New Classes for Men Only!

My mom sent me this in an email. I got a few laughs out of it. James - this is not a shot.... I just thought I would share the humor.

NEW CLASSES FOR MEN!

ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
OPEN TO MEN ONLY!!!!

Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants

The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include:

DAY ONE

HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS
Step by step guide with slide presentation

TOILET ROLLS- DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS?
Roundtable discussion

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR
Practicing with hamper (Pictures and graphics)

DISHES & SILVERWARE: DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES?
Debate among a panel of experts.

LOSS OF VIRILITY
Losing the remote control to your significant other - Help line and support groups

LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS
Starting with looking in the right place instead of turning the house upside down while screaming - Open forum


DAY TWO

EMPTY MILK CARTONS: DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE TRASH?
Group discussion and role play

HEALTH WATCH: BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH PowerPoint presentation

REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST
Real life testimonial from the one man who did

IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS?
Driving simulation

LIVING WITH ADULTS: BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER
Online class and role playing

HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION
Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques

REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES & CALLING WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE Bring your calendar or PDA to class

GETTING OVER IT: LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME Individual counselors available


We all love and appreciate our spouses......

No Self Control

I have ZERO self control when it comes to biting my nails. I have been trying to grow them out for 2 weeks!! They looked sooooo good. I could actually see the white part at the top! I even made an appointment for my mom and I to get manicures next weekend as a reward to myself for "kicking the habit." (And a birthday present for mom) Well, I just shot that idea. They are gone. Totally gone. Why can't I stop biting my nails? I mean, it's just gross!

Any ideas? I'm sure I've tried them all...but who knows.

The Weekend

We had a good weekend. Let's see...Friday night my brother had to defend me when 4 punk kids started throwing rocks at our house. I was sitting on the front porch. I saw a little bit of my dad come out of Neil. I'm sure they didn't see me sitting there, but you would have thought they were shooting me the way Neil reacted! It was great....

Saturday was Operation: Clean the house. That took most of the day/weekend, but it looks great now! James took Kaitlyn to the new Super Walmart that just opened by our house to get a new toy. She picked out skates. That's right. Skates. I'll let you know when we go to the Emergency room how excited I am about this purchase. She really likes them though, and they have three different settings. Setting one is you can only skate forward and one of the wheels doesn't turn. Setting two releases that one wheel, and setting three you can go forward and backward. But anyway you set it, Kaitlyn on wheels is just scary. I got some pretty good video of it though.

Saturday night we took Kaitlyn to see March of the Penguins. She lasted for about an hour, which is more than we thought, so we were okay with that. She really enjoyed it, and I would have liked to see the rest of it. It was really cool. James wanted to go because it is the second highest money-making documentary next to Fahrenheit 9-11. He felt he needed to contribute his money to try and overtake that title.

Sunday was a great day at Highland. We LOVE that church and are really liking our class there. We have just felt so welcomed and taken in. We went to eat with about 12 couples after church to Abuelos - yum! Kaitlyn did the best she ever has at a restaurant. She stayed in her high chair, ate a good lunch and then actually ASKED if she could get down and play with her friend Boston when she was finished! I was way impressed. Now, Sunday night at our small group - it was back to the 90-mile-per-hour Kaitlyn that we all know and love.

So, all-in-all, a great weekend.

The Squirrel, Kaitlyn, and Potty Training

ACU squirrels are not like regular squirrels. They are friendly - they don't ever run away from you. They sit outside office or classroom windows and peek in, and some of them even let you feed them from your hand. This particular squirrel was just chilling outside a window during a meeting the other day, and someone was smart enough (or just really bored in the meeting) and snapped a picture. I thought it was pretty funny.

A funny Kaitlyn story: Yesterday Kaitlyn decided to weigh herself. She stepped on the scale and said, "Wow....I weigh 20 pounds!!" (She really weighs 34 pounds, but for some reason she said 20....already lying about her weight.) Then she said, "I'm a BIG Kaitlyn!"

Also, Kaitlyn is now completely potty trained at school, but not at home. Any shots at our parenting? Go right ahead. We're lazy. That's basically what it comes down to. But, starting today we are going at it full force. I just don't think I'm ready for the days when it takes 30 minutes to get dressed, packed up, in the car, and 5 minutes later hear, "I have to go potty." Or when I'm in Walmart with a basket full of groceries, or in the middle of church..... Anyway, maybe it's just because I'm not quite ready to let go of the things that are still keeping her a baby! We'll see how it goes......

Wedding pictures and Kaitlyn's first ponytail.

