Royal Wedding Day

TheFrisky.com

What a beautiful bride...I love this picture of her! I had set my DVR to record "The Royal Wedding," but thankfully, my bladder woke me in the night. As I laid back down, I realized it was on, so I just had to get up. I turned on the "telly" just in time to see Prince William and Prince Harry make their way to Westminster Abbey. I do have to admit, I got a little teary-eyed, seeing the crowds cheer as Prince William passed by. I think the world is happy that its favorite Prince found his Princess. *Sigh* I thought about going back to sleep, but wanted to see Kate Middleton's dress so badly, that I was hooked! I got a blanket, a cup of coffee and settled in for the festivities. And she did not disappoint! She looked absolutely gorgeous! So beautiful and graceful, but with this breathy sort of simplicity. You know? Loved it! What an amazing wedding! What a beautiful bride! What a handsome groom! They seemed completely at ease, even with the world watching their every move. And I loved the happiness you could feel for the couple coming from the streets of London. What a joyous occasion!

Under Construction

Bear with me...the bloggy-blog is having a face-lift.

Ahhhhhh..........much better. Wouldn't you say so, too?

What the Paas?

With my hubby's redeployment right around the corner, what better way to get prepared than to host an Easter get-together at my house? Haha. Honestly, it was a good idea. Otherwise, I would be sitting here, thinking to myself, "I need to clean - for real!" :) I was really excited that all of my decorating was finally done. All of the pictures I had wanted to get up on the walls before Eric got home, were up and looked great. The Easter decorations were up, the plastic eggs were filled; all that was left to do was get the food started before the guests arrived.

Well, actually I had a slight setback prior to everyone arriving. As I was beginning my food prep, I heard a strange noise, like water dripping. *Never a good sign.* So, I checked out the cabinets underneath my sink, and the bottom was filled with water.

Are you kidding me!?!

I don't have time for this. I take out everything, dry the water with towels and leave the cabinets open, so it can air dry. Seriously, didn't even cross my mind to photograph THAT disaster.

Next up, I'm finally ready to get started on the food. I wanted to do the Deviled Eggs first, because they were going to be a fun surprise. My Aunt Bobbi always made special Deviled Eggs for Easter, in that the hard-boiled white part was colored, like Easter eggs. We could always look forward to her bringing them for the holiday. Since, I was hosting Easter for a group of friends who had never had these special eggs, I figured it would be a treat. So, it had to get done first! Imagine my surprise when I got out my cups, poured the water in, and then got my Paas Easter egg dye kit, and saw this:

It was empty! Completely fuh-reakin' empty!

It wasn't just missing the color tabs, or the wand to pull the egg out of the cups, or the stupid flower stickers; it was missing EVERYTHING!!! And it wasn't like I was trying to dye the eggs the day before or two days before - it was 30 minutes before, because I'm a procrastinator, and that is what we do! So, I couldn't go out and buy a new box, or return this super-empty one. Really Paas? Really? You're the name-brand in Easter egg dying kits, and you gave me an empty box. Now, I'm gonna be paranoid every Easter for the rest of my life. Poor Waylon. His friends are going to be like, "Why does your mom shake the dye kit boxes?" or "Why does your mom buy so many egg dying kits?" And I'll overhear them, and I will get on my soapbox, because sometimes the little chihuahua that lives inside me gets to barkin', and I foresee that as one of those times. *Just a warning future friend of my kid.* Haha. So, thank you Paas. You're gonna give my kid a complex. After my initial "What the Paas?" moment, I remembered I had food coloring, which I assumed was safe to consume - it is for food, right? So, onto the peeling of the hard-boiled eggs...

Which was a disaster!!!

Oh, my goodness! Look at them. Not a one was smooth. Seriously, they all looked like they had gone through a tiny hard-boiled egg war. I was standing at my sink, saying to myself, "Am I being punished because I'm making Deviled Eggs on a Christian holiday? Everyone does it. Aunt Bobbi's turn out smooth. There's nothing wrong with Deviled Eggs. It's just an egg. It's just a name." I was literally standing at the sink, saying these things out loud. I know - little weird over here. On a day like that, it was necessary, haha. Seriously, I've hard-boiled eggs before, and those egg shells peel right off with no issue. Try to have a display of Easter-Egg-Colored Deviled Eggs, and the shells want to stick to every last bit of white egg that they can.

