Ben and his Pee-Pee

Ben is very proud of himself these days. He has discovered that he can get things wet. That liquid will flow out of his body at random moments and drench whatever is in front of him. This is incredibly funny to him. Good times. Good times.

Since his discovery, he has experimented with his pee-pee ability in several ways. At first, it was something he did in the bath as soon as his little feet hit the warm water. Then, the pee-pee started the moment his diaper came off and the water was still running for his bath. We of course whipped out the potty to show him what he should do with his pee-pee. He has been fascinated with sitting on the potty but he needs to stand to make (and watch) the pee-pee come out. So, for the time being, we have no pee-pee in the potty. However, we have had lots of pee-pee in other places.

After he got comfortable with his pee-pee happening right before bath, he decided to see if it would happen if he was not in the bathroom. This resulted in pee-pee on the carpet in his room and in the hall. Apparently, this was great fun for him and he decided to up the ante a bit before Mommy caught onto his new experimentation. The other night, as soon as I got his diaper off (water running for bath), he bolted out of the bathroom laughing. He has been into me chasing him lately so I didn't think anything of it. I also didn't think he would get too far since that required him to slide down the carpeted stairs with no diaper. I was wrong. After 3 seconds of faint giggling, I heard him yell "wee!" as he slid down the stairs buck naked on his tummy. So, I decided to go after him. Before I got to the top of the stairs, I hear him yelling "Pee-pee! Pee-Pee!" and laughing as hard as he can. By the time I got down stairs, he had pee-pee everywhere. The dogs were watching him in amazement. He had pee-peed in the hallway, dining room, hall to the garage and den. So, I scooped my giggling little boy up and brought him to his waiting bath and then I promptly cleaned up the evidence. I was sure to get a good teasing from my husband over this one. Well, about two minutes after I got it cleaned up, my husband arrives home comes upstairs and asks me why there is pee-pee all over the downstairs. Apparently, I underestimated my little Ben's abilities and didn't get all the evidence. My husband was quite proud and I am again reminded that I am living a life sentence in a locker room.

Christmas Programs

Sorry that it is long. I only put one song from each kid's performance in there. I think they are adorable- but I am their mother! Remember to turn off the blog music.

In a Cabin by the Woods

For entertainment purposes only. Turn off the blog music before viewing. Scroll down- its on the right.

12 Nights Before Christmas

‘Twas 12 nights before Christmas and all through the house,
all creatures were stirring, even the mouse.

Our ornaments and stockings were all hung up last night,
Then Ben found them and broke them or hid them from sight.

Our presents were wrapped in paper, ribbons and sacks,
Then Ben found them and hid them or fed them to Max.

Mom was in a panic and Dad in a rush,
as relatives made plans to come visit us.

Chaos was rampant and moods were quite heavy,
as winter concerts and programs made us all very weary.

The house was a mess and Ben was not well,
The dogs were always barking and Ben liked to yell.

Between breathing treatments and laundry, Mom was quite busy;
she dreamed of the day when life would be easy.

As we shop for presents with our dollars stretched thin,
we have visions of maids, nannies and a lottery win.

But, as Christmas comes near, we cannot lose sight,
of the peace, promise and hope of that night.

We pray that as we lay down for our long winter’s nap,
Peace will fall over us and we will have our sanity back.

Lori's Big Announcement

Take a deep breath. I am NOT pregnant. I have made a big decision. Gerry and I have been struggling to make it work financially since we gave up my job and half our income. Instead of going back to work, I have decided to open up my own home childcare business. I am excited about it. I feel this is what God is leading me to do. I really like this plan of his because I really don't want to go back to teaching full time. My babies need me at home. I plan to open in May. I will be keeping little ones during the day and maybe a few elementary age kids before and after school. The website is still under construction but you are welcome to visit it now if you like www.loveandlaughterchildcare.blogspot.com. If you live near me, feel free to pass along my info. Thanks!

Big Gerry's Big Award

In addition to being runner up in this year's 4A state honor band competition, Gerry is going to be the recipient of an award from UIL. This award is given to UIL sponsors who are outstanding not only in encouraging and supporting their students in UIL competitions, but also leading them to success. For those of you who know Gerry, you know how hard he works and how much he cares for each and every one of his students. It is nice to see him be recognized for his efforts and success. This award is given to only 12 UIL sponsors in the state and Gerry is the only recipient from the Dallas area. The Dallas Morning News will be doing an article about him. The superintendent from Frisco ISD, all the Frisco ISD board members and representatives from the state UIL office will be at his winter concert to present him with the award. Next time you see him, be sure to offer him congratulations. This is definitely a huge milestone in his career and we couldn't be prouder of him!

