Sweet, Sweet Makayla...

Have I mentioned how amazing my daughter is? She really is amazing. She is cultured...and so unlike me in many ways. She sews, she draws, she plays piano...she does things I can't imagine doing at her age or mine! It's funny because she is really shy, until you really get to know her. She doesn't like any attention drawn to her, making it hard to be Aidan's sister. :) She is beautiful and doesn't even know it...inside and out. I stand in awe of her quite often wondering where she inherited her many talents. She amazes me. I'm blessed to be her mom and proud, too.

Oh...I left out....

The other day, poor Aidan had another catastrophe! He was sliding off his wooden bunk bed and his basketball shorts were snagged by a small piece of wood and outchie right in the heinie! That's right, only my son can get a splinter in the heinie. He freaked. He comes in there and says, "Mom, we have a problem..." and the rest of what he said was completely inaudible. He screamed that he wanted to be put to sleep if I had to pull it out. Two surgeries and now he sees that as the easy way out of pain. After much convincing...ok not so much...I had to sit on him and yank really hard with tweezers to get that bad boy splinter out. It was the size of a toothpick. I know it was traumatic...well, for all of us! He was better instantly and thanked me over and over. That's right..I'm the best mom in the world for yanking that gigantic piece of wood from my son's heinie. Hey, I'll take it. Oh, and I am inserting a picture of the splinter for your viewing pleasure! Don't worry, it's an after picture! :) You can thank me later, I'm sure someday Aidan will thank me for sharing this bit of information...dontcha think? ;)

Normal..nope not us!

So just when you think things are back to normal...well, as normal as it can be in the Sanchez house anyway, then someone gets hurt! Who you ask? Why, Aidan, of course! This kid is going to be the death of me! Yesterday, while out in the pool he pulls his goggles from the top of his head down to put them on and he says he heard SNAP! Instant tears. He became irrational, irate, and really hard to talk to. He would not calm down. He kept telling us that his neck was broken! Ever since he broke his femur 10 months ago he thinks if he feels any sort of pain whatsoever, whatever it is, it's broken. It is really hard to calm him down and he's actually convincing! After about an hour, I was actually starting to wonder if maybe it was broken! I put in a call to his Dr. and he said that it was probably just a neck strain! That kid. We were laughing a little bit because it is the left side of his body (when you are looking at him.). He broke his left leg, had stitches on the left side of his forehead, his left ear was hurting when he got the ear infection...etc. My sister told him we could just cut him in half and eliminate the problem. He did not find Auntie rather funny yesterday and so much as told her so, too. :) I guess breaking his femur has really clouded his judgement-poor kid...but we're hoping he can straighten his head up by the end of the day...it's hard not to talk to him with your head cocked over, too. I'm telling you when that kid screams nowadays, my whole body trembles. He's an accident waiting to happen...according to his Doctor and I will admit..I AGREE! Full body cast or complete body padding in the future? Maybe...

It's Father's Day..

It's Father's Day and my Step-Dad lives a few hours away. I always struggle with what to get for our father's on this day. I'm not to good at buying for these important men in our lives. I know that with my step-dad he doesn't ever ask for much. Really nothing at all. He's really into sentimental things though..given from our heart. Thank goodness, that's pretty easy. ;) The kids did the work this year. Since my step-dad is a photographer and does live a few hours away and we weren't able to see him today the kids painted a big picture that read, "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, PAWPAW!" They held it and we took their picture and emailed it to him. I am betting this gets framed. :)

Now would be the time to say, I am so thankful for Jerry. He has been through so much with everything that has gone on with my mom,the cancer and the treatments she has endured this year. He has taken care of her, taken her to appointments, learned more about this disease and tried so hard to do everything he can to make this a little easier for her. I am so grateful to him. It's rough to live a few hours away while your mom is battling an awful disease.But knowing she is being taken care of by him - that gives me peace. I've seen him cry and I've seen him try to understand why and my heart breaks for him. I see how very much he loves my mom and how very much he wants her to be well.

