December 29, 2011

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

what a whirlwind, but then again isn't every holiday a whirlwind? we opted this year not to do anything at all for Christmas. and by anything, i mean we didn't do anything, no travel, no family, no parties, nothing. it was kind of nice not packing up the truck with a butt load of gifts and driving 24 hours round trip, or getting all dressed up for 5 minutes of an eating frenzy. i think the kids enjoyed themselves, but who wouldn't with a 5 foot high pile of new toys!

we decided to take the kids to see Santa a little differently this year. about 30 miles away there is an actual vintage train that takes the kids on a 30 minute ride with a surprise guest...yep, Santa. i think P-Donculous was the only one truly excited about the whole thing. he was all giggles and grins when he saw the man in the red suit. (i guess i should have uploaded the picture they actually took with Santa, maybe later...)

now, on to the big day...let me just say, do you know how upsetting it is to find out that your camera battery is dead on Christmas eve? and then to remember that your battery charger was in the bag that was stolen when you were on vacation last month? momma was one sad panda with no camera on Christmas. so, the only pictures we have are from my phone (very disappointed). anyway, the kids were very good about not waking us up until 8am! you can see from the picture that we like to position ourselves just perfectly before opening any gifts. once the green light was given, it only took about 10 minutes before the pretty picture was turned into a mountain of boxes, paper, and ribbon. Santa was very good to us this year and we have a lot to be thankful for, other than the ungodly amount of toys he brought. i think my favorite gift was the replacement family photo (don't get me wrong, i really enjoyed the new fancy crock pot and North Face jacket too)...





Merry Christmas Y'all!






December 15, 2011

hating on the elf...

i normally won't post about silly little things, but for some reason this really bothered me. it seems there is a little backlash towards the Elf on the Shelf. i've been seeing quite a bit of re-posts of a certain person's blog (that i'm not even going to bother re-posting). apparently there are those out there that are offended by the antics of some little elves. how can you be offended that some people just like to put the extra effort in to having fun with their kids during the holidays? as you can tell, i'm on the side of the "over achieving elf on the shelf mommies". our elf, Rex, likes to get into trouble. he may not be mischievous everyday, but he does know how to have a good time. the kids really get a kick out of getting up every morning to see what he's been up to the night before. i feel sorry for the kids whose parents aren't really into it. if they don't enjoy the antics of the elf, then why did the elf come visit their house in the first place?

how can you not find the humor and fun in something so simple? even if your elf rummages through your underwear drawer and replaces your stockings with the family skivvies....get over it people and quit being so crabby, it is the holidays after all...

November 28, 2011

Rex has returned...

i'm pretty sure everyone and their second cousin has heard of the Elf on the Shelf. well, ours is named Rex, and he returns in some magical fashion every year after Thanksgiving (rules of returning in our house are whenever the tree goes up in the house). Rex is quite the little pesky elf. he manages to get himself in little bits of trouble every night. when he showed up on the doorstep the other day (yes, in the middle of the day...and he even rang the doorbell) i was not quite prepared for the next few weeks of cleaning up after his silly antics. the first night he got into the bag of Oreos and made a terrible mess, crumbs everywhere. last night he strung a zip line back and forth from the kitchen cabinets and left candy canes all over the house. we're hoping that the kids see this as the not so favorable behavior and act in the complete opposite fashion...


12 years ago...

12 years ago i said, "I DO", and sealed it with a kiss...and in that 12 years we've moved 7 times, bought 4 houses (and thankfully have sold 3 of them), and had 3 kids. it's been a pretty busy 12 years. after having such a great time on vacation this past summer, we decided to start planning our "anniversary trip" way in advance. so, some time in June or July we decided that we should return to the city where it all started. back in May of 1999, just a few weeks after graduating from college, i went on a little vacation with my family out to San Francisco, California. one afternoon my mom insisted on stopping for lunch at this cute little place on the wharf. i was extremely reluctant on going in (seeing as i was an extremely broke college graduate) but with a persistent Mom, Nana, and younger sister, i shuffled my way in and proceeded to sit and pout in the booth. probably about 10 minutes late a "waiter" arrived with a tray of waters, cocktails, and sparkly diamond ring! that handsome waiter just happened to be my then very sneaky boyfriend (who flew all the way out there without me knowing it!). lodi dodi...a few months later we got hitched and here we are.
back to the point of the story...we decided to go back to San Francisco for our 12th anniversary. IT WAS FABULOUS! this time around it was so much more enjoyable. probably because we could actually afford to buy the wine we tasted in Napa. since we took this trip alone, we thought it only fair to bring along our Flat Boys to see the sights. i must say the "boys" had a great time visiting Napa, Muir Woods, Golden Gate, and riding the trolley cars. just let me say that taking a vacation with Flat Kids is so much cheaper and it's okay to leave them in your purse when you feel like having dinner alone. 

back up, back up...i almost forgot...the trip was not 100% fabulous. on the day we went to the Cliff House we had a little bit of a traveler's heartache. when we finished up a most delicious lunch, we walked back to the car to find the back window smashed in and my brand new camera bag snatched right out! luckily for us, i had the camera around my neck and my driver's license was in The Husband's pocket. it was easy enough to cancel all the credit cards, but i still lost my big lens, wallet, and cute camera bag.  thieves are just plain stupid, that's all i have to say.

anyway, we made it home just fine and here's a couple shots from out trip...










