Our Thanksgiving Traditions

Before our family moved from Texas to Florida (we moved in November 2010) we had the usual family tradition of cooking a big meal, getting all gussied up, stressing out over cooking and making sure everything was perfect. For our first Thanksgiving in Florida my Aunt Arrie and my brother Evan came to join us. We loved having them! For our second Thanksgiving we didn't travel and we didn't have any visitors. I made the meal, but it was smaller and not too much work, we got dressed up for ourselves and did the whole shebang at our house with just the five of us. On our third one I still cooked a small traditional meal but we decided it was dumb to get dressed up with just the five of us (no visitors) and after our meal we took the kids to see a movie. It was a revelation for us! Why does Thanksgiving have to be so formal?! Isn't the point to reflect about what you're grateful for  and spend time with those you love?

The next Thanksgiving (2013) we had moved back to Texas and Chad had been hired with Boston Market. His company has a Thanksgiving banquet meal. This is a pre-made (all cooked very fresh and then refrigerated, never frozen) that you pick up the week of Thanksgiving, put in your fridge and just re-heat for your holiday meal. The turkey takes two hours to heat up and the sides take much less time than that. It is so delicious and I don't have to worry about cooking it long enough or too long, it is perfect! Plus the cost is much less than me cooking the meal myself, even when it is just for the five of us. I still make a couple of sides that Chad grew up eating with his family (mainly yams with marshmallows) but I get to sit back, relax WITH my family and enjoy the day. We have made it a point in our household to remove the formality out of Thanksgiving. We (almost always) don't travel. We sometimes invite a few close friends (but if they have plans it doesn't hurt our feelings at all). We do NOT dress up. We heat up the meal when we feel like we'll be hungry for dinner soon, no real planning on what time we will eat. The adults have a couple of drinks. We watch football. We play games with our kids. During our meal we ask our kids what they're most thankful for. We make a choice to really be together and throw out the window "what we're supposed to do". It makes us a closer and happier family and I am SO glad we created our own , relaxed traditions. We're trying to show our kids that when they are grown and have their own families it is ok to do what they like the most and makes them happy no matter what others say. But I do admit that I hope they will want to spend the holidays with family and be informal with us ;)

Last year we traveled for the first Thanksgiving in years to spend time with family on Chad's side and a little time with family on my side. We didn't get fancy but we got much dressier than we would have at home. It was nice to spend time with others. Chad volunteered at a Houston Boston Market (I couldn't go because we had spent the night at my Grandmother's house and I wasn't about to ask her to chase my three children around once they woke up). We loved seeing family on a day where people try the hardest to be around family, but we're happy to get back to our own way of things this year.

Now I do have a little disclaimer because Chad and I do get dressed up for part of the day. It is very early so that Chad and I can go volunteer and help out at the Austin Boston Market. Thanksgiving (the whole holiday season really) is the company's "super bowl". It is their busiest time of year by far. The Chief's and Executives of the company make a choice to help out at the restaurants to set an example and show the store employees and customers how thankful they are for all of their hard work and business. We help for a few hours early in the morning doing whatever they need the most help with. We get home and immediately get our "house clothes" back on and relax the entire rest of the day.

Chad's best friend, Dave, moved back to the Austin area from Pittsburg this past week. He is very close to our family. He is surprising our kids by spending Thanksgiving with us, our kids have no idea that he has moved back. It's going to be a really great day!

I hope each of you have a great Thanksgiving doing what makes you happy! From our family to yours, Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!

Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Sara

Family Portraits 2015

As I wrote in a previous post we recently had our family photos taken. The extremely talented Christel Grall of Christel Grall Photography blessed us with her talent and I'm not sure we could be any happier with the results! I wish Orin was in more of the photos but he decided to be a stinker about half way through the photo shoot, even so, she gave us some wonderful moments captured on film. I'll tag her in my post on Facebook, we highly recommend reaching out to her if you're looking to have any kind of pictures taken!

