3.21.2012

can you spot the differences?

-

top photo is from august 2011 when the

pond was a victim of the drought conditions.

bottom photo is from today.

the water filled pond is back and looks like a lake

after a very rainy monday night.

3.18.2012

the kindle is back in business and loaded with

ebooks borrowed from the library!

i'll still hit the library every week on my errands

but i might not be toting such a heavy bag with me.

i'm on the waiting list for unbroken

but i did check out the warmth of other suns, the imperfectionists,

jane eyre and swamplandia which were all on

my to-read list!

i only get these for two weeks so i

might be doing some heavy, late night, page turning,

page scroll reading!

3.17.2012

this post might seem a little unique for a mom of three big boys

but behind every unique post is a great story & behind

every big boy is a kid at heart and

here is my story.

yesterday we walked into book people downtown

just to browse around for a minute.

{i wanted to hit anthropologie but i didn't think i could drag

the boys thru there AGAIN - so we went next door.}

as we are all looking at books, i see justin on a step stool

reaching for a book high on the shelf.

being the conscious mom that i am - haha - i went over

to make sure that the book he was reaching for was age appropriate -

there was obviously a reason it was up high and out of reach.

and look what he found -

goodnight ipad.

all five of us stood there in book people and

read the story out loud - laughing.

it brought back such wonderful memories

of night time bedtime stories,

good night moon was a favorite of all!

i had to go searching for goodnight moon when we got home

& i was happy to see that it was still on a shelf in colins closet.

heres to an everyday memory.

heres to an old memory jogged back to life.

heres to a little story told today.

3.16.2012

just because it's not often I can get a picture of all three....

blogging from the iphone while walking through downtown austin.

a slice of pizza at whole foods after sxsw.

3.16.2012

sxsw photo review.

6th  street. looking for brad at the chuggin' monkey.

dell tent & silk screened t-shirt for all.

doritos vending machine stage.

walking & listening to all the music flow out

of each bar we passed.

our first trip to sxsw.

we learned. we listened. we walked.

we actually parked on 6th street.

we people watched.

we people watched some more.

we'll be back next year!

3.16.2012

just because this is so funny.

we stopped by the dell tent at SXSW & look what they did to us!

3.16.2012

Blogging on the go. We stopped at Einstein brothers on Wednesday to celebrate doing break and grab a bagel but after placing our very long complicated order, we were informed that they were out of plain bagels. Really? Its 11:15am. Fast forward two days - plain bagels for all!

3.16.2012

{colin & nathan watching modern family wednesday night}

i took this photo so i wouldn't forget our

modern family

 wednesday night family night.

it is the only tv show we all watch together,

justin included!

we then somehow weave the quotes into

our daily conversations -

colins favorite quote this week:

"onions sound good."

its nice to know that we all have a weekly

standing date together!

3.16.2012

just finished.

read an excerpt here.

historical fiction books keep finding their way to my list.

this book has been compared to "the help" but i

was hard pressed to figure out why.

this was gritty, raw and hard to put down.

this was a true family love story.

4 out of 5 stars on my goodreads app.

3.15.2012

spring break continues.

football practices continue.

redbox movie rentals continue.

{my week with marilyn, another earth & in time this week -

try to match the person with the movie!}

itouch hunts continue.

{today we spent 50 minutes looking for colins}

einstein bagel breakfast promise continues.

{we went once this week only to leave because that had no

plain bagels at 11am}

playdates and sleepovers continue.

video games continue.

open windows, 80 degree days & 65 degree nites continue.

target diet continues.

relaxing spring break days continue!

3.15.2012

january scrapbook pages completed.

not a ton of photos

but plenty of stories to record.

{yes, that is colins leg in the first photo above!}

it was a month filled with football -

practices, games & nfl playoffs.

it was a month of science projects, dog tag & stinger awards.

it was a month of iphones, words with friends

& the heat on in the house.

it was a month of memories made, memories recorded

& memories shared.

happy january pages!

3.14.2012

so i finally rolled up my big girl sleeves today

and cooked a piece of meat i've never seen/heard/bought before.

the pioneer woman whipped

this up on the today show yesterday & i

thought i'd treat us all to a new recipe....

i love the pioneer woman.

i love her blog.

i love her book.

i love her cookbook.

i love home.

i love her humor.

but i/we did not like her dr. pepper pork.

we tried.

but it was just too spicy for us.

we laughed. we ate ritz crackers & peanut butter.

we took out the garbage with the pork.

we will survive.

we will try a new recipe again.

someday.

3.14.2012

{last night at football practice}

spring break practices.

colin is already back to football practice

getting ready for the spring season.

first game is march 24th.

he's playing up this season - a first.

he's playing in the 5-6th grade group.

he's playing with some pretty tall kids.

he's playing with some pretty fast kids.

he's working alot harder this time around.

he's pushing himself to keep up with the older boys -

he's already a pro at that with those 2 older brothers!

happy season ahead.

