1.30.2010

safe arrival!

This little man has made his way into the world!!! Congratulations Nick and Emily – you are going to be such amazing parents! We can’t WAIT to see Eli’s sweet little face and give him all kinds of ridiculous hugs and kisses! And when the time is right, introduce him to Monday’s at Desperados!

1.29.2010

really?!?!?! (this is mostly whining – beware…)

Here is a summary of my last 36 hours, starting 10:30am on Thursday:

- get an e-mail (NOT a phone call) from the owner/director of William’s preschool saying they are CLOSING and want everyone to attend the school’s other location in Allen starting MONDAY (yes! that is 2 days notice)

{FREAK OUT!}

- realize we cannot transfer to the other location because it would mean at LEAST an hour round trip in the am and pm to the school

{FREAK OUT!}

- remember a friend had told me about her daughter’s school, call them, they have a spot open – PRAISE THE LORD!

- call Mike, explain everything, a little less freaking out

- leave school in the pm, Mike leaves work early to pick up William, we take him to the new place to see it, feel comfortable, etc. because we have to start there on MONDAY!

- vacuum cleaner issues (remind me about this later – a story which needs it’s own time)

- go eat dinner with Nick and Em, deal with sorta-sick, super-tired baby at dinner, eat a few wings, go home

- have a mentioned it was pouring rain most of this day? no? well it just made things that much easier…

- Mike puts Will to bed, I get Ryan down, then I go to the grocery store because awesome-me agreed earlier in the week to make taco soup and chocolate candies for work on Friday

- come home: bottles, lunches, chocolate candies, pack for school, bed.

- this morning: overslept. awesome. no shower. ew. that’s right.

- baby has gunk – suction a bunch of boogers from his nose at 6am

- make coffee: when I fill up my mug to take to work, all that comes out of the pot is water (ours is stainless and you can’t see into it)… I FORGOT TO PUT THE COFFEE IN THE COFFEE MAKER!

- super late to work. get there and realize it is “bring your dad to school day” and park 2 miles from the school; haul aforementioned chocolate candies and crock pot for soup 2 miles into school

- have I mentioned it was pouring rain all morning? did I fail to tell you it was 35 degrees? no? well, again, it really helped everything tremendously.

- made it through work. plan was to leave early, get Will, go play at the new school for a bit, then get Ryan and head home. um, no.

- Ryan’s sitter calls me at 3:15 saying he had a slight fever. I tell her I’m on my way. new plan: get Ryan first and drag him around in and out of cars/rain for the rest of the afternoon. call pediatrican. can’t get there before they close today, they say to call the on-call dr Sat am.

- get Will at his school. cry with the ladies there that he is leaving (apparently, all the other parents have 3 extra hours a day for driving around and are moving to the other location.). load up.

- go to new school. Will plays, Ryan poops, I change a diaper, Will pees on himself a bit while using the toilet at the new school. and it is still raining outside. and 32 degrees.

- ah, home. Ryan is so tired he goes to bed. Will hangs out with milk, Goldfish crackers, and Tigger and Pooh on tv. I develop a ridiculously awesome headache.

- Will pooped. not in the toilet. enough said.

- Will and I share a bagel for dinner ‘cause I am super-mom. Mike comes home with beer and wine (he has a 6th sense) and amuses Will (God bless that man!). Ryan wakes up and takes half of a bottle, coughing the whole time. both boys to bed. I am here typing. and now I am done.

- Here’s to a new day.

1.27.2010

William updates

in a stream-of-consciousness format, because that is all I can handle right now

randomly, Will just woke up and was super-sweaty from wearing his fleece pjs. I took him in to change his pjs and he was pointing at his initials that are on the wall above his closet. I explained “W” is for William, “L” is for Loy and “P” is for Preston. He went on about his three names for awhile and then said “and I’m sweetie pie – I have FOUR names!” (Gram Gram calls Will sweetie pie all the time)

I borrowed a bunch of level 1 readers from my kinder teacher friends at school and Will and I have been “reading” them – don’t get too excited – they are just the predictable text, sight words, etc. – but it IS a start – he knows all his letters and most of his sounds and I really think I’ll be able to get him going full-blast this summer; anyhoo… we were looking at the word “some” and I was trying to get him to remember what it said (we have read it a million times) by pointing out the beginning sound:
me: “Will, what letter is that?”
W: “S”
me: “and what sound does it make”
W: “me no know” (and that is exactly how he says it)
me: “Sure you do. It is an s for snake. what does a snake say?”
W: “I love you?”

the other day we were driving and Will had sung the alphabet song about 18 ba-jillion times (I am a math specialist – ba-jillion is a real number) so I asked him to sing another song; he busts out with twinkle, twinkle little star.
I’m going to give you a few moments to process that and then realize why I nearly screamed and pulled my hair out!

when you tell a child to put a toy away and he asks, “why?” is it wrong to say, “because it annoys the crap out of me!”?

