Happy Halloween (And A Classic Scary Story!)

Happy Halloween! Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! I thought I'd share one of the most classic scary stories that South Texas has to offer.

Haunted Railroad Crossing - Ghost Tracks

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The haunted railroad crossing lies on San Antonio's southeast side at the corner of Shane and Villamain just outside of Loop 410. Ghost hunters from all over come to San Antonio just to see the legendary haunted crossing. The ghost crossing is easy to find and if you get lost, just ask somebody on the southeast side of town. I'm sure they'll all know the location of the haunted railroad crossing, better known as the ghost tracks.

Ghost Tracks Story

In the 1940's, a bus load of school children were on their way home when the bus stalled on the tracks while going over the railroad crossing. A train speeding down the tracks crashed into the bus killing all the children and the driver. The streets in the neighborhood adjacent the haunted tracks bear the names of the children killed in the crash and during Halloween, cars line up for a creepy push over the ghost tracks.

Haunting of the Tracks

Ghosts of the children from the bus are said to remain at the tracks today, along with the ghost of the bus driver. It's said that if you stop you car just before the tracks and put your car in neutral, the ghosts will push you over the track, protecting you from any oncoming train even though there is an uphill grade before the tracks. Many people have sprinkled baby powder on their bumper. Following the push over the tracks, they inspect their car and claim to find children's hand prints in the baby powder. Other stories tell of moaning and crying in the afternoon at the ghost tracks around the time of the crash while many people claim to have their windows broken by the ghosts if they put their brakes on before reaching the track. These little ghosts aim to get your vehicle across this haunted crossing! I have done it myself and it really works. I parked my vehicle just shy of the tracks and my car moved across the tracks in broad daylight. There were times when it felt like the movement would stop but the car kept going and made it safely across the ghost tracks. Ghost children or not, the legend of this railroad crossing is true.

How To Be A Better Mom

So I've been struggling lately in my parenting. In particular...Graham. He's growing older and more mature everyday! Sometimes I find myself so hyper-focused on the little boys that I loose sight that his needs from me as a Momma are entirely different than theirs. Little brothers need noses wiped and toys fished out from underneath the couch... Graham needs a coach, guide, and mentor.

As we head into the pre-pre teen years I find him grumpier and moodier. This is usually the direct result of needing a break from being at school all day, needing a good snack, and needing a respite from his little brothers constantly touching "his stuff". More often times than not I waiver between completely loosing my cool with him and being "too nice" in an effort to help him over that one slump during the day. I wish I could find that happy middle ground mom spot to be. One where I was a disciplinarian in just the right way as to accomplish my goal that he grow up responsible and respectful while still being that awesome "fun mom". If you haven't notice by now I am having a terrible time walking this line.

I pray to God nightly that he gives me the wisdom to be the kind of Mom that my children need me to be the next day. I pray that I make the right choices, say the right things, and act the right way myself.

Today I came across an awesome blog that pretty much sums up all the things I'd like to tell Graham (and eventually the other two).


1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.

2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!

3. It’s all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do.

4. You’ve made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It’s all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.

5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn’t easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.

6. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake.

7. You can change your mind. It’s good to decide, but it is also fine to change.

8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!

9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!

10. I have a surprise for you. It’s not your birthday. It’s for no reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.

11. I can wait. We have time. You don’t have to hurry this time.

12. What would you like to do? It’s your turn to pick. You have great ideas. It’s important to follow your special interests.

13. Tell me about it. I’d like to hear more. And then what happened? I’ll listen.

14. I’m right here. I won’t leave without saying good-bye. I am watching you. I am listening to you

15. Please and Thank You. These are important words. If I forget to use them, will you remind me?

16. I missed you. I think about you when we are not together!

17. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it. Let’s see. I’ll help you if you need it. I think you can do it.

18. I’ll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you? If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it by yourself, but I’m glad to help since you asked.

19. What do you wish for? Even if it’s not yet time for birthday candles and we don’t have a wishbone, it’s still fun to hear about what you wish for, hope for, and dream about.


I know that there is no instruction manual for raising good kids and that we all hope we're doing the very best that we can. My hope is that I can remember all of the above and instill in Graham just how wonderful, smart, talented I think he is!

Brotherly Love : Smashed Finger Edition

So yesterday late afternoon/early evening Grady smashed poor Griffin's finger in the back door :(.

I heard the door slam followed by Griffin crying and I thought that he was just angry to be left inside. When I went to scoop him up and sooth his jealous "how come he gets to go outside and I don't" rage I notice that there was.blood.everywhere. I grabbed a towel and began compression and started yelling for Bobby to come and take a look for me.

He confirmed my worst fear that the end of Griffin's left ring finger had been nipped off. Poor baby :(. I wanted to cry right along with him...

The front of Griffin's finger and nail. I'm sure he's going to loose it :/. Ick.

I called my SIL Melanie to come and stay with the older boys while Bobby and I ran Griffin to the urgent care clinic.

Thankfully the doctor that saw him said that there was no need for stitches or glue to hold it together. He just neatly trimmed the torn skin (sorry for the tmi...) and bandaged it. He had also split his finger open under the skin flap but the doctor thought that it would close on it's own...

