Spontaneous Life

NYE 2011

2012-02-07T15:10:00.001-06:00

We decided to do it up big this NYE! The kids were home and had friends to invite over- we had friends to invite over- and so it was decided- and a party was in the works.

We wanted to get dressy, make good food, do a balloon drop, pop fireworks and play some games- so here we go!

The Decor- we went with gold, silver, white and black-
Front hall way

from the front door looking in-

the kitchen

I love love love these snow flakes- we will have to get BigSisC to give us a tutorial on how to make them- she learned how with Student Council this year- aren't they gorgeous!

Setting up the balloon drop

The decor- and food. Here we have goat cheese stuffed peppadews, pickles and olives, and salami. Then you can also see our "kid friendly" punch over next to the "adult friendly" champagne!

veggie tray and some guacamole-

7 layer dip- so good!

We also had shrimp cocktail, crock pot meatballs, chicken enchilada dip, and tiramasu cake for dessert.

Our fireworks for the evening-

The girls-

The boys

Let the games begin! We did all Minute To Win It games- so fun. You can find tons of games on their website.

1st up- get the cookie from your forehead to your mouth- NO HANDS!

wiggle wiggle

almost there

The ~~boys~~ men- I suppose.

Two cuties!

Next up- Cup Stacker- build a pyramid with the cups- and take it down- all with one hand.

This got pretty intense!!

focused

get it girls-

Winner! (well of that round- we had several brackets, rounds, and then a championship)

Next up- Toilet Paper Un-Roll- see who can unroll a roll of toilet paper with one hand the fastest. So I assume you are like me and wondering what is going on in this picture? I guess we didn't get pictures of the actual game- just the after math.

They must have been playing the Mummy Game?

Midnight! The balloon drop was a success! We had champagne toasts and special light up glasses- it was a great night! We all had fun. Now onto 2012- it's going to be a great year!

Race for the Cure 2011

2012-01-12T09:40:00.000-06:00

Cancer is a scary beast. Too many of us have had our lives affected by this nasty monster disease. Doing the Race for the Cure left us all with a good feeling.

Seeing those that come together to remember loved ones that have been lost- and then seeing the joy and contagious spirit of those that are battling- and beating breast cancer.

Even the taxis were pink!

I wish I could remember the team names- they were so fun and creative.

It's motivating to say the least. I think that this will be family tradition that we continue to do.

Pretty, Cute, and Scary Halloween

2012-01-12T09:09:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I just found all of these Halloween pictures! I told ya'll I was behind on posting.

Here are our fabulous pumpkins

Then we all went to the carnival- brrrr- it was cold- but we had a good time!

Watching the big kids go round and round and round and..

riding the Cho- Choo Train

BigBroC looks scared to ride this one..

We aren't scared.

Class room Halloween party

isn't that the cutest Scooby Do EVER?

shaking his tail

for Halloween night he even had a nose and some whiskers

Hil.arious! BigSisC is Hulk Hogan- and BigBroC is a super scary zombie! and our neighbor friend- the scary clown!

We trick- or- treated at house that had this in the driveway- so naturally we had to take pictures laying in the body out line.

poor poor Hulk Hogan- guess he ate too much candy.

Candy got the zombie too...

oh no! Scooby Doo- who has a scooby snack?

We had a great time trick- or- treating. BabyK got the hang of it and loved getting candy. He wasn't scared of the zombies, monsters, but the Scream guy- FREAKED him out. Have NO idea why? he's never seen Scream- so go figure...

blocked...

2012-01-10T09:27:00.001-06:00

I have so much to update- that I think I have developed the "block"- not really "writer's block" since I don't really consider myself a writer- but more like blogger's block- or something..

see- I'm not even making sense.

I just trying to get some words out there. I figure if I can get at least some words out- then it will unclog the block and I can get to updating some posts.

ok- so be on the lookout for Thanksgiving (yes- I am that behind) and then Christmas, a new video, my b-day, and probably BabyK's 2nd bday-

Coming up this weekend!!! Can't believe that my baby will be TWO!!!

Ok- so I put it out there- now all I need to do is actually write up these posts.

Thankful Week 3 and Chicago

2011-11-15T13:50:00.001-06:00

One week away from eating turkey, dressing, greens, desserts, casseroles, ham, corn, rolls, desserts, cranberries, wine, did I say desserts yet? OMG we are going to be so full.

Nov. 14th- I got a new car! Well it's new to me- I love it. I got the GMC Acadia- so far my most favorite thing- the heated seats. Love my warm toosh :)

Nov. 15th- we kicked off the Thanksgiving celebration with a turkey lunch at BabyK's school today. So glad that I have the opportunity to share that with him. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll. He ate his roll, my roll- and all his apple pie of course!

Nov. 16th- my big comfy bed and my snugly warm husband.

After this we went to Chicago! I had to go for work- and since neither of us have ever been- we decided it would be a great opportunity for a quick kid-free- get-a-way- and it was!

So for the rest of Nov- I am just thankful for lots of things- and we had a great time!

Here is Soldier Field- as I am coming into town

Soldier Field

View of the city from my taxi window- so many buildings!

tall buildings all around

these were the apartments right across from our hotel- crazy! huh? they are round and the first levels that you see there are for parking. Cars back into the round parking spaces.... hmmm sounds dangerous. And you can see we are right on the river!

Tall building

I forgot this guys name- and didn't really even know why everyone wanted to take a picture with him- I think he was a famous sports announcer man?? any ideas?

Harry Cary? maybe? does that ring a bell?

We of course had to go to Millennium Park- LOVED IT!

The Bean is by far the coolest thing ever! We could have stayed there for hours looking at ourselves looking at ourselves...

that's us taking a picture of ourselves- in the bean- don't make fun- everyone was doing it!

this is under the Bean- so crazywierdcool!

The amphitheatre- would love to see a show here!

Then we went to get pizza. After much thought we decided on Giordano's Pizza- we started with the Antipasto Salad. So good!

Then came our pizza- look how thick it was!

and no tourist day would be complete without a look up Marilyn's dress!

Chicago was great! We can't wait to go back next year.

Thankful Nov Week 2

2011-11-10T08:56:00.002-06:00

Another week in November- more days to be thankful for all that we have! Here we go-

Nov. 7th- Thankful for my sweet oldest son- BigBroC- he cracks me up- surprises me all the time- keeps my on my toes- and when he wants to, he can be the sweetest. Love you!

Nov. 8th- a little silly but... my Electrolux vacuum- so say for instance- that you dog somehow gets a hold of a diaper and then shakes- bites- eats it and makes a mess of little white fuzzy gross things all over the place. Just grab your vacuum and it sucks it all right up. It does the same with dog hair too.

Nov. 9th- Step class. Love it! Love the instructor! She knows just the right things to say to keep you motivated without being cheesy. I smile the whole class and leave with an extra pep- in- my- step. And burn about 600 calories- yahooo!

Nov. 10th- Being a mom. Hearing "mommy"- getting loves and hugs and kisses from my kids. My worst day as a mom will always beat any of the best days before I became one :)

Nov. 11th- Pinterest. Do you Pin? It's addicting. I love it. It keeps me creative and motivated.

Nov. 12th- ahhh Saturday mornings. No alarms- thank you.

Nov. 13th- Today we did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure- thank you for my health- and the health of my family. And thank you to all the amazing, strong, men and women who allowed us to be a part of such an inspiring day.

1st Haircut

2011-11-10T08:52:00.002-06:00

Some kids somehow have mixed up haircut and torture. How does that happen? Seriously- one kid screamed the.whole.time. You would have thought the girl was cutting off little pieces of his fingers or something. geesh- LOL

K did pretty good. We went to the ~~overpriced~~ kids place- so lots to see- lots to look at- lots of fun! When she buckled him into the chair-

"hmmmm this is a little bit weird. why does she have to strap me down?"

"wa-wa-wa- what's this? a blanket? no. why around my neck?"

"TORTURE! TORTURE! TORTURE!"

"oh- I can hold this car- are you sure I can hold this car?"

"ok- so this car is cool"

"bubbles too! yay!"

"no I don't want to feel the little vibrating thing. yuck. let me just get back to the bubbles and my car"

"so weird- my neck is vibrating. bubbles? cars? happy parents? what's the deal?"

"all done. what? do you want me to get down? can I keep this car?"

All in all he did a great job. And of course looks so grown up and handsome. They gave a little baggie of his hair attached to a certificate of his 1st hair cute- pretty nice!

Thankful Nov Week 1

2011-11-07T10:04:00.001-06:00

Well since I started off with this three days at a time thing- I figured I would just keep it going like that.

Nov. 4th- it's Friiii- day! yay! and we are going to head to K's new school Fall Fest this evening. I am so thankful that I had the support and courage to remove K from the other school that we had moved to- and yet make another hard switch to a new school- that we so far LOVE! Thank you to all his new teachers that love on him all day and teach him new and exciting things!

Nov. 5th- Today I am thankful for Texas weather. It's not dreary or snowy or nasty out. (those sound like names of the 7 dwarfs) This morning we bundling up and headed out for a walk then stopped to play on the playground- sun is shining- it's a fantastic day for football and brisket.

Nov. 6th- thankful that we are so lucky to have such awesome friends! Friends that are our family.

The Conversation

2011-11-04T12:30:00.003-05:00

Riding home the other night from dinner- the conversation went something like this:

Me: So tell me about this girl that you gave your lunch money to. That was so very nice of you.

BigBroC: Well she didn't have any- so I gave her some of mine.

BigSisC: Do you think she's cute?

BigBroC: No, I think she's HOT!

Me: Oh really? WOW. So tell me about her. How do you know her? What does she look like?

BigBroC: Well she is in my math class- I really don't know how to explain her.

Me: Well what color hair does she have? Blonde? Brown? Red? Black?

BigBroC: Oh- her hair is orange- just like yours.

Me: What? My hair is not orange!!

BigBroC: Well you know- I just have a thing for those red heads.

hahahahahahahha- where does he come up with this stuff!?

Austin Challenge

2011-11-03T21:57:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we decided to do the Austin Challenge with our neighbors- and we had a BLAST! We couldn't decide on what/who to be. Our team name was The Crazies- and we decided to be zombies, and then K and I were the victims. Really I was just an obnoxious blond wig wearing lady- and K was the baby from the Adam's Family. Random- I know. But the zombies looked awesome! It was even hard for me to talk to them they were so scary looking!

So back to the race- basically it is a scavenger hunt through downtown Austin (or downtown where-ever you are- they do it all across the USA)

But they issue you clues- you have to figure out where that clue leads you to and then go take a picture in front of it doing whatever it tells you too. Which may be rocking it out on stage- or posing at the statue of liberty- or building a human pyramid- you know- what ever it tells you to.

Shaking hands with a dog.

Statue of Liberty in Austin, TX

Some things we had to find were straight forward and somewhat easy- like finding a person wearing a professional sports team t- shirt- NOT from Texas. Easy but hard.

We are making the shape of New Jersey with our arms. Can't you tell?

Or what about finding a person that has -not only- an out of state driver's licence- but it had to be from one of the original 13 colonies... Do you even know what they are? Good thing our 8th grader is Smarter Than A 5th Grader- LOL and she knew what they were.

cutest Adam's Family baby ever!

eating the Holy Wine and Cheese cow

BUT OMG- that was hard to find. I mean a bunch of Zombies running around through town yelling "Are you from out of state?" to random people- isn't always pleasantly accepted.

Some of the clues were hard- and we had to use life lines and call into our hungover from Halloween friends to help us out. Good thing they were able to pull through.

the O' Henry Museum- this was a hard one!

he's wearing a professional sports team! take a picture with us or we will eat you!

We- of course- had to stop along the way for potty breaks and to re- fresh with cokes for the kids- and beer for the bigger kids.

a refuel... even zombies need to refuel.

what's a zombie to eat??

