Annnnnd where did March go?

Oops.

This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last.  Sometimes life happens and you get super distracted.  Sometimes you realize that you've done so much in the past month that you have to go through your Facebook posts and iPhoto albums to see just HOW much you've done.  Sooooo.. here goes!

We left off on March 8th where I was trying out a new parenting technique by putting the baby in the bathtub while I take a shower.  Works like a charm.  I've done it a couple of times since then.  Just let Ellie have my phone and throw on some Yo Gabba Gabba and she's in a trance for a few minutes.  Add in a snack and some milk and she's good to go.  (Especially if the snack is Goldfish Vanilla Cupcake Grahams... NOM).

Next up: Spring Break!

I had grand plans for Spring Break.  I was going to fill SB with playdates, lunches, and a trip home to see my Longview peeps.  Instead, I enjoyed laying on the couch, being lazy, playing with Elle, 1 playdate, several lunches, and a partridge in a pear tree.  On Tuesday we went to 7 Acre Wood with Lillian and her mommy Amy and it was SO much fun.  It's such a cool place for all ages.  Ellie especially enjoyed the cars and playhouses.  Lillian liked the swings and the cars.  Good times!  We rounded out Spring Break with an impromptu St. Patrick's Day party at my inlaws with a custom made shirt by moi!  Blog post on that to come soon. Here are some SB pics:

 Enjoying the weather outside at Cafe Express & soccer!

 We got a new outdoor playset for $30 - thank you resale groups on Facebook!

Being a silly scarecrow with my friend Lillian and yelling at me from inside the playhouse.

 

And last but not least, our little Irish girl all dressed up for St. Paddy's Day. 

Next up: the dreaded week after Spring Break.

I know none of you know any of my "kids" (students), but can I get a heck yeah for how awesome they were the week after spring break?  They were amazing.  Polite, ready to learn, well rested, lovely little darlings.  The kind of kids that make you SO thankful to be a teacher.  Love those little nuggets!  They made being a teacher easy that week as well as last week.  In fact, I had such a great week that me and Ellie gave the "Wut Whhuuuuuut??" while playing outside. 

 

Moving on: Last week March 25-29.

Last week rocked.  Tuesday my school had a fundraiser where they sold plates from Texas Roadhouse.  "You mean I don't have to cook and I get delicious ribs for dinner for a great price?"  HOLLA!  Also last week was Elton Week so I forced my students to listen to him all week and gave special prizes to those few who could remember the random Elton trivia that I kept rambling about.  Then finally, the day came.  Thursday was my first time getting to see Elton John in concert.  And now I think Sir Elton deserves his own blog post.....  maybe Easter too...

Sir Elton John

"GET BACK!  HONKY CAT!"  <--- love that song.
"Daniel my brother, you were older than me, do you still feel the pain.... of the scars that won't heal."  <--- that one too.
"I'm still standing, better than I ever did, looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid." <--- duh.
Okay, I could just type out the lyrics to my favorite Elton songs, but I guess I'll tell you about the best concert I've ever been to instead.
A few things you should know before we move on:
1. I love Elton.  A lot.  I've been obsessed with him since I was about 6.  I've made numerous best friends simply because we both love EJ.  If you don't love Elton, I'm not sure we can be friends.
2.  In fact, I love Elton John SO much that when my husband said we could NOT name our son Elton, I cried a little.  I also cried a little when he agreed that we could name our son Levon if he was born on Christmas (I was certain that Ellie was a boy, and her due date was actually Christmas).  As the due date got closer, I started second guessing this decision because people kept saying "LaVonne" instead of the proper pronunciation.  Silly people.
3. ELeanor.. ELton... coincidence?  I'll let you figure that one out.
Okay moving on.  For Valentine's Day, my sweet husband surprised me with tickets to see Elton John and at the time, just finding out that I would be going to the concert was the 3rd best day of my life.  You can imagine how stoked I was as the date approached.
Thursday I lost it.  Like seriously.  I was GIDDY all day long and my kids could do no wrong.  They had perfect attendance and I had promised them popcorn, but I was in such a wonderful movie and they had been SO good all week, that I threw in a surprise and rented Wreck It Ralph for them to watch as they ate their popcorn for the last 20 minutes of the day.  As I left work I was literally skipping through the hallways and telling everyone I encountered that I was going to the concert that evening.  "Hey random custodian who I've seen twice and who doesn't speak English - I'm going to see Elton John in concert!  Yes!  Elton Juan!" (okay, maybe I didn't say that, but you get the point).
After getting home from school, I got ready and we headed downtown for the show.  Downtown was PAAAAAAAACCKKKEEEDDD.  It was hard even finding a place to grab a drink.
Finally.  It. Was. Time.
We found our seats and THE MAN came on stage wearing a BEAUTIFUL red suit with a long red jacket that was bedazzled beyond belief.  It also said Captain Fantastic on the back.  EEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee was the noise I made all night.  And yes, I was the obnoxious girl singing at the top of her lungs along with every song and on her feet dancing like a fool even though everyone around me (except for you old man in a red shirt in section 423... you got me) was seated.
Deep breaths.  I'm getting way too excited even talking about it and I have to go to bed soon.  He opened with "The Bitch is Back" (I totally called that about an hour before the show), and played almost everything I wanted to hear.  The only other songs I wish he would have played were:
1. I Want Love.
2. Don't Go Breakin' My Heart

