I Live in Micah's Truck

I know it's been a while since I have posted...we have been really busy! But this one was too good not to share.

We finally closed on our house, so for the moment we are staying in my cousin's camper behind my mom. It is a really nice camper that is brand new (thanks to Mark and Candi for trusting us enough to let us use it!) Reagan, for some reason, calls it Micah's truck. Seriously...at bedtime, she says it's time to go sleep in Micah's truck.

So, this morning, a mom walks into daycare (which thankfully Candi owns) and says to Candi, "Did you know Reagan's family was sleeping in a truck? Can't we find them some help somewhere to get them a home?"

Of course Candi burst out laughing and explained to the mom what was going on. It seems Reagan asked her son if he wanted to spend the night with her and sleep in the truck. That was one close call away from having a CPS investigation!

We really need to find a house...SOON!

Summertime...and the living is easy!

Ok - so not really! Maybe this title should say and the living is crazy. Last weekend was the first weekend the boys have actually stayed home in a while, and since school is offically out, we decided to make a day of it. We went to the zoo and had a picnic and then we went to Tiffany's house to grill and swim. We had a blast and really enjoyed our Sunday only to remember that for some crazy reason Richard and I are both working summer school which means we actually still have to wake up and go to work. What was that reason again? Oh yeah, cha-ching!

Mason is going to VBS this week at Denman Avenue. He is loving it, and I love hearing him quote scriptures to me. Connor was going to go to VBS with him, but then he decided not to go. I love the reason he gave for not going. He said, and I quote, "They might not know me there." Not, I might not know them, but they might not know him. Oh my, the things he says.

Mason is also on a newly formed select soccer team. This means that instead of playing in Lufkin every Saturday in the fall, we will be traveling to play teams from other towns. What other towns you might ask? Nacogdoches - about 25 minutes away? Nope! Oh - Tyler? About an hour away? Nope! There are good chances that the majority of his games will be 2 plus hours away! Heads up family and friends in the Houston and College Station areas - action and adventure in the form of LFC Hawk soccer will most likely be coming to a town near you! Keep your ears open for dates and times to come!! Who you might ask, was brave enough to form this new team of which I speak? Why, Richard and I of course!! We were lucky enough to find some other great coaches to help and we are hoping to have a great season, but he and the other coaches have to get a license to coach the team. Yep, that's right, the state of Texas says his four years of college and 16 hours of training each year makes him perfectly capable of coaching high school, UIL teams perfectly well, but he's not quiet certified enough to "offically" coach 10 and 11 year olds.

In other Meisel family news, Richard also has the joy this summer of getting his CDL driver's license so he can drive the school bus when his team travels to play other teams. (This would be his "big" boy team - otherwise known as his paying gig.) So that means sometimes this summer, he will take his test, get his permit, put in twenty hours of behind the wheel, take a twenty hour class to be certified to drive a bus, and become a certified bus driver for Lufkin ISD. Considering everything else we have to do this summer, this could actually possibly not only make him certified, but also certifiable.

Did I mention that we are also definitely, possibly, probably most likely, actually going to close on our house sometime in the very near future. This transaction has been in the works since February - and now it seems to be coming to fruition. That is wonderful news other than the fact that I still have no idea where we are moving to and the closing dates falls precariously close the time we will be traveling to Baltimore for a few weeks for the much needed vacation from our vacation. That's right! There is a good chance that we will leave for two to three weeks away from home without a home to be away from. (There's a toungue twister for you.)

So to sum it all up, Richard and I are both working summer school, I have several weddings to photograph, he is in the process of getting his CDLs and his coaching certification to coach youth, we should be moving shortly but we don't really know where to, and we will be driving to Baltimore to two weeks. Mason is practicing with and playing on a traveling select team coached by my wonderful husband and managed by me. Connor is being Connor which in and of itself is a wonderful but sometimes trying experience. All in all it is mounting up to one crazy summer.

And...did I mention Reagan has started dance class? OH MY!! I need a nap after just writing about it!

My Hubby's Anger Management

I should probably start this post by telling you that I am married to the most patient, most loving, most caring man in the world. When I am ready to pull my hair out at the kid's fighting, he laughs and says, "They are just being kids." When I get angry at other people's stupidity, he says, "Honey, the only person being angry at that is hurting is you." That being said, I have finally figured out what he does with all his anger that he doesn't show 95% of the time - he saves it up for the road! Yep, that's right, my husband should be the poster boy for road rage.

