Collin Creek Train Ride

In the summer time when it's just too dang hot to play outside, we head to the mall to play on the toddler play area. While we were at Collin Creek Mall the kids rode the train. Since Cooper is currently in love with his trains, I thought this would be a great treat for him and sure enough it was. He loved it, as did Isabella.

Bella giving Cooper his ticket to ride the train

Waiting for their turn

Cooper climbing in

Bella closing the door

All Aboard!!!

So happy, that was fun!

Funny side note: When I was pregnant with Cooper, I would take Isabella to this same area and we'd meet Brian for lunch. Isabella would want to ride the train, but she was tiny. 18-27 months. I rode the train with her, through my whole pregnancy; The WHOLE pregnancy. Now they don't allow parent's to ride the train. Well, thanks, about 2 years too late in my opinion.

Future Texas Tech Football Player

Doesn't he look like he could be a future football player?! He's got a grunt face, cause he was pushin'. And the cutest t-shirt that his Poppy got him. Thanks Poppy! It even looks like he's got his guns up on one hand.

Too much sweetness in this house lately.

GO TEXAS TECH!

GET 'UR GUNS UP!

Sweetest Sleeping Beauty

I just had to post this, Isabella napping in my bed, on Brian's side because she loves her daddy's side of the bed. She has her brand new Woody doll and her princess doll sleeping with her. Yes, she is asleep.

The Sweetest Sleeping Beauty

The Good Wife's Guide - 1955

The Good Wife's Guide
From Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May, 1955

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.
During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him.
Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
A good wife always knows her place.

OK, so I only post this to remind myself of the way it once was. The ways SAHM did treat the husbands as if he was the master. Nowadays, we are a team. We both run the household. I do see it that Brian does allow me to stay at home with Bella and Cooper. He could say, no, go find a job, the kids can go to daycare. We can afford daycare, if we can afford MDO, we can afford daycare. But Brian allows me to stay home and raise our children and I feel blessed that he does allow me that time with our children. I do believe they will be completely different children than if they were raised by daycare workers. Ah, how I love my husband. The above is funny, some of the things I did go Hmm, at. Maybe I should try. Like the makeup, but it will never happen. I hate makeup, he knows that. I think he would wonder what was up if I put makeup on just for him. And my face breaks out when I wear it, so not only would I look worse with a nasty broken out face, but a nasty face with makeup on that covers up the break outs and then makeup to cover up the cover up. Just now a pretty picture in my head. You get the picture too!

He Loves His Trains

Cooper hasn't founds his 'thang yet, well until now. I never let Isabella have a favorite thing until she got older and it was "her thang". I didn't want to push Pooh, Princesses, Mickey or any thing else that could become overwhelming. I let her decide what she wanted to like. And she still doesn't have a LOVE kind of thing and I'm completely find with that. I didn't decorate their bed rooms in anything that could become overwhelming, although you could argue that Cooper's is very theme-ish and you would win. But it's not a character.

Cooper being a boy and boys like automobiles and the such, I have picked up different things to see if they click with him. Like a firetruck, school bus, airplanes (he can actually play with) and now he's got two trains he really likes. He calls them 'doo doo'. Which I love! We take doo-doo everywhere. Doo-doo goes to the store, doctor, every car trip I make sure one of the doo-doo's is with us. We have a blue doo-doo and a red doo-doo. The doo-doo's do make noise like choo-choo, but when ch comes out like do, it sounds like doo-doo. And it's so much cuter when Cooper does it. It's very low tone and slow. Very cute!

Here's Cooper with his doo-doo's playing.

Daily Schedule

With the kids both attending mother's day out this fall, I needed to create a daily schedule that we could all wake up, nap, eat and go to bed by. I did just that. It's a bit stiff, but I'm trying to work around it, but only slightly. Cooper still takes two naps a day and they can last over 2 hours and Isabella still naps once a day and it can last 2 hours. Once MDO starts and I get Coopers schedule for snacks/naps/lunch and the such, I'll be able to incorporate that into my schedule also. Then I'll make mine solid and keep it that way. I'm going to see how Isabella does in her class with her nap time. I hope she will still fall asleep, and I'll put that into the schedule also. She's been fighting her naps tooth and nail lately and some days I just don't even bring it up. She's been the worlds worst at going to bed before 10pm and I am just about to blow up. That is the main reason I made the schedule. She'll wake up at 730am no problem! But going to bed has been the worst! If she doesn't nap, maybe she'll go to be at 8pm like I want. Let's just hope so. Ugh!

