Thank goodness it's Friday!

I have not ever been happier to see Friday! This week has been the LONGEST!

Yesterday I dropped my legally blind son off at school without his glasses. Spare me, I'm awesome!
Today we sold our Suburban! Score on that! We got the exact amount we paid for it 3.5 years ago.
Today was Madi's meet the teacher. While at meet the teacher we received a call from Brody and Gracie's teacher. She asked if we were aware it was early release today at 9:55. It was around 10:15 when we got the call. Our reply was along the lines of: nope, omg, we'll be right there. Madi was disappointed we had to leave her class so early. We picked up Brody and Gracie and the teacher said she forgot to tell us. In their backpack was some papers she forgot to send home that had the early release announcement and time. Awesome!

It has been a week! I'm dog tired. The kids pretty much cry while eating dinner they are so tired. They even cried while eating ice cream one night. I'm taking the phones off the hook so we can sleep until tomorrow afternoon. Well, maybe not that late.

Apparently I need to have back surgery. The Chiropractor's office called and said surgery is needed, don't freak out, call this Neurosurgeon. Oh, and to do it today since he books up and evidently it needs to happen soon? Awesome! She also stated I'd be in the hospital for a couple days. My response was a nervous laugh. There is no way on this green earth I can have back surgery. For one, I can't be in the hospital for any amount of time because we have kids! Two, I cannot have back surgery because I still pick my kids up. Three, I cannot have back surgery because it terrifies the daylights out of me. Need I go on? I have a disc extrusion in my spinal column. The disc ruptured out of the vertebrae and is leaking some type of substance. It can cause extreme pain to backache which is what happens to me. I'm either going about life with a backache or I can't walk, move, hurts to breathe, etc.  This is just great.

That's our week. I really hope the weekend is better! Ricky is off on Monday too!

Krista

First day of school/ gymnastics pictures

My Handsome boy! He picked out his shoes and I must say, it made the outfit! 

Isn't she beautiful?! Love that God given smile! She picked her entire outfit at the store :) 

Immediately sat down at their table and started working. Big kids! 

Madi at gymnastics. Her daddy took this picture. He was super proud of her. 

Love it! 

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it. -William Feather

The first day of school was a success. The kids were so excited to wake up for school, wear their new clothes, and put on their backpack that they actually cooperated for pictures. It's a miracle! Brody's vision teacher met us at the front of the school. We've not seen her since the end of May and when Brody spotted her he yelled out her name and ran over to her to give her a big hug. He loves her so much! Brody was held her hand down the hall to their classroom and Gracie had Ricky's hand. I just watched and couldn't believe my babies were off to school. They walked in the classroom, we gave hugs and kiss, wished them a great day, Madi gave hugs and kisses too, and we left. They walked over to their table to start their day. And just like that it was done. The vision teacher called me 2 hours later to give me the full scoop on how they were doing, I am so grateful.
We took Madi to breakfast and both Ricky and I took her to gymnastics. She couldn't wait for her daddy to be there. I had to leave to go pick up Brody and Gracie from school. They were so excited to see me. When we were driving home I was asking them all about their day, they were telling me what they did and Gracie said she wanted sissy. I told her she would be home shortly that she was at gymnastics with daddy. As soon as Gracie heard Ricky's truck, she took off to the garage. Her and Madi met in the middle of the garage and it was the sweetest thing, like they'd not seen each other in days. Madi walked up and gave her a big hug and kiss, asked her how her school was, and did the same to Brody. Ricky told me Madi asked for her sissy when they were leaving gymnastics.
Today the kids were equally excited about school. I dropped them off alone while Ricky slept and Madi was just waking up. They did fantastic. I got an unexpected text from Brody's vision teacher of pictures of Brody and Gracie so happy playing and interacting in their classroom. This is why that woman is golden. She was not required to go to their school today but she did because she truly cares for Brody AND Gracie.
Madi and I went to the grocery store, made lunch and dinner. Before we knew it, it was time to go pick B & G up from school and go to Speech and Occupational Therapy. They were so excited to see each other and B & G were literally talking in full sentences anyone could understand telling us about their day. That is pretty incredible! We got home from therapy right after Ricky got home from school.

