Yay it's November!!

November, December, and January are my three favorite months in the year, and I'm soooo excited November is finally here! It's crazy though to think that 2008 is really close to being over, I guess it's true what they say..."The older you are the shorter the years become!" To tell you the truth I have never felt as old as I do currently (trust me I know I'm not old). My days are filled with working, and my nights are filled with laundry, homework (when we have Elisabeth), cooking dinner, and cleaning. When did I get so old?? It's crazy when you go to your best friend's 30th birthday party, and it's scary when you realize that you aren't that far around the corner. Ok now that I have that off of my chest, here's an update on Laura's life:

For the past 11 days I have been sick! I got an upper respiratory viral infection, and my Doctor told me reluctantly that there was nothing he could do for me. That was frustrating, and once my fever was gone I have had this "gunk" in my chest, and completely lost my voice. It has been a VERY frustrating few days, but I am finally getting back to normal. I am ready for my immune system to get stronger so I can handle working with kiddos, and not get every sickness they carry! I haven't updated my blog lately because of this crud, but since I woke up this morning I have been feeling great! Still coughing, but I have a voice so I'm happy. That's another thing, it's Sunday and I woke up at 6:30am! It will take my body some time to get used to this time change, but 6:30 is REDICULOUS!!!

The hubby and I are thoroughly tired of our opposite schedules, that we know will just get worse as time goes on. With this the hubby has decided he is going back to school to get his teaching degree to teach high school. It will be less money for us, but the schedule will be so much better. Once we have kiddos we know this schedule will just get harder, and harder so Steven will be a student at McNeese University starting January. I'm very happy about this decision, and I think it will be great for us and our family.

We were very boring this Halloween! We saw the kiddo all dressed up for Halloween, and her stepsister. They were so cute! Cassidy (Elisabeth's stepsister) was a southern bell, and Elisabeth was Hermione from Harry Potter. They had a lot of fun, and probably stayed up really late since Halloween was on a Friday. I was a little disappointed that we didn't have a single trick or treater, but we do live downtown so it does make sense. Once we move to the suburbs I'm sure we will have nonstop trick or treaters.

So there's a wrap up of the Falgout's these past few weeks, we have been working, going to soccer games, and being sick. Soccer season is now over, which means we get a break until softball season starts :) We are going on our family vacation to the Smoky Mountains in a few weeks, and I can't wait for that!! It will be Steven & I, Elisabeth, and my Mom! We are going to have a BLAST!! It's our first family vacation, and I can't wait. I hope everyone has had a great couple of weeks, and I promise I will update more often. Until next time.....

The southern bell

Our cute Hermione

Whew what a weekend!!

Look at that scowl!! Little Lilly Martin
Here's little Lilly with her Aunt Laura
Here's the cutie Trevor!!
Look at the size of that head!!!
Our pumkins, this will be the before picture

I had such a great, but busy weekend this past weekend! Saturday I went to Elisabeth's soccer game at 9:00am. Let me tell you that little girl is AGGRESSIVE!! She's not quite the girly girl I was at 9 years old. Then I ventured to Houston to go to a show with my Mom and Grandma. We're TOTAL nerds and love the show "So You Think You Can Dance" so we went to the live show. It was really good, but not as good as the show from last year. (Yes we are dorky enough to have gone both years, and will go again next year!) When I got to Houston my Mom was watching my cousin Michelle's little boy Trevor, who's really not so little!! He's 5 months old, and looks like he should be walking!! What a sweet baby he is though, and I was so happy to see him since I hadn't seen him since the day after he was born. Then on Sunday I had an ABSOLUTELY crazy day!! Mom and I got up and went to church, then went to get a quick bite to eat for lunch. After lunch I ran a few errands, then went to see my Dad for a little while. I felt bad that I couldn't spend much time with Dad, but that's the way things sometimes go :). Then I hurried and drove from Humble to Katy, which takes an hour and a half on a good day. I went and spent some good quality time with my best friend Angela, who's now an old lady at the age of 30!! It was her birthday, and I'm so glad I could be there. I haven't seen her since my wedding 4 months ago, and I missed her terribly! I also got to see my sweet little niece(not by blood) Lilly Correne Martin. She has gotten SO big!! That baby girl is my birthday twin, and I couldn't love her more if she was my own. Then, I drove home and of course got stuck in horrendous traffic! The trip home took me almost 4 hours instead of the 3 it was supposed to take me, but that's the way it sometimes goes. I'm really glad that I could be gone on Sunday because Steven and Elisabeth really had a good Daddy-daughter day. Since we have been married the two of them haven't had a day alone together, and before I was in the picture that's all they had. I know that she missed those days, so I was glad they could get one in. It did make me feel good when I called her to tell her goodnight while I was on the road, I asked her if she was glad she got to be alone with her Daddy and she said, "Yes and no... I had a lot of fun with Daddy, but I really missed you a LOT!" That really made me feel good, I just love that little girl!

