The Colville Clan

Heart Day

2012-02-14T21:21:00.002-06:00

We celebrated Valentine's Day a little early since it was on a week day. I attempted to make heart-shaped pancakes, but those failed. Let's just say that cookie cutters don't work the same way as pancake molds. I also gave the girls some gifts. It wasn't much: just a book, cd and some PJs. It dawned on me that not everyone gives their children gifts for V-day, but then I realized that this is what my mom did. I remember her setting out a shirt, chocolate box of candy or something else and a card so when I woke up the next morning it was there. Sometimes it might have been the only thing that I got that was thoughtful on Valentine's Day. Obviously E is happy with a bag full of candy hearts right now, but later on in elementary school when the carnations are passed out to the kids she might be happy with my little gifts. Okay - maybe that was me! Well, either way I don't buy them candy because I know they'll get plenty. I just try to make the day special to let them know they're loved. Oh and Ryan gets a little special treatment too!

He was supposed to have softball tonight, but it turns out there are more romantics on his team than he thought. I guess too many needed to take their dates out to dinner, so the game was rescheduled. It was a nice surprise to have him home. We don't do anything much for this holiday, but it is nice to have him around. Even if we are just watching TV. We are, however, going to our Valentine's tradition of eating breakfast at The Guenther House. I can't wait for some delicious breakfast this weekend. Let's just hope the weather holds up.

Thankful Thursday

2012-02-09T17:20:00.000-06:00

I am a little late in the day on Thursday, but it is still Thursday.

1. Data Usage Alerts - I got one yesterday notifying what percentage I was at. This is brilliant! A few years ago, I went over my text messaging plan and cost myself lots of moolah. There were no alerts back then. I guess I was just supposed to be aware of my text count. Luckily now by law they have to do this. Yippee! Now I just have to lay low on the phone.

2. Out of Town Visitors - Over the weekend my brother and sister in law came to visit. They were in the neighborhood and decided to stop by. They were really here for Emma's birthday visit, but also said they would babysit the girls for a few hours. This doesn't happen often. Ryan was technically on call so we had to stay close by, but we were definitely going to take advantage of the alone time. We did a little bit of shopping and then had a few beers. It was so relaxing just sitting there, not having to worry about how much someone was stuff in their mouth, who needed to go to the bathroom, etc. It was just us, beer and sports on TVs all over. I'm sure it was Ryan's perfect "date". Oh and this counts as our one date per month. We can now check that off the list! Thanks guys :)

3. Free Shipping - with all the online purchase I make, there is no way I'd be able to afford the freight that is associated with everything. So, yippee for free shipping, prime shipping and just getting packages on my doorstep. We all know that the mail is just full of bills, so it is nice to have a package waiting there for you to open. :) Mostly it was v-day gifts for the girls. But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't purchase a little something for myself too. We all do it, right?

Book Nerds

2012-02-08T09:39:00.002-06:00

I'm on a roll. I have been reading books and actually finishing them in a timely manner. Right now I'm reading two at a time, which is never a good idea. Here's what I've read so far and what I've thought:

1. The Lion by Nelson DeMille - This book was courtesy of my dad. The author is funny in a dry humor sort of way. The book was good, kept me interested, but took me awhile to finish - not the book's fault, more of my laziness - and overall was a good book. I think it has some gory parts to it, so if you don't like that then I wouldn't suggest it for you. I was thinking of having Ryan read it next. It seems more like a guy book to me.

2. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo - This book was given to me by a family member. It had been on my "maybe" list for awhile, but I've just never had the time to sit down and read it. I'll have to say it was an easy read and the chapters were short, which is always a plus for me. I found it hard to believe everything that the son had apparently said about his trip to Heaven, but then again what do I know. I think it hit home for me to know that Mackenzie is up there. There was a lot of description about what the boy saw. Since none of us truly know, I think it was very touching to hear some of the things he said. One was about a child that his mother had miscarried years before. They had never spoken about it to him before (seeing as he was only 4), but he said he had met her up there. He described what she looked like and everything. That part amazed me.

3. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - So I didn't actually read this book, but Ryan did. He received this book for Christmas and was dedicated to reading it and finishing it, even though it was a very long book. He didn't give me a review or anything, but I do know that there were many times that he laughed while reading. He said it proved how much of a jerk Steve Jobs really was (albeit brilliant). It seems as though he might have been a bit odd in his beliefs and it possibly cost him his life. The book is probably a great read for anymore, but probably even more so for computer nerds like my hubby (just kidding). If I find extra time in my days/nights, I might have to read it too. The only book I've read this long is Harry Potter. So, we'll see.

Right now I'm reading A Girl Named Zippy for Beers & Books and also A Stolen Life. I'll let you know how they are once I finish them. What are you reading? Anything worth putting on my list?

Super Bowl Race

2012-02-07T21:58:00.001-06:00

Super Bowl Sunday was a very brutal day. There was nothing but cold and rain. My friends convinced me to get up and run a race that morning. The problem was that Ryan was on-call. My solution: bring the kiddos with you. I packed them up in football gear, albeit A&M stuff b/c I don't have NFL stuff for the girls, put Madelyn in her stroller wrapped with a blanket and off we went.

Emma ran the race too. It was hilly, but not too bad. She ran a pretty good portion of it and we followed behind her. I'd have to give her a pump on the stroller every once in awhile, but other than that it was a good race. I don't really like doing 5k's because they're not really long enough for me, but in this case it was just a fun-run. Oh and there was beer afterwards! I think I need a shirt that says "Will Run for Beer!"

Eat It Up!

2012-02-03T09:58:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite things about working from home 3 days a week is making a nice homemade breakfast for Madelyn and me. I bought some fresh blueberries a few days ago and need to eat them up before they go bad. So, we had a nice healthy breakfast. It consisted of chopped up bananas, plain non-fat Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, hemp and flaxseed granola and a sprinkle of agave nectar. She eats the blueberries right up!

It isn't that her school has bad food, but they don't eat like this every day. I feel good knowing that she is getting some healthy food when she is with me. Of course, we don't eat like this all the time. Sometimes it is frozen waffles {gasp!}. But I try to have fresh fruit in the house. Of course that means more frequent trips to the grocery store. I have a feeling I have to go back there again today. Do you have yummy, healthy, kid-friendly meals you'd like to share? I'm always up for new things to eat.

Emma's 6!

2012-02-01T20:57:00.004-06:00

This weekend Emma turned 6. Holy cow! It doesn't seem like 6 years ago when I started having contractions, but seriously didn't want to go to the hospital because: 1. my doctor was not on call. 2. I needed to get a serious pedicure. 3. I desperately needed to shave my legs. Yep. Those were my reasons for secretly knowing that my contractions were between 3-5 minutes but didn't want to admit it to my husband because I knew he'd make me go. What was I thinking? That a pedi would miraculously make the pain go away? He finally convinced me and off I went. We were admitted around 11 a.m. and I had her at 4:12 p.m. A rather quick delivery for a first born. Oh and we were watching A Walk to Remember on TBS that morning. I'll always associate that movie with her.

She was so excited that she woke us up that morning. And despite an early party time, most of the out-of-towners were able to make it. She had a great day and enjoyed opening all of her many presents, eating lots of green cake (cupcakes) and playing games with her friends. It was a great day and super awesome birthday weekend. Isn't it fun when your birthday falls on the weekend?

The best part was that her cousin (my only niece) stayed the night with us. She misses her a lot and the two of them had a lot of fun. In fact, Emma had a wiggly tooth that needed to come out or we would have to get it pulled. I asked her to pull it - thinking she would just make it looser if anything - and viola! She pulled her tooth that night. So, in addition to all of her gifts - she also got a visit from the tooth fairy! What a big day!

The Swing Strikes Again

2012-01-26T10:07:00.001-06:00

Remember this post when Emma got hit by the swing at school? Well, the swings at school have struck again. Except this time, it is the other child. I swear either my children have no idea how dangerous swings are or the swings are out to get them.

She got his square right on the bridge of the nose the other day. She is tough though. They said by the time they brought her into the classroom, she had already stopped crying. This was her that afternoon. She even has a smile on her face!

They said it was a lot worse earlier in the day. She apparently had a big knot right in the middle. By the time we picked her up, the knot had started to go down. It is still swollen, bruised and she looks like a little panda bear. All in perfect timing for a certain birthday party this weekend. Awesome! I always love it when people see my injured children and assume I've popped them one. Hopefully they both have learned to steer clear of the swings on the playground.

The Road Goes On Forever...

2012-01-25T09:25:00.002-06:00

Seriously! I-35 is a very llloonnngg road. This past weekend I traveled up to the Dallas area to have a family reunion type of event. My aunts were all there, a few of my cousins and their kids. I stopped in Austin to pick up my sister and one of her sons. They helped keep us entertained on our long drive. Emma and Madelyn got to play in a very large yard with a play set, lots of open land and a field of horses across the way. They enjoyed their time outside, although it was a bit chilly.

The guest of honor was my grandmother, Memaw! She is so sweet, but wasn't too excited about having her picture taken. I'm pretty sure I heard her mumble "just take the picture and let's be done with this" at one point! She did make herself a new best friend though. Madelyn was lovin' on Memaw the whole time. I think it was mostly because Memaw gave her her first sip of Dr. Pepper (against mommy's orders - but you can't argue with Memaw) and then proceeded to feed her chips and dip. It was cute to see Madelyn interact with her great grandmother.

It was a quick visit and about 11 hours on the road, but it was fun! It isn't very often that we get to get together like that!

Recipe Overload

2012-01-18T22:00:00.001-06:00

I have a lot of recipes. To say "a lot" is actually an understatement. In the past year or so I have had this obsession with searching for new recipes to feed my picky family for dinner. Most of the time I just print them. I mean, I do make some of the meals but most of the time they just sit in my cabinet.

I had an original recipe binder when I started this habit, but with lack of time I simply laid them inside the binder instead of putting them where they belong. I also had more recipes than categories. I bought supplies to start a new recipe binder months and months ago, but never had the energy. Well, two cups of coffee yesterday gave me that energy. I separated my recipes into meals and sweet stuff.

Then I made my dividers. For the meals, I had eight categories to fill. They are:

1. Beef

2. Chicken

3. Meatless / Fish

4. Crockpot

5. Sides / Bread

6. Soups

7. Dips / Misc.

8. Holiday

I separated my recipes into said categories and put them into their page protectors. Let me say, don't go cheap on the page protectors. I did and I can tell that the more expensive ones will hold up a little better. Oh and these dividers have pockets! This will help on those days when I print but just don't have enough time to put them away or if I run out of page protectors. I never knew I'd be so excited about pockets before!

For the sweets binder, it mostly consisted of all those yummy things I have found. Some I have made, some I have not. I think Pinterest is wonderful, but oh so dangerous. Do you agree? My categories for the sweets were:

1. Cookies / Cupcakes

2. Cakes / Pies

3. Breakfast

4. Brownies / Bars

5. Muffins

6. Smoothies / Misc.

7. Breads

8. Frosting / Icing

I had a holiday category but then decided that those items belong in all the other categories. No need for subcategories or I wouldn't be able to keep this up. After I separated them all out and dispersed them accordingly, I now have 2 separate and cute looking recipe binders.

Creative name, huh? This is the recipe binder for all the meals.

And this is for the sweets. If you don't know the "Mix By Hand" story, then that just an inside joke of my complete and udder stupidity in the kitchen.

So, there you have it. It was simple and didn't really take much time. Who knew that all I needed was a few cups of joe to get me going!

Photo Shoot

2012-01-16T14:25:00.001-06:00

We had our first family pictures taken. They were also taken by a professional photographer in an outdoor setting. We didn't want these pictures to be too Fallish, Christmas-ish, or anything else. We want these in our house year round, so they had to be pretty much neutral colors. Saying I stressed over the color scheme is even close enough. I think I bought the girls 3 different outfits to wear. You don't want matchy matchy. You don't want big, bold patterns. And taking pictures in late November makes it difficult to find outfits that are not remotely Christmas-y. Finally, I decided on one main color and went with it. These are just a few of my favorites. Hope you enjoy!

*and I know some were put on FB, but not everyone is on there {Gasp!!}

Those are just a few of my favorites. I tried to upload others, but Blogger isn't liking my large sized photos! :) Hope you enjoy!

Pet Peeves

2012-01-13T09:53:00.001-06:00

I know, I know. I'm just a complainer, but sometimes some stuff just really bothers me. For instance:

Children at Play - I'm not bashing these signs. I actually think they're a good idea considering I have seen how fast people tend to drive down the street. 20 mph seems super slow when you're actually driving in the car. My problem with these signs is that there are people who put these signs in the middle of the street and then proceed to do two things: 1 - They think that since this little green guy is in the middle of the road that he will watch the kids for them. I've seen parents inside their garage, go inside their front door, play on their phones, etc. Anything but watch their kids. Maybe this green guy is magical and I just don't know it. 2 - They also allow their kids to play in the street. Maybe I'm not understanding the point of the sign. To my knowledge the sign is there to warn drivers that "Hey my kids are playing and might dart into the street to go get a ball that rolls out there. Just watch for them." But not these parents. They decide that it is okay to teach your children to play in the street because they have this sign up. Really??!!? I'm starting to hate these signs because of the misuse. Also, I saw a sign that was left out in the middle of the street last weekend when it was close to 6 o'clock (almost dark) and there were no kids in sight for hours. Can they not respect the poor magical, green guy and at least put him back up? Man, no respect! (*if you have one of these signs, I'm not bashing you - just the people in my neighborhood*)

Christmas Lights - I know that Christmas lights are pretty. They are, but I'm sorry. They're only meant to be up for a few months in the year. I know a lot of people wait until a certain date in January, but I believe that date has passed. If you took the time to put them up, shouldn't you have the energy to take them down? Maybe you never took them down from last year. IDK. All I know is it looks trashy. Maybe if it was just the lights on your house, but I still see reindeer in yards, snowmen by the front door. What is wrong with people. I suppose it is laziness. What is worse is when the people still turn them on. Maybe they are proud of their festiveness. To me, I just don't like it. Luckily, I don't think there are any neighbors close by us that still have them up. Otherwise I probably would have taken the lights down myself for me. Okay. I'm not that neurotic, but I'm pretty close.

No Response - I get really annoyed when you send an email that requires a response, but yet that person just doesn't, particularly in a business setting. It is like they open the email, they read the email, but they just can't seem to push that "reply" button. Even to say that you are working on it. One major issue is when I am working from home and someone in my office needs to help me out because I am simply not there. It isn't a huge deal. I mean, I can take care of my own stuff, but sometimes I need their assistance. Yet - no answer. It is like crickets. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Maybe it isn't important to them, but it is to me. Sometimes it makes me wonder other people's work ethic. Oh well. I am getting to work from home, so I try to handle my own problems. Either way, I still think it is just polite. :)

Do you have any pet peeves lately? Maybe I'm just full of complaints lately.

Thankful Thursday

2012-01-12T11:22:00.002-06:00

Hello Thursday. I've missed you. This means you bring Friday which brings the weekend! Hooray!

Things I've been thankful for lately are:

1. Books - My children adore books. It is the highlight to their day. I recently bought Emma this series of books for Christmas and she loves it. She even decided last night for me to finish the rest of the book rather than her 10-15 minutes that she gets with the light on to do whatever. Love it. I have been reading my stack of books too. I finished a book I'd been reading for months, started and am almost finished with another and ready to start the next. Sometime it is a better ending to your day to just unwind by reading a good book instead of watching show after show from the DVR. Oh, and Ryan has actually started reading his book and is already a good portion of the way through it. He's typically not a reader, unless he is studying for something. Maybe we're all going to be a bunch of book nerds this year.

2. Chocolate - I am really not a huge chocolate lover, but every year at Christmas time I buy two different kids of chocolate to fill the stockings with. One is a Toblerone chocolate bar - which only goes to me. I know, I'm selfish. The other is Lindt milk chocolate balls. OMG! These things are to die for. I first had these in NYC and I'm hooked. I only get them once a year, which is probably a good thing for my waistline. If you ever are in need of some good chocolate, just pop one of these bites of goodness in your mouth. It will thank you!

3. A Night Away - Once a year after Christmas, we are invited to attend a dinner with some family members that we don't see very often. We are taken out to a fancy restaurant, put up in a swanky hotel and get a night away from reality. This is always fun for us because we usually go out after dinner and party like we are in our 20's, I get to hang out with my sisters who I don't really see very often except for b-day parties and holidays, and we don't have to wake up at 8 a.m. the next morning if we don't want to. It is a nice weekend getaway for us. This will have to count as one of our "monthly" dates from my resolutions list since we are escaping from the girls for a day. I don't know which part I'm looking forward to most: sleeping in, indulging in fine dining (free yummy food!), hanging out with people my age without children pulling on you, or just having a peaceful, worry-free evening. Either way, it should be enjoyable.

