Kids.Woot.

My friend Kristine had me read this the other day.  It's from Kids.Woot, which is an online "daily deal" type site.  The "daily deal" was a Cranky the Crane train set, which really isn't that important to know in this whole bit.

Bobby, why don’t you put those toys down and come here for a second. Daddy would like to have a little talk with you.That’s a good boy. How are you doing today, buddy? Pretty good? That’s great, really great. And I bet you’re pretty excited about your birthday coming up, aren’t you? How long have you been with us now? Your mother and I, I mean. Almost 4 years! That’s quite a while to go without a self-evaluation, isn’t it?  Don’t be confused. It’s just that, as your Growth and Development Manager, I think it’s important that you and I take just a little bit of time every year or so to, you know, reflect on your past twelve months as a member of our “team”, don’t you? This way, your mother and I can better understand and not just praise your accomplishments, but also discuss areas in which you may need a little… improvement.
For example, what would you say your strengths are? Roaring like a dragon, eh? Let’s put that down under “Thinks Big”. Anything else? Running really fast around corners? Hmmm. I suppose we can put that under “Risk-Taking”. Your refusal to clean you plate at suppertime definitely shows your commitment to your convictions. That’s a bonus.
And how do you feel about your playroom? Do you feel like we’ve created a space in which you would like to stay and perhaps advance, or do you find it boring and stagnant? Oh, good! And what about your toys? Let’s take this Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Deluxe Sights & Sounds Cranky the Crane, for example. Do you feel like the various lights and sounds engage you enough? And how do you feel about Cranky’s working relationship with the other engines in the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway series? Does he tease them too much? And, one last question, how easy is it to use the up and down arrows to control his crane? Very nice. Excellent to hear.
Okay, Bobby, I think this has been quite productive, don’t you? Yes, yes, you can go have a cookie in just a minute. I just need you to do one last thing for me. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your mother’s ability as a caretaker? And don’t worry. This is all completely anonymous. Your answer will stay just between you and me.

 Campout Party

 Camping Equipment: 2 tents, cot, sleeping bag, boat, stove, pots, pans, backpacks and binoculars.

 Camping Activities: Painting Rocks.  We also had indoor fishing and make your own "allergy free" trail mix.

Gift of the year: Star Wars Commander Rex helmet.  And so it starts... whah.

 Happy Birthday to my sweet Cade Christian

 This has to be my FAVORITE picture! Cade and I were unwrapping presents and tossing the paper behind us not realizing she was laying there. After a long while someone told us that she was under ALL that mess. Sweet LadyBird.  Love her!

No Tears

I admit, I almost had tears today but somehow I managed to hold them back!

Cade had a great day.  New bike. New shoes. New toys.  New clothes.  He really raked it in and this is all before his big party on Saturday! Oh to be a kid again!

Tonight we met my parents and Kristine at Brother's Pizza for some pizza and cake!  We all enjoyed it and Cade loved the fact that we all sang to him.  At bedtime I asked him what his favorite part about today was and he said, the singing!

4 years ago today, my water broke.  I remember it vividly.  I was sitting on the couch, watching TV and blowing drying my hair. I finished drying my hair when all of sudden I felt something a little unusual... like, did I just pee in my pants.  Oh my God, I just peed in my pants.  Wait, maybe not, maybe this is my water breaking.  I tell Travis, he calls the nurse line and I call Julie.   She tells me to lay down on my left side and wait to see what happens.  Immediately I heard a loud pop and hung up the phone. Seconds later I'm yelling for Travis (who was probably on hold with the nurse) to walk me to the bathroom because I didn't want anything to get on the bed. As we are walking Travis jokingly tells me to try not to get any of it on the rugs either. I made it to the restroom and then called the nurse line again. They said to come on in.  (If I ever go through this again, I will wait awhile before I go to the hospital). 

26 hours later I delivered this little guy! 

  

Tomorrow morning I will wake up and he will be 4 years old. 

There's nothing wrong with lovin on Ruby Robin and wearing new rainboots on a perfectly sunny day!

 We took Cade to Academy to test ride a new bike! 

