The Owens Crew

Product of the Week

2012-01-19T08:09:00.001-06:00

My good friend Tiffanie has started a fun link up and I thought I'd join in! At first, I was like...Kristy, you don't use anything that people don't already know about so just check out everybody else's fun stuff. Then, I thought I could make mine photography related, since I do actually know a little bit about that!

The world of DSLR's has totally exploded in the last year or so. They're becoming more affordable, and people want to be able to get quality pictures of their own kids or of their fun travels. Almost all of the DSLR's come as a package deal, and you take home a standard kit lens for the camera. I know with Nikon, that it's usually an 18-55mm 3.5f. Of course, that lens takes a good picture...you didn't pay $500+ for nothin'! However, I get a lot of questions on how I get the pretty, blurry background. To get that effect, you're going to want a lens that has a lower f stop than 3.5. If you're taking pictures of your kids, I highly recommend investing in the 50mm 1.8 lens...both Canon and Nikon have one and they are relatively affordable. I promise, you won't take it off of your camera. I rarely do. You do have to get used to the fact that it is a prime lens, meaning you don't zoom, you have to move to get the pic...but you'll love it. I realize that I have a picture of the 50mm 1.4 here, because that's what I use and LOVE. The first place Joe and I always look at lenses is BHPhoto&Video.

Here's a recent pic of Trey taken with my 50mm 1.4

If you want to go check out some more super cool products, click the button below!

Happy Birthday Trey!

2012-01-11T09:53:00.000-06:00

In exactly 13 minutes, Trey will be 6 years old! How bad is it that I will always remember what time he was born...at the 2nd period bell, 9:28. That's a teacher for ya!

What a ride it has been! I wouldn't trade him for the world. He is 210% boy...just ask anyone that knows him. :) However, he has a heart of gold (most of the time) and likes to make sure everyone around him is happy. He is also a rule knower, notice I didn't say follower. Most of the time, he follows the rules...but ALL of the time he can tell you what those rules are.

He LOVES his little sister, and she adores him! Don't worry that Emery has a room full of girl toys, but 99% of the time she can be found under Trey's feet.

Trey is probably a little too smart for his own good...he is excelling in school and making us proud. He has already asked a girl to marry him, don't worry...her daddy said no. :) In his writing journal, at least 7 days out of the 30, he has written 'I love Audree'. Pretty sure he's gonna break some hearts in the coming years.

One of his favorite places to go is to church...I LOVE that. He is highly upset with us on the weekends if we don't make it to church. When KSBJ is on in the car, usually he chimes in and can sing the songs with us. He (and Emery too) is a singer...walks around the house singing, and on a lot of nights puts himself to sleep singing in his bed.

Trey, buddy...we love you and can't wait to celebrate with you at lunch today and dinner tonight!!

I'll leave you with some pictures...Trey's birthday session is coming up shortly, but I couldn't get it done before today! :)

Where'd my little boy go?!

OH, how he LOVES his cousin Gaines! :)

Trey and Coach Neill...
Unfortunately, Trey does ANYTHING Coach Neill asks him to do. :)

Singing with Uncle Cody...he is a HAM!

Big time fishermen!

LOVED (and still does) his Nana

Always looking out for his little sister...
He's the only one that can mess with her. :)

He did great in soccer this Fall...

He's a 'Hackers' fan with his daddy.

His most recent picture...LOVE this kid. {and his sister too!} :)

My Very Own Creeper

2012-01-06T11:57:00.002-06:00

Joe has been my biggest cheerleader thru the start up of my photography business. When we're not in football and basketball seasons, chances are he is at the different shoots as my assistant. He is a pretty darn good photographer too, so it's nice to have his help. At the start of last summer, we went out on a shoot with one of his senior athletes. It actually was a family affair, as the senior {Daylan} brought along his whole family {LOVE them!}. We had a BLAST together. Towards the end, we were snapping a few last minute shots and as I'm firing away I'm noticing Joe slipping in to the back of the pic and saying 'Shhh' with his finger over his mouth. Sure enough, he had decided to creep on Daylan's picture. Late that night, I was getting a little delirious as I was editing, so I pulled up those pictures in Lightroom. We couldn't stop laughing...I quickly edited one and uploaded it to Facebook. Who knew, but that was one popular picture. Fast forward a few months or so, and Joe kept appearing in my shots...creating the Creeper Collection, now on my Facebook. Y'all, I seriously now have requests for the Creeper to be at my sessions...

Meet the Creeper {his behind the scenes look}...

The picture that started it all...

A few more of his appearances...

However, he does NOT creep on Preston...just makes him smile for me.

I'm not joking when people want the book of all of Joe's creeping pictures. It will definitely be in the works, I just want it to be a nice big book, so we gotta get busy. Speaking of busy...have you reserved your spot for this?

We Are Still Alive...

2011-12-30T21:54:00.003-06:00

We made it thru Christmas all in one piece! I'm not going to leave you with any pictures today...but, I thought y'all would appreciate me taking the time to take the blog out of Halloween/Fall mode and kick it into next year already. So, there you have it...This may be my last post of 2011, I'll have to make it a resolution to be a better blogger. For that to happen, Owens' Originals would have to slow down...and we don't want that! :) Happy New Year to you and your families, may 2012 bring bigger and better blessings!

I might...

2011-12-19T10:31:00.001-06:00

I might have something interesting to blog about in the next week. Or, I might not...because I might not be done Christmas shopping. I might be cursing the new grading system our district implemented...it's terrible. I might be done editing everyone else's Christmas pictures...but I might not have taken any of ours yet! I might curl up and just pretend Christmas isn't 6 days away.

You might need to commit me when this is all said and done. I might be joking, or not. :)

Random.Ness

2011-12-09T07:25:00.001-06:00

It's Friday...can I get a Hallelujah? I only have to make it thru one more FULL week before we get out for Christmas break...that deserves a Hallelujah with your hands held high!

I thought y'all might need some photographic proof that Trey and Em are still alive and well...

We took the kids {and Grandma & Papa too} to Santa's Wonderland Wednesday night. Always makes for a fun night. I was a little worried that Emery wouldn't even look up from the iPad though...

Speaking of 'i' stuff, my new iPhone 4 case came in the other day.....LOVE

{make your own @ getuncommon.com}

Last Friday night I got a girl's night out with my mom and Billie {aka Grandma}. We went to the auction and I got some fun stuff. I usually go looking for photo props but come home empty handed. Luckily this time, I threw off the average age and the old folk didn't want what I wanted! :) I also got Joe a cool cross...we have a thing for crosses in our house...and license plates too. We're classy, don't judge. While you're at it, don't judge the iPhone pics either...my camera is working over time lately. :)

I told y'all this was Random...ok, so I didn't but the title did. To finish up, check out what Skippy's been up to lately.

Enjoying a bowl of Lucky Charms under the tree...

The sugar ants enjoyed it to. :-\

Joe was in charge of this one...

So thankful Grandma & Papa came and cleaned it up before we got home!
Which leads to their masterpiece below...

Grandma & Papa thought Skippy might be thirsty. :)

Peek-A-Boo, I see you!

More Skippy Fun...

2011-12-05T08:16:00.001-06:00

We are having a great time with Skippy...the kids wake up every morning and from every nap to check on him. We had a minor meltdown yesterday morning when Emery realized that Skippy had snagged one of her last donut holes! Speaking of melt downs, the following Skippy picture has a story...wait for it.

Skippy was perched upon one of Trey's little play houses in his room. Trey was out of his room, but Emery went in there to play. While playing, she bumped the house that Skippy was sitting on...knocking Skippy off. Joe and I looked at each other when we heard these massive sobs coming from Trey's room and we couldn't make out what she was saying. After some deciphering, we discovered she was saying 'Skippy TOUCHED me!!' In the book that comes with Skippy, part of the story is that you can NOT touch Skippy or he will lose his magic. Emery thought she had RUINED Skippy. We're talking, she could not catch her breath. We finally calmed her down and told her it would be okay. If you've watched the TV movie about the Elf on the Shelf, then you may have caught the part where the brother touched him and the other elves had to give him cinnamon or something like that? I wasn't doing my best job of listening when the kids were watching it...anyways, I'm going with that. SO, that night, Skippy made his way into one of my old mason jars with some cinnamon and sugar to get his magic back! This was one of my favorites so far. It convinced the kids that Skippy was going to be OK...so sweet!

Moving on...this is what Skippy's been up to the last couple of nights...

The Abominable Snowman seems to be his favorite...Yahtzee!

Spooky Skippy!

Yesterday, the weather was YUCKY! Skippy opted to e-mail Santa and let him know that Trey and Emery had been very good. I woke up at 3 a.m. to find Trey trying to read Skippy's note...

I'll leave y'all with an iPhone pic of our tree this year!

Skippy is Here!

2011-12-01T08:01:00.001-06:00

Y'all...seriously. Last year I said, "I will not purchase Elf on the Shelf...$30, no way!" We tried using a little reindeer stuffed animal we had...um, not so much. The whole concept is genius, and I think Joe and I may be having more fun with him than Trey and Emery!

During the day, Skippy perches somewhere and keeps an eye on things. After the kids go to bed, he 'flies back to the North Pole to report Trey and Emery's behavior to Santa'. When he gets back, while everyone is sleeping, he usually gets into something. Every morning for the last week, Trey and Emery have woken up and said, "I wonder what Skippy was up to last night?!"

This is what he's been up to this week...

Night 1: Got all of the colors out and left his mark in the coloring book.

Night 2: Skippy vs. The Abominable Snowman in a serious game of checkers.

Night 3: Skippy is brave!

Night 4: Trey ended up in our bed, so Skippy decided to go keep Trey's bed warm for him.

Stay tuned for more of Skippy's antics. Leave a comment if you're doing Elf on the Shelf...I'd love to get some more ideas! :)

November?

2011-11-28T08:08:00.001-06:00

Whoa, what happened to November...for real!

What have we been up to? Well, football season ended the weekend before Thanksgiving. We fought a hard fight...not gonna lie, it was REALLY nice having Joe home and relaxed the week of Thanksgiving. That hasn't happened in a couple of years!

I made an awesome dessert for Thanksgiving...a pumpkin dump cake. I got the recipe from a fellow coaches wife. She served it at one of our last parties and it was the hit of the party. Here's the recipe. Make it, you won't be disappointed. If you are, let me know and Joe will come take the left overs off of your hands for you.

2 cans pumpkin
3 cups evaporated milk...I used fat free, not sure it made a whole lotta difference
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp ginger {I didn't have any, so I left it out...still loved it}
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsps salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter, sliced into pats
1 cup chopped pecans...totally didn't measure, just covered the whole top

Directions: Mix pumpkin, evap. milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, eggs, sugar, and salt together well. Pour into greased floured 9x13 {if you have a larger one it wouldn't hurt, this fills it up}. Sprinkle the yellow cake mix on top. Lay out the pats of butter across the cake mix...I just did like 4 across and then spread them out down the rest of the mix. Cover the top with the pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour and 20. One suggestion I have is that if the pecans are getting too toasty, maybe cover with foil? Regardless, this was gobbled up on Thanksgiving. Grandma said she preferred it over pumpkin pie because it was fluffier...and oh, so yummy!

Moving on...

I did go Black Friday shopping at Walmart.......never again. I did get some great deals, but the craziness...SO, not worth it. My mom and I showed up about an hour and a half before the sales kicked in. Just FYI, if you're going to go in the future...Walmart is OPEN, but they don't let you check out until 10:00 sharp. Also, our Walmart personnel didn't really care if you took things off the palette before 10:00, so my buggy was full of what I needed and I was in line by 9:15 to check out. I was 6th in line and was out of Walmart by 10:15! The electronics people {the ones sitting in the pet food aisle were not so lucky}...

Yesterday, we got the tree up. I did NOT want to go back to school without the tree being up. Joe helped me get it out of the attic and assembled...then the kids and I did the rest....I'm liking the tree this year. It's no designer tree, but we like it. :)

To top it off, we are doing Elf on the Shelf this year...and so far, it has been a HUGE hit. Meet Skippy! Last year, I skimped and didn't spend the money, and that was a mistake. Skippy has already provided his money worth in entertainment! Stay tuned, I'm documenting with my good camera!

I also made our 25 days of Christmas bags, we and are starting that Wednesday night...I know that Wednesday is not the first, but you do what you gotta do when daddy has his Fall Sports banquet Thursday night. We are starting it off big with a trip to Santa's Wonderland. We've learned that a week night trip is SO much better than a weekend.

Have a great weekend!! Only 3 weeks left of school for the Fall semester!!! YAY!

Love Them.

2011-11-09T09:42:00.000-06:00

Trey...the kid keeps me guessing. God love him, he is a sweet boy....he's just A BoY! :) That means, everyday when I pick him up from Kindergarten I have to ask, "Good day or bad day?!" Then, I have to hold my breath and turn the page in his binder to where a note would be from his teacher.

Yesterday, I was fulfilling my civic duty of voting...with the kids in tow. Moms, I know you know what that can entail. On the way there, we had the discussion of how to act at the voting place. VERY quiet, whisper and you have to stay right by mommy. Luckily, we vote at a church, so I got to a booth that had a row of chairs near by. I instructed Trey and Em to sit there and be quiet...I then went to hand Trey my iphone. He totally snubbed my phone, and says "It's okay mom, I'm going to look for my sight words"...as he's thumbing thru the Bible. I almost cried. It was the sweetest thing EVER.

It's moments like those, in a week that is never ending, that God reminds us to STOP. I stopped and just thanked HIM for that reminder to enjoy these moments with Trey and Emery...and then I gave Trey a big kiss on the forehead for being Trey.

Emery's not to be left out...she's a character. She's decided that she should be practicing her spelling like her big brother. Any thing you ask her to spell right now is 'P-E-R-E-Y'. So she'll say, "MOMMY, I can spell SEAT...P-E-R-E-Y....SEAT" She did that for a good 5 minutes last night at the dinner table and we were all just laughing. Trey was getting frustrated because he knows how to spell it and she fights him on it. It's really quite comical.

Love my 2.

Got questions?

2011-11-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd do a little more interacting over on my Owens' Originals Photography blog, so I'm going to do a little Question and Answer session. The only problem? I only have 18 people following over there, so I thought I'd bring it over here...click on THIS LINK and head on over to ask your questions. It can be about Photography Stuff. Camera Stuff. Football Family Stuff. Whatever you got {as long as it is blog appropriate...I feel like I'm talking to my high school kids, sorry} :)

...and I'll leave you with one of my favorite recent pictures from a session! {Sorry, a little partial...my Godson, Lane}

{Halloween 2011}

2011-11-01T07:59:00.001-05:00

Another Halloween is in the books! I pulled a Mother of the Year...more on that later. I'll butter you up with pictures first.

Em, and her special face...

This was his tough dude pose.

Awww.

Help me, please...she gives me gray hair.

Bein' sweet for 2 minutes.

How about a cross eyed clown? That dang nose would not stay on.

She does these faces all on her own. I swear. I know, we're in trouble.

That's one mean turtle.

They were ready to go!

Emery being nosy. Every picture of them at the door looked like this.

Wanna hear about my mother of the year award? Y'all know when you're taking pictures of the kids, when you say, "Wait, one more!" Well, Joe was done and the kids were ready to go. I said, "WAIT, I need one of Emery withOUT her special face"...so we got a few more shots. Joe said, "come on Em, let's get in the car"...and then it happened. She slipped on the rocks and landed booty first. She immediately got up and cried the 'I'm hurt' cry...moms, you know the difference. I didn't see anything, but Joe checked her in the car and came back and showed me what she landed on. There were some small metal spiky things that we didn't even notice. She had a few scrapes on her 'cheek' and I was 'sick to my stomach' mad at myself. We got home quickly and got her all cleaned up, and once the bandaid was on then all was right with the world again. My guilt is finally starting to ease up. At first, I was sure we were going to end up at the ER clinic having to get a tetnis shot...here's a newsflash for you {that I didn't know}...if the kids are caught up on their vaccinations thru age 4 or 5, they don't have to get a tetnis shot when something like that happens. WHEW. There it is for for ya...one more reason I will have the M-O-T-Y trophy on my mantle.

