Cute baby contest!

I entered Reegan in this little baby contest. It is by far not the best picture...but it works. I was going to have Larae take them but we have all been horribly sick for 3 weeks, and we just couldn't do it. It would have been a much cuter picture if she had done it...

So, here's the deal. You can go to this address http://gosanangelo.com/news/2008/jan/27/vote-cutest-baby/

On the first page you can vote for 'Reegan H.' (to see all the other babies, just out of curiosity, click 'thumbnails' at the top)

You can vote ONCE A DAY PER COMPUTER until Feb 6th. I am not INTENTIONALLY skewing the data....but you've gotta know how the game is played ;)

You might just happen to have some friends, work group, or entire school that also thinks shes the cutest and could vote....or if you wanted to put a link on your blog that would be ok too :)

(A little obsessive...you think???)

THANKS!!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------

AMENDMENT: apparently you can vote every HOUR per computer!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Linda's Snot

Where does snot come from? I don't mean a little snot, I mean lots and lots of snot. How can you have no snot one day and the next you have buckets of it? Does your body store it down in your legs? Does the snot fairy come down the chimney like Santa and deliver snot? This is one of the questions I'm going to ask God when I get the chance. This blog is so boring I think I'll post a picture and no, it is not a picture of snot. Even I'm not that gross.

.

Oh look Shauna, a little girl that hasn't cut her hair. Imagine that. Of course she doesn't have much to cut so that could make a difference.

.

I fully expect that one of these days Robin is going to change her password and I won't be allowed to blog anymore.

Blake's initials ...

It's Linda again with a very important blog message. All you lurkers need to vote. In my kitchen at the top of the wall (actually on the side of the air conditioning ducts) there are talavera type painted tiles. These tiles have the initials of family members. Now that baby Blake is here, she needs a tile. Where should it be? Some family members (no Koby, I'm not going to mention your name) have spent many hours deciding on just the right tile. Oh, the tiles are painted such that we can remove the center design and add initials. Disclaimer: Ryan and Mere get the final vote.



This is the wall above the frig. It has "SBT" for Sue, "LJD" for Linda, "EOT" for Dad, and "RGH" for Reegan.



This is the wall above the sink. It has "MMT" for Meredith, "LEW" for Laine, "MET" for Mike, and "KDH" for Koby.

This is the wall above the entrance from the living room and it turns back toward the frig. It has "MJT" for Mom, "RMD" for Robin and I think that is all.

This is the wall where the utility room door is. The top row has "RMW" for Ryan. The bottom row has "HLW" for Heather, "JRW" for Jonathan, and "BCW" for Bowen.

More Christmas and baby Blake pictures

Reegan's reindeer butt jammies.

Reegan is taking after Paco - she loves her bicycle.

Look - baby Blake is SO advanced she is winking at us!

Shauna this one's for you!

What a great holiday we had. We spent Christmas at my mom's house. Reegan loved EVERYONE'S gifts. She still has 2 gifts to open because when she would open something she would play with it. She wore out before the presents ran out!

Koby left the 27th for a hunt. When he got back we all, grandparents included, went to Ft. Worth for Christmas with that part of the family and, best of all, to meet baby Blake! We had so much fun just being family. Blake is absolutely beautiful. She has a little bit of dark hair and is so sweet. She sleeps four hours at a time which is just amazing. I don't think Mere and Ryan are sleep deprived like most new parents....yet! Fun was had by all. I love my family!

Koby is on another hunt but the season is coming to an end. It's always nice when he gets home but we are so used to being apart that it takes us a few days to adjust. I can't wait to get back to normal!

Here are pics from the fam Christmas/New Year! I'm not sure how Heather, Jonathan, and Sue didn't make the pics ...but they were there! And yes Shauna I made sure there were a few of Blake just for you!

Mimi Linda, baby Blake and Koby
Paco, Reegan, and Mere

Granny and Granddad (poor granny didn't have a chance to get her hair done before they left)



Ryan and Blake - What a good dad!


Me and Blake - She's so tiny!

Reegan and Laine (and her new coat!)

Proud Paco and Blake

On our way home! This is Ree's favorite way to sit. She loves having one foot propped up!

Happy 2008!!!

Baby Blake is here!

Ahhhh....the house is clean, the Christmas stuff is put up, laundry is done, I've cleaned out 3 closets, and Reegan is nite-nite! There isn't much that feels better than that!

Reegan's latest favorite sayings are 'sat?' meaning:what's that, and 'MINE' !

