the gang

Anakin Skywalker; Murray, the Red Wiggle; and Felicity Merriman, American Girl

Happy Halloween!

trying something new

Parker has signed up for basketball through a local program and tryouts are in a few weeks. So he practices on the driveway with his new ball. He's awesome so far!

Miles sort of likes chasing the neighborhood kitty (who won't leave us alone). But he doesn't get too close. "Kitty? Hi," he says in a really small voice.

more Qs

More boring answers to interesting questions. I'm completely uninspired blogwise lately. I'm thinking about turning my computer off for the rest of the week. Dare me?

The Dodson Family recently moved from Texas to Colorado and Jessica (the mama) remarked about how changing towns can really change up your routine. She asked, "What is your routine like now and how is living in your new city different from your old?"

My every day life has remained pretty unchanged. Maybe it's because I moved from suburban Houston to suburban Dallas, and they're not terribly different. (Texas rocks, as Audrey would say.) The major changes revolve around my kids' schooling. Parker is in school every morning now (as opposed to 2-day preschool). The school is only about 2 minutes away, which is good, since I'm there three times a day. It's also a nice change from the 20 minute one-way drive I was making last year, to the private school in our old town. I don't have time to get a whole lot done in the three hours Parker is at school, however. My huge goal is to go to the gym during this time. Does it happen? No. Do I spend at least an hour every morning trying to smooch on Miles? Yes.

Secondly, we live much closer to the daily conveniences now. Rather than a 10-15 minute drive to buy groceries (old town), we have 4 grocery stores within 5 minutes of our house. When you're a forgetful shopper like me, this is huge. There is also a really great outdoor shopping area (with GREAT shops & restaurants {anthropologie, barnes & noble, crate & barrel, etc.}) about 8 minutes away. It's a fun place to stroll around and people watch, but we don't even get over there very often.

Mine is a slow-paced, kid-centered life, but that's the way it should be at this point, I believe. I don't enjoy carting Miles all around town doing meaningless tasks which always result in money being spent. I'd rather just hang out with him at home and try to remember every second of his life. It's going too quickly!

Another change is that my house is bigger and my yard is massive. I could spend hours daily tending to each (if I were that kind of person!). As far as a new city is concerned, Dallas and Fort Worth both have lots to offer, and we're equidistant from both. We venture into town now and then. There was a lot to do in Houston, too, and we really got to know the city well after living there for seven years.

The weather here is something to be grateful for, as well. It used to be that if it was nice outside, I felt like we had to go out and take advantage because the days were few and far between (at least between March and November). Here in north Texas, though, there are more temperate days and fewer mosquitoes. Very nice.

I'm starting to make more friends in our new town, but I really miss my old friends. Leaving our circle of people we loved was definitely the hardest thing about moving away. I don't necessarily miss Houston, the city, per se (the summers were really hard for me). But the people? I miss.

Grateful Sunday

feeding the birdies at the zoo on Friday

This week, I'm grateful for:

• the people who come help me in the church's nursery each week. We've been on a long run of substitutes, and I'm thankful to each of them for coming to join the madness with me.
• chilly nights and sunshine-filled days. The weather is perfect right now.
• the news of houseguests coming for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited to host some of our family this year (and to avoid holiday travel). But oh how I wish I had two ovens!
• Happy reports from our kids' teachers this week at conferences.
  
• Neal's recession-proof job.
• A dinner invitation for this evening. Coming home from church at 5:45 and immediately cooking dinner isn't my cup of tea. Thankfully, our friends have relieved me of that today!
  

and I quote . . .

. . . from my {really juvenile-sounding and highly embarrassing} journal entry from
24 October 1997:

"I went to the symphony with this boy Neal tonight. He's from Texas and he's actually really cute and so funny. We had a really great time and I hope we hang out again soon. He's very like-able."

No, there aren't hearts dotting the Is, although, seriously, was I nine or nineteen.

