Organize organize organize......

Pretty files all in a row

Just another organizing tip..just what you want to hear on a Monday am before 11am, hugh....anyway, I've already pulled 3 different files out this am, so I thought I'd share. I make a file for EVERYTHING. I've already gotten into my antique weekend file (looking for guy's email to order another rustic frame), our Beach file (can't find the kid's library books, called to check the lost and found) and Landscape file (don't ask!!) anyway, it's just a great way to have everything you need and can never find all in one spot.

I have files in the office too, but they are boring bill stuff and I even make a vacation file for every trip we have ever gone on and it's amazing how much you refer back to things. Stacie, called me last week and wanted a recommendation for what show to see in Las Vegas...pulling a handy dandy file, I could tell her, actually I knew off the top of my head but you get the point...Now they have pretty files like pink and polka dots, which of course I had to get....putting them in a pretty basket is a nice way to display too with quick and easy access......You can never be to organized, right Stacie....!!

Party Planning 101

In Kansas City I use to do an annual cookie party exchange on a Sunday afternoon near Christmas time. It was a big affair as I'd cook ALL the appetizers, plus decorate my entire house for Christmas plus do all the prizes etc.... My Mom would come down from Iowa 3 days before the party just to help...well, that was BK (before kiddos too..) Once we moved I really missed entertaining as the first Christmas that rolled by, we were still in our rental house and this past Christmas we were moving...so I was just itching to throw my annual girls only party. I decided to do a Fall/Halloween party as it's so much less crazy than Christmas time.

It turned out to be a hit!!! I decided to make this post kind of a "step by step" guide to a successful party....I always have people tell me I should go into the party planning business and I just might some day when I grow up...I think I enjoy it so much as it's another creative outlet which is my forte....plus it includes some projects which as you know, I'm all about....

One of the first steps,.... you have to have something at the entrance that sets the tone for the party..hence, my celebrity parking sign...We also have an outside speaker that use to only be used for the doorbell until I had our "stereo guys" wire in sound so guests hear music when they come up to the house....

You got to have yummy food and lots of it....this year I decided to do an appetizer/dessert exchange, in reality to save my butt from slaving away in the kitchen for two days but it as part of my theme was a recipe exchange. So, you were to bring your favorite appz or dessert with copies of the recipe so all guests could taste the yummies plus have the recipe....

Well, I'm not going to take credit for deciding to dress up...at dinner club, we talked about it...next thing I know we're dressing up..Not just anybody..the theme was to come as a celebrity that has major issues, such as Paris (in this picture), Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears...you get it, don't you....It turned out to be really freaky, a couple of gals I had to do a double take to see who the hell was in my house!!!!



No boring people allowed, only fun and creative....

Julie and Shay

Julie did a great job of coming up with her costume....she was WAY outside the thinking box, she came as the picture taking paparazzi...it was way fun!! Shay was another version of Gwen Stefani.....She really has beautiful natural long curly hair, so a complete double take when she walked in...

If you got it flaunt it, right Amy...I mean Victoria Beckam...aka.Posh Spice....

You got to have fun friends. Boring people need not apply...Here is Amy K dressed as Angelina Jolie. She carried one of those baby carrier pouch things around her body full of all different races of groovy dolls, she also did this lip liner trick that made her lips look way puffy!!!....totally crack me up...she did a great job of playing the part..she was one of my favorites!!!

Yep, the theme...you can have ALL different versions on the theme. Here we have Brittney today with short shorts (that only Stacie can pull off!!) and dark hair, Pam as: the day she shaved her head and beat up the paparazzi with her umbrella, and then the sweet innocent Brittney (Jen) that is nothing but a distance memory these days......

You gotta have cool decorations that totally play up the theme as well as sets the mood for the party......

You gotta have props....All Access/Back Stage passes as soon as the guests walk enter..and yes, they did enter on Red Carpet.....Also, microphones for singing when the party cuts loose.....

Also, shown here the ballots for the contests!!! You HAVE to have a contest complete with cool prizes!!!! The winners of the night were: Best Costume: Jenn as J. Lo (J Bo), Best Appetizer: Mindy- Hearts of Palm Ceviche Dessert: Angie- Almond Joys

and the Winner of the Trivia-(How well do you know Hollywood?) Heather (Who watches the E channel everyday!!)

Oh, did I mention trivia game...??? Yes, You HAVE to play a game!! I spent a night (while the kids where playing in the sand box) cutting out pics from Us and People. You had to guess the answer to the trivia question by looking at the pictures...It was fun..and I will say many of my friends are cheaters....Amy, Stacie, Denise....

You got to have party favors.....If possible to go with the theme. I found these decked out glittery makeup mirror compacts at Pier I in gold and silver...PERFECTO!!!!! All guests should leave with something fun and memorable, excluding the microphones and VIP passes....

