For better, For worse...

Scott and I celebrated our anniversary Monday night by having a yummy meal at a new hot-spot restaurant in town...I AM a food snob and like I mentioned before, I should of been a food critic..The atmosphere is awesome, cool sheik interiors, and excellent seafood...Everything was A+, except our waiter forgot our salads and not just ANY salad but I had ordered a warm goat cheese salad..so I was a little ticked off at that little total eating faux pas!!, but I didn't let it ruin my night..

If you live in town, I would highly suggest going..it's well worth it and I'm just THRILLED that FINALLY San Antonio is getting some good places to eat (Just say NO to all the million chainy places they have down here!! ICK!!)..That is one of my top 5 things I miss about KC!!...Yummy sheik places to Experience food, not just fill your tummy but to have an Experience...In a month or so the same owners will be opening "Roaring Forks", just down the road from "Wildfish"..and same owners will be opening Eddie Vs (top place in Austin) at the Quarry late summer ..the owners have restaurants in Scottsdale and Southern Calf...see I told you I should of been a food critic..I guess some people are science buffs or history buffs, but no not me..I'll settle for being a food buff..not to be confused with buffet(a good thing when you have hungry kids that can't wait!!)..Don't judge Scott by his dumb slippers he has on..prior to our rushing out of the house, which caused us to be 15 minutes late (which I hate!!), he was on a 3 1/2 hr conference call..we were lucky to even get out the door... Happy anniversary honey, and to many more....He's got 1/2 a cow in that bag!!!

Despite the fact that you tear off a paper towel, use half of it and leave it on the counter thinking you'll use it again AND that you leave all your yard tools out in the rain AND that you are always losing your wallet, checkbook and keys AND that you talk in the shower while hacking AND that you are the most anal person EVER when it comes to loading the dishwasher AND that you steel the covers from me at night while snoring after waking me up cause you see someone on the patio...I still love you and thank you for giving me our beautiful, healthy children and a very blessed and wonderful life....

My favorite...chocolate..the waiter named this first on his list of desserts..I told him to stop right there..SOLD..to the lady lovin' chocolate..it was to dye 4!!!

Our sandbox on steroids

Ok, I ALMOST ordered THIS from Pottery Barn..and thank goodness I didn't as between my great ideas (which usually costs us an arm and leg) and my brilliant new landscaper, Steve, which I find myself casually checking out the progress and 2 hours later, I head back inside...he's just such a neat guy, even my hubbie digs him, (no pun intended, get it....landscaper, dig..ok, no I haven't been drinking..) Anyway, we came up with free standing sandbox on steroids instead of the manufactured one, my Boyz LOVE the sand and not only is it JUST sand, it's this certain grain of sand that feels like were at the beach..just missin the clear blue turquoise water, but WE got the SAND!! Now despite the fact that we might have every outside cat in the neighborhood using it for a huge litter box..please don't burst my bubble yet!! It's just the coolest idea and you should of seen the look on the boyz faces..priceless!! fer sure!!

Watch out HGTV, you haven't seen nothin' yet!!!!

We used a bunch of boulders from our property to line around the outside... remember my hubbie loves to chainsaw???? Well, we had all these "stumps" that he hadn't cut for firewood yet, so we just added those for "obstacles" for the boys to run their cars around or for a sitting stump, or shoe rest...and also put some around the outside for a border mixed with the boulders....

It's cool that it's kind of different "levels" (hard to tell from the picture) but it's much higher in some places like the middle and then levels off..again, VERY high marks with the boyz..Gee..Mother's day is just around the corner!!

And just a sneak preview of my favorite flower that the landscaper has planted. I'd tell you what it is but I have no idea..we haven't gotten the "learn what I planted in your yard" tour yet...I just asked for something that grows fast, that climbs (it's to climb up my pergola in the back yard)...it's already climbing...!!! Everyday it grows and I can tell!! It's great..I feel like I have very green thumbs and fingers to match!!!!

Table for 2...

