...swim like a fish

Maddie joined a swim team this year. Katie's doing the swim thing as well, but just as exercise & to learn how to swim better. I have to say I think they're coming along swimmingly! ha!

Last Saturday was Maddie's very first swim meet! Since she's still considered a beginner, she only knows the freestyle & backstroke. She's learning the breaststroke, but for the first meet, she competed in the freestyle relay, freestyle, backstroke, and some relay in which 4 of them all do something different. Kind of blanking on what the term is called...

Anyways, they had little things for the kids to dive off of, and Miss Maddie wasn't used to that at all! Granted, most of her dives are belly flops, but to watch her attempt to dive off a higher surface was kind of funny, and cute at the same time!

She did an awesome job!! Her freestyle relay her team received 2nd place!! Her other swims received FIRST place!! Way to go Miss Maddie!!

Miss M is in the middle lane.....

After it was all over & done, and from being there from 8 in the morning to 12:30 in the afternoon, we were a little hot and just plain exhausted! Not to mention broke. Apparently the concession stands are going to break me this month.

...brynn

I did a photoshoot this morning of this beautiful baby.

Check it out on my photo blog!

...flashback friday... TV Shows!

I am so glad I have Chuck to watch this year. It's a pretty clean show filled with a super di duper cute guy (aka Zachary Levi), about spies, romance, and a super hilarious roomate. My family LOVES Chuck every Monday night.


It also got me thinking back to the shows that I watched growing up. We didn't watch Saturday morning cartoons growing up so I don't know much about those shows. I did love to watch Smurfs, the Jetsons & the Flintstones!

Last night while watching Glee, Neil Patrick Harris comes on, and I was immediately whisked back to my Doogie Howser, MD days. Oh wow... Doogie was a huge cutie back then. I can still hear that melody of the theme song, and of course, that sad melody that plays at the end of the show and he types on his dinosaur computer.

Loved Ricky on Silver Spoons. Was slightly jealous of all his cool toys and super cool train he had in his house.

I also loved the Cosby Show. Dr Huxtable was hilarious.

I remember every week my dad watched Cheers. And M*A*S*H.

Ahh... Michael Keaton. Family Ties? Yep.... looking back I wonder why all us girls had such a huge crush on Michael Keaton.

Same goes for Growing Pains. LOVED Growing Pains!

And Alf!! Who could forget Alf?!! and The A Team! and Knight Rider! Everyone needs a car like Kit! and Greatest American Hero {sing it w/ me: Believe it or Not I'm running away}


Roseanne! Saved by the Bell!

Eight is Enough! Brady Bunch! The Flying Nun!! The Facts of Life!!
{{OK, these were actually aired before my time, and probably were reruns when I was a kid...}}

Who's the Boss!! Gotta love Tony & Sam!

Then when the '90s came along.. it was Beverly Hills 90210. Is it sad that I remember Beverly Hill's zip code, but can't remember my old zip code just two years ago?
Can't forget Ally McBeal. I'm really not going to bother listing what I watched in the '90's b/c it's just too long of a list.

in short....
I watched too much TV growing up!

... 3 girls + 1 boy = total fun!

Last weekend we had a very busy weekend! I had a baby shower to attend, a birthday party to attend, and a meeting at church! Followed by a dinner! Whew!

I also took pictures at both parties, and came away with some GREAT pictures!

This set of pictures had me cracking up.

Picture 1:
Maddie & Tressa try to throw Max into the pool.

Picture 2:
Ella! Ella! Come and help us throw Max into the pool!

Picture 3:
Never to fear! Ella's come to save the day!
...and pushes Max into the pool.

The End.

..what's on my mind?

This week, I've had a TON on my mind.
Let's recap:

1) Signing my girls up for swim team is totally kicking my butt.
WHAT was I thinking?
Oh yeah. I remember thinking "this is a great way for them to learn how to stay alive in the water" and "it'll be great exercise"

2) The man down the street who decided pebbles was the way to go instead of grass on his yard ought to be put in time out. I mean.. WE KNOW mowing the grass isn't fun, but c'mon! rocks?!

