The Cox Family

i woke up this morning not feeling so well. cough cough cough. we took roys car back to him as we do on the sundays that i borrow the car for friday night/saturday. cough cough cough. and helped carol get some of the christmas stuff out. cough cough cough. went to target with her and found some ideas for our house. Yay! cough cough cough. then back to their house for some sausage gravy! yummmmmmmmmmy. then brought the girls home. maddie managed to throw up as soon as we got in the door. yucky! maybe that was why she didn't want to eat dinner. cough cough cough. and that is all i can muster tonight.

I was reading a blog earlier and came away from the entry with a challenge. I will be working on this challenge over the next week or two. Here goes: What are your Christmas Traditions? Here is where I stand now: ummmmm I'm not sure. What do I mean, well, I have never really thought about our traditions. Yes, we put cookies and milk out, and santa comes, but I haven't really instilled any other traditions because sometimes we are home and sometimes we are not. Like this year, I have to work, so santa is comming, but the other gifts are waiting until the Sunday after christmas so that the girls get to have more when they open gifts with Grammy and Pappy (by the way, I have heard Kenzie converting a little, it sounds like "dammy" but it is getting there) Maddie does whatever, but anyway, last year we went to Derrick and Amanda's house, the year before, we did christmas at Mom's, but we haven't really ever developed traditions for our family, so I wil...

I know technically, I am late, but humor me would you: I am thankful for: *Each and every family member and friend I have. All of you have a special place in my heart and no matter how bad off we might be at that time, know that I will always love you! *Paula girl you kept me going tonight here at work! Thanks babe! *my job. There are so many people out there who aren't blessed to have a job. I however am not one of them. *the weather. I could be up in Indiana expecting snow, but I am not. I am in mild weather (and we think it is freezing)! LOL *i am most thankful for a forgiving God who loves me!

she got here just before bed on Tuesday night. Hopefully, I will be able to get amanda to blog the great times that they had together at some point in the future.

Yesterday, we put together the Rose Petal Cottage again. Let me give you some background on this event! When Ryan bought it for the girls, he was going to put it together, but hadn't gotten to it, so I did it. With the help of the cable guy who was there working on our internet connection in Indiana. It was quite a job let me tell you! I vowed that I would never take it apart! LOL! Then we moved. So I had no choice but to take this thing that cost almost $100.00 apart because there was no way I was giving it away! Fast Forward: We have been waiting to put it together, but I decided that since it was getting a little cooler and Riley and Shelby might like playing in it with the girls this week, that it was time to put it together again! (oh, and we don't have the instructions anymore) So, Kenzie and I bring in all of the metal pieces and plastic joints along with both of the cloth covers that make up the cottage. About that time I hear, "Kenzie where are you?...

We went to a new strip mall yesterday with Carol. What I got to see of it I loved. There was this big display of Christmas Trees, and Carol, Kenzie, and I got a picture taken in front of them. A lady was nice enough to offer to take a picture of all three of us so we could be in a picture together. (note to self, have Roy e mail it to me so it can be uploaded here). So before we went to the christmas trees, we kind of looked in a few shops. Here were my thought: Lane Bryant: "Oh my goodness that is a lot of red and black" (I have a lot of red and black already, but I will keep looking back because I saw a white suit there that I would love to have, but I don't want to pay full price for it.. Kind of expensive) Justice: "Now we can totally learn to love this store" (Kenzie fell in love immediately with this store. It (in the words of Amanda) is a lot like Limited Too, only a little less expensive. There were some really cute things in there) Carol wen...

Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore Because the word "God" is mentioned...... A kid in Arizona wrote the attached NEW School prayer: Now I sit me down in school Where praying is against the rule For this great nation under God Finds mention of Him very odd. If Scripture now the class recites, It violates the Bill of Rights. And anytime my head I bow Becomes a Federal matter now. Our hair can be purple, orange or green, That's no offense; it's a freedom scene. The law is specific, the law is precise. Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice. For praying in a public hall Might offend someone with no faith at all. In silence alone we must meditate, God's name is prohibited by the state. We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks. They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good Book makes me liable. We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,...

I just loved those blue eyes, so I had to put them in here again! Look at me I am a cheerleader! Decorating the Christmas Tree! "Look Ma, I'm a decorator!" "Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle All The WAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Some might not like that. I got an e mail from my boss the other day at work after I had sent the girls an e mail saying that if they wanted to bring their christmas presents in to work, I would wrap them at night to keep me busy (not to mention, I LOVE TO WRAP PRESENTS). So when she e mails me back she says, "You are a freak of nature!" So, tonight I called to further discuss my hours since Ryan is working 3p to 11 pm, I had to switch my hours around a little and we got to talking about having a christmas ornament exchange and I mentioned that I am making an ornament for it. She repled with "Making? YOU ARE A FREAK OF NATURE YOU KNOW!" I love my boss! She is so cool! She is allowing me to basically come in when I can while staying extra to make up the hours that I had to give up due to Ryan's schedule. It is so cool to work with someone who is so flexible. She also added, "I know how hard it is to work night shift. I can't do it and if you are...