Christmas was wonderful! I am certain that there wasn't a thing left to want!

OHHHH and baby Blake is here http://meredithware.blogspot.com/!!! We're going to see her tomorrow, i can't wait!!!! I'll post some pics of her when we get 'em!

Yeah for Christmas Break!!!

We are out of school until Jan 7th!!! Wooo-hoooo! I am so excited!!

In the next two weeks we are traveling the state trying to see the whole fam. I love this time of year! It always goes by too fast, but it's so much fun seeing everyone. I AM SO EXCITED TO MEET BABY BLAKE! Mere, My guess was the 22nd. That should be enough time for you to have her and be home for Christmas! :)

OK y'all, I have to brag on the hubbie. He has a hunt going on this week (duh...hunting season!) and the 17 year old daughter had a really bad experience with another hunting outfitter last year...anyway she wasn't going to hunt. Eventually the story came out that she shot her animal, and it was a good shot, they immediately walked up on the animal (should have waited several minutes) and that outfitter suffocated the animal to death in front of this girl(mind you it was the first animal she had ever killed). It TRAUMATIZED her and she was NOT interested in hunting this year. To make a long story short after several discussions this girl wound up trusting Koby so much that she killed not one but 2 animals this morning...with Koby's bow!! It was an excellent hunt and she is so proud!!! You should see the picture of them with the wildebeest she killed!....I'll have to get that and post it...

I love hunting season because we meet so many neat people! But, I'll be glad to have some normalcy again!

Reegan got bit AGAIN at school today....gggrrrrrr. I know it's just a phase this other little girl is going through...but geezzz bite another kid every once in a while!

Scattergories Game

What’s your name? ROBIN
car: ROLLS-ROYCE
city: ROBERT LEE
boy name:RALPH
girl name: REEGAN
alcoholic drink: RED EYE
occupation: REFRIGERATOR MECHANIC
something you wear: RING
celebrity: RENEE ZELLWEGER
food: RAVIOLI
reason for being late: RAN INTO A PARKED CAR
cartoon character: ROGER RABBIT
something you shout: RUUUUUUN :)

So mom...what you're saying is that I SHOULDN'T undecorate the Christmas tree?

CHRISTMAS FAVORITES

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for Reegan, bags for everyone else!
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial – why kill a tree every year?
3. When do you put up the tree? My goal always is the weekend after Thanksgiving….I was a week late this year
4. When do you take the tree down the tree? Usually a day or two after Christmas. I leave the outside lights up a little longer
5. Do you like egg nog? Who would drink something named “Egg Nog”….rename it and maybe I’ll taste it
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm… that’s hard. Maybe the doll in the blue dress. I got her when I was on the verge of being too old to play with toys….and I loved her!
8. Hardest person to buy for? My grandparents, They are 84 and only get out of the house, and out of their recliners for that matter, to go out to eat.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Reegan…, just the wrapping paper will be fun!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail…If I get it together soon enough! It seems more formal and personal than email….despite my love for email, IM, and texting!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I was too young to understand an adult joke….long story short a member of my family sent me off with this giant, weighted down box, and said that I could ONLY open Christmas morning…long story short I wound up in tears when this present I had lost sleep over wound up being a joke.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? National Lampoons Christmas Vacation!!!!!
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? There are things we just don’t discuss!
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge, cinnamon dolce latte’s…sorry heather!
15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Absolutely clear
16. Favorite Christmas song? Do you hear what I hear
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home is good, but its nice to see everyone…so if we have to travel its worth it.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donor and Blitzen….and Rudolph!
19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas eve, and it’s usually a new pair of pajamas so that you’re cute in the pics Christmas morning!
20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Financial stress, and that it goes by so fast.
21. Favorite ornament theme or color? Who needs a theme…it’s Christmas
22. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? Dressing and pecan pie
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? New floor and countertops!

Lately....

What a season it has been. Koby has been gone on hunts for most of 3 months. Sometimes it makes me feel like a single parent, especially because my mom is cooking for most of the hunts. Reegan and I go to the ranch for the day on the weekend but we don't spend the night. The good thing is when Koby is gone I don't have to cook! Oh wait, I haven't been cooking when he is home. I'll have to work on that.

I'm such a bad blogger. I need to work on that. Reegan has grown so much and is doing so many things. We love her new day care situation. She is staying in a licensed home and we absolutely love Teri! Out of the blue she will text me and tell me something funny Reegan has done - it makes leaving her so much easier.