What are you thankful for?

Room Rep Debut

2012-01-11T08:22:00.001-06:00

Last month I had my Kindergarten Room Rep debut. I sort of put off the planning until I couldn't wait any longer. I think I was trying to avoid it. I had some good ideas that I wanted to do, but lack of planning, not wanting to spend my own funds and slight fear got in the way. Fear? Yes. I was afraid to get in front of 20 children plus all their parents and run the show. I know, I know. I went to school to be a teacher. I should be comfortable in a classroom setting. But every time I started thinking about my original idea (to read a story aloud and play a corresponding game) I got butterflies in my stomach. I have to read a story to all these kids? Aloud? Needless to say, I found an alternative. Of course I still had to be in front of everyone and explain the craft, game, etc. but it wasn't as big of a deal as the original plan.

My mom found this craft on Pinterest of all places. How would I live without Pinterest? I read a lot about parties and how you want to keep it simple, fun and quick. They are only 5 and they're attention span for crafts is all of about 10 minutes. Emma painted most of the sticks while I cut the foam boards for the back.

You had to paint the craft sticks about 2/3 of the way white (which Emma did). I went back afterwards and applied the black paint (and maybe touched up her white paint just a little bit). It didn't have to be perfect by any means which made painting 175 sticks a lot easier.

I cut black foam board for the back of the snowmen - where the sticks would be glued - and also orange foam board for their noses. There were all sorts of shapes and sizes of noses. I had Emma do one the night before because I wanted to make sure that a 5 year old could create this without much help. She did it perfectly. Score!

After the craft (methodically so the glue could dry) we played a book exchange game. Now, this was where the chaos started. Note to self: 5-6 year old know their left from their right (most, but not all) without question but it is still a learning concept. The game was to read a story that used the words "left" and "right" throughout the story. Every time they heard one of those words, they passed the book. I had to cut the story a little short and eliminate some of the directional words just so we could finish. They enjoyed it, but it did not go as I had planned.

After they opened their book, they all went back to their seats and enjoyed the feast. Once they started eating and my part was finished, I was relieved. I enjoyed a nice glass of wine that night!

My next Room Rep duty is Valentine's Day. I feel like this one will be easier and that there will be less pressure. I think everyone expects the holiday party to be perfect. All the parents come and are watching you. I think parents will still come for the V-day one, but possibly not as many. I don't have any plans yet for the party, but I'm sure Pinterest will play a role. Have you seen anything? I don't even remember doing crafts at our classroom parties, but maybe I've blocked that out.

So, that was my room rep debut. I'm halfway done with my duties for the year. Yea!

Resolutions?

2012-01-06T08:48:00.001-06:00

Every New Year just about everyone makes some sort of resolution for themselves. Whether it is to lose weight, organize your home, go to church more. You name it. I try not to do a resolution as much as a change. However, we all know that most resolutions don't even make it past January. I try not to overwhelm myself with ridiculous things. Here are a few of mine:

1. Be a better listener - I have a tendency to interrupt when in conversation. I've been teaching my child to wait before speaking for about 3 years now, but I haven't been doing it myself. I like to talk and voice my opinion. In fact, when I was in school my progress reports consistently said "talkative", "needs to control talking", "talks a lot" on them. Shocker, right? So, I am going to try to let the person finish speaking before I butt in. Harder to do than you think - at least for me. We shall see how this goes!

2. Organize, Organize, Organize - Normally I am a very organized person, but lately I just haven't been. I think when we moved into this house I was still working full time 8-5 and handling 2 children. There is no doubt that having a baby that is young is easier than the baby that is a toddler. I should have started this when she was immobile, but now she is everywhere. I have more time since I work at home 3 days a week, but I guess I've been lazy. I need to redo the gameroom, Madelyn's closet (eeeekkk!), get the artwork & other papers under control, not to mention my closet. Woof! I have a big project ahead of me, but I'm willing to do it one room at a time and hopefully I can accomplish this by then end of the year. Let's just hope that I can finish at least one of my disorganized rooms.

3. Keep Fit - I am not out of shape and I don't necessarily need to lose any weight, but I want to keep up my fitness level and maintain my weight. I have a goal to run 50 miles per month, do my exercise videos on days I don't run and simply keep fit. I think it is important to maintain fitness and exercise in your life always - not just your 20s and 30s. If you form a habit now, then you're more likely to keep it up. Also, having a strong core will help later in life when things start to change. In fact, what you eat isn't the only thing that helps with longevity - having a healthy body and core is what keeps you alive. I strongly believe in diet and exercise for all your years of life and I strive every year to keep it up. Now, I just need to get the hubby on board.

4. Paint the Canvas - Our house is a blank canvas. Literally, when we took the Christmas decorations down we both realized how empty the living room looked. There is not a lot on the walls (because I am design challenged). The mantel is pretty sparse and so are the cabinets. I feel like I need to just go one day and buy things to decorate it up. I need things for the walls, artwork, mirrors, knick knacks, etc. I need to make the house a home. We've lived here long enough and it is time. I might just have to bust out the money and take the plunge. I am slightly frugal when it comes to decor because I fear I will like it and then change it within 6 months, so I am reluctant to spend a lot. I think I am finally ready though. I might have to take baby steps (and any tips would be appreciated) but I'm excited to give this house a little life.

5. Date Nights - Ryan and I need to go on a date more than twice a year. Of course we have parents that would travel over here if we made plans in plenty of advance time to watch the girls, but that isn't very likely. What if we want to go to a movie on a Thursday night or just go to dinner one night. So, we need to take the plunge and find a reliable, responsible and somewhat familiar babysitter. I think if you have kids you need to continue to have dates with your hubby, but unless your parents live across the street it probably won't happen very often. Hopefully we can try for once a month. Even if that means just going to somewhere for an hour alone. Sometimes just having some alone time is just what you need. Anyone know how to get a good babysitter? I'm clueless.

What are your resolutions for the New Year?

Happy New Year

2012-01-05T08:45:00.000-06:00

New Year's Eve was spent removing old clothes that don't fit, getting rid of toys we don't play with and gathering books that we no longer have the desire to read. I also sold a few book shelves that I bought last year but didn't want anymore. We went to Half Price Books and got $20 for our stack. We unloaded our truck full of Goodwill donated items (hooray for the tax write off!) and then waited for our traditional NYE dinner plans.

Before we left for dinner, Emma decided she wanted to try riding her bike again. Let me tell you that the overachiever in me has been trying to get this girl to learn for months. Once she discovered her Razor scooter, she found that easier and more fun than learning something new. I was frustrated beyond belief that she didn't want to learn. I was more concerned because I wanted a bike to be her "big" gift for Christmas, but wasn't going to buy one if she didn't have any interest. So when we went to the pool parking lot to try again, I wasn't expecting much. I figured it would be a quick lesson and me ending with frustration. Well, low and behold, this little girl did it! I honestly couldn't believe it because I never had the idea that she had even grasped the balancing on 2 wheels concept. Maybe the scooter helped her with that skill. Whatever it was, it worked!

She is thrilled now to practice every day. She is practicing using the brakes and also getting on by herself. She is also giving us a little more exercise since we have to chase after her. I'm sure Ryan was thrilled to be running up and down the street before dinner :)

We did our traditional dinner at Pappadeaux's and then picked up some fireworks. Ryan was hesitant about them, but he didn't grow up doing them since he lived in the city limits. Fireworks was a staple at our house on those holidays. Don't worry though - we got tame ones. They were simple and I was the one that lit them. Emma enjoyed them and that's what matters. She made us all little crowns to wear as we celebrated the New Year. She stayed up until 11 to see the ball in NY drop. Madelyn was asleep at he normal time.

It was a fun way to celebrate. How was your New Year's?

Gifts, Gifts, and more Gifts

2012-01-04T09:36:00.001-06:00

I am back from my "blog" vacation, so I figured I'd start with some Christmas pics. We only had 3 Christmases this year, as opposed to the 4 we normally have. It was busy, a lot of traveling and fun. But we were definitely glad to get back home and start playing with our new toys.

We left Santa cookies and beer (and carrots for the reindeer)

And he left us a room full of goodies!

We were able to celebrate with my dad and stepmom and then drive over to Austin. It was nice to not have to be alone on Christmas. That sucks!

Once the on-call shift was finally over, we drove east on I-10 over to H-town to celebrate with the rest of the family. We were showered with more gifts there as well.

They sit so patiently!

We also went to Ryan's parents house, but I forgot to get my camera. But, believe me - they got plenty there too. We came home with a loot of gifts which forced crazy mommy to purge all the rooms of excess stuff we don't use anymore. Goodwill was very happy to see me on New Year's Eve!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T08:05:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

From The Colville Clan

Thankful Thursday

2011-12-23T07:58:00.002-06:00

1. Flexibility - I've mentioned before that Ryan is on-call this entire week. That means Christmas Day, too. It isn't ideal, however we opted for this instead of the week after Christmas so we had time to enjoy the holiday with family and not have to rush around to 3 houses and then back to ours. My dad and step mom are coming up here today to celebrate with us. Later we'll visit the other two families, but it is nice to know that people are being accommodating to our difficult schedule this year. So far next year he is not on-call for any holidays. Of course things always seem to change.

2. Family - Since he is on-call we really can't travel during that time. We might try to take a risk and drive to Austin for Christmas Day to spend time with my sister. We will see her later if we can't go, but no one wants to be alone on Christmas Day. I've done it before and it is really quite depressing. I'm glad that I have {a small amount} family nearby enough for a daytime visit.

3. Christmas - I think Christmas is most people's favorite time of year. There are so many things that I love about it. I think after having kids, the best part is seeing their eyes light up on Christmas morning. Even if they didn't get anything they asked for, they still seem to have this innocence about them that makes Christmas so special. It isn't about who got what (at least not in those first few moments), it is about the magic of Christmas. Madelyn is almost at that age, but I still think next year will be better for her. Emma still believes in Santa and I hope this lasts for a few more years. Children make Christmas so much more meaningful.

Merry Christmas!

Party Time!

2011-12-22T20:59:00.001-06:00

The end of the year calls for traditional Winter Parties at school. Madelyn only goes to school 2 days a week, but they always let her participate in the parties that seem to always occur on Fridays. Her party consisted of cookie decorating and a book exchange. She seemed to enjoy it.

A few days later Emma had her Winter party - which was my Room Mom debut (more on that later). Her party was a little more fun for adults - and had bigger chairs - but it was more of a timeline down to the end of the 1st semester. This is her first actual Winter break and she has no idea how long she has off. I miss those days!

Since Ryan is on-call he missed both parties, so Emma had the bright idea to throw him a surprise Christmas party. It was so cute and considerate of her to think up this party.

We made a very creative sign for him to see when he walked in the door. We also had all the lights off except for the tree and mantel. We also cut snowflakes all day long and Emma taped them up over the walls. I'm telling you. This girl has more creativity in her than I have in my little finger. I don't know where she gets it.

We also made him some Gingerbread since that is one of his holiday faves. He's had a tough on-call week thus far, so I hope that this thoughtfulness from his daughter might have brightened up his day. If only we could make the whole week better.

Must Watch Movies

2011-12-19T12:49:00.004-06:00

We've been doing a good job of exposing Emma to fun holiday movies, but we have slacked in the grown-up holiday movies. There are a few that I love to watch, but haven't had time for just yet. Between catching up on DVR'd shows, wrapping gifts, keeping my sanity and eliminating holiday stress, we just haven't have time. I think we might have to start tonight though. I think I need a good laugh. These are my "must watch" movies for Christmas:

1. Elf - We watched this with Emma after Thanksgiving, so we already have this one under our belt. I'm not a huge Will Ferrell fan, but I love this movie. It is so funny and silly. If you haven't seen this, you should put it on your list. I will say I don't think it is for everyone though.

2. It's a Wonderful Life - This movie is just one of those classics that everyone needs to see at least once. In fact, last year was Ryan's first time to see it. It is a lot longer than I remember it being, but it has such a great story line.

3. Home Alone - This movie came out when I was about 10 years old, so I sort of grew up watching it every Christmas. This is a fun movie for all to watch. Oh and Ryan used to get teased growing up because people used to say he looked like Macaulay Culkin. I've seen pictures. It's true - but not anymore. I think Ryan is much more handsome. I also absolutely adore the house that the McAllister's live in. I heard it was for sale. Hmmmm...

4. The Family Man - This movie doesn't get enough Christmas love, but it is a nice feel good movie. It makes you wonder about life would be like if you had not made one choice. If you haven't seen this, you should definitely check it out.

5. Christmas Vacation - This is obviously on the list. I don't know anyone who hasn't seen this movie at least once. I think this might be hands-down the funniest Christmas movie ever made. Who doesn't love Clark Griswold?

I know you might be asking "What about 'A Christmas Story?'", but it isn't one of my must-watch movies. Maybe it is because it comes on for 24 hours on Christmas Eve. It is funny, don't get me wrong, but not one that I have to watch each year. I'm good if I don't see it.

Did I miss any others? What are your favorite Christmas movies?

One Room Down (for the most part)

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am not good at getting anniversary gifts. I know that Ryan would probably appreciate tickets to some sporting event, but in the city we live in there isn't anything that he'd want. Unfortunately, his favorite teams don't travel here either. So, what is the next best thing for your husband's anniversary gift? Framed wedding pictures! Ha! :) I have been determined to completely finish at least one room in our house. We have lived here over a year now and it still looks like a blank canvas. So I got busy. I searched our old wedding albums (all digital - thank God) for just the right picture. It was hard. Which do you use? How many pictures? What does Feng shui say about this? You should have seen my online "carts".

I decided on 8x10 with matted frames. It adds a little something to the bare walls and I think wedding pictures are appropriate for your bedroom. I also got him an engraved frame with one of my bridal portraits in there. These poor pictures cost so much, but don't really get much use. I found one that I liked and used that. Now he gets to wake up to that pretty face - instead of my real-life scary face on the other side of the bed.

I also put up another set of framed wedding photos that we had in our old house, but were stored in a closet when we moved in. I like the pictures, but I'm afraid this might be too much "wedding" in our room. Also, the mats on the new frames are off white and this is white. So, I'll be moving this elsewhere and possibly changing those pictures out to something else. Who knows? It might go on my wall gallery once I finally get the time to do it.

So, that is our newly updated room. We still have one blank wall. I'm thinking one big piece of artwork. The problem is finding artwork is a challenge to me. I simply can't do it. I literally need someone to do it for me. Any takers?

Thankful Thursday (on a Friday)

2011-12-16T08:34:00.000-06:00

I know today isn't Friday, but I only go into the office two days a week. Year end is a crazy time for me so I have been uber busy for the past few weeks. It is times like these that I wish I had a good babysitter (or a local grandparent) to watch my kid during the day so I could get things done at work. Oh well. That's what I signed up for and I can handle it. Needless to say, I am thankful for many things right now:

1. My husband and his job - last week I had to go to the courthouse to settle a ticket (I know, I know). We tried to do it so I didn't have to go in, but the cop didn't file the ticket so it wasn't on file. Therefore, I had to go down there early in the morning. Emma had strep and was home from school. He stayed home with both of them so they didn't have to go. He had already stayed home with Emma the day before. I think I owe his boss a big batch of cookies or something! I can't imagine waiting there for almost an hour with two children.

2. Finished Christmas Lists - I love playing Santa Clause. Especially when I finish before I thought I would. I have a few left to buy, but I already know what they are going to be. It is just a matter of getting to the store. So far this shopping season has been pleasant. I think working from home has helped a lot because I can go out with Madelyn during the morning and get some shopping done. She won't tell what I buy!

3. Consistent Weather - For the most part, the weather here has been consistent. I'm talking the highs and lows were almost identical for more than two days in a row. There was one or two days when it got unseasonably hot, but it wouldn't be Texas without a few warm, humid days in December. Now, I'm not exactly digging this rain since it contributed to getting rear ended but I am glad I know what to wear the next morning without having to check the weather. I'm hoping this slight chill lasts through Christmas. That would be unprecedented!

Just Another Tuesday Afternoon

2011-12-14T08:24:00.001-06:00

It was just another Tuesday afternoon yesterday. I left work to go get Emma from school. Traffic on that freeway is sort of weird. You will be flowing along (in the afternoon) and then all of a sudden you have to stop. Well, that's what I did. I stopped. And then BAM! I was hit by 2 cars from behind. Lovely! Instead of exchanging information and being on my merry way, I had to wait for 2 hours before I could leave. EMS arrived, the fire department, cops. The whole sha-bang! This was serious business. We couldn't leave until a police report was completed. Oh and the best part was that this white car was stuck to my car. We tried to separate the cars, but my car wouldn't budge from her car. The hitch on the back of my car literally attached to the inside of her car.