Family photos mean SO much to me! I'm so careful to make sure we take a new family portrait every single year and I really feel like this was our best year yet! I hope you enjoyed our pictures! :)

Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Sara

Weight off of my Chest

On Tuesday I taught a Pre-K class. I've taught this class a couple of times before but only the morning class (Pre-K is only a couple of hours per class so there are two per day). The afternoon class had a little boy in there that stole my heart! I wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home with me. He reminded me a lot of Orin and everything about his was just precious! I'm looking forward to seeing my new little friend the next time I teach that class. 

Grace had basketball tryouts last week and unfortunately didn't make the team. She was disappointed but not like she was when she didn't make the volleyball team. I'm sure I sound totally biased but I really believe that she isn't making the team because the coaches pick who they like. Grace got in trouble last year with the same coach and they've been awful to her since then. There is no reason that she shouldn't have made the volleyball team, she had been playing for years and is really good. I tried not to be "that Mom" until I went to a game and saw how awful most of the girls who made the B team were. It really made me furious. Chad and I met with the coaches and they can make excuses all day but it was clear that they just weren't fans of Grace and she never got a real shot of making it. I'm going to request that other un-bias parties (staff of the school) watch tryouts next year. Ugh. Anyway, done with that rant.

We had a parent teacher conference with Orin's teacher on Friday that went really well! When Orin went into Kindergarten I was very nervous about his learning ability. I didn't know if his Autism was going to work for him or hinder him from traditional learning. He is doing so well and all of the concern I had is totally gone. He is doing great in math, science, reading and staying on track. It was wonderful to hear! Our school's SPED lead was nice enough to entertain me and attend the meeting too and had nothing but great things to say about Orin's progress. I left feeling great about his academic future!

We went to Houston this past weekend for a family friend's granddaughter's Quinceanera. It was the second one we've ever been to, it was nice, our kids had a blast! During our short trip I got to visit my brother, John. It was the first time I've seen him in a year. I've really missed him and I hated having to leave. I hope it isn't that long before we see each other again. He has some exciting things coming up for himself, if it all works out for him I'll fill everyone in but I don't want to jinx it ;) 

On Sunday morning we visited with my Grandma and Aunt at breakfast and spent some more time at my Grandma's house before we had to head back home. My Grandma is 84 so we are taking every chance to spend time with her that we can. Losing my mom when she was 54 definitely taught us to spend time with those that mean the most to us at every chance. I never expected to lose my mom so early and don't want to take everyone I still have left for granted.

When we got home from Houston my Dad and his girlfriend, Marguerite, came to the house and visited for a little while, we invited them to join us for dinner. This was the first time our kids met Marguerite. It was important to me to meet her first (breakfast last week) before I invited her to meet my kids and I'm glad that I have that policy in place. I don't like people coming in and out of my kids lives, it isn't stable and I don't think it is fair to my kids. I'm very picky about who comes around my family so it is a pretty big deal. Marguerite and all three kids got along really well and it was a great visit. I officially think of her as part of our family (pretty quick for me!) and am happy that she is around. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her and my Dad!

