Happy Birthday, Sara!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish one of my very dearest and best friends a VERY HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY! Without her, college would not have been nearly so fabulous. Here's to hoping that all of you out there take today to remember and appreciate the people in your lives who allow you to be completely yourself, who join in the craziness, add to the joy, and just seem to make things better when they're around.

Since Sara shares my love of quotes, here are a couple for her:

"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth." -Robert Southey

And the one that most describes us...
"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a great day, dear friend!

My American Idol

I am 30. I am a responsible adult. I have a full time job. I am the mother of two children. But I turned into an embarrassingly shrill 15 year old at the American Idol concert last Monday night. Um, this is me with David Cook onstage in the background.

Let me just clarify by saying that this past season was really the only season I've followed regularly, and only because I wanted to see someone legitimate make it all the way to the end. Someone with experience who can play instruments, carry a tune, write and arrange music, and look good in the process. I am tired of the cheesy ballad singer, the Norah Jones imitation, and the Broadway actress-turned-singer not because they don't have talent, but selfishly because at the end of the day, I wouldn't buy an album from any of them.

I will buy a David Cook album however. I'll buy several. And just to show my support, I went to the American Idols Live concert (okay, to show my support and because my good friend generously got us a free suite). IT WAS SO GOOD. There were about ten 15 year olds next to us screaming at new octaves for Jason Castro and David Archuletta. I joined them, rather, I surpassed them, when David Cook took the stage with his own rock version of Lionel Ritchie's Hello. Next came Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss a Thing, the American Idol Original Time of My Life, and Hero by Fuel, along with a few witty quips and genuine audience appreciation, and the plethora of guitar picks spun into the crowd. He exited the stage only to return for an encore of the one and only Billy Jean, arranged by Chris Cornell and performed old-school rock-n-roll style including a 2-minute electric guitar interlude in the middle.

All the other performers looked and sounded exactly as they did on the show (I actually felt like I was watching the show at times) but when Cook came on it was like we orbed to a legitimate rock concert. If you're not yet a fan, YouTube his performances of Always Be My Baby, Hello, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, or even Phantom of the Opera's Music of the Night. Or look up the performance of Sharp Dressed Man he led with ZZ Top at the finale. Then tell me you're not a fan.


Go David, Go!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Sort of. I teach a graduate school class every Fall for students pursuing their masters in occupational therapy. The class I teach is held every other Saturday until the beginning of December and is especially fun for the following reasons:

1. There are several quaint little stores near the college that I can go to during the lunch break or after class.
2. On the official schedule, the sections are supposed to be from 8-12 and 1-5. If we get through all the material, we can usually end each section a half hour early. Seriously, who can talk for 8 hours? No, Rachel, even I can't.
3. I get cinnamon rolls and Starbucks for myself for the morning class.
4. It gives me a great chance to stay up to speed in the field even though I'm taking a little break from working in the clinic right now.
5. I get to make splints and casts and show other people how to do it; I love creating splints for different diagnoses and getting students excited to work in rehab.

Beautifuls' Retreat, 4th Edition

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, or just know me a bit, you may remember that there are two retreats I attend each year that are necessary for building lasting friendships and maintaining my overall mental health... They both include wonderful girl time full of desserts, endless hours of drinking coffee in our pajamas, talking into the wee hours of the morning, sleeping into the early hours of the afternoon, laughing hysterically, playing the occasional game, looking at pictures, and re-hashing the old days. (And yes, I can legitimately say "old" days as Cheryl and I recently discovered that we have known each other for TWENTY YEARS. Since when am I old enough to have had a friend for TWENTY YEARS? I have no idea where the time has gone).

Last weekend was the Beautifuls' annual retreat. This is the high school gang (though several of us met pre-high school and we've stayed friends through and past college so I'm not sure that qualifies anymore). Anyway, it consists of Cheryl, me, Brooke, and Amy. For a history of the Beautifuls and past photos of the group, click here and here and here.

This year we stayed in town and took the opportunity to go out for dinner and walk around an outdoor shopping plaza while still making plenty of time to lounge around the house polishing off about 32 chocolate chip cookies over the course of 2 days.

No, we do not sit in a circle with lighted candles chanting the rules of our club, nor do we paint each others' fingernails and have pillow fights in our underwear. Our one fabulous tradition is that we celebrate all 4 of our birthdays in one fell swoop. We all show up with arm loads of gifts, place them in stations on the couches, and usually open them within about 1 hour of the start of the retreat...about the same time we break open the desserts.

