Hey there, it has been awhile since I wrote last so I thought that I would do some writing to update on what has been going on with the " McDowell Clan ".....
Let's see...
The husband has been putting in long work days and 50 + hours a week in for that last few weeks, and all though it is nice for us building our future for our family so we can really start saving and not just living check to check, it does a little stink not having him around he gets home after 6p and then eats dinner, does things around the house, and once he sits down that's it, let's call it a night :-) Or as soon as his head hits the pillow he is O.U.T. so I am really missing the husband, and we have had talks lately on how we are going to make this schedule work, especially next month when his crew that he is on goes on second for a month. I mean there will be alot more that I have to do because he won't be there to help, and he said " well babe you pretty much do everything already " although that was nice to hear that he notices that things that I do, it gave me this VERY overwhelming feeling of " OMGoodness what am I going to do next month with out him? " We are going to be talking to the kids about helping out and somethings around our house that are going to change a little, just to help the flow of our household and to help the Mama T out :-)
In
Gabe world... well Gabe was doing REALLY well in school he was getting ALL As and Bs and so I printed off the update of his grades and laminated it and put it on our fridge.. A few weeks after that a few of his grades started to slip to Ds or Cs and Cs are OK but when they are given because he is missing assignments that is NOT acceptable to me SOOO I have been battling with him on a daily basis to " remember " to bring home his homework everyday and to study for upcoming tests and that is well still an ongoing battle! He is a very artistic person and he made up his mind about a month ago that he wanted to make his Halloween costume this year ( a robot ) so he has been working on that when he has the time and is feeling artistic, he also has been making " shields " for some of his friends in the neighborhood, and they are pretty good like they are giving him pictures of things that they want him to put on the shield and he does REALLY good at that, and now him and his friend Garrett are doing like cardboard houses LOL , excited to see the finished project on what the boys are doing. Gabe also had his first girlfriend, and they lasted a few weeks and now he has another one and his reasoning for having this girlfriend is " she was my second option " lol and he says that when he has a girlfriend he seems to be more popular, soooo we shall see where this whole " girlfriend " thing goes and hoping that is helps Gabe out in his social and making friend skills!!
Growing up
Micaela that she is and I can not seem to get her to stop. Let's see recently Micaela has gotten a " new hairdo " as well as last week she got contacts. Not really but her wanting them but more for she " has " to have them for showchoir, due to not being able to wear her glasses on stage to perform, she is up to being able to wear them for up to 10 hours I believe, so she wears them for the school day and then takes them out when she gets home :-) She is doing better and better with them, when leaving her appointment last week my Mom bought her sunglasses and she was so excited that she could wear sunglasses and see and NOT have them over her regular glasses, so that was a big deal. She also has started wearing make up, I showed her how I put on make up and said, now this will get you started but as you go you will learn ways to put it on yourself and things that work for you!! She is doing an AMAZING job and looks beautiful. I catch myself with her so many times, either while talking with her or just catching her doing something and I think back to this little blonde hair girl hiding behind her Dad when I first met the kids, and her first girl scouts that she tried, and getting her nails painted, her first dance, always brings tears to my eyes how fast they grow up. I have so many new memories to look forward to with her but I don't know that I'm ready :-) She is an amazing, spirit - filled young lady, and I enjoy watching her grow everyday.. ♥
Mama T <------ is learning to love life all over again!! I work full time 40 - 45 hours a week, going to school part time 3 classes, I bowl on my lady league every Tuesday night, making sure the kids get to where they need to be when they need to be there, checking up on their grades and homework making sure things are turned in, clean the house weekly, laundry is a weekly almost daily thing... You get the picture Mama T does alot and for the first time in a long time I said out loud to my husband that I NEED HELP!! I notice that I get so stressed so easily, or I just get mad so quick, and later feel so bad about it whether it's something the husband does or did or even something the kids did or said. I take things WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY to personal coming from the husband or my kids. I am the kids Mom way before I am their friend and they know that, Mama comes first. But I stress about that daily because I want both of my kids to feel comfortable coming to me to talk to me about anything, or to ask questions about anything. And so far they have, and I want to keep that open. But at the same time I don't want to push things. I am exploring , researching different things or ways that I can help reduce my stress level or help ease the level or " freak out times " I thought about writing again, whether it is short stories, or little poems, or even scrapbooking - I am working on setting up an area that I can have my stuff set up in so I can have that to go too whenever I want too!! I am making it a goal to read more, even if for right now its a few times a week, I want to eventually get back to reading daily or nightly or both. I am trying to make a point to see my friends more and let them know what they mean to me, and sometimes in doing all these things I stretch myself thin, so in the midst of this I am learning to try and have some Mama T time, even if that time for now only comes every other week when getting my nails done or every other month when I get my hair done, because I want to always be there for my kids and my husband and make sure that they know that.. So Mama T is a work in progress and hope that I find a happy medium to help me relax and take things as they come more..
I am pretty sure that wraps it up what is and has been going on at our home-front these last few weeks/months. The pets are doing well, Gina is starting to get out of the back yard when we let her out so this week she is getting her first collar and identification tags so if she does get out people know where her home is!! Bubba is well BIG Bubba and I need to get him to reduce his eating LOL, Romeo is starting to come out of " hiding " more and more! Cooper and Chloe are cute as can be and they ALWAYS make Mama T smile on her worst days, they are truly a blessing to me.. ♥
I think that's all I have for now and hope to do a better job on keeping up with this!! Till next time..
xoxo
want DRASTIC and different I want when people look at me they know that I got my hair did.. So sure enough she went drastic and different.. Well in this picture you can't tell that the front is purple and we are going for the angled cut.. But I am loving it, I get compliments no matter where I go telling me how cute my hair is, or how good it is, and I even get asked where I get it done, and when I tell them that I do it, seeing their jaws drop is the best feeling EVER!! So then I started getting " ready " for work everyday and even for things that I normally before wouldn't have and started enjoying getting ready and looking forward to getting ready. I am back at getting my nails done and letting her do funky creative things with them just makes me feel pretty when I am loving my nails :-) So this last weekend we had a Halloween party that my sister and brother in law throw every year and this year I went as a lady bug and so sister and I went to get our make up done and while she was doing our make up she was giving us tips on things to do ( she also asked where I got my hair done at, when I told her I did it her jaw dropped and come to find out she is a hair dresser, talk about making me feel good ) So not only did I feel good coming away from getting my make up done but I felt good all evening at the party as friends were noticing weight I ve lost and I was enjoying that this year I fit into a store bought costume and didn't have to shop in the plus size for costumes.... I was feeling " PRETTY " for the evening even though it was a Halloween Party... 
It's one thing when The Husband was telling me how awesome I looked but when strangers and friends tell you how good your looking, that makes you feel good!!
