Where's Kara???
Anyone know what's up with Kara's blog? I check it and it is a blank screen. Is she a blog drop out? Or is she having technical difficulties!

Happy Early Halloween!
We had a "dress rehearsal" with our costumes today. It was awfully sunny out, but they were in the mood so we went with it. Trick or Treating around here is always at night...not ideal for photos. So here's my little love bugs!

Musical Genius...is it in the blood?

So we were on the way to school today listening to our new Veggie Tales Sunday School Songs CD. Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho came on and Carsyn said "Hey, that's my Little Einstein's song." I thought she made no sense til I realized that the last episode she watched featured the theme from Peter and the Wolf, which, although I had never really thought about it, is basically the same tune.

Who says TV isn't educational?

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Today is Payton's birthday. This morning I went in to her room and this is how she greeted me. I had to capture it with a photo. Words cannot express my love for this little angel. If you are a mom, you kind of have an idea. But if you are a mom who has gone through something like what Payt and I went through before she was born, it is an amazing bond. I just stop and look at her sometimes and am amazed how perfect she is. Happy Birthday, angel!

Happy Birthday Payton!!!

Yesterday we had Payton's first birthday party, even though the big day is actually today. (A year ago I was dying for her to be born on the 21st!) Here are some photos of her at her party. She was a perfect little hostess- not the usual anxious and overwhelmed one year old you usually see at a party. She walked around to everyone, holding their hands, letting them hold her. She played with the big kids all afternoon. And she ate a ton of cake!

Nothing new and exciting here in Troy, Texas. Life is super busy. But we are finally blessed with a cloudy, rainy, cool fall day. It is great! I was going to scrap, but Walgreens didn't print my photos. So I think I'll scrap anyway and add the photos later. We actually slept in through church today which is amazing since we are usually up by 7:30. We slept til 9!
So, there's nothing new to post, but you can check out Payton's round one of her photos on the photographer's website. She wants to do more because it was too sunny to get good outdoor shots. Payton made squinty faces and there were lots of shadows.
Tell me what you think!

log on to www.staciemooney.com
go to client login
the user id and password are both payton

Here's my scrapbook pages. What happened on that last post?

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything worthwhile! We have been so busy! Payton's cast is off. She will be one on the 22nd and is already walking everywhere. She is so fun! We just love her so much!
Marcus is still playing football. And we are still going to games sitting in 90 degree temperatures...what happened to fall football weather???
Carsyn is in tumbling now...she loves it. Just one hour a week. She is so grown up! She is learning a ton of new things at day care since they now have a preschool program funded by a grant. She can count in spanish, recognizes letters and knows who makes good and bad choices everyday...yes she is a tattletale!
I have been busy scrapping away since Amy and I joined an online scrapping class. I wanted to show off a few photos of my pages! Hope you like them! We are working on journaling and using letters. This week we were supposed to use strips of paper for journaling!

"Do ya chains hang low"

Here's the link to the lyrics of this fabulous new remix...note the sarcasm. The chorus is sung to the tune of "Do your ears hang low"


http://www.dapslyrics.com/display.php?sid=17206

My Birthday Surprise Weekend

Ok, several of you have been dying to know, and I finally got our home computer working well enough to post the photos.
Scott surprised me with a birthday getaway weekend. We went to a bed and breakfast in the hill country- about an hour or so from our home. We stayed in a little log cabin in a bed and breakfast made of a main house and several individual cabins. We relaxed, caught up on a lot of sleep since there were no children there to watch, had yummy breakfasts, had a masseuse come to the cabin and the owners brought us a wonderful dinner in our cabin on saturday night. Really that's all we did...complete relaxation. Plus we played with the dogs. The one on the front porch is Honey, our favorite.

The Sister/Friend Theory...what do you think?

OK, I have come up with a theory. Please reply and let me know what you think.
I have a theory that women who have sisters they are close to, do not have lots of other female friends that they are really close to. I mean, we have friends, but not like those who do not have sisters. Does this make sense?
For instance, I have no desire to go to a class reunion. Neither do my sisters. But I wouldn't dare miss a family reunion with them! And I talk to them constantly, even though one is so far away.
And I noticed that my cousin Lori has the same lack of interest. She is also a product of three girls in a family.
So, it is my theory that women with sisters they like don't have the closeness of female friends because their sisters always have been and always will be their best friends.
What do you think?

By the way...the more I read Lori's blog, the stranger it is. I hardly ever see her, yet we are so similar. For those of you who don't understand the family tree, Tom is my mom's brother and Barb is my dad's sister. After my parents met, they hooked Tom and Barb up. I have two sisters and am smack in the middle. Tom and Barb had three girls, Kara, Lori and Lisa. Lori is smack in the middle. I think it is that middle girl thing. Weird, huh?