Our time this year was topped off by this You Tube video that had us in stitches each of the 13 times we watched it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dXGj_-orxw

Thanks, ladies, for a much needed and tremendously fun and relaxing weekend!

Happy Birthday, Rich!

An ode to my brother, Rich, and how he has enriched my life all these years:

-You taught me creativity and precision by showing me how to make homemade Numb-chucks and throw them at various neighbor children with stealth and accuracy when I was 7.
-You boosted my intellectual processing skills by inventing and a club with me called "Boosum-sooum-sooum" which included our own written language (which I can still use and decipher).
-You helped me develop courage and bravery by forcing me and Rachel to fight each other when we were in junior high, and by introducing me to Rocky IV.
-You developed my fine arts appreciation when you bought me my first Def Leppard album followed closely by Monster Ballads.
-You built up my physical endurance by dunking me under water in the deep end of the pool until I thought I was going to pass out.
-You taught me taste discrimination and cultural understanding when you took me to drink my first beer.
-But most of all, you showed me what a big brother ought to be when you offered to physically harm any guy who took me on a date if he treated me poorly, and when you cheered louder than anyone else at my college graduation.


(Rich, shown here with nephew, Brice, and wife, Andrea)
Just think, you'll get to celebrate the next birthday with your new baby boy! I know you'll be a wonderful dad because you've been a great big brother. I hope I was a sufficient "little brother!"

All in the Family

Noah at 9 months... and Lauren at 9 months.


Again, Noah at 9 mos... and Lauren at 9 mos.

And all we've managed to change is the living room rug. Well, and a new house I guess.

On The Move

She's crawling! After months of pulling up on coffee tables and stairs (she loves to stand up), Lauren finally decided she'd try moving around on the ground, though it's more of a knee-hop and body-drag than the typical crawl...



She's so proud of herself, but it's back to standing up!

2 year old or 12 year old?

This morning I came home from a jog and walked into the living room to find Greg and Noah watching Sports Center. Noah looked at me and said, "Mama, I watch football!" Greg was, of course, smiling ear to ear, and I thought it was a nice break from our typical morning spent in Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse.

Greg went to work, and Noah continued watching Sports Center. He kept shouting things like "Good catch!" and "That guy fell down!" A bit later he asked if I would find him some "Sot-ker" on TV. I found the women's Olympic Soccer team playing (and losing) but Noah was enthralled -- standing up on the couch and yelling "Nice!" every time someone shot a long ball. After his little TV Sot-ker obsession I taught him how to throw a ball in after it is kicked out of bounds. Needless to say he's been throwing the ball "in" to each room of our house all afternoon.

I'm going to have to explain to his wife and children some day that it is our fault he neglects them every time the World Cup rolls around, I can just feel it.

Gimme a Break!

In the midst of unpacking hundreds of boxes, trying to find sheets for the beds and towels for the bathroom, all the while trying to entertain 2 kids and do my job...


...don't say we don't know how to take a break and have some fun in the Texas heat!




Noah doesn't really grasp that it is a slip-n-slide. He views it more as a run-n-jump. I don't question it though; it entertains Lauren, cools me off as I sit in the 105 degree heat (no kidding), and occupies a very rowdy 2 1/2 year old. At this point I wouldn't even care if it were a rip-n-throw--it was the best $9 I spent all summer!

Yes, I know I haven't posted any pictures of the new house yet, and I've gotten some flack from some of you, but I must say that I am that personality type that just can't post photos of newly laid wood floors and freshly painted walls if the rooms still have crusty old ceiling fans and cracked brass light fixtures circa 1994. Soon though, I promise...

In the mean time, go get yourself a run-n-jump and have some fun!

Glorious Summer, part II

Do you remember this post from last year? We went to the same location a couple of weeks ago, and had a phenomenal time (as usual). We woke up to mornings of South Carolina sunrise, hot coffee and breakfast, followed closely by a morning boat outting. The jet skiing usually happened in the middle of the day, after lunch but before a couple rounds of competitive Boggle. Cliff jumping and tubing were staples each day as well, and therefore Advil became a staple each evening. Here are a few photographed highlights, although there is no way to post them all!


The house was, as always, wonderful and inviting. And the view of the lake, golfcourse, bay, and mountains weren't half bad either...


Our kids had a great time! Noah went canoeing with his daddy.


It was Lauren's first time on a boat! She showed off her pretty pink swimsuit.