Once the tow trucks arrived, they managed to separate them. I had visions of my bumper just falling off though when they were doing it. Luckily, my car was drivable with mainly just cosmetic damage. I was the only one able to drive my car home. The other two cars were towed. I suppose this can partially be blamed on the rainy conditions that have been going on for the past week. Remember in the summer when I said it never rains here? Well, I guess it makes up for that the entire month of December.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, my kids were not in the car and I was able to drive home that afternoon - and then had a big beer! This year has had a little too much drama. I'm ready to move on from 2011 and hope that 2012 is full of less stress!

Christmas Movie Tradition

2011-12-12T08:53:00.001-06:00

I have sort of started my own new tradition with Emma that we can hopefully share with Madelyn next year. We have started watching a different kid-friendly Christmas movie on either Friday or Saturday starting the weekend after Thanksgiving. Some of them are traditional movies and some are a half hour new cartoon (like the Elf on the Shelf) that we record in the week and watch later.

It allows her to stay up a little later than normal and we enjoy fun edible treats. Sometimes it is popcorn and sometimes it is hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies and a fire.

She thinks it is a special treat and it is a fun way to get her into the holiday spirit. So far we have watched: Elf, The Santa Clause, and Frosty Returns. There are a few more on our list for her (we have our own list). What is your favorite Christmas movie from your childhood?

Anniversary Part II

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

Ryan's company usually has pretty good entertainment for their office Holiday party. They've had Foreigner, The Doobie Brothers, Styx, Darius Rucker (aka Hootie from the Blowfish), etc. We haven't gone to a ton of the parties, but when we learn it is a good band or one we'd like to see we make an attempt.

This year they were able to score Huey Lewis. Go ahead and be jealous! :) We got there a little late because we had dinner with friends downtown. But we were still able to hear most of the hits. Surprisingly, many of the people seemed to be leaving the party once he came on. I guess they weren't children of the 80's.

We had an incident earlier in the day involving antihistamines and hives that almost kept us from attending. Luckily I decided not to let it interfere. I haven't decided if I will divulge those pictures on the blog just yet. It is nasty. Anyway. Huey sounded pretty much the same and it brought back memories of Back to the Future.

Ryan's company also gave discounted prices on nearby hotels downtown. We decided to take advantage of this since it was "technically" our anniversary celebration and my sister was watching the girls. We went out after the party with some friends. It has been a long time since Ryan and I have closed down the bar. I don't miss having to squeeze your way to the front of the bar to get drinks either. I guess I'm getting old. Even though we had no children to wake us up, we still got up prior to 8 a.m. Crazy, huh? It was fun to get away and go out with friends. We don't get to do that often either. I think I realized why we stay in so much though - it is darn expensive! I'm good with my store bought 12 packs, sitting on my couch and in my super comfy (and probably unattractive) lounge pants. I guess this is why we go out so rarely.

That was our anniversary celebration. 7 years ago we looked like this:

And now we look like this:

Isn't he handsome? :)

Anniversary Part I (and Hair Reveal)

2011-12-05T12:24:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago when my mom came up for Emma's Thanksgiving program, we were able to sneak away the following Saturday night for a dinner alone. We were celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary! We enjoyed a nice, juicy steak at Flemming's. Obviously we don't get many chances to go out sans children for dinner, let alone drink an entire bottle of wine. Usually our dinners are quick and to the point.

It was nice to be able to get dressed up (more than just blue jeans) and enjoy each other's company without being interrupted by children, talking about poop, correcting manners or taking little ones to the bathroom multiple times. Seriously. I think we need to get out a little more often. I can't even remember the last time we had a nice dinner - just the two of us. I think I need to find a good, reliable babysitter nearby.

This is a picture of us before going out to dinner. I feel so much better with my new haircut. It is amazing what a few inches and some color can do to your inner-self.

Dinner was just part I of the anniversary celebration. Since we have so many events in December and a limited number of family members that can watch the girls, we decided to spread it out. Part II is next!

18 months!

2011-11-30T11:43:00.001-06:00

Little Miss Madelyn has turned 18 months! Crazy, right? She has such a fun and spunky personality now. It is too cute.

She enjoys tea parties with her sister and a few ZhuZhu pets.

She likes to go for bike rides as I push her since she can't reach the pedals yet.

At her appointment today she was just over 26 lbs (75%), 31 1/2 inches (50%) and her head was 50%. She didn't receive any shots, but will in 6 months at her next check up. She says about 25 words on her own, one of which is "poop" and she always seems to say it at the most inopportune times. She can tell you the sounds of about 5 different animals (some with more help than others). She loves to read and loves to pull the kitties tails. She was an insanely easy baby and has grown into a wacky toddler. I can't believe she is an official toddler now. I guess it is time to think about another one...Ha! We shall see.

Lucy the Turkey

2011-11-29T16:45:00.001-06:00

Our Thanksgiving turkey was a very interesting and educational experience. Of course we had read (and heard from just about everyone) to take out the junk in the neck. Also to check the butt end too. Ryan was in charge of that. This is what came out. Gross!

Once he cleaned the turkey we seasoned it.

I basically just read things to put in it, around it, and under it. I used salt & pepper (obviously), sage, and then cut up onions, garlic and orange slices to place the turkey on. I also put carrots just because I had them and figured they wouldn't hurt. Oh and I think most recipes called for lemons but I didn't have any - so oranges it was! I'm sure all of the cookers out there are shaking their heads, but seriously it was fine! I promise.

We cooked the turkey according to directions. Even though most sources we read said it should take this 8.5 lb bird about 2.5-3 hours to cook, that was not the case. We took the internal temperature starting at halfway through and we made the mistake of taking it while the turkey was still essentially in the oven. That was a mistake. Don't do that again! This made us think we were on the time track but we were not. Oops! Needless to say the turkey took about 4 hours, but the great part was that Madelyn was able to get a decent nap in during that time.

She looks a little brown on top, but it wasn't too cooked at all. It was pretty good for our first try. We also basted every 30 minutes (because I set a timer every time) which helped keep it moist.

The electric carving knife I bought off Amazon came in handy too! It looks so small on that plate, doesn't it? Then came the Thanksgiving tragedy. We were all excited about our first turkey that we didn't pay attention to the gravy. You're supposed to bring the gravy to a boil. Well, I guess we walked away to the dining room for a minute and then we heard it. It was the sound of liquid boiling over. I hear this all the time when boiling water (because I am always forgetting about how quickly it boils) but this time with gravy it left a mess. A big mess!

I cringe just looking at this picture. Luckily I was able to clean it up pretty well with baking soda, but it was definitely a bummer to the good day we were having. Sometimes I think I could write a book about what not to do in the kitchen.

So that was our turkey day. How was yours?

Thanksgiving Prep

2011-11-24T21:50:00.001-06:00

This was our first Thanksgiving alone. Meaning no family here and we didn't travel to see them. We figured this was the best year to attempt a turkey on our own. Our parents can't cook for us forever, right? I bought a small 8.5 lb turkey and she thawed out in the garage fridge for a few days. We really had no idea what we were doing, but luckily the Internet is so full of recipes that it is hard enough just finding one that you think you can do on your own. We also went back and forth on sweet potatoes vs. mashed potatoes, dressing or no dressing, etc. but eventually made a compromise. Instead of sweet potato casserole I chose to have twice baked sweet potatoes which actually turned out very yummy. I've never been a big fan of dressing, but Ryan likes it so I scoured the Internet for some easy dressing recipes and found this one. It wasn't difficult at all and was pretty good!

The day before we made my mom's famous 4-layer cake. I'm not sure where the recipe came from, but it is my absolute favorite dessert! Emma helped with the crust layer, but didn't like how each layer had to chill in between. She's not very patient.

Madelyn and Emma got to "lick the bowl" of the pudding layer. You can see the evidence on Maddie's face. At this point, she was trying to get any lick she could. Sneaky little thing.

Everything was ready for Thanksgiving. We had our bird completely thawed, our recipes printed, directions and prep info for the turkey. We were ready to go! We were very confident. Of course, it was just us - no one to listen to about how your turkey isn't quite right.

Despite the fact that Ryan was on-call and we didn't get to go anywhere for Thanksgiving, we sort of enjoyed it. There wasn't the hustle and bustle of trying to get everyone out of the door by a certain time, no driving for 4 hours, no stress from too many "hens" in the kitchen. It was quite nice. But of course we missed the family. Maybe next year people will have to come here so we can show them our turkey making skills! (Don't worry - that post is next)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Little Indian

2011-11-21T21:32:00.001-06:00

Emma's Thanksgiving program was last week and it was so cute. Chaotic, but cute! Imagine 6 classes of 20 kindergartners in the cafeteria. Definitely chaotic! They had lots of songs and cute little dances to perform. Madelyn loved the Turkey Tango the best. My mom came up to see her program and that made her happy. We had to make the shirt and stain it with tea or coffee. I don't have tea, so we chose coffee. You weren't allowed to wash it afterwards because the color would disappear. Let's just say she didn't smell too goo!

After the program was over, we all got to go back to her classroom for a few minutes and then we took her home. I was going to leave her there because all we were going to do was have Madelyn take a nap, but everyone else was leaving too. I guess I'm a bad mom for thinking to leave her there. We ended up getting going shopping, getting a pedicure and going to Starbucks for a yummy afternoon treat. Now she is home the whole week for Thanksgiving break and has no idea what to do with herself.

To Cut or Not To Cut

2011-11-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

That is not really a question these days. I must. get. it. cut! Would you like to know how long it has been since these locks were cut? May 27, 2011. I remember the date because it was the day before Madelyn's birthday. Hello! That is almost 6 freakin' months, people! I don't think I have ever gone that long without some sort of trim. The lady I go to owns the salon, so she doesn't work often and when she does it is off hours. The first appointment with her wasn't available until September. When I heard that I thought to myself "I'll just cut it after the marathon". There was no sense in getting it cut if it was going to be mangled with sweat and ponytail holders for a few more months. Big mistake on my part. My hair has been through the summer of extreme heat, chlorine and pony tails. It has endured so much and is ready to get chopped! I also need a good highlight/dye job, but that's another story (and that, sadly, has been done with a box at home a few times since May since the grays can't escape me).

I know it doesn't seem long to many, but this is pretty long for me. I don't think my hair has been this long since I got married.

It is stringy, dry, brittle, limp and just plain boring. It needs a makeover. These are styles I'm thinking about cutting it like:

Of course I have to be realistic and know how my hair behaves. It also is hard to see pictures of celebrities and then realize that they have a stylist. I am my own stylist. I'm going to bring these pics today to the salon and see what she comes up with. I'm also going to try to find a better color for me. I think the hair color boxes and summer sun has turned my hair some sort of weird brownish red color that I'm not digging. Now that the training is officially over, I don't have to have a ponytail at all times. I'm ready to go short - despite what Ryan says or thinks. Hopefully it turns out nice. If so, I'll post an "after" pic. If not, hopefully it grows out fast! :)

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-17T11:35:00.001-06:00

It has been awhile since I did a Thankful Thursday post, so I had to do one today. I guess Thursdays have been busy for me for some reason.

1. Holidays - Thanksgiving is sort of the step-child of the holidays, but I sort of like it. It gets me in the holiday spirit. This year we are all alone and attempting a turkey by ourselves. Scary. There isn't an audience that we have to impress, so I'm happy about that. The bad thing about being alone on Thanksgiving is that, well you're alone. :( However, we have already started having the family visit the weekends.

2. Hair Cuts - Weird thing to be thankful for, I know. But I've been wearing this 'do for way too long. I need a change. Today, that change is coming - see later post. I hope to get rid of this nappy mane and get something that is more fitting for me. I don't know how people with long hair do it. Really!

3. No More Training - I have races in my future, but no more exhausting training. After this half marathon I am ready to hang up my shoes for awhile. Just kidding - I'm dying to run again, but I don't need to wake up at 5 a.m. if I don't feel like it. That will be so nice just to sleep in! Of course, I did look up another half marathon race the other day. Luckily registration was closed or I might have been seriously considering signing up. Must have been the endorphins from the race!

Baby Time

2011-11-16T12:22:00.001-06:00

On Wednesdays Madelyn and I head up to the local library and go to Baby Time. Madelyn is absolutely in love with books, so I thought this would be good for her. It also gets us out of the house on my "work from home" days. The first part is singing songs, nursery rhymes, and lots of clapping. She seems to enjoy it.

She is right at the end of the age group (up to 18 months) so she is a little more advanced than some of the other kids. After the singing, the librarian will read a short story. This is when Madelyn runs up to the lady and just stares at the book. It is funny to see her so engaged.

After the book, the librarian passes out lots of board books, soft balls and blocks. This is when most of the kids start getting interested in what is around them. It seems like a lot of the parents know each other (maybe there is some sort of secret SAHM group that I'm not a part of), but most of us just sit back and watch. It usually lasts about 30 minutes total. Then we head to the library part and get more books for the week. Our library is very new, so the facility has a lot of cool things. Emma will get to join us next week since she is out of school all week. She is looking forward to it (can you hear the sarcasm?).

1/2 Marathon

2011-11-15T08:58:00.001-06:00

If you're like my husband, then you're tired of hearing me talk about hot weather that I had to run in, waking up early, etc. So this is it. The race is over. I can give the scoop and then you won't have to hear about it anymore (I can't make any promises though).

Sunday was hot and humid. I felt confident that I could run the 13.1 miles, but I had a specific time frame in mind. Of course I didn't get what I wanted, but I knew my goal of 2 hours was slightly out of reach. I had in my mind the time of 2:08. If the weather had been about 10 degrees cooler to start then it might have been doable, but the temperature did not cooperate. In fact, once the sun came out it was down right hot! Luckily I actually ran when it was like 98 degrees outside so I had a little experience - of course I wasn't running more than 5 miles at that point. I actually got a sunburn on my face and arms from the sun.

My time was 2:15 which is a good time for me to finish in, considering the conditions. There were way too many people and the route was a little off. I did it last year, but I guess I just don't remember. Parts were cobblestone which is hard to run on because your feet wobble around a bit. You go by some cool spots like the Alamo and the King William district, but then you are running through parts that look a little ghetto. I guess that is San Antonio for you. You are with the rich people at one moment, then you turn the corner and you should take cover!

The good thing about the SA 1/2 marathon being in the middle of November is that you are done with training before the holidays hit. You don't have to worry about fitting in those long runs when you really should be wrapping presents, shopping, visiting family, etc. You also don't have to worry about your holiday food intake either. Bring on the pies! I'm ready to indulge! The bad thing is that you risk the awful weather. The only good thing (for me) about the hot weather was that I didn't break out into hives. Yes. That's right! I break out into really bad hives all over my body if I run in cool weather. I'm a freak of nature!

Now that training season is over for me I have doctors to visit and food to eat! Can't wait :)

T-4 Days

2011-11-09T13:03:00.001-06:00

Well friends, the half marathon is upon us! I'm starting to get a little discouraged though. I had such high hopes, but lately I'm starting to doubt myself. My running partner actually called me the running guru the other day, but sadly I don't think I can wear that name yet.

This will be my 4th half marathon and the only one that I can say that I actually trained routinely for - waking up at 5 a.m. two days out of the week, running uphill with Madelyn in the stroller once a week (occasionally) and then doing my long run at 6 a.m. on the weekend. Last year, my goal was just to finish and run as much as I could since I had had a baby less than 6 months prior (with a c-section). My training was limited, but I knew the goal was doable. This year my goal seems out of reach. Cue the depressing music now! I wanted to run it in around 2 hours. The problem I have with this goal is that I'm afraid to disappoint myself. Also, the weather is supposed to be hot which doesn't make for attainable personal records. Maybe I should make my goal 2:15. No matter what I finish in, I'm just happy to be able to do it and to take a rest from the training. Waking up early, in the cold is a No-Go for me. I like to get lazy and eat lots of yummy food in the winter!

Since this is going to be my fourth half, here are some my own tips to make it a successful race:

Have a good playlist selected and choose wisely. Don't just put a bunch of random songs on there. I have a strategy: motivating in the beginning, but not too fast beat (might make you run faster than you should be), hardcore "pump you up" music in the middle with maybe a slightly faster tempo, and then inspirational "way to go, you did it" type of music in the end. I know some people who don't like to listen to music at all while running, but I prefer to have it. I can always take the ear buds out if I don't want them, but my nano is with me at all times.

