Aunt Missy and Anna Kate...

She brought by a cute coat for Anna Kate for her birthday!!!

J.R. with his homeade Chinese toy...

He really likes these toys our dear friend Mindy's mom from China made for him and Anna Kate. Probably all of their toys are made in China, but it's special to have homeade ones made with love just for them :) Thanks Mindy!!!

My thoughts on Big D...

I've decided that I'd much rather live in a small little friendly Texas town like I grew up in than Dallas, but I'm going to make the most of it here anyway. Since being in Dallas, I spend half my time in public feeling weird for being friendly (I've had countless experiences where people have looked at me like, "Why in the world are you talking to me? I do not know you.") and the other half feeling helplessly style-clueless b/c every one here is a total perfectionist about everything they own from their cars to their boobs. It just makes the world a much lonlier place when people are not friendly to each other and it makes me sad that so many people live that way in my dear "Friendly State." When I do meet a warm friendly face here, it makes me want to jump on them to give them a huge hug :)

My poetry for the day...

Messy house, oh messy house
How do you get this way?
One day I clean you spick-and-span
The next you are in disarray.
Laundry, dishes, toys and papers
Grow at exponential rates
As I wonder how these things
Can take over my home and become what I hate?
My mom and mother-in-law seem to know
Just how to keep a home looking its best
But when I try to implement their suggestions
Their methods don't seem to put an end to my mess.
Is it my toddlers' boundless creativity
That spreads our things here and there
Or is it that I’m just too lazy
And don’t spend enough time keeping my home with care?
I’m sure it’s just that old physics law
That says all order craves disorder
But I’ll never figure out how some moms defy that law
While it has me wanting to run for the border.



Funny related story...a couple of weeks ago I had a playgroup at my house with Libby and two sweet moms I'd recently met, so Libby and I didn't know them very well. Before they came, I focused my cleaning efforts on the living area and guest bathroom, so I didn't finish the kitchen area. So I piled all the dirty dishes in the sink and there were a few that didn't fit, so I left those on the counter by the sink thinking, "We won't be in the kitchen, it will be fine." So one of the moms had a 3-yr-old son that kept standing in my kitchen and staring at my sink area and trying to climb on chairs and stools to get a better look THE ENTIRE TIME. I said, "It seems kind of like he's never seen dishes left out by the sink before." And his mom said, "I don't think he ever has."

Boy or girl?

Short story - probably a girl :)

Long story (I always like to tell the long stories) - I got to go get a sonogram yesterday because my friend does them at a pregnancy center and she's training someone who needed to practice...I was hoping to find out the sex. Well, we didn't find anything out for sure b/c we didn't see any "man parts" which should be visible at 15 weeks if they are there, so it's probably a girl, but too early to call it for sure (although you can never call a girl 100% b/c there could always be something hiding or covered up or still developing). So I'm super excited b/c I would LOVE for it to be a girl :) I'll keep you posted if I go in again and discover anything more definite.

This Weekend...

On Saturday we visited daddy's new office and then Dot at her alzheimer's (sp?) home and got to spend some lovely time sitting outside with her then eating Chinese take-out which she loved.

Then my dad drove up to take me out to dinner to celebrate my 28th birthday :)

And we had a delicious Black Forest cake and those are the flowers Jon gave me for my bday a few days ago (flowers are getting old quickly like me).

And on Sunday afternoon Aunts Jen and Kiss (for Charissa) stopped by!!! And Jon and I went out on a date to Central Market (our fave date spot) while Mamaw babysat.

my boring quirks...

This a response to tags a while back from my friends Kylie and Carole for six of my boring quirks...it took me long time to think of these boring quirks...

1. I LOVE to make lists for everything...you probably can't even comprehend the extent to which this is true.
2. I feel the most suffocating form of anxiety when I’m not volunteering or helping others somehow…the only way to cure this anxiety I get is to volunteer somehow.
3. I’m super sensitive about my mothering abilities and about "looks" from kid-haters that think kids ruin our pristine perfect self-self-self world in America...there are tons of them out there, but I only became aware it after I had kids (and the fact that I used to be one). I adore being around low-income folks b/c they always smile at and talk to my kids and love babies and look at me with honor and respect just for BEING a mom.
4. I LOVE conservative talk radio...but I wish they talked more about my #1 political issue, which is our national debt. I'd be sooooooooo happy if the American government paid off our entire debt balance and we operated from a budget in the black...even if that meant raising taxes....if we're not willing to sacrifice by paying cash now for the things our country needs/wants, then it's not a sacrifice for which we should be making future generations pay.
5. I’m allergic to my wedding ring, so I usually don’t wear it at all…it makes my finger dry and itchy…probably b/c of sulfates in soaps (that I'm highly allergic to) that get under it when I wash my hands in public restrooms from the times I do wear it out.
6. I enjoy a slow-paced life where there is always plenty of time to talk to and enjoy people…I live in a chronic state of indecision, procrastination, and daydreams and people that buzz around in a chronic state of productivity kind of stress me out. (Good thing this isn’t a job application;)
7. A BONUS QUIRK: I do not care about sports at all.