Well, ELEVEN years ago tonight was my first date with Neal. I remember it very well, even small details like where he was parked on my street and the way I felt during dinner. Today we celebrated by taking the kids to the zoo and eating out at an Italian place, just like on our first date. We sat close and smiled, thinking back to that day. If we had only known what would come of it.

Love you, baby!

observant little dude

I haven't the slightest idea where Miles got the idea that it's okay to fork the cake.

Wait, whose fork is that?
oops.

Qs for the kids

Sassy Stephanie and I became friends when our two little redheaded daughters were in the same preschool class in 2005. Audrey and Rian, her daughter, always had a great connection, and Stephanie was always a great example to me by being involved in her kids' lives while still maintaining her own time. She's a super fit runner and seemed to be everyone's friend. Stephanie and her family moved out to the country at about the same time we moved up north, so we both kind of started over this past summer. Now, as she helps her husband fight Hodgkin's Disease, she has become an example to me of many other things (faith, perseverance, love, dedication and humor, to name a few). Stephanie had questions for the kids, which they will answer themselves. Thanks, Stephanie!

Audrey, how do you like your new school?

"I like it because I have met lots of new friends. My teacher's name is Mrs. Gregory and she's nice. My favorite subject is Art, and at recess, I like to look for rocks."

Parker, does Kindy rock way harder than preschool?

"No. Because you have to do lots of work and you have to sit on the carpet and do boring songs. Two things I do like are having PE in the gym and recess."

Miles, do you fall asleep with that smile on your face?

"Me happy." (He told me that today when I asked him if he was sleepy.)

Grateful Sunday

I didn't take many pictures this week, so this is Miles in a "yittle twuck" in California.

This week, I'm grateful for:

• Neal's ongoing three-day weekend schedule. It's nice when Friday feels like Saturday and then we still get a Saturday. Last Friday, Neal and Parker had lunch at a Sushi Bar. Parker really wanted to see what it was like to eat at the actual "bar," and the sushi chef even made him a California Roll snake. Oh, and he ate octopus tentacles. Anyway, I'm grateful for Neal's Fridays.
• cheap gas!! I was able to fill up my tank for under $60 this week. It's been so long, isn't it nice?
• ibuprofen. I get myself a raging "Church headache" almost every Sunday now (ahem, Nursery).
• happy baby news. Natalie's new one has arrived, and Georgia's having a boy come Spring. Hooray!
  

the other one

Audrey pulled out her other tooth the other night! She looks so cute toothless.

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to formally thank whomever it was that decided to give Audrey her red, curly hair. I love it and I can't ever get over how lucky she is to have it. Sometimes, when I'm driving up to get her at school, her coppery hair just shimmers in the sunlight, and she's the first child I see. Then I think, "wow, that is my beautiful baby."

One more thing, my friend Natalie (whose blog is private) had her baby this morning, very early, and all is well! Welcome Ethan Grant, an 8.5 pounder! Way to go, Natalie!!

Q&A

Several posts ago, I was out of topics and prompted people to give me ideas. I'm back to addressing those comments. Because I have no life.

Cathi and I became friends during the NieNie auction at A Room Somewhere. She donated the cutest apron. We ended up having distant connections since we grew up in the same area. She had a few questions.

"Your children are so delightful. Absolutely darling. (Oh, thanks, Cathi!)
Questions:
~What is your decorating style?
~Where do you get your ideas?
~How do you find the time to maintain two incredible blogs with a young family?
~Where is your favorite place to shop for the house and for clothes?
~Have I told you lately that I love your blogs?"

Thanks for the topic ideas, Cathi!

