Texas BLUEBONNETS

This fall, I missed the beautiful leaves we had in Ohio. And a teeny, tiny part of me missed the first snowfall we had in Idaho. But seeing gorgeous blue flowers popping up all over the fields...well, I dare say that these bluebonnets are my new favorite Texas thing! :)

We attempted a few photo shoots--the boys one day, and Jenna the next. However, on Jenna's night we ran into a little boy she goes to school with and chatted with his family, and in the few minutes we talked, our magic light was gone. I was so bummed,..

(p.s. no worries...this is a non-operational railroad track!)

The boys..insisted on wearing long sleeves. It was 82 degrees. I think they're slightly crazy. :)
They need haircuts...and had dirty faces...
but sometimes when you've got the time and the place and the people to take pictures of, you've just got to sieze the day! :)

Spencer was trying to be a bluebonnet angel.

 And here we have a traditional Spencer pose.

I'm not going to say how many pictures it took to get a smile from Carter.
It was lots though. But hey, you only need one good one! :)

LOVE these beautiful flowers...that the earth feels green and fresh and new right now.
Spring in Texas...I'd say it's pretty darn good.

Thoughts on...Television

As much as I wish I could deny it, Brandon and I love to watch TV together. We have our certain "shows" that we watch together after a long day--it's fun to unwind and have spend time together.

We had satellite or cable for a long time because it was included in our rent, and we never got rid of it when we had to pay on our own--Oh, and DVR came with it, thanks to a STELLAR deal I ended up with (we paid about $22 for ALL of it!) But when we moved to Texas, we decided that since we weren't certain of all our bills and how much things would end up costing, and how far our paycheck would go, it was time to get rid of the satellite.

I remember writing a post right before we cut it off, about how nervous I was to let it go. It's strange how I developed such a connection with TV! I used to have tons of shows stored up. I could go find something to watch any time I was bored. I looked forward to watching all the line-ups of things.And I always knew what shows were on and which season they were in.

Fast forward to today.

I was thinking about how we've made this TV situation (or going without it) work for us. Brandon and I still have a few shows we like to watch--but the selection is getting slimmer and slimmer. Partially because we have no idea what's on anymore! :) And partially because we no longer watch 2 hour shows several times a week (bye bye Biggest Loser and  American Idol!) We watch the few shows we keep up with on Hulu the day after they air- and occasionally on the network channel online. We end up having something to watch 2-3 days a week, if we're lucky (meaning, if it's in a current season!). And we watch only on our laptop. Is it glamorous? Not by any means! lol. In fact, often I feel like a poor college student huddled in bed while we watch a show on the computer.

But mostly, I feel that it's been SUCH a great blessing to NOT have TV.

I realize now how consumed I was with having something to watch nightly--or more than nightly. I feel I use my time better. That WE use our time better, in general. And I love that I can put that money I spent previously, to pay down other bills we have.

I will say that we ended up getting Netflix for the kiddos to have something to watch on occasion, since we have no channels/shows without it. But we have days the TV isn't even on at ALL, which is a stark change from before.

I am not saying this is for everyone. I didn't even think it was for ME really. I'm just saying that as I look at how 10 months satellite-free has changed me, I see that making the decision was one of the greatest things ever for us...

Thoughts on....big dates.

Brandon and I rarely get out.

And when we do, it ends up being a, "let's grab a bite to eat and run back home".

So to have the chance to dress up, mingle with other adults, eat a catered meal, and not be watching the clock constantly was SOOOO fun.

Saturday night we attended the annual Gala for the Medical Alliance I am a member of.

We really had such a good time!!

And may I just say...that after 8 years of school (8 very long years of school!) a night like this was SO very anticipated. We aren't really fancy people, per se, but to have the opportunity to be that for a few hours was such a break from the everyday norm. We ate a meal with 4 different forks. We had our choice of beverage. We listened to beautiful live music. We bid on an auction to raise money for a children's hospital...and it was kind of the tip of seeing where Brandon's hard work has taken him. All the others in attendance were Residents or Fellows. All have had a similar path of long years of schooling and hard work!

