The 3 Seibel Silly Billies

Thankfulness

2011-11-08T21:07:00.000-06:00

I came across this link just now on pintrest. I thought it would be fun to answer these questions for myself b/c I too struggle with answers beyond the normal friends, family, faith etc. when asked what I'm thankful for.

"What are you thankful for?" asks the teacher, or the parent, or the Sunday school instructor, or Aunt Ethel, or Grandpa Joe, or the guy at the checkstand at the grocery store, and on, and on, and on.

And what is the answer? My family, my home, my friends...maybe the toy of the moment. And these are all great answers, but you can get kids to think more creatively by asking more specific questions. Here are some questions to ask to get kids thinking in different ways:

1. What are you are thankful for that is green?

Romaine Lettuce

2. What are you thankful for that is yellow?

Mac and Cheese

3. What are you are thankful for that is soft?

my cat

4. What are you are thankful for that is round?

sara's belly when it is full

5. What are you are thankful for that is very small?

leftover money in my budget

6. What are you are thankful for that is very big?

love

7. What are you are thankful for that tastes good?

bacon

8. What are you are thankful for that tastes bad?

probiotics

9. What are you are thankful for that you cannot see?

hope

10. What are you thankful for that you cannot touch?

dreams

11. What do you think your teacher is thankful for?

naps

12. What do you think a teenager is thankful for?

friends

13. What do you think a very old person is thankful for?

love

14. What do you think the president is thankful for?

compromises

15. What do you think a dog is thankful for?

crumbs

16. What do you think a cat is thankful for?

the great outdoors

You can also ask kids to come up with their own creative thankfulness questions.

hope

2011-10-06T14:40:00.000-05:00

hope seems hard to come by on a day like this when I look at all the stuff I'm angry/sad about in my own life. Nothing new here, just another month with the same results -- nothing. I wish I could truly believe that I am ok with it, my heart knows I'm not. I wish I had more facts about why this trend continues. but I don't. I wish life would give us a break but it doesn't. I guess my hope is that maybe all my lack of acceptance with circumstances would not be transfered onto my one precious child.

Occupy WallStreet

2011-10-06T14:34:00.000-05:00

I wanted to write this blog post to remember this time in history when maybe the rumbles of the 99% are finally starting to a roar. I pray this brings about change in our country...

Official Statement from Occupy Wall Street - this statement was voted on and approved by the general assembly of protesters at Liberty Square: Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

"As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!"

Things that make Sara so sad...

2011-10-05T21:14:00.000-05:00

One of Sara's favorite phrases to say to us is "That makes me sooooooo sad." Her current list includes (but not limited to)

Having to wait two weeks to tell her choir teacher Mrs. B what she will be for Halloween(which is...a kitty cat with a purple top half and orange legs with purple polka dots on them.) She was to wait 2 weeks because we will be in Dallas next week during her choir practice.
The pumpkin patch at church not being open at night
Missing one day of preschool next week
Missing her friend's bday party b/c we will be in Dallas (not even a friend she plays with a ton at preschool!)
When she doesn't get to wash the dishes, cook, or set the table at her preschool. Offering her unlimited number of times to do above things here doesn't seem to cut it.
When we miss yoga class, little gym, or any other activities.
When I tell her the swimming pool is closed
When I forgot to move the nightlight back to her room after a night of her sleeping on our floor

I'm sure there are many more than that. I just wanted the whole world to know why sara is soooooooo sad.

C.A.A.D.D.

2011-09-12T08:22:00.000-05:00

Apparently this circulated around a few years back through some emails, but I heard it for the first time at my mom2mom meeting last week. I'm so glad I finally know what is wrong with me :-)

Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. (Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder)

This is how it manifests:

I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the basement, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my car keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my car keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to take out the trash. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office/playroom, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put the sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye they need to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the wipes back down and splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm cup of juice sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the wipes, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Ropes Courses

