Spicy Magnolia

We Made It

We made it! We made it through the swirling month of birthdays. We made it through some of the most tumultuous days of parenting yet…and lived to tell about it. We survived bronchitis and a double ear infection for the boy and the girl’s first ear infection. We made it through a visit from Matt’s folks that was wonderful even though it was sprinkled with some of the three year old’s maelstrom.

Only today, after much trepidation of what the day would hold, not wanting to wake up to what I might face with my man-child, I am breathing a sigh of relief. My boy, newly turned over into the 3s, shows signs of extra determination to get his way and displays an eruption of emotion otherwise, (typical of what many of you mothers of 3 year olds have testified to). But the deep sigh of relief comes because it looks like 75% of the meltdowns of gargantuan proportions, the stinging scowls and accompanying attitude over the last few days were stirred by the ear infections and bronchitis.

Granted, my own wretched mommy moments (of which there were many the last few days that prompted a number of sincere apologies to the treasured ones I’m supposed to be a good steward of), didn’t help matters; I made it worse. What’s even more troubling is that they occurred when my children weren’t feeling well!

I’ve found Ann Voskamp’s seventh point in her Joyful Parenting Manifesto to ring true: in the moments where my child’s behavior and attitude are most grotesque to me, I’ve found the act of drawing ever closer to that child melts away the hardened heart and tears. A smile. A gentle touch. A soothing word. If only I’d remember this and not let my voice raise to a high shrill. If only I’d remember this before I walk away in utter frustration wanting to wring my hands out in anger. If only I’d remember that love covers a multitude of sins. “God, help me,” is a prayer uttered in both silence and out loud throughout my days. May it be so for evermore.

And today, after some war-wounds from the last few days, I am breathing a sigh of relief and giving thanks that we made it! At least through this bit of time, we made it. It’s enough to spur up enough desire and energy in me to tell you how we celebrated Brennan’s third birthday this year.

Brennan Matthew turned three years old on January 16th. We had a few of his and Kensington’s buddies over for a small play group, which would have worn him out if that was the sole activity of the day. But we piled on the celebrating by going to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch on top of it. My momma came into town to join us and Matt met us there, too. The five of us chowed down on some pizza and the chocolate pie Mees made for her grandson. Out of the three times we’ve been to Chuck E. Cheese, this was the first that Brennan wasn’t afraid of going on the rides. And it should come as no surprise that his favorite was the horse race.

While the little girl conked out, the birthday boy was so hyped up after his play group and lunch that he couldn’t nap. It made for a very long but fun-filled day.

The next day, Matt, Kensie and I took Chick-fil-A to Brennan’s school to eat lunch with him. I’ve done that a few times since he started going and I love joining him and his two teachers and eight other classmates for lunch! We all sit around the same table to eat together. It gives me opportunity to know each of the kiddos by name and get glimpses into their personalities. For example, I know the quiet and reserved ones, and I also know who gets the conversation going rapidly and with gusto. Brennan falls somewhere between those two <grin>.

I came a little early to pick him up so I could deliver his birthday cupcakes to his class and eat along with them.

I made sure Kensie was dressed up for the celebration.

Matt’s parents arrived on his birthday, the 19th. Here are Papa and Nana, meeting Kensie Jane for the first time. What an answer to prayer!

As part of the continued birthday celebration for the three year old, we all took Brennan to Shepplers for him to pick out a cowboy hat. Upon getting in the car to tell him what we were going to do, he added, “And boots?!” We kept telling him we were going to get a hat. And every time he added, “And boots.” A true cowboy has to have both, I guess. So that’s what he got <grin>.

Little girl had to try on a hat for fun.

I had to try on a cowgirl hat and boots, too.

On Saturday, we took advantage of our fully decked out cowboy and took him to a farm in Georgetown to ride horses. What a fantastic time we had! My momma drove into town for the rodeo haulin’ a big ol’ chocolate cake! We stayed out there for about four hours and took a picnic lunch. Matt and his dad rode, too, and so did yours truly. But I came to the realization that my son is braver than I.

Three different horses were saddled: Comanche (a pony), Big Mama, and Poncho. Brennan rode all three! Big ‘uns are his favorite, but he did trot on Comanche. Poncho was awesome and walked Brennan around slowly without any of us leading him, but Poncho also had a wild side that moved pretty darn fast when Papa and Matt were riding.

For the record, we kept trying to push Brennan’s hat back so he could see, but he liked it better the way it was.

Brennan even enjoyed leading them on his own.

Little Kensie girl in her boot tights from Nana.

This was a rare moment when Kensie smiled around the horses; otherwise, she broke out into a large grimace and started crying. Molly is the largest animal she’s comfortable being around, I suppose.

Our cowboy had a blast!

Absolute craziness:

Brennan’s first birthday on the left; second birthday on the right.

And now, his third.

Our love spills over for this cowboy, “we-made-it” days and all!

Just Beachy

Sunshine. Seafood. Glistening water. Sand. I lack a dazzling adjective for the sand because it’s my least favorite part of the beach. Although the soft, white sands on the Gulf Coast of Florida have the potential to change my opinion about the messy, grainy stuff that sticks to everything.

I am notorious for sitting on the beach and walking around collecting seashells. My imagination goes wild at the thought of all the icky seaweed that entangles my toes and even wilder at the thought of the perilous sharp-toothed sea creatures that would leave me in horrendous pain and dismembered.

