What an AWESOME Break thus far

Chris, Natalie and I have spent the past week with my family for Christmas. We were able to go to the Butcher Shop in Longview and eat some of the best burgers ever as well as some great tasting desserts. This was also were Natalie ate a foot long hot dog! I guess she was hungry too :)

We also started a few family traditions.

Chris and I were basically trash talking to each other about how good our cookies were, we decided to have a "COOKIE WAR"! This was between Chris, Allison (my sister) and I. I ended up not making them because I was still recovering from the massive amount of food I ate the night before. Allison made Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chris made Fig and Walnut Cookies. Chris went to the grocery store about 3 times to get all of his ingredients and one ingredient was more per pound than a T-bone steak! CRAZY! We had our family friends judge them and Chris came back the winner.

We also watched "Christmas Vacation" on Christmas Night. Allison had never seen this and she LOVED it! This will be a tradition we carry on in the future. Such a funny movie!

We also started our "Davis Family" tradition of making Christmas about Jesus and his birthday. We read the Christmas Story from the Bible and Natalie did really well. She loves it when Poppi speaks and she loved to respond back to him while he was reading. We also each took a turn to say a Christmas prayer and Natalie was well-behaved during this part too. In addition to this we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and then had a birthday cupcake for him. This was really cool and I enjoyed having a tradition like this. I plan on doing this EVERY year with all my kids!

We also were able to go out on 2 date nights and an evening with a long time friend. This was a great opportunity for Chris and I since we rarely ever get to go out since the lack of babysitter! It was great to go out to eat and not have to leave extra tip for the mess Natalie made or eat quickly so to get Natalie out of the restaurant! I actually enjoyed the meal! It was awesome!

Finally, today we spent the morning with my sister Allison since it was her birthday! She is 23 and she is loving every minute of it! I made her some cupcakes last night and then gave her a cupcake stand to hold them! It is really awesome!

Overall, Chris and I had a blast and are VERY grateful to my parents and sister for such an amazing week. We are going to spend New Years with Chris's parents in Conroe and then head back on Saturday or Sunday! It is going to be EXCITING!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Diet Problems

Well... Chris and I lost over 70 lbs between us on the HCG diet since October. It was a long and hard process but we each dropped the weight. We have been on the maintenance part of the diet for about 4 weeks. The maintenance part of the diet is not bad at all and Chris and I actually enjoy this part of the diet. Since coming to my parents house for Christmas, Chris and I have each gained about 5-6 pounds. We have ate so much stuff. Today we didn't eat breakfast or lunch in hopes of dropping a few pounds. Tonight we are going to eat Tur-duck-en. I have never had this before so I am really excited! Hopefully, we will be able to drop the extra pounds quickly. Starting on the 1st, Chris and I will be on the 2nd round of the HCG diet. I am praying that each of us will be able to drop another 25 or 30 pounds. Thank you Lord for the pounds we have already dropped. I will let you know how the Tur-duck-en turns out!

Date Night (Two nights in a row)

Thanks to my mom, dad and sister, Chris and I have been able to go out on a date 2 nights in a row. We planned on going out and eating at a favorite restaurant of ours in Tyler and going to see the new Harry Potter Movie. We did this on Sunday and had a great time. I really enjoyed Genghis Grill. This time Chris and I decided to get the never ending bowl and try all of the special bowls they recommend. These bowls were OK but next time we are going to just eat our own creations. I LOVED the Harry Potter movie. I have not read the books but I have seen all of the movies and recently since the new movie coming out, I have seen each movie in order several times. This movie was AWESOME and I cannot wait for part 2 of the final movie to come out.
Today, my mom, sister and I went out and shopped all the "After Christmas" sales. We found lots of bargains and items to buy. I didn't spend much at all but used several coupons to get about 5 dress/ work shirts. They are all a size smaller thanks to the weight I have lost doing my HCG diet. I am very excited about this. Chris and I are doing another round in January so I am anxious to get into an even smaller size. Once we got home from shopping, Chris said he liked our date last night so much that he asked my mom to babysit again so we could go out again. Of course, without delay my mom said YES! So... Chris and I were able to go out on 2 dates with FREE babysitting! Thank you Mom, Dad and Allison! Chris and I really appreciate you!


Once again, this goes to show that God is good and his blessings never cease! Thank you Lord for your many blessings!

What an amazing Sunday!!

