Mama's Gettin' Real

Tell me about it Tuesday...

2014-02-25T12:34:00.000-06:00

I haven't done one of these in forever, so this is long overdue. Welcome back, Tell me about it Tuesday!

Let me tell you about...

How PREGNANT I am feeling these days. Yes, I realize I am almost 6 1/2 months along, so this shouldn't be a shocker. But up until about two weeks ago, I didn't "feel" pregnant. My belly was barely protruding. My who-ha didn't hurt. I could get in and out of my bed/car/chair easily. I felt normal ~~as normal as one can feel when there's a human growing inside of you~~. That all went to shit very quickly a couple of weeks ago. The pregnant "waddle" is in full effect. I can't breathe. My belly just feels heavy. Getting in/out up/down takes an act of Congress. And now that ol' girl is just poking on out there, everyone and they mama want to touch me (that's a whole other post). I'm really not down with that. I barely let Christopher and the boys touch my belly. My Pre-K students are drawn to it like a magnet and I swear I go home with tiny handprints on my bump every single day. I also get asked questions like, "Do you still have your baby? When is it getting out? How is it getting out? Can she come to school with us? Let's name her Cinderalla, and call her Cinderelli like the mice. Let's name her Princess. Does she hurt?" And so on...it's pretty cute most days, but I'm running out of (patient) answers.

How we started painting baby girl's room this past weekend and I was so nervous! The two colors I picked out I absolutely love, but sometimes what you "think" the colors will look like on the wall and what they actually look like, are two totally different things. Luckily for me, once we got started I fell in love. I wasn't a whole lot of help to Christopher, but I did what I could. He has had many sleepless nights working on her nursery and it just makes me fall in love with him more and more every day. I woke up to an empty bed Monday morning and when I went looking for him, found that he had fallen asleep in her room and slept on the floor all night! Such a good man. Everything is painted now, we are just waiting for her crib to get here sometime this week and my mom is about to start working on bedding and curtains. I can't wait until it is finally finished! C sent me a text earlier about how nice and calming her room is and that he goes in there and just feels better. That made my day! The boys have expressed similar thoughts. They go in there and just stand there or sit a minute and say, "It just feels...nice." I hope that is a good sign for what is to come and that baby girl feels the same way!

While I painted ~~and climbed a ladder a few times~~ I managed to stay 100% safe and have no accidents or aches/pains. However, Saturday evening, with the simple act of getting up off of the couch, I managed to injure my ankle. Seriously? The ladder was kind to me but walking is not? My left foot was completely numb (not in the way it usually is when it's asleep and tingles) and when I went to take a step, it literally folded under me and basically bent in half. Fun times. It hurt like a mother! Fortunately (or unfortunately I'm not sure) I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I've been following the usual "RICE" remedy and Sunday it was feeling better. I pretty much stayed on the couch watching Teen Mom 2 episodes ~~and feeling better about my life~~ and icing it off and on. Yesterday C wrapped my foot up like a burrito in an ace bandage and it didn't bother me all day....until I got home and unwrapped it so it could breathe. I cleaned in the kitchen and cooked dinner and by the time I sat down it was swollen like an extra large golf ball again. Luckily ~~I'm stubborn~~ I have a doctor's appointment Thursday to do my "sugar test" so I plan to have her check it out then.

So that's what I wanted to tell you about! There's probably a ton more I could add, but those are the highlights from the past few days. We do have a name picked out, but I don't want to share it until I get her room done and can show that off, along with her name! If I can wait that long anyway...
I appreciate any and all good vibes you want to send my way regarding my gimp ankle and the testing on Thursday!

Happy Day Y'all!

Because I said I would...

2014-01-07T11:57:00.001-06:00

I told y'all about the thing I saw where instead of making New Year's "resolutions", people were asked to write a statement that started with "This year I will..." and ended with "...because I said I would". I really love this because it seems more real and like something (I at least) feel I would hold myself accountable to. Here are my "...because I said I would"s for 2014.

This year I will...

Pay more attention to my children and love of my life, and less attention to my phone.
Never be too busy to look at what my children are asking me to look at (no matter how many times I've seen it or how unimportant it may seem). If it's important to them and they want to share it with me, it's important to me.
Never turn them away when they want to crawl in my lap, sit by me, or anything else that includes them WANTING to be with me. I know those times will come less and less the older they get, so I need to cherish them more now.
Care less about what people think of me. I make no apologies for who I once was, who I am now, and who I will be in the future. And I mean this in every aspect of my life and in every role I play.
Worry less and enjoy more.
Do my best to remember as much about this pregnancy as possible. This will be the last time I ever have a baby growing inside of me and I want to embrace it as much as I can. Every flutter, every kick, every hiccup, every part that I can.
Savor every moment I have with this baby once he/she is born. I have always felt like I was so stressed when the twins were born, going to school and working and having very little help from their dad, that I was just going through the motions. I remember so little about those first few months that I was home with them and I regret that very much.
Learn how to be a mom to THREE and not stress about it. I'm never going to be perfect at this parenting thing, but I can do the best I can for my babies.
Make healthy choices during this pregnancy and even more after baby is born. I want to feel good inside and out. And lezbehonest I want to look damn good in all of the unwanted pictures that will be taken of me with the baby.
Learn how to say no. To others and to myself. I mean, I am pretty convincing and sometimes that gets me in trouble.
Go to new places and try new things. Restaurants, foods, vacation spots, stores, hobbies, anything and everything. I love my little comfort zone, but it's time to step out of it. At least every once in a while.
Watch more F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (jk I'm not sure that's even possible, thanks to TBS and Nick@Nite)...

BECAUSE I FREAKIN' SAID I WOULD!

Ok I know that is a long list. Honestly several of those things go hand-in-hand with each other so once I get the ball rolling with one, everything else should fall into place. I said SHOULD. I could probably double this list, but I ain't got time for all that. No one likes an over-achiever anyway.

I hope that if you're reading this, you too have some "because I said I would"s that will make this year absolutely amazing. If you don't, get that shit started now! The deadline for changing your life isn't January 1st, in case the rest of the world didn't tell you.

Mama's Out.

Guess who's back...

2014-01-04T12:23:00.000-06:00

It's me! It's me! Ok not really, this is probably just a fluke...but it's a start. I finally had some free time where I could be alone with my thoughts and decided I better document them! Life has been crazy busy lately. In case you missed it, here is what happened the last half of my 2013...

Our annual "End of Summer Vacation" was cut short because of my pesky gallbladder. Spent the first night in Galveston at the ER and headed home the next morning. I was then rushed into emergency surgery to have my gallbladder removed. Fun times. Recovery was a biotch but I survived and was glad to know that the cause of all of my random stomach pains was finally taken care of.
Kason and Kutter started first grade and started losing their teeth! Exciting times all around, except for the Tooth Fairy, because that bitch is now broke.
Found out we are expecting a baby that will be joining us around the first week in June, or earlier. We are all dying to know if it's a girl or a boy, but we have to wait one more week!
My best friend asked me to marry him, and suurrrpprrriiiiiissse, I said YES!
We bought a house back in the Spring and have slowly been remodeling here and there, so that's an ongoing 2013/2014 project.

So yeah, that is just a tiny glimpse into what has been going on in my world since I went on a blogging hiatus way back when. I've missed it a little, but have enjoyed keeping up with you guys and staying in touch via Facebook and Instagram.

As is mandatory for New Year's everyone has been making and posting New Year's Resolutions and it has been quite fun to read what all of the plans are for 2014. Everyone's all like, "I'm going to run four 1/2 marathons and a full marathon" and I'm over here like, "I'm gonna try not to get out of breath walking from my car to my classroom everyday". I kid, but while crazy workout goals are not in my near future, I do enjoy seeing others work so hard to achieve theirs!