Adkison/Miller/Weaver Thanksgiving

We have survived another holiday! This year's Thanksgiving was jam packed with visiting, cooking, crafts, cooking, entertaining children, cooking, shopping and cooking. As always, we prepared enough food to feed an army. We started cooking on Wednesday and finished shortly before the meal was served on Thursday.

We arrived at my parent's house on Saturday afternoon and watched the OU game with them. Sunday was spent at church for the most part. On Monday, we made our first trip to Lawton in order to buy all the craft supplies I needed for the crafts I had planned for all the kids. We also spent the afternoon making Turkey Treats (thanks Debbi for the recipe). Gerry thought it was fun until he got a little messy. Ben really wanted to help so I put him in his booster seat and handed him a cookie- the foundation of the turkey. Just as I was getting his rice krispie turkey body ready, he decided to eat the cookie. So that was that.

On Tuesday, we headed to Walmart to buy groceries. By the end of that shopping trip, I was not in the holiday mood to say the least. They ran out of canned yams and we waited about 30 minutes to check out. I had never seen a Walmart that packed with people! That afternoon, Ethan and Gerry made the turkey centerpiece for our table. They had a great time and were very proud of their art work.

Wednesday, my Mom and I got up and started cooking. We finished at about 4:00 that afternoon. I was exhausted and we hadn't even reached thanksgiving day! That evening, Ethan and Gerry made the place cards. They used their fingerprints to make turkeys on each card. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that the stamp ink was permanent ink. They had some colorful fingers for several days.

Finally, thanksgiving day arrived. We started cooking again. We managed to get the green beans out of the pot and safely into the serving bowl this year- last year was not so good for the green beans. Brad fried up a turkey and Lisa cooked a ham. I think we set a record for the amount of food we prepared! Our cousins Bill, Judy, Nadine and Shawn were able to join us. It was a lot of fun! Enjoy the pictures.

Ben in Music at Preschool

My friend Molly whipped out her cell phone and recorded Ben in his music class at school. He really likes music and here is the evidence. Of course, you can clearly see that he is gifted and talented. Thanks Molly for recording my cutie pie! Be sure to turn off the blog music before you watch the video. The player is on the right- scroll down to the bottom.

MiMa and Playdough

Ben had recently started playing with playdough. He mostly likes to take it out of the container and put it back in the container. He uses the stamps every now and then. Since he is a messy little kid, the playdough and him get along great. He has also started to call me MiMa instead of Mommy. He has reversed the syllables of Mommy. I am not very thrilled with it because I am not a grandmother. My husband thinks it is hilarious and is encouraging MiMa use. In both their cases, I hope this phase will pass soon. I am sure Ben's phase will pass, but I have little hope for my Husband.

Frisco Community Parade

This Saturday, Big Gerry's band marched in the Frisco Community Parade honoring Veterans. The kids (and grandparents) had a lot of fun. It was very reminiscent of our days at Mardi Gras. You could definitely tell that we are seasoned parade goers from the people around us. We staked out a spot on the neutral ground complete with our parade chairs. We came with drinks and snacks. Gerry tied his "schweggmann's" bag to his belt loop. After the first couple of throws, we had to tell him to tone it down a bit. He was diving for the candy with no mercy like it were Mardi Gras day on Veteran's Highway. The only thing we were missing was our mardi gras ladder for the kids and parade costumes. I think if we would have brought those, we would have gotten some strange looks. You can take a New Orleanian out of Mardi Gras, but you can't take the Mardi Gras out of a New Orleanian. Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Halloween

The day started out as crazy hair day at Gerry's school. He went to school with red spiky hair and it actually held up all day. Later that evening, I took Elmo and Darth Vader trick or treating. Ben was not shy about knocking on doors and taking candy. He even said thanks a few times. Darth Vader meet his Nemesis, Anikin Skywalker on the trail and had a light saber battle. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures because I was chasing Elmo. I hope you enjoy the pictures I was able to snap! (Zachary may have slipped in there too!)