 Mama and Cade went on a date last week to Brother's Pizza.  Pizza by the slice and super yummy! 

LadyBird, 8.5 months!  She is potty trained (knocking on wood) and has learned to play "baby" or what other people refer to as "fetch." 

The Valentine Elephant came and visited Cade today. 

Travis made up the Valentine Elephant when we were dating... (I know... and I still married him).

Here's what the Valentine Elephant left for Cade... just a little treat. 

 Ruby Robin is back for the next few days...

And in 2 sleeps I'll have a 4 year year old. 

So sad!

winter BLAST

So the BIG winter BLAST hit Houston.  What that really meant was:  Parents be prepared for one of the LONGEST days of the year.


Today we baked, cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner. We played playdough, pin the tail on the donkey, cleaned out the toy box, cleaned out our cubbies, broke off some icicles, watched Ladybird SPRING and run around crazy, we danced, colored, cut out hearts, played in the tent, played 3 games of Toy Story dominoes, put the crib in the attic (FINALLY) and sat and watched BUBBLE GUPPIES. We also ventured out to HEB, which was actually refreshing.  Ahhh, to get out in the freezing cold to roam around a semi-crowded store was just what I needed to calm my nerves!

We are really looking forward to the SUNSHINE tomorrow.








Reporting from the frozen tundra of Houston, Texas.  I love that line.

Crafty

My new favorite blog is:  littlemissmomma.com.  I also love her favorite blogs... I just keep clicking from one blog to next and get so inspired! 

While I was on LMM, I stole her idea on how to make a pom-pom necklace. She has tutorials on how to make all kinds of super cute, girly stuff, which I love!   I used gingham fabric, felt, ribbon and a glue gun to make my necklace.  It was really simple to make.  I plan on making more of the individual "pom-poms" and attaching them to elastic headbands and ponytail holders.  I think they would be so sweet on a little girl!  

My Sunday

I had the whole afternoon and evening to myself yesterday. It was great! I able to spend the afternoon with Sam and her new baby, Charlie. She invited me to a Grape Oil Tasting party in her neighborhood. I bought a few things for our pantry and birthday gift for my Dad. After that I headed over to Mary's for a glass of wine and dinner.

I spent the evening cleaning up a bit and then I crawled into bed and piled the pillows up. I pulled the heavy quilts on top of me and got all comfy cozy in the middle of the bed.  I slept the entire night without a certain little guy climbing over me and whacking me in the face with a foot or a hand.  This morning I woke up after 7 and thought about how unfair it was that I was so comfortable and had to get out of bed!  I managed but I could have stayed there for another few hours.

It's always a so quiet when Cade's not around. Almost like something is missing.

I did miss him (and Travis) but distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Right.

Today, Cade came home from the farm and gave me the biggest hug and kiss.  I think he actually missed me- for once!  He told me about his trip to the farm and how he saw 3 armadillas (not armadillos) and that he named the new cows Conner and Dasher (I think).

We spent the afternoon baking banana muffins.  He loves to help me in the kitchen. As soon as I open up the cabinet he is pushing the chair or his table up against the counter top and asks me, "what are you doing mama?"  So today, I gave him the job of peeling and mashing 4 super ripe bananas.  That kept him busy while I was measuring out all the other ingredients. 

We mixed, poured, and watched the muffins bake.  He ate 2 of them.  

Now my little guy is in bed. He lined my bed with half a dozen animals that I'm supposed to sleep with.  Guess I'll do what every good mom would do and put them under the covers with me.

Night. Night.

Happy EARLY Birthday to Travis

I'm 4 months early but I bought Travis tickets to the World Speedway in College Station.
Two of his friends, Charlie and Jeff are joining him on the race track.  They will be able to drive a new 2011 Mustang around the track 3 times solo- then 5 times with a professional.  To a guy this sounds AWESOME.

happy WAY early birthday Travis

By the way, I purchase my tickets on Groupon.com.  If your aren't a member you should join. It's FREE.  Groupon sends daily emails with a deal of the day.  I subscribe to Austin and Houston.  This is my second groupon to purchase. The first was to Build A Bear Workshop where I spent $10 for $20 worth of stuff.

