Memorial Day 2011

We had a busy, yet oddly enough, relaxing weekend.  Saturday, we hung around the house and swam at the neighborhood pool.  Rod grilled fish, made salmon sushi (AH-amazing... from Groomer's), and seared tuna.  DELICIOUS! 

Sunday, we had a birthday party to go to out by Mimi and PopPop's house!  So, we mozied our way on over for more swimming, grilling and relaxing.  I don't know what it is, but those four year old birthday parties are a whip!  I didn't even do anything but graze on the food, and made sure Samuel didn't dump any more plates of food on the floor. 

Definition of "spoiled"????  See below.  As the sun sets, Ryan has his cabana man (PopPop) pitch an umbrella. 

Samuel loves sand.  After a few bites of sand (last weekend) he no longer eats it.  He thought long and hard and felt it appropriate to scoop up sand and drop it in the pool. 

I wish I knew more about what's going on in this picture.  It was just too funny to pass up.  And, I love this of Mimi and her sassy sunglasses!  Samuel may be a man of few words, but by golly the kid has MANY facial expressions. 

Monday, the kids swam, and we grilled!  AGAIN!  And, I could easily go for a fourth round.  Easy! 

Don't you just LOVE this pic of Nama and Samuel? 

I spy, with my little eyes, a little blue dragon in the picture. 

This was my greatest surprise!  SUTTON!!!  The Knockes brought over their grandbaby girl, Sutton!  She's soooo darn cute, and loved getting to see her. 

Great Memorial weekend.  I always feel odd celebrating on Memorial day.  Thank you to the many, many men and women that have lost their lives for our country and for our freedom to have many days of swimming and grilling.  And, to their families....  woof, don't really have words.  Prayers to you all and a TIGHT hug if I could give you all one. 

Beach Trip 2011

Three dads, three moms, three kids, and three toddlers headed down to Cinnamon Shores in Port Aransas, TX!  Melanie and I headed down with our kids, and as we pulled away, I shouted out to Rod, "Port A or bust!"  Just didn't have the same ring to it.  We were missing the shoe polish on Mel's car, announcing our destination and how cool we look heading down there.  The four carseats spoke for us.

Let me tell you what's great about traveling with these two mommies.  We all three had the same nap schedule and SAME early bedtimes.  So, each evening was warmly welcomed with a nice glass of wine, a yummy dinner (thank you Rod), and a nice breeze outside!

Ah, aren't we cute in our matching green?!  This is our family photo op as Rod was in the kitchen working on the shrimp boil, and Samuel, well... just don't really know why he's not with us. 

But, did catch a pic of the boys! 

I had the wrong setting on my camera, so the coloring is off.  But, aren't they just the cutest little toots around town?!

Kid pic attempt. 

And, of course you gotta have a pic with the shark!  Ryan had already headed deep in the belly of the beast.

The Sturm boys!  Hudson's face makes this picture worth the humid air pic. 

We had such a great time.  Now, all of us over the age of four, agreed that six kids are a lot of work on a beach trip!  But, we did it and truly had a great time.  I didn't take my camera down to the beach in fear I wouldn't take care of it. 

We would absolutely head back!  The house we rented had a shed full of beach supplies, a high chair, pac n play and a kids room full of beds and a flat screen t.v.  Ryan was in HEAVEN. 

Thank you Sturms and Rivenburgs for such a fun trip. 

Ryan's Toy Story Birthday Party!!!

Can you take it?!?!  Look at his sweet face!  He got the fire on his four candles, and he is so trying to soak in this moment. 

A little shout out to H.E.B.  For those not in this area, it's our grocery store!  Love me some red shirted folk.  I had them turn a noodle into a pancake.  They were so patient with me, and willing to do whatever I wanted.  Fantastic job!  And, the cake was pretty good!  (Just get the butter icing). 

 I got to steal the birthday boy from his friends.  Hi, I'm Horsey. 

Ryan spent the night, and the first part of the day at Mimi and Pop Pop's house so I could frantically throw together this party.  THANK YOU!  Ryan walked around for a good ten minutes just soaking in the jumpy castle, the cake, his party hats, his new "Ryan" chair from Nama and Poppy, the balloons, and the big bowl of cheetos!  He LOVED his birthday, and that sweet boy's face as he walked around made it all worth it!

Party favors!  What kid doesn't love a lollipop, right?!

Kelly and Josh broght Cole down for Ryan's birthday.  Cole is Samuel's age, and I'm super excited he has a buddy to rule the neighborhood in a few years.  Kim and I ruled Park Forest!

