another one behind us

Tonight we'll say goodbye to 2012, a year that has been very special for our family.  We capped the holiday and year-end celebrations with a trip to Minnesota.  When snow started falling here in Dallas on Christmas Day, I was worried we wouldn't make it; luckily, our flight wasn't one of many that was cancelled.  We're home now, in time to watch the Cyclones play in the Liberty Bowl (so far, not impressive) and to ring in the new year (we'll all likely be in bed by the time the ball drops, though).  And while I could write a lot about our year and our holiday, I'm this close to throwing my computer in the trash right now, so I'm just going to post some of my favorite pictures from the past week.

My beautiful girls on Christmas Eve before our celebration with the Brittains.

 Emma and Grandpa having a talk.

 Four Generations: Grandma Lou, Mom, Katie & Melissa, Sara & Emma.

Rides at the Mall of America - so much fun!

G & G with the girls; lots of love and laughter.

 Making snow angels; Sara loved sledding and playing in the snow this year (last year there wasn't any!).

 

I'll be back on the blog in 2013, a year during which I resolve to do everything better.  You know, because I've never made that resolution before.  Happy New Year, friends!

Merry Christmas to all ...

... and to all a good night!

Christmas Vacation

We are officially on Christmas Vacation!  We have two weeks of celebrating and spending time together upon us.  Tonight we took the girls to see Santa (better late than never); Sara enjoyed talking to him, and Emma was just happy to be held.  It was a successful trip, complete with a cute picture!

Sara's excitement about Christmas this year is contagious.  She has been a huge fan of the Advent calendar, and hops out of bed each morning to get her chocolate (I can justify the morning chocolate because the calendar is also a great learning tool).  Sara loves to play all of the musical ornaments on the tree, and has watched "Charlie Brown Christmas" at least two dozen times.  I can't wait to watch her on Christmas morning.

We'll celebrate Christmas Eve in Flower Mound before heading to MN in the evening on the 25th.  All the weather in the Midwest has me feeling relieved that we're not driving again, but I am glad there will be some snow waiting for us when we arrive.  Besides our planned travel, we have doctor and dentist appointments and plenty of relaxation scheduled.  Now it's time to breathe a little easier, squeeze in a few more viewings of our favorite Christmas movies, and just enjoy each other.

Hip-hip-hooray for Christmas Vacation!

reflection on Sandy Hook

Recently my blog has been reserved primarily for updates on the girls and our family, so I debated whether I wanted to post anything about the most recent school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Now that we've all had a couple of days to begin processing the event and hear all sorts of experts weigh in via various media outlets, I decided that I would also give my two cents, both as a parent and a school administrator.

First, I don't want to engage in a debate about gun control.  The reality is that someone who really wants to do something usually finds a way.  In this case, the guns were obtained legally anyway.  I hear people saying, "If only the principal or teachers had had a gun ...".  That idea gives me pause; I don't know how I'd feel if carrying a gun became a required part of my job.  I can't say what I would do in a similar situation, but personally, I don't know if a gun in my hands would make a difference.

Second, I won't call into question Ms. Lanza's parenting.  We can't say that she enabled her son and/or didn't deal with his illness.  For all we know, she may have been shot as she tried to stop his rampage on Friday.  Maybe I'm wrong, but she's not here to say otherwise.

Just like you, my heart is broken for the parents who are burying their babies this week, just before Christmas.  And for the students who survived, how do they ever return to school?  Their innocence is gone.  It is absolutely infuriating.  My greatest fear isn't that something specific would happen to harm my children, but that anything would happen to harm them.  Although I refuse to let that fear paralyze or dictate me, I can't imagine going on without either of my girls.  I am filled with sadness for the parents who are facing such a stark reality after Friday's senseless shootings.