4.7 Miles

2011-10-24T11:07:00.001-05:00

4.7 miles...that is now all that separates Grandma & Papa from us! Grandma & Papa have semi-retired and moved down here from Dallas. We've had a countdown on for the last couple of months, and this weekend was the big event. Their furniture however, will be here tomorrow...thanks to some heavy fog in Dallas. Trey and Emery are beyond excited, and to tell the truth Joe and I are too! :)

Last night they got to come over for some Papa Murphy's and hanging out...and it felt so funny not telling them good bye and sending them back to Dallas! I'm not sure it has quite sunk in yet. They say it feels like a permanent vacation. :)

Joe posted this picture on Facebook last night with the caption, "I could get used to this." Yep.

Welcome to Cypress, Grandma & Papa!

LONG week

2011-10-18T11:42:00.002-05:00

You know it's going to be a long week, when you stay up Monday morning until 1 a.m. and then get up for work at 5:15. I thought I was going to bed early last night...a whopping 11:15. Tonight, I have my sights set on 9, but we'll see if that happens! What am I doing up at that hour you ask? Editing, editing, and some more editing. I had an October 1st wedding that I shot solo, and that's what we have here...Enjoy. {I promise Trey and Emery will make an appearance on the blog, sometime this month!} :)

Need a Good Laugh...

2011-10-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

There are many days that it is SO easy to get stuck in the rut of being a wife, a mom, a teacher, a photographer...and the list goes on. To lighten my mood, I turn to Pinterest to take a load off and to get my mood in check. I bring to you some of my favorite Pinterest 'humorous' quotes...

I'll start with the ones that I would love to display in my classroom...however, I value my job way too much to actually follow through.

Source: sawdustcityllc.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Source: demotivation.us via Dolores on Pinterest

Source: icanrelate.info via Kristy on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Kaylea on Pinterest

Source: redbubble.com via Kari on Pinterest

Now for some random stuff that makes me laugh. Usually at my desk, and yes...I usually get crazy looks from my students.

I definitely have these days...do you?

Source: chocolatechipsandsnickerdoodles.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

No joke!

Source: tumblr.com via Missy on Pinterest

Not gonna lie...

Source: icanrelate.info via Katie on Pinterest

I had one of these days last week...No, really.

Source: terborg.typepad.com via Lacy on Pinterest

Another Week

2011-09-30T12:47:00.001-05:00

Yet another week has FLOWN by. Tomorrow is October 1...how did that happen?! Football season is rolling along. My photography business is booming {LOVING it}, and school just finished up the first 6 weeks. Y'all remind me, the next time someone asks me to be in charge of a new gradebook system for 300 teachers....to say NO. We updated our system this year to Teacher Access Center, and it's a nightmare! Teachers, if you use it, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about.

Moving on. There hasn't been much excitement this week. Trey had to dress up as his favorite nursery rhyme today. He chose Humpty Dumpty. I looked online for ideas on a costume, and refused to buy one. One of the 'homemade' options was to cut a hole in a poster board and have his face go in that hole, and then draw the egg on the poster board. Really?! I'm sure that would have lasted 5 minutes. So, while Joe and I finished off the last 3 episodes of 24, season 6 {ADDICTED to that show, we may just start it over when we get thru season 8...I'm not joking}, I painted. This is what Trey's Humpty Dumpty looked like. {I'm a bad mom and didn't get a picture of him in the shirt this morning...hopefully, it's still in one piece this afternoon.

Tomorrow, I'm off all day to photograph a friend's wedding. It's going to be so much fun I can hardly stand it. I'll miss another football game, but I won't miss the after party. Grammie is keeping the kids, and they are SO excited about that. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!

Sibling Love

2011-09-23T20:20:00.001-05:00

Here's proof that Trey and Em can be super sweet together...

...OR not.

BBQ Pulled Pork & S'mores Bars

2011-09-19T11:40:00.004-05:00

I thought I would share the two recipes that got rave reviews at the party Saturday night. We only had a handful of bars left, and only one scoop {from 2 crock pots!} of the pork left. I'd say they were a success!

Let's start with the Pulled Pork...it was SUPER easy. Maybe you can keep a secret better than I can when someone asks you how you made it. You know you are supposed to say, 'A little of this and a little of that'...but I spilled the beans. Oh you know, from a McCormick's packet of seasoning. Seriously, find this little packet on your spice aisle:

Ingredients:

3 lb boneless pork roast {shoulder, butt...whatever, just no bone!}

1 pkg Slow Cooker McCormick's BBQ Pulled Pork seasoning

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Place pork in crock pot. {I ALWAYS use the crock pot liner, LIFE savers!}
In a mixing bowl: dump the seasoning packet, ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar...mix well
Pour sauce over pork
Put the lid on the crock pot, and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for about 4 hours.
Open the lid after desired time, grab a couple forks and get to shredding.
{The recipe says remove pork and shred, but seriously...who wants that mess?}

I served these on hamburger rolls with different cheeses, mayo, mustard, you name it. I also had the ramen slaw as a side, and some people added that to their sandwich!

Okay, now for the dessert!

Golden Graham S'mores bars...people were ALL over these! I doubled, and still almost ran out!

Yes, they are as sinful as they look.

Ingredients:

1 box Golden Graham cereal

1 - 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows {about 6 cups total}

1 - 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

5 tbsp. of butter

1 tsp of vanilla {optional, but I did it!}

Put chocolate chips in refrigerator to chill. Spray 9 x 13 dish and set aside. In a large bowl, pour out the box of cereal. In a mid-size sauce pan, melt the butter. When the butter is almost all melted, add 5 cups of the marshmallows {save 1 cup for later}. Stir constantly, until almost completely melted. Add in 1 tsp. of vanilla. Remove from stove, and pour over cereal in large bowl. Stir until cereal is coated. Stir in chocolate chips. Add in remaining 1 cup of marshmallows, and gently stir until well distributed.

Press cereal mixture into 9 x 13. Cover and put in the refrigerator to set. After set {I had mine in the refrigerator most of the day, just because I made them early}, run a knife along the edges of the pan and it should come right on out, and set on a cutting board. Cut your bars, however big you want them! Warning, if you want to double it, I think it is just easier to make it twice instead of trying to make it all in one bowl. It can get messy. I made two separate, and it stayed much cleaner! Y'all, I'm serious...delicious!!

Soccer!

2011-09-19T10:44:00.004-05:00

Trey had his VERY first soccer game Saturday morning! I must say, 5 year old soccer is quite entertaining!

Joe started it off with a pep talk...

Before the game started, we had to have a team discussion

about Trey's loose tooth...game plan, who needs one?

And then, they were off! Like a bunch of fire ants!

It doesn't take long for Trey to find the best spot on the bench?
Smart boy.

Houston, we have a daisy picker...

Whew, that was tough work!

Don't worry that he pulled himself out of the game to take a water break.

We had to have a little discussion about toughening up.

Trey was ALL over the place, but he knew he wanted the ball!

I may have teared up when he scored the first goal, of his first game EVER!

He ended up scoring 2 out of the 4 goals for his team. Yes, I'm proud!!

Stay tuned...I'm going to share the recipe to the pulled pork sandwiches and s'mores bars that we served at the football party Saturday night...they were a HUGE hit!

C.R.A.Z.Y. Week

2011-09-16T10:28:00.002-05:00

Monday Night: Trey's Curriculum Night
Tuesday Night: Open House for me, Joe, & Mimi {Uncle Cody babysat}
Wednesday Night: Dinner with friends from out of town {Tennessee to be exact}
Thursday Night: Working dinner to plan wedding photography with dear friends {kids in tow}
Friday Night: Maids come, Carpet cleaners come, Prep to host after game party tomorrow night
Saturday: Trey's first soccer game, Joe's football game, post-game party at our house
Sunday: Photo shoot in the evening

How's that for a week? Yes, we're still alive...don't ask me how...and no, I didn't cook. {not.one.single.night} That's great for Weight Watchers, NOT. I consider it an act of the Good Man Above, that I stayed the same this week and didn't gain.

We've had fun the last four weeks helping Trey transition into Kindergarten mode...or transition us, however you want to look at it. As of Wednesday, this week, Trey had 2 {not-so-good} notes home. Those hurt the heart. {They weren't terrible, just keeping his hands to himself, and staying in his seat....MUCH better than the kid in his class that is pulling hair, and lifting up girl's dresses!} Moving on...after a LONG, discussion with Trey on Wednesday, he brought home his FIRST good note yesterday. SO proud! Hey, it's the little things. Last night, I told him I would help him read his library book before bed. We curled up in my bed, and started reading Wings of Light: The Migration of the Yellow Butterfly. {Yes, that's the title...I should have known something was up}. I'm yawning, but making it thru the pages...until I get to this page:

Go ahead, I'll wait...reread that last paragraph, and not laugh. SERIOUSLY. Kindergarten, y'all. Am I naive, or is that a LITTLE advanced for a 5 year old? Much less, his mom trying to read the book to him. I just about lost it when I read, 'She trembles in response.' COME ON. No worries, I got creative...doesn't it say that the butterflies landed on the flower and then flew off into the sunshine? That's how I read it. I can only imagine what is coming next in this adventure called Kindergarten.

Changing subjects............Emery's Halloween costume.

Source: etsy.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Can you stand the cuteness? I can't. Yes, I'm copying something off of Etsy...don't judge. I can make the tutu and headband, and I just ordered the leg warmers and suspenders off of Amazon. Success! NOW, if I could just talk Trey into this Hobo clown. So far, he's not having it. Apparently, Mr. Hobo can't compete with Transformers or a Ninja. Help me.

Well, that's all the fun for this week. I'm praying for a calmer week next week!

Annual Football Party

2011-09-12T11:10:00.001-05:00

This Saturday night, I will be hosting the annual after game party at our house. I think this is my third year to host one? It's a good incentive to get stuff done around the house before the whole coaching staff and their families are hanging out there! :) I think I have the menu set...BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, spinach artichoke dip, and some kind of dessert. Dear Pinterest, thanks for the menu ideas.

Here's what I have so far:

The pulled pork...

Source: workitmom.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Cole Slaw:

Source: happythehomeblog.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Spinach Artichoke Dip:

{Yea, so I'm famous at parties for this dip that I serve in a hawaiian bread bowl. Pinterest isn't sophisticated enough to handle this recipe. 2 tubs of Walmart Spinach Artichoke dip, and pour it in the hollowed out bread bowl. Don't be jealous!}

Now, for the hard part...I can't decide between these desserts!

Smores Brownies

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Oreo Brownies

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Golden Graham Smores Bars

Source: macaroniandcheesecake.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Decisions, decisions...what's your vote?

10 years

2011-09-10T22:39:00.000-05:00

So hard to believe that it's been 10 years. I still remember being in Ms. Mitchell's Kines class at SFA. I remember being glued to the TV for no less than 3 days straights. Our volleyball games were cancelled, and the whole country was in shock. Praying for those families affected, as well as all of the firemen, policemen, and military that protect us every day.

Watch this. Hang on, get tissues first...and then watch this.

2011-09-02T14:36:00.000-05:00

In an effort to get something on the blog, I'm going to break it down to bullets. Don't judge.

Emery is living large being by herself at the babysitter. {AKA Grammie's}. The other day, we were on our way to the car rider line to pick up Trey and this is what I hear from the back seat, "I don't want to pick up Trey!" No worries, that was short lived and the next time he mentioned 'leaving', she threw a grade 10 fit on the floor.
Tonight is Joe's first regular season game...please tell me why I'm nervous? Oh, that's right...the outcome will determine how pleasant this 3 day weekend will be!
Trey is doing well at school, he already has a girlfriend...one that actually claims him! He needs to watch himself, she has 2 older brothers at school that'll eat his lunch if he's not nice.
Speaking of Trey, we hadn't been able to kick a pesky cough for going on 2 weeks. He didn't have a fever, so I tried to be 'cool' mom and let him ride it out. Until a lovely rash appeared 2 days ago. Diagnosis? ~~RUNNING~~ Walking Pneumonia. Why running you ask? Well, one with pneumonia would usually be laid up...not Trey, he's been running around crazy over the last couple of weeks! I think we were about 30 seconds from heading to the ER, if the Pulse Ox reader didn't get the right reading. We are loaded up with a nebulizer/albuterol, antibiotic, and steroid.
I LOVE our doctor. He is Joe's team doctor, and really looks out for us. Including telling Trey to stay home from school, but he'd see us at the football game tonight. {Priorities people, priorities}
I am beating the busses this afternoon and getting home...why? It's Friday, Friday {nevermind}...BUT, it's cleaning lady day, and I love pulling into the garage and smelling Fabuloso.

The End.

Fall, Where Are You?

2011-08-26T09:19:00.005-05:00

In honor of the temperature tomorrow being 107 degrees...seriously?! I thought I would jump ahead to some of my planned Fall projects. Planned being the key word...we shall see if they actually come to fruition! Well, I did knock one of these off my list already...most mom's have it together to get a first day gift to the teacher, well what teacher doesn't want a gift on Friday?! Trey's teacher got a 'Thanks for a great first week!' gift. Compliments of Pinterest of course! P.S. Pinterest is my BEST friend. {Let me know if you need an invite for Pinterest}

I want to jazz it up, add some fun orange glitter letters? Maybe a ghost...

Source: google.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Come heck or high water...I'm painting some pumpkins this year!

Source: lollyjaneboutique.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Call me a kiss up, but Trey's teacher will be pulling
this out of Trey's backpack this morning. I didn't take a picture...
but I must say, I jazzed it up in a cute tin and painted her name on the top

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Kristy on Pinterest

I think I'll make these for our football party this year...

Source: bakingbites.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Joe's first game is next week! I am SUPER excited about a necklace that is coming in this week...my old {she's not old, our families have known each other since the 80's}, family friend Brandy makes some AWESOME jewelry. I can't wait to get my I heart Coach Owens necklace! Happy Friday! We survived the first week of school!

Kindergarten

2011-08-22T20:39:00.002-05:00

Today was the day...

When you're holding your little babies, you think this day is SO FAR AWAY. It's not. It snuck up on us, and Trey was SO ready. I wasn't, but he was. I almost cried when I kissed him goodbye this morning, but due to my eye liner and mascara for my first day back to school, I fought it off...it would've been an ugly cry. I think I almost cried in the car rider line because I couldn't wait to hear about his day! We are so fortunate that we have some familiar faces in his class, and he has an awesome, experienced teacher. Poor Trey doesn't have any hope of being a hooligan at school with Joe and I both being teachers! I need to get my stuff together to get his teacher's gift together, yes...I'm bribing. Don't judge. :) It'll hopefully be ready by Friday, for a 'Yay, we made it one week!' gift! Hope everyone has a great week...I think the only way I'm going to make it thru the week is with my beloved Rt 44.

Kindergarten

2011-08-15T21:23:00.003-05:00

My baby starts kindergarten on Monday...it still has not sunk in. I don't know if I should ask for prayers for his teacher {Trey is ALL boy}, or if I'm gonna need some prayers...{I'm gonna try my hardest to not be the bumblin' mess of a mom dropping him off on his first day}

Hallelujah for my awesome principal who is letting me off for the first two periods on the first day of school...he rocks!

He is all set...school supplies bought {um, hello $50+?!}, plenty of new clothes, and the back pack all ready to go!

It's the eyes...

2011-08-15T21:08:00.003-05:00

Last week, we headed out to take Trey's back to school pictures. Of course, Miss Mess was not to be outdone. Out of all the pictures, this seems to be the favorite because of her eyes. When I saw the theme for I heart faces this week {beautiful eyes}, I knew I had to share this shot. Go check out I heart faces and browse thru some awesome shots.

A Window...

2011-08-09T13:31:00.004-05:00

Last Spring, I was blessed to go on a little shopping trip with Grandma and her friends in downtown McKinney. We had an awesome time, and even got texts from Joe asking if we were ever coming home! I stumbled across this window in a cute little shop, and almost walked right past it thinking it was just part of the shop. It was hanging by hooks in a little opening. Then, I saw a little price tag hanging from it...much to my surprise, it was only $35! {usually Joe and I are good about talking to each other before a purchase, but I snatched this one and ran because I knew if he disapproved that I could sell it for probably double!}

It only took about 4 months, but Joe and I finally got it together! We filled each space with scrapbook paper and then cut 8x10's down to fit in the area. To make them stick, my genius husband, cut up a cardboard box into strips and wedged them in the openings. It worked so much better, than my idea of trying to tape to brittle wood! There are still 2 openings, which are going to be filled with a solid paper, and a vinyl decal with our last name and a little quote. Can't wait until it's ALL done...however, I'm enjoying it now just the way it is.