But all in all- we still came in 57th place out of 64 teams! winning!

The Zombies and their victim.

Thankful November #1, 2 & 3

2011-11-03T12:48:00.001-05:00

I will try and do one of these each day- that's my goal. Getting a little bit of a late start- so I will post 3 to catch up!

Nov. 1st- Thankful that my husband and I enjoy working out together. I love spending the time in the gym with him. (we did shoulders and biceps today)

Nov. 2nd- Even though I complain, whine, and moan about the Boot Camp class- I am thankful that I have the will and the ability to hit the gym hard!

Nov. 3rd- Thankful for my amazing daughter. I am so very proud of her and what an asset she is to her volleyball team. Can't wait to watch her last game of the 8th grade season tonight! Basketball here we come!

Kick Butt BootCamp

2011-11-03T10:51:00.000-05:00

*I will try to refrain from using too bad of language during this post. Therefore (yes I said therefore) if you see an explicative- times it by about a billion- because that's probably the actual word/thoughts going through my mind at that time*

That being said- let's begin.

So my gym began offering a Boot Camp class taught by TrainerB- he's pretty much a badass. So for some reason- a voice inside my head thought that this would be a good idea for me to take this class.

Now I have taken boot camp classes before- I regularly do an insane kickboxing class and step class- both at least once a week. BUT- for some reason I thought I needed more.

I think I should blame The Watch.... pieceofcrapstupidmeanolwatch..... Anywhoo-

I go to said class- and I remember to actually start said Watch. I want to make sure this crap is in the record books- ya know.

The class is held in the basketball courts at our gym- We start the class with 3 laps around.

"easy- I can do this" shhhhh voice in my head- you are sososososososo wrong...... TrainerB didn't hear that did he? Surely not-

or maybe he did- because he gave me a full on butt kicking. And I am talking FULL ON peeps!!!! This was by far the HARDEST class I have EVER taken.

HOLY(^*^%*&^%*&^(&(&)(^)%&^$^%#%$@#$#@%$#$&^V+BALLS

it.was.hard.

squat thrusts- running suicides- walking lunges- forwards and backwards- walking push ups- burpees- walking shoulder raises- walking lunges triceps curls- rotating squats- suicides- shuffling- hop jump over blocks- rotating hop jumps over blocks with push ups in between- jumping lunges with bicep curls- no stopping ever ever ever- abs abs abs- lay down die.

If you say/ claim that you like any of this stuff- I will kill you now.

Seriously thought I was going to pass out at least twice- throw up- 5-6 times- even went as far as to scope out where the nearest trashcan was. (another girl did the same thing)

There was SO much freaking sweat on the floor at the end of class that they send in the janitors to mop/ sweep/ clean/ disinfect after our beating.

When I leave- I can barely walk. My legs are so mad at me they don't even want to function properly. They are stabbing daggers of pain up my limbs. If I had to drive a stick shift- I would still be at the gym waiting on a ride home. Probably laying in a pool of sweat in the parking lot.

I get home it's only noon- my legs are still trembling and I am ready to lay down in the bed and just die. I can't even curl up in a ball because it hurts to bad. Sheeze- I can't even get into my bed becasue it's too high off the ground.

The Watch- oh - The Watch is happy. 919 calories burned- holymotherofgod- 919 calories in just 55 minutes. Can I go eat Halloween candy now? noNOno! ugh!

Anyhow- by 5:00 I couldn't sit on the toilet- I need handicap rails installed int the bathroom STAT.

oh- and Depends.

And it's just my quads that are hurting so bad.

Abs- ok
Arms- ok
Legs- badbadbad

and today- this morning- after no sleep- because no comfort

I.HURT.BAD.

and I am suppose to do this class again tomorrow. OMG- just shoot me now.

I will probably still be walking like I just got off a horse that I have been riding for WEEKS. Wobble into class and just lay down. It counts for just being there, right?

I will keep you posted- IF I can type. I have a feeling since he killed and chopped up and ate for dinner my poor little legs- he is planning on doing the same thing to my upper body tomorrow. It's possible that I won't even be able to type for days.... I promise- it is possible.

Remind me again who's bright idea this class was? I need someone to blame.

Guitar Obsession

2011-09-27T16:26:00.000-05:00

You all think I am just kidding about this guitar thing, right?

The kids obsessed- and you know what? I like it. I hope he plays and starts a band and gets famous and he loves it and he takes his mommy out on the road and buys her a private jet and lots of really nice clothes and shoes-

But for now-

still in PJs

electric guitar

pickin'

playing two guitars at the same time!

everyone needs a little shirtless guitar playing- that's rockstar!

electric guitar on the couch

showing big brother how it's done

1st thing in the morning- again still in his PJs

stand up guitar playing

playing for the dogs

So I went all the way back to June and there are no guitar pictures- so it must have been in August when he fell in love with the guitar. I would like to take credit- but I will have to give it to his music teacher Mr. Will.
And the sad thing- at K's new school they don't have music class anymore- so maybe I just need to find a new school that does.

Justin Bieber eat your heart out

2011-09-23T12:17:00.003-05:00

I have to hide the camera- or he won't "perform"

so after that's he's all ready to go- check this out-

on the road to being famous-

That's Right

2011-09-23T11:59:00.003-05:00

do you see that? That's right!!! Rest to recover- The Watch actually gave me a day off!!

that may or may not be due to me accidentally forgetting to push the stop button- so The Watch thinks I worked out for 12 straight hours.....

just saying....

Enjoy

2011-09-11T10:58:00.001-05:00

enjoy today

enjoy chores, cooking, cleaning, driving around, helping with homework, hugging your little ones, kissing your loved ones..

enjoy it for those that aren't here to.

God Bless America

and God Bless our fallen heroes from 9/11

and our heroes that have fallen since then in honor of protecting America.

Our sweet little one-

2011-09-09T09:16:00.002-05:00

Tomato that is. Did I tell ya'll that we were growing a tomato? Actually we were trying to grow a salsa garden. We did the whole Topsy Turvy thing.

Let me back up just a bit. I inherited my mother's green thumb. and her thumb isn't very green. More like dry and brown. She has trouble keeping cactus alive.

So anywhoo- we get the Topsy Turvy because it's like a no fail thing, right? I mean- you just hang it up and leave it be and magical tomatoes and jalapenos and peppers just grow until their little hot hearts desires.

Like this-

WRONG!! wrongwrongwrong...

I am here to tell you. That's just NOT how it works.

1st of all- the Topsy Turvy things DO NOT EVEN COME WITH TOMATOES!!!!

no pepper seeds, no soil, nada.

they are just bags with a hangy thingy.

why?why?why? could I have not invented bags with hangy thingys and been a bazillionaire?

So after you unwrap said hanging baggie things (at least they were on sale for a $1- and now I know why)

anyhow- you unwrap and get it hanging. Then you realize that there aren't embedded little seeds in the paper or anything- so you then have to go back to the store to buy seeds and soil and fertilizer.

Then you come back home and stuff your upside down baggie- because you want your new salsa garden to be the sizzle! I mean- what if we make the bestest badest salsa around- and then we get to be bazillionaires from selling salsa?? it could happen.

But...sigh....

All that work- all those dreams- all that stuffing and growing and fertilizing and singing to the plants and reading stories and trips back and forth to the store and hanging baggies upside down and watering- and do you know how expensive water is in Texas???

all that work and all we got was this-

one little tomato.

it may look big here- but I assure you- it's only about the size of a golf ball-

well maybe a tiny bit bigger

so we whipped up some biscuits and gravy and made that tomato proud. It was delicious!

and as far as our peppers go- we had lots of blooms but only got about 4 peppers- they weren't even picture worthy. booo.

It came- it went- goodbye week-

2011-09-08T15:24:00.000-05:00

We avoided it and avoided it- but the time has come for K's last week at his school. I wish we could keep him where he is- but locationally (not sure if that's a word- but) anyhow- it's taking me an hour and half round trip each morning and each afternoon!! crazy! So although I can't say I will miss that- I sure will miss all of his sweet sweet teachers- and I am sure K is going to miss all his friends.

These ladies have taken care of me and babyK since he was just 12 weeks old. They have listened to me babble on- and they have taught us both about feeding, sleeping, schedules, etc..

We have learned sign language and Spanish, songs, instruments and dancing- painting, sculpting, singing, you name it!!

So this week was the week! He started his brand new school- and it's hard. FOR ME. K didn't even bat an eye. and I know this is a good thing- but I was sad. I mean- I didn't go in and laugh and joke with the teachers- I didn't get to sit down and make fun of husbands and kids and weekends etc...

Oh me Oh my- what's a mom to do?

Answers and Questions

2011-09-08T14:45:00.000-05:00

I like to think I know a lot. Or maybe I don't know a lot- but I can find the answers that I am looking for if I need to. Research. Google. Friends. etc...

But lately I feel like there are too many answers that I don't know- I can't look up- I have no explanation for.

Why did K's classmate have to loose her Daddy this week? She's not even two yet. My heart aches for her and her mom.

Why did this car accident have to happen? What's the deal with these central TX fires? Why did so many lose their homes?

And just a few days away from the 10 year anniversary of Sept. 11th- why?

And on a totally different note- the kids- they ask so many questions- how do I answer?

where is my parent manual? You mean- these kids don't come with instructions?

WHAT?

WHY?

I mean changing diapers and warming bottles- I can handle-

but this teenager business has got my brain all muddled up. I mean- I can remember being an actual teen, I think, right?

It doesn't matter.

Because it's all different now.

These kids- these days..

The same way it was different when I was a teen- the same as when my mom was a teen.

Parents just don't understand

So my brain is on overload- I am turning to my old faithfuls

Google, Internet friends, Blogs, and Real life friends-

Sometimes "I don't know" is the best answer. it's the true answer.

why would you do that? why would you say that? what now?

yeesh..

this is real parenting stuff- makes me feel like my mom and dad. I know when they were telling me back then- what it would all mean now-

I.just.didn't.get.it.

Now- oh now- oh yea- I can see what they meant. I can feel for them- I can see what I put them through. I know where that wrinkle came from. But how do you get that through to your kids now?

How?

How can you explain to them- that in this day and age (geesh that's sounds old) but with all the new techie stuff- you can't just throw away 8th grade love letters and gossip notes-

oh no-

there's evidence- tied to your name forever. and just one little mistake now- is attached to you forever. means words can be blasted to millions in a matter of seconds- and there is no delete button.

and it's unreal how cruel kids can be to each other.

This was cracking me up today- so I will leave you with this- at least I'm not that old....

Adult time = fun time

2011-08-26T14:53:00.000-05:00

well- we went on a whirlwind of a trip with some friends of ours- down to good ol' sunny Florida- and we just had a blast. BLAST! I say!

But really we did have a lot of fun. Sunning, laying out, laying around, do you get my drift? It was so nice- we ate good food, laughed a lot, and spent quite a bit of time out relaxing in the sun. I would definitely say we "left our mark" on/ in Ft. Myers- LOL- some of us more than others.... and you know who you are.

A few pictures to recap.... and I know there are more- so more ~~embarrassment~~ to come- oh my.

we started out great!! looking good boys-

and then had some of these-

which lead to this- and it was a late night dance party-

they gave you a koozie here!

some how we ended up with about 7 at the condo... oops-

just kidding- our waiter gave them to us

this is what the ceiling looks like when you fall off your bar stool. and that may or may not have happened to someone... no not me

late night pool party- probably why we are only allowed to go in the "off season"

check out my hottie hubs!

like I said- these are just a few- still waiting on the evidence from the other culprits.

How to eat cheese

2011-08-18T11:10:00.000-05:00

Cheese is good. And it's a staple in K's diet. And mine too. Yum.

So this is how to eat cheese.

1. get cubes of cheese

2. sure you could eat with your boring ol fingers- but why?

