Bullfrogs & Butterflies

MY PERSONAL FUNDRAISING PAGE...Please read my story!

2011-08-28T17:18:00.002-07:00

I need your help in raising money for a great cause. Please take a quick minute to read my link and story! Thanks! I know my blogger friends will step up...

https://birthmark.ejoinme.org/?tabid=300115&joinme=8023

Where does the time go?

2011-03-27T20:24:00.002-07:00

Wow this site is STILL up...cracking me up! Thought I would check in and see where I left off. I can't believe it was almost two years ago. Facebook and Twitter have taken up my time but since I left Twitter over a year ago I thought I would check in. New post soon to come...got lots to chat and update on. LOTS...

Summer Vacation

2009-07-29T20:32:00.009-07:00

Well we finally made it to the beach this year. The lucky winner was Destin, FL and may I say it was an awesome choice. I have been to A LOT of beaches but I have to say Destin beach is by far the best yet! We stayed two weeks and the girls had a blast. We held and fed live alligators, we went crab hunting at night on the beach and found lots of crabs. We are now the proud owners of a hermit crab as a result! We also saw dolphins, went boogie boarding, built lots of sand castles, rode bumper cars, automatic boats and raced in some go-karts. It was a memorable vacation with family and friends...I look forward to going back again real soon!

We also drove up to Seaside, FL for a day...here are a few of my favorite pictures I took with my new camera from Australia. It has been my favorite toy since I made the purchase! :-)

Easter 2009

2009-04-11T21:41:00.005-07:00

My precious girls dressed for Easter services today. I'm SO glad they still like to be dressed the same! I know it won't last forever so I'm taking full advantage of it while I still can!! LOL!

Jeepers! My baby turned 4!!

2009-03-30T08:44:00.013-07:00

It's been Scooby Doo in our house since ClaireBear was about two years old. I tried it fight it as long as I could so finally we here are with a Scooby Doo birthday party! Here are a few pictures of Claire's birthday, I know some of you have seen them already on Facebook...but for you non-fb users here you go!

Claire's all time favorite character is Daphne on the cartoon so that is the birthday cake she asked for. Of course my girls get to pick the cake...so I did the best I could without a character Wilton pan!

This is the mystery machine I made as a prop for the party. This was the starting point for the mystery that was to be solved. If you look in the lower right-hand corner you can see one of the clues!

The first thing we did was dress each other up as mummies. Each kid had a partner and a roll of toilet paper to use!

Next was to solve the mystery. Claire's presents were dropped off in on the dining room table and I had the parents move them to the 'secret spot' while they were being mummies. Each child took a turn reading the Scooby Doo mystery clues.

They even had to go outside. One of the clues was hidden in someone's mailbox...this is a picture of the kiddos running after the other half of the kiddos who found the clue in the neighbors mailbox!

There were a total of nine clues scattered inside and outside the house. Each clue led to the next and they had to figure out what happen to the missing presents! They finally solved the mystery when they found Claire's presents inside the trunk of Daddy's car!!

We then opened presents, ate Daphne cake with Scooby and Shaggy's favorite ice cream and Phantom Punch.

One of her favorite presents was the Fancy Nancy Dress Up Trunk (she actually got two of them!) Here is one of my favorite pictures of her after her friends helped her dress up in the Fancy Nancy clothes.

And finally a picture of Scooby Doo and the gang!! (Thanks GT for being Scooby Doo!)

I knew it was bound to happen...

2008-12-08T20:33:00.006-07:00

BEFORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AFTER!!!!!!!!

NUFF SAID..........

scissors and a three year old, don't mix!!!!!!!!

Returned from the Outback

2008-11-26T00:43:00.016-07:00

Now that was a wild trip...I had so much fun and learned A LOT. I got to see the most beautiful scenery, I caught up with a high school friend that I haven't seen in over 15 years and I actually got to see some kangaroos. I was going to blog more but time just got away from me. So for now I will just post some of my favorite pictures during the trip. It's going to be hard to decide but I'll do my best.

On the last full day of sightseeing I headed to downtown Sydney and bought my Christmas present!! After TONS of research, converting Aussie dollars and collecting GST (government sales tax) we decided it was a must buy. I will post about the purchase further down in this post so keep reading... :-)
Checking out the Sydney Opera House...

Cockatoo's in the Botanical Gardens...
All those black blobs are bats hanging from the trees in the botanical gardens. At dusk they started to stir.

A beautiful view of the botanical gardens with downtown in the background.

In the blue mountains with the Three Sisters (rock formations) in the background. The blue haze in the far right background is oil from the Eucalyptic trees there, hence the name "blue mountains". :-)

Katoomba Falls. I took this picture riding on a glass bottom cable car going from one side of the mountain to the other.

My honey at Manly Beach...the water was definitely too cold to swim but that didn't stop all the surfers!
Night time view of Darling Harbor. We took a ferry over and had dinner on the harbor at blue fish.
YES!! I got a picture of the mighty fast Kangaroos! My dear friend Vanessa lives on some property where a pack of 20 - 30 roos come in her yard every morning. If you look closely you can see this mama and her joey eating next to her bent over. That's Monty the horse on the right. They make it a little hard to catch the roos on film as well. :-)
My friend lives out in the county about hour and half from Melbourne. I took a flight on Monday to Melbourne and stayed with her and her boyfriend for three days. They live in Mt. Franklin and this is the view from the back porch. Absolutely peaceful, beautiful! Bella and Monty the horses are missing from the picture and you can't hear the Australian birds singing!! :-(

Now, if you made it this far you're doing good! LOL! So my early Christmas present was a new digital SLR camera. If you known me for any length of time you know I LOVE TO TAKE PICTURES!!! I've been wanting (read whining) for a camera that I could zoom in with on objects, people, etc. Thanks to John's friend/co-worker I purchased a Canon EOS Rebel Xsi digital camera with an IS (18-200mm) lens and has 12.2 mega pixels! This thing is incredible!!!

Below are two pictures I was able to take before we had to head to the airport. My only regret is not getting the camera at the beginning of the trip because then I really could zoom in on those kangaroos and birds! Oh well, I've had 18 hours of flying time to read the manuals cover to cover now time to do some shooting...

I'm in Sydney Australia!

2008-11-13T21:20:00.004-07:00

Now this will be an interesting post. DH has been working in Australia off and on all summer and I finally got to come over this trip. Thanks to the best MIL in the world - I'm kid-free in another country with my wonderful husband for 11 days. We are staying right on the harbor where I can see downtown, Harbor Bridge is about 100 yards from our corporate apartment. This is only my second day and it's incredible. Last night we hung out in Chatswood and right now we are getting ready to go in the city and see The Rocks, the Opera House and botanical gardens where apparently you can view some bats!!

Here is a picture I took last night from our balcony!!!!!! That is Harbor Bridge and Luna Park below. It's just breathtaking views all around!
Tomorrow we plan on taking the train to the Blue Mountains. I've been told by several people we need to do that so we have it planned. Well that's all for now...more to come soon

!

Halloween 08'

2008-10-26T10:26:00.005-07:00

Every year our friends hold a Halloween Party for adults only and of course it's dress up. Last year John and I went as Charlie Brown and Lucy. This is what we went as King Kong and his girl (Fay Wray)!

Here are me and my peeps! LOL!

Left to right: Kim = Firewoman, Colleen = Catherine Zeta Jones, Me = Fay Wray (from King Kong), Julie = "A one night stand!" Natalie = Hooters waitress! We had a total blast, we're already try to think of what to be for next year!

There were lots of Tony Romo's and Jessica Simpson's too!
Check out her arm!!
Some others were Sarah Palin, Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Michael Douglas. It was so much fun!! I love Halloween. Wait until you see our garage this weekend. It's already setup and I can't even park my car in there...

These days

2008-10-17T16:45:00.004-07:00

Well, I got a message from a friend who was checking my blog and commented that "it was still the same". SORRY!! Life gets so crazy I don't take two seconds to jot things down. It's seems when I lived in Phoenix I had nothing going on, nothing to do and whined all the time. Now my life is going so fast I don't have time to whine!

I started playing on a soccer league this past summer after I found out I had plantar's fasciitis in my right foot. It started in Arizona but I didn't know what it was so I blew it off. Now three years later I have it so bad I can't walk. I wore a walking boot for almost four weeks. Had several cortizone shots in my heel, had custom orthoditics made and take Celebrex daily. As of today, I'm out of my boot still wearing orthodics, still taking Celebrex and getting Physical Therapy. So running has been out since my TAH (Total Abdominal Hysterectomy) in April. Now soccer is out and exercising is non-existent. At least for now...I'm just hoping to make it through the rest of the year healthy so I can start fresh next year. :-)

Recently I helped my dear friend Natalie raise over $30,000 for the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation. It is very close to my heart since her daughter has lived through the heartache and pain of one since she was born. The event was held at the Texas Motor Speedway. Considering the economy we were very successful!

Amongst all that, I've been volunteering at Sissy's school and helping with her two soccer teams. She wasn't supposed to be on two teams but it ended up that way. That's another day for another post. :-) Also, we've been busy getting Grandma Twyla settled into her new Texas home. She is such a social butterfly and already plugged in the community. We finished hanging pictures last week. Next is some curtains and then she should be all set. Let's see, Sugar and I have enjoyed hanging out since Sissy went back to school. Although she is definitely giving the "testy three's" a new meaning. Some days we go for bike rides and have play dates on the days she's not in school (Tuesday & Thursday). Bike riding and swimming are the only activities I am allowed to do and since it was a low of 43 last night swimming is out. LOL! Right now we are curled up in the bed as she has a high fever, a little vomiting and a sore throat.

Daddy is busy traveling especially to Australia! He just returned from his second trip there and he supposed to go back next month. We are hoping I get to join him this trip but it's not confirmed yet. Please say a little prayer that I get to go. DH and I haven't been on a trip together in a LONG time. I've also volunteered to take on a Girl Scout Daisy Troop. Basically, all of Sissy's 1st grade friends. As soon as my background check clears we can start, I'm so excited. I remember doing Brownies when I was little and I still remember it to this day! Sissy is SO excited I'm going to be the troop leader. And Daddy is filling in for one of the soccer coaches so she is even more excited. Good times...

That wraps it up...our school carnival is tonight. It's the biggest fundraiser of the year and I have to go back up to volunteer. Daddy is picking up the Sugar's prescriptions and then coming home to relieve me. He such a great Daddy!!

Here's til next month...okay I'll try to make it sooner, I promise! :-)

Growing Up

2008-09-10T06:57:00.004-07:00

I really can't describe what I feeling right now. I guess you can say it's bittersweet. As of August 24th, I have now a 6 year old. I'm the parent of a 1st grader. I'm a soccer mom.

How in the world did that happen?

Since the day I was pregnant I was told, "oh treasure them, they grow up so fast!" Or, on my many trips to Wal-Mart when they were screaming for a bottle or a snack, people would stop and say, "I remember when mine were that age..."

At the time it seemed so far away that it really didn't mean much. At least to me it didn't. I would just smile and nod my head yes and hurry to the nearest checkout to prevent a complete meltdown in the middle of the grocery store.

This year I'm busy driving carpool, doing homework, packing lunches and shuffling to practices and games. And now that Sugar goes to preschool two days a week, the days are a lot longer and I find myself missing her.

But it's slowly coming to reality what all those people were saying to me...they do grow up so fast! It won't be long before Sugar starts kindergarten and I'll have more of a reality check.

And, even though I can make it through a trip to the grocery store without flying goldfish, spilled drinks and screaming toddlers. Today, I will make it through Sugar terrorizing the dogs, climbing the cabinets and emptying my wallet.

But more importantly, I'm going treasure my little girl today because they ARE growing up so fast.

A busy summer

2008-08-17T22:46:00.002-07:00

Wow, this summer has been super crazy busy. I swore before school ended last year that we would have a nice relaxing summer. I only scheduled one three day vacation to San Antonio which included Papa coming to visit for ten days and two small camps (one for each of the girls).

Well before I could blink, we added Schlitterbahn waterpark to the San Antonio trip, drove to Memphis for a week and packed and moved GT's house to Texas. Then, over the course of the next month and a half we had three different out of town guests staying with us.