I need to fill the 2 antique jars with something, but am drawing a blank. I need my decorating friends {cough, cough...Tiffanie} to make some suggestions. :) I'm undecided on the wire thing on the right, I picked it up at a garage sale this weekend for $2. I thought that I'd really like this corner fire place when we first moved in, but it's only taken me 8 years to find something that I love that fills the space!

On a totally different topic, I signed Trey up for kindergarten today....don't worry that I'm going to go drown my sorrows in a margarita some time soon! {definitely AFTER weigh in at WW on Thursday} In the meantime, I'm off to tackle the ever growing pile of laundry in the laundry room. I'm tempted to go buy one of those pincher grabber {thingies} at the dollar store to pick up Joe's 2-a-day clothes....just sayin.

We Now Interrupt...

2011-08-05T22:51:00.002-05:00

Dear Anonymous...I'm back. :) {I guess people really do read the blog...even, if it's you Grandma} :)

Truth be told, I may or may not blog during my conference period at school...well, that and the fact that this lil' photography business of mine has kept me far busier this summer than I probably deserve. I absolutely LOVE it, and can't wait to see what the future holds for that. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to keep up with much of anything, so if you're looking for my most recent photo shoots, the best place to find those is to become a fan on Facebook! :)

Moving on...We've had a great summer and now it is officially over. Joe returned to football practice on Monday. Hence the title of this post. I need to go dust off my favorite pillow and put it back out on the couch...You know, the one that says 'We now interrupt this marriage for football season'. It is the truth. I've probably seen Joe for a combined 2 hours all week? Otherwise, I'm forcing my hand out from under the covers to wave bye to him in the morning or I get to see him for a few minutes before he collapses from pure exhaustion. In case you've been under a rock in the last month, Texas is hot y'all. Ridiculously hot. I've had 2 friends post on Facebook about a can of coke exploding in their car or a tube of apoxy or something busting. Seriously...where is Fall?

I figured I better share some pictures, so that y'all know Trey and Em are still alive and kickin'. That they are...more like alive and sprintin'...they keep you on your toes!

We've spent lots of time in the pool...

Trey's a high flyer!

Emery, on the otherhand...cleans the side of the pool.

Trust me, she doesn't get it from me...

When Joe and I went to Coaches Outreach...

The Grandma's took Trey and Em on their first airplane ride...

Who do you think was a scaredy cat?! It wasn't Emery!!

A couple of weeks ago, I got to go do a college senior shoot at aTm.

It was for a former student of mine, and we had a great time...

Joe grabbed this shot of Trey...LOVE it.

Okay, okay...I'm almost done. I figured I better make it a long post for my comeback. Last week was our last true FREE weekend until....hmmm, probably NOVEMBER. So, what is one to do?! Oh, you know...tear out the carpet in the study...lay new wood flooring...paint...new baseboards...that's all. One day, it'll be my lil' office for my business. If anyone wants to throw in a Macbook Pro with all of the Adobe fixin's it would be well received. JUST KIDDING. Anyway, here are a few pics of the remodel. It's not all put back together yet, but it's getting there.

The left is the start...right, is the work in progress

The current state...

Just have to finish up the baseboards and lay the quarter round...

And find the perfect white antique desk, and shelves, and pictures...but hey, who's keepin' track?

Up next for this blog? Probably the Fall blog makeover...a girl can wish, right? Maybe it'll bring the cooler temps with it. Oh yeah, and my therapy for the fact that I will have a kindergartner in 2 weeks? Don't get me started.

Beaux and Dixie

2011-07-27T11:31:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Beaux and Dixie are in their new home! Never doubt that God has a hand in everything. All day I had e-mailed and texted with a lady about 45 minutes away. It sounded like the PERFECT set up for our pups. In the final hour, I started having some doubts about the situation. Insert God moment. I received another e-mail from a nice lady saying that she was interested and that she had previously had a sheltie that had died suddenly back in the spring. In her e-mail, she also mentioned that she is a teacher in our district. After a little more conversating, we discovered that she teaches with my mom and we have lots of mutual friends! She lives about 20 minutes away, and has 3 boys that are over the moon about having Beaux and Dixie. The decision didn't come easily, but I'm SO thankful for God's blessing of the perfect family!

........................................................................................................................

It's a sad day in the Owens' household. We have made the tough decision that we need to find a new home for our first babies, Beaux and Dixie. We are only becoming busier, and feel guilty that we can't give them the time that they deserve. They are VERY well behaved, and have done so good with Trey and Emery. They are kennel trained, and very gentle. They LOVE their walks on the leash, but are also so excited when they get to just run around in the backyard. We would prefer that they stay together, so they can continue to keep each other company. If you know of anyone looking for a great pet, that is already trained and well behaved...I promise, Beaux and Dixie won't disappoint. They both sit on command, shake, speak, and Dixie even plays dead when you pretend to 'bang, bang'. In a perfect world, I think Beaux and Dixie would make a great pair for a retired couple that can spend lots of time with them, or out on some land with room to run. :) Please share if you know of someone who may be interested. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions! {kristyo15@yahoo.com}

Slow Berry Cobbler

2011-07-19T08:36:00.002-05:00

Holy smokes, almost 2 weeks since my last post. Can you tell we've been a little busy?! I thought I'd share the cobbler that I made for the party we attended for July 4th. When Grandma asks for the recipe, and asks if I picked the berries myself...I knew it was a success! I came across this recipe, and knew it was for me when I saw that I could dump it all in the crockpot and leave it for hours while in the pool...well, that and it's a Paula Deen recipe. I doubled this, and y'all...there was one little spoonful left at the end! I promise, you won't regret making this!

Ingredients

Filling:

1 (10-ounce) bag frozen strawberries
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen blueberries
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen raspberries
1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar, depending on your level of preferred sweetness
1/2 cup baking mix

Topping:

2 1/4 cups baking mix
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Spray the insert of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, toss together all the frozen fruit, sugar and 1/2 cup baking mix. Transfer the fruit to the slow cooker. In another large mixing bowl, stir together 2 1/4 cups baking mix, 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter and milk with a wooden spoon. With your hands, drop bits of dough on top of the fruit in the slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the dough and place the lid on the slow cooker. Turn the power onto high and slow cook for 3 to 4 hours until the topping has puffed and the fruit is bubbling.

Serve warm with ~~whipped cream~~ or ice cream.

Emery's Turning 3!

2011-07-07T23:28:00.003-05:00

Besides wrapping my mind around the fact that Trey will be in Kindergarten this year, is the fact that in two weeks Emery will turn 3. Where'd my babies go?! We have to have a photo shoot for the kid's birthdays, so a couple of days ago it was Emery's turn. {of course Trey couldn't be totally left out...}

Emery has developed quite the personality. Joe and I constantly find ourselves dying laughing at the things that come out of her mouth {and Trey's too}. She is almost potty trained...I made the mistake of pull ups {I knew better, but thought she might like them}...she LOVED the pretty princess ~~diapers~~ pull ups. Luckily, we used the last pull up today, and I won't be buying more. If we could tackle the nap time and bedtime, I'll be ecstatic! We have decided to not start Emery in kindergarten until she is 6 {mid-July birthday, I don't want her to be the youngest}, so this year she will get to stay at Grammie's all by herself while Trey is at school. I don't know who's more excited, Grammie or Em. I'm sure there will be lots of sweet stories from all of their girly adventures.

We are going to have another pool party for her birthday this year...what else is there to do in Houston in mid-July?! :) I'll share pictures once we have her party!

Have a great weekend!

{Coaches Outreach}

2011-06-27T11:30:00.003-05:00

We just returned home from another fabulous weekend with Coaches Outreach. If you're not familiar with Coaches Outreach, it is a ministry geared for coaches. They offer a weekly bible study for coaches, that usually take place in the field house once a week and all of the coaches are welcome. They even invite the wives to do the study from home, so that you can be on the same page as what your spouse is doing. Then, during the summers they offer about 4 marriage retreats to coaches and their spouses. We started going about 5 years ago {thanks to the B family!}, and we have come to realize that it is a MUST for us. It is a weekend, with no kids allowed, where you get reunited with your spouse and are surrounded by the Lord and by couples that are walking the same walk that you are. To say that it was a great weekend, is always the understatement of the year. We had a great speaker this weekend {Pete Chiofalo from Hillside Community Church in Keller}, who spoke about ways to come thru crisis during your marriage. One mainstay during our 4 retreats has been the breathtaking worship music from Michael Bridges...he's from Sunnyvale First Baptist Church near Dallas. {If you're near Dallas, I would highly recommend visiting and listening to both of these awesome guys}

Another huge blessing, is that Coaches Outreach uses donations/contributions to underwrite the cost of the weekend to coaches. It costs us money to go, but much less than what a weekend like that should cost. We are so thankful to those that choose to give to Coaches Outreach, they have no idea of the impact that it makes. If you're looking for a cause that you would like to get involved with, Coaches Outreach is amazing. They are always looking for people who might want to help lead the studies for the coaches, as well as donations to keep the marriage retreats going. Go check out their web site to read more about them: Coaches Outreach.

We are looking forward to next summer's retreat. We already have plans to sponsor another couple that hasn't been on our staff, to go with us next year. If you or your spouse is a coach, and you love Christ....then these retreats will breathe a new life into your marriage.

Scatter.brained

2011-06-20T22:35:00.005-05:00

Watch out, I'm warning you...this shall be a scatter brained post. I decided to download some of my Instagrams from FB and share over here.

We spend ~~5 days out of the week~~ a few afternoons during the summer hanging out at Deedee/Brew/and Aunt Shannon's house trying to stay out of the ~~ridiculously, absurd~~ heat. This is what we resorted to the other day...

Yep, that's a baby pool in the big pool...don't be jealous. Emery was pumped to be out of her little raft and have that all to herself!

Last night, we promised Trey that he and Emery could have a 'slumber party' in his room. We got the trundle all pulled out and set them free to have their fun at about 8:00. So, at 10:30 the room finally got quiet. Before I crashed, I did a quick walk thru to find them like this...

My heart melted. As much as these 2 are a mess, it just doesn't get any better. I may or may not have turned on the light to take a picture of this. It's a good thing that I have hard sleepers!

Friday, was Mimi's {my mom} birthday. She didn't want us to do anything over the top, so we went out to dinner and then had dessert at her house. I decided to make her birthday cake...she requested chocolate and white icing. I jazzed it up a little bit and did a raspberry filled chocolate cake with buttercream icing. I'll have to share the recipe, I just need to find it again. It was way yummy! Don't judge my icing skills, that has to be my least favorite part of baking...

Last, but not least...when you have kids, one of the most asked questions is 'who do they look like?' Poor Emery is going to look like me, at this point I think it's safe to say she doesn't have any hope. The following picture is of me at about Em's age now...

To finish up, I have to share one of my FB statuses from this weekend. I thought Joe was going to pull the car over he was laughing so hard...here's the status:

As we are driving by Target, a {grown} girl walks out in a bikini top, basketball shorts, and some kind of cartoon crocs {not lyin'}...Trey's response? 'nuh uh, that is unacceptable! A girl is not supposed to wear that!'

Don't say I didn't warn you that this post would be scatter brained!! However, if you hang out with me long enough, you'll know that's how I roll.

{Summer}

2011-06-17T13:59:00.003-05:00

We are enjoying the first few weeks of summer. Why, you ask? Because we've been doing a whole lot of nothing! I take that back...last summer the picture takin' business was s.l.o.w. Not this summer! We are loving it, we've picked up some new props and can't wait to start working them all in! We are going to hit up the garage sales in the morning to find some more!

I am trying to brainstorm ideas for Emery's 3 year pictures...can't decide what 'theme' I want to go with, or which Etsy shop to buy it from...decisions!!

I can't wait for next Friday to get here....COACHES OUTREACH! It's one of our favorite weekends of the year. This year, several of our coaching friends will be there...SO excited. There will be a trip to Fredericksburg on Saturday which is never boring.

While we're gone to Coaches Outreach, Trey and Em are taking their first flight on an airplane with Mimi and Grandma. I'm kind of sad we won't get to witness their expressions, but I know their grandma's are excited to get to witness that.

I cooked yesterday and baked/iced a cake for my mom's birthday....write it down, it hasn't happened very often. However, I finally made a meal plan for ~~the week~~ 3 days...baby steps y'all. I'll share the recipe of the cake if it tastes any good tonight. I made a raspberry filled chocolate cake with butter cream icing and raspberries around the bottom.

One of these days I'm going to have something exciting to blog about, I hope.

Well, Hello Blog...

2011-06-08T22:03:00.002-05:00

Oh, my goodness...2+ weeks with no post. SORRY!

We are still alive and well, just super swamped. The last 2 weeks, I have had 3 shoots a week! I am NOT complaining! However, when you mix in the end of school with that, and a trip to Sea World...whoa!

Here's a little bulleted recap of the last few weeks, and then I should be back in the swing of things this week:

The end of school was uneventful...hallelujah.

Data Recovery LTD...RECOVERED MY PICTURES FROM MY HARD DRIVE!

We've been in the pool a few days each week. Trey up and decided that from one day to the next that he no longer needed his vest, and that he could swim. NO lie. He is swimming across the pool unassisted...so proud.

Emery is in the midst of potty training. We have our good days and bad days. She is a mess though, and when she's tired of thinking about it she will just bring me a diaper and say, 'me want diaper on, no more panties'.....wonder where she gets that laziness? {don't answer that}

Joe and I celebrated our 8th anniversary yesterday...we celebrated by driving home from San Antonio and going swimming. Don't be jealous of how romantic we are! :) No worries, we decided we would celebrate Friday!

We used the teacher fun passes to go to Sea World on Monday, and had a blast! If you don't have coupons to get in to Sea World....holy cow, it's expensive!!! The only ticket we had to buy was Trey's and it was $49.99 + $20 parking. Adults are regularly $59.99! We had such a good time with the shows, and letting the kids pick what other little things we saw. I loved seeing their faces when they saw something new, priceless. The pictures are over here on Facebook, {You might have to friend me to see them, but let me know who you are...I have to practice what I preach to Trey and Emery and not talk to strangers!} I am too lazy to put the pics over here at the present moment. Again, I'm not quite sure where Emery gets that trait?!

Last night, we put Emery to bed in her pj's. I did my rounds to check on the kids before I went to sleep. I found Trey sleeping peacefully in his bed looking so sweet. However, I had to put my hand over my mouth when I went to check on Emery. She had stripped down and out of her pj's and was passed out across her bed in her bathing suit. This girl y'all...is giving me gray hairs.

We are home now, and counting down the days until our Coaches Outreach Marriage Retreat...can NOT wait!!

Off to bed, and to gear up for 2 photo shoots this weekend!

Rambling

2011-05-24T08:41:00.002-05:00

Well, the days are flying by and we are only 7 days away from SUMMER!!

Here is my current Facebook status:"The last full week of school is upon us....does anyone else hear the choirs singing, "Hallelujah!"?! :)"

Y'all...this year has been complete craziness. I taught a brand new class to me, and I've made it out alive. The state of education right now is pretty scary, but luckily Joe and I are safe, for another year. The rumor is that it's going to be worse in the coming years. I love teaching, and pray that I get to be in it for the long haul.

We haven't been up to much in the last few weeks, other than the usual...school, home, play, photo shoots, etc. It is finally hot enough that I see many, many days in the Brewer pool. Speaking of Brewer's...Shannon, one of my oldest friends had her baby on Thursday, and I got to be there...it was a beautiful thing. Click here to see his pictures.

We are still dealing with my hard drive crash. I should know something this week. Should they be able to recover the data, I will be chopping off my right arm, and selling my kidneys just to pay for it. Hey, who needs those things, right?! Moving on...

It's hard to believe that football season is knocking on the door...2 months! I am however, more than PUMPED for Coaches Outreach this summer. I just learned that several coaching couple friends will be there, and that means one thing...FUN.

Well, I'm off to supervise my students finishing up their projects ~~stare aimlessly at the never-ending brilliant ideas on Pinterest~~!

7 more days people, 7 MORE! {and 3 of those are 1/2 days!!}

Graduation!

2011-05-17T09:43:00.002-05:00

Trey graduated from his preschool last Thursday. Lord, help me. I swear I blinked and my baby boy grew up. Sigh. I will make it. I have all summer to get myself prepared for the first day of school. Luckily, Joe will be taking him and he won't have to witness his mom being a blubbering mess. Moving on. His preschool {my high school's Early Childhood Program}, put on a fabulous shin dig and Trey loved every minute of it.

