in honor of graduation week

this picture tells a great story...5 years to get a 2 year degree...i am holding a leather diploma case with no diploma inside...broke my foot in 5 places after i finished taking my final nursing exam and had to miss the 2 week practium needed to graduate...had to pay one of the teachers to come in off summer break for 2 weeks so i could complete the necessary hours needed to graduate...was 1 on 1 with my instructor for 2 straight weeks, instead of being with a group of nursing students...no room for error during those weeks...cut into my summer tanning time...but i made it...and it has been a wonderful career for me...working as much/as little as i want...rewarding...

its raining, its pouring

and i'm stuck inside today...made it grocery shopping and dropped off a clean shirt at dell for steve (something about coffee spilling) before the floods started...i really thought i was going to work on my tan this week but according to the weather man, that might not happen...i should of been working on this a little sooner than the week on mikes graduation but i'm a procrastinator and its in all areas...not just work/cleaning/things i don't care to do...all areas...i am an equal opportunist and spread the procrastinating around...i must regroup and get some things done of importance...laundry and scrapbooking...sounds like a combo...colin and i just played this coloring game in his magazine...game time and coloring time - both together at the same time...another good combo...i've go a pattern going on here today...peace no matter what weather/combo is in your day today.

where did that weekend go?

friday...monday morning-just like that...i so appreciate the "weekend" for two reasons...one-its just good family time with no outrageous schedule to stick to (love not making a to-do list) and two-i used to work every weekend at one point when the boys were little - i used to work 12 hour shifts every other weekend before kids...so weekends my entire working life were never truly a weekend...a time to relax, recharge, reconnect and now that i am blessed to be at home at this point in time, i am truly enjoying the saturday/sunday thing! a real simple family weekend - pluckers take-out friday nite while we watched the sabers game, saturday morning football games with justin and nathan (steve stayed home with a still sick colin), some outdoor yard work, time up at the pool/basketball courts (water is still a little too cold for us), steves world famous cheeseburgers for dinner, church, brunch at ztejas, golf for steve and colin, sabers game watching for the rest of us (lost in double over-time!) and homework. all good stuff. busy week ahead...mikes graduation on friday in buffalo...this week will really fly...peace in busy times is a true blessing...and i'm looking forward to that blessing.

"my head is all crazy inside"

no this is not the words to some new song/no this is not the ticker running around my brian/no this is not nathan demonstrating his lyrictosis...this were colins words to me this morning - exact words - curly is not feeling well and this is what a headache must feel like to a five year old...we gave him some motrin and he was back to him self for just a little while and now he is covered with three blankets watching tv (its sunny and 80)...i hope this isn't another sick weekend again but those boys on occasion share and usually its sickness...the last two days were really productive - crossing off things left and right on my to-do list, that somehow today doesn't seem as productive...oh, well...i did manage to plat 1 game of oreo matching and 1 game of blokus today...cut the grass...take the boys up to the basketball court...talked with liz on the phone ( a long overdue chat)...a little office work...GOT OUR NEW DISHWASHER...returned key to clubhouse...figured out how to upload a photo from a cd to target.com/yahoophotos (for the computer challenged this was not easy, but its been on my to do list for days and i am tired of rewriting it every morning (thank you franklin covey calendar pages - you have to prioritize/forward/delete/carry over every day...). the short story of the dishwasher story goes like this...move in feb 06 - top rack does not slide in smoothly - live with it for awhile - survive 10, yes 10 service calls to our house to fix it - have nervous breakdown in front of repair guy - argue with ge customer service rep 10 times - get new dishwasher...i was determined to get this resolved correctly and i am sure that many people just live with things because it is easier...but i was not letting this one go and today it finally paid off, at least at the moment - lets see how that top drawer is in a week...gotta go and check on our patient and load the dishwasher...tgif.