Now I'm not complaining...we had a wonderful summer and enjoyed every bit of company that came our way, it just went by SO fast!

Now this weekend is Sissy's birthday and then school starts! Now that's even crazier. Sissy's starts 1st grade and we took advantage of the tax-free weekend shopping. Sugar starts a new preschool on Tuesday/Thursday that is right next door to Sissy's school, I'm so excited. Our plan is to ride bikes to school this year. We practiced once last week during school registration and it went really well. Let's just hope it's not triple digits again when school starts.

Well that's our summer it doesn't make much for an interesting post but I felt an update was in order.

Quite frankly, I think there is so much to blog about I'm getting a little overwhelmed...for example, do you know I started playing on a co-ed soccer team or that I got curtains made for our living room and surprised DH or that we may have some family actually moving to Texas VERY SOON near us or that Sissy is starting on a new soccer team next week or that Sugar is completely potty trained????

Well I guess considered yourself updated... :-)

Hand sculpted dog cake

2008-07-26T13:51:00.005-07:00

UPDATE: This is an update to the questions that have popped up in comments. I apologize for the fast and quick post yesterday on the cake but I was literally running out the door.

So here goes...

This was a practice cake because it was the first time I've made homemade fondant icing. It turned out great but I got some great tips from a dear friend (who by the way is way more qualified and gifted than I'll ever be) on how to make the fondant taste a little better.

I got the idea from here but after I watched the video I did not realize the sculptor in the video was a top New York City-chef specializing in custom designed cakes and owner/founder of Confetti Cakes. She is AMAZING!

I watched the video with the girls and after it was done Sissy said, "Mom, I wish you could make me that cake for my birthday?" And I in shock said, "Honey, I'm sure that's a professional." There was a short pause and then she said, "Maybe you can take a cake class!"

ROFL!!!!!! (Rolling On The Floor Laughing)

Of course, I started to think about it and finally curiosity caught the cat and I thought to myself, "maybe I can make a mini one???" So there I was watching the video AGAIN observing every detail...steps, ingredients, tools, technique, etc.

It took 1 1/2 days to make the cake. I baked all the cakes and built the body on Friday afternoon/evening, then made the head the following afternoon. I don't know how many total hours I spent but it actually went quicker than I expected.

I used my homemade fondant icing and hand sculpted all the fur using a kid's Dixie plastic knife. I've got some high quality tools around here. I made two cakes, one 8 inch and one large batter bowl. Although, I ran out of cakes and still needed to make the head so I made a batch of brownies in a small batter bowl. Like I said this was practice. LOL!

So there you have it. The next go round' I'm going to make two batches of fondant with my new recipe (thanks Sweet Diva), modify the color of the dog, add some bling since it is a 'Glamour Dog' party and hopefully make it all using cake. :-)

i HEART mudrooms

2008-07-23T19:11:00.006-07:00

Compared to the other houses I've lived in, this house by far has the biggest laundry room. Now I think that is a bonus...but really how can it be a bonus if it has no storage/cabinets/closets? Because if you've read this blog for any length of time you know that storage and organization are my two BF's. :-)

I've always been a big fan of mudrooms...the type you see in some very large homes. You know the kind where a room/hallway that connects to the garage or laundry room. Since we didn't have a separate room for one in our house, I decided to have one built in my extra large laundry room (off the garage.) Once I got the idea of what I wanted, it didn't take me long to find someone to build a storage unit that had mudroom-like functionality.

I'm so excited to say that it is finally finished and turned out better than I ever expected. Alas, here is our new made-up mudroom...
Now you can't see this very well in the picture but the backing is beadboard. My friend also cut out holes in the backing so I can still use my two electrical outlets. On the bottom bench (where it is stained) they are actually three hinged seats that lift up where the girls can store their shoes. I even had them pick which cubby they wanted so they could put their shoes inside. I still have to purchase three baskets to put up top but I'm truly enjoying it. No more over flowing rack of shoes and over stuffed hooks. :-)

I might even buy some of those rub-on letters and label the cubbies with their initials. I know...too much, right? It was Better Homes & Garden idea not mine!
(I think if you click the pic it might get bigger)

Latest home projects

2008-07-20T15:31:00.005-07:00

There is no denying that when my dad is in town he means business. I just realized that I have not blogged much, if not at all about my amazing father. It's not because I don't think about him it's just that I don't see him near as much as I want to. He lives out of state and it's not exactly an eight hour drive away either.

But my dad has to be one of the most creative, smart, hardworking, man that I know. He can literally work on anything and fix it. Not only is he good at it but he enjoys helping others. My friends and neighbors know him and want to know where they can get a Rent-a-Dad! He's that good and knowledgeable. In fact, in the past some neighbors have paid him to do help around their house while he was here visiting!

Here's is the long list of what he did during his visit here a few weeks ago. Not to mention we spent three days in San Antonio and he still managed to get all this done. I really felt bad he worked so much during his visit, but every time we finished one project he would say, "what else you got on your list?" That's Dad...

1. New attic flooring. (pic below)
2. New register vent in garage
3. New register in attic
4. Insulation on garage door
5. Discovered and cleaned Fresh Air Ventilation System
6. Hung new light fixture in 1/2 bath
7. Hung new mirror in 1/2 bath
8. Fixed drain in master bath
9. Fixed magazine rack in MB stall
10. Added light in Sugar's closet
11. Took down 1/2 bath mirror (was almost impossible)
12. Cleaned gutters
13. Destroyed every wasp and mud dauber nests on the house
14. Fixed curtain rod in MB
15. Repaired dryer vent hose
16. Adjusted refrigerator doors
17. Added drawer pulls in kitchen
18. Adjusted dishwasher racks
19. Fixed two drawer tracks in kitchen
20. Cleaned vents inside house and outside
21. Inspected HVAC and fixed filters
22. Removed tree stakes from front lawn
23. Wash & detailed SUV

Now is he awesome or what?? Thanks Dad for everything you do (and did)! I love you lots and miss you already!!

Heres the attic flooring he added, I couldn't get pictures of the whole area but you get the idea...

Twitter is taking over but Summer is still here

2008-06-27T22:21:00.014-07:00

I have to admit, the blogosphere is getting less and less priority these days. The newest and most popular technology-find around here is Twitter! And, if you're not twittering yet you've got to check it out. It's faster, easier, less time consuming than blogging and best of all it's FREE! On top of that, I still get to keep in touch with my friends.

As for the family, I have some new pictures for you. Sissy just completed the Challenger British Soccer Camp and Sugar had her first Ballet Recital and completed two weeks of private swim lessons. Our summer has started off with a bang including a week vacation to Memphis, TN to visit family. We also are looking forward to having Grandpa coming in town next week which will include a short trip to San Antonio Sea World and then ending the month with Vacation Bible School. Here are a few pictures from our summer thus far...

Sugar in swim lessons...the last day was Friday 'Show Off Day'
and she actually dove to the bottom of the pool and came up with a ring!

Sugar ready for her Ballet Recital. They danced to
Shirley Temple's Animal Crackers in My Soup.

Sissy at her first Soccer camp in the Texas heat. She has
absolutely fallen in love with soccer and was ready two
hours ahead of practice every day. :-)

Here they are in Memphis in Aunt Donna's backyard.
They got smart and put the sprinkler underneath the
trampoline to beat the heat!

Finally, here they are at the Memphis Zoo visiting
their favorite Panda Bear, Ya-Ya.

Most other days we are spending at the pool and visiting the library for their Summer Reading Program. It truly is a wonderful summer...

One Prayer

2008-06-10T07:27:00.005-07:00

Join us this month and other churches nationwide for One Prayer.

It's going to be amazing to see what God does during this special time.

Click here to get more details...

Boring bullet list

2008-06-06T22:06:00.005-07:00

I have lots to blog about...and pictures to post but since DH is out of the country with the cable to my camera, here is a bullet list of this past month:

* Got a new blog skin! How do you like it?
* Sugar had her first ballet recital this past weekend and she stole the show.
* DH has been gone for over two weeks, he is in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.
* Sissy's last day of kindergarten was this week. The party was fun but it was a sad day for her.
* Grandma came to visit us for a week and we had lots of fun going to the pool.
* I'm recovering very well now just limiting what I can lift and avoiding the vacuum at all cost.
* Sugar started swim lessons and vomited in class because she was so upset to go under water!
* Sissy started piano lessons and has practiced every day since Tuesday.
* Almost finished decorating my Texas-themed half bath downstairs.
* I've got 3 home improvement projects in the works & can't wait to post about them.

But most important of all, I can't wait for hubby to come home. He has one more week left and then he's home!!

The power of a Mac

2008-05-24T20:55:00.003-07:00

I dropped DH (dear husband) off at the airport last night for his 15 + 2 hour LA trip to Sydney, Australia. He is working over in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne for two weeks and then he heads to Malaysia and Singapore.

The girls and I miss him already!! I have to say though, I absolutely love my MacBook! DH landed a few hours ago safely and we just got done chatting via video iChat! I was sitting in my kitchen in suburbia Texas and he was at an Italian Cafe having a cappuccino outside in the heart of Sydney, Australia.

Isn't that incredible?? It's Sunday morning there...

Also, hubby's cell phone died and he wasn't at the hotel room so we communicated via our MacBook's! As an added bonus, DH already took some great pictures of his view from the hotel room and already uploaded them to Flickr. Now when the girls wake up in the morning I can show them pictures of where daddy is at on the AppleTV. It just keeps getting better...

Thank you Apple!

Praying...

2008-05-21T20:26:00.003-07:00

for Steven Curtis Chapman tonight. Apparently, his teenage son struck his five year old sister Maria in the driveway with the family's SUV. What a horrible accident. You can read the full story here.

Lifting him and his family up in prayer tonight!

*For those of you who do not know of him...he is one of contemporary Christian music’s most recognizable and most awarded names.

In the Midst of It

2008-05-15T10:19:00.002-07:00

There are many things over the past ten years that I have been through, some of it good and some bad. One of the bigger ones thus far has occurred over the past four weeks. DH and I finally made the decision that we would finally schedule a long overdue surgery that would no longer allow us to have children. Even though most days we thought we were done, we both still had days where we caught ourselves saying, "if we got pregnant" or "if we had another baby".

Now the surgery is over, the pathology report is clear and we are blessed with our two daughters. It's been a long four weeks for hubby and the girls. We were so blessed to have MIL come and help us through this difficult time. Everyone has worked so hard to take care of me, the girls, the house, the dogs, etc. And I know a year from now we will look back and be thankful for how far we've come as a couple and a family.

So today more than ever I want to thank you hubby for being my rock. For helping me through the tough times. As I lay here in bed recovering from what is still a long road ahead, I want to say honey I love you! You've stuck by me through it all and it's been an amazing nine years. I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Happy Anniversary!

Kids say the sweetest things, PART II

2008-05-02T20:54:00.004-07:00

It's seems Sugar is on a roll this week with her blooming personality. One minute we are punishing her and then next we are cuddling. I guess this is what happens to preschoolers during the "testy three's"

But thankfully today there was more cuddling than punishing. As a result, here is one of the conversations that occurred between Grandma and Sugar this afternoon.

Grandma: "Sugar, are you going to share your Dora blankie with Grandma today?"

(Reminder: the Dora blankie is the biggest prize possession next to the binky and we did share it with Grandma yesterday). Yes we still use a binky, don't ask...

Sugar: Shakes her head no...

Grandma: "Awwww, you're gonna break my heart."

Sugar walks over to grandma, climbs up on the ottoman, drapes the blankie over her body and plops on her lap.

Sugar: "There grandma...I fixed your heart."

Lifesong message

2008-04-28T21:32:00.002-07:00

It's only 5 minutes and 33 seconds and it could change your life...