I suppose I can't quite put into words the feeling I had...

it seems silly to try.

But through all the years of schooling, I envisioned being invited to a fancy dinner like we attended...

I looked forward to when and if it would ever be our turn for something like that.

And I think it made last night, all that much more fun.

Thoughts on...being a Weight Watchers Leader

Back in November,  I attended a training to help fulfill my requirements to become a Weight Watcher Leader.
January 3 was my very first meeting of my own...it was a whole new time (changed to work around my schedule) and I was a totally new leader. LOTS OF CHANGE to kickstart the new year!


This past week we marked 12 weeks of meetings. I would be lying if I said this was the first week to make me reflect on all that has taken place the past 12, in regards to my new role as a leader. The truth is, I think about it all the time. I worry, a lot.

I LOVE my group. It is ever changing...new additions and people missing for various reasons. But there are also so many who are consistent comers. I honest to goodness care about my Tuesday group SO much. Some people may think TOO much. :-) I think about them through the week, I keep the struggling in my prayers, I am concerned when people don't show up who I know would regularly be there, and I am SO THRILLED for the successes that take place. I personally want to do a happy dance and throw a party when people reach milestones! I feel so much joy in seeing the regulars, and in meeting new people who are beginning their journey. I LOVE so much about it...

 And yet, as with most everything, there's a flip side to this coin...
I think that because it REALLY is important to me...and I REALLY care, I tend to overthink things sometimes. For some reason I feel like the success of others rests on my shoulders. While I know deep down this isn't true, it has me always wondering if I should have presented something differently or asked different questions. And when people stop coming, I always question if I did or said something to drive them away. Oh, how that would break my heart! And yet, I know my personality and style may not be for everyone.
It's just a hard fact to accept sometimes.

Then we have the times I see my members in the community...LOVE that. :)
My members thoughts on that? Well...
I saw one of my members a few weeks ago at Walmart. I called her name and waved, and walked towards her to chat for a few. As soon as I got within 10 feet of her she blurted out, "this isn't mine!", while clutching a dark sack. I had no idea what it even WAS, but she went on to explain that her boyfriend sent her to the store to get brownies, but that she WASN'T going to eat any!


And another time a member told a friend that I was her Weight Watcher leader...and the friend said, "awkward! You must be the person nobody ever wants to see!"

I had to chuckle a little there...
But at the same time, I sometimes worry if that is true. :)
See, the impression that I apparently eat salad all day long and don't ever let a cookie grace my lips is 1000% incorrect. That is what I loved about Weight Watchers...that you CAN eat those things and still lose weight. That you CAN learn to have a healthy, moderate lifestyle.
And truth be told, I am human...I still have days that I struggle to make the best eating choices. I still have days I don't want to exercise. I am a person, just doing my best to get through life and stress and change...just like each of them.

I have learned so much about leading a meeting.
I still have a long way to go. I know that.
But I feel, despite the ups and downs of being a leader, I really want to be the best I can....for me, and for my members.
I guess I just hope, deep down inside, that somehow, somewhere, SOMEONE will feel even a inkling of inspiration to find in themselves something they never thought possible...

I can hope... :)

Thoughts on being married to a Podiatrist...

I've had oodles of thoughts run through my mind lately. So I'm finally going to take a few days to get them all out. :) Welcome to my "thoughts on..." project.

First up...
Thoughts on being married to a Podiatrist.

I have decided that Podiatry is a very misunderstood field. Whenever someone asks me what Brandon does for work, and I respond, I am met with one of the following responses...

1- Oh, he must love children! (note...Podiatrics and PEDIATRICS are two totally different fields! lol) I always get a good laugh at that one...

2. Oh nice! So does he give you pedicures all the time? (haha...not only does he not know HOW to give pedicures, it's totally not in his job description. :)

3- He must LOVE FEET! Why on earth would he want to work with feet? (to that I ask to myself...why would anyone want to be a...dentist? Gynocologist? Urologist??)