While I certainly don't have the answers, I absolutely believe that we need to turn our attention to mental illness.  Much mental illness can't truly be diagnosed until after adolescence, but we see signs of it in middle school.  Unfortunately, there just aren't the resources out there to help parents whose children are dealing with severe emotional disorders.  Often times, these kids score off the charts academically, eliminating small group or one-on-one teaching services, so they go from class to class like everyone else, but seriously struggle with all the stimuli.  Some parents, at their breaking point, are just waiting for the opportunity for their child to get arrested because the only help available is attached to having a record.  Just like suspension or expulsion won't change the behaviors of a child with mental illness, prison will not change the behaviors of an adult with mental illness.

There have been news reports alluding to the fact that the Sandy Hook gunman was on the Autism spectrum.  Please don't think that I'm confusing Autism with mental illness; I'm not.  But perhaps Autism (or Oppositional Defiant Disorder or something of the sort) was the cloak that kept the gunman's mental illness from truly being identified or treated.  It's just a theory.  However, even if the gunman was appropriately diagnosed and labeled during his school years, the reality is that the public school likely wouldn't have had the resources to properly serve him.  On a larger scale, our communities don't have a resource to serve such individuals.  Prison isn't the answer (and it only becomes the temporary answer because someone ends up doing something terrible, something that may have been avoided with the right social services).  For the record, I'm not pretending to know what those services might be, but there are plenty of experts who could help define them if the resources were made available.

As public educators, we open our doors and our hearts to every child.  Not just the smart ones or the kind ones or the ones from good homes.  I had a principal that used to say, "Parents send us the best kids they have; they don't leave the 'good' ones at home."  They send us what they have, and we love them  and teach them.  All of them.  Even the ones who, at the flip of a switch, throw desks and punch holes in the walls and cuss us out.  We love them through their failures and their struggles, just like we would our own children.  When the gunman was in first grade, his teacher would have shielded him from the bullets, too.  That's why teaching isn't a job; it's a calling of the highest degree.

Despite what we do for kids in our schools, and what their parents do for them at home, an individual with mental illness likely isn't equipped to live successfully without consistent structure and intervention.  When we turn them lose at the age of eighteen, it is so imperative that there is a system in place to keep carrying these people before the unthinkable happens, before we find ourselves in the position of having to be reactive.  At the end of 2012, mental illness isn't taboo; it isn't something we can wish away or quickly fix.  It is something we need to identify and treat to the best of our ability if we are to keep more tragedies of this sort from happening.  We can't eradicate evil, but perhaps we can find a way to appropriately serve those in such dire need.

May our thoughts continue to be with the families who lost loved ones, the first responders, and the survivors at Sandy Hook throughout the holiday season.

Holiday Dance Recital

Sara had her Holiday Dance Recital last week.  Unlike dance last year, rather than one big show in the spring, her hew dance class has winter and spring mini-recitals.  Everything takes place at her school, and it's much less low-key than last year, which I I think probably makes it a healthier experience at this point.  My only beef is that the recital happened during the normal dance class time, which is 9:45 on a Thursday morning for Sara's class.  It's a convenient way for Sara to be involved in lessons each week, but not a super convenient show time.  Still, I was able to sneak away from school for a little while Thursday morning to see the recital!

Ballerina Friends

She's Four

Our Sara Noel is four years old.  When she was a baby, I wondered all the time about who she would be as a little girl.  She still has a lot of growing to do, but it feels as though all of a sudden, I know who she is.  It's like it has happened over night.

At four, Sara is an absolute mix of sugar and spice, usually all at once.  She absolutely loves being a big sister.  Even when she's tired or crabby or upset, she can turn it off for Emma.  I've learned to bring Emma with me into Sara's room in the mornings because it's a guaranteed way to get her up and moving.  If it's just me trying to coax her out of bed, forget about it.

The testing of limits that began a couple of years ago has taken on a whole new meaning thanks to Sara's growing understanding of language.  Earlier this week, Sara got mad at me and told me, "You can't come to my birthday.  You have to stay home alone."  This morning she said, "Well, I'm already grown up."  Her responses when she's unhappy range anywhere from, "I can (fill in the blank) if I want to" to "Well, I don't care" with the word care spread over about five syllables.  Truthfully, we vacillate between disciplining and ignoring; it seems to depend on the situation, how the rest of the day has gone, and, really, how much energy we have.

