Michael and Sandi...the story of us!

My inspiration from my little brother...

2010-03-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

So...I've been very down lately about my life and the way I think things should be versus the way they are. I am almost 32 years old...I should have a degree, a career, time in the evenings to sit down at a dinner table with all 5 of our children, time to run out side and play, money to afford some of the things we want...etc etc. I have a stressful job taking care of children that I love more than life, enough money to get by until the next pay check, a house literally falling down around me and enough tears to sink a thousand ships.

Then, I received a message from my little brother about moving on. He is also frustrated with things in his life and he has realized that at this point he can be upset, mad and/or disappointed about what is, or try to focus on what is GREAT about his life. And, he is absolutely right. I have an amazing husband who tries to hard to make everyone happy even when he knows it is impossible. I have 3 wonderful step children who do love us no matter what we may have been feeling the past several months. I have the two most beautiful, funny, intelligent, WONDERFUL children I could have ever hoped or prayed for. Yes, my house is falling down, but it is my house! My list of blessings is endless and every day I need to remind myself what good happened instead of what bad happened. This is life...

Playing catch up

2009-05-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

Wow...where do I begin? Right now I have 4 sleeping babies and a few minutes! I will begin by saying that my home childcare has finally taken off! I have 3 full time kids that I keep during the day while staying home with Deegan and Shelby. Right now only two are here all the time, but hopefully miss Mia will be here soon. So, for anyone wondering, I have a 3 year old, 18 mo old, 11 mo old, and 2 mo old every day. When Mia starts full time, she will be a 5 mo old added to the craziness!

It really isn't bad at all. I have been blessed with these other kids being so well behaved and sweet! They have truly become an extension of our family. Believe it or not, my biggest problem is Deegan. Whoever coined the phrase "terrible twos" had never been around a 3 year old for any length of time. Don't get me wrong...I love my boy more than life itself, but he is terrible! I have tried all forms of discipline and nothing seems to work. We have done time outs, spankings, talking about the problem, removing him from the room and even taking toys away. Nothing works. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated...and please don't tell me he is just a boy doing what boys do!

On the other hand...there is Princess Shelby. Yes, I firmly believe when she is capable of introducing herself she will say "Hi I am Princess Shelby." She is the sweetest little girl I have ever met. She is a marathon crawler and has been for months. She is really trying to walk, but I think she just likes how fast she can get places by crawling. She has taken up to 13 steps on her own, but then stops because she wants to go faster. I am hoping she is more confident walking within the next few weeks because I can't wait to see her toddling around in her birthday outfit. It is TDF!!!!

Oops...kids are waking. I'll play more catch up later!

America's Heroes

2009-03-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Well...today was a very sad and very eye opening day for me. Michael and I attended a memorial service today for one of his childhood friends who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Unfortunately this young man was killed the very day my baby brother was arriving back in Texas for his R&R, so of course it hit our family pretty hard. The service broke my heart and at the same time made me so angry. There were actually protesters close to the church with signs that read "God hates you!" Do they not even realize the man they are claiming God hates is the one that fought for the freedom for them to hold that sign!!!! The pastor who spoke also made a great point when he spoke about how so many people think the men who can throw a touchdown, slam dunk a basketball or hit a golf ball are seen as heroes today. When, in all actuality it is the men and women in uniform that serve this country both overseas and here in the states in the form of police, firefighters and soldiers. At what point did so many people forget that? I hate the thought of this great country being in a recession and possibly going into a depression, but at the same time maybe that is what we really need. We need to get back to our roots and realize that we can survive without dressing our kids in name brands, not buying them EVERYTHING they want and spending more quality family time together at home. Maybe these sports all need to take a huge hit from people not affording their tickets for the athletes to realize how fortunate they have been making a "king's ransom for a child's game" and they will hopefully stop "crying" for more money. Do they not realize that while they are complaining about not enough millions, there are soldiers families that are barely scraping by?! It just makes me sad to see that this is how far we've come.

