Farmers Market Fun

Went to The Woodlands Farmers market last weekend and picked up some yummy focaccia bread and some Indian food. Also came across a super sweet pup that was up for adoption. Hoping he finds a home soon. It was so hard to not take him home.











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P-6 Farms 2013

Went back to P-6 Farms this year and it didn't disappoint.  Ellie had a blast playing in the pumpkins, jumping on the "corn popper", and wandering through the corn maze.  We also got some amazing family photos thanks to my bestie - Sara Baker. 

Fall Festival

Fun times at 7 Acre Wood with Grammy and Pop!

Running Game

I'm back in the running game friends.

On Thursday, my school had our first annual running club kick off at Fleet Feet sports in The Woodlands. I'm so excited to be heading up this new and exciting club at Snyder. I'm also excited for cooler weather so I can start running again. I picked these beauties up at Fleet Feet and I am hoping I love them as much as my beloved Vibram Five Fingers. Updates to come hopefully.




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Meat Meet 2013

Today our friends the Soeders hosted a get together called Meat Meet. It was a fun get together and an excuse for me to attempt to make porkchops which I normally steer clear of because I always end up drying them out
Well they weren't perfect, but they were pretty good. I wish I would've take a picture before they were devoured, but I was so excited I didn't burn them or undercook them that I just ran with it.
Oven Roasted Porkchops
Brine for 2 days:
Lime juice
Apple juice
Vinegar (apple cider or red wine)
Let sit for 10 minutes
Salt, pepper, garlic salt
Sear on both sides 2 minutes each
Bake in oven at 350 for 20 minutes.
Yummmmm

We also got a chance to hang out with some friends from college and their kiddos. Such a great day!









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Days gone by

Ellie,

You are now 21 months old. It's hard for me to tell people you are 1 because you are definitely not a 1 year old. I can't tell people you are 2, because well, you aren't quite there yet. It's kind of like that Britney Spears song, your not a baby, not yet a kid.

Every day is filled with your smiles, silly songs, and laughter. I could not ask for a better daughter than you. You truly complete me.

Today was one of the first days in months where you didn't get a good nap. You napped for maybe 15 minutes in the car on the way to our friends' house and were a trooper all day long. God, you are such a great little girl.

Tonight, you were tired but wanted to keep coloring with Mommy. I took away your crayons and you would have thought that the world ended. You threw a full on fit. I was able to wrestle you into my lap and lay you down and you focused on a movie (Cars 2) for a few minutes before drifting off.

Holding you in my arms and listening to you sleep is always the highlight of my day, but it has been happening more and more infrequently lately. One day very soon you won't want to snuggle with mommy on the couch and fall asleep. No, you'll be too big
for that. But for now you are still my baby and I will soak up as many nights like this as I can.

I love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.




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Singing in the Rain

Somebody loves puddles...
















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Well, hello there.

Maybe just maybe, I'll start blogging again. Maybe. For now I'm insanely busy being a 2nd grade Math/Science teacher, being the Room Mom for Ellie's preschool, selling Scentsy, taking Ellie to swim lessons, starting the Stallion Running Club at my new school, oh and being a mom and wife full time as well. I've been busy before, but never, ever, ever this busy. In a good way. I love my life.














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A year and a half later...

And I STILL absolutely love my OB. Here is the beautiful Dr. D and Ellie at my appointment yesterday. Visiting with her actually makes me want to get pregnant again so we can see her more often! :)


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The Flights

I just want to take a second to document the fact that I have the best toddler of all time.  Let it be known that on both our flight to Los Angeles and from LA to Houston Eleanor slept the ENTIRE time.  She was perfect and Casey and I were both so thankful.  You go Ellie!  You really earned your wings!

California Love

Katie & Bryan's wedding was gorgeous.  Gorgeous setting, gorgeous couple, and especially gorgeous dress.  Here are some pictures from a beautiful evening of love and second chances.

DisneyLand

Ahhhh the magic!  Really though... that place was magical.

Last Thursday (can't believe it was a week ago) Aunt Lorie, Uncle Ed, myself, Casey, and Eleanor went to the most magical place on Earth, DisneyLand in California.  I had never been to any Disney park and Casey had only been to DisneyWorld in Florida.  Aunt Lorie & Uncle Ed had only been once before and that was in 1984, so everything was pretty new for all of us.  I had been reading this book and I'm SO glad I did.  It made our trip so much easier and orderly which meant less time standing in lines and more time having fun.

