All Outta Sorts

I'm definitely not going to try and catch up or get in the habit of falling behind on this thing! I will try and make it short. I do have some things I want to post!

1. My birthday was the last time I posted. I copied the sweet letter I got from mom across the country. She was gone for 3 weeks and it was terrible. I pray extra, extra each night for God to keep her here forever. I would be lost without her!

2. I have preached to my husband about this budget that I'm trying to follow and he comes home with an iPad for my birthday. He doesn't listen to me but makes me believe I run the DeSpain house. Clearly that is not the case.

3. Last week was crazy. Cody was working nights and I was helping the 3rd grade teacher in her room. It reminded me of Super Nanny. They call me in when there is a problem. Her group is rowdy and rough. And a little disrespectful at times. I heard a teacher say one time that her only rule in her room was BE RESPECTFUL and everything else was a procedure. I have adopted it in my room and always have a well behaved group. I think being out of your classroom is like staying at a hotel. You just feel all out of sorts. I loved helping and look forward to getting her group of kids next year despite them saying more than once I was mean and they wanted their teacher back!! I took it as a good indication I was doing my job.

4. My precious baby has 4 teeth coming in and has been fighting a cold all week. I took him in on Friday and he has Croup. We having been laying around all weekend in our pj's at Grammys house. He's still smiling!



5. Cody and Jake are in Devine at the bird lease. Jake is having the time of his life. They have both called tonight and said it's been such a fun trip but they are ready to come home. I thought he was killing dove! He looks like he's in a war zone!





6. I dropped my niece off at a dance party tonight here in the neighborhood. My mom and sister both live in the fun neighborhood that is full of kids. We never had to leave growing up. All of our friends were right here. I dropped her off after learning that she was one of the only 7th graders invited and my eyes were full of tears. How in the world did she get so big?!

7. Cody and I started doing some reading together at night and I will go in detail later. It's worth a whole post and I don't want to short change you by any means. We are both so excited about all of the wonderful things that will take place in 2012!

8. Lastly, please pray for this TJ Murray family that is from the Conroe area. I can't imagine someone just disappearing. Somebody knows where this young man is. All I can think about is his poor family.

**I have so many pictures to upload. My sister had my camera cord at her house after I completely tore up mine looking for it!


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Letter From My Mama

Mom sent me this email this morning. I love this woman to pieces. I told Cody I have her to blame for this whole budget thing and my excessive spending. She says it so well in this. They never told me "no."

Casey Boo!

Mom just wanted to remind you that at about 10:00 pm today we laid eyes on
each other for the first time...It was love at first sight for me, Jami, JJ
and your Dad.  We were so in love with you.  Your brother and sister could
not wait to get home from school to see you every day.  I have never let a
day of my life go by without asking God to protect my sweet child that I was
so afraid... I could not afford as a single mother at that time of two
babies already...I am so blessed that God loved me so much, he gave me the
courage to trust him that we would all be ok...I ask you to join me in
prayer today for every young mother contemplating this same dilemma and ask
God to give her the courage that he gave me...

I am so proud of your precious gentleness and love for your family...Your
great compassion for your precious little ones that are entrusted to you as
a teacher every day...You make my heart smile...I am so blessed to be
surrounded by you children that love me so much!!  Jami that held us all up
when we struggled...she carried a lot on her shoulders as a young
girl...Jeremy that showed us how gentle a young man can be with his good
heart and dedication to what he loves so much in his career and love of God!
Happy Birthday my spoiled baby girl!!!  Sorry if I made you cry!!  You are
our baby girl that the three of us spoiled rotten...I guess we just have to
live with you the way you are!!!  Tell Cody I am sorry...this is the best we
could do!!  He loves you anyway!!  LOL!!  Happy Birthday!!!  29 and
holding!!

Love you always,
Mom

Money- I know I can do it!

Thursday my dad and step-mom came up and stayed the night. They cooked back strap, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, and BROWN GRAVY. It was uh-mazing!! They stayed with the kids while I ran to Bryan on Friday morning to run some errands. I never listened to the radio until I was on the way home. It was therapy. Silent therapy. And silence is not a part of my life anymore. Or Cody's for that matter! Annette and I sat outside and talked like we usually do. She always gives the best advice. They love my kids so much and we are so lucky to have them.

Cody and I haven't been to Willis in 3 weeks, which I think is a record. We are usually there almost every other weekend. It's almost as if we have joint custody with my mom regarding the kids. My mom and step-dad have been on a 3 week trip all over the world. They started in Brazil then to France and now they are leaving for Thailand. So, we figured we would stay here and save a little money. Which has not happened. We will talk about that later.  In that time frame my sister and dad have come to visit US! Thursday my sister sent a text somewhere along the lines of, "I had plans Friday night but I am lying to get out of them and we are all coming to see y'all." It got better!! My little sister sent a text saying they were coming too and she had all the stuff to make gumbo for the game Saturday morning. I think us girls spent more time in the kitchen washing dishes and cooking than watching the game. We had a blast.

Miranda, Me, Jami

                           Luke, Uncle Brent, Uncle Stephen

I have been totally slacking on Luke's pictures. We loaded up on Saturday to take some. He is at the stage where it is so hard to get pictures of him. He is kinda sitting up and kinda not. He is too big to put in a bucket or basket. He tries to eat everything he has in front of him. I got to Cody's parents and realized I forgot my SD card. We borrowed one of his mom's but it only help nine pictures. It was hot and I was sweating.  It was a disaster but we managed to get a few cute ones....after Cody found cold Miller Lite in his dad's refrigerator.