2011-09-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

imagine how well the world might get along with each other if we all started our day out with ropes courses or other cooperative learning type activities for adults. I had this thought after seeing pictures from a Hendrix UMYF scholars retreat. Cliques, popularity issues, and so much more do not exist when you are in that "ideal" type environment. Throw the next day out, and everything is back the way it was before. It was kind of like that let down that always happened to me on the way home from a youth group mission trip. All of those "popular" kids that suddenly spoke to me during that trip. The ones that said they were "transformed." I knew after having experienced it one time all the social stigmas and hierarchies would be back as soon as school started back up. I am just as guilty though in letting those types of things bother me. I could have acted oblivious and just said hi. They say it's hard to love people who are so different than you. In a way though, I think it is more challenging to love those right by you. The wildfires in the area plus some very sad news from a friend of mine seems to be in my thoughts and tears these days. I'm having a lot of perspecitive moments about my complaints about my "situation." Yes, we are in a lot of debt. Yes, infertility has sucked a lot of the happy, happy out of my heart. Being gluten and soy intolerant suck. Trying to lose weight is hard. Sharing a car bites big time. I do have so much more than these:

Sara is a HUGE one!
so many things are right with her. We're experiencing some speed bumps right now, but I have to remember to put my rollercoaster hands up with her and enjoy them.
Scott is a great husband.
I do wish he could NOT be like me and learn to be more tidy. You know what. This is what I get for falling in love with a guy who was so similar to me! lol It could be worse.
A loving, wonderful family. Great in-laws who do not meddle in our business, and who love their granddaughter dearly.

Don't know where I am going with this. I guess my personal challenge is to take my broad love for the whole world and start letting it kick out those little angers that I am still holding onto from years past. Be it the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 or just another day this is my prayer and hope for everyone, including myself!

Pampered Chef

2011-09-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

I'm about to drink another direct selling glass of juice. I am going to become a Pampered Chef consultant. Please volunteer to host a party! or else...;-)

The Joys of Parenting?!

2011-09-08T21:34:00.000-05:00

Over these past 3 or 4 months or so Sara has had sleeping troubles on and off. It is mostly her waking up in the middle of the night, getting "scared," and coming to our bedroom. Scott and I have a queen size bed. Unfortunately she sleeps like me...sideways, crooked, complete with flapping arms and legs, adding on some super whiny mumbo jumbo about how she doesn't have enough room, pillow, too much covers, etc. For a while we had her nap mat permanently set up on the floor of our bedroom. One night, she slept the whole night through, and she was so proud of herself. We built on that feeling for a number of nights in a row. Plus we had very successful sleep when we were camping. Aside from the incredibly hilarious conversation that was going on a few tents down from us at 3:00 am the first night she did as well as could be expected with tent camping. (wish I had any idea what they were talking about, it was in another language. Maybe I wouldn't have been so annoyed with them at that point!) ;-) Ever since we got home, though, she has come back to coming to our room in the middle of the night. I made her a pallet of blankets last night in our bedroom (I need to wash her nap mat after camping) when she woke up and was scared. So today I was having a good parenting moment and suggested we brainstorm some ideas to help her when she gets scared. After a little probing about if there was anything specific scaring her (like a monster or something) she speaks up and says "I just really miss you guys when I get scared." Thank God I was driving at that point otherwise I might have just scooped her up and said you never have to leave my side again! lol We decided that maybe putting a picture of mommy, daddy, and sara by her bed might help her to know we are always with her. We even talked about the idea of how she is always in our hearts (thanks Beth and Ander!) Great idea mommy, except I am terrible at details (shocker, huh?) yup I didn't get a picture printed out in time for bed tonight. It doesn't help that somehow I cannot get my wireless printer to connect wirelessly. Oh well, I guess that is what I can do tomorrow? After we get the dog a bath, the car cleaned, go to the dinosaur bones park, make and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, maybe even make it to the laundromat to get the sleeping bags washed in a machine that is big enough for them. I know, it's not all that much, it just adds up. Luckily I don't mind digging in the sand, I find it quite therapeutic so I'm happy to play with her at this park.

On another note...I think sara has inherited my IBS, spastic colon, or as it plays out in me, gluten and soy intolerance. She's been having some pooping issues a lot this week! As in too much. This may have been going on for a while, but she's been telling me a lot about it this week (b/c I think it embarrasses her...understandable b/c it did me, also!) The only correlation this week to food/environment that could have made it flare up big time is milk. So starting today I refused to give her any cow's milk. I know that is not all the dairy she gets, but that is the majority of it so I'm starting there. Day 1: success. I know it's still very early in this unscientific test. I would not be surprised if at some point she needs to be gluten free, but I'm too lazy right now to completely take the plunge and make her 100% gluten free. Those are my stories for this post. You see I'm giving up Cityville and taking up blogging again. I know some of you (particularly certain family members of mine) find this blog full of too much whine, but ya know what? I'm trying to stop caring anymore.

