Is it really November 2011?

I can't believe it has been so long since I last blogged! I guess to say life has been a whirlwind is an understatement. We moved back into our LOVELY house at the end of Feb. It took a while to unpack and I still haven't really gotten the house decorated totally.

I am in my last semester of college... WHOOP! I just finished interning in a Kindergarten classroom. It was a wonderful experience and I had a FABULOUS mentor. What a blessing! I graduate on December 17 and am filled with JOY! I can't believe that this journey is ending. I've made so many wonderful friends and learned much. Being back in Aggieland and hanging with 20 somethings has been keeping me young............... BUT, I am looking forward to being that mom I used to be or maybe a better version. I long for not being exhausted every evening and searching for quiet. I can't wait to spend my weekends with the rest of the family NOT in front of the computer. SO WHAT IS MY PLAN after graduation? Well, that is still up in the air. I am toying with the idea of homeschooling the boys. We are also working hard for my hubby to get an overseas assignment.... SOON! So really, I am not sure what I am going to be doing besides finally going through the piles of fire LOSS items in my garage. I started a box the other day it took me 4 hrs. to get through ;-) I am fast!

My honey, Dax, is doing great. He is loving his job which makes us ALL happy! He has been my pillar the last 2 1/2 years. I don't think I could have made it through school without him. He has listened to me cry, panic, and had to talk about numerous education topics that would bore most. He is my everything and I can't thank him enough for being the BEST husband and daddy any family has ever had!!!! His encouragement is what made my finishing possible.

Oh, and I have to also give HUGE props to my sister..... who has equally had to listen to me whine and cry and talk me off the ledge of giving up WAY too many times! She has also been our sick ward and taken care of my babies when I couldn't. I could always leave knowing they were happy and safe..... I sure love my BFF, my sister!!!!!!

My kids are champions! They have had way to many choose your own adventure dinners these last few years. I really have enjoyed being the person they run to excited to see at daycare or at home when I come in real late. I always remembered being jealous of Dax.... so now I have experienced that joy. Still, I am thinking I miss those cuddles and hugs on a more regular basis. The kids are all so proud to be coming to watch me graduate. They are equal in the experience. Without their love and strength nothing would have been possible.

Santa Paws has sent his pup! (our version of elf on a shelf)

Source: Uploaded by user via Beth on Pinterest

OK... so I have been wanting to jump on the Elf on a Shelf band wagon, BUT I am cheap and didn't want to spend a ton of money! Today at Walmart I found this cute sock puppy. My kids are animal LOVERS and really like the idea of Santa Paws.... so Santa Paws is going to be sending us a PUP ;-)

Well I have a good (really bad) excuse...

for not blogging in a while.... we had a house fire! Uhhhggg, but we are all safe Thank God! It happened in October and we are still out of our house....double uhhhhhggg. A poptart (or EVIL poptart as the kids call it) was left in the toaster. It was forgotten about and we left to go grab the boys from school. It was only a matter of 10 mins after my alarm company called the fire department. It was sooooo quick and scary and well just sad. During all of this I had an overwhelming sense of peace. It was obvious that this was all just STUFF. My family was safe and that was all that mattered. That peace has come and gone... most of the time it stays. Hotels, now a small apartment, CONTRACTORS, having to buy so much replacement stuff, and the kids emotions get trying at times. Still, we are very BLESSED! I just started back this semester and have 4hrs of field placement (yipppeeee) so I'm pretty busy. Still, I hope to get caught up on all my blogging. We have been doing soooooo much :-)
My new refrigerator had a hole burnt in it. The food inside was cooked! (naturally I had just grocery shopped...it was FULL) The freezer was still cold and had frozen food days later.... amazing!

Two days before the fire Dax and I celebrated our 15 year of marriage! These are my flowers with fire damage in the background.

Our family motto!

Oh, Nuts!

Yesterday, we got some SHOCKING news. Ollie has a peanut allergy (& tree nut). I say shocking because the kid has eaten TONS of peanuts & peanut butter. We went in for allergy testing yesterday because this summer Ollie had Anaphylaxis which left us very scared. I must say that I had a fire lit under me after watching a commercial on TV about the dangers Anaphylaxis. (I wish I could find this video on the web... it really helped to make me aware of the need to be proactive about this situation)
Anyway, we are very overwhelmed because of all the changes that need to take place. The doctor prescribed him an EpiPen to keep around at all times and one for school. I am freaked out that it was another food allergy that caused the Anaphylaxis just because it never happen all the other times he ate peanuts...like last week for lunch. I am actually hearing that this is common though.