He's doing the monkey dance...

The picture does not do his hip action justice...

He was picked to lead the Pledge...

He did SO good!

With his 2 buddies...

The scrapbook they do is AMAZING.

Each kid gets one, and we LOVE it!

Sweetness.

Mimi and Em.

My school also has a culinary program, and they made the cake.

It was DELICIOUS.

In case you're wondering, NO...I do not have my data back yet. It is going under the knife sometime this week. We may be ~~out of a home, and have to sell the car~~ broke as a joke...but by golly, I'm gonna get my pictures back.

Hard Lesson to Learn

2011-05-11T08:33:00.005-05:00

Don't worry that this will be what my external hard drive looks like in the next couple of weeks.

You know the drive that has everything...I mean EVERYTHING on it. The drive that is going to cost me $500+ to get the data recovered. {Hit the pause button...I need to go vomit in the trash can really quickly}

Seagate, shame on you....actually shame on me, because this is twice. First time shame on you, second...shame on me. You, however, have failed me for the last time.

Before you start shaking your finger at me and telling me I should have backed it up. I thought I DID have it backed up...no thanks to Backblaze. We purchased that over a couple of months ago. I set it up to back up our C:/ and my external...they tell you in the initial back up phase that it can take a couple of weeks. Every night I'd look at it and it said it was still running and backing up. It doesn't necessarily tell you which drive it is in the progress of backing up though....so, much to my disgust yesterday when I went to check my restore file, it only had the C:/ done. THANKS FOR NOTHING BACKBLAZE. If I hadn't already paid you for a year, you'd be fired too...kicked out to the curb, right along with Seagate.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Best Buy and begged the Geek Squad girl to give me good news. Darn her, she didn't listen. She told me it was 'dead'...hence the fact I'm going to have to pay $500+ to recover data. I may or may not have gotten in the car, called Joe, and started my pity party and bawling the whole way home. The drive has everything...school work, design work, and gazillions of pictures. Y'all in less than 2 years I've managed to fill up a 500 gb drive...that's how many pictures. {I might throw up again} I could care less about the school files, they can keep them...but the pictures. They are worth every penny that it's going to cost me to get them back.

Learn from me....sign off, and go back up your pictures right now {go check out the cloud drives on Amazon for online back up}. Thankfully, I have a husband who is level headed and is managing to keep me calm and see that this is not the end of the world. I know there are much worse things in life, so I'll go put some big girl panties and deal with it. On a more positive note...I took and passed the Adobe Certified Associate exam in Adobe Photoshop yesterday, whoop!!

Have a great week!

Just did it.

2011-05-02T08:53:00.004-05:00

I think I've mentioned that Joe and I are weanies when it comes to spending a lot of money in one fail swoop...we just don't do it. I garage sale, I rarely buy anything that isn't on sale, and Joe and I haven't taken a true 'get on a plane and go somewhere' vacation since our honeymoon. We simply cannot afford it, without putting it on a credit card...which we refuse to do. We have even cancelled our annual drive to Illinois this summer...because it would cost us $600 in gas alone. No.Can.Do.

So, fast forward to Friday afternoon. I had told Joe that I wanted to offer mini sessions in Galveston. I love the history there, and the possibilities for locations are endless. He got online and kept sending me google maps of where I should look for locations. As I was staring at my computer screen in class, I sent him a text and said...'Let's just go!' {totally uncharacteristic of us...we both usually talk each other out of something in 5 minutes} We had something we had to do Saturday morning, but that was it. Our little kick off to summer came to fruition and we took off for Galveston Saturday before lunch. We didn't tell the kids where we were going, except that we were going on an adventure. They were THRILLED when they finally figured it out.

Saturday, we didn't make it on to the beach...we went over to Crystal Beach on the ferry {Trey LOVED this} and went to Fort Travis to explore the cool bunkers. Joe was like a kid in the candy store. We found an open manhole that dropped down about 6 feet and would have gone into the bunker area...I told Joe he would have to walk home, just to keep him out of there...We left there and checked into the hotel and then were off to the strand.

Sunday morning, the kids were up and at 'em at 6:30 a.m! We grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel, and then were off to find a good beach spot. We found just that, and the kids had a blast! I finally got Emery in her itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini! Note to self...a not-quite-3 year old in a white skirt on the beach doesn't last very long. Hmmmph. Anyway, we made some great memories and I'm excited to have more little quick trips like this in just a few weeks when SCHOOL IS OUT!!!

How Great Thou Art

2011-04-28T21:24:00.003-05:00

I am well aware that Carrie Underwood's latest performance has gone viral. However, I had to post it...I could watch this video 10 times a day, and I will cry every time. She totally whooped Elvis' version if you ask me. How Great Thou Art is a huge part of me, and will forever be. It was one of my dad's favorites {he was an Elvis lover too}, and most recently we just sang it at my Nana's funeral.

Why do I find this performance so special? Well y'all...we live in one messed up world. A world in which I can't even play Christian music in my classroom in fear that I will offend someone. So, when I get a chance to witness a huge star, raise her hand in praise {on prime time television} during Vince Gill singing Jesus Take the Wheel...and then watch other stars raise their hands in praise while she is belting out an awesome hymn, well...it just touches me. It makes me believe that there is still some good in this world. It gives me hope.

I'm posting the 12 minute segment of Girl's Night Out...If you just want to see Carrie sing, then move the timeline up to about 7:30. However, I would encourage you to grab your coffee {or in my case your Rt 44 DDP} and watch it all. You will NOT be disappointed...and, if you are...well, we probably can't be friends.

Easter & More

2011-04-26T08:12:00.003-05:00

We had a fabulous Easter this year. Grandma and Papa were in from Dallas for the long weekend. They were a tad bit sneaky, and showed up late Thursday night instead of Friday at lunch. It was definitely a pleasant surprise, and added to the fun! The kids looked super cute in their Easter outfits...I slacked though, and used my mom's point and shoot to get their picture Sunday after lunch...

Big hugs...

For lunch on Sunday, we went to Clementine's in Champions. It's been there forever, and they have an AWESOME Easter brunch/lunch. We don't get to eat like that very often, and it was such a treat! {Thanks Grandma, Papa, & Mimi!} Did I mention they were offering unlimited Mimosa's?!

Grandma and Papa headed home Monday morning. Grandma was a HUGE help, and cleaned my downstairs because we were hosting small group Monday night. We came home from school and Trey asked if the cleaning ladies had come...I said, "Nope, you just have a fabulous Grandma!" For small group, the menu consisted of party sandwiches, greek pasta salad, brownies, and raspberry bites. I found the raspberry bites on Pinterest, and new I had to try them. Um, hello...genius. These will be a regular treat in our house!

{source}

Yep, that's all there is to raspberry bites. Clean raspberries and stick a chocolate chip in them. Done. They're pure genius.

This week is TAKS week at school. Just another week that emphasizes the love I have for the elective class that I teach. Good luck to all of the kiddos that are subject to taking the test, and for the teacher's who must endure the 'active monitoring'. Dear Friday, hurry up. Thanks!

Curious...

2011-04-21T10:55:00.003-05:00

Today's one of those days that I'm feeling a bit curious. I glanced over at my Feedjit and was caught off guard by some of the locations! Do you ever get that? I can pinpoint the 5 readers that I know read my blog {HI Grandma!}...lol...

Anyways, who's out there? I'd love to hear from you and how you found me! Leave me a comment so I can go check out your blog.

Happy Friday!!!

p.s. Teachers, 29 DAYS!!! {that's not even counting TAKS days or half day final exams!} We're almost there!!!

Summer Trip 2011 {Cancelled}

2011-04-20T08:59:00.004-05:00

Joe and I looked at each other and one of us said, "It sucks being adults!"...that's how we feel about our newest revelation. The annual trip to Illinois has been cancelled due to the fabulous ~~insane, ridiculous, outrageous, absurd~~ price of gas. The route is 1,894 miles round trip...do the math...I'll wait...yeah, it's gonna hurt the bank account a little too much to try and do it. We would be subject to staying at home the remainder of the summer and pinching pennies. While we pinch pennies anyway, it's just too much. I needed a good laugh at the whole situation, so I found these:

I'm super bummed about not going, because we have such a GOOD time with the kids in the car {no, really...we do!}, and we LOVE spending time with our Illinois family. However, we will press on and find some great things to do around here. We are going to spend a couple of days in Galveston, seeing as how we can get there and back on one tank of gas! The furthest we might go is San Antonio and let the kids do the Sea World thing...If you have some fun suggestions for around here, let me know! For now, I'm going to go count the remaining school days left until summer...it can not come soon enough!!

Greek Pasta Salad Recipe

2011-04-19T14:27:00.002-05:00

In an attempt to make sure I post something this week, I thought I'd share a recipe that I had a few weeks ago. I was at a good friend's baby shower and one of the ladies had made a Greek Pasta Salad. Oh...my...word...I could have eaten the whole bowl. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Greek Pasta Salad

1 10 oz. package vermicelli or angel hair pasta, cooked and cooled; cut into 3-4 inch pieces
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons Cavender's Greek seasoning (best to try to find this brand)
3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 small can chopped ripe olives, drained
1 small jar pimentos, drained
1/4 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 green onions, finely chopped using part of green tops
OPTIONAL: she added feta cheese and cherry tomato halves and have added shrimp at times

In a large mixing bowl, place cooked pasta. Add oil, Greek seasoning and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Add remaining ingredients. Cover bowl and allow salad to marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours. (I usually make it the night before.)

Don't worry...

2011-04-11T08:25:00.003-05:00

We are still alive and well...our lives are just staying busy and I'm finding less and less time to keep y'all updated. Well, that or we're just boring. :)

Another need to not worry, is that Emery turns 3 in July, and I already have her birthday party planned and the invitation designed. See?!

It's going to be a pool party with ice cream sundaes. What else is there to do in the middle of a Houston summer, but be in the pool?! When they're all sticky from their ice cream, we just throw them back in the pool/sprinkler! Genius.

Moving on...

Please tell me that I'm not the only one that LOVES Pinterest?! Recipes, decorating ideas, crafts, you name it...and it comes just the way I like it...with pictures! I must have a picture of something before I can decide on it. Here's a couple of things that I grabbed off of there today...{Let me know if you need an invite to join!}

{all pictures came from Pinterest}

...and because I'm feeling super scatterbrained today, I should share with you that I am going to have my first vendor table for my photography business! I will be set up at Rhea Lana's of NW Houston's consignment sale this week. Thursday thru Saturday at the Berry Center. Check out their web page for more details. I will have some discount tickets for y'all to use with future packages, and will be doing a drawing for 2 free sessions! They have great stuff for all ages, come check it out!

Weekend Recap

2011-04-04T07:39:00.006-05:00

Last weekend, was my SFAVB Wedding weekend. Two of my college teammates were getting married...one on Friday night in Kyle, Texas and the other here in Houston. A few friends decided we would do the Tour of Weddings and attend both. Let's just say I could have really used a weekend to recover from that weekend! I don't have pictures, because for once I decided I would just enjoy the fun times with friends. {Bravo to Joe who held down the fort Friday night, while I was having a blast in Austin!} On a side note, always travel with a good friend who needs to use their Hilton points...it definitely has its perks! Love ya E!

Fast forward to this weekend...I helped host a baby shower for a dear friend. The theme for the baby's {Lane} room is Surf's Up, so we just carried that into the shower. I had noticed that a friend from high school has started making cookies at home, so I asked her if she would barter some cookies for a photo shoot...it was a yes, and look how cute the cookies came out!! Check out Natalie @ Crashin' Cookies! I'm tellin' y'all these were a HUGE hit.

The shower was Saturday at 11:30, but I have had a certain community garage sale on my calendar for months...SO, at 5 a.m. Saturday morning I headed to Walmart to get the goodies I needed for the shower. Got home, assembled all of the sandwiches, and loaded up the car with Joe and the kids at 7 a.m. to head out to the garage sale. Let's just say the garage sale was good to us! I made a promise to Joe that I was just looking for the kids spring/summer clothes...I was proud of myself for sticking to it. Here's what I came home with for Emery: 1 swim vest, 2 bathing suits, 4 dresses, 13 shirts/tank tops, 10 pairs of shorts/skirts, and a pair of Gymboree flip flops. For Trey: 5 t-shirts, 3 pairs of cargo shorts, 2 pairs of swim trunks, 2 polos, and a pair of jeans. I got ALL of that for $25! I love that feeling!

I'm going to back up real quick {I'm scatterbrained like that}...Thursday, I got to do a photo shoot for one of my BFF's and her family. Ryan and I talk EVERY day. I am so excited that they are back in Houston! Here is my favorite outtake from the day...this goes to show your family portrait does not have to be posed to get something that is just y'all.

Ok, back in order...Sunday quickly turned into a pajama day, as I probably did 10 loads of laundry. I have one load left and then it will be done! ~~for about 2 hours and then the pile will build, again!~~

This week marks the start of Joe's track duties...he helps run the timing system/video for all of the district races. I'll be glad when those are over, and then the final countdown to summer will begin!!

Don't forget to check out the Mommy & Me session special!

Summer Trip 2011

2011-03-28T09:34:00.004-05:00

Let the count down begin...summer is just around the corner! Can I get a hallelujah?!

That means we are planning our trip to Illinois. The first year that we traveled, we took our route thru New Orleans/Mississippi to attend a wedding and drove thru the night to Illinois. Not much scenery to see at 4 a.m.! Last year we went to Dallas and headed north from there. THIS year, I think I have our route mapped. We are going to start early and head to Henderson, TX to visit some of our best friends for a day or two. I know it's only 3 hours from our house, but we have such a good time with them. From there, we will head to Memphis to stay the night. It will only take about 6 hours, so we need some ideas of what to do the afternoon we get there. From Memphis, we will head up to Springfield, Illinois which will be our final destination for the week. If you're a roadie and know some things we need to do along the way, please let me know! We will have Trey and Em with us, so keep that in mind! :)

ALSO, I'm not really sure of my blog followers these days...but, if you're in the vicinity of our road trip up to Illinois, I'd love to have some photo shoots in some different places! {Check out my photography site if you had no idea I was a photographer} When I say vicinity, I mean within a 30 minute shot of our route...

I'm so excited I can hardly wait for June to get here. My students are so D.O.N.E. and I'm not far behind them! :)

Here is our projected route!

P.S. If you're a road-tripper...check out: Roadside America! LOTS of little things to check out so the little ones don't get too bored!

Buzzzzz....

2011-03-21T09:09:00.002-05:00

Some of you saw this play out on Facebook, but thought I would share it here.

Trey is now sporting a new do...

Is it a right of passage for every child to do this at least once? I don't know if I can handle Emery doing it. I had to bury my head in the pillow until Joe was finished buzzing Trey's head with no guard! We tried a 1 or 2 first, and it just wasn't doing the job. The picture on the left up there is what it looked like before. I couldn't look at that for the next month while it grew out, so we opted for the buzz.

THEN, Saturday I went to go get my hair done because I have not one, but TWO weddings this weekend. Anyway, Joe texts me 'When will you be home?'...I jokingly showed it to the hair dresser and said this is why I only make it by here every 3 months. {JOKING, Joe does AWESOME with the kids by himself} However, he was really just wanting to know how long he needed to freak out because Emery had tripped and caught her fall with her forehead into the door frame. He then texted me a picture of it. Oh my word. It was like someone hid an egg under her skin...there's a reason those things are called goose eggs. I have a picture of it, but can't bare to share it here, I want y'all to be able to enjoy your breakfast. After talking to the doctor on call, we determined she was back to being a mess, and being herself. Crisis diverted, and we enjoyed the rest of our weekend catching up on laundry and enjoying the awesome weather!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-20T10:43:00.003-05:00

Well, the final countdown is on as we head back to school tomorrow. Only a little over 2 months until summer time!! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

We have been blowin' and goin' this Spring Break. We headed north to Dallas for 4 days to start it off. We had a great visit with Grandma and Papa and the friends we got to see.

Saturday I had a blast shopping with Grandma and a couple of her friends in downtown McKinney...I got a fabulous window, that I will have to share later.

Here's Billie and me...I brought my new camera to play with, and we found a cool alley!

The next morning we got up and took the kids to fly kites for the first time. Trey loved it.

Emery, not so much...she wanted her kite down!

