NERO

So, today has been a really weird day.  I am exhausted because the princess isn't sleeping well at night.  I am up and down with her all night.  Logan has an ear infection and pink eye and Jacob is sick with some respiratory thing.  Between being so tired, taking care of sick people, and taking care of two hyper and healthy children a person needs an escape.  So, I grabbed the headphones, plugged them into my lap top, and listened to some music.  I have heard one song  by the band Nero and love it, so I thought I'd check out more music by them. They are a British electronic group.  Why is it that Europe has such great music??  Anyway, I listened to other songs by them and really loved them! They will definitely be added to my iPod soon!

You have probably heard small parts of the song "Promises" in commercials. I first heard this song maybe a year ago and loved it.  If you haven't heard this song you should check it out. Other great songs are "Innocence," "Me and You," and "Must Be The Feeling."  A lot of it reminds me of music I listened to over 20 years ago.

Good stuff. ;)

LIFE

It's hot.

I have a house full of snotty children.

A baby who isn't sleeping!

I don't feel well either.

I was walking through the dining area and stepped on something that felt like a thumb tack.  It hurt.  It went way up inside my foot.  Yup, it hurt.  I got down on my hands and knees and tried to find whatever it was, but could find nothing.  Hmmm . . .

Busting my elbows on doorknobs.  Somehow managing to step foot inside a sit-com and busting my head on the pantry door. (Don't ask.)

It has been one crazy week . . . one crazy month!

The word "bored" is NOT in our vocabulary.

I wonder what stories I'll have to share next week! ;)

Bring it on!

Sisters

When Jacob and I first got married we lived in Chickasha.  He was offered a job at UCO and we moved to the City.  We lived in a two bedroom apartment across the hall from two sweet old ladies. They were sisters and they were so funny together.  I remember taking Alex across the hall to visit them about once a week.  They loved him!

One day while I was there they started telling me about how they never saw each other when they were younger. "We have always been so close," One would say.  The other would then shake her head and raise her hand and say, "In spirit, that is.  NOT in distance."  The other would reply, "YES!"  (Did I mention that they were so funny!)  They went on to tell me that they lived in different states, far away from each other.  "We grew up being best friends and it was hard not seeing her."  They tried to see each other every two or  three years. "It wasn't until we were old and our children didn't want us living on our own that we were brought back together," One would say.  The other would say, "Yes, and now I don't get five minutes to myself because she is always here."  They would slap each other's legs and laugh.

Why am I sharing this? This story makes me think of my best friend.  We don't live in different states, but honestly, at times it feels like we live on different continents with a giant ocean separating us. My husband always talks about how women argue and fight and get mad at each other--I can't argue with that.  It's true.  We do.  We are just a bundle of emotions.  We get our feelings hurt and we can easily get mad at friends we love so much--but a best friend is like a sister . . . just llike these two elderly women I mentioned.  You might get mad but you still love them . . . and you get over it.  You talk about it and work it out and go on loving each other.  (Getting off topic . . .) I am missing my best friends these days.  It is what it is right now and we are doing the best we can to talk, email, text.

BUT--I have dreams of telling stories with her one day when we're old.  Of laughing and slapping each other and picking on each other.
To my Liv--as the saying goes, if it's meant to be it will be.  And, sister, I BELIEVE with all my heart that it's meant to be.  (Otherwise why would we feel the way we feel RIGHT now?  HUH? Yes, I'm asking!)

I want my best friend to know that I love her and miss her.  I want to thank her for putting forth all the effort it takes to have along distance relationship. I also want to thank her for sticking by me, like a sister, even when she wants to smack me!

You're not just my best friend, Liv, you're my sister.

And sisters are forever!

A Brand New Day

She pours herself a cup of coffee and sighs as she looks at the clock. It's 6:10 a.m. The baby hasn't been sleeping well at night and the days have been so busy.  There are so many decisions to make about so many things and too much going on in general.  She isn't bursting with energy--far from it! The house is quiet as the children lay in their beds dreaming.  She hasn't had one moment to herself in a couple of weeks so she decides to take her coffee outside and drink it on the porch.

"Five minutes to myself," she whispers.