This is the winner of the costume contest....nice Bootie J. Lo!!! and me as Gwen Stefani...The scary thing is the fact that I had everything in my closet except the glove sock thingys and the net over my skull shirt....I guess I'm a rocker at heart....I know Gwens not as F'ed up as Britney but to me anyone that lives in Hollywood has got to have SOME issues so it's still keeping with the theme, right.....

You got to have fun friends that aren't afraid to be someone else...Heather with her "That's Hot" jailbird outfit was a big hit...so sorry I ran out of Cosmopolitans ....my friends are lushes!!!!

Making new friends....costume and all, Paris and Anna Nichole Smith

The day after.....

The boys stayed overnight with Adela, so I had the entire day to prepare on Friday. It worked out great that, I didn't have to worry about my crazy friends waking them up....So, the boys were playing "HOPSCOTCH" on the Walk of Fame Stars that had all the guest's names (suddo)...and the balloons they are playing with are actually Anna Nichole Smith's boobies!!!!! Thanks Tonja!!!!

Here's Brandt running down the red carpet..it makes a GREAT road for little boy's trucks too!!!

So all in all, it was a very successful party...I might have to ditch the Christmas cookie exchange and make this my annual girls party...what do you think?????

Projects galore......

I've always been the type of person that has a million things going on. It's just not in my blood to sit down and relax. I love to be working on a project or two or three. I'm not sure if it's the act of doing that I enjoy, as usually it's something creative or if it's the satisfaction of a job that is completed...maybe a bit of both.

My latest one, which turned into kind of nightmare...I had the level out, my handy-dandy girly Skil ixo cordless palm size screwdriver/drill (which EVERY girl needs, it's THE best!!), the Walldogs (which is another great thing I found, it's screws and anchors all in one) (HomeDepot), hammer...etc...I know, I need a job on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition. I could wear my pink tool belt..kidding....!!!

Anyway, my whole idea, was to have this collective looking family wall, where I could display photos of extended family as well as my own but in a way with some dimension and flare. One of my big purchases at the art fair that Melody and I went on, where these rustic looking tin shelves that I ended up being very happy with. I like to blend rustic with fancy so I used the rustic shelves with some ornate picture frames I found. I also found some great shelves that have a very cool old world looking hand painted kind of vineyard looking scene on them and it just completes my project. I even found this cute lamp that fits perfect on the shelf AND there just happens to be a plug in that I cleverly hid behind the shelf. I had to purchase ANOTHER tool, to cut a small key hole in the shelf to fit the cord through so it didn't show...I know, I know, maybe I should apply for a job on HGTV (my favorite!!)

I'm really happy with how it turned out, although I'm missing some family photos that I've been searching for and I still need to spoof with greenery and candles but all in all, It's exactly what I had envisioned......


Another not so precise project and no level required was this meca of spiders in a spider web that the boys helped me do!!! They are NUTS about it, they constantly play "spiders" (you know instead of little army men, it's little spiders) they rearrange them (which drives me nuts, but I let it go). They tell me, Mommy it's time to turn the spider web on....Everytime we head for bed upstairs, Barrett screams, SPIDERWEB!!! It's pretty darn cute with the big huge spider right smack in the middle.....It's so fun to decorate for the boys...I've waited my WHOLE life for it!!! I have to be careful and do "spooky cute" as they of course aren't into the blood and gut stuff yet...maybe age 10ish or so??? Notice on the stairs: The Thomas slippers we just HAD to get when we went to Austin to see Thomas...

Football frenzy

Daddy brought the boys home footballs this week and they were a great hit....Scott will never tell you this as he's a pretty modest person, well extremely, but he was the #1 high school wrestler in Iowa for several years as well as the #2 and #3 which isn't exactly shabby either. This lead to scholarships for college and has now lead us to some pretty athletic little boys.....

Barrett on the look out

Well, Daddy might not be in the shape he use to be in but at least he's on the boy's level now...hee..hee...Notice the blue running pants with the tapered legs...These are absolutely the most hideous things you've ever seen...They HAVE to be from back in the days when Scott was winning all those wrestling matches...yep, they are OLD...I've thought about burning them but have decided that I do really still want to be married..If they ever come up missing, it wasn't me, I swear.....

Both the boys did great catching the ball and well, running comes natural for both. Although Barrett runs right past his brother, he was defiantly blessed with the speed factor......Both the boys love to watch football on tv and have started to recognize some of the plays which is pretty good for a 2 and 3 yr old...Scott LOVES college football and watches it a ton. I don't mind at all, we just love having him home from his week of travel....it's actually kind of fun making his favorite football food such as pot roast and meatloaf sandwiches...I'm sure I don't match his Mother's cooking but it's fun drumming up those old memories for him.....

Oh...someone got really tired...this is Barrett's I'm sad and tired look....so dang cute, I can't stand it!!! I think more football is in our future for sure....and that's just fine with us.....

Chef BOYardee.....

