BABIES ~ Documentary

Yes I'm hormonal and have all things "baby" on the brain right now, so it's no surprise that I can't wait to go see this documentary. So interesting! Oh my word, I'm already crying!

Valentines & St. Patrick's Day

This time of year has the fun holidays that aren’t near the stress as the other biggies. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day are proving to be even more fun the older that Tate gets.

This year we celebrated Valentine’s a little early with cousins and Great Aunt Terrie (how do I have no pictures of her?) in town. My parents decided to treat the kids to their first trip to Build-A-Bear. It was quite a hit for everyone.

I’m still perplexed by the bear that we brought home, but it’s the one he picked out. The bright blue one with bright-colored peace symbols all over it. When the lady working there asked him if it was a boy or girl, he repeatedly told her, it was “a bear.” Said bear has been named “Blue Bear.”

On the actual day, Mimi & Grandpa were nice enough to watch Tate for the day while Wade & I enjoyed a leisurely lunch date, seeing “The Blind Side,” and a kid-free trip to Costco. Bliss.

And for St. Patrick’s Day, we celebrated the Irish heritage on my side of the family like what all Irish do…green eggs, green milk, and green pancakes for dinner. I’m pretty sure that is a family tradition dating way back when.

Tate thought the entire meal was pretty hilarious and gobbled up the pancakes. He was not near as sure about the eggs, and only one bite (even completely covered in syrup) was consumed. As fun as it was, he has since asked to go back to just brown pancakes.

Top 11

Is it just me, or was that possibly the worst “big stage” night on Idol ever? Wow. Tonight could’ve been great considering they were able to pick from all of the #1s. What in the world were they thinking with some of those song choices? And Miley Cyrus as the mentor…really?

I think the only one tonight that showed some sort of talent above a good karaoke song or high school choir performance was Crystal. It wasn’t her best by any means, but it was good. She is talented, and I’ll be curious to see how she does without the guitar.

As far as the rest:

Aaron ~ I know that I’m in the minority about this guy. Yes, he is a good singer. And yes, he’s better than several of the others. I don’t know what it is, but I’m still not a fan. His was one of the better of the bad ones tonight, but I still think of a little kid when I watch him.

Andrew ~ I Heard It Through The Grapevine? Seriously??!!

Casey ~ Yes, he’s a cutie and yes, he can play a mean guitar. But I was on board with Simon in that the other judges heard something totally different. It was just like an 80s cover band. (Although, I will always heart the 80s!) Boring song choice.

Didi ~ At first, I was thinking it could be good and different. I liked the song. She cheesed it up too much. I still want her to stick around for awhile.

Katie ~ I’m not necessarily a fan of hers, but tonight was definitely her best performance. I love that song.

Lee ~ I want to see him do great so bad, but it just isn’t happening. What in the world was he thinking with that song? He seems petrified and completely incapacitated by the nerves.

Michael ~ Good singing. Cheesy performance. Not my style.

Paige ~ Oh my. That was bad. I was impressed she took the critiques so well. I’m thinking she’s going home.

Tim ~ Cheeeeeeeese.

Siobhan ~ Was that an ode to Sanjaya hairdo or what? I LOVE me some Stevie Wonder, so I was happy with the song choice. Not her best by far, but it was definitely better than many of the others. I’m growing weary of the big scream at the end…especially when it doesn’t sound that great.

Next week…Top 10. They need to step it up. Thoughts?

Top 12

Now in the 9^th season, I’m still an American Idol addict. Not sure why considering I don’t have a single ounce of musical talent in me. But I love the show and find myself every season just as hooked as the one before.

Now is when I really start enjoying the show. When everyone gets good. So for whatever it’s worth, here are my quick thoughts on the Top 12.

The Good:

Siobahn is one quirky girl. I can’t figure her out. And yes, as Kara said, she does seem to be the Adam Lambert of this season. Just with less eyeliner. I do think her voice is great, and that last really pretty note helped redeem the really bad screaming note right before. But I still don’t 100% get her. Hoping she’ll clue me in a little more in weeks to come. I’m sure she’s around for awhile.

I really liked Didi both last week and this week. Maybe it’s just the style of music I prefer, but I thought both weeks were great songs. She seems so nervous, but I hope she gets put through for several more weeks, so she can prove herself.

And Crystal has been one of my favorites each week so far. That girl is talented. Tonight wasn’t her best, but it sure was pretty good. Curious to see how or if she’ll change things up.

I also liked Lee (some serious Dave Matthews vibes tonight) and Tim (I didn’t think the reggae version was really that bad).