yesterday i listened

i mean really listened to everything everyone said...it wasn't easy...no multitaking allowed...100% attention to the speaker...no rushing the story/no walking away half way through the sentence/no making to-do lists in my head while pretending to be listening/no stopping nathan half way through the long stories...while i TOTALLY believe/live to multitask i have to honestly say it was a good day, maybe not as productive, but good and valuable...i can't live like this everyday (homework took three times as long) but it reminded me to slow down/focus on one thing at a time/or one person at a time...i am good at listening to three boys at once and answering all their questions in one sentence but thats not always the best way to do it...take time today to concentrate on just one thing and do it well...it can be a great experience...instead of glancing at colins newest lego creation, i sat down and really looked at it and complimented him on his work...instead of rushing through nathans homework book on 'plants', i took the time to sit and read EVERY word of his project and ask him thought-provoking questions about each page (maybe i could home school - hahahahaha - insert a brief nightmare here) and when justin told me about playing basketball at recess and told me each play, i actually listened and pictured him doing it instead of thinking of all the things i had left to do before i could go to bed...take time to listen...its worth it! i am always saying to nathan, especially when we are trying to get his homework done, stay focused - well, from now on i'm going to schedule in a little 'focus' time myself so i don't miss out on the good things. peace...

the simple things

i am so appreciative of the little things in life...i believe that scrapbooking sometimes has made me more aware of my life/my surroundings/little things that made me happy that i might have possibly overlooked before...i take time now to enjoy the everyday routine/the to do lists/the big bright blue sky/the endless talking of the boys...i am actually appreciating their constant chatter and noise...i find myself laughing more and more...am i getting older? more mature? or just plain olde enjoying life for the first time? looking back on my twenties, it was all about school/job/friends...in my thirties, it was all about marriage/kids/house/schools...now that i am forty, i am finally just living and enjoying and loving it...different times...different focus...different attitudes...different priorities...not saying that i have it right yet, just enjoying it more...this fun wonderful thing called life...heres to a peaceful heart today!

smile

how cool is this picture? too bad i didn't know it was picture day at nursery school a couple weeks ago...well, i'm sure i knew just didn't put it in to long term memory...and you know what, it's ok...the world didn't come to an end...he has a clean shirt on...he's smiling...now if this was child number one, i would of cried for days over this 'incorrect-shirt-to-be-wearing-on-picture-day' but i'm learning as time goes on what to stress about and what not to...i am a much better person because of it...just go with the flow...enjoy it...embrace life...the simple little things...keep it all in perspective...so now when i look at this picture, i don't see an old hand-me-down shirt...i see a great kid with a great smile with a super heart with lots of love just loving life standing in a field of beautiful texas wild bluebonnets !! its all good...

healthy again

we are back on track again and feeling healthy around here...because nathan was home from school sick today...i was home and made the most of it...lots of wash done...lots of office work done...even managed to fit in a board game or two...creative dinner with what we had here since i missed out on my monday morning grocery shopping ( i'll be a day behind all week!)...heres hoping no one else will get the flu...no scrapbooking today, i had to be creative with that-make-a-dinner-with-what-you-have-here contest today...heres to tomorrow...peace...and yes, i was able to stay home all day and NOT order ali's kit of the month...talk about temptation...but i was strong and didn't give in...too many projects i need to complete before i buy another one...next time for sure (if i am caught up !!)...i have put myself on a supplies diet...only cardstock allowed...lets see how long that will last....gotta go and hit the other blog...procrastinating again.

plans change

life goes humming along as scheduled then a curve ball hits...nathan has the flu...and you juggle everything around a little to make room for a sick child...i knew something was up when he came home from school on friday afternoon and said no thank you to a bowl of ice cream sandwich ice cream(yes, that is a real flavor!) and by 10pm i knew what was up...when nathan gets sick, he never complains but he is dead to the world...he never left his bed all day saturday...its sunday morning and he just held down some ice chips and actually walked downstairs to check on things...he missed his football game (they won!), he missed his team photo session, he missed going with the gang to dell diamond on saturday night for a baseball game on the grass, he missed church and he missed recharging his batteries for another week...nothing like being ill to make one appreciate being healthy...now we just pray that everyone else doesn't get it...a side note to this story, when colin found out that nathan was sick, he said "i have to get him a get well present."
"a get well present?"
"yes mommy because last time i was sick nathan went to target and bought me a present"
(i vaguely remember this occurring...)
so off to the dollar store we went and colin searched long and hard to find the perfect gift...a basketball game you can play on the table...nice job colin!
and justin bought nathan a tattoo at church this morning...just because...
thats all from here...peace and health today.