Ole Brown Eyes!  And, I have no idea what happened to his shirt.  Something tells me that he got some Buzz/Woody cake. 

I have so many cute pictures of the kids taking a whack at the pinata, of Nama .T with the birthday boy, Mimi's gi-normous birthday card with TONS of pictures of Ryan throughout his four years of life, Ryan and Hudson scarfing down cake...  for whatever reason I'm getting an error message when I try to add more pictures.  I guess I over did it. 

LOVED celebrating the sweetest boy! 

My FOUR Year Old

My little man is now FOUR years old.  For some reason, I've forgotten about birthday #3, but birthday #2 is very clear to me.  What I do know about #3, is that it was last minute, meet me at Sonterra, boy only, evite invitation type birthday... we were moving that following week, and I was out of my mind.  Mimi took care of the cake for me, thank you dear Lord for that amazingly generous woman!  So, I made sure that this birthday, he got his birthday hats, candles, fire (for the candles), presents and cake! 

Ryan, as many of you know, LOVES him a good birthday party.  He just wants to celebrate, bounce around and eat icing.  I knew I had to make this birthday special for him b/c next year I may get my first, "Mom, just don't embarrass me."  Okay, so that's a little drastic, but sort of having a hard time with him growing up so fast!

I want to share four random facts about Ryan as a brand new four year old!
1.  In the first three days of being a four year old, he has had his first bout of diarrhea!  I blame the candy and icing on the cake for his tummy trouble.
2.  Thomas the Tank Engine (and friends) and Cars are "so yesterday".  Hello super heroes, Transformers and monster trucks.  The Lord is good, indeed.  (Thomas about put me over the edge). 
3.  He still lets me dress him in whatever I want.  As long as I say his new shoes are "fast", or the shirt is "like daddy's" he's game. 
4.  He's still our petite, little toot, with a gi-normous smile and laugh.  When he laughs, he laughs with his whole body, right through to my heart.  Awe!

Everyday, I get to laugh because of something he says or does.  Everyday, I get to snuggle with him.  Everyday, I go from wanting to disown him during his fits, to seconds later vowing I'll never let him leave the nest.  First thing every morning, I get one of the tightest hugs from him.  Lovin' my little toot!  Happy 4th birthday to one of the sweetest, most adorable kids! 

I'm Famous! And, honored.

Happy Mother's Day!!!! Several moms were asked to be guest bloggers on "Peek in our World" blog. Yours truly was as well. Check out my very first guest post at www.peekinourworld.com.

What is even neater about her series of guest blogs is that she put me in a "trifecta" with my sister Stacy and my adorable mom!

Loved reading the advice and stories of the other moms this past week.

Enjoy!!

Five on Friday

1.  First, Happy Royal Wedding day!!!  I have been dying for this day to be over with b/c I'm so tired of the coverage.  I don't care how they make the gloves that Kate Middleton wears.  I didn't care that her mom chewed gum at some royal function.  THEN, when I woke this morning, I realized I had missed history.  It was then that I cared.  So, frantically (while telling Ryan we will NOT be watching his show) I turn on the t.v. to see William and Kate walking out of the church.  Calmly, I explain to Ryan that we need to watch the kiss on the balcony.  And, we did.  And ,it was lovely.  Kate is so cute!  You could tell she was trying so hard to soak in what she was seeing.  And, her little smirk after their second kiss... so darn cute!

2.  Rod and I are going back to the Biltmore Wednesday!!!!  I'm soooo ready for my lazy days poolside!  I will have to take a break from lounging in the sun to have my spa day!!!  I'm looking for good books to read while my feet are up.  Please comment! 

3.  Ryan's birthday party is coming up.  He's certain that he wants a giant transformer to be there and a roller coaster.  Maybe I can throw Poppy in a Transformer costume to stomp around in the backyard.  Mom, pitch the idea to Dad.  If he loves his grandson, he would....  Roller coaster?? Next year.

4. It's with great saddness that I announce the death of my rose bushes.  I sprayed weed killer at the bottom of them as those pesky things were ruining the roses' image.  A week later, I noticed that all of my roses were dead as a door nail.  How could this be????  The leaves are still green, but EVERY SINGLE rose bloom... lifeless.  Holding on to hope that they just ran their cycle of life and will be back.  Tips, Brooke or Kim???

5.   Samuel is a full on climber.  He can climb onto our raised bed, onto our bathroom sink (help of a stool), into any bathtub, up the stairs, and any play structure that isn't good for a 1.5 year old.  I hid Rod's golf club on top of the shower door to get it out of reach, and as you can guess, he tried to get himself up there to fetch it.  Speaking of "fetching", he's part Retriever.  The boy could fetch a ball for hours if you'd let him.  (or, if you had the mental compacity to do so). 

