Thank Goodness for Saturdays

(A picture of mommy: by Stinkerbelle)

Sorry it has been a few days since I have been able to write a post. Honestly this week has been rough. Spring break is over and school is back with a vengeance :) It seems like it is flying by, which is nice, but I have so much to do before school is out that I am kind of hoping it will slow down a little. I have drowned my stresses in comfort foods like frito pie and macaroni and cheese. Mmmmm..... probably not the best for my waistline, but definitely the best for my emotional stability.


I'm sorry Jillian,
please don't hurt me!



I do have a confession, I missed my Coach's Widow Workout 3 times. Instead of being on day 9 of my Jillian Michaels Shred, I am on day 6. I am still up to the challenge, and not planning on quitting anytime soon! I've heard many times that it is a bad idea to be hard on yourself when you are dieting because it makes you want to give up altogether, and I am going to apply this to my workout. Okay I missed a few days, but I am going to keep going and do better next time. Life happens. (I think we all know that!)

On top of having a rough week, Coach had an out of town trip scheduled for this weekend. I am not usually a really emotional person (I'm sure some who know me would beg to differ :) , but I actually cried when he was talking about leaving on Friday. (Such a baby.) I had just gotten used to him being home more than usual now that basketball season is over, and he was heading off again. I sucked it up pretty quick and got my big girl panties on and prepared to tackle my beautiful trio of monkeys for the weekend!  I think many times in my head things seem like they will be harder than they actually are. Yes, I am absolutely worn slick after chasing a 2 year old who lives on an emotional roller coaster, a 1 year old who thinks it is hilarious to push any button he can find (remote, television, lamps, alarm clocks, his mother's .....), and a 5 year old who never quits explaining every detail of every minute of her favorite episode of ICarly.

But...... once I am sitting here typing this blog and have them in bed, I think of all of the fun we had today and how lucky I am to have the opportunity to chase the 2 year old who carefully picked up a beetle and saved it from being squished, the 1 year old who ran toward me saying "tickle, tickle, tickle," and the 5 year old who said, "Mommy you are the most beautifulest woman in the whole world." That was enough to bring tears of joy to my eyes. (please refer to the above photograph for a life-like portrait)

 I spent the late afternoon sitting in my backyard on a towel attempting to soak up some of the 95 degree weather while I watched the monkeys play.  I love warm weather!! Here are some pics of our not too busy day. Thank goodness for Saturdays!

Baby Gray loves chalk! He will write on anything with his
sidewalk chalk! (P.S., yes, that is drool on his shirt, it
is a never ending floodgate)

Chalked the mini tramp!

And the window screens!



He attempted to chalk Sleevy but she was smart
and hid behind the grill.

He eventually made his way 
back to color his sisters and himself!  



The Birthday Mystery!!!!

Basketball season is over!!! What , What! That is my reaction when I get excited about things, please excuse it, and forget I ever said it. You are all just lucky you don't have to witness my dancing when I get really happy. It is like a tribal indian dance gone bad. I'll stop there.

Anyway, I need your help in figuring out a mystery. You better believe I'm going all Nancy Drew on you. (by the way, I always dreamed of being Nancy Drew.... solving mysteries with Ned and driving my convertible around town- I guess I came close.... driving my first car a Datsun which broke down every 30 miles around town with my 6ft 6 future Coach squished in it, and trying to solve the mystery of how to get it home... a girl can dream).

Back to my mystery!!!!  Over the last month I have been receiving letters from an unmarked sender at my house. Each piece of mail has an individual letter(alphabet letter) in the envelope. Luckily I recognized the handwriting, or I would have been really freaked out. (Of course it is my sister! She is a student teacher right now. Who else would decorate the envelopes with colored markers and hearts?) She has been sending me these random letters now each week, and I have no idea what they are supposed to spell.

