Potty Time!

My precious boy...where does he come up with this stuff??
As most of you know several months ago John surprised me when he walked into the bathroom...went to the toilet...raised both lids...(side note - you can only imagine - I thought I had the most brilliant child - one that automatically potty trained himself)...and...looked over the toilet and spit! Then he lowered the lids, flushed, shakes his hands in sign language (the finished sign that is) and walked away. Apparently John was copying his PaPa who chews tobacco and occasionally uses the toilet as a "spittoon".
So...here's the latest. When I give him a bath in the evening I undress him in his room and let him walk to the bathroom in his birthday suit. He has now started a habit of peeing before he gets in the tub. He has done this on the tile twice and in his the bedroom once. I happen to catch this performance as he is finishing!! The funny part though...as soon as he is done...he runs and flushes a toilet!
Randy and I bought him a potty chair but he only spits in it...and when you sit him on it - he screams. The story begins...

My Favorite Picture!

An Unsure John...

Here we are trying to convince John to come outside!He is really not sure about this!
Not to happy at this point!
I tell Daddy to "toss" a snow ball at him...
instead Daddy pings him accidentally on the back of his neck.
Really not happy now!

Much better now...

Look! It's a snow hare!

Final Look at the Backyard!

My Folks House in the Snow

Snow Boy...

John has never really been in the snow...but the child/boy that he is wanted to be apart of it! Each time that I let the dogs out to potty he wanted to go. He found my snow cap and wore it around the house, he was trying to wear Randy's snow boots until I got his out...and he wore those most of the day. The wind has been really bad and of course it has been really cold...so we are going to wait until Saturday to actually play in it. When we drove around town I bundled him up so much that Randy was comparing him to the little boy on the "Christmas Carol".

Here he is wanting to go out back with the dogs...

His face is usually pressed against the glass
He has a hat on...what else could he need??

Finally he gets to get in the snow!

Once he started getting wet & cold...he cried!
Is this much protection really necessary woman??

Front Porch

So far the weatherman said we have got at least ten inches of snow. Some of the drifts have been up to 6 & 7 foot high. Here is what my front porch looked like Thursday around 9pm. The next picture is from 9pm Friday. Like my sister said today...and I have heard many times..."if you don't like the weather in Texas...stick around it will change."

Snow Boarding...in Amarillo??

Amarillo is mostly flat - there are the canyons & some "floating" mesas around but it is after all...apart of the Plains. In the hospital district (Medi-Park) there are some little hills that people take advantage of when it snows. It is fun to see & hear them hooping & hollering!
I am sure in a few years I will have John Randall joining the fun!

I-40

Yes...Randy and I are insane!
We decided to get out and drive around in the snow to check things out. It was like Christmas...everything was closed - the mall, department stores, the dry cleaners, Best Buy, McDonald's, Starbucks, and many more places. The only places open were Walgreens, Whataburger, Wendy's, grocery stores, & the convenience stores.
I never took into consideration what all the truckers would do since they close I-40 both ways. The truck stops would have to be packed...so they took advantage of the parking lots at Home Depot, Toys R Us, and the mall...there were a ton of trucks!

Snow on the Table

1:30pm3:30pm

7:30pm9:30pm

This is for the birds...

As you know we are getting pounded by wind & snow. I have never seen anything like this…you can only see a few hundred yards…everything is white…there is little traffic…and the snowing is blowing in at a 90 degree angle. I am very thankful I have a warm cozy home, lots of good food, and plenty of entertainment – entertainment is…John of course! I have a pot roast on for dinner…it smells very yummy and I am going to take a long hot bath after this blog!
I did want to share one interesting event today…we have had some company… two little robin birds...trying to escape the elements. They were perched on my back door step when I got up….they were looking at me like “what is going on…it was 75 and pleasant yesterday!” I tried to scare them away…in fear that when I let my dingos out they would cause bodily harm to these cute birds. The birds flew away for a few seconds but when I opened the door for the dingos to come in…the robins tried to join them! The robins hung out at my back door most of the morning and final they found shelter elsewhere - thank goodness I could not stand to see them so cold. After an hour or so I heard the robins chirping loudly…and it actually sounded joyous! I continued to look outside to see where they were…and the sound led me to my garage. When I opened the door to the garage…there they were perched on top of the Suburban…just chirping along. (We have an open dog kennel from the backyard to the garage) When I came back inside to grab my camera they started flying all over the place…so I didn’t get a picture of them in the garage…I went ahead and opened the garage door to let them out. (I should have left them in there but with my luck John or Randy would let the robins in the house and I could not imagine that nightmare!) But…as I type away I hear them at my back door again. Poor little robins!
If the snowing slows down Randy and I are planning on adventuring out to that some pictures. My sister is going to post some on her spot too! Be looking!!

Saturday & Sunday

Saturday my brother Allen went to the hospital early and Dad was released by noon. Since Allen had to get Ryan back to Houston and then drive home to Corpus Christi they decided to leave that afternoon. My nieces & Marcus decided to head back to Austin since Marcus was still so sick. My Mom had the worse headache of her life…and her neck was still bothering her. My sister-in-law Julie now had the stomach bug. All that was left was me, Randy, John, Ty, & Larry. We played the Wii and went to dinner. It was a short day. On Sunday Larry & what was left of his family left early…my family slept most the day. Ty and my niece Tamara ended up getting the stomach bug, my Mom still doesn’t feel all that well, Dad is doing better, and Larry leaves for Iraq at 5pm today. Even thought things didn’t go as I planned we did have fun. I do regret we didn’t have a family picture made. Oh well…such is life!