Barrett made this in school this week and I think it's one of THE cutest art projects EVER...They are learning about cooking in "school" this week. It's just tissue paper for the top of the chef's hat with a paper band around the head....way way cute...it's in our kitchen next to the stove so we can all enjoy it for awhile.....

Chilly Willy......

Brandt modeling our "big" bag

On Thursday we bring home the boy's linens to get laundered from school. They don't fit in our way to cute little bags that Melody made for us, so I asked her to please make us a BIG bag, and that she did....This one is just as cute if not cuter!!! Thank you Melody!!! She told me to lay off the projects for awhile, she was to busy with Halloween costumes. Bllahh!! I'm sticking out my tongue at you!!!

Well, yes I had to do it....much resistance, but I thought the time was right even though I was very much sad......I had to pull out the jeans for the first time since March/April.....We had low temps over night in the 50s....Yikes,,,funny out that USE to be shorts weather in the Midwest, nope not here....for the longest time, you can get away with long sleeve and shorts before transitioning into the full shield of warm armor.......

Brandt being silly.......

Barrett....standing on "his" couch.......

I"m a super stickler for not letting the boys jump on their beds or our furniture....BUT boys will be boys, right? I had to make an exception to their couch in their room and boy do they take advantage to the bend in the rules!!! It's not like they have a super expensive trampoline outside or anything...... I think the poor thing might fall to the ground sometime soon, but I guess it will teach them a lesson when they have nothing to sit on to watch cartoons......

Child of God

Views of more than 30 miles.....breathtaking!!!

THIS is why we put up with the scorpions and centipedes!!! Our clubhouse is like being on vacation somewhere!!! You just can't beat it!!!

Barrett tasting his first scone....a blueberry one!!!!

I fixed plates for the boys and Barrett asked me "what's this Mommy"... I told him it's like a breakfast cookie, (holding up the scone), Brandt then corrected me, "No Mommy, it's a scone". Again, another jaw dropper, I had no idea how Brandt knew what a scone was. Maybe when Daddy takes them to Denny's? Since when does Denny's carry scones? Maybe he heard someone ask for one at the bakery?

Amelia Francis

Last weekend we watched our great friends baptize their 3 child, baby girl Amelia. It was another beautiful sunny day in the hill country. As we sat it church watching the service and partaking in the baptism ceremony you could only think about how gracious the Lord can be, while we were starring at such a beautiful little baby with the most beautiful blue sky looking down on us....

After the church ceremony we all gathered at our clubhouse for a yummy yummy yummy brunch and the most fantastic cake ever!!! It was so nice meeting many of Amy and Fred's family members. Amy did a great job with the flowers, invites, etc... Thanks again Amy and Keith for your graciousness!!!The bloody marys and mimosas, weren't half bad either!!!

High School Musical party

Pretty Priya......

Brandt nibbling away......


A couple bites of cake, a couple licks of sucker, washed down with an undiluted juice box......

Barrett, taking one of "many" turns with the pinata'

Last weekend was a beautiful, sunny, Fall day in our area and the boys enjoyed yet another fun birthday party. Priya turned 6 and her theme was "High School Musical". I got a call the night before from her Mommy who was very calm, saying "Pump it Up" had a computer glitch and didn't have them down for the party they had paid for months ago in advance....long story short, with about a 12 hr notice, the party had changed to their house!! Luck for us, they live just down the street and lucky for them they own their own blow up jumpy, just the size for a birthday party!!!

The boys had a great time with the Pinata'. Barrett would wait patiently while someone else hit, then he thought it was his turn again only after letting one person go at a time. It was funny. I think he has a tad bit of his competitive wrestling Father in him!!!

For a short notice party, it turned out fantastic. It's so fun getting to experience our great friends children growing up too. Happy Birthday sweet Priya.........

Busy living life......

I know I know...I'm very behind on my posts but I'm very busy living life right now...I had to share my conversation that I had with Brandt on my way home from school today.

Brandt: I slept really good at nap time today Mommy, I didn't have ANY bad dreams, only GOOD dreams Mommy....

Mommy: Oh honey, I'm so glad, what did you dream about that was so good?

Brandt: You, Mommy

You gotta just love being a Mama. I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world!!!

Thanks Melody for a fantastic day at 'Ole and lunch, You have fastly become one of my favorite people in my life, ever!!!

See, I told you I've been very busy lately!!

Mr. Big

Tshirt says "small kid, BIG plans"

Brandt has always been a "little ahead" of his age. For instance, when he was 2 he was obsessed with tractors (still loves them)...but he wouldn't just call them tractors. We about fell over when we were passing a construction sight and he wasn't even 2 yet, and as we passed in the car, he said "Mommy, that's an excavator". Scott and I looked at each other in awe....well, Brandt hasn't changed....