If you join make sure you mention my name: taraleann or it might be my email or just my name... but I get Groupon money for referring out. Thank in advance!

Mission Organization

My pantry is organized! I now have my sprinkles, cupcake liners, decorating pens and all that mess in these really cute plastic bins.  They are flat and came with a lid that locks in place. 

I also went through all of my spices.  I read once that you should only keep spices for one year. I had some in my pantry from 2007- ick! 

I also went through my tupperware containers. Anything that wasn't a match got pitched out.  This is what I have my eye on:

I actually want 2 sets but that would be $100.... I'll settle for what I have and just hope for a SALE.

Next on the list:  The Scrapbook Cabinet. It's filled to the max with papers, stationary and everything pretty but there has to be a better way to store these things. 

Once I get my camera charged  up I will post pictures of all MY hard work.

Countdown to 4

This little guy will be 4 years old in less than a month. 

Mission organization

Ok, so I couldn't start my house organization until my Christmas things were taken down and put away.  I just took pictures of our junk drawer, pantry, and under the sink messes.  Today I will attmept to tackle two of them.  I'm starting with the junk drawer.

I couldn't even open it all the way.

I cleaned it out and put stuff back in... then I realized it still looked junky.

So I eliminated the holiday knick knacks and now I have a a cleaned out drawer.

Getting Organized

January is National Get Organized month. 

I'm a few days behind other bloggers out there but I'm going to accept the challenge of getting my house, room by room organized!




Here's to organizing!

Christmas 2010

We started our Christmas Eve evening by attending the Christmas Eve service at church.  The evening was filled with story telling and caroling by candlelight. The night concluded with this awesome performance by the band at Northside.

It was definitely a WOW moment.

We headed home and got our Santa snack ready- milk and one cake ball- because from what I hear Santa is watching his waistline these days.  We wrote our letter about how "good" we have been and reminded Santa of the things we really wanted.  Then it was jammies and of course the classic bedtime story, The Night Before Christmas.

Here is our beautiful tree.  I love our tree. I love that when I pick up an ornament I can remember when and where I got it, and who gave it to me. Each year I get Cade a few ornaments that represent things that happened this year. This year we added a "C" cookie ornament because Cade is always helping me bake.  A circus elephant because we went to the circus for the first time and a felt gingerbread man since we had our first ever Gingerbread party at our house. I'm saving all of these "special" ornaments for Cade in a box so that one day when he has his own tree he can open up the box and reminisce.

Santa gave Cade a red guitar....

A tri-level parking garage, Bert and Ernie blocks, aqua doodle mat, Home Depot 18 wheeler tool kit, play dough, and a stocking full of stuff!

Lucy got a new doggie bed and a box of bones!

Travis got Campfire (HUGE) marshmallows, crackers a Hershey bar and stakes to use on our new fire pit!

A camping set with truck. 

One of my favorite pictures of the day!

After we celebrated here we headed over to my parent's house and opened even more gifts! It was a long day of opening presents and eating delicious food. Merry Christmas friends and family! 

For New Years we are planning on firing up our new gas grill and grill up some fajitas. Should be fun! Especially if I can whip up some margarita punch!

Happy New Year!!

CakeBalls

I did it!

I finally did it!

I took my time, I followed the instructions and I'm still surprised at how nice they turned out!  Usually when I make cakeballs I just roll them, freeze them, dip them, serve them.  This time I went all out!

I only made 3 reindeer.  I forgot to add the pretzels while the chocolate was drying... and they are supposed be the "pretzel" shaped pretzels (broken-up) to resemble antlers. I only had the pretzel sticks but I think these turned out pretty cute! One thing I'll need to look into is getting a different edible pen.  This one was a doozie.

I decided to add white candy coating on top of the chocolate and then added some festive sprinkles. 



I thought I'd share the pictures that didn't make the Christmas card this year.  Why is it this hard to get an almost 4 year old to smile...

uhh, where's cade?

cute, but what's with the red dots??

cute, but where did that stain come from?

Oh well! Enjoy your Christmas card from us!

A great shot

Here is what happens when Cade gets ahold of the camera.  

so cute!