The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree...

So, Grace has had this thing for headbands for a few months now. And quite frankly, I had begun to contemplate taking my friend's advice and "losing" them...Until today...when I came across this picture.

So, instead of throwing away one of her beloved headbands. I'm simply going to savor her unique style and thank my lucky stars that she isn't too much like me--and doesn't insist on wearing cowboy boots with sweats and the headbands.

Texas Bluebonnets & The Cast

So, Gracie went and saw an orthopedist on Monday. He was GREAT! He looked over her x-rays and had 3 other doctor's review them as well. They all agreed that she should be put in a cast first before doing any surgery. The dr. told us that eventhough she has a displaced fracture (meaning the bone has moved out of place) that often times in children her age it will reallign itself. They will do more x-rays in a week to see if it is doing just that--so cross your fingers and say some prayers. Sooooo, casts have come a long way since I was a kid, and now you get to pick what color csat you want. She told the dr., "I want a camoflauge one. My brother will be sooo jealous!" LOL! Unfortunately, they don't carry the camo casts in the size she needed, so she ended up getting a purple one. And, I'm so glad she did, because it matched the Texas bluebonnets perfectly when we stopped for some pictures today.

Now, I've got some BIG bluebonnet news. Growing up, I can remember being told that it was illegal to pick bluebonnets. I have never questioned this "fact", because afterall, they are our state flower..And well, "Don't Mess With Texas" is another one of those things drilled into the minds of little Texans. So, I have NEVER EVER even dreamed of picking a bluebonnet, and I have passed this law of the land down to my own children. But, guess what folks! There is no such law! http://www.texastwisted.com/reports.bluebonnets/ So, in light of what I believe to be life changing news for this girl born and raised in Texas, I decided to let my kids do this today.

And, I just want to end this quick post by saying how thankful I am that my kids are friends. They're not just brother and sister, but they are friends. It just melts my heart to see how much they love each other. They might argue and fight with one another, but they also give each other deep belly laughs and genuine hugs that are full of love.

April Showers by: Debbie Downer

Well, when it rains it pours...but hopefully these April showers will bring some May flowers.

So, let's see.. First of all, I did not get into the Nursing program I applied to. I found out last weekend and was REALLY bummed, and cranky all weekend long. This week did bring a little bit more hope for me. My letter said I had been placed on the alternate list, and that because of my place on the list, I was required to attend orientation in May. One of my friend's was also denied admission and placed on the alternate list, but was not invited to orientation. I realize that wishing anything ill on another person is bad karma--so my prayer is that "my school" is the 2nd or 3rd choice for some people that were admitted to other schools, and when they don't accept the offer to attend "my school", I will then be accepted into the program.

Money is tight. This recession SUCKS!

My car broke down yesterday. We finally got it home (via Wes pushing it with his truck about 5 miles while I steered with it in neutral). Wes determined that it was the alternator after talking with a few of his friends about what it was doing.

While I was making calls to try and get the best price on a new alternator, Grace and Wes went for a quick bike ride. She crashed on the wooden bridge on the trail by our house, and broke her thumb.

She's in a splint for the weekend and will see an orthopedist on Monday to find out if she needs a cast. My prayer is that it's a simple fix that doesn't require any pins or surgery--cuz the bone looks crazy on the x-ray. I definitely have to agree with the radiologist that it is a displaced fracture...and this is what I found googling in regards to displaced fractures:

displaced fracture: a fracture in which the pieces on either side of the break are out of line (which might require surgery to make sure the bones are properly aligned before casting)

I hope to bring you your regularly scheduled broadcasts of Pittman Paradise with decent humor and wit very soon...

We are sooo NOT the camping type...

but we were invited on a last minute camping trip with some friends, and thought, "What the hell! We'll give it a try." I am sooo glad that we did. They had rented these screened in shelters, so there was no need for a tent. The shelters had concrete floors, and we were able to fit 2 full size blow up mattresses in ours (for the 4 adults), along with 6 sleeping bags (for the kiddos).


We definitely want to go again, after having such a good experience. Also, Wes and I have been talking for a while about buying bikes for ourselves, and this trip also convinced us that we need to do that ASAP. We had brought our kids bikes, and our friends had bikes which that let us ride some.

Some of the highlights of the weekend get away

Funniest thing one of my children said on the trip: While going for a morning bike ride to look for deer, Grace says, "Mama, what are we doing? We're looking for deer?" To which I responded, "Yes, Grace. We're looking for deer." Then my daughter who lives in a home with no guns and has a father that doesn't hunt says, "Oh..Well, we should've brought a gun Mama. We need a gun." O-M-G!! She is soooo country! I about fell off of that bike laughing. I told her we did not need a gun, because we were not hunting deer, we were simply looking for them because they are pretty to look at in nature.