I saw a clip on our local news on January 1st about a sign that was posted for people to write on and instead of "resolutions", people wrote statements that started with "This year I will..." and ended with "...because I said I would." I love that. It's so easy to make resolutions and promise to stick to them, and then fall off the wagon a week later. Sometimes we set unrealistic goals for ourselves and expect immediate changes, setting ourselves up for failure. Which is part of why I love the whole, "because I said I would" thing. No one wants to break their word to themselves. No one wants to lose accountability with themselves. So, that's what I am working on. My, "because I said I would" list. I have a bad case of pregnancy brain these days, so I'm not going to publicize my list until I get my shit together. Plus it gives me another reason to get on this ol' blogger site and write again!

I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas with their loved ones and welcomed 2014 in with nothing less than a stellar buzz/hangover. Mine was fabulous and the only buzz I had was from my Aggies winning the Chik-Fil-A Bowl against Duke, and some sparkling grape juice.

Until next time...

Loves!

Oh Snap!

2013-05-14T09:59:00.001-05:00

Damn it's been a while, I'm not really sure if I remember how to do this! Just kidding, kinda. You may or may not have noticed, but I've been a little MIA lately. I could blame it on family drama, I could blame it on work stress, home stress, and a million other things, and they would all be accurate, but the honest truth is...I just haven't felt like blogging.

When I started this blog, it was simply supposed to be a place for me to keep track of the crafts I was doing and recipes I was trying (because at the time I was addicted to Pinterest), and occassionally for me to document funny K&K stories. I didn't have many followers, if any at all. I wasn't writing for anyone else, I was writing for me. Eventually when my weight loss journey began, my blog became the place where I could talk about my struggles and successes with that. It was a great outlet, and somewhere along the way I started gaining more followers, and making new friends. With following so many new people, and having new people following me, came blogging trends, link-ups, and things I felt I "had" to be a part of.

I was trying to come up with blogging material that wasn't natural for me. I wasn't talking about what I wanted to talk about, I was blogging about what everyone else was blogging about. It was the blogging version of 'keeing up with the Jones'. And let me say, I don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with the link ups, I just couldn't keep up and it wasn't working for me trying to take part in what everyone else was doing. I was caring too much about how many people were following me, how many comments I got on each post, and petty things like that. Things I never cared about when I first started blogging. So I decided to take a step back. And it was a great decision.

I've still been stalking my favorite blogs, but I've been doing it silently. I don't know when I will feel like blogging more often again. Maybe this summer when I'm off and have more time...maybe not. For now, I'm happy staying back in the shadows. I adore yall and the support and friendship you have extended to me, and hopefully I'll be back soon! Until then...

Debbie Downer

2013-04-26T09:20:00.000-05:00

I have good news to start this post off with, but the rest is going to be all Debbie Downer. Sorry.

Good news first...I have lost a total of 22 pounds! I had been hovering at the same number, that for some reason I didn't mind posting on IG but can't bring myself to post here, for what seems like months now. I felt like I was stuck in a revolving door. Playing the ol' "one step forward, two steps back", but instead it was "one pound lost, two pounds gained". It was frustrating and depressing and I finally just said to hell with the scale. Well for about a week. And then I couldn't take it anymore. And honestly, I expected to see a gain. I've been working out, but not as hardcore as I had been, and my eating while it hasn't been awful, hasn't been great either. So needless to say I was shocked and excited when I was down 4 pounds and finally in a new set of numbers. Definitely a much needed boost.

Now, onto the blah stuff. If you follow me on FB or IG, you already know that one of my cousins committed suicide yesterday. He was younger than me, and not someone that I saw often, but it doesn't make the blow any less painful. He was still a part of my life. A part of my family. And something was so terribly wrong that he felt his only option was to end his life.

I have never been able to understand the hows and whys of suicide. I just don't get it. I can't imagine getting to a point where I felt so helpless, so desperate, so alone, that I could actually kill myself. I know he did not have the best childhood. His father went to prison when he was a little boy. His mom, my aunt, did not take care of herself and basically ate herself into who knows how many illnesses, eventually sucumbing to them all. Leaving poor Jeffery an orphan. People in my family stepped up and took him in, and he eventually settled in with an older cousin of ours who raised him and got him graduated from HS. I don't know a lot of details about his life after graduation. I know he was in and out of college, in and out of jobs, in and out of jail, but that's about it. He was a sweet kid and I always hated hearing about his struggles.

However, I never imagined that his struggles would lead him to eventually walk outside of his home, and hang himself from a tree. Who does that? How can you do that? I get sick to my stomach thinking about what could have possibly been going through his mind as he took the steps he did to end his life. I don't know how long he was there. I don't know who found him. I don't know if he was on drugs or if he left a note. I don't know why he did it.

I do know that I am sad, and I am angry. I'm sad because he was my family, our family has been facing many trials and tribulations lately, and this just completely rocked us again. I'm sad that my 87 year old Meemaw has to attend a service for yet another member of her family that she has now outlived. I'm angry because it was selfish. I'm angry because last week innocent people, people who wanted to live, lost their lives in a bombing and in an explosion. Angry because there are people dying with cancer and other terrible diseases, that want to live, that are fighting to live. People who would love to have the air in his lungs and his beating heart. And he just ended it like it was nothing. It's not my place to judge him. It's not my job to figure all of this out. But I damn sure wish I could.

I love my family dearly, but sometimes they exhaust me. Before this even happened with him, the shit had hit the fan and I honestly was thinking that some of my aunts/uncles have just gone batshit crazy. And now this has happened and I have a feeling things are only going to get worse. I'm hoping and praying they don't, but that doesn't seem likely. Anyway, I just needed to vent today. I always have to be the strong one. I am always everyone else's rock. And right now I just don't want to be. So today, I'm going to be sad. And weak. And mopey. And tomorrow I'll try to pull it together and get my armor back on so I can do what needs to be done for my family.

Well, it's not really. But it will be.

Transformation Tuesday

2013-04-16T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we had a random "teacher inservice day". I dread these days. I would rather have a classroom full of monkeys than sit in meetings all day. However, I have no choice in the matter, so I did what I had to do. The plus side to inservice days is that we get to leave for a long lunch and usually get to leave an hour early in the afternoon, holla! Since I live four streets over from the school where I work, and Christopher works at the bank that is located on the street we live on, we met up for lunch. I hadn't had breakfast and I was starving. Ok starving is a bit dramatic, but my stomach was doing some serious grumbling.

We went to a place called, "Mama's Kitchen" which serves up exactly what you would think. Home cooked meals your mama would make. At least the kind of meals we make here in Texas. I made bad choices yall. Chicken fried steak, potatoes, green beans. It was so good, but also so bad. After I ate myself miserable and got back to work, I got sleepy. I was in a food coma and started thinking about how badly I didn't want to go home and work out. I tried to think of excuses, none came to mind that were legit. And then I decided to give myself a reality check. I went to our school's website to look at the faculty pictures that we took back in August right before school started. I remembered that I hated my picture, but didn't remember how bad it was. Until I saw it again. And I cried. You know it's bad when you see a picture of youself and you cry. I didn't even recognize the girl in the picture. The one with the bloated face, no neck, double chin, and fake smile.

Who was that girl? How did she get to that point? Excuses and bad, unhealthy decisions, that's how. And then I looked at a picture I had taken earlier in the morning (becase you know, IG needed to see my mug early on a Monday morning). And again, I was crying. But instead of sad, shameful tears, they were happy tears. Tears that represented the hard work I have put in to make the changes that I was seeing in front of me. The scale has not been kind to me lately. I feel like I have been gaining and losing the same 3 pounds for months. I have felt defeated so many times because of a stupid number. In reality though, I should be focusing on the changes that I feel, and now that I see. I hear people talking about "breaking up" with their scale, and I guess that's what I'm going to have to do. It's not helping me in any way, and instead of feeling triumphant because of the progress I have made, I feel overwhelmed at how much farther I have to go because of the number goal I had set for myself.