Don't change anything the day of the race that you didn't do before on long runs. For example, don't drink coffee the morning of the race thinking it will give you that extra boost of energy if you didn't do this during your entire training. It will give you something, but energy is not it. It always seems like a good idea, but it never is. Stick to what your body is used to.

Put your bib on your shirt and try it on before the morning of the race. Most likely you'll be getting dressed in the closet without a mirror or somewhere trying not to disturb your significant other. My friend put hers on the morning of a race and didn't realize she had safety pinned it to her shirt and to her shorts. Going to the bathroom in the port-a-potty wasn't easy for her. Get your gear out the night before and make sure you have it all ready. 5 a.m. isn't the time to be searching for those tiny safety pins.

The week before the race is "taper" week, so run lightly and eat up! This is my favorite part. Loading up on the carbs is hard for me because I'm always thinking I've had too many, but if I'm doubting myself I probably haven't had enough. The family is loving all the carb crazy meals too!

Lay off the alcohol. This is the hardest for me! Not that I really drink everyday, but I do like a glass of wine or a beer with dinner a few nights out of the week. This week I've done without (except last night, but it was a very small glass of wine). I think most races I usually have wine or beer the night before because we're celebrating with family. This year, I'm going to try to resist. The celebratory libations can come on Sunday night for me - unless I'm passed out from exhaustion that evening.

The best part of the marathon is seeing the people that are running with you. It might be friends or family, but you will see these strangers along the road with you who are wearing shirts about surviving cancer, who are war vets, some have lost limbs, some are so freakin' old it is amazing. Last year when it was time for the half marathoners and the full marathoners to split, I saw a man with a prosthetic leg taking the full marathon route. I felt so empowered and humbled. It was the motivation I needed to not give up and to not start walking. The last mile or so I usually remove the music and just take in the crowd. I know this sounds incredibly cheesy, but when you see strangers that are cheering you on it will help you to cross that finish line. Ryan and Emma were in the crowd last year. When I saw them, I was so excited. I sped up to the finish line and then almost lost my cookies! No joke! Seeing someone you know in the crowd makes it that much better. Happy running!

The Big 3-1

2011-11-07T20:56:00.000-06:00

My birthday weekend was very relaxing and eventful. We started the weekend off with an evening dinner at Pappadeaux's. Well, more like early evening. You might be making fun of us right now thinking "Pappadeaux", "early evening" but seriously. I have 2 kids. We have to eat early. Also, there is only one Pappadeaux in the entire city of San Antonio. Crazy, huh? So you have to get there early or else you'll wait forever. Make fun all you want. I'm not fancy and I've never pretended to be. Ryan also surprised me with an ice cream cake - which is great food for my last week before my half marathon race. Its all about carb loading, right?

On Saturday, I was awoken by Emma and Madelyn opening our door. Yes, Emma got her out of her crib and they slid down the stairs together on their butts. Surprised? Yes, but totally excited that the time read 8:40! They sleep in most weekends, so it isn't a total shocker (I'm spoiled, I know) but it was nice to get some extra Zzzzzzs. We had our normal Saturday soccer game and then I hit the stores. Alone! Going shopping with the girls isn't a problem, but it just takes so much longer than it needs to. I was in and out with my intended purchase in like 15 minutes. Craziness! I got myself a nice, new pair of boots. I can't wait for the inconsistent Texas weather to allow me to wear them. After that, we headed to our friends' house and watched the Aggies lose another game. Good times!

I've been talking about going to Wurstfest for a few years now, so we decided to go it for my birthday. It was pretty fun. They had yummy beer and interesting food. I ate a Schnitzel Burger which I am still questioning what meat it was actually made out of. Nevertheless, it was tasty and I had my first sauerkraut. Emma and I rode a ride that was similar to the Looping Starship at Astroworld (if anyone remembers that). I loved that ride, but this one (that didn't even loop all the way around) was a little too much - or maybe you're not supposed to drink beer prior to the ride.

Emma took this picture with my phone. Pretty good, huh?

After Wurstfest, Ryan and Emma went to see the Aggies women's soccer team play in the Big VII Championship game. They won with 9 seconds left in the game! Madelyn and I stayed home since it was sort of raining (more like a mist that was bound to make my hair poof out terribly).

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I had a great weekend. It's funny how birthdays change once you have kids! 10 years ago I turned 21 and I'm pretty sure my birthday celebration was just a little bit different :)

Waiting...

2011-11-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

Most of you know that today is my birthday. There aren't a whole lot of plans for the birthday weekend, but I plan on just doing whatever. Today I was able to sleep in (until 6:40) a bit for a regular day. Tomorrow I'm hoping that I get to go past 8:00. I have plans to buy some new boots. I also have plans to indulge in some yummy food and drink lots of celebratory beers!

I already opened one present which made drinking my coffee much more enjoyable this morning. This has been sitting on the table all day.

Of course I've been tempted to just take a little peek inside, but I didn't. Putting a present in a gift bag with tissue paper is just asking to be opened. I also can't wait to get the mail. Isn't opening the mail on your birthday one of the best things? Happy Friday!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T12:57:00.002-05:00

I know most of you have already seen pictures on Facebook, but here they are again in case you wanted to see them again!

We had a good Halloween. Ryan took the day off to run some errands which allowed him to go to Madelyn's party and parade at school. The weather was really good - not too hot, not too cold. Emma enjoyed getting all dressed up and getting to wear a little makeup on with her costume. Isn't she the cutest ladybug ever? Okay, maybe I'm biased but she is!

We started pretty early because Madelyn had to go to bed early (she didn't nap very well that day). Last year people were ringing our doorbell when we were still eating dinner, but this year we were the first ones on the street! Oh well. We got our choice of candy. Some of the houses were pretty spooky. One house had a standing broom that when you touched it, it moved around in circles and either talked or made some noise. Madelyn literally fell down and was so afraid of this thing. It was hilarious.

She didn't go up to many doors, but when they would tell her to get some candy she got a handful. Everyone thought it was cute though. She walked a lot of the way, but her bag was weighing her down so we took turns carrying her. When we got back home, she played for just a little bit and then went to bed. Emma's favorite part was passing out the candy. When we started to run out, I told her the only candy we had left was what was in her bag. And then she wanted to give that away. She said she didn't need it. She's so thoughtful. We rummaged through the bags and filled our bowl up with all the nasty stuff we didn't want. At 8 o'clock, it was time for her to start making her way upstairs. Most of the trick-or-treaters were done at this point.

We had a lot more visitors this year than we did last. I was hoping to keep one of the bags of Reese's cups (those are my faves) but ended up handing those out as well. I even gave some candy that was from last year that we never opened! I think we have a lot more houses built on our street than we did last year. I think we should have a completed street by next year, so I guess I need to buy more candy. Oh, yeah. Ryan and I decided we would be dressing up next year too. We'll probably do a family coordinating costume. Any ideas?

Jack

2011-10-31T21:33:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago we visited a pumpkin patch. We searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin.

Maddie looked at the really big ones.

And some of the small ones. We ended up choosing a medium sized pumpkin since the big ones were really big (and expensive).

Emma tried to look like her cat Campbell.

Once we picked the perfect pumpkin, we had to carve him. I gave that chore to Ryan since I don't think he carved enough pumpkins growing up - and the fact that I didn't feel like sticking my hand in goop! Emma drew the pumpkin face on paper as a template for us to use. She had specific details that she requested.

The three of them removed the guts.

Ryan did most of it. We named the pumpkin Jack O'Lantern (original, huh?) and unfortunately I didn't take pictures of it when we finished. I looked at it this morning and we noticed that the teeth were missing. I think a deer or raccoon must have eaten them overnight. Oh well, he still looked spooky for Halloween.

The Bug Got Me

2011-10-27T12:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday when I woke up, I felt a little off. It was my day off so I hadn't gotten up to shower or anything, but I was very tired. Any opportunity I had - while Emma ate breakfast, while she brushed her teeth, etc. - I found a place to lay down. I felt a little queasy, but in the past my BCP have sometimes caused me to not feel good in the mornings, so I thought it was that. As the day went on, I went downhill. Emma has had early release 3 days this week for conferences, so when I picked her up I knew I needed to lay down while Madelyn napped. I felt bad because she was in the living room watching TV by herself while I was in bed. I should have been playing with her or doing something special. When I woke up, I found this:

In case you can't read it, it says:

I love you so

I love you to the moon

I love you to the hiyist tre brath (highest tree branch)

sid yore secrit idmywer (signed your secret admirer)

How stinking cute!

I woke up today thinking I was cured. I jumped in the shower and then I felt a little lightheaded. I think I jumped the gun just a bit, so I stayed home today. No kids (although Emma gets out in about 30 minutes) and I feel much better already. Ryan brought me home soup and sprite, so I've been eating that and keeping it down. I've got everything I need.

A book, Sprite, soup, crackers and laptop (oh and a pile of laundry that needs to be folded). I'm lounging in my super comfy pants from Old Navy that I bought awhile ago. I'm hoping this bug was just 24 hours and I'm back to normal soon. It is hard to take care of kids when you don't feel good. Oh, and I desperately need to go to the grocery store.

Girls Weekend

2011-10-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my sisters, mom and her friend had a weekend getaway in Galveston. We try to do this every year. It is one of very few weekends that we have no husbands or children to tend to. We also act very silly. I never said we were mature.

Jaime and I enjoyed the animals.

Karen likes to explore different cultures.

We usually do the same sort of thing: get mani/pedis, drink lots (and lots) of beer and other libations, eat yummy food and go out to a hole in the wall bar close to the beach house. The bar isn't much, but the atmosphere is fun. Where else would you find a Chucky doll wired to the bar?

In the end, it is a fun weekend with people we don't get to spend enough time with that seems to end too soon. Then I have to drive back 5 hours. But, it is well worth it.

Where's Alice?

2011-10-18T10:03:00.001-05:00

Remember The Brady Bunch? Seriously, I watched this every day after school all through elementary school. Didn't it give a false impression of reality? I mean, who has a maid that lives with them, cooks for them, cleans for them and gives their children great lesson-learning advice? Not me - but I could definitely live with one if I could find one.

I've never declared myself as a cook. I'm the one who literally "mixed by hand" when making a dessert and called my sister asking where to find brown meat because the meat I had was red. No lie - seriously I am that gullible. I'd be lying if I said I liked to cook. I don't. I actually despise it and I despise the fact that as a woman you are supposed to cook. Last week, I made a not-so-stellar meal that involved chicken. I had no plans for the chicken, which is what led to its failure. Let's just say you should always have a plan when it involves a meal. Mr. Colville (and the rest of the family) was not so impressed. Even Madelyn, who pretty much devours almost everything, didn't eat it. Tisk, tisk. What's a girl to do? I even said to Emma that it is quite unfair that I should be responsible for the food intake for everyone in the house. This isn't 1950, ya know! I wanted to know who made this rule up. Anyone know? I'd like to smack them in the face.

Last night was a "Meatless Monday" meal. Usually Meatless Monday is Mexican or pasta - those are the two easiest things to make without meat. But we've had far too many tacos lately, so my brilliant and devious mind decided I was going to fake the hubby out by using "veggie" beef crumbles. I had bought them awhile ago and they were just sitting in the freezer begging to be used. So I did it. He even came home boasting about how good the spaghetti sauce smelled. Then doubt formed in my head and I caved. I told him it was veggie beef. Disappointment completely covered his face, but I did have some plain sauce separate for him if he wanted it. He said he'd try the veggie crap. What a trooper! I'll start by saying it was edible, but that's about it. I probably liked it more than he did, but something was off. I think it was the texture or something. Spaghetti is a good, hearty meal and I decided it shouldn't be messed with. No more beef crumbles.

Maybe I'm just getting lazy in my days, but I just can't seem to come up with something good. You know the kind of meal that everyone in the family loves and raves about (except Tater Tot Casserole - which I don't like to eat weekly). So I need suggestions. I'm not a whiz in the kitchen - as mentioned previously - so I need easy meals that a child could figure out. I need somewhat healthy meals because if I don't give them healthy food at dinner, then I know my husband has eaten only junk all day. I like as few preservatives as possible and somewhat natural foods. I follow tons of blogs and I still can't seem to come up with anything. Today on the menu is soup that is already made and all I have to do is thaw it. This is getting very sad. Good thing I have some other quality attributes or else my husband might go find someone else who can keep his stomach full.

Pumped Up Kicks

2011-10-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

The other day I was finally able to upgrade my running shoes. I went to Run On, a local running specialty store. They make you do funny stuff like walk and run around the store barefoot, run up and down the shopping center multiple times in various shoes so that all the families enjoying their after school ice cream stare at you while you run, etc. but I feel like they're experts so I value their opinions when it comes to my feet.

I almost felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie where the wand master is searching for just the right wand for me - except it was shoes. She had me try on 4 different pairs of shoes. I had Asics previously, so she got me the updated version of what I previously had. Those were fine. I also tried on Nike and Saucony before the shoe master said "I have one more in the back I want to try". Once they were on, I knew they were the perfect pair. The other ones just felt like regular shoes, but these were wonderful! They felt natural on my feet, so I knew they were going to work out. They were Brooks brand which is supposed to be pretty good for running shoes.

I haven't worn them on my long run yet, because I am still wearing them in on the short week runs. I'm hoping they do not disappoint. It is amazing how a new pair of shoes and a cute new running outfit can make you much more motivated to get out there and run! Oh and I only have a few more weeks until the half. I peaked in my training this past weekend with 11.45 miles. I'm excited to be tapering off and to be done with training. Sometimes it is more fun to just run instead of train. Know what I mean? Happy running! :)

Missing: Little Girl

2011-10-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

We got Emma's school pictures last week and, with them being typical school pictures, we were expecting some mediocre pictures. When she showed me her pictures, I was blown away. Not necessarily by the quality, but that she looked so grown up.

I took this with my phone, so the actual picture looks a little better

She looks like she is 16 - not really, but doesn't look quite as childlike as she has in the past. She also acts like she is 16 at times lately too. Ugh! We have had some attitude checks lately. I'm hoping this will pass soon.

Remember when she used to look like this sweet little chubby cheeked girl?

or this one

Okay, so she isn't totally rotten or anything. I think she is just changing a bit since she is a big time Kindergartner now. I'm sure things will settle back down, but I hope this isn't going to last long. When I look at those pictures, she looks so sweet and innocent, but I think when she was this age (2-3) we had our ups and downs as well. I guess it never ends :)

Hello Autumn...Where Are You?

2011-10-11T09:05:00.002-05:00

Don't let the calendar month of October fool you. It might appear it is actually the season of Fall, but that is only according to the calendar. It is, by no means, Fall. I guess it isn't in the 100s anymore and hasn't been really in the high 90s but it is mid-October. We are supposed to have had a cool front by now. I am supposed to be wearing boots and cute outfits that I only get to wear for a few times out of the year. Don't fail me. Fall is my favorite season. Why? Because my birthday is in Fall. My anniversary is in Fall. It is the season when it is cool, but not cold (who am I kidding? Does it really get cold here?). It is pretty outside.

To get into the spirit of the season, we decorated the house in an Autumn-like fashion a few weeks ago. My mantel is still the same as last year, except there is a scarecrow on the hearth that was outside last year. I also made this wreath, which was pinterest inspired.

I wanted to add green polka dots to the 'C' but I don't have a steady enough hand to pull that off. And, yes I am a copy cat. I've never denied that I am not original in my creations. Very sad, but true!

Then yesterday we were all at home (minus the husband) thanks to Mr. Columbus and decided that we needed some Fall flavored sweets to get us through our day. Holy Cow - these things were soooo good. I might not have put enough cream cheese inside, but I wasn't quite sure how much was truly necessary. I had about half leftover. So next time I'd either reduce the recipe by half or just load them up! Nevertheless, to die for. Seriously. Yum.

So even though the cooler weather might be stuck in some northern state for the time being, we're hanging in there. It isn't like we're not used to it or anything, but just once I think I'd like to have an actual Fall season that doesn't start in the month of December. I guess that is just wishful thinking, huh?

Thankful Thursday

2011-10-06T09:25:00.002-05:00

I have been MIA lately from blogland, so I thought I'd get back into the groove of things by starting with a Thankful Thursday post.

1. Working from Home - Seriously. This has to be the best thing. If you can ever find a job where they let you do that, JUMP at it. I went to the grocery store on Monday this week (didn't count those as hours worked, no worries) and man, oh man the grocery store is a completely different environment than it is on the weekend. People actually were asking if they could help me find things, the aisles were not jam packed where you have to wait your turn just to get out, and there weren't a bunch of screaming kids complaining about how their legs were tired (particularly Emma). It was amazing. I'm totally a fan. You should try it sometime.

