Longhorns Game

 On Facebook earlier this week the Longhorns posted a ticket deal "movie in the park" bundle package for only $7 per ticket which gets you a seat to the Longhorns softball game, a free hotdog and drink, and a movie "Mega Minds" on the big screen in the outfield after the game. Stephen chuckled at first saying he doesn't think he's ever watched a full softball game before (remember Stephen's bias about men athletes vs. women athletes?)... but he was still open to going. And I'm glad we did. It was just like a baseball game. There were a group of college guys sitting by us yelling all these chants and cheers. It was pretty funny. And also the womens softball team would yell cheers from the dug out for their teammates - something the mens team doesn't do!

 

It was pretty neat to sit on the outfield after the game. I think it was the softest most manicured lawn I've ever been on! The grass was so soft!

 

I like how you can see Madeline's missing teeth in this close up. She was really enjoying all the cheering and music they played at the game.

 James loved all the clapping!

 

I like this shot. Madeline is such a Daddy's Girl. Oh and you can see those group of guys right above Stephen's head. They must have been up dancing to some music at the time.

 

Instead of watching the movie James spent most of the time running and rolling around in the grass on the outfield. It was a fun inexpensive family outing! We'll definitely have to do it again. Oh and the game ended in the 5th inning due to the mercy rule, our Longhorns women won 12-0! Hook 'em!

Science Fair

Tonight Madeline's school had a Science Fair. I took the kids and we checked out the activities sponsored by each grade level. The kids really enjoyed it!

How cool! I wanted a turn. :)

We saw Madeline's teacher from Kindergarten. She couldn't believe how tall Madeline was getting and she said she has a student named Madison this year and she always calls her Madeline. She was helping the kids make their thumb prints and look with magnifying glasses to see which type of print they had. There are 4 different types.

Mrs. Moore was hoping she'd have James in her kindergarten class this Fall. I told her he misses the cut off by 29 days, so he won't start until next Fall 2012. I do hope that he gets her for his teacher though. The kids also planted sunflower seed in cups, and made zoom flyers (like paper airplanes) out of straws and paper circle strips. It was a fun evening!

Well Check Up

Yesterday I took our baby girl (okay so she's not a baby anymore) to the pediatrician for a well check up. She hasn't been for a few years, because she was all caught up on her immunizations for school so I saw no reason to take her in. Here's her stats:


Height 50 1/2" - 90th percentile
Weight 65 lbs. - 90th percentile


I told the doc she was always high on the percentile chart, she said that is good and where you want to be on the percentile curve chart. So she's growing great!


The reason I made an appointment for a well check up is because at her last one a few years back the doc discovered she had a heart murmur. They are pretty common with infants and young kids, most grow out of them and they don't usually cause any problems. Doc did tell us at that time to keep an eye out to see if she gets tired easily while exercising or running around. Well we've noticed she does sometimes get tired easily, much quicker than James - but he's a boy and has like unlimited energy. But in recent months along with the tiredness she will complain, "my heart hurts". She would complain of these chest pains and that she would feel her heart in her neck, so I explained to her about her pulse. These chest pains have been occurring more frequently so we thought we better get it checked out.


The pediatrician said she could still hear a slight heart murmur when Madeline was laying down. But she wasn't sure that the murmur was causing the chest pain. She wanted to check the heart by doing an EKG test. Madeline's test looked good, so hopefully that means everything is okay with her heart valves. She said sometimes in kids certain things like exercise, asthma, and other things cause a heart arrhythmia and maybe this is what she is feeling. She asked about family history, anyone having an arrhythmia or a pacemaker. And then she referred Madeline to see a Pediatric Cardiologist for further testing but she seemed confident that nothing serious was going on but wanted everything checked out. She restricted Madeline from participating in PE, exercise and running at school and home until we get an okay from the Pediatric Cardiologist.


So if you will, please keep Madeline in your prayers that everything checks out okay with her heart. 


O Heavenly Father, I commend my children to Thy care. Be Thou their God and Father. Pour Thy grace into their hearts, and strengthen and multiply in them the gifts of Thy Holy Spirit, that they may daily grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.


