Category: Uncategorized

We Ain’t in Illinois Anymore.

So I’ve been having MAJOR pumpkin patch withdrawal here in Tejas.  I’ve searched high and low, and come pretty close, to finding one akin to the kind they grow in the Midwest, but alas – even if they get the rides and the corn maze right – the apple cider donuts are nowhere to be found.  And I loves me some apple cider donuts. We made a day out of it last weekend – pumpkin patching it, that is – and settled on a little farm in East Texas, Yesterland Farm.  It was super cute.  I thought it would be overrun with crowds, but it wasn’t, so yeah for that.  It wasn’t hot yet and my parents even met us there, which thrilled C to no end.  Baby Ella on the other hand, was being her prickly toddler-ey self, refusing any and all snacks we offered her, not wanting to be held or put down – basically acting like the 16 year old-trapped-in-an-almost-2-year-old’s-body that she is. Despite her best efforts at grouchiness, we managed to get some pretty good pics: 10-1-2011 002 Turns out that corn dogs will cure any malady – that is, until said corn dog is dropped in the dirt and rendered inedible.  10-1-2016 But we pressed on – wearing matching “vintage” (2008, like a fine wine) Matilda Jane knot dresses.  Ella’s was C’s when she was almost 2.  Aw, nom nom nom little pudgy-legged crankypants, I love ya. C’s dress was an eBay find.  I’m such a good hunter and gatherer. 10-1-2011 007 C posing in front of a wagon filled with pumpkins.  10-1-2011 001 Like two little old ladies – sitting in their rockers down on the farm.  Or a Cracker Barrel, maybe? 10-1-2011 009 And in this pic you’ll note the brand new penguin converse.  Why I put new shoes on her to tromp around in the dirt, I don’t know – BUT again, I am such a good hunter and gatherer.  10-1-2011 010 And finally…the face-painting.  So I guess the lady drew too long of a tail and made Charlie a dino moostash.  And then she over-compensated by painting an extra long neck on the long-neck.  I’m all for doing fun stuff like this, but I have to say – I was pretty happy it washed off quickly because it was kinda…well…weird.  But of course, the girlie loved it and wanted to know why she couldn’t “wear the dino to school”.  Because, my darling, you look like you have a DINO MOOSTASH. 10-1-2011 012 And so, to conclude, no donuts.  No apple butter, no apple streusel, no fresh pies and no apple pancake mix.  I know, I know – it’s fall and I’m apple-obsessed.  It’s probably a good thing because I’ve been baking and eating too much pumpkin ice cream.  See why I need to bank in an extra five pounds during the holiday season?  I’m helpless against the powers of baked goods/all things peppermint-flavored/salted caramel mocha’s!!  Gah!!

Charlie, Forever 4.

So I’m having a moment.  I was looking through pictures of Charlie in her school clothes – yes I am a nerd and plan out her outfits and sometimes I even think about it when I’m laying in bed trying to fall asleep – and all of a sudden I had this flash of a tween Charlie.  Skinny legs and a cute little mod haircut…that impish grin on a 10 year old…Good Lord, what am I in for? This picture, for instance: 310757_10150314007652722_611007721_7779140_989201494_n I mean, really – how tall does she look here?  And here: 296160_10150332891887722_611007721_7884216_559165942_n These days she is afraid of the dark.  She doesn’t like being dropped off at school without a proper hug and kiss.  She carries at least one “friend” (read: stuffed animal, preferably of the dino/reptile/bird persuasion) with her evey single day.  She requests “macanoni” for “breaksast”.  She prefers to run around the house in just her skivvies. If she had a handbag, she would want to carry the cat around in it. She collects coins. There is definitely chocwate milk running through her veins. She’s seen the movie “Rio” about 500 times. She’s only 4.  So what happens when she’s 6, 8, 10??  She won’t be so little anymore.  Will she still need me?  Will she think I’m super uncool?  Will she still let me plan out her outfits? 

I Heart Weight Watchers.

So I did something I haven’t done in years.  I bought a scale. I know.  A really good one, too.  Accurate. Which is great because I’m gonna need to keep track of things with the holidays coming.  Because I LOVE the holidays and I LOVE goodies like peppermint bark and caramel apples and pumpkin pie. Because I’ve lost 12 pounds.  12 pounds!  I haven’t seen this weight since BEFORE I got pregnant with Charlie.  It seems crazy to me, that I even had that much to lose.  That somewhere in the last year I got to the place where none of my clothes were fitting, where getting dressed was a huge effort and incredibly upsetting.  But today, getting ready for church was actually fun.  I looked forward to it!  In just over three months, I’ve almost reached my “goal” weight!  So to anyone who thinks they can’t do it, you can!  I think Weight Watchers should hire me as their next spokesperson, don’t you??