My birthday is this Sunday, and apparently these letters are supposed to give me a clue about what she is getting me for my birthday. I thinks she thinks it is fun to torment me :)  There is a final letter that arrived yesterday, that I am not allowed to open until tomorrow, and she said I cannot have my gift unless I figure out the clues :( 

Well, I cannot figure out what the letters could spell, so I am asking for your help!!!! I've been given a hint that it could be an acronym..... Still doesn't help.  (And no this is not cheating! You are just helping in the process! Just don't tell my sister. ) 

The Coach's Widow's Tips to Staying Sane for Moms

How to stay sane as a mom:

1. First and foremost, Take time for you!!!

I have a hard time with this sometimes because I feel like mommy knows best. Yes, Daddy may let them eat 3 starches for dinner but they will survive while I take a half an hour to write, or enjoy a night out with my girlfriends. This pertains to taking time out for you to spend time with your husband as well. Coach and I make it a point to go on at least one date a month. Many times we have the babysitter come over after 2/3 kids are asleep, but at least we have the chance to reconnect and remember the special things we love about each other that are harder to see with spit up on your shirt, or Barney songs playing in the background.  

2. Ask for help. I have such a hard time with this. In my head, if I can't do something on my own then I'm weak. I have learned that even the most successful people have to get help. All the Hollywood celebrities have assistants, maybe that's what I need ;)

Grammie loves giving babies baths in
the sink!!! I love taking pics of
it!

3. Say No. As a mom there are people asking you for things left and right. On top of your families needs there are always others asking for your help. Don't overload your plate. Learn to say no if you really don't have time or the energy to fully fulfill those obligations and continue to be a great mom. There will always be someone who is disappointed if you say no, but the most important thing is your health, and the needs of your family.

Sometimes you have to be stern!

4. Realize that no one is perfect. Doing your best and putting forth effort for your family is all that matters. Parenting and perfection do not go together. It is more like a hill you are trying to climb. Sometimes you need to sit down and take a break, sometimes you may go downhill a little, but you are always working toward being at the top (you can't leap to the top of a mountain, it takes a lot of effort and trials to reach the peak, but the view from the top is worth the work).

5. Give up the guilt. Everyone has different expectations and beliefs about what form of parenting is best. As long as love and energy is put into raising your children, you should feel like you are doing a good job. I constantly feel guilty for everything (sitting down to rest even makes me feel guilty sometimes when I feel like my time could be more productively spent another way). Guilt is never productive.

Happy Healthy Moms = Happy Healthy Kids

 If your children see and feel that you are enjoying life, they in turn will see what they need to do to enjoy their own lives.

Speechies and the Stars

I apologize for the break in posts. This week I attended the yearly conference for speech therapists in Houston (Internet was only available with a per minute charge at the Hilton-and we've established that I am way too cheap for that-sorry y'all).

Hilton Lobby- Liked this light!

I attend this conference to learn more about my profession, but definitely didn't pass up the opportunity to see my grad school friends and get to know the ladies I work with better.  I also really enjoyed swimming in the indoor pool, and having my bed made for me every day. It felt very strange waking up and only having to worry about getting myself ready (oh how I used to take that for granted).


I got to meet up with my graduate school friends one evening and have dinner. It felt like we had not even been apart.  I don't know about you, but there are always those people in the restaurant that sound like they are having way too much fun. They are laughing annoyingly loud, and I secretly wonder what is so funny or so exciting. We were them :) I loved seeing my gals!


On my last evening in Houston I had a very unexpected experience. While walking to the "House of Blues" for dinner with a few ladies we passed 3 buses parked along the side of the road. Now, because my sister is friends with some Texas country singers, I recognized that they looked like a tour bus that musicians travel on. It was lit up and we could see a  guitar and a playlist through the window (promise we weren't stalking, just glancing). Jamie, one of the ladies walking with me, said "It says Good Directions and God is Great, do you know any of those songs?" I said, "Oh my gosh, I bet that is Billy Currington's bus." Just so y'all know, I love country music, and I really like his songs, so I was pretty excited. We figured he was around there somewhere close and decided to keep our eyes open.

