Love My New Camera

I'm loving my new camera... I've been taking pictures all day just to get used to it. Of coarse my favorite subject being my family. However, I have a couple of hams in mine.

Like father, like son

This one is just too adorable. Sean looks like another kid without his glasses.

And The Most Favorite Present Is.... (insert drumroll here)

THE SLINKY!!!

Seriously? Of the plethora of gifts Sean received over the THREE Christmas he celebrated this year, the Slinky that Uncle Thomas and Aunt Shanti gave him with his Wii game has been carried with us EVERYWHERE. It probably cost $1 for the mini Slinky. It came with us last night to the movie theaters (both of them, since we were trying to find some place that wasn't sold out), Blockbuster, then a small tantrum when he couldn't bring it to bed.

After he was up and running this morning he had to find said Slinky and bring it with him and daddy on their donut run. The Slinky was left on the coffee table amongst the loot of presents. Another small meltdown, because he thought he lost the Slinky. Then it travelled with us to Arlington to the camera store, then El Fenix, where mommy had to put it in her purse, because Sean didn't want to forget it. I believe the Slinky is now resting in mommy's car, finally getting a break for being flipped, tossed, stretched, twirled, and otherwise tortured. Sleep well Slinky... he'll remember you tomorrow!!

Opening Presents

Sean couldn't get through his presents fast enough. However, once everything was open the opening of the packages to get the toys out began. Then he had to play every game, have every Lego set put together, and where or use every sword and/or gun.

Soon Sean employed the help of every grown up to put together his Legos.

Santa's Village

We finally got to see Santa at Santa's Village in Richardson. We went the last day and when we got in line to see Santa we were at the 90 minute wait marker. Fortunately I waited in line while Michael took Sean to the other houses. The line moved pretty quickly and we didn't end up waiting the 90 minutes. Once Sean got into Santa's lap he didn't want to tell him what he wanted. At least we got a picture.

Our Christmas Tree

When I described our tree to my friend Debbie she had a hard time with my color scheme, because she couldn't see having a tree without Santa ornaments. I told her I had a beautiful Santa ornament that had only a little bit of read so it didn't clash with my blue, silver, and white themed tree. He had just enough red to make him stand out.


Last year Sean saw a blue Christmas tree and I promised him I'd get him one this year. I planned on buying him one of the 3 foot ones, but he saw this one at Target and begged me to get it. Mission accomplished... and it was WAY less expensive than the original one I planned to get him. This is also his Nutcracker collection. Sean gets a new one every year. He'd get more if Mommy would buy them, but it's hard to find ones that are in good shape or of good quality. You can't see them, but he even has Nutcracker ornaments on his tree. There is a Nutcracker at Garden Ridge that's taller than him... another one he is begging me to get for him.



And here is our family tree... I used to have a beautiful mauve, pink, and burgandy scheme til I had a son. I didn't think it would be fair to Sean if he grew up having a girly tree. However, to make me feel better I made froo froo Christmas balls by adding little bits of white feathery boa to the tops of them.

Baking for the Holidays

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I asked Michael what he wanted for Christmas and he told me he wanted me to bake some goodies for him... I think I got off easy ;)

I made these Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recipe Below) this evening and Sean promptly asked me to pack him 2 to take to daycare in the morning.

I have 3-4 more different cookie recipes I'll be baking tomorrow. Dad bring your appetite Thursday, I know you liked my baking when I was a child.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2-1/4c flour

1tsp salt

1tsp baking soda

2 sticks butter, softened

1c granulated sugar

1c packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1tbsp vanilla

1/2c unsweetened cocoa (I used Ghirardelli)

2c chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together butter, both sugars, eggs, vanilla and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined. Stir chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, and stir to distribute evenly. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.

Instead of mixing the chocolate chips in the batter I made my drops on the cookie sheet then flattened them a little. Afterwards I placed the chocolate chips on the cookies and pressed them in a little. I did it purely for looks.

5 Year Olds and Christmas Shopping

I'm looking forward to Christmas this year. Michael has been up to no good which can only mean I'm getting spoiled this year. He had been asking me to email him stuff I wanted for Christmas as I thought of it. Friday I mentioned to Michael that I could really use a gift card to Victoria's Secret, because I didn't think he would want to actually shop there for me. Sean looked up from his coloring and said, "We already got you one." Michael was a little disappointed and had to reiterate that what they shopped for was a secret from mommy til Christmas.

Yesterday Michael decided to shop by himself given the "incident" over the gift card.