I'll keep y'all posted.

Thirty-Three...About Me

 

Looks like this was my 5th birthday in 1983. I obviously really liked Strawberry Shortcake and I was wearing my flower girl dress from my cousin's wedding (I wore that dress all the time that year!). It's weird to think I am turning 33 and all that has happened to me since this 5th birthday. My life thus far has been full. And for that I am thankful. In honor of my 33rd birthday, 33 questions answered "About Me":

1. What's your surname? Nix.
2. What's your first name? Melissa, but close family and friends call me Lissa.
3. Do you have a middle name? If so, what is it? Yes, it's Marie from the name Mary, mother of Christ.
4. What country are you from? First generation born American.
5.  Are you small, average or tall? 5'6" so I guess average.
6. Do you play any sports? I played soccer at the age I was in the photo above.
7. Do you play any instruments? For several years growing up I played the piano and clarinet.
8. What's one thing you are exceptionally bad at? Laundry, I never seem to be able to catch up on it.
9. What colour top are you wearing? Today I was wearing Stephen's gray Fox t-shirt.
10. What month is your birthday? March!
11. What's your favourite girl's name? Actually Stephen picked out Madeline, my favorite is Elise which is her middle name.
12. What's your favourite boy's name? James! Stephen and I have loved this name since we starting dating almost 16 years ago.
13. Where would you most like to visit? Rome, Italy.
14. What is/was the name of your school? I am an alumni from California State Polytechnic University Pomona.
15. Do you tie your socks together in a drawer? Yes, I roll them inside out in pairs.
16. Do you believe in luck? I believe in God's plan, so when I wish someone "best of luck" in other words I pray their outcome is because of God's plan and the effort put into it.
17. Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf? We're team werewolf - seriously why would I want to be cold and have no heartbeat!?
18. Who's the coolest person you know? My hubby.
19. Do you like Justin Bieber? After seeing his interview with David Letterman, we thought he's a pretty cool kid.
20. Who was your first crush? Probably the pro surfer Kelly Slater, of whom I had a poster of in my room.
21. What colour is your hair? My kids say black, but I would say dark brown with hints of silver gray.
22. What's your biggest phobia? Bugs, and being bit by them! And yes I live in Texas where there are really BIG bugs.
23. What's the weirdest present you ever received? Nothing sticks out in memory of being weird. I guess maybe a carpet cleaner vacuum from my parents - but I requested it.
24. Do you wear shoes in your house or take them off? I like to be barefoot but since I am prone to stubbing my pinky toe and getting bit by lone roaming ants in my home, I wear house slippers.
25. Would you rather be rich or famous? Rich, because it would be a blessing for my family not to worry about finances - and I would want to be a blessing to others with being charitable.
26. Are your friends taller than you? Not really.
27. What's your favourite city? Oooohhh too many to pick just one: Boston, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Waikiki, Fountain Valley, Austin.
28. What colour is your bedroom? We have an accent wall that is a dark teal green, and eventually I will paint the other 3 walls a tan.
29. What's your best school subject? Art.
30. Do you have any regrets? Sure of course, I've made mistakes.
31. If you married the person you last text, what would your last name be? Spence, Good thing the last person I text messaged was Stephen. 
32. What's your favourite song right now? I find myself singing along to Tim McGraw's "Felt Good on my Lips" every time it comes on!
33. Are you good at DIY? Ask Stephen, I love to attempt to do things myself - life is all about learning!

Love this weather!

 

Can you say airborne?

I love Springtime weather. It's finally getting warm again, you know the nice kind of warm where you want to sip iced tea (or iced water for me) on the front porch and watch the kids ride their bikes, or the nice kind of warm where the kids can put their swimsuits on the play in the sprinklers in the backyard! We're putting Ironmite on our grass again, topping it with topsoil and patching up any holes Penny dug with pieces of sod. So Stephen was watering the backyard and suggested the kids come out and play in the water.

 

We finally got a replacement net for our trampoline since the old net bit the dust last month. The kids are enjoying the trampoline again every day now that the weather is warm and it stays light out until about 7:30pm.