Maybe it’s because I was introducing Brennan to the ocean and wanted to pretend I was brave. Or maybe it was because these particular waters were gorgeous and clear without any seaweed until the last day when the wind churned it up, and it also wasn’t very salty. Or maybe it was because the sand was so soft that there was not one seashell to be found. It was probably the combination of the three that allows me to say that I actually ventured into the sea and jumped the waves.

Oh, I had my panicky moments when the waves began to get too high over my 5’6” frame. And Matt had to calm my nerves incessantly after Ed told an awful story of him being swept out of his own dad’s arms while in the ocean when a huge wave came crashing down on top of them. Forget imagining threatening creatures or annoying seaweed, but how do you calm a mother who keeps envisioning her son being swept away at sea!?

For five days, we soaked up the rays and enjoyed splitting our time between the beach and the fabulous resort pool that was my refreshing, sand-less haven. Whether it was the salt water or the chlorinated-water, our boy was an eager fish, working on his kicking, blowing bubbles and wave jumping. 

Some moments to remember:

Papa and Nana made a treasure map for Jadon and Brennan to hunt for prizes of beach toys.

Brennan’s first time to set foot on a beach. Well, it actually took him awhile to want to put his feet down on the sand and in the water…

but eventually, he worked his way up to it.

Baxter, a most happy and content little guy, celebrated his first birthday the day after we left.

Most nights we alternated between families cooking dinner. The last night we were there, Kim made a fabulous concoction of recipes that I immediately came home and bookmarked: Grilled Corn with Garlic Butter, Feta and Fresh Lime; Grilled Brined Chicken with Chimichurri Sauce; and a Tomato-Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds (a-maz-ing). I ate like a horse that night, helping myself to seconds of everything, including her “Dirt Dessert” with Oreos.

One night was a special birthday celebration evening for Matt’s folks who both celebrated their 60th birthdays this past winter. We went to a fine place called George’s and captured some of the best family photos.

Cousins! Jadon turned three last month, and it was quite entertaining picking up on the personality differences between these two boys. I would personally have described Jadon as mellow the week at the beach, content playing with toys on the beach and just chillin’. At least he was compared to my animated and expressive boy, who Nana said had more energy than she ever remembered Matt having! Did he inherit an Uncle Mac gene, perhaps? Lord, help me if he did <grin>! I’m serious!

One of the most special and memorable moments of our week in Florida was a night of girl-time. After dinner at George’s, we helped get the kids to bed then the girls surprised me with dessert at an incredible restaurant called La Crema Tapas and Chocolate in a quaint area of town that felt very European. I had the bread pudding with chocolate and caramel sauce. I wished I’d had two servings! The ladies surprised me with girly clothes for Skittles, too. I’ve got to update you with some pictures of these outfits; Skittles received her first pink tutu! I was jazzed up on chocolate and pink.

The additional night out was at Pier Park for some more seafood and a pleasant night out on the town. We discovered on this trip that Brennan likes seafood. He enjoyed crab and artichoke dip at George’s and helped himself to nearly 1/2 lb. of fresh shrimp the night at Pier Park. I made the awful mistake of not giving him small enough bites and well, the result wasn’t pleasant. But it didn’t deter him from eating more.

This picture was taken after dinner, and I find it very amusing!

Pier Park had a small amusement park in the middle of all the shops and restaurants. Tom and Kim graciously treated the four of us to a train ride…the perfect ending to a fun night out.

Dear Aunt Melissa. Melissa could only stay with us until Tuesday, but she made the most of her auntie time and loved on the little ones with her whole heart. Brennan was grateful for her lovies!

 

The last night, the one of Kim’s feast, we had a mini talent show. It was very rough with three kiddos under the age of three who hadn’t practiced anything like we intended. But it kept us laughing, and the highlight was seeing Tom breakdance to a Michael Jackson song. If it’s going to be a family tradition though, Papa and Nana need to participate also <grin>!

After the kiddos were in bed, we had a meaningful family time of sharing and praying together. It was an inestimable way to conclude our week that thankfully didn’t involve any knock out waves, treacherous creatures, major sunburns, or seaweed snares…it was just ‘beachy’*!

*Yes, I’m corny <grin>.

Simply trusting,

Snow & Secrets Revealed

Good evening, dear Internet peeps! I’m curious, who of you have not had a good dose of winter this week? Anyone? Even here in Austin, Texas, we’ve had the artic blast affect us all week. We’ve been sick this week, too, so it has helped alleviate the stir-crazy feelings. Our couch has a permanent imprint of our bodies, and I don’t want to admit how many hours of movies we’ve watched. I have, however, reveled in the sweet fragrance of my son as I’ve held him for many hours, even helping him get through naps because the fever and coughing were rocking his little body off its norm.

Last night, we received a beautiful 1/2 inch dusting of the fluffy white stuff. It’s our once-a-year joy: freezing cold weather with precipitation that brings the busyness of life to a stand-still.

 

Brennan is not a winter-lover. Unlike his parents who relish some snow and winter weather, Brennan complains about the cold. I guess he’s a Texas boy at heart. We tried to put mittens on him and he hid them behind a door. He didn’t want a hat. And he most certainly did not want to be let down in the snow. The same thing happened in Virginia over Christmas. It was only until we brought his truck outside that he endured sitting in it for awhile. Molly, on the other hand, was a frisky puppy and loved playing and trying to eat the snow. Eventually, Brennan got bored and too cold, so Matt and I did what any understanding parent would do. We put him inside to play with some toys while Matt and I continued enjoying playing with our puppy, throwing her stick and sending snow balls her way. Don’t worry, we continually checked on him and didn’t stay out too long. I think Molly liked the special attention.

