RIP My Cousin.....

So this morning I got a call from my mother around 8.30am Central time, which is EARLY for my mom cause it was 6:30am her time (she sleeps in till at least 9am on the weekends).....So I knew something was up and that it probably wasn't good news.....and of course I was right. She was calling to let me know that my cousin Syril had died in a car accident Saturday night....He was 43.....details about the accident are still being investigated, here is one of the preliminary storeys about it in The News Tribune, I am disappointed to read he wasn't wearing his seat belt......We will sure miss him and my heart goes out to my Aunt Ineze, Uncle Dick and my cousins Bridget and Scott (Syril's Siblings) and the whole rest of the Cookson Clan.....I love and miss you all!.....

Monday Already....Blah!

So here is it Monday again! I say it all the time but I am truly amazed at how fast weekends go by for us.....This weekend was pretty productive as I did not have to grocery shop, I actually finished that during the day Friday.....I got the girls photos back from JC Penny....they turned out so good....I have them up on Facebook for those who want to check them out....

Saturday we took the girls shopping for a few things for the yard and let them pick out some flowers to plant! Very fun, the girls LOVE to plant flowers...Danielle (neighbor girl) brought us over a Oak Tree Seedling so we will be planting that in the back yard soon! Yeah for a shade tree, it is so small right now we will probably have to stake it and keep the dogs away from it.....Shawn and I worked in the yard most of Saturday....I even got a tan.....just the way it goes down here.....So much for "Pale is the New Tan".....We are working on putting down weed stop netting in a few of our flower beds and then probably will get started on edging out part of our side yard and begin the process of making another pretty flower bed along the side of the house....we think this will add a bunch of curb appeal plus weeds seem to be the only thing that grows along our side of our house.....the backyard is still a work in progress too....we are edging it out too....along the entire fence to keep our neighbors grass from creeping into our yard...I hate it because we have two kinds of grass back there now because of it.....Oh well....We so love working in they yard.....and I can not wait for our green grass to come back, just need a few more days of hot sun and it will green up!

Joel came down on Saturday afternoon to stay the night, hang out and help Shawn with his baseball draft on Sunday....He brought with him a yummy new Vodka....Firefly Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka....You can drink on ice, or you can add a bit of water and enjoy w/ a Lemon Slice....OH MY WORD.....it is so dangerous....You have to like Sweet Tea (found at most restaurants all over the south) to like it but I must tell you it is YUMMY!!!......I only allowed myself one glass as I know I could have taken down the whole bottle.....Thanks again Joel for such a fun drink! Saturday night we did another BBQ with the neighbors.....we got started before the others but ate over with them....Makes for a super fun Saturday night.....Sharing food, fun, drinks and laughs....We ended up putting the kiddos to bed around 10pm or so and Uncle Joel for that matter (he goes to bed earlier these days!)....and headed back out for some adult conversation....I can not say enough how much I love our neighborhood, I am sure y'all are sick of me saying that!!! It is just fun to find neighbors with similar interests!.....

Sunday I was able to take a bike ride by myself....Shawn and I were going to go running since Joel was down but we got a late start and he had his Fantasy Baseball draft which lasted most of the day....So I biked about 5-6 miles around the hood....nothing crazy, I could have kept going but could feel my shoulders getting warm (I of course totally forgot sunblock)....but thankfully no burn just a tan....Other then that Sunday was pretty uneventful....we BBQed some dinner and said good by to Uncle Joel.....we were able to get our kiddos to bed at 8.00pm....trying to get them back on their usual schedule......

Shawn finishes up Jury duty today....he had to go back for sentencing today. They convicted they guy and will determine his fate today....it was a pretty nasty case so I am sure he will be in jail for a long time.....anyway hope everyone has a great week....I am looking forward to a few playdates and girls night in on Wed with my MOPS Discussion Group! Yay! Even better that it is at Sarah's house so I just have to cross the street! Love it!

