Bring On Summer!

It's the end of another school year for my Emma Grace.  I have loved not working and being able to enjoy all the fun school activities and field trips that her 1st grade year had to offer.  Not to mention I am able to take her and pick her up from school everyday and enjoy the occasional lunch with her.  Last year for her end of year party I put together a little video for her and her friends to watch and this year I made another one for her class to enjoy.  I'M READY FOR SUMMER VACATION!!  I'm hoping with summer and a more relaxed schedule I'll be able to blog a bit more.  It's much more difficult to find the time (peace and quiet) to gather my thoughts and put my fingers to the keyboard than I thought it would be.  Maybe my life is just a bit more CRAZY at the moment than I expected it to be.  That's OK though - it's my crazy life and I absolutely adore it! 

Emma's 1st Grade Class - Mrs. Hicks

Playing Catch Up

It’s been months since I’ve posted and boy oh boy has there been a ton of craziness in the lives of the Grants…

My dad has been going through radiation treatment for his bladder cancer.  It’s been noticeably tough on him but being the “macho type” man that he is, he would never admit it.  He completed six rounds (in 6 weeks) and will start several more rounds this week.  He will go at the end of the month for his scan and we are praying for good news.  Since my dad’s diagnosis of cancer I always hug him a little tighter and I always tell him how much I love him every time I get the chance.

In February my husband went to his monthly military drill and was severely burned by boiling water on his legs.  It was several weeks of completely taking care of him.  He went through three rounds of debridement which was so horrible I would have to leave the room.  I literally could not stand to see or hear him in such pain.  It broke my heart to imagine how badly he must have been hurting.  Pounds and pounds of gauze, bandages, tape and Silvedene Cream later he is fully recovered.  He does have some pretty big scars but he isn’t the kind of guy to wear “Daisy Dukes” so they aren’t a big deal.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6



Day 14

In March we went to Red River, NM for Spring Break.  It was the first time snow skiing for everyone except me.  It amazed my husband and me how quickly Emma and Robby caught on and were on their way down the slope with no problem.  They had a wonderful time.  I had not skied in over 15 years but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it all came back to me.  Then there’s Mike…poor, poor Mike.  Unfortunately he spent most of day 1 learning how to get up since he fell A LOT!  I was really proud of him for enthusiastically getting up and out on the slopes for day 2.  He didn’t fall as much and overall had a good time.  Day 3 was much better for him but he never did really learn how to stop which is what lead to most of his time on his rear.  It was a fabulous Spring Break and I can’t wait for another ski vacation in the near future.



That brings us to April.  We just celebrated Easter this past weekend.  Let me start by saying it was a wonderful day but it could have been better.  This was my grandsons (Jayden) first Easter and I’m always excited about his firsts.  The day started really badly…my 4 year old son (Robby) has a pair of boots that he wears everyday and with anything.  I normally don’t care; it’s just not a battle that is worth fighting in my opinion.  However, this was Easter and I wanted him to look nice for church and pictures on this day.  So, I put him in his cute shorts and collared shirt and give my husband the new pair of sandals I had bought him to wear with the outfit while I finished getting myself ready.  I could hear some yelling but couldn’t make out what was going on since I had the hair dryer going.  As soon as I turn off the hair dryer I hear a loud bang.  I walk into the living room to see my son flanging all over the floor and my husband trying to crab his leg.  It takes me a second but I soon realize that my husband is trying to get the sandals on Robby’s feet.  The loud bang was the first sandal that my husband put on his foot hitting the wall as Robby had ripped it off as soon as it was put on him and threw it across the room in rage.  We plead, fought, bribed and finally had to spank him to get him to wear the sandals.  It was so stressful but once we told him he had to wear them we didn’t want him to “win” get his way by means of throwing a fit so we had to follow through.  He was mad the entire time at church and afterwards when I was hoping to get some good pictures to remember Easter 2011.  Needless, to say it will be remembered as one of the most “CRAZY” Easter mornings ever!  The rest of the day (once Robby got to take off the sandals and put on his boots) was wonderful though.  We cooked out on the grill and had my parents over for lunch.  We colored Easter Eggs and hunted them in the afternoon and it was even warm enough to break in the pool for the first swim of the year.  It was indeed a blessed Easter.

