Friendswood family photographer
I scanned the recipe for those of you who might want to make this pie someday. You should be able to click on it and make it really big. I’m telling you, it was so good. Seriously good. Don’t mind my doodles and notes. I’m a compulsive doodler.
Enjoy!
-Logan spilled and crushed up a bowl of cheez-its on the living room floor, and I asked Connor to clean it up for me. That may not seem fair, but using the hose attachment on the vacuum cleaner is one of Connor’s favorite things. He vacuumed my living room for 30 solid minutes, on his hands and knees individually getting each crumb. He even took all the cushions off the couch, and asked me to move it so he could get underneath. It was awesome.
-Connor ran a race this morning. Every year, our church hosts a 5K race and Kiddie K, and it was this morning. He was so cute! When I saw how far they were going (I would guess about 400 yards), I thought for sure he would stop halfway through. But nope, he did the whole thing, arms pumping, stride bounding, brow furrowed. All the kids got 1st place ribbons when they finished. Connor was so proud of himself-he kept telling people he won the race. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this. I had to be at church at 6 a.m. since I was on the race committee, and Derek forgot the camera. Totally not his fault…he had to get both kids up and to church by 7:30…not an easy task for sure! I am kicking myself for not remembering the camera myself. I have the best mental pictures of him at the starting line, poised and ready to go, and rounding the final corner barely overtaking another kid.
-Logan has started calling me Mom instead of Mommy. Um, no. I am so not ready to just be mom!
-I just made the most hard-core pie I have ever made. It’s called Peanut Butter Silk pie. It has a homemade crust, a layer of melted milk chocolate, a layer of the pb goodness (cream cheese, pb, white chocolate), a layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate, a layer of crushed peanuts, and finally, homemade whipped cream and chocolate garnish. It’s intense. It has about 2.5 cups of cream, in addition to the other rich ingredients.
-Derek bought me flowers last week, which I included in the picture of the pie. I love flowers. They’ve lasted 9 days so far. Pretty impressive!
–Stephen Speaks has a new album out, and I am loving it.
-I scrapbooked for the first time in so long. Sometimes it’s good to take a little break. I’m not full-swing back into it, but I’m getting there.
-I am feeling all organize-y. I purged a bunch of the kids’ toys today, and I have several other areas I plan to attack this week. I love when I get all organize-y. I also love when I make up words.
-I am so, so happy for my brother who got a great job in the HB! That’s Huntington Beach for those of you who are not California cool. When he called to tell me, I said “too bad mom didn’t accidentally get pregnant with you like 3 years earlier. Then we could have both lived in Cali at the same time.” I take any opportunity to remind him of his accidental conception. Or as my mom would say “unplanned, but not unwanted. And not unloved.” I think what she really means is “unplanned, but not unwanted because at that point we knew you were coming. Not unloved, but not quite as loved as Megan” Just kidding, of course. I love Patty Rob!
-I joined the gym last week. It’s time to get my lazy bones back into shape! I did good this week, working out three times. I even have 5 sessions with a personal trainer coming up, which I always thought was for old people, or people who wear fancy workout clothes. But I really like it! I won’t have more than 5 sessions…it costs an arm and a let to have one all the time! Luckily, I have Staci who is hooking me up with a work-out program. Thanks again, Staci!
-that’s it. I’m tired. Night!
because I just spent the last 3 hours giving my blog a nice, pretty face lift.
(yes, this is a shameless plug for all your bloglines peeps to actually go to my blog….)
Happy Sunday!
It’s 95 degrees outside today.
95 degrees.
Humidity at 52% (not too bad, I guess.)
Real feel temperature is 98 degrees.
This is what the kids are doing right now.
Actually, right this very second they are taking a Popsicle break. Hello, fall? Can you hear me? Please come visit us down in Houston. Thanks.
I have to brag on my super deal for a minute. I was at Kohl’s last week, looking for a new pair of jeans. I was browsing the clearance toy section and saw this water slide. It was originally $280, and I got it for $55. I was saving it for next summer, but you know. It’s 95 degrees out.
I got to spend a lot of time this weekend with these turkeys (my niece and nephew).
It was so fun! A little nuts…made me thankful for singleton births and not for two sets of twins, but it was really fun.
Connor and Justin were so, so happy to spend time together. Since they aren’t in school together anymore they don’t get to play as much. Connor misses Justin so much! It brought me so much joy to see the two of them playing together this weekend.
I took the kids to the “pumpkin patch” today. You might be wondering why I have pumpkin patch in parentheses…well….it’s not so much a pumpkin patch as it is a local church on a busy street 5 minutes from the house who sells pumpkins on their yard for charity every year. But the kids had fun and i got a few cute pictures, so we were all happy. 🙂
My little punkin’
Picking the perfect pumpkin is serious business.
I have to tell you the sweetest story about Connor. A few weeks ago, we started a new chart system for him that has really been amazing. He loves his charts, and so do I. I’m telling you, if you are struggling getting your preschooler to do what you want, make them a chart! Anyway, after completing his 3 charts for the days (morning, afternoon, and night), he gets to move a space on the grid. Once he gets to number 5, he earns a dollar to spend or save, whatever he wants. In the past 2 weeks, he has earned $2, and has been dying to go to the dollar store to buy some treasure. On Sunday, I took him, dressed as a super hero complete with a cape and $2 safely tucked into his belt, aka my pink bathrobe tie. I digress. We get to the toy aisle, and he is searching for that perfect toy. He finds a package of 4 army vehicles. It’s the one. I remind him that he has $2 to spend, so he can pick out another. He turns to me, full of sweet innocence, and says,
“Mommy, I just want to buy one of these for Logan with my other dollar.”