I found this way to cute table at Homegoods for $60 bucks!! It said on the tag, orginally 150$!! Whoo Whoo...I love a bargain...Move over Target..Homegoods is where it's at..When I lived in Kansas City, we didn't have one, but once a quarter or so, I'd drive over to St. Louis (a 4 hr drive) with my friend Kris or my Mom or whoever else would come with me, which was nobody..everyone thought I was crazy!! Gas, meals, hotel, you know, but it was worth it right, yeah..duh..so worth it!!! This of course was before kiddos.. But since we lived here, 3 yrs, I'm happy to say they DID get one in Overland Park, Kansas...which I HAVE visited when I was back...I had Lynne (Texas Omie) haul about 10 lamps I snagged from there when she moved all her crap down here for her 2nd home, somehow all my 10 lamps and odds and ends I acquired in KC while visiting, found their way into her U-Haul....

AND...also, on this same Homegoods encounter, I purchased a little old fashion looking train step stool which had a cracked leg (kids need it in the kitchen when helping me cook), I asked at the check out if they could take any more off of it and they took another 20% which brought it down to $12.89, you know it never hurts to ask..they say on all the 20/20 and Dateline shows, that EVERYTHING is negotiable...you betcha...(it bought my lunch at Chix Filet that day!!!) AND I got this way to cute lamp for Barrett's room that the stand is Fireman boots (he has a Firetruck room) AND it was ALREADY marked down from $49.50 to $29.99 because the handle on the boot was a little loose...hello..superglue..No, I didn't ask if they could take anymore off...I thought that REALLY might be pushin' it...

OH, did you notice I have GRASS now in the pic!! We've been staring at dirt and piles of debris for almost 1 1/2 yrs now, thanks to our not so great builder...AND now it's going on a month of them working EVERY day in our yard..yes, it's a lot of work..but I'll show ya' soon, cause it is rockin'....The little patio in the background was something I have always dreamed I'd want in a landscaping project..I need to find a pair of rockin' chairs so hubbie and I can sip a glass of wine every night at 8:04 pm..(kids go down at 8:00 p.m. guessing 4 minutes to open a bottle and throw on some shoes...oh hell, skip the shoes..we've got GRASS now!!)....well I love our house, but know I love the yard and our 30 mile view as well...I think I need another girl get together???? hhhmmmm???

**4**

Our wonderful friend Melody and girls got Brandt this shirt for his birthday back in February along with a very cute game, yes ...spoilage... Each time Brandt wears it he says it's his birthday. I'm not sure where she got it, I'm sure one of her many way to cute websites she has saved away, but I better find out as he's already requested one with a "5 on it for next time"...Tonight at the dinner table, I made the boyz macaroni n cheese and corn (just regular canned corn)..Barrett sits down and in an excited yelp crys out "Popcorn, Popcorn, I love Popcorn!!"..Brandt corrects him by explaining "No, Barrett...Popcorn is what Mommy makes when Dancin with the Stars is on..., this is just plain yellow corn"Gee, all my hard work as a stay-at-home Mommy is really payin' off, hugh..I'm teachin' those life making skills to make it out there in that dog-eat-dog world...Dancing with the stars whoo-whoo!!

For all you local food critics...

I just have to tell all you bloggers out there about this awesome website: BUT only if Love Love Love wonderful food and like to have people serve it to you...It's called Open Table.. Whoever came up with the concept is GENIUS!!

It's an online way to make reservations at THE best restaurants in town..I've used it several times and thought I'd share, cause it's awesome...!! You can make the reservation, request a certain waiter, let them know it's for a special occasion (if you got one) AND you can link to send flowers, a gift, directions, look at the menu or if another couple of friends are joining you or a bunch of friends you can link to let them know the scoop as well.

AND the other neat thing is that only the best restaurants with the BEST food can join Open table so it's a great way to pick a yummy new spot or check out new hot spots for dinner. AND you get points for using them and they keep track and then you get STUFF!! Like more food! Am I the only one that obsesses about food? That is probably my favorite thing to do...Eat out at a yummy, hip place for lunch with a friend or with another couple at night..I feel so grown up, dressing in something besides work out clothing AND actually washing my hair that day... I should of been a food critic, well, maybe when I grow up....Enjoy!!!