2. Fall - Okay, so it might be Fall according to the calendar, but it isn't actually Fall here. A high of almost 90 doesn't really get me excited about the weather outside. But...with it being officially Fall it has allowed me to start going through the closet and removing those nasty, sweat stained (it was inevitable this Summer) clothes out of my closet and bringing back a new rotation of clothes. Even though I can't wear all of them quite yet, I am excited about the possibilities of wearing them {perhaps} in the near future. Maybe even a well deserved shopping trip might be worth it. Oh and I don't know where that picture was taken, but I don't think I've ever seen a tree look like that in Texas. It is so sad :(

3. Visits with My Mom - My mom came up this past weekend. It was a true "Girls Weekend" because Ryan was away in Dallas. Emma was excited to see her too. We didn't really do a whole lot (what can you really do with 2 young kids?) but it was fun to hang out and have an extra hand when I needed one. And she got to see Emma lose another tooth and score 2 goals in her soccer game! But, Ryan still owes me since he had a "Guys Weekend" out of town. Ha! :)

Tooth Fairy Visits

2011-09-29T12:45:00.001-05:00

Emma's 1st tooth finally fell out on Monday evening during dinner. Lucky for her, I didn't feel like cooking so she was eating a nice microwaved corn dog. I guess biting the dog and then pulling it forced the last few attached roots to detach. She said that she had bit her tooth and it hurt. Then I looked and it was just hanging there. Seriously disgusting! I pulled it and viola! It was out. She was so excited after that, the child couldn't sit down.

I was thinking this tooth was never going to fall out since her permanent tooth popped through the gum over a month ago. It kept growing in, behind the baby tooth, while the baby tooth just hung on for dear life. I was on the verge of calling the dentist to see what our next step was. If you look at the picture, it doesn't even look like she lost a tooth b/c the permanent tooth is already almost all the way through. This is the same way for the other bottom tooth. She looked like a monster {I joked} because she had 4 bottom teeth. The other tooth is loose too and I am hoping that once the baby teeth move, the permanent ones can go into their proper place - or else we'll have a visit to the orthodontist in our future.

This little girl is lucky that the "Tooth Fairy" actually had cash in her wallet. She got $3, which I'm not sure what the going rate is for a tooth, but sadly that's all we had. She was only expecting 50 cents, so I'm sure she was ecstatic about the dollar bills. So, do teeth fall out in the order they popped through when they were babies? I might have to bust out her baby book to see what I should be expecting.

I'm a Sellout

2011-09-26T10:51:00.000-05:00

I went and did it. I joined the bandwagon and got myself a smart phone. I was totally content with my current phone. It makes phone calls, right? It takes pictures if I need to? Well, my phone went a little psycho last week and Ryan thought it would be a good idea for me to upgrade. Also, the iPhone 3gs (the oldest version out right now) is only $50. He said I deserved it, but maybe he was embarrassed that I was sporting around my old phone instead of something a little cooler. He got his iPhone earlier in the summer and I made a comment how we were probably the only people our age that didn't have a smart phone as their personal phone.

I've gotten used to his phone after using it somewhat frequently when I needed to. I mostly used his phone when I run, but then I got my Garmin and didn't need it anymore. So far I have some Apps that he had on his phone, but I've also gotten a few new ones for me. It is funny how our Apps vary so much - his are mostly sports related and mine are definitely not. My favorite so far is the Cozi app, which is a glorified calendar that keeps track of it all. It even will keep your grocery lists for you. I can tell this one will be helpful. My friend recommended this a few weeks ago when we were talking about planners and calendars, but now that I have a phone that I can actually use for that purpose, I know it will come in handy.

So, what are your favorite apps? I'm new to this technology and I know there is so much more out there than I have even seen. I've only installed the "free" ones so far. What are the ones that are worth purchasing?

I signed up for what??!!?

2011-09-23T11:04:00.001-05:00

I got an email that started off like this: You've been chosen as Room Rep for your child's classroom.

When I read that, I had to keep re-reading it. I was chosen? Excuse me? I even asked Ryan if I had signed up for something that I didn't remember signing up for. Holy cow! What did I get myself into?!!? I truly didn't believe that I had signed up for this task. I remember at Meet the Teacher how I did sign up for volunteer time, but figured that was just volunteering to attend classroom parties, field trips, etc.

I had to go to a meeting for the Room Rep duty. And then...there it was. Proof. I did sign up for this chore. I vaguely remember doing it. Maybe it was me just trying to be the overachieving mother. Or maybe it was all the excitement of starting Kindergarten. Perhaps I even have a slight obsession that I have to be the involved parent since my mother didn't get that opportunity since she was a single, working mother for most of my elementary days. Whatever it was that influenced me in that brief moment, I was the only one that signed their name on the line. Therefore I was chosen. Selected. Appointed. Oh man. I think I'm in a whirlwind of trouble. I mean, I have the time but it makes me apprehensive and a little anxious. I am in charge of coordinating the three classroom parties they will have throughout the year (winter, Valentine's, end of year). I also have to plan a little something for the teacher's birthday and help get things together for Teacher Appreciation week. So all in all, it isn't too bad but I guess it is the label of PTA. Now if you are in the PTA, I am not trying to degrade you. Its just...its me! Who would have ever thought I would be a Room Mom? I mean, really. I definitely never did.

When I think of PTA, I think of the crazy ladies that sport around in the school attire that have bedazzled t-shirts with the school name on it. Oh yeah. I've seen them. That's not me. I will never been seen wearing one of those. I also think of the weirdo lady at the "Boo-Hoo Breakfast" for the kindergarten parents that literally stood up at the front of the room talking about how great the PTA was and how her family almost moved but they stayed here because of the PTA. The lady was on the verge of tears. Ryan and I pretty much made fun of her for the rest of the week (yes, I know we lack maturity). So, when I think of PTA those are my examples. The good thing is that I really like Emma's teacher, so I think she'll be pretty easy to work with. She is probably close to my age and has two daughters (the oldest started Kindergarten in the room next door). So, in that sense I'm not worried. But if I start talking about PTAs with tears in my eyes, bedazzling clothes and participating in nonsense events - someone please slap me! And slap me hard!

Gruene 10k

2011-09-21T09:40:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago (has it been that long?) my dad and I participated in the Gruene 10k. It was supposed to be part of the Beers and Books summer race schedule, but the others had prior obligations. This was only my 2nd 10k and I had a goal to run it in under 1 hour. The past 10k I ran, my time was just over 1 hour (by seconds). The environment was a little different this time, because it wasn't quite as cool as it was last time - which will effect your race time - and it was a lot more hilly. The worst part was a hill at the end of the race. The water tower was the end of the race. You could see if as you saw the 6 mile mark. Only .2 to go. And then...there it was. A giant steep hill that you had previously gone down. I didn't realize I had to go back up it. Why did they have to put it at the end? No worries though. My dad was there waiting for me at the top - he had already finished of course. He helped me get through it, like he did in my first half marathon I ran years ago. I didn't finish in under an hour, but my time wasn't too bad.

After running this, it made me realize that I only have about 2 months left until the half marathon in November. I have different goals for this race, which I keep changing. I go from "just run it all" to "run it in under 2:15". I did this same one last year and I think I trained pretty well for it and my goal of running the whole thing was met, although my time wasn't what I truly wanted it to be. I don't feel as though I am where I should be on timing this time around. I don't think I have any excuses either. I need to step up my training game. I have a running partner that I run with 2-3 times a week, but we run before work so it shortens our running time on week days. I also have a friend that recently ran her first half marathon. She killed it! Her time was inspirational. And whereas I will not be able to run it in under an hour, it has inspired me to kick up my training a notch. So, hopefully I can get my lazy butt up on my "work from home" days and get out the door. Hopefully Fall arriving soon will encourage me to get outside.

The best part about running races? The people watching. Man, oh man! There are some people that make you wonder if they even looked at themselves before walking out the door. It is quite a sight!

What Do We Do?

2011-09-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

I've had people ask me what it is that Madelyn and I do all day long when I'm supposed to be working from home. After we drop Emma off at school, we eat breakfast of course. Then Madelyn will either play upstairs or downstairs (depending on which computer I choose). She is pretty good about playing by herself and she likes to play with babies, the kitchen and books. Sometimes I have to hold her in my lap for awhile and read a few books but then she usually will read to herself (or pull all the books off the bookshelf and make a ginormous mess). Either way, she is content. As long as the mess gets cleaned up eventually, it is no problem.

Then that is about the time she gets cabin fever and needs to get some fresh air. We went on a walk once, but it caused her to fall asleep before her nap time and then she didn't take a nap. We also went to the park, but there isn't a whole lot you can do there for her age. I finally decided that watering the plants outside was a good chore for us. She loves it, the plants get water (which, sadly they didn't get much of before), and we both get a little break. It is a win-win situation. After that it is close to her lunchtime. Unfortunately, I don't have a very good menu for her yet. I have big hopes and dreams for this wonderful meal plan, but it isn't happening as of yet. So pasta or sandwiches is what she usually eats. I eat after her.

Sometime during the day, I usually manage to do a household chore. There are piles of laundry that seem to be never ending in every closet. Usually it is laundry or the dishes. Madelyn likes to push the empty baskets all over the house. Occasionally she will get in them. Sometimes we push her or spin her. And sometimes her older sister likes to hop in them as well. Notice how her face changed from a smile to a jealous little look because someone else got in the basket? Ha! It has already started! And there you have it. By the time she eats lunch and takes her 2 hour nap, it is time to get Emma from school and have snack time. Once we're home we don't really venture out to do anything. Sometimes we might go to Target - because who can resist? - but most of the time it is just us for a few hours until Ryan comes home. It has been a wonderful change for our family and I think that all of us seem a little happier. And don't worry, I am still getting my work done in time. I basically kick butt the two days that I go into the office and leave the other three to do the easy stuff.

Welcome to Our School

2011-09-12T21:38:00.000-05:00

Emma loves to play school. She has a mother that went to college to be a teacher and a grandmother that is a teacher. I am constantly buying things for her to "pretend" with and her grandmother is always supplying us with books, workbooks, teaching worksheets, etc. She was plenty set when she started Kindergarten.

When our office moved, we had a plethora of office items that weren't going to be making the move to the new space. I was able to snag a dry erase board and bulletin board for her. On her first day of school, Ryan and I set up part of the gameroom to look like a classroom. I also had extra things that were to be used in my first classroom that have been in storage for years. I bought the desk off Amazon.com in one of their "deals of the day". We still have some rearranging to do and need to go through all of the many worksheets and excess papers, but she likes it. She even got a small weather chart, although it has been stuck at "Hot" and "Sunny" for weeks now. Once Madelyn is a little older, maybe I won't have to be a student in the class all the time. Is my child the only one obsessed with playing school?

Grandparents Day

2011-09-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

Today was Grandparents Day at Emma's school. I don't really remember this being celebrated in my schools when I was younger, but maybe I just didn't have anyone to celebrate it with. Well, neither did she. When I first told her she wouldn't have any guests, she got upset. I had to explain that people live far away and they can't just come up for a donut at school. She informed me this morning that she would be picking someone elses grandparent to be hers for the morning. Hmmm...

It got me thinking:

What are the advantages of living nearby to your 'rents?

You have a babysitter at any given moment. What Grandparent is going to turn you down if you want to go on a date with your spouse that night? They get to play with cute kids while you're gone.
When you have Open House or Orientation, both parents can attend instead of making one stay at home to watch the kids while the other sits in the teeny tiny chair alone. Or in our case last night, one stays home and misses his softball game while the other one goes.
If you've been at home all alone with children tormenting you all day long, all you have to do is call up the 'rents and say "I need a break" and they'll come over. Better yet, they might even take you out for a margarita.
If there is a school holiday, sick day, etc. they're a hop, skip and a jump away to step in.
Free childcare *although if they watch them on a regular basis, I'd have to pay them somehow otherwise it just seems inconsiderate*

What are the advantages of living a little farther away?

You don't have to participate in every family event. You can pull the "getting two kids in the car for a 4 hour drive there and back isn't very feasible" card.
You don't take advantage of your 'rents own freedom by dropping your kids off anytime you want to do something for yourself.
You get to leave to go back home whenever you want and don't have to stay for the entire time.
When they come to visit you get them for the whole weekend instead of just the day. They can relax and enjoy the "vacation".
They can still watch your kids for you when you go out, but you don't have uproot everyone. They are at your house and the kids have all of their toys there.

I'm not sure which side wins. It is definitely something we struggle with when we just want to go see a movie or watch a game not at our house with children jumping about. Of course many people have it worse: no parents that participate, no parents at all, live further than just a 4 hour drive. I guess we have it pretty good because we somewhat get the best of both worlds. Sometimes I just wish it would be easier to explain to a 5 year old.

500 Miles and Numerous Obstacles

2011-09-07T09:03:00.000-05:00

On Sunday we headed to Brenham to unload Madelyn so my parents could watch her while we took Emma to her 1st Aggie Game! She was excited. It took us longer than we expected to get there because the wind was so stinkin' strong that day. I think there were gusts up to 40 mph. Needless to say, driving on a 2 lane road was slightly challenging. After that we headed to College Station. Our goal was to get there early enough so Emma could participate in some of the activities in the Aggie Fan Zone. However, a fire in CS got in our way. The road we would normally take was closed off so we had to detour. It took about an hour to drive less than 20 miles. Don't worry though. We still got there with enough time to drink a few beers, get faces painted and eat some yummy tailgate food.

We had front row seats so that Emma could sit if she wanted and wouldn't have someone in her way. This allowed for her to appear on the Jumbo-tron (aka the giant TV screen at the stadium). She was so cute in her Aggie gear. She had fun, but it was a late night and we had to head to Houston so we could sleep and pick up Madelyn. It is a good thing they watched her at their house though - the Bastrop fire closed the roads back to I-35. I have no idea how we would have gotten home. We did however have some run ins with fire on our drive home. A 3.5 hour drive home turned into a 5 hour drive. With 2 young children and 2 very sleepy adults, it made for a very long day. Not to mention Emma's carsickness (which we thought she had outgrown) seemed to come back not even half way through our journey home.

We encountered 2 fires on I-10, 2 small ones on 1604 and then a large amount of smoke coming from the north. When we got on 281 it was jam backed. We ended up taking another road thinking it might be faster. Apparently 281 had been shut down. When we got closer to our neighborhood we noticed the power was out. Lovely. The moment we got home, our neighbor across the street informed us of the fire. I packed Madelyn in the stroller and Emma and I were headed to check it out. But the neighbor came back and informed me he got a message that we were being asked to evacuate. Are you kidding me? Our day was already going to be hectic trying to get back to normal before a school/work day, but now we can't even go in our home? By now our power had been restored, so that was good. My boss had noticed the fire and knew we lived nearby. He had texted me earlier to see how we were. After we got the evacuation request, I called him back. We packed up the kids and the cats and headed to his house. We were only there for about 3 hours, but it was not the way I wanted my weekend to end. At least the Aggies won, right? Here is a view of the fire from the end of our street. Someone took this up on the foundation of a house that is being built.

The fire started in the park nearby and was caused by a truck from the water company. Ironic, huh? It burned about 200 acres of a park that is only about 250 acres. This is the park that my friend and I occasionally go running in. There are tons of animals there, so it is sad to wonder where they are now. Luckily the fire was contained and it doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. It makes me thankful that it didn't destroy any homes or injure anyone like the Bastrop fire has done.

Last Labor Day we moved.
This Labor Day we were asked to evacuate.
What will happen next Labor Day?

thankful thursday

2011-09-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

Linking up with Julia again for thankful Thursday.

1. The movie Taking Chance - we watched this last night and it was very good. It definitely makes you appreciate those serving (or have served) in the military. It is amazing the amount of respect and honor that normal civilians show towards this Marine on his journey. I'm not sure how it even ended up on our Netflix list - possibly a recommendation from someone or saw a preview - but it was very much worth watching. It was really short, so it was doable on a weeknight. I would definitely recommend it!

2. College Football - This is the time of year that mom my dreads, but I love it. I love the excitement, the competitve nature of the games, Kirk Herbstreit (perhaps he's more eye candy than anything), everything. Specifically my Aggies! Also, we're taking Emma to her first A&M football game this weekend. She is so excited. Hopefully it isn't too hot for her.

3. Non-Triple Digit Temperatures - It is quite sad that anything below 100 degrees excites me, but since the temps last week were hovering around 110, 99 seems like a cool front. Just looking at catalogs with Fall clothes in them makes me sweat. I can't wait for it to finally be in the 80's but I'm afraid that wont' be happening until probably October. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe this means we'll have an easy Winter (not that winter's in Texas are brutal or anything).