Maybe we should start a B&B.....Totally Kidding....

Well we had a wonderful two weeks with my mother and Carol.....The girls absolutely loved having Grandma here and really soaked up their time with her.....They were very sad to see her go last night......Before they left we manage to have loads of fun!.....

Friday we headed up in the rain to the outlets in San Marcos.....I LOVE them....So many good deals I found an already discounted Coach Purse that I liked and got an extra 50% off of it....made it totally affordable....Plus they have every outlet store you can think of.....After shopping it was off to lunch in Austin. We went to Shady Grove, a great place to eat with good food. We even saw Thomas Haden Church eating while we were there.....My Mom and I actually had to move out of his way so he could walk by.....I was so oblivious that it was someone famous.....so funny! We spent the afternoon at Joel's new place, so cute! The girls were able to unwind and run around....Then it was off to Hoovers for dessert......SO good! The girls got chicken strips and the gravy it came with was simply amazing, probably not good for you but oh well....I see chicken fried steak or chicken in my future the next time we go there!!!!

We laid low over the weekend......Headed down to the market on Saturday morning and then to La Fogata for an early dinner and Margaritas (still one of my favorite places to grub on some Mexican Food)....we relaxed the rest of the day at our house with our neighbors....we love having them over!....Sunday Shawn and I went for a run, just the two of us, and then cleaned up and went shopping and to lunch....it was so nice to sneak in a date on a Sunday afternoon!.....

Here are a few pics from our last few day with Grandma.....

Austin & Market March 09

...and a video of Kiara "Doing her Serious Dancing"....She really FEELS the music!


So tonight G-Dad will be rolling into town.....he will be staying for a few days....We are excited to see him since it has been a little bit and it is so good for the kids to spend time with the grandparents.....plus it will be nice to have G-Dad here for the first few days of the NCAA Tourney.....

Riverwalk and out and about.....

So we have not been up to too much around here.....Monday we headed down to the Riverwalk for Lunch and a little bit of shopping.....we also headed over to La Villita, which is a pretty cool historic part of SA with lots of cute quirky shops and art galleries.....Carol got to see the "Little Church of La Villita".....which was something that she wanted to see since she knows someone that got married there.....


Yesterday Lila had her doctors appt at 9.30a.....but after waiting in the exam room until 11.15a and no doctor yet we got her dressed and headed out to reschedule, since the girls had a picture appointment at 12.00p.....Pictures went well and we ordered a bunch....as soon as I have the smiles by wire I will post the link for all to check out......As for Lila's 2 year appointment, I rescheduled it for this morning @ 8.30am......Our Dr actually called us back to the exam room and got us started, her nurses were running late, anyway she apologized for running extremely late the day before and did let me know that they are hiring another doctor so we will now have 3 doctors at our office.....so no more crazy late waiting......Lila's appt went well, she weighs 21.8lbs (3 Percentile), so we have to keep her on whole milk and start her on a good "high" fat diet.....she isn't too concerned but would like to see Lila put on some weight. Part of it is that Lila is SUPER active.....and she isn't the best eater.....some days she is really good and others she barely eats....so we have supplements for those days now....Her height was almost 34 inches (55 percentile).....so she is sort of tall and skinny......Our doctor did get a kick out of how much Lila talks.....She is talking at a 3 year old level, already putting together complete sentences....blew the doctor away.....I know it has a lot to do with her big sisters.....So not sure if many of you know but Lila sort of walks with a limp so I had the doctor take a closer look and she ended up referring us to an orthopedic clinic that only works with children......So I will be calling to make and appointment....and see where that goes......All in all she is totally healthy and happy!!!!

Tonight we ended out night with a good dinner at the Original Alamo Cafe on Hwy 281.....I swear they have the best homemade tortillas.....Warm and soooo good! We all had a great dinner, this was my first time at this location and it was pretty cool as they have the crazy sky ceiling that tries to get you to feel like you are outside.....The girls LOVED it!

