Every Good Thing....

Comes to an end...right...??  NO.  Summer, yes...summer has come and gone...as if the "fall" breaker was turned on.  The nights are cooler, the days are shorter...and I SWEAR that just last week the sun was still up at 10:00 at night...WEIRD...Well, the fun summer times may have come to an end, but these moments won't ever end...

Seeing all the younger cousins trying to be master rafters, and building lasting friendships...

Seeing your husband hold your child, and knowing that they won't be small enough to hold forever, but they will always be your baby...

Building traditions with family and friends...

It ALWAYS feels SO NICE to shower when you have been outdoors for SO LONG...

(really Romy...someday, you'll agree...)

Seeing your husband camp so hard that he crashes with your sleeping girl, and realizing that he will be this guy in 30 years, a little older, in a different chair, in the same position holding his grand daughter...

Knowing that the important thing is that a little (or a lot) of dirt up your nose isn't gonna kill ya...

Doesn't matter if you're 3 or 30...it's always fun to be a kid!!!

The small things in life get the biggest reactions...(he's looking at a fish papa caught)

Looking out onto the lake at your husband's parents, and seeing that all good things can last forever...that this could be you in 35 years...and that would be amazing...

Turn That Cheeky...

I will admit...one trait that I hope to work on better is being more humble...turning the other cheek so to speak.  I have always wished I was the wife that was just sweet and did her duties with a smile.  I wish sometimes that I was soft spoken, and gentle.  If you know me...you know that's not me.  I am more like the spaz with an opinion.  I am not sure where the spaz comes from, but the opinion comes from my dad...which is a good thing...sometimes.  Love you Daddy...!!  Anyways, school has officially started.  First day was a breeze...things went smoothly, and they came home happy. 

Today, they still came home happy, but I wasn't when I found out that Carter was sent to the Principal's office for breaking the uniform codes.  Well, EXCUSE ME!!!  This would be that part where I should turn the other cheek...but I am a little irritated...the dress code states:

Collared long- or short-sleeved shirts. No T-shirts. Clothing must be free of large logos. Shirts must be solid colored and not match the bottom. Shirts can be any color but Red, Navy or Black.


The shirt my son was sent to school in was a collared short sleeved shirt, free of logos, in a solid color that did not match his bottoms.  Apparently when they sent the fliers, they forgot to put the part about the shirts not having a trim around the collar.  YES, they are freaking out about a trimmed collar.  Am I the only one who finds this rediculas??  They threatened that if he wore it again, he would be sent home.

UGH...seriously...so, I wrote a letter to the principal expressing my issues.  Tell me if you think it was too harsh...

Dear "Principal" (I used his name in the letter, but I figured I'd leave it out here...dunno why exactly...hmmm...anyways...)

In regards to my sons shirt yesterday, we were in compliance with the information that was given to us via a flier. It reads:


Collared long- or short-sleeved shirts. No T-shirts. Clothing must be free of large logos. Shirts must be solid colored and not match the bottom. Shirts can be any color but Red, Navy or Black.

The shirt my son was sent to school in was a collared short sleeved shirt, free of logos, in a solid color that did not match his bottoms. If this is unacceptable for you, then I suggest a couple of things. First, you need to send home more specific information stating that sleeves cannot be trimmed in a different color. His shirt had very minor trimming at that. Second, if you feel it was so out of character, I suggest that you offer to replace the shirt. I paid my money for clothes that I did not physically agree on, that complied with the standards that I received, and now he is being sent home with papers stating that it isn’t. The tags are off of the shirt, and it is un-returnable in its current state. This is my money going to complete waste because I would never purchase this clothing for my children to wear.


Furthermore, I find this whole uniform policy very frustrating. The few colors that are not allowed, red, navy, and khakis are not only the most accessible to find in the stores, but are the colors that represent our country and the freedom that we have. I do not find any reason why these colors shouldn’t be allowed on our children. If it is for gang related activity, then you are just acknowledging them and their behavior. We should be able to put our country’s colors proudly on our children, and state loudly why these color will continue to be used. I had to go to multiple stores just to find the colors that I did.


Finally, the uniform situation seems to be a budget waste. There are so many things that could be used as a better focus for our children than worrying whether or not their sleeve has a trim on it. How many other children is the district having to provided “supplementary” shirts for?? This is a huge waste of money and time having to send all these children to change into different clothing, having to spend the money to launder them, and the money to provide them in the first place.


I am not attempting to be rude in the situation, I just feel that these are young children and that the rules are “over the top” so to speak. I bought only enough shirts for my son to get through the week. I will not be purchasing another shirt for my son, as I have spent plenty of money on this already. I feel that my son was dressed more that appropriately, and will be sending him to school in this shirt once a week as planned. If you have any questions you may contact me at 841-8600.


Thank you for your time,


Tamra Lords

Mother of 5 children

First Day...

Second Day...

I could see how this would be so out of line...sheesh

Rare moments...

They were sitting watching a show together, my two small boys, and I just LOVED how they decided to sit.  It was like they loved each other or something...instead of wanting to steal the other's car, or kick the other in the shin.  Pretty soon, I will just have them and Romy at home most the day...Carter and Oakley will be off to school...I am still not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Oakley is my "live-in nanny" so to speak.  If I need a shower (or lets face it, a break), she will hold Romy, change her diaper, play with her...etc....it is SO NICE!!!  Carter is good at cleaning.  He will do his chores quickly and not whine about them...well...usually.  So, we'll see how it goes...either way...I won't mind being stuck with this all day...

and of course this...

Filling in ___ Blanks...!!!

I just realized that I haven't posted many pictures of Romy in the hospital, I did post about it, but I didn't have a way to put the photos on my blog...so I thought I would go back and kind of  "fill in the blanks" so to speak...

Romy on the ventilator...

Sick little girl...

Momma and Daughter had IV's

The very uncomfortable CPAP, but an improvement from all the ventilators

This was the first time I got to really hold my daughter...it was so emotional for me

I remember I almost jumped up and down when I saw Romy's face for the first time like this...

no tubes going down her throat...

This was the first bath I got to give her...they actually thought I was weird

for wanting to bathe my daughter, and not just let the nurses do it...

Her fuzzy hair right after her bath...and before the tubes had to go back on...

Too bad most of it's gone now... ;)

Amidst everything going on...it was EASTER!! 

So I left the hospital for a few hours to have a fun Easter afternoon with my kiddos...

If only I had all the time in the world to post all of my feelings, and what all went on in that hospital those five weeks.  It was such a crazy time...for all of us.  I have such a strong little family, and I am thankful that things have been going SO WELL since then.

As an update, Romy is now 10lbs 6oz, and is 23" long.  She has still had NO EPISODES since returning home.  She is on regular medication around the clock, and will be for the next couple of years.  Though her heart is doing awesome, we are watching her for other things.  She has Anisocoria, which means her pupils dialate differently, and she is only using one of her arms for the most part.  She will go in for some testing in a few weeks, but we aren't stressing about it...we are thankful for her, and we are confident that she will be healthy...we'll keep ya updated though!!!