It snowed yesterday. A lot. While this isn't earth-shattering news for 60% of the United States, it's pretty stinking odd for Texas. And it's even more stinking odd because just the day before, I was sweating and contemplating turning on the A/C. I didn't, just out of sheer principle that it is CHRISTMAS EVE EVE, and what is this, Florida?
Yesterday, we all looked at each other in disbelief that it was actually SNOWING. And it was STICKING to the ground. And another disbelief was that it's still on the ground this morning!!
It's really wet snow out there, so I most likely won't let the kids play in it, even though that knocks my cool mom points down a few notches. But both of them have the green snot of death right now, and really don't need to get wet and freezing.
Anyhoo, just wanted to pop on here with some crazy news that it actually snowed. On Christmas Eve. In Texas.
It's still weird.
I'll be back with pictures later.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
I Know, I Slack
Good grief, it's been a long time since I posted in the ol' blog. Shew... if only I could cram into this space all that has changed and all I have been doing. Well, I'll try and hit the highlights.
I'm sitting here listening to Christmas music. I just finished wrapping all of the presents (except the ones I still have to buy... slacker moment #2, in case you're keeping track). I had the hardest time getting motivated about wrapping Christmas presents this year. Time is another dimension for me right now. We're moving (more on that later), so I didn't bother to decorate the house (slacker moment #3).
I guess that years of retail at Christmas has turned the season for me into less of a magical wonderment, and more into a big blur of lights, shopping, and stress. Most Christmases I worked at Starbucks, Thanksgiving would finish and the next thing I knew I woke up and it was New Years. I still managed to get all the socially acceptable things done, like presents, parties, etc. But it wasn't a fun, "most wonderful time of the year." It was more, let's get through this.
So maybe I'm still stuck in that mentality. Except last year I was on maternity leave. And I still didn't decorate the house or get all Christmasy. I chocked it up to having a 2 month old and not wanting to chase my 18 month old away from the shiny things. Plus, we drove to my parents' house. At least they had a tree.
I think this is the last year I can get away with my Christmas slackage. The boys still don't really "get" Christmas. But by golly, next year Charlie will be ready. So I have told myself. This is it. You have to bring it next year, mom. For real.
On a somewhat related topic, I just heard my absolute favorite Christmas song. I prefer the traditional Christmas songs and hymns. Nat King Cole's version of "O Holy Night" played on the Pandora Christmas station. I am sitting here with tears rolling down my chin. The line, "Fall on your knees and hear the angel voices" is so powerful. It gets me every time.
Anyway, back to the updating. Instead of enjoying my first school vacation, I am spending it moving. And you know how much fun that is, right?
But this time, even though the moving part still stinks, I am so excited. It's into a brand-new house!! That we bought!!!
I have been spending the good part of the last 2 months working on finding what kind of house we can afford, and then finding the perfect house. And I did! Because while I may slack at holiday traditions, I do not slack at obsessing.
I obsessed and searched and googled until I found the right house, the right loan, and the right Realtor. It all finally came together, and we closed on the house last Friday.
It does mean we have to say goodbye to city living. At least for now, anyway. But it's everything we need. It even has all of my wish list- a spare bedroom for guests, a separate washer and dryer room (having to turn up the TV to volume 30 while the washer is spinning gets old), a garage, and a garden tub!! It even has a pantry!
So I've spent this week packing and moving boxes over to the new house and putting everything away.
You know, all I have ever heard about buying a house is that it is so hard and stressful. Our experience has been so easy! We just had to scan and email all of the documents to the mortgage people. They sent us the papers, and everything was done on email! It was so easy. And in just 30 days, too! It was hard to get really excited until the last pen was clicked shut and the keys were in our hands.
So I guess while I haven't been buying the boys tons of new toys and decorating the Christmas tree, we bought them a house for Christmas. With a safe back yard to play in, with no threat of angry dogs jumping over the fence.
So Merry Christmas everyone. I hope this finds you happy and healthy. I will make it a point to update the blog more often, especially now that I have a huge chunk of time in my day that isn't obsessing, calling, searching, or Googling houses for sale.
Here's a picture of the boys for you! Don't they look thrilled?
I'm sitting here listening to Christmas music. I just finished wrapping all of the presents (except the ones I still have to buy... slacker moment #2, in case you're keeping track). I had the hardest time getting motivated about wrapping Christmas presents this year. Time is another dimension for me right now. We're moving (more on that later), so I didn't bother to decorate the house (slacker moment #3).