Today we were on our way home from Santa Village and as we got closer to Firewheel Mall, Sean commented, "We haven't shopped at Kohl's in a long time." I didn't understand the word Kohl's because he was mispronouncing it, so I kept asking "What?" Then he said "Kohl's, the place we bought you socks." Another item I had asked for for Christmas.

Lesson learned... Sean WILL NOT be shopping with me tomorrow when I get Michael's presents.

Taking Care of Mommy

Mommy got in a car accident today. I'm fine, the car's not. However, I'm starting to get that typical body aches and pains after the adrenaline rush is over... Sean started rubbing my neck and back asking "Is that making it feel better?" While it really didn't do anything for my discomfort, it temporarily made me forget about it since he was being so sweet about taking care of me. I love when he's being sweet and concerned.

What Did You Say?

I'm in Houston (again) and when I travel I call Sean every morning, after school and before bed.

This morning I was getting off the phone with him and told him,
"Have a good day and do your best at school today."

Sean: "Mommy! What did you say?"

Me: "Do your best at school today"

Sean: "What?"

Me: (much slower) "I said, do your best at school today."

Sean: "I thought you said make a mess at school today."

Apparently he was making sure he heard me right. Michael and I were laughing pretty hard. It was a nice start to my day.

Backseat Driver

Every parent is guilty of saying negative things to other drivers on the road (some more than others.) As of lately, Sean complains when we are in traffic muttering "Geeez... move!" The one that really made me laugh... we were approaching a stop behind a line of cars at a green light, and Sean yells, "Com'on people it's GREEN!" I'm thankful that he hadn't picked up some of Michael's slip ups.

Trick Or Treat

Sean was going to be an astronaut this year, because he just had to have a NASA pumpkin suit when we took him and Dylan to the Houston Space Center over the summer. Then when we went to the Fall Festivals over the last couple of weeks he wanted to dress up in his Batman "dress up" clothes. When I came home Wednesday and mentioned something about dressing up like a stick person when we took him out for Halloween, guess what? He wanted to be one too. So here is Sean's costume... the little stick boy. He got lots of compliments and some of the older elementary aged kids were saying they wanted to do this for next year. I didn't get a picture of it, but mommy was a pink stick person. It was definitely unique.

Sean dressed up as a stick man

(this was funny to watch in motion)

Festive Treats

Sean and I spent the morning making candy covered pretzle stix. Here is the end result. It wasn't that hard to make these, but it was time consuming to get the details on them. They didn't come out "perfect" but Sean was happy with them.

Lauren's 7th Birthday Party

Sean was invited to Lauren's 7th birthday party at The American Girl Boutique and Bistro. It was quite and experience.

The Birthday Diva

It was really cute, if you own an American Girl doll you can bring it to have lunch with you. It gets a little high chair and it's own menu. If you don't have one, they provide you one to share your meal with. Sean found a little baby boy doll to be his baby for lunch. Here he is fathering his baby doll. It was really sweet to see him pretend to feed him and give him hugs. We ended up getting him his own baby that looks like him and he was named Sean Jr. (the baby in the picture is the borrowed baby, Sean's baby has brown hair like Sean).

Owen's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Sean and Jaxon had thier first Kindergarten field trip Friday. They got to go to the Owen's Pumpkin Patch in Richardson. They got to pet and feed the goats, go on a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin to take home.

Sean at The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch

Could my child love the camera any more? What a ham!!!

We took Sean and his friends Nick and Jaxon to the pumpkin patch today. What a tiring adventure. Our friends Pat & Sara followed us out there so Baby Alex and Baby Matthew could join the fun.

(moms I'll burn CD's of the pics later this week for you)

Sean & "Baby" Alex

Here is a cute photo of Sean & "Baby" Alex going to the park to feed the ducks. Although Alex is 2-1/2 now, Sean still lovingly refers to him as "Baby" Alex.

Tae Kwon Do Tournament Cancelled

Due to the flu and H1N1 flu going around the tournament has been cancelled for Saturday

Sean's 1st Tae Kwon Do Tournament

Sean is participating in his first sparring and forms tournament on Saturday 10/17. He is very excited about doing it. Please come and support him if you can.

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch - Rescheduled

Due to all the rain the last few days, we decided to reschedule and go to the pumpkin patch next Sunday.

State Fair of Texas

The 3 Musketeers were reduced to a Dynamic Duo yesterday. Sean and Nick sure missed having Jaxon to run around with. The two boys were quite a handful with all their excitement and the million things they wanted to do all at the same time. The boys got to see the pig races and the dancing dog show, mine for gold and precious gems, play games, ride some rides, see/pet/feed some animals, and eat a BUNCH of fair food. Seven hours later they were exhausted.

