Shout-out Saturday-Grandparents

My parents are awesome grandparents!  

They've always wanted to be with Reagan.  Take her places, play with her, buy her things, take care of her.  And she loves being with them.  

They've also become adopted grandparents of kids at church.  Especially my BFF, Emily's youngest son, Micah. 

When Micah was a baby he got real sick and spent 6 weeks in the NICU.  My parents took turns staying with Micah in the hospital.  It sealed their adoptive grandparent relationship.  

My parents watched Reagan all four days of our Girls' Weekend and Micah stayed with them 2 days.  

Oh the stories they had to tell after their time together! Y'all, they are funny!  

My parents AC went out so my dad installed the window unit in their bedroom so they all stayed the night in their room.  When the lights went out Micah told Reagan he was scared of the dark so she pulled him onto her mattress on the floor.  Once he fell asleep he kicked her in the stomach, slapped her in the face, and wiggled all over the place so Reagan moved down to his pallet on the floor.  In the morning he looked down at Reagan with her feet hanging off the short pallet made for him and asked "Do you fit on that pallet?" Ha!

Sunday at church one of the men opened the door for them.  He asked Micah "Did you bring your girlfriend with you?" Micah looks up at Reagan and says "yes".  They all got a kick out of that!

They went to Katy Mills Outlet mall.  At the Bass Pro Shop Micah found some toys he wanted... and two boats.  He kept telling my dad if he'd buy them for him he'd pay him back with the $20 he had at home.  Oh a little 6 year old mind! Ha!

I am so thankful they are good grandparents and want to spend time with their grandkids!

Five For Friday-The Cursed Child

When Deathly Hallows came out 9 years ago my dad asked if I'd go to a midnight release party with him.  I poop-pooped the idea.  Reagan was 3 years old (about to turn 4 in a few weeks).  I couldn't see staying up to midnight to get the book, forcing myself to go to bed instead of reading all night, then taking care of a 3 year old the next day.  So I shot down the idea.

Then I felt bad.

Cuz after the book was release Dad kept talking about how he had really wanted to go to the midnight release party.  He wanted to see everyone dressed up, wanted to play the games, this was the last book and he wanted to a part of that.

That's when I realized how badly he wanted to go to a midnight release party.  I should of sucked it up and gone with him.  I know I would of had fun.

So when a midnight release party was planned for The Cursed Child I made plans to go with my dad and Reagan!

1. I have two Harry Potter shirts.  I can't decide which one to wear.  I'm thinking about pinning them together and wearing one on my front side and the other on my back side.

2. Reagan has 8 Harry Potter shirt.  She can't decide which one to wear.  We have discussed the possibility to changing shirts every 15 minutes. Seriously. 

3. Reagan and I picked out the shirt my dad is going to wear.  We emailed my mom to make sure it was clean for Saturday.

4. There was so many things I didn't think I would get to experience with Reagan in the Harry Potter world since the last book was published in 2007.  I'm VERY excited to get to experience this with Reagan... and my dad too.

5.  I had to buy 2 books... cuz it would be unheard of for Reagan and I to share this book! #OnlyChildren #SharingNotGonnaHappen

Besties

I'm very thankful I have these six ladies in my life.  

They all give me Christian advise.  

They laugh with me and cry with me.

They celebrate with me.

They agree with me when appropriate and put me in my place when needed. 

They make my life better.

Wordless Wednesday

A little throw back.  

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jay and Reagan. 

Houston Girls' Weekend

This past weekend I had a Girls' Weekend with my Houston Girls.  Amy flew in from Lubbock and I drove in from Nacogdoches.  Emily and Brandi both live in different areas in Houston.  We all met at Brandi's house.

Which is on the market so we ended up having to leave 3 times for it to be shown.  We joked that next weekend they'll have no showings since we won't all be there.