I didn't know if my mom would ever find someone so amazing after my dad died. My dad died, from cancer, when I was 10. My mom was 32. My age. She had 3 kids, 1 step-son and had to bury her husband. I can't imagine. She is strong. She is amazing, and now she has an amazing husband to share the rest of her life with who truly loves her for all that she is. We are all blessed Jerry came into our lives...and I am truly grateful for his love for my mom, for my sisters and myself, and for our children. We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful step-dad and PawPaw. Thank you, Jerry for loving all of us. We love you and are so thankful you came into all of our lives and we thank God for you everyday. I know my Dad is in Heaven looking down, proudly. I feel it. I know that he wanted my Mom to find happiness and I think he had a hand in giving us Jerry. I see him everyday in my children's smile, when I see their dimples. The same dimple he had. I know he is here in my heart living forever. I miss him everyday and I am truly grateful to have had him even if it was only 10 short years.

How wonderful is it that my Mom found love twice in this lifetime by two amazing men? I think she's blessed....we all are. :)

So we thought a pool was a great idea until...

Ear Infections! Makayla had swimmer's ear last week and this week apparently, it's Aidan's turn. I always want my kids to take turns, but come on!!! Makayla saw the doctor last week and they gave us a free sample of those ever-so-wonderful $100 drops. Thank God. Then 3 days later she was much better. Makayla is awful...let me repeat...AWFUL about being sick or taking any kind of medicine. It's a battle. I win, but it's a battle, none the less. By the time we are done medicating Makayla, I feel like I need to be in an institution. It drives me crazy! Why won't the kid take the medicine knowing she will feel better if she did?? UGH!!! Then Aidan went this week to see the Dr. just for a check-up. He said when the kids are done swimming put a few drops of the over the counter drops in their ears just to dry them out, so I did. I did Aidan's and then 3 hours later he woke up with ear pain...on a Friday night! GREAT. So we have battled the ear pain for 2 days now until we can get to the doctor on Monday. I really think maybe I shouldn't have put the drops in Aidan's ears. If it's not broke, don't fix it...comes to mind. I feel horrible, wondering if this is what has caused his ear pain. I know how very bad ear infections hurt. I had horrible ears as a child! HORRIBLE. I had tubes put in in 1st grade and one fell out in 3rd grade-just like it was supposed to-but the other ear just kept having issue after issue. I finally saw a doctor and he saw a glimpse of something blue...yep, a tube! I was in 7th grade by then. I had to have it surgically removed. I've had to wear ear plugs in my ears while swimming and showering my whole life to avoid ear problems. I guess my kids will, too. So wish me luck tonight, because last night Aidan woke me up every hour on the hour in pain. Poor buddy. On to the doctor tomorrow...no pool this week....and ear plugs for the rest of the summer! Hopefully, this third trip to the doctor is the charm....We'll see.

You might be a redneck if...

You might be a redneck if....you get one of those blow up the ring pools for your backyard! Yep, we're definitely REDNECKS in the Sanchez house! We got the kids the 18 x 48 blue ring pool from Academy the other day and man, it's a job to set that thing up. First of all, you have to find a level spot in your yard. And let's face it, to find a level spot in our yard is quite tricky...remember this is the yard that caused our house to flood 2 summers ago-touchy subject! But we found one semi-level. Then we decided to put 2 tarps down just in case the stubborn grass decides to pierce thru the pool and continue to grow. Maybe this would only happen in Texas or at our house..not sure which. Then we tried to smooth out the wrinkles! This is a job, let me tell you. I sat in the pool smoothed while Leon pulled. I smoothed so much that my legs are sore today! I'd like to think smoothing the wrinkles was kinda like working out. Hmm...anyway then the filling began. We filled, filled and filled some more. The kids could not contain themselves and jumped in when there was like 2 inches of water. Who would have thought 2 inches of water could be so fun? We filled all night, just about..then the rain came. SUPER! Anyway, the pool is filled now and the kids had a great time playing in it today. I even managed to lay on my float, with my sunglasses on, a diet coke in my hand and loads of sunscreen. I didn't even burn today! Alert the media, because this, my friend, is a miracle! I may actually have gained a tad bit of color...and maybe only 45 new freckles. :) I think the pool is going to be an asset this summer for the kids and for me.....I wonder if I will still hear those famous summer words..."I'm BORED!" Probably, but hopefully not for a day or two!