Tuesday, we got up and headed south to Franklin, Texas to visit cousins. We hung out, fed the cows, rode the Gator, and the adults had a rematch of 42 {dominoes}. Trey even got the you know what scared out of him by what the kids thought was a dead hog. Little did they know, the hog was injured, but STILL alive. One of the kids yelled RUN, so Trey ran about a quarter of a mile back up to the house. When he got there he was white as a ghost, and could hardly tell us what happened. It was all I could do not to hit the floor laughing. He kept saying "I'm not joking! I'm really scared!!"

We had such a great time, and we're already planning our next visit.

Emery and my cousin Holly

Feeding the cows...

Riding the Gator

The boys being boys...

Emery waited patiently for her turn!

Now that we're home, I'm hoping things will start to slow down and we'll get to enjoy this awesome weather and do lots of fun Spring stuff!

Cowboy Up!

2011-03-10T11:54:00.002-06:00

Today was Cowboy day at Trey's school. I was proud of myself for remembering to him in his jeans/boots this morning. I grabbed a button down on the way out the door (at 6 a.m.!)...I'm glad I did, it makes his outfit that much cuter. Grammie managed to round up a pair of chaps and they are perfect! I'm lucky enough to have some of Trey's teachers in my class a little later on in the day, and they said he was the best dressed...hands down!

Thanks to Bleah for taking these pictures for me! Have I ever mentioned that I have the WORLD's best babysitter & babysitter's granddaughter?!

This one makes me laugh...it's SO him.

Remembering...

2011-03-09T09:44:00.002-06:00

Friday, we lost my Nana. You may remember this post from almost 2 years ago. We thought we were losing her then, but what a fighter she was. Truth be told, she was waiting for Friday for a long, long time. We lost my Papa almost 28 years ago, whom she missed terribly. Then, when my dad died almost 17 years ago, her heart just never recovered. We cried lots of tears on Friday, but we also celebrated for her. She was Home, and she is happy. I am all out of grandparents now, and I'm okay with that because I know they are having one heck of a reunion this week. ~~I am a wee bit jealous of their reunion, to see them one more time would be amazing.~~

I got the call Friday morning, to have my phone on. If we're being truthful, I shrugged it off and said, "Psssh, it's Nana...she'll be fine". However, when I got the call that she really wasn't going to be okay...I got my classes covered and got on the road to try and see her one last time. We didn't make it. She was gone before we were out of Cypress. It's really a blessing though. The last visit we had with her, over Christmas was one for the books. She was fully coherent (the whole time we were there, which usually isn't the case), her eyes LIT up when she saw Trey and Emery, and she remembered things that she hadn't been remembering. Thank you God, I needed that last memory.

Nana was on top of everything, years back she had my Uncle take her to Bastrop to make her arrangements and have them done. If you're a parent, do this for your kids...oh my word, it made things so MUCH easier. She was to be buried in Bastrop, next to my Papa...and she did NOT want a funeral. She wanted a graveside gathering and that was it. Check...we can do that. We all (Uncles/Cousins/etc) ventured up to Bastrop Monday afternoon. We had dinner together, shared pictures, and had one heck of a 'visitation' in her honor. ~~The visitation may or may not have involved a margarita blender and playing dominoes in the hotel room.~~ Nana would have been proud.

Tuesday morning, we went on a little adventure to find some flowers. Nana was a simple woman and didn't want us to spend money on anything, including flowers for her casket. However, my mom was a little afraid that my dad would haunt her if his mom didn't have any flowers. H-E-B saved the day, and the flowers were just perfect. Simple and inexpensive.

As we gathered at the cemetery, my cousin and I thought we were all there...and then more people kept showing up. We really didn't expect it to be more than just family. Several of her friends from church made sure they were there. (Mind you, she hasn't lived in Bastrop in a LONG time.) Everyone shared stories of what Nana meant to them, and it was so touching. One thing Nana wasn't, was shy. One lady shared how Nana made sure she was going to get her roots done before she left on a vacation. My mom shared the story of how Nana backed over our Christmas lights in Prestonwood and caused them ALL to go out, within hours of our street being judged for the competition. The stories were great, and the time with old friends and family was priceless.

Trey brought so many tears to my eyes, because he got it. He got where Nana was, and that he wouldn't get to see her again...and y'all, he was upset. He just sat and stared at her casket and had such a sad face. Heartbreaking.

Nana was our glue. She held us all together. I just pray that we can continue to hold each other together in her absence. There are already plans in the making to have a 'reunion' on her birthday. I am going to try my darnedest to make that happen. I know she would want that.

I did stand up and speak at the funeral. In my mind, I didn't do her justice...but that's okay. One thing that made me smile was all of us remembering how she closed every phone conversation with, "I love you most!". We love you most, Nana.

New Favorite App

2011-03-04T07:47:00.004-06:00

I may be behind the times, but I wanted to share my new favorite app for my iphone. I stumbled across it on another photographer's blog and was super pumped when I could start reading my blogs on my phone. I never messed with trying to read blogs on my phone b/c they took for.ever and a day to load. NOW, I can read them with just the text and pictures. It doesn't load backgrounds or headers, and all of the sidebars. It is very simple, and sometimes I prefer to read from that instead of on my computer. It simply hooks up to all of the blogs you follow once you log in. There is a free app that does have ads (but I will tell you the ads haven't annoyed me yet), or there is a paid app with no apps. I'm cheap, I got the free one. Go check it out here.

P.S. This is not a review, just wanted to share with you what I was lovin'!

P.P.S. Don't pass out...I know, I have posted 3 times in one week.

Tacky Day

2011-03-03T09:05:00.002-06:00

2 posts in one week. I know y'all don't know what to do with yourselves. Maybe I'm baaaaack. :)

Today was tacky day at Trey's school. I'm mom of the year, and completely forgot. However, I know my limitations and had already assigned Bleah (Grammie's granddaughter who helps take care of Trey and Em during the day) to create his outfit. You'd think I'd be a champ at tacky day, as we had some AWESOME 'dress up' nights in the dorms at SFA. Moving on...check out Trey's get up. I think Bleah did a fabulous job, don't you?! She even took the pictures! (I know, I'm a slacker)

Just so Em doesn't feel left out...here are some from her bath time photo shoot last night. I know you're probably saying, 'She's done this before'...I know, I know...but she was sitting still, and the light coming in was fabulous and I couldn't resist!

Mad face!

Sweet face.

Wow.

2011-03-02T07:30:00.004-06:00

Dear God,

Thanks for knocking me over the head last night at Beth Moore.

Sincerely,
Me

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

For a month or so, a lady that I work with has been trying to get me to go to Beth Moore on Tuesday nights. The bible study started during basketball season, which is game night for Joe. Well, FINALLY last night, I got my act together and rounded up a couple of friends and made it! Kari Jobe leading worship may have influenced my decision a little. If you don't listen to Kari Jobe, well...you should.

Let me back up to yesterday afternoon when I got home from school. I was on the phone with Joe , and getting the kids out of the car. Trey had gotten the back door open (with the key) for a good 30 seconds when I realized the alarm was on. I had about 30 seconds to get off the phone and get to the number pad, before the whole neighborhood knew we were home. I may or may not have been a little impatient with Trey. I hung up with Joe and got the alarm turned off. Within 30 seconds, I had a text from Joe that said: 'Pray for Patience'. Me, impatient? Psssh.

Fast forward to last night, sitting and listening to Beth Moore talk about James 5:7-11. Numero Uno on our outline...are you ready for this?

1. Be Patient.

I'm not kidding. Coincidence? I think not. I even took a picture of my outline and sent it to Joe. It's always when I'm going thru the motions that God finds the time to get the frying pan out and knock me upside the head. That's why He is so awesome. We have been so blessed with health, family, you name it. We have seen Him work His magic time and time again, and answer prayers left and right...and I still get wrapped up in the rut of every day life, and He brings me out of it. Love it.

It was my first time to see Beth Moore speak in person last night...and it definitely won't be my last.

Hands Full

2011-02-24T12:55:00.003-06:00

My hands are full. While two kids barely qualifies me for a 'hands full' status...Trey and Emery's personalities put it over the top. These two are always entertaining. I don't think Trey has realized that his world is about to come crashing down. Emery is catching up to him fast, and she is going to set him straight. She is already going toe to toe with him...I'm betting that this summer is going to be very interesting. Especially the 18 hour drive to Illinois.

You see, Trey knows every rule in the book. He likes to enforce every rule in the book...especially with his sister. Emery, however, marches to the beat of her own drum and could care less about anybody's rules! I thought I'd share some day-to-day interaction for y'all to have some insight.

Emery:

At two and a half, Emery has decided that she is the fashionista of the family. Getting her dressed these days is far from fun. The other day we decided to wash the car. It was high 70's...so I had a white t-shirt under her sun dress. It was too chilly for her to be outside in just the sun dress. Well, the little stinker went upstairs and took her shirt off and just wanted the sun dress. I informed her that she would have to wear the shirt under the dress if she was going to go play. She kicked and fought me tooth and nail to put that shirt on. I won the battle, but she sat on the stairs and screamed 'I DON'T WANT TO WEAR THIS. NO MOMMY.' I'm not over exaggerating when I tell you that she sat there for more than 5 minutes until daddy came to talk her off the stairs. I was going to let her sit there all afternoon, but hey...daddy is good as gold with his girl.

Trey:

A couple of weeks ago on our way home from Dallas, Trey declares that he has to use the restroom. We finally stopped at a convenience store, and I lost the paper/rock/scissors with Joe, so I had to accompany him in. On our way back out to the car, I was informing Trey that if he didn't take a nap in the car, that he would have to take a nap when we got home. I hadn't gotten all the words out of my mouth when Trey spotted the end cap with the fun juice on it. You know the little bottles that have the characters as the lids?! Trey turned into a little entrepreneur. 'Mommy, if you get me this juice, I will take a nap for you.' Um, Trey...sorry buddy, ain't happenin'. 'Mommy, if you don't get me this juice, I'm NOT taking a nap!' OH, really...Needless to say, he was asleep in the car in less than half an hour...and NO he did not get the juice.

Half the time, I have to bite my lip so that I don't laugh out loud. I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Bullets

2011-02-17T09:10:00.002-06:00

In an attempt to update the blog, so that y'all don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth...I'm going to bullet point my thoughts. Ready?

Is it 2:30 yet?
If I sneeze or cough one more time today, I'm going to crawl up under my desk and take a nap.
Have you heard about the blogging teacher? I thought her thoughts about high school students these days were pretty spot on. I hope I have a job tomorrow.
Yesterday, I spent entirely too much time on E-bay bidding on spring clothes for Emery. Don't judge...the outfits were like $2...don't mind that I've been outbid on 95% of them now.
Is it Friday yet?
I had fun with these families in Dallas this past weekend.
Y'all think I'm joking, but I'm napping today during my conference period.
I am SUPER pumped that my new camera bag is coming shortly...
I need to round up all the paper work so my awesome mother-in-law can do our taxes.
Once the taxes are done, I can get my new camera. Be jealous, it's awesome.
We have nothing scheduled this weekend, can I get a hallelujah?
The maid comes tomorrow, can I get another hallelujah?
Is it Spring Break yet?

Until next time...when I have something better to blog about. ;)

M.E.S.S.

2011-02-07T07:57:00.002-06:00

Emery. Where to start. The girl marches to the beat of her own drum. She is SO funny, but boy is she going to be a handful. Trey is just all boy, but he's predictable most of the time. Em, on the other hand...there's no predicting her.

The other day, I was putting her in this cute dress, but decided to put jeans underneath. I'm starting to put them on, and she starts flailing her legs and says, "NO MOMMY, not these jeans! CUTE jeans!" Yes, y'all...at 2 1/2 years old, she tells me what she wants to wear. Don't worry, she hardly ever wins that battle...and she won't win that battle until she moves out.

Here was her reaction Saturday evening, when Trey and daddy left to run an errand...

It started out all smiles...

Wait, they left?

I wasn't invited...

I'll get them...just you wait.

I am already starting to check into therapy, this girl is going to put me thru the ringer...I'm only halfway joking. Don't you think Trey's snake snap bracelet totally makes her outfit?! Happy Monday...I'm already counting down to Friday, because we're headed to Dallas for some photo shoots, but more importantly see Grandma & Papa!

Some more...

2011-02-02T08:05:00.003-06:00

Ready for some more random?! Lately, I can't seem to get an original post going...we are just staying busy and livin' life. Therefore, here are a few of my random thoughts {again!}.

Em's bedding came this week {thank you Grandma!}. We are in the process of painting her headboard, getting her mattress {thank you Groupon/Mattress Firm}, and sending off her crib to my friend. You know it's time for a big girl bed, when she gets herself up and out of bed on a regular basis! Here's her bedding, I am lovin' it. Now, I just need a cute, little chandelier for the room and it'll be done! {Hey Tiffanie, can you come fix up the rest of my house?! I need help, and you rock it when it comes to decor} :)

I may or may not have been checking out Ebay the other day at work {I'll never tell}, and I saw these cute sandals.

The starting bid was still $.99, so I bid, thinking by the end of the week they'd be much higher. NOPE. Don't worry that the shipping was $12, but hey...$12.99 for Tommy sandals, I'll take it!

How could I forget...Monday was my birthday, and Joe pulled out all the stops and has now outdone me when it comes to thoughtful gifts...darn it. You know what that means? I have to bring my A-game this June {8 yr anniversary}. Anyway, he thought of the idea all by himself...I'm pretty proud. He sent e-mails out to a lot of my closest family and friends, and had them write a letter to me about our relationship or a favorite memory. Were talkin' I got letters from: my principal, a few coworkers, long time friends, college teammates, my mom, brother, mother-in-law, and Joe...and he put them all in a little book for me to have. Ladies, be jealous! Here's just one of the pages...

Yep, he pretty much knocked it out of the park! It's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten, EVER. In case you are wondering, I cried like a baby when I read thru it.

Moving on, so I don't start crying again...

I've been SUPER busy with the Valentine's mini sessions, and loving it...you can check some of the sessions out over here. I've even got 3 sessions going when we head to Dallas over Valentine's weekend...

One of my friend's is taking me out for sushi tonight...um, can we say excited?!

Well, if you've read this far, bravo to you! Hopefully, one of these days I will get back into a regular blogging routine. Hopefully.

Recap...

2011-01-28T09:58:00.004-06:00

This week has been one of those weeks that has been jammed pack with stuff to do, but at work it seems like it has just crawled along. SO glad it is FRIDAY!!

Last weekend we got together with my college teammates for a fun couples shower. We even skyped with one of the couples that were in New Mexico. I'm sad to admit it, but it was really the first time we had Skyped...embarrassing, I know...but we had a blast! We may or may not have taken a couples picture with the computer as to include the happy couple in New Mexico...we are cool, don't be jealous.

My part in hosting was designing the invites, even though we did it all digital. I still designed a double-sided invite so that we could give it to the girls to scrapbook. Here is the invite...{yes I crossed names and addresses off as to save them from any creepers!}

I also volunteered to bring some food...I brought party sandwiches, lil' smokies in the crock pot, and jalapeno popper dip. It's making me hungry thinking about it. The lil' smokies were super duper easy. 1 cup of grape jelly, and one jar of chili sauce (by the ketchup at the store), and combine all in a crock pot, heat on low and serve when ready. They go fast, just FYI. On to the jalapeno popper dip...ridiculously good.

The recipe:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
4 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1/2 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an oven safe serving dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
3. Stir in green chilies, jalapeno peppers, and Mexican and mozzarella cheeses. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish. (I spread it into a 13x9 dish)
4. Mix together the Panko and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the cream cheese mixture.
5. Spray the Panko and Parmesan with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping is lightly browned.

People were talking about that dip...I wish I had some right about now. It would be a fabulous addition to Superbowl Sunday!

The other day, PW had to go and post this recipe. It will be made this weekend, in case you were wondering.

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL! Let the weekend begin in about 4 hrs and 15 minutes.

Innocent Wonder. I Heart Faces.

2011-01-24T07:09:00.002-06:00

Haven't done an I Heart Faces challenge in a while, but when I saw this week's theme, I knew I had the perfect picture. A few weeks ago, I got to witness the miracle that is Preston. Preston belongs to some dear friends of ours from college. Preston was born with a pretty rare heart defect that required open heart surgery at just 2 days old. This picture was taken after he was assessed by the nurses and was headed thru the hallways over to Tx Children's CVICU. They wheeled him to see his mommy, as she had to stay behind and recover from a C-Section. He wasn't too happy in his little carrier, but as soon as he locked eyes on his mommy, he was SO calm. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see some more awesome pictures. Also, you can keep up with Mr. Preston on his mom's fabulous blog.

