God Pulled My Ponytail

I can't believe it's almost May. School is over in May. Not until the 31st but it's still May. My students are done with STAAR testing and as far as I am concerned my summer has started. I am so burnt out, done, over it. Call it what you want, but I know if I feel this way so do my kids.

In my last post I mentioned my husband, and how I was working on being more submissive. VERY hard for me to do. But I think I have been getting better. I am praying A LOT. Last week I had this epiphany on my way home from work. Cody had been working crazy hours and I was pretty much home every evening by myself with the kids doing all of the duties alone. I dread these two weeks every few months when he goes on this rotation. It's tough. Not that I can't do it and never have before but I have come to depend on him so much. It sounds like I should be more submissive than I am. Ha. During these two weeks I am very on edge because I am so worried about getting lunches made, dinner cooked, baths, and bed at a certain time. There are more times than not that I am very short with my kids, raise my voice, and let curse words slip out. I hate it. I feel like the rest of the families at Walmart you see without shoes or teeth yelling at their kids.  So, as I am driving home I get this insight of reality. Anytime this happens to me this mental picture flashes in my head of God standing behind me pulling my ponytail, giving me a little tug, and saying, "Ugh, Casey....WAKE UP" This is what he says to me, "Why do you treat your own children this way after not being with them all day long? You are not allowed to yell or curse at the kids you teach who don't even belong to you." That was it. And that's all it took for me to realize what needed to change. I do believe Cody and I do the best of job as we know with these boys. No, I do not know everything about life, marriage, or my children, but I will keep praying for God to "pull my hair" when I need to wake up!

 My neighbor made Luke homemade knee pads. The poor kid can't keep his knees well.

 Headed to school with Jake's lunchbox

Jake had his first t-ball game last Saturday.

My Husband-Submission

Thank Goodness it's Friday. This week has been a crazy one at work and the only choice next week has is to go up!!

Julie told me about a friend of hers that was writing a blog about her spiritual journey. I LOVE to read about other mom's who are doing the same things I am. It makes me feel more grounded and certain I am not as crazy as I think I am. This blog is great but there was one post in particular that hit home today. Two weeks ago I started receiving communion again in the Catholic church, and as a child my mom always told us to give our communion up for something. That something could have been a family that was struggling, loved ones that passed on, an individual going through a hard time, etc. The last two Sundays I have given my communion up for my husband. There are not enough prayers in the world for him to put up with me on a daily basis. If you know my husband you would agree that he is one of the most kind hearted people in the world. He would do ANYTHING for ANYBODY! Being a single mom forced me to make all the decisions at home just a few years ago. It has been a constant struggle for me to be a team player and I know God made Cody just for me for this exact reason. He is definitely the more rationale one and should be the only one who is allowed to speak for us as a family due to my inability to keep my opinions to myself. Ha.

It was so good to read THIS POST and know I am not the only one who struggles with this. I think, as a wife, I will need a constant reminder. But, I have to start somewhere, right?

My Face Muscles Hurt

I can't believe Easter is over. It came and went so fast. My brother and his family came down for the long weekend. It is always a riot when he is in town. I mean my face muscles(is that even something?) are suffering from soreness. When he is around our family is full of laughter and smiles. He has always been hilarious, but since his move to Louisiana he has developed a Cajun accent that tends to set off his jokes even better. It's crazy how my kids don't see him near as much as they would like but never forget him. One of Luke's first words were JJ when he had only seen him twice. My whole family jokes that I am Mom's favorite because I am the baby(she doesn't really have a favorite) but being a mom to boys, I know JJ is her favorite deep down inside. People comment about poor Luke will be the middle child when Cody and I have another one day. My brother has it made. He's not mistreated one bit!!! My sister in law has earned her wings in heaven for putting up with the man. I know she catches hell from him, his jokes are so much funnier when they aren't at your expense!

Friday we boiled crawfish at Mom's. The Schwab's came down and hung out. I think Friday night was one of the most fun nights I have had in all my life. This night contributed to my face muscles hurting some more. Julie is another one that has her bed made in Heaven after being married to Eric. They guy is a trip. He talks more shit and is constantly making fun of me. It's a love/hate relationship between us. He's just lucky I love his wife and kids so much!! We ended staying up way too late. Luke's 8am wake up call threw the whole house for a loop!

Eric sipping champagne.