 

Can you guess where we went for my early birthday dinner? Well it was Friday, and during Lent we fast from red meat on Fridays so we went somewhere fishy :) Red Lobster. It was super yummy. Love their bisquits, and I shared a roasted tilapia stuffed with lobster.

 

 

And before my early birthday dinner, Stephen sent Madeline and I to get our nails done again. It was really sweet and thoughtful of him and we of course enjoyed ourselves.

 

Madeline's friend from school and cheerleading, Ashleigh, had her 7th birthday party today - she invited Madeline and James to her party at the Jumpy Place. The same place we had Madeline's. The kids had so much fun!

 

It's been a fun and relaxing weekend!

Water Fast

For Lent this year I decided to go on a water fast, giving up all beverages except for water. I knew this would be cleansing not only for my body but also for my spirit. You see water is difficult for me. I don't really like to drink it much, I much rather prefer juice, tea, sport drinks or my diet sodas. The only time I like to drink water is when I have to take medicine, or if I am dying of thirst from exhaustion or it being hot. I can't even drink water in the mornings, cause it makes me feel like I have to gag. So why did I go on a water fast again?

Well fasting during Lent is one way to test ourselves. When Jesus spent 40 days in the desert He was tested. And He defeated the testing of Satan while He was there. But Jesus was tested for our sake, because He had no battles with illusions, illusions of what He understood of the Father, illusions of the plan for His life and the will of God the Father - He was simply following the will of His Father. But we have these illusions. The desert experience is about deprivation. And in doing this water fast I am having my own desert experience. When I think about all the millions of less fortunate around the world, they involuntarily only drink water - dirty, unfiltered water. Because they have no choice and no luxury of drinking anything else. Here in America, the land of opportunity, we strive to make it and not be deprived or have our children be deprived because we see it as a great evil. Because most feel when you are deprived, you've lost any power over your life. It's good to be reminded with a desert experience that we aren't all-powerful, only our almighty and merciful God is.

I will admit, I enjoy the pleasures of being able to go out to a restaurant or the grocery store and fulfill a craving my belly may ache for. But sometimes when we fulfill these wants and pleasures, it only covers up some issues/demons I may be battling with. So with this water fast, when I'm craving my morning tea or juice or my diet soda with a meal later in the day I turn to God for strength to get past the craving. It truly has made me focus on God more times throughout the day then I had before. It's created more time that I have taken to talk to Him about my gratefulness, my sorrow, my troubles, my happiness, my thankfulness, my humbling moments, my disorderedness, and my illusions. One week into this fast. And I think I've got about 6 more weeks to go. I look forward to how much closer this fast will bring me to Him.

On the not so serious side of this water fast topic... I'll be honest and let you know I had no idea of the uncomfortable side affects it might have. Lets just say on the benefit of water fasting tip list, my body is experiencing the "It restores your body balance by eliminating wastes."  big time and it is not very comfortable. Here are a few other benefiting tips about water fasting that I found interesting:

• It cleanses your respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems, destroying impurities all over the body and eliminates uric acid deposits. (this is great since I am just recovering from pneumonia)
• People detoxify and heal more quickly with water fast than with any other fast. This is because with water fasting, your digestive passageway and organs are able to rest completely, allowing for all of your energy to be used for cleansing and repair of damaged tissues. (yup something is definitely going on with my digestive passageway)
• It increases your life span. (I like this one!)
• It helps you in weight loss. (I like this one too! And wouldn't mind help in this department!)
• It quiets allergic reactions, including asthma and hay fever. (Interesting, I wonder if it will quiet my allergic reactions to ant bites - that would be a blessing!)
• Going on water fast gives you the motivation and enthusiasm to make a fresh start and commit yourself to a new and better way of life. (Amen to this!)

Happy Pi Day!

 

Only until recent years had I found out through Mickie and her family that there is a holiday on 3.14 = Pi Day! It's an actual designated holiday supported by the U.S. House of Representatives commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). One way of celebrating is eating pie (pi and pie being homophones)! There is this pie company in our town that I've been wanting to try out, so today after a trip to the post office the kids and I stopped by there.