Here are a few pictures from Meredith's wedding. (Could I look any more LARGE???) Also, I put Kaitlyn's hair in a ponytail the other day and she was so proud of it...so she told me to take a picture. She calls it her "pony." The one of her and James I just thought was a neat picture.

By the way - I still need to add more links to the blogs that I frequently look at! So, if yours isn't on there yet...it's coming!! Not that ya'll care, just thought I should put that out there.

Happy Thursday!

Your Father in Heaven

This is a song from a CD that I got when I was pregnant with Kaitlyn. I listened to it again the other day and remembered how much I enjoyed it! Thought I would share the words to this one.


Our precious little one, hello
Hope you don’t mind if we watch you grow
Today we saw you focus your eyes
And look at us with such surprise
Could you see we were giving thanks
To your Father in heaven

Soon you will learn to touch your nose
To giggle whenever we tickle your toes
And we can’t wait to hear you coo
And then you’ll talk and when you do
We hope you know you can always speak
With your Father in heaven

There’s a world of wonders
Waiting in store just outside our door
But the greatest thing that we ever will do
Is kneel at your bedside and introduce you
To the One who first thought of the wonder of you
Your Father in heaven

First you will crawl and then you’ll stand
We’re gonna cheer, we’re your biggest fans
You’ll take a step, and then one more
We hope it’s not too long before
You understand you can always run
To your Father in heaven

You’ll learn green is green and blue is blue
God’s crayon box comes with every hue
You’ll learn to make angels in the snow
To catch a frog and let it go
May you know that all good things come
From your Father in heaven

We pray that you’ll always run To your Father in Heaven

A Super Funny Blog

Okay, I don't even know these people, but somehow I stumbled upon their blog. It is soooo funny. I think the dad is writing it from the baby's view point. It seriously made me laugh out loud! Take a look! (I hope this isn't wrong, or illegal or anything by posting this on here! :) )

http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=miareese

Husband of the Year/ Wedding

Well, I think James deserves an award for husband of the year. He successfully took care of Kaitlyn all by himself for 5 days and 4 nights. He did GREAT. When I got home the house was picked up, Kaitlyn was just finishing up her nap, and he had even done some laundry!! I thought I would have some scary/frightening stories to tell of their time together, but thankfully I don't. Instead, I now have stories of their time at GattiLand, the Abilene Zoo, working in the yard, watching movies, making shadows with flashlights inside tents that they built in the living room, bedtime stories, cooking breakfast together, and taking naps on the couch. I'm so glad they had this daddy/daughter time together. I'm so thankful that Kaitlyn has a daddy that loves to play around on the floor with her, sing with her, dance with her, swing her, and just be silly. I love watching them together. I hope and pray that their relationship continues to grow deeper as Kaitlyn gets older. Thanks James for being who you are, and for being the best daddy ever for Kaitlyn.

Okay, enough sappiness. (Is that a word?) I had a WONDERFUL time in Tennessee for Meredith's wedding. Mere is one of my best friends from ACU and was the maid of honor in our wedding. Let me just say, Tennessee is absolutely beautiful. Huge trees, everything is SO green, lots of hills...just gorgeous. We hit the ground running when she picked me up from the airport on Thursday. Lots of last minute errands to run, things to drop up, gifts to pick up. I forgot the craziness surrounding a wedding!! Thursday night we had dinner at her parents house (which is absolutely beautiful) with her family and a few friends. Meredith's dad is the one who married James and I, so it was good to catch up with him.

On Friday we went and got manicures and pedicures - it's been so long since I've had either of those. (Maybe that will help me to stop biting my nails!) Then we went to this place called All Fired Up where all of the bridal party painted dishes, vases, picture frames, etc. for Meredith and Ashley. They put them in a big burner thing (my technical name for it), and it ends up looking really neat. I thought that was a great idea, and we had a lot of fun doing it. The rehearsal dinner that night was really good. The video was great of the two of them. Then there was the "open mic" time when anyone could get up and say something. I thought I was going to get out of it, but I look over at Mere and she is giving me this look of, "You better go up there and say something." Great....then all my emotions come out. I try and get through what I had to say without crying, but turned into a blubbering idiot by like the second word. Oh well..she has it on video and now can laugh at me forever. Thanks Mere.

The wedding day was awesome. We went for a long walk that morning, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast when we got back. Meredith's sisters-in-law and I then made a Sonic run...they don't have Sonic where either of them live. (Washington D.C. and Michigan) Can anyone believe that??? Why would you live somewhere where there is not a Sonic?! I don't get it. Anyway, the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Meredith looked amazing, and her groom could not have looked happier. Her brothers sang at the wedding, and sounded wonderful. The reception was a blast..lots of dancing. Mere's mom actually got on the dance floor and busted a move to "Baby Got Back." Nice. We had a great time.