I guess that years of retail at Christmas has turned the season for me into less of a magical wonderment, and more into a big blur of lights, shopping, and stress. Most Christmases I worked at Starbucks, Thanksgiving would finish and the next thing I knew I woke up and it was New Years. I still managed to get all the socially acceptable things done, like presents, parties, etc. But it wasn't a fun, "most wonderful time of the year." It was more, let's get through this.
So maybe I'm still stuck in that mentality. Except last year I was on maternity leave. And I still didn't decorate the house or get all Christmasy. I chocked it up to having a 2 month old and not wanting to chase my 18 month old away from the shiny things. Plus, we drove to my parents' house. At least they had a tree.
I think this is the last year I can get away with my Christmas slackage. The boys still don't really "get" Christmas. But by golly, next year Charlie will be ready. So I have told myself. This is it. You have to bring it next year, mom. For real.
On a somewhat related topic, I just heard my absolute favorite Christmas song. I prefer the traditional Christmas songs and hymns. Nat King Cole's version of "O Holy Night" played on the Pandora Christmas station. I am sitting here with tears rolling down my chin. The line, "Fall on your knees and hear the angel voices" is so powerful. It gets me every time.
Anyway, back to the updating. Instead of enjoying my first school vacation, I am spending it moving. And you know how much fun that is, right?
But this time, even though the moving part still stinks, I am so excited. It's into a brand-new house!! That we bought!!!
I have been spending the good part of the last 2 months working on finding what kind of house we can afford, and then finding the perfect house. And I did! Because while I may slack at holiday traditions, I do not slack at obsessing.
I obsessed and searched and googled until I found the right house, the right loan, and the right Realtor. It all finally came together, and we closed on the house last Friday.
It does mean we have to say goodbye to city living. At least for now, anyway. But it's everything we need. It even has all of my wish list- a spare bedroom for guests, a separate washer and dryer room (having to turn up the TV to volume 30 while the washer is spinning gets old), a garage, and a garden tub!! It even has a pantry!
So I've spent this week packing and moving boxes over to the new house and putting everything away.
You know, all I have ever heard about buying a house is that it is so hard and stressful. Our experience has been so easy! We just had to scan and email all of the documents to the mortgage people. They sent us the papers, and everything was done on email! It was so easy. And in just 30 days, too! It was hard to get really excited until the last pen was clicked shut and the keys were in our hands.
So I guess while I haven't been buying the boys tons of new toys and decorating the Christmas tree, we bought them a house for Christmas. With a safe back yard to play in, with no threat of angry dogs jumping over the fence.
So Merry Christmas everyone. I hope this finds you happy and healthy. I will make it a point to update the blog more often, especially now that I have a huge chunk of time in my day that isn't obsessing, calling, searching, or Googling houses for sale.
Here's a picture of the boys for you! Don't they look thrilled?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
School Rocks
I have been teaching preschool for a whole month now. I absolutely LOVE my job. I have a dozen 3 year olds and they are the greatest kids that I didn't give birth to.
The boys are loving school, too. Charlie is learning to pay attention and cooperate with other kids. Van is close to walking. I can't believe that he will be 1 in only 2 weeks.
I'm quite sad about it. I was really excited for Charlie to be 1. I guess it's because we've decided not to have any more babies for awhile, and I'm slightly mourning not having cuddly babies in the house anymore. The boys have so much fun together, playing with cars in the living room, getting into all sorts of trouble together.
Charlie can open doorknobs now. My last line of defense against the "rest" of the house which isn't completely child-proofed. He's such a great kid. His teachers love him. He's a sweetheart and super independent. He likes to play outside, paint, color, and play with the toys in his class. Every time I see him around the school, he's either holding the teachers' hand or is being carried by one of them. At first I was worried, but they told me it was their choice to pick him up because they love him so much. He's a great kid.
Van is completely off the bottle!!! It was so easy this time. He's drinking sippy cups of formula... until this can is empty, then it's whole milk for him. He's cruising, pulling up to stand and is very sure of himself standing one-handed. I think he will be walking in another month, maybe sooner. It's taken him awhile to be steady on his feet.
Charlie is obsessed with 2 things: Peanut butter and "Wow Wow Wubzy." He will eat anything with peanut butter on it (including straight off the spoon). Every night he sits on the couch and watches his show and goes to bed directly after. He loves his little routine.
So that's the latest. I've been okay. I have had some allergy/cold stuff going on. I'm sure thanks to being in the germfest that is a preschool. But I've finally gotten completely better. Dylan came home early today. He gets allergies really badly this time of year. The boys, fortunately, are fine. The usual fall/winter runny nose, but nothing to worry about.
It's still a little odd to get used to working full-time, but mostly odd to have the entire weekend off! It's almost hard to relax when I keep thinking I have to go to work later. But I don't!! I'm finally getting the routine down of when I've got time to clean the house and do all the laundry.
