It's Friday!

This week has FLOWN by.  (Not that I'm complaining.)

I got up early to get some work done (still haven't done it) and heard some chattering at 6:51.  Seems the older kid had snuck down into the younger kid's room so they could hang out until the family-mandated 7AM wake-up time.   How could I not go in there myself and demand to take Friday morning "us"-ies?!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Portraits of the (Wee) People

The kids and I took a long walk the other night and stopped by two different "tot lots" in the general vicinity of our abode.  It's 100% for certain that we were technically trespassing, since the playgrounds are for specific housing developments, but only one of them had a sign so we're going to call it 50% trespassing!   ;-)

Anyway, I snapped this pic of the B-man and felt like it was a real winner:

But then I needed one of Miss C.  

It took another day or so, but I GOT IT!  

Spicy to Sweet

In the midst of our outdoorsy weekend, the BG and I got to experience a few hours of food-centered bliss not tempered by having to say things like, "Sit down;" "Eat another bite of food;" Please stop crawling under the table," etc.   It was so nice.

We dropped off the kids at a "Parents' Night Out" at a local activity center where they've done classes and camp before.  In case there was any concern about them not being kept busy while they were there, here was the schedule:

We left them to have tons of fun and hit the road to FILL OUR BELLIES.   It has been a loooong time since we've had a proper Indian feast:

I'm relatively sure the restaurant employees were scandalized by how much food (well, mostly the bread) we ordered but you know what?  We've gotten two additional leftover meals out of it!  That's called "Variety Now, Frugality Later!" 

And then, in honor of Opa who always said, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing to excess," we made one more stop:

Even with this stop (which was truly because it's the only KK in this whole area and we were very close by!) and our wandering around that entire shopping center, we ended up back at the kids' place about 25 minutes early.  So there was no yoga for them this time BUT I bought a block of 25 hours and we only used 6 that night so here's hoping there's a few more Parental Escapes in our future this summer!

What Rain?

I know so many of my readers in Texas have been experiencing nonstop rain this spring-- and, in some places, it's been downright deadly.  The stories of the flooding in Central Texas over the weekend (and it sounds like it hit Houston last night per my FB feed) are heartbreaking.  I hope you all dry out soon!

We, on the other hand, have enjoyed some beautiful weather recently which allowed us to have one of the most outdoorsy weekends we've ever had!

It started Saturday with some pool time in the sun!

Then some lawn-mowing time:

Sunday, we got up and went to church and then returned home to change clothes before heading to a lake about, hmm, 8 minutes away?!     We'd never been there before and decided kayak rides sounded like a fun adventure!

About to push off!  (I appear to have lost my neck.)

We rowed around for about 45 minutes. I was kinda disappointed that I wasn't sore the next day because I sure told myself I was getting some great exercise!  (Especially since my boat-mate was not exactly helping me...!)

 Yesterday, we invited K & her boys over and then S & her girls stopped by on their way home from a playground near us.   These families had never met each other but they seemed to have no trouble jumping right in, so to speak!

 The BG set up the badminton so it's in full swing....HA HA HA:

And the slip-and-slide saw its first 2015 action, too!

The four of us actually hit up the real pool later in the afternoon.  While the B-man immediately reunited with his love of jumping off the diving board, the rest of us found the water waaaay too cold.  Maybe we'll go back....in July?!  ;-)   But, while we were out, we picked up sammies from our fave local spot, ate them out on the deck, and then played a rousing game of badminton.  Hooray for almost-summer!

My View

I had a longer weekend recap post planned but then I realized that, while it is technically a weekday, it's a holiday one and I shouldn't waste pics on a quiet blog-reading day!    So here is just a taste of our outdoor adventures so far this weekend-- clearly we set out to study primary colors!

For those of you who get to rest/relax today, a big hooray for you.   An even bigger expression of thanks goes out in honor of all those who have served our country-- we appreciate you so much!

The Long (But Not Short) Of It

The kiddies both had dentist appointments yesterday.  It struck me during C's cleaning just how loooong she looked, so I snapped a quick pic:

 Which meant, of course, that I had to do the same when I walked by her room last night and saw this:

Hope you all get some time to streeeetttttccccch out and enjoy the long weekend!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

A Post of Random Ramblings

I didn't leave the house yesterday.  Instead, I finally finished the great seasonal clothes swap-out for Miss C.  Actually, that's not true because there are several loads of laundry to put in the appropriate places-- but hey!  I did laundry, too!

I've recently started walking with my neighbor after dinner at least once a week.  She has a large dog and needs to take him out and it's a big win for both of us since we go a lot farther together than we ever would by ourselves.  Unfortunately, our schedules make it difficult to get together very often so I have been doing some solo walking, too.  I've found podcasts to be wonderful accompaniment-- and, in the absence of ones I really care about, it's nice just to do a search and find something to keep me company.  I've listened to two different ones this week about the Mad Men finale and also listened to an entire one yesterday about various interpretations of/experiences with the afterlife because one of my Baylor professors was interviewed.  So there you go-- yay, podcasts!  (And I especially like that you download them ahead of time and then they just play so it's not drawing on data the whole time.)