We were in the doctor's office yesterday and we were waiting in the "truck" room...which the boys were in heaven with the variety of vehicles such as bulldozers, semis, etc... as the doctor came in to administer the boy's flu shots, she commented to Brandt as he was playing with the green garbage truck, "Oh, I see you found the garbage truck"..Brandt corrected her and said, "No, that's the recycling container vehicle" (it had the arrow recycling symbol on the side of the truck)....The pediatrician (this was our first visit) looked at me with her mouth open...."and this little guy is 3 1/2?...wow, he's really into the politically correct grammar, hugh?....yep, that's my "BIG" boy....he never ceases to amaze me with the thoughts that come from that pretty blonde head of his.......

It's the free stuff that's the best stuff!!

Barrett, always in high gear, hence the blurry picture.....
Brandt, in high gear too, but just not as high as his brother

I took the kids to the new Chick-fil-A that just opened up "pretty close to us". "Pretty close to us", country folks means 20ish so minutes. The kids have been watching it while under construction and were so excited to go. They have an indoor playground that looks much bigger from the highway than once you get inside of it. It's still brand new, so it's still clean and for the most part germ-free. We didn't see any boogers or snot hanging off the walls yet, and that is ALWAYS a plus. Our local Burger King has the indoor play system but it DOES have the nasty unidentifiable slime hanging from it, so I won't let the boys play on that one.

It was like play date overload. There had to of been at least 30 kids and 20 Mommies packed into the little play area. Scott came to meet us as he was "in town" for a doctor's appt. As I had already sat there for 34 minutes and 16 seconds before he got there watching the kids do the same thing over and over and over and over....go down the slide, Scott got to get a taste of what a stay at home Mommy does day in and day out. We watched another kid pick his band-aids off his scrapped up knees and stick them on the glass, and then we watched a giant 4 year old that looked like he was 12, run into a little cute-pink-tutu-dressed-girl that had to just of turned one, and we watched in horror as blood started to gush from her head......yep, we packed it up and the kids finished their lunches in the car....

The moral of the story: Sometimes the kids enjoy the free stuff the best and if you have a little cute one year old, don't sit on the other side of chick-fil-a and gab with your friends, and assume that someone else is watching your child!! Geezzz Louise!!!

It's never to overcast for sunglasses....

On the way to school today....

For some reason both the boys insisted on wearing their sunglasses to school today, despite the overcast skies and the spitting rain....I just think it's so cute they want to wear them. They asked me "why can't I see very much stuff, Mama"....gee, maybe something to do with the dark clouds in the sky that look they are about to dump on us??? I didn't tell them that of course, I just told them "It's not really a sunglasses type of day", but "you can wear them if you wanna.." and that they did....I made them keep them in the car once we got to school, so they "wouldn't get lost", but they sure put them back on, for the entire ride to swim lessons, nope, the sun hadn't made it out yet that time of the day either....

Swim lessons were very challenging, Barrett bawled the entire 30min we were there, as he wanted the lollipops that they so conveniently sit on the table when you first walk in, I made him wait until we were on our way home so he and Brandt could have them together....it was the longest 30 minutes of my life...despite all the looks we were getting that said "just give him one", I just couldn't give in once I had started my "teaching lesson"....I'm teaching him patience, that good things are worth waiting for...we'll see how my "teaching experience" worked when we go next week...anyway, the was the best lollipop he's ever had, he crunched on that thing the whole 40 minutes home!!!

Bonita's Birthday Celebration

Saturday night we celebrated our good friend, Jenn's birthday. It was our dinner club gang (minus Tami and Ryan). We always have so much fun together...everyone knows each other VERY well, and it's just always a very "easy" evening..... We all can just be ourselves, call each other out (if needed) and just chill with no agenda... We've all voted just to keep it to our 6 couples as it's not to big where you can't visit with everyone but small enough to know EVERYTHING about each other.......

After dinner we went to The Cigar Club next to the restaurant where we had dinner. We had some great Italian at Reggiano's.
Jenn and Rich have been dating 6 months and are pretty serious....our dinner club keeps putting in our input on where we want to go for the destination wedding.......

It was a little chilly outside after the sun went down, Stacie was so glad to be able to of used one of Jenn's birthday gifts to snuggle with.....Her hubby is smokin' away in the background....

Our way to cute couple babysitters.....they come as a team!!! They are both in college. Mike goes to University of Texas in Austin, and Jacqlyn here in SA. Our kids LOVE them and are so excited when they come to babysit.... They've been sitting for us for over a year. They are very good to our boys and I know they love them, which really makes it much easier to enjoy a night out....

All the guys really enjoy a good cigar so this was a real treat for them...good choice...

Ms. Stacie, telling a story with her hands. Her son Tyler scored 4 goals in soccer in 2 minutes so they took him out of the game so the other kids could have a chance....both their kids are very athletic ...they get it from Daddy who use to be the star basketball player at Boerne High....