Just wanted to throw out an update about how our life is going. Can't complain!!
The boys are loving school, too. Charlie is learning to pay attention and cooperate with other kids. Van is close to walking. I can't believe that he will be 1 in only 2 weeks.
I'm quite sad about it. I was really excited for Charlie to be 1. I guess it's because we've decided not to have any more babies for awhile, and I'm slightly mourning not having cuddly babies in the house anymore. The boys have so much fun together, playing with cars in the living room, getting into all sorts of trouble together.
Charlie can open doorknobs now. My last line of defense against the "rest" of the house which isn't completely child-proofed. He's such a great kid. His teachers love him. He's a sweetheart and super independent. He likes to play outside, paint, color, and play with the toys in his class. Every time I see him around the school, he's either holding the teachers' hand or is being carried by one of them. At first I was worried, but they told me it was their choice to pick him up because they love him so much. He's a great kid.
Van is completely off the bottle!!! It was so easy this time. He's drinking sippy cups of formula... until this can is empty, then it's whole milk for him. He's cruising, pulling up to stand and is very sure of himself standing one-handed. I think he will be walking in another month, maybe sooner. It's taken him awhile to be steady on his feet.
Charlie is obsessed with 2 things: Peanut butter and "Wow Wow Wubzy." He will eat anything with peanut butter on it (including straight off the spoon). Every night he sits on the couch and watches his show and goes to bed directly after. He loves his little routine.
So that's the latest. I've been okay. I have had some allergy/cold stuff going on. I'm sure thanks to being in the germfest that is a preschool. But I've finally gotten completely better. Dylan came home early today. He gets allergies really badly this time of year. The boys, fortunately, are fine. The usual fall/winter runny nose, but nothing to worry about.
It's still a little odd to get used to working full-time, but mostly odd to have the entire weekend off! It's almost hard to relax when I keep thinking I have to go to work later. But I don't!! I'm finally getting the routine down of when I've got time to clean the house and do all the laundry.
Just wanted to throw out an update about how our life is going. Can't complain!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I Love You, Dylan
Today marks Dylan and my 3rd wedding anniversary. We're planning to go out for dinner on the 18th, which is parents' night out at church (free babysitting! woooo!)
I still love him just as much as I did that day. Our life is full and happy. We have 2 beautiful boys, who are a perfect reflection of our love. I think about how much I love Dylan every time I look at Charlie's face, and see Dylan staring back at me.
I thank God for Dylan. He is my best friend. The first person I want to share my good news. He is the person I want to comfort me when I am sad, lonely, or upset. He and I are easy together. Underneath it all, we have a solid friendship. I can't imagine being married to anybody else, and I can't imagine my life without him in it.
Happy Anniversary, baby. I love you!!!
I still love him just as much as I did that day. Our life is full and happy. We have 2 beautiful boys, who are a perfect reflection of our love. I think about how much I love Dylan every time I look at Charlie's face, and see Dylan staring back at me.
I thank God for Dylan. He is my best friend. The first person I want to share my good news. He is the person I want to comfort me when I am sad, lonely, or upset. He and I are easy together. Underneath it all, we have a solid friendship. I can't imagine being married to anybody else, and I can't imagine my life without him in it.
Happy Anniversary, baby. I love you!!!
Monday, August 24, 2009
That Took Me Back
Do you ever hear a song or an album that completely speaks to you at the exact time that you need to hear it? That happens to me often, but I'll explain one instance that happened to me shortly after I moved back to Texas. I was looking for a CD to listen to in the car the other day, since my iPod hadn't charged enough. I grabbed John Mayer's "Any Given Thursday" live CD. I popped in disc 2. The first song on it was "Why Georgia." The familiar acoustic guitar melody immediately took me back to the beginning of 2002 when I first got John's debut CD, "Room for Squares."
At a Christmas party for all of my co-workers, I received a Warehouse Music gift card during a White Elephant game. A week or so later, I took myself into the music store to find something new to listen pop in the car CD player.
"No Such Thing" was a pretty big hit at the time, and I was kind of tired of hearing it. So it was a leap of faith to buy this CD, knowing that I wasn't quite sold on Mr. Mayer's pop-rock sound.
I unwrapped the CD and immediately popped it into the CD player. I quickly skipped the first song, which was "No Such Thing." The second song started, and I left the car in park and gave it my entire attention.