Miller Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkin tonight. Even Ben got in on the fun! Enjoy the pictures.

Zachary Elijah Miller

Little Zachary is here! We are so excited to welcome our newest little nephew and godson! He arrived at 7:35 a.m. weighing in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches long. Enjoy the pictures!

Here he is!

Proud parents Kyle and Kari!

Kyle with little Zachary!

Halloween Preview

The PTA at Gerry's school hosted a "Trunk or Treat" where volunteers decorated their trunks and the kids went trick or treating around the parking lot. It was a lot of fun to see everyone in their costumes. Here are some of our little Elmo and big Darth Vader.

Gerry was awed at by many half his size. He posed for several pictures.

Ben was tickled to be Elmo, who is his favorite. One of his twenty words is Elmo.

Ben loved the idea of accepting candy from strangers in the trunks of their cars! We had to pry the tootsie roll out of his hands for his bath.

The Team Captain

Gerry was the team captain for his soccer team today. He took it very seriously. In this picture, he is doing the coin toss. He played his best game and saved several goals (he is on the defense). We are very proud of him and his efforts. We are fully aware that the genes are stacked against him so we are excited with every effort he makes-no matter how small.

You will be happy to know that he started taking piano lessons this year. We are hoping that he got a few of the musical genes. He tells us that he is very good. Enjoy the pictures!

The Saturday Morning Pipe Dream

I enjoy the morning. I enjoy a leisurely breakfast where I can drink my coffee and read the paper. On a weekend morning, I am usually not be in a hurry to be some where and I enjoy relaxing in a peaceful house with my paper and coffee. I am coming to the realization that this ritual that I have come to cherish is a thing of the past. I don't want to admit it. I want to hold onto my pipe dream.

This morning, I was awakened by a screaming hungry toddler at 6:45 a.m. This is usually not the time my leisurely Saturday morning begins, but I bucked up and stumbled out of the bed. After tending to Max's bathroom needs and making Ben's breakfast, I made my coffee. Step one complete. I then started cooking my breakfast and retrieved the newspaper. I was that much closer to my relaxing morning. When Ben was done eating, I put him down to play outside of the gated kitchen. Of course he immediately started screaming because he wanted in the kitchen so he can play in the cabinets. When he realized that wasn't going to happen, he started playing his lets drive Mommy insane game with Max. This went on for a few minutes and luckily stopped as I got my breakfast ready and was sitting down to eat, drink and read. I was optimistic that I would at least have a few minutes of peace and I could keep the pipe dream alive. Then the drive Mommy insane game began again after which Ben decided to get underneath all the chairs and then scream when he was trapped. After he got bored with this, he decided to go upstairs and play toys. My spirit was renewed that I could enjoy my now slightly cold breakfast and luke-warm coffee. Then Max started. He wanted to be petted. He wanted to play. He wanted my attention! So, I ate the remainder of my breakfast in the fetal position atop my chair in order to keep Max from chewing my feet and scratching my legs. Finally, my husband got up and I was able to escape into the office and close the door where I was hoping to salvage a few minutes of a peaceful morning with my cold coffee. A short 60 seconds later, the door opens and in walks my husband with a toddler in his arms. I am giving up. I guess I will try again in 18 years. It was a nice dream...

The Mystery at Preschool

They cracked me up today! We were in the gym for recess. The gym is used for many different groups at the church and today it was a little messy from the evening before. There is a stage in the gym and we have instructed the children not to play past a certain point in front of the stage. This group of children kept going past the point and congregating in front of the stage deep in conversation. We asked them to go back several times but they kept drifting back to the front of the stage. Finally, I had to see what the fuss was all about so I went over to them and asked what they were doing. They told me that they had a mystery to solve. Mystery? I was intrigued so I started asking questions:

Me: What kind of mystery?

Kids: Well, there are clues on the stage.

Me: What clues do you see?

Kids: A jacket, two pairs of shoes, some empty drink cups and a tape player.

Me: What do you think about these clues?

Kids: Someone must be living up there!

Me: Really? Did you see anyone?

Kids: No, not yet, but we are looking. We think he is behind the curtain.

Me: I wonder who it could be?

This comment started a series of debates and they settled on this answer:

Kids: It must be the music teacher! There is a tape player on the stage and it plays music. Yes! The music teacher lives on the stage!