We are going to start building our house in a few months and I have got to STOP buying everything I see, that I want. I want to start posting weekly about a "money saving tip" that I have found or that I am using.  I think it will hold me more accountable. I also deleted the shopping apps and daily deals on my phone and email. I am embarrassed to say how much I spend on unnecessary things each month. My closet nor the boys' closets have  room for another single hanger. Cody and I spend money on lunch every day and sometimes breakfast. It's crazy, honestly. My first step is admitting I have a problem. There, I did it. Ha! Besides the fact that I made our lunches this morning and I tried to make cereal to take with me but the milk tasted nasty, I made my own detergent using this recipe over the weekend.  I have been wanting to do this for a while. Even before the whole budgeting thing. We have a Dollar General where I live to buy this stuff and that's it. Don't let the Dollar in the title fool you. It is ridiculously expensive. I was buying Dreft for Luke and regular detergent for us. I didn't calculate how much I actually spend but I know between 6 and 7 bucks a piece for a quart sized detergent that may wash 30 loads was reeeee-diculous. I can use this for all of our clothes and its so much cheaper. I have been saving old bottles to be able to pour the new stuff in. These four are full and I think it took me a total of 5 minutes for $1.50. I spent $6.00 on the two items and it estimates 600 loads. 

This has honestly been fun for me. It is almost like a challenge. I did not use my debit card once yesterday until Cody called and said to pick up some pork chops for dinner. I am not to the point I want to cut coupons and store ketchup under my bed or Pert Plus shampoo in my pantry. Those people are crazy and I think they buy more stuff they never will use just for the sake of, "its on sale." I just want to be more conscious about swiping that card. It's way to easy. If you have any tips I would love to know :))

Fall Break, Forever

Two posts in two days! How lucky you all are!!

Last night was probably one of the most challenging evenings me and Cody have had in a while. For some reason Jake's class does not nap every day and it's going to be the death of us. He slept all the way home but it wasn't nearly enough. I felt so bad for him. He cried about everything and he was so sleepy.  BREAKS. MY. HEART. Cody and I were in bed by 8:00 and I felt as if I had not slept in days. I think Luke got up somewhere between 9-10 and I never heard a word. I remember glancing up at some point and saw Cody walking around with him. Thank God for my husband!

 I hit the floor running from the time I got home yesterday until we sat down to eat dinner. It was 6:30 at this point. I put Luke in his highchair and fed him some pears and carrots. That was the first time I held him or played with him since I had been home. I told Cody I was not cooking like "that" anymore, meaning something that took a hour and a half. I got to spend ZERO time with my sweet boy. PW's Cajun pasta was good but not nearly worth the time it took to cook it. And of course, nothing tastes as good as the boys' hugs and kisses.

Today we get out at noon and we have the day off tomorrow. I am praising God. Our calendar says "Fall Break." I'm always up for breaks. Jake needs naps and Luke needs kisses from Mommy. I want to stay on "Fall Break" forever. I will be taking a "break" from cooking for a while. I apologize, Cody.

My dad and step mom are coming up today to spend some time with the boys. My step mom said she is bringing dinner and that is JOYFUL music to my ears after last nights episode! Jake is so excited to see his Paw-Paw!

The computer teacher at school just called me to the lab to hear Jake. I stood by the door and my little, precious baby is reading. It was one of those moments you don't know whether to laugh, smile, or cry. Of course, I did all three. I am so proud of him, and so sad because he is growing up way too fast. This is another reason I will be soaking up some sweet time with my babies this weekend. Don't expect another blog until my LONG weekend is over!!

Pictures and Check-Ups

I have just become aware (by one of my students) of how bad I don't use bring/take properly. I usually tell him to sit down, shut up, and not correct me (ha) but I'm trying to correct this. I swear, it's a Louisiana thing. I also say when we pull up to a store, "are you getting down with me?" I have been made fun of for this for quite some time now. Who ever said I don't learn just as much from my kids as they learn from me?

I have written 3 drafts in the past week but I can't for some reason, get them posted. I have yet to finish anything in the last week besides my report cards. Have I mentioned how much I love my class and how brilliant they are? Makes my job so much more fun. This year has started out awesome. 

Cody had to take Luke to the doctor yesterday. I am so lucky to have a husband like him. I have taken off work too much already so he made it work! Luke was 6 months old on the 21st of September so we are a little late on his check up. Who would make an appointment on time for their child to get shots? Not this mama. I still can't believe I got out of that visit completely.  He was 18.1 pounds and 28.5 inches long. He's 95% height and 70% weight. He has another ear infection. Poor kid. He can't catch a break. He takes after his daddy for sure. Jake and I have never an ear infection and Cody had multiple sets of tubes. Luke is following right in his footsteps! He is still probably the sweetest, happiest baby I have ever seen. It's so awesome!

Last weekend we went to a birthday party in College station at Grand Station. Jake had so much fun. Actually, WE all had so much fun. It was Peyton's 7th birthday party. Abby, Peyton's mom, is from Conroe too. It is such an added bonus her family moved to Centerville to be with me in the country.  Actually, we had no clue each other lived here until I saw it on her Facebook status one day. I do realize Peyton is 2.5 years older than Jake but she is so precious and her and Jake can still make a marriage happen. Abby also has a little girl that is one month younger than Luke. It is very possible her daughters could be my boys babies mamas. Get all that? I know I am missing some apostrophes in there! 

I had to bribe him with a toy to shoot baskets :( I just want ONE basketball player!

He sat in this thing for almost 3 full hours and never made a sound!

Grammy's house, a golf cart, a REAL coke, and a guitar. Jake is in heaven!

I am making PW's Cajun Chicken Pasta tonight, finally. I have decided she needs an Iphone app. It would make things much easier when I am in the grocery store trying to figure out what items I need.

This was in my Taco Bell bag. How do they know me?