Speaking of being picky about who is around my kids and people coming in and out of their lives I want to get something off of my chest. I was debating writing about it at all, but it is part of my life and I'm ready to let it go and this is therapeutic for me. There are two couples in my life that I'm not a fan of. I say that they're in my life because I'm related to them and don't get a choice about that part. One is probably out of my life forever and the others have a chance to maybe one day be a part of our lives in a positive way again. The first is my former step-dad and the woman he married this past summer. He has been part of my life since I was six, he was a really great step-dad and we were very close until the summer of 2014 when he moved to live with his girlfriend who he married this past summer. As soon as he moved with this woman (they're the same age, she never married before or had kids and is too old to now) he became a totally different person. He used to be a lot fun and goofy, but he isn't anymore. He isn't the same person and it's very strange and sad. When he moved in with her he started to cut all of his kids out of his life. It feels like he is pretending he didn't have a family before he met her and that he is starting his life over. I don't know for sure because we don't talk anymore but that is how my brothers and I feel. It's the strangest thing ever! He was such a great "dad" and grandfather to my kids and then all of a sudden he was just gone. He doesn't acknowledge our birthdays, holidays or anything, its like we never existed to him. My kids have been devastated over this loss. They lost my mom and now because of some woman, they lost their grandpa. I don't understand it and never will. I truly believe he and his new wife are jealous of our happiness and success. It's laughable but in a very sad way. I've made a very conscious choice to stop reaching out to him. He doesn't return my texts, calls or emails anyway. I'm sick of chasing a relationship with my "dad" since he wants to pretend we don't exist. He is doing the same thing to both of my brothers, they feel orphaned by our former family. It really made me mad for while but now I really pity him. It must be a very lonely life. He likes to live off of everyone else's accomplishments and it is to the point that it's kind of funny. If you ask him what he does he will tell you about his dad and not about himself. When we still talked and I asked him about his then girlfriend he was quick to tell me about her family's jobs and accomplishments, but not hers. It was very odd. He also went from telling me how proud he was of me and Chad and our family to constantly cutting us down and telling us that we weren't good enough. He seemed to be grabbing at straws to find unfounded reasons to make himself feel good about cutting ties with all three of his kids and all three of his grandchildren. He went from calling me several times per day to literally acting like he never knew me. I truly believe it is because his new wife doesn't like that he had a happy life before her. He and my mom were married for almost 21 years when she died but now that he has this new person in his life, he constantly bashes my mom, who is dead and can not defend herself. Who does that?! I don't think he realizes how awful that makes him look to be bashing a dead person and a dead person that he stayed married to for over 20 years. I don't know how he doesn't see that anyone that hears him is just floored at his heartlessness. He has turned into a different person, a nasty person and a person that I am now very grateful is out of mine and my family's lives. I don't need his negativity and am now relieved to let him go. It is a weight off of my chest and after writing this I'll probably never talk about him again. He was part of my past and childhood (no matter how much he tries to pretend he wasn't) but is not a part of my future. Again, this is all my take on things and how I feel, but he isn't man enough or enough of a dad to have a conversation with me and tell me any different. One very good thing about this whole experience is that it has made me appreciate how much my real dad has stepped up and become an even more amazing dad and grandpa than my former step-dad could have ever hoped to be. My dad is so great with my kids and lets me know constantly that he is here for me, Chad, our kids and that he does everything he can to spend time with us. He is awesome! I'm also very happy to still have a great relationship with the rest of my family on my former step-dad's side, they're all incredible people and I love having them in my life!

The second couple have no children yet, but maybe one of these days if they become parents they'll realize the errors in their behavior. One of them told me that their relation to someone doesn't dictate how they feel about that individual. I think it is such a dumb statement. If I didn't have to be related to this person I would never have anything to do with them, I would cut them from my life and not think twice about it, but since I do have to be related to them I had put effort into our relationship. I'm done trying at this point because currently this couple adds nothing positive to mine or my family's lives, but I haven't given up hope for the future after they have some time to mature and see the bigger picture of what family really is.

I already feel better getting all of that off of my chest! I don't dwell on negativity or negative people and really feel like I've done a good job at getting people out of my life that I don't feel add a positive quality, I've really never been happier! I feel so lucky to have such an amazing little family with such a hard working husband who I love more and more every day. I love and appreciate the great qualities in each of my friends and am enjoying my life to the fullest every day! 

I'm subbing for a SPED teacher tomorrow and really looking forward to it! I was a little upset about the timing at first because Abby has a field trip and I was sad to miss it, but luckily Chad isn't traveling this week and is able to go with her. I'm sure he'll be answering emails when he gets a free second but I'm so glad he can go with her, I know they'll make some fun memories together tomorrow! Chad is volunteering at the elementary school for a short time on Wednesday and then we'll be meeting Abby and Orin during their lunch times for the school's Thanksgiving celebration. I'm subbing another Pre-K class on Thursday (not the same class with my new friend) and then on Friday evening all five of us are going to the hockey game for Quest night. We're all looking forward to doing that together!

