It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Wow, it has been an exceptionally long time since I've written! Let's catch up!

1. School is out for two whole weeks...fabulous!

2. Em has FINALLY started walking! Only if conned into doing so, though. That means a bowl of mac n' cheese must be on the other end. However, it's a huge success.

3. We had a fantastic party for BBC (Baby Boot Camp). This is the group of amazing women I've been working out with 2-3 times a week (I've fallen off the wagon a bit lately!) for almost a year now. We all have kids about the same age, so it's great. The party was really fun...we finally got to meet all the husbands (except mine, of course, who was stuck on a conference call at the office until 8:45 p.m.), and all the kids had a blast running around. Thanks, Christina, for hosting!

4. I ran over a mile today (without stopping) and did resistance training. For those of you who know me, this is HUGE!

5. I got to meet up with a "old" teaching friend, Sarah, for lunch today. So much fun!

6. BFF Mak and Aunt Cat came over to watch the Wylie Pirates in the state championship game. Even though they lost, we had a great time! The girls were so cute playing together (see Mak and Em fun above). And, Christmas presents were a hit!

7. Tomorrow, our little fam gets to have lunch with my best friend since preschool (yes, nearly 25 years!). We haven't seen each other in nearly 3 years, since she lives out of state.

8. Which brings me to the close...I adore the holidays! So much fun, family, friends, and food (never mind the added pounds) to help celebrate the joyous, blessed Christmas season. And, we even finally get to make candlelight service this year at our church, since we are usually traveling . These next two weeks are going to be busy, but they are perhaps the best two weeks of the year. Merry Christmas!!!

A small, fleeting moment of wanting baby #2...

Ok, for those of you who know that I keep saying it will never happen, I had a small, fleeting moment of wanting baby #2. I KNOW! We went to my cousin Sarah's baby shower this past weekend (Em didn't go...mom decided it was more enjoyable without chasing an 18 month old). I digress...seeing all of the adorable new baby things and how cute Sarah looked 9 months pregnant brought back so many good memories! Baby Ella is due to arrive Dec. 26, and I know she'll be beautiful. THANKFULLY, seeing my aunt with her three girls (8, 4, and 2....and they are precious!), however, quickly brought me back to reality and has somewhat solidified my current decision to stick with one!

On that note, though, Em is getting so big. She turned 18 months last weekend, and I honestly can't believe how big she is getting. She loves to sit at the computer with her headphones on and watch youtube videos. She even tells mommy "shh" if I'm trying to talk to her while she's watching. It amazes me how technologically-oriented she'll be just in the next few years!

And, we are starting to work on potty-training. We bought her a "big-girl" potty, and she loves to sit on it and read her books. No success yet, but the fact that she likes it hopefully is a sign of good things to come!

Halloween Fun

Down, but not out...there's still more candy to find!

On our way!

Emily with "boyfriend" Kangaroo Spencer!

Can't open the candy fast enough!

Who's this cool chick?

Not so excited about this costume!

We had a fabulous time trick-or-treating this year! Em started her day by wearing her costume to her baby-sitter's house. They had a Halloween party. That afternoon, KK, Gramps, and Grams all came over fo rthe special occassion to go with Emily.

I will say that her costume was adorable...she was Pebbles. Grams came over last weekend and helped me sew it (with my real sewing machine that had never been taken out of the box-3 years later!). I think I was more excited than anyone. Of couse, Emily wanted none of this costume. But, the reward of candy and getting to say "hi" to all of the other trick-or-treaters made it all better.

We only ended up going to about 7 houses, but Em walked the whole way (holding on to our hands), which was HUGE! She was in bed by 7:30, but the rest of us stayed up to hand out candy and eat take-out. Yay for grown-ups. Plus, the house next door always hosts a haunted house in their garage for the neighborhood kids. It's pretty darn impressive. Needless to say, our little street was trick-or-treating Mecca until pretty late.

What always gets me so excited about Halloween (besides the obvious fun) is that it means that the official start to the holiday season is here. I absolutely love Thanksgiving and Christmas. The countdown begins...

