TTT: Season 3, Episode 44

1. Tomorrow is the highly procrastinated anticipated open house that I'm selling at. Yay! And that's a "yay" as in "Yay. Glad it's here. Note to self: Don't sign up to do any in-person events ever again unless you're way ahead on everything else." Eek. I know that probably sounds so rude and unprofessional. But I've come to a realization about the whole self-owned business thingy. In-person sales are fantastic for selling items that can easily be made in bulk, items that involve designing and outside production (such making a graphic design and then having ten copies of it printed...only took time to make one!), or items where the seller is a sales rep for a larger company. (jewelry, make-up, etc.) Or, I suppose, handmade businesses that are starting out and don't have an internet presence yet. It's definitely a way of getting business/orders. But the reality of my business right now is that since I've spent several years building the internet side of things, I don't have to do anything to get business. Just sit here and wait for the ding to go off on my phone. And the orders I receive dictate what I make. Whereas with in-person sales, you have to pre-make a bunch of things that may or may not sell. (By the way, let me pause for just a moment. The Christmas shopping season is just around the corner. 'Sell' and 'sale' are two different words. One is a verb and one is a noun. The poor misuse of these two is driving me crazy lately.) Back to what I was saying. I think I've been drawn to the whole in-person handmade market thing because I've seen photos and blog posts of so many and they just look oh-so-pretty and fun. Time to see other handmade products, time to be "all in" with my business, and heck, a break from the kids to spend sipping wine and chatting with other ladies! But I think the idyllic view I had of it all changes a bit when I think of what I've put myself through over the past week to try and squeeze everything in. Sure, I have several baskets of products to sell, a cool new handmade "catalog" for in-person orders to be placed, order forms, pricing sheets, the whole nine yards. But what am I going to do with all of this stuff after tomorrow!?! If the products don't sell, I'll essentially have to sit on them until I receive an order for each color/design online. And create individual online listings for the custom blankets I made. The other stuff? Who knows. I suppose it will sit in a bin in my sewing world until I agree to do another one of these someday. Please, don't listen to me ramble on and on about this. I'm obviously exhausted from staying up until at least midnight every night this week. Who knows...I'll probably come back next week raving about how well it went, how much fun I had, and how I can't wait to do it again. It's the lack of sleep talking here!

2. Among the personal madness mentioned above, my gig as mom has continued on as normal. Yes, the boys do know that I sew during nap time and sometimes after bed, but I'm pretty sure they're totally unaware of some of the insanity I put myself through. Anyhow, we had a blast doing Halloween festivities yesterday and carving pumpkins on Monday. Rudy, especially, is a huge fan of Halloween. Several of my parent's neighbors go all out with decorating their houses and giving out all kinds of gifts and goodies so we headed over there early last night. While living there for a few months when we first moved down, we became friends with many of their neighbors too so it's nice to meet up with everyone again. Then we headed back to our own street and had fun visiting with all of our current neighbors. Mark, unfortunately, got stuck in a long surgery and didn't make it home until all of the trick-or-treating was over but he still got to see the boys in their suits and help them rifle through all their goodies. The excitement was so high that they were very late to bed last night and then up early this morning so we could go to mass for All Saints Day. The older two and I had deep discussions about how the saints became saints and Kolbe informed me that he didn't know if he'd ever be able to be one because he didn't know if he could be that good all the time. Ha! While it's certainly my utmost goal to raise little saints, I appreciate his honesty! And, of course, I told him that many of the saints were the biggest sinners before they dedicated their lives to serving Christ. His response was, "Ok, well I'll try." That's my Kolb.

3. As I mentioned earlier, my brother Pat has been here off and on for the past few weeks. It has been great to spend some quality time with him! The boys love Uncle P. Unfortunately, my grandmother and aunt didn't get to come because of the hurricane, but hopefully they'll be able to reschedule soon. Despite the crazy busyness, I love this time of the year most especially for the time with family. (certainly not for the Houston weather) Next week we have tons of "events" surrounding Kolbe's birthday, the end of the soccer season, etc, but it won't be long until we are headed to Lubbock to celebrate Thanksgiving. We haven't been to Lubbock since last Christmas. It has been way too long and we can't wait! ...Maybe it won't be in the 80s when we get there...