Soooo here's the rundown!  We entered the park at 7:30 and headed straight for FantasyLand.   We oooed and ahhhed over Sleeping Beauty's castle (although it was WAY smaller than I expected) and waited for the "line to drop".  At 8am the opening music and announcements came on and I was excited as I've ever been.  We headed to the back of the park and immediately got in line for Peter Pan's Adventure.  We rode Peter Pan and then King Arthur's Carousel which Ellie LOVED because she is obsessed with "horsies" right now. 

After that we did Dumbo and the Teacups... a must for a first Disney trip.

After a few more rides and walking around FantasyLand a bit we headed back to Toon Town to ride Roger Rabbit and check out some gift shops.  Of course we had to buy ears and we even talked Casey into wearing a Mousekateer style hat all day.  You may think I'm joking, but I never found him sexier than seeing him wear those ears for his daughter.  I loved it!

 We rode toooons of rides throughout the day and I even saw Nicole Richie walking around!  (Not going to lie, that was one of the highlights of my day). 

 In case you were looking for a gift for a Disney lover, you can always buy this Swarovski encrusted replica of Cinderella's castle for ONLY $37,500.  It's a steal!

After walking around the park a bit and grabbing some lunch in TomorrowLand while watching the Jedi Trainings, we headed back to ToonTown to visit Minnie.  Here's some background on the "Mouse" for Ellie...  Since Ellie was about 6 months old, she was not interested in any television shows EXCEPT for Yo Gabba Gabba.  It's no secret that Ellie is a Gabba Addict, but we've been trying to help her branch out a bit by sometimes putting on other cartoons like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Backyardigans.  Again, not interested.  I wanted her to be familiar with some Disney characters so we've been watching some Disney movies and reading Disney Princess books.  I've also been pointing out the "Mouse" everywhere we go.  I took Ellie to the Disney store in the mall the week before our trip and she immediately gravitated toward a stuffed Minnie Mouse and kept saying "Mouse! Mouse! Mouse!".  Sooooo when we got to Disney, Aunt Lorie and Uncle Ed bought her a Minnie doll and she LOVED it. 

When we stepped into Minnie's house (you have to go through her house before you meet her), Ellie was in heaven.  She was running around pointing at pictures of Minnie and playing with everything.  She climbed up on Minnie's bed and sat at Minnie's table with me.  When we finally turned the corner to go see Minnie (after waiting in line for over an hour, because I didn't follow the instructions in the book to go see Minnie as early as possible to avoid lines)  Ellie's entire face lit up and she started getting giddy with excitement.  "Mouse!  The Mouse!  Minn Mouse!", she kept saying. 

We had been watching the other children's reactions to Minnie to prepare ourselves in case Ellie had a meltdown (most of the other children were screaming in terror while the poor parents tried to snap semi decent photos of their children), but Ellie was ready.  She ran over to Minnie and I picked her up and she immediately grabbed Minnie's face and gave her the BIGGEST kiss on the nose.  Minnie seemed very grateful to have a kid who was excited to see her and not terrified. 

Here's Ellie kissing the Mouse and a group shot of all of us. 

After the mouse we got ready for the parade.  I will have to say that this was one of the best parts of the day.  The Disney cast was on point and did a fantastic job.  Ellie loved it and was dancing the entire time. 

We had dinner at Cafe Orleans and if you ever go to DisneyLand I highly recommend going there.  We had the Pommes Frites (amazeballs) and Casey and I shared the Gumbo Crepes and Monte Cristo sandwich.  YUM!

After dinner, Aunt Lorie and Uncle Ed headed back to the hotel.  We were getting tired too so we figured we would be right behind them.  Nope.  We all got a second wind and had a blast riding more rides.  We stayed for the fireworks (which were incredible, btw) and after spending almost 15 hours in the park with no breaks, we both had tears in our eyes as we walked out. 

Yep.  That's right.  We are now "Disney People".  I can't say enough how wonderful the cast was and how clean the park was.  The food was excellent and as long as I followed the recommend routes from the book, the line times were super easy (no more than 15 minutes in any lines except for Minnie Mouse).  We will definitely be going back.