Fall!!

I’ve been such a bad blogger.  What with wrapping up the fall consignment/eBay selling season, the start of school for the girls and MOPS for me, and some other fun things that have dropped in my lap, I haven’t had much time to sit down and focus on my little corner of the web.  The triple digits are (hopefully) on their way out.  Thank goodness because I’ve been wearing my new scarf every.single.day, even though it’s 80 degrees.  Which brings me to the purpose of this post: fall shopping.  I know, I thought it was beyond me this year!  But then I turned a sweet profit from selling so shopping: here I come!! On the books: il_570xN_243020045 This AH-MAZING scarf from Scout & Catalogue.  It’s huge but super-light.  I’m obsessed with it!   87660091_5fawjcE1_c This darling tunic/dress from Fossil.  I got this little silver belt to go with it.  Adorable!!   _6551524_6610503 These two lovelies from Nordstrom.  Love boho blouses and cowlnecks!! Happy Fall, y’all!!

We Will Never Forget.

So when we found out that we were moving I decided to do a little “blog project” to commemorate our departure.  I grabbed my camera and spent a couple days taking trains and cabs to all of the locations that had meant something to me over the past decade in sweet home Chicago.  One of the places I visited was a commercial photography studio, the home of my first “real” job in the city.  It was also the answer to the question, “Where were you when…the twin towers fell??”  You can read my original post about that day here. Now, 10 years later, the memories are as fresh as the day that great tragedy happened.  I think it is just CRAZY if you weren’t deeply affected by all the ceremonies and memorials shown today…and yet I’m sure there are some who go about their daily lives and September 11th is nothing but a passing thought. For me, it was a game changer.  I had been living in a huge metropolitan city for a year and was far away from my family.  I will never, ever forget the feeling of standing outside that studio and looking east into downtown at the Sears Tower.  It was a beautiful, crisp day in the WIndy City as well, and who’s to say that a 5th plane wouldn’t have found its way to us.  I believe that man is inherently evil.  I believe that it is only through Christ that we are forgiven and given Eternal Life.  I also believe there is a very special place in Hell for the men that drove those planes into the twin towers, the Pentagon, and that field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At the end of the day, I know as a Christian that my God is a good God, a just God.  And I know that justice will be served.  But I can’t live in fear.  I KNOW that fear is not from God.  What I DO know is this – Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” We will Never Forget. Psalms 91:1 – “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High 
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Saying Goodbye.

My high school drama teacher, Jan Jones, passed away this past Tuesday.  Although I haven’t seen or talked to her in years, the memories of my time with her came rushing back when I heard the news.  We moved to Tyler the summer before my junior year.  I was the new girl, once again, and I’m sure the sheer presence of this very tough woman had me shaking in my boots.  Our relationship was definitely love/hate, and there were times that I was sure she was out to make my life miserable.  I was 17, very impressionable, eager to please, wanting to fit in but shine on my own at the same time.  I was rebellious and selfish, a diva in my own mind.  Looking back, I’m sure Jones saw me (and hundreds like me) walk through her doors and tough love was the only thing that kept me focused. I think deep down, I always held it against her that she never gave me that role – the one that would surely bring me applause and accolades – the one that would prove I was really something special.  Instead, I was a supporting player and the Vice President of our drama club, somewhat behind the scenes, always just in the middle…average is probably the word I would have used at the time.  And yet, I think back to her tough love and at 33, I get it.  If it weren’t for her making me practice my tin man walk for an hour (Yes, I was the Tin Man in our children’s production of “The Wizard of Oz”), circling the inside of the theatre in tears (I so remember the tears), I don’t know if I would have had the guts to go to Baylor to major in theatre performance.  I don’t know if I would have had the guts to throw myself into the program there and literally leave my soul out on the stage for four years. I wouldn’t have gone to NYC for the summer before senior year of college to study acting and live in Gramercy Park BY MYSELF.  And I definitely wouldn’t have gotten on that plane to Chicago 11 years ago with my dad’s $100 bill and 6 suitcases, ready to start my life. So really, I have a lot to thank Ms. Jones for.  She made me hungry, gave me a will to succeed that has stayed with me all these years.  Good night, Jones…

Dino-Mite!!