I have had a very trying year. To the exent that I had all but given up on my marriage and children. I was at an all time low, and although things are not where they need to be, I have taken these last few days to do a lot of soul searching. Many people are able to just talk things out and don't understand when I need time to myself to just think. Upon thinking, today in the garage I found a book called, Loving Thoughts by Helen Steiner Rice. I flipped through the pages and found a poem and as I read it I decided at that moment that I wanted a change for our family. Here is the poem I found. Each Day Brings a Chance to Do Better How often we wish for another chance to make a fresh beginning, A chance to blot out our mistakes and change failure into winning-- And it does not take a special time to make a brand-new start, It only takes the deep desire to try with all our heart To live a little better and to always be forgiving And to add a little ...

Gotta get busy, Amanda will be here in like an hour to an hour and a half, but she is comming to get Maddie! She called and asked if she could come get her for a week and we agreed, pics to come i promise, but i will have to get my baby back before I put the pics on here! edit: might be nice if i told you where she was going... THE TWO YEAR OLD IS GOING TO ORLANDO! (actually longwood, but it is the same diff really)

I went yesterday for Kenzie's IEP. Here were the results: It was for speech therapy. She is being seen for communication needs, curriculum and learning environment, and communication. They added curriculum and learning environment due to seeing that she is becomming self consience of her speech and we want to keep her confident in herself while not comprimising her self esteem in other areas as well. In addition to this, she is also in a group with her guidance councelor to help with the self confidence and esteem. Her goals are: to correctly produce /k/, /g/ in all positions of words for 5 minutes of conversation with >90% accuracy for 3 sessions without correction by the SLP (speech and language pathologist) When the slp presents age-appropriate vocabulary/basic concepts, she will demonstrate her knowledge and use of the vocabulary words/basic concepts by correctly identifying a word/concept presented by the slp. when given a 2 step direction, she will follow both steps w/o...

I think back to "What Chritsmas Music Do I Want To Listen To This Year" and every year, my sister and I cry to the song "Christmas Shoes" so I started putting it on my christmas playlist here on the blog. So here is the background behind what that song means to us. First, to see the lyrics and hear the song, go to this site: http://http://peachpatch.com/shoes.html Now, some of you don't know the following: On Thanksgiving 18 years ago, our mother passed away. It took years for us to be able to celebrate thanksgiving. We were not ready. We wanted our Mom back and didn't understand why God had taken her and left children ages 9, 7, 5, and 4 to live without a Mom. It wasn't until after I moved to Florida the first time that I was able to start celebrating the things I was thankful for having and I can say now that I AM THANKFUL FOR GOD TAKING MOM OUT OF HER MISERABLE EXISTENCE CAUSED BY THE CANCER! The song just reminds me a lot of my little brother a...

i feel a little better today! more details later.

So this is what happens when I throw sand! Oh my goodness! Shelby sure did love making this sand angel I bet! Riley and her sand castle. such a great job! Awww The wet girls! They could be getting into something. LOL! Proud Grammy (Yaya) Wonder if she is scared? Her first ride on the water! So, it's time to make a phone call! I'm not so happy about this!

Riley and Shelby ready to go trick or treating. They were China Girls! Too Cute! Goofy, yet scary Yaya! LOL! Check your cubbards for dead cereal! He's the Cereal Killer! Silly lil Kenzie. she didn't want to wear her wig after we bought it, but here was her version of Hannah Montanna With short hair! And my beauts! A rockstar and a harley girl! They had a blast! Finally, the cake I made for halloween.

tonight while i was at work, i had ordered a dinner tray (payroll deduction) and while eating, ryan called. they didn't give me the message, but anyway, when i got back from eating, he called again to say he was bringing me dinner! such a nice gesture! so now, i am home alone! quiet house! loving it. ryan is at roy and carol's watching riley, shelby, kenzie and maddie (oh and maggie too), so i am just gonna go on to bed.

my biggest fan love ya gal! i promise, i will try to be better on the blog... off to nap now... third shift kills the sleep schedule kenzie is at school maddie is with your kids on a ferry boat with grammy (aka yaya) ryan is around here somewhere stressing about his pending surgery... and i am just thinking about how much trouble i am in for not blogging like i should... i will get better.... i just have to figure out the schedule a little more... maybe i can do that while i am lifing weights at work tonight... yes, lifting weights... yes, i work out... yes at work... you see, while i am at work, i work out in the pt gym which is accross from my desk while awaiting the phone to ring... it is close enough that i can get at it if it ever rings... (very rare at 3 am) trying to get in shape to kick some "honey homicide" butt when you get in the roller derby kiddo! LOL... talk more later lottsa love to my devoted blog readers!

So, This is what Maddie is just absolutely crazy about! She is screaming as I blog about this character! It is a sesame street new character, and once she saw it, she just squealed with delight! So, I know what my task is now.... De Dorafy the house and bring in Abby Cadabby! If anyone knows where I can find some cool abby stuff, Please let me know!

