This Minivan Life

So as I mentioned previously, Brian got a new job! We were thrilled when he got to offer. This is what we had been praying for: a job he was interested in, that continued to stretch his professional skills, had room for upward mobility, and paid well enough that we could... you know continue to eat. The job he got was awesome, it was more than we had hoped for, and we were thrilled. Okay that sounds like the job is in the past, he started on Thursday, and so far he likes it (you know all 2 days). So far this seems awesome, and we are going to ride this out, we are excited for this new adventure. But with this new job came with one little issue, we live a bit far from his office. When he was at PwC proximity to his job wasnt as important, he changed clients regularly and we could never be 100% sure that he wasnt going to be at a client right by us (never happened, but we couldnt be sure). But this new job... well the new job requires him to go to the same place each day, which is awesom

So remember how I needed to gain 7 pounds, yeah that isnt going well. Here's the thing, I tried to take the doctor's advice- I ate dinner, waited a bit, and then ate again. I thought to myself at every meal, "how much would a boy eat" and then I ate that much. I went from a yogurt at breakfast to a yogurt, 2 eggs, and toast. I stopped drinking so much water and replaced it with juice (sometimes). Every time I wanted a cookie, milkshake, piece of candy I had one. I added butter to EVERYTHING. I had a cheese stick before going to bed, etc. But after a month I am sick of food and I only gained one pound. I dont want to eat... anything. I think part of the problem is that a week ago I got sick. nothing major, just a cold, the kind where your nose is stuffed up so you become a mouth breather and as a result your mouth feels like someone stuffed it with cotton balls, food has no flavor and all you have to go on is texture and that gets old after... a minute, and you just fe

We had the chance to go to the Dallas Arboretum the other day and it was lovely. We hadnt ever been in the spring and I didnt know what to expect. I had the Arboretum magazine, or whatever it is that they send members but I thought the spring might have been overhyped. Not sure why I thought this since the pumpkin village in the fall was amazing, the photos didnt do it justice, and let's just say that the same is true this time around. The tulips are beautiful, I love tulips so I was blown away.  There were just so many of them, and so many red ones. As red is my favorite color, you can imagine that red tulips are my favorite.  The day we went was beautiful, we had one of our very first warm spring days, the days when you love dallas. You know just a light warm breeze, limited humidity, and no bugs, perfect for a picnic.   Mikey was concerned at first, maybe he was expecting the pumpkin village. He did eventually warm up to the idea. I will have to find the photos and u

So yesterday was Brian's big day, 29... next year he goes over the hill, but not yet, so we celebrated. We celebrated with our usual Brian birthday tradition of filet mignon, mashed potatoes, and Brian's veggie of choice (this year we went with roasted squash, onions, and red and gold peppers). Seriously if you are looking to have a yummy steak dinner and want a good cut of meat, but dont want to pay a ton, and are willing to put in a little bit of effort we HIGHLY recommend going to Costco and buying their filets. Certain times of year they have prime filets, we havent ever bought those, but their usual (choice) filets are great, really, for $30 you can get 4 good sized filets, cook your own potatoes and veggies and you have an awesome dinner for 4 for less than $40, I have a great recipe if you need it. In our case it ends up being 2 special meals (we freeze 2), but enough on that tangent.  Ok so we had the traditional meal, and yes that is a pat of butter on the extra l

Ok, we were recently introduced to Thomas the train and I am just going to say it, I think Thomas the Train is like drugs to kids. I dont know what it is about that stupid show that they like, but they love it. Michael doesnt even blink (for the first 5 minutes). Something about the model trains is intoxicating to him, I cant figure it out, but there is something that kids love about that show. So now... we have to watch it. Okay we dont have to, but we have watched some... and he asks for "train show". I dont think he cares about the train names, or the story but he does love to see the trains. Who invented this show and why wasnt it me? So the road outside our house is under construction, and at first I saw this as a negative, but now I think it is a huge blessing. Why? Michael LOVES (even more than trains, owls, and CJ) construction equipment. He loves to watch the "diggers" and we get to see a ton of them each day. If you look over our back fence you can see m

I have blogged extensively about how Mikey hasnt always been a great sleeper. I am glad that I did it from the beginning because when I tell people he hasnt ever been a great sleeper I now have proof, if only so I keep myself from going crazy trying to remember if it is true or imagined. Anyway so naps have been a bit of a struggle, but we have finally (in the past 6 months or so) come to a good arrangement, we stopped the 2 naps a day stuff, because that was basically 2 times the frustration for no sleep, and went with once a day, right after lunch. Most days this works great(ish). His nap isnt 2-3 hours like recommended but it is usually a solid hour and that is an improvement. Also, he doesnt seem to need longer, I think it would be great if he would sleep longer, but something in his little body tells him that 60 minutes is long enough and we are done fighting that. So he naps, and it is great, and if he doesnt nap he reads books quietly to himself in bed until his one hour is up.

These past few weeks we have been working with Michael on learning his colors. He has been doing great. I would say he can correctly identify the color of an object 90% of the time. Given how little time we have spent on it, and that he is 20 months old I think that is pretty good, maybe it is just average, but I am going to say he is one smart cookie. Anyway since we have started working on colors he has started to take a real interest in the color of objects, clothing, food, cars, etc. When I get him dressed in the morning I hold up two shirts and he identifies the color of the one he wants to wear. Usually he will pick the orange option, I think orange is his favorite color. Last weekend we went to Old Navy to get him some new shirts and he only wanted the orange ones, now he has a few orange shirts and several pairs of orange socks, guess what he wants to wear every day. If you know me you know I dont wear colors, unless you think black, grey, white, and navy blue are colors in w

Making a happy birthday sign for daddy.    doesnt that serious face look like bri? seriously, mini brian couldnt color without the digger Tomorrow is Brian’s birthday. It is also his last day at PwC. So I would say that tomorrow is a big(ish) day for him. In honor of his big day, Mikey and I have started planning. We made an awesome sign (to be unveiled tomorrow and we have been practicing singing happy birthday.  Okay the planning is minimal because he is turning 29, but as our tradition Brian has requested filet mignon (from Costco, seriously Grandma and Grandpa Suker we cannot thank you enough for this tip!), whipped potatoes (Grandma Suker style), and roasted veggies (this is new), with brownie sundaes for dessert (also new). We are excited for our yummy dinner, and even more exciting than the dinner, Brian has 4 days (working days) off before he starts his new job, so we get to have some time with him before he gets busy at the new job.

So I have a bit of a cold. At first I thought it was allergies, but when I didn’t respond to allergy medicine and developed a fever (I never took my temperature but trust me on this one) I threw that idea out the window. I have to admit that I am not one of those people that uses herbal remedies for colds. I just don’t do it. I know that my immune system will kick in soon enough and I will start to get better, but in the meantime I want relief from the symptoms. I am realistic enough to know that my Nyquil doesn’t help me get better faster, but boy does it help me feel better. So after I accepted that I was actually sick and got rid of the ridiculous allergy idea I had to start taking medicine.  okay I had to start taking medicine at night. After choking on my own phlegm I had to do something. So I mixed together my Nyquil/Sudafed cocktail and headed off to bed. Usually this works great. I sleep a good 8 hours and feel better in the morning. I don’t move, don’t think a