She sits on the porch step and cradles her coffee with both hands. The street is quiet.  A slight breeze blows through the trees and they wave as if saying "Good morning."  She takes a sip of her coffee as she tries to sort out everything going on in her world.  Over the past couple of days her stress level has risen and everything going on feels like a huge jumbled mess in her mind. Life was usually one obstacle after another but for some reason her little family has been hit with several things at once and her goal was to just stay busy.

A bird begins to sing as she takes another sip of her coffee.  She feels the tears sting her eyes and tries to force them away. It seems more difficult than usual. She takes a deep breath as the overwhelming feeling takes over.  She lets herself have a much deserved moment of weakness and begins to cry.

She cries for a few minutes as her thoughts race and then, out of the corner of her eye, something catches her attention. Light is dancing through the branches of a little tree.  She stands up and steps into the yard where she sees the sun still low in the sky. The symbol of a brand new day.

She takes another deep breath and smiles.  She turns and walks back inside where she is greeted by smiling little faces.

Time to start a another day.

Social . . . Arguing??

Facebook.  It's such a big thing.  Most of the people we know have an account.  It can be great!  It lets me not only stay in touch with friends and family who live in other towns, but it allows me to see pictures they post of their children.  When some one is hurt, ill, or has something major going on in their lives people will post prayer requests on facebook.  You can receive parenting advice from friends--any kind of advice from friends.  Yes, Facebook can be a wonderful thing.

It can also be a pain in my back side. People will post hateful things and other people will get offended and comment.  99% of the time an argument follows--an argument on Facebook.  Wow.  It makes adults act like mean children.  What I really don't understand is people who have children on facebook who see their hateful statuses.  We don't all have to agree but calling each other names isn't the answer.

Sometimes I really hate facebook.

It looks like I'll be deleting some more people.  Life is dramatic and stressful enough without having to deal with arguments on facebook.  People always shake their heads and say, "What happened to the world" or it's a crazy world we live in."  The world isn't the problem--the problem is people.

And sadly, most people never change.

Little House

When I was a little girl we lived in a little two bedroom house.  My brother and I shared a room for 10 years.  We did everything together and I have so many great memories with him from my childhood. The house was so small that we got to spend a lot of family time together. Then, when I was 13, my parents bought a bigger place.  My brother and I both had our own rooms, which was good since I was 13 and he was 10.  I will always be thankful for that little two bedroom house we lived in while we were growing up, though.

Now, I am thankful for the little house Jacob and I have.

So many people have told us that we need a bigger place, but the truth is, I love our little place.  We are always together as a family because of its size. The boys have their room, Kaitlyn has her room, we have two bathrooms and a double car garage. We have what we need--it just isn't a huge place!  I  love living in our little place where you bump into each other walking down the hall and are forced to sit close together because the living room isn't huge.  My boys are constantly telling us that they love our house and they never want to move.  

I agree with them! I love our little place and all the memories we have made here!!

Logan eating lunch

Here's to many more memories in our little house!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a busy weekend in the Astley house. Friday evening we went to a surprise party for my cousin.  My boys received the honor of getting to spray him with silly string when he arrived and everyone said, "Surprise!"  They LOVED that.  After spraying him they ran around and sprayed each other.  As a mom, I loved sitting and watching them chase each other with silly string flying everywhere and laughter filling my ears.  It is one of my favorite sounds.

On Saturday we cleaned the boys' room and moved furniture around.  We organized and de-cluttered and the room looks great! The boys were so excited about it.  Our plan now is to get them some little desks.

Yesterday was Father's Day. We bought Jacob a new OKC Thunder shirt and a picture gift.  The boys wanted to make him a cake so we made a Batman & Robin cookie cake.  I always try to make a meal that Jacob wants on Father's Day so we made homemade pizza for dinner and Logan watched Indiana Jones with Jacob.  We tried to make it a good day and let him know just how special he is to us.  He is a wonderful father.  He helps out with the kids all the time. He is very involved and always spends time with the kids when he is home.  They are going to have so many wonderful memories of fun things they did with their daddy when they are grown--and I love that!
Jacob received a really sweet card from my parents wishing him a happy father's day and my mom wrote about how thankful she is to have such a wonderful son-in-law who is such a great father to her grandchildren.  It made him feel even more special and loved.

Overall, I think he had a good Father's Day and we had a good weekend. We always enjoy the family time that we get.

The photo gift we made for Jacob.  The frames spell "DAD." 

Jacob holding the cookie cake the boys made for him.