It was really no big deal to tidy up and leave.  There was always something/someplace we could do/go in Houston.  Shipley's Donuts, Target, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Charming Charlies, lunch, the Fairfield Outlet mall, Hobby Lobby, Sonic... I think that's all.  Ha!

Things started off kind of rocky with some hurt feelings and a home sick kid Friday night.  But we recovered Saturday afternoon and the rest of the weekend was fun!

At Hobby Lobby Emily and I bought these letters to decorate.  She'd seen them on Pinterest and thought they'd be fun to make.  I'm not a real crafty type person but I do enjoy this kind of thing when I'm with some one who actually is crafty and knows what they are doing.  I'm going to put my zebra 'T' in our bathroom (I'm eventually going to redo it in zebra print).

At the outlet mall we went to the Vera Bradley store.  All their stuff was the typical 50% off but they were having a sale with an additional 20% off your entire purchase.  So I stocked up!  I got a new lunch box.  I overheard two teachers talking about how it holds they tubeware easily.  I nosed my way into their convo, asked some other questions, then decided to buy it.  We added my monogram using Brandi's Cricut.  I also got a dirty clothes bag that I'm repurposing to hold my surge protector that I keep in my suitcase for hotel plugs (It always seems like there aren't enough plugs or they're in weird places on the wall, like no where near the bed).  I also got 3 Christmas presents for Reagan's, one for Mrs. Taylor and "Jay" got me a purse for Christmas.  I can't tell you what I got Mrs. Taylor and Reagan because they both read my blog. Ha!

Emily and her family are going on a Disney Cruise in the fall.  She heard about this "thing" where 10 families are grouped together and they give each others families (or individual kids) small gifts.  It's called Disney Cruise Fish Extender.  The rules are very flexible.  You can give each person a gift or each child or each family or however you want to do it.  Emily found this idea on Pinterest.  I really like the canisters!   We used Brandi's Cricut to add the Mickey Mouse themed... stickers... see, I'm not crafty.  I don't know what to call the shapes that the Cricut cuts out.  Anyway, Emily's going to put something small in the canister.  We talked about candy, a deck of cards, dice or something like that.  I said I'd be perfectly happy with just getting the canister. 

We forgot to take a picture when we were all dressed up with our makeup on looking like hot mamas.  So we took one with no makeup, in our pajamas... and used a filter to take the edge off. Ha!  I think we still look pretty hot!

As always, I started looking forward to next summer when we have our next Girls' Weekend the moment Amy backed out of the driveway headed for the airport.  364 days till next time! Is it too early for count down?

Five For Friday-Girls' Weekend

I've been told I'm lucky to have close girl friends.  Many older ladies tell me they didn't have what I have when they were younger.  I can't image that.

Here's why I love my friends.

1.  We talk about how to raise our children to grow up to be good Christian adults.

2.  They are going through the same child raising problems I am.

3.  Some times you just need some one besides your husband to vent too.

4.  They're there to have fun with!

5.  They are honest about how you look in your outfit... or the one you're about to buy.

Girls' Mah Jongg Weekend

Last Thursday my three Nac girls and I went to Tyler to play in the Mah Jongg for Memory Luncheon and Game Day.  This is our 4th annual trip.  We used to just go up for the day. Then it turned into "let's stay the night and shop" which turned into "let's stay two nights and shop".  It's funny how we just keep extending it.  Ha!                                                                                                                   It's a little comical because we are some of the youngest ladies in attendance.  Most of the ladies are 60 plus.  Some one always comments on how young we are.  It makes us feel great! 

I won one game, we had two wall games, I think Lara won the most.  We don't keep score or keep count of how many games we each win.  I like to keep track for myself but I can never keep up with everyone else.  We are just there to have fun and chat.                                                                                                                                                     I like walking around and seeing all the different Mah Jongg sets.  Some are really fancy and colorful.  I also like seeing how everyone dresses.  Some are all dolled up and others are in jeans.  We dress somewhere in between.       

