(lack of) balance

Every time I think, I should update the blog, I open my computer and start working instead. My work/home balance is non-existent right now. I'm not proud of it, it's just a fact. I need to work on it ... and knowing is half the battle, right?  I have, however, started relying heavily on grocery shopping with Kroger Clicklist, and it has changed everything. Do you have any idea how much extra junk I don't buy when I don't have to set foot in the grocery story (especially with kids in tow)? Amazing.

We ended spring break with a Sunday afternoon FC Dallas game (first a stop at Jake's for burgers). It was a beautiful day and a W for FCD. I love enjoying sporting events with my family.

Later that week, we had a Thursday evening soccer game and some crazy moms thought it would be a good idea to take the whole team plus families out for dinner (and mambos) at Mi Cocina afterward. It was a LATE night, but we had the best time. This soccer group has become so special to us.

My aunt, Renee, was in town from MN visiting her boyfriend's family, who happens to live just a few minutes from us. Small world! We met up with her for (very windy) drinks and had the best time. Catching up with her was good for my heart.

 We had nice Easter at home this year. The Brittains came over; we grilled and the kids enjoyed eating tons of candy. The Easter Bunny brought new pool floats that we haven't used thanks to a very cool April. Their time is coming ...

A few weekends ago, we had a super cold and rainy Saturday morning soccer game (as in 30-something degrees ... in Texas ... in April), so the girls came home and warmed up by the fire. The following weekend we had another almost-as-cold game. I don't know what the deal is with the weather, but we have all agreed to be thankful that we're spending April with piles of snow!

Steve had to spend a weekend at work, so the girls and I made our own fun. We went to Disney on Ice and loved every minute!  This particular show had a variety of characters in it, but the theme was bravery and it mostly featured Tangled, Frozen, and Moana. I loved watching the girls watch the show and sing along. The next day, we finished our girls weekend with a soccer game and a trip to Pluckers for some wings.

Last weekend, Steve and I went to Omaha for a friend's wedding. We loved the time with our college friends. Lots of laughter and reminiscing. Such events always remind me of how far Steve and I have come - individually and as a couple - since we met as 19-year-olds in Ames. I managed to not take any pictures. Meanwhile, my parents came to town and stayed with the girls. They had originally planned to drive through on their way back to MN, but with the recent weather, booked flights and returned to FL instead. They had a successful weekend, though, because Steve and I came home to this:

So proud of this girl! It was fun to watch her, and equally as fulfilling to hear her big sis cheering for her. When they probably least realize it, they remind me that life is so good.  It's busy and crazy and stressful ... but overall, just so good (even when I'm a little out of balance)!

SB18

We are nearing the end of Spring Break 2018, and what a great week it's been! We started our break last Saturday with an afternoon at the Katy Trail Ice House patio with the rest of the Plano.  It was a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed relaxing. Sunday morning we got up and headed to Galveston for a family beach getaway.  Of course we had to make our inaugural stop at Buccee's. It's not a gas station, and it's not a department store, but it's whatever is in between those two. A crazy place, for sure, we had lots of fun looking around!

 We stayed at the San Luis on Seawall Road. Steve's parents had been there before and recommended it. We loved it and would definitely stay there again. We had a short walk across the street to the beach, and easy access to lots of shops and restaurants.

  Not to mention a tremendous pool and Gulf view!

The girls thought the stairs out front were fancy!

 We had nice weather, though the breeze was cool at times. We always opted to eat out on patios, and on our first evening Emma felt like this was the best way to bundle up when the sun went down. This was at Landry's - amazing crab cakes and lobster tails!

Next to Landry's is a Rainforest Cafe with a volcano on top that goes off every so often. We enjoyed watching it erupt, and you could really feel the heat from the fire!

 We walked the two miles along the seawall from our resort to Pleasure Pier. It was fun to stop and read various historical markers. I had never considered that Galveston was once considered the "Ellis Island of the South", but a marker said so and I guess it makes sense!

Getting closer to Pleasure Pier.

 We got to PP early enough to beat the crowds, and enjoyed not having to wait in lines for rides.  Steve and Sara battled in the big bumper cars while Emma rode the little ones.

This was Emma's favorite ride. When it first started, I was sure we'd be taking her off of it in tears, but she giggled the whole time as it flew wide and went in circles.

 Sara was hesitant, but finally agreed to ride the Iron Shark roller coaster with Steve. When I say it goes STRAIGHT UP, that is no exaggeration. The whole ride probably lasted twelve seconds, but it was intense. We were proud of Sara for being so brave!

 Sara pretended to enjoy the tea cups for her sister. PP reminded us a lot of the rides at MOA - instead of being inside a mall, they were on a pier over the water!

On our walk back from the pier, we enjoyed some great Mexican food at Salsa's and then hit a beach store for new cover-ups before heading to the pool.