Random Thoughts

2011-01-21T07:54:00.003-06:00

It's Friday. Know what that means? The maid comes. Hallelujah! Best investment. EVER.

Tomorrow morning I get to go see Preston. Be jealous! Oh yeah, and we're doing his newborn pictures. You will be overcome with cuteness, I promise.

Tomorrow evening is an SFAVB party. {FYI. SFAVB=Stephen F Austin Volleyball} I can hardly contain myself. These girls are family. We laugh entirely too much together, and you cannot hold us accountable for what comes out of our mouths when we're together. Some of our parents will be at this party...I hope they're prepared for what they'll witness. These are some of the girls that will be there. Again, excited. Oh, forgot to mention, we have a babysitter for the night. Score.

~~Sunday morning=photo shoot in 30+ degree weather. Brrr!~~ Rescheduled!

Sunday afternoon, please give me the energy to paint Emery's bed and go to Mattress firm and get her mattress. Oh, and finish the laundry and go grocery shopping. Dear 'important people who wear suits' in Austin, I guarantee you that us teachers would be MUCH more productive if you would switch schools to a 4-day week. Just sayin'.

I'll spare you from anymore of my random thoughts for today! However, I will leave you with my latest special!

Show us Your Singles

2011-01-20T13:31:00.009-06:00

Kelly's Korner is doing another Show Us Your Life-Singles edition. Last time I wondered how it would work, but after the success stories came pouring in, I decided I'm going to do it!

I decided to showcase my mom and my brother this go round. I want nothing more than for them to be happy and who knows...maybe this will get them there! Time to show them off...here goes nothin'!

Meet my mom. She's a 60-something, high school computer teacher, who also answers to the name Mimi. I talk to my mom every morning on my way to school, and at least once after school. Emery and Trey would probably rather go to her house than to ours. She traveled all over the country just to be at my games when I was younger. I could keep going on and on and on. She's was the rock for my brother and I when my dad passed away, almost 17 years ago. She has dated off and on, but nothing serious. I think it's time, don't you. :) Without further ado...here's Karen.

The stats:
Karen {aka...my mom}
60-something
High School Teacher
Houston {TX} area

Time for my brother, Cody. He tends to be Trey and Emery's preferred babysitter. He is loyal, conservative, loves country music {he sings and plays guitar}, and loves kids. What else do ya need? He likes the tall girls, that like sports and music. Do you have a match?!

The Stats:

Cody {aka...my brother}

35 {almost}

Works for State Farm

Houston {TX} area

Leave a comment if you're ready to help me match them up! :)

Pinterest, anyone?

2011-01-14T09:51:00.004-06:00

I just had to share my new obsession, besides the miracle that is baby Preston...

Pinterest!

I'm not very organized at home, but I definitely welcome a web site that will organize ALL of my hair brained ideas, and the ideas that I want to ~~steal~~ borrow from other bloggers, etc. Recipes, decor ideas, fun for kids, etc! Whoa.

The only downside is that you have to be invited to join. Let me know if you want to send you an invite {I'll need your e-mail}, and I'll get on it!

Happy Birthday Trey!

2011-01-11T08:44:00.003-06:00

My baby boy is 5 years old today. Can someone please tell me where the time has gone?!

This is Trey back in the day...

...and from our 5 year photo shoot the other day...

Trey, Trey, Trey...where do I even start? You make our lives complete with your ability to live life to the fullest. You randomly come up to us and give us hugs and tell us you love us. You are constantly checking on your sister, ~~or knocking the mess out of her~~. It has been SO fun for me and daddy to watch you and Emery start to ~~make a complete mess out of each other's rooms~~ play together. People are always asking me where you get your energy...care to share? Mommy needs some of your energy! You are the BEST laundry 'putter upper'. Today is the day that your car covers are to stay in your bed, I hope you can handle it buddy...you did a good job this morning leaving them behind. You asked me this morning if today is the day that you get to start riding the bus and going to school every day. No, and no...mommy has a lot of therapy to get thru before that happens in August.

We love you more and more each day for the laughter and blessing that you are to us. Love, Mommy and Daddy

...and on to the rest of the pictures. We've managed to hold off 5 years without having massive parties for the kids. We choose to have our family over, Grammie and Iggie {they watch Trey/Em during the day} and that's about it. We had some yummy potato soup and sandwiches for dinner, a cookie cake, and topped it off with a little ice cream. Trey had a blast with his new nerf gun {Thank you DeeDee!} and spending time with the ones closest to us. Massive parties to start next year...wait for it.

Ok, the pictures...

He was SUPER excited to have a cake like we got Joe...

He didn't know what to think about everyone singing to him...

He was reacting to the question, "Are you ready for you 5 birthday spankins?!"
Don't call CPS, he didn't get them.

He got a ch, ch, Chia Pet from Mimi...
yes, we have a Chia Pet on the kitchen counter.
Don't judge.

Now, I just have to decide if I'm willing to subject myself to IT'z or Chuck E Cheese for his birthday dinner tonight. Decisions.

{Preston's Arrival!}

2011-01-04T19:51:00.005-06:00

ANOTHER UPDATE!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Preston is out of surgery. The next 24-48 hours is obviously critical. However, the doctors are pumped at how well the surgery went...better than expected! Dear Lord, please let Mr. P pull through and be a testament to your goodness! Check out Tiffanie's blog to stay updated!

UPDATE:
Preston will be undergoing open heart surgery Thursday morning at 7 a.m. It is predicted to be at least a 6 hour surgery. Please be on your knees in prayer for this little man and his sweet parents. Also say a special prayer for the surgeons minds and hands to be guided with infinite wisdom. I already tweeted to mom and dad this morning that I was having withdrawals and needed to see the little dude, he's just so stinkin' precious. Lord, be near tomorrow morning and wrap your arms around Tony & Tiffanie and everyone involved. Tony & Tiffanie have a twitter account set up if you'd like to get updates.

I was honored to be a part of something so much bigger than little old me today. Preston Randal is one prayed for little boy. He made his entrance into the world today, with a heart that needs mending. Tiffanie and Tony {mom and dad} have been friends of ours since our Lumberjack days. You can't meet two nicer people...don't even try! Anyway, I was so thankful that today was just a teacher work day at school, because I bailed and got to be present for Mr. P's grand entrance. Y'all he is precious, and such a fighter. There is a possibility he will need surgery this week. Squeeze your little ones tighter each night, and lift this sweet little family up in prayer for strength, comfort, and peace in whatever God's master plan is for Preston. We of course pray that we will be taking many, many more pictures in the years to come! Enjoy Preston's arrival...

The Big 3-1!

2011-01-03T12:50:00.003-06:00

Joe is 31 today. Man, where does time go? We've known each other now for 13 years...how is that possible?! Here's 31 things about Joe that I wouldn't change for the world:

He is the BEST father I could have ever asked for Trey and Emery.
He loves God.
Joe is more sarcastic than me...I know, hard to believe.
He does the dishes and loads/unloads the dishwasher.
He loves photography, almost as much as I do.
He tells me I look good, even when I know I don't. :)
He's a handyman!
He's smarter than me...trust me, he is.
He doesn't need a lot of things to make him happy. He's a simple man.
He stays patient with me, most of the time. :)
He'll clean the kitchen after I cook.
He takes Trey to do boy things...no girls allowed.
He's a gentleman.
He's my best friend.
He's pretty darn handsome.
Joe is an awesome listener...much better than I am!
He lets me be me...enough said.
He plays the guitar...not enough anymore, but he is good at it.
Trey & Emery scream 'daddy!!!' when he walks in the door...melts my heart.
He is goal oriented.
He can get along with just about anybody.
I often get texts that just say, "I love you"
He loves his family.
From time to time, he will go grocery shopping with me.
He likes to de-clutter the house.
He doesn't allow Trey or Emery to disrespect me.
He is super tech savvy.
He is not afraid to share his emotions...shh, he may not want me to say that.
He will eat anything that I cook, and pretend to like it.
He's mine.
He would sacrifice anything for his family.
I know you're not 32, but I thought I'd add one to tell you how much we love you Joe!

Happy Birthday!

{Sidebar:} When you're saying your prayers tonight, please add Tiffanie & Tony to your list. Sweet Preston is arriving tomorrow morning at 9:30, and he needs prayers to mend his little heart. Tony & Tiffanie are college friends of ours, and I will be at the hospital documenting his arrival. The Lord could not have handpicked a better two for Preston, but all prayers are welcome for their strength and the doctors hands and minds.

2011!

2011-01-02T07:50:00.002-06:00

Goodbye 2010, hello 2011! We had a great year in 2010, and looking forward to what 2011 might bring our way. We are blessed to have 2 awesome/entertaining kids, fabulous family, and wonderful friends...2011 has a lot to live up to!

Grandma and Papa came down after Christmas and we've been enjoying their company. We went on a double date with them to Azuma downtown for a sushi date. It was nice to get out of our 10 mile radius, and it was yummy! Yesterday Joe, Grandma, Mimi, Aunt Debbie, and I went to another auction. LOVED it. I got a really cute turquoise low bench and a vintage tractor toy. Both will be used for photo props in the near future. Mimi got a framed G. Harvey print {Mission San Jose} for under $200...yeah, go look up what a little print costs {here ya go} Have I mentioned, we love the auction?

We plan on starting our resolutions this week...we're going to get thru Joe's birthday tomorrow before we get serious! Joe and I both are going to try and keep the same goals. Lose weight, work thru the Couch to 5k, and have more technology-free nights with the kids {game nights, etc}. I think it'll go well with us holding each other accountable, or at least I hope so! :)

Here are a few pictures from our New Year's Eve celebration at our house...it was a low key, family fun night!

Joe's favorites...saturn missiles

Trey being a big boy...

Emery...into anything and everything!

Joe and I had fun with the sparklers and the camera!

Hope you and your family have a wonderful, blessed New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T13:24:00.002-06:00

I hope by now that everything is settling down for y'all and you're ready to enjoy Christmas with your families. As usual, I got everybody's Christmas cards made...but my own. :) After 7 years of marriage, you'd think I'd have my act together on getting cards out...but I'm awful at doing that. So, I decided to be tacky...

Here is our 2010 digital Christmas card...

It's the thought that counts, right? May God bless you all and your families this Christmas, and He bring you many blessings in the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

P.S. Here is what will be on our desktop when we get home from church tonight:
Santa Tracker

Caught Up

2010-12-23T07:49:00.002-06:00

No, I'm not caught up on the laundry...but I feel like I got caught up on everything else! Let the Christmas festivities begin! I even made a batch of Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies or whatever you call the powdered sugar chex mix stuff.

We've iced some Santa cookies...don't tell Santa what they looked like!

Trey's poor cookie...

I finished Emery's second pair of bling shoes...gotta love Ebay $4.99 shoes!

The other day I saw Missy mention Kids Crazy Christmas on Facebook and her blog and I wondered what it was. I got online and found it at 2nd Baptist here in Houston, and it was FREE. We're all about free in our house! Better yet, their youth team tells the Christmas story in SUCH a cute way, and it was so refreshing to walk out and hear Trey tell what it was all about. Even Joe and I had a great time! Here are a few iPhone pictures of the show. If you can't make it there tonight for the show, definitely put it on your list of things to do next Christmas!

If you look closely, you can see the puppets in the windows...

Glow in the dark dancers...SO fun!

Today we're off to go visit our Nana in a nursing home in Angleton and head to church to work the first of 5 Christmas Eve services! Merry Christmas to y'all!

We are boring.

2010-12-16T12:50:00.003-06:00

I've logged in to blogger this week, contemplating what to write about, which is why another week has passed between my posts. I have plenty to say, it just may not be very entertaining.

Let's start with the fact that my laundry is out. of. control. I might actually be more motivated to stay on top of the laundry if my laundry room looked like this...just saying.

{image from a random interior design google image}

My ultimate goal is to have the baskets empty by Sunday...wait, the baskets have NEVER been truly empty. Have yours?

Moving on...I have 3, count them, 3 presents taken care of. That's it. Thank you Amazon for making me not feel like a total failure on December 16th. I will finish my shopping by Tuesday, it is my mission. I'm excited for this Christmas with Trey and Em, because they both are into it.

School is c.r.a.w.l.i.n.g. by this week. It's really strange...when I am at school, time goes by so slooooow. At home, however, it flies by! There is not enough time in the day! I'm giving myself a big pat on the back for getting the tree up, lit, and decorated on my own.

Well, if that's not a boring post, I don't know what is. At least this will buy me a few days before I have to post something meaningful...joking. Here's to tomorrow being Friday, and me being done at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow! I think I can, I think I can...

Catch Up Time

2010-12-08T21:16:00.003-06:00

Well, the 2010 football season ended this past weekend. It was a heartbreaker, as both teams played their tails off, and we only lost by 3 points. I hated to see football season come to an end...for a couple of reasons, 1 being that basketball season is now upon us. Let's not mention Joe had a basketball game last night, Touchdown club dinner tonight, and a basketball tournament Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday. Nothing says welcome to basketball season like that schedule does. Good thing is, when February rolls around, he is done for the year. Let the countdown begin!

I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about my new obsession. Auctions. Holy goodness...if you're a bargain shopper, look no further. They may get me even more excited than a good garage sale! This last Friday was awesome because part of the auction was leftovers from a booth at the Nutcracker Market. They had great Christmas decorations that they were auctioning off in lots. Just to mention one lot that I got: 2 small Christmas trees, and 3 stocking holders...for a grand total of $15. My mom got another lot for $30 {4 big strands of garland, an angel, a tree topper and 2 wreaths}. My final lot I spend $25 on and got a bread bowl, 2 angels, 2 wreaths, and a rooster. You can see most of the stuff in the collage below...

I don't know where the energy came from, but tonight while I was flying solo with Trey and Emery...I got the tree up and decorated. Feels good to have that crossed off the to-do list.

A few of my favorite ornaments...

Our only Radko ornament...Joe's mom got it for us when we got married.

Gotta have the boots...

These snowflakes are pretty, but are quickly becoming my 'un.favorite'...

Glitter is EVERYWHERE...

The little Santa's have a story. My Nana was once obsessed with QVC.

Yes, I'm sure these came from QVC. Yes, they're on my tree....don't judge.

My Nana has been in a nursing home for 2 years and this is my way of having her with us. I like my Santa's.

OH, I can't forget to blog Emery's newest shoes I made. I'm in LOVE.

Not only because they're cute. Also, because these little suckers will cost you at least $50 on Etsy. I made them for $12. Success.

Let the countdown begin...7 more days until we're out for the Holidays!

{Thanksgiving}

2010-11-30T10:26:00.004-06:00

Well, I survived my first Thanksgiving. :) Thanks to my mom and Joe's mom!

I think I learned from the best. I have watched my mom enough times now, that it really wasn't too tough. The main thing I learned was to get all of your stuff chopped and ready to go prior to preparing and cooking everything. My dishes this year were: the turkey, corn casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, and sweet potatoes {PW's recipe...delicious!}. My mom brought the dressing, oyster casserole, pumpkin gingerbread trifle, and Waldorf salad. We had a table FULL of food, and lots of left overs.

Billie {Joe's mom...aka Grandma}, was a HUGE help with the turkey. She got up with me and helped season it. We used the turkey bags, and it was SO easy. I think the big difference was she made a butter with all different seasonings, and she slid that underneath the skin. I did my part by cutting up little Clementine oranges and quartered an onion and we stuffed the turkey with that. The turkey was YUMMY, and super moist.

On Wednesday, we decided to have a little photo shoot with the kids and Grandma and Papa. Grandma got Emery and Trey THE cutest outfits from My Vintage Baby. We had a good time getting some of these shots. Check out Facebook for the full albums. Here are some of the outtakes. Yep, those are my 2...if you know them, then you know that is about how it is, ALL of the time.

Don't be surprised if this is our Christmas card this year...

I hope y'all had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday. We are still fast and furious, as football season is STILL going. Round 4, here we come!

Slooooow Down

2010-11-19T09:03:00.002-06:00

Let me know when there is a magic potion to slooooow down the hours in the day. I think that would come in super handy! It's sad when Joe and I are running around the morning that the maid comes to pick stuff up. His response this morning was, "Aren't we paying her to do that?!" I am just getting thru the day waiting for the second I pull into my garage and get the whiff of Fabuloso. You know you have a good house keeper when your garage smells good!