Today I was able to sing a song as a special in my dad's church in Arp. He is the pastor there and has been for about 15 years or so. I grew up singing with my mom or singing solos at church. When I was in college I would travel up to see my grandparents in Wichita, KS and would sing a special on Sunday morning at one of their churches. When I attended Bethel Baptist Church in Norman, OK I also performed with the praise team.

I began playing my saxophone at my church ensemble when I was only 14 years old. This was really fun and I knew I loved to worship by playing my sax. I continued this into college where I played in the orchestra/ band at Bethel in Norman and became a music intern and band director. When I got married and moved to Shawnee, I also continued to play my saxophone in the worship orchestra. This is so great because I am able to give the talents the good Lord gave me back to him each and EVERY Sunday at church.

Today as I listened to my dad preach I remember the joy I had when I sing at church in not just play my saxophone. I love to sing! I wish I could do more of it at my current church! What an amazing Sunday morning service today at AEBC! Thank you dad for a great sermon and service and thank you Lord that I could worship you through my singing!

May God bless each of you as your conclude your 2010!

What a Joy is Christmas!

Well the past 3 Christmas's for me have been truly amazing! Not to mention the other 25 but lets start here:

2008- We found out we were going to have Natalie Grace!

2009- I got my Masters from UCO

2010- I received the "Teacher of the Year" award from my school.

It is always so wonderful to spend time with your family! It has been a true blessing to be able to be here with my family and Chris and Natalie! This year we decided to start "Cookie Wars" with Chris, Allison and I. Each of us will make cookies each Christmas/ Thanksgiving and have some family friends judge them! This year Chris made Fig and Walnut cookies and Allison made "Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies". Chris's cookies won by 1/2 of a point! Congrats to Chris!

Today we celebrated Christmas and started our very own "Davis Family Tradition" for Chris, our kids and I to continue for years. We read the Christmas Story in the Bible and then sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and had a cupcake for him. We also discussed and prayed with little Natalie. I am so glad that we will be teaching our kids the REAL meaning of Christmas! I owe this all to my parents who did the same for me!

We got tons of gifts and I am so grateful to Chris, Allison and my parents for all the wonderful items I got today! So many things that we will have to just come back to Tyler some other time to get it all! Little Miss Natalie got a wagon, Mega Blocks table set, A PINK Tee-ball set, a "Natalie" doll and tons of other stuff. I got a beautiful "Family Blessings" picture frame, A Cuisinart Griddler, a New York Yankees snuggie and lighted wall sign, a beautiful sweater and necklace set; not to mention the tons of other items I got my my family.

It seems with each Christmas that passes, they only get better. God is so good and I am so blessed! Thank you Lord for my family and the joy we share together! Thank you Chris, Allison, Mom and Dad for helping make my Christmas PERFECT!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! Remember... JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON!

God Bless you!

What a crazy and yet AMAZING December

My December has been so crazy. Of course, December for a musician is ALWAYS crazy but this year was just out of control. Here is what my schedule looked like:

December 3rd- I took my 3rd Graders to Rose Manor Nursing Home to sing to the residents

December 9th- I took my 4th graders to sing to Rose Manor; I also had a Pep Band Basketball game that night
Rose Manor is ALWAYS my favorite time of the Christmas Season. I have always been a fan of going to a nursing home and singing or playing my saxophone for it's residents. I used to play fr my hometown's nursing home once a month. I also played at the nursing home in Norman while in college. I think it is really important for our young students to get out and show a service to their community and this is a great way to do so. We go and sing Christmas Carols and walk up and down the halls giving out cards, ornaments and candy canes. The adults and students alike love it. It is my favorite thing of all!

December 10th- "Grove's Got Talent" Vocal Auditions
"Grove's Got Talent" is a school wide talent show that I developed to help the band department at Grove. It is similar to "America's Got Talent" and this was the vocal auditions (#3) for the whole school. This failed miserably due to technical difficulties and just bad luck I guess. I was "boo"ed by the students for making them go back to class and several sets of parents were not happy with me and told me why. It was a terrible day!

December 10, 11 and 12th- IBC "The Promise of Christmas" Musical Production
This was the annual "Cantata" or music program at my church. I am the orchestra director there so we had been working on this for weeks but it was time to perform. It actually went REALLY well but just time consuming!