Time to organize

2009-02-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well...as most everyone knows, we are a family of 7 in a tiny 3 bedroom house. The two older girls share a room, the two boys share a room and then Shelby, Michael and I cram into the small master bedroom. That being said, we have no storage room...seriously. We went last week and bought a monster wardrobe to put in the boys room to hold Deegan and Shelby's clothes. Now if I can get my husband to put the rest of the hanging rods in we might get the clothes hung up instead of in piles on the floor. Our living room is now the play room, which actually works for me since my "job" is playing with kids all day. I am about to spend a weeked doing a major organizing overhaul and get rid of EVERYTHING that is not used and that no one would even realize is gone :) Here are my house priorities for this year:
1. New curtains in the living room...I've hated the ones we have since before we got married!
2. New doors on all rooms.
3.Wood laminate floors in the living room and hallway...I am so tired of the "dirty" burber I could hurl.
4. Tile in the kitchen and bathrooms...mom has already agreed to help lay it.
5. Refinish bathroom tub and shower and paint bathrooms.
6. Paint living room and hallways and get artwork framed to hang.
7. Start the saving fund to add Shelby space and playroom to side of house. This project needs to be complete before her 2nd birthday. We have no business having a 2 year old still sleeping in our room!
8. Change out fixtures in all rooms...we need to be getting this house ready to sell before the end of Dakota's senior year...wish us luck :)

Hopefully getting something done!

Sweet Thing Customized Music Video

2009-02-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

The Flu has finally found us :(

2009-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well, today is Cheyenne's birthday and we won't be able to spend any time with her. She came down hard with the flu and is still very contagious. Her mom actually offered to keep her at her house all week to try and keep Deegan and Shelby healthy. (I know...we were all shocked) Unfortunately, Deegan got it anyway. We confirmed it with the doctor Tuesday and he is staying with Grandma for a few days until he is no longer contagious. Shelby seems to be okay...knock on wood, so we are just trying to keep her away from all the germs we can. I pray this does not catch up with all of our family. I hate when all my children get sick and there is nothing I can do to help them. I really hate that Deegan is sick and I am not the one taking care of him. Yes, I realize I have to be responsible for Shelby, but that doesn't make it any easier.

One more to care for...

2009-02-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to say that I have found at least one more child to watch. His name is Andy and he is within a few days age range as Ava. He is only part time, but anything is better than nothing. I may have an interview today for a 4 year old. That would be great because I really want someone closer to Deegan's age that he can play with also.

Shelby is growing like a weed. She has two teeth now and chews on EVERYTHING! She is just like a puppy...the most beautiful puppy I have ever seen :) Deegan just turned three and people weren't lying when they told me that the terrible twos won't seem so terrible once they hit the even worse threes. He's been three for only 4 whole days and has already tested my patience at least one hundred times...I love him :)

Baseball (Colin) and softball (Michael) season are starting and practice and games are already commencing. Volleyball is in full swing for Dakota. Her team has the potential to be really good, unfortunately after they play great in pool play, they fall apart in the championship round. Hopefully they'll get it all together soon. Cheyenne is going full force in concert season with band. She has Solo and Ensemble today and hopefully she does really well. She could really use a self esteem boost right now. Deegan is hopefully going to be enrolled in some form of MMA or Karate soon. We are hoping it teaches him some self discipline (maybe it will spare Shelby his craziness). Shelby is now mobile...army crawling and elephant walking. I don't think she has a real desire to crawl the way most babies do. She keeps trying to stand up, so I feel like she may be one of those kids who walk before they crawl. She just wants to be able to chase her bubba.

We found out we are getting a pretty decent tax return which is wonderful because we desperately need a new roof. Other than that, not much else is happening with the Davis family. Granted what is happening is more than most families see in their lifetime :)

Needing the power of prayer...

2009-01-14T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, as everyone has already read, I have one full time little girl (Ava) in my new Little Learners Child Care. Unfortunately, I am having a hard time finding two more children to watch. I have had a ton of inquiries, but apparently since I'm only watching 3-4 children instead of 6 or more like most other homes, I can't compete with their super cheap rates. What I'm charging is still considerably cheaper than traditional daycare (believe me, after paying for Deegan, I know), but more people are looking for price instead of quality. So, with all that being said, I could really use the prayers from all my family and friends. I am trying so hard to make this work for my family!

