TTT: Season 3, Episode 36

1. It's been a loooong day. And a long week, too! But a good one with lots to be happy about. First of all, my sweet little Kolbe started pre-school today! I really can't believe he could be possibly old enough to do anything but be my little boy. Forever. But alas, he's been getting the itch for a good year now and today was the big day. Pre-school! Granted, he's only going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2, it's still a big milestone for him. And me. This is the first time any of my babes have gone off to any kind of "school" whatsoever. I'll go ahead and say it went smoothly, though we did have just a little bit of a hiccup at drop off. Actually last night Kolbe got a little weepy after we put him to bed. I crawled in with him and asked if he was nervous about school. He insisted he wasn't and swore that it was because he was sad that I painted his room. Which happened months ago. This morning he woke up all chipper and ready to go. Mark had a morning surgery that he snuck out of early so that he could meet us at the church. All was fine and dandy, and even I was not feeling overly emotional when I dropped the dreaded words on him: "Give Mama a hug and a kiss." I squatted down, got my hug, and he immediately started his silent whimper. One of those I-swear-I'm-not-crying-please-don't-let-anyone-see-me-not-being-brave type of cries. And as if on cue, my tears had no problem appearing in an instant. He was so worried about his classmates seeing that he was crying that he refused to pull his little face back off my shoulder so we both wound up sitting on the floor for a minute or two until he gained his composure. Sure enough, once he got his little burst of emotions out, he did just fine. He was nothing but smiles and eager when-do-I-get-to-go-backs as soon as I picked him up. So overall, it was a great success!

I'd like to say that things went as smoothly on the home front but we pretty much bombed our projected schedule. Grant ended up taking two fifteen minute naps both in the car instead of the goal of one long nap at home from 11-1:30. Rudy took a one hour nap, but not during either of Grant's sleeping times. Grant did take another nap when we got home from picking Kolbe up, but of course, by then I was back to referring the shenanigans of two attached-at-the-hip brothers who had been separated for five hours. We made homemade pizza together and had a good time talking about the first day of school, but by the time they finally all went to bed, I was pooped. Must figure out a workable routine for school days or I might go insane! I've got to have at least thirty minutes to an hour a day of no babies. Seriously. It's for the greater good of all involved! Otherwise, Rudy and Grant and I did have fun together. Rudy tends to be the back-up singer to the show-stopper, Kolbe, so it's nice to get to spend some one on one time with him without "interruptions." Rudy is such a smart, unique, sincere little boy and his ideas tend to be drowned out by the big brother dictator. I love getting to see him as the big brother, the "boss", and the decision maker. This will be a big year for him as well.

2. This past weekend we went to Dallas to stay with Mark's brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Cristi, and meet up with Mark's parents as well. As always, we had a blast! The boys love the change of scenery and of course, getting to see their  grandparents and aunt and uncle. There's always no shortage of treats and snacks, and Aunt Cristi makes the best food whenever we go. She has become quite the chef! If only I had the time and lack of children hanging off of my legs, I'd get her to train me! We spent a fun day a local pool, went to mass, watched a little college football, stayed up way too late having normal adult conversations (yes, in our world that's notable!) and enjoyed countless Popeye the Sailor Man shorts. (Kolbe loves Popeye and Brian and Cristi have a DVD with 100 shorts on it....it's the only place he gets to see Popeye so naturally, it's his favorite thing to do at their house!) We're so grateful that Brian and Cristi are so welcoming for all of us to "meet in the middle," even when it was the weekend after the first week of school. (All of you teachers out there know how exhausted you are after that first week! Poor Cristi, having house guests! She's a trooper!) Such a fun weekend...can't wait to see everyone again at Thanksgiving!

Mark's birthday is on Saturday so more fun to come! The rest from this past week is in pictures!

Miss Lora surprised Mark with a cake from our favorite baker in Lubbock,  Kerry. Best. Cake. Ever. Though probably just over 2000 calories per piece.

Oh no. He's not looking much like a baby anymore. But man, he's got great eyes!

Making burgers with Aunt Cristi! Kolbe has always been a great sous chef.

Dada: sleepy. Grantness: ready to party.

My little Sunday napper. Anyone else jealous of those lashes!?!

I can't remember the last time I got to take a snooze with my Rudy. Ahhhhh. Felt great!

Rudy cuddling up with his G-ma.

Nothing like a Texas road trip sunset!

I finally finished putting our "new" room together, though you can't really see it all. I have turned this house upside down trying to find the charger for our normal camera and I can't find it anywhere so I'm left taking not-so-good cell phone pics. They don't do it justice, especially because this room is so hard to photograph with the wall full of windows, but oh well. I painted the entire room, made new pillows for the bed, made a new 133" curtain rod, made full length curtains that can close across all of the windows, oh and a room full of new furniture that you can't even see in the picture. Mark and I both love it!

And I finally finished painting the nasty trim in the bathrooms too! Mark thinks I'm crazy, but he's also color blind so he doesn't count. I took the picture above to prove I'm not crazy. You all can see what I'm talking about, right? There's nothing like crisp white with a light blue wall. The cream/off white/beige/yucky had to go. See? Not crazy.

My oldest babe. I just want to reach in to this picture and grab him and squeeze him and force him to stay just like this forever. He really is that adorable.

Kolbe and Dada outside of his school. He was so excited that Dada showed up to drop him off for his first day, even if it meant leaving surgery just to turn around go right back. Kolbe loves his Dada. And Dada is so proud.