3) Having a sick kid means I get to stay home. Next time, I need to be more careful about what I pray for so I can get a free day from work. A sick kid isn't fun.

4) Kid #2 is still bra-less. Refuses to wear a bra. Nothing has changed in that department.

5) Girls are so mean sometimes.
It breaks my heart to see some of the things my girls go through.

6) Seeing our family through a webcam rocks. Next time, need to make sure my hair is done right.... my grandma said "wow... I didn't know your hair was so curly!"

7) I have no life.... it seems. My life consists of: waking up early, going to work early, getting off work, picking up M, taking M & K to swim, staying there for an hour and a half, getting dinner ready, sometimes shuttling girls to another activity... and falling in bed by 9:30, exhausted.

8) I'm reading again! Not that I couldn't read before, but I actually have TIME to read now! Why? Because I'm sitting by the pool with an hour and a half to spare. Finished two books this week. Pure happiness when I get to read.

9) Why can't we get a maid? And a cook?

10) Why can't money grow on trees?
Growing girls means new shoes, new clothes and a new attitude.

If anyone is interested in this, check it out.
Knowing how I've talked about a bra for my preteen in the past week.... here is a bra piece of info for all you ladies. Playtex Bra is sponsoring a contest for those of us who desperately need a bra makeover. Still wearing those "Cross Your Heart" bras from the '80's? Yeah, you need new ones! Wearing the right size? Probably not. So you need to go to this site and check out all the details. You'll never know! You might win!

By posting this information, I am entered into a contest to win a free bra from Playtex. I did not receive any compensation for this post and thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Until next time
Peace out.....

...today's post is brought to you by the letter B

Today's post is brought to you by the letter B.

Why the letter B?

Because B stands for Banning the Bras.

and

Black eyes.

Who's banning their bra?

This kid is. She said "I don't like them."

Tough luck kid... guess what?
You get to wear them for the REST of your life!! How's that?!

Who has a black eye?

This one does.


She walked right smack dab into a corner, and wow... what a zinger she got above her eye! I told her "I hit my eye like this once when I was 12, and I got a black eye." She didn't believe me. Yep, her eye turned yellow & green.

I chose this picture simply because that's how she was acting when she walked into the corner.
Like a doofus.

...flashback friday... CANDY!

Months ago, I wrote this blog post about candy.

I forgot some candy that I loved growing up.

Anything cinnamon... I absolutely LOVE!

I bought these Cinnamon Disks a bunch for Mike when we were living in Missouri. He loves anything cinnamon as well. Interesting though.. he doesn't like the spice cinnamon, especially on his apple pie. I'm missing these candies b/c I can't find them anywhere here in Texas. Bummer... {mom! Bring me some from Missouri!}
I used to buy the Jolly Rancher's cinnamon sticks.
I can't find them anymore, so I buy the little Jolly Rancher's Fire.
I also loved the Cinnamon Bears. I can't find them anymore.

and finally... one of the phases I went through and I remember BEGGING my mom to help me find the cinnamon oil I needed... was CINNAMON TOOTHPICKS!

I used to love those things.

Hot Tamales for some reason weren't much of my thing. Funny story: a year ago a bunch of us gals went to the movies for a girls night out. One friend came in bearing a HUGE bucket of popcorn. I said "y'know what would be good with that? M&M's". She said "No, Hot Tamales are better". I seriously had a blonde moment & thought "Huh? Tamales (like the mexican food tamales?)? Well.. how is that good with popcorn? Do they cut it up really small or something?" Samantha looked at me and laughed.... she said "NO! The cinnamon candy Hot Tamales!"
::duh::

Of course, if anyone wants to shower me with any of this cinnamon goodness, I'll forever be your friend. I can't find any of my favorite candy anymore. I'm lucky enough to find the Jolly Rancher Fire at the grocery store!

... THE concert of the year

It came.

We went.
We saw.
The end.