I will try and post pictures soon. Something is up with our computer, but hopefully James can get all of that worked out.

Happy Monday! :)

Day Two of Four

Today was going to be a hectic day from the begining. I had a District meeting this morning at 7:30. Rainbow school starts at 7:30. My early morning problem.

I arise at the wonderful time of 6:15, Kaityln awoke 5 minutes later. She was in a great mood and knew that daddy needed to get some things going in order to leave by 7:25. So she wouldn't put on her clothes, wouldn't eat her food and decided that loafing in our bed watching the morning news is how it was going to be. I was able to get myself ready this mroning and have her ready to go by 7:15, promises of chocolate milk work wonders.

I arrive at Rainbow bible school promptly at 7:17, the stop signs held up my goal of less than a minute. The school still had 13 minutes till it opened, however, if her teacher was present I could drop her off early. 7:38 Ms. Cheryl arrives. Kaitlyn decided that she didn't want to let me go and 7:45 I am able to leave the parking lot. Meeting started 15 minutes ago.

I arrive at work at 7:53, meeting had started late and I had only missed 13 minutes. Saved.

This day Kaitlyn wore her jean skirt, with the shorts underneath, and a stripped shirt that went with some other outfit. i thought she looked cute. Her normal kicks were worn and I packed a lunchable. I forgot today was pizza day until I picked her up and saw what kind of pizza she had on her shirt.

FREEDOM !!!!!!!!!!??????

Leslie is out of town. This morning Kaitlyn wakes up and says "Mommy go tennis."

So since Leslie has been gone for less than a day and Kaitlyn went to school in a cute dress and her kicks. I like to put her in tennis shoes because I know she will be running around and getting inot trouble. Plus they look more comfortable than sandals. However, Leslie would frown on this behavior because sandals would match the outfit better.

So today I will hang ouot with kaitlyn when I get off work at about 3:00 today. Usually this means going outside to swing for hours and then going to a park and chasing each other.

I think this weekend we will probably go fishing and then go to the zoo.

Saturday will be a yard work day with an evening at Sonic.

I will update often in order to let Leslie know how her beautiful daughter is doing

Good Night Dear Diary

On the Road to Recovery

Well, our little Kaitlyn has been quite sick the past couple of days. The night before last after dinner she got to be pretty cranky and whiney. We put her to bed around 8:30 or so and she fell asleep for a little while, but woke back up pretty quickly. She just cried and cried and would not sit still. Finally, she said her tummy hurt, so we tried sitting on the potty for awhile to see if she would, well...you know. Around 11:30 we gave her a warm bath. (I remember my mom doing this, so I thought I would give it a shot) After her bath, we came to the conclusion that she was just cranky, not in a good mood, etc. So, we went for a drive in the car to try and get her to go to sleep. She was out like a light in less than 5 minutes. Got home, put her to bed, we go to bed as well.... and 30 minutes later she starts crying again. We go get her up and she says her tummy hurts again. This time it's for real b/c she threw up all over James. (Sorry, sweetie!) Anyway, by the end of the night she had thrown up 5 times, taken 3 baths, James took 2 showers, and we had changed the sheets on her bed twice, and our bed once.

Yesterday morning she was still not feeling good. I tried to feed her oatmeal, but the second it touched her mouth, she threw up. I stayed home from work yesterday morning, and James came home in the afternoon. She just layed around all day. We are just not used to her being still! She started complaining again last night of her tummy hurting, so we gave her a bath and put her to bed. She slept from 7:45 until we had to wake her up at 7:15 this morning.

This morning she jumped right out of bed, ran all around the house, and gave us her usual huge smile that we haven't seen in 2 days. She said, "My tummy feels better, yes it did!!"

In two years we haven't had to deal with her getting sick like this, so I'm not complaining. We are just glad to see her better!

Mr. Mayo Addicted

My wife writes on this blog about once a day. I love to read it because she can say things in a more polite way than I can.

By the way, Kelly Speck, Thank you for the card! It made my week.

I must look at this web site about 3 times a day and gete somewhat upset if I see no movement on it. Sure I could do something proactive and write on it but I don't enjoy reading what I write. I like to read someone else's interpretation of what happened.

For instance: Kaitlyn's trip to Lubbock

You read her post about all the funny things Kaitlyn said, my story would have had how many times she said each of those cute sayings in a row.