i finished

a book...finally...after renewing it at the library twice...i remember when i would read a book in a week...little slower these days...good book/well written/would read it again...the history of love by nicole krauss...last night colin told steve that i sat in the back all day and read my book...well, all day is a stretch because i did get my hair colored in the morning (thank goodness - it was really bad/really grey) and i did come home and cut the grass but from 1:30 till 3:15 i sat in the sun and did some serious reading/tanning at the same time...multitasking, plus i knew the weather was going to be cloudly this weekend and i really needed a little color...i felt a little guilty but i was just tired of "post-it notes and to-do lists" today...just in one of those places and a nice dose of sunshine changed that along with a vodka tonic and chipotles for dinner...now i'm on the hunt for a new book to read...not sure what kind i'm in the mood for...maybe a trip to b&n will help out...along with a cafe latte...perfect afternoon considering its warm and cloudly/nathans under the weather/no pressing chores to do...enjoy.

z is for ztejas

so colin is working on his "z" homework paper for school...thinking of words that begin with the letter "z"...zoo...zebra...zipper...zero...so we find so pictures to print/cut/glue onto his sheet and as we are finishing up, in his serious voice..."i forgot ztejas"...for those of you who are not familiar with austin, it is our absolute favorite sunday brunch restaurant...we often go straight from church to barnes and nobles (to pick up the new york times) to ztejas...we love both locations, the artsy treehouse downtown and the scenic hillside arboretum...and soon to be third avery ranch location (even closer!)...it is one of our favorite sunday family activities besides going to church and the boys ask every sunday morning if we are going to brunch...just had to share colins cute quote of the day...

mcdonalds

today colin and i took nathan a mcdonalds lunch to school and had lunch with him with a somewhat noisy cafeteria...and you know what...he'll remember this lunch forever - because thats nathan...this is the stuff memories are made of...love making memories and scrapbooking them but i did not drag the camera to the lunch room with me otherwise the memory would of been wiped out by the embarrassment...is it a careful line between the two...just as a side note, we saw justin eating lunch/stopped to say hi/saw his ears turn red/thought that stopping by to say hi might be like taking a picture in the cafeteria/didn't stand too long and chat...don't want to traumatize anyone...heres to memories without embarrassment...peace.

sit, read and think

i read this link from ali edwards blog today and i loved it so much that i had to post it on both blogs...it is just good thought provoking stuff...the joshua bell name has been a household word growing up with lauren and the violin...read about pearls before breakfast and then digest it and then enjoy today.

happy fourteen

i can't believe that we have been married for fourteen years...where did they go to??? i look at this picture and the day seems like a lifetime ago and look how young we look - like kids...our biggest decisions were where to go out for dinner tonight and what plans do we have for the weekend?? life changes...we change...kids change us...time changes us...our today changes our tomorrow...we grow stronger each day so we can enjoy our life together...where there is life, there is love.
i used this picture today to make a layout - a one picture lo (yikes ! and its a 4x6) and i also figured out how to print a copy of it off my printer (yikes, again!) and i even used paint and my own handwriting (not printing!)...talk about leaving the comfort zone...and guess what, i love it...it is so different for me...too cool!
happy anniversary to you steve...heres to life!

is it monday already?

where do the weekends go? they are by far the fastest 2 days of the whole week...after that football saturday we rolled right into a fun relaxing sunday...church at 8:15 (new time)...steve played golf with the guys at 11am and the boys and i headed over to the new borders for a relaxing pile of books and magazines along with a coffee/milk/bagel/donut at the seattles best cafe upstairs...its so cool to see them at the age where they enjoy and appreciate reading...nathan has already finished his new book/colin is busy working on his construction sticker book/justin has been sharing great facts from ripleys believe it or not book...the ripleys brought back sunday morning memories for me when i would turn to the comic section just to find the interesting ripleys section...life is a circle...off to the grocery store...home to enjoy some sunshine...steve took the boys up to the courts to practice basketball...steves world famous cheeseburgers on the grill...sippel stories over dinner...walk around the block(without the kids !)...finished up with a little soprano/entourage tv...talk about connecting the dots with each other today...quality time...the good stuff...the batteries are recharged and we are off to another week...peace.