December 13th- Grove Christmas Band Concert
We always have 1 in the daytime and 1 at night. This year since Chris had not been working he piked p the trumpet and began to play with my 5th graders 2 days a week. He was supposed to play with us on both concerts but little Miss Natalie decided to get sick that weekend so we had to take her to the doctor instead. It turned out she had an ear infection so daddy could not make either concerts. This was sad for me because I was really looking forward to having Chris play with us and this was the VERY FIRST TIME that I did not have ANY family member in attendance. Good thing I have it on DVD! Natalie is feeling much better now... Thank you Lord!

December 14th- Redo of "Grove's Got Talent" vocal auditions
Thank goodness we were able to reschedule as quick as we did. This made it a little easier for me. We had 16 students sing and they were ALL AMAZING! We had a student with special need come up and sing and it really touched my heart! Not a dry eye in the place! Amazing!

December 15th- IBC Orchestra Christmas Party
Not a performance or anything but just alot of work on my part!

December 16th- Grove Elementary musical "The Incredible Reindeer"
Just like the band concert... we have 2 performances. The 1st performance was OK but the music didn't work right . Then the evening performance was AMAZING! I think it was my best Elementary musical to date at Grove. Chris and Natalie were able to attend! It was great!

December 17th- Rose Manor Nursing Home Band Trip
I took my 7th and 8th Grade Band members to Rose Manor to perform their Christmas concert for its residents. It was awesome! I think we will need to take them on tour and visit my own grandma in Wichita, KS!
Also on this day I was name the "Grove Teacher of the Year". This was a surprise because I was up against 4 of the best teachers in our school. Seriously... they were all awesome. I was shocked.

This just goes to show that God works in mysterious ways! It also show that God is working all the time. He gives us blessings when we need them the most! I am so lucky to work at such a wonderful school. Even if I am stressed to all get out and pulled myself way too thin... God works it all out. He can do this for you too! All you have to do is ask!

Thank you Lord for your many blessings! Thank you Grove faculty and staff for your kindness in voting for me. I am lucky to be working with you!

All of that happened in December but the most important thing of all has yet to happen. Jesus Christ was born for you and me because he loves us. Don't forget... Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

13 months earlier

This past weekend Natalie Grace turned 13 months old. She is growing up too fast. She is practically running everywhere now. She just loves to chase the dogs and scare them away with her corn popper (Thanks Auntie Allie). She also likes to play on her piano from Gigi Jackie. Her and mommy have been working on playing with just one finger at a time and she seems to be getting better. Of course she constantly gets in her car and shuts the door and then looks at you like "Ok... I am ready for you to push me". It is so cute. She loves her new toys.

In celebration of her 13 months Chris, Natalie and I went to the Oklahoma State Fair. I had 1/2 a day of school on Friday so we decided to get there early before the massive crowds of people showed up. Natalie seemed to really enjoy it. The State Fair for me has always been about 2 things... THE FOOD and THE CAR SHOW. I really enjoy the food you can eat a the Fair. I think this all started back when I was in the Pride and we would go to the OU/ Texas game. After the game was over we always were able to have about 2 hours at the fair. This is wen I began to try the weird Fair food. I LOVE the funnel cakes you get at the fair. This year I ate another one of my favorites... Fried Twinkies. These are so good yet so simple to make. Natalie and I also ate:

Craw fish Etoufee

State Fair Corn dog (cant not eat one of these)

Fresh lemonade

Real Root beer

These are all such great items to get at the Fair. However, I noticed this time around how incredibly easy these food items were to make. I keep saying... "I could rent booth space and do this!!!" Seriously... someone was selling chocolate dipped cookie dough. this was basically 3 bite size squares of Pillsbury "Break and Bake" and then they dipped them in chocolate. I saw someone else serving fried apple pie. Again.. I can make pie!!!

Overall, Natalie, Chris and I really enjoyed the fair!

Reality TV Summer 2010

Chris and I are really hooked to reality TV right now. We like all of the popular shows like:

America's Got Talent (AGT)

Big Brother (BB12)
Amazing Race

Survivor

Apprentice

There are others but these are our favorites. This summer the reality TV shows did not let us down. America's Got Talent was really good. I enjoyed watching all of the acts and performances of the contestants. In fact, I am formulating a talent show at my school based off of this show. However, on the finale last night the announced the winner and I was SHOCKED! Included in the finale was a crazy male "lady gaga", a not so special soul country singer, an awesome fraternity group that did a light spectacle show and a 10 year old female opera singer. I have been amazed by Jackie Evancho, the 10 year old. I cannot believe that she can sing like that. I have also really enjoyed Prince Poppy-cock (The Male "Lady gaga") and knew he would go far. However, the results proved that Michael Grimm (The Soul Singer) won. Of course last year on AGT a singer won and I thought the variety act should have won. I was really upset.