Lila's 2nd Birthday and Neighborhood fun.......

Wow, we have been having a lot of fun around here. We have been enjoying the company of my mom and Carol. On Friday we celebrated Lila's 2nd Birthday.....She had picked Tinkerbell for her theme.....She LOVES "Bee-er-Bell"......So cute. She also picked Cupcakes for her "Cake" and for dinner we snacked on Capt N Crunch Chicken Tenders and a TON of Fruit....We kept her party small this year and had just us and the Garcia's at the party.....Lila loves Miss Heather (one of our awesome neighbors)!.....Lila enjoyed getting totally spoiled by all her family and friends.....Lots of adorable clothes, Mariners Princess Hat, wooden birthday cake kit (SHE LOVED IT & I love Melissa & Doug products! Thanks Kieren!), 4-5 Awesome Kid Books (8 Silly Monkeys is a new house favorite), Princess Mega Blocks, Tinkerbell Doll, a Ballerina Dance w/Me doll, and a Mini Baby Grand Piano! I am sure I am forgetting some stuff, oh yeah she is getting The TAG Junior by Leapfrog, but it doesn't come out until May.....She loves all her gifts and it well on her way to becoming a musician! On a side note she has been peeing and pooping in the potty pretty regularly now....she is in pull-ups and does it all pretty much herself, it has pretty much been all her....(I haven't started "Potty Training" yet)....So she may be easy...Here is an over kill of pictures....We had 3 cameras going so I went a little overboard!

Lila's 2nd Birthday

Here is a cute video of Lila learning to dance with her new Dolly from Uncle Joel! (sorry it is a little blurry but you get the idea)


Saturday we were out and about shopping with the kiddos and just having a relaxing day. We BBQ'ed with a bunch of the neighbors and celebrated Carol's Birthday. As with most parties we had SOOOO much yummy food and Margaritas were flowing.....we could have fed an army of people.....So much fun! I of course couldn't resist making more Red Velvet Cake Ball and Oreo Truffles......So Tasty!....I can not say it enough, we have the best neighborhood and the coolest neighbors around! We were up late too....I think the Lila fell asleep in my arms outside around 11 or so.....and then twins stayed past midnight.....I was so happy that mom and Carol got to experience what we get to most weekends! Of course we slept in pretty late today thanks to day light savings and springing forward......But the later sunlight will be nice!

BBQ & Carol's B-Day......

The bunk is up and so much more....

I have been having a hard time getting to posts....I suppose between work, email and facebook, I just have nothing left when it comes time to blog.....I must catch you all up.....for those that didn't know Grandma Paula and Carol arrived on Tuesday night....We are so happy to have them here again and still can not believe it has been a year since we last saw them. The girls love having Grandma and Carol here and today they treated the girls to a mini clothing shopping spree, each girl getting 3-4 outfits.....so spoiled I must say! And when we got home I think Kiara and MJ switched clothes at least 3 times.....So funny! We do not have too much planned while grandma is in town....but I will do better about posting while she is down here.....

The twins bunk beds finally arrived today. Shawn and I put them together with out too much trouble....Lila was the real trouble because all she wanted to do was help.....So funny....The girls finally picked out some bedding and now that we have the beds up and the new bedding we will finally be able to finish painting their room (it is just TOO white right now).....I must say they love their new beds.....and I will post some pics to prove it! TOO CUTE!

Twins Bunk Beds

Well tomorrow will be a down day as I have a ton of baking to do for Lila's Birthday tomorrow and Carol's Birthday on Saturday.....I can not believe Miss Lila will be two....so crazy....

Whirl Wind of a Week........

Well it has been a bit since my last post....I am trying to remember all that has been going on.....Shawn left on Monday for a Sales Meeting in Vegas....he was gone from Mon-Wed Night...while he was gone the girls and I just had fun hanging out and cooking food daddy doesn't like!