This weekend

2009-01-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

Well, volleyball got off to a pretty good start. Dakota's team won 5th place in this past weekend's tournament. Not bad for the first time these girls have played together as a team. We got to see Dad and Deb at the games and Deegan stayed the night with them on Saturday. The kids were very well behaved considering the long hours of sitting. I've had fun all weekend also...hanging out with Cassie and Corey watching scary movies...yeah!

Trying to make it work...

2009-01-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I quit my nanny job because the hours and consistency of my services did not work out for the best interest of my family. Now I am on a new mission...In home child care. I have several responses to my add on Craigslist, but only one definite so far. Her name is Ava. Ava is the most adorable and sweet 13 month old little girl. Today is my first day with Ava and it has been great.

Now, I just need to find up to 3 more children. I need a minimum of two more to cover what my pay would have been had I kept the accounting job and put my babies in daycare. With that being said, I need all the prayers and referrals I can get. If anyone knows someone who lives in Mesquite (close to 635 and/or 30) or passes through to go to work and has kids in need of great child care please send them my way. They can email me (sandilu02@yahoo.com) and hopefully we can fill those spots so I don't have to send Deegan and Shelby back to daycare.

Time for a New Year!

2008-12-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

Well, the week of crazy Christmas is over. I can't complain though. Too many people have no where to go for Christmas and we are so blessed that we have a million!! The kids had a great time with all the grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles...etc. To say they are spoiled is the understatement of the century. I think everyone got just about everything they asked for. If not they got plenty of giftcards to be able to purchase it themselves.

Now we get to start a new year. With this new year brings a new budget. Michael and the kids are not going to like me for this I am sure. I am just tired of neglecting our basic needs to make sure everyone gets what they want all the time. It is time to start living within our means. We'll see how well that goes over. They'll thank me for it later...at least Michael will when we are able to be without worry from all the debt we manage to keep ourselves in.

No work today!!!

2008-11-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

Well, my boss called last night and told me her mom was watching the kids overnight, so I wouldn't be needed today...YEAH! I am trying to get everything together for my garage sale this weekend and the time I've spent going through boxes has helped. Deegan made us laugh again today. We were sitting in the living room watching Tom and Jerry. Tom did something to hurt Jerry (per usual) and Deegan yells "Oh Shit!" I know this should not make me laugh, but what can you do? We did tell him that is not a nice thing to say and we try to correct him when he does stuff like this, but with his daddy, what can we expect? Well, back to the storage boxes...

Kids say the darndest things!

2008-11-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

My little man just keeps amusing me. This past Thursday I was trying to get him to come inside while at work because it was time to leave and he just loves playing in the back yard with Luke. He finally comes running in looks at me with the most serious expression on his face and says, "Momma...you're a pain in my bottom." How do you keep from laughing. He is the hardest kid to get mad at because he knows that I am like putty in his hands. He told me this weekend that his "princess Shelby" is his "best friend forever." I would bet he heard that term from his older sisters. I am very excited...we are 99% complete with our Christmas shopping for the kids. That just leaves all the extended family. I am even starting the wrapping process because we have run out of places to store things in our tiny house. I guess that's is for now.

Back in the blogging again...

2008-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I need to give thanks to Deb for reminding me of what I started. Now that I have a little more time in my day (thanks to no longer having a "real" job) I can really get this going. Now I just need to figure out all the tricks of the trade. You have NO idea how long it to took me to figure out how to add the pics and change the background. Right now I am watching Deegan and Michael play with the magna doodle. That will entertain them for hours. Deegan has to be one of the funniest little boys I know...yes, I know I'm biased. I have actually started a journal of the funny things he says and does. I'll keep ya'll updated on here also. I think Shelby may be getting sick. She lost her lunch today and has been crying and/or sleeping ever since. I'll keep you updated.

The Davis Family

2006-06-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Davis Family

2006-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is a great idea! - Now if we can just be
computer savvy enough to be able to read everything that's going on! Be sure to
post pictures of the kids too!

Love It!

2006-06-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start this blog to be able to keep everyone updated of our daily activities. I cannot promise that something will be posted everyday simply because our lives are just not that interesting. I'm sure most of the postings will be about the kids because Michael and I are just a couple of home bodies who have nothing better to do with our time :)