The Bad:

I admit to raising my voice a little at the TV tonight. The comparison of Aaron to my beloved Justin Timberlake. What??!! I know Aaron can sing well, but he seems like a little kid trying to act like a grown-up. I didn’t feel that way about David Archuleta several seasons ago. Not sure what it is, but I’m not a fan. Sorry.

Thank goodness, there weren’t any horrible performances. The rest were just kind of there. I’m guessing that maybe Andrew is going home. I LOVED when he sang Straight Up earlier in the season, and nothing has come close since.

So anyone else watching? Thoughts?

Can You Tell me How To Get...

We are big fans of Sesame Street over here. I’m not sure at what age they outgrow the show, but I just keep pushing for it as long as he seems to keep enjoying it. So when trying to come up with some fun family days as just a family of 3 (so weird??!!), I knew that Tate would love seeing Sesame Street Live.

He was pretty excited when we picked Daddy up from work and headed out to the place with the “big stage” to see all of our favorite friends: Elmo, Big Bird, Abbie, Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Zoe.

I definitely learned a little parenting lesson during our day. I had told Tate that he could pick out one special treat. The mistake was doing that as the very first thing. At the time, he seemed pretty excited about his choice of a Sesame Street soccer ball. We went to our seats and he sat wide-eyed, entertained, and having a great time through the entire first act. I even had a little teary moment as he was happily singing along.

Then came intermission. Then came the man right in front of us with a huge handful of $10 Elmo balloons. $10! Well all of a sudden, the $12 soccer ball we had already bought was not the top choice. I was mean mommy and stuck to my guns saying we couldn’t have the balloon as well (as I was calculating, ticket prices, parking, treats, and lunch). Although now, I wonder if paying $10 would’ve been worth not having to go through the meltdown that occurred. Shoes were even thrown. Oh my.

After a little "talking to," finally the second act started and all was well in the world again. Kind of. It wasn’t a full recovery, but he still enjoyed the last part of the show. Tate’s favorite part was when the caterpillar turned into a butterfly. With the black lights and neon animals, it was pretty neat to see.

He has long forgotten the Elmo balloon, enjoys kicking around his soccer ball, and about every other day asks me what was my favorite part of Sesame Street Live. Overall, it was a fun and memorable day!

(This wasn't quite the Kodak moment I was hoping for as it was right before we were leaving and he saw more of those crazy $10 Elmo balloons!)

Girl's Weekend

Kelly from Fort Worth

Tina from Houston

no kids

meet in Austin

two beautiful, sunny days

yummy tacos @ Guero’s

where o where can a girl get a pedicure?

told we were high-maintenance for asking

alas, day spa in the mall

soak, scrub, rub, polish, pretty

trip to the candy store

one of our cool, quirky movies

hot spot dinner with the locals

at 9:30 p.m.

who are we?

drive by 6^th street feeling old

happy to be fast asleep by midnight

no baby monitors

sleep in

sleep in some more

delish brunch @ Kerbey Lane

lots of fun stories and conversations

pack up to drive back home

so thankful for friendship!

The DPS

Ahhh, the joys of the DPS. For any non-Texans, that’s the Department of Public Safety. That can also be translated to mean “it’s completely impossible to go and not have to stand in line for at least two+ hours.

But that’s what the three of us did this past cold, rainy Monday. Wade & I both needed new driver’s licenses, so we made it a family field trip.

I didn’t realize that they take away your old license never to be seen from again. So I can’t share my picture from 1999. Yes, my 33-year-old self has been showing ID of a 23 year-old self. I enjoyed it as long as I could. Now in its place will be a picture of not only someone two weeks shy of turning 34, but also someone eight months pregnant. I doubt they offer airbrushing. But a big shout out to whoever took the “weight” category off the license questions.

So at least for the next six years, I’m up to date, legal, newly photographed, and all with a swollen, pregnant face. Until March 2016.

One of my odd quirks is that when I see an expiration date, I always wonder what will be going on in my life then. Whether it’s the car registration, insurance renewal, milk carton, or driver’s license, I think about what I’ll be doing when that time is up.

So the next time to the DPS, I should have a 9-year-old and almost 6-year-old. I will have been married almost 17 years. And I will be about to turn 40. 40???!!!! Weird. Will this blog even exist? Maybe by then we won’t even have to go to the DPS to stand in line. Surely by then either the space pack will fly me there or some kind of computer program will virtually scan and process it all automatically for me.

Until then, I’ll just enjoy the fact that at some point my puffy, pregnant face picture will appear quite young.