I am so sick of taking about tee-tee and poo-poo that I might just throw up. seriously. STILL not potty-trained. god bless the ladies at his school – they are just putting him in underwear every day and letting him do his thing. He makes it most of the days without any pee accidents, but every day there is a little ziploc bag in his backpack containing the icky underwear from when he pooped. His backpack every day for school must now include 2 pairs of underwear (he puts them on when he gets there) and an extra pair of pants – this is getting a little old.

Happy almost-Thursday! sooooo ready for the weekend!

1.17.2010

3 months - such a fattie!

Ryan was three months old last week - the pictures were made on time - edited and posted is a whole 'nother story!

(disclaimer: the lighting in these pics is pretty stinky - I can only do them in the evenings now and well, it is January and still dark by 5:30! Looking forward to more daylight during the day!)

Here is our sweet boy:



And his sweet face:


And the outtake - he looks even chubbier from a lower angle!:


EXTREME close-up!



And of course, my favorite part!


I can't wait till the weather is warmer and you can see those cute things in his shorts and rompers!

Ryan is weighing in at about 13 pounds - there are rolls everywhere and I absolutely love it!!!! He is laughing and grinning all the time. He will coo in response to your voice, just like he is having a totally normal conversation with you. The karate kid can kick his legs up in the hair and flip them to the side, almost getting himself rolled to his side - he hasn't made it over completely yet, but I think it is coming soon! He's a fantastic eater and is sleeping from about 8 or 9pm to 6:30am. We wake him up for his last feeding around 10, but he's right back asleep afterwards like it never even happened.
Napping is a little more hit and miss - the adjustment to being full time with the sitter has not enhanced his napping and he is a little crabby in the evenings, but I know he will adjust soon and we'll get our routine settled down again!

Our little family is so very blessed - love to all!!

1.11.2010

last week, freezing cold, lazy, failed experiment, and morning chaos

I'm sort of a list person, so here goes:

1. We made it through last week! Thanks to Mom and Emily, Ryan was well cared for and made my transition back to work soooo much easier! It was seriously freezing, however, and it was NOT fun to return to carpool duty OUTSIDE in the teens and twenties! ha!

2. On the subject of last week, it wiped. me. out. I was so dead on Friday and I was such a lazy bum all weekend! Besides it was too cold to go anywhere! And I have proof:


Instead, we did a little of this:


and a little of this:


3. Mike had to work Saturday so I got a smidge of an inkling of an urge to do something and decided enough was enough. I was going to put William in his underwear and just let him wet himself - surely THAT would get him to use the potty all the time. He put on his Sesame Street underwear, and parked himself on front of the TV on top of a vinyl tablecloth I had spread on the floor. (let's face it - I was hopeful, but not super-optimistic). Sure enough, about 30 minutes in, he had wet himself and we got him all changed and I thought, okay, one more time. When I saw him waddle around the corner another 30 minutes later, I knew we were in trouble. Use your imagination and decide why a toddler not wearing a diaper might walk bowl-legged and avoid eye contact - mmm hmm - poo. I labeled the experiment a failure and returned him promptly to his diaper-wearing self.

4. Saturday night was the Cowboy game and I had dressed Will in his Romo jersey that day. Mike bought this for him for his birthday (Will's, not Mike's) and for each of the games since the birthday when Will was wearing the jersey, the Cowboys have won. Do you sense where this might be going? So of course, he was wearing it for game day. Mike asked if it had been washed between all the wearings. At first, I was offended. But then, I realized it is not completely outside the realm of possibility for our house.
The Cowboys were doing great, but it was definitely Will's bed time. So when Will came in to give good night hugs and kisses after Mike had put his pajamas on him and brushed his teeth, I really wasn't surprised to see him wearing his Romo jersey and his monkey pajama pants. Mike's exact words were, "What?! We're not going to stop the streak now!" and so that is why William slept in his Cowboy jersey.

5. Yesterday, I FINALLY got to some sewing projects I had been meaning to finish for several months. And by sewing projects, I mean lots of straight lines. We don't always get along, my sewing machine and I. I thought I had really messed up the tension, but all I needed was different thread - go figure! LOVE me a zig-zag stitch! And oh yeah, Ryan is THREE MONTHS OLD!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! He is an absolute angel and so sweet! He laughs all the time and just grins like it is going out of style! Such a sweet baby!