Those eggs were almost the death of me that day. By the time I was done peeling them, I didn't care that: A) my guests were arriving and no food, including a bag of chips that could easily have been dumped into a bowl, was ready B) the carpet powder I had put down with the intention of vacuuming up, was still visible, but since I had vacuumed the night before, I figured it was good enough C) I still hadn't mopped my kitchen floor, but with all of the water that had come off the bottom of the crap from under my sink, it pretty much mopped itself D) I forgot my air was set at a cool 64 degrees, because "Who likes to sweat when you're getting ready for a party?" oh, my poor guests... E) no fun Easter-themed desserts for the kids ever got made - boo F) there is no F. I just felt there should be an F, because it summed up the feeling for the morning as a big, fat, FAIL!

BUT! The ray of sunshine amidst the craziness! The Deviled Eggs DID happen. Thank you, Mandie. We thought we were almost going to have brown eggs, instead of purple - who knows the blue-to-red ratio when using food coloring to dye eggs instead of using a Paas egg dye kit? Hmmm...maybe Paas would know. But, the purple ones ended up a little tie-dyed, which was cool.

See? Colorful, just like an Easter Egg. :) And that makes me happy.

Waylon enjoying his goodies. *I love that shirt!*

And the kids had fun with their indoor Easter egg hunt. Yes, I said indoor, because Tennessee weather sucks. 6 kids - 150 eggs - ALL in my living room - it was on like Donkey Kong. They were cute. I'm sure it wasn't the best egg hunt they will ever have, but nonetheless, they enjoyed it and enjoyed all of their goodies. For a rainy day, we had a pretty good time!

Our Pretty Girl

Oh, and Dixie got in on the festivities, too. She wore the "Funny" Ears, as Waylon calls them.

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter. We get to celebrate again when Eric gets home. That is when Waylon will get his Easter basket. For now, he has been having fun playing with all of the plastic eggs and watching "The Easter Carol" by VeggieTales.

Happy Spring!

Concrete Crushers Week 2

Hey ladies! The figures are in, and we have a new winner this week:

Erin
with a mileage of 4 miles!!!

Yay! We surpassed our goal of 2 miles for last week. Let's "CRUSH" 5 miles this week. I know we can do it!

Earth Day

I love Earth Day! Always have! We do what we can on a daily basis to try to help our planet. We recycle, plant flowers, refrain from littering...just our little part in our little corner of the world. Here is a little peek into how we spent our Earth Day...

Rawhide came out for a snack. He loves apples!

Then, he was over his "Nature Indoors" photo shoot, haha.

We added a little spring decor to our (un-weeded) garden.

We went for a "Nature Walk." And yes, Waylon brought his broom.

We checked out some of the storm damage from this week. Poor tree.

Waylon had fun blowing on a dandelion.

I adored my hydrangeas, which will be added to my garden after Easter. *LOVE*

We had a really good day. I'm excited to go to Lowe's tomorrow to get our free tree. It looks like it might be a small tree, so Waylon and I should have fun planting it. Giving back to Mother Nature. Teaching Waylon about the planet. (He already recognizes Earth, when he sees it. Yay!) Letting him get his little hands dirty. Love it!

How did you spend your Earth Day?

Remember, it's never too late to go plant some flowers for the spring/summer.

Everyday can be Earth Day!

One of Those Days

Ever have one of those days when you just feel like,
"It's a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?"

I hate feeling like that, much less blogging about it, but I needed an outlet. I'm pretty sure it's from a lack of sleep from the crazy thunderstorm that blew through town last night. It knocked out the power for hours, leaving it hot and stuffy in the house, and EVERY single time it thundered, Waylon would start screaming hysterically. During the daytime, when he hears thunder, he knows it's from the rain. I guess because he was suddenly awoken from a deep sleep, that he just freaked out, which was not fun for mommy. After he finally went back to sleep, it took me a couple of hours to fall back to sleep - not fun. Plus, I was sporting a massive sinus headache. I'm one of those people that gets affected by changes in the weather. I don't need a weather report - my head will tell me, if a storm is coming. And it didn't go away with a few hours of sleep, either, which I hoped it would. So, after running a few errands today, a little bit of Tylenol, and some lunch with the kiddo, we took a nap. And it was long. It ended up being just what I needed. So, now here I sit, clothes in the wash, some household chores done and more on my list; fully awake and feeling good, but it's bedtime. Foiled again! Haha!

