Sunday, May 31, 2009

"Thatta girl!"





Proud Mommy Moment: Kate was presented this certificate upon completion of her last year of preschool. I'm such a sucker, but you couldn't have wiped the smile off of my face when they announced this. I sure hope this one sticks...

These pictures were taken this past Friday night at her end-of-year preschool program. Her class performed a short play, "The Pied Piper of Hamlin" and Kate played the part of a RAT. I think it finally hit Kate yesterday that her preschool days were over. Sad day for her...she cried a little bit while asking me if she would ever go back to her preschool again or see her teacher, Mrs. Rosanne, anymore.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day at the Park (or, "The Best Day EVER")








The Best Day Ever....or, not. You be the judge. First of all, we met up with the Shumways at Jason's Deli before the game. Kate forgets that she's potty-trained and wets her pants...yes, she's five and no, she's never had an accident before. Of course, we don't have a change of underwear or clothes for her. We start to drive up to the Rangers field in Arlington and I decide that baby Lauren is definitely going to need a sun-hat because I can see the sun and the temperature climbing. I ask Brian to stop at the mall so I can run in and grab something. We happen to stop by the WORST mall ever (Grapevine Mills) and I attempt to rummage through the disorganization to find a hat and if I'm lucky, a change of clothes for Kate. 40 minutes later I finally found something that would work...thats how disorganized everything in the stores were. Plus, it might have been a busy shopping day (hello!) so I waited in a long line for a portion of that time. We hit the road again and get lost on the way to the game....I have a husband who NEVER gets lost...he could find his way home in a tornado. But, we're lost...another 40 minutes gone.

By the time we got to the field, its the 6th inning and people are starting to leave since the Yankees are killing us 8-0!! We find a parking spot and walk the mile to the ball field. We get there and realize our seats are in the shade...no sun-hat needed! It is 95 degrees outside and extremely humid though so we are all sweating our body weights....no kidding. Kate is screaming for water and Lauren is hungry and scared every time the announcers come on...oh, every 5 seconds. By this time, its the 8th inning and we're down 10-0. I leave to find a place to nurse Lauren- preferably somewhere private since I'm not putting a nursing shawl over my sweaty, hot self. I find someone who is helpful enough to get me a chair, which I take to the ladies' bathroom in a handicapped stall and I commence nursing. Hot, sweaty mom and baby...no A/C in a bathroom at the Rangers Stadium. You can imagine...I wanted to cry at this point. But, it gets better. As I was finishing up, the person next to me FLOODS their toilet. The smell, oh, the smell. I lift my feet up and balance them against the door so I'm not soaking myself in a stranger's excrement and continue to nurse. Why tears didn't flow at this point, I don't know...maybe its because I had sweated any extra moisture out already . Or, because it just became funny at this point. Who knows. I finish up, peel myself out of there and jump over the puddle to safety. I sit down at a picnic table in the shade and then 2 minutes later the game ends. People are shuffling out so I'm not heading back to my seat against the flow of traffic. The shortest game in MLB history, of course.

Brian leaves us at the entrance of the park to get the car so we don't have to sweat it out on the walk back only to discover that the roads are all blocked off and he has to park even further away to walk back to us and let us know we're walking after all. While he's away, Kate decides she needs to use the restroom. We try to get back in the park and are told we cannot come back in, so we have to have an escort take us to the bathroom, for security reasons. Kate finishes, I lift her up to wash her hands and she's screaming, "Mom, you're hurting me" because her thigh is against the counter. She then has a meltdown in front of our escort and everyone else left at the park while yelling, "Mom, you hurt me, you scratched me, that really hurt" etc. etc. I march all three of the kids back outside. Luckily, Brian hitches a ride on a valet's golf cart, picks us up, and we get a free ride back to our car (best part of the day).

Head home. Its now 4:45 (started the day at 11:30 AM) and we're just chatting in the car and lo and behold, we get lost again! What should have taken us 45 minutes to get home takes us 1 1/2 hours. We finally get home at 6 PM and let me tell you, home never looked so good.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Happy B-day Luke ... and Brandon





Luke had his 3rd Birthday on Saturday...Swimming + Cupcakes + Kids = PERFECT. Nana and Papa heated the pool so none of us had an excuse not to get in, except for Lauren who slept the party away. Happy Birthday Luke!

That night we went to Benihana's to celebrate Brandon's 21st birthday. It was such a fun night because it was probably the first time we've all gotten together without our kids- and adult conversation is always a plus. Happy Birthday Brandon!

Bills Family Preview



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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Up in the Air



I could kiss this girl's squishy neck all day long...its so edible.



The weather was so amazing tonight (75 degrees) so we took a family stroll through the neighborhood. The girls rode their bike and scooter and we stayed outside and enjoyed the perfect climate for as long as we could. Hot Texas summers are just days away and the only time you can stand to be outside is on your walk to the pool....seriously, its uncomfortable.

So, these are the pics that Brian posted. In the last one, he thought he was so funny taking pics of me nursing Lauren...nice.

By the way, Lauren had her 4-month checkup this past week and she's in the 90th percentile for height and 20th for weight at a mere 11 lb. 14 oz. We need to get some meat on her bones! At the doctor's request, I started supplementing with baby food but she wants nothing to do with it...go figure. I swear the most stressful part of having a baby is teaching them to eat food...

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Miss Bumbo 2009



Although Lauren has been smiling for a while now, this is the first "official" one since Brian was finally able to capture it on camera.

Miss Sis loves her Bumbo- I'm sure its because she has an upright and front row seat to the world all around her... And, its usually put up in a high place (the kitchen counter) and away from the grasps of her well-meaning, but extremely overwhelming sisters. Can anyone tell me when the novelty of a new baby wears off on a three and 4 year old????

I think we need to get a cat.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Ryan ... Senior Session



To read about Ryan's shoot and see more images, go to BRIAN CROFTS.COM and click on "Blog."

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Goodbye, My Trusty Old Companion...




Oh....Friday was a sad day. I had to say goodbye to this lovely thing after our wonderful 6 months together. Now, before you judge- I actually needed it for the first couple of months and thats how long I was supposed to have it. But, the city only issues these stickers in 6-month increments and so I got a few extra months of great parking and wonderful access to the most crowded shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, and well, any other venue with a parking lot. It didn't hurt that I was pregnant at the time and since January, I've been 3-deep in kids, which should be warrant enough for close parking anyway, right? On a lighter note...I actually had two people on two different occasions stop and ask me if I really had a sticker to park in handicapped spaces and that was when I was hobbling around!

You will be missed!

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