Irony

When I was in college, I had a roommate with a lot of allergies. She used to zip everything up in plastic - her mattress, her pillows, her clothes - everything. Poor girl, we gave her so much grief for that. Especially me, since we were in the same room and I had to hear the rustle of the plastic every time she moved on her bed.

Fast forward almost twenty years and now I'm the one zipping everything up. Luke is allergic to dust mites so of course, we have all the covers with zippers to keep them away from him. Life comes full circle sometimes. I love it.

I have to laugh at the irony though. I also laugh, because now, no matter what I do, my mind goes back to my first apartment at Baylor, my sweet college friends and some seriously fun times, every time I change the sheets. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

HSN

For anyone who wants to be amused, check out the Home Shopping Network tomorrow (Wed, Sept 26) at 1:00 and 5:00 Central time. My awesome husband will be selling watches.

I think he does a great job, but the whole HSN thing is a mystery to me. The only time I watch is when he's on, but somehow I always stay tuned for the next show. The crazy thing is, if I watch it long enough, I really start to think I do need a new loofa.

Good luck Sweetie. We miss you!!!!!!!




xoxoxoxoxo

Weekend With Grandma

The boys spent this past weekend with both of their grandmothers while Merk and I went to a marriage retreat. Yes, it took both of them to manage the weekend. I'm glad we only have two kids.

Overall, I think the weekend went well. I did come away with a couple of observations...

Grandmothers will not read or refer to your notes. They tell you they don't need the notes, because after all, they raised you and look how well you turned out. I think that is still up for debate, but it's their position and they will die defending it.

Grandmothers are going to give the kids a bath, whether they need it or not. I don't know why they like to do this, but it appears to be one of their favorite activities. Both of them bathe the boys every time they babysit them at night. I know little boys are messy, but I didn't think they were that dirty.

Happy Meals are the go-to food for Grandmothers. In fact, as my Mom was leaving on Sunday she told me, "I wouldn't feed them Happy Meals for awhile." No kidding. Now I'm in the process of throwing away all of the toys. I have to do it one at a time so they won't notice they've gone away. Don't even get me started on the nutritional aspect.

All kidding aside. We had a great time and are grateful to have loving moms who will help us out. xoxoxo

Running in Circles

Running in circles completely describes our lives right now. The past few weeks have been all about running around, but not really getting anywhere and ending up just plain tired.

The kids started school this week - more about that at a later date. Luke also started T-Ball and choir. All in the same week.

At the same time, my Gran and sister have been here. I really enjoyed seeing them and spending time with them, but there comes a time when a girl just wants to be at home.

And it's almost here. Merk and I are going to a Marriage Retreat this weekend (again, I know it will be fun, but right now it seems like more running).

Soon though, we will be home and I plan to stay here for a good long while. I plan to cook meals for my family, watch my kids play and get reacquainted with my house.

I've got so much to write about the past couple of weeks, but it's just going to have to wait. Bear with me. I'll be back soon and I promise not to be so overwhelmed and bitter.

A Few More Pics

We spent out last afternoon visiting my Dad's friend Karen (such a sweet, warm lady). Here's Luke driving her boat on the lake.


Max was tired and a little frustrated with his life jacket. He wasn't even amused by the family of ducks that trailed us the entire way.


Grandpa Joe and Karen gave the boys a few dancing lessons.



Luke and Max had so much fun playing with my Dad. The testosterone level was a little high for me, but they all loved it.

Thanks Dad. We had a wonderful trip. We love you and miss you a lot.
xoxoxo

The National Zoo

While we were in DC, we made a visit to the National Zoo. This was our third trip to a zoo in four months. We’re four for four if you count Sea World (which I do because it’s very zoo-like).

Not all zoos are alike and lucky for us the National Zoo is one of the better ones. For starters, it’s free. A personal thank you to all our fellow taxpayers. We had a wonderful time!!!!

The zoo also one of the few with panda bears. This was definitely a highlight for all of us. They were taking a nap while we were there, but it was amazing to see them.

The best feature about the zoo was by far the web-cams. We have been watching these animals for months now. We know all about them, their names, their habits and their personalities. It was neat to see them in person after stalking them via computer.

With all the animals and cool stuff, the kids had the most fun in the misters. It wasn’t even that hot by Texas standards, but they jumped into the water every time we saw one – which was about every 10 minutes.

We also got to experience the DC Metro system. The kids are still talking about riding the train. On the way there, they were constantly changing seats and looking out different windows to get a better view. The way back was during rush hour and a totally different experience. People aren’t nearly as nice or accommodating towards the end of the day.

Great day, great zoo and a great time was had by all. If you’re ever in DC, this is an awesome thing to do.

Lessons Learned

Things we learned on the plane...
(the kid in the hat is not ours)





You can never have too many snacks.

Play-doh and airplanes do not mix well.

Skimping on the time needed to charge the DVD battery is an unforgivable mistake.

Benedryl is not always a good thing.

Putting a two-year old, who is scared of heights, in a window seat means you have to make the whole trip in the dark.

Don't order a Dr. Pepper unless you plan on wearing at least half of it.

Just because you lug a car seat onto a plane, doesn't guarantee the child will sit in it.

All newly potty-trained kids will need to go as soon as the fasten seat belt sign comes on.

Those seat pockets hold an incredible amount of stuff, but don't stick your hand all the way to the bottom to dig out a crayon. It's best to sacrifice the crayon.