I will get there, eventually. There is no quick fix to the damage I did to myself. My lifestyle and habits are changing, and will continue to change as I truck through this journey. I'm so very thankful to all of my friends and family who encourage me and support me day in, and day out. Yesterday when I did the side by side picture comparison, I sent it to Christopher. I imagined that he saw the same fat girl I saw during that time. His reply was, "I like them both." It never dawned on me that he's going to love me no matter how fat or skinny I get. Does he like the changes he sees in me? Yes, I think so. He tells me often when he notices things that are changing on my body. Would he still love me if I was that fat girl in the picture? Yes, he would. And I know this, because he did. The past year and a half as I packed on the pounds and was lazy and miserable, he never stopped loving me. When I cried all summer and complained about being fat and unhappy and dreading putting on a swimsuit, he never stopped loving me. That makes me love him even more that he accepts me for me, no matter my size. But that doesn't mean I'm ok with being fat and complacent. He deserves someone who is happy and healthy. And I am doing my best to be both of those things these days.

P.S. I would pay a large sum to the person in charge of our school's website to take that mothereffing picture off of there. I should send her an e-mail right now...

Happy Tuesday!

Here chicky chicky...

2013-04-12T12:39:00.002-05:00

Welp, it's that time of day again. The time when I get to put the litte ~~monsters~~ babes down for nap and have some "quiet time". Well, it should be quiet time. But it's not really. I've got kids snoring. Talking in their sleep. Oh and baby chicks chirping (or as one of my kids said, "barking like a chicken" hmm...) so loudly my ears are ringing. Seriously, this shit was cute the first two days, now I'm over it. Whose idea was it to do this anyway? Oh wait, it was mine. I digress.

Our behbehs.

"No pictures please."

This morning I said (without meaning to), "Those chicks need to pipe down!" Now, that may sound bad, but at least I didn't say "Pipe the fuck down" like I was thinking. I know for sure at least one of the kids heard me say it because during centers, when the chicks were challenging the kids to see who could be the loudest, he went over to them and said, "Pipe it down birdie!" Hopefully they won't go home and repeat that to their parents. But hey, like the saying goes, "Don't believe everything your child tells you happens at school, and I won't believe everything he says happens at home." Win win situation if you ask me.

This made my day! I know at least one of them is listening.

Moving along...today I mailed out three sets of goodies to some unsuspecting ladies. If you haven't jumped on the mail wagon with me, you absolutely should. I love getting REAL mail, not bills, or flyers to attend a church revival, or an appointment reminder from the dentist. I enjoy doing "Random Acts Of Kindness". It's good for the soul :) So, e-mail me at thataggiegirl09(at)yahoo(dot)com with your name, mailing address, and birthday if you want to join in on the fun. You never know when someone might just make your day!

Have a fabulous Friday friends!

So What Wednesday

2013-04-10T10:10:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday and you know what that means...

So What...

*If I'm about to make an awesome construction paper chain to countdown to the last day of school. It's 36 days b-t-dub.

*If Sunday I almost lost my shit in a convenience store parking lot because my ex "lost track of time" (aka slept in even though he knew what time we were meeting, hello alarm?), making the boys late for baseball practice. Oh and I had to feed them because at 11:45 they had had NOTHING to eat. And Father Of The Year goes to...

*If I am super sad that one of my most challenging students, who turned into the cutest and sweetest, up and moved, and I didn't get to say good-bye. He had made so much progress academically, had matured tremendously, and had stolen my heart with each, "Me love you Ms. Robot!"

*If the new student I got that started the first week off by screaming, at the top of her lungs, "Haaaaaayyyyyyy hayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!" for hours on end, has now gotten comfortable with me and found her "happy place" is in my lap, or my teacher chair, or wrapped around my legs.

*If there are two dozen baby chicks currently on their way to hatching in my classroom as I type this. That's totally normal, right?

*If one of my students told me his daddy went to jail because he was smoking "that stuff that smells bad". Clearly he's not the recipient of the Father Of The Year award either.

*If here in the great state of Texas we have started the day at 75 degrees, and by the time I leave work it will be below 50. I have on flip flops, with a hoodie in mah bag. That's how we roll.

*If I am obsessed with the show New Girl, and was super disappointed with last night's episode. They're better than that!

*If my new bra is stabbing me in the side and armpits and everytime I move I fear the wire is going to slice through me. Clearly a man designed bras with wires. Bastards.

*If I'm out of so what's...

Happy Hump Day Yall!

It's Monday Again, And A Guest Post

2013-04-08T08:36:00.003-05:00

Hey you guuuyyyyyss! It's been a while since I posted here in blog land. Life has been, well life lately, and I just haven't had the time. Between work, K&K's baseball practices and games, working out, and trying not to go crazy because of Texas' bipolar weather, there hasn't been much time to sit down and write! Today's not really any different, I'm just here to say hi! And to let you know that I did a guest post for Kate over at Not Your Typical Jersey Girl! It's just my cleanse update (because that's what was going on at the time she asked me to post) so if you haven't read it yet, go check it out! And check her out, she's a doll! Hopefully later today, or at least one day this week, I will have some free time where I can post somthing with a little more substance. Until then, I leave you with a pic of the cutest 6 year olds around. Oh and their mama too.

Happy Monday!

The Click

2013-03-28T08:28:00.001-05:00

Alright yall. I did it. I completed the 10 day cleanse. And no boyfriend or child was harmed. I'm going to tell you now that this is going to be the most bipolar post ever. I'm having mixed feelings about my results, as you are about to read. Don't say you weren't warned.

As of this morning, I am down 5 pounds. Now, I know that 5 pounds in 10 days is nothing to complain about. I am excited to have those 5 pesky pounds gone. And 5 pounds in 10 days is more than I have lost in a long, long time. However, as a human being, and more specifically a woman, who compares myself to others (even though I know I shouldn't), I had gotten my hopes up that I would lose 7+ pounds, because that's what everyone else was losing. Spare me the lecture, I know everyone's body is different and blah blah blah. But it sucked not to see more. End of whining.

While the number on the scale was not what I wanted to see, I am not disappointed due to lack of commitment to the cleanse. For once in my life, I actually followed the rules. Ok, that's not totally true. Saturday after the baseball game the boys had McDonald's and I ate a french fry. Yeah, AH fry. As in one. Uno. I consider the fact that I didn't scarf down both of their fries, Kutter's cheeseburger and Kason's nuggets, and their Dr. Peppers, a huge effing win. Usually when I get a whiff of McD's fries, I lose all my senses and indulge myself until I'm in a greasy salty coma. So, besides that one fry, I was good. And not only was my eating perfect, I was in the gym 8 out of the 10 days. For at least an hour each day, sometimes more. I've been doing the arm workout that Mama Laughlin posted, and I had started C25K a few weeks ago. There were a few days that I actually did the C25K TWICE. TWICE people.

For real, I went up 3-5 pounds in each exercise of my arm circuit this week.

The first day that I finished my arm circuit, squats, and C25K, was drenched in sweat, and thought, "Hey, I'm not THAT tired, why not do this AGAIN?" was the moment that I felt/heard the "click". The click I've been waiting on for the majority of my adult life. The day I was sitting at work and instead of giving myself an anxiety attack thinking about everything I needed to do when I got off AND work out, and I made my plans to revolve AROUND working out, I heard that click again. Yesterday, when I turned down an invite to go have drinks and food at my favorite Mexican restaurant with my co-workers, so that I could work out and finish strong on the cleanse, that click damn near deafened me. I've been at this weight loss thing for a while now, and while I've been thinking all along that it was important to me, I realize now that I wasn't making it a priority. I used to hate those signs that said "If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse." I hated them because I knew they were true, and I knew that I was still in "excuse" mode. I was able to juggle my job, my kids, and all of my other responsiblities, as well as working out, throughout the entire cleanse. There's no reason for me to stop now.

Some other non-scale victories are that...My clothes are fitting better. My tummy is getting flatter (if you consider rolls being less bulgy flatter). My arms are getting those fun little indentions we all love to see when we flex. My legs are getting stronger and have less jiggle and more muscle. I've learned the difference between eating when I'm hungry, and eating when I'm bored. I've learned how to eat until I'm satisfied, and not until I'm so full that I'm miserable. It doesn't matter what our parents used to say about starving children in Africa. It IS ok to have food still left on your plate at the end of your meal. Does this mean that I'm never going to snack again? Nope. Does this mean I won't partake in a delicious meal and some delicious beverages when we go to Gruene this weekend? Absolutely not. But I'll be more aware of what I put in my mouth and how much ~~twss~~.