Moving on. Thanksgiving is at my house this year. First. Time. Ever. I am responsible for the turkey. I think I need to have Luby's on speed dial just in case.

I am making these, and I'm super excited. PW is my idol. I'm just going to throw that out there. In my next life, I want to live the ranch life.

Will y'all say a little extra prayer for our sweet friends? Their maternity shoot is still one of my favorites, you can check that out here.

Are y'all 'linked' out yet...because I could keep going.

I think I will keep going. I'm super excited to do a photo shoot with Trey and Emery in the next week or so. Grandma got them some AWESOME outfits from My Vintage Baby. I was going to show you which dress, but I think I like the element of surprise for this one.

I finally cleaned out Trey and Emery's drawers. Happy to see those 4 trash bags FULL go to great friends! That just means that all of my garage sale/consignment finds can finally go INTO their drawers. I have hit the jackpot in the last couple of weeks for their clothes. Last week at a garage sale, I found a lady who was selling her daughter's clothes {all Em's size}, for $1 or less a piece. Oh, don't let me forget to mention that they were all Gymboree, Miss-Tee-V-Us, and other boutique brands. SCORE.

I guess that's enough random-ness for one day. Joe's team plays tomorrow at 6...I'll let you guess how excited I am that I have a babysitter for the game!!!!!!!!! {the exclamation points should give you a hint!}

Veteran's Day

2010-11-10T07:59:00.004-06:00

Veteran's Day. I really can't put into words the special place that the military holds in my heart. Earlier this year, I attended a ceremony for soldiers returning home from serving a 12 month tour. Whoa, talk about touching. I had to definitely choke back lots and lots of tears while I was taking pictures...It hit home for me, because I have a hard time making it thru football season without Joe home during normal hours. After attending the home coming ceremony, I told myself that I would work really hard to not complain about the hours he puts in at the office! At least he gets to come home every night. These families sacrifice countless hours away from the ones they love, to protect us. I wish we treated every day like Veteran's Day, they deserve it.

I thought I would share this poem because it hits home for so many.

The Bravest Man I Know

by Amanda Whitney

The bravest man I know.

Is a man I've never met.

He's a man who risks his life

To save a friend,

Not only to save a friend,

But to save a nation.

Risking his life

For those he does not know.

Stepping up

Leaving loved ones behind,

So that somewhere,

Someone else won't have to.

He is a man who follows orders

Even though he knows he might die.

The bravest man I know.

Is the man who would rather die,

So one more person could go home

To see his family again.

The man who stares death in the face,

But never blinks.

The bravest man I know.

Is the man who risks his life

So one day the world may be a better place for his children.

Or any man who goes against his biggest fear.

DEATH

Just to save someone he loves.

The bravest man I know.

Is the man who fights

So another man can have the taste of sweet freedom.

Not fighting only for his own benefit,

But for many others all over the world,

Fighting to make this world a better place.

That's the bravest man I know.

Here are two of the bravest men I knew. My grandfather...

...and my dad.

This is a scrapbook page that I did for a Veteran's wall at my school. My dad served not one, but two tours of Vietnam.

Hopefully, tomorrow we all take the time to stop and honor the men and women that provide us our freedom. I know my high school students will, because I'll make them. :) We're going to watch this video:

Trick or Treat

2010-11-02T12:04:00.003-05:00

We had a great time Sunday trick-or-treating with the kids. Joe got home earlier than expected, which during football season is a rare occurrence! I had fun making Emery's costume, while TJ Maxx was nice enough to supply me with Trey's costume. Up until Thursday, I thought Emery was going to be a wingless bumblebee! No one was selling wings separately (other than Etsy, and I didn't have time to get them in...I'm last minute like that)...and I was definitely not spending $30 for the full costume to get the wings! Thank goodness Party City came thru in the end, and it was the best 10 bucks I've ever spent! Enjoy the pictures!

On our way...

Mr. Soldier...

Sir, Yessir!

Miss Bumblebee

...and her mad face.

Have a great week!

Hooked.

2010-10-26T11:53:00.004-05:00

Hooked on what you might ask? AUCTIONS. Oh. my. word. My mom convinced me to go to a model home furniture auction Sunday afternoon. I've heard great things about the auction, so I was definitely excited. I really needed a console table for one of our walls. Well, there were 3 I liked. Did I mention this was an ENTIRE warehouse full of FABULOUS furniture and accessories? I was on a bit of a schedule and couldn't stay all afternoon, so I refused to get my hopes up that I'd get my table. My mom on the otherhand, was ~~hell bent~~ on a mission. Her table came up within the first 45 minutes. Wham, bam, thank ya ma'am...she got her table for $300 less than what she was going to pay for it at Star!

The tables I had found that would make me happy were on the complete opposite side of the room from the direction they were pulling, and I was running out of time. Then it happened. There was another table, just like the one I wanted. It got moved up to position...and then, they started sitting accessories on it for people to bid on. It was 3 o'clock at this point. Starting to sweat (did I mention there was no AC?)...I kept willing them in my head to lift that table and let me bid. They finally held up my table and started the bidding. I was not leaving without it. I had sat there for 2 1/2 hours, I was sweating, and by golly...I GOT MY TABLE. How sad is it, that when I won, I looked down at my hands...they were shaking, I was SO excited. Ridiculous, I know. I am on the lookout for more auctions, because I may enjoy it more than garage sale-ing!

Here's my fabulous new table...I don't know how we did without it for so long!

Here's my mom's new end table. {$500 @ Star...$200 @ Auction!}

Warning. Totally changing the subject now. A couple of weekends ago, my friend Sheila took our family pictures. My mom has been wanting a picture of all of us for a couple of years and we finally got it done. Sheila is AWESOME, and if you're in the Dallas area...book her, you won't regret it.

Here's one of our shots...

Lastly, I had seen this somewhere and wanted something easy for dinner...and something that didn't force me to load and unload the dishwasher. So, that called for mummy dogs and apple slices with the fat free caramel dip. Check out the mummy dogs!

They are super duper easy. 1 can of crescent rolls, and a package of hot dogs. Unroll the crescent roll dough, cut thin strips and wrap a short one around the top of the dog for the 'hat' and then wrap the bottom. Bake for the allotted time on the crescent rolls. The eyes are little dots of mustard, but you could use ketchup if you're not a mustard person. The kids LOVED these...gobbled them right up!

Excuse the pictures, I figured it was time to unload my iphone pics!

Crab

2010-10-19T06:55:00.002-05:00

Take the b out of crab, and replace it with a p....that was one of the words that flew out of my mouth last night!

I was SO going to be an awesome food blogger today and give you a picture by picture recount of the new recipe I tried last night. No, not the PF Chang's Orange Chicken bag dinner, but the baked crab rangoon that we had along with it. I was so excited, because Joe and I both LOVE crab rangoon. I whipped out my camera and was doing so good taking the step by step pictures...well, kind of. It came time to put the crab stuffed wontons back into the oven, I put my mit on and what-do-ya know, the muffin pan slips and about 6-7 of the crab rangoon fly out into the oven and about 2 of their fillings land smack on the bottom of the oven, sizzling away. I made Emery put her ear muffs on at that point...the girl LOVES to be under my feet in the kitchen. Anyway, I managed to salvage 90% of them. I would change a few of the things I did, but they were still yummy.

I could provide you with a picture, but I'd be hijacking it from someone else's blog, so you'll just have to deal with a no-picture post...

Here's the recipe:

1 - 8 oz block of cream cheese, room temperature (I used fat free)
1- 6 oz can of crab meat (FYI...by the tuna)
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 dash hot sauce
1 package of Wonton wrappers (FYI...in the produce section)
1/4 cup Apricot preserves
2 to 3 tbs of Sweet Chile Sauce (FYI...in the Asian food section)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put the cream cheese, crab meat, chopped green onion, garlic powder, onion powder, and hot sauce in a bowl, and stir until mixed well.
Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. Place Wonton wrappers in each spot of the muffin tin, pressing lightly to get a nice inset. Don't press too hard, or you will tear the wrapper.
Spray the muffin tin again (yes, with the wrappers in them, this helps them get brown)
Place the Wonton wrappers in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until they start to get golden brown.
Remove from oven, and place a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture into each of the wrappers. (I used a mini scoop for these, and it worked great)
Place back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes, until the mixture gets nice and bubbly.
While the Wontons are in the oven, you can make the dipping sauce: Mix the Apricot preserves, with the sweet chile sauce...
If you like the dipping sauce, the recipe I had says you can spoon it over each one of the wontons. I wasn't sure if Joe was going to like it, so I kept it on the side.
Serve!

The one thing I would change, is to not let the wontons get too done during their first round in the oven. I let them get too brown, and then when the cream cheese was in there, they got a little too done because I was waiting for the cream cheese to bubble. Know what I mean? Anyways, these were yummy, and not fried! Obviously, they're no PF Chang's Crab Rangoon, but they're a good substitute for the budget, and the belly!

Enjoy.

Pumpkins!

2010-10-12T14:17:00.002-05:00

Sunday evening I decided we would head to the Pumpkin Patch. I really want to take the kids to Dewberry Farms, but can't bring myself to fork over the almost $40 to get us all in. I missed out on the Groupon that had the tickets half off...oh well. I looked around for other pumpkin patches around us, and stumbled across Old Time Christmas Tree Farm. Don't let the name fool you...each Fall, they do a pumpkin patch along with hay rides, train rides, jumpers, etc. Mimi accompanied me and the kids and it was worth the $3 admission. The rides/games are $2/piece, so I took Trey and Em on one train ride and Mimi treated Trey to a duck race and we called it a day. There's probably enough to keep you entertained for about an hour, which was just right for us. Their pumpkin prices are great too!

Going in the evening meant we had the yummy lighting for pictures...see?

Em found herself a Christmas tree she wanted. Too bad daddy doesn't do real trees...Sorry Em, I've tried for 7 years. However, if you show him your pouty face, you'll probably get a lot further than I would.

Here's my two turkeys on a turkey...

Here's what happens when there is a plane right above us...
There is not a one of these pictures that he is looking at me. Boys.

Trey's duck race...

The only way they would get close to the spider was with Mimi...

If you're in the area, I would definitely go check this place out.

Love that Shot

2010-10-06T08:40:00.003-05:00

Today I thought I'd share a cool photography resource. Love that Shot is a fun site with all sorts of tips and tricks. Right now they are having a Love your Shot Link Up to share your favorite shot of September/October. If you haven't ventured over to my photography blog or site, you may not have seen Mr. Mason. He was a stud muffin. Who does this at 6 days old? Seriously. This is my favorite shot at the moment. Hope you like it as much as I do!

One of the nice things about the link up, is that everyone is sharing tips on how they got the shot. Mason did most of the work and really made my job easy. Mason's house had LOTS of windows, so it made getting the shot indoors very easy. My processing has changed so much since I began my photography journey a year and a half ago. Lightroom and presets are now my new best friend, and I really use Photoshop on a minimal basis, other than resizing for the web. Go check out the Love that Shot link up!

Nothin' New

2010-10-04T20:41:00.004-05:00

Another week has started, which means we survived another week of football season! We won this past weekend...can I get a hallelujah?! I was threatening Joe that I might have to be committed if the Wildcats lost this weekend. I am not a good loser. I was looking thru the last few posts, and realized y'all may have forgotten what Trey and Emery look like! We went outside {is this weather not fabulous?!} Sunday while we were waiting for Joe to get home from work and had a little impromptu photo shoot...I should have known that Joe wouldn't be home before dark, they have a Saturday - Thursday game turn-around this week...YUCK. Okay, okay, the pictures...

Let me set this stage for you. Trey wants nothing more than for Emery to play tackle football with him. However, if you remember...Emery does NOT like to get dirty {other than taking her dirty diapers off in bed}, so she declines the invitation 98% of the time. In this picture, Trey says to Em, "Emery, take the football and run...I'll tackle you very nicely!"

This is Em's mad face...you're scared, right?!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend...get outside and enjoy the weather!

Chicken Parmesan

2010-09-25T11:37:00.003-05:00

Wednesday night we had some friends over and I decided to be brave and try a new recipe. I wanted pasta, but not the standard lasagna. I scoured thru my usual blogs that I ~~steal~~borrow recipes from. Nothing was talking to me, so I went to my back up site and struck gold. I had never tried my hand at Chicken Parmesan, but this was SO good. It was probably a few more steps than I would take for a normal weekday meal, but it was worth it! Make this, you won't regret it.

P.S. This recipe uses 4 chicken breasts, I used 6 and had enough breading ingredients to cover them.

On a side note, don't do this before you start.

One roll of paper towels later...

Chicken Parmesan

4 chicken breasts {I used 6}
4 whole eggs
1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/4 cups Grated Pamesan cheese
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbs butter
1 1/2 jars Marinara sauce {I used Emeril's}
2 cups shredded Mozarella cheese

Prep:

Put each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pound them out to a uniform thickness, no more than about 1/3-inch thick.

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate and add cheese to the bread crumbs. Place the flour, salt and pepper in a third pie plate.

Coat the chicken completely with the flour mixture, patting to adhere. Dip the chicken into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs and cheese mixture, again patting to adhere.

Heat oil and butter in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Grease a baking pan with the baking pan with a splash of olive oil and transfer the chicken to the greased pan . Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese, cover with marinara sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes.

Fall...Where are you?

2010-09-23T10:01:00.003-05:00

As one of my coaches used to say, "we're still just pluggin' away". {sigh} That sentence just made me shudder...oh, the memories. ANYWAYS...could you please check this guy out? Oh my word, if I didn't have any self control, he may just make me want to have another one. NOT happening, by the way. Mason was AWESOME for his newborn session. I got in some good practice, because I have not one, but 2 sets of twins to photograph in the coming months. SO exciting.

Have y'all checked out Zulily.com? I finally bit the bullet and purchased some boots for Emery a couple of weeks ago...can y'all get over these? I can't.

You have to sign up with your e-mail for the Zulily daily e-mails, but you can find some GREAT deals. I think I paid $20 for those boots, and that was with almost $6 shipping! Well worth the cuteness, don'tcha think?!

That's all the fun I have for today, stay tuned...oh, and say a prayer that the Wildcats can get to 2-2 this weekend. A win means the weekend will be a little more enjoyable at our house!

Football Friday

2010-09-16T20:10:00.005-05:00

Whooooops. I've been pretty good about getting with Channa about when our Woods games are. Yeah, not so good this week...totally slipped my mind today! The Woods plays their big rival Saturday night, Cy Fair...{can I please mention how much I don't like Saturday night games...that means win or lose, Sunday is totally SHOT}. Moving on...we're hoping for a turn around this weekend to get out from our 0-2 start. If we lose this game, it will NOT be good.

On a more positive note, I made this today.

Here's to praying for a win this weekend! Hope all goes well with all the other teams out there!

Many Faces...

2010-09-12T20:41:00.003-05:00

{Beware: picture post}

I'll start off with our pre game picture from Saturday evening. To say it was miserably HOT, maybe a bit of an understatement. So, this cute overall outfit didn't even last the first quarter. Luckily, I had a back up 'cooler' outfit in the bag. Oh, and don't mind that Emery already had the bottoms unbottoned before we left.

Moving on...I had to share this one. I'm starting Em off on my fascination with all things Southern Living. I'll have her reading the Paula Deen cookbooks next week.

This evening I decided it'd be fun to do a little mini shoot of the kids in the bathtub. Why, you might ask? Um, no brainer...they're confined and can't run in opposite directions! So, I'll finally get to the title of this post: The Many Faces of Trey & Emery! Enjoy!

Surprised!

Say what?!

What we look like after daddy's team loses...

Her attempt at being mad...

Monster face!

Em's attempt at monster face!

Hmmm...what to do next?I've got an idea!

Dump water on Emery!!

So happy I got my sister...

The End.

My Two...

2010-09-08T11:48:00.003-05:00

They can be sweet...who knew?! Just kidding.

This boy had the stomach bug Sunday...yuck.
Approximately 2.2 hours after this picture was taken...

I'm taking this girl with us to the football game on Saturday...
Pray for me...She's a mess and a half.