~What is your decorating style?
I don't really consider myself to have a specific "style," although I'm usually drawn to sparse but historically-influenced European design. I think my style/design blog has really help me define what I like and what I don't. It's my idea binder, if you will. I love simple, almost minimalist rooms; well-placed antiques; original artwork; lots of paned windows & natural light; uncluttered surfaces; natural, muted colors (grays, ivories, ocean hues); symmetry; mirrors; wood floors; unusual chairs; graphic printed (or, on the flip side), natural linen upholstery; elegant details, but liveable pieces; simple window treatments (no valances for me); live plants. It's funny because my house doesn't really resemble my ideal style, but I think very few peoples' really does. If money were no object, right? To get a better idea of my interior design style, you could scroll through some of these posts.

~Where do you get your ideas?
If you're referring to the ideas shared on my other blog, I get them from all over the place. From magazines, shopping, other blogs & websites, my own notion of what I find beautiful, and from the other talented people in my life.

~How do you find the time to maintain two incredible blogs with a young family?
I don't know. I spend more time in front of the computer than I should. I am full of guilt because of it, so let's not bring it up again. :) No, it's reading other blogs that consumes most of my computer time, and I need to cut back (don't we all?). I spend about 2-3 hours a week (after kids' bedtime) creating material and doing administration for my other blog. (I've even started making a bit of money with it!) I get several product submissions each week, and keeping up with those and reader questions keeps me busy. I try to only spend a total of about an hour during the day on the computer, and it's usually when Miles is napping and Parker is chilling out after school. I'll take a couple seconds here and there to check my email (I heart comments).

This blog is pretty much all about the kids. I'm so grateful that I started documenting our family life almost three years ago. It's so valuable to me. I'm going to start printing my blog in book form, by year. I'll give a book to myself for Christmas each year. I can imagine them all lined up on my bookshelf, and it makes me happy.

~Where is your favorite place to shop for the house and for clothes?
We have been living off of a student family's budget for our entire marriage, so I have to keep it on the cheap. For my house, I love Target and Ikea, Pier One and Hobby Lobby (our local craft store). I like the look of stores like Crate & Barrel and the occasional Pottery Barn piece, but don't really own any of their things. My dream furniture comes from Oly Studio. But I can't really think about shopping there yet. We don't actually own much in the way of "real furniture" (furniture we didn't assemble ourselves). My parents have passed down a few pieces, like our kitchen table. It's been great!

For kids' clothes, I mostly shop at Old Navy and Target. I'm branching up to Gap Kids, and Audrey has a few things from Crewcuts and Boden, which I've found on sale. She's so fun to shop for! For myself, I find a lot at Old Navy and Target as well. I can always guarantee I'll find something to buy at Forever 21, but it requires lots of looking (most of their stuff is crazy trendy). If I feel in the mood to splurge, I'll check out J. Crew, Banana Republic, or Anthropologie, but I really only purchase their items on deep discount.

Thanks for the questions, Cathi! That was fun. ;)

Quote of the Day XVII

Before bed the other night, Miles and Parker were playing with their light sabers (or subways, as Miles calls them). Parker had fallen to the ground in a dramatic way, but was still managing to fight Miles off. But Miles wouldn't have it. He called out,

"Bawdy! Stand up yike a meeyan!"
(Parkie, stand up like a man!)

Ah, boys. Gotta love 'em.

punkins

My friend, Lori, invited us along with her kids to a pretty pumpkin patch a couple of towns away.

All day, Miles kept talking about how much fun he had at the "punkin punch." Not a bad way to spend the day off school!

final four

Heck no, this isn't about basketball! These are my last four favorite pictures from our trip!

Auntie Joojie and Matt & Katie's precious Sadie Britton, who is round in all the right places.

Me and my old friend, Rachel. We met freshman year (13 years ago? what?) and had many many fun times at the BYU. Now we're old ladies with lots of kids and cute husbands. :) We stopped by her and Ryan's house one night during our trip, and I could have easily stayed for days. Love you, Rach!

Mmm, Zippity Zucchini and chocolate banana shakes. Nothing beats Ruby's.
And a party of 19.

Sweet, sleepy Stella. General Conference was a little much for her to take.

Oh, hey! Have you weighed in on the comment debacle on my Prop 8 post over here? Check it out when you have a minute (or 15), and thanks to all those who have commented in support of it already. I appreciate you having my back.