We were driving home from College Station last night after dropping Reagan off with Grammy for the weekend. We took in the last few innings of the Lufkin Panther baseball playoff game. We were looking forward to a kid-free weekend. We had plans to head to Shreveport for an adult weekend this afternoon. I guess what I am saying is there wasn't anything to hurry home for. We could have enjoyed the drive and scenery, but no! We were behind a few cars that were driving a little below the speed limit, and the demon showed his head. Richard was pounding on the steering wheel, yelling at the drivers, cussing about why anyone would drive 55 mph in a 65 mph zone. Then I realized...while my husband is perfect in almost every way, he might could use some anger management in this area.

What really funny is this fact just makes me love him more. I have so many faults and weaknesses, that seeing he might have one also makes me feel like we really are perfect for each other!

Off to Shreveport for a romantic weekend with my husband...wonder if he will let me drive?

Reagan's Too Honest Sometimes

When Reagan woke up this morning, I got her dressed and fixed her hair. She said, "Me got pretty hair mommy." Of course, ever the English teacher, I decided she was three now and it was time to start working on her use of the language. I said, "I have pretty hair Reagan," trying to get her to use the correct pronoun. She proceeds to say, "No mommy, you not got pretty hair." I said,"No Reagan, say, 'I have pretty hair,'." She says (are you ready for this)..."Mommy, I not suppose to lie."

Bye Mommy

My mom just picked Reagan up to take her shopping for "pretty" nail polish colors because Reagan informed her the other day that she needed better colors. When they were leaving the backyard, Reagan said, "Bye mommy." My mom told her, "Tell her see you later alligator." Reagan says, "See you ga later, later see you..." After about a minute of trying to get it right, she put her hand on her hip, cocked her head to the side, and said, "BYE MOMMY!" She then looked at my mom with a face that said, "I dare you to try to make me say that again!" She is so full of attitude already!!!

The Year of the Snake?!?

Mason and I went to the Chinese buffet down the street today - yummy! While we were eating, we noticed the placemats talked about the "year" you were born according to the Chinese calendar, and I realized I didn't even know what my animal was. I was born in 1977 - the year of - wait for it -the snake! Seriously, if anything could have been more wrong for me, I can't imagine what it is. I hate snakes. I hate snakes more than anything else in the world. I will not walk through the reptile house at the zoo and Richard has learned to warn me as soon as possible if a snake is on television or in a movie. The few times I have had to endure a snake encounter of any kind, I have woken up in the middle of the night screaming from a nightmare about snakes. In fact, Richard will never let me forget the night I woke him up in middle of the night, screaming that there were snakes under the bed and made him look under it with a flashlight before going back to sleep. Yep, I hate snakes. The idea that I was born in the year of the snake is ludacris to me. However, I hope there is something to this whole Chinese calendar thing, because according to it, my children are perfectly compatible with each other. Mason was born in the year of the dragon, Connor was born in the year of the monkey, and Reagan was born in the year of the rat. Supposedly, those three symbols are more compatible with each other than any others on the calendar. I envision many years to come with them loving each other and supporting each other through thick and then. But, then I remember that this is the same calendar that puts me in alignment with snakes and I think, "Nah, probably not going to happen!"

Along similar lines, guess what Cera killed in the backyard this afternoon - you guessed it, a snake! And guess what I, the wonderful mother that I am, did? I sent the 10 year old into the backyard to help her of course. No way I'm going anywhere near a snake. But I am pretty sure Richard will have some interesting stories to share about my dreams tonight!

The tooth fairy is a thief...

Connor lost his first tooth this weekend at his dad's house. He brought the tooth home to show it to us and finally put it under his pillow last night. He was so excited about finding money under his pillow when he woke up this morning. Here's the deal though...

It seems the tooth fairy was running a little low on funds last night, so she or he (Connor seems to believe the Rock really is the tooth fairy) seems to have broken into my purse and "borrowed" a $10 bill from inside Connor's money envelope in my purse. He would have borrowed it from my wallet, but I never have any cash. He would have borrowed it from Richard's wallet, but Richard never has any cash. He would have borrowed it from Mason's envelope, but Mason's envelope usually only has IOU's to me in it since he spends money faster than he gets it. Yeap, the only member of this family who knows how to save money and keep cash is Connor. So, the tooth fairy had to borrow $10 from Connor's stash to give Connor for his tooth. I would report this crime to the police department, but I am absolutely certain that he will return it tonight (or tomorrow, depending on how busy the ATM is tonight!)

On a side note: Inflation is more evident in the dental industry than anywhere else. When I lost my teeth, I recieved a quarter a tooth!