O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma!

OOOOOOOOOOOkay!

First, I'd just like to say that 16 hours in a car is miserable...so no matter how much we like to visit family, and no matter how much fun we have travel is miserable and someone needs to invent a teleportation device!

Now, we left Wednesday morning around 1 and drove all night without incident. Dallas woke up, ate breakfast and promptly got sick. This pattern continued for the next several hours. Upon arrival at Grandma and Grandpa McDonald's house we ate a yummy dinner of homemade chicken noodle soup (again Laurie, so very delicious!) and went to bed early. Over the next two days Dallas played very hard and Josh lent a hand with

truck repairs and wiring and other stuff I am fortunately ignorant about :) There was some juggling with the trucks as some friends of Mom and Dad M. were needing their truck rigged out. Josh helped more there and Dallas hammered, measured, carried parts and basically was in Little Boy Heaven.

Saturday came around and we were all pretty busy. It was decided when we arranged our visit that we would celebrate Dallas and Isaiah's birthdays early so they could have a big party with all the family there together. We made cupcakes and individual cakes for the birthday boys, creamy fruit salad, hot dogs and all the works. I got to decorate the cakes and it was a lot of fun to do again, even though neither boy dug in and got messy (bummer!). There were lots of presents opened and I'm afraid I didn't get any good picture

s of that as both were a complete blur as they rushed to tear off paper and get inside those boxes :)

Suddenly, it was Sunday morning, and time to pack the car and head back to Tucson. The packing part went without a hitch, and we were all ready to go (Dallas getting sleepy from the Dramamine I'd given him so we wouldn't have a repeat of the trip out) said our goodbyes, and pulled out. One mile down the interstate and the car was shuddering, the wheel jerking in Josh's hands. So we turned around and presented ourselves to our surprised family. The front tire was misshapen and bald, so it was a, fortunately, simple matter of replacing the tire.

Once again on our way, it was very boring. Not a whole lot to look at after getting outside OKC city limits, and we got spattered by a bit of rain. When we got into Texas, however, we made a quick stop at a very interesting place: Groom, TX.

Dallas had a great time posing for pictures with these thought

-provoking statues, and told me again and again that it was Jesus, and that he "needed help". I admit to maybe a bit of dust in my eye at that point, and telling him that it was alright and Jesus knew Dallas wished he could help Him.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we made it home safely....to a house that was waaay to hot! The A/C coil had busted a hole and even though we've been home since 8am, it's only now cooling down at 7pm. It's been a long week, but we wouldn't trade it for anything, and seeing our family was worth every "I feel sick", kid vs. kid fight, and the sore rears we all had after so many hours in the car. Very glad to be home, and we can't wait for the next opportunity to visit again!

Okay, here it is. LaNita has finally put up a post. No, pigs aren't flying....and no, H*ll didn't freeze over. Yes, I did just finally get up off my tush and do it.

Starting with the top and moving down in no particular order are some of the fun folks I work with at Wal-Mart. Not all of them were happy to have their picture taken, so I apologize for any bluriness in the photos.

This is Sue; she works in the back and processes all of the packages that come through via UPS or FedEx. she's super nice and calls everyone sugar.

This here was a stroke of luck. I had no idea that all of them were in here at the same time. Starting from the left is AM Lorenzo, Casey, Personel manager Sally, and Ebony. They do work hard, don't they?

Door Greeter Malinda is next and she is probably Dallas's favorite person. He always insists on stopping to give her a hug, and of course get a sticker.

Alice in HBA, relaxing in the break-room, playing a game on her brand new iphone.

Melissa is my next-door neighbor over in the deli. She is always willing to come over and "see" what cake we're working on, although she usually manages to walk away with a little bit of frosting having magically made it onto her fingers.

The handsome fella is Mike in produce on our other side. He wears this sweatshirt and hat every single day and his favorite pastime is to leave rubber snakes in the bakery for us to find.

This is also Mike in produce. Usually specified by being called Big Mike, being as he's...you guessed it, Big!Jennifer was kinda stressed when i caught her, she isn't usually this grumpy looking. But she has a wicked sense of humor; unfortunately we don't get to see all that often anymore because she was moved from deli to manager, and her new duties keep her pretty busy.


