My fun weekend in Dallas

This week was trying for me (again). It was cold and wet and miserable everyday. The kids were acting worse than usual I think at least partially due to being cooped up all week. Not being able to go outside and let loose of some energy seems to have a big effect on behavior. Friday after a full day of kids and life, I helped Stu put the kids to bed and then drove over to Erica' s house to pick her up and drive to Ft. Worth to our sister Susan's house for a little girls weekend. Susan is on a Red Cross committee which was sponsoring a fundraiser this weekend in Dallas. It was going to be a Mardi Gras Masquerade at the House of Blues in Downtown Dallas. Fortunately by the time we left the rain had stopped and the traffic was gone too. We drove up stopping only once (at Taco Bueno in Waco- it's Erica's favorite from when she lived in Dallas, don't ask me why). We got there at about 11:30 unloaded and had a nice chat before going to bed that night. We slept in only until about 9 the next morning, got dressed and made a quick trip to McDonalds for a bite to eat and then to Wal-Mart for a few necessities. Erica and I enjoyed walking around the store sans kids being able to browse a little without worrying about little one's getting into things or asking for anything. Then we went back to Susan's house to start the getting ready process. Yes, we pretty much took all day. Susan had arranged for a hairdresser to come to the house and do all of our hair that day. We had to leave that night by 5, so the hairdresser was to arrive around noon in order to get all of our hair done in time. I went first. I pretty much let her do what she wanted and liked what she did based on the fact that I was going to a Mardi Gras party with a mask and that I wouldn't really know anyone there. I thought my hair was fun and playful and that was fine with me. Also, Erica and Susan kept saying how much they liked it. Although thru the night I became more self conscious because everyone else there had smooth straight hair, not a little pom pom on top of their heads. Oh, well. (Sorry I don't have any good pics- Erica and Susan took a bunch and I need to get them to send some to me.)

Erica was the next to go. She also decided to go out on a limb with her hair going for an up-do which we all agreed would go well with her dress. She sat there for a very long time- over an hour letting the hairdresser work her "magic" before she was done. I couldn't tell if she liked it or not. I thought maybe not, but I wanted to be positive and kept complimenting her on it. Once she got back in the bathroom where the hairdresser couldn't hear she told me how much she disliked it. From then on we tried to figure out how we could change it in time for the party without the hairdresser knowing about it since she was still out fixing Susan's hair and would be there until about 4:30!! We needed to leave by 5:00 so we were very worried about a possible time crunch. Luckily she finished with Susan's hair and Erica was able to flat iron and roll her hair into a nice smooth doo just in time. She looked beautiful. Crisis averted. ( We took lots of pictures of the offensive up-do just for the record- let's just say there was a whole lot going on)

Then came Susan's turn. She decided to go big and beautiful. Her's turned out the best of all. She looked great. At first s he was a little worried that it was too big. When the hairdresser first did it, it looked a little Dolly Parton circa 1985. But of course it fell a little and relaxed into a gorgeous glamorous doo.

We went to the party and had a great time. I'll direct you to Erica's blog at http://www.milestogomommy.blogspot.com/ for more pictures and party info. She took her camera with us and took lots of pictures. I somehow became the designated driver when it was clear that the 2 of them were not going to stop "enjoying" themselves anytime soon, so I didn't have quite as much fun as they did, but it was still a good time. My feet hurt sooooo bad by the end of the night that I could barely walk. We got home at about 1:30 and I went right to bed after a quick snack. The next morning we woke up around 9 grabbed some breakfast and hit the road by 11. I was back home after dropping Erica off by about 2:30. It was good to be back and I'm glad I have today to recover and get back into the swing of things.

Change can be good

As Erica and I were at my sister's house this weekend I was telling them about a few new things I have gotten which I feel have literally changed my life. The first is my new washer which I've told you all about before. That was when I first got it though and I was just excited about the idea of it. Now I have been using it for a few weeks and it has literally changed my life. Since I've had kids laundry has always been a problem for me. There was always tons of it. Something would get put in the bottom of the hamper and it wouldn't be seen again for weeks! Now, with the help of my new big washer I find myself looking at the bottom of an empty hamper quite often. It's amazing how something so simple has made such a huge difference in the quality of my life. And maybe it sounds weird to hear someone say that anything having to do with laundry has changed their overall quality of life, but that was a major thing I had weighing me down, and now it's not.