Then last night Elisabeth and I were super busy! We went to pick out our family pumpkins that we are going to carve next weekend. Of course Elisabeth picked out the three largest pumpkins she could find, and she wants the biggest one for herself naturally. Then we rushed home and made Halloween cookies for all the kid in her class which of course took longer than I thought it would! Elisabeth lost interest in decorating them so naturally I finished them for her. I love fall and all of the fun stuff you get to do, but I can't wait for my first Christmas with my new family!! We're going on our first family vacation to the smoky mountain in November, and taking my Mom with us which will be so much fun!

After 4 months of being a housewife...

I finally have a job!! Woo hoo!! I am the first pick substitute for an elementary school St. John's out here in Lake Charles, and the principal wants me to start after school tutoring for her very soon. I really love this elementary school, and the principal is AMAZING!!! I was offered a long term sub position, but that's not until January because a teacher is going on maternity leave. I finally feel like I am getting back to a normal life, and although it's not the full time teaching job I want, it's a start in the right direction. It's been so hard to find something out here because I don't know anyone, and you know what they say it's not always what you know it's who you know. I now have a place to be Monday thru Friday and I love it!! I really can see myself teaching there for years and years. Then Steven and I went driving through the neighborhoods around the school, and it just felt like home to me. Our lease is up in April so hopefully we'll be able to do move out there then.

The only down side to this is I'm not getting to see my hubby as much as I'm used to. Since he works nights I am asleep before he gets home, I leave before he wakes up, and I only get to see him for about 15-30 minutes in the time when I get home to the time he leaves :(. We are going to have to get used to this, but right now it's really not that much fun. So I haven't been writing in a while because I have been a little busy. Learning to adjust to my life, again. This time I feel like I have much more of a place out here, and I'm starting to make friends. I also joined Steven's parent's gym yesterday so I can get my butt back in shape. My butt has kind of gotten out of shape in these last few months so I'm ready to do something about it now!! It would have made so much sense for me to be working out this whole time instead of being a lazy bum, but it didn't happen that way. :( I hope everyone is doing well!!!

Makeup & Nails & Hair OH MY!!!

The girls with my poor dog they picked on

Their pizza they MADE me take a picture of

So I survived my first girl's sleepover Saturday night! Wow I feel like it was a HUGE accomplishment, and I think I did a great duty as a stepmom. Elisabeth had her friend Jade come over and spend the night Saturday night, and they had so much fun! Jade's a sweet kid, but Elisabeth is so bossy to her I'm not sure if the friendship will last much longer.

We went to the grocery store to get stuff so they could make their own pizzas from scratch, which they LOVED! They were very well behaved at the grocery store, I was surprised because you just never know what you're going to get from 9 year olds. Then they just played, and played, and played. They did each other's makeup, which was HILARIOUS!! Poor Elisabeth looked like a clown because Jade used HOT pink blush and put it all over her cheeks not just her cheekbones. Then they did each other's hair, and gave each other manicures. It was so fun and girly, I was glad we did all then whenever Steven was at work. I just don't know he could have standed it, but I understand a little better because I was a little girl once too. The funniest thing of the night was the little fight they had. Jade has her own cellphone, and Elisabeth is so jealous of her. I'm sorry I don't see a need for a 9 year old to have a cellphone, but if that's what you feel is right for your child I don't judge. I just personally don't think there's any need for it. Well Jade told Elisabeth that she might buy her one for her birthday. Elisabeth threw a fit telling Jade that, "I don't like liars, so we aren't best friends anymore!!" Then they wouldn't talk to each other for about 15 minutes. I know I shouldn't say this was hilarious, but I just forgot what it was like to be a 9 year old girl. All of this little sleepover reminded me of my childhood so much!

The next day Elisabeth was so exhausted, and she came into my room to tell me it was time for Jade to go home so she could get some rest. I thought that was funny because it's not a normal reaction for little girls, but I know Elisabeth isn't like most little girls. She's bossy and she likes things her own way.

The moral of this story is...I am officially a stepmom! We had Elisabeth from Wednesday until today. It was a long week, but well worth it. I just laughed at myself last night when I talked to Steven about it because I am completely turning into my Mom. I see a lot of what she did with me in the way I am with Elisabeth (which is not a bad thing I love my Mom to death). It does have it's challenges, but I wouldn't trade that little girl for the world. I don't know if I could love her more if she was my own. She's giving me good training for whenever I have kiddos of my own, and I see the father my husband is which makes me even happier.


I hope you all have a great week, and to give an update on my tv situation I talked about earlier we just got it back today! Woo hoo just in time for Monday night football :)

I decided after Friday night, NEVER AGAIN!!!