October 31, 2011

ghouls and goblins...

well, there may have been only one ghoul this year, but once again my kids have managed to pick out the strangest costumes. okay, so maybe the ninja wasn't all that strange, but the UPS man, really?! what 3 year old says he wants to be the UPS man? that would be my 3 year old.

this is the first year that i let C pick out whatever costume he wanted, and i was extremely happy he decided against the scary creepy clown (they seriously freak me out - see Coulrophobia). i will say that the oozing blood was kind of cool.




i do love Halloween, but it also reminds me that it's the beginning of weight gain season. you know, that time between Halloween and New Year's Day. it starts with bags upon bags of candy, throw in some fried turkey, a couple pies, and finish off with more bite size chocolates all washed down with exorbitant amounts of alcohol. it's a fatty patty paradise...

October 24, 2011

World Series...

there's no question that The Husband is a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, so baseball season this year has been quite interesting to follow. when the Cards made it to the World Series, he was on the prowl for scoring tickets to a game. well, leave it to my husband to not only make it to one game of the series, but 3, yes 3! he was on a work trip in Arkansas last week, where he then proceeded to rent a car and drive to St. Louis. he met his brother and picked up his Grandma (serious Cardinals fan) and went to game 1. he stayed around for game 2, where he managed to get himself noticed on the t.v., and then came home.


well, today is game 5, and sure enough he drove the older boys down to Arlington to "try" and get tickets. and would you believe he just called to tell me that he got tickets?! and by got tickets, i mean he scored FREE tickets. how in the hell he managed that i don't even know, but apparently a very wealthy man found my husband and 2 boys quite charming in their Cardinals gear...

September 21, 2011

because i'm not going to show you my panties...

yes, you read that correctly. my friend, Angie Pangie, posted yesterday about looking into your panty drawer. you know, to see what's getting used and what's collecting dust. it's really about what she calls a MEME. what's a MEME you ask? well, i didn't know either, so, i'll let her explain:
  The dumbed-down definition as it applies to blogs: Publishing a post with a central idea that is common among any blogger who chooses to participate. See: Wordless Wednesday, 100 Words, Haiku Friday, NABLOPOMO, etc. Most of these Memes have been long forgotten, but there are some old schoolers who still participate. (via ~ awholelotofnothing)


well, i was a little bored today, but not bored enough to clean up my little drawer of skivvies. and by little, i mean it's the smallest drawer i have (other than the one that keeps my toothpaste and tweezers). honestly my underwear drawer is nothing exciting and there's actually a pair of boxer shorts in there that aren't even mine.

so, my lucky readers (all 19 of you), you get a chance to see into my closet, but just one little corner on the bottom shelf. at first i didn't think it was that big of a deal, but when i sat down and looked at what i had photographed, i was a little embarrassed. yes, i admit it...i have a shoe problem.


1. yeah, that's right, there are 16 pairs of flip flops (and that doesn't count the couple pairs i have stashed in the garage for emergencies)
2. the second shelf hold 6 pairs of random shoes that get worn maybe once or twice a year
3. 4 pairs of running shoes (and yes, all 4 of them get used on a regular basis)
4. those boxes are not empty...they are what i like to call my fancy shoes that also only get worn once a year
5. they may be hiding, but in the corner there are 2 pairs of slippers
6. not pictured are the 13 other pairs of shoes i keep in the other closet (yes, i have 2 closets with shoes) i share with The Husband

so, if you were keeping track...that is 44 pairs of shoes (but not including the shoes in the garage or snow boots in the attic). i have a serious problem!

what's in your closet?

September 11, 2011

best picture EVER...

i may not know how to properly use my camera, or even get the fullest potential out of my camera, but sometimes it helps to be in the right spot at the right time. yesterday at our first flag football game this perfect moment happened without me even knowing it until after i got home and uploaded the pictures. P-Donculous definitely exudes the team spirit...
yes, that's him, front and center! couldn't be more proud of him. he scored a touchdown and grabbed 3 flags (the equivalent of making 3 good tackles). Longhorns win 29-12

and we can't forget to mention the rest of the day, because our Saturday wouldn't be complete if we just had one game to attend. we started the morning off with our first soccer game of the season (which we won 7-5) and while we were watching P-Donculous play football, C was off playing 2 back-to-back soccer games of his own. 4 games in one day, and that's only with 2 of the 3 kids playing sports...

