Today I like...

...These newborn portraits. I'm such a sucker for props and studio lighting. I know home and outdoor photography is much more popular, but these pictures do something for me that others don't. I just love them! I bet I spent a full hour scouring her website. I don't know how you wouldn't...they're addicting to me! Look at this...I can hardly stand the cuteness! I feel like I might explode!

...This post, by my number one favorite blogger. It made me cry. I can only imagine how many other moms feel this exact same way. I'm sometimes startled by how much my heart hurts from loving Molly, so I can't even imagine what Drew will do to me. But that's too much to think about right now.

...this random and funny/impressive video of some kids rapping about their favorite snacks. Which kid is your favorite? Zac and I love the raspy voiced kid who starts at 1:50.
PS-Zac said that at his old school, all the kids would bring Taki's for breakfast (!???) and the cafeteria sold Hot Cheetos at lunch. Don't mess with a tween and their spicy snacks!

Lastly, I love this wall I came across on Pinterest. Love it so so much! If I had more time, I would consider doing it in Drew's room. There is one wall that's very bare. I'm just not sure if I can find/paint/whatever that many letters in just over a month. But isn't it adorable? I can't quit going back to it and staring.

Smooth Operater

If a barrista is someone who makes coffee, what do you call someone who makes smoothies? Because whatever that word is, I should be called that. Not to brag (actually, that's precisely what I'm doing), but I have been making the most wonderful smoothies lately. Usually I just throw stuff in the blender (hmm...what do we have around the kitchen?), but lately I've been paying attention, so I can recreate it when I make an extra-sensational smoothie. :) If you're into smoothies, try one of my favorite recipes and let me know what you think...

Go-to Strawberry Banana
1 ripe banana
6 strawberries (riper the better, if you ask me)4 oz. greek yogurt (I use Yoplait Strawberry)
3 oz. skim milk (I just use the empty yogurt container and fill it 3/4 of the way)
3 oz. orange juice (I love Simply Orange, and measure same as the milk)
handful of ice
***Throw it in, blend it up, and ENJOY! This makes a great snack or meal. If you want extra nutrition (and to be full longer), add a handful of baby spinach. Sounds strange, and makes the drink look different, but truly doesn't change the taste. I do this about half the time.

The American
1 banana
5-7 strawberries (depending on size)
10 (or more) of blueberries
4 oz. Coconut milk
4 oz. yogurt
ice


Tropical Treat
1 banana
4 oz. coconut milk
4 oz. orange juice
handful of ice
***This one's super fast and easy, and makes a great afternoon refresher. Very tropical and tasty!

Today I like...

...the new song by Maroon 5, called One More Night.

...this article about an amazing athlete/dad.

...this video of Beyonce singing at United Nations' World Humanitarian Day. Inspiring!


...Baskin-Robbins MINI Mocha Cappuccino Blast. It's tiny, which is the perfect size, since I don't need the caffeine or calories. And it's definitely still a treat...one every now and then does the trick. But don't get me wrong, I could have one every day and be a very happy girl! Especially in this heat!

Sappy, but so true...

One of my very best friend's got engaged on Friday. I knew it was coming for weeks and it tortured me that I was keeping a secret from her. After she was proposed to in private, she walked into a surprise party where we were waiting to help her celebrate.The evening was joyful and magical, and just a taste of how special and fantastic the actual wedding will be. I can't describe the way I felt that night, and it wasn't even "my" night! There is something so amazing about seeing your best friends so happy, and everything falling into place. I almost felt like a mom, proud and overwhelmed with emotion. Except I'm only three weeks older than her. But I love her so much, and watching her fall in love, and now get engaged, is so special, and makes my heart happy. Friday night, I was thinking to myself "these are the moments that make life so magical!" My favorite blogger says she wants to "suck the marrow out of life," and that's exactly what I'm doing. Because even others' experiences (that are not technically my own) make my life that much more rich. GT, I'm so happy for you and wish you a lifelong happiness. There will be ups and downs, as there are in any relationship, but know that I'm here for you always, and I can't wait to share your journey with you.

And to my other best friend, I'm so thrilled you are in love, and have met "the one!" I've watched you go through a horribly painful break up, the awkward time in between, and now you have been glowing since you met Mr. A! I can't wait to be a part of your future adventures too! It fills my cup to see you so  happy and in love.

When my friends are happy, I am happy. What a wonderful year, 2012!

Olympics (well, mostly gymnastics)

I am loving watching the Olympics! Zac doesn't care much about them, so I'm using my blog to discuss my thoughts. Please tell me what you are liking, and what moments or facts have stood out to you. Here are a few of mine:

Bulgaria has a male gymnast who is 39! This is his SIXTH Olympics to attend! How cool is that!? He said he can only train when he finds the time, which is usually only 30 minutes, three times a week. How crazy is that? And these 20 year olds are training eight hours a day!