Noah went on the tube with me! He had a ball (cautiously) but made me cover his face the whole time so the water wouldn't spray in his eyes.


His dad, however, is a lot less cautious and tried several new wakeboarding tricks this year, along with the never-gets-old-to-see sexy backflip. I sure married a cute one!


I tried something new, too. Okay, so we all did. WakeSURFING! It's basically wakeboarding on a surfboard without your feet attached to anything. You hold a short rope and stay only about 5 feet behind the boat, surfing inside the wake. It was so much fun and I can't wait to try it again!


Jenn, Dustin, and their 3 boys drove from Dallas! We had a blast with Brice--his first time on a boat too!


The beginning of the week was spent with Jared, Rachel, and little Judah--lots of relaxation and quiet time on the boat. Then several cousins and aunts/uncles came in towards the end of the week to celebrate the 4th of July together. It was a blast, and the perfect combination of relaxing and catching up.

Uncle Jared was in his element. I will also say the Pawpaw (my dad) was in his element as well as he was surrounded by like 4 grandchildren every time he walked into a room. I loved it!

Lauren and Judah played hard, napped hard, and were pretty tuckered out every night after a long day of sunshine.

Lazy Lauren, after a long day of competitive wakeboarding, tubing, and cliff jumping, took advantage of what a true vacation should be...a bottle and a nap.

Happy vacationing!

The Manor

We got it!

Well, we made it. We FINALLY came to agreements with the sellers, got the new roof in time (woo hoo!), closed, got funded, and got the keys just in time to meet the flooring contractors at the house so they could get started ripping out the carpet (I don't think the sellers vacuumed very well in 12 years).

There was one final obstacle that reared its ugly head on moving day; the movers simply did not show up. After about 38 phone calls, a bit of yelling and a few tears, I was able to cancel on them (after they charged my credit card $1000 which we are officially disputing) and hire another moving company that had us in the new house in 5 hours.

So now all of our belongings are in the garage of our new house, with a few straggler boxes in random bedrooms. The hardwood floors are in, the kitchen cabinets have been primed and painted, and the walls are supposed to have been painted and completed yesterday.

I can't verify any of this, however, because we have been on vacation since last Saturday (at the South Carolina lakehouse to which we went last summer--pictures to follow). It is a much needed vacation, but I am certainly a bit nervous to get back to Dallas and walk into my new house with alleged new floors and alleged new paint after I left the contractors with money and house keys and traveled halfway across the country...

If our belongings have not been stolen, and the work has indeed been finished, I will post pictures soon.

For now though, I will continue gazing out onto a view filled with tree-covered hills, a bay that opens to a serene lake, and the green of the 5th hole of a golf course; and maybe in a minute I'll do a bit more wake boarding.

The Roof Over My Head

Okay, I have avoided writing this post and am only doing it b/c I'm getting questions daily and want to let everyone know what's going on with our house, the new house, and the entire moving extravaganza.

In a word, craziness is going on -- craziness, I tell you! I'm going to try to make this very short as it is a Friday night, I am surrounded by half-packed boxes, and am trying to enjoy a nice glass of merlot and a bit of procrastination.

Many moons ago, we started looking for a house. We made an offer on one that Greg loved, but I never felt good about it so we ended up pulling out of it. We made an offer on another one--the PERFECT one mind you, and watched it get snatched right out from under us. There were tears, and still are occasionally, I'm not gonna lie. Then we made an offer on a third house. The offer went through, and we were slung into an option period that would prove to end us if it didn't make us stronger.

The house we are buying is a great house if you remove almost everything in it. It's dirty, it hasn't been updated in 12 years, and it needs a new roof. However, the foundation is good, the floorplan is great, and the neighborhood is perfect. Furthermore, the backyard opens up to a huge greenbelt with rolling hills (okay like 2 hills), trees galore, a nature preserve, and a walking trail. The house has amazing potential so we decided to take a chance.