Kids say the sweetest things

2008-04-25T10:47:00.003-07:00

This isn't the first time I have had major surgery, been stuck up in bed for weeks and can't do a whole lot of anything. Sissy has been a complete sweetheart. She has made me lots of cards and asks everyday when she gets home from school, "Mama are you feeling better?", Can I get you anything?" She is the most empathetic five year old I know. But this is the first time Sugar has been old enough to try and understand what is going on with mama. She knows I have stitches and they are on my tummy, but she still doesn't understand that I can't pick her up, climb the stairs to her room or the playroom or fix her meals.

Each day she asks me to do something that is not under the doctors orders. Like the other day she was sitting on my bed and she wanted to put on her ballerina dress. The problem is that all her ballerina dresses are upstairs in her bedroom. Once again I kindly told her, "remember the doctor says I can't go up the stairs". In her sweet little voice she said, "mama I'll hold your hand". My heart was melting when I had to tell her, "thank you sweetie but I still can't go".

Then she replied, "can you crawl?" :-)

It's time for a new skin baby

2008-04-22T16:42:00.004-07:00

Well it's that time to change the look of this ole' blog that for some reason is still hanging around. I guess will be around even longer since I have Susie over at Bluebird Blogs cooking me up a new look. I know it's going to blow y'all away because Susie is that good and it's going to be a completely new look!

Stay tuned for the soon-to-be Blog Makeover!

On the road to recovery

2008-04-19T14:08:00.002-07:00

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, calls, emails, flowers, etc! This time round God showed up in a big way and my surgery went flawless. No cancer, out in three days and home resting now. Even though recovery is going to be a slow process, I'm so glad to be in and out of the hospital so quickly. I have lots of help at home and the girls are being big helpers. Sissy is making me lots of pictures and getting me 'a drink of water'. Sugar is busy kissing my 'ditches' (stitches) to make them all better. :-) I've also got season one of 24 on DVD this time to help the time go by. Thanks to my dear friend Natalie. Finally, my wonderful hubby stepped in and bought his sick whiny wife a new 37" HD LCD screen to curl up in the bed with along with a DVD player. I just can't complain about anything. My family is fabulous!

For right now it's lots of pain meds and lots of sleeping. I hope to stay awake a little more by next week and use the DVD player a little more. :-)

Going under the knife...

2008-04-16T02:58:00.003-07:00

again. It's 4:30am and I'm getting ready to head to the hospital for a long overdue surgery. I should be in the hospital for three days and then come home for a long recovery. Please pray that the doctors know what they are doing this time and I will get to come home when they say. Unlike last time...

Until next week...ciao!

Sassy Katz

2008-04-08T21:11:00.009-07:00

My just turned three-year old was invited this past weekend to a chauffeured birthday party to get hair, makeup and nails done at a little girls spa and boutique called Sassy Katz. It was actually Sugar's friend and her older sister who was turning five celebrating their birthdays together.

I was very hesitant to let Sugar attend it all seemed a little over the top to me...but after much thought and a little rearranging of the plans I let Sugar attend.
Because really, what little girl doesn't love to dress up like a princess and wear makeup?

And, I'm not going to get jealous just because the first time I rode in a limo was on my 21st birthday and my first real spa experience was a few days before my wedding...I'm just saying, I'm not getting jealous. :)

So I called the mom to RSVP and kindly let her know that Sugar (my 3 year old!) would not be dropped off at her house, to ride in a limo, with a bunch of strangers, for 30 minutes to the boutique.

We agreed that I would drive Sugar to the boutique and participate in the girly things that were about to take place over the next two hours. Since we were the first ones to arrive at the party, Sugar got to see the limo pull up and all the girls come out.
The next two hours were a little girls heaven...Sugar kept saying, "Mama, I want mine painted pink!" So that is what she got...pink fingernails, a fancy hairdo (I'll still never know how they got it pulled up) and a fancy dress. There was lots of stage posing, dancing, and singing. Bottom line, the girls had a blast.

After they each made there own glitter soap it was time to leave. I decided since I got to know the parents, grandparents and other girls that Sugar could ride home in the limo if she wanted to. I didn't even get the question out before Sugar said, "Mama, come on it's time to go in the limo!"

With me in complete shock, Sugar loaded up in the limo without hesitation with the rest of the girls. So I jumped in my car and followed the limo all the way back to the party. Meanwhile thinking what have I started? I think I just lost my little girl. Second guessing myself that maybe it was the wrong decision...

After I met them back at the house, I grabbed my dolled up little girl and carried her back to the car to buckle her up in her car seat.

Then not a second later she said, "Mama, I want my binky, blankie and sippy".

YES I thought...I haven't lost her yet.

The big milestone

2008-04-02T21:12:00.008-07:00

So not only did Sissy learn how to ride a four-wheeler over Spring Break (see previous post) she also learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! Wow - this was huge. We had practiced a few times before last summer, but after about two crash-n-burns she was done. So we gave it another try and now she can do it. I'm so proud of her. It only goes with her perfectionist personality though. I knew after a couple rotation of the pedals by herself she wasn't going to stop until she got it!

Then the cutest part of all happened after the first day of trying (the day before Easter) she came in the house and made a calendar of all the days she was going to practice. She had check marks and stars on each day. She told me that the check marks meant she had to practice and the stars meant she already practice.

That's my girl...you got to have this kind of stuff organized! LOL!

*I've been trying to upload two videos of Sissy riding her bike and it's failing. I give er' a try tomorrow...

The girls Easter present

2008-03-26T14:02:00.008-07:00

As a kindergartener, part of a child's homework is to retell a story that was read to them earlier in the day at school to their parents. Each Wednesday, the teacher reads them a story and then the kids make characters and props about the story. The idea is that the props/characters will help trigger their memory when retelling the story at home. Then, the parents sign a piece of paper stating the child retold them the story. This homework is meant to help with listening skills, memory and comprehension. I believe it is Sissy's favorite homework assignment next to Guided Reading.

However, each Wednesday when it's time to retell the story Sissy tries to create some kind of stage to use with her handmade props. The week before Spring Break she tried to put a blanket over a staircase railing (mind you a circular one) and perform her story for Sugar there. After many falls of the blanket this ended up being quite a challenge and Sissy was a little frustrated.

After the tenth fall of the blanket I decided it was time to make the girls a puppet theater. I had actually planned on making them one, it was just on my looong list of things to make. So after the 'fake theater stage' attempt this project moved pretty quickly up on my to-do list.

So over Spring Break I got out my new favorite book titled Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Carol. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, I usually copy or wing most of my projects so this book is right up my alley. The floral fabric is what originally was going to be the girls shower curtain...until they loudly and firmly told me they wanted a Pink Flamingo bathroom. The plain pink fabric I got on clearance for $3.88 a yard and the cute pink ball fringe I got for just over $5.00. Whoo-hoo, I love bargains!

Anyways, below is the end result. Since it was an Easter present I found some cute finger puppets at JoAnn's so they could use it over Spring Break. The best part is that it has a matching case to store it in when they are not using it. If you want to view a few more you can go here and here.

Who needs a beach for Spring Break?

2008-03-20T20:14:00.011-07:00

Not us...the girls and I had the best time of our lives on our two day trip in Holliday, Texas! Oh yes, we headed to the true country with some friends and didn't want to leave. The girls played and played, had some good country food, seen more horses and cows than they could count and learned how to go four wheelin'!

Who says you need the beach to have fun? All we needed was our good friends, a few acres, a trailer, a four wheeler, a tree house and the best darn folks you ever met in your life.

Here are some pictures of the girls and I from the past two days...by the way, next year's spring break will be scheduled much sooner and for a lot longer time in the country. Get ready Gigi and Bopper! :-)

Thanks again for such a fabulous time!! Holliday rocks!

My latest sewing project

2008-03-10T07:35:00.004-07:00

I must admit I get a little weird-eyed when people say, "oh you can sew" because really I have not taken any sewing classes, I don't use patterns and I literally make up everything I make or I copy it from something I see in a catalog.

This time I saw a valance I liked after searching through my Design Ideas for Windows I picked up at Half-Price Books store. So I bought some fabric and trim and started my little adventure. Now I wish I would have bought more fabric to make it a little more 'scrunched looking' but of course it is discontinued. I originally bought the fabric for my kitchen nook but realized it wasn't what I wanted so I used it for our master bathroom hence, the shortage in fabric. :-) See I told you I wing everything!

I made it while hubby was out of town last week and surprised him when he got home. He really liked it! There was no suggestions this time that came out of his mouth (like most other times) about changing it, yeah! So if any sewing project gets hubby's approval - it stays and mama's happy!

Here is how it turned out...

Wow, three posts in two days...I don't know about you but I'm impressed!! :-)

Wonderful Snow Days here in Texas

2008-03-09T19:13:00.007-07:00

You read that right...this past week we had two days with snow! We got about an inch or so on Tuesday then Thursday a winter storm came through North Texas and we got a total of 5 inches! You know what that means?? Snowman time!! This is why I love Texas so much, Wednesday we were in the driveway doing finger paints and the next day we were building snowmen. It was a beautiful day!

Time for some major updates!

2008-03-09T18:53:00.006-07:00

My little Sugar is now three years old. I can't believe it...my girls are growing so fast. She celebrated with a Hello Kitty party with friends from the neighborhood, her ballet class and her preschool. We played pin the bow on Hello Kitty and the kids decorated their own cupcakes. Check out some of the moments we captured from her party.

A trip to the doctor, the vet and the hospital

2008-02-11T14:18:00.002-07:00

Tylenol...Motrin...Metcam...Tylenol...Motrin...Metcam...

These are the words I've been repeating over and over this past week. While the flu has seemed to take over the girls we are still not well after two weeks. After lots of hand sanitizing, Lysol spraying, and washing sheets and blankets I have managed not to get it yet. But, let's recheck the blog on Friday and see if this is still true! :-)

In addition to snotty noses, high fevers and coughs the dog has managed to get himself in the mix as well. Two weeks ago we found out Smokey ruptured his ACL - yes, I guess a dog can actually do that if they are getting old and overweight. Sigh.

So after the girls get their doses of fever reducers, Smoke dog gets hit dose of pain reliever/anti-inflammatory.

That about sums up our household right now...have y'all managed to escape the flu??

Ballet Pictures as promised...

2008-02-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Sugar is taking a combination class of Ballet and Gymnastics...she loves ballet so much I can't get her to wear any other clothes but a leotard with a tutu!

The parents watch the class through a two-way glass so some pictures came out a little blurry.

Here they are walking from the gymnastics room to the ballet room. The class is perfect because there are only three girls in her class on Fridays.

Last week was the first time they used the bar. It was sooooo precious.

Ms. Casey is there teacher and she couldn't be any sweeter. I'm sure there will be more pictures to come once they have their recital. LOL...I can't wait!

What's up?

2008-01-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here I am.

I am a total slacker...I was debating about shutting down this ole' blog. But then I randomly will get some comments and I think, "oh I've got to go post an update".

So once again, here I am.

I really don't have anything exciting to blog about but I thought it was time to update my header of Deck the Halls Y'all.

I've been hanging around in my normal OCD world organizing like a banchee! The kids closets are cleaned, toys have been purged, clothes have been cycled, boxed and donated, kitchen drawers are finally lined, the garage is beautiful now with TWO cars actually parked in there, and best of all we have entertained family and friends like never before.

We have been enjoying attending our old church again and getting back into a new Home Team. We started a co-op babysitting with our HT and hubby and I volunteered to go first. We had a total of 14 kids at the house last Friday night. It was a wild night...we had kids upstairs in performing on the stage in the playroom, others in the loft playing the Wii, and the rest downstairs watching Hannah Montana and High School Musical. It was a great party for the kids and hubby and I survived it.

The best part is now we get a free date night once a month for the next 8 months because we have eight families participating! Woo-hoo I can't wait...

So what's new with me... I've been busy with some new sewing projects and started a new bible study on Wednesdays. It's called, 'Created to be His Help Meet' and so far it sounds like it's going to be a great one. Also, I have been working part time for one of my churches' websites. So, here's a quick plug. If you're church or pastor is looking for some new resources/material be sure to have them check out www.creativepastors.com.

Lastly, I'm still struggling with some undiagnosed health issues. I've been seeing a pulmonologist since November to get some answers but no luck yet. I'm pushing through though.