I felt like it was describing where I was at that exact moment. I was in a relationship that was going nowhere and doing nothing for my fragile self-esteem. I felt there was a strong pull keeping me in Dallas, TX, but I never felt like it was that relationship that was keeping me here. So most of the time I wondered what the heck I was doing here. I didn't like where I was living, but I didn't really have any other options, except to go back to Florida and live with my parents. And I tried that. It didn't work. So when I heard the opening lyric, "Four more exits to my apartment but I am tempted to keep the car in drive. And leave it all behind," I knew exactly what he meant. I spent a lot of time hanging out at work and with friends because I never really wanted to be home.
I kinda felt like I could sing this exact song, except my version would be "Why Texas."
I admit also that I wasn't Catholic at that time, and I wasn't really any religion either. But I always rationalized things by saying that everything will work out the way it's supposed to.
The lyric, "Everything happens for a reason is no reason not to ask myself if I'm living it right" totally called me out. I knew then that I could make my life better instead of feeling like the martyr, pretending that things just happened to me and I didn't have any say or any responsibility for it.
Obviously, I know now why I was in Dallas for so long. I was supposed to meet and fall in love with Dylan. And I felt so alone because I didn't have God in my life and in my heart. I now have an amazing church community I craved desperately.
Anyway, listening to that live album brought all of these memories back. I used to feel sad about how my life was so aimless and uninspired. Now I look back and am thankful that I came through it as a better woman. And I thank John Mayer for those lyrics. I needed to hear those words. I needed to reflect on my life and know that what I do with my life is my doing and my responsibility. God is always there, but it's ultimately me who makes the choices.
And since this post is all about me, here's a picture of Van to balance things out a bit.
At a Christmas party for all of my co-workers, I received a Warehouse Music gift card during a White Elephant game. A week or so later, I took myself into the music store to find something new to listen pop in the car CD player.
"No Such Thing" was a pretty big hit at the time, and I was kind of tired of hearing it. So it was a leap of faith to buy this CD, knowing that I wasn't quite sold on Mr. Mayer's pop-rock sound.
I unwrapped the CD and immediately popped it into the CD player. I quickly skipped the first song, which was "No Such Thing." The second song started, and I left the car in park and gave it my entire attention.
I felt like it was describing where I was at that exact moment. I was in a relationship that was going nowhere and doing nothing for my fragile self-esteem. I felt there was a strong pull keeping me in Dallas, TX, but I never felt like it was that relationship that was keeping me here. So most of the time I wondered what the heck I was doing here. I didn't like where I was living, but I didn't really have any other options, except to go back to Florida and live with my parents. And I tried that. It didn't work. So when I heard the opening lyric, "Four more exits to my apartment but I am tempted to keep the car in drive. And leave it all behind," I knew exactly what he meant. I spent a lot of time hanging out at work and with friends because I never really wanted to be home.
I kinda felt like I could sing this exact song, except my version would be "Why Texas."
I admit also that I wasn't Catholic at that time, and I wasn't really any religion either. But I always rationalized things by saying that everything will work out the way it's supposed to.
The lyric, "Everything happens for a reason is no reason not to ask myself if I'm living it right" totally called me out. I knew then that I could make my life better instead of feeling like the martyr, pretending that things just happened to me and I didn't have any say or any responsibility for it.
Obviously, I know now why I was in Dallas for so long. I was supposed to meet and fall in love with Dylan. And I felt so alone because I didn't have God in my life and in my heart. I now have an amazing church community I craved desperately.
Anyway, listening to that live album brought all of these memories back. I used to feel sad about how my life was so aimless and uninspired. Now I look back and am thankful that I came through it as a better woman. And I thank John Mayer for those lyrics. I needed to hear those words. I needed to reflect on my life and know that what I do with my life is my doing and my responsibility. God is always there, but it's ultimately me who makes the choices.
And since this post is all about me, here's a picture of Van to balance things out a bit.
New Blog!
I will still be posting about life and the children here, but I decided to persue a passion of mine. I started a recipe blog called Easy Peasy. I'm really excited to share recipes and cook new things. I plan to take pictures of the foods, because it always bugs me when there are no pictures!
So come see me over there if you're into that kind of thing! http://easypeasyeats.blogspot.com
So come see me over there if you're into that kind of thing! http://easypeasyeats.blogspot.com
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Still No Pee Pee in the Potty
Day 2 and we still got nuthin'.
I'm not 100% sure he's really ready, but he is sitting on it. He likes to read the books while on it. ugh... I'm gonna keep trying but after 1 week of cleaning up pee all over the house, I'm calling it a day and we'll just try again later.
I'm not 100% sure he's really ready, but he is sitting on it. He likes to read the books while on it. ugh... I'm gonna keep trying but after 1 week of cleaning up pee all over the house, I'm calling it a day and we'll just try again later.
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