Cinderella, Cinderella

Alex and I went to a mommy-daughter luncheon today to celebrate her friend Julia's 3rd birthday. Julia is all about Cinderella so, of course, the theme was Cinderella. Above are the adorable invitations that Julia's mom, Karen, made for the party. She is super talented. I wish I would have taken a picture of the cake as well. It was amazing! (She also made the cake for my sister's baby shower, if you remember that picture.) The little girls dressed up in their little princess dresses and "tap tap" shoes (plastic heels), as Alex calls them. The decorated mirrors with rhinestones (such a cute and easy activity), ate lunch, opened presents, and had cake and ice cream. One of our friends even dressed up as Cinderella for the girls. They thought that was so cool. It was a very nice party and I had a great time doing something special with little Alex.

Julia the birthday girl, Alex, Cinderella, and Breck

I can't forget to mention the good mail I got this week. Shawna sent me these fabulous slippers and a very sweet note. Thanks sooo much Shawna! I love them!!

Sign of Spring

SPT (or for me this week, SPW)

Our assignment this week was to photograph yourself with signs of Spring. For me, the warmer weather means grilling. We love to grill out. It keeps the house cool and is less mess. Plus, Jim will usually do the grilling, so that means less work for me. :)

I wasn't going to use this picture because my eyes are closed, but it is a perfect self portrait of me because I always close my eyes in pictures. Drives my husband crazy! :P

Loved all of your self portraits! So do miss those bluebonnets!

Recap

I need to stop waiting so long in between posts. I am going to try really hard to post something most days and catch up on my reading of them. Forgive me if I haven't commented in awhile. I will get back to it soon.

This weekend was crazy. It was super nice here which caused us to get in the Spring cleaning mode. The garage was our victim . We took everything out, used the air compressor to spray out the corners and under shelves of who knows what, and then used the pressure washer to spray out all 3 garages. I wish I would have taken before pictures. It was a huge mess, but it looks fabulous now.



Throughout the weekend, I also painted Alex's room. The color doesn't show up very good in pictures, but it is a really pretty color called Lawn Frost. We still need to put some pictures on the wall, but you get the idea. She is loving her new bed and has done well at staying in her bed. So far, we have only had one night of Supernanny, so not too bad.


Saturday night we had 3 couples over to play cards (and eat). Two of the couple are our neighbors (one behind us and one next door). They are the best neighbors. Our families have so much fun together, especially in the summer. Since there are no fences separating the 3 houses, the kids spend a lot of time running between each others homes. Sunday the kids must have spend about 7 hours outside playing. It was great! So ready for spring and summer! The adults (only) came over Sat. night and we played cards, listened to music, talked, and ate all sorts of yummy foods until 1:30 in the morning! We had not planned on staying up so late, but we were all having a great time. (Doesn't Jim look like he is really enjoying himself, surrounded by the 3 ladies. I think I need to add myself to the picture next time.)



The week started off great with an amazing piece of good mail from Amanda. Thanks soooo much! I love it!! The kissed were eaten immediately by myself and the kids. Alex wanted the magnetic notepads, but no way was I sharing those. I love the different labels she included as well. I am so spoiled!



Today I go to the doctor to see if I can take my boot off. Wish me luck! I am tired of dragging this thing around. Have a great Tuesday!

****Update****
Crap! The boot has to stay on for another 2 weeks. He said it is healing nicely, but it is still REALLY tender when he pushes on it. He said the place where the fracture is can be difficult to heal and if you aren't careful, a person can get reaccuring stress fractures. I don't want that, so I will just have to suck it up and wear this stinky thing for 2 more weeks!

I will post my SPT tomorrow on SPW (haha- I just made that up so I wouldn't feel like such a slacker). It is raining outside today and I can't get the picture I want.

Not Quite in the Groove

Things still feel a little crazy around here. I just don't feel like we are back to normal yet from being gone. I am still finishing the ironing and a little laundry. Now I feel like it is spring cleaning time. My garage and storage area in the basement are a wreck, as are some of my closets. I bought some organizing items today at Target so maybe that will help with the mess. Alex also got her new bedroom set yesterday, so we had to take apart her bedroom and crib. As soon as I finish the painting it, I will post pictures of her room.