At least the day ended better than it began. :)

Terrific Tuesday

"My Little Lovey"

Concrete Crushers Week 1

Okay, my little Concrete Crushers. The results are in. The figures have been tabulated. And the winner is...

Danielle
with a mileage of 1.2 miles!!!

Now, that we know the results from last week, let's push ourselves even harder this week. Let's break that 2-mile mark, ladies! Woot!

Buzzing Along...

I have been a busy little bee the past few days, decorating and organizing and reorganizing my little heart out. Oh, how I wish I could post some pictures on here to show the results, because I am absolutely loving them. I have to wait until after Eric comes home, though, just in case he gets on the bloggy-blog. I never like to spoil the surprise! I love seeing the look on his face, when he sees my "handiwork-craftiness-closet interior designer" on display. I do have the touch, people, well at least in my own home. If I decorated someone else's house, it would probably end up looking like mine. And for those who have been here and don't like it, bite me. :) Haha. I do see other people's fabulous rooms-ideas-craftiness and think, "I need more rooms in this house!" All in due time... Until then, I will just continue buzzing along until the Mister makes his way back into this one.

Cute Baby In Traditional Saudi Clothes Wallpaper

Cute Baby In Traditional Saudi Clothes Wallpaper

Cute Smiling British Baby Boy Wallpaper

Cute Smiling British Baby Boy Wallpaper

Cartoon Baby Wallpaper

Cartoon Baby Wallpaper

A Splash of Color

Skanska by Carl Kleiner

Be My Escape

Do What Makes You Oh-So Happy

I'm feeling bright and shiny today. Hope these leave you with that same happy feeling!

Songs in Ordinary Time

My first book review. Not that anybody asked me to review it, or that anybody cares what I think about it, or that it will even be semi-professional in the wording that I choose. I'm just glad I have my own little spot in the world to tell people what I think about some things every now and then. You should get one, too. :) With that being said, here goes...

Pretty much anything in Oprah's Book Club is going to be a good book, in my mind (Erin, I know you'll think so, too, you little Oprah lover, you!). The books I've read so far from the list really tend to have a lot of "meat" to them, a lot of heart and soul; they always leave you coming back for more.

And with a book that is 740 pages long, you are definitely going to be coming back for more with this one! Now, since I'm not a professional book critic, I'm not obligated to give the background of the story, which is good (and usually boring to read about). I'm just going to give some basics...in my words...

Songs in Ordinary Time
by Mary McGarry Morris
is a Guh-Reat Book!

Here are some of the characters and a brief description:

Marie Fermoyle
The mom who can't catch a break and has had it rough

Sam Fermoyle
Her fall-down drunk of an ex-husband and father of her kids

Alice Fermoyle
Their daughter who is lookin' for love in ALL the wrong places

Norm Fermoyle
The tough middle son, trying to find his way, but still messing up

Benjy Fermoyle
The youngest who knows too much but wants peace for his mom

Omar Duvall
A stranger who comes into their lives making big promises

Chief Stoner
The police chief having an affair, while his wife is dying of cancer

Father Gannon
A new priest who is pretty radical in his ways

Helen LaChance
Sam's sister, uptight, strong, driven, hates her brother

Renie LaChance
Helen's husband who makes anonymous obscene phone calls

Blue Mooney
Marine on leave causing trouble with a thing for Alice

It's really a great book. There's heartache, murder, deceit, an old lady living in a crib, people just trying to get by. It takes place in the 50's or 60's. I don't know how you are when you read a book, but the whole time with some of the situations, I would get angry, thinking, "The truth is staring you in the face, you idiot!" What can I say? I get into my books. :) So, I recommend the book. It's a great read, even though it's a long read.

I typically can finish a book within a couple of weeks, but with this, I could only read a few pages here and there. It took a couple months, but it was worth it. (I read other books in between, as well.) But, this way, it made me care about the characters and what was happening in their lives, and I like that about a book. I enjoy a book that I can really care about.

So, yes, go out and get this book.
It comes highly recommended by Bri. :)

**If you click the picture above, it will take you to Amazon, and you can buy it right now! And if you live near me, you can borrow my copy. I got it from the library book fair for $1. Woot!**

Yesssss!