The littlest things counter those not-so-desirable moments ... like a couple of weeks ago when we were grocery shopping and Sara randomly said, "You're the best mom."  I definitely basked in that moment as an older couple looked on and offered up the obligatory, "Aaahhhh."

Sara could practically live off of chicken nuggets, bread, apples, and cereal.  I know that she could live off of these foods because she does live off of these foods.  This isn't something I'm proud of, but it's the truth. 

My girl is a girl who knows what she wants, and I love this about her.  I believe that she has the qualities of a leader; they sometimes get her in trouble, but I know they will serve her well (even if they force some tough lessons along the way).  She tends to talk super fast, so we often have to slow her down to understand her ... but she just has so much to say and gets so excited!  Sara plays well independently, and can often be found coloring or doing puzzles for long periods of time.  And although I can occasionally get her in a pair of jeans, she would wear a skirt or dress everyday, given the choice. 

Much to my absolute delight, Sara has embraced the Christmas season.  She loves to sing along in the car to "Feliz Navidad", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and "Jingle Bell Rock".  She likes watching "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Christmas Vacation" (which she lovingly calls "Clark"), and she laughs at all the right parts. 

Overall, we think that Sara is pretty much just the best four-year-old ever.  She's funny, smart, and kind ... and she makes our lives so absolutely wonderful.  Happy Birthday to you, Sara-bell!

Marathon Man

Nearly two years ago, Steve was unhappy with the way he looked and felt.  In an attempt to get in shape and lose some weight, he started following the Couch-to-5K program.  Today he ran a marathon!

 To be honest, when he said he'd be running this particular race, and I realized that the bulk of his training - evenings as well as several hours on Sundays - would take place as we adjusted to life with a newborn, I was less than thrilled.  Still, I wanted to be supportive of his efforts, so I encouraged him. In the end, even though Steve did the running, I do believe this was a team effort.  (I will say that his diet regimen turned out to be a great thing for me in trying to lose the baby weight, so I did benefit from the training, too!)

It was so exciting to cheer him on in the final leg of the race today.  After months of dedicated training, Steve achieved what he set out to do.  Regardless of whether he ever runs another one, he'll always have this one; he gets to say he did it (and he has the medal and finisher t-shirt to prove it!).

 

I don't take the time very often to brag about (or even blog about) Steve, but I just had to today. We are so, so proud of him!

Three Months

Emma Grace is three months old!  It feels like just yesterday she was drowning in her newborn onesies, and now she is solid and strong.  Sara told me, "Mom, I'm glad Emma is getting to be such a big girl!"

(not so happy about taking a pic)

At three months, Emma is wide-eyed and alert.  It is so fun to go into her room in the mornings and watch her wake-up.  She stretches, opens her eyes, and smiles a great big smile.  Emma is very responsive to us, and is starting to do a lot of "talking".  She moves her lips and makes all sort of noises.  Unlike Sara, who was interested in her pacifier for about one minute as a newborn, Emma finds great comfort in hers.  She sleeps curled up with a chewy (a trait passed down from her big sis), and enjoys being able to watch the action when she's awake.  It's especially fun to watch her get excited: arms and legs punching and kicking in all directions, and a huge smile across her face. Emma is still super cuddly and she enjoys being held, but when she is tired, often times she just wants to be left alone in her crib.  She'll still occasionally fall asleep in our arms, but she's definitely a girl who knows when she wants her bed.

We don't go back to the doctor until four months, so I'll have official stats then.  But for now, Emma continues to comfortably wear 0-3 month clothes, though I think we'll make the move up to some 3-6 months items by Christmas.  She is eating close to six ounces at most feedings, and often acting incredibly put out when the bottle is empty.  I know she'll be ready to start cereal when we get the okay from the pediatrician next month.

In the meantime, we're enjoying our first holiday season with our two girls!

(p.s. this happened about three minutes after the crying pic above ... daycare really wears a girl out!)