I feel so great about getting that weight off of my chest and look forward to continuing to move on with my life minus the dead weight that I'm letting go of! ;)

Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Pretty calm past several days

Last Wednesday evening I had ladies night with a few of my girlfriends, we ate dinner had a couple of drinks and chatted for a few of hours, it was great! I love my time with friends and getting away. We went to Blue Corn Harvest in Cedar Park, I love that place! If you're in this area I definitely recommend it!
On Thursday I checked in with my RN coach, Tiffany, for my diet and I'm maintaining just great! While I'm not "on" my diet anymore I'll be checking in weekly through the holidays and then switching to every two weeks and then monthly for the foreseeable future to make sure all of my hard work doesn't go out the window, that I'm maintaining my weight and sticking with new lifestyle habits that will keep me on track. My fat percentage is the lowest it has been, I was very happy to see that!
Also on Thursday, I was supposed to meet an old friend/co-worker at Gloria's in the Domain for lunch. We had been planning on it for a while. I've never been "stood up" for anything before, but I sure was at Gloria's! I got there early and left when she didn't respond for 15-20 minutes after she was supposed to get there. I saw later that she read my messages but never responded, I'm not sure what that was about...oh well! I took the opportunity to do some window shopping and have some "me" time. I got a couple of good ideas for Christmas gifts!
Friday was pretty low key, Chad worked from home and I did some chores and took the opportunity to be lazy. We went to lunch together, which I always love, but then came home so he could get some more work done. We were actually going to try and sneak a movie in too while the kids were at school, but didn't see anything that we were dying to see or that worked with our short time frame. Grace had a school dance that evening which she got to dress up in her Halloween costume for, she had a great time! After she got home Chad and I left to play dominoes with some friends and get away for just a little bit.
Saturday morning our alarm went off way too early for the weekend. Abby had her first volleyball tournament, she kicked it's ass! ;) In her league there are no participation medals, there are medals for 1st-4th place only. Abby's team lost their first game. Every team is supposed to play in at least two games, so there is the championship bracket and the consolation bracket for the teams that only lost their first game. If you lose again after the first game you're out and the season is over for you and your team. Like I said, her team lost their first game but they won the next two which landed them in the consolation championship spot! They lost their final round of games, considering how much bigger the girls they played were, we were so proud of the girls on how close the game was! Abby and her team won 4th place and earned their medal. They rocked and did such a great job! Abby loves volleyball and looks forward to her next season which will start up around early March.
After volleyball and relaxing for a little bit as a family we went to some friends son's 5th birthday party. I've been friends with Austin's (birthday boy) parents Candace and Travis, since high school, they're really great people and we enjoy hanging out with them.
After the party we were pretty drained. Chad was watching football and I decided to go to the liquor store. What I had intended to be a quick trip turned into a couple of hours, I made friends with the owners and we got a drink after they closed shop for the night. I invited Chad up to hang out, he came up but he was NOT happy about it at first, he was tired and super annoyed with me that I wanted to hang out. After he met the couple he had a beer and we all had great time talking. We ended up having a fun evening hanging out and hope to spend more time with our new friends soon!
Sunday morning Chad and I woke up and went to one of my BFF's house to help her move. She is unfortunately going through a nasty divorce and has to move out of the house she loves into an apartment while she goes through all of this and figures out the future for herself and her three year old son. It's a crappy situation and my heart breaks for her!
When we got home at lunch time, from helping her move, we took the kids to the park. The day turned out to be so beautiful so it was a great excuse to let them play outside. Chad helped Grace get ready for basketball tryouts that started this morning and go through Wednesday. Please send her a prayer, or good juju, whichever you're into, for her tryouts!
This morning we got the kids off to school (Grace has to be there by 6:45am for tryouts, YUCK!) and met my dad and his girlfriend at lunch at Torchy's. This was my first time meeting my dad's girlfriend. I like her, she seems like a genuine lady and she makes him happy. She is also encouraging him to live a healthier lifestyle and I'm all about that! I hope things continue to go well for them, I like that he is happy!
I'm teaching (substitute teaching) Pre-K tomorrow, we have two parent teacher conferences this week and Bunco (if enough RSVP). Then we are going to Houston this weekend for a birthday party on Saturday evening and then to visit my Grandmother on Sunday morning before we head home. Always busy but not too much on our agenda this week!

Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Sara

 Abby with her Volleyball Medal

 Orin and the birthday boy, Austin

Chad and Grace practicing for tryouts

Halloween and Family Portraits

I'm finally starting to really feel better, thank God because Chad has to travel some this week for work. Being sick is awful enough as is, but I'm thankful that Chad wasn't traveling while I was down.
Saturday morning (Halloween day) Abby had her volleyball game, she has such a great team this season! This was the last regular season game, next weekend is the tournament. With her age group the league doesn't keep score but they will for the tournament, I really think her team will do well next weekend. I'm excited to see what happens! My MIL, Michell, met us at Abby's game and stayed with us for a couple of days, she actually just left to head back to Dallas to stay with my SIL and new nephew for two more weeks before she has to fly home to Saudi Arabia. We hope she and my FIL, Bob, can move back to the states (fingers crossed for Texas) no later than May of next year.
After the volleyball game Chad and Orin went to get haircuts and the girls and I had our nail appointments to get primped for our family pictures on Sunday. The girls loved getting pampered and I love being able to do that with them every so often. Its fun to have daughters and I love getting to girly things with them!
After the haircuts and nails we came home and the kids carved their Halloween pumpkins. Abby and Orin did a traditional face on their pumpkins and Grace carved out a bat. They did a good job and we finished the whole project in less than 30 minutes, unintentional record time! This year Grace dressed as the Queen of Hearts, Abby was Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Orin was Batman! Chad and I didn't really dress up for Halloween day this year. Chad had shoulder surgery last year on Halloween so this year he and Michell walked with the kids trick-or-treating and I handed out the candy. I was kind of disappointed in how few kids came down our street, oh well!
The weekend before, Chad and I went to our friends Renee and Michael's Halloween Party. For mine and Chad's costumes, we put more effort than we ever had in dressing up, it was a lot of fun! We went to our tattoo artist and they put our characters tattoos on us with a stencil and then sprayed us down so our "tattoos" would stay on for the party. Chad won second place in the costume contest! Renee really goes all out for her Halloween Parties! This year she did a Freak Show/Run down Circus theme. Everyone is asked to dress according to the theme. She did a great job with her costume that she hand made and decorating her house! I love to host a good party and love making parties special in the small details, Renee did the same, I was totally impressed and really looking forward to next year! Renee and I have been friends for pushing 20 years (or according to her and I 6+12, it's a joke). She and I worked together at Fazoli's when I was 16, she was with me the night I met Chad. She had her first baby, Emma, this past May. Emma is SO precious, I just love her!
Orin was Batman this year so he could be the good guy and defeat Mommy and Daddy who were the bad guys, it was super cute!
On Sunday morning Michell was sweet and made us all breakfast. We aren't a big breakfast family so when we have a traditional one its kind of a big deal. It was very sweet of her do to do that and the kids loved it. We were able to be a little lazy and take it easy for most of the morning. At 1pm the girls and I had our hair appointments to have our hair curled for our portraits, we go to Vent Blotique in the 1890 Ranch in Cedar Park, we love it! The girls had a great experience! Their hair is SO straight and hard to curl, especially Grace's. They got pampered and looked extra special. After we got home we finished getting ready and drove out to Old Settlers Park in Round Rock where we met the super talented Christel Grall. Christel and I have known each other for most of our lives and went to High School together. She is such a sweetheart and an amazing photographer! We started out with family pictures, did the kids individual pics, some couples pics of myself and Chad and then it was time for the kids group pictures, that is where it stopped. Orin was done with pictures right before it was time to get them as a group. Orin cooperated for a little while but when he is done, he is done. He finally was up to taking one or two in the group but was really over the whole thing. It was super frustrating for me, family pics are a big deal to me. I'm pretty sure Christel was able to get a couple of good ones, I just wish he would have given us 10 more minutes. Next year we will do family, then kid group then individual so that by the time he is done and burnt out the main ones will be done. Regardless, I'm SO excited to see the final results! Christel sent me a sneak peek and it is amazing! (It is the family picture at the top of this post) It made me tear up and I can not stop looking at it! I'm excited to share the images once I get them!
We have a busy week ahead (who am I kidding, we are always busy), but its our normal busy, so it is actually kind of low key for our family. I'm looking forward to being lazy and watching a movie tomorrow at my house with my friend Amanda while all of the kids are at school. I've got a Ladies Night Out with some of my favorite girlfriends on Wednesday, I always look forward to spending time with my girls! Then this weekend we have Abby's volleyball tournament for the first half of Saturday and then our friends' son's birthday party later in the day. We haven't made any plans for Sunday and don't intend to, we intend to do whatever we want that day and relax as a family.

Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Sara

A Few Days in the Life of a Sick Mom

Being sick is never fun, but being sick as a parent is the worst! No matter how awful I feel I have to suck it up and take care of my kids, whom of course always come first. Luckily Chad didn't have to travel this week while I've been down. He is so great at picking up the slack and taking care of me. I hate when he needs to because he already has so much on his back, but I 1000% appreciate that he is here for me. Our kids are usually pretty good about being helpers when I'm down too. I feel like a jerk because I cancelled a two day sub job (luckily someone else picked it up within minutes so the teacher wasn't out the help) and had to cancel lots of plans with friends, including my Bunco group. While I know I'm complaining, I also feel very fortunate to have the ability to stay in bed to recover and my biggest problem being canceling plans. This is also one of those weeks that I'm super grateful that all of our kids are old enough to be in school so I can rest during the day. There is always a silver lining :)
I spent Monday and Tuesday in bed all day until my kids came home from school. It made for nothing really fun to talk about, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to recover. Wednesday was early release for my kids from school but when they came home I had to take Orin to see the ENT. Last month on September 24 Orin was diagnosed with croup. If you or your kids have ever had it you know that barking cough and how NOT fun it is. While Orin recovered he still hasn't stopped coughing and has been snoring like a freight train, so Chad and I decided he needed to be seen. This was his first time seeing an ENT, we took him to the same one that did Grace's tubes 10 years ago, Dr. Scott Franklin of Georgetown. He checked Orin out and had Orin's hearing tested. Orin has so much fluid behind his ear drums and is still so congested (which has been causing the coughing and snoring) that he has hearing loss. We scheduled surgery before I left the office. On December 1 (2015) Orin will have his adenoids removed and tubes placed in his ear drums, the tubes should solve the hearing loss issue and the doctor expects his hearing to be perfect after surgery. We are waiting until December 1 instead of doing it as early as next week because Orin is still so congested that Dr. Franklin started him on antibiotics and an allergy medication to make sure his lungs are totally clear and healed from the croup he had last month so there is no issue with anesthesia. Orin will also be given orders for an x-ray the week before his surgery at his pre-op so that they can make sure his lungs are in fact healthy enough for the surgery.
I'm very confident in the physicians ability being that Grace had the same surgery with him, but I'm nervous about how Orin's autism will effect his reaction to the anesthesia and his mood while he is healing. I'm sure he will do just great, but it is definitely in the back of my head. I'll keep everyone posted on him and his progress. If you're the praying type I would appreciate you sending some his way, or good juju or whatever you're into.
Grace's first 7th grade band concert was last night! She plays the flute in the Concert 1 band. She did so great! My MIL, Michell, was able to come watch her performance which I know meant the world to Grace and to us! Our kids love an audience and they really work hard to do their best. Grace has basketball tryouts coming up (I think they're next week...I don't have my planner in my face but I'm pretty sure), after try outs she will be starting weekly private lessons for her flute. We really hope that with the extra attention and help that she will make a higher class of band for 8th grade. She is such a natural musically talented kid, Chad and I are really happy to give her some extra tools to excel with her flute.
We have our annual family portrait coming up this Sunday. I am SO excited! If you really know me or have ever been to my home you know that our annual family portrait is a BIG deal to me and something that I am adamant happens every single fall. In our "new" house Chad begged me to only display the pictures (each year's pics are framed and hung) that we've taken since Orin has been born, since we were our complete family. I always display the annual family portrait and then one of all three kids. I did what he asked and the first 8 years are still framed in a box in our attic. I have each of their infant picturess out and one day may take the others out, but I'm ok with it like it is for now. My portrait wall is already full and about to be expanded to another wall. This year we are hiring the super talented Christel Grall, she is a fantastic photographer and I'm so excited to see what she captures!
I have zero fashion sense (I lie, its getting a little better but still has a long way to go). Chad and my middle daughter Abby have to tell me when I don't match or look homeless before I leave the house. Abby has been a huge help in assisting me to pick out what we will all wear for our portraits this year. I don't want to give away too much, but I think it is coming together really nicely! We are by no means a "country" family so my original idea of the kids wearing plaid got thrown out the window. It looked cute but doesn't fit our family's style at all. Orin will be still wearing his plaid shirt because it is something that suits him, and now we are all planning our outfits based of of the colors from his shirt. I can't wait to see how the photos come out!! On Saturday while Chad and Orin get a haircut, Grace Abby and I are going to get our nails done. I get mine done every two weeks but it is a real treat for the girls and they are looking forward to their appointment. On Sunday the girls and I are all having our hair done for the pictures too. Their hair is naturally so straight and they're getting it curled. They were so giddy when I told them I had made them an appointment. We're all going to be feeling our best for the photo shoot and I really hope it shows in the final product! Ahhh! Can you feel my excitement!?
Yesterday (Wednesday) our new mattress arrived, we also got a new dining table (not formal, for the breakfast area) that seats 4 (really 6) but can expand to seat up to 8. We got four seats and four stools that go with it, it is so much better than what we had out! Its very cute and super functional, I'm very happy with our purchase. We also got two new awesome Beauty Rest pillows for our bed. We had memory foam pillows with the cooling gel, but its very thick and I never end up actually sleeping on it so we gave those to our daughters and now have our new ones, they're SO comfy!! The last thing that we ordered that showed up yesterday were two really cool looking comic book pillows to go in our comic book themed game room! Once it is clean (my house isn't in the shape I usually keep it in this week since I've been sick) I'll try to figure out how to post pics on my blog and show you!
Well I guess that catches everyone up to our fairly low key week! I hope you all have a great halloween and weekend!
Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Sara