Wait.. you really think I'd stop right there?!! No way!! I have a bunch of stuff to tell y'all about this night! Melissa picked me up at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon. Concert starts at 5:30, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to make it to the Alamodome. Could we have been any more wrong? We were SO wrong! We sat in traffic for at least an hour and 20 minutes. Yep... every highway in America was feeding into our lane. It got so bad at one point that this teenage girl got right up and asked "can we merge?" (they had JUST gotten there!), and I shook my head and said "No." Melissa laughed her head off. She did plenty of "NO" herself too. But we were nice here and there. No worries..... we were still Christlike. When we wanted to be.

We get up close, and we see "ALL PARKING IS FULL". Crap. So we start driving around downtown trying to find a parking spot. We see a guy go into a garage, and it looks like it might be a little empty! so we go too! Only.. you have to have, like, a card to get in?! I had to get out and move people along so Melissa could back out. ::beep beep::

We finally find a spot. TEN stinking blocks away... Whew! Cowboys walking with their girls in short shorts with cowboy boots on, so we followed them in the direction they were going. We felt pretty safe walking with all these cowboys. By the time we get there, it's almost 5 to 7:00!! Ugh! We catch the last song of Leann Womack "I Hope You Dance"... beautiful. We were also SO incredibly hot & sweaty. It was a pretty hot day out there. Melissa brought me a cowboy hat to wear, and I wore it in the car, until the last 15 minutes my head was sweating and screaming "get this hat off!" Melissa was a trouper and wore her hat almost the whole night.

see how hot & sweaty I was?! My hair fell b/c I wore a hat first! Then walked 10 miles in the heat!

So we find our seats. FIVE rows from the top. Wahoo!! We sit down. I notice I am sitting next to a 20 year old boy who is spitting into a water bottle. It's brown stuff he's spitting. Oh, lovely! He chews!! GAG! Not judging.... But we became fast friends. I found out that he had been there since 4:00 (wasn't he smart?!).. and paid $25 to get into the Alamodome parking (we only paid $5, but we also parked a mile or was it 10 miles? away)... and he lived 6 hours away too! He was also nice enough to get up and dance with us when a good song came on. So, he's a good kid.
Even though he chews.

While waiting for Reba, this mariachi (all female, I might add) played... some mariachi music. I waited for La Cucharacha from the Wiggles. That's the ONLY Spanish song I know. I never did hear it. Bummer. They played between the sets.... and by the time George was supposed to come on, they were getting booed off the stage.

Reba came on, and boy did she DAZZLE! Amazing lady! Gorgeous! She also got into character from her show Reba, and Barbara Jean (the new host of Singing Bee) came out ...
she was HILARIOUS!

More mariachi after Reba was done.

Then....

The MAN of the night.

::sigh::

He was so gorgeous. I might add there were a ton of women there. We were all brandishing our binoculars (I should have just glued mine to my eyes the whole night b/c I'm such a nerd like that). Little old grandma who sat in front of us had her binoculars too! I also found out exactly HOW much Texans love Texas. They love it a lot. George had slide show of all things Texas, and did the crowd go wild? Yep... they sure did. George loves Texas too!

We also had... THE drunk cowboy in our section. This guy was our entertainment. I have NO clue how much he drank (it was a lot), but he & his other cowboy buddies sat next to this group of girls who were obviously having a GNO (girls night out..). This one cowboy hit on the girl next to him ALL.NIGHT.LONG! At one point, during Heartland, he started doing a LAP DANCE on her! Whoa cowboy! Then he did the fake yawn with elbows in the air, and plop it around her shoulders. Smooth.... We were ALL laughing our heads off watching this dude.

Melissa & I had a great time. We were starving to death by the time it was over. Five hours is too long for a concert. Course, we missed almost an hour and a half of it (and two acts)..... and who wants to walk ALL the way down the steps and wait in a LONG line just for nachos?! We left before he was done, and walked a mile (or 10) back to the car. By this time, I realized I had blisters on the bottom of my feet. Darn flip flops.... We were so tired. George had the effect of putting me into la la land with his smooth & amazing voice. We went from "WAHOOOO" with Reba to "zzzzzzz" with George because he was just so calm.