They were perfectly happy with this conclusion and ran off to play. Not only did they give me a good laugh, but they reminded me that in their brain, we live at the school.

Two Peas in a Pod

Chaos. That is a good word to describe my house. You would think I have all this under control. There are only two kids and two dogs, and occasional neighbor kid and me here much of the time. However, there are two family members that have joined forces to create mayhem. Ben (19 month old human) and Max (6 month old puppy) are two peas in a pod when it comes to chaos. They are both into everything. I have to keep Ben out of the kitchen because he has figured out how to open the child proofed cabinets. I have to keep Max in the kitchen because he is just plain bad. So the kitchen is gated off. Because of their gated limitations, they have developed a game: drive Mommy insane. Ben thinks its fun to give Max things. So he goes around the house picking up various objects with out discrimination and throws them over the gate to Max. Of course Max thinks this is wonderful and promptly chews up what ever Ben is willing to give him. This has lead to the destruction of some shoes, newspapers, various toys, papers for preschool and college awards. But believe it or not, that isn't the "Let's Drive Mommy Insane Game." That game goes more like this: For some reason, Ben thinks it is wildly funny to give Max his lovey. But once Max has is lovey for more than 5 seconds, he becomes upset and starts screaming to get it back. So, I go and get it from Max. Then, Ben will hold it so Max can see it and Max will begin to bark and bark for Ben to give the lovey to him again, which of course Ben does. And then Ben screams again. This goes round and round until I finally take the lovey and Ben away from the scene of the game. This doesn't stop the barking but it does distract Ben from giving the lovey to Max and screaming for a few minutes. Sigh... I need a vacation. Maybe I will go to Walmart alone when Gerry gets home.

Twinkle, Twinkle

Kari's Shower

(Kari's invitation with pictures of Zachary inserted- we signed a mat and framed it for her)

I forgot to include pictures from Kari's shower in the last post. After rescheduling it due to Hurricane Ike, it went off with much success. We had it in New Orleans at Monica's house. The big drama (besides the hurricane) was the cake. I made the cake. I needed to make it due to Kari's special needs diet and I was nervous about it. I was on a time limit where there was no room for mistakes. I had only worked with fondant once before in an experiment in my kitchen and if I messed it up, I couldn't start over since I bought the batter mix in Dallas and flew in with it to New Orleans. Thank God, it turned out fantastic! As you can imagine, I welcomed the cocktail Aunt Judy made when the cake was finally made and safely inside Monica's house. Everything was beautiful and I think everyone had a great time. Of course Kari looks great. She is one of those cutsie pregnant people you see the the magazines. We were all jealous! It was great to see everyone and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of little Zachary who is scheduled to be here on October 30th.

Here is the cake with the diaper cake centerpiece

The famous cake!

Kari cutting the cake ( I tried not to watch!)

Kari, Me and Monica

Cathy, Kari and Me (I wasn't having a good hair day!)

Sorry Its Been Soooo Long!

Well, folks I think my retirement is over. It was a great couple of weeks. I enjoyed it and I was glad to live with the illusion that I could be retired. Then life happened. As it always does. God is always teaching me that I am not in control and he has written the master plan for me. I admit that I am too hard-headed to learn it the first time, second time, etc... So, I am always learning it.

I am working part time for a preschool. I absolutely love it. I think I have always been a preschooler at heart. Who wouldn't enjoy spending the day making craft projects, snacking, playing at recess, singing songs, napping and listening to stories? The kids in my class are an absolute joy and I am blessed to work with the best staff in North Texas. Anyway, that has been keeping me busy.

And then there is cub scouts. I volunteered to be the assistant leader this year for Gerry's den. Even though I wanted to do a 180 and run after the owl pellet scene at twilight camp, I have stuck to it. In the past two weeks, it has become clear why I should be doing this. Our den has grown to 12 boys and our den leader is needing to spend more time with her family. So here I am! And it has been fun and will be fun since I am kinda planning a lot of stuff. If your boy has the opportunity to be involved in scouts, please take advantage! It is a great program where you get to meet great people. It has been a wonderful blessing to us!

And then there is Marching Band; the phenomena that takes over our lives for about 6 months of the year. Gerry has been working MANY hours with his own school. He is at school about 12 hours a day Monday thru Thursday and Friday he gets to school at 6:30 a.m. or so and returns Saturday at about 2:00 a.m. or so. Because of my "retirement" he has been taking on some judging gigs around the country and here in Dallas. He will also be doing a few clinics in his "spare" time. So, you have already figured out that I am basically a single Mom.