Mama and her super heroes!

Kolbe's new favorite quiet time activity: scavenger hunt. He has to read the word and go find the object somewhere in the game room all by himself.

Carving pumpkins!

This is how our Halloween morning started. Someone found a mud puddle. It's hard to see in the picture, but knees to toes were completely submerged. 

Uncle P teaching Grant how to play with Power Rangers!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 43

1. It's been a big, long, exhausting...but fun!...week. Last week I was fretting over our trip to Austin for my cousin Audry's wedding. Despite the usual dramatics and the "anything goes" mentality that accompanies traveling with young children, we had so much fun and came home completely spent. Back in August of 2009, Kolbe, at only twenty-one months old, was quite possibly the cutest ring bearer of all times at Uncle Brian and Aunt Cristi's wedding. But Rudy most definitely gave him a run for his money this past weekend. He was oh-so-adorable and did a great job at hanging in there for all of the events and pictures. He definitely enjoyed his special moment, though he was not a fan of the tux shoes. Apparently they don't make them in wide widths for little boys with Fred Flintstone feet. We somehow crammed Sixth Street (with babies!...for the rehearsal dinner), the Congress Street Bridge, several yummy restaurants, a trip to my childhood home, the Capitol, and the wedding all in to one weekend. And the Tech game too, of course. We definitely got our dance on as well. And I might just add that Audry was a stunning bride. Any function with our family is a blast and the wedding was no exception. So. much. fun!!!

Mr. Handsome.
There are many more pics to come from the wedding...this was just the best one I had on my phone!

2. After returning from Austin it was immediately back to the real world and the reality of Kolbe's impending tooth extraction. He knew it was on the horizon but kept trying to avoid the topic. Who am I kidding...I put it off for roughly a year because I didn't want to have to see him go through yet another something or other for his mouth. We knew it needed to be done; it was causing further damage to his front tooth. Poor guy. The night before, just like the night before school started, he cried and got all emotional but refused to admit that he was nervous about the dentist. Then he teared up again when we dropped Rudy and Grant at my parent's house and they wished him luck. Luckily, it was all done with sedation so he didn't have to feel or at least recognize what was going on. We got to sit together and watch a movie while the medicine took effect and then they took him back all by himself while "mom went to the bathroom." It only took about forty-five minutes to remove the tooth and do his two fillings. He was awake the whole time but calm. He came out and said, "Mom! Now that I know what it's like to get a tooth pulled, I won't ever be nervous any more!" Hopefully it won't have to happen again any time soon, kiddo. The dentist said it was pretty rough because of all of his scar tissue from his previous surgeries. I was worried about the pain he'd experience later in the day but she said that once the medicine wore off, he should be fine and not need anything else. Despite my skepticism, she was right. Took a long, peaceful nap and then right back to life as normal. Not a single mention of any mouth pain. Must just get worse when you're an adult 'cause I know my mouth was killing me after my cavities! Anyhow, he also got a visit from the Tooth Fairy last night which was oh, so special to him. (and me!) He had so many questions about the Tooth Fairy so we explained that she is one of the guardian angels that God sends to watch us while we sleep and when little boys or girls are extra special brave with their teeth, she leaves a little prize. She also left him a letter telling him how proud God, his mama and dada, and family and friends are of him for all he has gone through with his mouth. And boy, was she right! ;)

Sorry if these pics gross you out...we share partially just for our own family records/memories but also for anyone else who has to go through this or wonders about clefts. This is the "before" shot.

And here's after! Plus a good view of his lip and palate repair scars from roughly four years ago.

Brave little guy leaving the office.

3. Tidbits! (and more pictures)
- We are finally getting our fall "cool front" tomorrow. Highs in the seventies for the next week, thank goodness. Today it was ninety degrees. The boys and I went to the park and came home sweaty like it was June. I miss the four seasons.
- The holiday open house that I'm a vendor at is a week from tomorrow. Don't ask how many items I have ready to sell.
- My brother Pat is in town this week and next. He's awesome and we love him. And my grandma and Aunt Debbie are coming all the way from DC next weekend! I love family!
- I love football season too. Goooooo Tech!