I feel bad that I have not posted my good mail yet. Thanks for the stash!
Got my stationary order from Stephanie. I love it! The colors are gorgeous!


Kari sent this package full of goodies. Notice the beautiful handmade card and bookmark. There were a few more Andes mints, but I ate those right away. :)



Hannah sent me this darling thank you card. You are most welcome Hannah!


Roxanne, Lelly, Kari, and Carlo all send such thoughtful notes. I am truly blessed by all of you.


I am sad that I miss Self Portrait Tuesday. I just can't get my *&%! together. I will be back next Tuesday with a SPT post. :) Loved looking at all of your lucky charms.

To Texas and Back

For Spring Break, we took a trip to Texas. We spent most of the time in Horseshoe Bay with Jim's mom, but also traveled to San Antonio to visit friends. We had such a nice time. I could go on and on about all of the things we did, but I will highlight some of the activities.

Tuesday:
*LONG day of traveling. Dallas had some storms which shut down the airport for awhile. This put us 2 1/2 hours behind. We got into HSB at about midnight.


Wednesday:
*The kids wanted to make cookies first thing when they woke up, so Grandma indulged them. We got to see Papa Jerry for a couple of hours before he had to take off for Austin to travel to Spokane with the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team to the NCAA tournament. Jerry is the Assistant AD for the team.



* The kids had a great time playing in the creek behind Grandma's house. They raced rubber duckies and collected rocks to paint.



Thursday:
*We went into San Antonio. Jim dropped the kids and I off at my friend's Tracy's house while he went to visit some of the doctors that he did his fellowship with. The kids has so much fun playing. Sydney is their oldest, then there is Katie. Katie and Ryan are about 6 months apart and were great friends. Then there is Nathan. Nathan is 2 days older than Alex. It was so cute to see those 2 together. I wish they could have grown up living closer to each other. We miss you all tons!

*Jim picked us up and we met the Gordon's for lunch at Chuy's. It was as good as I remembered it. It was so nice to hang out and talk with the Greg and Angie. I think because of blogging it really felt like no time had passed. Thanks for the company guys!


*When we returned from SA, we (minus myself, because of the cast) went swimming at Jean's neighbor's house. It was really only the one sunny day there. Every other day was overcast. Her pool is heated so that helped too.



Friday:
*We did a little shopping today at some cute boutiques in Marble Falls. Not much fun trying on clothes with a cast on, but did manage to buy some cute shorts.
*We also went to the park and fed the ducks.


Saturday:
*We went to Cooper's for lunch. This is a famous barbeque place located in Llano. They have HUGE fire and meat pits. You literally point to the item you want (the pork chops and ribs are the best) and they dip them in a vat of sauce. You eat your food at picnic tables with butcher paper for plates. There are loaves of bread on the table and all of the beans you can eat for free. I'm sure some of you are so grossed out right now, but the food is delicious! It is a true Texas experience.

*Jim and I had a date night. We went to an Irish bar named O'Neil's for some green beer and then went to see "Wild Hogs". It wasn't too bad. It was worth it for the popcorn!

Sunday:
*Left HSB at 6 am to drive to San Antonio.
*Finally arrived home at 6pm and drove pretty much straight to Jim's office to cut off my cast. Thank goodness! I am still in the boot for another week, but at least I can shave my leg and take a bath. :)
*Came home to tons of good mail and will post about it soon. Thanks y'all!

Hope everyone had a great week! Can't wait to catch up on all of your blogs!

Another new look

There is more to add to the drama that is my broken bone. I was still in a lot of pain on Friday, so Jim thought I would probably be more comfortable in a light-weight fiberglass cast with a walking shoe. Wow!! It has made all the difference in the world. I can walk without pain, which is quite the change. Hopefully I only have to wear this for a few more weeks. We are leaving for San Antonio/Horseshoe Bay, Texas in the morning. Don't know if I will be able to update because her mom only has dial up (waaay too painful to use). Hope everyone has a fabulous week! I will take lots of pictures and update as soon as we get home (late Sunday). Take care!

I have been blessed lately with a bunch of good mail. Thank you so much!! It has really made me feel better.

A sunny card from my sister Erin.

A sweet thank you from Tara. What a beautiful card! Thanks for all the nice words.

