New acquisition

I found this vinyl art yesterday @ Bed Bath and Beyond. Pretty, huh? It says "Spread Your Wings and Learn to Fly."

Three Amigos (Part 2)

So, last week we headed off to Central Texas for a girls' getaway. The day started off as any other for me - alarm going off at 6a, shower, dress, get the kids wrangled and off to school. But then I headed down to Lynn's house to get the trip going. After a few mins for a bathroom break and a quick weather check we were on our way.

We headed south to Corsicana and then cut across Highway 31 towards Waco. About halfway to Waco the rain started coming down so hard you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. But, we soldiered on determined to make it to our destination.

In Waco, we decided to stop and take a bathroom break and get something to eat. By this time it was around 11ish. This wouldn't have been a problem if a white van wouldn't have decided to park so close to me that we couldn't get back in the car. Yeah, something came out in me (and I'm still not sure what it was) ... and I ran back into the Whataburger yelling "who drives a white van?" Unfortunately, no one fessed up (they may have been afraid of me). So, I had to climb across the passenger seat to get into my car. I would have a taken a picture, but I was sooo mad that I didn't think about it until after we were gone.

After that, the day started looking brighter. The sun came out somewhere around Temple and by the time we made it to Killeen the roads looked dry. We cut across to Lampassas and then headed south to Marble Falls where we stopped and had a late lunch at the Bluebonnet Cafe. It was delicious. After that, we headed through Johnson City and then to Dripping Springs to check in to our B&B (even though she doesn't call it that). The place was NICE. Juniper Hill Farms, ya'll. They even had the cutest donkeys on site. Here are a few shots from the grounds (and one of the outside of our room/apartment).

That evening we decided to head over to Driftwood Winery before we went to dinner. We thought we were going to another winery, but we ended up at this one. At this point in the day, wine was wine. Especially considering it was 5p and all the tastings closed at 6p. I was finally starting to relax.

After my first-ever wine tasting (eh, the thought was nicer than the tasting), we headed back to Johnson City to have dinner at a hole in the wall that served upscale food. Wish I could remember the name of the place (Circle K Cafe ... no, that's a convenience store!). Anyway, Tracy and I split the Blue Cheese Filet. Delish. Lynn had some kind of fried fish (that is not normally fried). I am sad to say that I have no food pics from this trip. Shocking I know. Unfortunately, when we stopped to eat, we found this lovely screw in my tire. Fortunately, the tire didn't leak the entire weekend.

After dinner, we headed back to the B&B to relax. Lynn went to bed early but I was pretty much wide awake. So, I just laid in bed and read a magazine. Yeah ... it sounds pretty boring on paper but it was a fantastic day.

I'll write more about day 2 later.

Sign language

I'm back from the girl's trip ... and it was fantastic. More to come on that later this week when I have a bit more time. For now, I have some great signs for your viewing pleasure. I found that some residents of Central Texas have quite a sense of humor. These signs were seen in Blanco, TX and Wimberly, TX.

Three Amigos (Part 1)

This morning I am headed off for a girl's getaway with my friends Lynn and Tracy. I love a good road trip with loud music, sodas and all the junk food you can eat (yeah, so much for the weight loss plan and the Couch to 5k I was trying to do).

We're headed to the Texas hill country, so watch out all you folks down that way because we're coming to town. Oh, and is it sad that I'm kind of excited about going to Luckenbach? I cannot get that darn song out of my head now.

Be back on Monday!

Overheard

In the car on the way to school, Mallory seemed to be craving some freedom.

"Mommy, I wish I could fly like the birds. I could be Supergirl and Truett could be Superman."

Happy Easter 2009

Another holiday, come and gone. We had a good one this time around. Although we did miss Shawn. He was in Moab on his man-cation. Of course, he was having a great time, but it would have been more fun to be with us!

We started the weekend by heading out to Gilmer around 3p on Thursday. All was going well until I was about an hour away from home and realized that I "might" have locked Cinder in one of the bedrooms. The bad news was that I wasn't sure I had done it ... and that no one besides me and Shawn have a key to our house. I crossed my fingers and prayed that I had not done it. But, guess what? I did. We have been busy airing out Mallory's room to rid it of the pee smell. I hope Nature's Miracle is as good as it promises to be. Otherwise, I may be shopping for new bedroom carpet (we need it anyway).