I lived in Austin from the middle of kindergarten to the middle of 4th grade. This was my elementary school that I walked to each day!

And outside of our little house on Wing Road. Seven people lived in there. Must remember to pull this pic up every time I feel crammed for space! 

By the Congress Street Bridge. I love my little family!

Prior to dressing for wedding pictures, I gave Rudy a bath and wrapped him in a towel. He was cold, we had an hour to burn, and I knew it would be a long night so I put him under the hotel bed sheets and he slept like a little angel wrapped in his towel. So sweet!

Checking out a Christmas toy catalog with Pinkie. Hard to believe it's just two months from today!

Post soccer practice dip cone with Dada!

And while the boys were at soccer, Mama and Grant were working on the yard. That was until Grant threw a rock into an ant bed and then went and got it. *Mom Fail.*

Don't you love kiddie drawings!?! Kolbe disappeared tonight and came down stairs a few minutes later with this picture of a bat for us. He even wrote "BAT" on the back. I asked him how he knew how to spell it and he said, "Mom, it starts like 'Buh, buh, buh' so that's B. Then it's 'a, a, a,' so that's A. Then 'tuh, tuh, tuh' so that's T. Did I get it right!?!" The reading process is coming along! Oh, and Happy Halloween from Kolbe's little bat! And All Souls and All Saints Days, too!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 40

1. It's late, I'm tired, and I'm sick, so I'll (try to) be brief. It has been a bit of a long week around here as we've all drudged through our first cold in a long time. No, unfortunately I speak not of cold weather but more of the sore throat, watery eyes, congested head, runny nose variety. And for the little ones, fevers too. Oddly enough, Mark and I were the first to pick it up. Usually it's the other way around with the kiddies getting it first. And honestly, I really haven't been sick in a long time. Like maybe before I was pregnant with Grant??? At least not that I can remember. (Oh, the benefits of pregnancy/nursing mom immunities!) But it has been long days of fussy babes, long nights of restless sleepers, and quite a bit of Motrin and Tylenol. We are actually expecting our first good cold front this weekend so hopefully by the time it arrives, we'll be feeling well enough to go out and enjoy the cool weather! (and by cold front, I mean the high on Sunday of 70. Not 50 or 40.)

2. My hair saga continues. As I mentioned last week, I was relatively happy with my Locks of Love chop but wasn't totally sold on the all-one-length 'do the stylist gave me. I mean, really, it was all one length. No shape or style to it whatsoever. I tried tapering the front around my face just a tad on my own but realized I was going to need a lot more than just that to make it look like an intentional hairdo. So I went to the salon again. I rarely go to the salon twice in a year, let alone twice in one month. But as a stay-at-home, newly thirty mom of three, I've just been feeling a little ugh about my appearance lately and just wanted a little something to help me put my best face forward. Unfortunately, I got anything but that. I even took pictures with me of a cute cut I had in college. Specifically told her that I just wanted some shape to the sides and around my face but no length take off. Even told her how much I loathed super stacked hair cuts where the back is way shorter than the front. And what did I walk out of the salon with? The exact thing I asked her not to do. I was a little worried as I watched seemingly long pieces of hair fall to the ground, but when she pulled out the blow dryer after about ten minutes of cutting, I gave a little sigh of relief assuming that a cut that quick couldn't have been much. But then after drying it she kept going. And going. And going. And going. I think she could tell I was not a happy customer; she gave me a free styling brush and a discount on my cut without any prompting. Let me pause for just a moment. You're probably picturing me with a spiked out Kate Gosselin looking mess. It's really not that bad. In fact, the front looks okay. It's just the back that I hate. It's short. Really short. Like I walked in there with a pony tail and I won't be wearing a ponytail until at least next summer now. Yes, it's just hair and I'll make the most of it. But making the most of it is going to require lots of work and styling every single day to make it look good on me. Not to mention a truck load of styling supplies. And actually, I think I've had it shorter at previous times, it's just not what I was hoping for so I'm bummed. Mark swears it looks cute and that he's not just saying that to cheer me up. Sweet, but I still don't like it. And no, I don't have a picture to show. Lord knows with our colds I've yet to style it anywhere near picture worthy in the past few days. Now if you would all pull out your violins and play me a sad, sad song, I'd appreciate it. Whaaaah.