After dinner we were pretty sad that we hadn't seen Billy. We had heard that he was going to be singing at the Houston Rodeo the next day. I thought it was pretty cool that I had seen his bus, so I wasn't too upset. As we were walking back to our hotel, we passed by the buses and stopped to look up at the Four Season's Hotel they were parked in front of. We began talking about how nice it would be to stay there, and that, that was probably where the band was. As we were discussing this, a man standing next to the buses asked how we were doing tonight. We told him we were fine and ended up having a conversation with him. Well, it turned out that he was the production manager for Billy Currington. He showed us the bus and we chatted with him for a while. Very nice guy. He gave us tickets to the upcoming Billy Currington concert in San Antonio, and set us up to get a meet and greet with Billy (the concert is April 15th, so I will keep y'all updated on the status of that!).


Overall, it was a great trip! Fun, exciting, and a few days to escape the trials of everyday life. I did miss my babies bunches, and couldn't wait to get home to Coach! There's no place like home!

We headed out to the river today! So much fun.
It was so good to come back and
kiss these faces!

P.S.,  Coach's team  finished out basketball season as Regional Semifinalists!!!! This had not been done at his school since 1974! Congrats Coach, y'all did an amazing job! Lots of sacrifice, but for a great cause.

The Best Bet: Superbowl Fashion

Ok, so I am going to let y'all in on a secret. I am officially addicted to betting. I don't mean any of those illegal bets, or ones where you make money off of someone. I mean ones where I get my husband to do things for me because I am a good guesser!

Coach and I have a long standing tradition of betting on sports teams. I love sports (tennis, soccer, volleyball, ice-skating.... pretty much all of the one's that my husband doesn't care about), but I would much rather be watching some reality show that makes me feel like my life is Waaaay normal.  In order to cure my boredom during games Coach and I  started making bets. He soon realized that it encouraged me to actually watch the sports he is interested in and learn a little about the games.

 If there's something in it for me, then I am a great supporter. This is how I learned what first downs were (I'm not really sure how I was a cheerleader for so long, and never really understood what I was cheering for.) I've even learned what a tight-end is. We won't talk about what I used to think it meant :)

The last game we made a bet on was of course, The Superbowl.

Since we don't bet for money, I definitely try to get something good out of it! My toe nails were beginning to look a little rough, and I am too cheap to go get them done (and am not really full of spare time), so I decided that if my team was to win, then I wanted Coach to give me a pedicure. Not just paint my toe nails, but really do it up. Scrub my feet, wrap my legs in hot towels, the whole shebang! The whole point of the bets is to make sure that you have the other person do something that they would never do unless forced to by the loss of a bet. (I love it!)

Coach decided that if he won, he wanted me to be the perfect coach's wife for 3 days. I pretty much feel like I am already pretty perfect at it (Not!). I was supposed to bake the team cookies, create a gift bag for my husband the day of a game, and attend the game in full team colors (etc... etc....).  I was pretty much supposed to worship him for three days. He would love to be spoiled like this all the time, but life is a little hectic for me to normally come up with baked goods for the team and worship him :) I have 3 monkeys that I'm busy chasing and a job, sorry Charlie. But this is what would happen if I was to lose.

We shook on it, and moved on to our team choices.

The way I pick teams really cracks up Coach. I usually just say I have a feeling about who will win, and who won't. I call it my MommyPsych. I think all moms have a 6th and maybe a 7th sense. We do have eyes in the back of our heads you know!  I really didn't have an opinion about who I wanted to win, but I remembered that I had an old comfy Packers t-shirt packed away, and that it would be fun to wear a shirt supporting my team. So, based on my outfit, I decided to choose the Packers. Coach, was happy to go for the other team and the bet was on.

Long story short, I'm sure most of you saw or heard the outcome of the game, so you know how this all turned out. It turned out with a happy Autumn!

I would like to thank my best friend Stacey, who let me borrow her Packers shirt approximately 8 years ago (Not sure if I stole it or if she gave it to me..... Sorry Stace. Let me know if you want it back!).









Just so you know Stacey, you are the reason that I am sitting here with soft feet and pretty red toes. Thank you friend!

Thanks mom for passing down the Flintstone feet



Poor baby, I think I passed them down to her too!
Mini-Me was determined to have her toes
photographed
(ooohhhh..... I just love baby toes!)

 I am proud to say that I won this bet because of fashion! Superbowl Fashion that is!