Nick & Sean at the petting zoo. We let them feed the animals and we encountered a VERY greedy/messy ostrich. Michael had to feed him, because the boys were scared of him.

The boys and their favorite truck... A MONSTER TRUCK!!!

True to form... Sean letting Nick drive him around. This always works out great. No fighting over who gets to drive. Sean didn't want his own car, he wanted to ride with his buddy Nick. Even at home when they go in the backyard to ride Sean's John Deere, Sean doesn't want to drive, he wants Nick to do it.

I have NO idea what they were conversing about, but they were VERY serious about it. It was hilarious to watch these two all day in their own little world, having conversations about what was important to them... figuring out what to do next.

A Glimpse of the Future... Be VERY Afraid

Here are photos of Sean and Nick "driving" at the car show Monday at the State Fair of Texas. After watching them run and jump into EVERY cool "race" car or BIG truck pretending to drive, playing with the buttons and gear shift, I looked at Michael and told him this is what we have to look forward to.

Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch

We're planning our annual trip to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch.

http://www.flowermoundpumpkinpatch.com/

If anyone is interested in going, please let me know.

Yellow Belt Ceremony

Sean has now earned his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do. Michael bought Sean his sparring gear after the belt ceremony. Sean can't wait for his first sparring class. He and his friend William put their head gear on and William said, "Sean hit me in the head!" Of coarse Sean accommodated him. Master Nixon was in his office so he didn't hear their little conversation, all he saw was Sean punching William in the head repeatedly. William's mom and I quickly advised Master Nixon that William asked Sean to do it. It's going to be interesting with those two in sparring.

He is now working towards his "bumblebee" belt (yellow belt black stripe). He will test for it in November, as long as he continues to focus and work hard.

He is VERY proud of himself

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting...

Okay, not really. The whole family had belt testing today. Michael was able to get a pretty good shot of Sean doing his step behind side kick. Tuesday Sean will hopefully get his yellow belt. He did SO much better this time around. He didn't fidget as much as he did on his first test, and he was able to stay focused. Good Job Sean!! Mommy & Daddy are SO proud of you.

Sean's 1st Fundraiser

Sean has brought home is first fundraiser. Unfortunately I only have til 9-15 to hit everyone up. If you would be interested in helping Sean please email me (rsimmons@spartan-networks.com). The goals are done by number of items sold not dollar figure. I'll see some of you at Dylan's birthday party Sunday... be prepared. Everything has to be prepaid, so I need to turn in the money with his paperwork. (FYI... there's a catalog that has items that are only $5)

Sean's Belt Test

Sean is testing for his next belt in Tae Kwon Do (so are Michael and I). Test date is Saturday 9/19. Sean's test is at 7am for his yellow belt. Michael and I test at 9am for our white belt/black stripe. We are very excited to be testing together.

Sean has been going to the after school program at the Tae Kwon Do school, so his improved ALOT.

Poor Sean

It looks like Sean is going to miss school for the first time. He's sick. Michael picked him up today from Tae Kwon Do and he was burning up and looked pitiful. We took him to our chiropractor and he had a 102/104 temp. His right ear is on the verge of being infected and while they were waiting for me to get adjusted, Sean vomitted ALL OVER Michael. It scared Sean, because he has NEVER vomitted other than spitting/vomitting as a baby. He was pretty upset too, because he did it all over his daddy.

I'm actually writing this post from our bed, where Sean has be laying since we got home. He's managed to eat some soup and drink some juice. I'm just waiting on him to pass out for the night. He won't go to bed til his daddy gets back from the store (getting provisions for the sick kiddo).

I'll be taking him to his pediatrician in the morning to get him tested for the flu and update his teacher.

At least it's just the beginning of the school year.

I'm A Pie

At Sean's previous preschool it wasn't uncommon to let the kids play with shaving cream. Since Sean now prefers to take showers on his own, I thought it would be a great idea to let him have some on the glass to play (thanks April for the idea). So today when I told Sean I had bought him a bunch of shaving cream for playing in the shower, he wanted to get in the shower as soon as we got home. No more convincing him to get in - LOL. However, instead of playing with it on the glass like I thought he would, he started putting it all over himself. He started laughing and said, "I'm a pie!"

Where Does The Time Go

It is hard to believe the boys are starting to turn 6 years old. Jaxon the oldest of the bunch, just celebrated his 6th birthday, which means Nick and Sean aren't far behind. Where has the time gone? The Three Stooges enjoyed being together on Sunday to play. It's nice to know that Sean has friends to enjoy growing up with.