Other than that- perfection.

Tomball German Festival

Oops - another post started and never finished.  Sheesh.  This was March 23rd, 2013.  
On Saturday, we headed over to Tomball for a night of polka music, dark beer, and food on sticks. What I loved best about the Tomball German Festival: free admission and free parking! We had a super fun time and of course Ellie Bean the Dancing Queen debuted her dancing skills to the general public and had a blast. Our family friend Lanny had his very first funnel cake and so did Eleanor.  She LOVES sweets so she was very pleased.
They had a hilariously awesome polka band, a petting zoo, and tooooooons of food and beer.  And of course - here are a few pics. 

Actually no pics- maybe later I will post them... If I remember.
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Creative Parenting

Yesterday I was home with Ellie belly, but I had to get a shower and get ready for the rehearsal dinner I went to yesterday. With a busy toddler that bumps her head on everything, I had to come up with a way to keep her corralled while I showered and dried my hair. Enter- the bathtub playpen. Some pillows and blankets, toys, and my iPhone playing some Yo Gabba Gabba and we were set! Win!


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Backyard Sanctuary

When we were searching for a house, our number 1 priority on our list of "needs" was a SHADED backyard.  When we found our house one of the best things about it was the potential that the backyard had.  Don't get me wrong, it was a MESS when we first moved in.  Small patches of grass, but mostly dirt and mulch.  One of the first home improvement things we did was to get a landscaper out and sod the backyard and install sprinklers.  What a difference it made huh?


Shortly after we moved in.

 The old sandbox.

A few weeds, but not much grass."Landscaping"

And here's the "after sod" photos:

What a difference right?

After that we got a hammock as a house warming gift from Casey's parents and now the swing!

Up next: The deck!  We are building a deck the first weekend in April and I could not be more stoked.  I can just imagine watching Ellie play in the backyard while we lounge on the deck sipping a margarita and enjoying a beautiful day. 

We also have some other fun stuff planned that I can't wait to share!

Chairway to Heaven

Ellie has recently become obsessed with chairs and sitting on elevated things.  Around Christmas I wanted to get her this chair from Pottery Barn, but alas we had already spent about 1.3 million dollars on Christmas and her Birthday so we opted to wait.  Boy was that a mistake.  I think we could have just bought her a chair and that would have been plenty.

I first noticed this "sitting" behavior at daycare when she transitioned to the Toddler room.  I would be dropping her off and she would beeline for the chair next to the book shelf and plop down.  She also started sitting on us at home when we would lay on the floor to play with her.

Chair # 1:

C knew how much I wanted to get her a chair, so on Sunday he went up to PB and bought one while I was taking a sewing lesson with my MIL.  I looooove when he surprises me with stuff for Ellie and BOY did he do a good job.  Look at how presh her new chair is!

Here she is cheesing for a photo op in her jammies.



 Now if I could just get her to sit in it for longer than 30 seconds.  My sweet girl is always on the run!

The next chair we will talk about is our brand... new .... SWING!  

We have big plans for our backyard we've already done a lot (expect another post on that soon), but we felt like we had nothing for Ellie to do.  Soooo, we bought a swing.  We had a Mexican hammock chair (that was virtually impossible to sit in) hanging from my favorite tree in the back yard, so we just switched them out.  Here's our girl... just a swangin'.

 Gotta love the amazing weather we've been having.

BayBay!

Ellie has a new favorite word. It all started with this weird doll that my mom's father awkwardly gave Ellie at Mom's funeral. Of course I wanted to throw it away immediately, but Ellie seemed intrigued. Since then, she has been playing with the babies at school with her friends and has now latched on to the word "baby". She has about a billion different inflections depending on her mood and it's so adorable. Baybee? Bah bah? Bay BEE! Bebe! Behbay! Baby!!!


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