So, did I get everything I hoped for out of the cleanse? No. I got more. Even though I'm not thrilled with the amount that I lost, I am thrilled at the insight I gained and at the strength I found in myself. I plan on following as many of the cleanse "guidelines" as I can on a regular basis. And in a few months, I may do the cleanse again. So there you have it folks! P.S. As I type this, I'm wearing a medium t-shirt and a new pair of 9/10 capris and I feel amazing in them :) Holla!

So What Wednesday...

2013-03-27T10:13:00.001-05:00

So what...

*If today is the last day of my 10 Day Advocare Cleanse, and I feel like at 12:01 a.m. I'm going to go devour everything in my refrigerator. Just because I can. I kid, I kid. ~~Sorta.~~

*If this is a 4 1/2 day week for me and I'm still bitching because it's only Wednesday. I'm ready for May people. Let's get this summer started.

*If last night I wanted to sucker punch some little kids while I was in the dugout at K&K's baseball game. I work with kids all day long, I don't have time to go be "Team Mom" to a bunch of boys who have zero home training. Talk back to me again child and you will feel my wrath!

*If the black and white chevron dress I ordered to (hopefully) wear this weekend came in, and it's not the material I thought it was, and is pretty much see-through on the white parts. Awesome. I'm sure Aaron Watson won't mind, right?

*If I'm not doing anything special for my kids for Easter because a) they will be with their dad this weekend and b) Mama's going out of town for the weekend and I'll be lucky to get us all packed and out the door Friday, much less have Easter crap ready.

*If I still haven't written that guest post that I'm supposed to send out by tomorrow...

*If I have a scab on my forehead because apparently I got a lil crazy with my flat iron and burned myself...and didn't even realize it.

*If I'm rocking 3 day dirty ponytail hair. I see no point in fixing it in the a.m. when I'm going to eff it up in the afternoons during my workout. That's what I'm telling myself anyway. ~~See: Lazy.~~

*If:

Happy Hump Day!

Finish The Sentence Linkup

2013-03-26T08:19:00.000-05:00

Today I'm linking up with Holly and Jake to "Finish The Sentence..."

Sorry for no button...I'm a tard.

Finish The Sentence...

1. If calories didn't count, I would eat...Crispitos from the convenience store, McDonald's french fries, and buckets of melted chocolate and peanut butter slathered onto random things...

2. On my Prom night....I drank too much on the way back to our tiny town from Pappadeaux in Houston and had to have the person driving pull over, at least twice that I remember, and pee on the side of the road...with my prom dress on. Keep it classy Kadi.

3. When I go to the store, I always buy...Shit I don't need. Especially when I'm at Target. F*ck you dollar bin that isn't just $1 anymore!

4. Family functions typically...End with me drinking. I love my family, but damn.

5. I think my blog readers...Are my friends. I talk to them just as much as my "real life" friends, if not more, and they are just as important to me.

6. I'd much rather be.....At home in bed. Or working out. Nope, home in bed.

7. I have an obsession with....Instagram. I check it like my life depends on it. I need help.

8. My work friends....Are pretty great. Two of my best friends are people I met through work. One no longer works here, but she still counts!

9. When I created my Facebook account....It was back in the day when you had to be a student at a University to have facebook! Now they let errrbody and they grandpappy get on there.

10. My least favorite word is...Cunt. And twat. They just disturb me. And after an episode of How I Met Your Mother, I also dislike the word moist. Thanks a lot Lily!!

11. I really don't remember....much. I have the weirdest memory (or "remembery" as my boys used to call it). I remember names and faces and random events from years ago. But I don't remember why I walked into my bedroom from the living room. Or what I was supposed to add to my grocery list. Or where I put that paper I need right now.

12. Justin Bieber....Makes me want to headbutt a bowl full of tacks. And rip my ears off. And gouge my eyeballs out. And be kicked in the face with a golf shoe. Too much? NO, because he needs to be spanked (and no Mel, not by you, because you would both enjoy that bahaha) and locked in his room until he can fit into his pants correctly and weighs more than 90 pounds. And is made to realize he is white. And ghetto does not work on him.

That's all folks! Tomorrow is my last day of the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse so stay tuned later in the week to hear about my results! Happy Tuesday!

Oh baby baby

2013-03-19T11:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my first day back at work from Spring Break. I was dreading it, but shouldn’t have been because it was the beginning of my student teacher’s second round of “full responsibility”. She came in and we had our usual morning chat. We talked about what we did over the break, discussed plans for the week, and right before we left to go get the kids for the day…she told me she found out over the break that she was four months pregnant. Actually what she said was, “Please don’t hate me…I’m four months pregnant.” My eyes almost bugged out of my head. Not because she is pregnant, but because she’s FOUR months and didn’t know, and all in one day she found out she was preggo…and that she’s having a boy! And then there was the whole “Please don’t hate me” part. I couldn’t believe she was afraid to tell me, as if I have any room to judge. I let her know immediately that I was so proud of her accomplishments thus far and while I know she’s still trying to wrap her head around the whole pregnancy thing, I know she is going to be an amazing mom. I spent the rest of the day doing my best to make her laugh and calm her nerves and hopefully put her at ease, at least for a little while.

Last night as I was laying in bed, I started thinking about all of the things I wish I could tell her. Not necessarily “advice”, but things I wish I had known when I was young and pregnant and scared to death. I had tears streaming down my face as I recalled everything I had gone through. Hearing her worries and feeling how unsure she is about her future took me right back to sitting on the edge of my pretty bed in my ugly trailer house, with a pregnancy test in hand. Two little pink lines sealing my fate, forever changing the rest of my life. The weight of the world suddenly on my shoulders.

As those memories flooded me, I thought about all of the things I wish I could go back and tell 21 year old me. Maybe I’ll share this with B, maybe I won’t. But here’s what I at least wish I had known six years ago.

Dear 21 year old self,

· Yes, this is the second pregnancy test you have taken that is positive. Yes, the first one that was negative was probably a fluke. Stop buying pregnancy tests and just call the damn doctor.

· Don’t worry so much about what “he” will say or think, you are strong and independent and whether he stays or goes, you can handle anything.

· Your mom is going to lose her shit. She’s going to try and make you get married immediately. She’s going to make your life hell for a while. Be strong. Do what YOU think is right for you and your baby. She will eventually come around, and she will be your saving grace once he/she arrives. You will need her more than ever before, so don’t stay mad at her too long.

· Don’t hyperventilate and cry all the way to tell your dad the news. You will get worked up over nothing. He will hug you and hold you and tell you everything is going to be ok, and he will be right. The two of you will become closer than ever before, and he will be the best Papa to your child.

· Don’t have a heart attack on the doctor’s table while she has a dildo like instrument shoved up your vajayjay and jumps around telling you that you are not only having one baby, but TWO. Just breathe.

· Ignore the comments and unwanted advice from people about how you should take care of your babies once they are born. As well as their thoughts on you being pregnant and not married. Don’t allow them to force their beliefs and opinions on you.

· Enjoy every little flutter you feel. Don’t let every kick be a reminder that you are scared. Don’t let every flip make you panic and worry about how you will afford your bills, two babies, and finishing school. Don’t let every hiccup make you doubt who you are and whether or not you will be a good mom. Cherish every movement and every moment that they are inside of you, safe and sound.

· When they get here, your world will never be the same. You will fall in love with them the second you see each of their perfect little faces. You will immediately forget what your life was like without them. And you will never want to know what it will be like without them again.

· Hold them. Hug them. Kiss them.

· Don’t get stressed out when “he” doesn’t help, you don’t need him.

· You will be a single mom long before any papers are filed.

· You will work your ass off to finish school and raise your babies, it will be worth it, they will be worth it.

· You will graduate from college and get a great job. Your family will be proud of you and you will be proud of yourself.