New Meal Plan

While Brian and I were on vacation, Brian noticed he has gotten a little fluffy in his face (and everywhere else). So he stated he'd like to start eating better. I pledged to him that I would do my part at home with the meals I prepare and the food I bring into the house, but that he'd have to do his part on the food he purchases at lunch during the work week and when he's not able to make it home during the week. So, I was eager to get the ball rolling on my end so I made a great menu and I'm pretty proud of what I have on it. I've mentioned before that all Brian will eat is meat, potatoes and chicken, green beans. That pretty much sums it up. No joke. So I've had to become pretty creative. I've purchased a few new cookbooks, I've flagged the pages I liked and I'm really excited to test a few out. I hate to used/eat frozen meat; fresh meat that you buy at the store then go home and freeze it, then thaw it out once again. It just never seems to taste the same. But I'm doing it any way. Just so I'll have meats on hand for meals I want to cook that night. I refuse to do that with steak meat, I'll only buy fresh and cook the same day!

Here is what I've come up with so far on my menu. I've done something for all meals for the day. I thought that since the kids will be going to MDO programs, they will need a good meal for breakfast. And since I'll be up for bootcamp, that I can prepare that when I get home from bootcamp and maybe Brian can have a better breakfast too. And lunch ideas for me and maybe the kids here and there. They are such snackers, that lunch is just a phrase they don't understand. But the dinner is where I concentrate my time. If you have any input, please send me a message, either on the blog or in an email. I really want this to work. And so far it has. I have been doing my part for over a week and I am proud of myself. Buying groceries for cooking like this was a bit overwhelming. I really didn't know what all I would need for the basics. But I think its going to be fun. And my family will have a full tummy in the end.

I can smell the pot roast in the crock pot now. Yum!!

Breakfast for the kids & I and weekends:
Eggs
Cereal
Toast
Waffles
Cinnamon Rolls
Monkey Bread
Pancakes
Rolls & Jelly
Oatmeal
Muffins
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Hot Coco
Fruit Smoothies
White Grape Juice

Lunch, mainly for myself and weekends:
Sandwiches
Pizza
Hot Dogs
Nuggets
Tuna (I have no idea how to make tuna fish salad for sandwiches! Help)
Chicken Canned (again, no idea how to make chicken salad! help!)

Dinner:
Whole Chicken w/carrots & new potatoes
Tilapia w/ corn on the cob & fresh green beans
Beef tips w/ rice & brown gravy
Beef K-Bob's (pre-made)
Turkey
Ham
Fajitas
Spaghetti
Sandwiches
Pizza
Taco's
Lemon Roasted Chicken
Chicken on Grill
Ribs
Chicken 'n Dumplings
Daddy's Stew
Pot Roast

16 Years of Wedded Bliss

Mark & Michelle Pittard

WOW! They've made it this far, they can make it 76 more years! My adored sister Michelle and her adorable husband Mark are celebrating 16 wonderful years of marriage today. I'm so happy for the two of them. I could go on and on about how sweet and kind and loving and blessed they both are but I have make up on right now and I don't want to cry. So I'll just post a few pictures instead.

This was that wonderful day. I was taking the pictures.

Before Baby Major.

Can't you see that twinkle in Mark's eye?!

There's that sweet little Twinkle, Baby Major! New Years Eve 2008

Love you both. Have fun playing Bingo on your cruise!!! ;)

Canned Cleaning Company

I just canned my cleaning company. Mess No More, huh? Whatever! Brian asked me if they came Tuesday, I said yes. He said the bathroom didn't seem clean. I replied, they just suck. In which he replied, then fire them. So I did. Like he said, the kids will be going to MDO in just a few short weeks, starting Sept. 10th and I'll have tons of time on my hands... ha! Again, whatever. I'll just make it work until the new year. Yes, I just said new year, 2010 is just around the corner. Our house isn't that 'dirty', we aren't dirty people, we have two toddlers, we have a dog, we are people on the go. But we aren't slobs. I know slobs! So I can do this. I haven't been completely happy with these people since day one. So I'm happy to see them go, jumping for joy! I actually feel a ton of pressure to see them go. I don't have to wait until the second and forth Tuesday to get my house cleaned. I can do it at anytime. I can pick up a dust rag or a broom and mop and just do it myself. How liberating is that??? Whoo, Hoo!! I think I'll go vacuum right now. Oh, Cooper, where are you!!!