Uncle Joel came down from Austin on Tuesday night so that I could get up at 2am and get in line to sign the twins up for Preschool.....and yes I said 2am....I got there around 1.45am and 20 people were ahead of me.....it was a pretty crazy experience and I know that most preschools down here you do not have to get up in the middle of the night, but the program we chose is a wonderful program and very affordable...that combo is cause for early lines....plus I was looking for a 2 day a week program that are 1/2 days.....most of the 2 day a week programs down here I found were full day.....and pretty expensive......But I am happy to report that getting in line at 2 am paid off and the twins will be attending!! The two girls behind me in line took the last two spots for 4 year old....so I am super happy that Uncle Joel could be here for the kiddos....since I was gone from 1.30am to 8.45am......The good news is that next Feb I will not have to stand in line for Lila (we are going to start her at 3) since the twins will already be enrolled!......Yeah....

Shawn got home Wed night.....just in time for my B-Day on Thursday....yes another has already passed....the dreaded 32.....Ugh, I feel so old.....My b-day was awesome....the girls and I made little tastes instead of a big cake this year.....I loved it, we had Red Velvet Cake Balls coated in DARK chocolate, Oreo Truffles dipped in White Chocolate and Madeline Cookies dipped in Dark Chocolate....it was so fun to have a variety! I got wonderful gifts for my b-day, beautiful flowers delivered, a fabulous pedicure (thanks Heather & Carlos!), an electronic meat thermometer (I Love it, thanks J & A!)...One of my favorite movies 'Love Actually'.....and a new bike/helmet....which I picked out today....(Thanks MOM!!)......I love it! I have to admit it was a bit strange riding today, but after a few minutes it was like being 5 years old again! Ahhh I love riding! I beats me trying to run to keep up with Kiara these days!

So we have a sick household right now.....Kiara has been waking up the past few nights 7-8 times a night (totally out of character)....she finally told me Friday night that her ear hurt....so Saturday morning her and I headed out to urgent care....turns out she has her 1st ear infection....and it is a bad one.....both ears I guess.....so she is now on antibiotics for the first time....but today she seemed much better......hopefully tonight she will sleep all night....Lila and Mikiah have picked up colds to go with Kiara's ear infection.....lets just say last night Shawn ended up in the guest bed with MJ and Lila, Kiara and I slept in my bed.....ahhh, the wonderful things we do to comfort our kiddos!.....Everyone seems a bit better, but Lila has picked up a super nasty cough.....so we will be watching that.....UGH, poor girl!.......

So here are some pics over the last week or soo......enjoy!

Feb 2009

Love our Valentine's Day Tradition.....

Ahhh, so Happy Valentine's Day! Hope everybody had a great one.....We have had a great weekend so far.....today we got up and headed out to go see Danielle's volleyball game....she is almost 10 and lives across the street from us. The girls just adore her and follow her around and are pretty much glued to her when they see her.....I always have to remind the girls to give Danielle some personal space....Anyway, the girls LOVED watching her play volleyball....you know me planting the seed early, Volleyball was probably my favorite sport to play growing up so I really hope one of the twins pick it up.....After volleyball we played at the park at the elementary where the V-ball games were...so fun just running around playing and swinging with the girls and the neighbors....

Then it was off to lunch, I swear haven't cooked all weekend...which means we ate out lunch....MJ picked Chick-Fil-A.....It is her favorite place....and I have to admit the food is good for fast food....after lunch we relaxed around the house for a bit and then headed out through the neighborhood to drop off Valentine's Cookies to some of our neighbors....it was so fun, the girls loved ringing the doorbells and wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day......they were so proud of the cookies they made yesterday with Tim and Danielle (our neighbors kiddos)....Sugar Cookies of course, cut out in heart shape with icing and v-tines day colored sprinkles....The girls also received cookies today from Naomi (another neighbor kiddo) and they all got a single flower from Chance (another neighbor).....he was so cute when he rang the door bell and delivered the girls their flowers....Just Too Cute! After the flower delivery MJ crashed out on the couch and Lila fell asleep standing up and leaning on me.....I didn't know she was sleeping until she leaned back and fell on a pillow....Here is a few shots of that....