We had Thanksgiving in Abilene at my aunt and uncle's house. Both my cousins were there. It was a great day. It's so much fun when we all get together - I wish we did it more often. That is something I should work on.

Baby Blake will be here very soon. Meredith's due date is the 29th but I'm hoping for sooner. I'm so excited for Mere to experience motherhood. She and Ryan will be wonderful parents. I'm ready to meet Blake! I love her already.

Babies and Feelings - by Linda

When Heather announced her pregnancy with Laine, I had so many feelings. The first baby in the family: exciting. What would the baby look like, be like, act like: so many questions. Was Heather old enough, mature enough, did she know what she was doing: afraid. Please God, let this baby be healthy: prayerful. What about Jonathan, would he be a good daddy: cautious. Then came Bowen: happy for a boy!!!

The next family pregnancy was Robin. Sadly this first pregnancy ended in miscarriage: anger, upset, empty, sympathetic. Soon another pregnancy for Robin, would this second pregnancy of hers be successful and healthy: optimistic. My own baby was having a baby, it gave me a new love for her that was so passionate. Here was my daughter standing so tall, being so responsible, eating right, wanting a margarita and not having one: proud.

And now Meredith. Meredith – the baby of the family is having a baby: delighted. Mere loves her sleep, will she be okay for a couple of sleepless months: confident. Is she ready to share her life with a baby: uncertain. Are Mere and Ryan ready for this responsibility: sure. Will they know how to install a car set properly: hesitant.

These three young women have far exceeded my expectations. They are so powerful, so successful, so courageous, such Godly women. And loved, so loved.

My overall feelings about these babies in our family: warm, faithful, joyous. And blessed. Most of all, blessed.

The week(s) to come...

Starting tomorrow we REALLY start hunting season. Koby and my mom are gone for 4 days, Koby another 3, then another 8 to Wyoming (after that...I'm sure there's another one right after that and they'll both be gone 6 days a week until after Thanksgiving). I broke it up not because he'll be home for a day or so in between but because I might happen to catch him running in the door for new underwear and running back out. There are actually only a couple of hours between hunts.

Reegan's nose is ookie. Really (knock on wood) she's never been sick. But now that everyone is leaving....that's how the cookie crumbles!!!

OHHHH you have to see her one year pics from the photographer. We have a new photographer at the place we go (Great Expectations) and she's incredible!!! OK here's the link http://www.greatexpectationstx.com/ , (she's on the home page!)go to Location Portraits, then Families and Kids.

Speaking of GE we are having a HUGE jewelry/make up/wine party at my moms on the 11th. Let me know if you want more info! It will be a blast!!!!

Amy and I are going to Disney's Princess's on Ice tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!

does anyone comment anymore...or has it just been so long since I posted that no one reads my blog anymore!!! FINE I'll do better OK! :) LOVE Y'ALL!

Kicked the Bottle!

WE...errr, Reegan is officially OFF the bottle! I got mad about it over the weekend because she was SOOOOO attached to it! She cried like I took the last puppy when I would take it from her at night when I was putting her down. 2 nights and one nap of it taking her over an hour to go down because she refused to let go of her bottle took me over the edge!!!! (yes i did make sure her throat wasn't red, she wasn't running a fever, and there weren't new teeth coming in...the normal reason she gets fussy...it was just the D-A-M-N bottle!)

My job is FINALLY back to what I was hired to do! Can I get a HIP-HIP!!! I am part time teacher part time technology! Yes, my principal was willing to make high school schedule changes the 5th week of school! I was so happy I could have kissed him! (ok...maybe just a hug!) This will make my life so much easier and get the school ROLLING after the fire. There is still so much to do and we're just chasing our tails.

Hunting season has begun. This weekend started the MLD permit whitetail hunts. Same song new verse....Koby's gone 4-5 days a week until Christmas. He's done this ever since I met him so I should be use to it. Since he's been gone I've only been to Target, Dillards, Sams, and The Carriage. Good huh?

CRAP! I got so busy blogging and I forgot to bid on a pair of pants on Ebay!!! CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! Some dooof got 'em for $5.99....gggrrrrrrrrrr.....

Ohhh...REEGAN is 1 year old! We played down the party and just made it a small function on her b-day. She loves her new toys! Here are a few pics.

front of her b-day outfit

back of her b-day outfit. When she got home she wore her tu-tu!

ooohhh, paper!

I love my big fluffy dog!

wow, a princess tunnel for a princess!

Yum Daddy, taste it!

Great Weekend

Shauna asked that I (Linda) have my own blog. Because my life is so uneventful I'm not going to do that but sometimes I hijack Robin's.