The rest of these are of some of my cakes. I meant to take more, but everytime I thought about it, I'd already written a name on it, and I didn't want any problems with that kinda thing.
So here's the several pictures of some of my work. Next time I'll get a good cake in, one that is more than borders and writing.

On a more familial note, Josh is still working his business, enjoying all the challenges that it brings, and glorying in the expansions we've managed in the last month or so. Dallas is growing up, if not out, and we're seeing more sock at the end of his pants than we used to. He's also learning at his father's knee. I mean it literally, as Josh is using some of his spare time to teach Dallas to drive. Yes, Josh is actually in control of the pedals, but Dallas can now successfully steer from Aunt Sarah's house to ours, with Josh only applying the gas and the brake. Complete and correct turns are executed with verbal explanations of which way he is turning and how far there is to go, both during the day and at night. Not long now, and he'll be legal to do it, too.

Mmmm, well, dinner calls my name, and my Bug is anxious to play outside afterwards,

Father's Day

To all the Dads, Grandpas, and Almost-Dads....
Happy Father's Day!!

This year for Father's day, I decided that Josh's usual gift of computer games (his first choice) or tools (his second), Dallas and I would find a way to make him something that is ultimately useless, and at the same time priceless. So, I Googled.
I found a great craft that was not only easy, but also could be continually expanded for as long as we have kids and pictures. Or until he has too many.
Anyway, we made these out of the flat bottomed clear marbles, magnet buttons, and all those pictures I haven't found a way to use because I'm a lousy photographer.
First, I made the little picture magnets, and then made a collage of Josh and Dallas together, backing it with magnets as well.
(By the way, they are all magnetic because Josh can take them to work and stick them to his giant toolbox for showing off.)
Each of the little pictures was more trouble than I thought they would be, mostly because I'm not used to cutting things that are that small.
The best part about it all was that we managed to keep it from Josh entirely, he expected tools or some-such, so it was even more satisfying.

Been a While...

...And I am sorry. Here's a little update.

First, going back, this is Josh's birthday cake, which we shared with Sarah, Eddie, Josilyn, Isaiah, and Joey. I made it myself

Next, we have Dallas sitting in the bathtub. Notice how the water is nearly over the edge.

Lastly, we have my budding garden. I'm really excited about it, because last year it didn't bloom hardly at all. But this year we bought a huge load of manure and I was very generous with it in my garden beds. So, after several days of rain, then some hot, humid days, here it is, practically jumping up from the earth.

As for the rest of our lives...Josh and I are still working hard and Dallas is growing like a little weed. We had a yard sale this weekend and while we were setting up, Dallas ran around one of the tables and smacked his head and cut his eye.

I also completed one of my projects: painting a texture color over my white walls. I used a pale brown, and I think it looks nice. Although my friend, Sarah, told me it looks like Dallas painted the walls with mud. Either way, it looks a lot less stark.

Today, while I was on my lunch break, Josh called me, asking where I was. When I told him I was in the break room, he told me he'd see me in a minute. He showed up very soon afterward, and pleasantly embarrassed me in front of the entire room by giving me a dozen roses and a kiss, saying "Happy Mother's Day". Every guy in there chuckled, and every woman cooed. After he left, Malinda patted my hand and told me I was very blessed. I truly am.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Mother's Day.

Cowboy up!

To fully enjoy Halloween, you have to have cookies. So I made chocolate chip cookies, the warm, moist kind that disappear fast. Since Dallas loves to help pour ingredients into the bowl I let him stand on a stool while I mixed and dropped dough. Before I knew it he was reaching in and tasting little bits, so I thought I'd catch him with his hand in the cookie jar...so to speak. Only while I was grabbing the camera, he grabbed the spoon.

After baking, we got together with a friend and went downtown to trick-or-treat the stores. It started at 4 and went 'til 6 and we just walked around to all the businesses, talking to people, seeing cute costumes and eating candy until we were sick. The entire town turns out to do this, there were families everywhere, and every kind of costume imaginable. My favorites included an entire family of bees, hershey kiss babies, and of course my own little cowboy. I only took a few pictures because Dallas was insistant upon dashing from one spot to another, coming too close to the road for my taste. But I think I got enough to give you all some idea of how many people were out.