On the other hand, the girls have been doing super and growing fast! Sissy has learned so much since she started kindergarten it's scary. She now can read, write complete sentences, knows the days of the week, etc. She wants to go to school everyday and wakes up early every single day ready to go!

Sugar is busy with her pre-school and enjoys music time the most. She also started ballet and gymnastics last Friday and absolutely LOVES it. She was so excited when we went shopping for her ballet shoes. She wore them for a week straight, even to bed! I'll post pictures soon.
I can't believe she turns three next month. She has been asking for a Hello Kitty birthday party with Hello Kitty birthday hats since summer. And now it's almost here, I can't believe it.

Hubby is still doing awesome. He is overachieving as usual in the workforce and it's paying off for him. We might even be seeing some global opportunities here pretty soon.

That's all for now folks. I hope to be back sooner next time. Hopefully with something more exciting to post. Hee, hee!

Christmas Pictures for the family

2007-12-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick load of some pictures from this morning...I believe the American Girl dolls were the biggest hit! Sissy really loved the Hannah Montana Dance Mat that came with a wig and headset! Sugar has enjoyed her My Little Pony Musical Tea Set along with all the Barbie gifts.

Who loves surprises?

2007-12-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

I know I love surprises...you know the kind you don't find out about until it actually happens. Well a couple of weeks ago we planned a huge surprise for Sissy's kindergarten teacher.

See there are eight kindergarten teachers in Sissy's elementary school and 6 out of 8 of them have reading lofts. Of course Sissy's teacher was one of the two without one. So for a Christmas present to her, all the parents got together two weekends ago and custom built her a reading loft for her classroom!

We were so excited! The dads pretty much did the physical labor of building it while the moms rearranged her classroom to make it fit. We had to move her desk of all things to make it fit. Plus we had to rearrange and move some bulletin boards that were in the way. Overall, it turned out perfect. The principal told Mrs. P--- a lie that there was a leak in her room and not to arrive until 7:30 - this way all of us parents and students would be in her room waiting for her when she arrived.

Needless to say she was shocked and at a loss for words!

The Catch up List

2007-12-09T21:40:00.003-07:00

So I've defaulted to the ole "list" since I haven't blogged about all the fun and crazy things that have gone on over the past month and a half in our family.

1. The new Wal-Mart opened up 2 miles down the street. We're talking about 203,091-square-foot Supercenter with two Dunkin Donuts, a Coffee bar, a Sushi Bar, a Soup bar, freshly made pizza while you shop and the smell of fresh baked artisan breads. Now that's my kind of Wal-Mart!2. My mom, sistor and newphew came in town to visit. Our visit consisted of a taste of North Texas. We managed to hit Chick-Fil-a, Whataburger, Dave and Busters, American Girl, Hobby Lobby and many nights "coyote hunting". :-)
3. I've spent LOTS of time working for my very first craft show(s). I've been busy making and selling Hanna Montana and High School Musical magazine purses. They were a huge hit and I still have three more orders to fill. I also sold Bag Tags which kept me very busy.
4. Taking a rode trip to Memphis with the dogs in tow to see family over Thanksgiving. We actually missed Dallas' first snow while we were there. :-(5. Last week Sugar learned how to ride her Tricycle or she finally grew tall enough to reach the pedals. I'm not sure which one happened first.6. We cut down our own Christmas tree at the Wall's Family Farm and went Pecan picking on their 100-acre pecan farm. Sugar would of been in the pecan picking picture but her time was cut short after she stepped in an ant hill! Poor baby!

Well there is much more to post but this is all for now. I hope to post a little sooner next time for those that still stop by and actually read this little blog of mine.

So until then...Ciao!

American Girl hits Dallas

2007-11-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

The fun has just begun...only the fourth store to open in the country and American Girl landed right here in Dallas this month. So without a second thought, Daddy loaded up his three girls and drove us to the land of awwwww!

For the first time, the girls and I beamed over beautiful dolls and bazillion of accessories. We literally were in the land of Oz. For those of you who do not have little girls I'm sorry you have to be bored with today's post. But Mommy's this place is just as fun for you too. We observed other girls getting their dolls hair done in the store hair salon. They also had custom high chairs so they could eat with in the bistro upstairs. After examining every inch of the store and playing with all the display dolls and accessories, we finally left about two hours later. Even though we did not purchase a doll, we definitely scored with Coconut, a high chair, an American Girl Dallas T-Shirt...

and, Elizabeth on Sissy's Christmas list! :-)

Fall Fun Continues

2007-11-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed by now, we are BIG Halloween fans.

Look I'm still posting about it and it's over already! I mean who really visits two pumpkin patches, has fall pictures taken, buys nine pumpkins, builds a haunted house and dresses up themselves? We do!

Hubby and I attended a Halloween costume party and guess who we dressed up as?

I made hubby's shirt and the collar, sleeves and buttons on the front of mine. Since I couldn't find saddle shoes anywhere in my size I made my own with black felt. But of course you can't see those in the picture.

The girls dressed up as Barbie cheerleaders during our neighborhood "Monster Mile". The kids walked along the main street while folks from the HOA passed out candy. They had lots of characters like, Spiderman, Strawberry Shortcake, Elmo, Cinderella, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, etc.
Then there was our Trick or Treat night where hubby and I set up a haunted house that included two rooms and then into our garage. We had some friends dress up as scary monsters in the haunted house, LOUD scary music, multiple fog machines, and tons of strobe lights. If anyone made it all the way through the haunted house into the garage then you had to reach in a large bowl full of spider web to get your candy. Now it doesn't look that scary because the pictures were taken during the day, but trust me the neighbors are still talking about it. We had a blast!

Our neighbors were just as festive by dressing up in costumes and setting up a tent at the end of the block. They had Kool-Aid for the kids, Swamp Punch for the adults and lots of snacks, candy, and cupcakes. The cake in the picture was called Kitty Litter Cake. It really did look like kitty litter with all those tootsie rolls buried in there! :-) The last and I promise final picture for Halloween was my Blog-O-Lantern this year. Sissy wanted to carve a Minnie Mouse so that's what we did.

Phew, now it's time to get ready for Thanksgiving!

October Fun, Part III (last one :-)

2007-10-25T21:14:00.001-07:00

We saved the best for last.

My all time favorite pumpkin patch is the "Pumpkin Express" This pumpkin patch has an original 1950's train that takes the kids on almost a one mile train ride. And when the children enter they get to choose a free baby pumpkin and sucker.

The best part is the location (it's on one man's property) and the set up is just beautiful. The train ride takes you all over his wooded lot and over a couple of bridges.

I think the girls had the best time going down the bounce house slide. Just look at those faces...priceless!

On the train heading out of the tunnel...

October Fun, Part II

2007-10-22T21:41:00.001-07:00

It was Columbus day and school was out, so the neighbors girls and mine headed to our local pumpkin patch for a day of total fun! By the request of Sugar we took her picture with all the board characters. I only posted Dora but trust me when I say, we've got Barney, Baby Bop, BJ, Scooby Doo and Boots too! :-)

They also hit all the bounce houses, haystacks and took a hay ride and barrel train ride. After feeding the horses and turtles (yes turtles) we headed to Chick-Fil-A for some well deserved air conditioning and lunch.

October Fun, Part 1

2007-10-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a cake I made for one of my best friend's birthday. She and I absolutely LOVE Halloween! So for her birthday I made her 3-D pumpkin cake and the kids Halloween cupcakes. All seventeen of us met at Life's A Beach restaurant to help her celebrate. We had a blast!

Look at my angels

2007-10-09T21:32:00.001-07:00

DA BOYS!!!!!!

2007-10-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

It was a nail biter, pillow hiding, fist pumping, screaming and jumping kind of game tonight! Yes, I'm talking about the Boys and Bills baby! Romo may of had a rough night but Folk is the bomb!!

The end score is what counts folks and we be undefeated!!

Who-hoo! What a thrill ride! I think I felt the city shake from everyone jumping at 11:02pm when that pigskin ball went over those yellow posts (for a second time!) If you don't like football then I'm sorry you are missing out.

GO COWBOYS!!!

This is a good one!

2007-10-07T09:25:00.001-07:00

Love me some critters

2007-09-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's true, I love all of God's creatures...dogs, bunnies, horses, cats, snakes, spiders, goats...you name it I like em'. So here is a few snapshots of what we've been seeing around the neighborhood, driving to the store, walking to school, at church, etc.

And since every moment around our house is what I call a "Kodak moment" so must be the critters.
(Dead or alive of course!) :o)

They had to pick Pink famingos

2007-09-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

After we moved into the new house I asked the girls what kind of "bathroom" they wanted. Mama was thinking jungle animals, rubber duckies, maybe bright color fish, etc. But noooo both girls decided they wanted a Pink Flamingo bathroom.

Can I just tell you how hard it is to buy Pink Flamingo decor - especially for a bathroom, without spending a fortune? It's hard y'all...
I tried, I shopped, I searched the web and everything that I found was either too expensive or not cute.

So I decided I had to do it myself. But before I started I did try to put up a really girly looking floral/Hawaiian print shower curtain but all that caused was more chaos and sending my then 4 year old into a frenzy screaming, "Nooooo, I said I wanted a Pink Flamingo bathroom!"

What's wrong with that picture??

Well it worked, Mommy got guilted into making the bathroom decor for the princesses. Now I know this is way past due since I finished the bathroom about six weeks ago but here is what I came up with...

For the shower curtain: I bought some stripe-y fabric, used some of my leftover aqua blue fabric, special ordered the iron-on sequined pink flamingos and glued on some hot pink beady trim.

Note to self, be sure not to talk on the phone while measuring and cutting fabric!! Ugh! (This made the project way longer than it should have been.)

Then, since all the pictures of pink flamingos I found online were u-g-l-y and expensive, I decided to have Sissy draw a picture of one and frame it. (Hubby and I agree it's the most precious thing in the house.)

The countertop decor I found at Wal-Mart to match the stripes in the curtain. And the cute little soaps I found on Ebay for $2.99! So now the girls are happy and mommy is happy because everything is finally done.

Can I get an Amen?

We survived it

2007-08-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today was our second day of Kindergarten and boy does she love it. Sissy got up on the first day, Tuesday and ate breakfast, brushed her teeth, we did her hair, she got dressed all in TWENTY minutes flat. We had determined the night before we were going to do our neighborly duty and walk to school to help with the first day school madness (per the principals' request). Luckily for us, it was a cool morning. However, we took the wagon along just in case the girls got too tired or hot. Our biggest challenge was trying to convince Sugar that she can't go to school yet. (Preschool starts for her next week). Sugar has a matching backpack and carries it to the school each morning. Today she even managed to put her backpack in someone's cubbie in the classroom- oops!

When we finally made it home the first day I asked Sissy what her favorite part of the day was and she said, "when we colored and played outside".

Spoken like a true Kindergartener.

So far the week is going well. She is very hungry and tired when she gets home but we're pushing forward. For all the Grannies, aunties and friends I've posted some pictures from the first day of school.

Here she is putting her Hello Kitty backpack in her cubbie. On the back wall of her cubbie there is a really cute laminated frog with her name on it.

At "Meet the Teacher Night" the students got to pick their own seats.
So on the first day she went straight to her seat to find her name tag. She also
wanted to make sure there were other girls sitting at her table. :-)
Then right before we left, the students were doing "working hands" as there first
activity for the day. I even had to ask for a kiss goodbye... I shed two tears and
decided to skip the "Yahoo, Boo-hoo breakfast" for the moms!

Well tomorrow night is "Meet the Teacher Night" for Sugar's preschool. That one should be a little less stressful. Ha, ha. Sugar is SO anxious to go...she cries everyday, "I want to go to schooool". I'll do a new post on her first day, September 4th. It should be a good one. :-)

Happy 5th Birthday!

2007-08-27T22:22:00.001-07:00

It finally arrived, Sissy's 5th birthday party!

Oh how we've been counting down the days and planning. Sissy first started off by wanting a Hello Kitty party but as we were driving to Party City to get the decorations we changed it to Care Bears. Then as we were walking down the aisles looking at all the Barbie paraphernalia we decided on Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses.