its all good

today we spent the day at football...back to back games for both boys = 4 hours of fun, no wins this week though...colin was a trooper and handled it well...i was a little nervous considering that there are no bathroom facilities around...it was a very windy, partly cloudy, cool day - not the norm around here...it was in the 60's but everyone had on their hats and gloves...funny how when it was like 40 degrees and sunny in buffalo on that first nice spring day, people would break out the shorts and down here its just the opposite! the buffalo sabres are in the playoffs and the boys (all four) are into the game tonight...its all good - mixed with a little sun/wind burn to match. (thanks tanya for the great picture of colin and jace!)

quick update

i am down to 2 little yellow squares...i found three i could put up but i'm going to wait till tomorrow and enjoy this almost clear monitor...love that feeling...back to work before the bus comes flying down the street...

procrastinating-it notes

this is were i am today and i am not moving until all of these post-it notes are gone...well, at least most of them (check here for a cool new free sample from post-it...the post-it index cards! can't wait to try them out)...these are not things to do, these are things that i don't want to do...i love my to-do list...i have them everywhere but these yellow squares are the more challenging/time consuming tasks...almost all of them are office work related with the exception of 'find pin # to retrieve voice messages off texas cell phone'...i have not been able to get my voice mail messages off my cell phone since december 2006 because i can't locate my pin number and every time i try to get this resolved, i have been on hold way to long...well the time has come to deal with this and it looks like about 20 other notes...so i am going to stay focused and start one by one taking these down...its a cloudy warm day here...i will not scrapbook/read/play/go to starbucks/surf the net until i finish some of this stuff...i know what a great feeling it will be and a sense of accomplishment...so here i go...peace for all of your little post-it notes!

"can i (fill in the blank) or no?"

this is colins newest saying...he uses it in many ways such as:

• can i go outside and play or no?
• can i have a glass of milk of no?
• can i watch a dvd or no?
• can i play on the computer or no?
• can we go to mcdonalds today for lunch and play on the playground or no?

love that little dude...he is truly the blend of justin and nathan...we are so blessed with our boys...can't even remember life without them!

art is in the air here today

colin has just learned how to draw his friends at school and you just gotta love it...i know that i have the first people drawings from justin and nathan around here somewhere...wouldn't it be cool to frame each one and hang them on the wall...maybe in my space time or the next time i'm trying to procrastinate i'll go look for them...peace

justin wanted his picture

on the blog so here is last months honor roll award certificate...he has made honor roll all three quarters which is wonderful and amazing since he hardly spends any time doing his homework...he just seems to pick up quickly on new material and absolutely loves math...must get these characteristics from steve, certainly not from me...he puts together power point presentations with his eyes closed...its been his new hobby the past couple weeks (i didn't even know that we had power point on this computer) yikes ! i'm so behind...

quote of the day

i have a new favorite blog site...it a new quote every day... you can visit it here...and this was one from this week that i loved...
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film. -- Unknown

i am procrastinating again today

Today I took the design personality quiz (as recommended from elise on her blog) and here are my results:

Peaceful
Discreet
Non-Aggressive
You are easy-going yet discreet. You make friends effortlessly, yet enjoy your privacy and independence. You like to get away from it all and be alone from time to time to contemplate the meaning of life and enjoy yourself. You need space, so you escape to beautiful hideaways, but you are not a loner. You are at peace with yourself and the world, and you appreciate life and what this world has to offer.