· You will find strength that you never knew you had, and you will use it to walk away from something you worked extremely hard to build and make work, but couldn’t. It will be hard. It will be sad. But it will be worth it in the end.

· Don’t forget who you are, outside of being a mom. They need you to be happy and healthy, so don’t neglect YOU in an effort to try and be perfect for them.

· Six years later, you will have two precious little boys who adore you. They will crawl in your lap to be held and hugged, even though their legs now hang to the ground. They will kiss you and say they love you. Every. Single Day. They will drive you crazy, but that’s what little boys do. You will be putty in their hands when they say things like, “Mom, I love you the most because I know what your heart sounds like.”

· When one of your favorite songs, “God Gave Me You”, that you used to think was about a romantic relationship comes on and one of them says, “This song is about US mom!” it will become your favorite song for a whole new reason.

· Let them get dirty, and get dirty with them. Let them sing loudly, and sing loudly along with them. Always say, “I love you”. Cherish them, because they cherish you.

· You’ve got this.

And I do.

The cleanse is almost upon me...

2013-03-14T12:01:00.001-05:00

This is gonna be short and sweet folks! Sunday Christopher and I are starting the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse and I need your help! I know many of you have done it before, so please help a sista out! I want to be fully prepared for this so I leave myself no room for slacking.

Here are the things I need from YOU:

1. What are some things you found *essential* in getting you through the cleanse? (Specific snacks or meal items.)

2. Do you have any awesome cleanse-friendly recipes that you ate and enjoyed?

3. Is there anything that you encountered during the cleanse that you weren't prepared for or that you wish you had known before hand?

4. Any other advice?

5. There is no number five, I just don't like to end on even numbers.

You can answer on here, or e-mail me at: thataggiegirl09(at)yahoo(dot)com!

Thanks in advance lovelies!

Bazinga!

2013-03-12T14:52:00.001-05:00

Oh hey there. I have a blog. That I've kinda sorta been neglecting. Oops. I'm sure you've all been getting along in your daily lives just fine without my pointless ramblings. But, I'm back ~~for now.~~

Here's a tiny recap of birthday stuff from last week...

This week is Spring Break and I must say...SB ain't what it used to be folks! Not that I ever did anything super exciting when I was younger, but, having kids definitely changes how SB goes down each year. Yesterday was super wild. I got up at 8:15 (yeah, that's right I slept in) and then headed across the yard to the gym. I am absolutely loving my Garmin Forerunner! While I haven't taken it out on a jiggle jog to test out the GPS abilities, I love the heart rate monitor and seeing how many calories I've burned each time. Definitely a big motivater! After I washed all the sweat away I took K&K, Tiegan, and my sister's two boys Colby and Caleb to the Skating Rink.

Yall, I laughed so hard the first ten minutes we were there I think it should have counted as an extra workout. I wish I had been wearing my watch and HRM because I know I burned some calories. My abs hurt, my cheeks were sore, and I was crying. It was awesome. I did my best to help them, but there's only so much you can do to help a wobbly leg child on skates ~~besides laugh at them.~~ The best way to describe it would be...like watching a newborn baby calf trying to stand up for the first time. And then fall down. And repeat this multiple times. They finally got the hang of it and were doing awesome by the time we left. I was proud of them for not giving up! Especially with my laughing. I kept telling them I was laughing WITH them not AT them, but they wouldn't laugh and help me prove my point...

After skating we hit up Sonic. I watched them down slushies, tater tots, and cheese sticks as I slurped on my Diet Cherry Limeade. Luckily it doesn't take 5 kids long to devour food, so I didn't have to suffer too long. We went to the park for a while, and then headed back home. I am not the most patient person ~~shocker I know~~ and I was a little nervous how the day would go with all of them, but they were surprisingly very well behaved and I didn't have to smack anyone the entire time. I consider that a Mama/Aunt win.

Today started out about the same...except I decided to make the "egg muffins" I keep seeing plastered all over IG. I used eggs, spinach, and mushrooms. I have to say, I wasn't that impressed. I think it's something about the texture of the eggs but idk. Next time I will use a little more seasoning and try to find some low fat cheese to add. They weren't awful, but I was planning to use them as my "go to breakfast" next week when we do the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse. I have four days to make these things delicious! My workout was great and I know this because as I type this my arms are screaming at me.

I have no idea what craziness I will get into the remainder of today or the rest of the week, but I'm sure it will be mind blowing. I might clean the bathrooms later. Maybe some shopping tomorrow. And I'm hoping we will get to boil crawfish on Saturday so I can eat my weight in mudbugs before the cleanse begins! Hope everyone is having a fantastic week, whether you're celebrating Spring Break or not!

Top 10 Tuesday Times Two

2013-03-05T12:04:00.002-06:00

That's a lotta T's ~~and no a's~~. Today I’m linking up with Kimmyyy for “Top 10 Tuesday”. I’m actually going to DOUBLE this one since I missed last week’s too. Just call me an overachiever on a Tuesday.

We’ll start with this week’s Top 10 Movies. I’ll go ahead and say now that these are not in numerical order due to ranking of likability. I am the most indecisive person on the universe and attempting to actually rank these movies would end with a lot of anxiety. So, in no particular order, here are my Top 10 Favorite Movies:

1. Dirty Dancing…”Nobody puts baby in a corner!”

This picture makes me want to laugh...and cry.

2. Stepbrothers…”Stay golden, Ponyboy.”

3. Fried Green Tomatoes…”A heart can be broken, but it will keep beating just the same.”

4. Talladega Nights…”It’s in the Geneva Convention. Look it up.”

5. How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days…”Bullshit!"

Love. This. Scene. And him.

6. Sweet Home Alabama…”Look at you, you have a baby…in a bar!”

So I can kiss you anytime I 'wont'!

7. Wedding Crashers…”You shut your mouth when you’re talking to me!”

8. Bridesmaids…”Why can’t you be happy for me and then go home and talk about me behind my back like a normal person?”

9. A Time To Kill…”…Soaked in her own blood…Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl. Now imagine she’s white.”

That line gets me everytime. And I love him.

10. The Hangover…”Tigers love pepper. They hate cinnamon.”

Now onto last week’s Top 10 I missed…My Top 10 Favorite Instagrammers. Again, in no particular order, here are the folks who give me my daily dose of laughter and inspiration.

Love kimmyyy because of shit like this. And I won't ever be able to call her just "Kim". She'll always be kimmyyy with three y's. Deal with it.

Seanna because she's gorgeous, has lost almost 100 lbs, and says vagina. And that word makes me laugh.

Mel! She's a hottie and hilarious and has the cutest kids!

This one is the most adorable person ~~I don't really~~ know. And she's hilarious. Love her.

Love Jen! She is on an amazing weight loss journey, along with her hubby, and I love her sense of humor.

Oh Lindsey! She could read the phonebook and make it funny. And dirty.

HJ! The dude is friggin' insane. The only male blogger around ~~that I follow~~, and he fits right in with us womens. Oh and he's gonna hook my blog up so holllaaaa!

Laura is the sweetest and most stylist fashionista around! And while I have no fashion sense, I enjoy seeing/reading about hers!

Love me some Lora! Totally inspiring with her hardcore workouts and also a mom of twins. Who crack me up! They get it from they mama.

And there's another Lindsey! She's on a weight loss journey using Weight Watchers and I love all of her recipes and food ideas, as well as seeing her shrink :)

There are plenty of others that I adore and who give me daily laughing fits and motivation, but I had to narrow it down to ten. So there we have it for Top 10 Tuesday, twice!

Happy Worst Day Of The Week Friends!

Day Late and a Blog Post Short

2013-02-28T13:27:00.003-06:00

I'm always a day late and a blog post short when it comes to link-ups. I've been meaning to do my "Top 10 Instagrammers" and today's "Love Story" link-ups, but I just haven't had time. I'll get to them eventually. And you will pretend I did them on time because you love me and don't care if I'm late. You're just happy I blog at all. Right? Yup, thought so.