'Tis the Season

We kicked off December and the Christmas season with our annual trip downtown for the Children's Medical Center Christmas Parade.  In past years, we've gotten up early and taken the DART downtown.  This year we decided to do something a little different, so we spent Friday night at the new Omni Hotel, within walking distance of our parade seats. 

Sara was so excited all week about staying in a hotel.  As soon as we made it to our room, she put on her pajamas and made herself at home.  We were on the 20th floor, and the floor-to-ceiling windows allowed us to fall asleep to great views of the city lights, and to wake up overlooking parade preparations.  Everyone enjoyed a relaxing night and a fun change of pace. 

Christmas jammies ...

 Room service ...

 Giant ornaments ...

I didn't get any pictures of the actual parade this year since our hands were twice as full as they have been in previous years.  But we had a wonderful time as always, and now that Sara knows that the hotel-before-parade option exists, I think we may have permanently upgraded our annual tradition. 

One Word Wednesday

Sara

A Few Favorites

In addition to the obvious things like Christmas lights, Christmas music, Christmas decorations, and Christmas movies, these are a few of my favorite things right now (some would make excellent Christmas gifts!) ...

"I Will Hold You 'Til You Sleep" by Linda Zuckerman

Some of my mom's friends gave me this book when Sara was born, and I recently had the pleasure of giving a copy to a friend.  The story and the illustrations are beautiful, and I get the cry-ball every time I read it.

the holiday Starbucks cup

It's shallow, but this cup just makes me smile when I'm needing a morning pick-me-up with an extra shot.  'Tis the season to be well-caffeinated. 

"I Won't Let Go" by Rascal Flatts
I just love this song.  It makes the short list of songs that I feel are my anthems for my children.

my new Cyclones Scentsy warmer

Thanks, Jody!  Now even when the Cyclones stink, my house will smell good (ha, ha).

Sophie the Giraffe

This sweet teether is apparently all the rage right now.  When I first saw Sophie, I swore I had seen her before ... a long time ago in a movie.  After wracking my brain, I correctly identified "Three Men and a Baby" as the movie featuring Sophie.  I'm not sure how or why she's made a comeback now, but I can be sure that Santa has been told that Emma wants one of these for Christmas.

Oh, yeah.  And online shopping.
It's saving my you-know-what this year.  I highly recommend zulily.com and etsy.com.  Happy shopping!

thankful

My greatest blessing is my little family.  When Emma was born and Steve rushed from where the nurses had her to where I was lying on the operating table to let me know she was healthy, I immediately felt a huge sense of relief.  Hearing those words when Sara was born was wonderful; hearing them a second time was downright amazing.  In the hours and days that followed Emma's birth, I found myself in awe of the fact that I'd been given two healthy, beautiful girls. This year, I am most thankful for my thriving family, and the feelings of comfort and completeness that surround me when we're together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Catching Up

Just a quick catch-up today.  I meant to do this earlier in the week, but it seems like whenever we have a few extra minutes here or there, we spend them doing a load of laundry or washing bottles.  My outlets - blogging, reading, etc., - have taken a serious backseat since my return to work.  Everything is going really well, but there is definitely truth in the statement that life with two kids is much different than it is with one.

Miraculously, these two kids are both sleeping right now.  While 5:00 pm is not an ideal nap time for Sara, we'll take what we can get.

 A week ago Thursday, Sara's school called because she had a fever.  I went to get her and brought her back to work with me for a while.  Although she was feeling pretty crummy, she colored some excellent patterns on my master schedule board.  Steve ended up keeping her home and taking her to the doctor on Friday.  It would figure that, after having been home for eight weeks with healthy kids, Sara would get sick just after I went back to work.  She recovered over last weekend and is much better now.

A couple of weekends ago we took Christmas pictures with some friends.  They have a nicer camera than we do, so we used it and took turns taking pictures of each other.  It worked out pretty well ... the price was definitely right!  Since then, I've ordered and received our Christmas cards.  They are sitting in the office addressed, stamped, and sealed; now I'm just waiting for it to be a socially acceptable time to send them.  I'll try to make myself wait until December.