If you are ever having trouble with getting motivation to watch a game with your spouse, I would definitely recommend  betting! It makes it so much more fun. Please do not hold me liable if you end up having to worship your husband, you win some, you lose some. I am now out of professional sports team shirts to help me make choices, so I guess I will be using the MommyPsych for March Madness! I do occasionally lose, so I'll let you in on those sad days too :) We'll think happy thoughts of painted toes until then.


Thank you Coach for always going along with my crazy bets!
You are a great sport!



Things That Make You Say Ewwwww!!!

Last night was game night. It was an out of town game so I again chose to support my Hubby from the home court :) While he was off helping boys become men and changing the world, I was at home changing diapers. I know that being a mom is a way of changing the world but it can be hard to remember this when you are running through the house trying to find the magic eraser because Mini-me thought it would  be fun to draw in pen and marker all over the walls while you were putting baby Gray to bed.

She also colored herself

By the way I would like to personally thank the maker of the magic eraser. Whoever you are, if I ever meet you, I would like to give you a big kiss, for saving my life so many times! I love you Magic eraser maker. Oh, wait, it is made by Mr. Clean isn't it?  Mr. Clean you have a big kiss coming on that shiny bald head of yours if you ever turn out to be real.

Anyway, not only was last night b-ball night, it also was a night that would change my life forever. I have been scarred and pictures have been ingrained in my brain of things that I think no woman or child should ever have to see.

Let me explain.  One of my favorite things to do is go to the public library. I love visiting it, even though we have our own library of hundreds of childrens books at home. The smell of the library makes me happy.

When coach and I were dating, he used to make fun of me because I would make him go with me to the top story of the university library and smell the old books. I think he thought/thinks I was crazy but loved me anyway! They need to make a room spray called, "Old Books." I would definately buy that one.

Anyway, recently I let my 5 year old Stinkerbelle come with me to pick out books for the family. We went during nap time to give Coach a much needed few minutes of quiet. Stinkerbelle picked out the books for all of the kiddos, and I looked at a few I will attempt to get read. We quickly grabbed our selections and headed home.
Well, last night I began to read one, which during checkout I had figured was a potty training book. I am not sure now. The book is called, "Everyone poops." I told you it was scarring. I thought this would be a cute little potty training book, but no........ no, no, no. It is much more!!! Please beware that if you do read this book, you will be scarred. My sister came over, and I had her read it :) Told you I am mean to her.

Anyway, the book starts out talking about how animals poop (I hate that word by the way) *Gag* , where they do it, what it looks like, and then moves on to humans... I don't care to talk about it much more, but I have to say that while I was reading it, the kids thought it was hilarious. Even the baby was saying "Ewwwwwwww...."

 After finishing the book, I told the kids that we would not be reading it again, but the damage was done.

Today, Stinkerbelle brought me a picture she had drawn.

What have I done? Coach saw the book and thought it was hilarious. Men.
You've been warned :)

A Tu-Tu a Day Keeps the Morning Blues Away

I am not a morning person. Let me repeat. I am not a morning person.

I wish I was, but I am not. I work in the schools, therefore I am supposed to rise before the sun, get dressed, get my children dressed and fed, have my stuff together and ready to go, eat breakfast, take my monkeys to daycare (which is at the school I work at, but still) and be at work before the children arrive with their bright and smiling faces! This is probably the hardest of my daily struggles. Sad but true.


Oh, but I'm not the only one! I've noticed at my elementary, that you can tell which students are morning people and which are not. Some are bouncing to their classes, books and backpack in hand, whistling the song they heard on the radio in the car; while others are glaring as they slowly make their way down the hall past all of these morning people who do not seem to understand that they could still be in bed. Let's just say that I was the latter during my school days. I've learned to hide it a little better. Still no singing to myself! Y'all know which one you are!


Because I have had so much trouble with mornings, I always hoped that my children would be happy, smiley, morning people. Little Mary Tyler Moore's of mornings (or Dick Van Dyke for my son I guess).
I even distinctly remember saying to my hubby, "I hope God lets our children be morning people like you because it's rough not wanting to get up but having to anyway."


Little did I know how much that prayer would come back to bite me.

