Never a dull moment....

This weekend we had Scott's niece Katie and her husband Ryan and baby Brady in from Iowa to visit. I felt horrible at first as they left Iowa to get out of the freezin' weather and it was pretty chilly down here a couple of the days. On Saturday after Scott took them to the wild exotic game park, they played golf and got sun burnt so I guess that made up for it...Of course, we were tour guides all weekend which is fun to show off the beautiful hill country but talk about exhaustion!!!
I took the boy's to Price's birthday party ( a neighbor and friend from playgroup)..and it was tons of fun. They just moved into their house and Jennifer has is decorated like it's on the Parade of Homes tour, just PERFECTO...I will admit I was a little, well a ton, jealous as she had all her rugs, window treatments etc...but I guess when you're suing your builder some of that stuff has to wait..like in our situation..I did manage to talk Scott in with proceeding with a few things though.....

This is Brady, yep another B name..It was fun having a baby around the house again...Although it's funny that my kids have NEVER cried at bedtime...we've been so lucky..now Brady on the other hand did NOT like to go to bed!! It was his first trip he had ever been on and given that, he did pretty well with the visit....

And this is the surprise at the party...Coyote from the Spurs came to visit the party....Barrett had to warm up to him and by the end of his visit Barrett was petting his fur...Where's Brandt? Incognito...Price had a train table so you know where he was the entire party..he came out for cake and that's it....and VERY yummy cake I will add.....

It was a great bday party, the kids where so thrilled with their spurs loot, they had everything totally decked out and just perfect...Thank you for having us for such a fab party. AND thank you for all of those who have voted for the poll on what to name our family dog that we WERE getting for Brandt's 4th bday..Marley is the winner...BUT we've decided and Brandt being the good little boy has agreed to wait for our puppy for a couple of years as we instead, are giving him a sister or a brother, and he is AOK with that..and no we are not naming the baby Marley or Barley....

This is Jaclyn's doggie ( Brandt and Barrett's favorite sitter) she got from Mike, her boyfriend (and our boy babysitter whom we miss very much as he is off at U of T for college) for Christmas..did you catch all that?..Her name is Ellie and she is THE most precious little puff doggie I"ve ever seen...She's not allowed to babysit for us unless she is bringing Ellie, the boys LOVE her and Mama, can't stop kissing her...She looks like this little fox..I just HAVE to have one..but then reality sets in..a newborn is coming...it wouldn't be fair to the dog, the boys and the new baby...so I'll wait a couple of years..So long story short..the boys kind of have a new doggie to play with ( a rented one) and we have offered to dog sit once in awhile...so between Lola's puppy, Max and our new Ellie, the boy's are thrilled with the different options we have when we need a dog fix.......Oh, Puff (our cat) gave me the cold shoulder for several days as she was so jealous of me lovin' on Ellie, it was pretty hysterical...so Puff is thrilled we are waiting too, you big baby Puff a roni....

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Library Tuesday

Today we skipped swimming lessons as Brandt has been a little under the weather, but feeling well enough today to go to school (thank goodness =Mama's sanity!!)..After school, we headed to the library, we try to go at least once a week, usually Tuesdays, before swim lessons, my boys love books.

Mama and Barrett share a "basket" (convenient holder for books/movies we pick out) and Brandt takes his own and makes his own selections, I just see his little blonde head go up and down the isles.

It's weird that he turns 4 next week as it seems like he is turning 10 instead. It's amazing the things he is doing and saying to me, I now carry on conversations with this mini-person, not only does he have this great imagination but with opinions and advice, that's not 1/2 bad actually ..

It was pretty cute, he meets Barrett and I in our aisle we were browsing, I look in his basket and it's filled with books about trains..he found them all by himself. I was gleaming inside as I have seen him over the last few years, or so, go from having more interest in rolling around in the bean bag chair to now actually seeking out books to check out... as we proceeded up to check out, he asked "Mama do we have enough money to pay for all these books?" He doesn't quit get the concept yet about "checking out", obviously he's seen Mama pull out the ole' wallet many, many times...then on the way home as both boys were engrossed in the new loot..., he proceeded to tell me.."Mama, I know we are borrowing these books until next time, but I'm going to have to keep the books about the trains."...

From a child's perspective...