Otter Pose

2011-09-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

So tonight sara was talking about her new, stuffed otter that aunt mere got for her. We were having a pizza picnic on the floor when I acted like I was falling over. I pretended to catch myself in a balancing bear type pose. So I asked sara if this is what the otter pose looks like. She says "no mommy." then proceeds to tell me exactly what to do. "You have to find a comfy stop to lay down on your back. Then you put your legs in the air and your arms are hugging a starfish." So cute! I'm sure that is very similar to what she learned in yoga today. She was unimpressed when I showed her what I learned. Silly girl!

My big girl at safari champ!

2011-05-20T13:19:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe it. Sara went in every part of this place without any tears!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Baffin Cove,Round Rock,United States

Musings while at little gym

2011-05-20T10:50:00.001-05:00

So I had Sara evaluated for some sensory issues on Tuesday. The diagnosis was a little surprising in that the sensory issues were more mild than I thought. She still has some balance and coordination issues. No shocker there. We will be restarting weekly therapy sessions, but I know they will be great! They really help with her self-confidence. She will have a speech eval in a couple of weeks, also. It's weird to be excited by this , but the therapists can help her so much more than I ever can! It's so difficult to teach your own kid. It's way too emotional on both ends!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Talkin' bout my generation

2011-04-08T16:43:00.000-05:00

so you know what I'm tired of? People saying crap about people "my age." Why throw a lump of people into one category that may or may not fit into it? Especially pegging us as lazy, self centered, rude, and basically every other negative adjectives you can think of. I think this really came into a bigger play when the nickname "the greatest generation" came about for the parents of baby boomers generation. My mom and I have always talked about how every person in every generation is basically a person when it comes down to it. My generation and ones after me have many advantages with the technological advances, healthcare advances, and many other privileges of living in a developed country. We also know that it is human nature to ask Why questions (case and point any 2.5 - 4 year oldish child.) I think every person with emotions has asked the why me question at many different points in their lives. We all ask "why does this crappy thing happen to me when I try my best to be a good person/live a good life, etc." We have also asked the why me in more positive situations "how did I get to be so lucky..." The truth is all of our generations have been filled with humans. We are creatures that are constantly learning and evolving to the world around us. So that being said let me just list off all the horrible things my friends that are in this generation do....

teachers
family lawyers
ministers
mothers
fathers
doctors
nurses
environmental consultants
counselors
website designers (you know the internet is a wonderful thing)
software engineers (you know the guys in the background the work their arses off to keep everything working)
oh and you know who else is part of my generation? the grandkids of the greatest generation. Yup, that's right, those wonderful kids you beem with pride over. That's us! Oh and yes, boomers, my generation are the proud parents of your grandchildren! Once again, my generation is not full of selfless jerks who only look out for themselves. Our friends are quite often our famlies now b/c it is not always possible for us to live very close to all our family! Ok, rant is over. thanks for listening.

The next Bob Ross

2011-04-07T23:36:00.001-05:00

I love talkative sara days! Tonight we were using the paints aunt mere gave her for xmas plus a new easel I got her at Ikea today. Note to self -- when the easel is only $15 why did you wait so long? Anyway, so sara told me she was going to paint me a picture on one side of her paper. She asked me what I want her to paint, and I told her to paint whatever she wanted! She said she wanted to paint a "sunshine" well...this one turned into more of a mix of different colors. So I told her it was an impressionistic sunshine. I said either a Renior of Monet. She told me her favorite is Monet! lol Then she said at school she played with Renior and Mia. I know who Mia is -- it's her bff -- Renior? hrmmmm. The way she talked about the colors/how she was going to paint and on what parts of the paper reminded me of a PBS show. I think she may have some teacher genes in her (there would be worse things.) I love it when she has talkative days b/c I get a glimpse into her world which seems fun! I just wish she would have more confidence to express herself like this all the time. Here is her unfinished masterpiece from tonight...

