Mister Dookie

Poor Duke has never been featured.  I adopted Duke in 1998 from the animal shelter in College Station.  He came home with me a scrawny, not-so-cute kitty.  And was the first man in my life.  17 years later, he still greets me every day and sleeps on my pillow.  He is still picky about who he is around, but he loves these kids more than imaginable.  Some of the pictures I share send shivers through people, because he has been known to turn on people at the drop of a hat.  But he has never "seriously" turned on the kids, despite tail pulling, hair pulling, stepping on and using him as a pillow.  The kids will always make room for and fight over who gets to sit by Duke-ling.

Happy 6th Birthday!!!

Mateo turned 6 on September 12th.  Where has our little baby gone?  In lieu of a traditional birthday party this year, we decided to take Mateo on a "vacation," so we went on our first "glamping" trip to Jelly Stone Campgrounds in Burleson.  This mama isn't exactly ready for tent camping, so we went first class and stayed in a cabin.  

The campground was so much fun and had a ton of stuff to keep the kids entertained.  We started Friday night with a hay ride, did some swimming and made some s'mores by the campfire.  Saturday we did fishing, played on the bounce houses and on the playground, followed by the Aggie game and some more s'mores and hot dogs.  The kids were exhausted and had a blast!

The Yogi bear characters were around for all of the different activities.

The kids had bunk beds, although we still need some practice on sleeping away from home.  I think we all slept in every bed in that cabin at one point or another.

Mia's first fish!

Fishing was a success!  Both kids caught 10+ fish, which kept it exciting.

We rented a golf cart to get around - the place was huge!

Mia entertained herself by the campfire picking beans from some unknown type of tree.

A little football action of our own.

Watching the Aggies BTHO Ball State.

Our first s'mores experience.  They were delicious although the kids preferred eating the marshmallows straight out of the bag.

At one point I said "Mia you are going to get a tummyache if you keep eating those."  She said "Mommy, I want to get a tummyache."

We stopped by Lady's house on Sunday for some cake and ice cream and presents!

First day of school!

Last year Mateo missed the Kindergarten cut off by 12 days.  Bad timing on giving birth!  So he participated in an Advanced Pre-K class, that was Kindergarten curriculum.  At the end of the year, his teacher insisted that I have him tested to see whether he should start first grade instead of Kindergarten.  At first I didn't think much of it, but then I heard that the first six weeks of Kinder would be learning letters.  Considering Mateo is reading chapter books and doing multiplication, I decided to pursue the testing.  

A couple weeks before school started we took Mateo in to his elementary school to meet with the counselor and principal and take a series of 3 tests.  He aced all of them, and the counselor said without a doubt he should start in first grade.  

This was a hard decision for us for several reasons - we didn't want to push him ahead and have him fail, we didn't want him to not be mature enough for first grade, and we didn't want him to be the only one that was new in this environment.  But, we had to trust his previous teacher and new counselor.  All we want is for him to be challenged and succeed no matter what grade he is in.  

The first week went great!  He seems to really like his teacher, Ms. Hogue, and his new school.  He has art, computer and music class throughout the week.  He has gym and recess daily.  We have him staying at the school for after school care.

So far he has been exhausted when he comes home.  The second day I picked him up he said "I don't feel like talking Mommy" because he was too tired.  Bed time will definitely start to inch earlier and earlier.

The biggest adjustment for me has been the change in my schedule.  I am used to being at work by about 7:15, and now I am dropping off Mateo at 7:30, and then getting stuck in traffic and getting to work between 8:30 and 9:00.  The good part is being able to spend one-on-one time with Mateo in the morning, when he is fresh and alert.  

It will definitely be a year of firsts and a year to remember.  The elementary school is so stinking cute and brings back memories.  I can't wait for school carnivals, open houses, performances, and homework.  I can't wait to see Mateo flourish in this environment and learn and grow.  And I know this is the beginning of the rest of his life.  Juan and I both take education so serious that I know this is more stressful for us than for him.  We are so proud of our little boy, and can't wait to experience this year at Willie Brown Elementary School!

Back to School Pics!

We had Fredo take some back to school pics of Mateo.  Love, love, love!

Pool Project!

We knew when we built this house that we were going to put in a pool.  That was the main reason we moved - to find a lot big enough for a pool and room for a swingset and to run and play.  We thought that started in February would be perfect - very little rain delays.  Little did we know that we would have a February full of snow, followed by months of rain.  The original estimate was a 6 week project.  The final timeline was 6 months.  What an exhausting project!  But worth every painstaking minute.  Juan was in charge, of the design, the ideas, and managing the contractors.  It is perfect!

The initial dig.

This is how it looked under inches of repeated snowfall.

This is how it looked after it collapsed under the snow.  They essentially had to start from scratch, rebuilding the structure, and digging feet of mud out by hand.

Finally some gunite.

And plastered.

Filling up a pool is a slow process, like watching a pot of water boil.

And then they started the outdoor kitchen and fireplace.

In the meantime, Juan assembled the swingset.

And done!

The RED egg!

Time for some fun!