I've really been working hard since last week to eat less as well as move more.   (Another shout-out for the FitBit!  Get one!)   My new favorite breakfast--that I think I'm going to go make as soon as I finish this blog post-- is one that actually fills me up.  People always say things like, "almonds are so filling!" or "smoothies can be your entire breakfast" and I'm like, "Where is the rest of the food?!"  But, truly, I am uninterested in more food for hours after eating this little combo and that's totally breaking news:  a slice of whole-wheat bread, toasted, with sliced hard-boiled egg and then smashed avocado on top of that. (and salt.  let's be honest.)  Yum.

I know those of you on FB saw this yesterday but the BG came home from the annual sports banquet Tuesday night with a plaque honoring him as the Coach of the Year for the school.   So that's pretty cool! 

Speaking of schools, I've just volunteered to serve as 1st VP for the elementary school PTA.  The job sounds perfect for me in that it's a little bit of everything and also isn't the one in ultimate charge.  Of course, it also includes the expectation that I will be President the next term so.......     (Is it bad that I'm having immediate flashbacks to Zeta Exec?  I mean, really, it's all kinda the same thing.   I'm sure it'll be fine!)   Plus, Grammie Sheils was the Queen of PTA back in the day so it's in my blood!

Eh, that's probably enough randomness for now.   Let me know if I've forgotten anything!   ;-)

UPDATE:  I just put my bread in the toaster and opened the fridge to find.....no hard-boiled eggs.  Wah wah.  Guess the egg layer will take on another form this morning b/c I can't wait to hard-boil....my stomach is growling!!

Carry on.

Now and Then

Yesterday was C's last real day of preschool for the year.  (There's another session tomorrow but it's an offsite picnic, and then she's actually doing 3 weeks of morning "camp" there that they run to match up with the public school calendar but it's different teachers and different classes and that just makes it a whole different thing...)

As we were running around getting ready yesterday morning, it dawned on me that I should take a "Last Day of School" pic.   But we were already a titch late so we just quickly took a pic by the front door:

She chose this pose but I recalled that there was a similar one from the set of more official first-day-of-school pics, so I just went back and looked for those.   And this is where the failure of photographic comparison-planning happens because, really, she doesn't look any bigger now!

Sept 2014:

I'm pretty sure she has grown, however.  Everybody we encounter assumes she's off to Kindergarten in the fall but, no, we have another whole year of preschool fun.    I'll be sure to up my photographic game for the first day of school, Fall 2015!

Light and Dark

Miss C had some recorded fun this weekend.  First up:  checking out the (appropriately-sized) new rug we got for the living room:



Yes, that visible wrinkle has now "fallen out" and, also, the B-man was excited to inherit the previous living room rug (which was the same exact one, just smaller.....thank you, overstock.com) so it's a Win-Win all around!

Once the power went out, though--- all the fun stopped.   Oh wait, no it didn't:

Wet Weekend

While we did get a crash-bang-boom storm late Saturday afternoon that knocked out our power for more than an hour, most of the wetness was due to much more fun pursuits!

Watermelon and lemonade break after some sweat-inducing play in the sunshine at a local book festival:

"Helping out" with daddy's car wash fundraiser:

Hiding out in the "fort" during the rainstorm:

Hitting the elementary school carnival on Sunday-- the BEFORE....

 ...and the very sweaty AFTER!

Hope you all had a fun weekend, too!

Flashback Friday

May 15, 2011

Full-Body Giggles

Why in the world is the B-man on the kitchen floor?

Because this guy came in acting out some scene from a book they'd just read.   With a reaction like that, you can imagine it went on for awhile.....daddy hiding around corners, etc:

And little sister is quite the mimic!

Ah, good times.

Sharing the Love

I found an unexpected package in the mail the other day.  As you can see, I was pretty tickled to be surprised with such a fun treat from my AKHG:

A better look:

Between this and the Weggies gift card that loyal reader (and Texas resident, no less), Abbey, sent to me for my birthday, I am definitely soaking in the love for the best grocery store ever!  (And for my wonderful friends.)

Now for the next question:  do I let the BG take this travel mug to school?  He uses one every day...and it WOULD share the Wegs love farther-and-wider.  Hmmm.....

In Front Of / Behind

(the camera, that is)

Christy's mom was visiting from Georgia these past few days so we went over to see her yesterday.   She tried to take pics of us but Miss C often likes to not smile (or look angry) on purpose.   (As Geoff and I would say in a French accent:  "not acceptable" or "ah-cept-TAH-BLUH!!)

Who needs 'em?!

Okay, fine-- she smiles when she gets to put her tootsies in the (very cold) water!

I just found these pics on my phone this morning from her entertaining herself in the back seat while Christy and I gabbed some more in the driveway before leaving:

I had to do a double-take at that last one-- doesn't that sky look fake??!   I did absolutely nothing to the original pic!

