Pretty in pink. - November 29, 2004 -
When we bought this old house, everything in it was pink…..the walls, the ceiling, the carpet, the bathroom, the kitchen counter tops, the oven……………and I mean everything. Even the paint on the outside was pink.
Needless to say, we got rid of all the pink…..but we decided to keep one room with its original "pinkness"…..the bathroom. Here is Mia, ready for a bath in the pink bathroom!
Isn’t she perfect…I mean, really!!
As I speak, the last of the pink paint on the outside is vanishing. In addition, the guy is here power-washing the brick….it is so shiny and wonderful looking now!! I expect to have some "after" pictures to post sometime early next week. I promise!
To give thanks! - November 29, 2004 -
Last week was a VERY busy week for us. What with the cake on Monday, school plays and parties on Tuesday, and laundry and packing on Wednesday, I had zero time to do much of anything.
Thursday morning started off with a ton of anxiety. Bill went to get cash via ATM, and saw that we had a $60 balance in our checking! WTH? I showed a considerable amount more than that in my balance. Turns out he used the ATM a bit more than usual due to all the birthdays and forgot to tell me about it. Errrr. As a result, after 14 years, I am turning over the bills to him. Too much stress. LOLOL!! ANYway, since the bank was closed, we could not transfer money from savings to checking, so we left with $30 in our pockets for a 4 day vacation. Love, love, love our Mastercard. I am sure after this weekend they love, love, love us too. We hate to use credit, so I cringed each time I pulled it out. Sigh.
Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of the family. Tons of great food, wonderful drinks and awesome company to visit with. It could not have gone better.
We stayed right on the beach in front of my favorite surf spot. The surf did kick up one day and I regretted not bringing the boards, but the water is just too cold for my taste right now. So, we shopped the Strand on Friday, ate some great seafood that evening, then Bill took the kids fishing on Saturday. Sunday we took off and spent the day with Bill’s 94yo grandfather. He is an amazing man. So full of wonderful stories about our history here in Texas. He lived it!
All in all, so very much to be thankful for.
Some shots of our weekend. One is of Mia and her great-grandfather. Check out the moon in the pics of Bill and I with the kids. It was such a beautiful night!
"I see the moon 
and the moon sees me, God bless the moon and God bless me"
Winter wonderland - November 23, 2004 -
My 10yo and 7yo are in Cub Scouts. Tonight we are having a "Mommy Cake Auction". The project was for us to make a cake and decorate it for the cake auction.
We decided to do a "Winter Wonderland" cake. It was so fun. The boys rolled frosting snowballs (and ate more than a few) and made a hill for the sled to go down. I made almond, butter-cream frosting, and it was sooooo tasty. Lots of spoon and bowl licking…not to mention fingers and hands. We made several trips to the bathroom to wash hands after they "tasted" the frosting on them. Mia even got a little taste!
Tonight we will see how much it bids out.
Try, try again. - November 23, 2004 -
Here is proof that the saying, "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again", is actually valid.
After 4 miscarriages and much heartache, could anyone ask for a more beautiful and happy ending. I think not.
Rest in peace, Flame. - November 23, 2004 -
Flame went out in, well, a flame. He was alive at 6pm, crawling peacefully on a rock. By 8:30pm, he was floating in the water dead. He obviously had some Newtitis or something weird. All kids were in the den watching a movie with Mom and Dad, so there was no mischief involved.
Oh, and both of the new fish died yesterday. My 10yo said that they were all defective animals because the pet shop was so filthy (no joke, there were dead fish all over the floor and the smell of dirty cages was suffocating). He told me, in tears, to call the pet shop owner and tell her to take better care of the animals. Not a bad idea.
Check it out….. - November 19, 2004 -
I joined Karen’s team over at UBB, so if you need any Christmas gifts, cloth diapers etc, go here and place an order. They are great, quality items. I love, love, love the Maya Wrap that I got from UBB!
