GREAT DAY!

First let me say thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, I appreciate them all!

I had a great day! The family - my kids & husband - gave me gifts last night. We decided it best to scale back this year, but I did get a few things I wanted & love. They gave me a Razorback cover for the trailer hitch on my vehicle - I love it. Okay, now this may sound crazy to you, but it was perfect for me - they gave me a jar of Calamata olives. I know, it seems absurd, but I love olives, especially Calamata olives; however, I would never pay the price for these so it was a perfect gift for me. Of course we also went out to eat on Saturday. They gave me cards and were extremely nice to me - the kids did not fight today, a perfect gift! I have felt pampered in many ways from them over the weekend and especially today.

A co-worker friend gave me a cake (german chocolate) and wonderful candle & room spray - cinnamon cider scent, they are awesome! Also, I went to lunch with several co-workers and they bought my lunch. They helped make my day wonderful.

Of course, I recieved many cards in the mail from family and friends. Also, many phone calls - my mom, sister & nephew called. My mom & dad gave me cash (also from my grandma); my sister has my gift and I will see her this weekend.

Tonight we went to dinner at my in-laws. Wonderful! We had pulled pork sandwiches (smoked by father-in-law) and then I had my Kahlua cake - it was awesome (basically it is a chocolate cake flavored with Kahlua liquer - yummy) My present from them each year is a trip to Branson. I go each year w/my mother-in-law, her sisters and neice, and several other ladies, and my in-laws pay for my trip. We have a great weekend of shopping and having fun with no kids and no husbands - I look forward to this present each year; we will go in November.

So, thanks to my family and many friends (including all of you) I had a great day!

ME :0)

So, today is my birthday! I will confess my age - 39. I really don't mind sharing my age because I can truly say it does not matter to me, it is simply a number and not who I am. Today, I choose to be selfish & post only about me! I know, it may be insane for a grown woman to just talk about herself, but it's my birthday, my blog and that is what I choose to do today.

If you go here, you will find I confessed my real name is Tonda. Yes, I am aware it is a little unusual and some of you may wonder where did such a name come from. Well, today, I will tell you.

I am the second born of three children - I have an older sister and younger brother. Of course all those years ago my parents had no idea until I arrived if I was a boy or a girl. Apparently my parents could not agree on a name for me - they had several picked out, but did not agree on any of the girl names. So, I had to have a name and they were getting no where. My maternal grandmother, who I talked about here, wanted to name one of her grandchildren and had mentioned that several times. So, with no name in agreement, they allowed my grandmother to name me. My name is Tonda Yvette (pronounced e-vette, no y sound). Where did she get such names for a little country girl like me?

Tonda - she chose this name because it was one she had liked for many years. Grandma was a nurses aid and had come into contact with many people over the years. At one point, she worked with, in her words, "a beautiful Indian lady" (meaning Native American) who was named Tonda. My grandmother thought a lot of this lady and loved the name; so it became my name. I am told (though have a hard time finding this) that Tonda means "little princess". I do love my name and would not change it, but try finding a key chain, or anything already made up with that name - not gonna happen! On vacations, I love to dare/bet my kids to try and find something with my name on it and tell them I will give them 20 bucks if they do, even used to do this when I was a kid when we went on vacations - hasn't happened yet, I still have that money in my pocket! I do know I am not the only Tonda in the world, I have heard of others on occasion, and I have met one (however, she uses her middle name & not the name Tonda). Also, on myspace there is a page I was asked to join - "For Tonda's Only". It was started by someone who shares my name looking for other Tonda's in the world, there are actually over 500 registered on the page and 5 in Arkansas - unbelievable. My name is mispronounced often - I am called Tonya, Tonka, Tonto, and I could go on & on, but I will only answer to Tonda - I mean how hard is it to see there is a "d" there! :).

Yvette - Grandma chose this name because there was popular actress from her time with that name. It is french in origin. I have discovered that my grandmother's grandparents were immigrants to the United States from France! So, I have a name to reflect my family heritage. And, yes this name also gets mispronounced often.

Yes, I have strange not so normal names, but I love them - they are me!

I am actually writing this post on Monday night the day before my birthday, but because I can choose the date & time to post you will see it on my birthday. That being said, I can not share with you yet how my day has gone, but I will give you an update and share later.