When I drove to Target today, many people around the neighborhood were putting up Christmas lights.  It's been a real exercise in restraint on my part, but I always wait until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas, and I am not going to veer from that this year.  But I am so ready!  Next Friday, decorations are going up and we'll begin watching our usual rotation of Christmas movies.  On the way home last night, Sara was singing along to "Feliz Navidad", and I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, though, I have to mention how much Emma is changing.  She'll be eleven weeks on Monday, and she continues to bring us so much joy.  She is sleeping through most nights, and smiling and cooing a lot.  We've realized that while Emma enjoys being around the family, she also really likes her alone time; she is sometimes happiest just decompressing in her crib, even if she doesn't sleep.  Her teachers at school made a comment about it too.  As she grows and we learn more about who she is going to be, it's fun to pick up on some of these little traits.

Now we're waiting for the ISU/KU game to start.  KU is terrible this year, so we should win by a lot ... which means it's very likely we'll lose.  But since we play West Virginia next week, we have to win tonight in order to make it to a bowl game.  I'm not ready for football season to be over, so the Cyclones better pull through for us tonight!

Book Talk

As I suspected, my reading has slowed considerably. Recently, I've only read book club picks, which may continue to be the case for a while.  Actually, I also read two books for school: this one is great for educators (and I would also recommend it to the Texas legislators who think they know what they are doing when they make decisions about education) and this one is great for anyone and everyone.  But onto what most of you probably came here for ...

Life of Pi has been on my list for years, and I finally read it when it was selected for book club.  Pi's family and their many zoo animals are on a cargo ship headed for North America when the boat sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Pi, the apparent lone survivor, finds his way onto a life boat with a tiger (among other animals) for company.  Although I really enjoyed this survival story, frankly the details at times were just too much for my new-baby-in-the-house brain as I read it in the first couple of weeks after bringing Emma home.  Still, the author tells a magnificent story.  This book has made its way into English curriculum, onto summer reading lists for students, and remains on best seller lists.
In Leah's Wake is the story of your seemingly typical suburban family.  Leah is a high school soccer star, and seems to do just about everything else well, too.  Her younger sister tends to find herself in Leah's shadows, especially as Mom and Dad push Leah toward pursuing college soccer scholarships.  When Leah meets the wrong guy, she jeopardizes soccer, her chances at getting into college, and her family's stability.  While her parents aren't sure where they went wrong, Leah feels justified in choosing her own path.  This book was almost scary for me.  As a mom of two girls and because of my job, I understand that even parents who seem to do all the right things for their kids can be left wondering how their children got so far off course.  It's not just "bad" parents who have "bad" kids; nobody has all of the answers, and that's especially daunting because, for the most part, we all do the best we can.

Our newest pick is The Book Thief.  I'm excited to start reading!  Luckily, because of the holidays, I have until January to finish this one.  And then I'll be up for the pick.  Stay tuned!

Two Months

(ready for game day)

Emma made it through her first week of daycare.  It went well, and I really like her teachers.  Such a relief.  At two months, Emma is much more alert to what's happening around her.  She fixates on windows, ceiling fans, light fixtures, etc., for minutes on end.  She is smiling a lot and cooing, too, especially in response to us.  Emma pays extra close attention to Sara, who is able to hold her attention and make her smile on a regular basis.

"On Wednesdays we wear pink."

This is my tenth year working in a middle school, so I'm well acquainted with the mean girls.  I can spot them clear across the cafeteria.  Mediating with them occasionally is part of my job.  It's to be expected, given that middle school (in my experience and that of many young girls) is brutal ... one of the roughest times, to be sure.  When Sara was born, I thought with dread of the day she'd enter middle school.

Turns out I didn't need to look quite so far down the road.  We're in the trenches now.  There is some major girl drama in my soon-to-be-four-year-old's little life.

Come again?!

