Paul Has a Silly Mommy....

But most of you already know that! So, what does a Mommy do when you're driving home from dinner with your 2 1/2 year old in the back seat crying and being rather fussy..about what..who knows?! -- You put on 94.1FM and start break dancing in the car to Janet Jackson's Pleasure Principle.... and now your little boy is belly laughing and clapping and totally enjoying the show.... thank goodness Mommy can drive and dance at the same time! Chalk one up for Mommy SuSu! And when we pulled in the garage and off went the tunes...back to being unhappy! He is MY BOY---the child loves music and dancing and being silly.

Real quick before I work around the house..Paul just went down for the night......

One of my good friends from high school is Kathy Casper. See us above @ the reunion?! We had a special bond for 2 years and then we lost touch. We reconnected at the reunion a couple of weeks ago. She is a third grade teacher in Columbia, Missouri. I got this really sweet email from her today....here are a few words she wrote to me...."It was amazing seeing you at the reunion and I was shocked at the fact that it seemed like life stood still for those 20 years and we picked right back up where we left it!" I AM going to plan something in 2008 so she and I can get together and hang out! She is still tall, pretty, fun, smart and oh so sweet!

Mama - How Long Will You Love Me?

This is the title of a book I purchased a month or two ago to help Paul to finally say Mama. Still nothing.... So, this is a lovely book by Anna Pignataro. Mama bear and baby Sammy bear. A real cute story. The end always chokes me up a little....... my sweet little boy is a blessing a gift from God. How can one love someone so dang much?! Getting back to the end of the story Paul and I read now and then.. a Mama's love is everlasting.. Sammy asks, "Will there always be you and Me?..."Miles and miles forever," whispered Mama. After I say that..Paul says AMEN and the end. SOOOOOO precious. I literally shed a tear or two now and then.....

I had bible study this morning.....the Book of Revelation. We read Chapters 14-16 and answered questions and then discussed in our small groups today. So great--and the support and unconditional love I receive from my fellow sisters and brothers is tremendous and not to ever be diminished or forgotten! I praise God for all the wonderful people in my life. The book of Revelation has so much symbolic language. Keep in mind that Fundamentalists take it literally...us Catholics..do not. Truth be told..I feel after reading these 16 chapters..that we can take comfort in knowing the God is powerful and has our back! If we repent and make good choices in our lives. Do good works; keep faith; strive to offer God's grace to everyone; say covered in the blood of Jesus Christ.....and you will be rewarded! The book in the bible..which is the last book...is really about hope..not the end of the world. John writes about the battle between good and evil. "Our wills are strengthened by prayer, worship, Holy Communion, spiritual development, reading, studying, etc."

Tonight was GNO. For any newcomers to my blog--GNO = Girls Night Out. We visited La Paloma Blanca. I looked around for my high school classmate, Dan O'Grady, who lives near the restaurant and said he and the family go there once a week. But I did not see them. Three beers and many laughs later.....I made it home safely. Danny is studying his CFP info and Paul is asleep of course..and Miss Oreo is waiting for me to come to bed and snuggle. I think she is warming it up for me. :-) Danny stays up until 1am sometimes reading..not me! I need 7-8 hours in order to properly parent Paul.

A shout to my friend Lori Flores. She turned 40 on October 30! I worked with her at Frost Insurance Agency. SHE ROCKS and is a fabulous mother to two teenagers..who also rock!! She and Danny (along with Brent Barry's wife Erin) serve on a local children's home board - St. PJ's.

I cannot sign off the puter without giving you some motivation/inspiration..so here is my best effort at 11:30 at night after a wild night with some fun gals....

Ephesians 2:8-9 " You have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it!" Accept the goodness of Jesus Christ. Abandon your own works and accept his. Abandon your own decency and accept his. Stand before God in his name, not yours! Father, God, help us to be busy about the right business -- the business of serving you! Amen.

High School Classmate To Appear on the Ellen Degeneres Show this Friday!