As I was telling them about this new discovery of mine I thought of a few more things that have recently changed my life for the better. What I am writing this blog on is another. We just got our wireless internet connection set up with our laptop. I am sitting in the living room in front of the TV writing this blog right now!! It's awesome! Otherwise I wouldn't be able to go in the computer room while Ellie is out here playing and watching TV without her following me in there and messing with all our stuff which would lead to me getting frustrated and annoyed and the kids getting into trouble- it's a snowball effect. This gadget is great. I am looking forward to being able to check my email and blog and shop, etc. with much more ease. Also, I'm excited for Logan to be able to use it. Right now I never want him to go on the computer for a variety of reasons. He usually needs a lot of assistance when he's on the computer and the way our house is set up it isn't convenient to have him in there and me out in the house because he's always calling me back there to help him like every 30 seconds and I never want him to mess up anything on our computer, desk, etc. So it will be great for him to get more computer time to play his games and just learn how to be computer savvy which is a really important skill for kids in today's world. Also, he's getting older and I'm sure surfing the net and email is right around the corner for him. I'll be very happy to be able to be right there when he's exploring this new world. (yes, he does have a black eye. He was wrestling on the bed with Stuart and got an elbow to the eye! Ouch!!)

This is the first time I am using this new toy of mine and I'm sure the full impact isn't fully known to me, but I'm giddy with excitement at the prospect.

Another thing that has recently had a great effect on my life might sound silly, but my new haircut has made a big difference. I have been fixing it everyday and it has made an enormous impact to my sense of self. I feel like I look better and it makes me feel better. That may sound silly and vein to some, but it's been easy and I wish I'd done it sooner. I think it's really a nice thing to do for yourself and that we mom's who are always doing for everyone else need to treat ourselves now and then to things that make us feel good. We can take better care of everyone else when we take a little time to do things for ourselves now and then.

My friends and I have also been getting together on a much more regular basis and that has been a great release for me too. It's really essential for stay-at-home mom's to have some contact with other mom's without the kids around sometimes. You get to talk and laugh and feel like your crazy life is normal and you're not some crazy loon. It's great to feel the support of your friends who are going through the same things as you, to share stories and advice, to eat, drink and laugh, and most importantly to make fun of our crazy husbands! I truly cherish these times a few days a month and don't know what I would do without some great friends!

I just had to add a couple more pictures from last week. I just thought Logan looked so handsome in this one. I kept looking at it on my camera while I was in Dallas and it made me happy!

This one is what happens when the weather sucks for a whole week and you have kids to entertain. We set up the tent in the playroom just to give the kids something fun to do on Monday while we were home most of the day. (Also we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks that afternoon and the kids loved it. Ellie sat still pretty much through the whole thing again! Yippie!)

The last one is a sign Logan wrote and taped to the tent. It says "Privite only one grl" I just thought it was too cute. Especially since there was only 1 girl there (Ellie). Unless he meant me? Gotta love em!

Some hard days and our trip to the Museum.

Whew! I've had a few hard days lately with my kids. Logan has turned being a pest to his sister into an art form and Ellie just won't stop pooping in her panties. I don't know what to do with either of them. The other night I was so worn out with both of them that I literally wanted to cry. I try really hard to always "do the right thing" as a mom and to teach them how to be good human beings and not little spoiled brats. Sometimes it seems like my efforts are futile. What to do? Is this just a phase we must all go through? Logan gets so angry and defiant. Sometimes I feel like I am invisible and mute when I'm talking to him as he completely ignores me. That's when I get a bad temper myself. Perhaps I'm teaching him this behavior? (My lovely husband suggested this to me) I don't know. I just pray to God (often) to give me strength and wisdom to get through this before we move on to the next "phase", whatever that will be! Life is an adventure, isn't it? And Ellie, well, I've reached the end of my rope with her. I literally don't know what else to do. I feel like an ostrich sticking my head in the sand and just hoping that one day she'll stop. Any advice or tips? Anyone? Please!!!