Ahhhhh, my Bonita. Bonita means beautiful in Spanish.and that she is.....I nicknamed Jenn that shortly after I met her. She's just one of those people that has to have a nickname!!! Jenn moved here a little over a year ago from San Diego. She is best friends with Amy. She moved here to help Amy and Glenn with their real-estate business, The Boehm team... . Jenn is full of life and has this contagious energy you can feel from a mile away.. She's always fun and just radiates sunshine with her over the top beautiful smile...We immediately hit it off when we met and soon found out how alike we are...We can't WAIT to spoil her rotten with her engagement, wedding and baby showers....now if she'd just get the stinkin' ring!!!

My beautiul...Amy is very business like and would much rather be at home in her jammies cleaning up after her 3 adopted beautiful kids...She's very sophisticated and by the business hand book, but once she likes you and knows you watch out...she's full of witty comments and is very engaging with her fun way of story telling...she kind of mimics people and it's just down right hilarious. Both her and Jen are from Ohio, Midwestern girls, my favorite and the kind I relate to the best....Thanks "Boerne dinnerclub" girls AND boys.... for your awesome friendships and being exactly who you are!!!!

Nifty Niche

The town of Oia

Finally after months and months...our faux painter, Lisa, finished the mural in the area off of our bedroom, on the way to the bathroom. She just got super busy as she was doing a Parade of Homes house, and our summer was just crazy...She was so nice and took off $200 bucks for our patience!!!

We decided for her to paint the mural of our favorite town in Santorini, which is our favorite island in Greece....It's said to have the best sunsets in the world, and we can sure attest to that!!! It's got a very beautiful caldera off of the island that is just breathtaking....It's so special for us to walk past the mural everyday (lots of times) and think of the special time we had there..as this was the trip where we became engaged.

The jade vase sitting in front was something we purchased while on our trip. It's made up of all different colors of jade. I always thought there was only green jade, but apparently not. The other colors such as blue, pink, red, black, are very rare...Each one is unique. When we were in the store, there was a picture of Goldie Hawn with the one that she and Kurt Russell picked out. While we were in the store. Joe Montana's wife was in the store purchasing one too!! So, the vase has some great memories. When we were building the house we had told the architect that we wanted a "special" spot for the vase. It's just amazing when the sunlight hits it...It's the perfect spot.......

Tranterella

The Mack Daddy

Two very interested little boys....

Well, it's official we saw our first tarantula since we moved into the house this am. Yes, it WAS outside!!! It's like a giant spider on steroids and very furry!!! I've been told that the ones in the hill country aren't poisonous but I'm not sure if that's true or not? Luckily when Scott found it, the thing was dead...at least that's what he told me. Dead or Alive, I don't care, the thing was disgusting....I'll have to call Chris the bug man on Monday and tell him as I hope it's the last one I see around here....I have a feeling it won't be though......

When Adela got here this am to clean the house, Brandt told her that Daddy found a "tranterella" (rhymes with Cinderella)..sometimes he comes up with the cutest names for things...even though the spider is absolutely NOT cute!!!!

Chugga Chugga Choo Choooooooooo..........

The boys, so excited they couldn't stand it!!!

Today was a great family day. Daddy took the day off and we traveled to Austin, Tx (about 1 1/2 hr drive) to see Thomas the Train. It was truly a dream come true for the boys. They still can't stop talking about it!!! The Austin Steam train Association puts the event on each year. Before you wait until it's your turn to ride Thomas, they have tons of activities set up inside the Austin Convention Center for the kids. It was Thomas overload!!! They had lots of trains set up, clowns, games, a Thomas store....

I took advantage of the Thomas store and got all my stocking stuffers done for the boys. Everything from Thomas watches, to toothbrushes, silverware, and slippers. Many of the items you can't get in the stores, so pretty neat merchandise......

Now THAT'S THE ticket.......

I was really surprised. Thomas is really nice inside. The seats are pretty plush and comfy. It was very clean. We had a beautiful sunny day. It was perfect.....

Boarding Thomas

It was so fun, watching the boys have such a great time. They laughed and smiled like I've never seen before. It was one of those days that makes all the challenging days so worth it.....

Welcome sign before you entered "The land of Thomas!!"

Sir Topham Hatt, on his way for a pottie break...not sure how that was going to work?

The line was way to long for us to wait for Sir Topham Hatt, we were pushing it as it was for lunch, but anyway on our way out, there was no one in line and for good reason...Sir Tophan Hatt had to pee!!!!

We caught the clown just back from his lunch break, NO LINE, yeah!!!

I love this pic...we were finishing the ride and ready to go meet Thomas

Love the graffiti in the background

Daddy and Barrett watching the scenery go by

Waiting with great patience while Thomas got ready (really while the tons of kids that just got off take their picture with Thomas!!)

After a great Mexican lunch, we packed up and headed back home. I love our family time together more than anything in the world.....Brandt and Barrett have always loved Thomas. After today, the scale just tipped to the next level. Brandt keeps asking if we can go again tomorrow but I just tell him next year...Thomas had to go back to work...he's a VERY useful engine, ya know......