Round 2!

Several years ago I started a blog (Painting Mom of Three) but with my kids being so young it was difficult to find the time and energy to keep up with it, so I'm starting fresh with Round 2!
Since I'm starting fresh I think an introduction is quite appropriate.
My name is Sara, I'm married to Chad and we have three great kids together, Grace, Abiageal and Orin. I'm a stay at home mom and a very part time substitute teacher. Chad and I have been together since the day we met in April of 2000 when he was 18 and I was 16. We married very young at 20 and 18 and became parents at 21 and 19. We have an amazing life that we have sacrificed and worked very hard for. Our daughter Grace was born in October 2002, she is now a teenager (ahhh!), our daughter Abiageal (Abby) was born in December 2006 and our son Orin was born in June 2010. Grace is currently in 7th grade, Abby is in 3rd grade and Orin is in Kindergarten. I'm still in disbelief that all of our kids are old enough to be in school!
I really enjoy cooking, organizing, planning, being crafty and creative, hosting parties and so much more. I have some amazing girlfriends who are such an important part of my life, I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful group of ladies!
Our son Orin was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and High Functioning Autism in November 2014. He is a super smart little man and is doing wonderful with the support our school provides him. He is crushing all of his goals and overcoming his obstacles daily. Autism support is a big deal and a passion in our home. Grace and Abby are (usually) so great with their little brother and understand his quirks.
The name of my new blog is The Executive Homemaker, because that is the title I gave myself ;) Let me explain and give a little bit of our backstory and why I decided that I had earned this title.
When I graduated from Leander High School in 2001 I had already been accepted to Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, TX. Chad and I had been dating for a year and I made it very clear that I was not interested in a long distance relationship, if he wanted to make it work he had some decisions to make. He didn't think twice about moving to Abilene with me. I moved into the dorms and he moved into an apartment and attended Cisco Jr. College. He proposed to me on October 6, 2001. We told our families, I don't think mine took it seriously and I'm sure were less than thrilled considering I was 18. We planned to marry on June 21, 2003. On Feb 6, 2002 I found out that I was expecting. We knew for sure that we wanted to be married before our child was born so we moved our wedding up and got married in a beautiful ceremony on May 18, 2002 at Bethany United Methodist Church (the church I was raised in), in Austin, TX.
After our honeymoon we went back to Abilene where I worked in the jewelry section of Wal-Mart and Chad worked as a night stocker at HEB. We were so nervous about having a baby. How were we going to afford daycare? How were we going to afford to raise a child? How were we going to afford to just live? A chain of events happened that led Chad to getting hired on with Aramark in their uniform division as a route driver. This new job meant that I could quit working and become a stay at home mom. We by NO means had a ton of money, but we could afford for me to not work as long as we made sacrifices, which I was happy to do.
Chad was hired on and within two weeks we welcomed our first daughter, Grace. She was so amazing, we were so happy, we were SO scared!
From that point on for the next two years Chad worked 12 hour days M-F and went to night school M-Th from 6-9pm to finish his Bachelors Degree. I went to school also, but ended up not going back after I completed 60 hours, I just wanted to be home and I definitely do not have the endurance Chad does to extend himself so much.
