Since my last post

I managed to post a picture for Thanksgiving. Since then I have done the following things in kinda this particular order.

• Took Maddy to a Christmas Party at church
• Decorated the house for Christmas (tree can be seen in pictures below)
  
• Seen the neurologist to up her medication a bit to try to avoid another big, bad seizure
• Took Maddy to the Candy Cane Ball

• Attended a Christmas party that has been held every year for the past 33 years. People that we call family by choice.
• Wrapped what seems like 100 Christmas presents
  
• Took Maddy on a Christmas date with the boyfriend
  
  

• Dropped my retainer, finally found it and went to the orthodontist
• Worked, worked and then worked some more to finally help get our website national. Check out www.saveonbrew.com if you have a zip code we can help you find beer on sale!
• Took the dog to see Santa

• Attempted to clean the house, feed the family and get some sleep once in a while

Things that make you go HMMMM

I found this article amusing:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/27/fidel-castro-osama-bin-laden-us-spy


Don't forget to go check out SOB!!!

Hit or miss

Gonna be hit or miss for me in July. Have a ton going on. Stay tuned, you never know when I might feel clever or witty!

Behave or not...see ya soon!!!

Things that make me happy

The sound of Maddy blow drying her own hair.

Maddy telling me that I need to stop freaking out and let her do whatever it is that she is wanting to do.

Letting Maddy leave the store I am in at the mall and finding Hot Topic all by herself.

My amazing hubby.

Friends and laughing with them.

The two vacations I am lucky enough to on go this year.

Beer :)

This and That

Howdy all. Things have been interesting here, but I suppose they always are. Here is a quick recap of recent events.

I had some real issues with a young man that is quite fond of Maddy. I reached the end of my patience and had his phone number blocked from both mine and her phone. That action is costing us a lovely 1o bucks a month, but I felt it necessary. I have recently given in a little and I am now unblocking the number for a few hours of the day. If things get bad again I can truly know that I have done more than enough to be fair.

My birthday party was a smashing success and everyone had a good time. Mostly I was proud to have my Mom meet all of the people I truly call my friends. There was a whole lot of love and IQ in the room that night! My mom decided to leave early Sunday morning, turns out she spent the rest of the week sick. Today the hubby stayed at home dreadfully ill. I am praying that Maddy and I dodge the sick bullet.

We are still very excited that the hubby was picked up by UTA and it looks like the last week in June he will head out to LA for a ton of meetings. I know he will knock their socks off.

Maddy did the scripture reading at church this week. She was very nervous, wanted to back out at the last minute, but did a great job. So proud of her!

I got an Iphone this week and I love it! The majority of the technology goes to Maddy and the hubby, but I decided I needed a new techo gadget. So far I love everything about it, and I don't see needing anything new for a long, long time.

Two vacations are coming up quick! In 39 days we have the whole family vacation with the hubby's side of the family. In 50 days I head to Europe with my aunt. Both vacations are going to be interesting, unique and a heck of a lot of fun.

Saturday Quilt

Just like a good homemade quilt this post will be made up of a little of this and that.

This morning Maddy leaves for a church retreat. She is looking forward to going and there is not drama, trauma or separation anxiety going on. At one point in my life I did not think she would ever do anything like this. Thank goodness I was wrong.

We (mostly meaning the hubby) have a lot of irons in the fire right now. We are truly on the edge of the verge of potential big changes in our life. As things become more solidified I will be posting, but until then send lots of prayers, positive thoughts our way.

Little glimpses of maturity keep showing up in regards to Maddy. She is much more comfortable with herself that her self confidence is in full swing. It is little things like at the mall she can wait for her food at the food court and then come and find me. She now goes into her own dressing room and does it all for herself. She comes and finds me to show me the clothes she likes as she tries them on. She will actually voice her opinion on what she likes or does not and she has a legitimate reason for it. This might not sound like much, but again I did not know if this level of independence would every happen.

A few things have happened this week that reminded me how much I do truly love the hubby. They were all little silly things, but still I am such a lucky person to have truly found a best friend to spend my life with.

We have a website about to go into beta, if you live in Texas and want to help us out go here.

I have actual real travel plans this summer! In 59 days I am going to Europe for 2 weeks with my aunt. I have not been to Europe since 1991. We are taking a fabulous cruise of the English Isles.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Facebook

Sometimes posts on Facebook crack me up. Now that my nephew is on FB I am sure I will get lots of "gems". Youth overrules smart every day.

Every few years my in-laws pay for the entire family to go on vacation together. The last time we had a private island in the Thousand Islands. This year we will be at Lake of Ozark's and it seems that we will be close to Party Cove.