15 Months

2011-08-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

On Sunday Madelyn turned 15 months. She had her appointment the next day and, besides the shots she got, it went great! She was 23lbs 8oz and 30 in tall. We usually compare her to Emma's growth and it seems as though Madelyn might be vertically challenged like me. Emma was always 75-90% for height (and weight too) but it appears as though Madelyn is more of a 50% kind of gal.

At 15 months, she is absolutely crazy! She is very sweet and much less of a drama queen than Emma was, but she is a lot more active. She likes to dig in the trash (gross!), climb up the stairs, climb on Daddy's back, pull the cats' tails, and most of all - play with Emma. Sometimes the two of them are so sweet together. She strikes me as the girl that is taking it all in. Sometimes she just sits there and watches. I know she knows what I am saying, but she isn't a girl of much words - yet! I'm sure she'll have plenty to say in a few years. She can follow simple commands and knows when she is doing something wrong to which she sometimes will just smile at you like "haha. I'm doing it again!" She says about 10 words right now and her newest is "baby". Maybe she's trying to tell us something! Haha. J/k. She likes to read books, but doesn't necessarily like to have them read to her. It is fun to figure her out. She is very different from Emma.

She started going only part-time to daycare about two weeks ago. The first day was a little rough, but she had adjusted wonderfully. Her teacher said today "she had an awesome day!" I like to hear that. Having her home with me hasn't been like I thought it would. We haven't quite established a routine that I want just yet, but she plays well independently. I've tried to introduce Sesame Street to her, but all she does so far is look at the TV very closely for about a minute and then goes about what she was doing before. Maybe with time. Happy 15 months birthday, Madelyn!

Closet Reveal

2011-08-28T12:41:00.001-05:00

Ryan has been asking me for about a week now when I am going to put up his closet makeover, so here it finally is! I had the grand idea to paint Emma's closet. She picked the color of "Friendly Frog" which was a little brighter than I had imagined, but figured it was only for a closet so it wouldn't be a huge deal. It is a little bright, but since green is her new favorite color it works.

It only took half a gallon of paint and it took about 2 hours to do. Of course he went back later and touched up some spots, but it was an easy painting chore. Even Emma helped. I've always adored Elfa closet systems from The Container Store. Who doesn't? However, spending close to $1000 on a closet seems a little outrageous to me. After scouring the Internet for similar products, I decided on Rubbermaid. It looked similar and had great reviews when it came to installation. Ryan and I don't put things together very easily. We are true Aggies when it comes to chores like that, so this product seemed like a good fit for us. It took him a few hours to complete, but he did it himself and I just assisted in telling him where I wanted things to go.

That is one bright closet

This is a better fit for her because she can reach clothes now and there is a mid-level shelf which she didn't have before.

The wire basket holds all of those bags she has: purses, make-up bags, etc. Funny how girls start collecting those things at such a young age.

The child has a lot of shoes!

I don't have a before picture (cause I'm really bad about that), but this is more ideal for a child. Her closet before was just two shelves up on top which she couldn't reach. Clothes were unorganized and her shoes were in a shoe holder that was way too full because she had too many. It wasn't functional, but now it is so much better. The closet system was cheap and relatively easy to install. We plan on doing this for Madelyn's closet too which is horrendous (a before pic will be taken for that one) and possibly our closet at well. Not too shabby, Mr. Colville! :)

Project: Organization

2011-08-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

I know that my house is already pretty organized, but sometimes I go a little crazy and I have to attack the clutter. Okay, maybe I go crazy more than just sometimes but we don't need to address that right now. I have been wanting to fully organize the pantry for awhile now. Months ago I bought some plastic drawers for the pantry and that seemed to help, but I had to plan to spray paint some baskets that I had been using in the pantry and never got around to it. Let's face it, the color of the basket means nothing but I hated the color of them. I like dark, rich colors. So, I finally had time to do it! I also had a few helpers, so that made it a little more enjoyable. Who am I kidding? I would enjoy organizing with or without helpers. It just made it more fun! How about that?

This is what it looked like before. I know it isn't bad. I've seen some really bad pantries before, but since this pantry isn't a walk-in like the one at our old house I've struggled to get it precisely to my liking.

I tried to categorize the items together as much as I could. I also needed to get all the lunch snacks together and accessible for Emma so she can help with lunch making. I'm sure it doesn't look a whole lot different unless you actually go in my pantry daily, but I'm happy with the improvement. I'm sure I'll probably have to tweak this again sometime, but for now I'm pretty satisfied. Oh and don't stack things on top if they're glass or else you might have a heaping mess of salsa on the floor. Just sayin' :)

I wish I would have painted the pantry. Wouldn't that make it so much more enjoyable to walk into? Hmmmm...

Whew! We made it!

2011-08-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

The first day of school is supposed to flow smoothly and be a fun move up the ladder. Our first day, did not start out too smoothly though. It started out fine. We were on time, Emma woke up early, everyone was in the car and ready to go. Then we forgot her paw! Paw? She received a paw print with her name, teacher's name and grade level on it at meet the teacher. She was supposed to wear it the first week, but DEFINITELY the first day. We were in the carpool line - which was a crazy, long line that I should have expected, but wasn't prepared for - and then Ryan shouted "We forgot her nametag!!" We jump out of the line, turn around and rush home. Luckily we live close by. By the time we returned to the carpool line, we were almost the last ones. No worries! She wasn't truly late. They can't count you tardy on the first day, can they? We weren't the last ones to arrive to her class and weren't the last ones to leave. Picking up was another adventure, but luckily I am getting the hang of it all. There are a lot more rules than Preschool, but that is a good thing!

She loved her classroom. Yesterday, they got to play on the Macbooks and iPads in her class. I have a feeling Ryan will want one, for her of course! Her only complaint that she has had is she is tired! She isn't used to waking up before 7 o'clock, so this is quite a change for her (and us)! I'm sure she'll get used it is with time. Oh and she has her first permanent tooth already! I saw it on Tuesday morning. Her baby tooth is loose, but the permanent tooth is behind her baby tooth. She was so excited when I told her. We better start having cash on hand soon. She is growing up so fast! :)

Are You Ready?

2011-08-21T20:59:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow Emma starts Kindergarten. Last week she hung with me and we got everything remaining that she needed: mani/pedi (not completely for those that are wondering), hair cut, lunch supplies, etc. Her backpack and lunch kit were ordered about a month ago and they've just been hanging there waiting for her to pack it. We met the teacher and she will know at least one other kid in her class, which is a relief! The classroom was super cute and actually made me miss not going into teaching - and then I remembered all those kids that drove me crazy! :)

This is Emma after getting 2 inches of "green" pool water chopped off

I've sort of been looking forward to this day for years because when they're still tiny and little you think about how fun it would be to get a backpack and do lunches. But as the date slowly started approaching, I kept thinking how she was just too small to be in that big school. Seriously. It is huge!

But I know that she is completely ready. She can read. She can write. She can do simple math. I actually think she is ahead of the gang, but that might just be me. She is very mature. I think she is absolutely going to love it. If she were apprehensive about it, then I might have those butterflies in my stomach wondering "what ifs" all night long. But she's not. I should be happy too. I'm sure I'll be a mess tomorrow morning, but they have a Boo-Hoo breakfast for all the Kindergarten parents. Donuts and coffee cure everything, right?

A Day of Good-Byes

2011-08-18T16:16:00.000-05:00

Even though Emma had her last day of Pre-K last Friday, today made it all seem more real. We gave her teachers these gifts that I found on Pinterest and some gift cards. I really liked her teachers and that makes it so much harder.

The whole week long Emma has been my office-mate at work. We never went in for full days, but she was my helper for a good 20 hours. She stamped the mail, scanned papers, stapled, got prints off the copy machine, etc. She did really well up in the office and didn't complain too much. As her reward, she got a pedi one day and we saw The Smurfs another. I really did enjoy having her with me by my side during the day. It sort of made the day go by a little faster.

Today was Madelyn's last day in the infant room. She is seriously in love with her teacher. There were times during the year when she literally jumped out of my arms to go to the teacher. I was jealous in the beginning, but then I realized it was good that she loved her teacher and I didn't have to worry about her crying all day. Today I was the one that cried. I got a little misty-eyed after the drop off and then when we picked her up I did it again. I had to put on my big girl pants in order to not lose it in the classroom. What a nut!!?!

Emma also got a gift from her teacher. It was a book called Oh, The Places You'll Go. Her teacher wrote a very sweet quote on the inside of the book. I went into the "ugly cry" when I saw that. Luckily I was in the car.

I think the reason the emotions are a little higher today are because it means the end of summer for Emma. It means the start of Kindergarten. It means she isn't little anymore. It means I will be a wreck on Monday morning for her 1st day of Kindergarten and Tuesday for Madelyn's 1st day in the toddler room. I think I should invest in some tissues.

One Room at a Time

2011-08-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

We have lived in our house almost 1 year now and I am slowly starting to get it decorated. It just hasn't been up to par for me. It did, however, take me about 3 years in our previous home to pick out artwork, get walls painted, etc. I'm a slow worker :)

I have all of these plans for just about every room in our house. But, in order to keep sanity and order in the home (and to keep our bank account afloat) I have to do one room at a time. That meant our bedroom. We have new bedding that I purchased a few months after we moved in. I bought this print off etsy that I just kept looking at and decided it would look nice in our room. Finally, I decided on curtains. In our previous home, the window treatments were included. We didn't like them, but never thought about changing them since we knew we'd be moving in a few years. So buying window treatments is hard for me. I have no idea what looks good, what size, how to measure, etc. You'd think that since I work at a design firm I'd have some sense of knowledge in that department, but sadly I don't. I literally get very overwhelmed when it comes to designing a room. I like things, but don't know if they go together or look good. I don't know if it is a trend that will quickly fade or if it is timeless. So, you can see why my house is so blank still.

Here's what our room looked before hanging window treatments:

I never thought it looked bare until I took a picture and saw the before & after. Here's the after:

We had to go up a size since we have a high ceiling. Which meant mounting the rod high, but I've seen this all over the Internet, so I don't think it looks too crazy. Maybe its the new thing. It seriously changed the room. Now all I need to do is pick a paint color (I realize you should paint before doing window treatments, but my hubby didn't agree to that project yet) and complete the look with the rest of our wall decor that is still packaged in the hall closet.

I've also been tossing around the grey and yellow theme. I see it everywhere. Is a trend that will soon go away though? I don't want to have to redo my bedroom decor in 2 years.

The next room is the living room! (and closet makeovers!) :)

Thankful Thursday

2011-08-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to do Thankful Thursday today, but I feel like its Thursday. That's what I do! So, here goes:

1. The Library - I think we go to the library once a week now that one opened up close to our house. Emma loves to go (which is awesome!) and it gets us out of the house and keeps us in the A/C. She has read so many books this summer and I hope she keeps this progress up once she starts Kindergarten (in 10 days, sigh). Sometimes we sneak out while Madelyn is napping. It is a little easier that way since she likes to pull the books off the shelf. But occasionally we invite her along. She seems to enjoy it as well.

2. Teachers - This is Emma's last week in Pre-K. She has one teacher that just adores her. Emma feels the same way about her. This whole week she has been okay with her last day approaching, but today she had tears. It is amazing to me that teachers can touch her at such a young age. I almost always had a favorite teacher each year in school (probably up until middle school) and I remember the looming effects of the last day of school. I know that she will love Kindergarten and her new teacher, but I feel like she genuinely has a respect and love for her teachers. It truly touches my heart. --okay that was a sappy one! :)

3. Taco Doritos - These things are A.MAZ.ING! I had a conversation years ago with some younger girls in my office talking about these things. They didn't believe in their existence. I even contacted Frito Lay to verify this truth. They couldn't send me an image because they were that old - seriously the guy's words in the email. And then...Viola! They reappeared on the shelf of the store. They even have the retro look of the way Doritos bags used to look. If you never tried them back in the 90's or whenever they were around, go to your store now! These are delish! Okay - I'm drooling now just looking at the picture.

Oompah Loompah

2011-08-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

We had spaghetti the other night and Madelyn turned into an Oompah Loompah!

I guess that's what happens when you try to eat your bowl.

Emma sat there and ate all nice and grown up like

And then she turned into a kid and did this:

Ha! :) Happy Hump Day!

The Last Week

2011-08-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

I think I've vented ~~many~~ a few times about work before on here. Things have just been hard working 40 hours a week and then coming home and taking care of the house and family too. Don't get me wrong, Ryan definitely helps out - more so than most men, in my opinion. But...it is still difficult. Perhaps I just can't manage things as well as others. Or maybe I am tearing off more than I can chew (is that the correct saying?). Whatever it is, it makes things stressful in our house. Even after switching my hours to a flex 40 schedule where I was able to get off work at 4, has helped but not completely solved the issues. A few months ago, we asked ourselves why our weekend doesn't seem to be relaxing. Answer: because we have so many chores to do within 48 hours, 2 kids to entertain and no time to ourselves! Seriously, we have grocery shopping, loads of laundry, honey-do lists, and other normal family activities.

For those of you who already do all of this, I commend you. You are Super Mom to me. I wish I could be that organized and on top of things. Unfortunately I don't seem to be. When Emma's day to start Kindergarten starting inching closer and closer, we had to decide what we were going to do with her after school.

We had 3 options:

1. Have her current preschool pick her up from school and take her there. I would then pick up both kids from one location as I do now. A few things with this option were that by the time she actually at the after school program, she would only have time for a snack and that's about it. Also, it was a little pricey for them to only be watching her for less than 5 hours a week.

2. Have her stay at school and do their after school program. The kids are at separate locations, but it is a lot cheaper and very close to the house. I don't know anyone who does this, so I couldn't get a good judgement on if it was a good program for her or not.

3. Pick her up myself and go home!

We decided to ask her so she could voice her opinion - not that she would make the decision, but give us an idea of what was important to her. And number 3 won!

I spoke with my boss and actually resigned. Before I could even hand over my letter, he stopped me and said there were other options that were better than me quitting. Long story short - He has given me the option to work from home. It is part time, but I can work up to 40 hours if I'd like (or need to). This is effective on the 15th, so this is my last week in the office full time and Emma's last week at Pre-K. Next week, Emma is going to hang with me. We will be finishing up any school shopping we need to do, get her hair cut and maybe go see The Smurfs. Madelyn will be in school full time for the rest of this "school" year which means until the end of next week. Once school officially starts, Emma will go to Kindergarten and Madelyn will only go to preschool part time (on Tuesdays and Thursdays). This will allow me to go into the office those days if I need to and get most of my work done.

The best part is that I will be sitting in my PJs some days while working. Madelyn will be with me most of the week which will be fun. I'm excited about the new changes that are happening. I'm pretty sure my wallet will be too! One kid part time in daycare is a lot cheaper than two kids full time enrolled!

Thankful Thursday

2011-08-04T09:25:00.000-05:00

I'm linking up with Julia for Thankful Thursday today.

1. Ryan - Yep. My husband. I've always been thankful for him, of course, but sometimes he exceeds my standards. This past weekend my mom came up for a visit. It was nice to have the company. Ryan had the bright idea that she could watch the girls while we went to the movies. To see Harry Potter! I'm an avid HP fan. I've read all the books and have now seen all the movies. He has taken me to see a few of them, but I don't think he truly enjoys them like I do. It was funny because he would ask me during the movie who a certain person was (like a main character that has been around since the beginning) and then afterwards asked a bunch of questions. It was nice of him to suggest a movie that was more for me than one that we'd both like equally. Maybe he secretly is a Harry Potter geek like me. :)

2. Coffee - I've talked before about how much I love coffee now, but for the past few nights I've had trouble falling asleep when my head hits the pillow. This morning I was crazy enough to wake up at 5 a.m. to meet my running friends for an early morning run. Luckily, my morning cup of Joe has helped me stay alert. Don't get me wrong. I would have much rather jumped back in bed instead of drink coffee, but that wasn't an option. Now if only I could get one of those Camel backpacks and fill it with coffee instead of water. Hmmm...

3. New flip flops - Specifically Sanuk Yoga Mat flip flops. Yep. You heard me right. They're made out of yoga mats. Brilliant, right? They are so comfy and squishy. I love them. I looked for the men's version, but I guess yoga mat doesn't sound too masculine. Instead they have beer coozie flip flops. How appropriate! And an added bonus - I don't think my cat can chew these up very easily like all my other pairs.

Future Techie?

2011-08-02T08:46:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago our computer went crazy. Ryan, the designated computer geek :), started his process of finding a diagnosis. During that process, he discovered the computer was dusty. He proceeded to unhook the computer and take it outside to clean it out. Emma joined in on the fun.