I digress... Today we were off from school (teacher work day) so Stu stayed home and we wanted to do something fun, so we decided to go to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and an Imax movie. We've never been to either. The museum was fun. Logan really liked it. Ellie did too, but she wasn't as interested as Logan. It's big and there's a lot to see. I snapped 2 pictures before someone told me there were no cameras allowed. Ooops! They need some signs up or something! Anyway we walked around the whole thing and then went to see our movie. We watched Sea Monsters 3D. It was really cool. Logan loved it. The 3D part was awesome. There was something coming out at you like every 30 seconds! Ellie pretty much kept her 3D glasses off the whole time and was kind of scared of it, but she survived without any major problems.

Also, just a little heads up for you barbecue fans out there, we tried to go to John Mueller's BBQ today which used to be at Manor Rd and Dean Keaton, but it's gone! We were sad as we had read and heard great things about their BBQ. We wound up going to Pei Wei which was just fine with me and the kids (Stu's not as big a fan as I am) and I had my delicious Chicken Teriaki bowl with brown rice, Yummm!

Best of all, after we got home I went and laid down on my bed (since I just couldn't take any more of my kids at the time) and Stu actually let me take like a 2 hour nap! It was heavenly!! So I guess today turned out to be pretty good even though the weather was simply awful! I hate being cold, but being cold and wet is the worst! I am ready for spring!! Too bad we can't just hibernate, huh?

Quaker Mini Delights

I don't know if you all are already fans of Quaker Mini Delights ( I am), but today in Walmart I saw some new flavors. I already loved the Chocolatey drizzle, but they also had a Chocolatey Mint, Peanut Butter and Caramel! Mmmmm. I really like them because I think they taste good, but also because it feels like you're getting a lot. There are around 20 in each bag for only 90 Calories! Love em! I tried the Chocolatey Mint and the Peanut Butter and they're delicious! Wow, this sounds like an ad for them, but I just wanted to share my newest discovery!

Organizing... the saga continues.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Monday's are always a mixture of stress and relief. The relief is that the kids are back to school so I can finally get the house back in shape for the week and get some things done. The stress is that I always have a lot to do and I can't really enjoy the fact that I'm home alone. I felt a little scattered yesterday since I didn't have a "game plan" for the day already mapped out. There were some things that had to be done like laundry, dishes, etc., but I didn't have a "project" for the day in mind. Usually when this happens I wind up wasting a lot of time figuring out what to do and getting distracted with other things. But I did get a couple of things done. I finally put all my kids DVD's into a big CD case so I don't have a million DVD cases scattered all over the top of the TV. When I took them all out of the cabinet to organize them I was astonished at how many we had accumulated in the last 6 1/2 years. Really it's been more like 4 years because Logan didn't start watching anything until he was about 2 1/2. Don't roll your eyes, I'm not some kind of freak that wouldn't let him near the TV or something, he just wouldn't watch it- ever. By the time he finally did start watching it I was sooo relieved. There are just certain times, like when your cooking for instance, that you need a few minutes of distraction. Anyway, I counted yesterday and we have about 70 kid movies! I know that's crazy. I had no idea. At least they are organized now. I can't tell you how it feels to look at the TV and not see DVD cases strewn everywhere. It's great!

Also, I cleaned out my cup cabinet again. I did this not too long ago (within the last year) and I couldn't believe how many cups we had accumulated again. It's amazing. I wound up getting rid of about 20 Rudy's cups alone! I'm going to try really hard not to let that happen again!

I still have a lot more to do, but little by little I'm organizing and making my life less complicated. It's such a relief.

I also had to include a pic of Ellie in her butterfly wings from Pier One. Isn't she sweet?

Samantha's Baby shower!