We made the newspaper! We were interviewed by a journalist from the Tyler Morning Telegraph. We joked that they chose us because we were young and could hear over the noise. Ha!                                                                         Lara's name got misspelled.  Some how mine managed to get spelled right.  The no 'd' always confuses people.

We got some GREAT deals shopping!  Every store we went into had tons of clothes on clearance. The most expensive thing I got was a dress from Old Navy for $21.  I got 4 shirts from New York & Co for $1.15 each!  One store was giving teacher discounts.  I bought 1 long tank top, when I realized it was on clearance for 90 cents (with my teacher discount) I bought the other 2 colors they had.  I would of bought more if they'd had more colors on clearance.  The only "problem" with these great deal was that it made it hard to buy anything more than $21. Ha! 

It wouldn't be a trip to Tyler without stopping at Andy's Frozen Custard.  Oh sweet, sweet Andy's!  I can't believe I didn't get a picture with our custard in it.  #fail

We also saw Ghost Busters.  We laughed and laughed and laughed!  It was so much funnier than I expected!  I want to see it again because there were times I was laughing at something and then missed the next thing that was funny.

It was a great 2 nights and 3 days of soul rejuvenation.  I get to do another girls' weekend with my Houston girls next weekend.  That'll have to hold me over till next July.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I finished Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking.  This was the last book in the Kanin Chronicles series.  I really enjoyed this young adult fantasy.  Bryn has been wrongly accused of killing her best friend's fiance and is on the run.  While trying to stay in hiding she's also trying to find out who really did kill him.  Bryn teams up with the last person she thought she would to find the killer.  Bryn also has to save her kingdom from corruption and has to fight a war to save her people.

I listened to The Young World by Chris Weitz.  I did like this book but not enough to finish the series.  Although I want someone I know to finish it so they can just tell me what happens.  I do wonder if part of the problem was that I listened to the audiobook and maybe that detached me in some way...?  I don't know.  This book was a young adult, science fiction, dystopia.  Everyone dies at 18 years old with some mysterious illness.  Child under 10 don't live.  Teenagers are running the world.  Groups have taken over different parts of New York City.  Some have a working relationship, others do not.  The Washington Square Tribe thinks they've found a clue and set out on an adventure to find the cure and save mankind.

I started The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater.  Every book I own by Stiefvater is signed.  I went to a signing at Barnes and Nobles in The Woodland mall years ago.  She's so quirky and lovable!

This is the last book in The Raven Boys series.  It's a young adult fantasy about four private school boys and a psychic's daughter quest to find the lost king on the ley line in Virginia.  There's death, dreams, lies, and love. I hate for this series to come to and end but I also can't wait to read the last installment.  

I'm listening to Fat Angie by E. E. Charlton-Trujillo.  I'm not too far into the book but I have to say that it's making me a little uncomfortable.  The main character is always referred to as Fat Angie.  The word fat is making me crazy.  I feel such sympathy for this girl.  High school is hard enough without everyone using Fat as part of your name.

Wordless Wednesday-Chicago

Chicago in January of 2015 vs July 2016 

Family Time

I met my aunt & uncle, my mom & my granny & her boyfriend (Granny hates when I call Al her boyfriend. Ha!) for lunch Saturday. Reagan had a summer cold so she stayed with my dad and Jay had to preach Sunday so he didn't come. 

We met for a late lunch in The Woodlands at Longhorn Steakhouse. Mom said her and dad always have a hard time getting to this restaurant. It's on the other side of the freeway and it's not just a normal u-turn under the freeway. So I turned the map on on my phone. Everytime Siri gave me a direction my mom keep saying "That can't be right." And yet when I followed Siri's directions we got there without any troubles. Ha! There were two loop-t-loops that my parents never could figure out. Luckily Siri got it straight. 

Lunch was yummy and we had great conversation. 

After lunch we went back to my granny's townhouse and had a delicious chocolate cake she made. 