Cooper's Cleaning Habits

Cooper has this thing with brooms vacuums and dust busters. For some reason, every single time he sees one of the above, he thinks he 'must' play with it. He knows where we keep all our brooms, vacuums and the dust buster, so when I open the closet door, he runs over grunting to get the vacuum, ugh, I rush to close the door or I just pull it out and let him play with it. Or when I go into the pantry, he has to have the dust buster, so again, I pull it off the charger and give it to him. If you happen to call our house and it 'sounds' like I'm cleaning, I'm not! It's Cooper playing with the vacuum or the dust buster. And the boy knows where the brooms live, all three of them. And the little dust pan, small tiny, brooms won't cut it. He wants the LONG stick to push around the floor. And he knows to keep it on the hardwoods. Funny that child.

Ahhh Vacation!

Ahhh, yes. Brian and I finally got that much needed vacation. Thank you darling!

Brian and I took another cruise a few days ago and had a great time. Cruises are completely mindless vacations. You just arrive, get on the ship and float. You can eat when you want, sleep when/if you want and do something, anything, nothing when you want. It was a very relaxing time away from reality. About 5 days into the vacation I got really 'home-sick'. I wanted the kids. I wanted to hold Cooper and love on Isabella. I really missed the kids. We tried to call them from the ship, but no one answered, we were bummed. Then Saturday we tried again and finally got an answer. Seems so small child punched a few buttons on the phone and put the phone on do not disturb. Funny. So we were able to talk to Isabella. I cried, she sounded so big and happy. She had been sick the day before, running a fever. She's never ever sick, so my heart sank. I just wanted to be home already. Brian talked to Isabella and she was just a sweet doll. We told her we loved her and would be home the next day. That was an $80 phone call, money well spent! When we got home she was so, so, so happy to see us. She wouldn't let me go. Good thing, cause Cooper wanted NOTHING to do with me. He was so mad at me. I had abandoned him and he was going to make sure I understood his hurt. And boy did I ever understand. He only wanted his daddy until we got home.

While we were on the cruise we went to Key West and kayak in the ocean and saw some really neat sea creatures. Then off to Freeport, Bahamas to go snorkeling. The water was really pretty and the catamaran that we went out on was really nice. The ride back to the shore was really relaxing. Freeport is really more of a shipping industry island. Not sure that there is much to do on the island. I would not go there for a vacation. Then the next stop was Nassau, Bahamas. Ahh, paradise! We went to the Atlantis Resort for a Discovery Atlantis tour of the resort. Wow, what a place. It is overly large and there is just so much to do there. It is way over priced for a room. Then all the extra stuff like, well food. It's stupid crazy expensive. But the place is beautiful. We would love to go back someday. Brian loved the Bahamas, I was so glad. Because I love the Bahamas, too! We'll go back to the Bahamas soon, just not to the Atlantis resort.

Anywho, here are some of the photos we took on our much needed vacation. Enjoy!

This picture sums it all up. This was our last night and the sun set was breath-taking.

And by the way, I wore that dress on our first cruise 6 years ago (stroking my ego)!

our cruise ship parking in port

us acting all silly in bed

monkey towel... loved this one

Key West, Fl at the aquarium

http://www.keywestaquarium.com/

Freeport, Bahamas at a nice restaurant after snorkeling

Nassau, Bahamas

Loved seeing this guy direct the cars on top of a box under an umbrella.

He was stiff as a board. It was funny.

On the ship, see Atlantis Resort over Brian's shoulder

At the resort... tons and tons of sea life and the such.

Brian and I rented a jet ski for a while. This was our playground.

He wore my body out, I was so sore the next day. I loved/hated it!

The last day on the ship, it was overcast and even rained at one time. We stayed in our chairs and just covered up with our towels. Loved just laying there, even in the clouds and rain.

The fun slide we went down a few times. FUN!!

Brian!! about to go down the slide....

Not so flattering, but this ones for Addie K. Last formal dinner. Such a handsome man!
Again, not so flattering, but I had to post one of me too.

Who knows where we'll go next!!