It's finally hitting me that the hubs will be home soon from Afghanistan. You might be thinking, "Oh, she's so excited to see him, and bring him home, and cook him dinner." NO! (Don't get me wrong, that's a bonus...well, kind of...cooking for him is 50/50...he's uber picky. Yes, of course, I'm super excited he's coming home!) I'm just finally glad it's hitting me, so I will get off my butt, and get this house cleaned!!!

Seriously, people, I am lazy! And I do my BEST work under extreme pressure. A+ college papers get written the day of (no joke), cakes get baked a couple hours before needed, jeans get dried so they are still slightly damp when I wear them out and the house gets cleaned in the last couple weeks, before I put those "Welcome Home" banners on the garage door! Procrastination is my middle name! It's really Briana, but you know what I mean. I'm a "Pro" at Procrastination, forgive the pun. :) Deadlines...love 'em!

So, now, the music is going on, the windows are going up and the cleaning begins...

Valentine's Day PSP Wallpapers

Explore the beautiful collection of Valentine, love, romance, passion, cute, sweet and other themes to decorate your gadget like PSP with such easy and freely downloadable Valentine's Day PSP Wallpapers. Yellow flower, red heart, flying birds, cute couple, teddy pair, white heart shape pair of pillows and other stuff.

Valentine Chocolate Wallpapers

Gift bunch of chocolates and caramels to your loving partner on this valentine's day to make him or her taste the coffee, nuts and other chocolatey flavor. Preview these any of Valentine Chocolate Wallpapers showcasing chocolates in different shape, gift pack, size and style. Whites, dark coffees, brown, black and other colored chocolates are available.

High Quality Valentine's Day Wallpapers

Make your high quality screen look dazzling and in perfect spirit celebrating the month of love and romance with these displayed High Quality Valentine's Day Wallpapers. The red heart, cute loving couple on the cloud, white teddy, large air balloon. Have complete and free view of the variety of background wallpapers.

Valentine Wallpapers For Mac

Make your Mac screen feel the excitement and craze of being part of Valentine's day when couples exchange their heart feel for each other. You can gift any of these Valentine Wallpapers For Mac of cartoon cupid, red rose, loving heart, collection of colorful hearts and many more.

Valentine Wallpapers For Facebook

Make your facebook account look stunning and in full spirit of theme celebrating love and romance. Explore these Valentine Wallpapers For Facebook users who can directly download and upload these free collection for their profile. Select by clicking and saving for future reference.

Fresh Fruit

Yum! Doesn't that look so fresh, just like springy-summery deliciousness? I was thinking it looked liked my breakfast, but that was cantaloupe. Unless the fruit in the upper left is cantaloupe, then this is just a suh-weet picture of fruit! But, that's okay. It makes me think of grilling out on the weekends and blowing bubbles on the deck and lounging on the patio and reading a book in the shade and soon enough, fireworks, which is one of my favorite things ever! I heart fresh fruit! What does this picture make you think of?

Cute Baby Boy Surfing Facebook Wallpaper

Cute Baby Boy Surfing Facebook Wallpaper

Cute Baby Girl in Facebook T-Shirt Wallpaper

Cute Baby Girl in Facebook T-Shirt Wallpaper

We've Hit Double Digits!

I have 10 Followers! Does it count that #9 was me? Can you even follow yourself? Well, yes, you can, because I'm doing it right now. And does it also count that #10 was my sister, who I called right after that and forced her to follow me? Well, yes, it does. So, I have 10 Followers! Yay for me! Woot! Boot!

"100 Facts About Me"

I have seen on some other blogs that I frequent, some ladies doing blog postings entitled "100 Facts About Me." I felt the need to accept the challenge, as well. I don't even know if I can come up with 100 facts about myself, let alone, 100 interesting facts about myself. Let's see...

1. I was born in Houston, TX. (boring)
   
   
2. My first name, Hester, is my mother's maiden name.
3. She chose it because her parents had no boys to carry on the name, and then decided for sure after reading "The Scarlet Letter."
   