And so it was... exactly 12 princesses and one prince.

I think they all had a blast! They played dress up, made princess crowns, played pin the star on the wand, had a water balloon toss, blew bubbles ate pizza, cake and ice cream. I have to admit, it was probably our best party thus far. If this tells you anything, it was scheduled from 11:00 - 1:00pm and our last guest left the house at 4:30pm!

Here are a few snapshots from the big event. Here are the girls in their princess crowns they made. I'm not sure how it happened but one little prince and princess escaped before when we snapped the shot.

One of the most popular princesses there was the cake I made...Princess Genevieve.

Here they all are diligently making their crowns.

After cake they lined up to play Pin the Star on the Wand.
As you can see, two of her favorite presents were the
Blendy Pens and the Princess Genevieve My Size Barbie. Now it's time for the real deal tomorrow...our 1st day of school. Stay tuned... :-)

Tax-Free but not Tear-Free

2007-08-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Reality has officially set in...as early as next week I will be another mama in the neighborhood with "school-aged" children. It became official this weekend while Sissy and I participated in the Texas' tax free Back-to-School shopping weekend extravaganza.

Oh yes folks! We got up early Saturday morning and shopped the same weekend as the rest of the state of Texas in order to save about eight bucks per every $100 we spent. And then you ask, was it worth it? Because really...how many clothes does ONE kindergartner really need?

Y'all it was worth it.

Sissy and I had a great time picking out clothes, trying them one, laughing at the ones that were way too big and too small. Then, we made a pit stop at Starbucks for a quick cup of java and chocolate milk to down our donuts and muffins. We needed a little sugar/caffeine jolt to hit the next few stores. We got all kinds of fun stuff like, skirts, shirts, tights and pretty little lacey socks (you know the kind you need for gym class *smile). But the look on her face was priceless through it all.

And even though it was fun and tax-free, I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed walking out with a bag of clothes through the parking lot with my firstborns little hand in mine. At that moment it all became a little too real. Now I will be the first to admit that I never thought I would be one of those parents who cry when they drop their child off for the first day of school, but after this weekend...never say never.

Now if I can only make it through Wednesday for the back to school BBQ and Friday for Meet the Teacher Night I should be good to go for Tuesday, right?

My new project

2007-08-12T20:57:00.001-07:00

After weeks of looking for something of organizational use for my hobby/sewing stuff, I finally completed this little beauty.

This was (I think) a little girls dresser hutch that I bought at a resale shop for $5.99. It was a dingy yellowish and gold piece that I repainted white. Since I didn't have room on my sewing desk to use it as a true hutch I decided to hang it on the wall instead. All I did was install some mounting hardware on the back upper corners. Then to hold my ribbons, I bought four little rod holders (i.e. the kind that hold your closet rods) and drilled them on inside walls on the bottom half of the hutch. Then I found a small wooden curtain rod for $2.99 at the thrift store to use as dowel rods. I just measured the width of the shelf and used a saw to cut two pieces from the same pole. I slid on all my spool of ribbons and wha-la!

The last "thrifty" idea was storing all my new and vintage buttons. I found three clear plastic jars at said store for .50 cents and spray painted the red lids aqua blue. I used my one of my own jars from the pantry and painted that lid pink. Now they match my guest/hobby room and store all my buttons!

1 dresser hutch - $5.99

1 wooden curtain rod - $2.99

1 bunch of plastic roses - $.69

3 plastic jars - $.50

Organization - PRICELESS!

Want to see the coolest thing ever?

2007-08-05T20:16:00.001-07:00

The fact that my hair grew 6 + inches over night? With layers, and low lights and highlights! Okay it's not the coolest thing ever but lhj.com is! Ladies, you've have got to visit the Ladie's Home Journal website. They have this wonderful linkage called TRY-A-HAIRSTYLE and it's FREE! Well of course you can upgrade but the free stuff is just as good.

Ever wanted to know what you look like with short hair, a bob, redhead, long hair, a celebrities hairstyle? You can do your own makeup and choose your own colors. The options are endless at this site. The best part is you can save your favorite looks and print them out or email them to a friend. The above picture was my favorite hairstyle and I've already printed it out the picture to take to my hair appointment this Wednesday. I still need to grow more in the length but you get the picture right?

So go now and sign up it's loads of fun!

More divas in the house

2007-07-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my wonderful friend Robin and her girls came in town to visit. We had blast and so did the girls. If I list everything we did, well the post would never end. But it did include some great shopping, food and laughing. So here are a few shots from this weekend. Saturday was the big night when Sissy's friend and Sugar got the "Diva haircut" (as I call it) at good ole' Sweet & Sassy.

And can I just tell you how excited I am that the owners are building a brand new a Sweet & Sassy right. down. the. street. from. my. house. Man, I just love it here...

Sissy and Mini-Me outside Sweet & Sassy.

Back view of Sugar's hair (sorry y'all but the next few are for Grandma and Grannie!)

Sugar showing off her glitter star they painted on her cheek.

Shopping...shopping...shopping...boy they start early!

Monkeying around...

2007-07-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

...Texas style. Well both girls started taking Gymnastics a couple of weeks ago and they are having a blast. Almost everyday Sissy asks, "Mommy, how many more days till Gymnastics?" Of course the plan was for Sissy to take lessons while Sugar and I observed from the window. BUT after listening for 45 minutes to Sugar crying and saying, "Mommy, I wanna do dat" during big sister's first lesson, we went ahead and signed her up too.

The place we are going is incredible. The building is decorated with (of course) a Texas theme inside and out, full of saddle seats, cowboy boots, bears and stars. The coaches are young and talented, the equipment is top of the line, and the environment is very positive.

The only drawback this session is that this is Sugar's first time so mommy has to take the classes with her. Yikes! So for right now we only have pictures of the little one performing and Sissy posing.

So Sweet

2007-07-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

This was a conversation that Sissy and I had the other day while playing in the playroom. She was lying on the floor with a huge grin on her face and she said:

Sissy: Mommy?

Me: Yes

Sissy: I think I'm in love with a boy!

Me: What??? (she's four y'all)

Sissy: A boy. (giggling with the sweetest smile)

Me: What boy?

Sissy: (softly giggling)...my daddy...

My heart melted, then I immediately ran downstairs to the bedroom to tell hubby.

I have to admit it, I was a little scared at first. But then when she answered 'Daddy' I thought good, that's what every little four-year old girls answer should be! :-)

Wheels Off

2007-07-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Last evening was one of those nights I have dreamt about growing up. It wasn't about purchasing a dream car or finishing a marathon it was about my first born, my little girl.

She's growing up...

The early evening started out with teaching her to roller skate and having some wonderful mommy daughter time since Sugar was in bed. Then together we decided it was time to take the wheels off. The training wheels that is on her My Little Pony bike.

With just a few cranks of a monkey wrench, I was holding the back of her bike seat as she frantically tried to pedal, balance and look straight. We went up and down the street several times then around the block and down the little alley hill behind our house. It was good times. I continually laughed out loud while bending over trying to hold her 40lb. body and bike up while she screamed and laughed, "Mommy I'm scared!"

It was that moment that I realized I was doing what I dreamt about doing as a parent. Teaching your little one how to ride a bike. Laughing and giggling and watching the amazement on their face when you let go for just a second. It may seem like such a small thing to some but to me, it was an amazing time watching her grow. I know this is only one very small milestone she will reach in her lifetime but being a part of it and watching her was wheels off.

Seriously?

2007-06-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long since I posted?? Okay, so maybe it has...Now I have this blank text box and not a thing is coming to me.

I could post pics about our roller skating party we attended on Saturday but then that would mean I would have to download the pictures off my camera...scratch that.

Oh I know, I could post pictures of my french toile duvet cover that is just about completed and the bunch of pillows I made for the daybed in the guest room...but that's just boring.

I could tell you about our wonderful Father's Day...when I mopped floors and scrubbed toilets to help make it a better Father's Day...but that's not good news.

I could post a picture of the last minute Spiderman cake I made for hubby's birthday last week...but it didn't turn out that good.

I could tell you the story how I paid the electrician a bunch of money to come out and push a silly reset button...but that would just embarrass me.

Oh...I could tell you the story about how a golf ball busted out our upstairs window...but we live across the street from the golf course... so I really don't know the story.

Well apparently, I have no good stories to tell...so for now go look at my friend's super cute new baby it's much more interesting than this old blawg!

Watchout Martha

2007-06-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been a bit of a Martha Stewart in action. Now for those of you that have known me for a loooong time probably never thought I would utter those words. As much as I hate to admit it, it's true.

Since moving in the new house I have smothered myself in house projects. I think I've got them going on in almost every room of the house. Hence, the reason the ole' blawg has been neglected. Below are some shots of Martha + Frugalness = Happy Mommy and Daddy. :-)

Here is a sneak peak of my sewing room/guest room. I'm currently making [read attempting] to make my own duvet cover and I made some pillows for the day bed. My choice of colors are aqua blue and chocolate brown. This happens to be one of my favorite rooms in the house and and I even had the painters paint it blue to match! I'll post a final picture when it's all done because it's going to take a while for this novice sewer to complete.

We have big peformers in the house and they will perform on anything with height. Needless to say, they were ruining the last wood step on the stairs and I was certain one of them was going to get hurt on the fireplace hearth...soooo mama made them their own stage. I just used some free wood (thanks previous homeowners) to make the platform and sewed purple sequin curtains with a matching drape on the front of the platform. Lastly, I glued some purple leapard print fabric on top.

This is Sissy performing with my Karoake machine I had from when I was in high school. It plays the radio and tape cassettes but it still works. Smile. (Now I'm showing my age...)

If you haven't noticed by now, I had the painters paint the playroom PURPLE! Oh yes, it is bright purple. Hey, their only kids once right? This is a picture of a ceiling fan that was left behind from the previous home owners (thanks again). It was antique gold and I spray painted it white and painted the fan blades in different colors. I actually searched for one like this on the Internet and couldn't find one so I made one myself and hung it up. *The colors are actually much brighter than what they turned in the picture.

Now this picture is not from my house, but this is a project I worked on as a birthday present for my girlfriends' daughters 4th birthday. She was changing the theme out in her room so I re-made this canopy over the slide on her bunk bed in the new color theme of hot pink, black and zebra print. She loved it!

These are the curtains I made for Sugar's room. You can't really see from the picture but they are light pink silk panels with tiny pink and green embroidered flowers on them.

And last but not least one of my personal favorites is the conversion of the ugly attic door in the playroom. I could not for the life of me think of what to do with this big white door in the middle of wall of the playroom. See, I can't put toys or furniture in front of it because then I wouldn't be able to get in and out of my attic. So a few weeks ago I was flipping through my BHG Organizing catalog and read about this cool product called Chalkboard Paint. That's when I had an AHA moment. I headed to Home Depot and bought myself a can of black chalkboard paint and went to town. Next, to hide the doorknob I wrapped a pink satin bow around the door handle. Then finally I decorated a little cardboard box with zebra fabric to hold the chalk and erasers. Wha-la! The girls absolutely LOVE it.

So if you're wondering what in the heck T-Lo has been up to, there you have it...I've been playing susie homemaker. I think Martha would be proud don't you? :-)

Thursday Thirteen

2007-06-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

Graphic courtesy of Kelly @ Diary of the Nello

Thirteen Things I have realized about my age over the past week...

1. You know you're getting older when...You switch your subscription from Cosmopolitian magazine to Better Homes and Gardens. (I coincidently subscribed myself this week.)

2. You know you're getting older when...You show up at the swimming pool with a one piece swim suit and matching body cover...with kids in tow.

3. You know you're getting older when...You know all the words to every song on Noggin or Boomerang but can't name a single current pop song.

4. You know you're getting older when...Your kids and dogs are dressed and groomed better than you.

5. You know you're getting older when...You can watch the History Channel for long periods of time, without falling asleep or getting bored.