Last night on our way to Chunky Cheese, to help celebrate a 2yr old's bday, it was raining not to mention, freezing (well South Texas standards) . As I carefully navigated the roads with the rain and both my little everythings in the back seat, Brandt spoke up:

Brandt: Mama, the windshield wipers are mad at each other.
Me: Oh really honey, why do you say that?
Brandt: Because one of them keeps wiping off the rain drops and the other one
just keeps getting the window wet again..They should just learn how to
share, right Mama?
Me: That's right honey....

It's funny how as an adult you simply just turn on the wipers and just hope you're not out of windshield fluid, and a child can see so much more than that..

Barrett proceeds to tell me as we pass the hills in the Texas Hill country...."Mama, the dragons live in the mountains..."!!! He has such a imagination and so different than his older brothers...

We had a great time at our party, although I was being drug in opposite directions by two little people..it was great to see some of my favorite friends...On the way home, which should of been a 30 min drive, it turned into an hour and a half ride home as traffic was rerouted off the interstate due to a terrible car accident. I had the biggest pit in my stomach thanking God it wasn't us but feeling ever so sad that someone had just lost their life on a Friday night in the rain...the kids and I said a prayer for them..It was a very eerie feeling as we first were irritated that we were crawling along at 3 miles an hour and Barrett was screaming as he forgot his pacy, but after we came upon the accident the irritation turned into a somber realization....

Our pin up Doll

I'm dedicating this post to one of my favorite people in the world... and also because I'm getting a ton of emails to show more pictures of her from our photo shoot, she's collected a bunch of fans over there, I see...so here you go...Pretty haute stuff, hugh? She's this tiny little thing with a lot of creative juices flowin' around in that pretty little head of hers....and the perfect hair to match....
HHmmmm, there you go, see what happens when you don't post pictures on your OWN blog...I told you I'd do double photos of you, so there..., so much for being sneaky!!!

***Glamour girls***.....

My crafty friends and I were ever so lucky to be invited to a "Haute Mama" shoot. Maile, which is THE most talented photographer EVER (But my friend Melody is running very close to her these days!), put together this photo shoot day complete with rockin' music, fabulous food, fun fun "haute" Mamas, an awesome hairstylist (which I think I'm going to switch to) a very talented makeup artist, ALLTHIS in an awesome industrial loft downtown San Antonio...To be honest, I almost cancelled..Scott was asking why I was dreading going..and really yes, I AM a picture freak and I do love getting my pics taken WITH my kids OR husband OR both...but not just ME??? Well, let me tell you...Maile has a way with makin' you feel like you got it' (well for a minute or two) ..that's what I'm sayin'...work it, work it...actually, it turned out to be a fun day of sippin mimosas and eatin' these cherry tomatoes things that I couldn't stay away from, and just takin' it all in..dreamin' that some people do this for a livin out there!!!..Paid to be pampered, now that sounds like a job I could handle!!!This is Jen, gettin' all beautified....

AND this is Jen..workin' it..you can't see in the pic, but she's sitting on this blow up bed, All 3 of us girls got our pics taken all rustled in the sheets, Can't wait to show Thhoose to ya...kiddin', but we were sitting on the bed together.., they'll be some cherished photos for sure..

Anybody local has got to recognize this celebrity...yep, this is Shelly Miles, she's very sweet and just beautiful!! She's very outgoing..I was a little star struck. Oh, for you out of townies, she's the local NBC news reporter here in SA and also hosts the SA living show. I also got the privilege of meeting Katy that started Caden Lane (baby line), she has done baby nurseries for Tori Spelling and Brooke Burke, so that's my little brush with fame for the day... Oh, don't mind my major push up bra suffocating me and my fake eyelashes peeling off...

And this is our very own pin up girl, Melody..she looked amazing. Leave it up to her to be so original with the perfect outfit..She had her makeup and hair done perfectly to match the look. She looked better than any pin up that I've ever seen...

Melody in the process...We'll I knew my girlfriends were beautiful on the inside AND the outside BUT to see them transformed into models for the day..I was just speechless..It was a fun and very unique way to spend time with my girls...I can't wait to share some of the pics with you very soon...Thank you Maile for your awesome talent and your eye for perfect detail. Thank you also for all the yummy food and drinks and making all us Mamas feel so special for the day...

For more pics from the day, click on: Melody's blog....

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Barrett's baby...