My children are morning people, waking up early on weekdays, weekends, holidays, and every day during the summer. Awesome. Way to go Autumn.  I only wanted the best for my children. Can I take it back????   In the mornings on the way to school, my sweet husband turns the music up high and the kids jam out on the way to school. Although the dancing and cuteness of my kids screaming the words to Kelly Clarkson's, "Since you've been gone," which comes out as "Since you McDonald's" is worth every memory, I still feel a need for quiet and calm.

 I would rather drive in complete silence or maybe with a little Michael Buble softly playing in the background.


I have learned to adapt slightly. I attempt to have mine and my children's clothes ready the night before, if I have energy to do this and if there are no distractions such as "The Bachelor". This is, and has been, one of my favorite shows for a long time. It's definitely not intellectual and probably rots my brain as I watch it, but it is like a train wreck, you just can't look away. And there is always one crazy lady on there that makes it worth staying tuned to see when he figures out that he really is dating a lunatic. I digress,,, sorry. Back to my mornings of torment :)


Anyway, I have attempted many things to help myself to wake up in a cheery mood: getting up earlier (didn't work out), having coffee ready (takes too long to kick in), sleeping a little later and doing makeup in the car (got pretty good at this, but it's a little too dangerous now that I have kids). I had pretty much given up on it until this morning.

I woke up to noises in my living room. I figured it was my 5 year old who I call Stinkerbelle. She is always up early asking for food. Constant hunger around here. To my surprise it was my 2 year old Mini-me. She has recently gotten a toddler bed, and has discovered the freedom of getting up whenever she wants. Usually she knocks on our door if she has woken up early, but this morning was different. After hearing the noise I walked into the living room and realized that she had already dressed herself, gotten her shoes on, and made herself look beautiful. 

By this I mean, she was wearing a tu-tu, 2 unmatching shoes (a flip flop, and a croc), and had gotten my lip gloss. Oh, I forgot to mention, she was also wearing a shower cap. Not really sure where that came from, but she found one. I could not stop smiling and laughing at how she had attempted to get herself ready this morning. Mini-me did the unthinkable. She made me smile before 8 a.m. Yes, I had to redress her, but it was one of the sweetest most hilarious things I have ever seen. She had attempted to get herself ready, and was bright and shiny and ready for the day.

I'm thinking that maybe the key to a good morning is relaxing a little, and enjoying the little things. I may not have a cute little 2 year old dressed in a tu-tu every morning to make me smile, but I have 3 little blessings and a Coach who always wakes me with "Mornin Glory What's Your Story." Oh you early risers.  We will see.

P.S., I'm also going to set the coffee maker each night to help as well. :)

How do I live without you????

So, today was a pretty rough day. My oldest monkey had a fever, and had to stay home with Coach. I hate when I can't stay home and baby her. Although she was in good hands. Hands that waited on her hand and foot. Daddy's and their little girls... Something special. Anyway, not only was she bedridden, but another very sad event occurred. One of my most prized possessions died...... My Camera! If any of you are like me, this is a day to mourn. I love/loved my camera and use it constantly. It is now a part of me! My poor children have been posed and placed and told to smile more times than anyone could think possible. I like to take natural pictures too, but who can resist a big grin. Anyway, I now feel an ache in my heart for my departed camera. I would like to now say a few words:

Dear Camera,

Please forgive me for how I've used you.

You were good to me, and I took advantage of you every chance I could.

Please understand that I felt that we were meant to be together always.

I know that you were constantly flashing others, but that's okay. I kind of liked it.

I will miss your fine pixels, and the way you could always make me smile.
You were always giving, and I was always taking.
I know I pushed your buttons, but you never complained.
Thank you for your service, and work.
I love you, I miss you, and will always remember the focus you placed on me.
Love always,
Autumn

On the bright side I did receive my girl scout cookies today!!!! Not all is lost!

My Name May Be Autumn, but I Did Not Fall

So, tonight is game night, and it's an away game. I am at home, and not brave enough to take 3 kiddos out of town to watch Coach's game.  I sometimes get a little down about not being able to attend the games, but instead of dwelling on it, I am going to share with you my entertaining weekend activity.