A Much needed MNO (Mommy's night out!)

No Juice Boxes allowed.....

About a year ago, I started a playgroup in our subdivision as it's not your typical neighborhood, where kids are running around house to house. It's based on acreages so it's hard to SEE your neighbor let alone find one to play with. My friends call me the organizer or social planner, and I will admit it...I am...Our playgroup is so much fun. We all get along so great we decided to incorporate a MNO once a month. So if it's your turn to host playgroup, you also choose the "Mommy activity" for your month too.

Our first one was last night and Jenn chose Pasion Latin Bistro. It's kind of a Havana type lounge and restaurant. As a designer, I totally enjoyed the bold, spicy colors of the decor...it just radiates HOT colors, which I love. The blown glass light fixtures are beautiful and I love the splash of color in the over sized artwork....

Melody and Dawn......

The cool thing about Dawn is that her 3 1/2 yr old Jackson, is a "leader" for a class of 6 special needs children. They watch Jackson and learn from him and he's like their "teacher" of the class. One Mom commented this week that her child with a disability learned more from Jackson in 2 weeks than he did in two years at a "normal" school...I about cried when she was telling me the story...amazing....

Jenn doin' what she does best....sippin'

It was pretty funny as our "nonblogging" friends were a little freaked out that we were taking pictures of the napkins, carpet, and the unfinished cake on our plates...well, we'll see if they show up next month...they kept on asking, "if MNO was always going to be like this", meaning the constant flashes from the camera....the answer is YEP!! My suggestion would be to put a camera on your Christmas wish list and jump on board with the rest of us ex-band geeks...and well, one majorette!!! (sshhhh...Jenn!!, totally see her throwing that baton around!!)

Helen and Lianne's pretty, shiny hair

Helen is the most " culturally diversified " friend that I have or will EVER have, actually...She is half Mexican and half Greek and married and has two kids with an Indian!!! What a combo, right? She's just as "colorful" in her personality and beauty as she is ethnically!!!


Mommies on the loose.....AAWWWWWHH!!!

We ALL have a 3 or 4 year old (not counting the other kids, different ages) so you can only imagine what our conversation entail....we should write a book!!!


What's left of our Tres Leches Cake


Helen showing us her "big mouth" lip gloss...really, that's what it's called!!

One of my favorite drinks, a mojito, choice for the night....mango flavor

I always say a silent cheer to Kimber (my best friend) back in Kansas City when I have a mojito. It's really "our" drink. We've had so many times where we've had one to many mojitos and somehow we'd end up talking with the mint stuck on our front teeth and just pretend like we didn't' notice....we just crack ourselves up!!!

So, I'm ready for the next MNO, maybe we should start it weekly like Maile does? I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends...thanks ladies for a great time...I'm raising my mango mojitos to many, many more!!!!

The dark pedicure

Brandt is off the "hair thing" with me (he's not making comments about my hair..this week anyway..) and now he's onto what color I paint my toenails!!! I didn't even say anything to him, he just noticed (this might be a great thing when he's a husband someday..) but he said to me today:

B: (Mom, what happened to your toes? They aren't suppose to be black, they are suppose to be pink. Why did that happen?)

A: Well, Mommy was tired of pink and I thought I'd get ready for Halloween and paint them black (actually I was trying to cover the fact that I noticed in the 15 magazines that I subscribe to, that black was coming back in for the Fall/Winter, but how do you explain to a 3 1/2 year old about fashion????)

B: Well, I don't like it, that's what toes look like when you drop something on them...

Well, I guess he's right, but I'm just trying to stay hip....But this am, he told me that he could get use to the idea of black and that black is really a great idea for Halloween, Mom.

We've had an eventful week. I've started to give the boys showers instead of baths at night. They both love the dual shower heads. Also, I don't have to worry about them drowning, while I answer the phone, but slippage has been an issue. Everything was all dandy, until I opened the doors to check on them last night, (it gets really steamy and I can't see them) and I found them "cooking" Barrett's turds. He had pooped in the shower and with the play cookware that was inside their "shower toy box", they were making "spaghetti and meatballs...". I about threw up!! It made for a long night when you have to factor in the disinfection issue.....

Fall Festivites

Brandt crossing the bridge to the gazebo

Family pic.......Yep, I planned on everyone in orange..I'm a true picture geek!!!

Brandt holding a baby chic.......



Bales of hay turned into a tractor...the boys flipped over this!!!

Like Mother, Like Son

Barrett holding a baby chic.....

The Boys feeding a 4 month old billy goat

Brandt running in the pumpkin maze

Barrett taking his turn on the pony

Brandt's turn on the pony

Brotherly love.......or maybe a bribe for a Carmel apple!!!