3. get creative people! let's use the phone to eat cheese. place it carefully on the phone

4. balance balance

5. scarf down

6. say cheese

successful cheese eating!!! now go try it!

A new place to potty-

2011-07-22T15:36:00.000-05:00

Yay- we did it! We started AND finished our 1st house project - and we are all in one piece. Of course- we still have other unfinished projects around the house-

but let's just .... hmmm... what's the saying? let's bask in the glory? nah

that doesn't sound right.

bake in the glory? I don't think that's it either.

Anyhow- whatever it is- we are doing it in glory!!

I wanted a purple bathroom- shhh- stay with me- I don't know why- I just thought it would be fun and daring- whew! It turned out better than I expected. Really. The pictures don't really do it justice.

Here we go-

ok- so this is our small 1/2 bath downstairs

- BEFORE-

view from the outside looking straight ahead

view looking towards the toilet

see it's all drab and boring- not anymore!

I got some wooden framed mirrors from Ikea- and painted them purple and put little marble things all over them. See-

pretty huh?

the purple looks a little brighter in this picture- but you get the idea

here's a view from the outside looking towards the mirror

and the obligatory husband's beer while he works shot.

pictures hanging on the wall

the new shelves over the toilet

view towards the sink again

my cutie little ~~messer upper~~ helper.

If there is a sport for unrolling toilet paper rolls in a matter of seconds

he would WIN!

So that''s it folks! all done. Now of to the other bazillion million quadrillion other house projects to do.

Where does the time go?

2011-07-22T09:42:00.001-05:00

18 months- I don't even know what to say- where to start. It's just gone by too fast.

SIZE: we haven't had our "official" 18 month check up yet- so I will add in the official sizes later- but I would say that you are about 25 lbs- still small. Wearing 12- 18 month clothing, size 4 diaper, size 5 shoes. Lately it seems that you are growing fast- maybe that's what all that not sleeping stuff was about- maybe it was a growth spurt. Sometimes in the morning when I bring you down for breakfast I swear that you grew over night.

*edit- official 18 month stats. Weight 21.2 lbs (5%) Height 31.25 in (25%)*

NEW MOVES: Since you started walking around 10 months- you are very confident on your feet these days. You can run and you try very hard to jump- but just can't seem to get your feet off the ground yet. It's pretty funny to watch. But you will stand up in a chair or on the edge of the bed and just jump off (into our arms of course) but you seem to have no fear. Climbing- FREAKS ME OUT- but for you- no worries. You will climb any and everything. You have even managed to scale the gate at the bottom of the stairs- you love crawling up the stairs. And you also love to climb in my office chair and get into all my stuff. More than once I have come into the office to find you standing on the desk- so now at the end of my day- I take the chair out and hide it. You are tall enough now that you can reach the floor and push yourself on your cars- you like that.

YUMMY FOODS: you love love love fruit (and hidden veggie) pouches. Even in the grocery store- you start signing and saying please for them. You like vanilla wafers and graham crackers. You love spinach and artichoke dip! Pizza, spaghetti, beans, avocados, yogurt, bananas, chicken nuggets, meatballs, sweet potatoes, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, turkey and avocado sandwiches, cheese, chips and salsa. You actually ate your 1st too hot salsa the other day- sometimes you are pretty stubborn (no idea where you get that from) but anyhow- you insisted on trying the salsa- only to cry since it was too spicy. Lesson learned. And yesterday you had your 1st lollipop and WOW- you loved that a lot.

SLEEP: FINALLY- the skies parted and rainbows appeared!!! We were having some sleeping issues- and we just went "back to the basics" We went back to our original bedtime routine and stuck to it by.the.minute. Bathtime, story time, bedtime. At 1st you cried. and it took ~~forever~~ about an 1 1/2 for you to fall asleep. (you only cried for a few minutes- then you would just sit and fight sleep) Then a few nights later you were asleep in an hour- then 45 minutes- and now we are under 30 minutes. You nap great- usually 2-3 hours right after lunch. Sometimes I nap then too. You always wake up in the best mood. I come in and sing you a song to wake you up in the mornings- and immediately you are all smiles saying hi to the dogs and daddy- it puts me in a good mood everyday!

WORDS: did you know you are already bi-lingual? I love that your teachers teach you sign language, Spanish and English. It's too cute to hear you say words in Spanish. Agua, leche, si are your Spanish words. You can sign all done, bites, more, please, you use to sign milk for bottle- but since we don't use bottles anymore- you don't use that one. You can say please, help me, shoes, up, down, on, off, baby, gracie, diesel, sissy, bro-er (brother), daddy, mama, mouse, cars, shrek, outside, nite-nite, love you, yummy, banana, milk. The funniest thing for you to say is agua- whenever there is liquid- sprinklers, pools, water cup, milk cup, lakes, bath- anything wet- you yell AGUAAAAAA really loud- it's pretty cute~

You also say "wats-sat" or ask "wats sit" and sometimes it comes out sounding super close to "oh-sit" but surely you wouldn't be saying bad words- right??? right?

Your favorite songs are Justin Beiber's Baby- you will sing baby baby baby ohhhhh-

and you also like the song Give Me Everything with NeYo and Pitbull- about every other word is "tonight" and you like to sing that part.

BEST MOMENTS: so many to choose from! Since Dad has been taking and picking you up from daycare- I forgot how much I missed it. So this past week- I got to do all that fun. I love visiting with your teachers- and I love when you are excited for me to pick you up. I even secretly love when you don't want me to leave and I am late for work.

The other night we went out back to blow bubbles- it's so cute how you do it- you put the whole bubble stick in your mouth. I would think it tastes bad- but you don't seem to mind- so I am not so sure if you actually blow bubbles- or just spit through the hole- too funny.

Also- while we were outside playing- we were watering the tomatoes (that aren't growing) but Gracie was going around the patio licking the water. So you decided that you should do the same. You followed her around pretending to lick the ground. Then you actually got down on your hand and knees and tried to lick some water. LOL- we didn't let you do that part.

FAVORITE THINGS: right now you are LOVING your guitar. You sit and strum it and sometimes you will even sing a song. You like to dance, play in the water, go to the pool, sing songs, your favorite movies and Cars and Shrek and you love the Mickey Mouse Club TV show. We have taken you to play some games- and you like the dancing game and the driving games best. You get so excited when you see so many games at one time in one place. Your ohhhhhh's and ahhhhhhh's are cutecutecute.

You are growing so fast and learning new things quicker than ever. I think you bring a smile to everyone's face- we all love you bunches. I guess we need to start thinking about the fun we will have for your 2nd birthday- what??? too soon? good- because I think I just want you to stay one for a little bit longer. Love you.

Sleep Deprived-

2011-07-08T09:56:00.001-05:00

Remember when you had a newborn? and you didn't get sleep? and you were surprised at how well you could function on such little itty bitty sleep?

and that one glorious night- when your little one slept through the night!!!!! and the clouds parted- and sunshine rays shined through- and rainbows appeared- and angles sang!!!

and you were like "YES! This is what it feels like to sleep again!"

so so nice-

at 10 weeks old BabyK started sleeping through the night- it was awe.some.

But now- at 17 months- yes almost 1 1/2 years old- he has decided that he no longer needs sleep.

well....

he no longer needs sleep unless its on mommy or in mommy's bed.

great.

this week we have been trying some tough love. Thursday night I rocked him for 30 minutes- he was out cold- I put him in bed- and crying begins.

He cried on and off for 1.5 HOURS ya'll- it breaks my heart. (now- let me get this straight- he did not cry that whole time- just little fits and cries for about 5 minutes each- then he would talk to himself and hang out- and NOT sleep)

FINALLY- he started falling asleep standing up- yes- STANDING- and he was so wobbly standing- that finally he fell to his bottom and then tried sleeping sitting up. Swaying all over the place- it was kind of funny actually. And then finally finally he laid himself down and went to sleep.

Only to wake up crying at 4 am-

This is newborn stuff right??

My clouds have closed- my rainbows are poop- no sunshine rays and angels singing... what happened?

Last night I left a night light on. I gave him a extra snuggly doggie to hangout with him. and again- the same thing- except after an hour- he actually wedged himself in the corner of the crib standing up- so he really did fall asleep there- standing.

So I need help- ideas- suggestions-

On one hand- I think he's safe in the crib- do I just leave him in there- pour myself a ~~bottle~~ glass of wine and turn the monitor volume all the way down?

I know bringing him to our bed is a badbadbad habit to break- and I am paranoid and scared of it- but as of right now- it's pretty much the only way we can get in a good nights sleep.

so it's documented here moms- if it happens to any of you. Or if it has happened to any of you- what did you do? is it a phase? a growth spurt?

I need my rainbows- sunshine- and angels back!

and if I can get a picture of him stand sleeping- I will definitely add it! LOL-

Dread- dread-

2011-07-01T16:28:00.000-05:00

what do I dread?
bathing suit shopping- ohhhhhh- how I dread thee. Let me count the ways.

I know I know- we don't have all day.

Ok- enough of that- It's time- I haven't bought a new suit in almost 2 years- because....

Well because I was hoping to be able to confidently wear some of the ones I already had.

You know- the ones I bought for our honeymoon-

Pretty- cute- lovelies. Like this cutie that I got for our honeymoon trip-

But remember- on said honeymoon- the husband and I came back as a party of 3. And how the past two years have flown by and of course BabyK has filled our lives and yadayadayda... blehch!

I have been sporting a cute skirt and top that I LOVE- but first all- the top is an old "going out" top that I use to wear- and it's just not holding up the parts that it's suppose to-

*yes- I use to wear this top out- like with low rise jeans- and I rocked it oh-kay... let's just skip past that part*

I mean how freakin hard is it to find a black bandeau -not belly showing bandeau- but black strapless takini top. I have looked EVERYwhere- I am willing to pay top dollar just so that I can replace this one that is umm how do we say- losing it's elastic...

OK- so today was the day. This is what I learned.

1. bathing suits are expensive- ok let me re-phrase- if you want a bathing suit that will hold all the right places in- then be ready to spend some cash...
2. dressing room lighting is bad
3. take off your shoes- bathing suits and tennis shoes will NEVER look good- take off the socks too
4. babies + bikinis = is a no go for me. This is not a whine- But that's why I am hitting the gym- and that's why I listen to The Watch, and that's why I went to the gym 1st- before going to the mall-
5. go to the gym- A LOT-
6. once you have said kids- keep in mind- that you don't just get to lay on chairs- relaxing, sipping cold beverages, and working on your tan- NO you are running and chasing- and this is good since it burns calories- so keep this in mind when picking out a suit

Anyhow- surprisingly I narrowed it down to 3-4. And ended up with this one. It's cute and comfy. and it does come with a strap- since we don't want the girls to make a public appearance.

So if you know where I can find a black strapless takini top- pleasepleaseplease tell me! Then I will have two suits to sport this summer!

Days of summer fun!

2011-06-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

K's school is so fun! They get to experience so much fun stuff- things I would never think about doing. Music class, splash day fun, painting, making play-doh, art time, story time, you name it- they do it. He has learned sign language, animal noises, and manners- he's such a good little student.

Music class at school- fun with Mr. Will

Check it out- I can play the drums!

awwww- she loves me.....

wazzz up?

too cool for school-

you know- just chillin' and doing some art on the playground-

maybe if we hide under here- no one will find us.

how do they get all these kids to be so peaceful all at the sametime?

Splash Day at school! yay!

Let's get wet!

Music with Mr. Will during snack time- yummyumm- lalalalala

K sure loves his teachers and going to school- and I miss not getting to pick him up at the end of the day- but I know his Daddy sure loves that "run to me smile"

Today is a good day-

2011-06-22T15:34:00.001-05:00

Just like Ice Cube says-

Today is a good day.

Only I forgot my AK- oh well-

here's what DID happen-

I made it to my favorite step class and got my butt kicked and The Watch says that I burned 607 calories in an hour- so yes- I remembered to actually start the watch!

