Very Serious Post

Ladies. You've all been there. You're lyin' if you say you haven't (or you have Pantene lady hair.) I, do not have Pantene lady hair, therefore, when I decide to "grow my hair out" inevitably it gets about 3 inches past my shoulders and I end up wanting to cut it all off.

Seeing "Ramona and Beezus" the other day with our sweet friends, Kasey & Allyson, left me pining for the short hair of "Aunt Bea". Or even a touch of "short-ish" hair like so below.....

But I'm scared. I don't have great white, sparkling teeth....or flawless skin...or huge, eyelashy eyes that short hair needs to frame. My sister has all those, but she also has the Pantene hair (darn her!), therefore she never desires to have anything other than her long Pantene hair. Can I say Pantene one more time? Pantene.

My biggest fear is that I say I want "short hair" and I'll end up with "short hair" like this....

Not on your life.

Ughhh.

Like I said, this is a very serious post.
And I'm getting paid to say Pantene.
Pantene.

8 Weeks With My Husband

I asked my hubs the other day, "Do you still love me or are you just committed to me?" (it was a half-joking question.....we were being silly.) His response was equally silly, "I should be committed because I still love you."

That sentiment, mixes of serious and silly, pretty much describes this rare experience: spending 8 weeks with my husband....all day, every day. Just us..... well, us and our kids.

Not too many couples get to experience that much time together. Weekends here and there. Maybe a week long vacation. But 8 whole weeks? I was afraid at first. Week 1 was ominous. I would put a load of laundry in - he'd be there. He would type an email - I'd be there. I would read a magazine - he'd be there. He would throw his clothes on the bathroom floor - I'd be there (with a disapproving look, nontheless). We were always there. At that point, I told him one of us would need to get a summer job.

Week 2 was better. We got used to 'being there', and then realized some bonuses. I could run to the grocery store for butter without having to haul the 'lil gals along. He could wake up and go for a run/golf/bike ride without having to worry about missing too much family time....we'd be there when he got back! Things were perking up!

Week 3-8 was really a wash of us realizing that yes, we would make it and we still could make each other laugh, and we could get on each others' nerves, and we could cook breakfasts together, and we could argue, and we could watch movies, and we could sit in our rocking chairs on the porch, and we could.....still enjoy our marriage.

Tonight, I read to Grace about Rebekah. She's our 5th woman in the "Women of the Bible" book we've been going through. So far, I've talked to Grace about Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Lot's wife, and tonight's Rebekah was a perfect discussion. We talked about how God had chosen her to be Isaac's wife. How God did not make a mistake in His choice. How it was already written before she was born. That's it. I didn't talk about Jacob or Esau or any of her legacy, just the fact that God chose her to be Isaac's wife. Much like I was chosen for Boog (and vice versa).

Committment or "still in love" or whatever......I learned during this 8 weeks I need to cherish what God ordained for me. My marriage to Boog, even during the stinky times, is valuable. And what is valuable is worth investing our time and efforts.

I look forward to the next big 'chunk' of time we get to spend together!

Our Last Hurrah!!

On the MAT

in Dallas

With Boog's "back to work" looming in two days, we thought we should go for one last hurrah as a family. We opted for Dallas. It's quick. We're familiar with it. And we had a few places we wanted to try....1) the McKinney Avenue Trolley (MAT) which runs in uptown Dallas and is really a great way to get around 2) the Dallas World Acquarium and 3) a few good restaurants. (Oh, and we also had to stay at a hotel for Grace...I think that's the main thing she remembers from our trip. Room Service.)

I will say this. Vacation are a little more "work" than "vacay" these days. At 18 months, Sophie Monster entered Dallas with a boldness that hasn't been seen since Pamela Ewing. She had the food flyin' left and right at Babe's....(yum, yum!)

And it took a few pinches on her thigh to get her to act right at The Pancake House
(OH myyyy that stuff was good!)
And Heaven's to Betsy the McKinney Avenue Trolley couldn't contain her.....

Here's Grace, swingin' from the rafters.....

Our view from our favorite hotel, the The Warwick Melrose

Me, doing what I always do first, curlin' up in the bed!

At the Dallas World Acquarium (not cheap to visit, but worth it once)

Our Favorite Jelly Roll, the Manatee

The Belly of a Sharknose Something

All in all, our last hurrah left us exhausted.
In the words of my sister..."It's gonna be at least two more years before your vacations feel like a vacation!" Ha! That's okay. I'm not ready for Pamel..I mean, Sophie...to grow up just yet.

Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread

We have alot of near black bananas at our house. I'm always buying bananas at the store because for some reason, they make me feel healthy. And when my kids eat them, I feel like I've done a good "mommy" deed. But, usually, one or two get old before we can eat them....so naturally, I've made a lot of banana bread.

This recipe is my very favorite so far. The reason its called "Hawaiian", I believe, is from the one can of pineapples that you add. So don't think you're gonna have to hunt down papayas, mangoes, or coconuts at the local farmer's market. Dole's crushed pineapples work great!

The Mix

One to Eat, One to Give Away (my sweet neighbor, Peggy, was the recipient of this one!)


Recipe Courtesy of One of My Favorite *and most used* Cookbooks: The Aggie Hullabaloo II (Ags CAN cook, ya'll!)

Recipe:
3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 eggs beaten

1 1/2 cups oil

2 near black bananas

1 8oz. can crushed pineapple

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup nuts, chopped

Combine first 5 dry ingredients. In another bowl combine next 5 liquid ingredients. Mix the two together. Add nuts. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for about an hour!