So as most of you know our usual V-Tines day tradition is for Shawn to take his "Ladies" out for burgers....we had been looking around at a few places and hadn't decided on a place....then Heather (Danielle's mom) caught me on-line on Facebook and said that they were going to try some new gourmet burger place and wanted to know if we wanted to join them.....(they too liked the idea of heading out to burgers on V-tines day)....anyway....we said we would love to join them....So we all went out together to Gourmet Burger Grill......My word my burger was soooo good and the onion rings were probably some of the best I have ever had.....Every ones food looked and tasted so great...This place is a winner in my book and I know we will be back....Shoot kids eat free on Wednesday (ALL DAY)...plus there are so many tasty items left to try on their menu and not to mention their specials....So great!.....It was so fun going out as a group with Heather & Carlos and kiddos....we had such a good time, it was hard to leave the restaurant......we really love our neighbors....they are so fun and I believe we have many more Friday Night Driveway Happy Hours ahead of ourselves with them and all of Woodthorn North (our part of the 'hood)...........

I think she will train herself.....

Sunday, Lunchtime @ our kitchen table....

Lila: Mommy I go potty.
Me: Oh, you went potty?
Lila: Mommy I go potty.
Me: Ok, lets go change your diaper.
Lila: NO Mommy, I go potty.
Me: Oh, you want to go potty.
Lila: Yes Mommy (as she is pushing her chair back and getting down from the table)

So we go to her potty chair, I have had it out but just so she can get use to sitting on it when she wants (she has gone in it about 3 times total)....anyway......So I take her diaper of (it is totally dry)....she sits down and asks for toilet paper.....and I leave the bathroom.....about a minute or so later she comes out carrying the bowl part of her potty chair..."See Mommy, I go potty".....and sure enough there was potty in there.....so I dump it out and clean it up and put it back in her potty chair.....I ask her "Lila are you all done?"........"NO mommy, I not done!!"......Ok, so I leave again.....she comes and finds me in the kitchen about 3-4min later, carrying the bowl once again....."Mommy look, poo-poo!'.....Oh my word, she seriously carried the bowl with a small amount of poop in it to show me...........It was pretty cute and she was soooo proud of herself....she had it written all over her face......of course no pressure from me, I learned that the hard way with the twins.....anyway just had to share....

Superbowl Fun....

Ah, so another weekend as gone and passed. I can not believe it is already February??? Seriously, where does the time go.....We have just been doing the usual.....I did finally get our taxes done....we had been waiting for Shawn's W2 which of course came on the last day of Jan...Typical I suppose.....I am looking forward to getting our return so we can FINALLY get the girls their bunk beds and bedding......Yep, bunk beds, the cool thing is they look the same when they are separated so if they do not like them bunked then they can have matching beds....I think the beds and new tires for the Suburban (well we had a buy a new tire last week, Shawn ran over a screw, so we only need to buy 3 more) will be our only splurges this tax season, if you could call it that.....the rest of the money will go towards bills and the usual........Since I am only working 7 hours (instead of 80) in March due to budget cuts at WSU....but that will be nice since my mom will be here from March 3rd-17th!....Yeah for Grandma!

This past weekend we had a little Superbowl get together. We got to meet Uncle Joel's lady friend, Jessica. She is awesome and so fun. The girls pretty much smothered her the whole time she was here!.....Dragging her up to the playroom and then back downstairs......it was pretty cute....I would say she passed the girls tests! ;) We also got to meet his friend Edge, super cool guy! "Light Up Carlos" as the girls call him, came over too for the big game.....the rest of his family was sick....Poor guys....Hopefully they are all feeling better today! On a high note for Carlos he did win the Harper Texas Superbowl II....nothing like taking home $50 cold, hard, cash!...