 

 

Here’s a short video that captures the opposite nature of our children:

Snow Day from Meg @ Spicy Magnolia on Vimeo.

 

What was the other part of my title? Oh, yeah. Secrets revealed.

Yep, that’s right folks, we are going to have another baby! We are due August 2nd. I’m nearly 15 weeks along and everything is looking great with the baby so far. Brennan was known as “Polka” when he was in my tummy; the nickname for this precious one is “Skittles”. Here are a few notables if you’re interested:

• Our aim and intent is to wait to find out the baby’s gender again until he/she is born. It’s harder this time around!
• I had about the same amount of nausea as I did with Brennan, and it seems that ship has sailed, thankfully.
• I am more exhausted and drained this time around…probably because I have an energetic toddler to chase this time.
• My complexion was the best it’s ever been with Brennan. My face it completely broken out like it was when I was a teenager. Argh.
• I crave cheesy, comfort food.
• We found out we were pregnant the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I happened to be shocked as were trying to get pregnant again, but it had been a busy month <grin>. We were decorating for Christmas that day, so I thought I’d add a stocking to our mantle and see if Matt noticed it, as a way of surprising him. Usually it takes him days to observe such things, but he had a keen eye that night and recognized something looked awry:

• We told each set of our parents in person over Christmas which was a lot of fun to surprise them with the news.
• I am bulging out with a baby bump a lot faster than I did with Brennan!
• I have already started to wake up to go the bathroom during the middle of the night a lot, and am having a hard time falling back to sleep. One night last week was special though because as I laid there awake, I felt Skittles for the first time! That little one was active, punching and kicking in all sorts of places.

Anything else would you like to know?

I don’t have a creative way to wrap up this post because it’s 9:30 and I am ready to snuggle into bed and fall fast, fast asleep. Well, at least until 2 a.m. At that point, you’ll find me in the bathroom.

That Was Some Decadent Icing

On one hand, it’s really good to be home from our trip. On the other, I wish we could replay last week over and over and over. We returned to Texas just in the nick of time to experience our first triple digit heat of the summer; we wouldn’t want to miss that now would we? Yeah, right. After such a memorable vacation with my family, it’s hard to get back into the swing of things. We’ve all had a twinge of the grumpies. But I think we’re on the upswing. Having the opportunity to share with you the amazing trip we had will be cathartic. The only thing about it is that I don’t know where to start! It was all sorts of wonderful!

We went to Wyoming to celebrate my Daddy’s 60th birthday. It’s a trip my Momma has been planning for the last year and a half. That my Daddy felt lavishly loved throughout the week was all that we were aiming for, so everything else was icing on the cake. A rich, decadent chocolate icing.

I is for Intense Muscular Workouts

We discovered muscle groups we never thought we had! Our first day in Yellowstone, we visited the falls in the Canyon section and put Brennan in the backpack carrier for the first time. He found it very amusing as Matt carried him around for hours. The rest of us were huffing and puffing. Well, Mac and Julie weren’t since they’re buff and training for their second triathlon. I’ve discovered, however, that the harder it is to get somewhere, usually the more spectacular the sight, making it worth all the physical strain and pain it took to get there. Leg muscles worked: check.

We returned to Jackson Hole on Monday to stay there the duration of the week. On Tuesday, I went horseback riding with the fellas. This just wasn’t a little trail ride y’all. This was a trail ride through the mountains that gained 2000 feet in the course of an hour. I haven’t been on a horse in more than fifteen years. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty as I mounted the beautiful creature they selected for me, praying I’d been gifted a good horse that wouldn’t take off with me. Her name was TJ, and she was a good horse. In fact, I told her that all the way up and down the mountain, in hopes that my affirmation would gain me points. Even when a deer made some other horses skittish, she remained calm. I was endeared to that girl after our journey. She kept me from plummeting down the side of the mountain when there was nothing but cliff to one side of me. Did I mention I’m scared of heights, too? It was a breathtaking view and definitely the way to go though. TJ worked her tail off for me. And the muscle group I discovered: my own tail!

 

On Wednesday, we took a mountain bike ride through the Teton National Park. Y’all, I can’t emphasize enough how much I was out of my comfort zone for each of these activities. I am not a “sporty/outdoorsy” kinda gal. They were fun and I am so glad I did them, but I did have to muster up a bit of courage. Especially when we came across a huge buffalo that was not nearly as far away as it should have been from us while we were biking. It took everything in me not to grab Brennan and high-tail it out of there. I think a lot of us were unnerved about it, not that the professionals didn’t handle it well. But they’re used to this kinda thing! We city folk don’t know diddly. Then it didn’t help matters when we had to pass a baby buffalo wondering if its momma was around somewhere. Sadly and very rarely, it was a baby that had been abandoned or something happened to his momma. Muscles worked: legs and hiney again.

Too close for comfort

 

Thursday, the fellas and Julie went white-water rafting while Brennan, my momma and I stayed around the home, explored the town square of Jackson Hole, and ate at Sweetwater. We don’t have any pictures of the rafting trip, but there was definitely a muscle group worked: the arms!