3.13.2012

spring break traditions today.

colin plays easter bunny.

fills and hides 25 eggs all around the house.

then justin, nathan & i run around finding all the eggs.

its a colin tradition.

its a spring break tradition.

its an everyday memory!

3.13.2012

spring break time.

lime tree love.

look how much shes grown in 10 months.

looks like i might get a lime or two!

3.12.2012

spring break time.

the backpacks are sleeping.

the alarm clocks are off.

the mornings are dark again from daylight savings.

the sleepovers have started.

the video games are in full swing.

the daily routine is on vacation,

we are taking a break for a week!

3.9.2012

whats in my bag today?

i love this column in US magazine every friday.

its the first page i turn to.

{not sure why, but i do!}

i cleaned out my purse today to reveal its content.

my pink clutch wallet is my favorite.

a birthday gift from lauren holds all my musts

and i grab it for all my morning drop offs.

it holds my license, m/c, library card & a couple dollars if i'm lucky.

my iphone - how did i live without this?

thank you steve for surprising me with this present!

my moleskin - this year i went with a weekly view -

and it is so much lighter to carry around.

perfect to jot down notes, memories & to-do lists

and quicker than my iphone app!

a protein bar - special k strawberry this week.

advil, tums and gum - necessities.

philosophy cinnamon buns lip gloss - my new must have.

banana boat spf 45 lip balm - a must with all this texas sun.

kleenex, receipts and gum wrappers not pictured!

3.8.2012

todays library treasures.

all lined up and ready to read.

just in time for spring break next week!

nothing better than a stack of books to read.

keep you posted on my progress.

3.7.2012

early release wednesday today.

warm breeze and grey clouds.

perfect afternoon for a classic board game.

colin & nathan caught up on a missed episode of celebrity apprentice.

an evening filled with a 'family' dinner as colin calls them

and american idol.

{modern family was a repeat - its still the only show we all

watch together!}

the windows are all open.

spring has sprung here!

3.7.2012

just finished today.

i should of been cleaning or finishing up office work but i had to continue

on this journey with my American nurses to see what happened to them in

this moving historical book.

{read chapter one here.}

this story is told from the American nurses of war who were stationed

in the Philippines at the start of the pacific war in 1941 who

became prisoners of war y the Japanese in manila

till their release in 1945.

they were angels.

they were fierce.

they were strong, intelligent women who

survived conditions that would have eaten me alive.

they were brave.

they were determined.

they were American nurses.

3.3.2012

its only taken us 6 years to make it to your door

but we were in a wild and crazy kinda mood today

after all that mind blowing UT education &

ventured to a different part of town.

hello threadgills.

chicken fried steak & angus burgers.

french fries & cold slaw.

cokes & warm corn muffins.

true texas cuisine.

a day filled with traditions.

a day filled with firsts.

a day filled with family.

3.3.2012

hello traditions.

hello explore UT.

hello downtown austin.

hello computerized car & borax glue.

hello computer science engineer hall & popcorn.

hello radar gun & the new gates dell building.

hello UT.

maybe someone will call you college in the future.

maybe someone will walk your streets.

maybe someone will graduate from here.

hello UT.

we are happy to explore U.

3.2.2012

dear diary,

yesterday we filled out justins course schedule for high school.

yikes.

it was just yesterday he was a pilgrim in his nursery school play.

it was just yesterday he was getting on the bus for his first day of kindergarten.

it was just yesterday he was on a plane to texas.

it was just yesterday he got his first cell phone, first girlfriend

and first tackle in football.

it was just yesterday that i was taller than him.

it was just yesterday.

where did yesterday go to?

yikes.

i am not sure i am ready for tomorrow.

but i have a feeling its coming whether i am ready or not.

so here we go.

deep breathe.

go and enjoy.

3.1.2012

i stayed home all morning waiting for her arrival.

she arrived at 11:12am - weighing in at 2.99 pounds.

shes fancy & sleek when compared to her older sister.

looking forward to faster blogging days ahead!

3.1.2012

i don't want it to end.

i'm on page 536 of 552 pages & i don't want it to end.

i started this book 2 weeks ago & i don't want it to end.

i've carried it everywhere - to car pick up line at school, to work, to basketball games

& i don't want it to end.

it's the perfect day to read but i don't want it end.

i've read it while making dinner, while watching tv, while 3am insomnia hit

but i don't want it to end.

it is a complex, lush, mysterious novel that i can't put down.

it is like a family heirloom quilt make up of patches of fabric

from generations past with each handmade square

filled with memories all stitched together

to cover you in a blanket of warmth.

the characters are so vivid that you feel like you know them

better than yourself.

the scenery is to vivid that you feel like you've been tending

to this garden since you were a child.

the story is so vivid that you feel like you are

a part of the adventure.

its a mystery. its a love story.

its a novel you won't soon forget.

heres to the last couple of pages.