   
4. I am a mix of Italian/Spanish/Mexican descent.
5. I called my grandmothers "Brown Granny" and "Black Granny," because of their hair color...still do.
6. My father was adopted, but we strangely look like our non-blood relatives.
7. I have extremely curly hair, and yes, it's natural.
8. My curls didn't show up until the 6th grade. It was only wavy until then - thank you, hormones.
9. I have four gray hairs.
10. I found the first one at around age 22. Boo...
11. I am happy and proud that they seem to have a slow growth rate.
12. I could not swallow pills until last fall.
13. I still can't swallow big pills or capsules, but I'm okay with that.
14. I used to think I got my head stuck between the bars at the elephant cage at the zoo - turned out it was just a dream. Thanks for letting me tell everyone that story, until I graduated from high school, Mom.
15. I hate humidity.
16. Wasps and bees and other flying, stinging insects make me act like a buffoon.
17. I have never broken a bone.
18. I am a champion speller, and I like to correct people. If you find a mistake in this blog posting, I will say mean things out loud about you to myself at my computer, edit the post to correct my mistake and then ask you what in the world you were talking about. So, don't do it. :)
19. I used to act in drama classes, and I loved it.
20. Now, public speaking makes me nervous. Go figure.
    
    
21. I enlisted in the United States Army in November 2005 as a Topographic Analyst.
22. Basic Training was the hardest, but best time of my life. Well, when it came to pushing myself to my limits.
23. I was usually the last to finish the ruckmarch, and sometimes I cried silently under my kevlar the whole way, because my body was achy from ruckin' the day before, but I never once gave up my rucksack or got a ride from the Drill Sgt's. That's something to be proud of.
24. My mom jokingly called me "Private Benjamin," before I left for Basic.
25. One time, after the Drill Sgt's gave us a break on a long ruckmarch, I got back up to start going and after taking a few steps, one of the Drill Sgt's asked, "Hey, Private, you forget something?" I looked back to see my rucksack sitting on the side of the road. Oh, yeah. Duh! Haha!
26. Although I am naturally brunette, I do tend to have VERY blonde moments!
27. I had my first real kiss, when I was 18.
28. I think the Seafood Gumbo at Goode Co. Seafood in Houston, TX is hands-down the best gumbo anywhere!
29. My parents were divorced, when I was in 7th grade.
30. I am allergic to spinach - it makes me break out in itchy hives on my face.
31. I am not saddened by my allergy to spinach.
32. I hate feet. I probably would hate yours, too.
    
    
33. I never used to wear open-toed shoes, but now I live in flip-flops.
34. I love to read!
35. I read the most books in my whole school in 6th grade. I was a cute lil' nerd, and I'm smarter than you, too. :)
36. We used to go camping every summer in Colorado.
37. My two favorite places in the world are: Haleiwa, HI and Estes Park, CO.
38. I enjoy life in a big city, and I miss it.
39. I do really like it, though, that I have had no wait time to register my license plate tag 3 years in a row!
40. Being a mom has been my favorite thing about me. Well, Waylon is my favorite thing about me.
41. I really think he is the cutest thing ever - I know I'm biased, but he is!
42. When I first met Eric, I thought he looked like Danny from New Kids on the Block. Now, I'm like - Why in the world did I think that? He does not, haha.
43. My husband and I are complete opposites when it comes to motivation. He has all the motivation in the world, when it comes to anything, and I'm the one who's like - let's just chill...
44. I love to decorate! Our house is a constant work-in-progress. Little by little it is coming together to be gah-geous! (BTW, I know that is spelled wrong.)
    
    
45. I think every house should have a black and white picture frame wall. It looks so sharp...if you do it right.
46. I want to live in Colorado, like, now!
47. We are going to adopt! Pray for us on our journey.
48. I like turquoise jewelry. Maybe it's a Texas thing.
49. I like cats. Eric doesn't. So, we have dogs. I like dogs, too. We have good dogs.
50. Scrapbooking is a hobby of mine, and I'm pretty good at it. And yes, I will toot my own horn, thank you very much. Who's gonna do it, if I don't?
51. Oh, yeah. I'm Mexican, but I hardly know Spanish - no habla espanol.
52. I get told I look like Toula from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" a lot. I love that movie. "Put some Windex on it."
53. I give money to St. Jude as often as possible.
54. Bluegrass music is amazing!
55. I have never finished reading my Bible all the way through, but I'm working on it.
56. Listening to Waylon say his prayers at night warms my heart.
57. A t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops is my uniform. I'm working on making my uniform "grow-up" a bit.
58. I heart pasta...
59. A really nice camera is on my wish list. I don't know which one. Just a good one. Good = expensive...I know that much.
60. I'm a good driver. My husband even said so.
61. Being a good driver does not mean I know the terms of what is inside my vehicle. That thing and the...you know... the springy-bob...whatever. As long as the car is running, my A/C works and my radio is playing a song; I'm good.
62. People disappoint me and don't even know they've done it. I've learned it's not even worth it to try to bring it to their attention any longer. Sad, but true.
63. I used to get a pedicure every 2 weeks. Oh, how I wish I could do that again.
64. My nickname growing up was Binky.
65. I didn't have a relationship with my dad for awhile after I turned 18. Then, I wrote him off and on for 2 years with no response. I finally received a birthday card from him on my 21st birthday. I broke down and cried. We have had a strong bond ever since.
66. I thought Waylon was going to be a girl, when I was pregnant. Boy, was I wrong. :)
67. I went through my entire pregnancy alone, while my husband was deployed to Afghanistan, and my family lived in another state.
68. I am three classes away from an Associate's Degree. Woot!
    