Remembering Christmas 2010

I think for most people there is something that stands out every Christmas that makes it memorable.  It doesn’t have to be anything Earth shattering or major by any means.  For example: Christmas 2000 my then boyfriend and current husband fell off the roof of my house while hanging the lights.  We will never forget that Christmas just because of that very funny event.

 Unfortunately, Christmas 2010 will be forever the Christmas that I found out my father has cancer.  Actually hearing those words from his surgeon on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 was a huge blow to me emotionally.  I’m very well aware of the circle of life and the fact that I will one day have to say good-bye to my parents.  I also am in no way oblivious to heartache.  I have already endured the death of one of my own children.  So why am I so overwhelmed with the thought of losing one of my parents?  It actually amazes me that we know from a fairly early age that our parents will not live forever.  I have known for a very long time that I will not always have my mom and dad.  Even though we know this we are in no way prepared for it when we are faced with it.  My dad’s diagnosis with cancer makes this knowledge a reality.  Just the slightest thought of my dad not being around really opens the flood gates for me.  In my opinion he is just too young to be faced with such a disease.  He is 68 and full of life.  He is the grandfather of my amazing children and they love him to pieces.  He is the husband of my beautiful mother and I know she can’t live without him.  I’m truly devastated to find out he has cancer.  It is a treatable cancer and his prognosis is fairly good but the cancer will steal years away from him and our family.  It is very upsetting to me that Christmas 2010 will always be the Christmas that I found out my dad has cancer.  It will always be the Christmas that I really realized I will not always have my mom and dad.  It will always be the year that I was reminded that I will one day have to say good-bye to some of the most loved people in my life.

Me with my parents at the Marine Corps Ball Nov. 13, 2010

My family Thanksgiving 2010 - 1 week before my dad's diagnosis

Finally have some time to Blog

Well, as it turns out I’m really poor blogger!  We have been so busy I just have not been able to find the time to catch up.  Just to give you an idea in the last 3 weeks both of my young children started playing soccer, my oldest daughter started a new job, my father had cataract surgery on both eyes, my mother spent a week in the hospital, my husband broke a tooth that required a very expensive crown and my little boy started preschool two days a week.  So, I’ve spent a lot of time shuttling my mom and dad to medical appointments, I went on a field trip with my son to the Lindale Fire Department, I start my day at 5am so my oldest daughter can be at work by 6:15am, I’ve spent countless hours at the hospital with my mother and to top it all off…I had a BIRTHDAY!!  I guess if I weren’t getting so old being this busy would be no big deal.  We’ve had a lot of fun in the last month as well.  We went to Oklahoma for my sweet nephews birthday parties, attended the annual Marine Corps Family Day, watched Emma and Robby play their very first soccer games, Emma had her 1^st grade Open House and tomorrow we are off to a Rangers game.  Just in case you’re wondering this post is not a complaint.  My life may be busy but I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world.  I love every single day of our hectic lives.

One of those - I did it for my kid stories...

On Saturday, August 28 I took Emma on her 1st trip to Six-Flags over Texas in Arlington. We met my Brother and his son Roman there. Just to give you a little background I have not been to an amusement park to ride the various rides in about 10 years. In those 10 years I’ve had two children and developed various little aches and pains for no reason at all. I went assuming that my brother and I would just stand back and watch the two very young and sturdy children ride all the crazy rides. Well, I don’t have to tell you what happens when you make assumptions. My brother wanted to ride everything as well…ugh! For the most part I did really well. I did discover that I have zero tolerance for rides that spin. I did not barf but if that spinning bull had not stopped when it did there would have been some very mad and stinky Six-Flag guests. I had a feeling I would feel my little trip the next morning but I was not prepared for just how badly my body hurt that Sunday morning. I had aches and pains in places I didn’t even know existed within my body. I kept asking myself “what in the world where you thinking Brandie?” all day long as I popped another Motrin to manage my pain. All this to say that I will never again get on another amusement park ride…it just simply is not worth it. Emma did have a great time and is completely fearless when it comes to that kind of stuff. I was so happy that she was not tall enough to ride a few things because I don’t know if my nerve would have held up on a couple of them. It was much better to have her disappointed because she’s short than because her mommy is a huge chicken.