So that is why there have not been any posts. I hope that I will be able to get to this more often because we love to share our lives with you. But don't hold your breath!

Here are a few pictures from the past month or so:

Ben playing on the fire truck at Frisco Firesaftety town.

Gerry won the Musician of the Month Award at his school. We are so proud of him!

Gerry was the Flag Bearer in the flag ceremony at the September Mavs Fan Jam!

Ben in his sailor suit! Isn't he cute!

Gerry's First Bus Ride to School

Because I am working only part time this year, Gerry can ride the bus to and from school. He is very excited. Today was the first day of school and he (of course) chose to ride the bus. Here are a few pictures. When we asked him about the bus ride, he said it was a lot of fun and he was one of the older kids on the bus. I thought about that for a second and realized that he is in 3rd grade and elementary school stops at 5th grade. He is crossing the line to "upperclassman." I am starting to feel old!

I Couldn't Resist

I couldn't resist snapping a picture before I had them get out of Sammy's kennel. You don't have to be too grossed out. Sammy rarely goes in there and I clean it out on a regular basis.

Ben's First Bubble Bath

Ben and I played outside this evening and he got absolutely filthy. When we came inside, we still had an hour to go before bedtime. I decided to let him take a really long bath and then I remembered that we had bubble bath. He was afraid to move around in the bubbles at first. After about one minute, he was back to his dare devil little self and had a great time splashing all the bubbles.

Gerry and Cameron the Chefs

Gerry and Cameron made cupcakes today. I had some leftover buttercream icing and let them make their icing what every color they wanted. Cameron chose chocolate and Gerry chose blue. Here they are icing their cupcakes.

Gerry's 31st Birthday

We celebrated Daddy's 31st birthday with a little cake and dinner.

Ben's First Steps

At 17 Months, he finally got around to walking. Enjoy the video.

Ben and Gerry Dancing

I know the video is dark, but I thought it was too cute! Ben and Gerry are dancing to the patriotic music from the D.C. celebration airing on PBS. Ben has become quite the dancer and enjoys the antics of his big brother.

Family Reunion and Fourth of July

We recently visited my parents in Walters Oklahoma. It was the Adkison's turn to host the High Family reunion. It was fun to participate and see all of the high family. I put together a slide show of some of my grandmother's old pictures and I think everyone enjoyed seeing pictures of the big 10 growing up and in their hay day. It also gave me the opportunity to label them correctly. I plan to make a DVD of my grandmother's pictures but as I continue on with this project, the actually making of the DVD seems many weeks away- scanning is time consuming!

The boys enjoyed visiting their grandparents. They were totally spoiled. My Mom discovered that little Gerry liked bacon and he must have had 13 pieces of bacon one morning! Ben is so spoiled that now that we are home, he cries when I am not holding him. I hope he gets over it soon. Here are some pictures. Hope you had a great fourth!

Twilight Camp

Gerry has been at Cub Scout Twlight Camp this week. He has had a great time, but Mom has figured out that Big Gerry needs to attend these events in the future. When she found out what an owl pellet was and then was told that we had to dissect one, she decided that this cub scout camp stuff was not for her. Here are a few pictures.

The Frame for the Soap box car (Gerry on the left)

Gerry at Archery (in the middle)

Gerry dissecting Owl Pellets

shhh......Max chewing on Daddy's flip flop

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Father's Day

We spent Father's Day at the Miller's. We missed Daddy! Here are a few pictures. We can't wait for Daddy to come home!

Our New Blog

Lori has "retired" and our family has taken the big step for her to be a stay at home Mom. And that is why we now have a blog. She actually has time for stuff like this! We are all very excited as we embark on this new chapter for our family. Gerry is touring with the Cadets again this summer. He has only been gone a week and we feel like it has been a year. He comes home for a tour break next Friday and we are really looking forward to his visit.

For those of you who haven't heard, we have a new family member- Max. He is a white and cream mearled pomeranian. He is 11 weeks old on Monday and is into everything. His favorite things to do are chew on feet/pant legs, steal toys from Ben and bark at Sammy. Sammy is warming up to him but is not about to give up his position as top dog to a two pound annoying noise maker who steals his toys.