3. I feel like I'm in a calm before the storm with my shop right now. Why? I've signed on to participate in my first ever open house/ handmade market/ boutique/ whatever-you-want-to-call-it. It's not until the 2nd of November so I've still got a month to go but there's one major problem: In order to succeed at one of these functions, you have to actually have a product to sell! With my etsy shop, all of my sales are made to order. So even though I already have the fabric, I don't produce the item until after it has been ordered. My work time each day is essentially just keeping up with all of the incoming orders online. With throwing this open house into the mix, I'm going to somehow have to squeeze in quite a few products so that I'll have something to sell at the event. Really, I'm not sure why I bring this upon myself. Not to sound smug, but I'm certainly not struggling to get business. I guess I've always just wanted to try out something other than online sales and get the experience of actually getting to interact with my customers. Plus, two of my local girlfriends are doing it with me so it should be a lot of fun. Just might not be fun over the next few weeks trying to build up a little inventory!

Despite our warm temps, it was time to break out some of the fall decorations. Now if only we could make some decisions on Halloween costumes....

My brother, Andy, his wife Abby, and their two boys, John and Will came to town this weekend and we had a blast getting to visit with them. We watched the Tech game at my parents' on Saturday night and Pa just had to squeeze in a five baby wrestle-mania! 

Abby's mom, Miss Mary, is the wonderful creator of Grant's beloved "Blankie Blue." The only problem with Blankie Blue is that he's huge. So when Grant carries it around, the majority of it drags on the floor. Plus, it's size makes it difficult to take along from place to place but perfect for cuddles at night. When Abby arrived this past weekend, she delivered a new mini Blankie Blue from Miss Mary. Grant (and Mama!) were thrilled! Can't you tell?

Uncle Mark found someone willing to lend his baby legs for a drum solo. Poor Will! At least everyone else was entertained by it! 

Kolbe and Rudy scored scrub caps and masks in the dollar bin at Joann Fabrics the other day so they could be just  like Dada.

Grant has started trying to steal the iphone. Trouble!

This fella has always been a "witching hour" baby...enjoying a good meltdown almost nightly from roughly 5-6:30. The best way to end a meltdown? A nice bubble bath always does the trick.

TTT: Season 3, Episode 39

1. My little Grantness had his fifteen month check-up this week. Shockingly, he did gain weight and weighs twenty-five pounds now. I say 'shockingly' simply because in the past few months he has figured out the power over eating. Yes, my babe who used to eat everything you put in front of him has now become a picky eater. Kolbe and Rudy both went through this phase too so I'm not surprised. And definitely not worried either. Grant is no stick figure. And considering Kolbe asked for broccoli the other night and Rudy eats tomatoes like they're going out of style, I have no fears that Grant will return to a good eater before long too. Since his one year appointment three months ago he has mastered the art of walking, picked up several words like 'dada', 'ball', 'book', and his favorite- 'this.' Or as he likes to say, 'dis.' He has also mastered the stairs going both up and down though I'm still terrified of him doing the down part without me watching. He loves books but gets horribly frustrated if it's not a board book. He can't quite figure out how to turn the paper pages. He's constantly under attack from his two big brothers so he's learned to be quite defensive, poor guy. He'll let you know if you're treading on his territory! Oh, and he's gone from four teeth to ten. In just thee months. So yes, we've had our share of whiny, fussy days. But for the most part he's still a happy fella. Wild and adventurous as can be but oh, so smart. And in a good way! He already responds appropriately when I say, "Grant, go put this in the trash for Mama."(train him early to help out!) He has struggled quite a bit to give up his morning nap. Some days he takes one, some days he doesn't, but he still loves his sleep. Which is great for him and Mama! And he still loves to dance. Can't wait to see him at my cousin's wedding in a few weeks!