The funniest movie....

What Hapens in Vegas...maybe it's just Jon and me, but we laughed till we had tears in our eyes. It's right up there with Office Space as one of the funniest movies I've ever seen :)

Mamaw saves the day!!!

My mom, aka Mamaw, flew in last night to help me with the kids while I hopefully start to get well. It was just the best birthday present ever b/c I really need help right now and I LOVE having a friend during the days while Jon's at work. The kids are so happy she's here too.

"Mom, look! Gabby is on t.v.!!!"

Guess who it was on t.v.?


This is Gabby - Jon's mom. Actually, Kelly's hair and outfit today on the show looked exactly like something Gabby would wear and there was totally a resemblance if you saw Gabby in person.

p.s. The only reason we're watching t.v. is b/c I have the most awful cold with all those lovely Nyquil symptoms to go with it and I got tired of getting out of bed to clean up broken glass and toddler other disasters, so I'm letting the t.v. babysit for me...

The Red Elephant

We went to a fun little pre-school PTA kick-off party this morning w/ lots of fun kid activities and there was a balloon artist. When we were in line, I asked Anna Kate what animal she wanted her balloon to be...she said, "an elephant." Then I asked her what color elephant she wanted and she said, "a red elephant." I thought surely she has no idea about the Republican party yet, but she does listen to talk radio with me in the car...it must be a fluke that of all the animals that's what she'd come up with. Either way, I figured Bubba (my dad's grandpa name) sure would be proud of her pick ;)

I love MOPS!!!

Oh MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) is so wonderful. I didn't do it last year and missed it so much. But we had our first meeting for MOPS this year and I'm so excited and there's just something about it that always leaves me with good vibes of hope and feeling encouraged as a mom. If I ran the world, not only would it be a great place to live (yeah right), but MOPS would be required for all young moms :)

This morning at the ob/gyn's office...

So I took Anna Kate and J.R. w/ me to my monthly ob/gyn appt this morning...I'd checked and double-checked there would be no "internal exam" and it would be just listening to the baby's heartbeat. Well, we did that pretty gracefully and sure enough there wasn't an internal exam, but then (surprise!) I had to sign all the pregnancy paperwork. Well, if you can picture me and my almost 3 yr. old and 1 yr. old in a tight office filled floor-to-ceiling with paperwork documents and for some strange reason they were both BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS TODAY while I'm signing papers to release liability if I need blood tranfusions, a c-section and for a circumcision if it's a boy and they had to tell me all this other information that went in one ear and right out the other. Thank the Lord the paperwork lady had a kind and patient attitude. Then we're told we need to head up for (surprise!) bloodwork...bloodwork and nursing are the two most terrible things about having children and no one really gives you a choice in either matter. So Anna Kate has to stay out in a waiting area by herself b/c she can't be by me while I'm giving blood b/c of more "liability," but I get to hold J.R. and he starts off o.k. and then when the blood's a flowing, he starts squirming like crazy so it keeps knocking out the needle from the vein and she keeps having to re-dig to get it flowing again and I see Anna Kate disappear down the hall while I'm pinned down literally and I'm thinking, this is crazy or I'm crazy, one or the other. And we get the same comment from every stranger we encounter the entire day which seems to be a lot of people and guess what it is? "You've got your hands full!" And I just spare them the fact that I'm there b/c I'm pregnant with my third b/c on days like this, one of us may pass out at the thought! And all I've got to show for this morning of blood and mom-valor is a super-bruised sore arm and two pooped kids!

How does your garden grow?

I don't know, but I really enjoy it when it does...I planted these coleuses in May.

Admiring mommy's coleuses :)

Our sweet little guy...

My involvements this year...

We moved here about a year ago and for the first time in my life I had a *difficult* time finding friends (every one I met was friendly, but already had their "lives" and "friends" mapped out and I wasn't in the picture so it was like jumping through firey hoops just to try to hang-out), so I felt so lonely/isolated all last year and this year I have taken desperate measures to assure I meet friends and therefore will have the opportunity to raise my children with a sense of dear family friends and belonging in a community.

1. Church (Sunday mornings, women’s Bible study, Building Blocks)
2. MOPS
3. Preschool Moms Association (on the Board, playgroups, recipe club)
4. Our Homeowners Association
5. YMCA
6. Lawyer’s Auxillary (like a junior service league for lawyer's wives)
7. TriDelta alumnae association
8. and Anna Kate is in pre-school 1 day a week and pre-ballet 1 day a week

Angelina Ballerina lives at our house...