It is literally none stop now. We get up at 7am, quickly get dressed and out the door for school. By the time I'm home it seems I'm leaving to pick them up from school. Then there is therapy, my school, Ricky's school, and not much time for anything else. I tried to schedule 6 month dental cleanings for all of us today and literally couldn't find an available time that the dentist also had available. They offered over 5 appointments and none of the times worked. It's intense.
This is the way I have to write our schedule out:

Monday:
B school 7:50-11 Physical Therapy still waiting on times
G school 7:50-11  Physical Therapy still waiting on times
M gymnastics 10:30-11:30
R online classes
K school 1:30-2:50

Tuesday:
B school 7:50-11 Speech &OT Therapy 11:30-12:30
G school 7:50-11Speech &OT Therapy 11:30-12:30
M school 9:15-12:15 Speech Therapy 12:30-1:00
R school 11:00 12:20 leave early for wrk 2:30
K

Wednesday:

B school 7:50-11 Physical Therapy still waiting on times

G school 7:50-11  Physical Therapy still waiting on times

M 

R online classes 

K school 1:30-2:50

Thursday:

B school 7:50-11 Speech &OT Therapy 11:30-12:30

G school 7:50-11Speech &OT Therapy 11:30-12:30

M school 9:15-12:15 Speech Therapy 12:30-1:00

R school 11:00 12:20 leave early for wrk 3:00

K

Friday

B school 7:50-11 Physical Therapy still waiting on times

G school 7:50-11  Physical Therapy still waiting on times

M school 9:15-12:15

R online classes 

K 

This will slightly change in October when my other class starts. I will be going 5 days a week until December. So it's insane. I literally don't make it past 11pm. I've never been a morning person so waking up at 7am is rough :) 

I have the sweetest pictures I will try to get up this week. 

Krista 

...

I wonder what you're doing right now,
And if everyone is treating you kind.

I wonder if the teacher knows
Just how special you are to me.
And if the brightness of your heart
Is something she can see.

I already miss the sound of your voice
And how you give my leg a tug.

I wonder if you could possibly understand
How hard it is for me to let you grow.
On this day know that my heart breaks,
For this is the first step in letting my baby go.


One day soon we will wake up and it will be each of your first day of senior year. Until then, I pray God helps your father and I mold you into the people He intended you to be. Every day counts.
I love you so very much.

Mommy

There are only 940 Saturdays between your child's birth and them leaving for college.

That is a big dose of perspective. Every day counts.

Brody and Gracie will wake up bright and early for school tomorrow morning. They are ready. I am not. I'm dreading it actually. When they started preschool I knew it was right. Every bit of me knew they would grow, thrive, and be safe there. I didn't worry a single day about my kids. B & G's new teacher seems really nice. She called me on Wednesday to get a few basics about them. We talked for 45 minutes and she really seems great but... they were two of only four kids in the class. Now they are two of only 3 total in the class. I've met the other child. I am worried. I am worried about their safety and I'm worried about them picking up behaviors that would not be appropriate. The things is, Brody and Gracie are both bright children who are capable of learning in the same environment as Madi. I keep asking myself why I'm not sending them to the same school as Madi. Right now I'm beside myself for making this decision for them. And then there is the fact that my babies are 3 years old and just turned 3 for that matter. In my eyes, they have no business going to elementary school. Again, what have I done? The school smells like mold. It's literally the oldest elementary school in Kingwood and no improvements have been made. Why they would pick that school to have a program that has medically fragile children is beyond me. I was bothered by the smell and I have mild asthma. If the school makes my kids they will not attend there. I guess I can sit a pick apart the place and come up with a million reasons why we shouldn't but I will give it a try. I will see how they adjust to the early hours and the process in general.
It's not just them starting school. This summer has been amazing. We've not really had too many appointments and have had zero therapy. I hate therapy. The kids hate therapy. Ricky hates therapy. Ricky actually suggested a couple days ago to just have Gracie in PT therapy until her legs are stronger. If they don't make good progress by Christmas we will do just that. A lot of times therapy is a big waste of time. Of course therapist will get them qualified like they really need it but we've been doing this for 3 years now and quite honestly they've made the improvements they've made just by living normal life.
Tomorrow also starts school for Ricky and I.
Madi also has gymnastics and thank goodness because her school doesn't start until September.
So there are a lot of things starting tomorrow and I'm not sure if it's how busy we are going to be or just because I feel like I don't have control over my kids' schedule anymore. I don't know. What I do know is the days go so quickly and I feel like they are being rushed to grow up when all I want is for the clock to stand still.