    
69. I was accepted to Texas A&M University, but was too afraid to go, because of a testing anxiety I had developed my senior year of high school.
70. My sister and I get along well on the phone; we talk almost everyday. But, once we get together; about ten minutes later, I'm ready for her to leave. :)
71. I love sour pickles, but cannot stand bread and butter ones!
72. Chocolate chip cookies are heavenly.
73. My Black Granny makes the best spaghetti and meatballs you will ever taste!
74. I am starting an Etsy shop, making beaded jewelry. Hopefully, I will be able to add different kinds of designs and fun things later on, as well!
75. Southern Living is my favorite magazine.
76. I don't like trying out new recipes, because my hubby is so picky. I grew up loving all things Tex-Mex, and he...didn't.
77. Whataburger fries and ketchup are high up on the reasons I miss Texas most, haha!
78. I don't like the bump in my nose.
79. Country music tends to be my fave.
    
    
80. Opening the windows and putting on some music does wonders for my soul.
81. I like to start out my day with 2 cups of coffee. Otherwise, it's a yawn-fest.
82. Journal writing has been therapeutic for me. It's just plain ol' enjoyable to write down everything to "someone" who can't talk back, who just listens, who never judges and who lets me unload my burdens onto them.
83. Road-trips are fun.
84. I hate running. Even when I was in the Army, I hated running. I think I was made for walking, so that is what I do.
    
    
85. I like walking. Walking works for this gal. Unless a flying, stinging insect is chasing me: see buffoon topic above.
    
    
86. My husband and I have only celebrated 1 out of 4 anniversaries together, due to deployments. We have to be strong, and we have to have faith.
87. We got married on a beach in Hawaii. It's okay to be jealous.
88. I'm about to turn 30. (ugh)
89. My husband is still going to be 25. I have decided to remain 30, until he turns 30. At that point, my aging process will continue. I think it's a swell plan.
    
    
90. Pens with fuzzy bobbles at the top make me happy.
91. When I see my dog eat poop, I get disgusted. Then, I yell at them. Then, I clean their mouth off with a baby wipe. Then, I send them to their kennel. Then, I remember for a whole day to not let them kiss me or Waylon, because one day will make it cleaner. Right? Gross.
92. I'm lactose intolerant. Doesn't stop the love for ice cream, though.
    
    
93. I tend to be lazy...
94. I used to collect pencils...shut up!
95. Hydrangeas and plumeria are my favorite flowers.
96. I'm tattooed - four times.
97. My dad calls me Heto; he calls my husband and son Hito; and Waylon calls him Wito (for Jualito). It can get confusing.
    
    
98. I still don't really know what I want to be when I grow up.
99. I love my little family with all of my heart. They are the most important people in my life.
100. I'm funny, if you couldn't already tell. If you haven't laughed at this posting at some point, leave my blog. Well, first, follow my blog, then leave my blog, because I'm funny.
     
     

There - I did it. "100 Facts About Me." Geez, Louise! I can't believe I came up with that much information. Probably useless, overall. Probably not anything you really needed to know in order to get through your day. But, that's alright. I'm satisfied. I feel accomplished. :)

What-Ever Wednesday!!!

Ever have one of those days, when you wake up and things are great?

It's a beautiful day.

The sun is shining; the wind is blowing; your optimism is on high.

Then, you go to give your dogs a treat, since they are being so good, and as you are walking into the kitchen, the newest one, who is not as hip to the "Don't steal from the toddler" rules you have, steals his chicken strips off his plate! As you go to retrieve them from said sneaky dog, he gulps the first one down in one bite, and takes off with the other, hiding under a table.