Barrett's baby enjoyed our little get together too...Melody took this picture. I just LOVE it..I got a new camera for xmas and she was showing me how to use it..since she is THE photography pro of the group...We are calling my camera a "Tween" camera, as it's the Cannon G9, it's more than a point and shoot but not quite a "Big girl" camera..you can change the aperture, etc. on it...I'm starting to really dig the camera, I thought I'd work my way up to the BG (big girl) camera, for next time...Thanks for capturing this pic Melody, I know baby is in a lot of pictures but I'm going to have to blow this one up and frame it for Barrett's room....

Later Gator......

A hip hubby, Slavin' away

What are Omie and Omie tasting? Well...I'll give you one guess...hint: my post title...??? Yep, you guessed it...alligator!!! We decided last minute to cook the gator that Scott had caught in Florida and have a little tasting party....The best description of the taste, is somewhat like calamari (squid) and chicken together. It was VERY chewy, and VERY greasy!! But it was a hit...well, with most of us. Jennifer was having a heart attack, especially when her kids started eating it and couldn't get enough of it!!!

This is what it looks like....kind of like chicken/calamari just like I mentioned...not only in taste but looks too....

Our first outside fire!!! Yeah, another first!!! It was a beautiful night..low was in the 60s...We opened up Scott's entertainment area..and hung outside..You couldn't beat the weather...The hip hubbies were cookin' the gator....thank you!! We kind of just threw this together last minute..We've decided that spontaneous get togethers are very fun...I think on Thursday night we decided to have my crafty friends over..I was having with drawl symptoms from not seeing them. I see them almost everyday..at school with the kids (they are STILL on xmas break here!!), or at craft day, or playgroup, or girls night out, or lunch or shopping, or volunteer stuff, car pool,...etc..and with the holidays..NOTHING..so it was so nice to see everyone again and get reconnected...



Well, we did offer another entree' besides the gator and that was fresh tuna that Scott had caught on on of his many deep sea fishing excursions he had this Fall, as well as Amberjack (it's a white, mild fish). Not only can he bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan...he can bring home the fish, season it, cook and serve with a VERY proud smile.... I was a little worried at first, thinking how do we serve this hot..but he did it, it worked out great...Thanks honey it was SO yummy....


This is sweet Natalia's face after eating her first bite of gator...she LOVED it...

Little Lola and BIG Puff, they love each other...Puff loves having company over, he likes to show off...

This is Tami and I being bookends.......My crafty friends and their hip hubbies are the best, it's always so fun getting everyone together, here's to the next one at Amy's K. house, being crafty in the kitchen?? What are we callin' it again?...Thanks everyone for helping and bringing yummy side dishes, too...We're truly blessed with such wonderful friends!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR....HERE'S TO A GREAT 2008!!!!

This is MAX, Lola's new puppy she got for Christmas, isn't he pretty? He's a little rumbustious right now, but just so dang cute!!!!

Brandt and Lola, waiting for their pizza...Scott isn't much of a New Year's person. I think the entire time we've been together, we might of went out to dinner a few times and then over to friends to play games, but you'll never catch my husband dressed up in a hotel with a bunch of people he doesn't know, with champagne flying around the room at midnight. Not his style and well, not mine either. We opted to quietly celebrate with our BFFs, Tami and Ryan with a candle lite dinner, soft music, and lots of wine and the best of company...it was a perfect night...We were very wore out from entertaining and company throughout the holidays, that sometimes just slowing down is exactly what was needed.....

Tami and I....it's just weird, I prayed for her, well, I didn't' know it was going to be HER exactly, but not only did I get a best friend down here in Texas, I got a best buddy for my hubby too..They are our closet couple friends and we just love them to death...it's scary that we live out in the middle of nowhere and BOOM, there they are, just minutes away from us and with a child the same age...It was meant to be...some prayers are answered and with great results too!!!

Baby Max and Scott, the dog is already loved by us all...even though Max was one of our top names for Brandt's doggie, but hey, it's you guys, what can I say, at least the name is staying within our family......

This was midway threw the night...before the sugar and lack of sleep kicked in with the kids.....

This is after, we walked in the room and the entire bowl of popcorn was all over the floor....and horns a blowin', I think they used the popcorn as confetti and just let it fly...it was a complete mess but pretty funny at the same time.....of course, Max was ALL over the popcorn..yummy puppy food...

Thanks Tami and Ryan for the great memories...we couldn't ask for more wonderful people for our best of friends....We love you guys!!!!