6. You know you're getting older when...You only weigh yourself when all your clothes off.

7. You know you're getting older when...You get eight hours of sleep and still need a afternoon nap.

8. You know you're getting older when...You consider a "late night out" is after 9:00pm.

9. You know you're getting older when...You catch yourself repeating phrases that your mom or dad used to say to you.

10. You know you're getting older when...You have to pause and think about how old you are.

11. You know you're getting older when...You finally say your age and realize later the you were wrong.

12. You know you're getting older when...You change from sugar-coated cereals to fiber-filled cereals. :-)

13. You know you're getting older when...You can't think of thirteen things that you just thought of earlier in the day.

MIA

2007-05-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy few weeks around here but the reason I haven't blogged lately is because I'm in Tennessee visiting family. I've been here for almost two weeks now and we are having a blast. I have so much to blog about and quite frankly not enough time. So here is a bullet list of what's been going on and what we've been doing...

My whole house has been painted while we and the girls are gone.
We got a new bedroom suit that has been delivered and hubby got to sleep in it first. (I finally got my king-size bed!!)
We've been to the zoo and got to witness a mama giraffe give birth to her baby!
We got to see our nephew on leave from the army before possibly being shipped to Iraq.
We've had a few family birthday parties while in town and a Memorial Day cookout.

That's just a brief list of what we've been up to...stay tuned for pictures and more posts. :-)

Texas Thursday Thirteen

2007-05-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things I Love About Our New Home in Texas

You had to know this was coming...this is a special edition of Thursday Thirteen with pictures. I thought this was much more fun this way...and since everyone has been asking for more pictures of the house I've included a few of my favorites.
* Also, we still are waiting for the painters to come and I am in no way close to finish decorating so bear with me.

1. The Flowers in our Yard.

2. The Jacuzzi Tub in our Master Bath

3. The Two-Story Stone Fireplace. By the way, that cross will be hung in the niche as soon as I figure out what hardware works on stone!

4. Our home church...Fellowship Church.

5. The Large Girl's Rooms finally painted with color!

6. Our New Banquette Table in the Nook. Especially since Sugar can no longer push the chairs over to counter to reach any medicines, scissors, etc. - yeah!

7. The Green Grass with Texas Longhorns
literally down the street!

8. The Media Room that hubby has so kindly allowed (read forced) to be the Playroom until the girls get older.

9. The Big Trees and Huge Thunderstorms followed by Rainbows.

10. The Circular Staircase when you enter the through the front door.

11. Old friends...and because I did not get their permission ahead of time, I did not post any pictures of my girlfriends. I'm sure they are SO thanking me right now. :-)

12. The Double Convection Ovens

13. The Tex-Mex Food

We're alive...sort of

2007-05-09T21:53:00.001-07:00

When a close friend who is also a very busy woman and still has time to blog herself, tells you "you haven't blogged in like forever"...well then it's time to post something.

It's not that I don't have lots to blog about (because I honestly have tons) but it's more because I have been under the weather for the last five days. If you've been around here long at all you know when I get sick, I get sick. After popping lots of pills (of course prescribed by my doctor) I was actually able to get out of bed today. I'm guessing having our community garage sale in the rain on Saturday probably didn't help much.

So before I got sick here is what we were up to...

Going to the zoo...

Spending time with friends...

Finding new things at Wal-Mart...notice the TV in the first picture? Oh yes folks, for only ONE dollar a mama can have peace and quiet while grocery shopping!

Sweet & Sassy

2007-04-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

UPDATED TO ADD: I just realized the best picture didn't post...the picture of the back of Sissy's hair and her trying to get Sugar to look down. :-)

We just found [thanks to a few friends] the girls a new place to get their haircut. Sweet & Sassy has got to be the cutest girly place ever, next to Libby Lu's of course. Well last night we had severe thunderstorms, hail and a few tornados in the area, so today we finally ventured out to get the "do" done today.

Sissy got the Cutie Cut and Sugar ended up getting her first haircut ever. See, originally I did not plan on having Sugar's hair cut because she really doesn't have any hair. But, the whole time Sissy was getting her Cutie Cut she was saying, "my turn, my turn". So before it was all said and done Sugar was finally in the diva seat getting her a new do. And, boy do I mean done. If only y'all could feel her hair...it is super. super. fine. baby. hair and somehow the hairdresser managed to style it with a flat iron! And, to top it off both girls got glitter spray.

Here are some of the diva moments we captured today...Sissy got a Stacked Bob and Sugar got layers. :-)

For Heather

2007-04-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard already what's going on in the blogosphere than go here. Every time I read an update on Heather I say to myself, "really, how much can one person take?"

Then I went to her blog via another because I truly did not believe what I was reading. You can get a tidbit of it by reading this...

All I keep thinking of is 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 hope and a future.

Please, if you want to help go on over to Boomama's blog and help a friend out. You can go here to get the details.

We're praying for you Heather!

At the Dump

2007-04-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

There's something to say about a place that proactively builds with kids in mind, like The DUMP. For those of you who are not familiar, The DUMP is an awesome new furniture store that opened up here in Dallas right after we arrived. I can honestly say that it has become our second home since we moved back. Since almost doubling the size of our house we had seven years ago, we have been long overdue for some new furniture. So this where we have been...

Not only are the prices, quality and customer service great, they have a little section devoted for the kiddos to hang out in big leather chairs and watch cartoons on the tube. It's also conveniently located in front of the drinking fountains and restrooms. Below are some pictures (mainly for the family of course) of the girls in our new favorite furniture store.

Here is a shot of them sharing a chair and Sugar is trying to say "cheese". But sometimes that little tongue gets in the way. ;-)

This is a shot of Sugar copying her sister's moves when we get upset. Sissy didn't want to share the chair anymore! *BTW - The wet spot between the legs is a spilled drink from the car. :-)
And, finally this is Sissy wanting her picture taken in front of the fireplace. Because of course she needed some attention too!***Updated: That Little Blessings video below has been fixed if you missed it!

Little Blessings

2007-04-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

If you have read my blog for any length of time you will know that Sugar does EVERYTHING that her big Sissy does. Sometimes this is bad but this week it has been literally a blessing. Sugar started this week copying her Sissy's prayers at meal time. Today I decided to catch it on camera because well...it.was. just. so. darn. cute!

You can tell by watching the video she was a little distracted with the camera on her and the fact that Sissy was trying to remind her to say "Daddy". And right before she starts, Sugar shouts that she is going to say the prayer. This is only because this is exactly what Sissy announces when she doesn't want mama to say the prayer. Go figure.

For those of you who have trouble understanding a two-years old speech, I have translated it for you ahead of time. :-)

"MOM I SAY IT...
Thank you for a great day
and Smokey and Daisy and (herself) and Sissy
and Mommy and and um Sissy
Amen"

My Little Pony LIVE, Easter and lots of Good Times

2007-04-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

I know this is not the best title for a post, but you know what? We have been soooo busy I can't get it all done in time for the blog. Behind many cardboard boxes, dirty dishes and bare walls we've been one busy family.

Friday night I went scrapping for my first time in TWO years. Yes, two years y'all. Surprisingly, I found my Crop-n-Style bag and one tote of scrapworthy tools. I even got two whole pages done and was in bed by 2:00am.

Saturday was the big show day. We took the girls to see the My Little Pony LIVE show. They absolutely had a ball and so did I! Sorry Nick Jr. fans, but this show was WAY better than the Dora Live show.

Easter Sunday we were invited to a friends family luncheon and egg hunt. And let me tell you folks, these people know how to put on an egg hunt. Their parents' backyard was huge and looked like something out of a Home and Garden magazine. The pictures below are exactly what you see when you walk out their back door.

I believe they hid around 300 eggs filled with candy and money. The girls had so much fun and we're finding more eggs than their baskets could hold! Below is a picture of the kids in a funky tree hanging out back.
What you can't see from the picture was that it was about 50 degrees on Easter and the day before we actually had snow flurries! Yes, as our pastor said, "we might have a white Easter"!

The best part was coming home late Sunday afternoon having the entire family take a long nap!

I love this time of year...

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2007-04-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Did I ever mention on this ole' blog

2007-03-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

...how much I love Texas? But first, let me preface this for all my Arizona pals. I am no way trying to hurt your feelings are to put down your "home" state. So for bloggity goodness, can we all just agree to agree that not everyone likes the exact same thing or the same place(s).

Good! :-)

Let's me just say for that last five days it has been gray, gloomy, windy, rainy, overcast and in the mid 70's. Now I know for some this may just put them over the edge but for me, well it's just all good! Today we had a thunderstorm...with rain...lightning...thunder...and high winds. :-)

Also in the area we have blooming Wysteria, Hydrangeas, Lantana and bright, bright, green grass! I can't wait for the blue bonnets to arrive. Rest assured there will be pictures!!

Like I said, it's just all good here in the state of Texas.

It's only been two weeks and I've met four of my neighbors (one brought us dinner - thank you to the Miller's), we've received Goodie baskets, cards and all sorts of other wonderful southern hospitality.

Even more exciting, I've been out with my friends already three times and the best part was attending our old church again. I will admit, I bawled during the service but I was so overwhelmed with everything. Not to mention our guest speaker T.D. Jakes delivered a very thought-provoking sermon. "Are you following what I'm saying?" *smile*

Finally, today was loaded with Wild Cherry Excitement so I've been busy steaming, washing, drying and folding laundry the entire day. With all smiles of course!

Tomorrow our new furniture is suppose to arrive and I can't wait to actually see it in the house. And if anyone needs to get some new furniture anytime soon, I highly recommend you stop by THE DUMP. And Saturday my sweet MIL and I have big plans to attend First Monday in Canton. And yes this is my FIRST time to attend and if you don't know what it is don't worry, I'll be sure to blog about it. :-)

Ciao, T-Lo

Knee deep in paint and clothes

2007-03-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Howdy Ladies,

I'm in the midst of Tinker Bell green and Fairytale Pink paint so blogging of course is on the bottom of the list. We are starting to get settled in...my washer and dryer are arriving tomorrow. Thank goodness...because seriously, I have run out of laundry baskets and my dogs now think the clothes all over the floor are their new beds!

By the way, thanks for everyone's input on the big decision. I finally decided to go with HolyMama's recommendation. After hubby read her post it was the Wild Cherry Excitement that won. I think if anyone uses the words "sensing", "foreplay" and "get busy" to describe said laundry appliances, they're surely going to get a man's attention. :-) Hey, it's worth a shot, right?

Well, I have two more rooms to unpack and some MAJOR weekend plans catching up with old friends. In other words, this will be my last update for this week unless something earth shattering happens between now and then.

Happy Spring Y'all!

I would love to post more pictures but...

2007-03-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

...most of the furniture does not arrive for a few weeks. So basically we are still unpacking, organizing, shifting, hanging, cleaning, etc. However, I will give you a sneak peak of the kitchen because like I mentioned before it's my favorite part of the house. :-)

I also love the little details throughout the house like those little bronze medallions on my backsplash. I took a picture up close just for my bloggity friends...and my mom. :-)

Three days packing, a two day road trip and one happy arrival!

2007-03-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

I know this post is long overdue but yes we have arrived in the Lone Star State in one piece. The drive actually went extremely well. The only hiccup on the first day was Sugar getting car sick from all the junk food she ate that day. But no problem. We simply pulled over to the side of the road, peeled off her clothes, wiped er' down and off we went. We finally arrived in El Paso around seven for our overnight stay and we were back on the road by 8:00am.

The second day was the longest part of our drive. We killed lots of time by coloring, watching a few movies and talking to Grannie, Grandma Twyla, Aunt Donna and whoever else we could reach at home. :-) But when 4:00pm finally came around, Sissy started with "how much longer til we get there?"

Then our road trip almost ended about 45 minutes before our arrival.

See, as we were driving through downtown Fort Worth a pickup truck came over into our lane!

Thankfully hubby was quick thinking and slammed on the brakes. Unfortunately, Smokey (our 45-50 lb. mut) was the one who went airborne from the back seat of the van to the front seat and smacked into the dashboard! Luckily, he didn't sustain any injuries but remained on my lap shaking his little heart out for the remainder of the trip.
Oh and one more thing...we did have to pay what hubby calls the "Texas Entry Fee". That would be one speeding ticket on the final stretch through the Permian Basin! So other than those three incidences we arrived safely in Dallas. Currently, we are staying in our temporary home (the hotel) until closing tomorrow.