Last night was also the BB 12 finale. I have only been watching Big Brother for about 4 summers but this has been my favorite thus far. I really liked all of the drama and for the most part, I liked all of the house guest. In the finals were 3 "Brigade" members and I really liked them all but Lane was my favorite. He always had the FUNNIEST Diary Room comments such as:
"$10,000? Do you know how many cases of beer that would buy?" ( I am not a drinker at all but I thought that was funny)

"It took forever... it was like waiting for the end of a Harry Potter movie" (Best ever)

I really wanted him to win but the other "Brigade" member won. The most shocking thing of the BB12 finale was that "America's Favorite" player was Brittney! REALLY?!?!?!? I really did not like her. Sh was so whiny! Ahhh.. drive me crazy.

I am ready for the fall shows. We DVRed Survivor and will watch soon and Apprentice starts tonight.

What an ADVENTURE

Well yesterday Natalie had her 1st trip to the Emergency Room. On Monday when Natalie woke up from her afternoon nap, she seemed fine. She drank her milk and even smiled. At about 5pm she threw up her milk from her 5 0'clock feeding. She seemed to have drank the milk fast so I didn't really think anything of it. Then I began to feed her dinner. She didn't seem as interested in her hot dog and green beans as usual. At about 5:15 she threw up again. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning. She continued to throw up about every 15 minutes and in between these "adult-like projectile" vomits she would have dry heaves and her stomach would contract. She was so miserable. I had called the nursery at the hospital to see what they thought and Walgreen's and CVS pharmacies too and they all said it was more than likely a 24 stomach bug and "This too shall pass" (BTW... I HATE that phrase :) ). Natalie was so uncomfortable but around 7:10 and after about 12 vomitting episodes and 3 baths she fell asleep. I thought the nurses and pharmacists were right so I felt relieved. At about7:45 she woke up. She seemed OK at first then, somehow out her tiny little body came more vomit. Chris and I decided we had enough. I called my mom and mother in-law whom both said to take her in. During one of these calls, Natalie threw up AGAIN!
We finally made it to the ER at 8:15. We were greeted by a friend from church and ER nurse who took us to triage and got the ball rolling for us. We were almost immediately sent back into a room to see a doctor. *Disclaimer- here is where my ranting will begin
This doctor was about 5 feet tall and seemed a little odd to me. He was repeating himself and just acting weird. He took the usual doctor test of the ear and mouth and eyes and then left the room. He then returned and said he would like to take some tests to see what is going on. Poor Natalie had to get blood taken and then have a strep test taken. She hated both of these. After about 1 hour the results from the lab work came in. The doctor came into the room and said, "Well after looking at the labs, I cant really put my finger on what is going on. I am not sure but I THINK it is NOT meningitis." (Enter Kellie Klingsick and the panic button) Wow... i was just floored. Meningitis had NEVER crossed my mind. The doctor continues "well she doesn't have a fever and she is turning her neck really well so it is more than likely not meningitis but I am not positive. I hope I didn't just worry you more." I think this comment should be entered into a "worlds dumbest statement" contest. It would win. In the mean time Chris is holding Natalie and just rolling his eyes in disgust of this guy. Chris said, "Thank man!" Chris knew I would be worried.
After another hour he came in and said, "Yeah I just don't know so why don't you follow up with her pediatrician tomorrow and just go from there". WOW!!!! Really... you went to med school and passed the test and all to tell me this! I was pretty mad. He did give her some rubbing lotion that would make the nausea go down as well as an anti-biotic to help with the bacterial infection. We got home at about 11:45. The good news was at this stage Natalie was so thirsty she finally drank pedialite and went right to sleep.
This morning Natalie woke up and was very thirsty. She drank several doses of pedialite and juice. We had to call and try to get in to see our pediatrician and the earliest they could see us was 1 so we arrived at 12:30 to get blood work done. Poor Natalie was so hungry and just overall tired and worn out by this time. The lab techs just couldn't seem to get a feel for her vein so they ended up poking her 3 times before they got any blood. After about 2 hours waiting for the pediatrician and the lab results we were told... "It is just a 24 hour bug"! Wow... I knew it! I feel so bad for Miss Natalie but really, I did all of this, didn't sleep at all due to a "meningitis" scare, took 1/2 day off to come to this pediatric appointment and your response is "It is a bug"! It is a good thing I just got up and walked away...
Through all of this I have learned why parents always say "The 2nd and 3rd ones take care of themselves". This statement obviously being about the 2nd and 3rd child. Let me tell you, our next little kiddo will just have to deal with it.
Bottom line... WHAT A Waste of time the ER, Doctor's office and overall medical experience is!