Let Children Play: Free Range Kids meets The Parent Question

2011-03-31T15:06:00.000-05:00

Let Children Play: Free Range Kids meets The Parent Question: "Today I am joined by Lenore Skenazy of Free Range Kids. It's hard to believe, but Ms. Skenazy was once labled 'America's worst mom' on the T..."

life as an "always serious" family

2011-03-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

Here is my random list of cuteness by Sara:

today she was asking what the name of the grocery store we had just made a quick trip into was. We told her it was "H-E-B" then we said "HEB (pronounced Heeeeeb) for all you yankees. So sara repeats what she think she heard and says "HE?" We say it again over emphasizing the B by saying "HEB(ah)" no matter how many times we corrected her and told her it was "HEB (heeeeeb)" she insisted that it was "HEB (heeeeeebah)" too funny (at least to mommy and daddy)
my big girl is doing such a good job of learning to play w/o mommy on playgrounds. She is starting to develop quick (and ever fleeting) friendships on the playground, little gym, dance class, swim lessons, and school. It's fun to watch.
Poor sara is still confused about where we live, what church we go to, etc. We confused her even more last night by telling her we were going to try and go visit a different church this morning (sleep won out, though)
organizing a garage is boring. Especially when you know it is filled with baby stuff that you had saved in hopes another baby would have already come. Yeah -- both adoption and IVF are out of our price range right now. If only stupid health insurance would cover IVF then things would be much easier...sigh, I regress. The deal is scott's company reimburses adoption expenses up to $15,000. It would end up costing way more than that. So anyways, I've been getting all the stuff ready to sell at the just between friends sale in georgetown. Hopefully we will make a decent amount of money off of all the stuff!
My girl is getting so tall. I think she is most likely right in the 50th percentile for height for her age. She's still a tiny thing weight wise (she gets it from both scott and me -- if only that metabolism could have stuck with me.) She weighs somewhere between 28-30 lbs. depending on the day.
I had more to say, but I am currently falling asleep here on the couch. None of us slept all that well last night. The extra sleeping in we did was not quality sleep for me. I kept having weird/anxious dreams within dreams.

life

2011-02-21T20:34:00.000-06:00

my life with a 3 year old is busy for being a SAHM. I like to be busy. I am not one that just loves to be at home all the time. I love to get out and about and interact with different people and want the same for sara. That being said I really feel like this house is a great place to come home to. It fits us. We like the location, the people that surround us, and the feel of the house. I'm glad our Realtor convinced us to take our time and find the "perfect" house. Thanks Melanie! The final piece of our Austin move came to live with us this weekend, our cat and dog! Our cat amazingly seems to be adjusting just fine. Our dog seems a little confused that this is our new house. It seems as if she thinks she'll be getting back in the car to go to our old Dallas house. Give her a few weeks, and I think she will start to settle in more.

Sara still seems to have some speech delays compared to her peers. She knows names of things it just she has a hard time forming the sentences out loud that tell her thoughts. The sentences come, but she struggles. It's something I have to keep an eye on in case I feel like she needs to be retested for a major enough speech delay that she would qualify for district services. All of her physical activities (swim lessons, dance class, plenty of outdoor play time at school, and gymnastics) seem to help. Her balance is still shaky, and she gets scared of activities at certain heights. Overall, though, it is mostly just noticeable to her gymnastics/dance teachers and me. yea! Swim lessons are her favorite (I think.) At least that is her favorite thing to play both with and without me. She makes certain animals be the students (she is of course the teacher), and I am always the assistant (she makes me comfort all the students who are crying -- which oddly enough is every single one of them every-time.)

Life is good here in Austin. We are getting settled in more everyday. We're trying to get involved in a church (Bethany UMC), getting involved with a MOMS club, and meeting our neighbors. We're making some new friends here and there (and reconnecting with some old.) We miss our families a lot, but it's fun to visit them (and for them to come visit us.) And that's all I've got...

worms

2011-02-17T10:22:00.000-06:00

do you ever get those worm type songs in your head? you know the ones that continue to pop up for no reason at all? This morning I woke up singing "step by step" (you know the one from the new kids on the block)...I haven't heard that song in years yet that is the song I woke up with in my head today.

I also tend to make up songs to certain tunes. They are just silly songs about nothing. The tune that always seems to appear is boomer sooner. yikes! I am a Texas fan. How embarrassing! ;-)

all in a day

2011-02-16T22:49:00.000-06:00

a friend of mine wrote in her blog the other week about the sucky benefits that SAHM's get (you know in terms of no stock options, paid vacation days, sick days, etc) so in an attempt to quantify my day to put on my time sheet here it goes:

I kissed at least 20 imaginary boo-boo's today
I loaded, unloaded, and put away about 8 loads of laundry today
I ran the dishwasher 3 times today
I provided 3 meals today
I provided at least 5 snacks today
I think I said "go right ahead" at least 5 times to sara's declarations of needing to go potty
I spent 2 hours working on our taxes today (thank you Sesame street for entertaining my daughter while I did this)
I arranged 3 bill pays today
I slid down 3 different slides today
I ate ice cream made out of acorns and mulch 4 times today
I watched when sara said "mommy, watch this" countless times today
I took 0 pictures today
I got copious amounts of hugs
I gave sara choices so many times today that I lost track.
I got told "don't talk to me" about 5 times today
I cried one time today
I scrubbed 8 flat surfaces in my kitchen/laundry area today
I ran the roomba 1 time today
I matched up about 10 pairs of socks today
I talked sara down from the ledge about 12 times today
I rephrased sentences for sara to repeat in order to help her with grammar and using nice words/tone of voice.
I answered the why question even when she could care less about the answer
I unpacked 0 boxes today
I gave 3 belly zerberts today
I gave countless number of kisses, hugs, and snuggles
I got infinite love

mom job hazards that do not cause death

2011-02-16T22:24:00.000-06:00

I saw some of these from another blog I read: Love That Max
• Being forced to repeatedly watch The Wiggles/SpongeBob SquarePants/iCarly/[insert your child's current TV obsession here].
• Also: reading the same book for 372 bedtimes.
• That rare moment when you are lying on the couch, relaxing, and....BOOM! Child jumps onto your ovaries.
• Subsisting on a diet known as Finishing Up What's On The Kids' Plates or its counterpart, Eating Extremely Old Goldfish I've Found In My Purse.

When your husband says, "Honey! Did you make any plans for us for the weekend?" and you feel a sudden tightness in your chest.
Extreme-poop diaper changes that make you feel as if you need an oxygen mask.
• An acute and incurable addiction to yoga pants.
Pushing kids on the swings for what feels like hours. Isn't there an app for that?
"MY MOMMY HAS BIG BOOBIES!!!!" Death by mortification = not possible.
• When your flailing, wailing, tantrum-having child accidentally conks you in the head or almost pokes one or both of your eyes out. Sure, you could try calling the malpractice lawyers, but you probably won't have a very good case against your three-year-old.
• Death by whining. Hmmm...might be possible.
That moment when your child does something so amazingly cute, you feel as if your heart might explode.

deep thoughts by a preschool mother

2011-01-12T16:28:00.000-06:00

why can't my child me super special and (a.k.a -- not normal) and still take at least an hour nap even after she falls asleep in the car for 5 minutes? hrmph
How is a 9 year old in any way responsible for the repeal of DADT? Yes, I'm talking about you, Westboro Baptist Church. You give Baptist's a bad name (and I'm even Methodist.) Thankfully for you, the God we both proclaim to believe in offers Grace and Forgiveness. I'm glad it comes from God and not anyone else b/c you might be hard pressed to find it from others.
Ignorance scares me
I am so excited about moving to our new house in Austin. It will be nice to be much closer in to the action!
For the first time in my life, I have a playgroup! yea! I even met a mom and her baby that live maybe a block away from our new house, and she was super duper nice.
Thank God for indoor playscapes on crappy cold weather days like today
For the first time ever, my daughter made friends with the other kids at ChickFilA and did not want to go after almost and hour and half of playing! Note to self: there were TONS of kids showing up to eat lunch with their parents...must go back there, often!
The statements I hear from my child multiple times a day: "I'm not tired!" "I'm not sleepy" "I don't need to rest!" "I got a little bit scared." "I'm still hungry!" "I want to play with you." "what are you doing, mommy?" (she really likes to ask this one while I'm driving somewhere) "I got a little bit sleepy. I'M NOT TIRED!" (these are usually said in the same breath)
Real fireplace fires are hot to get started! On the same note, I now understand that given the choice in a house the gas logs are a much better option!
these last 2 pieces of firewood at this house are trying to kill me. I am now on my 3rd fire-starter that says it can light even the most stubborn logs! We shall see. All my 2 real logs seem to want to do is smolder. That just stinks and creates no warmth. It is also quite boring looking!
I'm excited that we have found a sunday school and a church. I cannot wait to get involved more.
I am so tired of the owner of this house delaying coming out and fixing the other potty in this house. My child is currently asleep in my bedroom, and I would much prefer to go potty in the toilet furthest from her line of vision
I detest these nights where scott has to work until after 6. The means he gets home right around 7. guess who starts her bedtime routine at 7 on the days she doesn't nap. (hint, the answer is not me)
I love, love, love sara's preschool. I cannot say enough good things about it!
Sara has a love interest. His name is Gavin. Sorry Sherrilyn and Jody! His name is now brought up in imaginary play at the same rate as mommy, daddy, ouisee, papa hank, aunt mere, uncle steve, nana, and pop.
I cannot wait to get my dog and cat bag. I've really been wanting to go to the dog park and Austin has so many great options!
My cat may not forgive me for a month for making her stay with the grandparents while we were still renting.
I must remain strong and not let my parents try to steal my dog and cat from me in this subtle manner "why don't we keep them until you are all settled in." -- I am saying it now, those words WILL come out of my mother's mouth. Yes, she reads this blog.
I love, love, love our Realtor. Her name is Melanie. You should call her if you want to buy or sell a house in the Austin area. I'm just sayin'...she's awesome! http://www.wilsongoldrick.com/agents/more.asp?AgentID=mfenelon
going to Dallas this weekend. sad about the occasion, happy to see the fam. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=len-hughes&pid=147762817 and http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=ellen-kinzie-hughes&pid=146118528 Len is my mom's first cousin. Mere and I grew up being friends with Karen and Ryan because they were close in age to us and lived very close by. All of our family is very sad to know they are no longer with us on this Earth. Death is a scary thing no matter what your beliefs in after life are (or not.)
On a fun and final note....I want my sunshine and warm Texas winters back!