I've been tagged!

This game is cute...thanks Christina for tagging us...Tag Game Rules:
Go to you pictures folder
open your sixth folder
find your sixth picture in the folder
Share the story of that picture on your blog
tag new friends...

This is a picture of Emily when she was 4 months old. A die-hard Tech fan friend of ours gave Emily a Tech t-shirt for her baby present. We had gone over to his house last September to watch the game. Note the decor of the house...now, I tag Catherine, Amanda, and Taren.

Pumpkin Patch!

Today, Em and I went to the Dallas Arboretum with "Aunt" Cat and BFF Mak. We had the girls' pictures taken in the pumpkins. It was so much fun. Em was too busy "people watching" to pose long enough for really good pictures, but we got a few. And Mak was everywhere! "Pumpkin-climbing" was her favorite activity. Afterwards, we went to eat, where Em and Mak thought it would be a good idea to eat crayons. I see years of mischief ahead with these two!

Several weekends ago, one of our horses raced at Lone Star in Grand Prairie. We went and met family there. Em was so excited...she clapped for every horse and said "oohhh" as they walked by. The big treat of the night was when Gramps, Dado, and Daddy took Em inside the paddock as they saddled the horse. She got to tell Sugar Daddy Blue (the horse) "hi" and meet the jockey. Needless to say, every time a she sees a horse now, she goes crazy!

Balloon Pics and More...

So, I promised I'd finally get some pics uploaded to the blog. Here are several from the Plano Balloon Festival. Such fun and such big girls!

Em's fantastic weekend!

This weekend was fabulous! Em got to experience the Plano Balloon Festival with BFF Mak. They were SO cute, oohing and aahing at the hot air balloons as they launched. The weather was perfect! If you've never been, I highly suggest visiting next year. Cat (Mak's mommy) even had me eating funnel cake by the time it was all said and done, something that I've never tried before ( I know...). Quite tasty! Other than Mak losing one of "her favorite shoes" (as dramatically restated over and over by her mother!), the evening was wonderful (you know I'm kidding, Cat!) . And, if anyone has found a pink "jellies" sandal, size 4, please let us know!

Em also got to go shopping with KK and Gramps today, after eating lunch at SaltGrass. I have to say, I have quite the little clothes hog on my hands. She wanted to hold EVERYTHING that KK and Gramps picked out for her, and sadly has learned to hand mommy's credit card to the cashier. We need to quickly unlearn this action! Notable items: a white and silver faux fur vest for winter and a pair of zebra print rain boots with pink bows (matching outfit, too!). Too cute. Pictures to come!

Icky...

I know as a parent I should expect my kid to be "icky" sometimes, as in sick-icky. But these last few days have been the first "real" sick Em has been. And it has been icky. I obviously feel so bad for my little monkey, but I kind of feel bad for us too. Cleaning up sick messes is no fun. I hope this tummy bug passes soon. Even more so, I REALLY hope we don't come down with it!

Ok, so if you were to drive by our house, the front yard would look well groomed and manicured. Lawn guys mowed yesterday; we trimmed all of the bushes the other evening and even pulled weeds. Shift gears: walk through our house and into the backyard. Yes, I said walk through our house-not, use the side gate. Which leads me to my current "thorn in side" situation: we have no gate to our backyard, which means there is no access for a lawn mower. Translation: front yard- nice; backyard: grassland prairie, with near knee-high grass. Anna is even reluctant to navigate the bulk of the yard, unless it's around the fence perimeter. See, we still haven't cut out the gate to the fence. So, it has missed 3 consecutive mowings. Scary, scary. Drew, get on that.

Oh, and our block is slowly becoming the official "Block Obama." So far, 30% of the houses have little signs backing Barack. McCain yard-sign enthusiasts: zero. We haven't decorated our yard with political yard-art, yet. But, I'm sure it's coming. McCain-Palin, barring anyone else putting up a sign, you will still be at zero. You might want to come campaign on our block while you still have a chance with the other 60%.

And yes, Cat, I know my blog is still boring. I'll work on that sometime soon...promise!