This has made the trip much more interesting for my two nephews. We were discussing the vacation via FB a few days back and it was about the amount of beer that would be consumed this year and would it be as much as we consumed on the island. If I remember correctly we (about 15 of us) managed to consume over 600 bottles of beer in a week. (If I am wrong the hubby will correct me and I will make the edit.)

During this FB conversation my nephew had to chime in on the beer drinking:

YEAH BECAUSE IM DRINKING, im 18 :> and mommy says i can drink


So many things are so wrong with this statement. I love the caps, the emoticon and the show stopper is talking about how you can drink cause Mommy said you could.

Two for one Friday

Impressing the ladies!

Due to recent events I am now reading the text messages on Maddy's phone each morning. Every once in a while during my reading of anywhere from 20-80 messages something will crack me up. This week one of the funnier text conversations happened.

Boy: What are you doing?

Maddy: Listening to music

Boy: So what would u do if I rolled up to your house in a Porsche with 24's
*Note, the boy is very much into cars and I think he thought he would really WOW Maddy with the text*

Maddy: Idk

Boy: I would be out front in that Porsche with 24's just for you

Maddy: Umm ok, why are you out front and did you ask my parents if you can come over?

Guess it takes more that a flashy car to impress Maddy!

Movies

We were out running errands today and I stopped at Block Buster to look for a couple of movies. I decided up the movie Men Who Stare at Goats. Later during the errands I saw Maddy reading the movie case.

Maddy: What is the name of this movie?

Me: Read the title.

Maddy: The Men Who Stare at Goats????

Me: Yep

Maddy: OMG Boring, I bet there is no action in this movie. Why would anyone want to watch a movie about looking at goats. And really, who would want to know more about the people who do this??



I hope she is wrong about the movie and that I enjoy it.

Dear Diary

When I was a young teen like most girls I attempted to keep a diary. I was not very good at it. Many pages were left blank because I did not have anything to write about. When I went back to read it as an adult I found many pages that started with "Dear Diary sorry it has been so long since I have written". The other pages were usually filled with silly things like the current boy that I thought was either foxy or groovy.

This month I have felt very much like my blog has gotten the Dear Diary treatment. There have been a lot more pictures than words this month. I have things to write about, but the few times I have had a chance to write the passion was missing. This month I have been so busy with friends, family commitments and having people over to the house I have not had much time to spend on the blog.

I will try to do better about making time, but know I love to write this blog and love reading the comments from readers as well. Soon I hope to get back to my regular schedule and know that I am a bit envious of the bloggers that can manage life and blogging in a consistent manner!

Things I say

I find myself saying a few words or phrases fairly often these days. Listed below are a few of them and what they actually mean.


*Like pushing a rubber band*
This is used in the context of Maddy have an incredibly slow day when we typically need to be somewhere. It means that I am wound up tight and about to snap, but if I do she will crumple like a pushed rubber band and take even longer to get ready.


*Chop Chop*
This means I am past hurry up and my patience is gone and whatever should or needed to be done should have been done 5 minutes ago.


*Blue*
Currently I am asked at least once a day what my favorite color is. I am considering saying a new color every time, for blue is losing its appeal.


*Yep, Sure*
This is the standard response now to if I like a particular song, movie or movie scene. She must ask if I like it 100 times to make sure I am strong in my convictions.


*I can't right now because I am driving*
Maddy is now trained to finish the last part of this phrase as she hears it all the time. For some reason she decides that when I am driving I need to look at, inspect, read whatever it is she is looking at.


*Do you know how I know this?*
This phrase is used at the 10, 20, 25, 30, etc. markers of Maddy telling me something again and again and again and again.

When you have beer

When we go out to buy beer we buy a lot of it. I don't mean one or two six packs, cases or whatnot. We watch for sales and if there is no limit we typically buy around 10 or 12. Maddy is horrified at this but the hubby finds it to be the most efficient system.

I am always amazed at how many strangers will talk to you when you have a cart full of beer. The comments are usually pretty consistent and range from asking when/where the party is to wanting to follow us home.

What is it about a cart full of beer that makes people talk to a stranger? Maybe beer is the secret weapon to world peace?

I am unique

We all have little things about us that make us unique. Here is a partial list of things that make me who I am.

I have an irrational fear of jellyfish. I can blame my parents for this one. When I was a child we would go down to the Gulf of Mexico and fish. They convinced me that jellyfish were lurking about ready to jump out and attack me. To this day I still think that my picture is on the 10 most wanted list of jellyfish.

