The LaPrairie Family Chronicles

Ski Apache Winter 2012

2012-01-29T20:27:00.002-06:00

I made a Picaboo photo book called "Ski Apache Winter 2012" and thought you'd enjoy seeing it.

To view my project, click the following link:
http://app.picaboo.com/WebView/Project.aspx?clientID=87e9d8e61d12faaca981bafba6edf20b&version=200831&siteID=ViaPreview

Christmas 2011

2012-01-29T20:26:00.002-06:00

I made a Picaboo photo book called "Christmas 2011" and thought you'd enjoy seeing it.

To view my project, click the following link:
http://app.picaboo.com/WebView/Project.aspx?clientID=7a243db279ddeca6042fc0d04b03308a&version=200830&siteID=ViaPreview

Fall 2011 Fun

2012-01-29T20:24:00.001-06:00

I made a Picaboo photo book called "Fall 2011 Fun" and thought you'd enjoy seeing it.

To view my project, click the following link:
http://app.picaboo.com/WebView/Project.aspx?clientID=756a3b9fbf24877b03b6c4d8eb4a6967&version=200827&siteID=ViaPreview

Headed West - Spring Break 2011

2012-01-29T18:43:00.000-06:00

Ski Apache: Day 1 - Spring Break 2011

2012-01-29T18:42:00.002-06:00

Ski Apache: Day 2 - Spring Break 2011

2012-01-29T18:41:00.003-06:00

Ski Apache: Day 3 - Spring Break 2011

2012-01-29T18:41:00.000-06:00

Ski Apache: Day 4 & home - Spring Break 2011

2012-01-29T18:40:00.002-06:00

M6 Farm: Rosebud, TX - Jan 2011

2012-01-29T18:39:00.002-06:00

Landon's 2nd Grade Valentines Party 2011

2012-01-29T18:37:00.002-06:00

Lylli's 4th B-Day - 3/2/2011

2012-01-29T18:36:00.002-06:00

Disney - February 2011

2012-01-29T18:35:00.002-06:00

Landon's 1st Reconciliation - Jan 2011

2012-01-29T18:32:00.002-06:00

I Guess Not...

2012-01-29T16:32:00.000-06:00

So, it doesn't look like I did very good getting back into the blogging swing of things... Oh well. I am going to post a few picture videos I created over the past year. Enjoy!

We're Back... I Hope :)

2011-05-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

I know it has been over a year since I have posted... But life is good and we have had a great year!

Landon is finishing up 2nd grade. He is such a smart child! His Spanish is coming along. He actually helped my mom and me at our neighborhood garage sale by telling people their price in Spanish. It was too cute to watch. He is playing baseball this Spring and getting ready for soccer camp this summer. He is such a joy (even with his occasional smart mouth). I think the only issue we face with him is he always wants to know why (about everything) and doesn't just take no for an answer. I like to think this is just a product of being such a smarty pants ;).

Lylli - well let's just say Lylli is Lylli... Ha Ha!
She is finishing up Pre-K and will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. She is a year ahead in school, but I think I am going to make her complete Kindergarten twice. I just don't think it will be to her advantage to graduate high school at barely 17 years old. She is a firecracker. She knows what she wants and doesn't let anything stop her. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes... well, most of the time, this is a huge challenge to us as parents. Lylli will definitely be the child we have to keep a close eye on :). But honestly, it wouldn't be near as much fun if she was any different. She is my mini-me.

Well, I just wanted to write a quick update and let those that might actually read this know that we are still alive and kicking. I hope to be more dilligent with posting in the coming year!