Anyway, today is my FRIDAY so holllllaaaa! Tomorrow's my "freebie" day off like I told yall about and while I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do, it's no doubt going to be epic. Just kidding. I know I'm going to see one of my greatest friends, Brandy (you know, the one who is my ex-husband's cousin? I won her and her sister in the divorce bahahaha). It's always a good time when her and her sister Natalie are involved, so I'm not worried! I'm sure I'll be blowing up IG with whatever shenanigans we find ourselves getting into.

Today I'm leaving work early because K&K have a dentist appt. Yeah you were about to be mad at me for leaving early and being off tomorrow...until you saw that d word. I think I hate taking them to the dentist more than they hate going. I just never know how it's going to go. Last time, was not great. You can read about it here. Hopefully today is better. They also have their first baseball practice tonight. Umm it's cold yall. Like currently 50 degrees with raging winds and by practice it's going to be in the 40's. I know those of you who have been sitting home because of snow storms want to bitchslap me right now. But, I'm in Texas, and we're used to heat and humidity and sunshine, and this cold WINDY crap is not ok. Where is that 80 degree weather we had in December? I want that back.

Sunday is my 5k, so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. No for real. This has not been a good "workout" week. I've only hit the gym twice. I won't make it today. Hoping I will make myself do work in the a.m. before I head out for the day. I just don't wanna die Sunday morning. It's only 3.2 miles you say. Well, I haven't done 3.2 straight miles since the last 5k I did, in November, so don't say that! Oh well. I knew what this was. I'll suck it up and do my thang and then go back to bed. Or go to McDonald's. Either way.

Happy FRIDAY hooches!

This gets me everytime.

Rock Me Mama Like A Wagon Wheel

2013-02-26T11:54:00.002-06:00

I haven't done a "Tell Me About It Tuesday" in a while, so here we go!

Let me tell you about...

*How I signed up for the Armadillo Dash back in December, and totally forgot that it was on March 3rd, and March 3rd happens to be this weekend, and I kinda sorta haven't been doing any real "training" in preparation...

*How not only is the 5K I am unprepared for this weekend...but it also starts at 7 a.m., and we live about 30-40 minutes away from where the race will be held. Who the hell has a race at 7 a.m.??

*I get a "free" day off because I have a student teacher, and I am going to use it this Friday! No idea what I'm going to do...but I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it!

*Next week (March 8th) is my 28th birthday, and will also be a 1/2 day at school and the beginning of Spring Break! Who doesn't have any plans but is excited anyway? This girl!

*The fact that I ordered the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse that Mel did, for myself and Christopher, and am now realizing that if we were to start it this week when it arrives, it will include the day of my birthday and the weekend when we are supposed to go here to our favorite place or try Veritas.

*How I'm torn over whether or not I want to start the cleanse this week, knowing I will end up cheating (I know my birthday isn't a valid excuse for cheating on the cleanse, but I'm just being honest because I know my girlfriends and I will be celebrating when we get off, and I know Christopher and I will be going to dinner...) or just wait until after Spring Break when I know I will work harder at sticking to the guidelines. I don't want to half ass it, or as our favorite mean bish Jillian says, 'phone it in'. Ahh decisions decisions...

*Kason and Kutter start baseball practice this week. They are no longer playing teeball (this would have been their third year because of when their birthday falls, and they got moved up to machine pitch even though they will be the youngest ones). I am excited and nervous about this. They are still babies in my eyes and I'm not ready for all this 'big kid' stuff!

*How Christopher was asked to be a Coach for their baseball team, and he said yes. Just when I think I can't love him anymore...he goes and does something like that.

*How yesterday when I got home from picking them up, I sat down for a few minutes before I started dinner (if you call tuna helper and green beans dinner) and Kason sat in my lap and as I was rocking him he started singing, "Rock me Mama like a wagon wheel...Rock me Mama any way you feel...Heyyyyyyyy...Mama rock me!" Now, if you are not a fan of country music, this will not be funny to you. It's an older song by Old Crow Medicine Show (that I love) and Darius Rucker has now covered it. It's a great song, but it's even greater that my child knows the words and decided to sing them as I was rocking him :) Now if I could just get him to stop singing, "I like big butts and I cannot lie"...

I'm going to need this for the summer...

Go rock your Tuesday :)

Womp Womp Wednesday

2013-02-20T12:51:00.000-06:00

I haven't done a post in a week. Or almost a week. Or something like that. I don't even know what day it is. My schedule is all out of whack since Monday was a holiday ~~for most people~~ but I had to work, minus the kids. Now all week I've been waking up thinking it's a different day, being confused and wishing I could just stay in bed instead of getting up to figure it all out. I'm like a child when it comes to my schedule/routine. Once you fuck with it, I'm done and I have to be reprogrammed.

I've also just been in a "blah" mood since the weekend. No particular rhyme or reason why. Just really not in the mood to deal with life. Or the idiots in my life. Or the drama queens. Or backstabbers. Or anyone else who crosses my path and decides to pull some crazy shit and think they will get away with it. Heyyyyy typing that all out kind of made me realize the "why's" behind my crappy mood! Thanks self.

Anywho, I'm not getting into any of those details because they aren't worth the effort my poor fingers would have to put forth. Let's just raise our glasses and toast to a better rest of the week, shall we? Just kidding, I'm not drinking. Yet.

I haven't posted about the weight loss journey in a while, so let me update you. Things are going along quite nicely. I haven't weighed myself in a couple of weeks because sometimes the scale just mortifies me and I already deal with enough bitches in my life, don't need to add another one. As far as I'm aware, I'm still down 16 pounds. That number bums me out because when I think about the big picture and the "goal" number I'm reaching for...it still seems so far away.

However, even though the number isn't reflecting my hard work, my clothes definitely are. Last week I decided to humor myself and go to Maurice's to try and find a new outfit. Out of habit, I grabbed things that were size XL and 13/14. I went to the dressing room, expecting to have a meltdown, but was pleasantly surprised when...everything was too BIG! Such a great feeling. For once I didn't mind having to get redressed to go out and get a different size. Because for once, that was a good thing.

I ended up with a new top in a MEDIUM and a new pair of capris in a 9/10. That also inspired to me to pull out some old clothes that I had boxed up in an angry fat girl fit and vowed to throw away because I thought I would never fit into them again. All of the pants I got out of there have fit so far and it's such an amazing feeling. T-shirts that I bought at the beginning of the school year in a large (that I had to stretch before I put them on in order to not feel so "stuffed" because I had refused to buy an XL), are now baggy on me. My fat girl pants are super loose. Hell even some of my shoes are getting big. I didn't even know your feet could get less fat. But apparently they can.

I'm not going to get ahead of myself and celebrate these little milestones too much because I do have a long way to go. But, I feel better, I look better, and knowing that it's only going to get better is huge motivation. I got my Garmin Forerunner 110 in the mail yesterday and if I can ever get it charged and all set up, I plan on going for a run ~~or my version of a jiggly jog~~ and trying it out! If the stats aren't too terribly bad I'm sure I'll even post a pic of the watch screen onto IG like all the cool runner kids! Thanks to everyone who constantly sends motivation my way. You have no idea how much your sweet comments mean to me and push me to keep on keepin' on.

Shit just got real.

My first "ootd" attempt. Don't mind my child size hands.

FYI taking ootd pics is hard to do. I couldn't get a decent pic in my mirror in the bedroom, so I'm standing on the ledge of the bathtub in the pic on the left, praying I wouldn't fall and bust my ass or break something and get blood on my pretty new clothes.

Don't judge my poof.

I even wore cute shoes for Valentine's Day!

These babies haven't fit in two years. And yes Dad, I bought them like that. I know, for shame.

Found this cute necklace at Maurice's too!

Happy Hump Day!

That One Time I Licked...

2013-02-14T09:51:00.000-06:00

So remember yesterday I told you about this recipe I was going to try? Welp, I tried it alright. I haven't decided if it was the process or the outcome that was the fail...I'll let you know though once my co-workers and K&K's classmates taste it. Since you can get the "real" directions through that link, I'm not going to bother with those details. Instead, I'm going to give you the directions using pictures. A picture's worth a thousand words ~~evidence of insanity~~ right? So without further ado, I give you,

"Cookies -N- Cream Puppy Chow"!