As you try to save this last chicken strip (as if you would feed your child a chicken strip seized from the mouth of a dog who tends to lick his butt), you step on a 1,000-pronged toy (this may be a slight exaggeration), which leaves 3 puncture wounds in your foot. (It is bleeding!) As if you weren't already mad enough! Out of your foot, the toy goes. Into the kennel, the dog goes. Now, while the other two get to enjoy their rawhide treats (not the turtle - an actual rawhide treat), Hunter is baying (a.k.a. "whining" in beagle-speak) from the kennel.

I think I shall take my injured foot and my toddler and go shopping.

Like I said...What-Ever Wednesday!!!

Rain Storms

"Heavy Rain" Photo by: Stefan Soderstrom

Ahhh...I love the sound of the rain. I don't love the howling wind, the tornado sirens, the white lightening that makes you check your neighbor's roof for a smoking, black hole, the thunder that makes you jump just a little bit (admit it - you know you do), or the sound of your trashcan lid flying open and then falling over, but the sound of a good rain storm can just be so comforting and cozy.

I was out driving in it today. I'm pretty comfortable driving in rain. Growing up in Houston, it rained all the time. You got used to it, or you stayed home. I was pretty pleased to see that the rain had let up by the time I got out of the building after my appointment, only to find out on the radio that the area was under a tornado warning. Nice. Not only that, but a severe thunderstorm was on its way in 15 minutes - it would take me about that much time to get home.

Lo and behold, I found myself at the intersection near my neighborhood right around that time. (Yay!) The sky all around me was darkening, though. Big, black clouds were rolling in fast, but just tiny drops were hitting the windshield. Just as quickly as I thought that, the sky opened up and sheets of water began cascading down. As that happened, the darkness all around me, turned white. It was the strangest thing...very eerie. I can only surmise that there was so much rain coming down at once that it "clouded" the visibility of the dark clouds above, making it seem lighter. I've never seen that happen before; it was very interesting.

When the light changed, and I drove home with the wipers swishing furiously, the rain was coming down so hard, I could barely see. All I could think was, "So, this is how flash floods happen." It is scary how fast and hard that rain was coming down. No sooner did I get to the comfort of my driveway, and it let up. It went back to the comforting, cozy sound that I like to take a nap to. The kind of rain that doesn't pound my flowers down to the ground, but gives them what they need to bloom over the next couple of weeks. (April showers...May flowers. Ah, yes!)

I do kinda miss the rain storms in Houston. At least there, it could rain all day long and all night long, and it was just rain. Here, the moment it starts raining, we are under a tornado watch. So, the nice, relaxing sound of the rain does come with a price...underlying anxiety and stress...and having to have the tv or radio on for news updates on the weather. Not so relaxing. So...maybe I will just go buy one of those rain cd's, because we're not moving anytime soon.

A New Dino Backpack for "School"

I made the cutest purchase this week! A Dino Backpack for the little man. He's never carried a backpack before. It was just too cute to pass up! It was half-off, plus I got an extra 20% off with our military discount. 70% off? Yes, please. (Thank you, Clarksville Cracker Barrel!) I knew Waylon would be going back to hourly care every so often, so I figured it was time to upgrade him to a "big boy" backpack.

He hasn't been to hourly care in a few months, but with Eric coming back soon, I need some child-free housecleaning sessions. I also had an appointment today that he couldn't come to. He was a little shy at first, but when I went to pick him up, he yelled across the playground, "Hi, Mommy!" Just yelled it, over and over again, while he kept right on playing, haha. A lot of the teachers from before were there, and even though he's in a different room, they were coming up and talking to him, commenting on how big he's gotten. I thought that was sweet.

I like for him to go to "school." I like that he has the socialization with other children and adults. I like that other adults are able to teach and discipline him - I don't want to be the only person he will listen to. I like that he does different things there, that he has different experiences there. And I like being away from him on occasion. There, I said it. It's just for a couple hours, but it can be nice to be kid-free for an afternoon. I'm with him 24/7, 365 days a year - we are on deployment time, baby.

Time away from each other is healthy. I bet if you asked him, and he understood what you were talking about, he would say the same thing. It makes the moment I go to pick him up even more special. Seeing his little face light up, when he sees me - him wrapping his little arms around my knees - me telling him how much I missed him - taking his little hand in mine to walk out the door - special moments.