Reunions...

First, I need to start off with the fact that I don't know where all of the mosquitoes have come from, but I seem to have attracted every single one of them within a 5-mile radius (to bad it wasn't the American and Australian men's Olympic swim teams...did I just write that? :)). I think I counted 17 a few minutes ago.

So, last night was my 10-year high school reunion. And, I must say: I actually had fun!

I went with my best friend from high school, Sarah, and our husbands (who are relatively minor characters in this story). There's a song out there that says "you're always 17 in your hometown." I've never really recognized the truth in that statement. But, it's so right. Every frame of reference I had of my classmates ended at graduation, for most of them I hadn't kept up with. And, high school in retrospect was a pretty scary place...cliques, awkwardness, developing an identity. That scariness doesn't end with a diploma. I was terrified to walk through the doors into the banquet room. Flashback to first day of school 1997..."what will everyone think of me?" And so, 10 years later, I'm in the same mental place.

Fast forward 3 hours later...I've come to realize that who we were 10 years ago is a far cry from who most of us have become now. And, I would say, for the most part we've just gotten better. There were the few who stayed simply with those who they new best, but on the whole, everyone made the effort to reconnect.

And, boy, were there surprises! Now, I think I have aged quite well. We'd all be lying if we said we didn't want to look good 10-years post graduation. I think deep down that's what we really go back for- curiosity gets the best of us. And, being girls (somethings never change), we still secretly rejoice when we realize that the weight we've gained is nothing compared to some of the others. That said, though, the girls were easy to recognize. Time works differently on men, however. They weren't so clear-cut. *Mind you, we didn't have name tags.

But, here is just a sampling of what I found out has happened in 10 years... one of the girls is married, is a pharmacist, and has 4 kids! One of us now is a cheerleader for a professional football team and just came out of a relationship that ended after 9 years. One guy lives literally 5 miles up the road from me. Many of us have kids, but some still aren't married. One girl has a husband currently somewhere in the Atlantic on a submarine for the next 3 months. One guy was seriously injured and was in rehab for 6 months after a bull-riding accident; he said he was literally happy just to be alive.

And, yes, I ran into my old flame. I thought it was going to be weird. It wasn't. In fact, we really kind of talked as if nothing had ever happened, just old friends. He's married with a baby on the way. I talked to his wife for a little while, and I liked her. And I was genuinely happy for him.

I write all of this, 1) because it was fun to catch up with people who shared many years of what most would call our "previous lives," and 2) because school starts tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll have a new set of students who are stand currently where I stood 10 years ago. And I want them to know that even though they don't see it now and even though they carry baggage and even though they think this may be the best or the worst days of their lives, my hope for them is that they only get better.

For those of you who know me well, I can usually find something judgemental to say. But, I left last night thinking in a completely different way. I'm excited about the new school year and seeing my students. And just like those who attended last night from the class of '98, I'm excited about seeing them hopefully get a little bit better each day. I have high hopes for them 10 years down the road. The bull-rider guy may have summed it up best. He ended by saying he is happier now than he has ever been. Isn't that the point of life...to always look back and say you are happier today than you were yesterday? That is my personal goal for the first day of school- to wake up tomorrow happier than today. Happy back to school!

Frustrations...

#1. Walls and fences (both in the literal and figural senses)....I don't like them. They should all be torn down. Unless your us, in which case, you should build them (per the HOA bylaws). For anyone who remembers me saying that our fence was blown down by the small tornadic activity that came through here in mid-spring, we're STILL rebuilding the fence. Alas, great success...wood is going up. And, with any luck, we should have a majority of it completed by the end of the weekend. On the plus side, I have learned to use an auger, a jackhammer, an engine hoist (don't ask), a post hole digger, and an air compressor during this project. I'm pretty proud of myself, I must say.

#2. New jobs. No matter how much you're looking forward to it and are ready to say "bring it on," the first few days, weeks, and months are always icky. I'm just trying to find my place in this world (hmmm...those would make good song lyrics :)) ! I think it will get better.

