Coping strategies anyone?

So, my sweet daughter has NO coping strategies. seriously. she just breaks down - physically and emotionally - when everything is not absolutely perfect or exactly her way. i dont think i am the type of mom to just give in and give a child her way... but honestly, i cant take it anymore. you see the picture of her in the hall screaming and crying? that was just exhibit 763a. honestly, those fits happen so often, it drives me NUTS! this morning on the way into the gym, she had another episode, because she didnt like her hair the way i did it. this is how her fits go: her legs collapse, she screams and crys, there is no consolling her, i giver her hugs and tell her it will be ok, i bribe her, i hold her hand, i TRY EVERYTHING! (at least i think i try everything) but she still cant function. then, i start threatening - "i'm going to count to 3 then you will get a spanking" which doesnt help... any ideas? or is this just what i get with a girl?

3 Things

1. Aaron had his first day of school today!!! YAY! He was so excited! He is such a stud. I am so glad he gets to finally be in all day school! Here's my new 1st grader!

Here's Charity. Ya, she cried like this the ENTIRE time (from the car, to the classroom, back to the car). I could not get her to stop. People stared, I felt like a Super Mom. But, I HAD to go in and talk to his teacher, and get things to my PTA girlfriends. Notice she is still wearing what she wore yesterday? I am SOOO awesome - but that was a DIFFERENT emotional breakdown. At least my boys were in clean clothes.

2. The blinds on our back door were suffering a slow painful death at the hands of our 3 children. So, Joe and I went to the store and decided to get those cool enclosed blinds. Unfortunately, the curse of the failed home improvement projects is upon us; tried as we might, our door was just not going to give in and allow a simple install. SO, we went to the store and returned the enclosed blinds. We decided to go with an entirely NEW back door with the blinds already INSIDE the glass. I went so far as to take the door off, and take it to the store so they could measure it EXACTLY and there was no miscommunication as far as measurements go.... WELL... the door came in. It looked just right, except we needed to buy ROUNDED hinges. No biggy. With only 1 extra trip to the store, we got the door hung. It looks great!!!! Time to shut it. AGGGHHHHHH the threshold is a fraction too high (or the sweep is too big). So, we try to screw it down and poof.... the threshold is rotten and falls apart. Joe is now gone till thurs, and this is what i get to look at till i can motivate him to pick up his tools again... Another trip to the store...Positive: the blinds are in the glass, and my kids cant break them (yet?) Negative: It is SOOOO hot and gross so just imagine all the bugs and heat that will come in through my back door now :(

3. Fantasy football draft #1 done... i am having panic attacks. i had to go to church and play piano for choir, so i missed the LIVE draft for the VERY COMPETITIVE league joe and his brothers do. i gave him my draft sheet, with rankings, and even what rounds i wanted to take what in... HOWEVER, joe decided he knew what was best. he passed up carson palmer and gave me drew brees. (joe conveniently picked up palmer for HIS team). then, rather than ANYONE higher ranked (i.e. gore, westbrook were still available), i got reggie bush... not too bad, but SERIOUSLY?? well, thanks for doing my draft for me (he says i will be eating my words when i kick everyones trash) but i am doubting it. i just dont think that strategy will work for me? at least i have another league i am involved with. joe, i love you and i appreciate you caring enough about me to get those players; however, with my fantasy football luck, they will all get injured, and i am SOL when the saints have a bad game... Essentially, i feel like i am playing a settlers game where the "unbiased banker" placed my initial settlements!!! sigh.

Inspiring!

Ok, what do you think of this?
For those of you who dont want to read the story:

a 59 yr old guy got kicked off his college football team his sr year. after years of regret, he still has 1 more year of eligibility, so he is going for it. ( just IIIA school in tx) but still!!

dont we all want redemption? how long do we wait to go get it?

my thoughts in relation to this particular story:
1. i SOOOO TOTALLY relate - wow highschool cheer anyone? (unfortunately, i am past my prime, and would not DARE TO BE FOUND in a cheer skirt!!!)
2. SADLY, i think he will get his BEHIND kicked; he will prob seriously injure himself
3. i wish i had the guts to do this. i would love to go back to college and do something fun like that. not that i would do cheer or try to be younger than i am. i was just so boring and practical. i traded fun and excitement for a degree that gets me NOTHING! if i had the chance to go back - as an adult, would i?
4. i'm inspired. maybe i will go back to college or somewhere and take ceramics or jewelry or even dance again... i think i just feel like, maybe i can go do something that i always wanted to do, but didnt... (masters?)
4. finally... what position do you think he will play? i dont think he could do linebacker anymore? well, maybe??? maybe on the O-line? hmmmm if i was the coach, i would want him out there as an example, but i wouldnt want him to get hurt... i think maybe the long snapper?

Quick Explanation:

ok wanna know how steph became phanelb? when she lived w/us, it got confusing (my little sis was stephanie allen too) so, my dad (the werid genious) said: an elbow is higher than a knee, so we can have steph-a-knee (my little sister cause she was younger/shorter) and steph-an-elbow (my aunt, who was older/taller). From there, steph-an-elbow got shortened to phanelb. See, it makes perfect sense.?.

Today:

Today, we went to the zoo w/Steph (phanelb) and her kiddos... (i stole this pic from her blog cause i forgot my camera)
it was a perfect day there: we got there early. it was not crowded. it was not too hot. the white tiger was out and ANIMATED! the kids played well together. we ate lunch. we played in the indoor barn thing in texas town. we left. seriously, it doesnt get any better! I LOVE MY ZOO PASS!

