he gets his new uniform, so I will have to update with a pic of him tomorrow!

I am so proud of my hubby and how hard he works to provide for us!

Hope you have a great first day, Babe!!!  I love you!!!

Oh - and I guess I should confess - he was not actually leaving for work in this picture.  I have to leave for work 15 minutes before he does, so no one would be available to take a picture when he ACTUALLY leaves.  Therefore, he posed for me before I left for work!  Also, I apologize for the poor picture quality.  My phone does not do a great job, but it's better than nothing!

Blogging Life

 I - have come back - to LIFE!!!!

(If you have seen Night at the Museum 2, you know what I'm talking about.  If you have not, then go get it.  And watch it.  And crack up when you hear him say that!)

Anyway - I have, for real, decided to return to blogging.  I miss it.  And it makes me sad to look back and see my blog from so long ago, and no recent updates.  So - here I go - again!  

Today is a big day for us.  Josh is starting a new job next week, and this is his last day at the building he is in now.  I can't believe it!  We both feel really good about this change, and we just know this is the beginning of something very exciting for us!  

Kids are growing and growing.  It amazes me to see how giant they are getting and how big the numbers attached to their names are getting!  10 and 8!!!  When in the world did that happen???  Overnight, I am sure!!!  Well - if you look at the blog - it really did happen overnight ;)

I am also really gung-ho about this Weight Watcher thing again.  In Sept of 2011, I hit my very lowest weight since I got married.  It was a great time.  However, I have gained back 20lbs of the 40 I had lost.  So, I am back on WW again, and determined to make it to my goal.  I'm sure you guys will enjoy hearing all about that adventure!  Well - I'll probably enjoy telling you more than you will actually enjoy hearing about it!

So - have you enjoyed my mindless rambling!  I promise to attempt a more organized and better thought-out entry for next time!  Just for fun, though, I will pop a couple of awesome cake photos on here, just for the heck of it!  You are welcome :)

 This first one is for my sweet niece, Madeline's birthday.  It may be my favorite cake ever!

And this was for my other niece, Tanner!  I've been wanting to do a purse and high heel for the longest time!  So glad she's a girly girl!

Hope you all enjoyed the random update!  See you soon!