Superbowl was fun, the game was good....and boy did we have a spread of food....Veggies & Ranch, Fruit Kabobs with Fluff Dip, Wings, Capt n Crunch Chicken, Jalapeno Sliders, Homemade Black Bean dip, Jalapeno Crab Dip, Fruit Salad, Salami+Cheese+Crackers, Choc Chip Cookie Cake, M&M Cookie Bars, and Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Brownies (1st time I have made homemade brownies, SOOO GOOD!)......I am sure I am forgetting something....oh well....It was good....I think I ate WAY to much! Good thing I made it to the gym this morning and also took a jog around the 'hood with the girls.....Cause we have tons of leftovers that are calling my name!.....I might even have to do a bedtime jog!

Hope everyone is doing well and also had good weekends and all has a great week ahead ! I will leave you with a pic of MJ.....

This is what happens when you play hard....You literally fall asleep where you are playing!

Turner Syndrome......

This is a sort of difficult post for me today, not exactly sure why, but here goes. We have decided to bring you all up to date since y'all are a part of our support system. Most of you do not know but Mikiah was diagnosed with Turner Syndrome about 4 days after birth. We had a few indicators at birth to have the genetic testing done, one being edema (swelling) in the hands & feet and her slightly wide spaced nipples. Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal condition that describes girls and women with common features that are caused by complete or partial absence of the second sex chromosome. TS occurs in approximately 1 of 2,000 female's born and in as many as 10% of all miscarriages. For more in depth info here are the basics.

Mikiah has a few of the physical characteristics but for the most part her case is fairly mild (if you could call it that). She is missing her second sex chromosome on all of her genes which could lead to her being of smaller stature, average girl with TS is 4'7'', and she will have premature ovarian failure/infertility. Estrogen replacement therapy is necessary for breast development, feminine body contours, menstruation and proper bone development & Fertility without assisted reproduction therapy is rare (less than 1%). So MJ will most likely not be able to bare children with out medical intervention. We will also need to continue to keep a close eye on her Heart, Thyroid, Kidneys and will be testing for diabetes.

The reason I am catching you all up on this today is we just had her first Endocrinologist appointment. We drove to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and learned a bit more about the next course of action. We had a good appointment with our new Endo Doctor. We will be going to see her every six months for the time being. The main thing we are watching for is her growth pattern, she is currently in the 33% for height, so she is still plotting on the normal growth chart. Once she begins to fall off that growth chart we will begin discussing growth hormone therapy with our Endo doctor. Most TS girls start growth hormone therapy around age 4 (we would like to avoid it if we can but also want the best for MJ and if it's a few more inches then we will choose to do it). Before we head back in August we will be running a few baseline labs for Diabetes including glucose levels and Insulin testing. She will also be doing a few more labs and blood work. We will be going over the results of these labs in August. So more to come later.

MJ was great today and enjoyed her appointment, although I think she was a little nervous as Texas Children's is HUGE, but super colorful and fun! She's a trooper!!

Busy, Busy Thursday......

My Thursday was a active one.....We got took dad to work and then got ready to head to HEB Plus! (a grocery store similar to Fred Meyer)....Down here there are H-E-B grocery stores and SuperWalMart/Super Target no other chains exist down here, no Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway/Randall's or QFC.....took some getting use too but I LOVE H-E-B......So anyway the girls had a Moppets Play date at the H-E-B Plus! store (Grocery and Home Goods all in one).....They got to tour around, learn about Produce, Cheese and Milk....they even got to touch a Lobster....it was super fun. I think all the kids favorite part was seeing HEBuddy and tasting the Mootopia Chocolate Milk (and HEB milk that is lactose free and boosted with protein)!!!