Today we went to a baby shower for Samantha. There definitely was something in the water back in May because I know 4 different mommies all due in the month of February! Yes, it's crazy! Erica, Lisa and I were very dehydrated around that time when we found out about the impending births so as not to "catch" whatever pregnancy bug was definitely in the water then! We had a great time today getting together with our friends and going to a grown up lunch with no kids and nice clothes and fixed hair. We clean up pretty well! We don't get to do that sort of thing very often, so it was really nice. The food, atmosphere and people there were great. Samantha's sister put on the whole thing and did a great job!

pressure to post

Ok, I'm feeling some pressure to post. I don't really have much to post about or many pictures, so I hope this doesn't bore you to tears. Lately my days have been really full and so I haven't taken many pictures. I'm still recovering from last night (getting home at 12:45) and then having to wake up and take Logan to school by 7:30. Also I woke myself up coughing at like 3:30 and was awake for about 30 min before going back to sleep. And I took a Benadryl so I was super groggy when 7 am rolled around. But I took him and then took Ellie at 9, came home, got in bed and watched Grey's Anatomy from last night, then took a 2 hour nap. It was sublime. Although, I did waste an entire kid free day. I don't do that very often, to me it is a giant indulgence that I just don't allow myself very often. But today I did and I don't feel guilty about it at all!

Also, when I got ready today I did my hair and makeup in about 15 minutes- and it looked pretty good. I think I've figured out how to do it and have it looking good without spending a lot of time on it. I'm very thankful for that! It's all because Erin did such a good job on the cut, I think.

Anyway, I included some pics of Ellie and Logan drawing on the art easel they got for Christmas and a cute drawing Logan brought home from school today. I think it's a pirate with the chicken pox or something. Also, there's a picture of a shopping list I had on the counter that Logan found- he decided to add his own items to it! Take a look, it's cute!

Have a good night!!

Excuses, excuses... plus my new hair!

Ok, I know it's been a while again! I've heard from Erica that I'm not doing a good job being a blogger, but I'm trying- really (well, I'll try harder, ok). The week after Christmas that we were all home was really draining. It should have been nice and easy especially since Stu was home the whole time, but it wasn't. It's really hard having everyone home all day and trying to play catch up on cleaning up and organizing all the new stuff we got for Christmas. Pretty much the only time I have to blog is at night when the kids go to bed and I'm usually just so tired that I go lay on my bed and watch TV and then I don't want to get up and do anything. I keep bugging Stu about getting wireless Internet and a laptop. The other day I found out that we have his old laptop from work that's just sitting around not being used. It's a travesty I say. Now I just have to figure out this whole wireless Internet thing and maybe I can get on the computer more easily! Also, I've been watching the show "Mad Men" that I had recorded on Tivo. I have the whole season recorded and it's been quite addictive so that's been eating into my blogging time as well. Enough excuses- let's get to the good stuff.

Monday the kids went back to school! Woo hoo!! Boy was I ready for that. I spent the entire kid free day 9:30 to 1:45 cleaning and organizing. I'm proud to say that I took 4 garbage sacks full of toys, clothes and shoes to Goodwill on my way to pick up Ellie that day! Yay! I still have a long way to go, but it feels so freeing to get rid of some of that useless stuff that was weighing me down. And I managed to get the house pretty clean (I even mopped) and I did ALL my laundry! I mean it- there were not any dirty clothes left anywhere! The new washer is making me much more efficient in that regard.

Tuesday we went to Erica's to play. Not much to report about that except that in the afternoon after school my kids were awful. They were both really whiny and crying and stuff and it was really stressful. But, I made it thru. (That's my excuse for not blogging last night)

Today was my big day. I took Logan to school then came home, showered and got Ellie ready for school. After I dropped her off I went straight over to Target and Ross. I really wanted to get a couple of new things. I wound up with a dress, shoes, black pants, a pair of capris and 2 shirts... all for $70. Not bad, I'd say. Then I went to see Erin at Halina's to get my hair cut. I've been wanting to get it done for a while- ever since I saw the Oprah where they did hair makeovers on all those women. I was just so tired of my non-existent hair style. She said I was a blank canvas, and I know that I was. So we talked about what I wanted and didn't want and then she did her thing. I really like it. She is amazing! Right after that I stopped by Erica's to show her and she took this picture for me. Not bad, huh? Really anything would have been an improvement, but I really like it. Now we'll just have to see if I can fix it too!