When I am with you I will tell you where curbs are, steps up and down and any other sort of visual clues you might need. This comes from having a visually impaired child who does not pay attention to where she is going.

If I need to go anywhere I will tell you 100 times where I will be and how to reach me. This comes from my childhood. The rule in my house was if I had to be reached only one phone call should be made. Of course, this was before cell phones. Heck our phone was attached to the wall and you had to actually dial the numbers.

I am borderline CDO. This is like OCD, but the letters are in the correct order! I come by this naturally as my family tends to be this way. I have a family member that keeps their pantry in alphabetical order!

Bizarre situations and things occur to me. Several years ago the hubby and I were at the movies while Maddy was at school one day. She had a seizure at school and our neighbor figured out where we might be. She went to the movie theater and made such a fuss that they did a break in announcement during the movie. It is a bit odd to be watching a movie and have it interrupted with your name in the announcement.

Many of my friends call me an annoying optimist. I suppose it is true as if I have a glass with water in it one of two things will occur. I will be so happy to have the glass and water I will share it before even checking if it is full or not. The other thing that could happen is the water is poured out and the glass will be filled with yummy beer! I don't think of myself as an optimist I made a decision a long time ago to focus on the positive and not let the negative affect me. Life is much better this way.

I can turn pretty much anything into an education or learning moment. Part of this comes from a conversation that I had with my Mother many, many years ago. She told me that if you learn from something then it is not a mistake, but a chance at a learning experience. I think of this often and try to remember to let Maddy have experiences and not just book lessons.

Overall I am very happy with myself and embrace my unique qualities. Life is much better when we decide to love ourselves and not be so dang critical. So whatever you are beating yourself up about, stop it and embrace your inner unique!

Clean start to the year

*Warning this post will most likely be considered TMI*


I started the new year with a colonoscopy, I know you are jealous right? I was all set to tell about seeing that green apple jolly rancher I swallowed in Jr. High, but it was really a non-event for me. None of it was awful at all.

The day before started with a liquid diet. Here is where the Dr. and I disagree. I think of a liquid diet as beer, margaritas and martinis. The way I saw it was if you are gonna be miserable in the evening may as well live it up in the morning. His idea was chicken broth and jello. Being a good patient I went with his diet. I was mostly hungry because I knew I was not allowed to eat.

At four I was to begin drinking Moviprep. Moviprep is a cool name, like you are getting ready for a red carpet premier. Trust me you don't want to go to the movies after a little Moviprep. The internet is a fascinating place, I was able to read entry after entry about people handled Moviprep and the best way to drink it.

I mixed it up early in the morning and at four I got my glass, my straw and a variety of things I had been told I could mix in to help with the taste. The first taste was not awful. Basically it tasted like drinking liquid lemon pledge with a dash of salt. I was to drink one liter at four and another liter at seven.

For me it worked out that about the time I was unchained from the bathroom I had to drink again. That last glass of Moviprep was a battle of the wills between me and the demon liquid pledge I was subjecting my body to. I won out, however I am not quite sure what I won. In theory I was a lucky one as I was able to go to bed around 10 and sleep through the night.

Originally I was to be at the surgery center at 6:30 in the morning and I had planned to be home by 10ish. I was called the day before and was asked it I could go in at 9 since the Dr. had a family emergency. I agreed, but then was a nervous as the Dr. would be distracted while perusing around my colon.

I arrived at 9 with the hubby there to drive me home and listen to what the results were. After waiting in the lobby for about an hour I was finally called back to be prepped. They had me do the pee in a cup for a pregnancy test and wanted to know why my blood pressure was a bit high. Well lets see, I am hungry, I waited for an hour before being called, I have a distracted Dr. and I am cold.

I am then wheeled into a room with all sorts of machines and random noises. The Dr. comes in and asks if I have any questions and then I am given a lovely shot of.....and then I wake up in the recovery area.

Everything looked good and I shouldn't have to do this again for 10 years. Hopefully medical advances will be such that I won't have anything to post about then!

This week at the Davidson House

Last Saturday was The Group Christmas party and fun was had by all. As always lots of laughter and catching up on the previous year or 20. My Dad came this year and was able to see friends he had not seen in more years than any of us want to count. We took generation pictures of the attendees and it is pretty cool to have 3 generations of The Group. We have a summer party planned so I can't wait to see everyone again.

Maddy has really started to ask specific questions about sex and about how things actually work. Found some good stuff online that I printed off, but the hunt is now on for a good book to let her have. I don't think it has crossed her mind to look stuff up by herself online and I sure hope to keep it that way.