End of shameless self-promotion! ;*)
Smelly things - November 19, 2004 -
It has been an event filled week here at our house. In addition to proof that animal death does come in 3’s, I have learned a few things and would like to share them:
- crawfish have hard shells, but rocks are harder and can break them.
- my 10yo cries VERY hard when his animals are assassinated by rogue 5yo little boys that do not belong to me.
- don’t bring 4 kids to a pet shop.
- fire bellied newts smell a bit like fish (as pointed out to me by my DH when he saw the fish tank in the boys room with the new creature swimming in it)
- "praying over the porcelan thrown" takes on a whole new meaning when your 7yo flushes his birthday fish (who met an untimely, mystery death on the same day the crawfish went to his maker) then kneels in front of the toilet and thanks God for "making such a special fish and sharing it with us".
- silk worm moths can sense death around them and like to be included.
- hide the amnimals when you have 14 kids, ages 5 and under, over for a play date.
Introducing Flame, the newest member of our growing family. May he stay on top of the rocks all of his days.
50 things I love about my husband Bill - November 7, 2004 -
- He loves me unconditionally
- He shows me in word and deed this love
- He would do anything for me
- He married me in 1990
- In December of 1993 he decided that he might want a baby
- In 1994 he gave me a son
- In 1997 he gave me a son
- In 2000 he gave me a son
- In 2004 he gave me a daughter
- For a man that originally wanted 0 children, he blessed me with 4
- He is open to new life
- He has sexy, broad shoulders
- He looks great with nothing (in particular) on
- He has blond, silky hair
- He loves to surf
- He bought me a custom made surf board for my 25th birthday
- He can really rip on a board
- I love the way he looks in board shorts
- He can run a mile in under 6 minutes at the age of 47
- When we go for a run, he runs with me for the first 1/4 mile before he leaves me in the dust
- He has completed the Hill Country Triathlon (1.5 mile swim, 48 mile bike, 10 mile run) 3 years in a row
- He got me into triathlons
- He bought me a mountain bike for a wedding present
- He took me to Utah and Colorado to mountain bike and camp out for 3 weeks for our honeymoon
- On this trip we did the deed on a cliff with the North rim of the Grand Canyon as a backdrop….unreal!
- He is my one true love
- After 17 years together, I still get chills when he kisses me
- He says he can’t sleep without me
- He adores his children
- He takes the baby for walks
- He snuggles with his sons
- He smothers his kids in kisses
- He is soft spoken and gentle with them
- He lays out their clothes for them every night for the next day
- He gives them their baths
- He encourages them and lifts their spirits
- He prays for them
- He mourned with me in 2003 when I miscarried 4 times
- He cheered me on when I had had enough of miscarriages and infertility treatment and started to exercise again.
- Even though we had 3 kids, when I asked if we could adopt from China, he said yes and we could cash in some retirement money to do it…all so I could have some positive closure after the miscarriages
- He smiled knowingly when I told him a month later that I was pregnant again
- He talked about the new baby as if my miscarriages had never happened, and he had no doubt that this one would make it
- He took over the house cleaning when I was on the couch with morning sickness for 21 weeks.
- He cried joyfully when each of the first 3 children were born
- When Mia was born, he was looking at me because he said he wanted to see my reaction to her birth..he wanted to see my face…..and then he cried with joy.
- He is tender
- He is strong
- He makes me feel secure
- He loves God
- And then he loves me.
Bill and his daughter.
Christmas 1992.
The north rim of the Grand Canyon, 1990
Bill, running with the Olympic Torch
On the porch of our cabana in Cozumel, Mexico
My soul mate.
For life.
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Crawling - November 6, 2004 -
Where is the baby going?…………………….
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could she have found something interesting?…………………………………………
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Mm, got any breast milk in here, Mom?
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Go ahead, call the cuteness police, I dare ya….I am in violation of every extreme, cuteness law in the books.