A great Grey's Anatomy CD mix from the lovely Jenny! Thanks Jen! Hope you are having fun in AZ.

Donna sent me a lovely flowered card letting me know she was thinking of me and praying that my foot gets better soon. So sweet! Thanks Donna.

Kristi also sent me this great St. Pat's day card. I am part Irish, so I love anything with clovers! I was so touched that she mentioned that she loves my name. How thoughtful!

And finally Lucy sent me this cute handmade thank you card. Hope you are feeling better Lucy!

Cancelled Trip, Crutches, and Where I Blog

This has not been my best week. Tuesday night I find out I have a stress fracture in my tibia and have to wear a boot for at least 3 weeks. The doctor had recommended crutches, but I thought I would be okay without them. I was wrong. I did too much on Wednesday, and by lunchtime, my foot was throbbing. It was so painful!! I knew then that there was no way I could take my trip to Kansas City. I didn't know how I was going to fly by myself and then take care of an infant. I felt so bad about canceling on my sister. The kids and I had been really looking forward to taking care of Aubrey and hanging out with my sister, her husband, and their 2 dogs. There were quite a few tears shed by the kids (and me) when I explained to then that we would not be going. Poor things, it broke my heart. My sister was so sweet and understanding, thank goodness. I hope she knows I would have loved to have been there. We will be planning another trip for as soon as it heals. Love you Shannon and Aubrey! We miss you!!

Donna had posted the other day about where she blogs and wondered where the rest of us blog. Usually I blog at my kitchen desk. It is in the middle of all the action, so I can still work on my blog but see what the kids are doing. Lately I have been blogging on the couch with my laptop, with my booted foot propped up on the ottoman. Much more comfy than my foot hanging down at my side.

**Where do you blog?**

(This was taken this summer. Oh, how I miss that tan!)


***A big thank you to my husband for being so helpful around the house. Love you babe! Also, to my friend Tammy who is watching my kids right now so I can have a little break and so they can get out of the house and for watching them for 2 hours on Tuesday when I had my MR. I am SO lucky to have you as my neighbor and especially as my friend. My mom also watched my children and is bringing dinner over tonight and taking my kids to a Fish Fry tomorrow night. Last but not least, thanks to Jim's step mom. She is getting the kids this afternoon to go play and then have McDonald's. They are thrilled! I love you all!!***

My New Look

Isn't it sexy? I know you all want one.

As most of you know, I have been training for a half marathon in May. I have really enjoyed it and have found that runner's high that many talk about. Last Tuesday, I ran 3 1/2 and ran fairly fast (at least for me). My right ankle area was sore after, but so were other parts of my body. Unfortunately, it only got worse. I didn't run again Wednesday and only did the bike on Thursday. By the end of the week, I couldn't even do that. I tried to take it really easy, resting and icing it. But nothing seemed to work. Jim and I decided that I needed to see his partner to find out what was wrong.

Tuesday I went in to see the doctor. They took some x-rays and decided that there were some concerning things on the x-ray, so he had me do an MR. That stunk! I had to lay on my side for almost an hour, completely still. I forgot about the pain in my foot because my hip and shoulder hurt so bad from lying on them for so long. The MR showed a stress fracture in my tibia, hence the lovely looking boot on my foot. I need to wear this for 3 weeks and then we will x-ray it again. He would also like me to use crutches at home. Sounds fun, huh?

I am really bummed about the whole thing. I know, there are so many worse things in life. I am not sick and my family is happy and healthy. But I was really looking forward to the half marathon and, believe it or not, the training. I felt so strong and confident. The other thing is that we have 2 trips planned in the next two weeks. I am leaving today with the kids for Kansas City to help take care of my niece for a few days and then next Tuesday all of us go to San Antonio/Horseshoe Bay for a relaxing trip. I guess I just need to look at this as a great opportunity to rest my foot and let it heal so I only have to wear this for the 3 weeks. I will be really upset if I go back in 3 weeks and it's not healed. That would be bad.

I know things could be worse. But I am going to take a few days to feel sorry for myself and then I get over it. Take care!!