 

The Texas Pie Company is located in a 100 year old building in our downtown Kyle. We'll have to come back for their lunch box specials and also try some of their homemade casseroles. But today we were having PIE!

 

James insisted on wanting a large Chocolate Fudge pie. I told him he could get a mini one. That set him off in a very bad mood, with bad behavior to follow which you'll read about towards the end of this post.

 

Madeline wasn't in the mood for pie so instead she got one of their other scrumptious looking desserts: Rocky Road Brownies! We didn't get to finish our desserts there though because James was acting out and whining really loud. When he wouldn't listen to me to be quiet I told the kids we were leaving because I didn't want to disturb the other customers eating lunch there.

 

So we walked across the street where we were parked at the town square to head home. Yup, our little Texas town has a "town square". There is even a historical marker at this square.

 

I never even got to take a bite of my pie while we were there. So when we got home I instructed James to sit on our "naughty step" for his bad behavior. While he sat there I tried my pie, I got their Almond Joy pie. I love almond paste and flavor. This had almonds, almond paste, coconut and chocolate chips. It was yummy! Their pie crust is really good too!

 

Once I was done eating a piece I went to check on James and talk to him about his bad behavior, this is how I found him...Sigh, he's having a hard day.

"Incredible" photos from our weekend

 

All these photos were taken with Stephen's new Droid "Incredible" phone except for the last one of Penny. I think his phone camera takes pretty good pictures. They've really come a long way with phone cameras. We had a nice outing on Saturday. We went to the new sports Academy store in San Marcos to pick up a new enclosure net for our trampoline. The kids and Stephen were trying out cowboy hats in the clothing section. Our lil Texan cowgirl.

 

We went to the outlet stores in San Marcos as well. Madeline needed new flip flops for the Spring and Summer since she's outgrown hers and they have teeth marks from Penny in them. I went to the Children's Place because I love the quality of their flip flops and they are usually inexpensive. They had a sale 2 for $6 or $3.50 each. Madeline picked out this really cute pair, I couldn't believe she fits a size 3/4 now! Anyways I browsed the store a little more and then thought about how fancy these flip flops were into comparison of the others so I asked if they were part of the sale promo. They weren't, and they shouldn't have been stocked near those. But the sales rep said she would honor the price for me since they were in the wrong spot. These were normally $9.95 and I got them for $3.50. Score! Also bought $4 kid shorts from Old Navy as well as a new top for me that was only $7.50. I love great deals!

 

While I finished checking out and also shopped inside Old Navy, Stephen took the kids to get some ice cream cones and apparently to go rock climbing. ;)

 

After we shopped we hit up Texas Roadhouse. Madeline got a coupon from a school event for a free appetizer there. Yum, we love the Texas Roadhouse. We forgot though that the one in San Marcos you could still smoke inside. And towards the end of our meal Stephen noticed the smoke smell, some people in the bar were lighting up. It was funny cause he was pretty disgusted by the smell and said to me, "I don't know how you put up with me those years I used to smoke, it smells really bad!". The things we tolerate for love.

 

When we got home I realized I needed to catch up on taking some photos for my 365 photo blog.  So I was taking some pics of Madeline's new cute flip flops when Penny came over by me and sat and laid down. The light from our window was hitting her perfectly and I got some really great shots of her with my new Samsung PL200 camera. Hope y'all had a great weekend! It's Spring break week for us, well for Madeline.

Newborn Shadow Boxes

Madeline getting her hospital photo taken before leaving the hospital.

I am so excited. I just stopped by the Hobby Lobby store and got a great deal (50% off) on two beautiful large shadow box frames. I am going to use them and put Madeline and James' newborn home-from-the-hospital outfits in them along with a few other mementos. I've had this idea for a really long time and I'm feeling creative this weekend so I'm finally going to start on the project.

James taking his first nap after coming home from the hospital.