So we've already closed on our current house and are leasing it back until next Thursday when we have already arranged and paid for movers to move us out. But move where, you say? We aren't sure. The seller of the new house found out that his house needs a new roof in order for us to get approved for the loan. He didn't want to replace the roof and pretty much asked my realtor if she and I would split the cost. Seriously. He didn't want to fix anything that the inspector found because he thinks his house is perfect just as it is. Dirt, grime, and all. Seriously. I feel a little bad for the guy b/c a new roof is a lot of money, but he's got to sell the house, and we are one of very few people willing to put the money into it that is required to make it look good! He finally has agreed to replace it b/c his insurance company wrote him a check to do so. However, he was about a week late in scheduling the roofers. Here's the timeline:

-Roofers started today and said they'd be finished by next week "sometime."
-The roof has to be 100% completed and the invoice sent to the mortgage company at least 24 hours before closing.
-We have to close on Wednesday morning in order for the funds to clear so we can have keys and move in Thursday.
-We have to move in on Thursday b/c the new people are moving into our current house that night.
-We are leaving for vacation Saturday morning for a week.

If the roof doesn't get done by Monday afternoon or early Tuesday morning, we will not be able to close on time to move in. If it doesn't get finished by Wednesday, there is a good chance we won't close next week at all, will be living on the streets (just kidding, with family) and will have to look at postponing it for 2 weeks or not going on our vacation.

In short, pray for sunshine this weekend and efficient roofers!

It's as I said to Greg, whether or not we get into the new house by the time we are kicked out of this house completely rests on the shoulders of the roofing company, and in the hands of the Lord! Shingle well, my friends.

Firsts

So you all know that the last several weeks and months have been frantic for us as far as selling our house, looking for a new house, having the perfect house snatched away from us, starting new jobs, etc. However, I realized as I was copying pictures onto my computer that a lot of great things happened during this time, too. It's funny how we can be consumed by the craziness of our lives, and then when we step back we see that we almost missed out on some milestones. So although we've been on our "last nerve" with the house hunting, here are a few "firsts" I want to stop and appreciate:


First family trip to the zoo!


Noah's first bloody nose inflicted (accidentally) by a cousin with a rogue basketball.


First time Noah stuffed all 67 of his matchbox cars in his shirt for sheer amusement.


Two "firsts" here: Lauren sitting up and playing steadily for the first time, and both my kids sitting together quietly and playing for the first time.


Lauren's first time in a bathing suit and, subsequently, her first time in a pool.


First time my kids got to meet their second-cousins (visiting from NC).

So the moral for today's post is to stop getting caught up in the frenzy so you can stop and notice what's around you!

A Girl's Best Friend

So diamonds are not Lauren's best friend yet. Delicious treats are. She hates vegetables and loves fruit, but apparently her sweet tooth doesn't end there...

Rice cereal for breakfast? No thanks. I'll take some of these pancakes, thank you. Hmmmm, can't...quite...reach...


What are you looking at? Help a sister out!


Ha ha! Turn away from me for two minutes in Walmart and my go-go-gadget hands will reach whatever sweets are within arms' length! For today? Chocolate chips! With a little gumming and some fancy finger work, these bags are so easy to rip open...


Please don't take them from me, mom, please don't. They're so tasty and feel super good all melted under my chin, in my armpits, and smashed in the carseat under my butt...oooh, I think I feel one melting between a leg roll!

Eight Years Later

Greg and I went to a wedding last night. At one point in the evening I was watching him out on that dance floor and I remember thinking that after eight crazy fun years, he can still make me smile like a ridiculous school girl.



Here's to saying Yes!

PC > Mac

For those of you unfamiliar with mathematics signage, the above title means quite simply that my PC was much better than this new Mac computer when it comes to loading and managing photos and photo folders. No, Mac can't even call them "folders", but must give them names like "events" -- annoying. You seriously can't just plug in the ole camera, download photos, and click 'n drag them to various folders. Noooooo. If anyone out there -- anyone -- knows how to use iPhoto and would be willing to walk me through it, please email me. If you know me and know my phone number, please call as I have new and precious pictures of my kiddos I'd love to post in my blog!

Since I can't do that right now, however, I can go ahead and tell you that in the last week we have sold our house and Greg got a new job. This house closes in 30 days, which means that we have approximately 2-3 days to choose a house and buy it so that we can close around the same time and have somewhere to live when the new folks show up here with their belongings! It's a good problem to have, and we are sifting through several options that we're excited about, so here's to hoping we find "the one" at some point this weekend!

Learning Patience

Thank you all for your patience with me. No, I haven't forgotten about all my blogging friends, and I am almost back into the swing of things.