Lylli's Close Call

2010-04-18T20:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday evening Lylli got trapped in the convertible top of our car when we were leaving Lowes. Apparently she climbed out of her car seat (and she was buckled) and partially over the back seat while Brandon was putting the top down. She was lodged from the chest up in the folded top. We couldn't get the top to go back up, so Brandon pulled it up and I pulled her out. When we got her out of the car she was unconscious, eyes open, unresponsive, drooling.... we thought she was dead =( . Brandon shook her until she came too - looking back we probably should not have done that but we just wanted her to breath. I called 911 - there was a nurse in the parking lot that came to help until the ambulance got there. They took her to Memorial Herman, did a trauma workup (Cat scan of head, neck, chest, and belly). She was moving all of her extremities so felt ok about her neck, but was really scared about all the blood blisters forming on her face and chest. The nurse said these were likely from a build up of pressure that made her blood vessels burst. Well that made me think "oh God she may have burst a blood vessel in her brain!" Needless to say I was having hard time keeping it together - but Brandon was amazing! I could not believe how calm he stayed. We got back all of her scans and there was nothing bad - just a possible ear infection. The only way you can tell anything happened to her is from the blood spots that she still has on her face and chest. The doctor diagnosed her with head, neck, chest, belly, etc contusions. He said they would fade in a few days (up to 2 weeks). God was watching over our baby girl - Thank you Jesus!!! Today I asked her what she was doing climbing back there... She told me she saw the garage door opener that we had lost and she was trying to get it before the top came all the way down. She said she tried to push the top back up but it was too heavy. Well, that explains all the blood blisters on her hands =(. If you have a convertible PLEASE be careful. We could never have imagined this could happen - and it happened fast!

Spring Break - Skiing

2010-03-28T18:38:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17 we skied all day. I tried to take pictures and video, but spent a lot of time playing too. Plus on the last day I dropped my video camera in the snow and lost ALL my videos. I was able to take a few more videos on the last day after I lost the others.

Tuesday, March 16
The kids took to skiing like pros. Unfortunately, Landon ended up feeling sick most of the day (from the altitude I think) and only skied a little. It was still a nice day.

Wednesday, March 17
Landon felt much better for day 2 of skiing. Both the kids absolutely amazed me!

Several videos from the last day.

Spring Break - Sledding

2010-03-28T18:19:00.001-05:00

Monday, March 15 was our first full day in Ruidoso. We woke up to heavy snow. It was beautiful! But since it was snowing so hard, we could not go up the mountain. You had to have four-wheel drive or chains to go, so we went sledding instead. At the bottom of the mountain there is a place called Winter Park. It has six sledding slopes. The lines were very long - guess we weren't the only ones that could not make it up the mountain.

After we could not sled anymore, we drove outside of town to a State Park. Lylli slept through the whole thing, but Brandon and Landon had a blast playing in the snow. There was at least 3 feet of snow on the ground.

Spring Break - The Beginning

2010-03-28T10:32:00.003-05:00

We went Skiing in Ruidoso, New Mexico for Spring Break. The next several posts are from that trip.
The Internet was awful there, so I couldn't update the blog until we got back =(

Saturday, March 13, we hit the road a little before lunch. We had planned to drive to about Post, TX and spend the night. Well... we never stick to a plan. Brandon still felt like driving when we got to Post (and I must admit I encouraged him to keep going), so we figured we would go on to Brownfield, TX. A word to the wise - there is no place I would let my dog stay in Brownfield, TX. So... back on the road we go. By this time, the kids are begging for a hotel and shower (shower of all things). I must have called every hotel in every small town between Brownfield, TX and Roswell, NM - no luck, everything was booked. What the heck! Were they having an Alien Convention or something?!?!? About 11:00 pm I took the wheel and Brandon started calling hotels. He finally found one with a vacancy in Roswell - we took it sight unseen. Needless to say it was NOT the Ritz, but hey it was a bed.

The next morning we were up early and on the road. The terrain between Roswell and Ruidoso is beautiful. It always amazes me how desert can give way to such lush landscape.

We arrived in Ruidoso, NM and went straight up the mountain, WOW, that is 12 miles of curvy road. It made us all a little nervous. =)

When we finally arrived at Ski Apache, the kids could not wait to play in the snow. Any neither could their daddy =)

Ski Apache has a gondola that goes to the top of the mountain. The views were absolutely amazing! We had a wonderful time.

When we got back to the cabin, we made smores over a fire in the fire place. What a great day!

Teenage Lylli

2010-03-28T09:47:00.001-05:00

I just found these videos of Lylli "getting ready" to spend the day with Mommy (me). I was putting on my makeup and she came in and pulled up her stool...