Don't worry.... no, I'm not already potty training my 15 mo old! But his latest thing has been going and standing by the potty before his bath, tugging his diaper off, and then  trying to set the little seat up on the toilet. Sure, I imagine he's just imitating what he's seen his brothers do at times, but hey, why not let him!?! He hasn't actually gone yet, but who knows. He may just be my easiest (and earliest!) yet to potty train! (Though Rudy is hard to beat.) He's a smart little baby.

2. As I'm sure you may have seen on my facebook page, I survived my Locks of Love haircut! It actually ended up way longer than I thought it would. The last time I did Locks of Love I ended up with a super short 'do. I knew this would be at least a little longer, but didn't think it would be long enough to touch my shoulders and pull into a little ponytail. So I was happy not to have to endure the major shock of long hair to pixie cut. But a week later, I'm almost wishing it was a little shorter in some parts. I told the hairdresser that I'd still love to be able to pull it back, tuck it behind my ears, and make a ponytail if possible so she didn't do any layering around my face. Yes, I can do all of the things I requested, but the lack of layering in the front and on the sides just makes it pretty blunt of a cut and kind of heavy. I'll keep it for a few weeks and see if it grows on me (no pun intended), but who knows; I may end up back at the salon before too long for a more styled cut. Regardless, after looking at pictures, I'd say I definitely look better with shorter hair, though I never regret growing it out and doing the Locks of Love thing.

My hair right before I left for the salon. Looooong!

Super creepy 10" ponytail that's on it's way to West Palm Beach, Florida.

The results!

3. Speaking of things I'll never regret, it's been just over four years since I started blogging. Hard to believe. Four years! Early on I just did sporadic posts about our family, and then, of course, I started my Three Thought Thursday in January of 2010. Having a scheduled weekly post that I hold myself accountable to has been challenging at times but it is something that I will never, ever regret doing. I've said this before and I constantly find it to be true that I am writing the story of my life. And my childrens' childhoods. Something I believe Mark and I will read and re-read time and time again. And hopefully something that Kolbe, Reagan, Grant, and any other littles will find to be heartwarming as they mature into adults and possibly (hopefully!) parents as well. I can't imagine being able to go back and read through my childhood. And I love knowing that no matter where we go, if there's internet available, there our story will be. Mark sent me this text a week or so ago that brought tears to my eyes:
Just taking a moment to read your blog. It's so heart warming to go back and read from the few years past. I rarely tell you, but I think your writing is a great gift from you to our family. No matter the time, I'll be able to relive the times when our kids were little. Our boys are so sweet and you've done a marvelous job. I wish so deeply that I could give them what you give them. Thank you! I love you!
I know. My husband is the bomb. But really...while the blog does warm my heart too, it warms my heart even more to know that something I started as an outlet and "memory book" of sorts is becoming our story. Our successes, failures, hopes, dreams, smiles, cries, milestones, complaints, praises, joys. Our life. 

The layout of our family room is totally non-conducive to having a coffee table. So our old coffee table has made its way up to our game room. The boys use it as their coloring table and it also fits our train tracks perfectly. But I figured we could put it to additional use so I bought a can of dry erase board paint. (I didn't go with the chalkboard paint because for one, I didn't walk chalk dust everywhere and for two, Grant eats chalk. Like whole pieces.) Many, many, many coats of paint later and we now how a huge dry erase table. Here, the boys had me draw a "city" where they could decide what they wanted on each block. Tons of fun!

Kolbe's game face at his soccer game. Taking a much needed water break. It was hot!!!

Kolbe is totally soccer-crazy right now. He LOVES it! So despite his earlier game, we still had to go back up to the park after dinner on Saturday for another family game of soccer.

And man, isn't this guy just precious!?!

We're trying to get back into the habit of having a solid Sunday dinner as a family. Since Mark's work schedule can be somewhat erratic during the week, it's nice to have at least one meal that is special for all of us. Over our Labor Day weekend trip to Dallas, Cristi made us The Pioneer Woman's pot roast and it was delicious so we decided to give it a try and our house and it did not disappoint! Best pot roast ever!