Stephen and I are pretty sure we won't be having any more children. We feel that God has blessed us with a girl and a boy that bring an abundance of love, joy and happiness to our family - we feel complete. After looking at family and friends baby photos on Facebook, I kept thinking to myself "they grow so fast and I remember when Madeline and James were that tiny". Well we all know what happens as we get older, we tend to forget things. I think having these shadow boxes hanging in our home will be a sweet reminder of how little they were and how fast they grow.

If any of you have ever made these Newborn Shadow Boxes I'd love to hear your ideas! And even see photos of them. What did you put in them? I will definitely be putting their outfits and booties in them (Stephen honey, I need you to get them down from our attic! :) and I was also thinking of putting their birth announcement photos in them.

A Good Ash Wednesday

Stephen's interview went well today, that's how he feels. He did his best answering the questions and talking about why he would be a great candidate for this position. It'll be a couple of days before he gets word of who will fill the position. Please continue to keep him in your prayers, it's in God's hands. Glory be to Him.

Stephen's also been putting in extra hours at work, so lately we pretty much see each other in passing. I know his hard work will be recognized. He wasn't able to go to Mass with us this evening for Ash Wednesday although he really wanted to. The Church was overflowing with people, which I think is awesome because we were all reminded tonight what this season prepares us for, the celebration of Christ our savior and what He did for us. It reminded us to pray to Him and repent, so we may know His mercy. It was a Good Ash Wednesday.

Will you please?

Will you please keep Stephen in your prayers? He has a formal interview scheduled for Wednesday for the position he's trying to get promoted to.

Posting this prayer once again:

God, our Father, we turn to you seeking your divine help and guidance. Stephen needs your wisdom to guide his footsteps along the right path, and to lead him to find the proper things to say and do in this quest. Stephen wishes to use the gifts and talents you have given him, but he needs the opportunity to do so. Do not abandon him, dear Father, in this search, but rather grant him this favor he seeks so that he may return to you with praise and thanksgiving for your gracious assistance. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Zilker Kite Festival 2011

Today was the annual kite festival in Austin. Unfortunately since Stephen's days off from work have changed, he wasn't able to go with us today. Penny didn't go either, we've brought her in past years but since I was going by myself this time I decided to leave her home. It wasn't the ideal day to fly kites, yesterday was much more windy. Today the wind came and went. But you knew as soon as the wind was going, all the kites went up!

Such a lovely sight. And they had big speakers playing some great music including some of my favorites like Bruddah Iz's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

Water does a body good right? All their running around with their kites got them pretty thirsty.

So bummed, I had my camera on the wrong setting for these next 2 shots so they are a little out of focus. But I thought they were still worth sharing. Madeline and James ran and ran with their kites, too cute!

Who says boys can't strike a pose? James was acting silly making all these poses with his snowie cone.

Cotton candy, snowie cones, popcorn and tattoos - it's what you get at a festival right? Madeline and James got airbrush tattoos that are supposed to last 3-5 days. Madeline got a unicorn and James got a crab.

James almost didn't get his because when the guy pulled out the electric airbrush James thought it was a needle! He was so traumatized from his 4 year well check up when he got immunizations - he's terrified of shots. So the guy showed him on his and my hand that it wasn't a needle but just blows air. So he was brave and got it done. :)

Oh and before the festival this morning. Madeline lost baby tooth #9! It's the one on the right side of her top front teeth.

And this was a photo from this weekend that I posted on my 365 photo blog of James practicing flying his kite. I love the expression on his face!

KIN Two

I was in such a negative mood yesterday with my blog post. I thought I'd post about positive stuff today. So Stephen and I are switching over to Verizon for our cell and home phone service. Stephen's contract was up with Sprint. And my contract with T-mobile is up the beginning of May. Hertz has a corporate account with Verizon, and from what Stephen remembers working in the business and his research - Verizon is one of the best carriers. Both of us have only used our phones for talking and texting, and occasionally Stephen would go online with his to check scores on ESPN. So Stephen ended up getting an Android Incredible with a data plan. His new phone is pretty amazing. If you haven't noticed Stephen now checks and posts on his Facebook from his phone now. I didn't want a phone with a data plan, I'm already on the computer too much so I just wanted something to talk and text from. They gave me the KIN Two for free...it's the closest non-data phone to touch screen data phones like the iPhone of Androids. We're both getting used to these touch screens but they're pretty fun. We've both got pretty good cameras on our phones and music players. I was able to download all of our iPod music to my phone. My phone also came with free headphones. So I decided to use this as motivation. Every morning after Madeline's bus picks her up, I have a 45 minute window to exercise. So I decided to dedicate this time to walking/running Penny 2 miles while listening to music on my new phone. We did it for 45 minutes this morning and I listened to Black Eyed Peas, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney. It was a good workout. And I already feel more energized and positive today.