I know, that's what I thought, too.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with one of Sara's teachers about conflicts she had started having with a friend ... her best friend.  Her teacher acknowledged that the girls had indeed been picking at each other on a pretty non-stop basis as of late.  She said it was as if they would sit next to each other just to have the opportunity to bicker.  I immediately gave the teacher the go-ahead to keep Sara separated from her friend, and to discipline Sara as necessary if she couldn't be nice.  We had conversations with Sara at home about being nice, and about playing with friends who were also nice to her.  I told Sara that she wasn't allowed to sit next to her friend anymore if they were just going to argue.

Apparently Sara took my talk to heart because earlier this week, as her friend walked into the breakfast room, Sara announced that "my mommy said you can't sit by me" ... or something to that effect.  Great.  That's not exactly what I had in mind, but when I talked to Sara about it later, she was entirely sure that she had followed my directions.  And I guess she had.  Sort of.

I didn't know girl drama was supposed to start so early.  I'm already finding myself walking a fine line between encouraging Sara to stand up for herself and keeping her from being a mean girl.  I want her to be strong and confident, but in a way that is kind and caring - not mean or bossy.  I know this will only get harder before it gets easier (if it ever does at all).  What's a mom to do?

A few years ago, I thought having a baby was hard.  Now I know better.

Wordless {Halloween} Wednesday

stats

Emma had her two-month check-up today (about a week shy of her actual two-month mark).  She is in the 25th percentile for both height (21 3/4 inches) and weight (9lbs 15ozs).  Sara has pretty consistently been in the 50-75th percentiles, so Emma really is a peanut by our standards.  Still, her growth has been good and is proportional to her stats at birth and two weeks.

Sara tagged along with us to the doctor so she could get her flu shot.  I debated not telling Sara about the shot beforehand, but decided to prepare her for it rather than "trick" her into it.  She was so well-behaved as Emma had her check-up, and was very brave when it was time for her shot.  She gave just a brief cry at the poke (she has been calling it "the poike", which is how I imagine a mobster would pronounce the word pork), but very quickly recovered and helped soothe Emma, who didn't respond quite so well to her series of shots.  Although she did very well during her exam, and even smiled at the nurses right before the pricks began, Emma made sure the whole staff knew how angry she was as we left the doctor's office and walked to our car.

Because I've recently discovered yet another advantage of having an older, capable child in the car with a screaming infant, I handed back a bottle to Sara and she quickly fed Emma in an effort to calm her.  It worked pretty instantly, thank goodness.  The experience was so traumatic for Emma that she's been sleeping for most of the afternoon.

I head back to work on Monday.  In many ways, I'm ready.  I don't like feeling out of the loop, and it's been hard to read e-mails without having the ability to weigh-in on certain things.  Of course I've also so enjoyed my time with my sweet Emma.  My occasional days home with both girls have given me a small glimpse into what my life might be like as a stay-at-home-mom, and we've enjoyed spending time with friends who are also home during the day.  Still, I know it will be good to start our new routine, and I am looking forward to having a reason to put on dress clothes and make-up each day.  Plus, one huge perk of my profession is that I have Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks just around the corner, so I'm going back with both in the forefront of my mind.  In the meantime, I'm going to try not to let thoughts of Monday morning consume my weekend.  Looking forward to a good one with my little family!

See this sweet girl?

She and I just had the following conversation...

 

Sara: I need to watch cartoons in bed because they help me see in the dark.

Me: You can use your flashlight to help you see in the dark.

Sara: I think cartoons help me see better.

Me: We're not watching cartoons in bed.  We can read stories.

Sara: But I like cartoons better than stories now.

Me: Well, reading stories makes us smarter.

Sara: Well, watching cartoons makes us prettier.

Me: I'm concerned about being smarter.

Sara: I'm concerned about being prettier.

 

Oh, my.  What is in store for me?

 

For the record, I won; we read stories, and Sara is now hanging out in bed with her flashlight.

moments

Emma loves to be held.  Often when she is fussy and she's been fed, changed, etc., all she needs is to be held and cuddled.  I know it won't last forever, and I just love these sweet moments with her.