Got to celebrate one of my friends birthdays last night- it was a surprise and she LOVED it! (on that note- she got a Watch too- I need to remind her that she has to actually start it to burn calories)

And tonight we are celebrating BigBroC's 11th birthday! With dinner at the Hibachi grill- how fun!

It rained last night- and even though that kept BabyK up part of the night (that part, not so good) it was nice to hear actual rain drops- don't remember the last time we heard those... and we soooo needed it!

It Wednesday- so 1/2 way through the work week- whopwhop!

whatelse- whatelse- whatelse

Oh- I know!!!

I found my camera- yo!

Yea- so stayed tuned for picture upload city! yay! It was in the bottom of the pool bag- go figure. I swear I looked there like a bazillion times- but whatev-

Hope you all are having a fant-ablous day!

Word.

Excuses are like.... well...

2011-06-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

you know- everybody has one...

Yesterday was a Big Ol' Excuse day for me! I will just give you a glimpse into what I was thinking- then you can all think stuff like "wow- she's part crazy" but I know you all will really be like "yup I do the same thing" and then you will all be like "I totally see her point and those aren't really excuses because they are real reasons"

1st yesterday's plan was:
- Grilled chicken and asparagus for dinner
- and I set my day to go to the gym after a 9-10 presentation

Soooo- the presentation ran over- and my Ipod wasn't fully charged- and I had another presentation at 1:00-
New plan- charge Ipod then go to the gym at 2-

Well if I go at 2- then by the time I get home at 3:30ish- that takes up too much of my work day- so- let's just work and then go to class at gym at 4:30.

I even call hubs to confirm that he won't be leaving work until about 4:30- so he won't be home until 5:30- same time as me- and then we can cook dinner and hang.

I call hubs at 4:00 ON MY WAY to the gym- pulling out of the neighborhood- and he has left work!!

what?

we have agreed already-

ugh- well I can't go to the gym and you be coming home... that just won't work.

U-turn. back to the house.

hmmmm.... well now- I haven't left the house all day. (well ok- so I left- but didn't even make it out of the neighborhood- so it doesn't count)

I make the executive decision- to change clothes and meet hubs out for dinner. I mean- since I haven't been out of the house, and I have bunko on Thursday- which would mean that we didn't get our "every other Thurs. night out to dinner" done-

And I can miss one day at the gym right? I mean- I am still sore from Tuesdays butt kicking.

Basically I wore workout clothes all day long- and never made it to the gym. But did make it out for pizza, wings, and beer- oh and spending time with hubs.

remember- these are all very valid real reasons NOT excuses.... right.

RIGHT!

See I told you.

Music Class

2011-06-16T09:36:00.001-05:00

How cool is this?

Music class at school- with DRUMS! yay!

and Mr. Will is an actual musician. He plays in bands around Austin- so it's pretty much like a celebrity is teaching my son music! Sometimes it's drums, sometimes the stand up base, guitars, bongos, etc....

Summer in full swing-

2011-06-14T16:37:00.000-05:00

It's been HOT! and we are having a great time. The new job is going great- and we are keeping cool with AC (yikes- the bills!) and swimming pools- and fans- and lots of sunblock.

We have been on the go- so that's why the long delay in posting here- I am going to try and catch back up. And on top of that.... I can't find my stinking camera- ugh! I am sure it's around here somewhere- but... where?

I guess I can always come back and add pictures later- so I am just going to catch you up real quick with *gasp* words- they are little things that are made up by putting letters together- and if my spell check will work right- then hopefully some of these letters will actually make sense! Fingers crossed.

The new job has been going great! I have got my "routine" down and I am being very good about sticking to it and getting lots of work done. Very nice. I try and get out of the house once a day- usually to hit up the gym- but then back to my office and back to work. (oh! and I will have to take some pictures of my office- yay)
The only thing I can say is that- although I have been good about having dinner on the table by the time DaddyC and BabyK get home from work- MUCH easier to do since I get to skip out on the hour commute home just sitting in traffic. But- I find myself wanting to go out to eat more- just to get back out of the house.
And Gracie snores WAY to loud- but if those are my only complaints- and they really aren't even complaints- just realizations... if that's a word- anywhoo- just saying- it's going good.

BigBroC is turning 11 this month- BigSisC is turning- dun dun ta-dun- 13 in August- and BabyK will be 18 months next month-

We have been out to the lake more than once- and really enjoy spending time there. We went back in May with our friends from Lubbock- and then again just a week ago or so- to Lake Conroe with my mom. That is a big lake. We had a great time playing washers, Pip (it's a dice game), laying by the pool, eating crawfish and cooking out. Even rented a boat for a day- good times.

So you can see that I am truth telling- when I say we have been busy. I'm off to find the camera and hopefully can add some pictures soon.

Blessed, Lucky, Loved

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

I sat last night and really reflected on how truly blessed I am. My friends, my family, my love-

I am so honored to be a part of making the world a better place. Remember the movie Pay It Forward? It's so very true. If just each of us- treats others the way we would want to be treated in return- just think.... think of the possibilities.

My new job- the values that we teach our children, the friends that make me want to be a better person. For real- my cup is full. My heart beats hard and proud.

And my heart goes out to families that have to experience loss. It pains me.

The tornado in Joplin- claimed too many. This family -the Hamils- lost their 15mo old son, the mother and 5 year old daughter are in the hospital, and her 3 year old son was ripped from her arms during the storm and is still missing.

Heartache.

If you can help. Help. $5, $10, $20- every cent counts. Give blood. Give supplies. Give your time. The American Red Cross has plenty of information of ways to help as well.

Count your blessings. Hug your loved ones. Send some love to those who need it.

Ramblings-

2011-05-26T08:34:00.000-05:00

whew! what a week- last week of school- 3 day weekend- and 100 degree weather- HOT!

BigSisC won the Citizenship Award- that's for being helpful and a role model student throughout the year- she was the only girl in 7th grade to win the award!! Way to go! So very proud of her- can't believe that she will be starting her last year of middle school next year..... time has just got to slow down!
BigBroC has his awards ceremony and 5th grade graduation on Friday- then it's out of elementary school and off to the 6th grade for him-

surely- I don't age at the same rate as the kids do- right? .....RIGHT?

Earlier this week we hit up the Round Rock Express game. We love sitting out on the "grassy knoll" - at least that's what we call. We just bring a big blanket and ~~relax~~ chase babyK around. At least the sun had settled a little bit and we got a good spot in the shade- a nice breeze- and a great crowd.

This weekend we are heading out with one of our favorite families- the K Family. They have a lake house that is o'so fun. Spending the days floating in the lake and fishing. And of course my favorite part of the planning- is deciding what to eat!

The menu for this weekend:
- sausage and biscuits for breakfast
- brisket and red beans
- jalapeno bacon wrapped chicken
- grilled corn on the cob with cilantro pesto butter
- grilled asparagus
- spinach artichoke dip
- cheesy bean dip

I know- way to much food- we always have a lot.

And speaking of having a lot- my family is truly blessed and I don't want to end on a sad note here- so read on to the next post-

SUMMER LOVE!!

Cha-Cha- Cha- Changes...

2011-05-17T08:50:00.000-05:00

Man! I feel like I haven't posted in FOR- ever- and that probably because I haven't.

So much has been going on- so I am just going to give a quick re-cap and then we'll be all caught up and we can move forward from there.

1. I GOT A NEW JOB!!! Very very exciting- and it's with a company that is home based. so everyone works from home- how cool is that? So to get some training underway I went to "boot camp" in Park City, UT for 3 days one week. Got pretty spoiled with a nice big room with a fire place. Went and checked out where they hold the Sundance Film Festival- and of course, did some work too. Then I came home and turned right back around and headed out to Orange County, CA for our annual company meeting to stay at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Nigel for 3 days- and WOW- I was pretty spoiled there too! Steak, lobster, wine, live music, sail boat racing- oh- and we did some work too. All in all this has been a fantastic move for me and I am so happy and honored to get to work with this great group!

2. K had his 15 month doctor's appointment (last month) He is just growing growing growing. Still in the 5% for weight and height- coming in at just 20 lbs. But no worries- his noggin is still big and in the 75%- it's all the smarts he keeps in there. He's walking, running, climbing, and good ol' dad taught him how to jump in the bed.... good one dad. He can sing Itsy Bitsy Spider- with hand movements, the ABC's, and he will try and repeat just about anything you say. (going to have to start watching what we say) He eats like a champ- and the strangest thing- the other night he reached into the Pico and wanted to eat it??? that boy!

3. BigBroC is finishing up his last days in Elementary School- 5th grade graduation is just a week away! Then it's off to Middle School *gasp* He's decided to play the Baritone- so I think next year will be a lot of fun for him.

4. BigSisC has finished her 1st "sports" season- she played volleyball, basketball, and then did track. She says she likes basketball best- and can't wait to play next year. Of course next year she will rule the school as a big 8th grader- time is going by too fast!

5. Around the house we have been sprucing up the yards- we have some peppers and tomatoes growing.
-We are almost ready to start our patio.
-We almost have my new office all set up- and we are going to be adding some french doors to the study.
-Diesel chewed up my heart strap for The Watch- why? I don't know- he's such a weird dog! but good news- it still works- yay.
-My mother's day was great. We went to Pecan Street Festival, ate crawfish, and then played some bat-mitton with friends- great great day! Thank you to all who made it so special.

Hmmmm... I think that about sums it up. Hopefully things around here will get back into the normal routine- I'll keep you all posted.

1st Annual Crawfish Murder Fest

2011-04-28T10:32:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend- we decided to start a tradition- and held our

1st Annual Crawfish Boil

We researched and took bits- parts- pieces from recipes that we liked and kind of mishmashed them all together to come up with our very own-

AWESOME-

they turned out incredible- 2nd batch of course- better than the 1st-

and to top it off- our Carolina friend Jess- made up an authentic pork shoulder and the best cole slaw EVER-

Really we had too much food- as always.

Dad and K having a little dance party to get the day started.

the crawdaddies

purging-

looking beautiful- as always-

striking a pose-

our boil seasoning-

ready to go for a swim-

some football while we wait

he's helping too-

Jess's pulled pork- YUM

enjoying some pool time in the shade-

our 1st batch of finished veggies- we did corn, potatoes, onions, mushrooms and garlic cloves

scoop!

1st batch of finished crawfish!

the set-up

and a punting contest-

Let's eat!

seriously the.best.coleslaw.ever.

black bean and corn salad-

dump it out!

that girl can put down some crawfish!

well- hello little buddy-

the 2nd batch-

Redneck golf-

we can't end the night with out some Dice-capades- so fun!

Great great day!

Cooking School & Black Eyes (not peas)

2011-04-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

"how do they relate?" you ask- well let me tell you.

Last week my mom came and got the kids and the hubs and I- along with some of our favoritest friends heading out to cooking school.

We really had a blast- the instructor was cute in a funny little way. It was just like what you would see on Emeril! Lights, cameras, big kitchen, audience.

It was a Tennessee Williams inspired feast! All Cajun food- all excellent.

We started with some red fish and dirty rice

Paired with a nice Chardonnay-

The Castillos-

Chef Louis (Louie) that up top is a mirror reflection of the yummies he is cooking up for us!

Shrimp Creole-

hmmmmm- oops- I forgot what this was-

I think Jambalaya- but I ate it before I took a picture- oops- it was too good.

and I think this is Shrimp Etouffee- I'm not sure- it's been too long-

and bread pudding- this was excellent- not soggy at all! and made with Knob Creek Whiskey-

very good!

The whole night was a lot of fun-

oh- what's that? You want to know about the black eye....

After the class- and after watching some live music- husband was playing with doggie toys.

yup-

He threw it to the dog- only I (eye) got in the way-

OUCH! and that's how I got the black eye. And I had an interview just 3 days later!