Spring Fling

These pictures were taken a couple of weekends ago at our neighbor party...I use to try and post most of the activities that keep us busy but have decided we just down right have to much goin' on these days..I'm not complaining..I'm just trying to simplify parts of my life right now, maybe it has to do with the Spring cleaning I'm obsessed with right now and the continual wave of the "nesting" instinct that floods me on a daily basis..why do you feel like when you have a new baby coming that you have to get a million projects done??.. that have to get done...or ELSE, or else what??? There seems to be this "deadline" BBGH (Before baby gets here), it's like you'll never have time to do anything else, EVER!!! Well, and there is probably some truth to that...

Aren't these shirts cute?? I'm obsessed with the "skull" stuff right now..I think it's so "rocker" like...I've been keeping my eye out for "skull" stuff for the new baby..as that wasn't around (well not in the Midwest/Texas) when B and B were babies...The boyz call the skulls, "pirates", and they are they're favorite....

Barrett, almost 3 going on 13, he has no fear...notice our friend Will in the background laying in the rocks, nice....

I'm really not sure how Brandt knew about "snow angels", probably a cartoon I would guess, but he decided to compensate with the Texas environment and use the playground rocks instead...

This kid is amazing, his new thing now is: he's into knowing the "name" of each building in town that we pass. So yesterday we went to get ice-cream on our way to swim lessons in SA and went past a large, very modern, blueish looking building, that was 6 or 7 stories tall, when Brandt asked me what the name of the building was..I hurriedly replied, "Chase",(as in the credit card as I was reading the signage) so 2 hours later, after ice-cream and swimming and a stop for dinner, we went past the building..Brandt turns to Barrett and says "That is the Chase building Barrett, can you say C-H-A-S-E?"..and you better believe next week when we do the routine all over again Brandt will let us all know exactly where the Chase building is..I better start brushing up on the landmarks around here, hugh?

New sockies

These are THE cutest socks I found for the new baby!!! After I found out we were having a boy, I thought, oh, great, I've kept everything knowing we wanted a third, but after starting the process of going through all the old clothes, I've noticed that lots of things are really worn. Barrett was really hard on his clothes..lots of holes in the jeans, lots of stains etc..probably due to the fact that things had a "pre-start" of gettin' worn from Brandt...Anyway, it's always fun getting "new" stuff for a "new" baby...I found these at MoonMippies , a local store in SA..they have some cute, cute, stuff...They have ballerina slippers and mary jane socks for girls too!! B and B had these adorable polka-dot socks by the same company but half are missing their match and the ones that are a pair have icky washed-too-many-times-little-fuzzy-balls on them...Little baby B will follow in big brother's footsteps of looking all snazzed up for the little chicks out there!!!

We heart you very much

We had a very long and emotional week...We learned that we needed to be referred to a neo-natal cardiologist, as our little boy was showing signs that his tricuspid value in his heart was not working correctly. We were being referred to a specialist for "Ebstein's Anomaly of the Tricuspid Value."

I was somewhat calm at first but after rushing home and checking out what I could find on the Internet..it didn't look so good. Shortly after I was reading about how many babies needed several surgeries to survive (if he did make it), my heart started to hurt....I'm not talking a "heavy heart", I'm talking a real psychical pain, like someone was poking me right on my heart with something very sharp and I was having problems breathing. I felt silly telling anyone and only told Lynne (I didn't even tell Scott). She is by trade a nurse and she said it was just anxiety from the stress, like a mini-heart attack, if you will. The doctor that referred us to the cardiologist said it would take 3 weeks to get in or so, but within a couple of hours we had an appointment. I thought gee, it must be pretty serious to get in so fast...

Monday night was one of the longest nights of our life...Scott and I cried and held each other all night and we prayed continually for a miracle and strength to get us through the week...I contacted our church the next day and told them our situation and to please pray for us...I told a handful of my closest friends and some acquaintances that I knew were "faithful" and of course my family...Next thing I know I'm on all these prayer lists at different churches, word spreads fast in small towns I guess...

We actually had two sonograms that we didn't exactly get an "A ok" rating on...the second one was when we were referred to the specialist...The doctor preforming the sonogram has been doing them for over 3o years, so when he told us that the tricuspid value in the heart wasn't functioning as it should, we trusted his opinion...

So, as I mentioned it was a very long and restful week, but I've learned that I'm surrounded by some great loving friends. As the week progressed, I felt sad, nervous, but at peace, that if it was truly meant to be that I wasn't alone, that I had the strength I'd need with my relationship with God as well as a much needed strong and faithful husband...and as the week progressed, I had noticed that the psychical pain I was experiencing earlier in the week had gradually tapered off, and then was gone.