Our last full day in Jackson Hole we ventured to Jenny Lake. Pops and Meems opted to canoe while the rest of us did some more hiking up to Hidden Falls. I tried carrying Brennan on my back for a measly five minutes. Kudos to Matt for carrying him around for two hikes and pedaling with him in the burley! Muscle groups: arms, legs, and Matt would most definitely say shoulders.

By the way, Jenny Lake is where we spotted the bear from my last post.

C is for Celebrating

The whole week was a celebration, but Sunday, my Daddy’s actual birthday, was the day we really partied! We didn’t arrive in Yellowstone until after midnight, so the historic Old Faithful Inn and the geyser were awesome sights to wake up to. The hot chocolate was some of the best I’ve ever had…that was a morning treat must! After breakfast, we had a special church service to start the day and then headed out to the Canyon. That evening, we had a fabulous dinner at the Inn, toasted the birthday boy with some champagne, enjoyed the chocolate citrus cake that I was able to make before we left (praise God it made it intact), and watched the birthday boy open presents.

I is for Indelible Moments

Just the picturesque scenery itself is enough to make a lasting impression on each of our hearts! There is no denying that an incredible, creative God is masterful at what He does. Here are a few more pictures that capture some memorable moments that we won’t forget from our trip.

The first night Pops was in Jackson Hole he bought a cowboy hat that he wore all week long. It took Brennan some time for him to get used to seeing Pops wear it, and I think Brennan only withstood the hat being on his head for the split second it took to take this picture.

 

Our last morning in Yellowstone we went swimming off of Fire Hole Lake Drive. It was one of my favorite moments with Brennan because while everyone else was in a different part of the river that had more of a current, I swam with my boy and got to share in his excitement in climbing rocks and his bravery in swimming in such cold water (it was supposed to be 80 degree water but was most definitely not). Meems got to cheer us on, too.

 

This just makes me smile so big!

 

These two introduced Brennan to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Finding Nemo. Towards the end of the trip, Brennan started mastering Mac’s name…he kept repeating it over and over. No wonder Brennan has been grumpy since getting home…we not only ran him RAGGED but he doesn’t have access to either Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Finding Nemo. Poor deprived boy. Oh, Mac and Julie also introduced us to the iPhone game Words with Friends. I’m in big trouble, y’all!

 

Wednesday night we had plans to eat at Billy’s Burgers and head to a pig wrestling competition at the fair (sadly the rodeo was canceled that week). But after seeing some scantily dressed girls chest bumping each other saying they were getting ready to go pig wrestling, we thought the pig wrestling might turn into something dirtier than what we’d already envisioned pig wrestling to be <grin>. So we opted to walk around the town square and enjoy some ice cream from Moo’s.

 

Our week in Jackson Hole we alternated cooking dinners with Mac and Julie, and Pops and Meems were on clean-up duty. We ate so well!

 

N is for Nature…Jaw-dropping, Awe-inspiring, Wondrous Nature

I’ve already posted some of our favorite pictures of the scenery so I won’t do it again here. You may not have even lasted this long! But here is one picture that captures au naturel in its rawest form.

Uhh, I guess this could be considered the most scenic urinal ever. We have no idea why he didn’t go back further into the brush! It had us in stitches!

G is for God’s Grace

From our travels; to where we stayed; to our conversations; to our close relationships; to the fun activities; to our time to be at rest and slow down; to Brennan being a TROOPER; to forgiveness extended when I stuck my foot in my mouth (on several occasions); to seeing a bear which my Momma really wanted to see; to the gorgeous, cooler weather; to safety; to the indescribable beauty we looked upon; to knowing we are lavishly loved by each other and our Lord….all of it was by His grace. He undoubtedly gifted us with some delectable icing last week! He must know I really love the stuff.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

It’s Not the Hair Dye’s Fault

Yo, yo, yo, waz up?! For some strange reason, I’m slightly in a quirky mood. So this blog post could either turn out to be mildly entertaining or be a complete flop. Maybe it’s because I put four bottles worth of hair dye in my hair this week. I usually use two colors at one time, mixing them together, but I was in a big rush when I did it on Wednesday, and my short cuts did not pay off. My hair looked like a zebra! I’m not joking. I had a bright stripe of reddish brown up front and light strawberry brown in the back. The bad thing about it is that I went out in public with wet hair because I didn’t have enough time to blow dry it. So I didn’t know how horrible it looked until it started drying while I was at my dermatologist appointment. And then I made the mistake of looking in the car mirror and to my horror, my hair looked like a punk rocker from the 80s.

To make matters worse, it was a limp dish rag because of the 100% humidity. I thought I’d be brave enough to endure the public spectacle I’d be by running errands. I thought I’d suck up my pride enough to enter a high-end department store that I only step foot in once a year to buy makeup. I don’t feel that comfortable going in there all dolly-upped let alone looking like the mangled mess I was. So when the sales lady proceeded to ask me if my hair color was natural and I caught a glimpse of my striped hair in the mirror from the corner of my eye, I erupted into the full-blown explanation of my rushed morning and the awful result of my color. I pleaded with her to tell me the truth of what it looked like. I in turn basically threw up my insecurity all over her! Bless her heart, she probably wished she hadn’t opened her mouth. I walked out with my head bowed in shame and my tail tucked between my legs because of not only what I looked like but how I acted. I think it’s time I re-read Beth Moore’s So Long, Insecurity. I knew I’d have to read it again (and want to) several times throughout my life, but I never imagined it would need to be a quarterly read!