Can't decided what's more delicious...the ice cream or that face! Mark took Kolbe to his soccer practice on Tuesday evening and they went for their own little Dada and Kolbe time afterwards. The older the boys get, the more they want to connect with us. And we certainly don't want to let the opportunities pass us by so having these one-on-one times is so special and so important. They have so much to say and are just so, so precious.

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 34

1. The hubs and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary this weekend. 2,190 days and we're still in love. Toot, toot! We snuck out to have dinner at a favorite restaurant of ours, Brio. (ok, it's probably more mine than his but when you're married what's mine is yours and that includes favorites!) We were reflecitng on the past year(s) and how, though we've certainly been through our share of ups and downs with life, our marriage has always been a strong and steady constant. There are certainly things in life that I'd do differently, choices I'd change, and actions I'd take back. But without a shadow of a doubt I know for certain that I made the right choice in marrying Mark. I'm sure you've all seen those "tips for a happy life" posters that all start with "Marry the right person." Thank God I did.  I love my husband.

2. Before our anniversary dinner we snuck over to the mall to make a large purchase. As of Sunday, we have officially joined the world of Mac owners. Both our desktop and laptop computers have been on the skids for quite some time. Our laptop was even giving us the "your battery has reached the end of it's usable life and though it may work while plugged in, it must be replaced" message. We've been saving up for a while to purchase a Mac so when the laptop decided to give up on life even when plugged in, we decided to finally pull the trigger and get our new computer. Can I just say... ouch! These puppies are expensive! I know some of you may be rolling your eyes and thinking Dang, Mark is a PA, Laura has her own little business...it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Our student loan payment is just a few bucks shy of our mortgage payment, people. I kid you not. Sure, we may be making pretty good money now, but we're still living tight for the next eight years or so. And knowing me, even then... But I digress. With this investment, we're trying hard not to let the boys get their grubby paws on our new iMac. At least until they know how to respect it properly. Which means it is not upstairs in the game room. And which also means that I have not had the time I'd like to sit down and figure it all out. (there's almost always at least one urchin hanging over my shoulder) But I'm determined to learn the whole Mac system and use it to its full potential. In other words, I don't want to invest this much in a computer to only use it for web surfing and word processing! I need a guru to just come over here and give me a full demonstration. (yes, I know they offer that at the store but let's get real people...)

3. My youngest brother, Dave, came to town this week and we had a blast with him! Dave and I have always been close. Heck, I was eight when he was born...he was my real life baby doll! He will be graduating from Tech in December which makes me feel oh, so old. And should make my parents feel even older. No kids in high school is one thing...no kids in college? Yikes. (I kid, I kid... Kind of.) He came over on Monday night and helped us with the new computer. Oh, and uploaded all of his MP3s to our hard drive. Gotta love free music! We had lunch and dinner with him on Tuesday and then got to spend a ton of time with him yesterday. First we went to the Rob Fleming Pool which is like a mini water park here in The Woodlands. Grant stayed with a neighbor friend of ours so that we could really take the whole swim complex in with the bigger boys. (Grant has reached that impossible stage at the pool.) Afterwards, I took Grant home for a nap and the older boys got to stay and hang out with Uncle Dave. They played games and explored the old toy closet at Pinkie and Pa's. Then Uncle Dave took them to Toys-r-Us and spoiled them with a new Cars racetrack. They've only been begging for one of those for months! Dave is such a great uncle, brother, and friend. His patience with the boys is actually pretty remarkable for a guy his age! We're looking forward to seeing him again at Christmas. (I got no pictures while he was here! What's wrong with me!?!)

Mark brought me the prettiest roses for our anniversary

Enjoying dinner at Brio!

Aaaaand the annual trying-on of the ol' wedding dress.  Still "fits!" (read: I was able to get the zipper up, had to cut the sewn in cups out long ago, and could only keep it on comfortably for a few minutes) The boys love seeing Mama's wedding dress and it has become a special little tradition for our family. I think it's important for them to see how special our marriage is to us.

My little Rudy up to bat

Kolbe had is annual check-up this week. He's 39" tall and 34 pounds.  Tiny little fella, I know! He passed all of his tests (vision and hearing) and is a healthy, happy little guy. I can't believe he's almost five!