My Princess Natalie Grace Turns 1!

On August 25th, my little baby Natalie Grace turned 1! This past year has been such a whirlwind of events. I feel like it has just blown by. She has gone from a newborn to a crawler and now a walking, no make that a running, toddler. She has gone from just staring at me while eating to throwing food on the floor while she eats. It just amazes me how much she has changed and grown up. She is my little Princess Natalie. I prayed and prayed for her and God gave me so much more than I asked for. Thank you Lord for Natalie Grace.

On her actual birthday we went out to eat at Chicago Street Deli on my planning period and lunch break and then after school we went to the park. She loved the park because she was able to climb UP the slide. She didn't want to ride down the slide... no, that was too conventional for my child. She was determined to get to the top of that slide.

After the park we came home and she got to eat her birthday cookie from Chicago Street. She was getting cake on Saturday at her party so we decided a small cookie would be fine on her actual birthday! She opened 3 gifts from Gigi Shirley and Mama and Dada. Gigi Shirley got her a bright red-haired doll. Mommy and Daddy got her a "Busy Ball Popper" and a "Laugh and Learn Puppy". She loved all of her presents.

On Saturday, August 28th we had her Princess Birthday party. We had "Royal Desserts" and punch. Natalie got so many gifts and she loved them all. I think my house can now have a sub-title of "Toys are Natalie's". Gigi Jackie and Grandpa got her new tennis shoes and a heavy winter coat. Gigi Shirley and Poppi got her a Princess Coupe Car, Learning Farm, OU Riding Horse, A massive stuffed penguin and a bath toy. Auntie Allie got her a corn-popper and a book of Princess stories. All of our friends also brought her gifts. Overall her birthday was so much fun and I thank everyone who helped make it a memorable day!

Love you all!

My 24 hours of waiting... best lesson in patience EVER!

One year ago today I was sent to the hospital to be induced. I was originally due on August 4th and after carrying my baby for an additional 3 weeks, my doctor decided it was finally time to go ahead and induce me. When Chris and I got to the hospital, I was exactly 43 weeks pregnant.

We arrived at 7am and were sent to a holding room while other patients who were there for scheduled C-sections were taken care of. Around 8 or so Dr. Trotter came in and said that the medication for induction was not at the Shawnee hospital and they would have to send someone to get it. There we waited yet again. The medicine arrived in the 10 o'clock hour and it was administer immediately.

After about 4 hours, I was not making any progress. At one point Dr. Trotter thought about sending us home and then come back later in the week. Fortunately, we did not do this. I pretty much had a "Kellie" fit as my mom would call them and said "No, I will not leave this hospital without a baby!" Both my -in-laws and my parents had driven 6 and 7 hours to see this and we were not leaving without a baby. So... at about 5 pm, Dr. Trotter broke my water. Then the story really begins.

I basically continued down the same path and didn't progress very much if at all. I was able to get the "Meds" and that made it a lot easier to rest but still nothing. After about 23 hours or so of actual delivery, the nursing staff and Dr. Trotter monitor my blood pressure as well as Natalie's heart-rate. My blood pressure was dropping way off and poor little Natalie was STUCK inside. She had twisted diagonally inside and was not able to move. Her heart-rate fell WAY TOO LOW for about 2 minutes. Dr. Trotter came in and said, "I think we will need to have a C-section". This was something I NEVER wanted to do so I was very upset. He left the room and as Chris comforted me, we prayed. Less than 90 seconds later he came in all dressed up and I asked "OK, when are we going to do this? Tomorrow..." He smiled and said, "NOW!" The nurses took everyone out of the room and then got Chris and I ready...

After 24+ hours (Well... really 43 weeks and 1 day) of waiting... Dr. Trotter cut me open and got her out in less than a minute. There she was... my beautiful and perfect Natalie Grace.

She is the most perfect gift from God. More on her later!

Welcome to "Davistown" was a big hit... Best 1st week of school ever!!!