Saturday we packed up and headed back to Cody's family. We hunted eggs and ate and ate. Jake had to spend Easter with his dad. It is always so quiet when he is gone and it leaves me with a sick feeling. Luke started whining when Jake got out of the truck on Saturday. I know I have many years of explaining and heart ache when Luke is old enough to understand the extent of Jake being gone sometimes. It never gets easier. The only thing that could have made me feel remotely better about Jake being gone was the surprise pot of gumbo Cody's dad had made when we got there. It is such a sad situation that food can make me feel this way.

Easter Sunday mass was so crowded at our little church and it was awesome! I loved the sound of folding chairs being brought out. We ended up spending the majority of mass in the cry room because my child wants everyone to know he is there. He tends to throw the objects I give him to keep him quiet and sometimes tries to sing as loud as the congregation when the song is already OVER!  God has to give special Grace to us moms that never hear the Gospel because of small children!

I hope you all had a great Easter and are part of a church family that is just like your own.

I LOVE THIS CHILD! 

AND THIS ONE!

My family is addicted to the game LCR. (Google it) My brother was trying to teach Jake how to "make it rain." 

It's a Long One!

I haven't written a real post in so long. I have so much to say. I hope you are ready!

March was the busiest month of all for us. We had things going on every day of every weekend the whole month. It was insane. I am happy to be able to breathe again. We are still trying to get our house on the market. There are so many things that need to be done that don't take any money(whoo hoo) just time. We are just about done and I'm hopeful that it will be FOR SALE sooner than later.

In all of the craziness of March, my sweet baby boy turned ONE. He brings so much joy to us and is so full of personality. He loves the attention so much already. I never knew how much I could love these two boys.

Things Luke is doing-

Your favorite game is peek a boo and you usually cover your ears instead of your eyes.
You are walking all over the place and currently have two skinned up knees that do not slow you down.
You are saying mama, dada, big daddy, granny, bye, hello, hi, ball
You love anything that resembles a phone. You put it straight to your ear and say LO?
You have turned to into a mama's boy overnight and I love it!
You love to play rough with your brother, and you are quick to bite him. I tell him it's your only defense!
You got your first haircut. You screamed until I put that first Dum Dum sucker in your mouth. The crying was all over. You look so big, and it makes me sad.
You LOVE Mrs. Cathy (your sitter)
You love your Granny so much too. Your face lights up when she comes in the door.
You come up and give us hugs out just because. It's the sweetest thing.
If you are quiet in the house and we can't find you, 9 times out of 10, you are in your brother's room playing with his toys.

You love to eat any and everything you see. ALL. DAY. LONG.

I am counting down the days until summer break so I can stay home and spend time with you and your brother!!

We celebrated Luke's birthday last weekend in Centerville and will have another small party in Willis this weekend too. I wanted my brother to be a part of it if he could since he is not here for many family celebrations. I have not eaten crawfish once this whole season. We are boiling crawfish Friday night for Luke's party. No clue who had the idea?!!

Jake turned 5 in February and I never updated about him, so here it goes-

You are reading so well and it makes me so happy to listen to you.
You have been riding your bike all over without training wheels. I literally just looked outside one day and you were riding. I am still wondering who taught you?
You are starting your first season of t-ball this year. I can't wait.
You love playing outside and will stay out all day if I would let you.
You still require SO much sleep. Two hour naps still happen and you usually don't put up too much of a fight.
Chocolate milk is still your favorite.
You want to eat candy all of the time. And you just don't understand why I won't let you.
You are still carrying around the blanket. It looks real, real bad.
You are still very rough and all boy.

I do see you growing up. You have such a sweet heart and are starting to realize not all of your friends want to tackle and wrestle. Mama has been praying about this for quite some time now ;)

You love to snuggle and watch cartoons in the morning.

You could stay up all night and watch TV. As long as something is going on, you are staying up to see it.

You still love to pick the guitar and the last time you played with Cody I could not even tell you were there. You are starting to be able to pick up on the notes and follow along. It amazes me. I think you are tired of people saying you are too young for lessons. You have decided to learn on your own!

I finished my half marathon. I really did it! It was such a great experience and I love running all over again. That is what I wanted out of this. I am not sure if I'm fit for 13 miles, I think 6-7 would work just fine!

Finally, I helped throw my best friend a baby shower a few weeks ago. Amy and I have been friends since we were born. She is pregnant with a baby girl and I am so excited for her!! She was always the girly girl and me the tomboy. Her son, Dylan, is so precious but I know this sweet girl will make their family complete. She is such an awesome mommy! 

Cody and I recently got our marriage blessed in the Catholic church and we are so excited. Our new priest has been amazing for our church. I am taken back by all of the things that have happened in our lives this past year. I am looking forward to helping our little church grow along with my faith.