Below is a picture of what we thought was an allergy to pine dust on the fort several months ago. I dosed him with benadryl and took him to the eye doctor who gave him anti-histamine drops. This was a few hours after the initial swelling went down.

Below is a picture on the night that we went to the ER and he had the severe reaction. Believe it or not he looks 100% better than when we ran in with him barely breathing.

My favorite Ollie and Jax interaction over the whole thing:

Jax: "Ollie, you won't be able to eat PEANUT BUTTER!"

Ollie: "JAX, BUT I WILL BE ABLE TO BREATHE!"

This whole thing is very scary but I am very glad that we now have a way to help him if there is another emergency.

Jax turned 8 this Summer!

My Sweet Baby James turned 8 this summer! I love this kid so much and can't believe how he is growing. Jax is such a good brother. He loves to play games of ANY kind! This summer he beat us all many times at 10,000 (a dice game-a big family tradition in Dax's family) & MarioKart! He is become quite the little reader & loves surfing the net! He still throws off his shoes & shirt as soon as he is inside the front door....many times he is down to his briefs ;-) He melts my heart with his big brown eyes. He looks up to his Daddy. I love listening to my three men sit and talk about stats & scores and other guy things. I am so excited to watch and participate in all the exciting adventures this cool kids has to look forward to in the future!

All Jax wanted to do for his birthday was go to the movies and see the new Karate Kid! We let him bring 2 friends and his brother...no girls per his request! It really was a blast & a great movie. Check out the dirt cake I made and put in a bait bucket! He was sooooo excited about this cake- Score for Mommy :-)

Because I'm awake!

I thought I would give a quick update because I am awake here in the early morning hours! Why am I awake you wonder.... well it just occurred to me that it is incredible DUMB for a person who often struggles with insomnia to take a pain reliever that includes caffeine just before bed. Caffeine hasn't ever bothered me this much before.... REALLY!!!!! As little as two weeks ago, I was downing close to a 12 pack of diet coke a day. Well, for some reason I decided to give up diet coke. The first couple of days the headache was terrible; but, then I felt pretty good. HA... now I am up all night feeling incredibly jittery... Good news, NO PAIN ;-)

My first week back went really great! I love all my teachers & the subject matter. The work load as always seems very overwhelming; but, I know that it is totally possible. It seems like there is a real light at the end of the tunnel just three full semester till I start student teaching. WOW, this really excites me! This year I have also taken over the position of president for Aggie Storytelling Association. I am really looking forward to what the year hold for me with this position.

Well, isn't it a RULE that children are supposed to get sick at the worst time possible!?! Monday morning 3 of the 4 "little"brooks were ill! Yikes, what to do? Luckily, Dax worked from home and was able to keep them comfortable. Thankfully, the rest of the week my sister & neighbor helped out. Poor Emma was out sick ALL week! Her asthma was giving us a run for our money... all is better now and she is back on all her preventatives early this Fall.

Here are some pictures to catching up on some of our summer fun! We spent TONS of time trying to beat the heat in the pool. August was so hot... we hardly left the house during daylight hours!

Tomorrow is my 1st day of classes

I’m getting ready for my first day back to school. I just made some picture collages (the pics on this blog) for my binder. I just couldn't keep from posting my cute babies pictures :-) Most of the pictures were taken this weekend when we took the kids to see Lady Aggie Volleyball play LSU. We had a GREAT time and the kids feel really big doing stuff at Mommy's school!

I’ve got sickly kids right now at 9 PM ….uhggg. Jax & Dede running fever & hurting tummys. Emma’s asthma is acting up & she is feeling poorly. Looks like Dax may have to take the day off work. I am feeling weepy about not being with them. It just makes me rethink this whole school thing….. but I press on….because I love it….but I AM STILL sad about not always being there when they need me.

I know it will be alright but say an extra prayer for us!!!