On Saturday, we went out to eat for an early celebration dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - Texas Roadhouse, the speciality is steak - my favorite!!!! It was yummy and we had a good night. I have also received several cards in the mail from friends already. Monday, 2 friends that I used to work with took me to lunch - it was great to see them. Tonight we will go to my in-laws house for a birthday dinner and cake. My mother-in-law cooks a special dinner for each of us on our birthday and lets us choose what kind of cake we want, I have chosen Kahlua cake - I can't wait.

So far, I have had a great birthday! Thank you for letting me talk about me today & being selfish on my birthday.

ONE LAST POOL FLING

The end is near - the end of summer that is! We decided to spend the afternoon at the pool for one last swim of the season. We also let Trav invite some of his buddies over as a little mini late birthday party. My neice also came over to swim too so Flicka wouldn't be the only girl. All of the kids had a great time. We had pizza and cake. Of course we listend to the RAZORBACK game - GO HOGS - we won the first game and hopefully will have many more wins this year!!! GO HOGS!!! (did I mention, I love RAZORBACK football!)

Here are a few of the pics from the day. Our last goodbye to summer!

Trav & his buddies! A rowdy bunch!

My girls - Flicka & my neice - she's 14 & they are good friends!

Blowin' out the candles - wishin' hard.

My 2 girls again - cousins!

I tried to get more pics of the boys, but it is almost impossible to get those boys to be still long enought and with all of the water flying up by the pool I didn't want to risk staying up there too long w/my camera.

A few things about summer I will miss: the beautiful blue of the pool water, the smell of the sunscreen, the shrieks of joy from the kids at the pool, the warmth (we will not lose that completely for a while though), the beach towels draped over the deck - each one showing the personality of the owner. Just a few of the things I will miss till next summer.

HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND to everyone! I hope everyone enjoys one last summer fling!

ELEVEN YEARS

Today my baby boy is 11 years old. Eleven years ago, he arrived in this world at 8:16 pm weighing in at 8 lbs., 6 oz. He had a head full of hair and was all wrinkly, he came fast, and made us laugh from the beginning - something he still loves to do! This may be a long post, and I apologize for that, but I want to share the story of his arrival as well as some other fun things about him. (feel free to stop reading when you are bored)

Here is the story: My actual due date was September 3, but I told everyone and convinced myself his due date was August 31 - you see, if I said September it seemed like another entire month, and I just couldn't take the thought of one more hot month, so August 31 it would be. Well, obviously my little one had other plans, and arrived even earlier.

The day: It was a beautiful Sunday, clear skies, hot but not to the extreme. My parents came up to visit for the day; my dad and Hunter were doing somethings around the house, and my mom, Flicka and I went shopping. I was feeling great, in fact better than I had in over a week. (Little did I know that the constant back and leg discomfort I was having for the past week was most likely labor! LOL!) Mom and dad got ready to go and mom said to me: "We're not going to get home and then get call to come right back up here, are we?" I laughed and said no way, it's still too early, and I am feeling fine. So, off they went back home about an hour away. We went on with our afternoon, I cooked dinner and we - Hunter, Flicka & me - all sat down to eat. All of a sudden, I just didn't feel right, I got up to go to the restroom and halfway there my water broke, it was definitely time. We called my sister to come pick up Flicka - she lived on the same street so she was there in approximately a minute or less. We put the bag in the car, reassured Flicka that mommy was OK, and off we went to the hospital. The labor pains hit hard and strong w/in 5 mins. of the water breaking - much worse than any I had had w/Flicka. It was only a 10 - 15 minute ride to the hospital. Before leaving, we called mom & dad and said we were on our way to the hospital. They thought we were kidding and when we finally convinced them it was real, they headed back up.

A little more background: Flicka had to be delivered by C-section due to some problems with her heart rate. My doc w/Camo was convinced I would not be able to deliver him vaginally due to the previous c-section and his size. I was adamant that we give it a shot, so we compromised. We scheduled an OR for a c-section about a week before my due date of Sept. 3, with the decision if he did not come before then, it would most likely be needed.