4- "oh, I have foot problems!" This is followed with the person showing me their foot--sometimes with a shoe ON, but most often with a shoe OFF...But regardless of whether it's bare feet or not, I hear a whole history on problems they've had, surgeries that have been performed, and what they think of their podiatrist...all while "said person" stares at their feet! True story...over and over. :) It is quite amusing.

I've got to be honest...most often, THEY know much more about the terminology being used than I do...just because I am MARRIED to a foot doctor, doesn't mean I know what he does! :) But it always cracks me up...

I love it--I love that I never know what to expect...and yet I know exactly what my response will be followed by. :)

The LUCKY Race Day

A few weeks ago the kids came home with fliers announcing a St. Patty's Day 5k/fun run to raise money for our the Children's Hospital, as well as give the chance for each school in the area to win money for their P.E. program (based on the number of participants from each school). My kids BEGGED to participate. They begged and begged and begged.
Did I mention they begged?

It was clearly a big deal to them. Brandon was scheduled to be on call, and wouldn't be able to make it, and thoughts of keeping track of everyone in such a large running crowd made me really nervous. But we decided to go for it and just sign them up for the 1k. Jenna got busy fundraising, and thanks to some dear friends and family and the power of Facebook, she had reached her $50 goal in a matter of days! I wish I had recorded her reaction when she saw her fundraising page get to the goal! SHE WAS THRILLED! Kaden and Spencer were signed up on her team as well, and all shared such an excitement for this event!

Then it came time for race day...but it was so windy...and SO cold. And SOOOO rainy.
And it was rescheduled for March 17th.

The best part of rescheduling was that Brandon was able to go with us, and it ended up being a nice day (thankfully!)

Here's our crew for their pre-race photo--

And they're OFF! :)
Don't ask me why Brandon is pushing the stroller with a sleeping Carter while I stand there and take pictures.
I am still baffled as to why it didn't click that I should take the baby and let him run with the kids.

I was watching for the stroller to come back around, when all of a sudden a little green streak came around the corner and I realized it was Jenna!

Then shortly after, Kaden came running by.
It surprised me because I assumed they would all stay together, and the kids would be too scared to run alone. But they proved me wrong...they were so courageous and did a fantastic job!

And a few minutes later, in all their glory, came the last of the runners. Poor Spencer was POOPED!
He was doing a great job, but just didn't much left to give. :)

I think his face shows what most of us feel about running... :)

But when it came time for the medals, it was all smiles...and relief! :)

(though he looks like he's scowling, he really was just staring off into the distance)

And Carter slept through it all...

We waited through the awards, and stayed for the school ceremony--our school won 3rd place and $500 for their P.E. program! We were SO excited to represent them and earn such a fantastic prize! :)

It was such an awesome event! There was tons of food and drinks, freebies, and great shirts and medals!
We will DEFINITELY do it again next year--and I may just sign up for it myself. :) 

Here's the SCOOP

It is a life essential to document your child's first ice cream cone. I am certain Carter has shared a scoop with us on occasion, but this time was all him.

HE WAS THRILLED. He has LOVED watching the kids lately and then following whatever they do. So as they lined up and we dished out ice cream, he lined up too. We didn't put MUCH in, but he was SO proud. He did the Carter waddle (which you've just gotta see to understand) right out the back door. He climbed up on the swingset , went down the slide, ran around the yard. Nothing could separate him from his cone.











And what I love most? That he LOVES to get his picture taken. LOVES it. He will cheese and then run to see the picture on the back of the camera, and giggle with delight.

I want to bottle that happiness...it's really, really special.

The kids, of course, wanted in on the action as well. But not just ordinary cheese faces. They wanted to do crazy cheese faces.


And I let them...because one day they are going to look back at these and say, "mom, why on earth did you take this picture of me!?" And I will say, "well, sweetheart, you WANTED me to." And then I will kindly put them enlarged in every slideshow, memory montage made in their honor for the rest of their lives. :)
kidding...only kidding. :)

So this is love...

