CATCHING UP

So I have taken a little break from blogging, but am back in the saddle after my 5 month sabbatical. I am going to catch up over the next few posts more for my me and my lack of ability to remember what happened yesterday, let alone a year ago! So here it goes:

BIRTHDAYS

Nicholas turned nine this year. I am often amazed and saddened at how quickly my boys are growing up!
9 things I love about Nick:
1. He is hilarious
2. He is extremely generous
3. He is a loyal friend
4. He loves his cousins
5. He would give his favorite shirt off of his back if someone said they liked it
6. He is the epitome of a Super Fan for his brother
7. He doesn't take anything from anyone
8. He has an infectious laugh
9. He is strong-willed




Showing off his Under Armour Outfit

Sporting his new Texas Longhorn hat

This was Nick posing as an Abercrombie Model with his new Abercrombie Sweatshirt. I thought that his father and I were going to wet our pants when he posed like this! It was hilarious!

Matthew celebrated his 12th birthday with a group of boys. We went to the football field and played a little tackle football. They had a blast. A few grass burns, but luckily no broken bones!

Matthew wanted a new lawnmower for his birthday.....I do not know many 12 year old boys that want a mower for their birthday. I did not have it in me to give him that, so his dad opted for new golf clubs instead!

12 things I love about Matthew:

1. His ability to lead others by his example

2. His willingness to work hard without complaint

3. His subtle yet funny personality

4. His desire to do what is right

5. His loyalty to his family and friends

6. His dedication to his studies

7. His ability to calm a room

8. His competitive yet humble attitude

9. His generosity towards those less fortunate

10. His tender heart

11. His excellent personal hygiene :)

12. That he still hugs me and tells me he loves me!

(not sure how long that will last)

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Nick was voted by his peers as AWESOME ATHLETE of his class! He was stoked by his award. No need for the reading or math award...he has that down....but AWESOME ATHLETE was the one I know he wanted!

5th grade had a little different award ceremony. They were awarded medals based upon their test scores along with awards from their teachers. Matthew aced all of his tests, so he earned 3 gold medals. They were suppose to dress up nice for the awards ceremony.....Some wore suits, others wore vests and some a little more casual.

Matthew was awarded the MVP award for his class. This was the award given to the student that was the most well-rounded student. What an amazing accomplishment! We are soo proud of both of our boys! Congratulations Matthew and Nick!

DAY WITH THE MAYOR

I was recently at the school volunteering for PTA and was asked to come into the Principal's office. Now being a parent of two boys and being asked to step in to the Principal's office can be a little concerning at times. Not that I think that my boys would get into any trouble, but you just never know. So Mrs. Rowan proceeds to tell me about this opportunity that came across her desk regarding a day with the Mayor of Frisco. She tells me that she was asked to chose a model 5th grade student that best exemplified what Pink Elementary stands for. A Student that is trustworthy, hardworking, thoughtful, kind and so forth. She said that the decision was unanimous amongst her and the 5th grade staff. Drum roll please...................They chose Matthew!!!! I was so touched by the fact that here this sweet young man that I know is wonderful, is being recognized by a staff that has only known him for a little over a year! What an honor.

Matthew and Mayer Maso

Mrs. Rowan hyping up this award. She told all of the students about the festivities of the day with the Mayor. The biggest excitement came when she told them about the Limo ride!

Matthew being called out of the crowd of 700+ students to find out that he was chosen. (The picture wasn't great because I was too far away, but he was so surprised)



Matthew and his dad


Now that is a priceless smile. We are so proud of the young man that he is becoming. He is such a wonderful example to all that he comes in contact with. Way to go Matthew!




Matthew and Mrs. Rowan


"THE LIMO" pulling in to pick up the kids

Matthew getting ready to head off to meet the Mayor.

Matthew is going to have numerous opportunities to make a difference in this world. He stands for what he believes in and does not waver. I look forward to the many wonderful things that he will accomplish throughout his life. We are so proud of you Matthew!