This afternoon, Kenzie's speech therapist (Betty) called me and when I finally got enough charge on my cell phone to all her back (I am horrible about keeping it charged), she stated that she would like to set up an appointment (next wednesday) for me to come in and go over "Little Miss Mackenzie's" iep. this totally shocked me because I was told they probably wouldn't be able to change her I.E.P until next year! So, Kenzie will be bringing home a parent invitation that I have to send back with her to the school, and a parent's questionairre to ask if we have any concerns and what they are. there is the update and i wanted to put it on here before i totally forgot it!

HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007 Scenario 1: Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack. 1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack. 2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers. Scenario 2: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school. 1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies. 2007 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged them with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it. Scenario 3: Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students. 1957 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class...

so, we are 2 weeks from thanksgiving... what is goings ons in this house? kenzie is constantly asking how much longer for santa! she knows after halloween comes "turkey day" and then daddy's birthday, then shell bell's birthday and then christmas... she is counting it down this year! maddie is starting to finally figure out that when she is wet it isn't comfy, so off comes the patty potty pants! i am status quo just working and the other day, i got called in for a four hour field trip! it was insane. because i haven't been in the state of florida for five years, i had to be fingerprinted. (keep in mind we just got prints done for the board of nursing to renew our certificates), so eight of us headed out in the company van with one following in her vehicle with her children. we get to tampa and they don't have fingerprint cards (not to mention the attitude we got because we didn't have them) so charlie calls back to work and after a little while w...

Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans . Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11 . However, if it occurs on a Sunday then the following Monday is designated for holiday leave, and if it occurs Saturday then either Saturday or Friday may be so designated. [1] It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11 , the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I . (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice .) The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling. [2] His...

What Your City Walk Means You are thoughtful and contemplative. You enjoy spending time alone with your thoughts. You are generally confident and friendly with strangers. You are well mannered and sociable. Money is very important to you. You like to have lots of nice things... and you don't care if you're being greedy. You are curious about ideas. If you had the means, you'd like to explore the whole world. The City Walk Personality Test

You Are The Stuffing You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why. What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

You Are Checkers You are very logical and rational. You are able to understand what is and isn't a factor. You're able to compartmentalize and focus on the essentials. You appreciate simplicity. You can see the layers of complexity and beauty in anything. You are also playful and good natured. You don't take life too seriously! What Board Game Are You?

doing ok. kenzie accidentally spilled water on it. we called acer. they suggested that we disconnect and let it dry out then try again! i tried it this morning. (hasn't even been a week) and it is workin perfect! i will keep you posted if we have issues with it again. (for acer to fix it, it would have been $400).

we have had just the norm going on here lately. maddie is batteling a cough, but other than that status quo. ryan is having an interview at mease dunedin on monday with the recruiter for mease. if he gets the job he can work at any one of several local hospitals. kenzie is doing well in school. and i am working night shift,so i sleep during the day.

on my quest to be a safer house and to improve the environment, i am questing to gain as much info as possible about our normal household chemicals such as clorox, pinesol, colgate, etc. if anyone knows of any websites that will help me, please don't hesitate to include that info in an e mail or comment for me. i am using the stuff right out of wikipedia and the national safety council right about now. (i typically research these things when i can't sleep). i am finding it amazing the amount of poison used in our household chemicals that are supposed to be safe for our families, but are not! we are converting all of our chemicals to safe ones for our family and the environment. it is so crazy the amount of children who have died due to accidents with just normal things like cascade.. or burned because of bleach... how about the child who swallowed conditioner and died due to the ammonia used in it? just makes me so mad at these companies who are bringing in the dough han...

fyi: to anyone who is planning on buying for our kids. christmas in our house is suspended. with the market the way it is, i am struggling to make our bills let alone buy for the kids or anyone else. sorry for not being able to be jolly this year.

*'Twas the night before elections* *And all through the town* *Tempers were flaring* *Emotions all up and down!* ** *I, in my bathrobe* *With a cat in my lap* *Had cut off the TV* *Tired of political crap.* ** *When all of a sudden* *There arose such a noise* *I peered out of my window* *Saw Obama and his boys* ** *They had come for my wallet* *They wanted my pay* *To give to the others* *Who had not worked a day!* ...

DID YOU KNOW: Nearly 2.5 million people reported an unintentional exposure to poison in 2006. And while more than half of those involved children under 6, it is a testament to poison prevention campaigns, child resistant caps and other measures instituted over the past decade that children accounted for just over 2 percent of 1,229 total unintentional poisoning fatalities (51 percent of 2,403,539 reported exposures). Children’s exposure to poison most often involves common at-home substances, like drugs, pesticides and cleaning products. Of the exposures reported in 2006, 93 percent took place in a home. Generally, there are four forms of poisons: Solids (medicine pills, powders, granular pesticides, etc.) Liquids (soap, furniture polish, lighter fluid, syrup medicines, lotions, etc.) Sprays (spray paint, insecticides, cleaning products, etc.) Gas (carbon monoxide, air pollution, gas fumes, etc.) While some sources of poisonings have obvious risks, others are less recognized. Some less...