Waco Weekend

At the end of November Chris and I attended a wedding in Waco. He was in the wedding of one of his managers and a former manager. It was nice to hang out with people from his restaurants and their spouses, many that I have met before. I also got to spend some time with my friend Aubrey for drinks and shopping during the weekend. It was nice to visit and it made me realize how much I miss living there sometimes. The kids stayed with my parents for the weekend so we were able to relax and enjoy each others company. Congrats to the Cadys, such an awesome couple!

Big Girl, Big Changes

Calleigh is officially potty trained now. We started at the beginning of October going full force. She was showing so many signs of being ready that I had to stop putting it off. I probably could have trained her even before her second birthday but I waited. She started off really well, had a couple of weeks where she got bored with it, then she decided to get it right. She has been potty trained for about a month now. She hasn't had an accident in a while. We still use pull ups for naps and night time, but she wakes up more and more dry every time. Also, because she was having trouble getting to the restroom in the morning, we had to convert her bed to a toddler bed. She did so well. There have been MAYBE a handful of times where she got out of bed, but not a lot. She just goes right on to sleep like she did in her crib. She is getting so big and so smart. The funny thing about training Calleigh was the difference in training a boy and girl. Cameron trained faster, but I waited until he was about 2.5 before we really tried. He just was not ready. Calleigh was ready earlier but she took longer. What an adventure potty training is..whew. Glad you have it accomplished, for the most part.

Critical Thinking Award

I won!! For our Christmas celebration at the school I teach at, we had an awards ceremony. They selected 6 of the 20+ teachers to receive awards in certain areas. I know this is horrible, but I cannot remember all of the areas that were honored except for mine. I know I received the Critical Thinking award for my analytical decision making. This was my first awards ceremony with the school since I have been there right at one year. I received a glass tomb (this is what I am told it's called) and my name on a plaque that is posted in the school. I also received a cash reward. It was so nice to be recognized for the work I do everyday. I have worked with the 3.5 to 4 year old group for about 4 months now, while I previously work with the 12-18 month group at the same school. The job is not always easy, but always rewarding and I am lucky to be a part of such a great group. (not sure about the weird lighting in the top picture or the weird faces I am making)

Toy Story 3 Slumber Party

When Toy Story 3 came out on Time Warner Cable we had a slumber party to watch it. Chris actually joined us this time, but declined to be photographed in his pajamas. We made cookies, watched the movie, so much fun. Calleigh actually sat still even better than Cameron. She got so into the movie that when she thought Woody was going to get hurt she kept saying, "its okay Woody, you're gonna be okay." So cute!

Preparing for Christmas

Well, this holiday season was officially CRAZY! I finished my fall classes October 12th, and I thought that would give me so free time, I was wrong! This was the first year, since having kids, that I have worked full time. I do not know how I got everything done. Luckily, being a pre-school teacher, we have low numbers this time of year so I was able to get off early to shop and prepare. This ended up being one of the best holiday seasons for us. We were able to enjoy each other and the season. Below are some pictures of things we did with the kids to get them ready for Christmas. This year both of them were really into the holiday. Cameron learned to sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and Calleigh really understood Santa this year. She even told him she wanted a princess when she sat on his lap. Both kids understand the meaning of Christmas as being Jesus' birthday and not really about Santa or gifts. Calleigh was a little confused at not having chocolate cupcakes for Jesus' birthday though. ha ha Love these kids!!
Decorating the Tree!




Watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"


Grand Prairie Lights

A big loss, Goodbye Fatty

A few weeks ago our family suffered a big loss. I don't want to offend anyone that has lost a family member, I know that is much harder, but the loss of our pet has been tough. We had our cat, Fatty, for 8 years and we had to put him down on November 6th. It has taken me a while to want to talk about this but now it is time. Around the middle of October we noticed some changes in Fatty's eating habits. He was not eating as much or as often. He seemed to be losing weight so I took him to the vet. They did blood work and could find nothing. They thought he might have an infection so they gave us an antibiotic, which we could not get him to take. About a week later, things got really bad. He was pretty skinny at this point, which you can tell by the name, is not normal for him. He has always been at a healthy weight. He also started to lose control of some of his bodily functions. It was painful to watch. I called the vet again and he basically told me he did not see Fatty coming out of this. We made a really tough decision to put him down that day. It was November 6th, and the same day of our 6 year anniversary. It was so hard for me to leave that day, knowing that he would not be coming back home with me, now or ever. The kids said good-bye, which they did not understand. Chris said good-bye, painful, and I left. I could not leave the vet's office. I just kept sitting there like I had more questions, but I knew I didn't. I felt a relief, I knew he had to be miserable. I just kept thinking of all the ways he drove me crazy, and how I would give anything to have those time back. The hair balls, the cat hair, hiding under Calleigh's bed when it was time for her to sleep, attacking me when I got into bed because he wants to play, attacking me when I leave because he wants me to stay, sleeping so crazy and on top of me that I cannot sleep, being right in the way when I needed to make a sudden move.....I didn't even want the cat in the beginning, and I am the one that gets so attached. It has been hard. I just now put away the litter box yesterday, I bagged his food last week, and I put his food bowls away. I guess this was me finally "accepting" what happened. It was weird this morning leaving out the garage with no litter box sitting there, something is missing and it will be for a while. We had to have a hard and painful discussion with Cameron about Fatty. He kept asking me when I was going to pick him back up. I did not want to lie to him so I told him the truth. We cried, together. We also talked about it all and I told him we could talk about Fatty anytime he wanted to. Some nights before we go to bed, he asks to talk about Fatty, so we do. It is just one of life's many tough lessons that one has to learn. I will forever remember Fatty and he will never be replaced in my heart. Goodbye Fatty! We all loved you!

Callender and Hooper Family Pictures

On black Friday we all got up early, not to go shopping, but to go get family pictures! My kids are always in such a great mood in the morning that this worked out very well. All three little ones did so well. Calleigh was so happy to take pictures. The only problem was the monkey that they used to get her to smile. Well she decided the monkey was "hers". She did not want it out of her sight, we had to take it away and she was not happy. She later found a monkey at Barnes and Noble that she wanted it too. Looks like she will be getting a monkey for Christmas.

Inaugural Arlington Turkey Trot

Last year my brother and I did the Fort Worth Turkey Trot. We want to do a turkey trot every year, at least I do, so we decided to do Arlington this year. It was only a 5K when we did a 10K last year. It was so cold and even rained for a minute. It was a good course and we might have to do this one again next year. Hopefully it won't be so cold so the whole family can come.