Scariest moment of the trip: Hunter was leaping across some boulder/ rock things. He had been doing it throughout the day, and it made me nervous, but I didn't make him stop. Well, he continued to get braver and braver until he was no longer stopping between each leap. So, he was doing this and I guess he had too much momentum and when he got to the rock where he intended to stop, he couldn't--and he fell...at least 6 feet onto rocks that were below him. It was without a doubt that scariest Mama moment of my life. I froze...I was in shock..and when I did move, I was scared to go to him. He wasn't yelling or crying.. He was silent..And I was just so terrified of what I would see when I did get to him. Thank God for our friends who sprinted down to him in what looked to be lightning speed. So, he has some scrapes, and bruises, and some swelling..but NOTHING like I thought it would be. He told me that Grandpa Doc was watching out for him. I think he might be right.

And before I share some pics, I just want to give a shout out to David Johnson of Alabama. It was great to be in your in presence.

Siblings

There's no other love like the love for a brother.

There's no other love like the love from a brother.

long time..

Alright, well it's been a while since I blogged, and I have really missed jotting my random thoughts down for random people to read. Of course, many of you are not random people at all--you are my friends.

So, the last post I put on here about my niece was when she was still in the hospital. Thankfully, after 2 weeks in the NICU, she was able to come home and has been doing soooo good. She is growing so fast, and is now a month old and about the size that my munchkins were when I brought them home from the hospital. I got to babysit her briefly the other day while her Mommy ran to the store. When I showed up she was wearing this adorable onesie.

Gracie is so in love with her. She talks so sweetly to her and kisses her little toes any chance she gets. She came along with me that day to "help" me babysit.

Wes and Hunter also think she's pretty great. Kim brought her for her first visit to our house on February 17th. Wes has always loved snuggling the tiny babies and Serena (or Wes-erena as he likes to call her) is no exception.

How sweet is that? Makes my ovaries a little sad that there will be no more babies of our own in this house.

However, I am really beginning to enjoy this new stage in our lives. Our kiddos are becoming so grown and independent. It's a time of mixed emotions for me as my "baby" will be in school soon, but it sure makes outings a lot easier when there are no real preparations needed to get out the door and go somewhere.

We took Daddy with us to the skate park the other week so Hunter could practice his moves. I think he is definitely ready for a better quality sk8board. We all enjoyed the outing and I'm super thankful to my little brother who told us about the place. (Quick shout out to Trey who just got his driver's permit! WTG!) Hunter has been working up his nerve to really give the half pipes a decent try. He really concentrates on what he's doing. I know the half pipes don't look that big in the pics, but they are probably about 6 feet tall, maybe taller. I'm not really sure. Anyways, they are much more intimidating in person. The key seems to be figuring out how to keep his front wheels on the ramp in order to have a successful decent.
When his front wheels come up...bad things tend to happen. (and yes, shame on us..we forgot to make him bring his helmet. ) Like this..

And this...

He finally did manage to keep those two front wheels down. I was sooo proud of him!

Grace had fun playing on the playground while Hunter skated.

On our way home, Wes stopped the truck when we got onto our street. He pulled Grace's bike out that we had brought with us to the park, and let her ride it home as he walked by her side. I snapped these pics in the mirror as I drove Hunter and myself the
rest of the way.

The following day, Grace went to her friend Haley's birthday party. They have known each other since they were 2. Grace had tons of fun and I did too. We will definitely be heading back to that place soon for a family day.

Playing indoor black light miniature golf with a little help from Haley's grandpa. The golf room was super cool!!

And here's a cute pic from the other week of me and Grace "dolled" up and posing. My friend Kiki gave me this shirt and the earrings for my birthday. Grace and I have been having a lot of disagreements about her clothing choices, and I told her that if she wore something that I wanted her to wear, then I would wear something cute too. LOL!

seems like forever...

seems like forever since I posted... and honestly I don't have time to post much right now. Just wanted to drop by and say hi. for those that don't know, I'm 30 now..There I said it. The actual day was pretty uneventful by most standards--but hey there's always next year--I hope. So, here I am at 30...with wrinkles, and dark circles, and imperfections...and that's okay..i've earned every line and those gray hairs that are showing up as well.

i just started a new job last week (for the first time in 4 years, I am working almost full time), and so far i really like it. the hours are perfect and it's very close to home. since i have a job now, i've got to get my butt to bed at a decent hour. i ususally blog about the interesting events of my mostly boring life at night. so, i'm going to have to work out this whole balancing act..and it may take a little bit of time.

so, since i haven't got time to give you any details on the last few weeks...and a picture of me in my bathroom without any makeup on isn't too much fun (unless you are a member of the haters that check up on me via my blog--shout out to my haters!) ...i'm going to leave you all with a photo that definitely would qualify for white trash wednesday--if i actually had enough time to still do WTW. i spotted this lovely lady in her sports bra and dress at a local pizza/game place, where we were attending a child's birthday party.