Now for the fun stuff! I finally got to see the house today! Hubby did the final walk through as I anxiously examined the house. I must give kudos to hubby on the final decision because folks she is a dream. Inside and out! I think the kitchen is my favorite part with double stainless steel convection ovens, granite countertops and a gas cooktop. I believe Rachel Ray and I are going to build some fond memories in this house together. :-)

Well folks there is SO much more to blog about but I've got to catch some zzzzz's. We've got a big weekend ahead of us.

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories as we head on our new adventure!

Kenmore, Whirlpool, GE, Maytag help?

2007-03-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Y'all I need some QUICK help here...

I need to buy a new washer and dryer for the new house. The only problem is I'm having trouble deciding what to get. I think I've ruled out Maytag, after seeing some really bad feedback I read on the Neptune set I was considering.

But does anyone have any good reason why I should buy one vs. the other? I've done some research over the past few days and I'm literally stumped.

I know I want front loaders to save on water, energy, etc. The new house is set up for gas or electric but I prefer electric just for cost reasons. So please bless me with your bloggity goodness and help me figure this one out!

Thanks in Advance! :-)

"I love you...you love me"

2007-03-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone sing now...we're a hap-py fam-i-ly...

Allright, it may not be the best tune nor am I saying the purple dinosaur is my favorite cartoon, but right now it's *Sugar's favorite. And you know what that means?

Yep, that's the cake she got!

*Just so y'all know, I did write on it "Happy Birthday ---" but for privacy reasons I took a picture beforehand for the ole' blog. :-)

I can't believe she's TWO!

2007-02-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

Two years ago today our second little princess was born. I remember the day going to my sonogram to find out the sex of the baby and being terribly disappointed. But no this was not because of the sex but, because her little legs were crossed and we couldn't see if our little one was a he or a she at the time.

I remember the sonographer telling me "I've got a stubborn one here". Boy, was he right. Sugar is as strong-willed today as she was in the womb. :-)

And though she may be strong-willed her big blue eyes will make you forget everything she's done bad in a nano-second. She has the sweetest heart and loves on everyone that acknowledges her presence. And nearly everyday she tries to imitate her big sister and be a "big girl".

However, there are times when she has a mind of her own.

Remember that strong-willed baby I mentioned earlier? Well yesterday, said baby found herself in the ER after guzzling down some Children's Benadryl. Even though Mama thought it was out of her reach she proved me wrong. Sugar managed to push a solid wood chair over to the kitchen counter, climb on top of the counter, crawl way down down the kitchen counter, across my stove and reach the medicine bin on the third shelf in the corner cabinet. And what's more amazing was that houdini herself was able to remove the "child proof" lid on the bottle. Fortunately, after a few vital checks and regular monitoring in the ER, Sugar's only side effect was a big ole' sleep-o-fest for the majority of the afternoon.

On the contrary, today she has been telling herself "Hapy Birfday" and saying "I'm twooo"! She spent the day playing Barbie's, dolls and watching Barney and Curious George with her Sissy.

Tonight I put her in her crib with her Pooh bear, blankie and binki's. And though that sounds still so much like a baby, I still can't believe she's two!

Happy Birthday my sweet Sugar!

Vegas Baby

2007-02-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I drove to Las Vegas to meet a friend of mine for a few days. It was the first time (in a long time) that I was in my car, by myself, for 5 hours without listening to Barney or some other preschool-aged video. I actually got to drive through beautiful mountains, with beautiful weather, the sun roof open at speeds only God and I shared. :)

And boy did I have a blast! I got to see wild horses, stunning sunsets, gorgeous mountains, Hoover Dam and jam out to my 80's tunes as loud as possible! You know you are having a good time when you video tape yourself driving singing to My Sharona...oh yes I did!!

Best of all, it's a good time in Vegas when you come home with more money than you left with. Yes siree, Rapid Roulette and I got along very well. And, Tito and Miquel were great dealers! We stayed at the lovely Paris Las Vegas Resort and Casino and spent one night at a Dualing Piano bar called Napoleon's. The next evening we had tickets to see The Ultimate Variety Show at the Aladdin. The other fine enjoyment was eating at P.F. Chang's and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Did I mention this was all done without wrestling any kiddos?

Eventhough the fun had to end at some point, I was sad to say bye to my girlfriend but it was a true joy to say, "I'll see ya in about two and a half weeks!"

Clearly, this is an addiction

2007-02-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Look at this picture...need I say more? This is what I've been organizing the past two days as part of the big move. Can you believe it?

This is what you get when you marry a man who is addicted to technology! Now I'm not talking about your average joe who likes gadgets. I'm talking about a guy who was on the Internet long before the American public knew what it was or what it did.

I'm talking about a guy who has owned every type of cell phone, Palm, PDA and Blackberry with every adaptor, charger, and wireless bluetooth available. And, you know it's a true obsession when you own gadgets before the rest of the world has had a chance to catch up. For example, you know those little webcams that you connect to your computer. Well we owned one of those about 7 years ago along with a microphone so we could "talk over the computer for free" and see our long distance family members. The only problem was that the people we were trying to talk to had to own a webcam and a microphone. At the time, the only person he could talk to was some guy from Brazil! It's amazing how most people own these products today, but we had them when no one else even knew they existed.

We also have enough cables and wires to open our own electronic store. We have every voltage of adpators, speakers, USB's, CAT5's, chargers, phone wires, hubs, routers, cases, etc. You name it, we've got it!

And the crazy part, this list does not include our laptops, desktop computers, televisions, TiVo/DVR's surround sound, voice over IP, wireless routers, remote controls, (even for the ceiling fan) Hi-Fi's, mp3 players, digital cameras, software and many others I can't think of right now. So honey, if you're reading this. I think I'm right...you do have an OCD with electronics and my picture posted above is to prove it.

Not too mention, I didn't EVEN attempt to bring out what is stored in the garage... :-)

Now bloggity friends, please make no mistake. I love my "teched-out" husband! I have more toys and gadgets than I ever wanted. I just get so amazed when I see all of our outdated collection of electronics. Which happens around here about every 6 months.

I guess I've done scarier things

2007-02-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Can I just tell y'all I agreed to buy a house today "sight unseen".

Yes ma'am. After months of house shopping I found one online that I really liked so hubby flew to Dallas this weekend to scope it out. The only thing I've seen is the pictures on the Internet.

Scary, I know!

Although, I have to give a big kudos to my hubby for deciding to take one of my close girlfriends by the house and have her describe IN DETAIL to me exactly what the house looked like over the phone. Interesting, daring but a whole lot of fun!

Needless to say, if everything goes as planned we should be back in Texas by the end of next month. And the best part... I agreed to drive back to Texas as a family instead of spending lots of money on airfare.

And, oh can I just say I cannot wait for the two day drive with: 'Type A' hubby, one talkative preschooler, one loud toddler, a 45 lb. hairy mut, and an anxious Jack Russell...

...oh the thrill of it all!!

Happy Heart Day!

2007-02-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

A day late...

Well as you all know trying to close on a house takes more than an act of congress to get done, so we've been more than busy around the househould. But Sissy and I managed to make y'all some Valentine Sugar Cookie Lollipops!

And since we obviously cannot mail them to every single one of you we decided to give you a virtual bouquet.

We just wanted to say how much we love all of our bloggity friends!

Luv,
T-Lo & Sissy

Howdy Y'all!

2007-02-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

The good news has finally arrived...as of this weekend we received an offer on our house and can now move back to the Lone Star State!! Now I know you all were expecting to hear something like "we're expecting" but clearly this has been long anticipated for 11 months now. So yes, this is HUGE news!

And, everyone that knows me knows I've been doing the happy dance since Friday, when we got the call from our realtor.

I guess I can finally change my profile in my sidebar. Oh the excitement of it all, I just can't stand it! :-)

Watch out Texas, here we come! Of course, if you could continue to pray that all will go smooth until the closing that would be much appreciated.

Thanks everyone who has been praying for us!

Much Love,

Two posts in ONE week

2007-02-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Boy, it must be something good huh? Well it is, and I can't quite say yet what it is but BIG NEWS is coming to Bullfrogs and Butterflies very soon...so stay tuned. :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMS!

2007-02-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

Can I just say OH. MY. GOSH! This past weekend I flew home to Ohio to be at my Grandma's 80th surprise birthday party. And boy was it a surprise! She cried, I cried it was all a tear-y filled event! I also brought a DVD I made to play at the party starting with her baby pictures through today. It went along with some great 50's tunes and she absolutely loved it.

Isn't she the most beautiful Grandma EVER? I think so!

Not only did I get to see all my family but we also played in some snow and froze in the -2 degree temperatures.

Sugar kept saying, "Mama, I c-ooooold!" While Daddy and Sissy enjoyed a Daddy-daughter bonding weekend in Disneyland.

It all went by SO fast but we had an awesome time. Below are some pictures of our COLD weekend and Grams blowing out her candles. :-)

The next best thing...

2007-01-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

...in Arizona besides the mountains and 70 degree weather in January is McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park!

A while back when my dad and sister visited we stumbled upon this great train park in Scottsdale. Needless to say, it has been our favorite place to go with the family ever since then. They have actual trains that you can ride on, a carousel, a lookout tower, a huge playground, shops and a museum. The best part is that it is FREE to get in and the trains rides only cost a $1.00 a ticket!

Below is a picture of the larger train and Sissy riding inside one of the freight cars. And, of course Sugar riding on the Carousel with Daddy. I think we are going to have Sugar's Birthday party here since she is such a train lover right now.
Hmmm, I wonder why? :-)

For those of you who haven't done it

2007-01-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

...this is one more call to bloggityville to help donate for Kelli and her family. If you don't know what's been going on around here in the blogosphere then go here.

Don't worry it's not too late, you can you can still donate.

Lastly, a BIG thanks to BooMama (and God) for 'Lovin' on Kelli'!

It DOES get cold in the desert

2007-01-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a low of 31 degrees and two straight days of overcast. I do believe this is the coldest it has been since we moved here. And, in spite of all of the chilly-ness Sissy and Sugar STILL wanted to go outside and play.

Did I ever tell you Sugar is hot in nature? No matter what the temperature is inside and out? She sleeps in nothing and if she goes to bed with something on you can guarantee it's off by morning. Well today was nothing unusual except for the fact she did not want to go upstairs to get clothes on to play outside.

So below was her solution to getting dressed. Mind you it was in the mid-40's when she was wearing this fine attire.

I guess kitchen towels and Dad's shoes have more uses than we thought.

New Year's Meditations

2007-01-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

I love this idea that Laurel is hosting over at Laurel Wreath. She would like for us to share our "New Year's Mediations" instead of our "New Year's Resolutions". Isn't she smart? I think it sounds so much better too. Especially since every. single. year. I blow off every resolution I make say mid-February. :-)

Anyhoo, since I haven't blogged in like forever, I thought this would be a good thing to start the new year with. (Wow, my English teacher would be proud of that sentence!)

Unlike previous year's, I'm not setting the usual goal to lose weight, eat better, read more, blah, blah, blah but rather...Trust God More With His Plan For My Life.

It seems like such a simple thing to do but yet, this past year it has been one of the hardest things for me to do. Then to start the new year with our house still on the market and myself facing more health issues it seems even harder.

So, for my 2007 New Year's Mediation I'm going to be meditating on these two verses:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowldge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

And the one that got me through my last surgery...

"For I know I have plans for you,'declares the Lord', 'plans to prosper you
not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
Jeremiah 29:11

I know this isn't a nice long organized list of goals for 2007 but the truth be known, this is all I can and need to focus on right now.

If you would like to read other folks meditations for 2007 head on over to Laurel Wreath.

Happy New Year!

I figure this tour is good until the New Year begins right?

2006-12-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Due to the brilliance of Boomama's bloggity brain, I bring you "The Locastro Casa" bloggity tour at Christmas time and of course a little late.

First we have a 'half' shot of the front of the house. I have lights on the gargage too but I couldn't get it all in one BIG shot. The little reindeer move their heads and everytime we back out of the drive Sugar yells, "bye, bye wanedeer"!