Kaitlyn this morning got off to school ok, but I am begining to feel that she acts different when different people take her to school. Leslie talks about how Kaitlyn will go and put her little person in the slot it needs to go in that marks she is present. I would write about how I have to peel her off my leg to leave.

Leslie brings up cookies or somethings for the teachers on Friday's, I make sure that I don't talk to anyone unless its about Kaitlyn and why for the third time this week she has a black mark on her forehead.

I guess its just how you see things.

All is great in Abilene because it has rained for 3 days straight and the grass is growing.

Brad is supposed to send me a link for fantasy football and I have not recieved it.

Good Night Dear Diary

Kaitlyn's Thoughts

We drove to Lubbock yesterday after work. James has a company golf tournament and awards banquet tonight. I love that all of his company "stuff" is in Lubbock because we get to see my parents. Another great part is that James and I get put up in a nice hotel and Kaitlyn gets Mam-ma and Pappy all to herself! (Or should I say Mam-ma and Pappy get Kaitlyn all to themselves?) Anyway, on the drive down here I thought it would be fun to write down the things that Kaitlyn said. Not everything, but the funny things. I wrote down more than I thought I would. So, here is Kaitlyn's conversation to herself, her Woody doll (from Toy Story), and to us:

"Look at the big tower!"

"It's daytime outside."

"Look! Dots!" (A few speckles of something on the inside roof of the car)

"My head, umm, yes, get my head. It's stuck...oh, that's better." (trying to put a necklace on)

"Mam-ma and Pappy loves me."

"It's hot in here!"

"Look at the birds!"

"I need gloves for me! He took my gloves!!" (James had to stop at one of his customers in Sweetwater to drop off a box of gloves)

"See the clouds up there Woody?"

"You want to sit in my lap Woody?"

Sings Holy, Holy, Holy (still one of her favorites for some reason)

Sings I'm in the Lord's Army.

Covers Woody's eyes and says "Peek-A-Boo!"

"Tickle Daddy's eyes!"

"Tickle Daddy's mole!" (James has a mole right under is eye)

"Uh, oh! Don't get me rain!"

"I saw a rainbow!"

"Just a few more minutes!"

"I'm gonna tell Mam-ma and Pappy about that rainbow."

"That's Mommys James and Kaitlyn's Daddy."

"I'm a big girl Daddy! I'm Kaitlyn. I'm a big Kaitlyn."

"This is Daddy, I'm Kaitlyn. This is Daddy, this is me!"

She saw a sign for Bealls (a store in the mall) and said, "This is B and E and L and S!"

"I'm Kaitlyn Mayo - This is Daddy Mayo."

"God made the moon, God made the stars, God made the clouds, God made...... I saw fireworks!"

"Where'd my Mam-ma go? I'm going to Lubbock."

"Almost there Mommy! I'm gonna say Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!"



She's a pretty funny girl, that Kaitlyn. I wonder what the rest of the weekend has in store.....

I'm a Slacker

I'm a slacker... I haven't posted in awhile. I am at a blog stand still. I know, it's bad. I just can't think of anything fun to write!!! I haven't even found enough energy to post a comment on any one else's blog!! What is my deal?? Well, I'll give it a shot.
This past weekend was soooo busy. My brother graduated on Friday night, so we had a house full of people. Kaitlyn did pretty good throughout the ceremony. They had some of the band that played the traditional "Pomp and Circumstance".... Kaitlyn loved that. She kept saying "One more music, one more music!" She didn't make it to see Neil walk across the stage, but she let everyone know who she was supporting by yelling "Yay Neil!" every few seconds for the first 5 minutes.
We had fun on Saturday just being with family. My cousin Taylor was adopted into our family and she recently learned that her birth family lives in Abilene. They met for the first time in June, but our whole family got to meet Taylors mom on Saturday. It was really neat to see how alike they are! Everything from the way they look to their personalities. I could write a lot more about it...but that's a whole other blog.
Fast forward to today....Kaitlyn started the fall semester of her preschool. She is now in the Ducks classroom. (She was a lamb, but she got promoted :) ) In the ducks room they sleep on mats. This is a whole new world for Kaitlyn. I was anxious to hear how she did her first day. Kaitlyn's teacher evidently lays the kids down and goes around and rubs the backs of those that have a hard time going to sleep. Well, Kaitlyn took it upon herself to help the teacher. So, she started going around to the other kids and rubbing their backs while saying, "It's okay, your mommy will be here soon." How sweet is that? After Ms. Cheryl (and Kaitlyn) got the other kids to sleep, Kaitlyn said, "It's my turn on my mat." Ms. Cheryl rubbed her back and she fell asleep. I don't know if this will be an everyday thing for Kaitlyn, but I thought it was pretty cute.
What wasn't cute was how Kaitlyn was up for 2 1/2 hours last night. We had bad storms that included very loud thunder. She asked, "What's that noise?" about 500 times before I finally turned on Care Bears and she fell asleep on the couch. She woke up very happy though, which I guess outweighs my crankiness.