I decorated my room this year with a theme of Baseball. I used Cooperstown, NY as my motto and just changed it to "Davistown". I then made all kinds of walls and areas of my room to go with this them. It was a HUGE hit. I did have to do some explaining with some little kids (and 5th grade girls) but overall it was an amazing success. Big thanks to my sister Allison and all of her help and creativenss for this room. I had the basic idea but she added so much to the room and I cannot thank her enough.

Also for the first time in my 5 year teaching career, I will have a student teacher. I am excited and nervous at the same time. it is kinda like being on display and observed each and every day. I had an AMAZING experience with my student teaching with one of the best directors in the state of Oklahoma. i know I will NEVER be able to live up to her expectations but I just feel really weird about it all. She seems so nice and really exctied (which is always good) but I am just nervous as what to do and how to use her. If you are an experienced band teacher or have had a student teacher observe you, some advice please.

To top all of this off, when I got home I saw Natalie playing on the floor. She smiled really big and then stood up and walked towards me in the doorway. She started saying ma ma ma ma over and over and then finally put her arms out for me to hold her. It just doesnt get ANY BETTER than this!

Overall, It was a GREAT first day of school. As mentioned before, it was my best day ever. I am really excited about the upcoming year.

Weekend thoughts

Thanks to my beautiful and creative sister Allison, I have nearly completed my classroom. This will be the most creative and unique classroom I have EVER had. I have gone out of the "box" so to speak and gone with a baseball room in the music classroom. I know, I know... this is not common since "athletics and band don't get along". I love baseball and I want to express my self in my room. I will post pictures soon.
I went to my first day back yesterday at school and had a great time. It seemed much smoother and less boring than usual. I was able to get alot done actually while I was up there. It was also great to see other teachers I have not seen all summer. Everyone seems to have lost weight. Why cant I lose some??? I have been trying to diet and exercise but I am going to step it up a notch! I am bringing out all the stops. I will be smaller and weigh less by September 18th. This is the day of my grandma's wedding (Sounds kinda weird but I am totally excited) and that is the next major thing in my life.
I am going to enjoy the rest of my weekend off before the busy week arrives!

School starts in 4 days

The past week has been such an amazing roller coaster of events. I have took a trip to Houston to see and Astro's game and then Galveston to see the beach. This past weekend I went to Dallas to go on my family semi-annual shopping trip. This time my mom, sister and I shopped at the Outlet Mall in Allen, Collin Creek Mall in Plano and the Village at Allen/ Fairview. This was so cool because in all of our semi-annual shopping trips, we had never been to any of these three malls. The outlet mall in Allen was great. I found several thing, especially for Natalie. Then when we went to the the Plano and Allen malls, I was able to find several things to wear back to work. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these trips and must continue to do these. Thanks mom and Allison.

Today, my sister helped me decorate my classroom. I am trying to keep a general theme of Baseball and MLB in my room. Today we made banners and signs to hang up and then got out all of the packed and stored equipment. I cannot wait to see the finished classroom tomorrow. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

I have to report back on Friday and I am so sad to have to leave my Natalie Grace. We have had SO MUCH fun this summer! She has grown up so much. In just 2 weeks she will be 1 year old. Wow, how time flies! I love you Natalie Grace!

Baseball Theme in my room

I decided this afternoon on the drive home from Houston that I am going to decorate my band room in a baseball theme this year. I think I will have the words to "Take me out to the ball game" all spread out around the room. I will have a wall of all of my music information called "The World Series of Music". I will also have a corner that will be the "Skipper's Dugout- Mrs. Davis' baseball travels". This will be an area that I will display a map, pictures and other info about my travels around the US to see MLB games and stadiums. I have purchased some motivational posters and other baseball decor as well. Outside my room I am going to have a banner stating "Welcome to Davistown- the Grove Wildcat Band Hall of Fame". This will be a take on "Cooperstown" where the MLB Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, NY. I will have the location where the students get their instruments out at called the Bullpen. These decorations will allow me to have a central theme (a + in education) as well as be cross-curricular (Map) as well. I am very excited but worried I wont be able to pull it all off by next Friday!!!