Blast from the past (the boys at Sean's 1st birthday party):

How the 1st Day of School Went

Sean had a great 1st day. He got his first good behavior stamp on his calendar. And they sure sent alot of paperwork home for mommy to fill out.

He was picked up by his Tae Kwon Do school and apparently he had such a good day and was excited about going to Tae Kwon Do he bolted out of the van and Ms. Donna had to ask if had a backpack.

Sean was excited to go to school again today.

When we were getting in the car this morning Sean let me know he wasn't going to hold my hand. I told him that my feelings were hurt, and that some of the kids were holding their mommy's hand. Sean just looked at me and said, "I'll just walk real close to you." Gotta love the compromise.

1st Day Of Kindergarten - Morning

We dropped our baby off for his first day of Kindergarten. He didn't want help getting dressed. He didn't want to hold our hands. He didn't even want me to pack him lunch (he wants to buy his lunch). He picked out his clothes last night and went to bed early. Jaxon is in his class, and JoJo and Ben are in another class. I told Sean he'll have to wait to play with them at recess. Sean's teacher has Jaxon and Sean on opposite sides of the class so they can't get into too much trouble together.

I can't wait to hear how his first day went and I'll let y'all know too.

Captain Simmons

This picture was taken at Sean's preschool after our trip to Galveston/Houston. While on our trip, we had taken the boys to the NASA Space Center where Sean "had to have" an astronaut pumpkin suit (orange jumpsuit). So there was no surprise when Clix (they bring dozens of costumes) came to his school that he would pick this one. (Sean still wants to sleep in his pumpkin suit)

It's hard to believe he's 5 and going to Kindergarten next week. Just look at that face... it has trouble written all over it (Yes dad, I know it's pay back).

Touching Stuff In Target

We all went grocery shopping at Target and Sean was touching everything on the way to the check out. I finally got so tired of repeating myself, I turned around to Sean and snapped "Why do you have to touch everything?"

Sean looked up at me with a serious look, "I don't know, because I HAVE to." He started tapping at his temple and said, "My brain keeps telling me to."

At that point I just burst out laughing and forgot about him touching stuff.

Little Beach Bum

More Weekend Getaway Photos

Sean & Dylan (can't tell they're related can you?)

Sean's favorite penguin (the Rockhopper)

Dylan eaten by a shark

Stewart Beach Galveston

What happens when a 5-year old sees teenagers burying each other on the beach?

We're Out of Town

We're out and about this weekend. Right now we're waiting on Michael to finish getting ready so we can head back to Dallas.

Michael needed a break from work, since it's a 24-7 thing for him. So we are in Galveston. Dylan came along for the trip.

I'll be posting pictures later this evening when we're home.

We got into Galveston Friday night and yesterday was jam packed. We went to Moody Gardens for a large portion of the day. We took them to the Aquarium Pyramid to see all the penguins, sharks, seals, and fish. Then we did the 3-D Dino Imax show and the Dino Ride Film. They had a Dinosaurs Alive exhibit of life size dinosaurs that moved. Then we took a ride on the paddle boat in the bay. We had planned on going to some of the other exhibits, but the boys were bugging us to go to the beach.

We spent a couple hours at the beach. The boys played in the sand and went out on boogie boards. We buried Sean from the waist down and made him look like a merman. (one of the pics I HAVE to post)

All the running around didn't stop til 10pm, no naps, just going all day long.

On our way back we'll be stopping at the NASA Space Center and the Children's Museum... if Michael will EVER get out of the shower.

Catching Up

I can't believe it's been 2 months since I've posted what's going on. It's been a busy summer already. There's always work for Michael and I. Michael has been busy with customers and keeping up with the administrative stuff. I'm grateful that the down economy hasn't affected his business.

I was in Phoenix for a few days in June for work. Travelling sounds so good in your head, but when you do it about once a month, not as much fun. Travelling really wears you out. Again I'm just glad I have a job... we've had three rounds of lay-offs, all contractors have been let go, and a lot of staff have taken 5-10% pay cuts. I think we've let go about 25% of our team across the country.

Sean has been busy with field trips at preschool and Tae Kwon Do. He tests for his yellow belt next Saturday. I'll let y'all know the time if you want to come. He's very excited to get his next belt... mostly because he gets to start sparring.

Michael and I joined Tae Kwon Do this week. I've already been to two classes. Tomorrow will be Michael's first one. I'm looking forward to having something to do together. However, Sean will earn his black belt before us, so I'm sure he'll be telling us what to do.