I think she thought it was cool at first to have the computer opened up. I think Ryan was excited to have someone to share his computer knowledge with.

The can of air was hard for her to spray, so he helped.

Then he took over because dust got in her eye.

I don't think she caught the tech bug that day. He asked her if she thought it was fun and she just sort of stared at him and said "not really". Maybe in a few years. Did you know that our first computer we had was one that he built completely by himself? Maybe they could build her a computer in a few years and the bug might come and bite her. Until then, I think she'll just stick to playing on them rather than repairing them.

We've Moved!

2011-08-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

We've moved. Not houses, but our office at worked moved. We have relocated to a smaller office next door. This office was vacated last month by another company that was downsizing. I guess a lot of offices are doing that these days. Needless to say, we were without Internet for 2 full days!!! Holy Moly. You never know how much you actually use the Internet while at work until you have to go without it. I think I went through withdrawals.

And since I do most of my blogging at work (sshhhh!), this was neglected during the outage. No worries though. We are back up and I can now catch up on everything I missed last week. Here are some pics from my new office.

This is from my door. It is slightly bigger than my old office, but this one has a ceiling to it and a door! I think I will be using that door a lot so I can listen to my music as loud as I want. I also have my own light switch. The light from the windows is enough for me and I hate fluorescent, bright light. This is perfect!

This view is from the corner. You will notice the fireplace. I had this fireplace in my office when I started, then moved offices and didn't get to take it with me. I now have enough room for it and since I am the "cold" one in the office, I was the only one that wanted it. It can put out light to look like there is a fire, as well as heat if you'd like.

I think the move will be good, but very different. Even this morning it felt strange to walk further down the walkway to another door. Since we downsized, we have tons of furniture and office supplies for sale. I am in charge of putting it on Craigslist, but if anyone needs anything let me know. I might be able to snag some pieces. Seriously. We have tons!

Splish, Splash

2011-07-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend we attended a birthday party at a nearby YMCA. Now, if only our YMCA looked like this! Ours is simply a small indoor facility and lots of soccer fields. This one was loaded. There were big slides, a pool, splash pad and large park. It is quite a drive for us, or else we might have to join. Can you believe there is only one other splash pad in SA and as far as I can tell it is reserved for military personnel. I know that splash pads are notorious for breeding germs, but it was so much easier than taking Madelyn into a pool. You literally can just sit there and watch her play. They both had lots of fun and enjoyed the party.

Cinnamon Pancakes!

2011-07-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying that these are definitely not good for your waistline. So if you are trying to avoid unhealthy breakfast foods, you might just want to move along. I am, however, always up for something yummy. We limit our sweets (or try to), so it is okay to indulge every once in a while. So, Ryan isn't a breakfast for dinner kind of guy. He's more of a meat and potatoes guy. What!!??! I know, right. Whenever that option is tossed about for dinner, he is the first to turn it down while Emma and I jump for joy. Lucky for him, he was gone this night so we got our way. Although, he is such a cinnamon roll fan I am pretty sure he would have liked to partake this night.

Recipe from RecipeGirl

Gather your ingredients for the pancake batter:

1 cup of flour (wheat or all purpose)
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 cup of milk
1 Tbsp of canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Then prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

When you finish that, it is time to make the cinnamon filling*:

1/2 cup of butter, melted
3/4 cup of brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp of ground cinnamon

*(This filling seemed to be way too much for the 4-5 pancakes I made, so I would half this recipe next time or double the pancake batter recipe.)

For the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.

Heat up your skillet or grill pan to a med-low heat. Don't make it to warm or you might burn them. Scoop 1/2 cup of the batter and pour onto the pan (the recipe says to scoop 3/4 c of the batter, but you can see that made giant pancakes). Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter. Serve warm and enjoy!

1 pancake was plenty for me. The recipe also calls for a cream cheese glaze instead of syrup, but I didn't have time for that so we just used regular maple syrup. However, I imagine the cream cheese glaze is to die for!

Thankful Thursday

2011-07-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

Hello. I'm linking up with Julia for Thankful Thursday. I feel like it has been awhile since I last did one, so I'm back on the bandwagon.

1. My Boss - More to come on this later, but let's just say I should be very thankful.

2. Cinnamon Pancakes - I saw this recipe on Pinterest the other day. Ryan was out with work friends, so instead of cooking a boring dinner with vegetables that Emma would probably turn her nose up to anyway, we decided on brinner. Ryan isn't a big brinner man. I know, right? He's crazy. I saw the pic of cinnamon pancakes and had to have them. Let's just say they were so amazingly tasty and I'm sure he is sad that he missed out. I'm actually eating the leftovers for breakfast this morning. And don't worry. I'll be posting the recipe later for all to enjoy!

3. The Container Store - I joke with Emma that I could live in Target. Seriously. I could! I probably couldn't live in The Container Store, but I could definitely spend a lot of time there. I am pretty sure my OCD calms down quite a bit the moment I step foot in the door. I mean, who doesn't love an Elfa closet system? I can't really afford one, but I can dream right? We went to get something to organize our junk drawer. I should have taken a before and after picture, but didn't think about it. It has made a whirlwind of difference when searching in there for the phone charger, pens, scissors, etc. It can tend to be somewhat pricey on simple items, so you have to think about it before purchasing ("can I find it cheaper on amazon.com?") but sometimes I get caught up in the brilliance of the store. Now onto the next project! I am determined to get my house in order by the end of the year!

Summer Lovin'

2011-07-20T08:50:00.000-05:00

Emma gets a morning snack at school, but since she is in the oldest class they don't actually eat until after 9:30. For a five year old, that is insanely too long to wait to eat (who am I kidding? That's too long for me to wait). So I allow her to get something small in the morning to hold her over. Like me, she gets bored with the same old thing day in day out. This summer I've ~~brainwashed~~ encouraged her to drink a smoothie. At first they started out very simple. But lately we've been spicing it up a bit.

We always have a banana as the base of the smoothie, usually because I don't like to eat them once they've been on the counter for more than 2-3 days. So, in the blender they go! We've been buying a lot of fresh fruit lately, but sometimes we have to resort to the frozen fruit if I don't have any on hand. If you use fresh fruit though, you might want to add some ice cubes. Emma didn't drink much of hers one day because she said it was too warm. The newest thing we've been adding is spinach. I know most of you are cringing right now. But you honestly cannot taste it. We don't add that much to it. Just enough to provide more nutrients that my child might not be getting otherwise. I have also managed to pour a little bit of mill flaxseed in there. Actually the other day we were making them and Ryan over heard Emma say "Mommy, we forgot the flaxseed and agave nectar!" I'm pretty sure he was shaking his head, but I was proud! I might have a future health nut on my hand.

This is our recipe (these are estimates because nothing is actually measured)

1 cup of plain lowfat yogurt

1 banana

1 cup of strawberries, blueberries or whatever fruit you prefer (sometimes more than 1 cup)

ice cubes (if fruit is not frozen)

1 small handful of spinach

1 tbsp of mill flaxseed

drizzle of agave nectar or honey (if it isn't sweet enough)

Then blend it all together and you have a very nutritious breakfast, snack or whatever meal you're eating. And it is super easy to sneak the spinach in if the kids aren't making it with you. Once you blend it, the green disappears (unless you use a lot). Enjoy!

Vacation: Part III

2011-07-19T08:59:00.000-05:00

The rest of our vacation was spent spending time with the 'rents. Usually when we go to Houston it is Wham Bam! We are usually there for a birthday party or a holiday where we have to cram visiting three sets of parents into a two day weekend. It isn't much fun and is pretty stressful - especially once children were thrown into the mix. Since Ryan was home on-call, I figured we would just stay the week in H-town and relax and get out of his hair so he could work. That's pretty much what we did.

The first day we were there my sister and I took Emma and my niece Kaci to Splashtown. This was so much fun because it brought back so many memories. I don't think I've been there since I was probably in 8th grade but it was nice to see that most of the rides I rode were still there. The first ride we did was the Texas Freefall. They had this back in the day, but I might have grown a bit chicken since then. Kaci and I rode this together. I think I was more nervous than her, but it was fun!

There were a lot of rides that Emma wasn't quite tall enough for. She seemed to get a little pissed about it at first, but then by the end she was happy. After being there for a good 6 hours, we called it quits and went to my Dad's house where we were staying. As if they hadn't had enough water, they wanted to swim. So we swam in the pool. Needless to say, they were tired that night!

I ran with my Dad in Houston and the man smoked me! He is 32 years older than me and in better shape. I guess I need to get a move on with my half marathon training. I blame it on the crazy Houston humidity, but sadly that isn't the whole truth. Oh well. Way to go, old man! :)

After visiting with my Dad and Step-Mom, we headed over to my Mom and Step-Dad's house. I forced her to have a garage sale - which I know she wasn't happy about - that Friday. I brought junk with me to sell too. We had a plethora of stuff, but unfortunately didn't get a lot of sales. Maybe it was because of the day of the week or maybe people just didn't want our old stuff. Either way, it was removed from the house and donated to Salvation Army (4 trips to be exact!). Emma and Kaci earned some money from helping and with the lemonade stand they had.

By the time Saturday rolled around, we were ready to go back home. Not that we wanted to leave the parents so soon, but we were itching to sleep in our own beds. Also, living out of a suitcase is not very easy. I think Ryan was missing us too (although the moment we came back I'm sure he missed his peace and quiet). So, we trekked back to SA. The traffic was insanely crazy and a drive that normally takes us 3.5 hours tops took me 4.5 hours. The girls were very good in the car though, so at least that didn't add to it.

It was a fun trip and much of what I needed to get away from work for awhile. I think we'll have to do it again next since Emma thinks Splashtown is the coolest thing ever! Maybe she'll be tall enough to ride the rides next year too!

Vacation: Part II

2011-07-15T09:39:00.000-05:00

The next part of our vacation was spent in Galveston just hanging out at the beach. This was Madelyn's first time to the beach and she had lots of fun!

Digging for the sand toys!

Before she got completely dirty

The boat ride

Me pulling them in the boat

It had been a long time since our family had been to the beach together. It was fun and definitely relaxing! Unfortunately this was the end of the vacation for Ryan since he was on-call for the week. Madelyn actually stayed the night at the beach when we headed back to Houston. This was her first night without us at all and in a different house. She didn't do too well the first night, but I think she slowly got more familiar with everyone. This is so different than with Emma, as she was constantly visiting grandparents overnight. We might have to change this for Madelyn. Any takers? :)

Vacation: Part I

2011-07-12T21:25:00.000-05:00

I've been on an 8 day vacation. Nope. I wasn't anywhere really exciting. I went to Galveston and Houston. I slept in 4 different beds and shared a suitcase with two messy children. It was very enjoyable though and much needed!

Part I

We threw my mom a surprise 60th birthday party at her beach house in Galveston. She was under the impression that no one was going to make it down for the 4th of July holiday. I'm sure she was a little annoyed, but didn't show it. Instead she was picking up a few grandchildren and watching them for the week at the beach. Little did she know there were a few visitors in her house.

This is her opening the door. Her face literally screams "What the #@$*!!??!"

Gotcha!

It wasn't really hard to pick a party theme for my mom. One of her favorite things is margaritas!

Beach + Margaritas = Simple Party Theme

We arrived the night before to rearrange her house and set up.

Karen was in charge of getting the beverages

Jaime was in charge of the food

I was in charge of drinking Dos XX

Just kidding. I was in charge of the decorations!

It was a fun gathering with lots of family and friends.

This was my second surprise party for 2011. I think I'm done for awhile!

Happy 60th Birthday, Mom. We love you!

57 Weeks

2011-07-01T11:26:00.000-05:00

Nope. That isn't some sort of really long gestational period. That is what I received in my email this morning. "Your child is 57 weeks!" Who? No way! When it is calculated in weeks, it makes them seem so much older, right? When I picked her up from school yesterday, they told me about how she was literally walking all over the place. She will be moving from a crib to a cot soon at school.

This is so sad to me. Why do they have to grow up so quickly? :( I'm sure my mom is reading this thinking the same thing. I have turned into the sappy mom. Emma went to the dentist the other day and they said she had her first loose tooth. What? But, she's still a baby! If she loses a tooth, then that means she gets her grown up teeth. If she has grown up teeth, then she isn't a baby. I'm pretty good at cause and effect, huh?

Somebody please freeze time. Where is Zach Morris when you need him? Remember how he would just snap his fingers (or did he clap his hands?) and he would get a little time out to talk to the audience? Okay. Maybe I'm a Saved By the Bell geek. But seriously, he would come in handy right about now!

Tick. Tick. Tick.

2011-06-29T12:51:00.000-05:00

Why does it always seem like the work week before a long, holiday weekend just seems to d.r.a.g. on? Really? This week is taking forever to pass. I am looking forward to some much needed days off from work. And a few beers :)

B&B 5k

2011-06-24T10:03:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, my Beers & Books club participated in our first run together. We chose the Boerne Berges Fest simply for the logo. Who can resist lederhosen and beer? I will start by saying that this was the Berges Fest's first 5k organized run, so it was poorly planned. They were not prepared on how many people would register, so a few days before the event they informed us that not everyone would get a shirt. Huh? Isn't that the point of a race? Well, we made sure we were there early enough to get one, but they only had one size. I guess Ryan can wear mine or I can sleep in it. I did have a personal best of under 30 minutes. However, due to the lack of knowledge I would almost doubt it was a full 3.1 miles. My running route in my neighborhood is exactly 3.1 miles. Of course we have lots of tedious hills and this course was flat, but I'm not sure that would cut 3 minutes off my time. But who knows? I guess I should just be proud. My ipod time was 28:38, but the time clock said 29:18. I'll take an average and say I did it in 29 minutes. Besides the t-shirt, we also got beer. Each registrant received 2 tickets for beer at the pavilion. 1 ticket = 1 beer or 2 tickets = 1 pitcher. There were three of us, so 6 tickets = 2 pitchers! :) And because we were eagerly waiting for our beer on the bench of the pavilion for an hour, the guy in charge gave us all an extra ticket for 1 more beer! Not that I needed more, but you can't turn down free beer!

We watched the parade they had down the main street and had fun enjoying the small town tradition. They even had old lady twirlers. If our kids had been there with us, we probably would have stayed. But what is there for 3 adult women to do (besides drink more beer)? So we all headed home.

It was fun and our first organized run as a group. Technically, this was my first 5k. We plan to do a run each month this summer. Our next one was supposed to be a night run, but it started at 7:30. Have you checked your temperature gauge at that time? It is still a piping 95+ degrees. We decided to do an all women's race the next morning. Anyone want to participate? You don't have to be in the group. We are trying to pick one for August, but haven't decided on one just yet. These are all in prep for the half marathon in November.

E.R. Trip

2011-06-22T13:58:00.000-05:00

As a parent, you fear the phone call from the babysitter, school, daycare, etc. when they say the dreaded words about an accident with your child. It is inevitable though. I always get phone calls about Emma on the playground. I swear the child has no peripheral vision because I get calls from the nurse on a monthly basis saying how she ran into another child on the playground. When I received a call last week I wasn't surprised to hear there was an accident on the playground. I was, however, surprised to hear her say "it is pretty deep" and the words "they can glue it shut." Yikes! I hadn't even finished my coffee or started eating my breakfast. I called the doctor's office to get their advise and they told me to go to the E.R. For them, I'm sure that is a normal, calm response to provide to a client. But for me to hear those words "Emergency Room" I sort of started to freak. This is my baby! Of course I knew the cut was minor, but I also knew it needed special attention to avoid scarring in her future. When I finally saw the cut, it was small. Like maybe 1/4 inch in length. It was deep though and I'm glad I took her when I did. The best thing about her school is that it is literally across the street from the hospital. It was just a hop, skip and a jump away.

I can only imagine she was scared out of her mind though. She had to have her hair washed at school b/c blood got in it and her clothes were changed because her dress got blood on it as well. And me, being the best mom in the world, didn't have anything for her to change into. I know. Shame, shame. Clothes are to be left in their locker for accidents. I'm obviously thinking of bathroom accidents, which the child has never had since she started there. So, all I had was a shirt (you know in case she got food all over herself or something). I never thought of an accident like this. Needless to say, when I picked her up she did not look like my child. She had an ugly shirt on that has been transferred from classroom to classroom that is a size too small and boy denim cargo shorts that were about 4 sizes too big. I think she was more sad over her fashion statement than her wound.

The big question from everyone has been: How did it happen? Of course it was on the playground and it involved a few swings. She was pushing a friend when someone else wanted to push them. They shoved her out of the way and she fell down landing directly behind another swing that someone was on. She literally was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Any other second, the kid swinging could have been high up and she would be on the ground already. So, lesson learned - don't push kids on the swings. Seriously. Those things are dangerous.

