No mo lazy days

Whew! What a whirlwind! T-ball has started, spring is in full gear, sister girl is getting ready for her first dance "recital," we are visiting our baby puppy for the first time this weekend, and I am running like a crazy woman getting through the days!

Our son just LOOKS like he would be a phenomenal t-ball player.

And he is. But there's a problem. He can't STAND it! After his team won their first game (he played pitcher) 28-13, his coach was so thrilled that he started talking about the tournament at the end of the season and how certain he was that his little Cubs would be going . . . all. . . the . . .way. So little man, who I would have imagined would have been out of his mind with excitement gets in the car and asks: "Mom, please say I don't have to play in the tournament. You said I had to play through the season, but that doesn't include a tournament, does it?" Well, baby, yes it does--you are committed to this team til the end. However, we have now lost two and won two, so our success in the tournament is looking a little less promising than it did opening night.

Sister is in the throes of trashing. Today, she created a "sleepover" in our great room while I took a shower. We moved both babies upstairs in January so that all of their toys, animals, gear, etc. would be upstairs and they could live like total heathens and slobs and it just really wouldn't matter because it was upstairs--away from our living areas that everyone SEES when they visit. However, she is determined to bring the goods downstairs and any time I get distracted (like, I don't know--cooking dinner, bringing in groceries, folding laundry, making beds, showering), she goes into full move-in mode into all rooms downstairs. It's amazing what this little woman can accomplish in little to no time.

Little man got into his first fight at school AND he DIDN'T get in trouble! Bad parents! He did just what we told him to--got shoved, asked friend to stop, got shoved, told friend to stop again, got shoved and BOOM! Punch to the face! Roll down to the ground and get after it! I am very much a peace-loving person, but seriously, I don't want my child to be bullied. And I don't think this little friend will ever mess with him again. My little man's teacher said when she walked up on the fight all she could see was "A see of green (his shirt color)" and she let it go on a little longer--she felt that his friend needed a little whoopin. So, for the rest of the year, I think we can rest assured that nobody's going to be picking on our little guy. So hard to not punish, but he did just what we told him to, so how do you punish that??

Gotta run--need to iron our team shirts before tonight's game--oh, the joys of motherhood . . .

Finally, a lazy day!

Hallelujah! This is my first Saturday since early January to stay in my pajamas past noon and I am LOVING it! Our last Upwards Basketball game was last Saturday, and while it was such a fun season, I really was happy to still be lounging lazily in bed this morning at 8 a.m. Eight weeks of 8 a.m. game can really wear on a momma . . . .

We are COLD today, so I have stayed in my purple microfleece jammies (that once belong to my Granny B) and pink fuzzy slippers all day long. I've been so productive! I've cleaned off two photo cards, eaten some Girl Scout cookies, cleaned out three magazine holders/racks that have been growing since Christmas, and. .. not much else. So nice.

Wait! I forgot! I ordered some more skin products on line from http://www.blissworld.com/ How lucky am I? They are discontinuing (I think--it's not written anywhere, but . . .I'm using my immense deductive reasoning skills here) my line of product--sleeping peel--, so everything from the cleanser to the eye cream to the serum to all the other stuff is half off--so, with that marvelous deal, I, of course, bought double! Goodness, I just love bargains.

Saw Penelope last night. It was cute--but not nearly as darling as Ella. I had read in People (I think??) that it was a great message for young girls and great for little ones--I'm glad I didn't take my bitty girl and little boy to see it--he would have been bored to tears and she would have been begging to go home. Maybe when she's older . . . but they do LOVE Ella Enchanted. Of course, I love Ella, too.

Our Fannie May Easter candy came in this week--YUM! If you have never had Fannie May Pectin Jelly Bird Eggs, you have not lived. Their website is: http://www.fanniemay.com/ Go there, order the eggs (jelly beans), and if they are not the best you have ever tasted, send them to me! I'll finish the bag off for you! My poor babies growing up in Lufkin are deprived of some of my favorite Chicago things, so at Easter time, I just bring the goods to them, via East Bunny.

We had two other thrilling news items of the week. First of all, our new puppy has finally arrived in this world! We lost our Belle last October due to our neighbor running over her, and we've been waiting for a new baby since. Belle's momma, Sissy, gave birth to three stillborn boys two weeks ago and I was totally devastated. BUT, Lizzie gave birth to a boy and a girl on Leap Year. How cute is our little Izzy (in a rat-like way)?? We can't wait to bring her home in seven weeks, when she's eight weeks old. And if you are looking for a good, sweet, loving, Christian breeder, I can't recommend Eileen Moore more highly. Her website is http://www.moorepuppylove.com/ and she is happy to give any tips, advice, etc. about Bichons. Our Belle potty trained quickly, slept and traveled beautifully, and was a little stinker, but we did love her. We are ready to bring Izzy home and have a new baby to love and hold and train.