Anna Kate LOVES to dance ballet...all the time. He class doesn't start until October when she turns 3, but we got her ballet shoes yesterday and I don't know if I'll ever get her to wear any other shoes again!

Dancing with Lambie in her ballet shoes and "princess" dress (a silky night-gown Mamaw gave her).

He's got his button!!!

J.R. has recently started holding his belly button throughout the day...JUST LIKE ANNA KATE has always done! Especially when they are tired or drinking their milk...it's like how some kids suck their thumb, ours hold their buttons. One thing about this is that they do NOT like overalls b/c it restricts their access to their buttons.

The Booda Dome...

is the name of our cat's new litter box designed to keep litter from being kicked and tracked around the house.
We thought an added benefit would be that it would keep J.R. out of the litter. But he just crawls right on in...usually right after a bath, so we get to do the whole thing over again.

The Diggingest Dog - Part II.....

You may remember this post where Jon spent 2 weekends installing chicken wire around the entire perimenter of our fence in 100 degree weather to keep our dog, Ty, from digging out b/c we were told, "No dog will dig through chicken wire...it's very uncomfortable for their paws."

Yesterday we got the umpteenth million phone call from someone saying, "We think we've found your dog."
He dug through it. And his luck at surviving and ending up safely back home despite all odds remains in tact. Gees, I love that dog...can anyone tell me how to keep him from digging out??? We've tried EVERYTHING from a shock collar to this...

Anna Kate's 1st Day of School...

She says, "I'm ready to go to school!" I'm thinking, "Like I'd let you wear that t-shirt dress on your first day of school."

Her classroom and her dear teachers Mrs. Ana and Mrs. Jeanne (pronounced French-sounding-style).

She loved every minute of it and did great!! She also loved that her "best friend" Trey was in her class :)

Belated pics from our trip to Austin last week...

Anna Kate and J.R. got to stay with Gabby and Papa (Jon's parents) at their gorgeous home on the lake. They obviously had a great time....

Anna Kate driving the boat with Papa

Riding in the golf cart with Papa


J.R. loves Luke...their golden retriever (J.R. loves all animals so much and he is gentle to them)

At their club-house pool

Anna Kate's chair for watching Disney movies

J.R.'s in another pickle!

He is CONSTANTLY moving and exploring these days and gets himself into some "tight spots." Can you spot it in this picture?

Our NEW family...

Anna Kate likes to line up her NEW family...J.R., Anna Kate, and the baby that is in mommy's tummy. J.R. doesn't enjoy playing this "game" as much as her b/c it involves just sitting still and being our NEW family. Here she's explaining to J.R...

Miss Creativity

Anna Kate is always imagining and being creative these days...she's usually wearing her ballet clothes or her swimsuit or her backpack in hopes that we're going to one of her 3 favorite places that day...even though she's never even been to school yet.
Here she is "skating" on her "skates"

Here she is pretending to be a turtle

She says these are her new "floaties"

This is her "oven mitt"

And then today she told me that she was going up the street to visit the "king." And I said, "What will you do when you see him?" And she said, "I'll dance with him." And I was kind of speechless and told her her best bet was to go to sleep and meet him in her dreams and she complied! Score for mom!!!! She's kind of into Disney princesses at the moment....she will just stare at their pictures...

Before and After...

My *handy* husband installed a new light fixture I got a great deal on from Craigslist...this was the old one...it's for sale along with 50 others just like it on Craigslist if you're interested...
After...ignore the high chairs in both pics...they don't add much to the decor :)

We went on vacation!

We actually don't have any pictures to show for it, except for the one I took when we got back home after the million hour car ride, but we had a fab time. We visited both our parents in Austin and Jon and I got more Jon/April time to just spend together than we've had since our honeymoon and got caught up on a lot of movies...

But now we're back and today is Jon's first day at his new job and at 8:19 am I made a list of all the things I had already accomplished....

• been hanging out with J.R. since 6:01 am


• fed our kids breakfast


• cut up a huge watermelon


• taken trash and recycling out


• changed a blow-out poopie that got on my pjs too


• listened to fussing from kids who'd be in better moods if they were still asleep


• told Anna Kate we're not going swimming or to school today...even though she's wearing her swimsuit and backpack


• unloaded the dishwasher


• talked to my mom about something she found for me at TJ Maxx


• fed our pets


• planned my goals for the day (update our finances in MS Money, pick up Jon’s drycleaning, get our mail from Libby and give a dress to her, cook bacon-wrapped jalapenos for recipe club tonight, laundry, clip JR's nails)


• had queasy tummy visit from #3


• looked for my Bible and couldn't find it


• felt ready for nap-time :)

Arriving home from vacation.....