TTT: Season 3, Episode 29

1. Itellyouwhat, last Friday when I sat down to write my late blog post, I certainly had no idea what I had in store for the rest of the day! With Ben and Erin in town (and other family scheduled to arrive that night), the plan was to take the kiddos over to my parents, have a little double date at a local restaurant, and then head back to my parents where hopefully Pat, Abby, Andy, and nephews would have arrived. Instead, when we arrived at my parents house, I was greeted with an awesome surprise 30th birthday party! Being the goon that I am (and my mind being a million other places than at a party) my first reaction upon walking in the door and seeing a huge crowd of people dressed up in sombreros and fake mustaches was more of confusion that surprise. I spun around to see if the surprise was for someone behind me, and really, it took me a sec to realize it was for me! I was expecting to see some people (the aforementioned Pat, Andy, Abby...) but then there were plenty more who I had no idea were coming out to surprise me. My cousin Mandi, her husband Joe, and their three little ones drove all the way down from Lubbock just for the weekend to be at the party. My cousin Kristen came over from Austin. Our good friends Jared and Katie were in town for the wedding but drove up from Katy for the party. And of course my beloved local aunt and uncle, Kirk and Cathy and cousin Helen were there too. I can only speak for myself, but I think it's safe to say that a LOT of fun was had by all! The house was strewn with fiesta decor and a plethora of pictures of yours truly throughout the years. Plus plenty of good Mexican food from Berryhill, Mexican beer and my dad's margaritas, my favorite German chocolate cake...I know...that totally busted the whole Mexican theme, ha!...and the most awesome homemade pinata ever! You know, I may not get to see my family all that often or my nearest and dearest friends, but can I just say that between this weekend and the one we spent with Mark's family on my actual birthday, it's very safe to say that I have the best family and friends in the whole world. I look at my life and see how richly God has blessed me and am just so thankful. Any chance I can turn thirty again next year!?!

2. So after the huge hullabaloo that was my 30th birthday party, we got to spend an enjoyable Saturday morning with Mandi and her crew, and Erin and Jacob. It was fun to have the kids together and certainly made me reminisce on our days in Lubbock. Then it was time to get ready for Lisa's wedding. As discussed in last week's post, the rain decided to make it's daily appearance right as we were leaving for the church, but luckily it cleared up just in time. Lisa's wedding was beautiful! I did spend a good majority of the time in the back with tweedledoo, but quickly discovered that the back isn't exactly a bad place when attending a wedding mass. I got to see every last bit of it...without having to stand on tippy toes or lean around someone! After the wedding, we headed back to The Woodlands for the reception. It was held at a local Country bar/restaurant that is famous for hosting country artists in a more intimate setting. It was perfect for Lisa's Texas themed reception. We may have pushed the kids a bit by dancing the night away, but hey, we only get to attend a wedding every so often so exceptions just have to be made! Plus, they were having a blast too. Most of all, we loved getting to see Miss Lisa in love. It was so refreshing to see a couple just completely head over heals for each other and completely proud and confident in their love for each other and God. Such a fun, fun night!

3. There's too many other things that I want to talk about so we'll go random for Numero Tres.
- We had so much fun with Ben, Erin, and Jacob. There was that awkward I-wonder-if-its-going-to-be-the-same-as-it-used-to-be question in our minds before they came. It was squashed the second they arrived. We love them. Mwah!
- My "shop assistant" started this week on Tuesday! Yaaaaaaaaaay! Especially since I got like nine million orders over the weekend while I wasn't working. She'll be back today to help again. She's adorable.
- My parents are awesome. They helped me with the boys Monday and Tuesday so I could get caught up a bit.
- I have hormonal issues. No, not of the psychotic nature. More of the dermatological nature. Anyone know what to do with dry bumpy patches on the face that just won't go away? They've been there in varying degrees of bad for a few months. I've tried: coconut oil, cetaphil lotion, neosporin, hydrocortisone, etc. All the usual suspects.
- Kolbe got on our bathroom scale yesterday and weighed thirty-five pounds. That's good for him! I was proud. Until he asked me how much I weigh. I told him one hundred pounds more than that. And his response was, "Wow, Mom. You're real fat." Didn't help with the hormonal issues.
- After the surprise party/wedding weekend, I now have two big blog posts of pictures I want to do. This one and the birthday extravaganza from a few weeks ago. Must. Get. Pictures. From. All. Cameras. Present!
- I know I already mentioned this once, but I love my life. Love, love, love it!

People that are awesome: My cousin, Mandi. She made this pinata for the party! And let me just tell you she did not go cheap on the cardboard! I had to go at it with a real baseball bat! And it was filled with plenty of "granny items", my favorite candies: Riesens, Reeses, Haribo gummies, Coke gummies, and butterscotch candies, lotto tickets, and little mini bottles of liquor. I suppose a little rum in my Coke after the kids go to bed isn't such a bad idea!

Rudy "mustache" you a question....Mom, so when are you going on your date!?! (he was obviously not let in on the secret!)

Helen, Pat, and Kristen...if ever there were three peas in a pod, it could easily be them.

Dancing with my Daddy...there's nothing in the world quite like it!

See! Not such a bad view from the back!

Partying cousins! (one of many, many pictures from the reception...can't wait to see and share more!)

Obligatory picture of Happy Baby! Because, really, he is that cute. And as of today, I think he's officially a walker!