I also got my hair cut. I was kinda tired of doing the same things with it and still being unsatisfied with the results. This way all I have to do is dry it using a round brush.

Happy Halloween all!!

Where to start....?

Well, I suppose I can start by telling you that I got the job at Wal-Mart. Not the cake decorating job, but donuts instead. My shift is from 4am-1pm (yeah...4 A.M.!), so I go to bed a little after Dallas, and Josh gets up with him in the morning. It's fun working again; unlike Dominos, I work with all women, and they are all hilarious. Great sense of humor, fun, and quick to lend a hand to anyone that asks. One of them, we'll call her R., has been taking care of her dad for the last several years and he passed away just a couple of days ago; the other ladies got together and sent around a card for people to sign, and a donation jar to help with the expenses. I saw R. today and she looked much better, still prone to tears, but the others wouldn't let her dwell on the sadness of it long, and soon had her in stitches with funny stories of things that had happened while she was on leave.

Dallas is growing like little weed. He just turned 2 a few weeks ago and we had a little party here at the house with a friend of ours whose son was also turning 2 that week. His favorite gift was a tool set that included a hammer, screwdrivers, drill, measuring tape, slide, pliers, wrench, tool belt, level, hard hat, and more (if you can believe it)! We also gave him a late gift of a toy vacuum...which he hasn't stopped playing with in three days.

Josh isn't so sure he likes getting up in the morning, but he must be making quite an impression on Dallas, because today, when Josh left for work, Dallas stood at the door and cried....and cried. He kept saying "Daddy" over and over again while trying to open the door, and wouldn't stop until Josh came back in the house to give him a great big hug, a kiss and told him "Daddy'll be back". The Bug is thoroughly distracted now, of course, playing with all sorts of noisy toys and buttons on the TV, which isn't even turned on yet still manages to inspire his fascination.

Ah, dinner, or rather dinner prep, is calling me and I must attend it. Toodles!!

Camping Out

Okay, this here is what I noticed while picking up toys, again, after doing laundry. I actually could only see his fingers, but once I saw this, I just couldn't pass it up.Unfortunately, the flash woke him up (he'd been asleep for nearly three hours anyway). I opened up his door, and this is what I found.

I hadn't realized he was rebelling in quite this fashion. When he doesn't want to go down for a nap (when does he ever?) he throws himself down at the door and cries. Once upon a time, he'd get up and lay down in bed, hugging his puppy. Now, I have to remake his bed, right down to putting the sheet back on, not only at naptime, but every morning, too.

Josh has told me not to worry too much about it, it's something he'll grow out of; but I can't help but be worried. I mean, he's laying on the floor all night! Instead of trying to move him when he falls asleep, I've taken to putting him in warm pjs, and laying the rug down next to the door.

What's a mother to do?

On a side note, I've given my notice at Domino's and am looking into getting a job at Wal-Mart in the bakery as a cake decorator. Why have I quit my job, you might ask? Not because the people are irritating and lazy, which they're not. And not because the customers are whiny and stingy, which they are. It's because my paycheck as been late three times in a row. Once it was a few hours, and I drove to Edmond and picked them up myself, just to get them there. Another, we were supposed to be paid on Labor Day, that doesn't happen, but instead of being paid the day before, we were paid the day after. This past Monday, I camped out at work. It was a nice day and I made sure Dallas ate dinner, and I had a friend with me to talk to. But my check still didn't arrive until almost 10 pm. Why? Because my boss forgot they were in his car, and he took them with him to Tulsa. Is my irritation justified? Should I not expect my paycheck to be there when he says it ought to be? I feel in the right, but was confused when everyone else I work with was unfazed and didn't even question it when they were told the checks would be late. Apparently, this happens often. And yet, I'm the first person to quit because of it.....they were surprised at how upset I became over this. Even more surprised that I would quit over such a thing.

Here's the real question: am I really right? Should I have just gone along with it like everyone else? Is it something that just isn't worth fighting over?

Somehow....I don't think so. My question to them should be: How can you not fight against this? Paychecks are required by law to be on time, I shouldn't be afraid to be angry when it's late.

Toddler Ingenuity

They could do anything if they had the right size chairs!