After the play date we headed home so I could get my work done and then it was time to get ready to head out for the night for me. I put on a little black dress and headed out to COCO Chocolate Lounge and Bistro w/Sarah for her birthday party with the girls. It was super fun all of Sarah's friends are really nice and very sweet. The food (well I didn't eat dinner) look good, their desserts were amazing and the Chocolate Martinis were good. I had the Bliss Martini Flight which included 3 small tasting martinis: Chocolate Dipped Strawberry, Macaroon, Chocolate Sin.....So yummy! The atmosphere and decor were pretty cool.....Very cool place especially for chocolate lovers like myself.....I will be honest I was a skeptic of the martinis....but man they were pretty good....So good that I may have to hit the gym once this weekend!!!

First Full Day....

So today is President Obama's first full day in office. Whether you like him or not yesterday was an amazing day for our Country!!! I was glued to the TV coverage yesterday, hence the lack of blogging.....I am so positive and looking forward to where Obama is going to lead us.....It isn't going to be easy but I have never felt so emotional and inspired for us as a nation as I was yesterday....What a historic day!.....I love the Obama's! Loved that the girls wore J Crew and that Michelle always picks for the most part little known American Fashion Designers......They are so normal.....True American Family......

Beside watching the coverage yesterday, I also babysat the neighbor girls from down the street. It was fun for all the girls....a bit crazy having 6 girls under one roof, running around, girly screaming and having a good time.....It was great the twins loved having their friends over.....

Well I just got back from the gym, I think I am finally on track with being back there everyday....Hopefully I can shed the fat and continue to build my muscles again.....I am off to get the morning going!....

Sunday, Sunday......

Ahhh so it is Sunday night....I am always amazed at how fast the weekends truly go by. We didn't do much this weekend, stayed home mostly. Saturday we cleaned the whole upstairs, including cleaning out all the girls old clothes and stuff that they do not use anymore. We also watched Danielle (9) and Tim (6), our neighbor kids while their parents attended a wedding. The girls loved having them over, they pretty much smothered poor Danielle, I have learned that I need to teach the girls a little more about personal space......but they will get there. We did bbq burgers and ice cream sundaes, always a big hit with the kiddos....So fun! I think Tim played his DS pretty much the whole time, poor guy, its hard being the only boy sometimes.....I was surprised that we were able to get all the girls down pretty much on time, while Tim and Danielle stayed up until their parents came over........and it was nice to have Danielle read some Fancy Nancy to the girls!

Today we walked the 'hood, and washed the car.....it was so nice a sunny/breezy 76 degree day.....the girls helped with the car which was fun and wet!!! As it should be I suppose.

Washing the Car Jan 2009

We are looking forward to the week ahead and Barack Obama's Inauguration! As you know we are big supporters and can not wait to see what the future holds for all of us! We watched the concert on HBO today, so awesome and amazing to see so many different artists and actors and everyday people all in one place.....I Love America!

Bloggers Block....

I suppose you could call it that....I hope to be back, revived and inspired soon!.....With pics of course.....Sorry to all the faithful!

She's a free spirit.....

So Miss Lila has taken to taking her clothes off and staying nude as long as she can.....it started with me bringing out the potty chair, it has been out for a month or so.......Now when we change her diaper she asks to go potty (we are not training yet, just letting her experiment).....she has gone a handful of times.....Anyway she has learned how to take off most of her clothes......and even her diaper on occasion.....she probably gets nude at least once sometimes twice a day.....she LOVES it.....I suppose I can not blame her......she is hilarious too, lounging or dancing or singing....all in the buff.....she certainly keeps us laughing....

Back to an empty house.....

Well of course not empty....But the Harper's headed out early this morning. We enjoyed having them here and all had a wonderful time! Our last few days with them were spent on kids projects, house projects, card games, and GREAT food! I must tell you the BBQ is worth its weight in gold! Everything we have cooked on it has been 'Spectacular' as MJ would say (thanks to Fancy Nancy and her fancy words). Last night we did pizza's on my stone on the grill and they were so goooood! Direct on the grill would have been good too....