Self Portrait Tuesday

Okay, this one was hard for me. I do not like most pictures of myself. I thought I would take a picture of how I look most days, especially in the mornings. Ball cap, workout clothes, running shoes. Most mornings we hit the gym, run a few errands, and then it is time for lunch and naps. I usually don't get a shower until the afternoon, so this is what I look like on a normal day.


Looking at this picture, I have to stop myself from pointing out all of the things that I don't like (dark circles under my eyes, large nose, etc.). But that will do me no good. I guess I should focus on the things that I do like and the things that people have complimented me on. I think I have fairly nice skin, which I should give credit to my mom and grandmothers for. I always disliked that I looked younger than I was, but now, of course, I love that I don't have too many wrinkles (yet). I also like the shape and color of my eyes. I am glad that both of my kids inherited my eyes (Ryan the color and Alex the shape).

This sounds so corny, but blogging and even these self portraits have helped me to become much less critical of myself. We all have things about ourselves that we aren't fond of, but we also have so many wonderful things to offer. This sounds so trite, but if we were all the same, the world would be a very boring place. I am so thankful for all of the new friends I have "met" through blogging. Thank you for sharing all of your spectacular gifts with me and each other.

Where We Rest

This weekend, we ordered Alex her "big girl bed". She is very excited and I am very nervous. She can be a bit stubborn. I hope I don't have to do the whole Supernanny thing with her. We really haven't done a whole lot with her room in the time we have lived in our new home. I wanted to wait until we got the furniture and bedding that she would be using for awhile before I went to the trouble of painting her room. This is her room now. I will post the "after" pictures in a couple of weeks when we have the furniture and have it painted.


Ryan's room was done soon after we moved in. I knew I wanted a navy blue bed for him (don't know why, just did). I really loved the navy bunkbed from Pottery Barn, but did not want to spend $1500+ on a 5 year olds bed. I actually found his furniture at KMart. I love it! I know it won't last forever, but for $600 dollars, it doesn't have to.


My room is very simple, but I love it. I always try and keep the bed made and everything put away. I like to know that even if the rest of the house is a disaster, my room is not. It makes it so calm and peaceful.

I received several pieces of good mail Saturday and today. Jill. Natasha, and Dana all sent me sweet thank you cards. The card were beautiful, but the nice things they said were even more so. Kelly A. sent me some good mail. It was some Texas stickers and mints. They got me so excited for my trip next week to Texas.

**Where do you rest your heads?**
**Do you like your bedroom?**

The Thinker

This is what Alex does when you ask her a question and she's not sure of the answer. She puts her hand to her chin and say, "Um, I don't 'member". Way too cute!

Bummed

I am so bummed today. I haven't been able to run since Tuesday, and it is driving me crazy! My foot/ankle has really been hurting and Jim (ortho doc) says I need to stay off of it for several days. He doesn't even suggest the bike because it is the flexion that bothers it. He thinks I have posterior tendon tendonitis (or something like that-makes sense when he tells me, then I forget it soon after). It is swollen and tender. I am very disappointed! I know I still have plenty of time (may 6th), but I was in such a nice little grove and running was becoming much easier. I am hoping I can trying running again on Sunday. Wish me luck!

(Sort of a strange picture of my swollen ankle, but I feel naked posting without a picture.)

On a different note, I am getting really excited for a couple of upcoming trips. Next Wednesday evening, the kids and I go to Kansas City to stay with my sister, her husband, and baby Aubrey for four days. The kids and I are going to watch my niece for a couple days while Shannon has to work (her last 2 days, then she gets to stay home) and then hopefully we will get to do some shopping on the weekend. The Plaza in KC has so many good shops!

(Last summer in front of one of the many fountains in The Plaza)

We get home from KC Sunday evening, then leave for San Antonio and Horseshoe Bay, Texas on Tuesday morning. Jim is coming with us on this trip, so we are very happy to spend some family time together (he has been CRAZY busy lately). Jim's mom and stepdad live in Horseshoe Bay, which is a beautiful resort community, so we are looking forward to that. His mom booked her and I belated birthday facial (we both has bdays in January) at the Resort there. So nice! We also plan on spending some time in San Antonio catching up with old friends and, of course, Chuy's! Ang and Tracy- can't wait to see you all; Jenny-we will miss you all soooo much, but we will see you in October. I hope the weather cooperates for all of this travel.

**Any Spring Break plans?**