We had a GREAT weekend. Meredith and Heather and kids came to visit. Mike (M&H's dad, my brother) came over Saturday. He took the kids back to Abilene. We got pedicures. I thought that was a fair trade off. It would have been fun to have the kids all weekend but I know they had fun at Paco and Mimi's. Other than the pedicure, we did very little. We ate. Meredith stayed on the heating pad. It seems Rabbit is stretching the rib cage and made Mere not feel so swell. This is how great my nieces are - they expect nothing from me - Mere brought her own heating pad!

See Shauna? Very boring.

The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round....

The bus wheels are heading to Christoval ISD.

I start back to school on Friday. One day left of freedom and being a full time mom. I have very mixed emotions about going back to school...actually...I'm not mixed about it...I DON'T want to go back. I'm trying to put on a happy face about it...really it just turns out to be a half ass smirk.

I have had a lot of fun with Reegan this summer. She has gone from barely crawling to walking very well, and saying 4-5 words. I love her to death and am so sad that I won't get to spend my days with her anymore. She changes every day and I feel like I am going to miss out on so much.

I know, I know people do it everyday and most moms don't have the luxury of only working two hundred twenty something day...yeah, yeah, yeah. It doesn't seem to make me feel better right now.

I love my job, don't get me wrong ( and I financially need my job). I love my kids and what I teach. I guess I'm just stressed about doing it all again, and doing it all WELL.

So...Here's to going back to school. Let the rat race begin!!!

My little scholars!

The Minnesota Trip

As many of you know I (Linda) drove my parents to Minnesota for Dad's 65th high school reunion. 1200 miles. Did you hear me? 1200 MILES!!! EACH WAY!! Dad is blind in one eye, Mom has dementia. Some highlights:


Day 1: Mom and I go in a restroom. She takes forever (lots of times she falls asleep on the pot) in her stall. I keep asking if she is okay, is she finished, etc. Finally she says she needs help standing up, she's too weak to stand by herself. "Can you unlock the door" "no" "mom, you need to try to unlock the door" "I can't" "Mom I am not crawling under, you have to do something". After about 5 minutes she finally is able to stand up and unlock the door. For the remainder of the trip I wouldn't let her lock the door.


Day 2: Dad took the early morning driving shift because I don't drive well in the dark (dark would be 5am). He drives better with one eye than I do in the dark which is a very scarey thought. He kept saying he was having a hard time getting his eyes to adjust. I stayed awake and helped him watch for signs, deer, cars, his lane, etc. We stopped and ate breakfast. I drove til we stopped at lunch. We sat down at lunch and when I looked at him I said "Dad why do you have Mom's glasses on?". Yep, he really did. Mom had his on. He wanted to know how I noticed - duh, it's the little frilly things on the sides of the glasses.

Day 3: Robin and Reegan flew and met us in Buffalo. Her 2nd day she wanted to go to Mall of America. I didn't want to leave Mom and Dad without a vehicle so we tried to rent one. They didn't have any but assured us they would have one the next day. Next day - no vehicle. Finally Dad insists we take their car. It was a 45 minute drive so I told Robin we could only stay 2 hours because I didn't want to leave them without a car too long. When we left the mall it started pouring rain, really heavy rain. When we returned to the motel, Dad said the weather people had said there was 2 to 3 inch hail at Mall of America. Did he call to warn us? No, he went next door to the new car dealership and looked at cars!! He thought he might get a good deal on a hail damaged one! He really thought his would be a mess. Thankfully that didn't happen. But on the way home from the mall the check engine light came on in the '96 Lincoln town car!(picture this, no rent cars available, we have to get back to the 83 year olds, and Robin has to leave for the airport by 6am...AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON!) Luckily the guy at the shop said it was a false alarm. Whew!

All days: Because Dad is blind in one eye he has no depth perception. I didn't know you have to have both eyes to have depth perception but that's what the doc told us. He gets SO close to things on the right side, I mean INCHES from things - cars, curbs, signs, it doesn't matter. He scared the crap out of us.

The motel in Buffalo MN: Dad and I had gone to the swimming pool - don't be alarmed, I was fully clothed. When we went back to the room, Mom had turned the deadbolt lock inside. She can't hear ANYTHING. We knocked, banged, then just waited. About 30 minutes later she opened the door and looked ouside.

Day 4: Robin went and knocked on the door of the house that Dad grew up in and asked if we could walk through! With some hesitation the lady did let us come back the following day. This made the old folks very happy to reminisce!