Happy Tuesday!! (I'll post pictures tonight)

My Brother Neil

My brother is graduating from ACU this Friday. I am so excited for him, as he begins this new phase of his life. He is living in Midland right now working for Cingular. He is thinking about becoming a firefigher, which I think would be totally awesome. Anyway, as he is on my mind, I thought I would share a few memories about my brother with you.

(In no particular order)

I vaguely remember when we shared a room. I was in a big girl bed, and he was in his crib and we would throw his blanket back and forth.

I lied alot to Neil. I used to tell him there were leprechauns under my closet that made things for me.

I remember going on vacations in our suburban, laying the seats down and making tents. Seatbelts anyone?

I also remember road trips where I would complain that his headphones were too loud, or that I could hear him breathing.

I remember us making our dining room window a drive through restaurant for our bikes. The only thing we made and sold was pickle juice.

I remember my birthday party when I was 9 or 10.....we were trying to bust the pinata and Neil's mouth got in the way of a swinging metal bat. Lots of orthodontic work after that.

I remember watching all of his friends surround him the day he was baptized at Greenlawn in Lubbock.

I remember playing Super Mario brothers for hours in his room. He was always one level farther than me. (But he pushed the buttons too loud)

I remember reading stories that he wrote about wolves, and being amazed at his creativity.

Going on family vacations to the mountains, hiking around the creeks, racing each other through the trees.

Waking each other up on Christmas mornings to go see the presents Santa left for us.

I remember chasing him around the backyard with my cape on. (Really a blanket, but it was my supergirl cape.)

I remember coming back from a spring break campaign and learning that he was in the hospital in California with pneumonia. I remember the constant tightness I felt in my stomach until I knew he was okay.

I love listening to him play the guitar. When he was first learning how to play, I remember being excited for him when he picked it up so quickly.

I remember waking him up in the middle of the night when I went into labor with Kaitlyn. He was sleeping on our couch. He was like, "Are you serious? Right now?"

I remember how much fun it was to see him around campus when I was a senior and he was a freshman at ACU.

I remember how much it bothered/bothers him when I tell him his hair smells like bacon and eggs.

I know there are so many more memories....these are just ones that I thought of really quickly. I am so proud of Neil. I am proud that he is my brother. I am excited about where he is headed. He will be good at whatever he chooses to do. I pray that God will pour down blessings from heaven as he continues this journey called life.

Weekend Highlights

I know, it's Tuesday and I'm just now writing about the weekend. Oh well, here are some pictures and highlights below:

























We had a really fun weekend. James went to Dallas to play poker with some friends and was planning on coming back on Saturday. But then his friend Clay drove down all the way from Missouri to play, so he ended up staying until Sunday. That was my cue to go to Lubbock for the weekend. Kaitlyn and I drove down and spent some quality time with my parents. When I woke her up Saturday morning to tell her we were going she said "Ohhhhh, yes!! Mam-ma's gonna get my sugars!!" (That's what my mom always says when she is kissing on her). Anyway, here are some highlights from the weekend:

1. Listening to Kaitlyn sing "Let Us Have a Little Talk with Jesus" about 20 times in a row in the car.

2. Enjoying my dad's hammock. Except for when I fell out of it. Twice.

3. Going to the park and watching the ducks eat the bread right out of Kaitlyn's hand.

4. James getting to see his die-hard poker friends. James sleeping on the couch and Clay sleeping on the Bow-Flex. That's a lovely picture.

5. Shopping with my mom. I love getting new make up!

6. Eating yummy food.

7. Listening to this conversation between my mom and Kaitlyn:
Kaitlyn: "I want to see Christmas."
Mom: "What?"
Kaitlyn: "What's Christmas?"
Mom: Blank stare...wondering how she came up with this thought and wondering what to say.
Kaitlyn: getting impatient..."Christmas!!"
Mom: "Christmas is when Jesus was born."
Kaitlyn: "What happened to Santa?"

That's my girl. Always in tune with what's important!

8. My dad and I sharing stories from the books we are reading.

9. Kaitlyn made it all the way through church on Sunday!!

10. Watching Kaitlyn put on my mom's socks and golf shoes. She loved walking around in them, but it made a pretty funny picture!

If you have time, write a quick comment about your weekend!