Today we did our annual trip to Love Creek Orchards. By annual, actually it's only our 2nd time to visit, but we love it so much it will definitely be a yearly trip for us. It's in a small town about 45 min from us in a town called Medina. You have to drive through Bandera, Texas which is considered the cowboy capital of the World .

It's really a beautiful drive and the scenery is some of the prettiest in the hill country.

The boys had a blast!! They did as many activities as we could before nap time but I think the favorites were the pony rides and the pumpkin maze. Mommy was Oh So Happy that they had Carmel apples!!! I was so bummed when I went antiquing the Carmel stand didn't have any ready at the time!! We ate outside and had a picnic, the boys were starving after running around to all the activities. If the homemade cookies and Carmel apples weren't enough sugar for a Saturday, we had to make a DQ stop on the way home...It was a great way to spend a Saturday and well worth the drive.....

Ps. I'm trying to get better with my photo editing and picture taking, I think I'm finally getting somewhere. I've got to work my way up to the expensive camera I have on my list for Christmas!!

The creatures WERE stiring all through the house......

Gettin' a close up look......

Just makin' sure it's dead......

Discussing if it's a scorpion or centipede......

Top view

Bottom view


Wow...What a way to wake up in the am. I'm half asleep, drinking my diet coke, pouring the boys Fruit loops into their cereal bowls, when this NASTY, ugliest, centipede is half dead/half alive in our hallway off of the kitchen....I about choke on my diet coke, yell at the boys to put their feet up as I dash for the the killer bug spray I keep handy in the laundry room....

Yes, this is a down fall to living in the hill country. Not only do we have these nasty-ass long centipedes, we also have scorpions, tarantulas(USUALLY not poisonous,) rattlesnakes and poisonous spiders, Oh and fire ants!!!.... I DID NOT know about the centipedes or the tarantulas until we had already moved in. Kimber, my best friend was down to visit shortly after we moved in, and we were hangin' out in the hearth room when a VERY fast centipede ran around the room. We screamed, couldn't believe we didn't' wake up the boys, but we did run and get Scott. The suckers are not only the nastiest thing you've ever seen but they are super fast. They kind of run in a zig-zag pattern and I guess they can slip into the tiniest of cracks...Our topography made up of rocks and sand is the perfect home for these creatures, so there is just NO way to get around it, thank goodness for our wonderful bug man, Chris (yep..we're on a first name basis..)

We've seen several since we've been here. We NOW get the bug man to come out on a monthly basis, I could care less how expensive it is, and that seems to....help...BUT we still see them every now and then but the good news is that they are just barely hangin' on to life..after which we know that the bug man is working....

After exploring very closely, they are actually pretty intriguing creatures. They look like they are a fake, plastic toy up close with millions of red and yellow legs and giant pincher's on one side of the body. The other day I got home and Adela (our housekeeper) had the look of terror on her face as she showed me a dust pan full of scorpions that she had neatly lined up for me to look at...why she saved them, I have no idea...Yep, just another thing I miss about KC, when all we had to worry about were the misquotes, and you guessed it, we have those down here too, Texas size as a matter of fact.......

Pumpky Patch

Brandt got this pumpkin for his room

Mama and her boyz

Brandt said this one was a "perfect circle."

Barrett was either rolling the pumpkins or kicking them

This expression.....Priceless


Today after school we decided to do the pumpkin patch. It's not really a pumpkin patch but a park full of pumpkins, but the kids call it the pumpkin patch. It's more like an overpriced pumpkin parade if you ask me. The boys loved running around "chasing" them....The Falls here are much different than what we are used to. Here we are picking out our pumpkins with the temps in the 90s, no falling leaves or pretty trees changing colors, I definitely miss that!!! We get a little change of color, and by little I mean little, and a few trees drop their leaves but they don't really change color like the Midwest...but I try to see the positive and that is we are running around the pumpkin patch in shorts.....

Picky Nicky

13 kiddos between us, yikes

Sunday night after Melody and I got home from our trip, We put together a little picnic at the park in our neighborhood. It's absolutely beautiful "down" there, as you have to travel down a huge hill (one to many stroller rides...). We could walk that's how close it is, but we could never do that as we have to haul the entire kitchen and garage down when we go.....

The "big" kids meaning the kindergartners and 1st graders go to the same school and the other "little" kids go to the same Mothers Day out (which we still call "school".) So all the kids know each other and they are all pretty well mannered and behaved so it's a great time for us parents too. We're so lucky to not only watch our kids grow up in such a beautiful place but it sure is fun watching other kids (that feel like my kids) grow up too....

Cutie pie Trevor, He has become Barrett's little buddy as they are in the same class at "school".

Vienne is in Brandt's class. She's a doll baby......

Bubbles were a huge hit


It was a VERY hot evening....most of us were in the River...