This is what real people's "prep" counters look like. Eff you Martha.

I don't think it's supposed to look like that...

Added some milk...that's better.

Yup, definitely better.

Mmm it's soooo hot...

I tried transferring it into the powdered sugar bag

with a spoon. Fail. My hand worked better ~~that's what she said~~.

What, that? That's always there.

Nom nom nom.

What can I say? I love sugar.

I think I used too much. Wait, that's not possible.

The brown chocolate did much better.

I need extra hands.

Hey there good lookin'...

How YOOUU doin'?

C'mere and let me taste you.

She's a biter!

I'm still cleaning my hands from this shit.

That just looks nassy (but it wasn't, trust me, I tested it several times).

What? That's not how you clean your dishes when you're cooking? Bite me.

Crushing oreos in a bag is fun. They should use it in anger management.

Ivory and Ebony.

Yes, after all of those mufucking pictures I took, I didn't get an actual picture of the "finished product" when I mixed ebony and ivory together. Maybe I'm not a real blogger after all. This is what's on the table in the teacher's lounge. Or what's left of it. (P.S. No puppies were harmed in the making of this snack. Kason was worried.)

Anyway, I'm sure if I had done "exactly" what the directions said and actually followed the measurements for the ingredients, it would have turned out even better. But, considering how not fun that would have been, I'm ok with what I came out with! Sorry if you were expecting to see those model like food pics that most food bloggers have. I'm beginning to think that shit is fake or those women are superhumans because my food is never pretty and my kitchen never looks clean before, during, or after the process! I keeps it real folks.

And that my friends, is why I avoid the kitchen like the plague. And why I am thankful that Christopher and the boys were outside playing baseball while I acted redonkulous in the kitchen and snapped pictures of myself in the process. I had outfit pics and v-day gift pics to post today too...but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day Lovelies!

Valentines Schmalentines

2013-02-13T09:44:00.002-06:00

Hey gals. I'm not sure if you know this, but tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Shocking, I know ~~if you live under a rock and/or are color blind~~. I love and hate this holiday for many reasons. Since I don't want my PMS to dominate this post, I'm not going to talk about those reasons. Instead, I'm going to show you the overachiever valentines we did for K&K's class party tomorrow.

I originally saw a similar idea here, but remembered that I'm cheap and wasn't going to fork out the $ for all 21 kids to have their own bubble wand. Luckily my home away from home, the Dollar Tree, was speaking my language and had bubbles packaged 3 for a $1. That I could work with. I made and printed 'tags' and Monday night had the boys sit down and (very reluctantly) sign their name 21 times. As a teacher, I loved it and used it to my full advantage to harp on them about handwriting. I know, I'm mean. After the tags were signed I punched holes in them, put some ribbon through, and tied them to the bubbles. And voila!

I'll put the link for the v-day tag template up when I get home.

For my students in my class, even though I'm not technically their teacher this week, we made these for their parents. When I was a student teacher my mentor teacher did this and it's something I've done for years. Well when I remember to.

We will also be taking a class "mustache" picture for our "We mustache you a question...will you be our Valentine?" cards that I will have printed up tonight! Last year I had the boys do these:

I also did individual ones for each kid in my class last year. I have a much bigger class this year, am super busy not teaching, and basically ain't nobody got time for that. So one group shot is what we're doing. One and done, that's what I always say. I said that once. (If you know what movie that's from, you're my new bff.) I won't post a pic because even though I have "permission" to use their pics on the interwebs, I think that was meant for educational purposes and not blogging purposes. Womp womp.

I am going to "attempt" this pin tonight to take for my co-workers tomorrow as well as the boy's class party. If it works out, I'll post pics and details and let you know! If it's a big fat fail, like many of my cooking adventures, I'll probably let you know about that too. I'm a good blogger like that.

Do yall have any big plans for V-Day? Love/Hate this holiday? Do you have any cute ideas for kids/adult Valentines? Holla atcha girl!

Just Another Manic Monday

2013-02-11T10:39:00.001-06:00

"Oh whoa...I wish it was Sunday...Oh whoa...'Cause that's my fun day...Oh whoa...My I don't have to run day..."

Is anyone else ever afraid to type out the lyrics to a song because you have a feeling what you "think" the words are...may not quite be on point? I do that all the time. I just recently figured out my man Adam wasn't saying something about, "Kiss me on the junk and I'll show you," in the song Moves Like Jagger. He's actually saying, "Kiss me 'til you're drunk and I'll show you". I like my version way better. Just sayin'...Speaking of Adam...did you SEE him last night on the Grammy's? Let me go ahead and wipe the drool off my keyboard. I love the song he did, and I love the Alicia Keys song (it's one of my faves on my workout playlist), but the two of them TOGETHER? Hotness. I hope that version is available to download because it was amazing.

Moving on, yeah today's Monday. I usually hate Mondays, but today, I don't. You may be wondering why I am not ready to punch someone in the face already, so let me tell you. Today is the first day of my student teacher's "Full Responsibility". In case you can't read between the quotations, that means she is now in charge and doing EVERYTHING. It's time for the little birdie to spread her wings and use all of the wonderful knowledge I have given her. What does that mean for me? Well it means for the next two weeks...I'm a free woman! Well not really. I still have to come to work everyday. I still have to do my "official" duties, but homegirl gets to deal with the kiddies and lesson plans and all of the other day to day stuff us teachers be doin'.

I have a list of things I'd "like" to get done over the next two weeks...we'll see how that goes. Right now I'm hiding out in a cubicle in the library. I'm not ready to deal with adults, which is what would happen if I were to be in the teacher's lounge. I'd rather go back to my class and deal with the kids.

I have to admit, it was hard for me to let go of "control" of my classroom. I had an entire semester with this group of kids by myself (not to mention the other four years I have been by myself in the classroom). We had our routines down and had a good flow going. To have someone new come in and totally disrupt that and possibly not do things EXACTLY like me...well that was terrifying (because I'm the perfect teacher and do everything right, don't ya know? ~~i kid i kid)~~. I have had to continuously remind myself that I too was once a student teacher, imposing on someone else's routines and daily life and being afraid of messing things up. I think I've done my best at not being too overprotective and allowing her to fit in, bring new ideas, and also adapt to my way of teaching and running my classroom, all while letting her find her own stride.

I'm not planning to vacate the room every day that she has full responsibility. But for these first few days I don't want to be in there, making her feel like I'm watching her every move or judging her. I also know that the kids act differently when I am in there, and I don't want to interrupt her or step on her toes if I have an urge to correct a child or address a behavior. Hopefully everything ~~and everyone~~ is in tact when I go back in later. Cross your fingers!

That's just basic math right there.

In other urgent news...we went and saw "Identity Thief" this weekend and it was everything I hoped it would be, and more. I always hate when the funniest parts of the movies are what they show in the previews, and then you go see it and everything else is lame. I love Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman and I loved the movie. Super funny, but also had a good storyline. And there was a meaningful ending, which is always a plus. Somtimes comedies just end and leave you wondering wtf the point was. Not this one. It gets all fingers and toes up from me. Go see it!

Happy Manic Monday!

We Gone Get Errrrbody Pregnant

2013-02-05T13:10:00.002-06:00

For those of you who have been following my ramblings for a while, you are aware that I publicly stated that once I reached 20+ followers I would shell out some dolla dolla bills to have my blog revamped. If you check over to the left, you will see that I am at 26 followers, big balla! You will be happy to know, being true to my word, I have contacted the one and only Hubby Jack to get started on my blog makeover! I have not had a chance to go into details with him about what I want and when it will be done (it won't be in the month of February I know that much), but I've completed the first step in the process! I'm all about baby steps.