5. This morning was a marathon. Mike had to work early and I had to get both boys to their places complete with first-visit stuff for Ryan and all the Monday things that you moms know have to accompany the child. We made it and I am so proud of myself. We remembered everything and I was only a little bit late to work!
Ryan was so good for Fredes today and Will had a great day as well. Mike was off early, so we went to Chili's for dinner, ran a couple of errands, and now I need to get to bed.
This is our new normal. By my (conservative) estimate we will need at least 2 hours every morning - from the time I wake up to the time we walk out the door. And that is assuming that lunches, bottles, and clothes are all prepared the night before! yikes! The good news is that most mornings, Mike can take Will so I just have to get myself and Ryan out the door. Say a little prayer at 6:50 tomorrow morning :) - that will be the mad last-minute scramble before we hit the road!

This has been lots of rambling, but like I said, all part of the new normal! So blessed we are! (more of this yoda-like speech I will use, I think)

Happy Monday! (and yes, I'll get Ryan's 3 months pics up tomorrow!)

1.08.2010

yay me!

So, I often forget about those silly little trackers I have at the bottom of this page that tell how old Will and Ryan are. I just happened to scroll all the way down and I haven't changed Will's since his birthday last month. Go ahead - scroll to the bottom and read it. no really, do it. then come back up here.

Did you see Will's? "My child is 3 years old. Congratulations!"

"Congratulations?!?!"
for what?
for not going completely bonkers when your child DOES. NOT. STOP. TALKING. for hours on end? for not loosing it when he glares at you, one hand on his hip, the other with a menacing point and says, "Do you understand me?!" for keeping your sanity when he is 37 months old and really does not care a bit about using the toilet? for not dying laughing when he thinks "that's rude" is really "kangaroo-ed"

Well, maybe it's for this :


Yeah, we'll keep him, I guess :)

still standing

well, actually I am sitting. barely. I really want to by lying down.

made it through the first week back and I am pooped. those 5:15 alarms every morning really caught up with me! I'll summarize the madness tomorrow, but these made me smile - Happy Friday!






1.04.2010

survival and THE pictures

Well, I made it! I survived my first day back to work. I sort of floundered around all day, unable to really focus on what needed to be done because I really couldn't figure out what needed to be done! Give me a week or so and I'll be back into it - I hope! Ryan did great with my mom and Will didn't skip a beat running back into his school this morning. Our only little hiccup was when I was leaving this morning to drop Will off and mom said, "Um, does he need a lunch?" "Um, yes." All in all - a successful day! Here's to another!

Now! On to the promised pics from the Cowboy game!

I ALWAYS have to get a picture of this guy (btw - he did NOT play so well)


They even flashed Stephen McGee on the screen for a second, but my camera skillz were not fast enough!

Gettin' the team all fired up - sometimes I wonder how much of this is just a bunch of show and how much is actually motivating...


This Jerry guy does not miss a thing - even the freakin' flags had sparks coming out of them!


One of Mike's favorite parts (guys are pathetic!):


There is nothing like watching a bunch of 20-something, tan, not-a-spot-of-cellulite-to-be-seen girly-girls on the largest TV screen in the world to make you feel a teency, weency anxious about the baby weight! seriously!


token shot of us. I wanted to ask the guy sitting next to us to take the picture, but Mike was mortified (again, guys are pathetic!) - hence, the hold-your-arm-out-as-far-as-you-can-and-smile-at-the-lens-and-hope-you-get-a-good-shot picture


my two most favorite Cowboys:


And look! There's Troy! Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy across the stadium in the Fox booth - the pic is blurry but not bad for a 100 yard+ zoom with a point-and-shoot


and now, my friends, what you have all been waiting for! the moment that made me squeal like a school girl and be "that" girl, sneaking my camera out and obsessively taking pictures of the guy all evening long! I present to you... Emmitt Smith!


sporting the cool shades:


the shades took a break:


more enjoyment of what I am SURE was water!


I just KNOW he was peering around that random, purposefully making eye contact with me, saying "hey! thanks for being a fan! Do you want to come to Canton to see me inducted into the Hall of Fame?"


Martha logic: Martha is 20 feet from Emmitt Smith, Emmitt Smith is on gigantor-TV; therefore, Martha is 20 feet from being on gigantor-TV (the closest I will ever come!)




I told Mike that seeing Emmitt might be the highlight of my year. Considering it was Jan. 3rd, it's going to be a long year!
Go Cowboys!!