The final exciting news for the week is my little man won the boat races at school! Out of 52 kiddos competing, his pitiful, homegrown boat was the winner. I must admit I felt like a total schmukko of a mom when I dropped him off to school because his "boat" was a large plastic Q-Tip box with the flap that you pull up to access the Q-Tips pulled back into a sail. It took us less than five minutes to create the "sail" with dental floss. The rules for the boat was that it needed to be "made out of trash" according to my son (recyclable materials was the teachers' wording). Another mother from his school was bragging the night before the races that her son and their family spent two hours creating his boat . . .so, of course, I thought--"World's Worst Mom Am I!" But, guess which boat won? The five minute beauty--we were just thrilled!

The competition was quite exciting with eliminations in each class, and then the top three contenders competing. Hearing a group of kindergarteners chanting your child's name is a pretty cool thing, I have to admit. Such a great confidence builder for him. Here's a picture of the top three entries prior to the final round of competition.

And here's a picture of the final race--look at those cheeks and that determination! Happy Spring Break!

Superstar!

My little boy is an amazing basketball player--we cannot believe how he's taken to the sport. Maybe it's his height (he's number one):
Maybe it's his amazing six-year-old speed and agility:

Maybe it's his dribbling skills:

Or maybe, just maybe, he's enjoying himself while stealing the ball:

Whatever it is that makes him such a superstar on the court, we are thrilled beyond words to watch him. The best part of seeing him play is that he is incredibly encouraging to everyone on the court--and that is more important than any athletic skills he may possess! Go, Bears, Go!

Too much time on her hands

Okay--if ever a woman was deserving of winning the prize for having too much free time on her hands, this is her--watch it and weep (but I don't expect you sit through the whole painful thing!) http://www.koreus.com/video/chien-danseur.html there. are. no. words.

Spectacular day today. The weather could not be any more beautiful--we have thrown open all the windows and are airing out the house, which is good, considering that my sweet hubby painted baby girl's room yesterday and today until her ran out of paint. Oh my--we may have a problem. I was gone yesterday while he painted the two coats on the two walls and let's just say that if I had been here, we wouldn't have gone further than half a wall before I screamed: "NO--WRONG COLOR! BAD PINK!" BUT, I wasn't home, so I'm going to try to figure out a way to live with it. . . .or cover it . . . .or something . . . . .

Poor baby girl wanted a hot pink room and I put my foot down. Her room would be soft pink--her bathroom could be hot pink. I wanted to avoid the Pepto look at all costs. So, we picked out what I thought was a gorgeous soft, sweet, little girl pink. After two coats . . . it looks like a cotton candy machine exploded in her room. Seriously.

She got her way after all! The honest truth is that when she walked in today after all four walls had been painted (although two with only one coat of paint), SHE STARTED CRYING. Not loud, bratty wails, but huge, salty, crocodile tears running down her cheeks. Genuine sad, remorseful, "Oh my God--what did I ask for and why did I really get it?" tears. I haven't had the heart to break it to Daddy yet, but we may be modifying the pink . . . .I'm going to try to live with it for a week . . .try . . .try . . .

P.S.--I couldn't live with it--and I learned how to paint a room for the FIRST TIME IN 35 YEARS! Here are pictures of evil pink (which, as you can see, photographs really well) and soft, precious "Charming Pink"--we love our Charming Pink room!

Moment I NEVAH want to forget!

Okay--it must be recorded. My little angel girl, who turned three in December, just grabbed me by the cheeks (yes, she's still up at 9:30 p.m.--BAD mommy!) and said, "Mommy, you a precious girl." If you could hear the tone of voice with which she made this astonishly brilliant statement, it would be even more endearing. She is my doll baby! Thank you, Jesus, for this answer to prayer of a child!
On a totally separate note, I decided today that if you're going to jump off the diet bandwagon (which I've been on for a little more than a week), you need to take a running, flying leap out of a tall building--I made up for all the calories I've been lacking in one day flat today, and it tasted SOOO good--although I know the scale is going to be hell tomorrow. I even treated myself to a beer with my bar-b-que baked potato (imagine the hugest baked potato EVER loaded with cheddar cheese, chopped beef and bar-b-que sauce and you'll get a little picture) because hey--if you're going to screw up the diet, you as may as well really screw it up. This after I consumed 120 ounces of water yesterday . . . I deserved that beer, didn't I?? I'll get back in the saddle again tomorrow, but today did feel good and I don't think I regret the vast amount of calories and fat I put into my middle.
Went to the Woodlands today to visit my poor 96 year old grandmother. God love her. She's a perfect specimen of physical health--but the mind . . . oh the mind . . . .at least she was in a really sweet complimentary mood today and told me over and over that I just get prettier and prettier with age, which is just about the kindest thing she's ever said---that is ONE advantage to losing your mind, I guess. My past three to four conversations with her have gone as follows: "With their blonde hair and blue eyes, those children just COULDN'T be your husband's. It's just not possible." OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER. No, Meems, no illicit affairs--just a strong gene pool.
Discovered a fabo picture of Meme with my aunt, uncle, four cousins and their combined ten children (one was still in utero) taken last summer, when my cousin was pregnant. Asked Meme when everyone got together, and, bless her heart, she couldn't remember. Based on the clothing, I logically deduced that they all got together to celebrate her 96th birthday on the Fourth of July. "Maybe," was the only response I could get to that suggestion. Anyhoo--how sad it is that I live less than two hours away, yet noone could pick up the phone to let our side of the family know about the celebration? How sad is it that my children have never met their second cousins, some of whom are their age? How sad is it that my cousins have gotten older, wrinkled, and well, fatter, and I stayed as fabulous as I was the last time I saw them?? I know I haven't changed at all--what happened to them??
Better get the babies to bed--it's almost ten. xoxoxoxoxo