The Guadalupe River runs right threw the subdivision where we live. It's really clear ,cool, and so peaceful. It also makes for great fishing and canoeing as well as tubing, which is HUGE down here in Texas. The kids aren't old enough but sure will be fun in a few years, we will be prepared. You can also "camp" in the park. Which I think will be great for the boys. I can camp out in my own bed while Scott takes the boys in the tent, and how cool...he can just call on the cell phone if he forgets something!!! Right now we take advantage of the green areas as well as the lakes and river.

Barrett loves our friends and is always so happy at our gatherings...

Is this Brandt or Barrett?

I had the hardest time figuring out who this was? Sometimes I can't tell them apart in pics if their eyes aren't showing as many of their features are alike...but since "he" isn't looking and the eyes aren't showing...I had a hard time figuring this one out. I decided it was Brandt because Barrett doesn't have the patients to blow the bubbles like this......

Oh, the title for my post comes from me...I was about Brandt's age and I'd call picnics, Picky Nickys....so at least it came in use for something many years later.....

Junkyard Junkies

Our train themed Bed and Breakfast in Smithville, Texas

I had to rough it and forget the 500 count thread sheets for a night....actually the bed was pretty comfy and Brandt would of freaked out if he saw me sleeping with a train comforter!! Smithville reminded me of the town I grew up in, Eddyville, Iowa. Smithville is most famous for the Sandra Bullock movie, Hope Floats, where the movie was filmed.

My bedroom -slash- kitchen

My fun and funky girlfriend, Melody and I went antiquing last weekend in Warrenton, Texas. It's one of the largest antique shows in the US. It's actually made up of small towns, about 6 of them, all clustered together, in the middle of nowhere, somewhere close to Austin. We only made it to the first town, (surprise, surprise!!). It's called the Texas Antique Weekend. It takes place in the Fall and Spring each year. We've decided to go back in the Spring dragging our other crafty friends. No, I'm not really into antiques, but it's also filled with artsy fartsy stuff that I love. My favorite vendors were, The Junk Gypsy (where I dropped a significant about of my allowance) and also Rooms by Salvage Style. Here I customized the boys each a plaque made of tin to hang on the doors to their rooms.


The "Bugaboo homeless man cart"

We got really tired of carrying things pretty quickly so we decided to be a die hard crafter/antiquer and purchase this Bugaboo cart. I felt like a bag lady rolling this thing around but it worked out wonderfully. We saw several ladies that had really pretty liners covering the inside of the cart, we decided we should work our way up to that. I was teasing Melody that we got the "mac- daddy" cart, as we did have an option on the type of wheels you could choose. At that point, only the best for us crafters!!


Loading up the 1st load for the day

Melody is decorating one of her daughters rooms (Vienne) in kind of a Mexican theme with the colors of turquoise, pink and brown so we were on the look out and she found this way-to-cute end table for 25$. I was so proud of her, it was actually priced at 30$! After awhile you kind of pretend you're in Mexico and start bartering...that was 1/2 the fun too!!!

Forget, Starbucks!!!!

We saw this way to cute old VW bug that had been turned into a little coffee shop!! We had already had our coffee and diet coke for the day, but couldn't resist the photo op.!!

My partner in crime....

My favorite part of the trip, next to spending time with my girlfriend, was the FOOD!! As many of you know I must of been a food critic in my previous life as I LOVE food!! We sure hit that jack-pot too with our eating spots. We ate at this little place on the highway, it looked busy, AND I got a good vibe from it, for dinner the first night. It was to die for with my pecan-crusted snapper!! Then we found this awesome bakery in the middle of nowhere. I ate my cheese pastry so fast that Melody had to share her cinnamon roll with me!! THEN for lunch we ate at Zappo's and I had the best pasta salad and chicken salad sandwich EVER!! But the cute thing was, you weren't just given a # for them to find you once your order was ready, they'd give you something really ugly but funny for the waitress to deliver your meal. We got this really puffy frog!!

Protective wear 100% UV approved!!

Yep, you see it all. I told Melody we were turning into WT (white trash). I haven't showered, I'm stinky, pulling my bugaboo cart, my feet are filthy dirty...and then you see something like this walking around, yep, we blended right in...actually there were 3 little dogs with boa type collars AND sunglasses, I'm not kidding....sunglasses...nice huh, I don't know what else to say.....

Beep Beep

I'm not sure why Brandt loves this so much but it is pretty dang cute. It's a really cute book and when you're finished reading it, you can fold it into the shape of a car. The little door actually opens and the windshield wipers work too. Brandt played with it most of Sunday. Lynne, his sudo-Grandma, gave it to him on one of her visits to see us.

We had a crazy weekend. Mommy was gone for a couple of days, antiquing with a friend. Daddy was in charge of the boys. They met a friend for breakfast at Denny's, went fishing and then had the Rock Star birthday party. When Mommy got home we planned a picnic with a bunch of our friends and neighbors. Now we are off for a couple of days for a short trip. Next weekend, I think we just need to relax......