#3. Mating flying ants in my living room.

#4. There isn't a fourth frustration. Actually, it's a celebration. Emily is finally, though cautiously, cruising along the coffee table. She thinks she's so big (we do, too!). Oh, and her new favorite phrase: "Bye, bye, baby." And one last good thing: it's Little Caesars pizza night- with cheesy bread and garlic butter dipping sauce! Happy Friday! Long live the weekend!

Two, four, six, eight...

Ok, I haven't forgotten that I am no longer a cheerleading coach. However, I felt like a cheerleader tonight. Did anyone else watch the Olympics? Did anyone else see Michael Phelps win his 7th gold medal and break world and olympic records in one of the men's swimming events? I was SO excited. In fact, teary-excited, right there along with his mother who was crying and cheering in the stands. (Luckily, my husband is currently at a casino with some friends so that I could have my "emotional moment" without the "why did I marry a crazy person" looks from him).

I know, I know! No, but really. Now that I am a parent, I can identify with that mom. Why? Because that's what I want for my kid! Baby steps (literally, she's not even walking yet!), but I love her that much and want so badly for her to be successful in all of her dreams and endeavors, whatever they may be. Ok, enough of my sappy ramblings.

Some of you will find this amazing: we have wood cross-beams on our metal poles for out fence. Great success!!! We might actually have a functional fence by Christmas. Baby steps...

Chicken Nuggets

Let me tell you about the highlight of my day: my child ate chicken nuggets. I know. You are thinking that every 15 month old should eat chicken nuggets. And I agree...everyone one of them EXCEPT mine.

We've been going through this rediculously frustrating "only eat hard, crunchy things" phase for about 3 months now- Gerber "cheetos," crackers, Cheerios, you name it. Any other foods offered her would elicit this "nose in the air, flutter of the eyelashes, slow turn of the head" response- such a little diva. Now, if you've seen pictures of my child you know that she obviously wasn't starving, but still, I was slightly concerned on the nutritional end of it. But, alas, tonight...2 chicken nuggets!!! Halelujah!

On another note, I moved into my office/classroom at my new school today. Very strange feeling! But, I'm excited. I'm now an orange and blue Bulldog. I'm not sure how I'll look in those colors. But, I do know one thing. I can wear sleeveless and blue jeans on Friday; I almost don't know what to do with myself!

Two posts in one day- I know!

Ok, so for anyone who lives in the area, there are two great kid stores. One is Kid2Kid and the other is Learning Express, both located in McKinney. They came highly recommended by some other moms, and I have to agree! I see $ from future paychecks being spent there. I know Drew will be excited!

We finally have a blog!

So, for those of you who have been saying we need a blog, we finally have one. Yippee! We just returned from Shreveport for the weekend, where we played for 3 days celebrating our 4th anniversary (we still actually like each other!- bodes well for a successful future!). Emily, our great little 15 month old daughter, spent the weekend with her Grams. I don't think she missed us very much, although she did squeal with glee when I went to pick her up (heart-warming!). Did we win? No. Did we lose? No. We pretty much broke even, which I consider a success. Side-note: I have progressed in my gambling strategies. I no longer just play the penny slots (even though they provide hours of mindless gaming fun). I am now a table player! Pretty proud of myself. That's a big leap from penny slots to five dollar bets! We also saw Batman, so for those who haven't seen the new movie, go! I'm a fan...I know why there was all they hype! It's good.

I officially start back to work tomorrow. I wasn't supposed to. Three months ago, I was going to be a stay-at-home mom. That changed. I panicked. I didn't know if I was going to be so great of a full time SAH mom. So, I took on an even harder position. Good news: I'm excited about it. We'll see how things work out.

Emily got to have dinner last night with BFF Makalya. Fun stuff! And for this coming weekend, she had to choose between two birthday parties, one for boyfriend Spencer and one for boyfriend Harrison, both turning one. She's going to Spencer's (he "asked" first). Does anyone else feel a little down by the fact that their baby is growing-up so quickly? I told my mother-in-law this. She suggested another baby. I laughed.