Brazilian gymnast Daniele Hypolito's eye make-up. Very patriotic. I love Brazil's leotards though! :)

 

Team USA Girls' Gymnastics:

I like their uniforms! The blue and sparkles looks very pretty in the pinkish-purple arena! (props to the Brits for making it pink! hehe)

The slow-motion videography is soo cool to me! When the girls are vaulting, I love how it feels so special effecty because of the camera work, when they pause the gymnast in the air, then go from a straight on view, to the side view! 

Watching Aly's parents reacting to her bar routine was precious. I can't even imagine how nervous they are for her. All parents, really. I like seeing the parents in the crowd.

Gabby is my favorite. I just love her so much. So pretty. Love her smile. So graceful. Is it weird that I want to be best friends with her? haha!

My heart is breaking for Jordyn Wieber. If you don't know why, read this paragraph...(or if you'd like to see the whole article, click here.)

An athlete who has trained since she was four years old is the reigning World and National Champion and coming into the Olympic Games as the all around favorite. She has a good day, not great, in her first Olympic competition and finishes 3rd in the World out of the 3 of 5 sessions of qualifications. However, the two gymnasts ahead of her are her teammates. So, because of a rule, she will not advance to finals. 

Although USA is in the lead for team, Jordyn (the best of the best!) didn't make it to individual All Arounds. Just because of a dumb rule. So sad for her.
Dear Jordyn, even though Gabby is my favorite, I still love you! Congrats on helping your team!

I cried when Kelci Bryant and Abby Johnston won the silver medal in synchronized diving. They were so excited and emotional, it was priceless!

I like Olympics commercials better than Super Bowl commercials. I also love how Olympics are so uniting. We are all cheering for Team USA (well, most of us), instead of disagreeing over teams and college vs. professional, and sleazy players, etc. It's such a positive thing. Love it.

Most Important Meal of the Day!

I love the day after grocery shopping. I also LOVE breakfast, now that I'm preggers. I wake up in the middle of the night planning What I'll eat when precious morning light comes. Yesterday I woke up in a bad mood because I knew there was nothing to eat for breakfast. I'm not stretching the truth either. Literally not one item in our house that fit the breakfast bill. So, we ended up going out for breakfast (which is always delightful!) and then Zac went shopping. This morning I have a very different problem. What do I choose? Greek yogurt? Fruit? Cereal? Smoothie? Waffles? Graham crackers and yogurt? Oatmeal? See...so many choices! I'm so lucky to have such variety here in my own kitchen to choose from! I just wish it didn't seem like such a critical decision selecting what I want to eat for this one silly meal. I'm about to make a pros and cons list. I think pregnancy has quite possibly made my indecisiveness reach an all new high!

Bucket List Revisited

My dear friend Stacy posted a "30 by 30" list on her blog, which was really cool. 30 things she hopes to do by age 30. I will have to make a list myself. In the meantime, it reminded me that I made a Bucket List in February of 2011, and thought I should revisit it, to see if I can check off a few more items...(in red)

Bucket List

I am sure there are many more, and I do plan on adding to this as I go, but here are a few things I hope to accomplish before I die...

TRAVEL
watch a bullfight in Spain CHECK
ride a cable car in San Francisco CHECK
eat a beignet in New Orleans YAY! CHECK! (March, 2011)
stand in front of Mona Lisa
stand on a glacier CHECK
stand at the top of a volcano (Hawaii maybe?)
snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
eat Italian food in Italy
have a picnic in Central Park
pet a kangaroo in Australia
kick a soccer ball in Brazil
visit the Greek islands
take a mission trip to Africa

FAMILY
celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
watch my grandchildren become happy and fulfilled adults
save money successfully, die in a good position financially
make my kids proud
keep in touch with cousins and close friends (in progress)

PERSONAL
learn to sew
appreciate cooking
be a hospital volunteer
save a life
write a book
earn a masters degree
stand up for something I believe in, even if it makes me uncomfortable
keep an open mind & always try to understand others
learn all the yoga words, and their positions


Okay, so I didn't get to check much off, but if I'd have put "eat deep dish pizza in Chicago" I could check that off! And I thought surely I'd get to check off "have kids!?" I guess that was just a given. Well, I'll keep working on it. Unfortunately a lot of the travel ones require a lot of money, and the family ones require the passing of time. As talented as I am, I'll just have to wait on those. The personal ones might be some that I can work more actively on, espcially now that I'll be staying home for awhile. :)

Camp Midlo (days 3, 4, & 5)