I was a nervous wreck on Friday and trying to function on several winks of sleep. While the technician that was taking the pictures to show the cardiologist, I was firing away with a million questions, but she would answer with, "That would be a great question for the doctor"...ok, that made me even more nervous...as the Cardiologist came in and read the screen, he was silent...studying the pictures, describing what he saw...I was praying, to God once again silently..., please give us a miracle...AND with that HE DID, ...The doctor said to us..."This echo gram shows to me with the best of my knowledge that everything seems to be functioning just fine" and "I don't see anything like what was written in the report"...WHAT? Did I hear that correctly? I was in shock...!!! Such a wave of relief, such a rush of happiness filled my body, I felt like I was floating and everything around me wasn't real??? My baby boy is a miracle in many ways...through all our fertility issues (another post..soon!!) and now this...God has blessed us in so many ways and to show us another miracle, I just can't understand why we are continually so fortunate when we feel such heavy weight upon us?Once again I felt guilty for all the Mommies and Daddies that go home with bad news, not a miracle like we had..All I can do is pray for them..The website earlier in this post is such a sweet one, some little hearts are mended and some aren't.

I truly believe that the physical pain I felt in my heart earlier in the week, was when God was working a miracle through me...If you're a believer you'll understand...It's just to much of a coincident not to be...The pain I felt was when God was working a miracle on our baby's heart, I truly believe that from the bottom of my heart, he was taking my love and prayers in MY heart and fixing our baby's broken heart.. I believe in the power of pray, of miracles...our God is a God of true miracles...

I'm so happy to be the faithful person I've become. I think that part of the reason we moved to our little-heaven-on-earth-in-a-small-town-in-Texas is to be surrounded by such faithful friends and to of found our church..As I've mentioned before, it's changed our family, our marriage, and who we are and why we are here...5 years ago I never thought we'd go to some hip-dinner-spot with our best friends and pray for all we are blessed with before we started to eat, I never thought that Scott and I would pray with each other, I never thought when I'd ask my kids "Where did you come from?", They would answer back "God, made us.."...When we use to attend church on a not so consistant basis, it was because we'd "pray" for things that would benefit us, now we go to church and pray for strength, guidance, and all our blessings...It's amazing to live a life with God by your side...

Being a Christian and talking about it use to be kind of "weird" to me...not anymore sistas..it's for the hip, the cool, the wanna attend a Counting Crows concert every Sunday, the want to be a better person, friend, like you can get through anything type of person...Come on jump on board!! Get past the jealously (you know who you are), get past the greed, the selfishness, the hate and doubt..just let it go!! Get rid of what is holding you back!!! If you are in doubt, look at our miracle!! This is REAL boys and girls!!! It's much better on the other side!! It's the best way to live and the only way to live...

Queen of the castle

Praise to the High One for giving me joysPeculiarly sweet, I'm the mother of boys!Mud puddles, torn blue jeans, toads, whistles and worms.The furred and feathered and whatever squirms.
Black knuckles, bats, arrows and thundering noise.They're all in a day for the mothers of boys.But, ah, 'tis a dear joy to turn the blue eyesTo the manifold wonder of earth, sea and skies.
And, ah, 'tis a dear joy to watch a small hand seizeThe hand of God in the knowledge of these.Spare me, oh High One, to praise Thee more whenThis mother of boys is the mother of men.
You guessed it...We're having a baby...brother....!!! Brandt says, "I'm going to teach him to ride a bike and he won't be able to talk right away until he's bigger..." Barrett says, "He can sleep with me and my dragons"...Daddy says "All right, a built in 4some"...Mama says.."HELP, I better learn to LOVE baseball games..kidding, I know I'll be well taken care of when I'm an old lady..and very loved and worshiped, and no messing with hair bows and matching shoes.." 3 little boys, whom I love dearly from the depths of my heart... I couldn't think of anything better...