The Davis Mini-vacation 2010

This past week Chris went down to Houston to help his parents move from Lubbock to Conroe. He met them on Tuesday and began to help them unload their moving truck into their new 3200 sq feet home. In the meantime, Natalie and I spent the mid week with my parents in East Texas. This was great because it allowed Chris to help his parents without Natalie getting in the way. After the truck was unloaded and several boxes unpacked, Chris and his mother came up with the idea of taking a few day vacation in Houston and Galveston. This sounded awesome to me. I have to go back to school in a few days and I am in desperate need of a last minute de-stress or.

We got to Conroe on Saturday and spent the rest of the day with Chris and his family including his sister from Dallas and brother from Baton Rouge, both of whom were in town for the weekend. This allowed this to see Natalie and catch up with Chris and I.

Then on Sunday Chris took me to see an Astros game at Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. If you know me, you know that my family and I travel around the US to see baseball stadiums. I have been to all except those on the West Coast. But up until Sunday, I had not been to Minute Maid Park. It was awesome! It was only the 2nd "new" stadium (one I had never seen) Chris and I had gone together to see- the other being RFK Stadium to see the Nationals in 2008. This was extremely special to me and I thank Chris greatly for taking me and Jackie and Dan for watching Natalie.

On Monday Chris, Natalie and I went to Galveston to go to the beach. This was awesome because Natalie had never been. Chris and I really thought she would be scared to go into the water but we were WRONG! She LOVED it. She sat down in the sand and crawl out into the ocean and just played and played and played! She loved the tide coming in and the waves splashing on her. She would look at Chris and I and smile and laugh. It was too cute.

Thank you Chris and Dan and Jackie for making this happen. I feel so much better and I had a BLAST!

SAM's Club is AMAZING!

Ok... I just went to SAM's club for the first time since I had my beautiful Natalie Grace. Wow... That place is AMAZING! I cannot believe how cheap things are there. I found a video camera set (HD) for $229, king bedroom group, cheap diapers, cheap formula, dirt cheap baby food and so on... Seriously, we stop formula and baby food in 3 weeks. Ah... what is the irony of this. Although, it felt REALLY good to spot these bargains! Oh and during all of these, I was able to practically feel full from a meal with all of the samples!!! Yummy!

28 for 28 day 3

Today, I have been on this diet for 3 days and I am already wanting to be off of it. Why is it SO HARD to be on a diet. C'mon it is summer time. It is so hard to pass up on the ice cream, the icee "slushy" treats, cookies and just plain SONIC happy hour drinks. Ahhh..... Lord please grant me the power to stay with it.
Today, Chris heard from the insurance woman and it looks like we will be getting a new car... Yay!!! Wait... that means we have to go car shopping.... I HATE THAT!

Ok... I admit it... I have a "high Maintanance" Child

Good grief, what a long night. For the past few days Natalie's routine has been off due to several different things but she has missed her morning nap and gotten a very long afternoon nap (2-3 hours). This is nice I guess but it makes her extra tired. Last night she woke up screaming at the top of her lungs and obviously had a nightmare. I picked her up and rocked her and sang her favorite "Jesus loves me" and she just wouldn't go back in her crib. After several hours I gave up and brought her into our bed. I then didn't get anymore sleep for the night. I hope I will be able to make it through this long drawn out day with lots of travel involved. Ahhhh.....

28 for 28

After I had Natalie and realized I was going to need to lose ALOT of weight, I began to start eating right and trying to be healthier. I don't know about anyone else but during the last 8-10 weeks of pregnancy I really packed on the pounds (Keep in mind I carried until 43 1/2 weeks anyway). This led me to gain and overall of 48 pounds during pregnancy. After I had to have a C-section, I was sick for several weeks and the overall anxiety of taking care of a new little one led me to get VERY sick. I actually lost all 48 pounds and even a few more during my 6 week maternity leave from work. Since then I have gained about 20 of those back. Come to find out, the birth control pills I was taking have a side effect of weight gain. So... I have dropped the pills and I am not eating even better and exercising daily. My birthday is September 4th and I will be 28 so... I am going to try to lose 28 pounds by my 28th birthday. It is a very steep goal but none-the-less, I am going to try! Above is the "before" picture!

My baby is almost 1

On July 25, 2010 my Natalie Grace is just 1 month shy of 1 year old. She is growing up so fast. She has been pulling up and even crawling for about 3-4 months and about 3 weeks ago she really started standing up alone and cruising all over the house. I think she will be walking any day now. She has been walking all over while holding on to our hands and suddenly she is walking beside us only holding one hand. I am so ready for her to be walking. I know it is in her she just doesn't have the confidence right now.
C'mon Natalie Grace!