I have been side-tracked in the past 3 weeks with the following shenanigans: we put the house on the market, then found the perfect house and watched it get purchased by someone else; I got sick...twice; I had to nurse my son back to health from double ear infections; I got my nose pierced, Greg went out of town; I hosted my cousin in town; we traveled to Fayetteville twice to see Rachel, Jared, and my sweet nephew Judah; and we had to deal with some stressful job happenings for both me and Greg. Oh, and two violent storms wreaked havoc in our neighborhood and snapped one of our trees off at the base of the trunk, half of our neighbor's roof shingles blew into our front yard, and another neighbor's enormous tree snapped and fell down into our front yard. AND I'm going on a 4 day retreat next week. All while we are trying to sell our house.

I am almost on the mend right now, but am pretty convinced I have strep throat and am hyped up on tons of pain medication and decongestants (FYI- never pierce your nose when you are congested and have a cold as the snot sticks to the post inside your nose and you can't blow anything out. Other than that though, I love it).

I will come up with something very soon that is interesting and worthy of posting.

In the mean time, my sister, Rachel, has posted some great pictures of our trips up there if you are interested. We had a blast with them two weekends in a row!

Chicago!

So the very cool ministry I am working for right now had been telling us for a couple of weeks that we were going somewhere overnight. We knew no details. Visions of paintball, organized teambuilding exercises, and sleeping in tents filled my head as those are the typical group activities one comes to expect on a surprise employee outing.

Then two days before we were to leave, we received an email detailing that we would be flying somewhere, that we had to pack for weather ranging from 30-50 degrees, and that we had to bring one "fun" outfit for an evening out. We all became so curious and so excited to find out where we were headed!

At 5am last Wednesday morning, we met up in the church parking lot and were given a few clues: "This city almost burned completely to the ground in 1861" and that "This city is known for it's hot-aired politicians" among them. Chicago! We were then told that we would be flying that morning to the Windy City, spending the day shopping on Magnificent Mile and eating the deep dish pizza pies the town is famous for, and that we all had tickets to see the Broadway performance of Wicked that night! After little to no sleep all around (pretty much b/c almost all of us have infants and toddlers) none of us felt tired anymore. We were so excited!

Here are a few of the highlights:

Walking around the streets of Chicago.


Very cool sign reminiscent of old movies.


Me in front of this odd kidney-shaped reflective ball statue thingy with the city scape in the background.


John Hancock building.


Giordano's Pizza where we indulged in 3 inches of stuffed pizza topping goodness. I completely understand why the locals call them "pies."


Right outside the theatre.


If you haven't heard of this book or show, I highly recommend it. I'll never watch or think of The Wizard of Oz the same again! In a word, it truly was amazing.


Since we have family in Chicago, I grew up visiting there but always went to peoples' houses. This is the first time I truly had the opportunity to spend an entire trip (albeit roughly 30 hours) just taking in downtown and indulging in some of the coolest things it has to offer. All in all, this "teambuilding exercise" sure beat the heck out of a campfire and the Human Knot game!

Wedding of the Year

What an awesome weekend! For those who don't know, I got to be the matron of honor at my friend Alicia's amazing wedding in Austin. Since I haven't seen her in awhile (she lives in Chicago) I decided to fly there on Thursday night sans Greg so she and I could spend some quality time catching up. We had a blast! We did SO much: made signs for parking, stuffed gift bags, wrapped bridal party gifts, got take-out, ran errands, and even got to go to the mall for some cinnamon pretzel sticks and new clothes. I also got to see the couple practice their first dance which turned out to be so good--I couldn't believe they choreographed it themselves.

I was so nervous initially about leaving the kids with my in-laws for 3 nights (I had never left Lauren overnight before), however, the kids did great and I was comfortable the whole time. Yes, I called like 4 times a day, but overall I knew they would be well taken care of and quite spoiled with their grandparents!

Here are lots of pictures to document the occasion. Enjoy!

Alicia and me at the rehearsal. She looked like she walked out of a magazine the whole weekend.


Greg and me at the rehearsal.


Alicia got us these ultra soft, plush robes with our names embroidered on them as bridal party gifts. I love it, and since my previous robe has been way overused and is covered with makeup smears on the insides of both sleeves... I'm pretty excited. Anyway, great gift idea!


I love this dress. I swear I'm not being vain; I wanted a shot of the dress and one of my new (very) short haircut...

The first dance. I wish I had taken video; it really was so good!

Cuttin' the rug. No, I'm not pregnant--bad swing in the dress. :)

Me and Greg at the reception after partaking in cocktails and appetizers, a full buffet, personalized cupcakes and cookies, and two kinds of cake. Mmmmm.

The beautiful and happy couple. Congratulations!

Don't you want to get married all over again?