I started back on the two projects I have been putting off for a while now. When we did the computer switch-er-roo I lost over a thousand pictures and the Letter of Intent I had almost finished. The pictures were recovered but are now a jumbled mess and no longer in order by year, event, families, etc. I almost have them all back in general event files and then I will get them all in the correct year folders.

For the Letter of Intent I have found most of my handwritten notes that will help with all the chronological order work I had done. My goal is to have both of these things done by the end of the year. I know I can do it!!

This morning I had breakfast with one of my favorite people in the whole world. She is one of those people that by just being around her I feel better about the whole world. She still teaches so we make sure that the last Friday of every semester we have breakfast before school. The times I am with her or the other wacky World History Crew members it makes me miss teaching, but I know that what I am doing is the most important thing in the world. Words can not express how thankful I am to be able to make a different in Madeline's life.

Sunday Maddy is supposed to start Special Olympics Basketball. She has always liked to shoot hoops, so I hope this is a wonderful, fun, positive experience for her. Thank goodness practice is after church on Sundays so it saves me from another trip to The Woodlands.

Hope every had a great week and has the best Christmas ever!!

Maddy Conversations

Yesterday when Maddy and I were out and about I happened to see a Ford Edge. I told her that my Mom was buying one and would be picking it up next week. My Mom is not a very tall person. (Let the record show I did not call my Mother short!) As we were walking by the Ford Edge Maddy asked me "Will Banma be able to get in out of this car ok? Or will it be to tall for her?"

This morning we were in the car running errands and the Lady Gaga song Paparazzi was on the radio. Maddy asked me what Paparazzi meant and so we started talking about how they take pictures of celebrities and that sometimes they can go to far. We then discussed that when you become famous you are inviting people into your life and you have to understand that privacy is something you are giving up. After a few minutes she looked at me and told me she was happy to be a "Normie". Because when you are a "Normie" no one cares what you look like when you are food shopping.

She then went on to tell me all about the Family Guy episode that was on last night. She loves Family Guy and I am thankful that a lot of the jokes go over her head as they show can at times be downright crude. For those not familiar with Family Guy I am including a scene that both Maddy and the hubby find to be hysterical.

Help from readers

I have a question that bothers me every year at Christmas time. I have looked it up before and the answers I can find do not satisfy me.

Why is "My Favorite Things" played as a Christmas song? In the movie, it is during a summer thunderstorm to help calm the children. There is one line about packages tied up with strings. How does this qualify as Christmas?

The one explanation I have found is that the sounds conjure up winter images. I don't buy it! Anyone have any other ideas why they play it at Christmas?

Party this Saturday

This Saturday I will be having a party at my house. While parties during the holidays are not unusual this is a pretty cool party to have. This party has been around for about 40 years or more.

When my parents were in college they had/made friends with 3 other couples. Throughout the years I spend many a day with them and their families. We are just called The Group. That seemed the best way to describe it, however, Gang of Random Spontaneous Fun would probably be a better description. When I was growing up there were parties for any occasion that we could find an excuse to get together. There was the Christmas party every year and their was also the dreaded 40th birthday party. I will have to do a whole post on the 40th parties!

As the years passed people moved, babies were born, spouses have changed, but once a year we all stop and gather to remember the good ole days and share what has happened in our lives over the past year. The party rotates between houses and my generation has also taken over part of the rotation as well.

This Saturday when about 20 people come to my house ranging in ages from 2.5 and up (people older than me, but not old!). My house will become their house and we will spend the afternoon and evening laughing, sharing and wishing we did this more than once a year.

It is my hope that everyone has a party like this in their lives. If you don't then you should start one!

My new favorite website

I love this site and the comments. I have actually thought about digging up some old photos that would definitely belong here.

Awkward Family Photos

Enjoy!!

The sky is falling!!

Help!! What is this white stuff that is falling from the sky? Hope to share some fun snow photo's soon.

Cheese and Ranch Dressing

Cheese and Ranch Dressing make everything better. So does chocolate. I can't have any of them and so far I am still alive. The doctor wants to see if I might be lactose intolerant. I had NO idea that everything has freaking milk in it.

In the morning I consume massive amount of half n half with my coffee and I have learned to switch to Non-Dairy Creamer so coffee in the morning has been saved. I am still waiting for Fabio to show up at my door since I bought some I Can't Believe it's not Butter yesterday.

So far so good on the no dairy products and last week I lost 3 pounds, but I have to admit I miss cheese! One of my great easy dinners here at the house was Chicken Parmesan so for now I will have chicken and watch the family enjoy the good stuff.

In the mean time I get to enjoy foods I have not had in ages, like a wonderful rye bread I found. YUMMY!!