It nagged at me all day long and became a huge distraction to the point that I couldn’t rest until my hair was fixed. So Matt was kind enough to pick me up two more bottles of hair dye. With prayers sent above, I began the task for the second time that day at 10 p.m. By 11 p.m., I was contentedly laying in bed with darker-than-I-wanted reddish brown hair, but at least it was no longer striped.

On Saturday, I do not know what came over me but I decided to cut my hair short. Short, short, short. Julia Roberts Steel Magnolias short! Maybe it was the heat. Or my hormones. Or the four bottles of hair color that remained in my hair tinting the rinse water from my shampoo at the salon orange. That morning before I left, Matt thought it would be a good idea to ask me if I was going to cut my hair short. A minute later he told Brennan, “Now Brennan, remember to tell Mommy how beautiful she looks when she comes home.”

I appreciate my hubby teaching our young boy how to love me and his future wifey, but a little suggestion: those “let me teach you about women” kinda conversations might be much better suited for when I’m not in the room <grin>! They sure outdid themselves when I got home though! Look what I had waiting for me:

Brennan picked out the card all on his own <grin> and the card says, “For the Mommy more beautiful than flowers”. I LOVE IT!

It was just the encouragement I needed because it’s taking me a lot to adjust to the new do and not throw up my insecurities on those who comment on it.

I just finished making my most favorite trail mix that brings back fun childhood memories. It’s got Chex cereal, M&Ms, peanuts and raisins. It will be the perfect treat after horse back riding, biking, hiking, and white water rafting. Hopefully the bears and moose won’t steal it from us. Say what?

In less than a week’s time, we will be jet-setting off to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone to celebrate my Daddy’s 60th birthday! Mac and Julie will meet us there, too, and we are ecstatic! My Momma has been planning this trip for nearly a year and a half and the day is drawing near. One of the best parts about it: the highs there are only in the 70s! I’ll finally be able to breath again. This humidity sucks the breath right out of ya.

Mac and Julie love The Pioneer Woman’s recipes (and I’m hands-down a fan). I think we’ll get to taste some of her stuff during our week in Wyoming. Look what Mac made of PW’s today:

If I come back 10 pounds heavier, you’ll know why.

A few weeks ago, Brennan and I were coloring and I had a wild, girly notion to do something I used to do way-back-when. I think all of us girls have done it at one time or another, but I decided to do it on Brennan’s behalf. I played the game MASH for him! You know, the game where you pick several categories about your future and then generate a number to start counting through the items to know which ones to eliminate. The ones remaining are what your future will look like. Matt nearly died knowing I did this for our son! I probably spent hours doing this game throughout my childhood (and young adult) years <grin>. As far as the girls go, the three that quickly came to mind were Ella Kate, our neighbors’ daughter (Leah is probably dying as she reads this!!), Harper (Kelly’s daughter), and Anna Beth (Amanda’s daughter). The rest you can see for yourself:

The results:

Brennan will marry Ella Kate; have four kids; live in Arkansas; be a pastor; have a bunny; go to TX A&M for college; and travel to Italy for his honeymoon. Certainly a blessed boy!

The funny thing about it is that Rob and Leah, Ella Kate’s parents, went to A&M for college and Italy for their honeymoon <grin>.

I know, it was a quirky thing for me to do! You may have a stronger word for it. Sadly, I decided to play this game weeks ago and well, I can’t blame it on the four bottles of hair dye. I guess it’s just who I am.

Pictures Galore Continued: Father’s Day

I’ll just keep the pictures comin’ until you scream, “No more!” Until then, pop yourself some popcorn and enjoy.

To kick off feeling better and Father’s Day weekend, Brennan and I met our friend, Stacie, and her three girls at Jungle Java, a perfect indoor play area for us mommas to chat and the kiddos to wear themselves out. Upon leaving, I thought it would be fun to try a new yogurt place called YoYo’s that opened down the street from us. Brennan couldn’t have any because he’s still off of dairy products, but he enjoyed a few chocolate chips. And I found myself a new summer treat!

For Father’s Day, I put together eight different clues/rhymes for Matt to read throughout the weekend of things we were going to do. Friday night was a night to crash and after putting Brennan down, we climbed into bed and watched Iron Man. I saw the sequel a few weeks ago without having seen the first one and loved it, so I thought I’d give the first one a go. And it’s an action packed film, so of course hubby wouldn’t mind seeing it again <grin>. I loved it so much I watched it twice during the weekend!

Saturday, Matt got to sleep in and be awakened by a precious boy with a cup of hot chai from Starbucks. Then we filled the day with fun! First stop was an awesome splash park we tried for the first time.

 

Watch out, the water is gonna get ya!

 

Told ya’ll.

 

Lovin’ that wet boy of mine. Usually I’m the one getting wet playing. It was nice for a change to sit on the sidelines and watch. And stay dry. And day dream.

 

Here’s your next clue, Daddy.

 

There’s nothing like a Mighty Fine burger. I’m still cool even though I’m wearing a silly makeshift bib.

 

What happens to the makeshift bib after hit hard by drool, ketchup fingers, and water.

 

 

Because Matt’s iPhone sadly looks like this, and because I love him to bits and geeky tech gifts speak love to him, I surprised him by pre-ordering a new iPhone. I kept him on his toes about his gift even after he read one of his clues, and you should have seen the grin on his face as he stood in front of the Apple store realizing I wasn’t just dangling the carrot in front of him. He was gonna get to eat that carrot!