The Girl's 1st Day "Back To School"

Yesterday was return to school for both of my girls. Taylor started back to TJC and finally decided on a major – Graphic Design and Photography. I’m glad she found something that truly interests her. Emma started the 1st grade and got a really great teacher Mrs. Hicks. Both girls seemed to have a wonderful day and are looking forward to the rest of the school year.

Emma - Ready to start 1st grade

So that brings us to what Robby is up to. He is stuck at home with mom all week by himself. He’s probably not real happy about it but I love having him all to myself. Next week he will start preschool two days a week which will give me a chance to get the house back in acceptable condition after letting some of the deep cleaning slide so I could spend time keeping my sweet loves occupied and happy over summer vacation.

This is how concerned Robby was about NOT having his sister home with him

It’s short today but I have a sweet little redhead who I “pinky promised” would get all my attention this week.

Emma - Day 2 She remembered the apple for the teacher

Bye, Bye Summer Vacation

Today is the last day of summer vacation and in the morning starts the hustle and bustle of waking up to an alarm, rushing to get the kids to the table for breakfast, packing lunches, doing homework, hunting for the other shoe and keeping my fingers crossed that my kids have a great day at school. Since this will be my first school year as a SAHM I’m really looking forward to picking Emma up from school. Last year I got to drop her off but I never got to pick her up…oh, how I’m looking forward to being the first one to hear about her day and the new things she learned. It may not seem like much to some but for me it’s HUGE!

My husband has worked the last 13 weekends straight which means I’ve been going non-stop for quite a while without any time to recover my sanity. Those of you who know me well know I didn’t start with much to begin with. So, basically we are in very scary times since I don’t know if I’m coming or going. My sweet 6 year old daughter actually asked me yesterday morning if her daddy still lived here. My response “I’m still getting his paycheck so all seems well sweetie.” I am bit upset that we didn’t get to take a summer vacation and that we really haven’t had any family time together at all. Isn’t that what summer is all about? I have taken the kids to the lake for a few days – by myself, I have taken them swimming quite a bit – by myself and we’ve made several trips to fun parks and recreation areas – by myself.

All in all nothing that will probably stick out in their mind 10 years from now as memorable. The one thing they will remember about this summer is that they became Aunt Emma and Uncle Robby on July 13th when their big sister brought Jayden Bryce into the world.

I’ve got Emma all set to start 1st grade tomorrow except for a few papers from Meet the Teacher that I still need to fill out. She’s very excited about school starting and it’s probably because she knows I’m a ticking time bomb right now. Seriously; she loves school and I’m thrilled about that because I know next year I’ll be dragging my son into Kindergarten kicking and screaming like something off a really bad B rated horror movie. He is starting Pre-K this year at a local church 2 days a week. I’m hoping this will get him semi-used to the idea of being in a classroom environment and actually acting like a human being for a set period of time. I do have to say that I am looking forward to spending lots of one on one time with my Rob-Rob. I’ve always felt he got ripped off a little. Taylor had me all to herself for 13 years. Then I had Emma. Taylor was wrapped up in loads of activities and friends and Mike was in Iraq for a year so Emma got lots of time just the two of us. Then came Robby and he’s always had to share my attention but for the next nine months from 8a to 3p Mon, Wed and Fri he gets me all to himself. You know what? He may go running into his Kindergarten teacher’s arms with relief next year.

Emma with her 1st Grade Teacher Mrs. Hicks

I can almost hear that school bell ringing…