ok...thats me ! except of course when i'm on the phone today with the ge dishwasher warrenty department... i could actually feel my blood pressure going up with the increase of tone in my voice...definely a coorelation between the two...and yes, i was procrastinating again - i chose calling ge repair over finishing up some office work....i am off to find a new way to avoid this pile on my desk...its the "to do" pile that slowly grows about one or two sheets higher each day as i take care of the immediate work this is more of the figure out/solve/rebalance pile...its not a bad pile just kinda boring...

i am a catching-up-procrastinator

this is me...i work really hard to catch up with a project/office work then i do not stay on top of it which leads me to being behind which leads me to work really hard to catch up again...and around and around i go...why is this?...the laundry is all caught up and if i would just do one load a day there would be no problem...no need to get up at 6am to throw a load of wash into the dryer so the boys don't have to wear wet socks or dirty socks from football the night before...if i just paid the bills when they arrived then there would be no late fees...but somehow i find it more challenging to just randomly guess when the bills are due...if i would just scrapbook the pictures as they arrive while the thoughts/ideas/emotions/dates/general year/location...but no i find it much more fun to try to guess the month and year by looking at nates smile (he had the silliest grin for years while his teeth grew in) or perhaps guessing what year by looking at my hair style...on the other hand, if i never procrastinated, i would never feel that minute of victory/accomplishment when i squeeze in right before the clock strikes twelve...that rush of joy that i did it in the nick of time...hope you are enjoying a good book/starbucks/sitting in the sun while you procrastinate....

creative day

look what colin brought home from school today ! i love it...

"the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." luke 24:7 ...can you even imagine that day for Jesus? we are so blessed to be His children and this simple picture just reminds me of this.

got through the chores early today...well, not early, i just stayed a little more focused/a little less aadd (adult attention deficit disorder) than normal...library/dry cleaners/grocery shopping...and decided to work on myplaying cards project that i have been ignoring...i took some creative motivation from emily/one playing card a week challenge and added a little of elises motivation of creating a new playing card everyday and kinda wound up with my own set...just stuff from everyday life...photos/scraps/stuff/mailers/words/brochures...its a minbook all of its own with an eyelet inserted in the upper left hand corner...they hang together off a chain...fun eye candy...real simple stuff...real life memories...

whats wrong with this picture?

do you remember highlights magazine? there was a hidden picture page where you had to find all the little pictures and then on the back cover was the whats wrong with this picture page and you would have to find all the silly things...well, colin is really in to this lately and he will sit and pour over old issues of the magazine (sounds like a little of his mom in him - you should check out my overflowing-magazines-to-finish-looking-at-before-i-recycle-them-basket!) and the other day he came out of the bathroom and stood in the doorway and said, "mom, whats wrong with this picture?" now normally i don't take pictures of the boys in the underwear but this was too funny...he was in such a hurry to get dressed that i think he forgot to take off the used pair....love this life...just had to share...

and a drum roll please...

because i won on lisa bearsons blog contest titled "the best $40.00 ever spent."
a couple weeks ago, as i was cruising around my favorite blog sites, lisa wrote about the best $40 she spent was purchasing a couple kites at coscos and a true family day followed...well, you obviously know what comes next, a contest to share your best purchase...mine was so easy and you can read it here...i really wish i would of taken the time to reread it but i never enter these contests but i had the perfect answer and i just typed and sent and out of over 200 entries, mine was the top 10 !! yeah...we each receive a package from daisyd's...which i was just admiring at the local scrapbook store this week...who says no one ever wins?!...anyways the short answer was the $20 each i gave to justin and nathan last year on spring break and they had to plan a whole day on the fixed amount and not go over...mom and dad graded them on creativity/planning/budgeting and they each had 1 week to plan for their special day...nathan took us all (four, dad had to work) to the movies (we went to the first showing of the day because the seats were discounted an additional 25 cents each and we saw the shaggy dog with tim allen...nathan packed a small healthy snack and spring water for us to munch on during the movie. $11.00 ...next off to the library and playground then to the toy store were he bought each of his brothers a small toy from the $1.00 bin (we were in there over a hour/really cool toys to play with/felt badly we didn't spend more...) then off to mcdonalds for dinner were nathan carefully ordered for us all off the $ 1.00 menu and then we played on the indoor playground for another extended period of time...then off to home to enjoy a movie that nathan had checked out at the library for us...he followed his plan to a tee and it was a fun and memorable day...justins turn was a couple days later (didn't want to do them back to back) and he really didn't think he could top nathans day and kinda gave up BUT as luck would have it at 5pm ms nicki called and said that gregg was at a place in austin called the main event, lets go check it out...well, its like a chuckie cheese on steroids for families...there was bowling/glow in the dark putt-putt/rock wall climbing/food/cocktails and a video arcade...so justin spent his $20 on a video charge card and then walked around on spent it mostly on his brothers...buying then games and rides with his prepaid special card...needless to say, it was a really fun event and the boys had a great time and justin was proud that he was able to 'buy' games for his brothers...steve and i voted that both days were a huge success...ok, guess that was the long version...i certainly didn't enter all that in the contest...but still fun times and fun memories and all three boys still talk about the day...we tried to do it again this year but that really is only a once in a every couple years event!! may your day be filled with wonderful memories...peace.