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE: today is monday... i have to wait till thurs for my hubby to get home now. he just started his new consulting job at deloitte. last week, (his first at this new job) he was gone only wed & thurs. but, now, he will be gone mon-thurs EVERY WEEK!!! ok, i can do this?!??? i just have to tell myself what a great opportunity this is for him. i am independant, RIGHT?? who needs a man at home EVERY night? well, at least there is less pressure for me to clean and cook a great meal every night! (did i even do that anyways?) i guess it just hit me - i'll really miss him, but i guess i can get used to this?

SPOILER WARNING!

i fell for all the hype, and read twilight on my way to disney world, new moon on my way home, and eclipse early last week.

so, i have been putting off posting about this, but i cant take it any longer. what did you guys think? i was SOOO aggrivated by the end. seriously, stephenie meyer, when you write a 500+ page book, cant you write about more than feelings? i mean, i was tortured the whole time i read it, wondering what would happen, and in the end, NOTHING HAPPENED!!! there were no plot twists or turns. i didnt have to read closely each chapter looking for some forshadowed event. it was like she had a picture of edward and bella, a picture of jacob, and then drew a line to them all fighting together and beating the victoria character - all that took more than 500pages?? nothing else happened!!! there was nothing i had to read into. i appreciate the fact it was written for a younger audience, but even the harry potter series had important little turns that happened in each chapter! nothing of the sort happened in new moon or eclipse. ok, i get it, edward and bella are in love. couldnt jacob have imprinted with angela or something? couldnt SOMETHING else of importance happen? right now, i have invested 3 days of my life to reading this "trilogy" and i am just frustrated. i think i am going back to jane austen.

Nate's Haircut

So, i chopped it off... all those precious curls...

i think he looks so much older?

Fantasy Football Anyone?

if i had #1: Or #2:

ok, i LOVE football!!! i am so excited even about preseason. are any of you playing fantasy football??? well, i am, and my husband and i are pretty competitive about it.

Anyways, i watched the 1st half (cause that is really all that mattered) of the cowboys against the colts last night. i am excited about tony romo - who knows, will he be my qb??? anyone have opinions about dallas defense? i dont think i will go with them. but, i am a die hard dallas fan, so i have to pick at least a few of the players! (NOT for my K, but maybe for my W/T or WR) any opinions out there? what sites do you use for your cheat sheets?

of course, i depend on http://www.fftoolbox.com/ but i also found

http://mvn.com/brunoboys2007-cheatsheet.pdf

i liked the info they put together, but it lost a bit of credibility when they used roy williams, fiery, and "led by" in the same sentance when they were talking about dallas' D.

anyways, WOO HOO for football!!!

Disney World

So, we went on a last minute trip to florida & disney world

So, if you are wondering how this happened:

joe is in "transition" - changing jobs (his new one starts monday)

SO, he came home and said, lets take the kids to disney world during that week i am "unemployed" ;)

i jumped on board immediately... so, friday, after his last day of work at his old job, we drove down to houston to drop the baby off w/joe's mom and sis-in-law (and to hang out w/his bro too) then, sunday, we DROVE to florida (about 13.5 hrs). We did Magic Kingdom on monday, then Tues, we hopped around from Animal Kingdom, Epcot and then ended up at Magic Kingdom again till midnight. Then, wed, we slept in and drove back to houston. the kids were great. nate didnt miss me at all, and everything worked out perfectly. my kids are seriously AWESOME in the car (joe prefers complete silence as he drives, and they comply)

My Laundry

Happy cleaning day!!! ;)

They forgot this verse in "If You Could Hie To Kolob"

There is no end to Laundry

There is no end to dust

There is no end to dishes

There is no end to rust.

There is no end to diapers

There is no end to crud

There is no end to cleaning

There is no end to mud.

so, am i the only person in the world who waits and waits and waits to put laundry away? i have no problem doing it, and even folding it and putting it into bins and piles for their respective destinations... but do i really have to put it away?

and, to be honest, i have 2 more loads processing and one more in the queue.... ahhhhhh laundry! ;)

truth is told me

So, i did one of those quiz things...

You Are An ESTP

The Doer You are adventurous and risk taking. You act first, think second. You love being the center of attention. Chances are you were the class clown. Competitive, charming, and charismatic - you have your own code of honor. You live a flexible life, bouncing between a series of activities that interest you. In love, you are a master seducer... and quite manipulative when you want to be. If someone loves you, you'll only believe their actions. Words don't mean a whole lot to you. At work, you are a "people person." You're especially good at getting people to do what you want. You would make a great salesperson, marketing director, or entrepreneur. How you see yourself: Reasonable, proficient, and tough How other people see you: Flaky, unrealistic, and untrustworthy

What's Your Personality Type?

ok, i am NOT the master seducer, i am NOT very good at getting other people to do what i want, and i would DEFINATELY NOT make a good salesperson/entrepeneur...

BUT lets focus on the end there...
How you see yourself: Reasonable, proficient, and tough
How other people see you: Flaky, unrealistic, and untrustworthy

truth hurts, but, i think i can face it. I KNOW THIS ABOUT MYSELF!!! for example, how many times have i set up VT appointments and forgotten about them!!

OR... 8 years ago, i convinced my husband i was ALL logical and not emotional at all. joe still brings up that conversation, cause apparently, i AM emotional (although in my head, i feel completely rational!)