Spring Break

My parents came over to visit for Spring Break!  Here's what we've been up to lately.

We went to dinner at Kobeya after I picked them up from the airport.  This is Michael's favorite place to eat and he can put down some fried rice and shrimp.

We also ate at Om in Carrollton.  I love this place.  It's Korean barbecue that you cook yourself at the table.  They have awesome short ribs. And it's all you can eat.  Delish!

Both boys had a soccer game - one of the only days that was cold, windy and drizzle-y. Matthew's game was in the morning.  Michael's game was in the evening.  They played for 20 minutes and the referee called the game because of lightening.  Funny, but every other team continued to play.  Ref must have had a date or something.

The weather has been awesome so we tried to be outside as much as we can before it gets way too hot. We hung out at the Southlake Square and I did a little shopping.

They love to wrestle...

You can tell that Mark and Matthew were thrilled about having his picture taken.

We went to the Dallas Arboretum for the Dallas Bloom exhibit.  It was gorgeous.  Love all the colorful tulips and flowers. After that, we thought we would head out to the Ft. Worth Zoo, but when we got off the freeway, there was a line about a mile long to get in to park.  We decided to skip it and then found out the it was half price day. If I had known, I would not have even attempted the trip. Craziness.

More wrestling...

Lunch at McDonald's after the Arboretum

Just hanging out with Poh-poh and Gong-gong most of the time

What Happened This Weekend? Not Much.

Like the rest of our weekend from now until end of May, both boys had a soccer game on Saturday.  Michael’s game was in the Colonyat 9:15 in the morning and it was freezing!  The field was out in the open with no trees or buildings to block the wind so that did not help. The boys did not win and they did not play well.  It seemed like once they get scored on, they shut down. Hopefully, they will do better next weekend.

Matthew played really well!  He was pushing people around and he was guarding his guy like he was playing basketball.  I think his team lost 2-3, but he played with passion. 

After the games, I was beat. I had Michael and Matthew play with Mark upstairs and I took a little nap.  Then it was time to go grocery shopping.  This is one of my favorite things to do now because Michael and Mark come along with me.  Michael is getting to be a big help – he helps me get the stuff on our list so it helps save me some time.  The flip side is that we always end up getting him a treat that we had not planned on.  This week was the sour pops.  I just enjoy spending time with my two little men. On rare occasions, Matthew will come with me a Mark if Michael is not around.

The weather was so nice on Sunday.  Michael had a play date with Daniel and then soccer practice so he was gone half the day.  M and I convinced Matthew to walk around the lake with us while Michael was at Daniel’s house. I think he had a good time – he pushed Mark in the stroller the whole way.  We enjoyed talking to him one-on-one.  He always surprises me with his quick wit.

Sweet Sixteen

Little man is 16 months today!

You love to eat.  You snack all day long.  Your favorite foods are rice, chicken, meatloaf and steak. You love strawberries, blueberries raspberries, and clementines (mini-oranges).

You only say a couple of words - bye, hi, hot, mum-mum (eat), more, mama, and dada, but you understand almost everything we say. When we tell you it's time to go outside, you go get your shoes and your sweater.  You blow us kisses, give us kisses, and give us high-fives when we ask for them. You get very excited and walk towards the stairs when we tell you that it's shower or bath time.

You're still a horrible sleeper and wake up at least once a night for your bottle, but you know when you are tired and are ready for bed.  You get fussy and point to the microwave which tells us that you want us to warm up your bottle and put you to bed.

Sarah takes you to at least one story time a week and she says that you really enjoy it.  She tells me that you take what you want from other children and you are the most outgoing one most of the time. Your favorite things to do there is play with the parachute and crawl into the tube.  She also takes you out to the park and you love playing on the playground.

You make the funniest little faces I've ever seen.  When I ask you where your boo-boo is, you make this sad little face and point to your head even if you really don't have a boo-boo.  When you want something and we can't give it to you fast enough, you make two little fists, bite down really, and literally shake with anger.  You will add a scream to that when you are super angry.

You love playing with your brothers! And they love playing with you. You are the first person Michael wants to see when he gets home from anywhere. Michael loves to take care of you and he has been such a big help.  You love to watch him wrestle with Matthew and sometimes, you even join in on the action. I think Michael is too rough with you, but you don't seem to mind. He loves making you laugh and I love hearing your sweet laugh.

Happy sweet sixteen, my little monkey.  I love you so very much and can't imagine my life without you!

Thursday Brain Dump

Yes, I realized that today is Friday not Thursday-better late than never!

Just another brain dump post -

1.  Tonight is Matthews’ night!  He is playing a sheep in his school musical and he is not happy about it.  He’s got a bit of stage fright. All I needed to do was get him some sweatpants and a sweatshirt for this shindig.  Easy-peezy, right?  I had to go to 4 different places to find sweats. And he hates wearing them, I might add. I’ve prepped myself for a meltdown this evening.

2.  Last Saturday night, M and I attended a charity dinner to raise money for “limbs for Life,” an organization that provide prosthetics for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them.  Going out two weekends in a row without the kiddos? Yes, yes we did.  Dinner was good and the live auction was fun.  I couldn’t convince M to let me raise my paddle even if we were surely going to be outbid. Too bad we did not $10k hanging around to have Kent Rathbun cook for us and our guests at the home of Doug and Holly Brooks.

3.  Soccer season had started for both boys and I’m exhausted just thinking about getting to and from practices.

4.   Mark has discovered that he loves to walk around the house screaming.  Y’all, it is ear-piercing.

5.   I can’t believe today is the last day of February.

6.   I am so excited for Monday to see “The Bachelor – Ladies Tell All” It is going to be a train wreck.

7.   We’ve booked my parents’ flight to come visit us during the boys’ Spring Break so they can’t back out.  Super excited for them to see the boys.