Grateful Sunday

the kids at a creek bed nearby

This week, I'm grateful for:

• our safe trip to & return from California. It was a miracle that we didn't run into any hitches with United Airlines, since they are Neal's arch nemesis airline. PS, do your best to avoid United Airlines.
• having Neal with me for the entire trip. It's been a while since he didn't have to fly home early or join us late because of school. Another reason to be grateful that school is O. VER.
  
• our friends who graciously watched Twiggy, our bird, while we were gone. He probably drove them crazy with his twittering, but Lauren was awfully sweet about it!
• the chance I had to go on Space Mountain with Parker on Monday. His first time, we held hands pretty tightly, but by his second ride, he was flailing his arms in the air and loving every minute. So cute.
  
• Miles, the happiness machine.
  

buddies

I loved seeing Parker and Miles reunite with their boy cousins during our time in California. They're all such good buds.

chillin' at annie's soccer game

max & miles playing ball

weirdos

handsome dudes

Miles and his smile once again. I guess it's appropriate that the letters in his name rearranged spell SMILE. He does it a lot.

Post-battle at the Jedi Training session at Disneyland. It was about the coolest thing EVER. Check Parker's blog to read the details. These little guys defeated the Dark Side quite handily. And as you can see by the looks on their faces, they were very serious about their training.

fotochain

some shots from our california trip. and brief notes regarding them.

the reason for the entire trip:
this lobby in the athletic complex at chapman university was dedicated to my wonderful grandparents, pictured above.

we spent a lot of time on chapman's campus, which is in the heart of old town orange, ca.
here are the older girl cousins: audrey, mabel, annie & emma.

miles was completely enamored with his pa on this trip. thanks for indulging him, dad!

my mom and her girls

neal and my moe. this is the smile miles plasters on his face when he sees cameras coming.

after dinner and the lobby dedication, we headed over to the homecoming game.

my grampy furnished all the little ones with personalized megaphones. which were a HUGE hit, much to the chagrin of our family members sitting in front of parker, jack and oliver.

of course (you know me), i have more pictures to post. if you'd like to see them all, click here.

that perfect shot

I knew when I snapped this picture that it would become one of my favorites.
I love love love it.

We're back and I have lots of good pictures . . . I'll post more soon!

For Julie

My sister-in-law, Julie, and her family, just relocated from Oklahoma to West Texas, and they get to build a house! She asked about kitchen styles, and here's my take: We have been looking at houses and styles, too, and apparently we don't have the same taste as everyone else in this part of Texas. Most of the nicer houses we've seen are full of dark iron work, interior brick, dark floors and lots and lots of wood. They're beautiful homes, but just not our style. I'm all about light and bright, especially in the kitchen. I want my kitchen to be pretty first thing in the morning, with bright sun streaming in through the windows to help wake us all up!

My preference is almost always white or whitewashed cabinetry with gray or black countertops. (See photos below.) I love glass paned cabinet doors and clean, unfussy trim work. This style of kitchen doesn't work in every house, however. It would look silly to put this kitchen in one of the houses we've looked at in our area. Light and bright is perhaps not the trend at the moment, but I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to follow the trends, especially if they just flat out don't appeal to you. Here are a few of my favorite kitchens, Julie. There are more images here.

We're Off

To join my family for a reunion in California. I'll be guest blogging next week at Tangled & True. Check it out, starting Monday! Show me some comment love while I'm there. :)

cows & grass

We had Flat Annie visiting us this weekend. Cousin Annie from California sent a paper version of herself here to Texas. We were asked to take a picture of her in our home town and send it back. The kids loved it. And isn't it pretty here? This is about a 6 minute drive from our house. Can't you just smell the grass? And does Miles wear that shirt every day? And why is Audrey so much taller than everyone else? This post made me ask questions.

Do you have any questions for me? I'm out of blog topics . . .