September 8, 2011

it's a Cake & Ice Cream kind of day...

i can't believe that on this day 6 years ago i was on my way to the hospital getting ready to meet a very important man in my life. and i say man, because even from the time P-Donculous was born, he looked like an old man. he's the one child of mine that looks "different" than the rest. not different in bad way, but he's the only one that doesn't look like me, nor does he look like his dad....so, he's always been "the old man". i've known from the start that he was going to be my difficult one, but i've also learned that his being difficult is his way of coping for being the somewhat shorter middle child.

i'm extremely proud of P-Donculous. this has been a great year for him, football, soccer, starting Kindergarten, and even learning to ride a bike (now if i can only get him to tie his shoes). i'm very excited to see what life has in store for him.....

Happy Birthday Dude!

September 7, 2011

back to school (part deux)...

not sure why, but the preschool starts an entire 2 weeks after everyone else goes back to school. poor NoNo has to sit around with me for 2 weeks all by himself (which i secretly think he enjoys). yesterday was finally the day, and everyone was super excited. ok, so maybe i was a little more excited than everyone else, but we'll just say that the feelings were mutual.

surprisingly, NoNo was a little hesitant about going into the classroom, but once he saw the play dough it was sayonara mom and dad!

you would think my day would have been full of relaxation, pedicures, and sipping coffee, but NO, it was a busy day full of errands...tree shopping, car inspection, oil change, grocery shopping, quick bite to eat, and then the day was over and i was back in the car pool line...

August 27, 2011

are you ready for some football...

it may have been over 100 degrees, but today was opening day for little league flag football.
Go Longhorns!!





August 22, 2011

back to school...

yes folks, it's that time of year again. early mornings and car pool lines, can only mean one thing...the 1st DAY OF SCHOOL!! everyone was up and ready to go this morning, which is always fun, but sadly the excitement doesn't quite last the entire school year. we'll be lucky if we make it into September before the complaining starts.

i was totally expecting to have a minor meltdown when taking P-Donculous into his Kindergarten class, but surprisingly things went smoothly and he was shooing us out the door. of course C was a little more embarrassed that we actually walked him into class. how dare we blow kisses to our 4th grader.

it's funny how much we want them to grow up, but then when we see how fast they are growing up we want them to stop. i can't believe how small they both were when they started school. and to think in another 8 years we'll be saying hello to a high school senior!



August 15, 2011

Beach Week...

every August we pack up the truck full of useless things (like clean clothes and shoes) and make the 12 hour drive to the beach. for us, the beach is "home". it's where we grew up and it's where the grandparents still reside, so it makes deciding on where to vacation pretty darn easy. this year we tricked persuaded some friends to come along with us. and wouldn't you know it, The Husband just happened to have a business trip planned at the same exact time (this has happened a couple of times now). what this means for me, i'm stuck driving all 3 kids down to Florida by myself while he gets to fly in alone. not that i'm bitter or anything...anyway, we had a great time. we spent the entire week on the beach, even when it rained and rained and rained. you would think we've learned our lesson about going to the beach in August (it rains every year we go), but the discounted rates for rentals keeps us coming back again and again.

i'm not going to post much more. i was lucky enough to come home to a sickness that has left me feeling like i've been trampled by a week's worth of sandy feet. i've been in bed for the 2 days we've been home. coming home from a vacation with a terrible cold is like a slap in the face. it's just plain wrong. enough whining, it's time for the pictures...









August 2, 2011

i think i'm going to melt...

no joke...it hasn't rained in over 2 months and the temperatures have barely made it below 99 degrees all summer. our yard would literally catch fire is someone tossed a cigarette out their car window. using the sprinklers doesn't help much either, because the water evaporates the second it shoots out of the sprinkler. yesterday this is what the temperature was registering in the car...
the heat has been miserable

in spite of the heat, the boys took a short ALL BOYS trip to St. Louis last weekend. and by all boys, i mean, Momma stayed home all weekend by herself! that's right, i had the house to myself for 3 whole gloriously quiet days! i had my nails done, my hair cut, went shopping, went running, cleaned the house, and enjoyed the quiet. if anyone ever gets the chance for this "Mommy Vacation", TAKE IT and RUN!

now, the boys on the other hand, had a blast in St. Louis. they met up with Papa Cool, Uncle Mikey, Uncle "Fregg", cousin Ian, and Gramma Mac. they all went to a Cardinals game, ate dinner at The Millennium Hotel, rode tractors, visited St. Louis University, waited in line for hours at the Gateway Arch, took a helicopter ride, and the best part of all....they flew in an airplane (the kids have been dying to fly somewhere)! it was a crazy fast fun weekend, but i'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves...



and if you're so inclined...just a short video of the actual helicopter ride (seriously think the entire ride was only 5 minutes). this is something only The Husband would do, because MommaCakes would have poo poo'd that idea in a second!