What's going on with the rest of the Simmons Family:

I've been doing dog training with Felix, and Sean has started going with me. Sean came to Felix's beginners class graduation. Sean was very proud of his puppy.

Felix is about a year old now and pushing 60 pounds. I've been told he's as tall as he's going to get, but he'll start getting his girth during his second year. He's definitely a BIG dog, but he's learing to be well behaved.

Jerry is still doing well. He's lost strength in back legs so he needs help getting on the couch. He'll be 14 this year and he's still going pretty strong.

Puffin (our rabbit) had made a habit of letting himself out of his hutch. On one of his adventures he ended up in our neighboors yard. They ended up catching him while we were at work. They didn't know he was our rabbit and ended up taking him to the animal shelter. Needless to say we no longer have Puffin, because they were going to charge us to get him back.

I think that covers were we're at up to this point. Hopefully we'll see y'all soon.

Hornets Spring 2009 Video

Here is a video using the photos from the last soccer game. Thank you to Focused on Fun for the great photos. http://www.focusedonfun.com/

Smile - Full Length Animoto Video

Belt Ceremony

Sean had his first belt test for Tae Kwon Do on Saturday. Today was the belt ceremony and Sean has EARNED his first belt. He was SO proud of himself.

Individualism

Last night was Sean first Parents Nite Out. I got to drop Sean off at 7pm at ASI Gymnastics to play and have pizza, while I got to do grown up stuff til 11pm. I was worried he wouldn't want to go at first, but once he saw ALL the kids he barely gave me a hug and kiss, then took off.

At 10:50pm I showed up to pick him up and this is what I noticed:

While Michael and I know that Sean will probably grow up to be the artsy music kid and be very much an individual, this was a little soon for that expression. Apparently a teenage girl was painting the little girls nails and Sean decided he wanted black nails. He's seen me with them from time to time, and they did go with his rocker shirt and jeans he was wearing last night. Sean did ask if I could put more on his nails because it was coming off and we had to tell him he had to wait til he was older. OH MY GOD... what I get to look forward to.

Late Nites At The Dallas Museum of Art

Last month we got a membership to the DMA so we can broaden Sean's love of art. He already prefers music and art over sports so we are doing everything we can to encourage that interest. He saw the King Tut exhibit last month and last night we took him for Late Nites. Sean got to participate in Yoga for Kids and make his own replicas of Egyptian head wear and jewelry.



The most fun was participating in the Creative Challenge. Only (10) teams could sign up and Sean wanted to do it. At 8pm all the teams had to meet at the table and receive their kit. Everyone had the same supplies and goal. We had to go to the 3rd floor galleries and pick an artwork that inspired us and make a mask based off of it. You had 1 hour to complete it and bring it back to the table for the secret judges to look at them.

Sean selected a collection of Japanese warriors. So Michael, Sean, and I went to work. Sean helped for some of the easier elements and Michael and I completed the rest. We won Brightest Idea! Michael and I were pretty proud of our work and I enjoyed hearing the surprise when they saw our creation.

Getting Ready For School

Sean is getting to be such a big boy. He now wants to fix his own breakfast in the morning. He even has mornings he doesn't want to fix his hair and just wants a hat to wear.

Work Smarter Not Harder

At Sean's pre-school they use the "color change" system. Green - good day and listened, Yellow - trouble listening or doing work, Red - reserved for poor behavior, such as hitting.

Today Sean had a Yellow. He wasn't feeling good today, so I suspected that he probably didn't listen very well. His teacher Ms. Jesse was still there and was able to tell me what it was for.

Apparently during work time they were supposed to be practicing their letter "H". When Ms. Jesse was checking each table the little girl next to Sean was doing his worksheet. When Ms. Jesse asked Sean about it, Sean told her that the little girl wanted to do it for him. Ms. Jesse ripped the sheet and made Sean redo it.

Now Sean is in time-out for not following directions and getting a Yellow ticket, but I told him that he wasn't in trouble. I told him that he has to do the work the teacher gives him, but that was pretty smart of him to deligate what he didn't want to do.

Egg Hunts

This year there was an abundance of egg hunts for Sean. Here are a few pictures.

Tuesday April 7th Egg Hunt at Oak Park:


He had another one with his class on Wednesday at Oak Park

Saturday April 11th Egg Hunt at Nana & Papa's Church (10am):




Saturday April 11th Egg Hunt at Tae Kwon Do School (11am):


Saturday April 11th Egg Hunt at April & Dave's Church (4pm):