staying focused

today, colin and i arrive at target for our daily dose of vitamin target and heres a colin classic quote as i'm getting him into the cart :

colin: "ok now mom stay focused."

he has a little of steve in him...go to the store...get what you need...leave. and i'm alittle more like...lets get a cup of coffee to drink while we explore every single aisle and end cap in this place...lets read every package label...lets just wander thru the hardware section...lets look at every $1 bin in the front of the store kind of experience.

the mother next to us BURST out laughing when she heard colins line. this is good stuff.

easter sunday in an eggshell

Can't believe its the monday after easter already. easter flew right bye us.
In an eggshell, a quick review of the holiday:

• cold/windy/40 degrees...no we did not go home to buffalo


• plastic egg hunt started at 7:30 am


• colin found all 12 green eggs and his basket in 25 minutes


• nathan found all his blue eggs and basket in 40 minutes


• justin found 11 purple eggs and then we left for church


• easter service at 9:30 with the hudson family


• justin returned home/found egg#12/then he was able to open up his shipping taped clue which stated "no clues for you dude - too old - keep on looking for your basket"


• justin, after much despair, found his basket in the kitchen garbage can under the plastic liner


• yu-gi-oh cards are much better easter presents than chocolate candy


• brunch at the hudsons, complete with egg bake and mimosas


• afternoon walk and picked a couple bluebonnets when no one was looking


• leftover pizza for dinner


• season premiere of entourage

fun/relaxing/busy day - hoppy easter memories!

friday nite bowling

we took the boys bowling last night along with the hudsons...i totally have not a clue how to bowl but we had a riot and the boys did great...i think their scores were higher than mine, although thats not saying much...it was such a fun change and something completely different to do and of course we had dinner and drinks while we bowled...gotta love that combo! our saturday morning football games were cancelled due to the cold rainy day...in buffalo, this would of been the normal conditions to play in...are we kinda spoiled down here that we don't play in a little rain?...well, i love to be spoiled then...somehow its so much easier to cheer the boys on in warm sunny weather...just hanging today, colored easter eggs, started a game of payday(we play for a whole year, meaning 12 times around the board NOT for 12 months...i'm a good mom, not a crazy one!)and just relaxing inside. made another blog this week for the siblings in attempts to keep up whats going on in their lifes instead of hearing it thru mom...this should be fun and because we are a foursome of procrastinators (thanks dad) we started on just a weekly blog commitment...i'm already going thru old pictures that will get us laughing for sure...if this works out, maybe i'll see if the sippel outlaws want to whip one up for the family...
heres hoping you find your favorite flavor of jelly beans in your basket tomorrow.

container store

as long as i'm on a store thing today, check this out at the container store...i purposely stay away from that intersection in town because there is a container store/crate and barrel/whole foods/smith and hawkins/old navy/best buy/pier one kids all on ONE corner...please don't ask whats on the other corner and down the street...just too cool shopping here...i need to get a real job to support such habits...