While we were sitting around talking the topic of how it's hard to find anything wholesome on tv to watch anymore. Granny proceeds to tell us that her and Al were watching a game show and one of the players answered a question with "badonkadonk" (except she didn't say it right). Granny tells us she didn't know what a badonkadonk was but she thought it was vulgar cuz the players pointed down to her bottom. I'm dying! Just dying! I'm the youngest person there and no one else knew what a badonkadonk was. There was no one for me to make eye contact with and laugh silently at the rediculousness of  talking about badonkadonks with my granny. 

It was good to see my family!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 I finished The Choice by Nicholas Sparks.  This wasn't one of my favorites of his but I did like it.  Travis and Gabby start a relationship, get married then tragedy strikes.  Travis has to make a hard choice (hence the title).  This is one of Sparks few books that didn't make me cry.  It was perfect book to take of vacation with me.  It was easy and quick to read.

I listened to The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  In last weeks post I said that I didn't know what I was going to do with this book once I finished it.  I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the food we eat.  Like how animals are treated on farms, how these farm animals are being feed corn, even the animals that don't naturally eat corn.  I could go on and on.  Luckily at the end of the book Pollan gives some suggestions on what to do after reading this book.  I think the first thing I'm going to do is read the labels of the fruit I buy and buy local as much as possible.  That seems like an "easy" place to start.

On a side note I finished listening to this book with 3 hours remaining in our (vacation) drive.  I thought I was going to have a hear attack that I didn't have anything to listen to for 3 hours. I couldn't wait to get to the next hotel to download a new audiobook!
                                               

After we got to our hotel in Kansas City I download Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews.  I listened to this for the remaining 10 hour drive back. Sticking with my beach theme this summer, this is a cute book. Greer is a movie site scout.  She finds the perfect beach in Florida in a run downed, dying town to shoot the movie.  Greer has a run in with a flying roach (I laughed so loud in the car that I woke up Reagan), a run in with the mayor who's also the grocery store owner and co-ower of the hotel she's staying at, she's constantly putting out fires from getting the star of the movie out of jail to paying off a neighbor who's not thrilled having a movie shot on his street.  Greer gets wrapped up with the mayor/grocery store owner/co-owner of the hotel.  She starts a relationship she's not sure what to do with, she hires his niece as PA, and she befriends his aunt.  Greer's not sure what to do with all this togetherness.

Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking is the third book in The Canin Chronicles series.  Bryn's been accused of murdering her best friends husband.  She's on the run trying to figure out who really did murder him.  She also creates an unlikely alliance with the man/troll who attempted to murder her father.

Our Vacation in Chicago

We had a blast in Chicago! 

The first night we were there we went to The Navy Pier. The last time I was there was January 2015 for a conference. The teachers I was with and I walked down to the Pier one morning in 20 degree weather. There was ice in Lake  Michigan and not a soul but us was there. This time the place was packed! And the weather was an amazing 73 degrees. This Texas girl was loving the cool temperature!

The next day we went up the Hancock Tower, walked to the river walk, rented  a "bike" thingy, randomly ran into Reagan's headmaster and his family (what are the odds we'd randomly run into them in Chicago?!?), went to a park, went to the Cloud Gate and then crashed in our hotel that night. All that walking was exhausting!

The day after that we went to a White Sox game. This made Jay's 24th stadium, my 6th and Reagan's 5th. We rode the subway there. There was a homeless lady riding too, on her cell phone, with her pet cat. So that was exciting.

After the game we met my BFF, Emily, and fam at Gino's East for pizza. It was just by chance we all ended up in Chicago at the same time. Our husbands were the ones to figure it out. It was great seeing them and catching up over dinner. When I took this selfie Emily's youngest said "Hey!  She's taking a big selfie!" Ha!