A new accessory

I'm sorry I keep posting about a cat, but darn it, she's the cutest little thing ever....She was crawling up the pot of grass and batting at the willow type ends, but I was a little late after running to get the camera...but I'm happy to say that Bel-Bel is running through most of the house now. Harlie pins her down and beats her up as she's so mean to Bella but Bella thinks it's fun and that Harlie is playing with her..I guess Bella is a little naive..and doesn't really understand that Harlie is beating the crap out of her..but at least Harlie has no claws, so there is no blood shed...I'm thinking about not declawing Bella now if Harlie continues to beat her up..someday she just might regret all the rough housing she did when Bella was a baby...

I've got lots of posts to do (lots of girly things), but I don't feel like doing them...Spring fever.. the 80s and beautiful so I'm finding myself finding lots of stuff to do outside, I love being outside, nature has always inspired and moved me, maybe that is why green is my favorite color, well, next to pink (flowers)...We've had landscapers at our house the last 3 weeks and they have another 3 weeks to go...transformation is all I can say...the hill country is so beautiful, especially when you've been staring at piles of dirt and debris that your not-so-great builder never cleaned up or finished for years..now I'm seeing pink trees with flowers and palm trees..life is good....

Belly

Bella..or Belly or Belly Button or Bell Bell or Bebe...you get it right...I love nicknames for little cuteness like HER!!! Oh, she's is a new love in my life...she's the best little kee kee ever!!! I'm happy to say that she is no longer a prisoner in my craft room (when we were on vacation)..I did have our way to cute babysitter, Jacquelyn come and look after her, but she's know worked her way up to 5 rooms in the house: craft, master bedroom and bath, closets, office and wine room..that's pretty good for how ity bity she is....

She's also sleeping with us, well kind of..she wants to play ALL the time so my trick is to ignore her, sometimes she'll settle down, sometimes it back fires and she darts across the bed doing flips, rolling and trying to catch her tail...but there is one thing I am disappointed in..and it's that fact that MY new kitty, that I feed, water, change the poop box, etc...is a DADDY'S GIRL..she LOVES Scott..I'm not sure why every female cat that he's known of mine LOVES him..Libby, the kitty I had when first dating Scott HATED men, she'd hide when she heard a man's voice..BUT for some reason, when Scott came to my apartment, he sat on the couch and she pounced up and started kneading his hair and neck, like giving him a massage!! and then HIS cat Harlie (that I got him for xmas the 1st yr we were together) actually comes and talks to him on the phone when he's out of town...seriously..it's pathetic..

and NOW, my little love of my life fur ball is in love with Daddy, when he comes to bed, I'm chopped liver, she moves on over to him, curls up on his chest and starts purring so loud you can hear it in the next room. Scott thinks it's a riot, and I know secretly he loves Bella, he just can't be cool and admit it...Anyway, I only see one way out of this..and that is to go and get the BOY kitty in Kansas, so that will make 2 new kitties..I don't see why not, we have the room, I'm workin' it, believe me..but I've just got to do some major convincing or really conniving, if you want to be honest..to make it happen...

Thank you Easter bunny....

This year I'm not sure how the Easter bunny knew we'd be gone on vacation on Easter Sunday so he came after nap time this year earlier in the week...!! hee hee..Actually, I had so much fun hiding eggs and making a "trail" to the Easter baskets this year..the boys were really into it and just so excited!!

I had these way to cute Easter baskets made each time the boys were born from a store in Kansas City and I just LOVE them...they are just darling..I decided I need to get something similar for them to "collect" eggs in as the Easter bunny fills these to the rim with goodies...

Gee...more train tracks..just what we needed...NOT!, but somehow the Easter bunny always knows what Brandt would just love..they were a huge hit...

Barrett is just as obsessed with dinosaurs as Brandt is with trains...I found these "tubs" full of all sizes of dinosaurs at Toys R Us and he plays with them every single day...If you ask Barrett what his name is, he'll say"Barrett Dinosaur" or "Barrett Dragon"...and if you say, "How's my big boy doin'?" he'll say,"I'm not a big boy, I'm a dinosaur"...I'm wondering if this is normal? But I was watching "John and Kate plus 8" last night..and one of the 8 millionquadtuplets boys or whatever it really is.... is a different animal everyday, so I'm thinking it must be normal for this age..It's pretty scary that I'm reassuring myself by watching a reality tv show instead of picking up my copy of "What to expect:Toddler years"..am I a hip mother of the year 2008 or what!!!