Sunday, we went to church and ate lunch at Chedd’s. After naps and swim time for the boys, we enjoyed grilling out kabobs with a fruit salad and corn pudding. An ice cream pie topped off the meal. Here is what the table looked like. I had it set for Pops and Meems to join us for the day, but they weren’t feeling well, so they stayed put. I decorated it using Brennan’s toys that represented some of Matt’s and my Daddy’s favorite things.

 

Father’s Day was nearly two weeks ago, but Matt, my Daddy, and my father-in-law, Ed, can’t ever get enough thanks and appreciation for the daddies that they are! Brennan and I go giddy at the thought of them and want them to know how much they are loved!

(To be Continued…)

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun

Who watched Lost last night? Wasn’t it AWESOME!? As my sis-in-law, Julie, wrote on her blog, it’s the show we’re never gonna want to end! As a side note to Julie’s blog, you should hop on over there to read this article by a Washington Post staffer on Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl ad. It’s a great article.  It’s a thoughtful and fitting response to some of the negative hype. Oh, and take a look at this from Antique Mommy. I’ve pondered numbers 1 and 35 all day long.

Ok, back to Lost: that was two thrilling hours of television! 24 used to be thrilling to me, but now it’s same-old and very predictable. Am I the only one that feels that way? The suspense has dissipated. “Bye, bye,” Jack Bauer. Time is limited in this household, and you’re gonna have to go. You’re not doin’ it for me anymore. But Lost, remain forever.

And onto the real topic of this post: our special visitors from this past weekend. Our good buddies, Eric and Kim and their adorable 9.5 month old son, Luke, made the trip from Colorado to visit us, and it was a blast. We go way back with these folks. Eric and I grew up in El Paso together and have known each other since I was 11 years old. At Wheaton, he introduced me to Matt, and then when Eric and Matt lived together in Austin, Matt introduced Eric to Kim, who also happened to be a Wheatie. Did ya get all that? They’re some of our bestest buds, and now Luke and Brennan will forever be bestest buds, at least as long as we parents get to choose who their friends are. But even still, we hope they’ll forever be bestest buds. They sure hit it off this weekend, talking and babbling to each other, playing together, and even crying when the other started crying. They’re learnin’ empathy early on.

Chuy’s was our first stop, and the most important restaurant to visit. It was crazy crowded with a long wait, so we opted for take out, which was so the right option to choose. We stuffed ourselves silly. After the boys hit the hay, the adults stayed up to play. That’s more or less what it was like every day. Day time: lugging our gear and boys around the city; night time: busting out the food, the drinks, and livin’ up the night life. Well, in an exhausted, need-to-be-responsible-parent sort of way.

 

At one and 9.5 months, these fellas weren’t really “double the trouble”. I’m sure they will be one day though. And we’re bracing ourselves by opting for arranged marriages. And chastity belts. If they don’t make those for boys, we’ll invent them. And knee pads for the hours spent on our knees praying.

 

Thank the Lord they’re angels now. Wonderful, precious little boys who don’t even know how to wrestle yet. Or grunt. Or let out disgusting burps on purpose. They just need their mommas’ tender lovin’ care to make it through the day.

 

On Saturday morning, we hit the playground at Zilker Park for some fun sliding and swinging.

 

The game “Chutes and Ladders” comes to mind.

 

Why do the big boys seem to be enjoying the swings more than the little boys? Oh yeah, it’s ‘cause they’re lookin’ at their pretty girls.

 

The swing is only so much fun for awhile. After that, it’s melt-down worthy.

 

  The Coloradoans were freezing in Texas this weekend. Eric kept going “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” trying to reasonably explain why that could even be possible.

 

1. A cheesy, but heartfelt caption is the only kind appropriate for this picture. I love these friends of ours! The shared history, interests, memories, times of laughter and times of tears are too numerous to recount.  There is nothing like the deep bond of friendship, and this is the kind that is lifelong. There are certain friends of mine that when I think of them, my heart could literally burst in thanksgiving and joy over being their friends, and these three are of that kind. I hope at sometime during your lifetime, you may know this kind of friendship.

 

After Zilker, we could not pass up taking our guests to our staple tourist attraction: Whole Foods. For the first time, we ate at the bar-b-que bar and it was the best thing I’ve had at Whole Foods! For the afternoon, the big boys went to a Longhorn basketball game (where they lost in OT) and the girls and little boys hung out at home and got dinner ready.

 

Cupcakes, glorious cupcakes!

 

 

Tails is Brennan’s favorite new book now thanks to his buddies. And because of that, I’m dreaming about tails. Possum tails. Tiger tails. Swat, swat, swat. Dirty tails, clean tails, fluffy tails. Tails, tails, tails!

 

The hit of the night was a recipe The Pioneer Woman recently featured on her blog: molten lava cakes. Your life is not complete without having at least one of these a week. Or be wild: one a day! We played a couple rounds of “Clue”, a favorite in our household. It was Mr. Green, with the lead pipe, in the library, in case you were wondering. Then we laughed our heads off (that’s such an odd expression) and reminisced over old college photos.

Sunday we went to church together and met up with Eric’s little sister for lunch at Central Market, where we wanted to listen to the live Jazz band. But it was too cold for me, and way too cold for Eric and Kim. <grin> The fellas took over for us girls Sunday afternoon, and I took Kim to one of my favorite Austin spots: The Steeping Room, for a lovely afternoon tea. It was purely delightful and was the perfect thing to do on the cold, dreary day. We bar-b-qued steaks and had baked potatoes and salad for dinner. It was a weekend of feasting. This whole month has been one big feast, which makes February, not January, the month to begin our New Year’s resolutions. Oh wait, we don’t have any.