On our way back to Texas we stop at the Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa. It was awesome! We threw the ball around. Then started a pick up game with some other families who showed up. At first I just took pictures of Jay. But once I saw how supportive and encouraging everyone was of the people who batted I decided I wanted to try batting.  Jay pitched to me. I hit a line drive down the middle and made it to first base! Jay accused me of trying to take him out with the line drive. I told him that was for all the times he irritated me. Ha! I wish I could describe the feeling of playing ball with strangers who were so positive and encouraging. We clapped and laughed and just plain had fun. 

I love traveling and seeing all the sights but I couldn't wait to get back to my house and wash everything we took with us. I always feel so gross in hotels. I've watched too many shows like 20/20 that show how nasty hotel rooms are. Ha! 

Chicago

Wordless Wednesday 

St. Louis Cardinals

We are finishing up our family vacation. We went to St. Louis and Chicago. 

In St. Louis we went to the Arch. This was on Reagan's bucket list since it's in one of the Percy Jackson books. And my girl loves the Percy Jackson series!

We also went to a Cardinals game. Jay is going to all the baseball stadiums. He's gone to 23 so far. After this trip he'll have gone to 25. This is not as big of a deal to me as it is to him but if we are in a city that has a team I like to go to a game too. I've only been to 6 stadiums. 

At the Cardinals game when we stood up to sing the anthem this is when Reagan  realized she'd sat in something red and sticky. We headed for the bathroom to get her cleaned up. 

On our way out we saw an usher named Jenn in our section. I stopped and showed her Reagan's shirt and jeans and asked if she could send some one to clean her seat. Not only did she do that but she also got Reagan a new shirt. It's a really nice jersey! 

We were so thankful for Jenn's help and willingness to get Reagan a new shirt. I was able to clean the pocket of her jeans enough to get us through the game. While cleaning her jeans I decided the red sticky stuff smelled like a jolly rancher.   

After Reagan and I got back to our seats Jenn came and checked on us and made sure the shirt fit & the seat was clean. 

Jenn did a great job taking a bad situation and making it into a positive experience!  Thanks Cardinals! 

Pet Peeves

I have a LOT of pet peeves. Too many really. 

1. My desk chair. I don't mind anyone sitting in my chair but, for the love, do not adjust it. It's. Not. Yours. The 10 minutes, give or take, that you sit in it does not justify you adjusting it to fit your body.  Leave my chair alone!

2.  Making repeated sounds. Seriously. Are you trying to torture me?

3. Smacking while eating or chewing gum. For real! Do you not have home trainin'?

4. Leaning on me. Listen, I don't want to hold up my own body much less yours and mine.  I don't mind you sitting close but don't lean on me or bump me with your elbows when you move. Ok, maybe you shouldn't even sit close. 

5.  Whistling. Ugh ugh ugh, that is all. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Ocean Beach by Wendy Wax. It's the second book in the series. This is a fun beach read. I love the women in this series. They are all strong women who had all that they had lost in a Ponzi Scheme. They have a chance to redo another dilapidated mansion and pilot a home renovation series for Lifetime. This book adds a bit of mystery that the first book didn't have. 

I listened to the Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith audiobook. Austin is a teenage boy with a best friend and a girlfriend. Austin records his history. All I can say about this book is that after being in a teenage boys head makes me glad I'm not one! Ha!

I started The Choice by Nicolas Sparks. I haven't read one of his books in a while since they always make me cry and I don't feel like crying. But a bestie assured me I wouldn't cry in this book. I'm still in part 1 of the book. So far Travis is retelling how him and Gabby met and started their life together. 

I also started listening to The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Honestly, I kind of wish I hadn't! I like being totally unaware of where my food comes from.  Probably not the best idea but oh my word. I didn't realize there is so much corn in our food. I also didn't realize that organic had such a broad definition and that definition is better for the big companies than for the consumer. I'm not sure how the info in this book will change how or what I eat or feed my family. But I tell you, I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know about how our food is grown and served.