Wednesday, day 3
Today we went to the Ft. Worth zoo! It opens at ten, so we arrived just before to get tickets and start our adventure, knowing it would get hot pretty quickly. My cousin Amy (who lives in Ft. Worth and is a nanny) met us there with her two cuties, a three year old girl and 18 month old boy. We walked around for about an hour and a half and then ate lunch. After lunch we only lasted another hour, because it was SO...dang...HOT! You can see some sweat and red cheeks in the pics! :)
Here are a few of our favorite highlights:
Feeding the birds
Riding the train
Watching the elephants
Seeing a playful baby monkey making a mess of their den
When we got home from the zoo, after we all woke up from a nice nap, we bathed/showered and then went to Fuzzy's tacos for dinner. Owen loves it, and calls tacos "taco-da-baco" and queso "queso-dilla." Haha! Madeline actually did have a cheese quesadilla, and I taught her to dip it in the queso. Yum! :) After dinner we rented a movie, but by the time we got home and changed into jammies and all that, it was time for bed. Another fun day!

Thursday, day 4
Zac and I weren't quite sure what we were going to do today. After two days of being super busy, we did know that we wanted to have a more laid back day. The kids helped me make blueberry muffins on Wednesday morning, so we ate some blueberry muffins, and Owen also had some fresh blueberries, and a blueberry waffle! Madeline and I joked that he was going to turn blue! :) We put the movie that we had rented in for the kids, but after M asked for the second time "do we HAVE to watch this?" I turned it off. (haha...thanks a lot "Treasure Buddies!") We hung around the house for a little bit, then needed to get out and about. There's just not much room to burn energy in our little place. We went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A for lunch, so the kids could run and play on the indoor playscape, then headed to the movie theater! I had shown Madeline the trailers for both Ice Age and Madagascar and let her choose, and she picked the latter, because it looked less scary. I have to say, I've not seen the first or second Madagascar, but I was really impressed with the third one, that we saw today. It was Owen's first time to go to a movie, and he did a wonderful job! The popcorn and fruit gummies helped keep him occupied, but he was watching the movie while eating! He stood up for a bit and watched leaning on the seats in front of us (luckily no one was there), and only asked to go to the bathroom once. Zac wasn't sure if they would come back or not (only about 20-30 minutes left in the movie), but Owen spotted the booster seats on the way out, and couldn't wait to come back, so he could sit in a booster! :) Madeline was a champ too, even though there was one character who was kind of evil and scary. It was a wonderful way to spend a hot afternoon, and I'm so glad we decided to go!
After some quiet time at the house we put on swimsuits and headed to a shopping center with a splash pad in Cedar Hill. The kids played for a little bit (although Owen loves swimming, he doesn't seem to like getting wet being sprayed, so he only played a bit, but M had tons of fun), then we went and had dinner at a little pizza-by-the-slice place in the shopping center. After that the kids played on this shaded dinosaur play area, then we got cookies and headed home. It was certainly not a healthy day of eating, but it was the last day, so I figured we could go out with a bang. =)

Day 5, Friday
Just like"real" camp, the last day is always shortened. For us, it was because we had plans to meet my parents for lunch in Waco at Jason's Deli to give them the kids. Madeline and I went and got donuts for breakfast and came home and had a very giggly breakfast together at the table. I packed and bathed Owen while Zac and Madeline got gas in the car and returned the "not good" movie. We had a joyful ride to Waco and a fun lunch with my parents. When we got home, the house seemed too quiet. I already miss those sweet souls and their busy bodies. Good thing I get to see them in two weeks! :)



Madeline and Emily

 

Madeline and I have (almost) matching shoes! :)

 

hot sticky train ride

 

Owen's face was priceless on the train! 

Camp Midlo (days 1 & 2)