OH back to day 3...Robin woke up about midnight itching all over. She's watched way to many 20/20 specials on bedbugs and insisted on climbing into my bed! the next morning 2/3 of her body was covered in a huge itchie rash (despite popular belief it was not bedbugs)! We had to go to a random Doc. and get meds!! Still not sure what it was. Rash doesn't quite describe it, it was huge welts. We'll post a picture later.

Anyway we lived through the whole trip....I think only because there was a Target in Buffalo!

Note to Mike: If you think you are getting half the inheritance you are WRONG!! You owe me for this.

The last few weeks...

Ashley (Koby's niece) and Blaine's wedding. Koby walked her down the aisle. It was so sweet!

Reegan in the motel in Rosenberg. She was excited that the TV was at HER eye level!

Heather and Reegan swimming in the Veil's pool

Heather, Jonathan, Mere, Ryan and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter! (Mimi stayed home with the kids!) We got to bed about 3am! I haven't intentionally been up that late in a long time! We had fun!

There were tons of people that dressed up for the movie!!!

Reegan and Koby's favorite thing is to share a pop-ice!

This is my school....It burned last week... no kidding!

This is where it really took off! Apparently a fireball chased some people out of the building!

Obviously we wont be having classes in the High School! We will be in portable buildings for at least the first semester. I am hoping that I will have a computer lab...and they won't "assign" me to do something else.....seems to be a possibility....uuuugggg.

I have a new backyard! Ok so just more concrete and a pergola(sp?).

If you look where the white posts are thats where the porch use to stop. It is so nice and roomy out there now!!! Woo-hoo!

Reegan and I are going on our first plain ride in exactly one week...just the 2 of us! We are meeting my grandparents and my mom in Minnesota (they're driving...can you imagine!!!)for my granddads 65th class reunion....Poor Koby is going to stay home and work...I wish he was going with us.

1. Who was your first prom date? Matt somebody. He was a consolation date because my original one made it to state and it HAD to be the same weekend!
2. Who was your first roommate? Angela
3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Margarita I'm sure
4. What was your first job? Snow Castle snow cone stand
5. What was your first car? 1986 blue Mercury Cougar
6. Who was the first person that texted you yesterday? hmmmm i think my mom
7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Reegan. She slept all night and woke up and just played in her bed! It's a great sound to wake up to!
8. Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Gilly. Meanest teacher in the world! I'm sure she buried some children in the playground!
9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?I think to Disney world with my mom and the Cuellar family
10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was with you? I enjoyed my sleep to much to sneak out!
11. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them? I would have to say Amy, and yes we are still friends and she is buying the house next door!!!
12. Where was your first sleep over? hmm not sure. prob at Amy's. Wed morning was sausage gravy and biscuits morning! It was the BEST night to sleep over!
13. Who was the first person you talked to this morning? Koby
14. Whose wedding were you in the first time? not sure....
15. What is the first thing you do in the morning? go get Reegan out of her bed
16. What was the first concert you ever went to? Willie Nelson
17. First tattoo or piercing?Piercing in the ears - 6, second hole - 4th grade, first tattoo 21
18. First foreign country you went to? Mexico(walked across the bridge to Acuna if that counts), otherwise Germany
19. First crush? hmmm...not sure. I remember a guy named Mike that had a crush on me in Elementary. He brought me flowers that he had picked in a wadded up paper bag! He was clingy....and I was NOT interested!
20. When was your first detention? 7th grade English, the whole class got detention for talking
21. What was the first state you lived in? Texas
22. Who was your first kiss with? Patrick
23. Who was the first person to break your heart? Grant
24. Do you still think about that person? nope.

the trip

Well I am quickly learning that a 20 lb 9 mo old requires more room in the suitcase than I do! In fact her stuf almost takes up all of the suit case!

We are headed to the Needvilleish area for Ashley's (Koby's niece) wedding! It will be good to see everybody and for Reegan to see them. However, I do dread the drive! I thought I would never be the Mom that did it, but I am borrowing a friends DVD player for Reegan's road entertainment!

I considered going to work this summer, there's a lot I could be doing. But about the time it pops in my mind, it pops right back out. Imagine that. I'm sure in August I'll be sorry I didn't go.

I wish Meredith would blog more...so tha I could keep up with her pregnancy better. I guess the main reason is I enjoy looking back over my blogs when I was pregnant. It reminds me of my uncertainties, and how clueless I really was!! It will be great for Reegan to go back and read someday.