My Favorite Things

Daily Biking

I'll be the first to admit our summer has not been one of productivity and purpose. It's been very restful, family-oriented, and it's had a whole lotta bike riding. When we moved to our current neighborhood, we knew that we'd take advantage of its winding, curving, little traffic, lots of pretty lake views, and easy to ride roads. We'd never had that before! Turns out, we are a family of 'lil Lance Armstrongs. We love biking. (Or shall I say, a family of 'lil Schlecks?...Tour de France, anyone?)

It also doesn't help to have a lake dip after we get all hot and sweaty.
Summer. Gotta love it.

Sophie Can't Wait...

Boog With Quite the Load

Ready to Take the Plunge

Lakey Crew

18 Months

OH my goodness...does it get more precious?
How time has flown. With each passing month, Sophie Bobby Bushyhead, you get easier and easier to "handle". : ) I use that term lightly. You are definitely a woman who knows what she wants and will get what she wants. We love you to bits....

Just to remember a few things, at 18 months you:
Love to give us sugars, you sleep 12 hours a night plus an hour or two nap in the afternoon (yes!), you are still a picky eater (turkey, cheese, and carrots are a staple), you can name most parts of your body but get confused on "eyes" and "ears"....those are tough ones, you love to sing songs and some of your favorites are B-I-N-G-O and you'll say "EIEI-OOooo" real loud! You also love to read books....insatiably read books. So much so that sometimes I often have to lure you away from books with snack offerings. Your sister just enjoys your company so much......I know it won't stay that way too much longer. Oh, and your favorite words are "mine", "tank you", "peeeeeeeeezz!", and " 'side" short for "outside".

You are a doll. We love you!

Lemonade! 25 cents!!

Preparation

Isn't a lemonade stand a rite of passage for kids? Well, when Grace suggested the idea, Boog (true to form) whipped up a little wooden stand from scrap wood around the house and Grace got to work painting.....pink, of course. ;)

Launch Day

It was ready to go. It was HOT. 102 degrees to be exact. But she sat....and waited.....

BINGO! First customer....a true passer-by!

All the Neighborhood Kids!

A few more cups later, and she was sold out of her first pitcher. She didn't want to go back out...I didn't either....did I mention it was HOT?
All in a day's work, I guess.

"Here's Your Once Chance, Fancy, Don't Let Me Down..."

Miss Fancy

I start this post with trepidation and fear.
There she is. My "newsd" car.
It took us three cities, umpteen car dealerships, and several phone calls of price negotation before we finally bit the bullet and went back where we first started. The dealership with great customer service and zero, absolutely zero talking dummies...I mean, salesmen. We had a number in mind. We didn't want to go over it. That number gave us a few options of used cars.....4-runners, Tahoes, Muranos, and the like.

But in the end, Miss Fancy's reliable reputation

and sweet price negotiations by my hubs, won out.
That and the smell inside. She still smells new. I have no idea how - she's an '04.

What's the fear and trepidation bit?
Well. I still know about all the kids without socks in the world.
I also know that other people don't know this is a USED vehicle with plenty of miles on it. So other people will assume I bought a NEW vehicle wayyyyy out of my pay grade. I don't like those assumptions. They make me feel icky. And well, I also know I could've bought a lesser vehicle....saved a couple thousand...and done something else with that money. Like buy socks.

So after much laboring thought and bugging my husband with, "Are we suuuurree about this?" I reached peace with our decision to purchase Fancy. I think we got heck of a deal...probably the deal of decade at that dealership.

I hope to be driving this car 5 years from now.
So in the words of Reba, "Fancy, Don't Let Me Down..."

(in a non-prostitute your daughter way, of course.)

Art Camp II

So this was Grace's second year to attend Art "camp" in Waco. She stayed with my sister, of course, and attended with her cousin, so I really wouldn't call it camp. Maybe Art Afternoon.

This year, they studied paper mache. Now how in the world you do it, I have no clue. I know it involves newspaper, paint, some kind of weavy-looking cloth and glue. Grace tried to explain, but well, "we did a milk jug with some paint" doesn't cut it.

Here's her accomplishments this year!

The MASK! A red panda....

A Bird...painted after an original photo

And here's 'lil sis at home. Sad that she couldn't go to Art Camp....

Thanks, Ang for keeping her!

Car Shopping = Not Fun

So my beloved and not-so beloved Outback is gone. I'm now carless, and relying on my in-law's generosity of a loaner vehicle to get around until we purchase one. It stinks. I absolutely loathe....loathe....loathe....the process of buying a car. You never know if you are getting a deal. Or a clunker. Or if the car dealership is making a killing based on a so-called "bottom line".

We aren't buying new. I've only done that once, and although it was wonderful, my practical nature won't let me buy something that will depreciate thousands in one day. Also, unless it's a Kia, my teacher budget won't let me do that either! So used....or rather...."pre-owned" it is.

Also, to add another factor, my sweet friend Jenna who's saving the world one orphan at a time has influenced me (and others) to realize that the thousands more I spend to buy a 'Flo-happy' car (ie. one that makes me smile....think luxury) is thousands that could go towards helping those who can't afford socks. And I'm not talking just Africa, I'm talking about some of the kids that I teach. What a dilemma!

So as it is, we've shopped one day. I've gained two mouth ulcers. We've met GREAT salesmen (at a Lexus dealership, of course) and we've met super sleazy, gold-chain, tooth capped, hair implant salesmen (at a Ford dealership, of course). And until we DO this thing, it will continue to be a long, strenous drain on my brain!

Anyone have any good suggestions for an SUV?

Brain Surgeon, eh?

Just a little funny for this evening! ; ) Thanks Molly for sharing!