On September 19, 2003 we were in an awful car wreck. It impacted our lives in a way we never expected. Grace was 11 months old and in a rear facing carseat that saved her life. Chad's shoulder was hurt by the seatbelt and his thumb was broken from the airbag. I was driving and got the worst of it. My left ankle and leg were shattered. When I went for surgery they told Chad that they were likely going to amputate, luckily with skill and lots of metal I was able to keep my leg. I still have surgeries every few years due to my injury, but I consider myself very lucky!
After Chad graduated with his Bachelors Degree in May 2005 he was promoted at Aramark to a Sales Rep. Shortly after that he transferred to the Austin Market, we left Abilene and bought our first house in Leander, TX. We loved that house! When we moved Chad enrolled in St. Edwards University to continue his education and earn his Masters Degree. I went to work part time for a year at Bank of America but left when I was seven months pregnant with baby #2.
Abiageal was born at the end of December 2006, she was such a happy baby!! By the time Abby was born Chad had left Aramark and was working for one of their competitors, G&K Services. Because they were a competitor and Chad had signed a non-compete with Aramark he was commuting from Leander to Corpus Christi ever week. He would leave early on Tuesday and come home on Friday. He would work and take classes at TAMU Kingsville to continue working on his Masters Degree. After a year of commuting Chad's non-compete was up and he started selling in the Austin/San Antonio Area and transferred back to St. Ed's to work on his MBA, which he graduated with in August 2009.
When Abby was about two I went back to work part time at United Heritage Credit Union, I stayed at that job until I was put on bedrest a few days before our son Orin was born.
When I was pregnant with him I had to see a high risk specialist and had IUGR, Orin was pulled at 35 weeks and was so tiny! He was born in June 2010. We knew he would be our last baby and that our family was complete.
Chad left G&K and was hired on with Compass Group in May 2008. It was something totally new for him, he left the uniform world and went into food. He was the Austin/San Antonio sales rep and was signing contracts for vending services. He was very good at his job and it was noticed in October 2010 when he was promoted to have a team over the South East, which meant that we had to move to Orlando, FL. While we didn't really want to move to Florida we knew we had to if we wanted Chad's career to advance. We put our house on the market, packed up and moved to Orlando on November 8, 2010.
Shortly after we moved to Orlando my mom passed away. She died on Feb 12, 2011. It has been very hard on my family and still is, I'm not sure I'll ever get over her loss.
In May 2011 we closed on our house that we built in Orlando, it was a really great house, on "waterfront" and we loved the school we were at. I made a small handful of good friends and really got involved in the PTA. No matter how much we tried, we just never felt at home in Florida. After 22 months we sold our house and moved into corporate housing. At that time Chad had been contacted by a recruiter and was going through the process of getting hired on with Boston Market at an Executive level as the Corporate Director of Sales. He was hired on, the kids finished school for the year the next day and we left the day after that. We packed up and drove 24 hours straight from Orlando back to Leander, we couldn't leave fast enough. I definitely miss some of my friends, especially Aitza and Jenna but am still so happy we are back in Texas.
We leased a house and then bought our third house in August 2014, which is where we are now and where we plan to stay until we are done raising our children, so at least 13 more years.
I decided when Chad became an Executive that I have earned that title with him, that is where the name of my blog comes in. We are a team, we work together in every aspect of our lives together and have since the day we met. We are partners and I thought it was fitting that we share a level of professionalism, even though we are in totally different fields ;)
That is the synopsis on our history and from here we move forward. I hope you enjoyed my first post and want to grow with our family!
Until next time, count your blessings! :)

Sara