One of our favorite parts of summer for the last four years has been keeping Madeline for a week. Last year we also got to have Owen for the week, and of course this year we have both of them again. Liz and her three kids (and my mom) came in on Friday to spend the weekend with us, and to attend my baby shower. Liz and Annabelle left on Monday to return to Katy, which started our week with M&O. We had lunch with Grandma at McDonald's and let the kids play on the playscape. When we came home, we hung out and helped Grandma pack up to go back to Austin, then laid down for a movie (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) and naps. I think Madeline is the only one who didn't fall asleep, but she liked the movie a lot. :) When we woke up, we headed to the lake in Waxahachie with Molly. The kids had little floats and although we were shallow enough that we could stand at all times, the kids had fun getting carried by the waves, and throwing Molly's toy for her to play fetch. We had to leave a little sooner than planned because Molly was bitten by something and started an allergic reaction. Bless her heart, her hystamines go crazy and she welps up all over and her eyes swell shut within 30 minutes of being bitten. She has gone into anaphylactic shock before, but luckily it wasn't that bad yesterday. Phew! We got her some benadryl from the nearest CVS and headed home and bathed her. When we got home, we ate leftover pizza and fruit salad for dinner, then had baths, stories, and bedtime. When I was bathing Owen, he looked at me and sweetly said "I like you!" It was the best!
This morning we packed up and headed to Hawaiian Falls for a day of fun. We arrived at ten and left close to two, but packed in A LOT of fun into those four hours. Madeline and Zac did a few of the "big kid" rides, and Owen and I hung out in the wave pool. We all enjoyed several trips around the lazy river, and of course spent time at the three children's areas. The kids were completely exhausted when we left. Owen fell asleep in the car before we pulled out of the parking lot, and Madeline fell asleep once we got home. They both slept 2-3 hours in the afternoon! When we all woke up we ate snacks and then played in the front yard for awhile. I made spaghetti and pesto pasta for dinner, and the kids ate like champs. We bathed, had a face time chat with Liz and Andy (and Annabelle!) then hit the sack. Another fun and successful day.
Here are some pics from the first two days of "Camp Midlo..."
On the way to the lake...

 Zac and the kids in the lake...

me trying to be artsy. LOL! (and taking advantage of my new iphone 4s feature where you can see yourself (and those behind you) in the camera. haha

 big belly (big everything really, but hey, I'm embracing it)...

 you can't tell how swollen she was in this pic, but it was breaking my heart.

 Madeline when we first got to H-Falls. She was so excited!

 Owen sliding down one of the kid slides...

 Owen pretending to sleep (the sun was pretty bright). Zac is such a great uncle.

 Owen in the tub and out of it. This sweet boy makes me so happy!

 Afternoon snack time. He takes awhile to wake up from his naps, but I can totally appreciate that. :)

More fun to come tomorrow! Stay tuned!

2011 wrap-up

It's obvious that I was not a very good blogger last year. (except for about a month in the summer) For my records (and your entertainment, lol) here are the highlight of 2011...

January
Welcomed a new family member...Ada!
attended a Girl Talk concert with Eli and Ryan
February
-We were off of school February 1st through 4th due to snow and ice! It was such a great week!
-judged my first UIL competition (music memory)
-Stacy's annual Wine Night, we wore old bridesmaid dresses...too fun!
-Saw Robyn and Natalia Kills in concert with Eli and Rye
March
-Went to New Orleans for Spring Break with Zac and my mom. "It's the NOLA baby!"
-Liz and her family came to visit
-Started "Biggest Loser" at work...a weight loss competition.
April
-Went to Katy to see the Bartletts
-Took a trip to Oklahoma with the Enrights
-Lots of fun community trips with my class (we always leave the building on TAKS test days)
May
-Madeline's 5th birthday party in Katy
-I WON Biggest Loser at work! :)
-10 year high school reunion (lost that weight just in time, huh?)
-Welcomed a new nephew Ezra on the 29th...and we got to keep Eliza while they went to the hospital! It was such great luck that he was born the weekend we were in town! :)
-28th birthday (womp, womp)
June
-several friends weddings
-taught summer school for the first time (8th grade English...4 out of my 6 students passed the TAKS at the end of the summer, after failing it the first two times...that is great!)
-went to cheer camp with one of my students at Great Wolf Lodge. It was a blast!
-Hardwick family reunion...my favorite weekend of the year! :)
July
-went to Austin for July 4th
-Rangers game with the Enrights
-7th anniversary (went to Taste of Dallas)
-got to keep Madeline and Owen for a week...SO much fun!
-went to Austin to be with a new friend who had the same surgery I did. We are CFFF's (colon-free friends forever!)
-Zac's cousin Alexa's wedding in Oklahoma
August
-went to Katy for a wedding
-spent a day with Amy and Sam in McKinney
-started back to school
-Ranger game with JT
-Best friend Stacy found true love :)
September
-McMurry vs UTSA game in San Antonio. We stayed on the riverwalk with my parents and JT and had tons of fun!
-lots of family birthday
-just getting into the swing of the new school year
October
-Taylor Swift concert with Eli
-went to a UT football game with my dad and my CFFF
-Oldham's came for a visit
November
-went to Austin for a fun weekend
-went to Chicago over Thanksgiving break
-spent Thanksgiving with the Oldhams in Burnet
-watched McMurry in the football playoffs
December
-Molly turned NINE
-Zac ran a half marathon
-BFF Ramsi was baptized
-Girl's night Christmas party in Dallas
-went to Austin (&Burnet) for Christmas
-celebrated New Years in McKinney with the Enrights and Falcos

And that brings us to today. The first day of 2012! Happy New Year! :)