Payton's Cast...Take two

I was getting ready to go pick up Carsyn from day care yesterday when I noticed Payton playing in the living room with something. When I asked her what it was, she looked at me and said "uh oh." She was holding her cast. So we got to go back and get another one- bigger and more bent this time. The Cabbage Patch Doll has a broken arm now too- Payton was giving her a kiss to make it better!

Hook 'em Horns!

How 'bout them Longhorns? Go Texas! Beat the Buckeyes!
Carsyn slept with Bevo last night for good luck!

Here are some post-game photos I forgot to add. Carsyn refused to have her picture taken in her cheerleading outfit with Marcus, so I took one anyway. She found his helmet in his room last night and put it on with her pajamas. Marcus was mad, but I thought it was hilarious. She looks like the fish on Chicken Little!

Why it pays to never give up.

I learned an important lesson last year when I got sick. If you think something's wrong, it probably is. And it the doctors don't, keep hounding. Either keep going back or keep trying different doctors. After a week of Payton's arm injury and two doctors saying it wasn't anything, her pediatrician called and left a message yesterday. Turns out the radiologist looked again at the second set of xrays and there is a tiny little fracture in her ulna, down by her wrist. I was persistant and got her in this morning to orthopedics. He called it an "irregularity" but casted it because it was still bothering her. He said it is already beginning to heal because baby's bones are so resilient. Of course, I made sure she got a pink one! She has to keep it on for three weeks. She is doing ok with it but just not quite sure about it. She has actually been a lot more mobile today since she got the cast, so that makes me feel better!
So ladies, if you think you or someone you love is sick or hurt, and a doctor doesn't believe you, don't give up!!! You're probably right!

Go Trojans! The season home opener

So last night was Marcus' first football game ever...as starting quarterback of the 7th grade B team. Here's some photos. They got to play on the varsity field, which is pretty cool! The game runs 30 minutes and there's no score board or announcer. The coaches stand out on the field with them to help. We think Troy won...we seem to remember them running in touchdowns more often than West! So I guess he has a 1-0 record so far! He is number 14. He is also the one whose head you can see above the rest when they are set in position.

More on Payton!

Ok, Scott took Payton back to the doctor today. This time they xray'd her whole arm. And again, nothing is wrong. He said it is probably a sprain and it will heal soon and she will use it again. So that's the good news.
The bad news is he also checked her ears. She has been on antibiotics for 8 days and he said they still look horrible. So he prescribed some more meds. He said if this doesn't clear up or if she gets another one by the end of the year, we probably need tubes. Yuck!!!

When will it end?

They say bad things come in three's. Well in my life the come in 5's or 6's or more! It's always been noted how well I can handle stressful situations, illnesses, etc so I think that's why the good Lord gives me so much! Payton goes to the Dr. Wednesday and has double ear infections. Bad mommy sends her to day care on Thursday because I hate to keep using sick days so early on! Day care calls...don't worry, it's only a medicine question. Payton goes to DayCare again on Friday after crying all night and morning as "if she is in pain" SCott says. I figure it's the ear infections and send her anyway. I get a call an hour later from the director saying she won't use her left hand. I take the afternoon off to get check her out. Her hand is totally swollen and she will not bend it, crawl on it, or pick anything up on it. WE went to the doctor for the 8th time Since August 2nd and got xrays. He says it's not fractured- maybe bruised or sprained??? No one knows how long it's been hurt since we've been holding her because she's been sick and she has been screaming because she's been sick!
So it is now Monday night and she is still swollen and crawling around like a three legged dog, or an army man. She crawls on her knees, right hand and left elbow. Very odd. I think taking a photo of that and posting it is crossing the line so you'll just have to imagine.
Any motherly advice on what to do now???

"Guess who you're lookin' at?"

That's how Marcus greeted me when I was getting out of the car yesterday. I thought I was lookin' at him, but figured it was something bigger and better so I asked for an explanation. He shouted "the B team quarterback."
Yes, that's right, my brainy little 80 pound boy is going to star as the Troy Middle School 7th grade B team quarterback. That is unless that big bully Center who is trying to "challenge his position" today doesn't take it away.
Photos to follow next Thursday after the big home opener- Battle of the Trojans, featuring the Troy Trojans vs. West Trojans. In case you aren't familiar, this is small town Texas and it doesn't get any bigger than football!!!! Carsyn even has a Trojans cheerleading outfit ready for the game!!!

Sick...again!!!
So here we are...week three of school and now Payton is sick. She hadn't slept for two nights, wasn't eating, and of course was "pulling on her ears." Went back to the doctor yesterday and she had double ear infections...again. The kind that when the doctor looked at her ears, he said "yuck, it's bubbly." And then told us we will start monitoring them very closely now. Are we going to join the tubes-in-ears club? Poor thing had to go off to day care today because she is not contagious and scott and i really needed to work.