8.   The Easter basket I ordered for Mark arrived.  It’s so cute!

9.   My little Michael will be wearing glasses.  He looks so handsome-I hate that he has bad eyes like me though.

A Day in My Life

Fun Link-up at Kelly’s Korner – “Day In the Life.”  I haven’t done one in a long time so I thought I’s join in.

This was my day on Wednesday.

5:30 – M woke up, got ready, and left for the airport.  I tried going back to sleep, but after lying in bed for another 20 minutes, I decided to get my day started. I gave Marky a kiss (he sleeps in our bed) and made sure his nuk-nuk was still in his mouth.

6:20 – 6:40 – Got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, put on make-up and went to wake up Matthew and Michael.  Luckily, they are so good about getting up in the morning. They are alert right away and get dressed on their own most of the time.  Most mornings, they are up and dressed and are downstairs having breakfast when I finished getting ready. Sometimes, we have drama because of wardrobe choices.  They want to wear shorts and t-shirts when it’s 20 degrees outside. I want them to wear jeans. I’m so mean and crazy because 20 degrees is not cold at all.

6:40 – 7:10 – I made my coffee, put the boys lunch in their backpack (I packed it the night before), and reminded the boys to go brush their teeth – it usually take me telling them 3 times to get them upstairs.

7:15 – 7:20 – I gathered my things that I’m taking to work with me (purse, phone, coffee) and leave it on my desk so I don’t forget anything. Told the boys to get their stuff together and get their shoes and jackets on.

7:25 – Sarah arrived. The boys and I walk up the street to the bus stop.

7:30 – 7:40 – Made sure the boys are on the bus safely, walked back home, gave Sarah a briefing of Marky’s night and am off to work! I don’t usually get to see my baby boy again until I get home because he’s still asleep when I leave the house.

7:40 – 8:15 – Driving in traffic to Dallas. On a good day, my commute is about 35 minutes.  On a bad day it can take an over an hour.  Wednesday was a good day. Monday was a bad day.

8:15 – 5:20ish – Work, work, work.  We had a sales training, but I had to leave early to go meet with a client.  Came back to the office and had another hour of training.  Got lunch and worked some more.

5:30 – 6:10 – Driving home in traffic.  Had to have the in-laws take Matthew to practice today because I know I would not be able to do it.  They came to pick him and Michael up at 5:30 to take them to Meadowmere Park.

6:11 – Got home, gave Mark a kiss and ran upstairs for a quick shower before Sarah has to leave at 6:30.

6:20 – Made something to eat-don’t remember what…

6:30 – Sarah left. Mark and I hang out/play/snack/watched TV

7:10 – 7:45 Boys got dropped off and headed to the shower right away. I started getting ready for the next morning; packed lunches, got coffee maker ready, cleaned up the kitchen.  Mark is usually playing with the Tupperware and the pots and pans while I’m doing these things.

7:45-8:30 – Michael, Mark and me chilled out in the family room while Matthew is upstairs on playing on the computer

8:30-8:45 – Boys got ready for bed

8:30 – 8:45 – I put Marky to bed

8:45 -9:00 – I went to check on the boys and hung out with them in bed for a little bit.  This is the time we talk about their days.  One of my favorite times of the day when they are usually more open to talking to me about their day and what is on their minds

9:00 – 9:30 – Read my book

9:30-9:45 – Got ready for bed and asleep by 10.  Exhausted.

On Grace

Yesterday, I went to a networking luncheon with one of my co-workers. It was in the Tower Club, 48 stories up in the heart of downtown – breathtaking view of Dallas and surrounding areas. I wish I had snapped a picture, but we were fashionably late and by the time we were seated, our speaker was about to start. 

I walked in not knowing what to expect, and walked out feeling very blessed.  Kat, the speaker and founder of this all-women organization called Polish spoke about Buddhism and the 8-fold path to enlightenment.  She talked about the 8 steps and how Buddha laid this all out for us to follow but leaves it up to the individual to follow it and complete all the steps.  Sounds like a good plan to me.  If I follow the steps that are laid out for me- I will achieve enlightenment.  It’s up to me – I control my destiny.

Then she spoke about Christianity – about grace. She described grace as something that we are given but did not deserve. Believing in grace is to have faith that no matter what we do, God’s plan for us will prevail. Believing in grace means to give up control. What?! Who wants to give up control of their own destiny and leave it up to somebody or something else?  Not this girl!

But then I thought about it some more.  What have I done to deserve this life that I am living? What have I done to deserve such wonderful people around me? What have I done to deserve parents who have given me so much, to deserve a loving husband, to deserve such beautiful, precious children? Probably no more than anybody else who is suffering.  So there must be grace. If I believe in grace, I must also have faith and trust in God and His plan for me – to let go of control, anxiety, fear, and envy. Because in the end, things will work out.  It has for the past 36 years.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast. -Ephesians 2:5

Wednesday Randoms

It’s cold and raining here.  Great soup weather, but not so good that soccer practice has been cancelled for Matthew, especially since they have not had a real practice and their first soccer game is this Saturday! I actually don’t mind the dreary weather.  I’m actually excited for the thunderstorm tonight – that’s what the weatherman said, anyway.

M is home, so tonight we will be watching “The Bachelor.” Yippee! AND, M is picking us up barbeque tonight for dinner from the Feedstore.  I love that place!

And since I have not posted pictures of the boys in almost a week, here they are. This was taken yesterday morning before we went outside to wait for the school bus.  My precious little boys!