She is just fine and got her pretty little face glued back together with purple glue. There should be minimal scarring, if any. The only restriction is getting it wet for about 10 days. Once those days are up, she will be jumping in a pool and splashing about!

So our first trip to the E.R. was a little scary, but it was quick and easy. Hopefully we won't be back anytime soon though!

thankful thursday

2011-06-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

1. Bronzer - Have I told you how much I look forward to my Birchbox each month? Well, this month was good to me. It included a bronzer. Typically I just go with the normal blush, but thought I'd try the bronzer one morning. It makes me look freshly tanned and gives my face a little pick me up that is necessary for the summer. The Birchbox is $10/month and this full sized bronzer that was in the box (amongst other wonderful things) retails at $30 each. I'd say it was definitely worth it this month.

2. New Sheets - I bought some new sheets awhile back and never got a chance to wash them and put them on the bed until last week. We typically just take our favorite sheets off, wash them and them hurriedly put them back on the bed when we are ready for sleep. I think it is important to have at least two sets of sheets per bed (more if you have young children). So I bought some and just love them. They don't have that pilling that sometimes happens after too many washes. They are still soft. And these sheets brighten up the bed a little when we the hubby makes the bed each morning. Now the question is, how often do you change your sheets? Hmmm... I probably don't do it as often as I should.

3. Summer Fruits - I'm a big fan of fruit, but summer fruits get me excited. I know: I'm a nerd. The moment you walk into the grocery store they are staring at your. You are forced to grab some because if you don't you will feel guilty. It kind of reminds me of back in the day when we had swim meets every Saturday. My mom would pack our coolers with plums, peaches (although I don't like those), cherries, etc. Yum! I completely filled our fridge with them the other day and I hope I can eat them all before they go bad. Emma and I have been making smoothies with fresh berries and we plan on freezing some grapes to make a cool snack after being outside.

I'm Alive

2011-06-15T11:01:00.000-05:00

It has been a week since my last post. Where did the time go? Last week I had another allergic reaction and got to take a sick day. I didn't quite like as bad as Will Smith did, but it wasn't pretty. On the bright side, I was able to do laundry, dishes, organize Emma's drawers, mail packages, etc. and have a nice meal cooked. It was wonderful. I think sick days should be taken more often. Or rather, they should be called mental health days. Sometimes you just need a break from everything to get you back into the swing of it all. Am I right?

I also have been reading, reading, reading. I made the mistake of adding books from my wish list to the library queue. Guess what happened? Apparently all of them were available at the same time. That means, I have 3 weeks to read about 5 books. Maybe some people can do this without a problem, but I am a slow reader and I'd say I'm pretty busy. I might get 30 minutes to read a night. Maybe. I'm pretty sure most of these books will have to be renewed or I'll have to put them back on my list. Note to self: Don't add multiple novels at one time or you will regret it.

I have also been trying very hard to come up with a weekly menu so I can get it all planned before the morning of. It is so much easier that way, but also tedious. Ryan has also decided that he is no longer a fan of chicken. I'm trying to stick to natural and less meaty meals, so that poses a bit of a problem when we have such small recipe list to go by. I try to find new things everyday to try, but lately the print outs have just been piling up in the cabinet. I have a binder that I made and need to redo with all my recipes. Hopefully I can get that done soon so I can start to feel a bit more together in life. I also have a race this weekend with the girls from my Beers & Books club. It should be fun. This is our first official race together and we are planning one per month during the summer - and no books because we're taking the summer off. I think grown-ups deserve summer vacation too. Don't you?

Graduation Girl

2011-06-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

She did it! She graduated from Pre-Kindergarten. Not like they hold kids back or anything, but you know what I mean. Oh and I didn't even cry. I'm telling you. It is all in the music. No Pomp and Circumstance March? No tears!

After graduation, we headed to Olive Garden. One just opened by our house and she had never been. Actually, when I gave her the option to pick her restaurant of choice was Panda Express. Yuck! We went one time and she got shrimp. I told her that was like McDonald's for Chinese food. I mentioned that if she wanted shrimp, we could go somewhere a little nicer. Her response: If I can't have shrimp from there, I don't want it from anywhere else. Hopefully those taste buds change!

We also got her a gift. I felt like I should, but looking back now she wouldn't have known any difference. Either way, I bought her a Taylor Swift cd. This girl can sing those songs word for word like nothing, so I thought I'd get her an actual cd. I haven't bought a real cd in so long, I was surprised they still sold so many of them. I also got her this book. She isn't a huge Curious George fan, but I felt the book was fitting for the situation. I also wrote something inside the book and told her I was going to give this book to her again when she graduated from college. I'm sure the book will be lost by then, but it was a nice thought.

So, we have 2 1/2 months until this little girl starts Kingergarten. Don't make me start crying now :(. As much as I want this summer to be over due to the extreme heat and lack of water, I have to make it last as long as I can. This is the last summer that she will really have no idea what summer vacation really means. This is the last summer before we can't go back. It all ends here. I will probably be a complete and utter wreck come August, but we're going to try and enjoy it as best we can (despite the heat).

Quick Updates

2011-06-02T11:16:00.000-05:00

Madelyn had her 1 year appointment yesterday. Despite the long wait and the fast approaching nap time, she was a trooper. That is until the shots came! She received 3 shots and a TB test. We were also informed that she would need blood work done for lead and anemia testing. I am pretty sure this was not done with Emma. I had to take her to a lab center to get this done. Let me tell you, this was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. Not only was it painful to watch her get stuck with a needle, it was also painful to hold her arm entirely straight. It was a struggle. After the 2 vials were collected, she was done and exhausted. Poor baby!

Her 1 year stats were:

Weight: 22lbs 4oz (75%)

Height: 29.5in (75%)

This is Emma - almost to a tee. The only difference is Emma's height was slightly higher, but the way they measure infants isn't very accurate. So, I am going to assume that Madelyn will follow the same growth pattern that Emma has. She also took some of her first steps that day too! She had taken one step a few weeks ago, but hasn't had any consecutive steps. That afternoon, she was holding onto the furniture cruising. Then she faced us and took a step. She did it again and this time took 2! She isn't an "official" walker, but she is definitely improving. This is also following Emma's progress. Emma started walking just days after her 1st birthday as well.

Emma's graduation from Pre-K is today. I am trying my best to hold it together. The Pomp & Circumstance March gets me every time. I think if they avoid playing this I'll be in good shape. If not, I'll be a mess! I will have pics from that another day.

Madelyn's 1st Birthday Party

2011-06-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

Madelyn's 1st birthday was this weekend. We had her party on Saturday. It was an "under the sea", "ocean 'ONE'-derland", beach theme. This girl loves the bath tub, which is why I thought a "splash" party would be appropriate for her. She loved it! Here are pics:

Both cakes were made by my mom. Isn't she talented?!!? If you live in the Houston area, she's available. :)

The spread! My mom made cookies and I had "Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwiches" and "Starfish Sandwiches" - aka PB&J and tuna. I wanted to make Octodogs (hot dogs cut like an octopus, but it was a mid-afternoon party and didn't think we needed that much food.

The party favors were just simple sand pails with random summer/beach items. I also made little tags to go on the pails that said "Thanks for making a SPLASH at Madelyn's 1st birthday bash"

I made a photo banner with some pictures of Madelyn throughout the year. It was fun to look through the old ones and see how much she has grown!

We had lots of pools and a slip 'n' slide. I am pretty sure we are the ones that put San Antonio into Stage 2 water restrictions - sorry! We wanted to have one of those large inflatable water slides, but couldn't do it. I think the grown ups would have been able to enjoy that. Maybe next time.

She didn't really know what to do with the cake at first, but once she tasted it she kept on digging.

Thanks to all who came to celebrate her first birthday!

Pet Peeve Thursday

2011-05-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, so normally I participate in Thankful Thursday. While I am thankful for many different things that I would like to share, today I'm a little more annoyed. So I decided to do a Pet Peeve Thursday instead. I am one of those people that say what I think. Things annoy me and I will more than likely let you know. My husband is a lucky man, huh? Ha! Don't feel sorry for him. He knew how I was before we got married. :)

A Sayer, Not a Doer - My dad always taught me to be a leader, not a follower. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Sorry to disappoint, Dad. I might not be a leader, but I am a do-er. If I say I will do something, I most likely will. Unless of course something or someone stands in my way. It annoys me greatly when people talk big. They say things and show this macho attitude, but when it comes down to it they just wimper down like a little puppy. Not me! Maybe this is why I get my way most of the time, but that's just the way I am. If you want something, go get it. Don't say what you think people want you to hear.
Womp, Womp - Don't make me feel sorry for you by talking about how you have to cut costs here and there, but yet you bought an iPad, smart phones and data plans for the entire family and are going on a very long vacation soon. I don't want to hear about how you might have to get a second job when you just don't seem to be managing your finances very well.
Time Management (or lack there of) - This one is twofold: There is a guy in our office (don't worry - he has no idea about this blog so he'll never find out) that shows up whenever he wants to. I mean, he has a schedule, but he doesn't really stick to it. He will show up an hour late some days or sometimes more. It isn't a big deal because he is part time and doesn't get paid for those hours missed, but it is a little hard to implement rules to other employees when this guy comes in whenever he wants. Does he think he is that important and that he has those privileges? The worst part is that even though the boss knows about this, everyone acts as if this guy is the greatest thing to walk into this office. I'm sure someone even suggested that he will treat him to a round of golf before his last day. Excuse me? This has made me realize that I don't need to stress about getting to work at 8a.m. everyday. Seriously. Why stress and make my children stress out when it obviously isn't a big deal. Perhaps I'll even get a special treat out of it. Although a round of golf isn't what I have in mind.

I ~~probably~~ have more pet peeves that could definitely be added to the list, but I won't. I'm sure you can tell that people annoy me. Perhaps it is the party planning that has gotten to me. Or the fact that my husband has been out of town again with work. Or that there is a soccer party tonight, but I have my Beers & Books club tonight too. I'm sure that my beer(s) will be extra worthy tonight. I do, however, have tomorrow off from work. I will be finishing up the party chores and getting my hair done. That is always very relaxing.

Feel free to share your own pet peeves. I won't judge. Promise! :)

Really!?!

2011-05-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

I am quite certain that some people just shouldn't be parents. Sometimes I think stupid people should be sterile. It is probably one of the only jobs that doesn't require any training. Maybe its time to rethink that.

Is it a he or a she: Have you read this article? I understand the point that the parents are trying to make, but should you really be performing some sort of social experiment on your own child? I mean, come on. Even the grandparents don't know. What's wrong with the child having an identity?

Botox: I'm not sure what is wrong with this woman. Which is stupider? Is it the fact that she lied about giving her daughter Botox or that she is stupid enough to not realize that something bad would result in taking money to report this false story? I think the fact that the daughter was taken out of her custody is a little overboard considering there are children in homes right now that are being abused and neglected that are still in their parents' custody. But, either way this lady might need some guidance on what is right and what is wrong.

Casey Anthony: Don't even get me started on this woman! Being a parent, I know that if my 2 year old went missing (geez, even if I had a 14 year old that went missing) I would have reported it. IMMEDIATELY! I would have been upset and out of my mind. I would not be partying and what not. Technically she is innocent until proven guilty, but in my eyes she is guilty. Of course the defense has now stated that the girl died of accidental death in the pool and that Casey just made the lies up but didn't kill her. She's still guilty in my eyes. She lied about the whereabouts of her child. She made up stories and made up people that took her. This girl has some serious issues and needs to be locked up so that she doesn't do anything else. I could go on and on about this girl...

And that's all I have for now :)

Go-to Meal

2011-05-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

Ryan jokes about how everyday I come home from work with printouts of different recipes I've found on the Internet. Most of them are just upgrades to meals I already make - I'm always looking for something better. One day I found something that I was reluctant to print. It seemed like something that was right up his alley, but not necessarily something that would normally be prepared by me for my family. However, after looking at the picture repeatedly, I decided I would make it. So I did...

The recipe is Tater-Tot Casserole. I adapted the recipe from Craving Comfort. It is funny because on her blog she says "I have never found a man who didn't inhale this dish!" and that is the absolute truth. For our small family I changed it up just a bit.

Picture from Craving Comfort blog

1 lb lean ground beef (however the first time I used ~1/2 lb)
1/4 c of diced onions
1 can condensed cream of ... (the first time I used cream of mushroom and the other time I used cream of mushroom - I don't think it really matters.)
Tater-tots (The recipe calls for an entire bag, but I just used enough to cover the dish
Shredded Cheese - use as much as you see necessary to coat the tater-tots
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown ground beef. season with salt & pepper.

Add chopped onion, cook until tender.

In a casserole dish (I used an 8x8 sized dish), combine ground beef mixture & cream soup.

Top mixture with tater tots.

Bake , uncovered, for 30-40 minutes till bubbly and Tots are golden brown.

Remove from oven & top with cheese, return to oven until melted (about 5 minutes).

Let me just say that Ryan isn't a big eater. He eats a lot of food, but never big meals. However, I think he had seconds on this and even ate the leftovers (which is not normal for him). Emma liked it too. I don't know the nutritional content, but you can always lighten it up by having low fat/sodium soup - this is what I use - and low fat cheese. I'm sure you could also put in some frozen peas and carrots if you needed to add some veggies. So, this is now my go-to meal. It is easy and everyone loves it - even me! If you have a bigger family or bigger eaters, then you might do 1.5-2 lbs of meat.

Happy eating!

My Tiny Head

2011-05-18T08:49:00.000-05:00

Some people have mentioned how I have a small head. I don't think it is unproportionate to my body or anything, but maybe small in the sense that I can wear kid sized hats and such. Well, Madelyn's swim suit came with a old lady style swim cap. You know the ones that ladies wore back in the 40's or something or wear when synchronized swimming? She wasn't a fan of it, so I decided to put it on. And, yep it fit! That's 12-18 months, people. I promise there is a brain in there somewhere!

Can't Wait

2011-05-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

I seriously can't wait for Summer. For some reason, things are just so relaxed. Nothing changes around here: we still work, the kids go to school, etc. but for some reason things just aren't as important. Emma has been in cheerleading and soccer for awhile now. Cheerleading is now over (which I'm ecstatic about) and soccer is coming to an end. This past Saturday we drove all over town going to cheer and soccer events for her. It was fun to see her so excited and have a day all about Emma, but it was so tiring. Saturday and Sunday night, both children were in bed before 7:30. I'm pretty sure they were both asleep by 8, which is pretty amazing for a weekend around here. The summer will be chill. I don't plan on having any sort of crazy events going on (yet). :)

We decided to hit up the neighborhood pool this weekend too. I'm not sure if it was the one day (in 4 months) of rain, or the "cool" front that came in, but the water was COLD! Like brutally cold. Emma and Ryan got in there, but Madelyn and I hung out in the baby pool. I can't wait until it gets warmer and she can swim in the bigger pool b/c she loved it.

Yay or Nay

2011-05-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

Do you love Anthropologie? Honestly, I've only been in the store a few times and sometimes I am impressed, but ~~other~~ most times I feel like it is full of overpriced stuff. However, I saw these letters and kept stalking them:

I like them b/c they're interesting looking, but they are $18 a letter at Anthropologie. Really??!!!? Maybe I'm just turning into a Scrooge in my old age, but that just seems a little pricey. So, then I saw this tutorial on how to make your own. I bookmarked that page for awhile and put it on my Pinterest board. I kept going back to it and then I decided to just go for it. You can never go wrong with Hobby Lobby 50% off sales. I already had black acrylic paint. I bought 3 letters, the pearl paint and some sponge paint brushes all for under $10. Then I made these:

I have mixed feelings about them though. I think I liked them at first. I thought they were cool and added a little pizazz to my lacking kitchen. But sometimes I look at them very closely and I see streaks and imperfections. I think that is how it is supposed to look, but I'm not sure about them quite yet. I might leave them up for the birthday party and see if anyone says anything about them. Constructive criticism is welcomed and I won't be upset. Sometimes I just need someone to say "What in the world is that?" or "Did Emma paint those?" (she actually did help paint the black bottom later)

Friday Fun!

2011-05-13T14:20:00.000-05:00

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was kind of funny, so I thought I'd share!

Happy Friday!

Oh and I changed the design of the blog a little (if you're in Google Reader you'll have to actually open the blog up). Anyone who knows me knows that I am constantly finding ways to change stuff up. What do you think? I'm still tweaking it to see what I like best and stuff. I'm sure I'll be changing to something new in a few months anyway.