Krista

It's nearly here...

I cannot believe Brody and Gracie are starting school Monday. It is sneaking up on us without asking if we are ready. We are so excited Brody's vision teacher will follow him to his new elementary school. At the end of the year the plan was for him to get a new teacher. Gracie loves the vision teacher too and she is planning to be there the first day to help them if they are scared. She is golden and a God send to this family. She stopped by the school today to meet their teacher. This isn't required of her but she wanted to meet her and make sure we were in good hands... to help calm my fears too. She had the best things to say about their teacher. That peace of mind helps a lot. Tomorrow and Friday we will be at the school having new parent meetings, meeting the teacher, and seeing the classroom. We are entering a new stage in life.
Madi now understands that she will go to a different school without Brody and Gracie however, she is still wanting to ride a school bus which isn't an option for her school. I think Monday morning will be difficult when B & G are going to school and she can't. I hope it won't be too big of a deal since she has gymnastics Monday morning.
Monday I start school too. My classes are Monday- Thursday. Ricky starts school Tuesday and goes Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The next couple days I don't want to do a single thing but hold my babies and cherish these last few days of having them as "babies". Something seems so grown about them going to school 5 days a week (B &G) and Madi 3 times a week.
I cannot imagine parents that have to take their kids to daycare. I realize how fortunate I am.

KP

Big 'ole prayers needed

If you can, please keep me in your prayers. I'm down with my back again. Woke up with it hurting a little and by this afternoon couldn't move. I basically crawled into the Chiropractor. He went over my MRI again from April and got me ready to adjust my back. He moved my legs to get me in place and I could not breathe and was crying my eyes out in so much pain. He said he couldn't adjust me because he could do more damage. Basically I'm too far past the point of adjustments. He said my disc is out of place and bulging and said I needed to see a pain management doctor. He said they will do a epidural directly in between the bad disc and will give a steroid and another type of medication. He said if that doesn't help the disc move back where it's suppose to be then I will need surgery. He said for me to take the muscle spasm and muscle relaxers I got from the ER trip in April but  I told him I couldn't because I don't want to be under the influence of anything with my kids around. He understood that so he asked his office to call the pain management doctor they refer patients to to try to get me in soon. Bad news is I can't be seen until Friday. I am scared out of my mind about all of this. I've had one epidural when I had my c section and it sucked. I can't imagine having another one and the thought of surgery on my spine terrifies me. I actually hope and am praying hard I don't need surgery. Also given my family history of addiction, I will refuse any type of medications that will alter me in any way. I will do the epidural medication because it isn't a narcotic but I won't take any type of pain pill. From my understanding, they put you to sleep to do the epidural because it's quite painful with the medications they inject.
All I really know is I am in a lot of pain, not being the best mom right now or wife for that matter, and can't function. I need to get back to normal now.

This morning was Madi's first gymnastics class. She did so well. She is by far the smallest by about 6 inches and doesn't quite understand everything but is giving her best and I am so proud of her. She was super proud to show off her stamp she got on her hand at the end of class and told me she wanted her daddy to watch her gymnastics.