target

who/what/where did i shop before target? this is my burning question #1 today and of course its follow-up question - # 2 why can't i just go in and purchase ONLY the things on my list!? i spent one hour in target yesterday and i only had 5 things on my list...it is a very dangerous store...i go to a regular target(super target is 15 minutes further) and i can get everything from a cafe mocha at the mini starbucks in the front of the store to a bottle of champagne to scrapbooking stuff to a gift/card/wrapping paper/tape/shipping box/mailing label...love it...plus if you get lucky - the starbucks person will find you aimlessly shopping down an aisle and offer you a free mini sample of some high caloric, delicious drink to enjoy as you continue to shop the end caps looking for the orange-red clearance stickers! what can't you buy at target....peace for the target shoppers out there today...

pardonmewhatdidyousay?

translation = "pardon me what did you say?" and this is colins newest quote or should i say word because he says it as if its all one word...cracks us up and steve and i are the only ones who understand it.
5 things i am enjoying right now:

• a new set of mini arcylic stamps for $1 at michaels (too cute)
• a good book to read - the history of love - i'm really enjoying this book
• propel strawberry-kiwi water flavor packets - just pour this into a bottle of spring water, shake and delicious
• friday nite lights - love this tv show
• blueprint magazine - martha meets real simple in glossy form

multitasking for a minute

the wash machine is humming away...colin is filling his plastic eggs for his easter celebration at school tomorrow...dinner is defrosting...cranking thru some of this office work...answering emails...chatting with mom on the phone...no internet searching for this girl, at least not right now...filling the april calendar with the school events...its all good. now if i could only find a way to add a couple more hours to each day....

kindergarten registration

i can't believe that colin is almost starting school...i'm not sure what i'll do without my little helper around all day to keep me company...this house is going to be very quiet...he is so excited today to go to registration at cactus ranch where "the brothers" go everyday...he's happy/i'm sad...he's excited to venture out into the world/i'm scared that he's out in the world...can't believe it's here, it seems like just yesterday he was born and now he's getting ready for kindergarten...WHERE DID THOSE FIVE YEARS GO!! i want them back - well, most of them at least!! i love my uninterrupted sleep every night tooooo much to go back to that world...i'm off to stock up on kleenex, if registration is bringing on this sentimental hormonal day, i can only imagine what a basket case i'll be this august...can you say empty nest even if the three boys are only in elementary school all day? peace for new routines, peace for growing up and spreading your wings, peace for just this great journey called life! i'm off to find his baby pictures now...

visit from poppa and grandma

bob and faith were here for a long weekend visit from florida and we packed so much into the long weekend...we had such a nice visit...it was a mini-vacation for steve as well. they arrived on thursday and the boys and i were there to pick them up at the airport...a quick chicken pot pie dinner and off to nathans second grade musical 'go fish' at school...on friday the weather did not cooperate with us so we hit the blanton museum on ut campus and off to the texas state museum for lunch...for dinner we went downtown to sandra bullocks new restaurant for dinner (thats a whole separate blog on that event)and made it home by 10pm...the boys football games were cancelled on saturday due to the rain from friday so the guys went golfing and we went up to georgetown for lunch and walked around the square, peeking into all the cute stores...saturday night we hosted a cocktail party with sarah and troy and sarahs parents, anne and pete...lots of laughs and a ton of food...off to church sunday morning followed by brunch at zjetas...our absolute favorite brunch place...a quick stop at whole foods for ingredients for steves world famous cheeseburgers for dinner...on monday, the guys went golfing and we went shopping at a new place called the domain...i found a new great kitchen store called sur la table and i think we spent an hour in there just looking at all the cool kitchen stuff...after football practice we went to the texas roadhouse for dinner...great food and great service (wish we could say the same for bess bistro - again, a whole separate blog entry) ...tuesday am just came too quickly and back to the airport before we knew it!! time to catch up around here - i've been on vacation too - haven't touched the dyson in 5 days - slight withdrawl...behind in office work too - yikes - the piles are huge on my desk...i'm am obviously procrastinating by blogging instead of hitting the quickbooks...guilt is now setting in...off to tackle some piles...peace.