Can I get a whoop whoop?!! Yes, it is true---my high school classmate--and friend, Rich Berra, will be a guest on the ever popular Ellen Degeneres Show this Friday. If you live in San Antonio...3pm is the hour to turn on and watch Rich dazzle you! I hope he gives a shout out to his classmates from JFK--class of 87! And maybe a special shout out to his pal Susan in San Antonio!! Can someone in SA TIVO it for me please?? I will be in Kansas City and am not certain I will be able to watch it?! Gracias. Rich is a successful morning show DJ in the Phoenix/Tuscon area. ROCK ON BROTHER.....my brother from another mother!!!! Dang--I wish I could be in the audience..uh, Rich, why didn't you call and get us in babe?!

Paul has occupational therapy today at 2. DeeDee will be arriving, although he will probably still be napping..so I will have to wake him..unless she wants to go over the sensory integration survey and his new sensory diet and other things we can do with him to help me process things better. And remember, today is WED...so it is GNO! I hear we're doing Mexican...but not sure where...so, someone let me know! I can almost taste the salsa and mole. Yummy for SuSu's tummy!!!

Kansas Jayhawks--both the football AND basketball teams are ranked 4th in the country. A first ever (I think) for the Univ of Kansas! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK....beat the Cowboys. (Oklahoma State --Sat's game)

Kansas Jayhawks 9-0--Here We Are BCS!

I graduated from the University of Kansas in May 1991. KU is mostly known to be a tremendous and fabulous basketball school. We won the NCAA Championship my freshman year..April 1988! However, this year our football team has gone undefeated and we are the only NCAA school to have both football and basketball ranked in the TOP TEN nationally. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK...GO KU! Danny has been great about the football team..easier since his team (TX) and KU don't play this year. He and I are hoping they win their last 2 games...Oklahoma State and Missouri. Those will both be TOUGH games.
*****New rankings on ESPN. I viewed this AFTER I first posted this entry and now I need to add something about my Alma Mater. Kansas was ranked eighth in the USA...this week....#4! A couple of the BCS people voted us as #2 -- but the computer average is rank 4. We'll take it!!!! If you could have only seen me when I saw that on ESPN.com......jumping, yelling and running out to the family room to tell Danny of the new rankings!!! All the while keeping quiet b/c Paulie is STILL asleep!!! Danny is a great husband and sports fan--he is super stoked too!!!!!!! Can I what get a WHOOP WHOOP?!!?!!!

Moving on...we attended 9:30 Mass this morning and Master Paul visited our nursery. And of course we saw many of our ACTS Brothers and Sisters..so fun to go to church with so many faith filled, family oriented folks! My good friend (and ACTS Sister) Meliza--is our cantor for 9:30 Mass and she and Fred sang one of my favorite David Kauffman's songs--If You Seek Me. I did a talk on Community at an ACTS retreat in April 2006 and after my talk, played that song. I love it. The song went well with today's Gospel Reading. Apparently, Paul was a little aggressive a few times while in the nursery...pushing kids and such. I guess behavior from pre school have now overflowed into other locations...GREAT! And things were going so well in parish nursery.....ho hum.

Danny and I are part of a couple ministry called Teams of Our Lady. We and Jena Bissaillon hosted an information meeting at church today after 11am Mass. Twelve couples attended and all said YES to becoming involved, and we have 2 additional couples who had already attended a info meeting and wish to join TOOL. Praise God!!! Two teams will be formed and begin in January. This is VERY exciting!

Paul went down for his daily nap around 2 today and as of right now...4:10...is still asleep. Danny has been watching NFL and I ran to the Dollar Store to get items for Operation Christmas Child. We have to turn in our shoe boxes of goodies tomorrow at MOPS. I chose to purchase items for a girl age 5-9. In our box are the following items: socks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, pink combs, hair clips, girlie stationary, pens, fancy pencils, pencil sharpener, gum, harmonica, Disney Princess play rings (set of 6), Disney Princess yo yo, little mermaid doll, crayons, lip gloss and stickers. I need to write her a little note to include in the box. Who knows, maybe our little friend will write to us....

Tonight I need to write a couple of thank you notes and get spiritually, mentally and physically ready for the upcoming week.