Brody melted my heart this morning. While I was in my bathroom getting ready, they were at my bedside table. I printed off and framed the picture I posted yesterday of all of us with the graffiti "I love you so much" anyway, they were all three talking to each other and Brody proudly said "That's my momma. That is MY momma. I love my momma." Such a little sweetheart. Love that blonde hair blue eyed boy.

Gracie wished she was in gymnastics the entire time Madi was in her class. I told her next year will be her year. She needs to get a little stronger Orthopedic and Physical Therapy wise before she can safely participate in any type of sport. It's still hard though because I like to be fair and this doesn't seem fair.

Ricky is working days this week. He has a lot of training since receiving his promotion. I really like having him home in the evenings but it works so much better for him to work nights. He was home at 5 tonight and the kids are back on their bedtime at 7:30 routine so he didn't get to see them nearly as much as he does during the day.

I'll update again soon. Being down and out does not sit well with my personality.

KP

Texas hill country

We are suppose to be in Florida right now being beach bums but we are in Texas. Thanks to the rain that decided to stay in Pensacola. It literally is raining our entire trip so Ricky and I decided it wouldn't be fun to sit inside a hotel room with 3 kids. We decided late Thursday night that we would head to Austin on Friday and stay the weekend. We ended up going on a sort of food tour through Texas eating at some of the famous restaurants we'd been wanting to try. First up was Goodson's Cafe in Tomball, Texas. It's been on several TV shows and isn't too far from us at all. It was so good. It's all southern type foods. I had fried mushrooms and okra, the kids and Ricky had onion rings and cheese sticks as appetizers. We ordered what they are famous for, the chicken fried steak. Oh my goodness it was good. Their rolls are amazing, their gravy is amazing, it's all amazing. As you can probably figure out, it's far from healthy but it was worth it. We got to our hotel and what I love about taking kids on trips with us is their excitement. They had the biggest belly laughs running through the halls to our room. Love that! We took them swimming, had dinner, and went to Barton Creek natural pool. The next morning we got up and drove to Round Rock to have the famous donuts at Round Rock Donuts. It has also been on TV and it was hands down the best donuts we'd ever had. We got the kids  that huge donut. How fun is that? We left there and drove to San Marcos to go to the outlet mall. It is one of the biggest outlet malls I've ever seen. We picked up some stuff at the Disney store and went to a couple other before leaving and heading to Driftwood, Texas for the best BBQ in Texas at The Salt Lick. If you are ever in the Texas hill country you must eat there. It's the coolest little place on a winery and the food is hands down just awesome. After leaving there we headed back to the hotel for more swimming. That night we decided to visit downtown Austin and the famous food trucks but when we got there we were sad to see that a lot of them had moved out of downtown because they are building a hotel where they parked. We ended up eating at a popular pizza place I can't remember the name. It was so packed and the pizza was just alright. After we got the kids cupcakes at the famous Hey, Cupcake. My favorite part was taking this picture:

  

The next morning we got up and had breakfast tacos at Rudy's and came home. All in all it was a good little get away.

This is the last week of freedom and then our busy schedule starts. Madi has her first gymnastics class today at 10:30 so we are getting ready for that. They all have PT evaluations tomorrow. It's been a great summer and other than Gracie breaking her leg, a healthy one too! 

KP 

I don't need you. I need Christ and Him alone, but I do choose you, and because of Him I have chosen perfectly.