free range

2011-01-04T22:13:00.000-06:00

So I got this little postcard in the mail the other day. It is from a local day care center called Kids R Kids. It is one that is sent out to every "postal customer" in the area. Everything looks nice about it, smiling kids, the normal fun looking pictures. I am not in the market for a day care. I just thought I would read it out of curiosity. Well, I'm glad I did because I learned as a parents that I should be sending my child there because they have "cedar park's largest artificial surface playground" My first thought was why is that ok? Isn't that usually reserved for football? I also learned that I should be unhappy with mud or grass stains on my child's clothing. Even worse I did not realize sand and mulch piles were such a plague that the problem should be eliminated! No parent loves stains on their kids clothes. Most parents understand that if you send a child to a place to play while they are not under your helicopter like supervision, there is a chance they might get stains on their clothes. The horror! I admit having to make sure I turn sara's socks right side out before I was them is a bit tedious. I do it though to get the mulch stickies off her socks. Do you know what the up side of that is? It iss that she has been playing hard at school! I don't want her to sit around and twiddle her thumbs in shere boredom while she is at school. I want her to play outside, dig in the dirt, swing on the swings, climb up the big chair, talk to the donkey, play the drums, use her imagination, find some bugs, roll around in the grass, and do all the wonderful carefree things kids can do w/o abandon. I think this flyer is a sign on the end times...

Katrina Angst and Blame

2011-01-04T09:25:00.000-06:00

My soapbox for today...just something that irks me to the bone is this: Katrina Blame...you hear it all the time from people who are afraid of someone different than them....Here is what it sounds like "oh my neighborhood (school, restaurant, etc.) was great until those black (or other derogatory adjective -- usually whispered) people from Katrina came."

Imagine for a second that through a natural disaster you

first had to evacuate your home and get to safety
then the place you thought was safe ended up not being safe
you were put on a bus with only your family and sent to somewhere not of your choosing.
sometimes your family did not get to stay together
everybody is scared and worried (who wouldn't be?)
after said natural disaster is over you don't get to go back to your house and still have everything
first of all, you know in your head everything is gone...but that's hard to register in your heart and emotionally until you see it for yourself...so lots of emotions
anyway, everything is gone. Even your precious city is in ruins.
Maybe this is your chance to start over. People are people. People are not inheritnley bad, dumb, etc. Their choices can make them act "bad." I mean seriously judgers.....5 1/2 years later you are still blaming a natural disaster for a problem in your own life. You know what, also, the problem isn't really a problem. The schools have not gotten worse/better. Poverty is an extremely hard obstacle to overcome. Money is not the issue. Their race is not the issue. Education is important. Love is important. I'm talking about the kind of steadfast love most parents try to give their children. Acceptance is important (that's one reason why gangs can work is b/c it is a brotherhood and a family that an individual may not find elsewhere.)