From 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, (that is the devil) but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Amen

Below is the refrain from If You Seek Me by David Kauffman. Love, love, love it!!! Enjoy and reflect!
"If you seek me with all your heart
When you search me with all your being
There you will find me and I will restore your soul
And bring you home"

Christmas Wish List

People keep asking..."what do you, Danny and Paul want for Christmas?" I have lots of ideas for Danny and Paul..but have trouble thinking of wishes for me. Oh please....understand there are plenty of "things" I would love to have..but how do you know what is most important and affordable to the people wishing to purchase the items. So, in no particular order..if Santa reads this blog....I have mostly been a good girl this year!

*SLR Digital Camera -- Canon preferably...Rebel XTi
*Gift Certificate to 1154Lill so I can design another purse
*These really funky ear buds for my IPOD - the pink crystal ones
*Gift Card to Nordstrom - for shoes and maybe a new funky shirt when I lose more weight
*Gift Card to Francesca's
*A few books on how to parent Paul - they are: The No Cry Discipline Solution; The Out of Sync Child; Raising a Sensory Smart Child; Answers to Questions Teachers Ask about Sensory Integration: Forms, Checklists, and Practical Tools for Teachers and Parents
*I need some new perfume, but I need to go and pick out a couple new scents
*A 10-12 cup coffee maker so I can make it when I have large groups over -- you know--church friends! I own a 4 cup now which works great for me and myself.
*ITUNES gift card would be great
*More memory -- for my computer!
*A Yard Boy to come once a week
*Roller Blades -- I think those could whip me into shape quick and I would have fun in the process!
*A basement
*Good tickets to a SPURS game..or someone can invite me to one of the suites--that would do!
*New formal dining room set--I have narrowed it down to about 3--let me know if you're thinking of this one and we can talk!
*Peace on Earth....
*Healthier better looking body
*Designer Stationary from this really cool site....you can create how you see me..be kind. Check out www.designhergals.com
*Whiter teeth
*One of those garage things I can put boxes and tubs of stuff on and then hoist it up over the cars...I think Lowe's has one that would work...$80 or so
*An all expenses paid trip to Los Cabos -- Danny and Paul too!
*The silver/crystal butterfly necklace at Nordstrom which I posted a picture of last month
*Microdermabrasion treatments once a month for a year!
*Big can of macadamia nuts....and a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio--chilled please

Girls Night Out...the saga continues every week...

So, Wed nights are the usual GNO = Girls Night Out. No kids, no husbands, no worries (we try). We try to eat somewhere new and where you might not take your kids. So, an adult kinda restaurant. Tonight we visited SPICE. Awesome food and even better laughs and conversation. Eight of us gals showed up...Tina, Melissa, Maile, Judy, Michelle, Adrienne, Courtney and myself. Above are two of my favorites pics....Artist Extraordinaire Maile. Maile is my sweet friend who is the professional photographer. She is amazing and a lovely person to be around. In fact, she is someone I could travel with and be around 24/7 and never be tired or annoyed. Seriously.....!!!! The other picture is of Ms. Judy. She was telling us a funny story..which I cannot share...but trust me...it was a good one! She is a OT at a hospital in North Central San Antonio.

I am tired, but also excited for the weekend! Chores and errands and spending time as a family.

Remember this friends...God's faithfulness and grace make the impossible possible.

From Psalm 47:1.."Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy." This verse reminds me of my evening with the greatest group of women..laughing and being joyful! Laughter is a gift from God. I hope God will put a smile on your face each and every day. And that you can share your smile.....as they say..it's the least expensive way to improve your looks!

Peace Out Dogs.....

Meet My Eccentric Elephant Little Man

Isn't he cute?! My Mother says I am not supposed to say how cute Paul is since he is my son..but come on....he's sweet too! We had fun over at the Bissaillon's house and then back home for some trick or treating. Paul had fun and did well saying TRICK or TWEET when the person opened the door. And many times he would say THANK YOU. The other picture is of Captain Philip Sparrow and Lady Sophia. So cute!!!

Paul is napping and I have been folding clothes, picking up toys and emailing some friends. I think I am going to take Paul to a drop in care place I use all the time -- Kid Space. I have an unofficial appt with Mary at Window Fashions of Texas this afternoon. We are FINALLY going to get our faux wood blinds. HIP HIP HOORAY!