I don't even live in Houston or Galveston, and the night I had Friday night scared me to death! Never again will I not leave when a hurricane is coming, no matter what my husband's work makes him do! I have only lived through this once before, but that was Hurricane Alicia and I was 1 year old. The wind was WHALING through my front door, and I was sure all my little windows in my french doors were going to shatter everywhere. All through out the night we were under tornado warning after tornado warning, which really doesn't help one sleep through the storm. My husband and I slept in our guest room because it has no windows, and we thought it would be quieter. Maybe it was, but it sure wasn't quiet enough!!

We were lucky, and no damage happened to our property and for that I am grateful. We missed getting flooded by INCHES literally! We know how lucky we are, and I feel for my friends and family who weren't so lucky. I'm just saying that next time they report a hurricane hitting us or Galveston we are LEAVING!!!

I hope everyone is doing well in Houston, and I'm praying for you all to get your power back ASAP because I know it has to be miserable!!

Oh the joys of new technology!!

So my husband and I bought a new tv July 20. We bought an LG new LCD tv, that has become my husband's baby! He was sooo excited to get to watch his opening football games on his new baby, and had started to figure out which of our friends we were going to invite over yesterday. Then on Friday night, the picture went out on the TV. Well I was able to calm my husband down when I told him that I was sure we could take it back to Circuit City and have them look at it for warranty work (which was something I saw on Circuit City's website by the way) since we only have had it for 45ish days. I did call LG to see what we needed to do, and they did tell me that I should be able to take it to Circuit City with no problems.

So we wake up Saturday morning and take it in at 10:00. We walk over to the customer service to talk to them and the person calls over the manager to help us. The manager looks right over to us and tells us there is NOTHING they can do because we are out of the 30 day return window. I try to explain to him that we don't want to necessarily exchange the tv, just have someone work on it. He cuts me off in the middle of my sentence and states again that there is nothing he can do. Well my husband is probably the most mild mannered person you will ever meet, and he NEVER says any curse words!! Not this day, he looked at the manager and said, "Seriously you can't do anything for us after we spend over $1,100.00 on this tv here! You are a @(*#, !(@*#, @(#*$*&$!!" Then the manager smiles at us and tells us to have a nice day. Ugh the nerve!! I had to do everything I could to push my husband out the door quickly before he got more angry.

So next I called LG again. They told me I could call this one company and set up a time for someone to come out and repair the tv on Tuesday. While Tuesday didn't seem quick enough we took it. I called the place, and they told me they couldn't come out until Wed the 17th!! This of course made my husband very upset again, and I had to calm him down again! So I'm back on the phone with LG, and told them what the company told me. The guy at first was very understanding and told me to hold on so he could get the next company. When he comes back to give me another company I asked a very legitimate question, "If this person tells us the same thing as the last company what is our next step?" Well, you would have thought I asked him to send me a check for $25,000 or something. He was VERY rude to me telling me that we will just have to see what the company says next. UGH!!! Well, good thing is someone from that company is coming out this morning to look at it and hopefully they can fix it. It has just been quite aggrevating getting to this point! Moral of the story, don't buy a TV from Circuit City!! Especially out here in Lake Charles!!

What do you think should I write a complaint to circuit city, or just let it go? I'm trying to decide so opinions would help!

Our evacuation / Labor Day weekend

Showing off the blue nails

She's really 9 not 16, I promise!

Being goofy with Mimi Margie
My husband is so special! I'm so proud!!

Whew! We have never been so happy to be back at home!! I love my family, but this weekend was a little stressful. On Saturday we decided to leave and head to Houston, but we had to wait for Steven to get off of work. We ended up leaving at 10:00pm, which would have been fine if it took our normal 2 hours to get to Houston. Unfortunately we didn't make it to my Dad's house until 4:30am!! Yuck!! I just don't stay up that late anymore, and it took me a while to recover. We woke up at 9 the next day, and couldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard we tried!



Then on Sunday Steven went to play golf with my Dad and his friend Donny, and they had a blast. Elisabeth and I went with my Mom to have manicures and pedicures. She had so much fun, and she HAD to get blue nail/toe polish. I tried to make her just do it on her toes, but she said no because blue was her favorite color. I'm learning there are some battles that just aren't worth arguing about.



We had a party at my Dad's for my grandmother's 78th birthday. Everyone showed up except my brother (which was no surprise) and it was a really nice time. I hadn't seen everyone since the wedding so it was good to catch up with everyone. That night we left and went to dinner at the Aquarium where Elisabeth had the TIME of her life! I have never seen that child so excited, she just ran taking pictures of all of the fish in the tank. She had SOOOO much fun, which made it all worth it. I'm not so sure that the Aquarium is my favorite restaurant, but it's a great place for kiddos. The next day our evacuation was lifted and we decided to go straight home because we wanted to sleep in our own bed. We made the best of it, but I really hope not to have to evacuate again! It sure looks like a possibility so maybe the next time you hear from me we will have moved to Oregon or something :)