Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Assessing the Fort

Today was the first of a 'two way trial" day for Maison at Fort. We get to decide if we like the school and they get to decide if they like Mais. We had agreed with the school director that Maison would try the Toddler class which is for 18 months to 2 years since she had never been in school before, never been around children before, and never been with out Mommy, Daddy, or Nooey before.

Maison holding on tight to her lunch box on the way to Fort:


The director met me at the door as I carried Maison in. She asked me if I was ready and Maison politely replied, "I'm ready". Right then she told me we were going to have a problem putting Maison in the Toddler class but we would try it for today. I totally ditched Maison with the Toddler teacher, as they instructed me to do, and got into my car and balded my eyes out....MY BABY is in school.

I went to my parents to wait for them to call to tell me Maison missed me terribly and had to be picked up, but no call came. I counted down the minutes until I could call at 10:00 to see how the first hour and a half had gone. Ms. Martha, the director, told me that Maison had already mastered the entire body part game and 3 of 5 colors they learn in the Toddler class. She said the Toddler class was definitely not going to work out. So Friday we will try the Transition class which is for 2 1/2 to 3 year olds who are transitioning to Preschool. Maison will be the youngest child in that class by at least 6 months. Here's hoping Friday goes well!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Extra Protection

Apparently when walking through our house you need to have a little extra protection...

Friday, September 23, 2011

Unwelcome Friend

I went biking this afternoon for the first time in months, and came across a very unwelcome sight...

I was by the duck pond approaching the bottom of the hill and saw this huge animal. From far away I thought it was a bulldog as it was hugely fat and looked to be about 80 or 90 lbs. As I got closer I noticed it had prickly fur and as I was whizzing by I startled it causing it's fur to stand up. It looked at me and bared it's gnarly teeth. I literally said out loud, "holy sh*t what was that?"

I don't think I have ever gone up that hill faster in my entire life. I was terrified that this thing was going to come after me and bite a hole in my bike tire or worse bite the cast on my sprained ankle....either leaving me defenseless to be eaten alive.

So when I got home I did a little research and confirmed this "thing" was an enormous BEAVER! I was happy to find out that they are docile and have an aversion for biting...but I certainly don't see why people think they are cute...SICK OUT!

Representative photo of my friend:

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

23 going on 21

"Ok Mommy, I'm ready to go to Red Hot and Blue for my birthday."

"Let's see what they have on the drink menu"

"Looks like they are known for margaritas, but I'm not sure I'm in the mood for one..."

"I guess I'll just have..."

"water"

Happy 23 months, Maison!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Failure to Launch

This morning we headed out at 6am to go to the 7am balloon launch at the Plano Balloon Festival.

Firing up...

All blown up and ready to launch...

Lookout Pirate

Cheshire Cat, Adam's Favorite:

Ladybug, Maison and my favorite:


Ladybug and Monster:


Pirate:

Maison with the only balloon that launched this morning:

Unfortunately, due to the weather the balloons were not allowed to launch but we still had a great time just seeing the balloons and running into Adrienne and her family!

Friday, September 16, 2011

I picked the wrong week

Adam and I started the Kathy Freston Quantum Wellness Cleanse on Sunday. This cleanse is the 21 day cleanse that Oprah made popular a few years back and entails eliminating ALL animal products, gluten, sugar, alcohol, and caffeine. So what are you left eating? Pretty much fruits, veggies, and gluten free grains and drinking water.

The cleanse was going ok until Wednesday when I opened the door to the guest bathroom and had water run over my feet. Apparently, if your main water line is blocked water can flow from under the toilet like a river (ok, or a small stream) and pretty much flood your bathroom. A crisis under normal circumstances, but a major crisis when you have a house showing in a mere 5 hours. Adam called the plumber who arrived in record time, cleared the mainline and the shower line all in enough time to give me a solid hour to clean the entire house including this huge mess (3 loads of soaking towels, dirt, and balls of rotten hair, anyone?).

Nooey, Maison, and I rushed out of the house right in time for the showing. We went to Target to "smell the candy corns" (Aside: If you can't eat candy corns or marshmallow pumpkins this time of year at least you can smell them!) and buy a buggy full of stuff we didn't need. So while we are enjoying all that is Target, I get a text from our realtor that the people coming to look at the house have decided to come tomorrow instead....uuuurrrggghhh.

If that wasn't enough to drive me to drink, I had to complete all the deliverables (don't ask, it's classified...kidding!) for NSA (National Security Administration) compliance by today and Adam had mid-year evals with his entire team. By 10am we agreed, the cleanse was over!!! As Steve McCroskey said in Airplane!, "I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue."


Saturday, September 10, 2011

Who Says...

Who says swim goggles and a shovel are for outdoor use only?

Friday, September 9, 2011

Take a bite out of...

I just spent and hour addressing the invitations to Maison's 2nd birthday party. I gave them to Adam to stamp and told him when he was finished to put them in my purse so we could mail them on the way to dinner. I went back to working on the computer...

15 minutes later I looked up to find Maison BITING HOLES IN THE INVITATIONS! Adam had left the invitations in the floor of the playroom and was watching TV and did not notice our child ruining more than half of the invitations. In her defense, her 2 year molars are coming in so she is putting absolutely everything in her mouth.

Regardless, a Mommy Dearest moment was warranted. I literally went into a rage that quickly turned into tears. I spent hours looking for the perfect theme for Maison's party. Hours I could have spent doing other things. Hours that I certainly don't have to redo something that took hours to do in the first place. So if you receive an invitation with a big bite out of it...view it as a "Maison Original" because this worn out Mommy didn't have the energy to reorder, reship, and readdress...

Thursday, September 8, 2011

4th and 43rd

No that is not a football stat for down and yards to go. Today was Adam and my 4th anniversary and yesterday was my parents 43rd anniversary. Apparently, European was the way to go this year. My parents had a nice dinner at Lavendou, a small french bistro in north Dallas, and Adam and I had dinner at Cafe Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant at Shops of Legacy.

Happy Anniversary, Noo, G, and Adam!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Not what I had planned...

Unfortunately, I am not logged on to give you the race report from the Blackland Tri because due to my *@#&ing ankle sprain I was not there. Nope, I didn't get to make the five minute drive over to Oak Point Aquatic Center to rack my bike and get in line at the late hour of 7:00am (by tri standards this is super late). Nor, did I get to see my entire family cheer me on since this would be the first time I participated in something in Plano where not only would it have been convenient but my parents were actually in town.

Instead, we are having an impromptu swim party this afternoon. If you are forced to be immobile you might as well do it while floating on a raft, drinking a glass of wine, or eating fattening foods. Hmmmm...maybe missing the tri won't be so bad after all...HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

It's that time of year...

I know most of my friends are excited for this time of year because it means their kids are headed back to school. Back to school is the not why we get excited for this time of year and it has nothing to do with the fact that we don't have a school age child. This time of year means one thing and one thing only. GET YOUR HORNS UP!!!!

- Every family member in burnt orange - CHECK
- Car filled with gas - CHECK
- Cooler full of beer, chardonnay, and ice - CHECK
- Maison handed over to Nooey - CHECK
- Austin bound - CHECK

P.S. Adam says "chomp, chomp"...whatever that means ;o)