Best of Friends

Donna and I met 8 1/2 years ago while living on Fabens Ln. in Gilbert, Arizona. We hit it off from the start and became the best of friends. Our boys were the same ages which made for great play dates, lots of trips to the park and numerous outings for lunch at McDonald's. 4 1/2 years after we met, we moved away to Las Vegas, but always stayed in touch with daily phone calls and trips back and forth to and from Arizona. Even when I moved further away to Texas, we have continued to see one another and talk all the time.

She has been with me through some of the most heartbreaking tragedies in my life and at the drop of a hat would come to my aid if needed. I often tell my children when they talk about missing their friends and how they wished that they lived here or there. I remind them that instead of being sad for not being there, they need to be grateful for the opportunity to get to know those that they miss so much. That's how I feel about Donna. I know that the Lord knew that I needed her and she needed me. I can not imagine my life without her in it and for that, I will always be thankful.

So why this tribute to Donna.......it is because she just took off back to Phoenix after spending a fun filled weekend with me here in Frisco, TX. She tackled her fear of flying and even held tight during the SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO WARNING that we had last night. We ate lots of yummy food, took in a chick flick, shopped, stayed up late talking and even shed a few tears. We had so much fun just being together. The only regret is that I did not BLAST Enrique like I used to do back in the good ol' days!!!

Thanks for the memories Donna!

SO LONG MY DEAR FRIEND

For as long as I can remember I have drank soda. During my younger years it was regular soda and over the past 5 or so years it has been diet soda. I have contemplated on numerous occasions giving it up but never had the courage nor the will power to do so. Over the past few months I've been killing myself at the gym and really have seen little progress for the amount of effort that I have been putting in. I think that a major reason for lack of results is due to my addiction to soda. I drink an excessive amount and have finally come to a place where I am good with letting it go. I know that it may sound weird to some out there...but it has been a source of happiness in my life.


There is nothing better than a frosty beverage out of the fountain on a hot summer day. I especially like a diet coke with lime when I am out to dinner or just hanging watching a movie at home.

Coke Zero has been my beverage of choice for quite some time now. I will be donating my recently purchased 24 pack to my dear friends The Peterson's tomorrow:) I know that for the next couple of days I will go through major withdrawal...but have plenty of water and Advil on hand. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Nick's Ortho Update

Nicholas has been undergoing extensive orthodontic treatment over the past 9 months....He recently had to have a tooth pulled to allow his permanent tooth to have a place to call home.

Check out the size of the roots on that tooth. They were deep and I do not think that the tooth would have budged for a quite some time. Nick did absolutely amazing at the Dentist. No laughing gas...just a little Motrin after. I think that he has an extremely high tolerance for pain. Way to go Nick!

This is his lovely face mask! I initially thought that he was going to wear head gear.....but he was not that fortunate. He thinks that this apparatus is pretty cool. The day that he was fitted for it he wore it out of the office. Our Orthodontist told him that he only needed to wear it at night.....but Nicholas thought that it was cool and insisted on wearing it out that day!!

It looks worse than it is.....It is suppose to pull his top jaw forward and push his lower jaw backwards........it seems to be doing a great job. He wears it to bed every night and who know when he will no longer need to wear it. So he's had a top and bottom expander, face mask, 4 braces and a tooth pulled. I am sure that there is more on the horizon for Nick.

He really has been a trooper when it comes to his treatment. I look forward to the day when he is finished and we can see the final product.

2 TEETH, ONE HEAD AND 2 STAPLES

So what do you get when you have 4 boys and a girl playing hide and go seek at the Hendrix household?

You get two front teeth to Matthews head!

Two Staples following shortly there after!


Lots of Neosporin to keep it moist!


And Matthews first official trip to the ER for an accident!