Friday

Friday was going to be an all day trip to the Canyon. We were going to go horse back riding… have family pictures made… have a picnic…do some hiking…all sorts of fun activities - I had really big plans this day! Around 7:30 in the morning Mom called and said Dad had a fever of 103, his blood pressure was high, and he was real weak. Mom’s neck was really bothering her but she insisted we take care of Dad first. Allen (my oldest brother) and I took Dad to the VA hospital where they recommended us go to the emergency room since his primary doctor was booked. To make a long story short they admitted Dad to the hospital…he had a urinary tract infection. Mom insisted we go on to the Canyon without them…she would stay with Dad. Her neck was still bothering her but she said she would be okay. My niece’s boyfriend Marcus got an awful stomach bug Thursday night so he could not leave the hotel at all on Friday. So…me, John, Allen, Larry. Julie, Gloria, Ty, Ryan, and my nieces went to the Canyon to go horse back riding. I don’t want to go into great detail here but we did not go horse back riding…the stable I had reservations with was…let’s just say…not nice. Instead we drove through the Canyon…found a little trail, and hiked. It was actually fun…John thought he was as big as his cousins and wanted to go wherever they went! Once we got back to town Julie & Larry picked up Mom and we made plans for the rest of the evening. Allen & Gloria decided to eat a quick bite and then go check on Dad. Mom wanted to stay at home and relax…her neck was really bothering her and the rest of us went to Joe’s Crab Shack. We had a blast at diner…of course beer & crab legs are one of my most favorite things!! Once again we hooted…and hollered! Marcus was feeling a little better…not much…he did join us for dinner but you could tell he wasn’t his self. After dinner we were all really tired so we called it a night…that’s my story and I am sticking to it. No…I did not try to get my nephews to steal something, no…I did not take them to the wrong side of town, and no way did I tell them to lie to their folks! Hmmmmm…changing the subject…poor John had not had any naps to speak of…so by night time he was wiped out! He really tried to keep up.

Thursday

On Thursday we were going to eat a giant burger from Arnolds, paint the Cadillac’s, and go to the Big Texan to eat. We did manage to eat the giant burger from Arnolds…by the way…if you have never eaten there before – don’t!! Oh my gosh…it was one of the best burgers I have ever had!!! Spare yourself the cravings! My nieces from Austin were running behind so we didn’t get to the Cadillac ranch but my brother found a really cool rock/fossil shop on Polk Street. He told me the address was 107 S. Polk…I told him there was no “rock shop” on Polk! Nunn (where Randy works) is 119 S. Polk…I have been on Polk a thousand times and never seen it!! I called the rock shop for an exact location and the owner said…”directly across from Nunn on Polk Street”. The building says Hawkins Trailer Supply….but they also have rocks & fossils in back. If you like that sort of thing check it out…apparently it is awesome.
So after we “rock” shopped we had to meet the limos from the Big Texan to take us to dinner. The Big Texan has free limo’s ride to their restaurant…it is quite the hoot! The Big Texan was a blast! I did not expect to have such a fun time but we did! There was a 16 year old boy (Tristan) who tried to eat the 72oz steak…it was fun to cheer him and watch with anticipation…we all really wanted him to finish. He actually picked up the steak and was eating it like a burger…bless his heart - he didn’t even finish half of it! We all hooted & hollered! John had so much fun…he could be as loud as he wanted. By Thursday evening John was use to all the people and LOVED being the center of attention! I should mention that my Mom started having neck problems early this day…but we figured she had slept wrong the night before.

Wanna Make God Laugh??

Mother Teresa once said…”If you want to make God laugh just tell Him your plans”. This is one of my favorite quotes that I say often…lately I have been saying it daily. (Not to offend anyone but I believe God has a sense of humor. Yes I believe He is all powerful, holy, and perfect…but I also believe He has a laugh.) With this being said my spring break plans did not go as I HAD planned. We did have a fun time but we had some major hip-cups along the way.

Everyone started arriving Wednesday afternoon. I had fun creating a little competition between my brothers…one was driving from Houston and the other one from Austin. I would call one and say…”you know Allen is only 4 hours away”….then I would call the other brother and tell him “you know Larry is only 3 hours away”…it became a race. Once everyone got here (Larry got here first) we decided to go eat Mexican food and then came back to my house to watch A.I. which I had recorded from the night before…then we watched the result show. I must say A.I. has some awesome talent this year - this should be a different blog. I did not know my sister-in-law Gloria was into it as much as I was….we are already planning a trip to San Antonio to see the concert this summer! After that everyone went to their hotels…or back to Mom’s house…we had to get plenty of rest! Remember…I had BIG plans!

Events...

I am really excited!!!
It has been awhile since I have experienced this emotion… so I thought I would blog about it! Later today my two older brothers and their families are coming to visit for spring break. This will be the first time for us all to be together since Randy and I got married in 1999!
My brother Allen is 16 years older than me and has a 16 year old son – Ryan.
My brother Larry is 14 years older than me and has a 14 year old son – Ty . Now I have a son who is 1 – there is a 14 & 16 year difference between him & his cousins – just like me & my brothers. Strange huh??
Anyway…I have activities planned almost every second they are here. We are going to go to the Big Texan Restaurant - definite tourist spot…it is home of the 72oz steak – you know…eat it all in an hour and it's free. I am going to take them to the Cadillac Ranch to spray paint the Cadillac’s. We are going to go to Palo Duro Canyon for a picnic, hiking, & horse back riding. My sister-in-law on Randy’s side is a photographer so she is going to go to the Canyon to take pictures of us. We are going to have a big party Friday night consisting of pizza, board games, the Wii, and me….rocking a Guitar Hero!!
This should be a good time. We have four new family members since the last gathering…the youngest is my great-niece – she is 4 months old – looking forward to getting my hands on her! Check back for photos!! Do you like the songs? They remind me of my older brothers…stuff we listen to when I was younger.