Oh. My. Word. Heart melt. So proud. So sweet. My boy…dressed as a super hero, full of sweetness for his baby brother. The best.
1. Who is your man? Derek
2. How long have you been married? it will be 8 years in December. I feel old.
3. How long dated? 4 years 4 months-engaged for 5 months of that time.
4. How old is your man? 31
5. Who eats more? Honestly? Probably me. I love to eat!
6. Who said “I love you” first? He did, but it was on the tip of my tongue. We were watching the Fox and the Hound when he said it.
7. Who is taller? Derek by 3 inches.
8. Who sings better? I think we are about even in this category.
9. Who is smarter? Derek. He is a genius.
10. Whose temper is worse? Definitely me. I am….colorful.
11. Who does the laundry? Me
12. Who takes out the garbage? Derek, unless he is out of town. And even then I usually forget.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Derek.
14. Who pays the bills? Me
15. Who is better with the computer? Derek. He is a super computer nerd and I love it.
16. Who mows the lawn? Derek.
17. Who cooks dinner? Me.
18. Who drives when you are together? Derek. Once, on a drive from California to Texas, I only drove 1 of the 24 hours. Derek is a driving all-star.
19. Who pays when you go out? Whoever happens to be closest to to the waiter.
20. Who is most stubborn? We are both pretty stubborn.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I will just say not Derek. Although I don’t like to either. We are both right. Always.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? I think it’s pretty equal. Maybe mine a little bit more, but it’s pretty close.
23. Who kissed who first? He did, in his car, on our first date, after asking permission. What a gentleman.
24. Who asked who out? He asked me out. I wasn’t even sure I was allowed to date yet since I was only 15. I had to ask my mom if I was allowed to go. She said yes (which is crazy…what sort of mom lets her 15 year old daughter go out with an 18 year old?!) And now that she knows we kissed on our first date, I bet she is really wondering what she was thinking.
25. Who proposed? Derek. In a tree. It’s a great story.
26. Who is more sensitive? Do you think anyone is going to answer the husband? Me, without a doubt.
27. Who has more friends? Me. I have 10 and he has 2. Just kidding. But I really do have more. For Derek, it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. And I also think that as a mom, I have lots more opportunities for making friends. I am super, super blessed in this area.
28. Who has more siblings? Me. I have 3 and he has 2.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Derek in some areas, me in others. But overall, Derek.
I tag anyone who wants to do this. It was fun!
Yesterday I tried to sneak some m&m’s, and I got caught by Connor. Now, normally I would do one of two things: either eat them when he is asleep, or resign to sharing some of my yummy treats. Sharing was not an option yesterday since Connor was on restriction from all treats and privileges due to a little incident involving the playground, my son, spit, and another child. But it was a stressful afternoon, and I needed that chocolate.
Connor was happy as a clam dressed up as Super Grover, playing in his Super Grover tunnel made with couch cushions in our hallway. I was happy, sneaking my candy and catching up on blogs. He calls me into his cave, and we talk about whatever was on his mind. Suddenly, he interrupted himself and said,
“Mommy? what’s that smell?”
“What smell? I don’t smell anything.”
“Sniff in.”
sniff. “I still don’t smell it.”
“I smell something sugary.”
“Hmmmm…not sure what it is buddy.”
sniff. sniff. “Is it peppermint”
“Not sure, buddy.”
sniff. sniff. “Chocolate?”
“hmmmm….” He’s getting warmer…
“M&M’s. I smell M&Ms.”
And with that, I did what any mom would do. I changed the subject.
Every year, an air show comes right to our backyard, and we’ve all been looking forward to it for the past week. Connor was so excited about it on Thursday that he packed his backpack with all of his essentials-which included cars, a magna doodle, and “his cash” (exactly $1). Connor wanted us to all go to the ditch that runs behind out house to watch the air show. Well, we decided at the last minute to do one better than that! Since Nonny and Pops are in town visiting, we thought it would be really special and fun to actually go to the show. An hour and 20 minutes later, we were watching F-18’s scream by and the kids were asking to go home. It was just “too woud.” But, with some earplugs and some sunglasses, everything got better. We had a great time, despite the humidity that was downright oppressive at times and the temperatures that were in the 90s. My brother and his family ended up going too, which was fun.
Tonight, I asked Connor which part was his favorite. I figured he would say the Japanses Zero’s vs. some American planes that I can’t remember…they did a war simulation complete with fire and fake bombs. But no. His favorite part was climbing the rock wall with Justin and going in the bounce house. I kept reminding him about all the cool jets we saw on the ground, the helicopter he got to sit in, and all the planes that did tricks. But no, he stood strong. His favorite part was the bounce house and the rock wall. So typical!
The day in pictures:
The crew minus me.
Derek and Logan watching the F-18s.
Connor watching them.
Connor in the army helicopter.
Completely worn out, and protecting his ears from the loud jets.
Today is Derek’s birthday! Happy Birthday, baby! I have more to blog, but no time this morning.
(If you are on bloglines, be sure an visit my actual blog to hear a rendition of Happy Birthday a la Logan)