Friday night football...

Wonderful morning, even though I had to take the kids to school...yes, we missed the bus again...but for a good reason...we forgot to wear red and white to school today, so we had to have a last minute outfit change!  As I dropped Bailee and Halee off at school, they saw their big sister selling ribbons and tattoos...made me smile, all the little kids gathered around her, all giggles and smiles.  A little sad, knowing this will be the last football season for her, the last year all four of my kids will be students  at the same school. :(  And hard to believe that it has been 11 years since I was walking in her shoes!  Tonight will be her last "first" game...and Ethan's first game! So all in all we are pretty excited!!  Let's Go REBELS!!!

Monday...

For once, Monday was good to me!!  I woke up so excited to spend the day with my husband...the first day we had, just the two of us, since before school got out last year. So of course, Halee and Bailee were ill. Halee got on the bus, Bailee came back inside...headache and he just knew he was going to throw up...of course...just my luck! After no fever, taking some tylenol, and me begging him to just try it...I dropped him off at school on time.  8:33 am...I am standing in the office waiting to check him out! Still no fever, hasn't thrown up, just doesn't feel good. But somehow, less than an hour of being home, he was cured!  And he tagged along, as we did everything we had already planned for the day...and I have to admit, it was nice. Sure I would have loved to have spent the day with just Derrick...but it was nice, having just one kid with us...no fighting, no two kids trying to tell the same story a different way, at the same time.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE ALL 4 of my children, but sometimes it is so hard to enjoy them and their own unique qualities when they are all together, fighting over our attention.  And I guess it made me realize that I need to take that time more often, not necessarily at the expense of missing a day of school, but a date night, or a trip to get ice cream, just to catch up on them!  And I have to admit, for the first time in a long time, today he was a complete angel!  Of course, Halee was jealous...didn't understand why we didn't check her out of school too...and after her partial story of her day, and the whole story from her teacher...my little drama queen didn't feel good today, either!  So, I suppose I need to take some Halee time real soon, or I just might get another phone call from the nurse!

The start of something new...

  Most days in the Deal household are complete chaos. Derrick usually works 6-7 days a week, so sometimes I feel like a single parent. That in itself makes life very hectic...especially when everyone needs to be somewhere and there is only one of me. There is always two children in the house, somedays three, and occasionally we will have all four children here.  I would have never imagined that I would be the mother of four...most days it is fabulous! Especially since two of them are a bonus...I mean I didn't have go through hours of hard labor, or have even more stretch marks to get them in to this world.  By the time those two came in my life, I had already missed the diapers, bottles, potty training, carseats....so those two should have been a breeze...yeah right.  Instead I got the smart mouth, back talking, you aren't my mother when they were younger.  Now my two (that I brought into this world) are at that stage...smart mouth, back talking, you are my mother and I am still not gonna mind you...lol  And the oldest two are at the newest stage of my parenting career...the "they are growing up and I can't stop it" stage....where one of them drives more than I do, and I worry...boy do I worry.  Raising two teenagers, about the same age difference as my brother and I were, makes me appreciate my parents even more! And it also make me wonder how they didn't go insane after raising us. But most days are good...by good I do mean chaos...but they are good!  The day can be completely crazy, but one moment can turn it all around...somedays my princess and my dare devil can fight all (and I do mean all) day....get in the car and they are still fighting....so of course it is to turn the radio on (to "teenage" music, as Halee calls it) and I will glance in my rear view mirrow, and see her...smiling and singing every word...and all the bad from the day just disappears...and I think "Wow....she came from me...and she is perfect...everything I ever wanted my little girl to be..." And they all have that spark about them...something they do or say that makes you forget about what they just broke or how much money they said they had to have by tomorrow!  Bailee is quite the entertainer...from gymnastics, to jokes, to impersonations, and the occasional show tune...I expect to see him on tv one day...Ethan is the "did he really just say that" one of the bunch...an amazing athlete, and a huge help when he wants to be with the biggest heart, sometimes he says the most blonde things...and Derrick and I will just look at each other and die laughing....Audrey is the "she's already gone...." one....headstrong, knows what she wants and is determined to get it, went from the awkward red head, to one of the most beautiful young women I know....And Halee, my princess, she is so smart, and gorgeous and will help anyone and everyone that she can.  And of course, I wouldn't have them if it weren't for my amazing husband, my best friend....he is probably the most hardworking man I know. God has truly blessed me.
So I have decided to take on this new blogging experience, since I am sure you all want to hear about the crazy life of the Deal family....enjoy!