So now that my ~~cult~~ group of followers is growing, I have decided to set a new goal. Once I reach 100 followers, I am going to do a giveaway! Challenge Accepted (in my Barney Stinson voice)!! If you don't know anything about the blogging world, anybody who's anybody does a giveaway. I have no idea what all it will entail, but I do know that one of the prizes will be a bag from the new XOXO Spring Collection at Gigi Hill! If that's not motivation, I don't know what is. So what do we do until that number on the left says 100? We wait. Well, I wait. You, you go out and tell every person you see that K over here is gettin' errrrbody pregnant! Just kidding, have them visit my blog, hopefully stay a while, and then join. As we say in Pre-K, easy peasey!

P.S. If you have no clue what the eff I'm talking about with the "Gettin' errbody pregnant", go google it and Tracy Morgan! You will also find Nancy Clue when you google the very same thing. Which only adds to her effing awesomeness! I promise no one's going to get pregnant by following this site. At least not by me.

Say my name, say my name...

2013-02-05T11:25:00.001-06:00

First off, I love having blog post titles that are songs, because I know as soon as yall read them you will have that song stuck in your head all day, and I won't be miserable alone :) Second, I am linking up with Amanda over at My Very Own Modern Family to talk about NAMES. Like how I got my name and how I picked out my kiddos' names.

My "real" name is Kathryn Alisha. Seems simple enough. Except that my "nickname" is Kadi. Which makes no sense seeing as how most people named Kathryn who go by Kadi...use a T, not a D. Apparently my mom worked with a girl named Kadi and loved how she spelled it. She wanted my first name to be Kadi, but my dad wanted no part of that. He felt like Kadi was a nickname, not a real name. Apparently they compromised with Kathryn Alisha and settled for Kadi as a nickname. Not confusing at all. I think one of my dad's suggestions if Kadi had been my first name was for me to be "Kadi Mae". Thank God that plan fell through. I have always gone by Kadi, and pretty much everyone calls me Kadi, except Christopher. He calls me Kathryn.

Now on to my chilrens. When I found out I was pregnant with twins, as if that wasn't shocking enough, I immediately started thinking about girl names, idk why. Every girl name I said he told me he used to have a dog by that name, and every name he said sounded like a dog name to me. Luckily we found out we were having TWO boys, and we didn't have to worry about naming girls after mutts.

I heard the name Kason a loooooooong time ago. Like when I was in High School. And I told myself if I ever had a boy, his name would be Kason. I liked how it was spelled, and at the time, it wasn't a common name. I told BD (baby daddy) that it wasn't a compromise, so baby #1 was easily named. His middle name is Britt. That was my Grandmother's maiden name, and the name that my dad goes by. So that is how we got my little Kason Britt.

Kason is on the right.

That was simple enough, except we had to come up with second name. BD's name starts with a C, mine with a K, and I wanted to keep that going with the boys. The problem was, I had a nephew who shared my ex's name, and another nephew named Caleb. We had friends who's kids were named things like Caden and Cort and Kohl and so on and it seemed every C/K name we liked was already taken by someone close to us. Fail. I was sick and tired of arguing with BD so I finally threw my hands up and said YOU figure it out.

A few days later we were sitting in the living room and he said, "Kutter". I had no idea he was suggesting a baby name at that point, but he finally clarified. I didn't like it at first. I don't even know where he said he got it from. Maybe he was going through the phonebook? I honestly don't remember. Anyway, I told him I'd think about it and so I took the names to my sister. And then we took them to my mom. And the moment it finally clicked that that would be one of their names was when my sister said, "Aww when they're little they will call each other 'Tutter' and 'Tason'!!" I was sold. And you know what? That's exactly what they called each other (besides "Bub" and "Bubba") until they could say their K's correctly! And Kutter's middle name is Grant, becuse that is his dad's middle name. And there we have my Kutter Grant.

Kutter is on the left.

I think my name is a toss up as to whether it "fits" me, but I guess because it's got a complicated story, it probably does fit complicated me :) At least I'm honest! And my boys' names fit them to a T. Or a K. Whatevs. How did you get your name? How did you pick out your kid's name(s)?

Hey I Just Met You...And This Is Crazy...

2013-02-04T11:44:00.004-06:00

(Have fun singing that song the rest of the day...muahahaha!!)

It's Monday folks. And once again I am finding myself asking, "Where the hell did the weekend go??" I will never understand why the week drags on minute by minute, but the weekend flies by in the blink of an eye (except for the obvious fact that the week has five days and the weekend only has two). Regardless of the speed of it, it was a pretty good weekend.

Friday night we ate some boiled crawfish at a friend's house and now all I can think about is when I'm gonna get some more tail and ~~suck some more head~~. Saturday morning I got up at the butt crack of dawn and took the boys to their Little Dribblers basketball camp. They are getting better, even though they have to miss every other weekend when they are gone to their dad's. I also got them signed them up for baseball. Gotta love Spring time and going broke because of sports! My dad picked the boys up Saturday after lunch and they got to visit "Mama's School" aka Texas A&M University. They went with their Papa and Gram to the MSC Opas and saw the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater. From what I have heard they LOVED it and can't wait to go back to A&M!

The cutest future Aggies!

There may or may not have been a nugging after I picked them up Sunday...

Friday was Christopher's birthday, and Saturday once the kiddos were gone, we went to our favorite restaurant in College Station to celebrate. The food was scrumptious as per ushe. The night in general was awesome. But I did something at dinner that I have NEVER done. I nearly had a panic attack when I did it. I, Miss I Hate Confrontation, sent my drink back. That's right, I did. I always order the Raspberry Mint Mojito and it is ALWAYS so so so good. But this time, it was like carbonated water with a few mint leaves and raspberry pieces floating around. I tried to get past it, but after several sips, I couldn't do it. I debated multiple times about saying anything, but then C pointed out that if I'm paying $11 for a drink, it should probably be to my liking.

So, I had my mini inner meltdown, and the next time our waiter came by, I did it. I thought I was very polite about it, and he immediately apologized. Then another suited up guy (that we call Derrick because he reminds us of Derrick from Step Brothers and he takes his job VERY seriously) came and apologized, told me they had a new bartender that wasn't "popping" (yes he actually said that) and that they would fix it immediately. The waiter brought me a new drink, that he himself made, and it was perfect; and no one seemed pissed at me for sending it back, crisis averted. Yesterday was laid back, and while most of you were partying it up during the Super Bowl, I was just relaxing. I didn't even stay awake for the whole thing. Party Animal is my middle name. So that was my weekend!

I'm trying to do better "fixing" my hair...maybe someday.

I devoured his birthday strawberry in 9.7 seconds flat.

Don't worry, I let him have the other one.

I love this Monkey light. Everytime we go there I want to jack it. Shh...

Now here's a random little tidbit for you. Has nothing to do with my boring weekend recap. This past summer my boys and I started doing some "Random Acts of Kindness" and they absolutely loved it. Not only did we make others feel better, but we felt better ourselves. Our acts were mostly directed at strangers, but I think it would be just as wonderful with our friends and family. I don't know about you, but as much as I enjoy receiving e-mails and text messages, I absolutely love (and miss) the novelty of receiving an actual CARD or LETTER in the mail, yeah we still have post offices people! I love Christmas for many reasons, but one is because I get excited to check my mailbox during Christmas because we get Christmas cards! Don't judge me. I figure if I enjoy getting stuff in the mail, there must be a few others out there who do too. So, I would like to be able to send random cards/notes/gifts/etc to the people that mean so much to me!

If you are interested in sharing your mailing address with me, please shoot me an e-mail at
thataggiegirl09(at)yahoo(dot)com. You can send it to my gmail as well, but I check yahoo more regularly. (For those of you that are probably all like this biatch is cray cray I'm not sharing that info, that's ok, you won't hurt my feelings. I am pretty cray.) I'm not saying I'm going to send you a card everyday or an envelope full of money ~~I'm a poor teacher folks~~ but I'd like to be able to drop something in the mailbox to yall every now and then just to say hey...keep your head up...congrats...happy birthday (speaking of that, include when your birthday is, duh)...or whatever the occasion may be. If you don't wanna, you don't gotta! And even if you're a friend that lives nearby, I would still love your address :) Get busy e-mailing me gals so I can use all of my pretty cards and stationary like a 12 year old girl!!

Alright, I'm out!