March Fun

2010-03-20T00:59:00.000-05:00

If I thought February was a busy month, March has lived up to its March Madness title - but in a very good way. We have had a blast and the month isn't even over yet! I will again recap mainly with pictures.

We started off the month with Lylli's 3rd birthday on March 2. We are going to have her big party on Easter weekend, but celebrated a little the whole week of her birthday.

March is also our neighbor Nic's birthday month. He had a pony party for his 8th birthday. The kids had a blast (of course)!

And then there was Western day at school...

Oh, and I took the kids to McDonalds for an after school treat to top it all off.

Then there was Spring Break, but I will save that for another day =)

So much to tell...

2010-03-19T23:58:00.002-05:00

Okay - I have been a little preoccupied with work and playing with the kids and have failed to update everyone as I should. So here goes a marathon blogging night. Where to start? I guess I should recap February 2010 first. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will recap our month primarily through pictures. Here we go...

The kids had a great Valentine's.

They got to play in the snow on campus (SHSU).

AND... they got to go to the Houston Aquarium.

February was a VERY busy month!

Fun at the Park

2010-02-20T23:52:00.004-06:00

Today was a good day!

Brandon had to work this morning, so the kids and I just hung around the house. Landon and Lylli cleaned their rooms (with my prompting of course) and then played upstairs (and destroyed their rooms all over again). But hey, isn't that what rooms and toys are for? I really need to remember that more often.

Once Brandon finished working, we took the kids to lunch at Fajita Jacks in Montgomery. They both really wanted to go to Chuy's in The Woodlands, but we compromised on Mexican food that was closer. The kids were great at the restaurant. Landon ate three cheese enchiladas and an ice cream cone. We think he must be going through a growth spurt because he never eats as much as he has eaten the last couple of days. Lylli ate tons of rice, Landon's peas and carrot out of his rice (she will eat anything), and ice cream - of course. We laughed so hard because after she ate her belly button was sticking out just like mine did at nine months pregnant. My baby sure does like to eat... I guess she comes by it honest. Neither Brandon nor I have any aversion to food ;-).

After lunch, we rode into historic Montgomery to "cruse" the antique shops and look at houses. The old Victorian we like is still for sale, but we haven't had any offers on our house (and we refuse to carry two house notes again). I guess we will just have to wait and see. There is a huge park in the historic neighborhood so we stopped and let the kids play. They had a great time and so did we. Those of you who grew up with Brandon may remember "Chicken Man". That is when you swing as high as you can and the jump out of the swing while flapping your arms like you are flying. Strange... I know! Well, Brandon reenacted it for Landon and I got it all on video. HILARIOUS!!! I will have to post it later. For now, here are a few pictures of the day.

As promised... Here is the "Chicken Man" video.

I am blessed!

2010-02-20T00:27:00.001-06:00

It is after midnight and I should be in bed, but I feel the need to count my blessings before I turn in for the night.

The last few days have been trying to say the least. Today when I picked up Landon he once again had not brought home his AR book and had changed his clip (only once mind you) for talking. Well, I guess it could have been worse. Instead of flipping out, as would be my normal response, I simply told him he would have to spend the weekend hanging out with me and Daddy instead of playing with his friends. He spent the afternoon cleaning his room and looking for his cell phone (no luck on that search) - no TV. He wasn't happy but didn't loose his cool. BABY STEPS PEOPLE!

When Brandon got home from work we took the kids to Pizza Shack for dinner. We sat by the kitchen and watched them toss the dough. The kids thought it was pretty cool and they behaved wonderfully! I had to document the moment =). Check out the way Lylli eats pizza and how Landon is a ham.

Tonight was a good night!

As frustrated as I have been the last few days I have overlooked all that I have that is right.

two healthy children... and that in itself is enough!
a husband who loves me unconditionally, puts up with my craziness, and tries to give me anything and everything my heart desires (even though he wouldn't admit it)
a great job with many friends who truly care about me

Thanks to my blogging friends for helping me remember my blessings!
Good night ;-)

No Idea What I am Doing

2010-02-19T14:34:00.001-06:00

I sometimes wonder if I am the only parent that thinks "I have no idea what I am doing!"...