All in all... wonderful night. Kind of sucked that we were so late, but who knew that the Alamodome would reach 55,000 people, the most they'd ever have... ever?!

happy mother's day!!

I am very rich.

Very rich indeed.
I have some very wonderful women in my life.
They make my life very rich.

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother
~~ Abraham Lincoln

I learned how to be a mother... from my mom
I remember my mom making me sandwiches fashioned into boats
I remember my mom driving me 20 minutes to the mall....
because I HAD to have a Hello Kitty pencil
I remember my mom being so patient & loving with me
and strived to enrich my life with the things around me
who played the accordian while my brother & I marched
with pots & pans as if we were the band
I remember my mom taking me shopping for a special outfit... just because

she truly is the best!!

Top 10 reasons why I love my mom:
1) she's super cool... just ask all my friends growing up
(they all wanted to hang around her!)
2) She makes good food
3) she loves to play games
4) She can be so gullible it's funny
5) She plays with my kids... more than I do
6) When I was horribly sick years ago, she came to my house after work and made dinner, put me to bed and took care of Katie until Mike got home
7) She instilled the love of reading in me
8) She's a ton of fun to be around
9) She's incredibly thoughtful of others
10) She's very supportive in all I do ...

Love you Mom!!

Happy Mother's Day!

...flashback friday... MUSIC!!

I love music.
99% of the time, I can't understand the words to the music, so I could really be enjoying the music to a really bad song {like Lady Gaga}. Or I could be making up my own lyrics and singing along to what I THINK is the actual lyrics, and they're not {like the song Zombie.... I thought it said "In your head in your head... stop it stop it stop it it it it it. Makes sense to me!}.


Back in the early '90's my brother and I were TOTALLY into UB40. I mean... the "staying up way past our bedtime just to see them on David Lettermen" fan. When they came through Kansas City, I was the first one waiting in line at our grocery store in front of the Ticketmaster (OK, I was the ONLY one) waiting for the clock to hit 8:00 just to snag front row seats. Did I get them? You bet I did! My brother and I sat in FRONT ROW! Wahoo! Course, we were way off to the side, which is the opposite of what the girl told me we'd be. Oh well. We were still FRONT ROW baby! My mom & her friend decided to join us. They sat in the VERY back row. Like, the last row of the auditorium. At least they could dance their heart out and not have to worry about people getting mad at them for blocking their view (which is what my friend Melissa & I did last Saturday night at the George Strait concert.... another post about that coming soon).

Some songs really bring back memories. A few years ago the song "Take On Me" came on the radio, and all of a sudden I hear a little 7 year old voice matching the high notes perfectly to the "oooooooo" melody. Ahhh.... love that my girls love the '80's. Course, it was all they listened to. That and the Wiggles. Die hard fan of the Wiggles music over here.

Then I recall the times of church gatherings growing up. My grandparents put together a big songbook of old songs like "Blowing in the Wind" and "If I had a Hammer"... y'know, those old songs back in the '60's & '70's? Well, after a big church picnic, someone would start strumming their guitar, and these song books would be passed around. Think of someone beating a spoon on their knees, and someone blowing into a jug... ok, just kidding on that. We weren't hillbillies! Anyways, everyone would sing along. I guess that's why they call it a "sing along?!" Good times. Good times. And yes, I love those songs too.
Puff the magic dragon... lived by the sea.... ahhh, love Peter, Paul & Mary

My family was always asked to sing at weddings. My aunt & uncle would harmonize together. My dad, grandma & aunt would sing together. I remember Perhaps Love & Annie's Song by John Denver being sung. I'm sure my dad will read this and remember otherwise, but I remember that song being sung SOMEWHERE!

Another song that takes me back is Seven Bridges Road. My dad, grandpa & uncle are all excellent singers. They used to sing these songs at family gatherings/karaoke parties. I remember how I loved listening to them harmonizing with each other. The last time I heard them singing this song, my brother was able to join in. Good memories...
I miss those days of listening to my family singing together.

So yes, some music can bring back wonderful memories.