This beauty is now mine. I'm not sure who is more excited- me or the kids. So how did this happen? Well earlier this week I was trying to figure out what college I'll transfer to. The choices are University of Houston or Sam Houston State University. Sam is in Huntsville which is far from here and even commuting to downtown Houston to attend U of H would be 45 minutes to an hour. Not to mention Ricky will also be commuting for college in the near future. I started thinking about us getting a little commuter car. I wanted something dependable and newer so we wouldn't have to worry about repairs. I was looking to spend $8,000- $10,000. I emailed our loan officer. When she got back with me, I was in shock. We have an A credit score and qualified for 1.99% interest and an amount that would allow us to get a safer car for the family. I tried to talk myself out of it, I sort of wanted Ricky to talk me out of it but after all the pros and cons, it made perfect sense for us to get a nice, SAFE car that our children can ride in. It helps that I am in love with what we got. On to the good part... If you don't know me really well, I am a great negotiator. Basically I won't pay a penny more for something when I get my number in my head. I drove through the dealership and when I was interested in a car, I got a salesman. I quickly told him I already had my financing and I wanted to drive certain car. This saves so much time by the way. Anyway, a few minutes later I was driving a brand spankin new Texas edition Tahoe. I loved it! I told the salesman I was going to lunch and to get me the bottom line on the truck and call me. I cannot stand that pointless back and forth. The manager walked out basically rolling out the red carpet and said they'd get right back with me and they did. They gave me said numbers and after I had lunch went back up there. I told them I had my number and there number was close but not it. I didn't tell them my number because I wanted to see how low they'd go. If you show them all your cards you will get screwed every single time when buying a car. Guess what? They came within $600 of my number! Of course me being me that wasn't good enough so I told them they were close and only then did I give my number. They tried to play the game they all play about how they'd lose money, yada yada but I didn't budge. Guess what? I got the truck for what I was willing to pay! We also were able to use Ricky's employer discount which was great. 

On to the details. It's a beauty. The color is called Mocha and the interior is called Cashmere. I LOVE the Texas edition Chevrolet line. It has leather, back up camera, three rows of seats, and so many neat features. And that new car smell... it's been a while since I've had a brand new car. The most important thing about this car is all the safety features which is why we bought it. I'm coming out of a 2002 Suburban so a lot of things have changed. For one, my Suburban didn't have anchors for the car seats. This always worried us because they'd come loose. My new car has anchors. My new car also has side curtain airbags as where my old one didn't. The list goes on but those are two very important things for us. I hope I will get better gas mileage. I was paying $100 to fill up my Suburban and getting about 350 miles to a tank. Ricky thinks we will. We didn't trade in the Suburban. We've listed it for sale ourselves and hope to make a little money on it because it is a nice car and in good condition. 

I believe we made the right choice. It was hard because I HATE debt. But we were also able to refinance Ricky's truck to 1.99% which dropped his payment considerably. Credit Unions are the way to go. I feel so blessed to have this vehicle and so spoiled. I'm thankful to Ricky and feel much safer with my babies in my vehicle. The drive to Florida this weekend is going to be a nice one!! 

Krista 

"Are people born wicked, or is wickedness trust upon them?" -Wicked the Musical

The day finally came and it was time to see Wicked. It was AMAZING! Our seats were amazing, the play was amazing, the entire night was amazing. Madison got to the house at 5pm to watch the kids. They love her and have so much fun with her. Ricky and I went to dinner at Morton's Steakhouse in downtown before the show. It was really good but to date our favorite steakhouse is still Perry's. We got to our seats with 5 minutes to spare. It was the first time we'd both been to the Hobby Center. It was so cool. The set of Wicked was out of this world. Ricky was surprised that he actually enjoyed the show. I saw the West Side Story on Broadway in New York several years ago and it was great but it had nothing on Wicked. I think the only thing that was better was the old theater West Side Story was in but still last night was wonderful.
Ricky has a couple more days of school left until a couple days off and it starting back. He is at school now taking yet another quiz, there is a quiz every single day. It's been horrible.
The kids and I have a pretty calm week ahead. Tomorrow night I have an event at church that the kids will go to the children's program for. Every year they pick a different speaker and it's just a nice, fun time. They cater dinner and usually have cupcakes or something. Love the change of pace.
I think the plan is to go back to Michelle's one day this week to swim again. We also have to get to the library because it's been a good two weeks since we've been.
This is the last two weeks of summer. I'm not ready for it to end. It's really been a lot of fun. We are entering a new season in our lives when the alarm goes off August 26th. Until then I'm going to enjoy these last few days.
In other random news, Brody learned how to open doors and got his hinny in big trouble when he decided to stroll out of bed at 1am to play on the computer. He was not happy about having to go back to bed. I think he was too excited about this new found freedom. Ha!
The puppies are doing well. We transitioned them outside yesterday. They'd been staying in the spare bathroom but since we will be out of town soon, they had to go outside. They've cried since. Harper probably wants to pull her hair out.
Update soon!
KP