So my girlfriend calls and wants me to watch her kids while she and her 14 year old daughter camp out at the mall to see "Edward" from the upcoming movie Twilight. I do not blame them one bit.....They were front row joeing it at the stage and I too would have stayed put for my child to see whomever they wanted to see!

So envision 5 screaming, wild kids beaming balls at one another , playing tag and wrestling all around our house for hours. I could not send them in the backyard because the night before we had the Amazon River flowing through it and it would have been destroyed had they been out there. So I send them out front to shoot some hoops and play catch while I start dinner. Needless to say, the basketballs go in to the yard next to me which consists of mud, mud and more mud. Lo and behold Nicholas decided to go into the mud with his BRAND NEW ADDIDAS TENNIS SHOES on and I just about lose it once I see what he has done. I do not know how many times I have told him to stay out of the mud in his good shoes. I want to hit him over the head with his muddy shoe, but settle with dragging it across the grass a few hundred times as I attempt to scrap off the layers of mud from his BRAND NEW SHOES! AHHHHHH.


I shuffle everyone inside to feed them dinner and tell them that it is time for some down time. Somehow down time/quiet time =Hide and Go seek to the kids. I figure no harm can come if they stay upstairs and stay out of the attic, right? Fast forward to Matthew coming down the stairs with blood dripping down his face and all over his hands. Now I am freaking out inside because blood and Aimee do not go hand in hand. All of the kids are around me and I feel like the walls are closing in on me as I try to asses the situation. Now I understand why the paramedics tell you to back up when there is an accident....it is because it is STRESSFUL ENOUGH trying to deal with the injured let alone all the people hovering around you.

I get the bleeding to stop and get a better look at the gap that has been left by Alec's' two front teeth. Alec's' teeth are hurting so I ensure that they are not loose and am relieved to know that there is not another injury. Luckily Alec's mom is a nurse and she was on her way home while this was going on...so she checked it and since Matthew was heading to a 3 day sleepover camp with school, she felt that he should be taken in for stitches.

Two shots of lidocaine, two staples and a ton of neosporin later, we returned home thankful that Matthew was cleared for camp. I assume that this is the first of many to come when you have a house full of boys.

ONLY NICHOLAS AND HIS FRIENDS

Okay..........well this story starts back some time ago when Matthew played his first season of baseball. Well as most of you parents know, when you have a son and he plays any type of semi-contact sport, he typically wears a cup. Most boys love the day that they get to wear their cup for the first time. They knock on it...tap it with the bat....shift it around until it is in the right spot and so on.....Well on Matthews debut of the wearing the cup...Nicholas wasn't sure what it was and playing the perfect role of the annoying little brother, he runs around the house pointing at himself while shaking his hips back and forth yelling, "WEINER THINGY....WEINER THINGY....Matthew is wearing a WEINER THINGY......"!!!! Adam and I could barely contain ourselves. We were hysterically laughing. The thing that we have found with boys is that there is always something to poke fun at when it comes to stuff like this.

Fast forward a few years.....to just last weekend. We went over to our friends the Nate's to have some dinner and play this awesome game from Germany called LeGretto?!(something like that)....anyway.....as the adults are playing the game and the kids are thrashing around in the house....in just their underwear(Michael, 8, Preston, 6 and Nicholas, 8) Mind you Nicholas is always running around in his underwear. For some odd reason that we can not figure out, he likes to just hang out in his underwear. Needless to say on this occasion he had arrived at their house wearing his baseball uniform and as Nick would put it, "His Weiner Thingy" as well. Well as Nicholas is strutting his stuff around, Michael came up with a new name for the Weiner Thingy.......He called it a NUT BAG!!!!! Have you ever heard of a funnier name. I thought that Gina (Michael's Mom) and I were going to wet our pants we were laughing soo hard. I find that as a Mother of two boys and being surrounded by all of their friends that I have to be ready for what they throw my way. I am sure that there will be many more funny stories along the way. Thanks for the laughs Nicholas!!!