 We dedicated one day entirely to the beach. We loaded a cooler, grabbed the soccer chairs that were luckily in the back of the car, some buckets and shovels, and spent the day enjoying the sand and surf.

No better place to finish a book!

 Steve and Emma were busy building most of the day. The first castle was washed away at high tide, and we all enjoyed watching it slowly go.

 Of course Emma couldn't leave without being buried.

 Toes in the sand!

 Our own town with a seawall!

 As soon as they saw that these were available, the girls were asking to rent one of these bikes. We had a fun time pedaling to the pier and back.

 No trip to the beach is complete without lots of ice cream, and these two had their share. 

 Not a bad spot for breakfast! None of us were ready to leave when our time was up (I even asked the front desk, with crossed fingers, whether our room was available for one more night) - I definitely think we'll be back. It was much needed relaxation and connection time for our family.

 Yesterday, the girls' Kansas cousins stopped by on their way to Waco. The girls had the best time together. The weather was beautiful, and we heated the pool so we could officially have our season opener. We were so glad they were able to swing by, and the time spent swimming was a much needed break for kiddos on a long car trip!

 Today we went to the park and the girls are swimming again. I'm also attempting to make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patty's Day. We're enjoying March Madness even as it proceeds for the first time in a long time without the Cyclones, and of course we're getting back into the swing of real life. Regular stress is seeping in, and the girls are back to fighting non-stop ... but it sure was a great SB18 while it lasted!

Spring!

After nearly two straight weeks of rain (and I mean RAIN), we are having a beautiful spring Saturday! Emma's team finally got back on the soccer field, and even though the ground was pretty soggy, they walked away with a big win.  We played at the park, and our windows are open.  It feels great!  I didn't mean to take a blog break for all of February, but then as the month went on, every time I thought about blogging, I started remembering last February ... aka #notmyFebruary. And although I'm not necessarily superstitious, I decided I'd go ahead and get through the month successfully before blogging again.  It seemed to work.

January ended with a visit to Signal Mountain to officially say goodbye to Grandma Lou.  It was a great trip, and I enjoyed the special time with my family.  I managed to hold myself together until the plane ride home, which came after a couple days of fever and hours of flight delay on top of the general emotions from the weekend.  We honored G Lou in a way she would have approved of, and I'm thankful for that weekend.  

Since then, we've been constantly on the go.  My sister came down for a great girls weekend, which now feels like years ago.  It's been cookie season, and Sara did a great job selling her cookies.  Our booth outside of Lowe's in the cold rain wasn't necessarily the most fun thing ever, but I enjoyed my time with Sara.  When a veteran came up to buy some cookies, he told the girls he would donate $20 for Troop 2 Troop if someone could name whose picture is on the Purple Heart. Sara knew that it is George Washington!  We extended our day date together with a trip to Starbucks (which she loved) and a trip to the grocery store (which she endured).

Both girls enjoyed their Valentine's parties at school.  Emma wasn't at all bothered by some of the extravagant card boxes that came in; she was super happy with her decorated brown bag. I love her free spirit.

 

Emma's Pre-K class performed a skit for the talent show. They had been practicing so hard and did a great job.  Having PK at school has added a whole new element, and everyone loves it. Some of the 5th graders helped them put this skit together, and the older kids were so proud of the littles!

 We have one more week of school until spring break.  We're doing something a little different this year and hitting the road just the four of us.  We will head to Galveston for a few nights, and then we'll be home for the last few days of break. I'm looking forward to going somewhere we haven't been, and more than anything, I can't wait to unplug and reconnect as a family.

 Now Sara is getting ready for a birthday party and Emma is begging me to come do a puzzle ... so I'm done for now. Will update again soon!

Book Talk

Guess what? I haven't been blogging but I have read a couple of books recently.

 One Station Away was a really unique story. I say 'unique' because it didn't feel like anything else I've read in a long time, which I think can sometimes be hard to come by.  It's about a neurologist in NYC and three women who play critical roles in his life. One is his mother, whose own life has become his baggage, one is his love, and one is a patient. I know that may sound formulaic, but the story wasn't at all.  This book was deep but easy to read, really well written and I was engrossed from the start.

 Snow Falling on Cedars is an older release that I somehow never read.  Such a great story - engaging, maddening, vindicating. It's about a small fishing town north of Puget Sound in the 1950s, where a well-liked fisherman is found drowned and a Japanese man is accused of his murder. Obviously this goes far beyond a court case, and there's much at stake beyond a verdict.