OMG-greatgreatgreat-

How can I go on an interview with a black eye?

and guess what? I did- and I got the job!!! so very exciting!

The sweetest sound

2011-04-06T09:53:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to mark this moment in time-

K has started saying "love you"

awww..... melts your heart right?

like at bedtime we will say "good night- love you"

and he says "ni ni lmm uuuu"

I will capture it on video to post soon-

Ok- so pinch me-

2011-04-06T08:45:00.000-05:00

I am pretty behind on our St. Patty's Day celebration- but we had a lot of fun.

Round these parts- we take St. Patty's Day pretty seriously-

what up? they look tough

The kids were on Spring Break- so I took the day off work and we headed out to a festival-

We got our green on-

watched some live music-

Saw some cloggers too- K loved watching them-

memorized...

Then we hung out with this guy...

He's like an Irish Magnum PI- right? hottie!

and check out this chick- or boy...hmmm.. she's to pretty to have a stach-

and this dude-

2011-03-30T08:54:00.000-05:00

So...

positive thoughts this week-

"Prepare your mind to recieve the best that life has to offer"

what is meant to be- will be-

isn't it crazy how the universe 'tests' you for these situations?

pulling strings- making your head spin- making you really think about what direction you want to head.

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be"

but that's ok- I am up for this adventure-

anyhow- all i want to be is myself- black eye and all.

ya- that's right.

i have a black eye.

maybe they will think i'm tough.

i bet it will make our meeting memorable....right?

oh who am I kidding- they are going to love me!

i will keep you all posted.

The Watch week 3/14- 3/25

2011-03-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

oh no- it's Spring Break. St. Patty's Day. SWXW. and The Bachelor Finale- all in one week- bring it on!

*actually I got my weeks all messed up and mumbo- jumbo so- this is just a smush of 2 weeks together-

Monday- Body Attack- had a sub instructor today and LOVED it! It's crazy how something as simple as a new instructor can change the whole class. He was a ton of fun- and helped me burn 299 calories.

Tuesday- Body Pump- Pump you Up! 148 calories burned in class. and then an additional 100 laughing at these two-

Wednesday- step class- even with a cold- just push on through-425 calories coughed out-

Thursday- Body Combat- haven't been to this class in the past 2 weeks and it's one of my favorites- I am sure I will be sore. But it's all worth it- all 418 calories.

Friday- pretty sure you all saw my post about topless workouts- if not check it here.

Saturday- I didn't go to the gym- but we did go see my mom's play- and although the rest of my household got to actually watch the play- I chased a little toddler upandown- upanddown- upanddown- the stairs only about 1 bazillion times- so that should count for something, no?

TOTAL: 1290 (and really that's pretty low if I am considering that this was over two weeks- but really we should just consider this an average of each week over the past 2 weeks- umkay.)

Look up high- there's kites in the sky!

2011-03-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

If you live in Austin- then you just "get it"

If you don't- well- sorry for you. It's just such a fun unique city to live in. Just this month alone- there are all kinds of happenings going around. We kicked off the month with Mardi Gras and we are about to get into full swing of SXSW Film and Music Festival- and with the upcoming time change- so it's nice and sunny out until about 8:00- just about any evening in Austin you can find a great patio to sit on, live music to listen to, and enjoy an ice cold beverage of your choice. And to top that off- it's also crawfish season!! yipeee! So most weekends you will probably find our family out on a patio elbow deep in some hot spicy crawfish- love those mudbugs!

So this weekend- we ventured off to the Austin Kite Festival at Zilker Park. Thousands and thousands of people gathter to...

well you guessed it...

Fly Kites! and hula hoop and play hacky sack and lounge around on big blankets and soak in the sunshine- which is just what we did.

Just hanging out- munching on some snacks

Now that's a BIG kite!

He's flying high-

Topless gyms

2011-03-25T12:26:00.000-05:00

I wanted to go to the gym today- I really did- but

I went downstairs to get dressed-

pants- check
sports bra- check
socks, shoes, workout watch- checkcheckcheck
shirt- ohcrap!

and NO i am not into working out
a. topless or
b. in a sports bra

so I guess I will be shopping on my lunch break today....

and I will leave you with the little tid-bit. Did you know that some where like over in Europe or something- they actually do have topless- I think- even nude gyms. I am not kidding.... I read about it once- for real. And I would search it up for you- but I am at work and could probably get in trouble for looking that up on the clock.

that's just what i want to motivate me when working out- some big sweaty fat guy- naked.

ew.ew.ew.gross.

Happy Friday!

Imagine-

2011-03-23T10:10:00.000-05:00

I know it's hard to grasp what's going on in Japan- it's not over-

there are some that have lost EVERYthing-

not just houses, cars, clothes, all thier belongings- but

mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles- entire families- entire villages

history. identities.

If you don't count your blessings- you should.

It's hard to think about how we can help- but we can.

Japan is one of the most modern countries in the world. Even though they were somewhat prepared for this- in hopes that it would never happen. considering that a 8.9 quake could have killed millions in a less developed county-

Even so- the images are still heart breaking.

Anyhow- anything helps. And if you would like to donate- go here.

Or do what we did and buy one of these super cute t-shirts and wear it to support the people of Japan.

100% of the proceeds of the sales of this shirt will go towards The Salvation Army's relief efforts in Japan.

The Watch week 3/7- 3/13

2011-03-15T09:27:00.001-05:00

We had such a great weekend- even got a little sunburned on Sunday. So the warm weather is here- and this coming up weekend- we Spring forward our clocks- yay! That means we get more sunshine during the day- I love it. (although the 1st few mornings with that time change are a doozy)

Monday- Body Attack- 287- not bad for a Monday- and let me tell ya- today has been a Monday...
Tuesday- Body Pump- 196 calories- and I went up on my weight today (my lifting weight) I increased on legs and back- probably going to be feeling that later on- but I had a piece of King Cake in honor of Fat Tuesday- those little babies were just calling my name- it was good!!! So I figured I could redeem myself with some heavy lifting- haha.
Wednesday- yay! my friend was back in Step Class today- she's been out getting certified to teach classes- how cool is that? Anyhow- she's such good motivation and I was glad to have her back- plus she always reminds me to push start on The Watch- who by the way- said "Good Workout" today- I know I know- what a great day! and to top it off 465 calories burned. love it.
Thursday- went to lunch with a friend- I did get a salad.
Friday- back at it at Body Pump- such a fun Friday class! whipped 210 calories- whoop!
Saturday- K and I got out and about- went for a walk and then to play at the playgound and Moooo at the cows- didn't get the heart rate up very much-
Sunday- BigSisC, me and K all went for a morning run before heading off to Hippie Church- now that was an experience! Burned 285 calories- what a way to start a Sunday!

TOTAL: 1443

Destiny- chance? or choice?

2011-03-09T11:20:00.000-06:00

No- not the Child- silly.

Concentrate on this sentence-

To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.

Fate. Destiny.

Is it already planned for us?

or can we take it where we want to go?

it's scary and exciting all at the same time.

I wonder what the universe has in store for me.

I can't really say much more (right now anyhow) but

I have opened my mind- my heart- my future- to the world.

It's very exciting. and scary.

oh- did I already say that?

that's because it is.

my heart beats fast just typing this up.

The poster says

The choices we make, not the chances we take, determine our destiny.

What if we make a choice to take a chance?

OH- excitement is in the air~!

The Watch week 2/28- 3/6

2011-03-07T10:04:00.000-06:00

What? Spring? March? already? yay! and bathing suits are out in FULL force- so IT's ON- motivation is staring me in the face with every shopping trip. I want to have fun at the lake, the pool, the beach, everywhere this hot season.
I am actually doing a 21 day 'cleanse' of sorts- not as dramatic as a 7-10 day- but a little more realistic on the food plan (for me) so that's why I chose the 21 day- they actually suggest not working out at all- because there's a chance you could pass out- yikes! but I just can't imagine staying out of the gym for 3 straight weeks- so I am just going to take it easy and listen to my body. Any workout is better than NO workout- so if my calorie burning counts are a little low these next couple of weeks- that's why.

Monday- Body Attack- hi-ya! (that's like my karate sound) 303 calories burned- good job!
Tuesday- Body Pump- and even though The Watch usually doesn't like this class- today I actually burned 268 calories- nice! that's the most I have burned in that class so far.
Wednesday- Body Step- boy it was a rough one today. I kept getting almostcramps in my calves- never an "official" cramp- they were just thinking about it. Still- even so- left 466 calories in sweat on the floor there. I am assuming that means I need to drink more water. right?
Thursday- no work out today-just some running around and errands.
Friday- Body Pump 260 calories burned! yay- then out for an awesome dinner-
Saturday- just a lazy ol' day- loved it!
Sunday- kite festival! what a great day for a festival.

Friday night's dinner was SO good! We went to Silver Stone- a nice little restaurant and wine bar in a small town north of ours. It was excellent. We had scallops and crab cakes, lobster, steak, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, wine, and then dessert. I was so stuffed that we actually ended up taking the Cinnamon cheese cake home-
My mom had given us this date night as a Christmas gift- so it was time to cash in. Everything was good- a little pricey- but it was a nice night out just the two of us. But get this- I ate so much- that I was pretty much miserable all day Saturday- booo- I learned my lesson. (and I am ready to work off those extra calories this week)

yummmm Ketchup-

2011-03-04T10:23:00.000-06:00

Let me just tell ya'll- I am trying to do this whole "healthy" thing this week- but FOR REAL - what I wouldn't give for some

ketchup-

did you know how much sugar ketchup has in it??

cheese- ymmmmmm-

one block of sharp cheddar over here please.

So what else have I done without this week?
beer
wine
milk
potatoes
hot wings
pizza

ALL fun stuff!

wow- it's crazy when you start actually watching what you put in your mouth- how much you put in without even realizing it.

But good news! It's Friday! and I have been super duper good all week long so that on Friday- and that would be tonight- I can ~~cheat~~ go on a date with the hubs and splurge a little.

This Life Ain't For Everybody- part 1

2011-03-01T14:06:00.001-06:00

This Life Ain't For Everybody!

That's the slogan at Winner's and Loser's- two of our favorite little hang outs in Nashville.

ain't that the truth! boy-

For those of you who don't know- about 2 years ago- we had my bachelorette party in Nashville- talk about some fun times! So it was time to take the husband back to see what all the fuss was about.

Well what can I say about this Nashville trip- or maybe what should I say?? As always- we were treated like Rockstars- hanging out with the VIP's on their "15th Annual 50th B-day Party"
-now who wants to start that tradition? I do - I do!

In the airport-

The limo's outside waiting! and we headed straight to the bar-

ohhhh more shots- who even likes these Fireballs?

ok- we'll give it a try-

Cody loved the Fireballs- who knows what dirty joke they are laughing at this time?

Day 2- on our way to the hotel- downtown Nashville-

Lunch day 2 at Southstreet-

Done decorating for the big night! All the ladies here- the party is at 3rd and Lindsley every year- this year they had a great Santana cover band-

15th annual party!

All dressed up for the party-

who makes shots this big?? The 1st of many Patron- chilled

Look look- it's me and Kelly! I can't believe they put up a painting of us!

Love this picture- not too sure what's going on here- lol-

boys-

Let's get this party started!