The bad underside of it. This is from this morning and it already looks so much better than yesterday! (sorry for the blurry pictures, I'm still rocking my blackberry phone camera...)

My little stink has been rebelling against having a band aid on. He hasn't been wanting to leave it on for more than 10 minutes at a time.

::Sigh:: 

Because Angry Birds! make everything better.

Since Griffin is not a full time walker yet, this poses quite a problem for trying to keep it clean. I've been stuck having to wash it out under running water every 10 minutes or so to hopefully keep germs out of it.

Wish us luck with this! This is probably the first of many brother-induced injuries to come!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Yay Y'all! It's finally Friday! I'm super excited for this weekend to get started already. Bobby has his TWENTIETH high school reunion coming up this weekend so we'll be doing that all weekend long. Did I mention it was his TWENTIETH reunion?? I'm not poking fun of him being OLD ENOUGH FOR A 20TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION or anything... :) I plan on embarrassing him for real later when I do a " Embarrass Your Husband Friday" post. The pictures that got dug up from his younger years are priceless...

But, on to bigger and better things! Like the winner of my Giveaway!

Do you luuuuv my hilarious attempt to find an image of  a chicken dinner to go with my  Giveaway... :)

I promise that I went to the Random.org site and plugged the number of entries in but the box that generates the number just refused to copy and paste for me. You'll just have to trust me on this y'all. :)

The Winner was #4! Yay Kristy from The Bybee Blog!

Kristy, I'll shoot you an email. Happy spending that $50! Consider it an early Christmas gift from me. :)

Happy Friday everyone and be on the lookout for hilarious pictures of my half-clothed hubby later today. Don't get too excited though ladies...he's like 14 in these pictures and has zero hair on his chest... :)

Happy Heavenly Birthday Caroline!

Dear Caroline,

Happy 2nd birthday baby girl! I can't believe that 2 whole years have passed since I laid eyes on your sweet little face. I love you, miss you, and mourn you every single day. Not a day goes by that I don't spend time thinking about you. No matter the time and space that separate us you'll always be my baby girl and I, your devoted Momma. Each day that goes by is not a day spent with out you but a day that brings me closer to truly holding you in my arms once again.

I am so grateful to God for lending you to us for even a short amount of time. Getting to know your sweet soul for that tiny moment has made all the pain and heartache worthwhile. I would do it over and over again just to have that moment back once more.

I know you watch over us all, in particular your 3 rowdy brothers. :) I am so thankful for the help too! They get into so much that I glad to have the extra "set of hands". We all feel your presence, especially your little brother Griffin. I feel that maybe there's a tiny bit of you in him and that makes me feel soo much better.

We've spent the day together as a family. Daddy and I have been thinking about you, talking about you, and looking over your beautiful pictures. I can't wait until the day that your brothers are old enough and then I can share those with them too!

Caroline, I love you with all my heart, all my soul, and all my beans!

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” 
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Love you!!

Momma

Thank you Tesha for help with Caroline's picture!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like... A Christmas Give-away?

Ok, so it's not quite Christmas yet. But, as a busy Momma to 3 crazy boys I have to start planning everything way in advance. My plan this year is to have EVERYTHING done by Thanksgiving! I am well on my way too (I'm super proud to say). Both Grady and Griffin's shopping is complete (along with some adults but I'm not saying who...). Graham's big present may have to wait a tad. For that I need to wait for a pretty good sale before I commit to buying.

Now that I have much of my presents either bought, a great idea in mind, or the money set aside to purchase said items, I feel comfortable in moving onto the next most important things (you know, other than the birth of Christ :). Pictures! Christmas Cards! New Outfits! Oh my! 

Yesterday I started stalking one of my favorite online stores, Tiny Prints. As usual I found like a hundred that I'm in love with. As I don't yet know what my kiddo's will be wearing for pictures I decided to find 3 that were different and then choose later. 

What do you think?

I'm in LOVE with this "Brotherly Love" one. Wouldn't my 3 boys look soo cute on this!!

How awesome is this classic "with a twist"? I really into the blackboard look with decorating in my home. Why couldn't it carry over to my Christmas card? :)

And as usual I feel like I need to find a bright and colorful one. I think the whimsy of this one makes it so fun! 

What about y'all? Have you started doing anything to get ready for Christmas yet?

As a fun added bonus, I'm doing my first giveaway! Who wouldn't want a $50 credit to this awesome place?? :)

It's super easy to enter... for one chance to win become a new follower or tell me that you are already following and for a second chance (and on a separate comment) roll over to Tiny Prints (they have some really great deals going on right now!) and tell which one you'd order! I'll end this give-away next Friday (October 19th).

*This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints. But, I heart them so much I'd do it for nothing.

My Super Reader!

Grady is my rock star reader! He has been doing a little bit of early practicing in preparation for Kindergarten next year. :) We wanted to give him a head start just in case reading might be a little difficult for him. Watch our video. I'm pretty sure that reading won't be a problem for this one!

Did I mention that he just turned 4 in May?? :)

I couldn't be more proud of this boy!