no computer

I might get my computer back on Tuesday! It's really hard not having a computer. I totally rely on my computer so much it's crazy. Jeremy brought his laptop home yesterday, yeah! It's hard for him to bring it home because of the way his office is networked (it's always nice when he's able to)

We're all doing great. Jackson seems to be getting a lot bigger. I have no idea how much he weighs but he looks bigger. He's now wearing 12 month clothing pretty good. He's not really saying much but he's seeing an ear specialist in 2 weeks. He's really trying to communicate in other ways. Which include pulling on me and whining a lot. I hope it's just a phase.

Isaac is doing a lot better in primary, which gives me hope that he'll be O.K. in pre-K in a month. He's now swimming. He can swim until he run out of breath and then I have to be there to grab him or if he's in the shallow end he just stands up. It's so exciting. Soccer's over and I'm thinking of signing him up again. He's still having a hard time with soccer. He pouts and sit out a lot. Which is so frustrating to watch. I just want him to have fun and try his best, but he wants to be the best and can't deal with not being the best.

Makayla will start kindergarden in a month. Here in Texas its 5 days a week all day so she's pretty excited for that. She's swimming GREAT. She loves going down the BIG slides at the gym and can swim to the edge. It's still a little scary for me, because I have three little ones to watch out for. She's also done with soccer. She was really surprising me at how well she would do, but she enjoyed goofing off and play with the other kids more than try to play the game. She's going to try cheer in the fall. I think she'll like that.

My family had a family reunion without me, I'm so sad I couldn't be there. But Grammy and Poppy Logsdon are coming to visit in two days and I'm very excited for that.

My kitchen and whole house actually are still sadly undecorated. I can't make up my mind on anything so for the time being I'm at peace with it so that I don't stress out about it.

Grandma Schultz's Mind Tricks

So I got a gift card from Grandma Schultz in the mail yesterday for my birthday to Wal Mart. I was excited and thought it was really nice of her to do that. But as I got to looking at it, there was nowhere written anywhere an amount of how much the gift card was worth which got me to thinking. I could go and get a bunch of stuff according to how much I feel like she would put on it based on how much I feel that she loves me and hope that it covered it, or get some gum and see if it would cover that.

As I got to thinking, I kind of came up with a Grandma Schultz love-o-meter. I figured that they just came down for a visit recently and how well she felt I was doing as a husband to her daughter and father to her Grand kids would probably have a lot to do with how much she actually put on the card.

I figured that the $0-$5 range was probably letting me know that I needed to step it up. Perhaps she saw me at a time of frustration when I didn't know she was watching, or maybe one of the kids told her something really mean about me that I don't know about yet that will fester inside Grandma and come to a boiling point each time I answer the phone when she calls, or when she thinks of her poor daughter all by herself in Texas with her incompitent husband.

The $5-$10 range sends a pretty good message as well. It's not that she thinks that I'm a total loss with this amount, but perhaps only being able to buy socks or some replacement air filters helps me understand that Grandma's love isn't that easily won over. Each of her daughters are absolute prizes to their spouses (or future spouses) and if we expect much from Grandma, we MUST show to not only our wives, but also to everyone else(including Grandma Schultz) that we understand the value that we've received and that we WILL NOT take them for granted.

The $10-$15 card starts to get interesting. This is CD or DVD money now. It's not, however, new release CD or DVD money. It's kind of that 2nd tier, old release shelf that I have now become an immediate candidate for. The titles such as Big, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights all become a very real possibility to me now. The messae that this sends is clear as well: Perhaps I am just that - 2nd tier in Grandma's eyes. If maybe we lived closer or if I wouldn't have taught Isaac to have people pull his finger to get a surprise, I may have been able to be elevated to tier 1 status.

The $15-$20 card sends a very clear, loud message. This is now an amount of money that I can buy a full outfit on the clearance rack or maybe even head and wrist bands with the Dallas Mavericks logo on them and a Mavericks shirt (on clearance of course) with perhaps enough left over to go ahead and get an Icee on my way out that I've never been able to get before. If this card is for $15+, I've got it made. I surely am one of (if not the absolute) favorite on the Schultz side. $15-$20 can even clear tax on what I'd need for washing and waxing needs for my bike and van. It's enough as well to get a new garden hose (a good one) with a nice sprayer on the end. The $15-$20 card is really exciting; it surely helps you think big when those automatic doors open and you wonder what isle you should go down first. I feel like at this amount, I finally have Grandma Schultz's approval.

We'll see maybe tomorrow or Monday where I fall on Grandma Schultz's love-o-meter. Wish me luck.

At least now I'll know exactly where I stand with Grandma.

UPDATE

The picture of Isaac and Jackson is sideways, but it was neat to see Isaac helping his little brother. Jackson LOVES to play anything with a ball. His favorite right now is baseball and he'll put Isaac's batting helmet on and drag his bat around outside as long as you'll let him stay out.
This is a picture of Makayla's favorite dress. She wears it all the time to wherever. We're having computer problems AGAIN. We just got it out of the shop and Jackson turned it off and on and it didn't turn back on for us. It's at the Geek Squad at Best Buy to see if we can fix it, or if we're just going to get another.

Wiper School

Isaac was yelling from the bathroom yesterday, "I'm doooooonnne!" as he always does when he's finished firing it up (as we call it) in the bathroom. I went in to wipe him and told him that when he starts pre-school in a few months, he's going to have to know how to wipe himself, so he's got to start learning how to do it. He looks at me and says, "But Dad, I don't have a wiper teacher. DAD! How about you be my wiper teacher! I can go to wiper school!"
He is now enrolled in wiper school. I am the instructor.

No More Helmet

We went to Houston on Wednesday. We met with Jackson's plastic surgeon and helmet doc. They both agreed that he was getting too old for the helmet and that he could take it off. I'm so glad to be done cleaning that thing (and the worry of checking his head everyday) But even more than that I'm so glad to never have to make the trip to Houston for Doctors appointment again.

He still need to see the ear specialist, and eye doctor, but those appointment will be here in Dallas.

If you haven't seen the weather channel for our area. It's been raining for eight weeks straight. I'm so sick of rain. It's in the forecast for the next five days though so its here to stay for awhile. I love ya all

Mom and Dad in Texas

Thank you mom and dad for coming to visit. I always enjoy having you all. Isaac Looked in your room Tuesday morning for you. He was pretty upset that you guys had left. We went to a baseball game, the park and the mall and that was about it. I hope they weren't bored out of their minds. I totally enjoyed not cleaning all week. I totally neglected my floors and bathrooms while they were here.

mom, I still haven't decided what to do with the kitchen! I keep thinking if I ignore decorating the kitchen and living room it will magically happen on its own

Our Computer is being fixed finally. So maybe we'll have it back this week.