Day 3- after lunch we hung out with some friends- heard a lot of stories, and a TON of jokes- we laughed A LOT- it was my favorite day-

but this is where part 1 ends- because I can't upload anymore pictures without upgrading my account- and I need to figure out if that's what I want to do- I am sure I will- but I was on a roll and now I have to take a break to contemplate this issue-

The Watch- week 2/21- 2/27

2011-02-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

After getting back from our Nashville 72 hour straight go- go- go trip- I knew that getting back into the gym was going to be a doozy. We did walk places- and I tried to eat notsobad *cringe* and even though I managed to fit in maybe 1.5 salads throughout the weekend- I am pretty sure Miller Lite and Patron won the calorie battle-
But BOY was it good times. Of course it's for another post- but i'm not sure I can even begin to explain it- it's kinda one of those things that "you just have to be there"

Monday- nada- recovery day
Tuesday- Body Pump- whew! finally made it back in the gym and it felt great- who cares if the watch only told me 145 calories-
Wednesday- back to Body Step- I was so irritated at a co-worker today that I could not have gotten out of the office fast enough- and was happy to blow of some steam at the gym. There's nothing like a mix of Black Eyed Peas, Whitney Houston, 80's Rock and Lady Gaga to get you moving! 444 calories gone- The Watch sure was beeping at me a lot today- it must have known all the bad words I wanted to say back at the office.
Thursday- nice butt kicking at Body Combat fo-tweny-ate down (that's 428 umkay)
Friday- made it to Body Pump- I debated- and widdle waddled and finally made it out the door- then when I got there the front desk guy told me the class was full! ugh! then he said "just kidding"
NOT funny dude- I almost had to leave and go shopping or something.... but working out is better... I guess. I forgot ThedarnWatch (the babysitter cancelled- can you get a picture of how my day is going here?) but anyhow- watch or no watch- I am guessing he would tell me about 150 calories- so that's what I am going to go with.
Saturday- K and I tried going for a walk- it was misting- and we ended up getting sprinkled on- so no stop at the park- just a short 20 minute walk- poo.
Sunday- nada

TOTAL: 1167

Different Messes- but still the same cute face!

2011-02-24T15:55:00.000-06:00

I mean- how is it even possible to get THIS much stuff on you when you eat?? Isn't there some sort of award you can win for that? surely there is....

We can start off easy- here's the Cake Mustache

Then we have sweet potatoes- pretty innocent-

Is that a nutrigrain bar?? all gone!

and finally spaghetti-

CHEESE!

The Watch week 2/14/11- 2/20/11

2011-02-22T09:20:00.000-06:00

This is a short week- lots to get done- lots of running around to do- hopefully I can get in the gym at least a few times- then we head out of town to party it up with some friends in Nashville. I can't wait!!

Monday- welp- didn't get off to as great of a start as I wanted. I went to the mall today at lunch and skipped the gym- but I HAD to get some new jeans for my trip this week! Really- I really had to. At least that is out of the way- so I can focus on workouts for the rest of the week- ok- ok.
Tuesday- Body Pump- you know- this is the class that The Watch doesn't like- but I do. I like it when the instructor plays the music loud- makes you kinda feel like you're at a dance club and you just happen to be lifting weights. Burned 148 calories.
Wednesday- Body Step- by far my favorite class! I decided to stay a little longer in class today- I usually leave after about 40 minutes so that I can get back to the office, shower, and be back at my desk. But since it was my last workout before we head out of town- I stayed. Glad I did- so much fun! 534 calories- gone! Even got a "good workout" from The Watch.
Thursday- airport walking- does that count?
Friday- 16 oz curls- LOL- those for sure count, right?
Saturday- oh it's just worthless at this point- we did walk to a few places....
Sunday- and we walked through the airport- we really were worthless at this point....

But our trip to Nashville was a BLAST. and that's for another post.

TOTAL: 682

Time's a flying-

2011-02-14T12:09:00.001-06:00

his new sock monkey snow hat

I have been putting off and putting off writing this one year update. I use to do these monthly- but I probably won't anymore. I am thinking that I will do the "official" updates at 18 and then 24 months- but let's hope those don't get here as fast as the 12 month did!

SIZE- at his 12 month appointment he weighed in at 19 lbs- but he had been sick- so I am pretty sure I am not doing at least 25 lbs curls daily- he's heavy! He is still in the 5% for weight and height, but of course that noggin has staying in the 75% range! He is wearing 12 mo. clothes and size 3 shoes. He has 4 bottom teeth, 4 top teeth, and has cut both his top and bottom molars on his left side. Right side is still bulging out- ouch!

NEW MOVES- K is into everything these days. He loves to climb the stairs- and in fact just last night- I think he has figured out how to climb on the couch all by himself. He is also spinning- yes- like around in circles. He thinks this is super funny- he gets himself dizzy, stumbles around, and cracks up. I have no idea where he learned this trick- but it's pretty cute.

YUMMY FOODS- we try lots of foods and some he likes and some he spits out. (and it's hard not to laugh at him- but we try not to- we really do try- but sometimes it's just too funny) His favorites right now are steamed sweet potatoes and carrots, Hawaiian teryaki meatballs, bananas, cheese, yogurt, crackers, cinnamon toast- oh and he LOVES ice cream- He's been doing a great job at feeding himself- and we have even practiced using a spoon.

SLEEP- sleeps just great. Loves his bed- he takes one nap daily- about 3 hours each afternoon. He is sleeping on a nap mat at school! and then to bed about 7:30- and will sleep on weekends until 7:00- 7:30- but during the week- I have to wake him up at 6:15 to get ready for work/ school.

I don't know how it happened mama??

WORDS- Mama and Dada, Uh-oh, Wasdat?, he can bark, roar, and on occasion meow, he can also pretend to brush his teeth and make the arm motion for "choo-choo" for a train

Please?

BEST MOMENTS- we took a nap together this past weekend- haven't done that in quite a while- just snuggled up on the couch together- it was the best! He is also getting very good at giving kisses- love them!

FAVORITE THINGS- stuffed animals, balloons, playing outside, climbing the stairs, books, flipping over the dog food bowl-

his new tunnel!! lots of fun!

I love you to pieces little one!! Happy Valentine's Day- you sure have brought lots of love to all of us. Today you officially turn 13 months old- and we love every minute- muwah-

The Watch week 2/7- 2/13

2011-02-14T08:53:00.001-06:00

Did pretty good last week. And my total would have been even higher if The Watch would have counted my Wednesday workout.

Monday- I so did not want to go to the gym today- it's good that I have friends- and The Watch- that push me to go. You know- getting to the gym is the hardest part- today I did Body Attack- my goal was to break 300 calories today and I did it- 301 burned.
Tuesday- so there's a bug going around K's school and he had a nasty poo- and I guess I jumped the gun and thought that he may have it- so I kept him home for the day- and didn't get any workout in- The Watch stared at me all day saying "Exercise Day" -yea- I see you. but things work in mysterious ways because...
Wednesday- while stuck at home my car decided to stop working- well let me clarify- my power steering went out- and my Hubs decided to take everything apart- and then the car wouldn't work. So it's a good thing I was stuck at home- and not at the office! But that makes day 2 of no work out- and I am going a little bit stir crazy. So I am actually looking forward to getting back to the office which means- I get to go to the gym on my lunch break. Let's just hope my car sticks with that plan too.
Thursday- yay- back to Body Combat- man! that's a great class- just kicking butt- it's a serious stress reliever. Burned 480- nice. You know- it was good to miss the gym- I know I don't have to work out everyday- but I did miss it- and was happy to be back in.

*Side note* man! you would NOT believe my luck. I couldn't find my keys last night so we were up at the office until 7:00 waiting on a locksmith to break in my car. I had to steal some crackers from a break room to feed K while we were waiting. Turns out- someone found my keys and turned them into the front desk- glad I got them back Friday morning!! (they were already gone for the day when I realized I couldn't find my keys)
Anyhow- that made Friday's workout just that much sweeter- that I actually got to drive to the gym. I tell you- me and this car are battling it out!

Friday- went to do Body Pump- this is a weight lifting class. The Watch does not like so much. He is always telling me crap like "you only burned a wimpy 154 calories- WIMP" and I'm like "Listen here Watch- have you ever done 5 minutes of straight squats?? huh?? Oh yea- you don't have any legs- that's what I thought"
Anyhow- the class is tough- 5 minutes of weight lifting for each body part- so even though the calories are low- it's a great workout- I did notice that I need to go up on my weights- it's just that time.
Saturday- me and the girls met up for some Body Combat- and kicked some serious bootie- burned 709 calories burned- yeow!
Sunday- no workout today- even thought The Watch said I needed to do a fitness test- hmmm? what's that? I didn't have time to study- so no test for me today.

TOTAL: 1572

Where did you get all that hair?

2011-02-07T10:14:00.000-06:00

Static-

goodness- I didn't even know he had that much hair!

and I know- he's getting big. And I have been avoiding the 12 months update- and now he's already 13 months- stayed tuned- I will up date soon-

Texas Snow!

2011-02-07T10:05:00.000-06:00

You know in TX- when it snows everyone freaks out and everything closes down. Which was nice- so no work on Friday! yay! it's a snow day.

The other part of that is- we don't really have any cold weather clothes either- so you just have to wing it. I put K in some baby legs, sweat pants, a long sleeve shirt, his heavy jacket, and sock monkey hat- hope he was warm. I couldn't find his little mittens- so we didn't stay out long. He didn't like touching the snow- but he liked crunching it under his feet.

I told you that Texans don't know how to dress in the snow-

C throwing snow balls to the dogs- they loved it!

Gracie kept eating the snow-

Our street- no one had drove on the roads- looks cool huh?

and what do we get into when we are home on a snow day?

Look i'm in the middle-

We made a pot of Chicken Pot Pie soup- From Gina's Skinny Recipes- it was soooo good and perfect for a snow day dish!

The Watch week 1/31- 2/6

2011-02-07T09:19:00.000-06:00

This is calorie burning according to The Watch- (if you don't know about him- you can read about him here) don't piss him off- or he'll just tell you "you're weak" and that you can only "eat brussel sprouts for a week" or some thing like that.

Monday- Body Attack 287 calories
Tuesday- stayed home with the baby- so not an "official" workout- but I did chase him around all day.
Wednesday- Body Step- normally- or last week I burned 458 calories in this class- but I must have made The Watch mad- or maybe he was too cold- or maybe I forgot to press start- but whatev... he said I burned a whopping 6 calories today.
Thursday- Body Combat- 482 calories and The Watch actually said "Good Workout!"
Friday- welp- we had a snow day! yay! So I popped in one of the 30 Day Shred DVDs from Jillian- did leval 3- and only burned 163 calories- but hey- at least we got a work out in on our day off.
Saurday- went the the gym with Kristen- we did Body Combat- great workout!!! burned 518 calories-
Sunday- ummm.... nothing-

TOTAL- 1914

Spontaneous what??

2011-02-03T13:40:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure why I ever named this blog Spontaneous Life- because well...
I'm not.
Can I go with the flow?
Sure.
But I like my flow.
I am just a planner. I like my routine. I like to know what's coming up. And I like to have a plan about what to do about it. I even like to have a plan for things that aren't happening- just in case they do happen.
It's almost instinctive. I find myself thinking and even planning to be spontaneous.... yes-

it's weird. it's O.C.D + A.D.D = O-D-D!

and then somethings I don't have a plan for things like when the GIANT freaking daddy longlegs came crawling out from behind my rearview mirror and I had a ~~full blown~~ panic attack while trying to get out of traffic and pull over before running everyone in sight off the road.

ew- thinking of that still gives me the hebee-geebes.

But back to my reasoning- regardless of how much planning I actually do- most of the time it doesn't go as planned. Things come up- life is full of surprises and you just have to roll with it most days. No reason to stress out- spontaneously combust or pull out your hair or melt into a little pile of poo on the floor. It is- what it is. So I guess that's where I was thinking spontaneous- make it a new day- make it a new way- it's all goign to be ok. (is that a song? if not it should be)

either way- gave the ol' bloggy a little facelift- and like I said- Spontaneous Life-

IT JUST IS.

OK.