1.03.2010

let the clown show begin!

In an effort to really document more of our everyday life, I am trying to give more updates. If you're bored - move on! ha!

This weekend was nice! We started off with a little shin-dig at the Strittmatter casa for New Year's - so fun! but I forgot me camera :( Will went to stay in A-town with Pat and Paige. We were still a little concerned about Ryan and his is-it-or-is-it-not-RSV congestion, so he went with us - we are such party animals! He slept from 11p to 8a, so we got to hang out and have a good time. Nick and Em graciously offered their guest room so all were safe.


Paige had brought over some super-yummy black-eyed pea salad and I think I ate the entire bowl on Friday! Will was still gone so the house was quiet and Mike and I just hung out and rested with Ryan.


Will stayed an extra night in A-town, so Ryan and I had our last alone time on Sat. morning while Mike was at work. I have to go to work Monday morning and it was nice to have that one last quiet time with him.


My rockin' Sat. night consisted of Luby's and a pedicure (thanks, Em!) and if you don't know me, that is super-close to my perfect night - again, such a party animal!


Today, mom and dad came to the house to watch Will and Ryan so we could go to the Cowboy game! So amazing! Go Cowboys - NFC East champs!

And the best part, sitting no less than 20 feet from us (in a suite of course) was EMMITT SMITH! I have an odd, super-fascination with and adoration for this man. I LOVED watching him play, voted like a million times for him on dancing with the stars (the only season I ever watched), and have always been impressed by his character! I went a little star-crazy and that is not like me at all.
I have Ryan in my lap now asleep and so I can't get the pictures on the computer, but don't you worry - you will see Emmitt tomorrow! I think I have about 20 pictures!


Will goes back to school tomorrow and mom is staying with Ryan here at the house. Ryan's sitter is actually out of town this week so we are having to make other plans this week. I go back to work tomorrow after three months off - wish me luck! It is just a work day - no students - so a nice transition into the swing of things. And then the come home, fix dinner, spend quality time, take baths, go to bed cycle begins again! (somewhere in there lunches must be made, laundry done, dishes washed, house cleaned [what?!?!], etc. etc.) - so, LET THE CLOWN SHOW BEGIN!!!

they're almost here!

squuueeeeeee!!!! the Olympics start in 39 days!!
Clear out the DVR! Get your medal count predictions done! Practice your pronunciation of foreign countries! Take note of the event schedule!

I need to see my doctor because I have the fever - OLYMPIC fever, that is! Do you?!

a little reminder

because we all need a little reminder sometimes that He is always there...



Many blessings for you all this new year!

1.02.2010

only in Texas

all I can saw is "wow."



Seriously! (and if you call this place because you need gutter work done, tell them I want my referral fee!)

1.01.2010

Back at the beginning of December, Mike and I went to San Antonio for a couple of nights WITHOUT CHILDREN! It was wonderful! Margaritas were consumed on the riverwalk and we actually slept past 8am for 2 mornings in a row! We always stay at La Mansion on the river - love that place

The first night we were there, I made Mike take one of those riverboat cruises with me. I decided I wanted to be a tourist and I had never been down there when the river was all decked out for Christmas - Gorgeous!!!











This is a gingerbread house that made by the pastry chefs at the hotel. It was just beautiful!



(I made Mike do a thumbs-up - remember, I was embracing my inner-tourist!)


There is an amazing walkway that leads from the river, through the Hyatt hotel lobby, and up to street level. I had no idea it was there and basically, it is a huge fountain that stretches about 300 yards and has too many different drops and spillways to count!




Also in the Hyatt lobby, we saw a glass shop with these beautiful glass sculptures hanging in the windows! I would die to have those ornaments in our house (or the other one too!) So pretty!




We went to see A Christmas Carol in 3-D (which, by the way, is NOT for kids!)


a super-cute holiday decoration I saw at the mall



Finally, some views of the Alamo, all decked out! day and night views!


Will's 3rd birthday

We had Will's party a few weeks ago and he had a blast!

the pre-party:

Will's hair stayed like this for exactly 3.2 seconds and then it was over.


Happy birthday, brother - what's up with your hair?!


For my birthday, I would like to pinch your nose. thank you.


Don't you just love me in my baby jeans?



time to PAR-TAY!
--------------------------------------------------------------------




(we had an excellent babysitting team in place)




(at one point, there was a small amount of pouting, but Mike fixed it!)










super-fast!


he had been practicing for weeks!




showing off the green icing


**** a special shout-out to Nick for taking most all the pics so we could truly enjoy the moment! ****