Charity Ball, dahlin

So hubby and I went to the Junior League Charity Ball tonight for maybe the twelfth or thirteenth time in our fabulous lives. He always calls it the prom and acts like he doesn't want to go. But this year was different . . .so different. This year, the Charity Ball committee selected a honky-tonk Texas bar singer named Roger Craeger to be the entertainment of the night. Which meant . . .that everyone was supposed to wear cocktail dresses with boots and a hat. Being the renegade that I am, I decided, after weeks of deliberation (and being too fat to fit into any of my former cocktail dresses or purchase a new one at this size) to WEAR JEANS. Yes, it's true. I was the outlaw (or so I thought when we left the house) and wore my super cute jeans with black detailing and lacy stuff and crystals and rhinestones that I've had for over two years (and, in case you were wondering, were purchased for my trip to Graceland). I did find a new top--a black sweater with silver threads through it and matching large tacky crystal/rhinestone things along the neckline--it was on super clearance for a whopping $29.99 at Belk--which is less than I've ever spent on my Charity Ball ensemble. Got to the ball and. . . lo and behold--I was not alone in my jeans. Neither was Kevin. In fact, a lot of people decided to take the casual approach. We had a ball (no pun intended) and enjoyed ourselves more than ever before. Thanks to my friend Cherri for taking this picture of us and eliminating everything under my shoulders--isn't my hubby a darling cowboy???

We're BAAAACCCKKKKK!

So happy to finally be home for a while. We had a fabo Christmas--arrived in Chicago Christmas night and stayed there until January 2nd . . . came home . . . started back into our exciting and thrilling daily routine . . . .and left again for Breckenridge less than two weeks later. I have, miraculously, found a way to read three books between the trips. LOVED one of them and ehhh to the other two. If you haven't read Devil in the White City, go and buy it today. You won't be able to put it down. Such an education for me--I adored reading it. The fact that it was set in my hometown of Chicago didn't hurt matters much, but it is probably the most engrossing non-fiction work I have ever read, period. I decided to read Atonement before I saw it in the theatres so I could sound ever so sophisticated at the movie's end and say, "Oh, the book was so much better because . .. blah blah blah." Haven't seen the movie yet and now don't know whether or not I will. I don't like paying money to be depressed . . .and the book was a definite downer. Eat, Pray, Love was the first of the three I read. Liked it--laughed out loud in parts, but I had a hard time with her spiritual leanings . . . .especially when she woke up chanting at 3:30 a.m. in India for a four month period . . . it was a little out there for me. I much prefer talking to Jesus from the comfort of my own home and have had experiences where I felt like I was sitting in His hand without being completely sleep deprived and brain washed--but that's just me.

We're settling back into our routine slowly but surely. Arriving home to an exploded hot water heater made for a thrilling return last week. We finally disassembled our three year old's crib (yes, I know it's pitiful, but she was the BABY after all!) and have moved her upstairs with her big bro. They are sharing a room (he has two twins) until we get her fixed up and painted. And does anyone know what to do with an arched window? My husband and I are both trying to get way too creative with our ideas, but we can't arrive at the same idea, which is totally frustrating . . . .of course, my intitial vote was to pay for the custom blind, but he, of course, knows we can make something up cheaper. . ..time will tell. She may be in her brother's bedroom until she's 18 at this rate!

When I'm not so tired, I'll have to go into detail about our trips. Our son has decided that he "never ever wants to go back to Colorado" which will be a problem for my in-laws who have decided that our family will have an annual ski trip, even if only they and their son like to ski. So much to tell, but I'm fading fast . . . .