The Weekend

The weekend began with some dancing in a dressing room.   It was so weird-- there were THREE Cs in there with me!

Saturday morning brought B's weekly soccer game which has been capped off the last two weeks by a snow cone b/c Mama had to volunteer both Saturday mornings in the concession stand!

Sunday was an early (and extended) morning of church since the kiddies sang in both services:

But this pic of us looking younger than usual (thank you, good lighting) made up for it:

Then it was out to lunch and off to HomeGoods for a little Mother's Day shopping adventure.  Within 15 minutes of getting home, THIS was happening:

And now we have our first ever curtains!

(Side note, long in coming:  the lighting differential between my phone and this computer is insane.  Photos always look so happy and bright on my phone and then look like they were taken underground once I upload them.  So yes, I know the light outside the window is way too much--but it didn't look that bad on my phone screen!   This also should explain why, depending on your own screen display, my blog photos might look way too light.  I gotta make it so it looks right on my screen! Ah, first-world tech problems.)

Friday Morning Round-Up

7:15 AM.

This one's awake.

This one's still snoozing.

And these need to be filled/frosted before I take them to the elementary school this morning for Teacher Appreciation:

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies (which I'm renaming "Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry")

Carrot Cake (which has pineapple and coconut.....but also 5 stars!)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The One Where I Tell On Myself

I'd be the first to tell you that my practical-thinking skills are........not amazing.  Loyal reader Jill's favorite example of this is the time in college that I only wanted to bake half-a-pan of brownies, so I poured the batter just at one end of the pan.   And expected that to to work.

Thank goodness I didn't have to take a class in Practical Thinking or I would have had far more sweats than I did over trying to get an A in Advanced French Grammar!   ;-)

As some of you might remember/know, the BG built a sandbox in our backyard a coupla years back.   He was "grooming" it over the weekend and determined that we needed a few more bags of sand.  I told him that I'd run to Home Depot this week and get them; he gave me the specs and suggested I get 4 or so.

So Miss C and I went on to Home Depot, where I blithely strolled in without a cart or anything.  I mean, I had seen an empty bag of the sand and it is really quite small-- much smaller than a bag of top soil or mulch.   I figured I'd just grab 4 of them in my arms and be on my way.  (CLASSIC EMK)

Um.

Those "small" bags weigh 50 lbs.  Each.  Cue us turning around and going to get a shopping cart.

Um.

Regular shopping carts are not really the way to go for piling up really heavy bags.

You'll notice I stopped at 2:

And, seriously, I thought I wasn't going to be able to get them out of the cart by my car.  It took everything I had to lift those puppies up.  They're still in the back of my car.  I don't even want to look to see how much sand has spilled....

Planning Summer Travel?

A Facebook friend posted a link yesterday to this blog post about Corning, NY from a tourist's perspective.   I know I've tried to sell y'all for years on the Finger Lakes gem, but I also know I'm probably a little biased from my 12+ years living there.  So hey-- here's someone else's perspective!!

Corning Rediscovered:  Small Town Charm in the Finger Lakes

(Hometown peeps-- what's your take on the comment about the food being underwhelming?  I guess I have to say I can believe someone would think that, especially if they were limited to "tourist-recommended" spots.  She clearly didn't grab a slice (or sub, or calzone... or all three) at Aniello's.  Check out the (admittedly helpful) comment from the resident who tells her where the best pizza can be found! Crazy!)

Time Will Tell

...if our random seed-planting experiments come to fruition!   (Or, veggie-ition....or flower-ition.)

The kids picked out some seed packets awhile back on a quick family trip to Home Depot.  We ended up with watermelon, carrot, and sunflower.   We finally got them planted on Sunday afternoon and each is in a different place.  Should be interesting to see what (if any) works!

The BG dug up a portion of grass alongside the patio for the sunflower seeds.  The B-man decided to get a little dirt foot-soak while he sat there:

If you look behind her, you'll see Stumpy's winter home terrarium.   Now that he's back out roaming in his turtle corner, the BG had the idea to plant the carrot seeds in rows right up against the glass.   Fingers crossed it'll work and we'll be able to see the whole process through the glass!

The watermelon seeds we planted in half of the quasi-compost, quasi-worm farm box of mess that we have out in the yard.  The BG turned the soil and, once again, we'll just wait and see if we end up with anything!

All of this is, of course, under the heading of:   SCIENCE!!!!!!!!

Firsts of the Season

We enjoyed the most beautiful weather this weekend and spent a large part of it outside.  The backyard was mowed in a two-part system where I started with the push mower and kept going until I'd gotten a satisfactory number of FitBit steps....and then the BG took over with the riding mower.  You can imagine the delight for us all when we realized he got a little creative at the end and fashioned us a baseball diamond!

(Our efforts to play again last night were thwarted by the extreme soreness of the pitcher's shoulder from Saturday's fun!)

Meelie also carried around her bug house for this first time this season....although her daddy had to explain to her that it's still a little early in the year for fireflies:

And finally-- THE FIRST TOAD of the spring!