"Mommy, I LOVE Daddy so much!" -Gracie Ann

Friday was the big movie day. We went to breakfast that morning and then headed to the theater. The movie was really cute. They LOVE airplanes. They did so well and hardly ate any of the snacks they picked out the night before. When the movie was over they started to clap. Madi even told me that I needed to clap. Too cute!
I had a doctor appointment with an Orthopedic in The Woodlands. The plan was for us to all go out and have some fun after but the appointment took longer than expected so we had dinner before Ricky had to go to work. The Orthopedic said I could never run- like ever. Apparently I have really bad knees. I was thankful I didn't need a shot in my knee or surgery but still crappy news.
Today we are picking up our fruits and veggies from the co-op. It'll be a busy day in the kitchen because I'm also going to be putting up the pears we picked last weekend.

Have a good weekend!

KP

When I was your age the internet went SKAWEE REWEERT :)

Tuesday I registered Brody and Gracie for school. I HATE the school so far. It was the first elementary school built in Kingwood and looks like an institution or prison. Nothing like the private preschool they've been attending or Madi's new school. The other thing I'm not happy about is they have to be at school at 7:50am! They are 3 years old! They don't even wake up that early. So I'm annoyed already.
Yesterday all three had Occupational and Speech evaluations to start the fall schedule. I'm not happy about starting therapy back either. It's been amazing not having therapy.. amazing! Madi didn't qualify for Occupational therapy again. I knew she wouldn't which is great because she is in gymnastics because we knew she wouldn't qualify for OT. We will get the results/ plan of care for B & G next week.
We left there and headed to Michelle's house. We had so much fun! She has a pool so we swam from 12:30-6:30! We couldn't get Madi out of the water and finally told her Mickey Mouse was on and she came running. That girl LOVES the water and is fearless! Brody and Gracie enjoyed the water a lot more this time as well. All three did a great job actually swimming! We left there after 7pm and Madi was asleep by the time we were leaving Michelle's neighborhood. When we got home she put herself to bed. The other two followed. Maybe we should go swimming everyday? Anyway, it was a great afternoon.
Ricky has one week of school left- thank goodness! He has a test today and has left early to do some last minute studying although he studied all afternoon yesterday. The professor still hasn't graded the paper he had to write. We are all looking forward to this class ending!
I've already bought our movie tickets for the big movie tomorrow. I'm so excited to see Planes and for the kids to see it and enjoy their first movie. Every single time they see an airplane they point it out. Now Madi is saying she wants to ride on an airplane... patience little one! I'll update on how it goes.
The puppies and Harper are doing great. They are growing so quickly. Their eyes should be opening any day now. They are all just precious and we love them. It'll be hard to get rid of them but of course we know we can't keep 5 puppies. We are already looking for good homes for them. If you are in the Houston area and looking for a Boxer puppy to love forever, contact me at pattonfamily3@gmail(dot)com <<< have to write it out like that to avoid spam!
Finally, Ricky and I are going to see Wicked this Sunday night. I have wanted to see that play since I was in NYC back in 2009! We got amazing seats for a great price through Ricky's work discount.
Vacation is a little more than a week away. I am soooooo excited!!

KP

Famous

Ricky was asked from a company to send them a picture of his truck with the kids. I think he can win some contest or something but at any rate, we took some adorable pictures of them today! And they cooperated!! 

Happy Friday!