Elmet is hard for me to describe.  For some reason, it took me a long time to figure out when and where the story was taking place, and by the time that was cleared up, I had a different vision in my head. I think maybe I was just distracted when I was reading.  The story was interesting - narrated by a boy who lives with his dad and sister, the trio are happy with their simple life in a small home in the woods where they live off the land and occasionally receive some school-type lessons. A series of small events, plus a catastrophic one, rock their world and change their lives forever.  As I was reading, I felt like this book was written very artistically, if that's a thing.  I enjoyed it, but sometimes just wanted the author to get to the point. There was a lot of lead up to the *event*, and I would have liked more closure afterwards.

This week was Read Across America Week in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday.  Probably the best reading I've done recently was to one of my third grade classes.  We had guest readers in every classroom today, but we were a few volunteers short, so I got to read "The Sneetches" to an awesome group of kiddos.  The best part of my week!

"You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book."

-Dr. Seuss

January

January has been a big month around here, even coming off the holidays.  We celebrated Steve's birthday on the 8th with a cake he had to buy himself because I spent the day before sick in bed. Luckily it was just sinus related - not the flu - and I bounced back pretty quickly.

The biggest development is that Sara got braces!  She has brackets across her front six teeth on top, as well as a pallet expander.  All of this metal will be in place for 12 months, and after that she'll wear a retainer until all of her permanent teeth come in.  At that point, the orthodontist will determine if more work is necessary.

 Steve took her to the long appointment to have the braces and expander put in her mouth, and he said she did a great job.  She didn't whine or squirm or anything, just took it all like a champ.  Eating and talking having been an adjustment, and her nightly mouth washing routine has gotten longer, but she's doing a great job.  In recent months Sara had started making comments about not liking the way her teeth made her look, so I'm excited for her to gain the confidence that comes with a straight smile.

Later this week I'm heading to Signal Mountain to celebrate Grandma Lou's life and to help my mom finish cleaning out her place.  It'll be emotional, but I'm looking forward to the time with my sister, parents, and cousins I don't see often.  I'm also looking forward to going back up the mountain - not sure when I'll ever be there again after this.  First, though, it appears that winter is coming to North Texas.  Fire is going, chili is cooking, and all signs point to icy roads in the next few hours.  We have provisions and are prepared for anything!

Christmas

By the time Christmas break rolled around, we were ready for it!  Festivities began with school parties. It was fun being able to pop into Emma's party since she was just down the hall; it was the first time I'd had that opportunity.

We had a couple days of break before the actual holiday.  The girls and I went to see "The Greatest Showman", which was SO good.  Highly recommend.  We spent Christmas Eve with the Brittains and had Christmas Day at home.  The girls woke up and were so excited to get to their presents, and in my efforts not to miss it, I managed to not take a single picture of the Christmas morning excitement.

 On the 26th, we headed to MN to continue our celebration.  Melissa, Adam, Steve, and I enjoyed a night out at the Wild/Stars game.  After the game we went to a bar that had a place to shoot pucks.  Melissa and I attempted to show off our shooting skills (which are pretty decent, by the way), but we both strained some rarely-used muscles in doing so!

 Todd's new band, Triggerfish, had a gig while we were in town.  The band is really good, and it turned into a fun night for all!  Sara and Emma were the life of the party.

 The girls spent a night at Melissa and Adam's.  They baked, played games, and watched a movie.  Meanwhile, Steve and I enjoyed a short pseudo-date over Minnesota Mules (my parents were a few tables away with some friends!).  We all met back at Melissa and Adam's the next morning to watch the Cyclones win their bowl game!

 At one point during our visit, Sara hooked up with a friend she'd made over the summer, so the rest of us took Emma to Charlie's.  It's a favorite summer spot on Prior Lake - we can boat up and eat outside.  Obviously this time we drove and stayed inside, but Emma enjoyed looking at the frozen lake, spotting fish houses and cars all over it.  Definitely not something she's seen in Texas!  Of course Emma would order ice cream when we're all frozen ... she remembered getting ice cream at Charlie's in the summer and was determined to repeat in the winter.

 We couldn't miss the chance to hit the Mall of America for rides, shopping, and food.

We were at MOA on New Years Eve during the day, and they were busy prepping decorations for the evening's festivities.  We left before the craziness started and enjoyed a quiet NYE at home - dinner, toasts, and watching the ball drop.  The girls made it til 11:00.

We always love to have a puzzle going while at my parents' house.  The one this year was SO hard, but we managed to finish it with just a couple of hours to spare before we had to head back to the airport!

 The weather this year was COLD ... multiple days of below zero temps.  One day it got to about 15 degrees, though, so we bundled up to play in the fresh snow!

 The girls had the best time sledding.  We left the hill with super rosy cheeks and cold toes, but it was completely worth it.   I always love for the girls to have the opportunity to see and play in the snow! 

We returned to warmer-but-still-cold temps in Dallas, and then jumped back into our school/work routine.  All the more reason to be thankful for a fun and relaxing winter break with family.