I am always up for getting out of the house. I am a goer, (is that a word?). Whether it is or not, that is what I am. Coach on the other hand loves to stay home. I call him my hubby homebody. Ooh,  here's a thought I can call him my homeboy.  That may just stick. He would choose to stay home and watch a RedBox rental any day rather than go out to a movie. I would rather get out. I am always up for a drive or for a walk, although drives have become much less enjoyable since my two year old has decided she officially hates the car, and walks are a little breezy right now.

Anyway, my hubby homeboy (see it works! No? Alright, I'll stick with homebody) decided to get me out of the house and take me on a surprise date.  Let's all say it together..... Awwwww........

Okay, don't get too excited because it was not a trip to Paris, or a getaway to wine country. But it was sweet. He surprised me by taking me ice skating.

So, if you have read my previous post about cartwheels, you got to enjoy my embaroussment at the fact that I can no longer effectively flip my body through the air like I used to. I have been practicing by the way, and no you don't get to see pictures. Maybe once I perfect them :) 

I hoped that this ice skating experience would go much smoother than the whole cartwheel catastrophe. (I'm pretty scarred).  I remind you that I live in Texas, and where I come from, it does not snow, or even ice over, so this ice skating thing is unknown territory. Now, Coach is not a small guy. He is 6ft 6, and approximately 240 lbs, so this wasn't going to be a breeze for him either. The rink was small and chopped up from a lot of use during the day, but we were going to attempt this. In my head, Coach and I were going to skate arm in arm, or do the couple skate thing (you know, where the girl skates backwards, and the boy pushes her- umm it was romantic in middle school).  We grabbed our skates and headed onto the ice. The rink was atop a building in a nearby big city, so we got to see all of downtown and the lights as our view. It could not get more romantic right? Well, if constant stumbling, hanging onto the wall for dear life, and being passed by people 3 times our age is romantic, then there you go.  After a little practice we became a little smoother, so I asked my hubby homebody (yeah, I like that better), to couple skate. We attempted and failed miserably, but we did not go down!!!  That was the goal of the evening, Do Not Fall Down! And we didn't. We did however wear ourselves out and have to stop every once in a while to catch our breaths. Maybe I should write a section about working out. :) 





In our own little way we had a romantic evening, and the fact that Coach planned it made it special. Romance is enjoying the time you have together and making the most of it. We didn't look awesome on the ice, but we had an amazing time. Although, someday I am planning on going to Paris. Hopefully they don't have ice skating there!

Just a quick note to those of you who used to make jokes about my name in elementary school (I'm sure you can guess all of the Fall jokes they came up with), some were kind of funny actually :) but I want you to know:

My Name May Be Autumn but I Did Not Fall Down!!!

Everyone Should Do Cartwheels

Last night, I participated in an event that I am glad no one (besides my family) will ever see. Coach was home early because it was the night before a game. We picked up dinner, and had a fun evening hanging out together in the living room. Everything was pretty normal until my daughter asked me a tricky question.

"How do you do a cartwheel mom?"

Being a former cheerleader, and dancer , I felt highly equipped to handle this question. I puffed out my chest and walked to the middle of the living room floor. First, I began by attempting to show her how to do one through demonstration. Lets just say it didn't work out so well. I didn't realize how long it has been. This demonstration ended with laughter from all of my children (even the 1 year old) as well as my hubby

. Hmmm.... how do you teach a cartwheel? I've been doing them since I was 4, so I have never really thought about how I was supposed to teach it. Needless to say, I attempted to have her lift one leg here, place two hands there, and kick. It was a very entertaining and interesting sight. By the end of the night, I offered up the suggestion that maybe we should enroll her in gymnastics this summer and let the professionals handle it.

As I sit here and write this, I think, parenting is kind of like doing a cartwheel. You jump into it, and just do it. The rules are hard to explain, and everyone has their own personal touch. We are all just hoping to make it through with grace and land on our feet. Sometimes we don't do it perfectly, but we all have the opportunity to get up and try again. (Wow, guess I am feeling deep today!) It takes practice, and sometimes we can use some help to get through it. Cartwheels can be so much fun, but they also take a lot of hard work.

By the way, I will be practicing cartwheels for the next few days to ensure myself I haven't lost my touch :)

Keep me in your prayers! I'll need it.