Eric and Kim spent the better half of the evening trying to convince us to move to Colorado. I’ll let you know if and when our bags are packed. But for those of you worrying as you read this (a.k.a. Pops and Meems), you’ll just need to have your bags packed and ready, too.

 

I think they could pass for brothers in this picture.

 

That fella you call your friend is making me put my arm around Luke, and I don’t like it. Neither does Luke. Enough already.

 

 Now we’ll always have proof of the first time the little boys saw each other n*aked, as boys tend to joke about such an event even up into their 30s.

 

 

All four of them mesmerized by watching a Lost summary episode gearing up for last night’s season premiere. We love Lost. And we love those moose with short fluffy tails that go wag, wag, wag.

 

 

Team Spirit Bred Young

We prep our younglings early on to know which colleges and universities we love and which ones are our nemeses. A bond to a school might even run generations deep. If you haven’t seen the The Blind Side yet, you must, or you’ll miss out on one of the top three movies of the year. If you have, then you know it’s quite possible to breed generations of specific school lovin’ fans. We’ve got it goin’ on in this household, oh yes we do. Cause’ we have team spirit, how ‘bout you?

We’ve got our own youngling choosing between the TX A&M Aggies, Gig ‘em!…

 

The Wheaton College Thunder…crash, boom, rumble. Don’t get me started on having thunder as a mascot…

 

The Arizona State Sun Devils, Fight Devils!…

 

The University of Virginia Cavaliers, Go Hoos…

The North Carolina Tar Heels, Go Tar Heels! (we still gotta get our hands on some Tar Heel paraphernalia)…

And last but not least,

The University of Arizona Wildcats, Bear Down, Arizona! (but the family member rootin’ for them hasn’t bought Brennan any Wildcat paraphernalia yet)…

And then there is the unmentionable one, the nemesis of our family. The one whose name is on the unframed masters diploma of my hubby’s. The one who is playing in the national football championship tonight. The one who’s sparked a flutter of team spirit throughout this city, even in the grocery store. The one I will be forever branded as a “betrayer” if I cheer for them tonight. The University of Texas Longhorns. Hook ‘em!

We have no Longhorn paraphernalia. For a reason. And maybe Brennan’s facial expression in this picture shows that he’s not all that into the Longhorns either. But those cakes and cookies sure look good.

We’ll watch the game. And I will cheer for the Texas, Big 12 team, just this one night...because I got true State of Texas spirit! But if it gets too late, you will find me in bed like the last time UT played in the national championship…and we were awakened by firecrackers and bottle rockets.

Brennan has a plethora of schools from which to choose, well, namely five. That should make the decision for him easier. I just had one school on my list that I wanted to attend (yes, I put all my eggs in one basket), so five already seems overwhelming to me. And as his mother, who’s to say I would be upset if he wanted to live at home to attend UT, or better yet wanted to attend UT to live at home? <grin> If that’s the case, well then, dadgummit, hook ‘em!

A Sweet Reunion

Not too long ago, a group of six college girlfriends reunited for an extended weekend that befitted the song Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Our Country House reunion (Country House was the name of the house we all lived in together our senior year at college) was in early October, but I have yet to write about our memorable get together. So for my own record-keeping sake, I’m simply going to publish the itinerary I put together for these special girls. I also wish I could show you the six pages of grocery list items that I worked on for those two consecutive weekends of Brennan’s dedication and the Country House reunion when we had a house full of visitors. It’s more proof of why I need to work on my waistline than anything else. Well, and why I could drive to the H.E.B. on Louis Henna blindfolded. But I won’t ever attempt that. Unless someone gave me a  million dollars. Then maybe I would. If no one else was on the road.

Thursday:  Everyone arrived, including Tracy’s itty bitty new baby girl, Emie! Brennan was very fascinated with her and wanted to ‘pat, pat’ her like he does Molly. Chicken parmesan, salad, garlic bread, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream filling from Ann’s Kitchen decorated with “Welcome to Texas” written across the top was their welcome dinner. If you can believe it, the six of us girls, Emie, Brennan, and Matt all fit! In the house, that is.

Friday: The mornings were leisurely for everyone to wake up in their own time, enjoy some coffee, homemade granola, and an assortment of mini zucchini and pumpkin muffins that my momma made. She must have made at least a hundred of those suckers. I asked for mini muffins, not even thinking how mini muffins take lots more time to bake to get through all of the batter. But mini muffins are simply pop-in-your-mouth yumminess. And because she’s my momma, she made them for us, gladly. They are all gone. They’ve been gone a long time.

For the weekend, we rented a large SUV for all of us girls to fit into one car. That was a great decision! The thing was gigantic…it even had a video screen that acted as a rear view mirror when I was backing up. Fancy shmancy car it was. It’s long gone, too.

Our first stop on Friday was Mt. Bonnell to get a good view of the city. I told the girls to wear good walking shoes because there were hundreds of steps they’d climb to get to the overlook. My memory served me wrong. It was more like twenty steps. And I need to brush up on my knowledge of the city before guests arrive. I was answering, “I don’t know”, way too often.

I gave them a quick tour through part of the University of Texas. Which, by the way, have you heard? We’re going to the national championship! Of course, I’m an Aggie fan, but goodness gracious, I’m a Texan and I’ll be cheerin’ for them Longhorns like crazy. Especially against an SEC team. <grin> Oh, I just stuck that in to rile some of you up.