On Friday, we made plans with my sister to take Mallory to see the new Hannah Montana movie. Her first movie! She loved holding the big tub of popcorn in her lap and it was so cute to see it grazing the edge of her chin. The only problem was that she was not heavy enough to keep the chair down and it kept riding up on her. I finally put my purse in the seat with her and that helped some. About halfway through the movie she asked Aunt Chele if we could leave. Then she spent the rest of the time on our laps. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience.

After the movie, Michele and I stopped off at the Dollar Store. Um ... I felt really sorry for this poor bunny. I saw another one that was hearing-impaired. Or, I assume so since it had a big hole in its ears.

We went back to Mom and Dad's house to find my brother and family there. Didn't do much that night but mess around the house.

Saturday we got up and was excited to be attending the Gilmer Annual Easter Egg Hunt. A good time was had by all but unfortunately we did not find a "prize" egg. I have several pics of True hunting eggs, but none of Mallie. We had to split forces this year, so Aunt Chele took Mallie to hunt. She did pretty well for herself.

Mimi and True

That afternoon while all the adults and True were napping, I decided it was time for the girls to dye their eggs. No real pics of the event since it was just me and I was really paying attention to keeping the egg dye cups from spilling over and turning the girls colors. But, I did take an after-egg dying picture of one of Mallory's eggs. This is a turtle.

Later that night, we headed over to Aunt Chele's for a family barbeque. Stoney and Michele had just gotten a ping-pong table which kept us busy for quite some time. But you can see that Cale, Mallie and Reagan had better things to do.

We left their house around 9p and went home. True was overtired but was having nothing to do with bed so cousin Jace played with him for a while. I can't figure out who was having a better time.


Then came time for the Easter bunny to visit. I think he went overboard this year.

Sunday was pretty mellow as it was raining cats and dogs. But, we made it home safely around 6p and have closed the books on another family holiday/gathering.

Sweet peace

I wish I was doing this right now.


Shawn is on a man-cation this week so I've had the kids by myself since around Friday (4/3) @ 11a. It's not good to be out numbered.

Eviction notice

I think I've blogged about Truett's biting habit. He doesn't just like to take a bite out of crime, but out of other little boys and girls too. Maybe he's secretly a vampire?! Well, anyway it all came to a head last week. He bit someone on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. He was sent home on Tuesday. I argued with the daycare director that it was no punishment to get to spend the day with mommy ... but she thought it was. Does that say something about me?! Anyway ... on Thursday shethe director called to tell me he had broken skin and asked me to remove him from the program. Huh?

So what did I do? Protest. Yes, I pulled out every tool in my book, including tears. But I left the daycare with Truett's eviction being rescinded and a plan of action for how to punish him for biting. Their way of punishment didn't work so we would enact MY way. And guess what ladies and gentlemen ... it's been two days and no biting. Now maybe I am counting my eggs before they have hatched but I am feeling a little redemption here. Mom usually knows best, right?

I am blaming the whole escalated biting issue on the allergy meds I was giving him. I've been reading about how it can change a child's behavior. I shared this tid-bit with the director this afternoon and she told me there was another child in the daycare that has a medically induced behavioral issue. So maybe I'm not crazy after all.

Cinderfella

We've had Cinderella, aka Cinder, since last June. She has been a sweet kitty and is just getting so big. But, I had put off a much needed "procedure" that quickly got moved to the top of the to-do list once we figured out she likes to go outside and play. Last week I finally took Cinder to get "fixed." Yeah ... don't need any kittens running around here (I know MANY of you will appreciate that.).

We got up bright and early on April Fools' Day to take "her" to the vet. I wish I had a video of me trying to get "her" into the travel box. I think we both ended up with a few scratches before I eventually gave up and decided to wrap "her" in a towel. She was actually very good in the car and sat on my lap the whole way to the vet.

About 30 mins after I dropped her off, I got a call from the vet. Seems our little girl is really a little boy. I thought it was just an April Fools' joke, but no such luck. At least the "procedure" was cheaper!

Mallory was a little disappointed when she learned we had a stinky boy cat. But she's come around and now just loves her Cinder. Tonight she told me that she thinks it's okay that he's a boy.