Livid

I think my blood pressure and heart rate went through the roof this afternoon. No, I promise this is not a complication from my recovery from Pneumonia...it is the result of being stressed, worried, frustrated, mad and livid. I watched a monitor like this one pictured here the 2 days I was in the hospital, my heart rate was pretty rapid. And due to the emotions I had today I can imagine it was similar.

There are 2 new positions open at Stephen's work. He really deserves a promotion to get one of them. But there's a lot going on at his work, which includes his work schedule on hiatus, which leaves me worried and stressed about James (Stephen watches him in the mornings while I work 4 hours each day - but now he needs to be at work some mornings). Thankfully, God bless our friend Kate across the street who has offered to help with watching James when we need her to. So we wait, wait to hear what Stephen's boss' decision is to fill the positions. I have anxiety about it.

Next, it wasn't until this weekend that I finally felt able to breath well enough to haul our loads of laundry up and down our stairs. (One thing I wish was different about our beautiful home, that our laundry room was upstairs by all of our bedrooms instead of downstairs - a laundry shoot would be nice). So I brought down about 10 loads of laundry, sorted them according to whites/colors, clothes/towels...only to have our dryer door break. There is a metal clip that snaps the door shut, and it's broken. We call first thing Monday morning and luckily it is still under the 2 year warranty. The soonest appointment available is Wednesday, today. Stephen switched his work schedule around so he would be home for the repair tech between 8am-12noon. The tech literally calls at 11:59am and says he will be here in a little while. Problem is Stephen needed to leave at noon to bring James to my work because he had to work at 1pm. And James and I would get home at 1pm. He tells the tech to come at 1pm, the tech was a little hesitant but Stephen pointed out he was supposed to be here between 8-12. So the tech agrees to be here at 1pm.

James and I get home and wait, and wait, and wait. At 2:45pm I call the company. They tell me it turns out the tech can't come out this afternoon and rescheduled us for the next available appointment...a WEEK from today. I was livid! These mounds of laundry have already been sitting on my dining room floor for 3 days. James has no clean underwear. And Stephen has worn his uniform for 2 days straight without being washed. I don't even know if there is a laundry mat near by. But that's beside the point. They screwed up today and they want us to wait a WEEK. Argh! I ask to speak to a lead supervisor, because the supervisor I was speaking to said I would need to wait 2 days for their alert team to get me an earlier appointment. Unacceptable. Then I get told the lead supervisor is too busy to take my call and will return my call within 24-48 hours. Livid. So I hang up and I call KB Home Whirlpool number and request that they fix all this. The guy on the phone put me on hold for awhile, but he was able to schedule a tech to come out tomorrow afternoon. Better.

Lastly, our medical insurance emailed us a notification that a new claim had been submitted. Of course I knew this was about my hospital stay. Get ready for this...my 2 days there, testing, meds, x-rays, scans cost a whooping $15,571.25! We have a deductible and our medical plan covers most of it, but we're still going to have a hefty patient responsibility for the billing. I felt better after one of my Babycenter friends left a comment on my Facebook:

"At least you went to Seton and they are great if you need to set up payment plans. They have worked with me and even reduced my payments. Hospitals run by the Catholic Church are awesome!"

I've calmed down. Prayed - "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. Relaxed. Ate some nachos and watched several episodes of my favorite show on Netflix.

So please, all my friends out in blogging land - leave me a comment with something positive that is happening for you. Something that made you happy today. I'd love to hear.