I'm not saying I'm perfect...hey right now I'm sticking labels on the people all around me in this neighborhood thinking country bumpkin or hardcore conservative, fundamentalist Christian. Scott, sara, and I have been labeled back in this neighborhood....oh the people at the rent house. They are going to drag our property values down and cause all sorts of rucus. I can cause plenty of rucus, but I don't know if Scott and sara have many rebellious bones in their bodies. I have to encourage both of them to rebel (in different ways of course.) For sara I just want her to be "wild" or "crazy." For Scott...I tell him to drive the wrong way in a parking lot sometimes, speed up at a yellow light, stop less than a half car distance away from someone at a stop light, go outside on a cold day without a jacket, etc. Back to my point...if you feel like the quality of education at your child's school has gone down in the past 5 years examine why. Is it affecting your child? How? Have they started listening to cajun music? Seriously! I just don't understand why we can't be happy for them. In many ways this was a chance to break free. It's not like anybody had money to just pack up their bags and move to a different city/area. Why do you think your neighborhood is so bad now? Why don't you move and stop blaming it on someone else. Oh and for God's sake please stop blaming the color of their skin on all your problems in your life.
Ok, stepping down off my soapbox for a few moments...

2010-12-27T23:17:00.000-06:00

as promised...here is the link to the dizzying pictures sara took while we were in Dallas for Christmas. http://picasaweb.google.com/jbseibel/45010101?authkey=Gv1sRgCKOV9_OurMqVjwE&feat=directlink

2010-12-27T22:48:00.000-06:00

Sara got a camera for Christmas from Ouisee and Papa Hank. The link to the dizzying album of pictures she took will be available soon. In the meantime here is one Scott took of the 2 of us earlier this evening.

life's little updates

2010-12-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

Well, this weekend kind of felt like a waste. We headed to Dallas after work on Friday in hopes that we would be closing on the house at 10:00 Monday morning. All was going well, I was even letting myself get a little excited and feel a smidgen of Christmas spirit. I should have known better...about Hillsboro our realtor called with the bad news that the title company is now saying they might not be able to close on Monday. Ugh...so we stick with our original weekend plans to head to the faithbuilder's xmas party saturday evening (which was a blast by the way.) We stay through today in some kind of hopes that it might all go through. Scott and I both agreed that we would rather take that risk and have hope to close in person then heading on back. Unfortunately, we did not get to close today. wahhhh. It is looking like it will be towards the end of the week somewhere here in Austin. I HATE this up in the air stuff at this point...I want to move on to our next house and really feel like we live here in Austin. sigh. deep breath.

On another note...house hunting is both great and difficult all at once. This finding the perfect neighborhood for long term is a bit daunting...it is down to two areas/neighborhoods...they are quite similar in many ways, but in others they are different. I think we would be happy in either, but I hope the one we choose feels like "the one!"

In other news...Sara is doing great therapy wise. She actually did not qualify at all for speech therapy assistance from the school district. That is fantastic considering how far she has come. There is a tiny part of me that thinks "Oh God! That leaves so much work for us to do at home." Fate comes around to bite you on the butt since wouldn't you know it...I'm a teacher by trade who loves to teach preschool. I miss teaching preschoolers, big time! Anyone want to hire me 2/3/4 days a week? As for the progress on getting sara a sibling....Scott is on board with adoption now. yea! I can't wait to get the process started. I'm ready for that next chapter in life. I do feel like my other calling in life is to be a mom so I want to keep that one going.

Christmas is slipping on me this year. I can't believe in a little over a week we go back to Dallas for a week to celebrate Christmas. Thank God for online shopping because I really did not want to responsibility of hiding all of santa's gifts from sara then not leave the car alone at any point on the way up there. Not a far drive, but I really do not have any kind of good luck. So this year Mrs. Claus will be setting up her wrapping operations at Mrs. Grandmother Claus' house. I'm really excited this year for sara to get a sense of the magic of santa/Christmas.

I DETEST the elf on a shelf concept. My thoughts on good/bad naughty/nice are many other blog posts all at once. Just remember I am for a non-punitive style of teaching children how to become wonderful members of society. More specifically, I follow the Positive Disicipline method (for the most part) of teaching children. So anyway, needless to say santa is not watching her, no threats are made about whether or not she will get presents (that is 100% a budget issue, not behavior!), elves do not sit on shelves in our house (only my random collection of moose), and expectations are the same as always.

Sara is loving her preschool, dance class, and gymnastics class (plus all the times she can get any other adult to play with her.)