Have a great weekend!!!!

April - Donate Life Month!!!

April is National Donate Life Month!!!  And, happens to be the same month that San Antonio celebrates FIESTA!!!!  How to incorporate the two? 

Introducing Ryan's Donate Life Texas shoebox float for CHUMs fiesta parade!!!

Big man on campus!

Of course I have to make this post about me.  So, last year I dropped of Ryan for school and noticed all the kids' floats for their fiesta parade.  HAD NO IDEA!  I cried and cried my whole way to work.  I went into my office and immediately my staff came in to see what in the world was going on.  I explained that my child didn't have a float for the parade.  I had no time to make one b/c I had meetings all day. 

Not five minutes later, I had two of my employees walk in with a box and construction paper.  Both of whom are moms themselves.  (of course).  So, I quickly got on the phone to find out what time the parade started.  And, what I feared was true... they were starting in five minutes.  UGH.  Heavy heart. 

SOOOOOO, this year!  Auntie Jenny to the rescue b/c this time I was procrastinating!  She let Ryan and I head to NIOSA and she worked on his amazing float!  We had gone to the Cavaliers River Parade and each float had a cause.  So, that's what we did!  We dedicated our float to promoting organ donation. 

 Ryan LOVED his float!  LOVED it!  His sweet face was so precious when we walked into the kitchen and on the table was his very own float!!!

To register to be an organ donor, go to www.donatelifetexas.org or if out of the state, go to www.donatelife.net. 

Every 13 minutes, a new name is added to the national transplant waiting list.  Every day, 17 people die waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. 

Easter Egg Hunt #1

Easter Egg Hunt #1 - Crossbridge church. 

Facts:

1.  Mom took two kids, under age four, to the hunt, by herself.

2.  Mom fended two kids, under four, from the eggs... for 20 minutes before go-time.  (the comprehension factor was not there with these two).

3.  Mom forgot a basket for her second born.

4.  Mom fed one child M&Ms and potato chips for lunch.  Other ate the intended burger.

5.  Mom secretly wanted to hunt for the eggs herself.  (there will be no time for that)

6.  And, Mom had a successful Easter egg hunt with her little toots.

PROOF:  trying to figure out why in the world we're waiting to hunt eggs.

The waiting became nonsense.

Although, the waiting WAS understood for the first five minutes.  Ryan planted himself in a good spot, waiting for the "GO". 


I figured since Samuel didn't have a basket, what's the harm in beating the clock?! 

UGH.  Okay, here's a complaint I have.  When someone asks you to take a picture, make sure you truly think it's a good one.  If not everyone is looking, take another!  The guy said that he "got it".  Really???  These pics are so few and far between, so I need them to be top of the line!  Nonetheless, I got a picture with my boys!

So, where's Dad?  He had his "guys" trip.  Went fishing.  But, he'll get to see the reall Easter bunny eggs on Sunday. 

Five on Friday -

1.  Mimi and Pop Pop got Ryan a little bike!  Ryan loves it and often asks to ride it to school.  We've had a few tumbles, but otherwise he's a bike fan. 

2.  Samuel is our "in-your-way-kind-of-helpful".  Just wants to be a part of whatever we're doing.  Love how Rod's biting his lip in this picture.  haha!

3.  Samuel is a big fan of swinging!  Big!  When we walk in the house each day after work/school, he goes straight to the backdoor.  While this is sweet, and the boy thing to do, I'm still in heels, work pants and DYING to get in my play clothes. (then start dinner, decide if baths are necessary (they are), lay out clothes for next day, start a load of laundry, and get Samuel's tired body to bed by 6:30).  Gosh, just realized I really took away from this joyful picture of him below. 

4.  Our yard is turning green again!!!!  My plants are GREEN.  FULL!  My rose bushes in the backyard are going NUTS with blooms.  (as they are all over San Antonio... gorgeous).  (Removed picture so predators don't try to find us).

5.  Today we celebrate my grandma's birthday!!!!!  LOVE you Nama Dotty!!!!  We're excited to celebrate you tonight!

St. Patrick's Day River Parade 2011

Fun day on the riverwalk. 

Yard Update #1 - March

The picture below is of a bed in the front of our house.  I was devastated that the freeze completely took my Nile of the Lillies.  I got them trimmed back, and look what's sprouting!!!!  I want to post this so that I can compare it in the next couple of months. 

The  new growth is so encouraging.  Still have quite a bit to clean out, but we're getting there!