And together they had 3 very lovey kiddos-

2011-02-01T13:30:00.001-06:00

What can I say? Matt Montalvo is truly talented. He takes gorgeous photos with ease. He's professional- and I feel like these days we can also consider him a friend. I almost feel like I am a celebrity and Matt is my personal photographer. How lucky am I? We chose Matt as our wedding photographer back in 2008. He has captured some of the most important and special moments of our lives. If you ever need a photographer- call him- and please tell him you heard about him from me.

Here's us back in Oct 2008- Engagement Photos

Bridal pictures-

Wedding Day!!

and adding to our family-

and our 1st Family of Five pictures!!!

We can share!

2011-01-31T15:08:00.000-06:00

oopsie-

wonder how that happened?

but now that's it not in the bowl- you want some?

Come on- just one piece?

Cooking it up!

2011-01-31T11:10:00.000-06:00

This weekend we made some yummy food. It was such a beautiful weekend- 75 degrees- sunny with a little bit of cloud cover- nice! K and I went for a run Saturday morning- played at the park- talked to the cows-it was just nice. OH- and we also took family pictures on Sunday- but more on that in another post.

Back to the cooking-

I actually thought that it was going to rain-(I don't know why we even listen to the weather guys in TX) so I was thinking something yummy in the crock pot was called for. These crock pot carnitas from Weelicious are the best. Super easy- since you just dump it all in and go- and they fill the whole house with flavor. To top them off I found this Mexican Coleslaw - it added the perfect "crunch" to the tacos- which we put on corn tortillas. The only thing about the coleslaw is that it calls for diced avocados- and it makes a lot. So now the leftover's have turned a little brown. So next time I think I won't add the avocados to the main dish- I will just wait and add those to each individual serving.
We have actually eaten these yummy tacos for 3 days now- and plan on warming them up again tonight after BigSisterC's basketball game- they are just that good-

Hope you all had a great weekend! stayed tuned to see family pictures.

Bathroom Etiquette-

2011-01-27T14:55:00.000-06:00

Dear Restroom lady-

I understand that sometimes you just have to "go". And sometimes this happens at work- and not in the privacy of your own home.

Please note- that we have private bathrooms downstairs- just one stall. That's right- you and only you.

But even they are not sound proof.

So if you can't make it to the bottom floor to "drop off the kids at the pool"

Please- for all our sake's!!! - keep the grunting to a minimum. (ew-ew-ew- just ew)

I mean- really- it's not necessary- is it?

Thank you-
The other women in the bathroom

BTW- we know what your shoes look like.....

embarrassing isn't it?

1st Birthday Celebration Part 1 (decorations)

2011-01-19T14:33:00.001-06:00

I figured I would break this down into 2 parts.

- Part 1- decorations
- Part 2- party time

Let me start out by thanking my helpers- they were a HUGE help and I could not have done it without them. Thanks Hubby, Big BrotherC, Big SisterC, and Miss H!!!

So a lot of people asked me how I came up with this idea- welp- it went somewhat like this. We were throwing around all kinds of 1st b-day party theme ideas. We went from Pirates to Carnival big tent themes. And we started to ponder on the fact that K (and mine) birthdays are in January- poo- and they always will be. But it's usually cold- and I say usually because in Texas you just never know- but anyhow- since we can't predict the weather- it just sucks that we can't really have an outdoor party. Or pool party- or fun party at the park.

and that got me thinking- who cares what the weather is outside? let's bring the outdoors IN and it's always sunny inside! So the research began and we settled on a camping theme- and I wanted to make the inside of our house- look like we were outside.

I designed our invitations with trees, birds, owls, a tent, and campfire. And I took those designs and made patterns out of construction paper- which we then cut out and glued together. I found how to make trees inside- here- I wanted tress to be everywhere! On each of the trees I printed out a picture of K- starting with month 1-12- so we could compare how much he has changed over the past year! I just glued those on scrapbook paper and then stuck them to the trees. We used the same scrapbook paper to make a Happy Birthday banner too.

I wanted to set up the kitchen with a "sky" effect. So then I learned how to make balloon clusters- which would be our clouds. And then we decided to fill up blue balloons with helium for the sky. So we blew up a LOT of white cloud balloons and a LOT of green balloons for leaves on the trees. You could even get more fancy and cover the white balloons with cotton- to make them look fluffy if you wanted to- or had the time to. Which I didn't.

We decided to make our front room aka: dining room- the camping room. One of K's birthday presents was a new tent and crawl through tunnel! We set up the tent and figured out how to make a campfire with red Christmas lights. If only we knew how to play the guitar- then we could have sat and sang songs around the campfire. (talk about my kind of camping- we have our wine cooler in there and no bugs- yay!)

Our other front room/ study we turned into the kids play room. I pulled out all the toys and everything in there was kid friendly and could be played with. The kids LOVED this room!

We really wanted to make S'mores over the fire pit out in the backyard- but it turned out to be a cold and rainy day- so-
But no worries- remember- always sunny inside! We built a big fire in the fireplace and I made some S'more brownies from The Sweets Life, and we also made Mini- Vanilla Cupcakes from Weelicious. Yummy! We bought a chocolate "smash" cake and then some blue and yellow cupcakes too. So we were good on sweets. I took the designs I had used on the invitation to create cupcake toppers with pictures of the blue bird that said "Sweet Tweet" and then the owl saying "Whoo's birthday?" I also bought some toppers that just had the #1 on them.

For other food- I wanted to cover our kitchen table with paper and do a fun scene to put the food in. I actually got this idea from one of the weekly emails I get from Parenting Magazine- and it was too cute! I knew we wanted to do a tree- so I came up with some fun green foods. Cucumbers, green grapes, pickles, and Ants on a Log (celery with cream cheese and raisins). Then I had a big yellow dividing dish that served as the sun and in it we had: pizza rolls, taquitos, and mini-corn dogs. We had ranch dip in the middle- I also had planned on putting out salsa- but I forgot to draw it in someplace- Oh well. The two flowers had cubed cheddar cheese in the orange flower and cherry tomatoes in the red flower. And finally in the cutie pie caterpillar- we had cubed mozzarella cheese, fruit dip, and pineapples. I think this turned out really cute and I will use this idea again! I just drew out the scene, traced the bowls that the food would go in, outlined it with marker, and then the girls colored it all in with crayons for me!

All in all- I think everything turned out really great! Take a look and let me know what you think-
* now I am no professional photographer- so please excuse my lack of skills*

Here we are getting ready- the girls coloring

our front door- to the right is the playroom and to the left is the campground

trees- trees- everywhere!

view from the front door looking in

our front foyer

the kitchen- no "sky" up yet

more kitchen-

kitchen looking out to foyer

kitchen looking out towards hallway/ living room

Birthday banner

Fun Food Table!

The green tree-

Cutie Caterpillar

Flowers and sunshine!

S'mores brownies- these were soooo good and gooey- yum!

Mini- vanilla cupcakes-

Standard gift bags for the kiddos that came.

Over the TV in our living room

kitchen with the "sky"- the kids LOVED the balloons- they were everywhere by the end of the party!

The camping room with campfire-

Technology- only as smart as it's owner-

2011-01-18T14:24:00.001-06:00

yea- that's right.

I got this super super cool watch for my birthday! First let me give you a little bit of back story. A girl I stand next to in my Step class has this really cool watch- it counts her calories and keeps her heart rate and all that kind of good stuff. And since she is skinny and real cute and I want to be just like her- I just had to get me one of those watches!
Because having the watch will make me skinny- right?

yea- just like buying the P90-X videos will make me all muscley right?

what? that's not how it works?

anywhooo-

I mention the watch to my Dad- who says he wants to get it for my birthday and wa-la a couple of weeks later I am nose into the "Quick Start Guide" and on my way to my 1st workout with The Watch.

And yes it deserves capitals, and yes it deserves bold- because I mean- this Watch is kinda like my Ruler- I mean- what it says goes. If it tells me to work harder- then I should. And if it tells me to take it easy- they hey- I will. And if it tells me that I burned enough calories to enjoy some pizza and beer- then you know what- I am just going to do what it tells me to do.

Ok- so I enter in all my personal information- and do you know what The Watch tells me??

You're overweight.

ah- thanks butthole- that's pretty much why I got you in the 1st place. So I can be skinny like the girl next to me in class- duh. Don't need The Watch to tell me that- I have mirrors.

Then I head to Body Combat- which is a kickboxing class- so I am happy to take out some of my frustration in class and not on The Watch. So I work my butt off- I am kicking serious butt- and sweating like crazy- don't mess with me! I want to prove to The Watch that I can work hard and I can burn a lot of calories- just watch out you Watch!

and then guess what??

The Watch tells me that I burned 0 yup- ZERO big fat ZERO calories.

hmpf- that must have been the problem all this time. I mean working out and sweating all so hard- only to burn ZERO calories- no wonder I'm not loosing any weight.

a;wklsg;akr;l oweir;welnkfa;dflgneortjha;wrj- stupid watch!

so take 2 with The Watch. Today about half way through my weight lifting class- after the hardest part of the work out- squats, legs trembling, I need a break and I look down at The Watch to see what it thinks- maybe it will tell me to take it easy...yea right.

Then I see it- I realize..... ohhhhhh you have to push the "start workout" button.

Nice.

Out of Town Holidays 2010

2011-01-07T16:37:00.000-06:00

We had a great family visit to Georgia. K's 1st time on a plane- and he did great. I took all the advice from friends that was given me:

- bring toys that he's never seen/ played with before

- don't worry what everyone else thinks

- give a bottle at take off

- give yourself plenty of time to get through security

- bring snacks

We did all this and all went great. We only one tiny little set back on our way out of town. They let us board early- since we had the little one- how nice. But then our flight ended up getting delayed almost 2 hours!!! while we were ON the plane!! arrghghghghgh...

The pilot kept coming on saying "In just 30 more minutes folks- we should know more"

Then 30 minutes later he would say "Well folks- looks like we are going to be here 30 more minutes"

Great.

But we took off- had the bottle handy- and K went out - sound asleep. He slept the whole flight, until we started our decent into Atlanta. I don't know if his ears were popping or not- but I am pretty sure he was tired of being stuck in his car seat for almost 4 hours! As soon as the wheels touched the ground- we got him out and he was a happy camper again! Flirting with all the girls around us of course.

We got our rent-a-car and headed straight for the Krystal Hamburgers- YUMMY!! and it was snowing around us- how sweet. Little tiny hamburgers, sweet tea, and snow :) mommy's happy.

Over the next 4 days we ate as much as we could and visited as much family as we could. It was a great visit. K got to meet 3 sets of great grandparents! wow! By the end of the trip he had everyone wrapped around his little finger and I am pretty sure he went back to daycare talking about all of us. Telling his friends things like "dude- all I did was shake my head and all 6 people at the table started shaking their heads too- they were weird"

LOL! it's true-

At Gigi & PapaB's opening presents-

and wearing the bows!

awwww- he loves his new monkey- giving kisses is so sweet!

playing with Aunt Cyd

We also had the opportunity to celebrate with MY Great Uncle Bubba- so K's only Great Great Uncle- he has a beautiful home- amazing- right? We always love going out there and listening to him tell stories about him and my Grandaddy- getting into- and trying to stay out of trouble-and let me tell you- they didn't do a very good job of it!

You really can't tell- but the pond was frozen when we got there~!

I can tell that K and his Great Uncle K will be great buddies one day- since K is already a Georgia bulldog fan and really likes Budweiser (cans that is- he didn't have any of the beer...and you can't give him any until he's muchmuch older Uncle K!!!)

K and Greatgreat Uncle Bubba-

It was Uncle Bubba's 84th birthday- Happy Birthday!

We celebrated with moonshine- LOL!

Out and about for some hot wings and live music.

This is actually my mom and uncles toy horse- it has seen many many years of play time!

We really had a great trip. I got to get my fill of Krystal hamburgers. We even tried a Nu-Way hot dog- and it was good too! I brought home some Brunswick stew- (thank you Granny Nell) and I can hardly wait to try some. We also discovered this awesome brewery that is in Atlanta while we were in Florida last year. They don't sell their beer in TX- sadsadsad... But we stocked up and brought some back home- yay! Check them out- SweetWater Brewery.