So Shawn got a Home Depot gift card for Christmas (Thanks Joe/Victoria!!) and took advantage of after Christmas sales to get us a new light fixture for the upstairs sort of hallway and a new outdoor light for above our garage doors....it matches our light outside our front door. Good thing Grandpa Harper was here to help install the outdoor light it was definitely a two manly person project mounting on the brick plus we wanted to make sure we did the wiring correct and to code.....It looks awesome and they were so good that they connected it up to my front door light so the both go on together and off together! Love it. First shots are of the upstairs and the last ones are the outdoor project....

We managed to get the tree and all the holiday decorations down including the outdoor lights. So sad to see Christmas be put away, but I am sure it will be back here before we know it. I guess I now get to look forward to our Valentine's Date with the girls, burgers and shakes....Suppose I better get looking for a place to try......

Anyway I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. Shawn, the girls and I did. We went to our neighbors house and rang in the new year with the twins and our wonderful neighbors and friends. I am surprised that the twins made it that long.....I did have to take Lila home around 11.15pm and put her to bed. She rang in the new year sleeping as did Nanna and Grandpa! Too cute!! The New Years Angel came sometime after new year.....We all awoke to stuffed stockings...an ol' family tradition on my side. It was fun for all....and we all got stuff we needed!.....

A loungy day at home...

So with the Harper's in Austin for another day the girls and I decided to take it easy. I even got a full night of sleep (caused me to miss my workout I was sleeping so good)....which has been rare the last few weeks, as one of the girls has been waking up in the middle of the night, they do trade off on which girls.....but some nights I feel like I am up and down the stairs all night....Oh well what is a mother to do....

Today I got caught up on my work and I am staring the process of taking down the Christmas decor and cleaning up the house.....Well, I should be clear.....I am thinking about getting started....The girls and I played some V-Motion in the playroom as a distraction or procrastination.....and yes they are still in their PJ's.....

.....this was of course after we cleaned the playroom (a reward)....I am always amazed at how messy it can get when the girls forget (or choose not too) to put away their toys.....We are hoping to go through their toys and purge toys that are now too young for Lila....I tell you it is sometimes hard to keep two different age group of toys around.....I will go to donate something and then remember that Lila would probably like to play with it in a few months....it will still be nice to donate some though.....

Now I am just being lazy and trying to think about something to type so I do not have to get up and actually get something done....does one load in the dishwasher count as doing something???? I do have that running.....

A Trip up to Austin....

Today we headed up to Austin for some lunch and a visit to the Texas State History Museum......It was a good time had by all.....Nanna and Grandpa are staying up there for two nights to see some sights and hang out with Uncle Joel.....The museum was pretty awesome.....I would have loved to have gone there sans the kids, especially Lila, I think I would have learned a bit more....(I was chasing her around most of the time).....but still a great time!!!

Merry Christmas Y'all......

So today was our 2nd Christmas in Southern Texas.....and what a great one it was.....The men got up early 6.45ish to start the BBQ......the Brisket was on by 7.30am and done around 2-2.30pm.....(It was 16lbs).......The girls were excited to see that Santa did come after tracking him all day on the Norad website.....they loved knowing where he was......The twins each got spoiled by Santa and all our relatives.....Thanks to all for making this Christmas so special for us and our children!.....I could try to list the loot the kiddos and we got but I am sure I would leave something out.....

Our dinner was wonderful, Homemade Texas BBQ......The brisket was perfect, the potato salad I made using County Line's recipe tasted exactly like theirs so good, the creamy cheesy corn turned out as yummy as always, the Pinto Druken Beans were great and the Pumpkin Dessert was awesome.....I am so full!

So instead of rambling on, I will leave you with some pictures over the last few days, there are a lot so I do apologize!

Christmas 08