I got a new camera for my birthday...

well, really I bought it for myself with part of our tax return and it came on my birthday.

;) Some years, that's just how gifts go.

Still needing to read the manual..it's big.

And still dying to know everything I can about my new toy...

there's a lot to know.

But just wanted to share a few shots while taking my new baby for a spin. :)

Thirty-TWO

This past week marked my birthday, and turning 32.

I have no shame when it comes to age.

(or posting self-portraits, apparently. lol. Just had to document my wrinkles at 32) :)

I don't even try to make jokes about turning 20...again.

Nope.I am 32. That's all there is to it. And quite honestly, I wouldn't WANT to be 20 again {shudder}

Life back then was carefree, in sense...and yet so, so complicated.

Life now...far less carefree...still kind of complicated...but so much better. :)

This birthday made me realize a few things...

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS. I know for some people it's not a biggie, or they want to ignore that the day exists. But there is some image in my mind that your birthday is the one day that is JUST for you. It's not a generic mother's day or Valentine's day, where you're clumped into an expected scenario of celebrations.

No, a birthday is different.

And I love that. Birthdays growing up were the days where you just happened to look great and you win any contest at school and they announce your name over the loudspeaker (even though they ALWAYS mispronounced my last name)... and it just felt GOOD. Birthdays are the days where things just happen to go RIGHT. 

But the older I get, the more I realize that isn't always true as an adult.

 The whining and neediness of children doesn't go away.

The dishes are still there.

The meals still need to be made. 

School is still in session for the wee ones.

Babies still wake up...at insane hours.

There are still messes to clean.

And somehow the magic has faded.

Yet, I find myself reaching out for it...wanting SO BADLY to hold onto it for just a little longer.

So this week, when Brandon was working insanely long hours, on-call...

And Abby was working oodles of hours...

The kids were grumpy...

And life was just happening..

I just held on to this HOPE that a magic wand would appear and make my birthday special.

Brandon still worked crazy hours that day...but we were able to squeeze in a little bit of family time for dinner out. And Abby had the morning off, so we hit up Chick-fil-a for breakfast together (even though it was pouring outside). And I was able to get my hair cut (which hasn't happened for almost 8 months), even though I got lost on the way there AND back. And later when she went to work, I got to take Carter and Spencer for a birthday freebie ice cream...even though it was cut short by a major bowel blowout all over their public bathroom by a sweet 4 year old.

It was a good day--filled with wonderful messages from my Facebook friends, and phone calls from my mom and a sweet friend..

I just don't want that birthday magic to end. I don't want the BEST DAY OF THE YEAR feeling to go away.

And yet I feel like every year is one year closer to it being just another day on the calendar.

That being said, I just want to reflect on 31.

31 was a year of trials. The floods we dealt with, the moving cross country, the bills, the loneliness, the uncertainty, the changes that whipped my emotions in every which direction.

31 was also a year of blessings...a chance to go home and visit family twice. It was a year of seeing how and why Heavenly Father needed me to learn certain lessons. 31 was trying to hold on to the incredible feeling I was coming off of after losing weight and being at the pinnacle of health...and 31 was trying to shuffle those feelings to fit my life now, in a different way than they were before.

31 was bike-riding and meeting neighbors and paying for furnace repair. 31 was figuring out post-school and all the paperwork that comes with that. 31 was buying our first home and paying off our car and wearing a swimsuit without a shirt over it for pretty much the first time in my life.

31 was good. 

But I am bound and determined to make 32 even better.

Leggo my Legos

Gramma Net and Grandpa (my mom and dad) gave the kids Legos for Christmas. 

TOTAL HIT. Everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) loves them! It is the sweetest thing ever to see the kids playing together with them, building things. (granted, we do have our arguments at times). But overall, it's been a GREAT toy in our house!

And on this particular day, I just had to document...my sweet family, everyone together. Just spending time together...building, laughing, reading, playing.

Because moments like this are rare.

And moments like this are PRICELESS.