When I was pregnant with Landon I tried to do everything right. I played classical music in the car and in my classroom, I started eating vegetables, etc. I even remember telling my principal that I didn't care if he was cute as long as he was smart =). Well, as it turns out he's cute and smart - but I might be a little biased being his mother and all.

With the exception of a few sleepless nights early on, Landon was the perfect baby. He never fussed, smiled all of the time, slept through the night... I could not have asked for a better child. Now Lylli is a different story - poor thing has been opinionated since her first kick. She definitely gives us a run for our money. But that is a story for another day.

Anyway, I say all this so that you can appreciate my surprise at the difficulty of raising a school aged child. Ever since Landon started school at age 4 we have heard the same story, "Landon is such a sweet boy, but he talks too much and will not be still." Well duh! He IS a boy... and he is MY child!

Now in first grade with a new teacher and a new school, it is the same song and dance. "Landon does not complete his work because he is too busy talking." "Landon is in his own world when he is supposed to be doing..." (you fill in the blank). "Landon didn't turn in his work because he couldn't find it in his messy desk." And they go on and on...

I know this seems like a very petty thing to be frustrated about, and I know so many parents that have REAL problems with their kids. But this is driving me nuts! I absolutely don't know how to help him, then I get frustrated, and we all get angry. So what am I supposed to do!?!?!?

I probably never should have asked...
I have been advised to hug and kiss him, praise him more, show him I care... Does that mean I am deficient in this area? On the other hand, I have been told to use tough love - take away everything, don't let him play with his friends... Then I have been told I need to model better behavior myself - What does that even mean? So basically, him not sitting in his seat, him not staying on task, and his anger about me being upset about all this is because of something I have done wrong or left undone?

Wow - I have no idea what I am doing! I really need a "Parenting for Dummies" or some other how to book for this one =)

Landon's First Video

2010-02-16T19:13:00.000-06:00

Landon has a friend named Ziggy who lives in Russia. We were looking at his blog tonight and Landon started commenting on how big Ziggy has gotten since he saw him last. I told him he should really tell Ziggy what he thought about his blog. He asked if I would help him... so off we went to make Landon's first video comment. My baby is growing up! You can tell he was a little nervous, but it only took one take.

Who Knew?

2010-02-15T22:48:00.000-06:00

Sunday we had family pictures made for Brandon's business website. I had no idea how hard this would be! Needless to say, we have never had family pictures made. I now know why. It proved absolutely impossible to get both kids, the wind, and sun to cooperate to get one decent picture. Oh well, we had a good time at least. Here are the best (and I use that term loosely) of about 50 we took.

So, which one should we choose? I am thinking a retake may be in order =)

The good news is, it seems the kids are more photogenic on their own.

Here are a few more...

A Very Tired Lylli Pie

2010-02-14T01:43:00.000-06:00

Today was a very long day for the kids. We got up and went to the new Downtown Market in Conroe. It was bitterly cold. Nevertheless, the kids used their charm to "con" a vendor out of frozen custard.

When the sun finally came out, we dropped the top on the car and rode to the Market Center in the Woodlands. The kids love riding in the new car. However, they are so close in the backseat that it is almost impossible to keep them from fighting. My mom and dad will remember the "he's toughing my shadow" fights of my childhood. Well it seems you reap what you sow.

After lunch at Jason's Deli, we stopped off at Lowes'. Brandon and I are remodelling my home office and wanted to check out some glass doors. Landon was fine with this excursion seeing as he wore his Heelys in anticipation of just such an event. Somehow Lylli convinced us that she didn't need to ride in the shopping cart and thus spent most of her time in Lowes sliding on the floor. When I told her she was going to ruin her tights, Brandon informed me that "that is why you should never put tights on a boy." Well, she definitely has a tom boy streak!

Overall, the kids were good. Minus the meltdown Lylli had on the way home. Apparently her shoe was coming off and she was not happy. On the advise of a friend, I broke out my phone and videoed her little tantrum. It seemed to lessen the duration of her fit and may have even embarrassed her a bit. Check out the video and tell me what you think.