And when you walk in the house we have this lighted wreath. This was given to me by some good friends of ours who moved to Australia so I look forward every year to putting it up.
Since we don't have a fireplace this year, the stockings were hung on the stairway with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas can find them there. :-)
This is our Christmas tree in the front living area. The angel on top was given to me by my mom and it's was used to go on our tree when I was young. I just love it!

Now for one of my favorites! I found the train we use to have when I was younger on Ebay and got one for my girls this year. It's considered a vintage now...isn't that funny? Anyways, it runs perfectly, smokes and has a light. The girls absolutely love it and we play with every day.

This was another great vintage find this year and I just adore it. It sits on the back of my stove.

This is the girl's Christmas tree in the media room. You can't see from the picture but it has bubble lights, popcorn garland and their Christmas link chain we made.
This Santa hangs on the girl's bathroom door downstairs next to their playroom. It was made for me about 10 years ago from a friend and the face is made of all yarn.
This is the last picture I took, I bought this Christmas hanging for dirt cheap a few years back and I just love it. I added the door swag over top this year since I had no where else to hang it.

Well that's all for our Christmas decor...head on over to Boomama's to see more!

Happy New Year!

Twas the night...

2006-12-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Twas the Night... for Moms

The Night Before Christmas for Moms
Author Unknown

Twas the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode, only one creature was stirring, and she was cleaning the commode. The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds, while visions of Nintendo and Barbie flipped through their heads.

The dad was snoring in front of the TV, with a half-constructed bicycle sitting on his knee. So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter, which made her sigh, "Now what's the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand, she descended the stairs, and saw the old man. He was covered with ashes and soot, which feel with a shrug. "Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho-ho-ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake. Your gift was especially difficult to make." Thanks, Santa, but all I want is some time alone." "Exactly!" He chuckled, "I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she asked, "What good is that? Run along Santa, I've no time for a chat." The mother's twin, same hair, same eyes, same double chin. "She'll cook, she'll dust, and she'll mop every mess. You relax, take it easy, and get some real rest."

"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream come true! I'll shop. I'll read. I'll sleep a whole night through!"

From the room above, the youngest began to fret. "Mommy?! I'm scared… and I'm wet." The clone replied, "I'm coming sweetheart." "Hey", the mom smiled, "She knows her part."

The clone changed the small one, and hummed a tune, as she bundled the child, in a blanket cocoon. "You're the best mommy ever. I really love you." The clone smiled and sighed, "I love you, too."

The mom frowned and said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal! That's my child's love she's trying to steal." Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear. Only one loving mother is needed here."

The mom kissed her child, and tucked her into bed. "Thank you, Santa, for clearing my head. I sometimes forget, it won't be very long, when they'll be too old for my cradle-song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime. Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time." With the clone by his side Santa said, "Goodnight. Merry Christmas Mom, you'll be alright."

* I got this via email several times from some other mommies and thought it was cute. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my dear friends that read, lurk and comment,

Well tomorrow morning, the girls and I are off to see some family in a much colder climate. I actually had to buy us some winter clothes since we haven't needed any in oh. about. two. years!

Maybe, just maybe we'll see some snow. Because you know it's fun to see it for about a day or two this time of year and then I've had enough. :-)

Since I'll be without the Internet for a good chunk of time (I know I'm twitching already), I probably won't post again until after Christmas. So until then, I hope all my bloggity friends have a blessed Christmas and may we remember the reason for the season!

In Him,

T-Lo

Our Jesse Tree

2006-12-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

Last night we finally purchased our Jesse Tree to start a new family tradition. I have learned lots about this topic over the past few months here in bloggityville. And I must say it's and excellent idea! I learned first about this tradition from here. Since then, I have been collecting more and more information to create our own.

Like so many of you, this year I am doing the paper ornaments for each Bible story. Plus, Sissy LOVES to color so this is a good time to let her make them. Also, we attached them to colored construction paper like they did here and they look great. (Thanks Ad for the tip!)

Below is a snapshot of our first four ornaments. I do believe next year's ornaments will be a little more creative but this will have to do for now. You can get more information about this idea and see more samples of others here and here.

I'm looking forward to doing more devotionals and watching Sissy learn. Sugar is still a little young to understand but we always show her what we made when she wakes up from nap. :-)

Below is the passage where the idea of the Jesse Tree all began...

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
Isaiah 11:1-2

I swear, I don't starve my children

2006-12-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

This past month or so I started doing projects again with Sissy during Sugar's nap time. We have made turkeys, Thanksgiving sugar cookies, PB brownie cups, Christmas pine cones, bells, stockings, a gingerbread house (our first time) and the most famous of all...

Popcorn garland! Which by the way takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to make. It's a good thing it's makes for a tasty snack too.

Anyways, Sugar woke up from nap yesterday and I forgot to lock the door to the media room which is where the girl's tree resides. I walked in to find this...

Then followed Smokey the dog...

Once Sissy came in the room and saw first-hand what was going on, we had a very upset preschooler crying, "it's ruined, the whole tree is ruined!"

I think this is the part where I was supposed to stop laughing... :)

Holy cuteness and fun!

2006-11-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4:00am to do my annual "day after Thanksgiving" shopping and I'm all. done.

Yes. I'm. all. done.

I just love all the craziness and fun things that go on that day. Not to mention picking up a few things for myself while I'm at it. You see ladies, if you get up early enough to go, you can actually try. on. clothes. with. no. kids. And eat uninterrupted. And go to the bathroom alone. And browse every aisle. And carry just a purse. Oh yes... the day after Thanksgiving shopping is always a good day.

And I think that is the first time I ever arrived at Starbucks BEFORE they opened. :-)

Now onto holy cuteness! I got the girls "Christmas dresses" this past week. So Saturday while hubby was out doing his fun day of shopping I got the girls dressed to take a picture for our Christmas cards.
I first tried indoors but the pictures kept coming out all blurry. So then I thought since this will probably be our last Christmas in Arizona, I would take it in front of a Saguro cactus.

No such luck.

All the cactuses were too far and the sun was WAY to bright. Plus the girls kept squinting their eyes in every picture. But, I did have some fun playing with iphoto and I perfected the art of 'cropping' some pictures. Below is a glimpse at a couple of my faves.

In addition to a lovely turkey dinner and my shopping, the girls and I spent the day before making our Christmas chain and wrote 25 things we were thankful for on each link. I love to see how much Sissy (especially) has grown over the past year. We moved from thanking our toys to thanking people.

I love this time of year!

The Big Weekend, Part 2

2006-11-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

The moment you all have been waiting for...the dyed/highlighted hair. Let's just say I haven't seen my sistor in over a year and when we get any time together it's usually...

lots of talking, giggling, late nighters, chocolote eatin' sistor-time!

So in the moment of all sistorhood she says.... "hey, let's dye our hair." And, of course with all sistorhood worthyness I agree.

Oh did I agree. I haven't had my roots touched up since my last bloggity trip to Savannah - oh did I just admit that? So without further ado, we headed to our local Walgreens to pick out just the right color! LOL!

Sistor recommended that I use the platinum color to lighten my roots and she chose the caramel color kit. So, the adventure started at 9:00pm and ened after midnight.

RESULTS: I had orange roots and she had orange/blonde hair. There was no "caramel" color anywhere to be seen. Of course the problem was with the hair highlighting kit and not with the person who was applying it, right? :-)

So here are the said color results! The picture was taken around 12:30am so the lighting was not very good.
However when it came to the toes we left it up to the professionals. And as you can see we have the prettiest toes in AZ!

As for the hair...sistor called and said she is all brown now. She actually got up the nerve to fix it herself. I on the other hand had an appointment first thing Saturday morning for what they sytlists call a 'Color Correction'. Well, let's just say 4 1/2 hours later I came home looking somewhat normal! :-)

*The word sister is misspelled intentionally because this what call each other sis-tor!

Thinking out loud

2006-11-17T17:18:00.001-07:00

I just hung some Christmas lights on my garage this afternoon...oh my!

Ya'll... is this way too early?

The Big Weekend, Part 1

2006-11-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Well Part 1 will have to start on Thursday when my Dad and sister arrived. The girls and I picked them up from the airport. They arrived an hour early, can you believe it? We finally met up in luggage and the first stop was at In and Out Burger.

Yes ma'am the best burgers EVER.

Once we arrived back home, my Dad and I busted out my most recent Ebay purchase. Oh yes, the train that we had going around the Christmas when I was younger will now be parading around our tree this year. CHOO CHOO!

Check it out...Dad got er' up and running, uncoupling and smoking!
This is a vintage Marx Big Rail Work Train.
A little later in the afternoon I decided to go out and get our mail. Below is what I saw in our front yard on the way out!
YES, that is a giant pile of busy bees trying to make a hive. I'm sure the queen is under there somewhere.

Note to readers: If you live where I live, this is how to take care of the bees: :)

1. Call animal control because it will ring the police department.
2. The police department will tell you the "Fire Department takes care of bees".
3. They will give you the fire dept. number and the operator will say it's out of service.
4. Next, call the animal control services back - read 'police department' to get a new number.
5. They will rudely question your intelligence and then try the number themselves.
6. Then, they will sound like they're sorry and give you a new number.
7. You will finally reach the fire department and they will tell you they don't handle the bees...unless they are hostile and stinging people. They will tell you that the bees are very transient and he "guarantees" said bees will be gone in a few days.
8. You will share your concerns regarding littles one in the house and kids being dropped off at the school bus stop near your home in 45 minutes.
9. The fire department will THEN tell you, "unfortunately they don't know kids are allergic to bees until they start dying on us".
10. Said fire department will "suggest" you patrol the area while the kids are walking home to be sure none of them bother the bees. OR, call a bee keeper and pay several hundred dollars to have them removed.

Here is what WE did:

1. Waited almost three days for bees to leave.
2. They were still there (surprise!) so we called our friendly neighbor Jim who owns a Pest Control company.
3. Said neighbor comes over to check out bees that evening.
4. The next day he was out there spraying them.
5. We paid him $20 bucks and the all the bees were dead in about three hours.

Luckily, no one got hurt/stung but Dad did say that he saw Jim running down the street because the bees started to chase him. Yikes!

Hubby paid him $30 bucks instead... :-)

Stay tuned for more adventures and pictures of "The Big Weekend..."

My Big Weekend

2006-11-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

I had such an awesome weekend that I'm still trying to absorb it all.

In a nutshell, my dad and older sister came in town to visit. And, boy did we have a blast. There are so many stories to share I guess I'll have to post in parts. We climbed mountains, dyed (read tried) our hair, pampered our toes, road some trains, chased away some bees...oh the fun.

But for starters, at the request of my sister I am posting pictures for her and all her friends at work of Sissy and Sugars playroom. It's kind of hard to get pictures of the ceiling and the floor in the same shot so I took a few of each area.

"Hi gals, here you go...don't work too hard!" Enjoy! (Claire is waving Hi Aunt Nese!)

Thank you Coffee-mate

2006-11-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

Oh yes...it's that time of year again where my all. time. favorite. coffee creamer is available. I swear, if I could get them to send me an email to a product review their sales would blow through the roof! But seeming how they didn't respond to my email I sent to them at this time last year, I don't think I'll be seeing anything in my inbox anytime soon.

Anyhoo, if you haven't tried it yet you have got to get the Coffee-mate Peppermint Mocha creamer. And, I emphasize this...

while supplies last!

Because I'll tell you what, I'll find it at Wal-Mart one time and then they never have it in stock again.

So this year I got smart.

I knew it was going to come out around November 1st, so I headed to my local Wally World and bought myself EIGHT bottles! Yes, you read that right. There were only nine left and I felt bad buying them ALL, so I left one in the case for the next lucky soul.

I know this sounds extreme, but trust me...once their gone they're GONE. Now Coffee-mate will come out with three other seasonal flavors, Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread and Eggnog. But none of them will compare to the Peppermint Mocha!

If you haven't tried it all ready...Go Get Some Right Now! You'll love it!

And if you don't...send it to me I'll drink it. :-)