8 Questions

2010-09-02T18:22:00.005-05:00

Channa over @Life As A Coaches Wife tagged me in 8 questions. It's a good thing, because I was starting to wonder what I could blog about. I could stand on the top of the house and show my excitement that I am going to the Wildcat game tomorrow night, SOLO. Yep. No kids. I love Trey and Emery more than life itself, but to soak up the first game of the season without having to strap Emery to the stands with duct tape...makes me happy! :) Anyway, back to the questions! Feel free to play along. I think I'm supposed to tag 8 people, but since I've been so boring lately I may not have 8 blog readers left. :)

1. What is your favorite time of the year and why?
Fall...I could list a ton of reasons why. Football season. Pumpkin spice scented candles. Cooler weather. CRAFT SHOWS. The colors. Cooler weather...did I mention that already?

2. If you had one hour of alone time what would you do with it?
A pedicure...if you saw the state of my back to work feet, you'd agree with me.

3. What is your favorite TV show?
One show? Not sure I can do that. I'll list my guilty pleasure shows: Real World, Desperate Housewives of NJ {please don't judge}, Bachelor Pad {again, no judging allowed}, GossipGirl, and One Tree Hill.

4. What is your favorite meal?
Sushi!!! Can't get enough of it. Choo Choo sushi is a dangerous place...conveyor belt of sushi that you can just keep grabbing...

5. Date night in or Dinner out?
Out. Most definitely out.

6. What is your current obsession?
Photography.

7. Best gift you ever got?
That's a tough one. I'm going to go non-materialistic on this one. Last year at Coaches Outreach, the Saturday of the retreat was the 15th anniversary of my dad's passing. The last time I saw my dad alive, he was singing I Saw the Light by Hank Williams {crazy, I know}. Joe chatted with the worship leader {who is AMAZING} and had everyone up singing and clapping...not me, I was bawling like a baby, but it was one of the sweetest things Joe has ever done for me.

8. If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?
Tithe 10%. Pay everything off. Kids college fund. Buy land, lots and lots of land and build a family compound for my family and Joe's family....I could keep going and going.

Whew...

2010-08-26T20:43:00.003-05:00

Whew. The first week of school has almost come to a close. We survived. I do, however, need to have a chat with the scheduling person who decided that the first week of school should be a full 5 days. Shame. If you remember, the start of school generally fell on a Wednesday...and you had the chance to ease on in. By Wednesday of this week, my feet were begging for the weekend! I wore some really cute Target flats on Monday, that apparently made the heel out of plastic, so now I have some rockin' blisters on my heels. That called for me to pull out my new best friends...these shoes...

My school has a pretty strict 'no flip flop' policy, so I'm banking on these to get me thru the year! I even the slides in navy too, so I am covered!

Moving on...I was super proud of myself for cooking Monday thru Wednesday...I boycotted tonight, because Joe had a scrimmage so we went to that. Monday I made a ridiculously yummy new recipe. I found it on Kelly's mom's blog: His Door Keeper. It's called a Chicken Enchilada Ring, and if you're a fan of crescent rolls, then this is for you!!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped block olives
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 small can chopped chilies, undrained
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package taco seasoning
2 rolls of crescent rolls
1 small chopped tomato
1 lime (juice)
2/3 cup finely crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Chop chicken and add olives, cheese, chilies, sour cream and taco mix. Seed and chop 1 tomato and add 2 tablespoons lime juice; add to chicken mixture. Reserve 2 Tblsp. crushed chips and add remaining chips to mixture.

2.Unroll crescent dough and separate triangles. Arrange on round baking stone or cookie sheet making a circle with wide ends OVERLAPPING in the center and points toward outside. ( I did lightly spray oil on the cookie sheet I used). There should be a 5 inch diameter opening in the center.

3. Spread chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle.

4. Bring points of triangles up and over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at the center of the ring.

Sprinkle with 2 Tblsp. crushed chips. ( I put shredded cheese all on top!)

5. Bake @ 375 for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with tomato and serve with salsa and sour cream.

Seriously, make this. You won't regret it! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

T minus 2 days!

2010-08-20T21:52:00.004-05:00

School starts on Monday! Whoa, where'd the time go?! We've gotten back into our normal routine of getting up early, dropping Joe off at school, Trey and Em heading to Grammie's, and me to school. Fun times!

This weekend we have our coaches get together, in which I'm taking all of the family pictures. Should be a fun time...except for the whole 110 degree heat index. Seriously?

OH, I actually cooked 3 days in a row! Write. that. down. It may never happen again.

I want to share the recipes, they were yummy! Head on over to Missy's blog to get the recipe for the Chicken Pesto Penne bake. It was FABULOUS. Makes a ton. You can freeze it. Serve it with a salad and some bread, and call it a day.

Another one I made Wednesday night, and it was seriously done in 20 minutes. The entire dinner. Not joking. Here's the recipe for that:

Savory Pork Chops

You'll need:

4 boneless pork loin chops (3/4-inch thick and 4 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup beer or nonalcoholic beer
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper.
Add oil to skillet, and add pork chops.
Combine: beer, ketchup, brown sugar. Stir together and pour over pork.
Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Flipping periodically to cook evenly.

I served these over brown rice, and spooned the extra sauce over the meat. Add your favorite veggie or salad and you're all done!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Welcome Home!

2010-08-13T19:45:00.002-05:00

Today we went to help welcome home the 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat team. Wow. I took my camera because I knew I wanted to help document this day for these families. I was in the right place at the right time when a gentleman asked me if I'd share my images with him. He was there with his camera, because he works for a local magazine. He invited me to tag along with him because he had press rights to go on stage. I had a first hand look at these amazing men and women who serve our country and sacrifice themselves and time with their family on a daily basis. What an inspiration. I sized the images down to fit on my photo blog, so head over here to go check them out.

I think everyone needs to add this to their bucket list. Go. You won't regret it!

Get Gone...

2010-08-11T08:05:00.003-05:00

When I say, "Get Gone!", I'm talking to the germs in my house that have taken over Trey and Emery. Friday, I had Emery at the doctor and she has croup. Yesterday had us back to the doctor with Trey. Not quite croup, but a nasty upper respiratory infection. I LOVE our doctor, have I said that before? While most doctors would have taken the 'viral' croup and said to just ride it out...go ahead and let out that 'sigh' every time the doctor tells you that. Not my doctor. We are stocked up with some meds and trying to turn the corner before we go back to work on Monday. Hence the reason there is not.a.picture to post today...sorry. Joe got me a new 'hood' for my lens, so maybe while we are cooped up today I will break it in.

I am really looking forward to Friday night, Joe's school has a tradition to finish off two-a-days. They have a 10:30 p.m. pep rally that night, and then head straight out to the practice field for an inter-squad scrimmage. The community fills the gym and it is just fun to watch. Have no fear, my camera will make it there...thanks to Mimi who is going to come hang out with the kids while they sleep, so I can go solo. Woo hoo!

I'm also excited to do some back to school shopping this weekend, but I'm afraid I can't beat my deals from last week. I went to JCPenney and no lie got the following for $50: pair of jeans, 5 shirts for me, a polo for Joe, and a shirt for Trey. How? The jeans and like 3 of the shirts were....wait for it.....$1.67 a piece! What? Yep. For a bargain hunter like me...that was the BEST.

That is enough rambling for one post, stay tuned for some pictures in the near future.

A New Recipe...

2010-08-04T21:08:00.002-05:00

Since I'm friends with several of y'all on Facebook I won't bore you with all of our beach pictures from this weekend...you can however, go check a few out over here.

I made a new recipe last night, and t got a thumbs up from my crew and I thought I'd share it. I found it over at Skinnytaste.com...There are bunches of recipes on there I want to try! We had the Asian Glazed Drumsticks. It was VERY easy and a lot of the ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Click HERE to go check it out and try it. YUM. We just had those with a salad and were FULL.

Sorry for the short post, but not much happenin' at the Owens' residence since Joe is back on the field full time. I am ready for the Fall to get started...you know what that means....craft shows!! :)

We now interrupt...

2010-07-30T10:19:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite pillows in the house {which reminds me, I have to go get it out of the closet} says "We now interrupt this marriage for football season}. So appropriate for our house! Meetings started last week, and luckily the guys have Thursday - Sunday off before the kids come for two-a-days next week. Truth be told, I love the Fall so I am ready! By the end of next week, I will be ready to head back to school and get another year under way!

We've just been staying busy with every day things. Last week we took the kids for the well child check ups. Yes, they are both still off the charts...shocker. I expressed a little concern to the Dr. about Emery's speech. Everything that is of utter importance to her, she says just fine. Other things like cracker and fish, she will shorten it. He suggested just having her evaluated to see if there's anything wrong with her hearing. At first I thought it was a good idea because he was 'prescribing' an eval. Yeah, our insurance doesn't cover it. Do I think her speech is $250 worth of behind, nope! Since we went in, she really has started doing better, and we are just working every day on breaking her stubbornness/laziness. She'll say something correctly one time, and you ask her to repeat it and she looks you square in the face and says, "No." The girls is sassy! Also, Emery will NOT say please. We have gone all day for her to finally break down and whisper it because she wants her night night back. We are parents of the year, and outsmarted her....she will now say, "por favor". Success!

I've been super busy with this lately...love it!

We've also painted four rooms this summer, and have one more that I want to finish...the guest room. I want something like this bed with light gray walls and black furniture. I've got the furniture, just have to paint it...

I'm about to head out for some mommy shopping time, SOLO...woo hoo! Then tomorrow is cleaning day around here, followed by a maternity shoot tomorrow evening, and the beach on Sunday. FUN times in store! Have a great weekend!

It's Under Way...

2010-07-22T07:36:00.003-05:00

What's under way? Football season! Coaching school is over, which means only one thing...Joe is back at school almost every day! While daddy was at ~~the party on the lake~~ coaching school, we did some of this...

I had put off getting this girl a hair cut for too long. She had a little too much 'party' in the back! :) I couldn't let my little girl have a mullet!

Thank goodness for Mrs. Cynthia! She did a great job.

Here's the 'after'...

We don't have much more going on the rest of the summer, except getting ready for the upcoming season and going back to school! This morning we are off to get both kids their shots...think the Dr. will give me one when they are done? I will probably need it! :) Have a good rest of the week!

Happy Birthday Emery!

2010-07-18T14:10:00.002-05:00

Little miss Em is 2 today. SO hard to believe! We had a little swim party for her Friday evening {thank goodness, the last two afternoons have been yucky!}...we have yet to bite the bullet and have big parties for the kids...maybe when they are 5/6?! I decided I would make her cake/cupcakes again this year...this might have been my last hurrah at that, it's too time consuming! However, they did turn out pretty cute! We stuck with a zebra theme, since Miss Em is on the sassy side!

Cake/cupcakes...
{I layered the batter to have swirl/stripes when it cooked}

Blowing out the candles...

Friday morning, we got up really early and headed downtown to take Emery's 2 year pictures. She did really good, even if I did forget her shoes at home! :)

At 2, Emery is such a fun loving little girl. Our big task with her, is getting her to say, "please"! She can, but she acts like it pains her for those words to leave her mouth! We thought Trey was strong-willed, but Emery is giving him a run for his money. She definitely keeps us on our toes! She eats anything and almost everything! As soon as Trey sits his cup down, you can guarantee that she is right behind him finishing it off! Trey and Emery are really starting to communicate with each other and play together...SO fun to sit back and watch. She definitely keeps him in check though!

And to finish this post off, I'll leave you with one of my new favorites!

Recipe! Charro beans

2010-07-14T05:20:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday afternoon we drove up to Dallas to drop Trey & Emery off for the weekend. Joe's mom cooked dinner for us. Fajitas! YUM. She also made Charro beans from Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade cookbook. They were delicious. I try Charro beans from all of the Mexican restaurants we frequent. These were up there, restaurant style quality. I will be making them in the near future, seeing as how there is no bean soaking overnight...these were super duper easy!

Ingredients

2 (16-ounce) cans pinto beans(recommended: Bush's)
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (recommended: Ro'tel)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies (recommended: La Victoria)
1/2 cup frozen diced onions (recommended: C&W)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (recommended: Christopher Ranch)
1 bottle (12 ounces) Mexican beer (recommended: Negro Modelo)
1/3 cup real bacon pieces (recommended: Hormel)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 lime, sliced into wedges

Directions

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, stir to combine all ingredients except the cilantro and lime wedges. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

The Best

2010-07-12T17:05:00.002-05:00

One of the best organizations out there, in our biased opinion, is Coaches Outreach. It is a ministry set up for coaches, by coaches. We have now been to 3 of their summer marriage retreats, and plan on going EVERY year from here on out. Lord willing. This weekend was in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma at the Quartz Mountain Resort. Our speaker was Joe Loughlin, of Rekindle Ministries and music was by Michael Bridges who is just downright amazing. Here are a few pictures from our weekend...

This is what you see as you drive in...

That's going towards the lobby, from our rooms...

Joe hiking up one of the trails...

On one of the trails, back towards the resort...

This place was beautiful! Thanks again to Grandma and Papa for keeping Trey and Em! I'm sure they will be sleeping well tonight! When we got back to Dallas yesterday, it was nice to hang out with the kids in their little pool in the backyard...Joe got some fun shots of the kids...

This little diva is turning 2 this week! Yikes!

This one knows NO fear...

Maybe we need to start her on lessons...lol.

That's all from us this week! We've finished up our last road trip for the summer, and don't plan on anymore for a while! I've gotta get busy making Em an outfit for her pictures/party. OH, and I need to share the recipe for the Charro beans Grandma made for us before we headed to Oklahoma! They were so GOOD, and easy! Stay tuned, it's a slow week, so maybe I'll have more than one post!

Countdown

2010-07-04T16:51:00.003-05:00

The countdown is on for our new yearly commitment...Coaches Outreach marriage retreat. If you are a coach/coach's wife, it is a MUST. We absolutely love it, and it always gets us in the right frame of mind before another grueling season starts up. This year we are headed to Lone Wolf, Oklahoma...yes, I think it is as small as it sounds, and that is fabulous. Thursday afternoon we are headed to Dallas to drop off the kids with Grandma & Papa, and then Friday morning we will make the rest of the journey. To say we are excited, might be a bit of an understatement. Here are a few pictures of the place we will be staying...

Go ahead, be jealous.

You may not hear from me again this week, as I have to get another room in the house painted, kids packed up, a minimum of 2 photo shoots, and the list goes on!

Oh, by the way...I made Cafe Red Onion's pineapple salsa today. YUM.

Here's the recipe:
1 - 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks, drained
1/4 jalapeno {fresh/seeded/diced small}
1 tbs cilantro {I probably used a little more}
1 - 2 tbs corn oil
juice of 1/2 lime

{additional: I added a little juice from a jar of jalapenos, which was suggested in the recipe I had found}

Directions: Add all to blender/food processor, pulse until you get the consistency you like for salsa! Add salt to taste, and if you want to sweeten it up you could add a little sugar/Splenda. Serve with tortilla chips. I actually tripled this to take to our pool party of at least 20, and still have quite a bit left. {I'm super excited to have for a snack this week!} Enjoy!

Day of Blog Silence for Cohen

2010-07-01T08:03:00.001-05:00

{click on the image to learn more about sweet Cohen}

2010 Family Reunion

2010-06-28T15:25:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning we got up bright and early, and headed to the land of Teague, Texas. If we're friends on Facebook, then you'll know you get extra bonus points if you know how to pronounce Teague. Nope, hooked on phonics doesn't work for this one....it's Tig!

Anyways, we were just going out for the day and coming back that evening...it was really nice to just make sure Emery had diapers, and then we were on our way! We had lots of hands on deck, and I got to take a bunch of pictures, so all in all...we had a fabulous time!

Tonight is girls night, with some fellow coach's wives...let me just tell you that I can not remember the last true girl's night I had. Just because there tend to be girls out on the driveway when we do hang out, does not make it a girl's night! We are actually putting on something other than sweatpants and flip flops and leaving the kids home with the coach's! Woo hoo!

Moving on to the pictures! Hope everyone has a great week!

Grandma & Em

Water bottles make the best toys...

until they decide you need to wear the water.

Michelle & Shawn

Loving the little sand area with toys {life saver}

Trey got a piggy back from Ethan...

I'm thinkin' the cow had the right idea!

Papa and his girl...love this one.

Daddy, I want...{fill in the blank}

Sure!

This is Billie & Beth Beene, quite possibly the cutest couple ever.

I just wanted to follow Billie around, and take pictures of him all day long.

Look at how he is looking at her...sweetness.

I'll end with my favorite pic of the day.

Our cousin Jackie and his lil' one. LOVE.