At the hospital: I was pre-registered so we were escorted straight to labor & delivery upon arrival. We checked in at 7:20 pm, I changed into a gown immediately. Before even making it to the bed for my first check, I had a sudden urge to push. I announced this to the nurse as soon as I finished putting on my gown, she just laughed it off and said, I had not been here long enough, it was probably just nerves. I again told her of the urge and was very adamant that it was not nerves. She got me to the bed and checked me and her eyes became as big as plates (not saucers!). She then ran into the hallway and screamed page the dr. stat (remember it was a Sunday night, and there was no OB in the building, just one on call - it just so happened that my OB was out of town so they would have to use the on call dr. who was one of the other drs. in the same clinic as mine.) She came back and talked to us, checked the monitors, etc..., checked me again, and again went hurriedly out and we could hear her asking if the dr. had arrived yet, and then a "we need someone in here stat!" She came back in (along with another nurse or 2, but no dr.) sat down at the end of the bed, and tried to convince me not to push, I insisted that I was not going to be able to stop it much longer, she finally gave in and let me push. The dr. walked in, basically just in time for the last 2 pushes and to catch the baby. Camo was born less than an hour after we arrived at the hospital (less than 2 hours of my water breaking), we signed the paperwork giving them permission to deliver him and administer care after the birth. Needless to say, his birth was 100% natural, they didn't have time for anything. He came when he was ready, and there was no stopping him! It was perfect! My mom & dad arrived, and when they walked in they could not believe I was already holding him; they were just expecting to get to see me for a minute before being asked to leave so I could be prepared for the delivery! (Lynn's parents decided to wait till the next morning to come up, since it all happened so fast.)

OK, that may have been more information that you wanted, but I just love that memory and wanted to share it. Now for some of the fun stuff.

I have to confess that my first thought when they handed him to me was "oh, my gosh! he's a monster!" I know this may sound like I was a terrible mom, but not really, it's just that Flicka was only 6 lbs. 7 oz. and with him a full 2 pounds bigger, he just looked huge! He was just so beautiful - head full of reddish brown hair, big blue/gray eyes, no smushed head from delivery, just beautiful. He was very laid back from the beginning and still is, not much flusters him or gets under his skin (except for his sister now - LOL). He never lost his hair as some babies do, it just turned to snow white - my little cotton top! His eyes are still a beautiful blue/gray - they actually change colors from bright blue, deep blue, gray and sometimes a greenish color depending on his mood. I tell him I can always tell when he is happy or sad by the color of his eyes.

He loved to eat from the beginning, and that is something he still enjoys, he is definitely not much of a picky eater. He has had a very sweet, and different sense of humor since he was very young, he loves to make you laugh. He has a very unique outlook on the world around him, his interpretations of things are sometimes so simple, it just makes you think - yeah, you're right; and sometimes makes you think - that is so funny! He rarely meets a stranger, he is very friendly and most people fall in love with all that is him after only a few minutes of getting to know him. He has always been a good kid, a bit mischievous at times, and about 500% boy, but very good - he has a good heart and it is easy to see. Also, he is very smart - he has always been an A student (sometimes some Bs sneak in and that's OK w/us too.)

He loves all things outdoors - hunting, fishing, riding his bike, swimming, camping, baseball - I could list things for days! I like to say he is a country boy locked up in the city.

I have decided to share his real name with you because I think it really is a part of his personality and have decided since I will be sharing so much about my family on my blog, I want everyone reading to know the real family (and besides I use their real names on myspace & facebook, why not here!)

So, today, you have met - Travis Lynn - my eleven year old wonder! Sorry, for such a long post, but I could ramble on for days about my kiddos and all that is great about them. And just thought since it is his birthday, it was a good time to share some things.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of him:

6 weeks - still w/reddish hair

1st bday - loving the cake!

2 1/2 yrs - a very brief stint w/gymnastics - not his cup of tea, he needed more activity & something that was outside!

10 yrs. - his first deer (sorry, if this offends anyone, but this is who he really is!)

Eleven and a cell phone!

A new gun & new phone - life is good. He chose the gun over a birthday party (we couldn't afford to do both.) For those who are not used to seeing an 11 year old with a gun, please remember he is a hunter and the love of it was born in him - his dad loves to hunt as do both of his grandpas. This is not his first gun, but is one he has been wanting for a while - it is a pump action, 20 gauge shotgun. Also, for those who are concerned, please know that all guns in our house are used for hunting only, and are kept in a locked gun safe. Travis is not allowed to hunt alone yet, and all gun usage for him is strictly supervised by an adult.

We went out to dinner to celebrate - Travis chose one of our local restaurants that serves catfish and all the fixings (fries, hush puppies, slaw). This photo was taken outside the; they have a nice sitting area, this bridge leads to it. There is also a pond and the provide bread and other goodies so you can feed the fish & turtles.

Travis had a very good birthday & we had fun celebrating with him.