You know you’ve just had a killer birthday party when you’re too tired to do anything but lay on the couch and eat cake.  It’s just too much trouble to clean up the tissue paper and deflated balloons, so you leave the mess for tomorrow and hope your toddler/cat doesn’t swallow anything they shouldn’t.  You order in because all meal-planning has gone out the window and dishes and the laundry start piling up – but all you can do is crawl into bed for a 3 hour nap.  The dinosaur party for Charlie’s 4th was a huge success.  We rented a gargantuan bounce house/water slide and I have to recommend it to everyone – a crowd pleaser in this triple digit weather and worth every penny!!  Here’s Charlie trying it out before her friends arrived: charliedinoparty 020 charliedinoparty 021 I found these inflatable dinos at Oriental Trading Company and they were a hit as well!  Good thing we don’t have any furniture in the front part of our house because it’s looking a bit like the “Dinosaurs Alive!” exhibit at the Ft. Worth Zoo.  Vann and I actually woke up to a T-Rex standing in our bedroom doorway. charliedinoparty 027 Pink and green were the colors of choice – and you just can’t have a party without balloons, now can you?? charliedinoparty 035 Mimi drew hot pink dino tracks leading up to our front door… charliedinoparty 043 And a special friend was there to welcome the party guests… charliedinoparty 045 And outsourcing the cake turned out to be THE best decision EVAH.  Chocolate with raspberry filling??  Yes, please.  Goodbye, Weight Watchers points…for the year!!!! charliedinoparty 064 The kids came in from outside to sing “Happy Birthday” and eat the spectacular cake… charliedinoparty 068 charliedinoparty 075 charliedinoparty 077 …and then went back out for some more waterslide action.  More of those pics to come courtesy of Poppy (I stayed inside where it was COOL!!)… And last but not least… cookiefavor …some pink dino cookies to take home as a parting gift… And we have a happy little girl who turns 4 on Thursday.  She thinks her birthday started last week and will last every day until her next birthday.  Hmm…turns out the apple doesn’t fall tooooo far from the tree…

A Sauna of My Very Own.

When I was pregnant with Charlie we were living in our 2 bedroom apartment in Chicago. No central air.  3 window units. Vann would come home from work to find me in front of the dining room window unit with my shirt up over my belly.  With my hands braced against the glass, I would stand there, all.day.long, letting that coooool air penetrate every last cell of my being.  OMG was it hot up in there! Ah, those memories linger… Especially because last night our downstairs unit went kaput.  Oh, yeah. It was a lovely temp outside – 106, I think? Here’s what our thermostat reads today: photo 84 degrees.  Inside my house.  And could get worse before the day is up. And, as a bonus, my bathroom is like a sauna!  So there’s no need to spend money on expensive spa treatments – I’ll just sit on the edge of my tub for 20 minutes. 

Staycation.

Whew, it’s been a little heavy around here, no??  Well, in an effort to lighten things up a bit, I thought I would tell you all a little anecdote about my dear Charlie.  Awhile ago Mimi offered to keep C for the week prior to her birthday party – which actually works out perfectly because Divine Consign is the same weekend and I still have yet to tag all my items and bag them up for drop-off next Friday.  I made the executive decision to spare myself a lot of stress and have her cake made instead of giving my baking skills another go.  Good call.  So earlier today we were in her bedroom because I told her I needed to pack her bag and she promptly stomped past me and drug it out herself.  She then filled it with all of her “friends” and practically sat on it to get it zipped.  Sound familiar?  I’ve had to do that a time or two. When I told her I needed her bag for her actual clothes she stomped past me and drug out the two items she told me she was going to wear next week: her Emler Swim School t-shirt and a pair of too-small shorts.  Then she told me that Vann and I aren’t allowed to sleep at Mimi’s – we are to drop her off and come back home, making sure we take Baby Ella with us. Which then made me think that Vann was probably going to be thrilled to get an entire night’s sleep without a toddler showing up at his bedside at 2 am demanding to go potty.  Toddler Staycation @ Mimi’s house = Happy and Rested Daddy.  Hmm.  This could work in my favor.  Especially because I really want these: 119107419_ODDOzxew_c Do you think he’ll be THAT well-rested???