Saturday, July 05, 2008
News
Mark and I have been engrossed in research these past few weeks, and it looks like if all things go as planned, we'll be sporting one of these before too long.
Happy 4th!
This was by far the most laid back 4th we've had. It was a little strange not having Miss Ash with us...she's off on a trip with her good friend Maddi and won't be home until Monday. Despite missing our girl, we had a fun time.
Nana showed up in the early afternoon, and by about 5:00 we were on the road to meet Carol (Nana's bestest friend) and the John's. We parked in Nana's building, which is right across the street from the Town Lake festivities...excuse me, the Lady Bird Lake festivities (I'll never get use to that change). We met up with the others at Spagetti Warehouse and had a remarkably pleasant dinner. How 5 small children were able to stay calm, QUIET and well behaved is beyond me, but I'm sure it has something to do with some awesome parenting, and smidge of luck. Renae's four kiddos range in age from 1 to 6, and are by far some of the most well behaved kiddos imaginable. My dinner was nothing to brag about, but the Sangria was muy delicioso.
After dinner we headed back over to the building and set up camp atop the roof of the parking garage. I was concerned about the amount of time we were going to have to wait with NO TOYS, but the kids managed to do an excellent job of entertaining themselves running around and scoping out the view. Another smidge of luck? I dunno, but two plus hours is quite a long time for kiddos this age to entertain themselves with no altercations or whine-fests. By the time dark set in, we'd passed out the glow sticks, Renae had passed out her special snack and the kids were anxiously awaiting the show. And the show, it was A-MAZING! We were close enough to hear the live band playing in unison to the fireworks, which was a MAJOR bonus that we hadn't counted on. And the grand finale, good greif, it was remarkable. The best and longest I've ever had the opportunity to see. By the time it was over, I realized that my cheeks were aching from the smile I hadn't noticed that had been plastered to my face for 23 straight minutes. Listening to the kids dialogue along with the itty bitty ooh's and ahhh's brings a sort of happiness that I can't quite put in to words. They loved it. WE loved it. I'm certain that had we been in a crowd of hundreds, as opposed to the maybe 30 that were up there with us, our enjoyment would not have been half of what it was.
Even with the political unrest, and trying times we're going through in this country, we are so fortunate to be able to call this place Home. Happy Independence Day!
Nana showed up in the early afternoon, and by about 5:00 we were on the road to meet Carol (Nana's bestest friend) and the John's. We parked in Nana's building, which is right across the street from the Town Lake festivities...excuse me, the Lady Bird Lake festivities (I'll never get use to that change). We met up with the others at Spagetti Warehouse and had a remarkably pleasant dinner. How 5 small children were able to stay calm, QUIET and well behaved is beyond me, but I'm sure it has something to do with some awesome parenting, and smidge of luck. Renae's four kiddos range in age from 1 to 6, and are by far some of the most well behaved kiddos imaginable. My dinner was nothing to brag about, but the Sangria was muy delicioso.
After dinner we headed back over to the building and set up camp atop the roof of the parking garage. I was concerned about the amount of time we were going to have to wait with NO TOYS, but the kids managed to do an excellent job of entertaining themselves running around and scoping out the view. Another smidge of luck? I dunno, but two plus hours is quite a long time for kiddos this age to entertain themselves with no altercations or whine-fests. By the time dark set in, we'd passed out the glow sticks, Renae had passed out her special snack and the kids were anxiously awaiting the show. And the show, it was A-MAZING! We were close enough to hear the live band playing in unison to the fireworks, which was a MAJOR bonus that we hadn't counted on. And the grand finale, good greif, it was remarkable. The best and longest I've ever had the opportunity to see. By the time it was over, I realized that my cheeks were aching from the smile I hadn't noticed that had been plastered to my face for 23 straight minutes. Listening to the kids dialogue along with the itty bitty ooh's and ahhh's brings a sort of happiness that I can't quite put in to words. They loved it. WE loved it. I'm certain that had we been in a crowd of hundreds, as opposed to the maybe 30 that were up there with us, our enjoyment would not have been half of what it was.
Even with the political unrest, and trying times we're going through in this country, we are so fortunate to be able to call this place Home. Happy Independence Day!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Starting Over
Yesterday was Mark's first day at Apple. He left at 7:45, and was home a little after 6. As much as I missed him, I have to say, it was such a relief for me to get my routines back. Since he's been home, we've all been a little out of whack, with no real routine to speak of. No real defined roles...we just sort of flew by the seat of our pants. That was fun. For a while.
While he was home, we both did an incredible amount of nothing. With two of us responsible for keeping the household running, there was much more down time than either of us have ever had in our own home. If you know me, you know that when I'm at home, I'm typically on my feet. I don't sit back and relax, and really, I wanted to, I just didn't know how to let it all go and allow myself that luxury. Nothing a crash course in relaxation couldn't fix.
So, here we are, back to normal, and ever so thankful for the opportunity to have it all back. I broke out the Fly Lady checklist on Sunday. God I love checklists. This is my list of chores broke down in to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. It's fail proof. I've had these checklists for about 3 years now and I've learned that with the checklists momma's happy. Anyway, breaking out the lists was like seeing an old friend again. That checklist and I have a lot of catching up to do, and strange as it may sound, I'm anxious to rekindle that relationship we use to have. Like a slice of normal pie.
Something I thought was pretty cute: Any guesses as to what Mark can get for free all day long everyday from the cafeteria at work?
While he was home, we both did an incredible amount of nothing. With two of us responsible for keeping the household running, there was much more down time than either of us have ever had in our own home. If you know me, you know that when I'm at home, I'm typically on my feet. I don't sit back and relax, and really, I wanted to, I just didn't know how to let it all go and allow myself that luxury. Nothing a crash course in relaxation couldn't fix.
So, here we are, back to normal, and ever so thankful for the opportunity to have it all back. I broke out the Fly Lady checklist on Sunday. God I love checklists. This is my list of chores broke down in to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. It's fail proof. I've had these checklists for about 3 years now and I've learned that with the checklists momma's happy. Anyway, breaking out the lists was like seeing an old friend again. That checklist and I have a lot of catching up to do, and strange as it may sound, I'm anxious to rekindle that relationship we use to have. Like a slice of normal pie.
Something I thought was pretty cute: Any guesses as to what Mark can get for free all day long everyday from the cafeteria at work?
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