The “Mecca of Whole Foods” is a place we usually take all of our visitors because it’s so over the top. That’s where we had lunch. It took us nearly an hour to just decide what we were all going to eat.

We headed home to hang out and get ready for our murder mystery dinner party. Matt joined us, as did my friend, Jill (brave soul that she was to come and not know any of the girls!), to make the party complete with all eight characters. It was set in the 1950s and we each got dressed up to play our parts. We grilled out burgers and had ice cream to top it off. It was so much fun! We laughed so much as we stepped into character and tried to solve the mystery; the costumes themselves were enough to make the evening golden.

Saturday: We hung out together in the morning…the weekend was a nice blend of rest and activity, I thought. I think everyone went back home fairly renewed, even the mommas of the group. Matt gave me a treat by staying home on Friday to take care of Brennan, and he even offered to babysit Emie on Saturday, too. Matt’s mom and aunt came in from Dallas to help him with the two kiddos while us girls ventured in the pouring rain to Gruene. We listened to some live music at the oldest dance hall in Texas, Gruene Hall, and played some incredible, attention getting rounds of “Jenga”. Then we had a fabulous meal at The Gristmill.

Sunday:  We all went to church together and then enjoyed some Hawaiian/Mexican at Hula Hut. The girls definitely couldn’t have left Austin without some comida Mexicana, but the Hawaiian added a little twist to it. We left feeling like stuffed roly-polies. We took it easy the rest of the day and enjoyed Paula Dean’s taco soup for dinner, which is scrumptious and easy to make. I think Sunday evening was a highlight for all of us as we fellowshipped together, shared from the heart and prayed together. This was the first time the six of us were all together since Becca’s death, and she was greatly missed. These girls are some of the most special, life-long friends who make me laugh, point me to Jesus, and who love me just the way I am, even when I make dumb comments about rocks (sorry, that’s an inside joke between me and the gals, but it’s apropos).

Monday: We packed a picnic to Zilker Park and took a long walk around Town Lake before making the first couple of runs to the airport. Hillary, Molly, and Lindsey were still around on Monday night for pizza and our Country House signature movie: Return to Me. The rest of the gals left on Tuesday. This weepy gal cried with Brennan on the way home, already missing all of the estrogen that swept through our house those few days. Brennan and Matt probably breathed a sigh of relief to some degree, although, Brennan was a charmer and loved ‘flirting’ with all the girls. It was sad to see them go, but what a gift it was to have all five of them here. Even with our various schedules and global residences, we were able to come together, and that’s somethin’ special. At some point down the road, we hope to all meet up in Prague. We said we’d go there for our 10 year college reunion, which <gasp> is only a year and a half from now! Until then, we have something called the Internet to unite us.

Go Get ‘Em and Gig ‘Em

Keep your eyes wide open and locked on the little blonde-haired, blue eyed babe.  If you don’t, you’re going to miss out on something!

For the past few days, we’ve had so many firsts that I can’t keep up with the tyke.  He’s definitely tummy crawling with grunting noises ‘cause it’s such hard work, I suppose.  I haven’t exercised that hard in what?  A year?  More than?  I’d probably grunt too if I worked my body that hard.  He rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time.  Had his first barrel roll.  First consecutive movements of sitting up to tummy crawling to sitting back up again after retrieving the item he was fixated on:  his paci.  He’s standing for longer periods of time holding onto a table or an ottoman.  He transferred himself standing up from the ottoman to the leather chair and back to the ottoman with no help.  And he pulled himself up this morning on a basket without any help for the first time!  Seriously, it’s been one thing after the other!  I think he’ll be crawling by the end of next week or least within the next two.  That is if he stops rolling onto his back after a few tummy crawls.

In addition, aside from some family birthday celebrations, Brennan attended his first birthday party for his friend Evan, who turned three.  Evan had his awesome party at Arrowhead Ranch, a petting zoo.  Unfortunately, Matt wasn’t able to go because he was working.  He was really bummed!  Brennan was introduced for the first time to bunnies, goats, a donkey, miniature horses (which he got to ride on), and roosters.

A big thanks to Abe the donkey and Cheyenne the mini horse for being super nice!  Oh, and yes, Brennan takes after Molly in that the first thing he went for on the ground was a rock—the biggest rock there was next to him. 

(You can click on the album to view larger pictures).

 

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As you can tell, Brennan was decked out in a Texas A&M jersey gifted by his Uncle Mac and Aunt Julie.  I saved it just for today in honor of college football starting (and in honor of Uncle Mac who is an Aggie alum)!  I am ecstatic about it being September and football season…and so is Brennan!  I had to come home from the party and put him in his first pair of blue jeans which made it feel like fall all the more.

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Next weekend, Mac and Julie are participating in their first half triathlon in Williamsburg, VA.  We’re so proud of them!  They’ve been training their little tooshies off for months now.  We wish we could be there to cheer them on in person.  As a substitute though, we put together the following video for them to replay throughout the week to spur them on and encourage them as they swim, bike and run.  It’s an Aggieland/Triathlon celebratory combo!

Gig 'Em and Go Get 'Em from Meg @ Spicy Magnolia on Vimeo.

Mac and Julie, we’ll be cheering you on all week as you finish training and as you strut your stuff next weekend!  Go get ‘em!

Ya’ll enjoy game day.  Gig ‘em!