 Many of you saw this on FB, but I have to put it here, too, for my records.  This is how Sara walked around while we were shopping at Firewheel the other day.  She was so thrilled with her "outfit" ... we got some weird looks, but mostly kind smiles from fellow shoppers.  I wrote on FB that I'll remind her of this one day when she's embarrassed to shop with me.  Her innocence and confidence make me smile.

 The other morning Sara decided that she and Emma should have Circle Time because "Baby Emma has a lot to learn."  This is Sara teaching Emma about how she gets e-mails on her computer.  For her part, Emma was very attentive and didn't take her eyes of Sara.  Precious girls.

Wall Art

For the longest time, I've wanted a canvas to hang in our living room, but I've never had the photo that I thought would be perfect to use.  After Allison, the talent behind eleventhirtysix images, took pictures of the girls a week into Emma's life, I realized she had managed to snap just the picture I had unknowingly envisioned putting on a large canvas ... and shortly thereafter she let me know that one of her vendors was running a special on canvases.  Sold! 

Allison brought over our canvas last night, and I wasted no time getting it on the wall.  I am totally obsessed with it. I feel like the candid shot captures Sara so perfectly as she is right now: hair a little messy and in love with her little sister.  For me, this image will always render the feelings of magnified love and absolute completeness that filled me from head to toe when we brought Emma home.  I just love this picture of my beauties, and the canvas makes it such a special focal point in the room.

Wordless Wednesday

recent goings on

That space between being so busy you don't have time to blog and not busy enough to have anything to blog about?  Yep.

Last week flew by, and I'm not really sure what we did.  I would try to recap the monotony if I had any recollection whatsoever.  Things spiced up when my parents came to town Friday morning for a long weekend.  We hit the pumpkin patch and Cindi's before spending the weekend putting together a swing set (my mom and I weren't actually involved beyond spectating and holding the occasional post) and being disappointed in our football teams. 

 After looking at a variety of swing sets and considering the size of our yard, we settled on a metal one with a slide, two swings, a trapeze bar, and a glider. It wasn't a huge investment, so I won't feel bad when it goes untouched during our hottest days or if there comes a time when we have to leave it behind. It certainly serves its purpose, and Sara is thrilled to finally have a play set in her backyard.

I mentioned our football teams.  This weekend we cheered for the Cyclones, the Cowboys, and the Vikings.  If you watched any of those games, you know the disappointment of which I speak.  However, we did manage to smile long enough to get a family picture in our Cyclones gear.

I have a feeling that this is how our pictures will look for quite some time: everyone is clean and dressed, but a couple people look totally worn out, someone is crying, someone is looking the wrong way ... you get the idea.  But this sure captures us where we're at.  Loving our Cyclones through it all, of course.

I had been doing so well with my Weight Watch 2012, but then my parents came to town, which warranted making Rice Krispie bars (with Halloween sprinkles, of course) and chicken pot pie and BBQ chicken and cinnamon rolls and (turkey) bacon and eating at Matt's and drinking margaritas.  So I'm a little off course.  And I go back to the doctor tomorrow.  I'm not looking forward to my weigh-in, but I do have grand plans to get back to my diet first thing tomorrow morning.

My mom and I were able to sneak away for about an hour yesterday evening to do some shopping.  It was so nice to have a little time together on our own.  We got some items for the girls at Carter's, and walked out of Loft with matching clothes for ourselves.  Don't ever let me say I'm not turning into my mother!  My parents left tonight; it was another tough goodbye, and we're all anxiously awaiting our trip north over the holidays.  Sara tried on her boots today, and is ready for some snow in MN come late December.

In the meantime, I'm ready for some fall here.  Anyone else want to boycott the 80-degree temps with me?

iPhone photo dump

Our life lately, documented by my phone ...



bounce house birthday party  

tummy time 

watching her brand new copy of "Cinderella" that daddy brought home its first day out of the vault

 trying out the Bumbo

my new favorite Boulevard variety

game day gear ... go State 

riding the Texas Star at the State Fair

sleeping through the fair 

State Fair photo op 

birthday party face paint, about to come off in the tub 

touchdown 

enjoying the beautiful day