It's sad to say but we don't get to be around family very much. We have wonderful friends here in TX- but since both of our families live out of town- it really makes the time special when you get to be around those that are related to you. I think that all younger people should get to be around great grandparents and listen to stories and wisdom that they have to offer. It stinks that travel is so expensive! We would love for brotherC and sisterC to get to make a trip to Georgia too. Maybe one of these days....

Christmas Morning

2011-01-06T14:44:00.000-06:00

We are just a lucky lucky family- and we must have been pretty good this year! Santa was good to all of us-

he saw the slide 1st~ whoooooaaaa

Big Brother C under those piles of presents

Let's get to opening those Big Sister C!

my very own cell phone??

Notice his sideways footing- LOL! those pj's were a little too big-

just lounging around in new clothes- no biggie....

what's this?? This thing is awesome! it shoots balls out with air- while K tries to stick them back in- he loves it- and so do the dogs!

love my new car!

look ma! no hands!

his fleece pj's got a little hot- but he is still working the 1/2 pj look! LOL!

what a day! now off to pack and get ready for our "Out of town" holiday celebration- that's up next!

Hometown Holidays 2010

2011-01-06T11:20:00.000-06:00

I know- i knoooooow- don't even say it-

it's late- but it's here- we had so much going on this holiday season- I just couldn't keep up with everything. So I will start with the 1st half of our "Hometown Holidays" then we'll do post #2 with the "Out of town Holidays"

We really did have a great time! I sooo love the holidays- putting up decorations, day dreaming about what to buy everyone, cooking yummy treats, and getting to spend quality time with the fam!! It's all great!

Papa L came in town Christmas Eve-eve and we headed up to Home Field Grill for some food and games.

Now that C is an "official" basketball team player- I am pretty sure she put a whipping on PapaL...

yup..

The next day the boys ran around through the madness and got us a delicious Christmas dinner! We had prime rib, green chili cheese potatoes, collard greens, and a strawberry and spinach salad- ALL soooo good!- we opened a couple of presents- then we settled in and waited for Santa to come.

Opening his 1st present-

yay!!! Toy Story Lego's- just what she wanted!

Yay!! Star Wars Lego's- just what he wanted!!

what is it?? open it open it open it!!

wow- he loves it!

So while the older kids went off to work on putting together their Lego's- K decided to work on a bigger puzzle- organizing the container cabinet... good luck buddy!

Good night!

Holiday day fun

2010-12-23T09:09:00.002-06:00

Ok- so this idea originated from The McMommy Chronicles- love her blog and I have been waiting for the perfect time to give this little "experiement" a try. The opportunity arose- when I got to work from home this week.

Working from home during the holiday season is no joke- we worked hard- and this is what we worked on. Enjoy!

OK- this is the original.

We let the C's watch it ONE time- and this is what we got!

LOL!! hahaaha- I see more of us wanting to try this over the weekend. It's just too much fun!

* and just a small disclaimer- when I work from home- I really do work- no lie- it's just that.... oh hell- I am not going to explain myself all that much!*

shhhh.... it's a secret post- just pretend ok....OK-

2010-12-15T10:20:00.000-06:00

Let's just pretend that I am NOT writing a 11 month post update- because- no- nope- nada- not. going. to. do . it.

and I am not going to cry either.

ok- well maybe

just a little....

It's probably a good thing that we are so super busy swamped with the holiday season- that I am trying to not focus very hard- like maybe if I don't think about it- it won't happen- kind of a thing... know what I mean?? dont' make me say it outloud...

shhhhhhh- remember- we can't say it outloud- ok- that K is in his LAST month before he turns a

....sniffle.....tear..... a year old......

WH-HAT?? who said that? not me!

ok- well I guess I better just face the music- I mean- we do have a "deal"- and at least I'm not getting any older-

So coming up- we have:
-Christmas Bunko- at our house!
-Christmas weekend- yipee!
-Off visiting family
-Then New Year's Eve
-Then my "subtractoneyear" Birthday
-Then K's FIRST birthday party
-Then a good friends wedding
-whew- an off weekend
-Then Dad's "add two years so that he's older than mom" birthday party- and as long as we're keeping things quite- there's no reason to tell him about this.

So- like I said busy busy busy- and hopefully that will keep me just a little bit insane- right?

SIZE: we actually went to the doctor- since the weather has been all kinds of crazy- all the kids at daycare have gross stuff coming out of their noses- but guess what? It's nothing... anyhow- he weighed in at 19 lbs! Still wearing 6-9 month clothing- mostly- but starting to fit in some 12 month stuff.

All grown up- at the TX Motor Speedway

NEW MOVES:- walking- walking- and more walking. He's even starting to walk fast- and I think he's trying to jump! He will bend his knees and get real low- then shoot up- real fast! Of course his feet don't leave the ground- but I think he is trying to get them too!

YUMMY FOODS: He gets 4 bottles a day- 1 when he wakes up, 1 mid morning and one late afternoon at school, then one before bedtime. We have cut out his lunch time bottle- and I guess we will be working on cutting out another one soon. For breakfast he is eating yogurt with fruit. LOVES bananas. I can mix just about anything with banana and he will eat it- and I mean anything. We are trying to move to the school menu for lunch. Still working on that one. Since K isn't feeding himself yet- he still needs food from the spoon. So I usually pack a "back up" lunch. But he is almost there- he will pick up a few pieces of food and get them in his mouth! He likes sweet potatoes, apple sauce, chicken, beef, spaghetti, carrots, avocados, pineapples, beans, there's more- but I just can't think. We actually are feeding him anything these days- we have even ordered off the kids menu! But mostly just letting him nibble at our plates- it's nice to not have to make special foods for him- and we can all just eat together.

SLEEP- ummm same.

WORDS: no real words yet- I am excited about hearing what will be the first one?? we have been doing lots of animal sounds- I think he can meow and bark a little bit. I am working on getting a HoHoHo- but not sure if I can get that out of him before the holiday is over- but who knows? He babbles all the time- I wonder what he's saying?

Helping mom decorate for the holidays!

checking out the tree- notice his blanky close by-

BEST MOMENTS: K will sometimes get shy- and when new people come around he will bury his face in my neck- it's so sweet. We are going to have to watch this boy with the girls~! He' s not shy at all then! He is giving kisses out left and right! He's got a crush on a girl at school- who he has been blowing kisses to- but last week- he actually kissed her on the head! How sweet! We also put up the Christmas tree- and when we light up the lights- K starts with all kinds of ohhhhhh's and ahhhhhh's- and he even gets himself so excited he gets tongue tied!

This is from last month- before he was walking all over- but it still shows his kiss blowing skills-

FAVORITE THINGS: He's is IN LOVE with his new blanky that was a gift from Zan. Her daughter makes them and they are THE BEST! so super soft- I can't believe that he actually gets his blanket and carries it around- he's never done that with any other blanket. He also likes the dogs' water bowl- the Christmas tree lights and decorations. And he is starting to like his own seat. Right now it's his boppy- he will crawl into it- with his blanky of course- and then pretend to watch TV or something- it's pretty darn cute!

My blanky

Getting his feet tickled-

K- you amaze me. Everyday. You are constantly learning new things- and getting such a fun personality! You can be stubborn and a little bit hard headed. (wonder who you get that from?) You don't quite understand "no" yet- and you laugh at me if I try and take something away. That is- until you learn it's not a game- then you sit on the floor, bend in half, put your head down and pout/ cry. You are so observant- you notice everything. Lights are probably your favorite- but also different textures on the walls, buttons and switches, and trees, leaves, and birds. Just lately you have started acting shy. If new people come in the room- you will hide between my legs or bury your face in my neck- it's so cute- I love it! (that's from your dad) You light up immediately when your brother and sister walk in the room! and your Dad can make you laugh like no one else can. I love hearing you laugh. I love our morning "talks" on the way to school. If you grow up and sing the wrong words to songs- I will take a little bit of responsibility for that one.... but at least the rhymes I make up are fun! well sometimes- LOL! I can still watch you sleep- and I love holding you while you sleep- I love snuggling up with you- so many- and so much love surrounds you- I know you have to grow up- but at least you will be my baby forever.

I feel the need- the need for speed...

2010-12-13T15:16:00.000-06:00

So for a wedding present I got my soon-to-be new husband the driving school at Texas Motor Speedway!! and YAY- we finally got around to using it! FINALLY!

We had a blast! the VROOOM of the cars- it gave me chills! C got to drive 10 laps with 10 other drivers on the track! His car topped out a 150 mph- yikes!

Then he got to ride with an instructor for 4 laps- and they got to go 160 mph- this was his favorite- he said that it was just a rush- can you hear how fast they are going?

My videos are a little shaky- I was standing on bleachers- kinda on one leg- trying to look at the camera, entertain K- and not get blown over by the wind. Oh- the wind!! It was cold- and it was blowing hard!

All the guys were smiling ear to ear when they climbed out of the cars. They loved it! I asked him if he liked this or skydiving better- and he said this by far! It actually made me want to attend a real race- never thought I would really want to do that. But being down there on pit row- looking up at all the stands- seeing the bank in the turns- it was pretty awesome.

here are the suits they wore-

Cars all lined up and ready to go! The class was held in this garage as well- so when the instructor was finished all the guys opened up the garage doors and started up the cars- whoa!!! the rumble in my tummy! it was really exciting!

Emergency vehicles- just in case...

How handsome!! I think he would make a good race car driver!

C's car- #07 Jack Daniels- fitting huh?

Getting in-

There he goes!!! vrroooommmmm....

Afterwards this instructor came up to me and said,

- "He's not afraid of speed is he?"

- "No- no sir he's not."

- "You probably shouldn't let him drive back to Austin."

LOL- so I drove us back to Austin- no speeding!

If you get the chance to do this- DO IT! or if you need a gift idea-

http://www.teamtexas.com/

And I would suggest- if you are scared to drive the track- then ride with an instructor- I sosososososo wish I would've done this while I was there!

Vrrrrrrrooooommmmmm......

2010-12-10T16:43:00.000-06:00

Just a preview of what's to come-

Pour little piggys-

2010-12-08T13:35:00.000-06:00

so I just looked down at my pretty little toes-

and noticed that they are in definite need of some T.L.C.

They are sporting the same polish that I chose the last time they were done up-

Which was the last time I was in a wedding-

In Mexico

In October-

ohhh. em. geee.

shhhhhhhh.... dont' tell anyone!

I need a pedicure STAT!

Some many things to be thankful for-

2010-11-27T09:35:00.001-06:00

oops- a little bit behind on getting this Thanksgiving post out- but what are great time we had! Of course- in true Thanksgiving fashion- we had WAY to much food and ate WAY too much- but that's what it's all about- right?

This is our appetizer spread- yes we had food- before the food.

Papa came into town and he and K just had SO much fun. They played "band" -they are really good. Carlos and Korry also joined in for the festivities- and boy are we glad they did! Yummy! Korry is such a great cook- and she is really good at Trivia Pursuit! and so is Cody-ugh! I hate to admit it but.... shhhhh don't tell him I said that.

K had fun playing in- and I mean actually IN his toy box-

check out those teeth!

K's 1st Thanksgiving meal- some dressing, stuffing (and yes- there is a difference- and yes we had both), some sweet potato casserole, and of course dessert! Some Pumpkin Gooey Cake-

He loved it all! Especially the Pumpkin Gooey Cake!

All in all it was a great weekend- we did some shopping, some running around, and mostly did some relaxing- it was great! Can't wait until next year!

Gotcha!

2010-11-24T13:46:00.001-06:00

I am sure he could hear/ understand me if I talked in a lower tone- BUT you never know! and why take the chance? LOL!