Luke:
* "I be like Daddy when I grow up."
* "Mean Daddy, Mean Daddy, Mean Daddy, Mean Daddy..........." (You pick the melody, but just know he was singing this tune after being placed in his room for time out by, you guessed it, Mean Daddy!)
Anysa:
* "Come here Luker, Sissy loves Bubba so much." (much hugging going on.)
* "Moooooooooooooooooooooooom, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO HAVE 2 BABIES IN YOUR TUMMY?!! I never want a brother again!!" (As she is running from her brother who had irritated her, and me, one too many times.)
Monday, June 18, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
OUT.OF.BREATH
I just started Week 5, Day 1 of my 5K training. Seems so silly to think of myself as "in training"! The weeks before have been tolerable, even with my inconsistent schedule. This week is:
5 min brisk walk
3 min run
90 sec walk
5 min run
2.5 min walk
3 min run
90 sec walk
5 min run
All I can say is....I did it! It wasn't horrible, but I could tell I was really stretching myself. I actually spent the running parts praying which remarkably (or maybe not if I really think about it) made the running seem relatively easy. God might actually appreciate me running every day if it means me finding some time for Him. My running gang and I are looking into several races to do in the fall and are excited about this new adventure.
Out of breath also explains this hectic week of evening VBS. It was a really good one, but dealing with the kids after 9 pm for bedtime got old. VBS + PMS = a very tired MRS.
Luke is an only child this weekend for the first time, at least that he will have a memory of. I met my sister 1/2 way so Anysa could spend the weekend with them. She and her cousin have an intense love/not so much love relationship and had been missing each other. She will be watching her cousin in her dance recital tonight and then we will meet to pick her up on Sunday.
And finally, 2 girlfriends and I will be spending the evening with our friends Kenny and Sugarland. We will be sure to say hi for you!
Stacey
5 min brisk walk
3 min run
90 sec walk
5 min run
2.5 min walk
3 min run
90 sec walk
5 min run
All I can say is....I did it! It wasn't horrible, but I could tell I was really stretching myself. I actually spent the running parts praying which remarkably (or maybe not if I really think about it) made the running seem relatively easy. God might actually appreciate me running every day if it means me finding some time for Him. My running gang and I are looking into several races to do in the fall and are excited about this new adventure.
Out of breath also explains this hectic week of evening VBS. It was a really good one, but dealing with the kids after 9 pm for bedtime got old. VBS + PMS = a very tired MRS.
Luke is an only child this weekend for the first time, at least that he will have a memory of. I met my sister 1/2 way so Anysa could spend the weekend with them. She and her cousin have an intense love/not so much love relationship and had been missing each other. She will be watching her cousin in her dance recital tonight and then we will meet to pick her up on Sunday.
And finally, 2 girlfriends and I will be spending the evening with our friends Kenny and Sugarland. We will be sure to say hi for you!
Stacey
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Go Luke Go!
Our "baby" turned 3 on Monday and we celebrated jungle rescue style on Saturday. There is so much I want to say just about him and all his changes this past year, but will save it for another day and stick to the party details! I am requesting more pics from other family members. Hubby was in charge of the camera and since I like to be in charge of everything, I want to make sure there aren't some other great pics to be had. I had to use some subliminal messages to get this party theme. I am kind of a closet party planner. And I knew what would be cute and what I wanted and in turn what he would want-right? Probably one of those childhood things of wanting what you did not have as a kid. Anyway, Luke was sure he wanted some over-rated superhero theme, Superman and Spiderman led the votes. Me, however, felt like 3 was one of those last of ages-dangling precariously between one stage and the next. And besides, I did a fun little Dora Adventure party for Anysa when she was 3 and wouldn't it be cute and all if their scrapbook pages were all about the Spanish cousins! Anyway, I got my way and it turned out cute!
See how he fixed his hair "cool" with Daddy's gel!
I am in love with this precious smile!
Cousin Landon with Luke and Anysa. Landon got to come spend the night along with grandparents in order to attend the party. The kids had a great time but we missed big sister Hannah to complete the foursome. She couldn't make it. My sister and I have daughters 3 months apart and sons 1 month apart. We also have a cute nephew, Jackson, that we never get to see because they live in CA.
The cake! I have used the same cake lady in Grapevine several times and have never been disappointed. Her prices are pretty close to retail in stores, feed the same amount, but are just way darn cuter! The cake was kind of a jungle background with the large cookie tree. I added Diego and Baby Jaguar!
The jungle rescuers singing the birthday song. Here is where I am hoping someone got a picture of Luke's face! We had to do the birthday singing and candle blowing first b/c I was experiencing technical difficulties with the cake due to the humidity. I had the party at 10:30 at our park, but we still didn't beat the heat. But no rain!
Luke and his friends were helping Diego rescue jungle animals. They each brought a rescue backpack and then we let them choose the picture of the animal they wanted to rescue. We had hidden the animals around the park for them to rescue. Everyone also got handmade telescopes to help them find their animals. They loved it! I had already done all the goody bags weeks before and was just going to have them rescue another picture animal to match their first one. Then, on my balloon run, I ran into these adorable stuffed jungle animals for $.99/ea. Another party favor and so worth it!
Our menu included Jungle Worms (boiled hot dog strips), Dried Ants (raisins), Snake Eggs (grapes), Beetle Wings (chips), Crocodile Teeth (cringe-cut apple wedges), and Jungle Juice (juice boxes). As you can imagine, some of them were less than thrilled with the idea of eating animals, but they were good sports. Can't say I really blame them on the Jungle Worms (see up close pic by cake!).
The present thing is always a struggle for me. Like my children need anything. In fact, for Anysa's 4th bd, party guests brought a book to donate and she opened family gifts. She may have been a bit young to understand, but with a January birthday, sometimes she gets a little greedy! The other struggle is the mob-like thing that happens every.time! They can't help themselves, they love the thrill of what they give and what is being received. I know that, really I do, but I am a picture person and it is all about my kid at the time! Anyway, only twice have I remembered to put my kid up higher than the fans. It makes such a difference.
Saying "thank you" and "good-bye" to all our jungle rescue partners!
HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY LUKE!
See how he fixed his hair "cool" with Daddy's gel!
I am in love with this precious smile!
Cousin Landon with Luke and Anysa. Landon got to come spend the night along with grandparents in order to attend the party. The kids had a great time but we missed big sister Hannah to complete the foursome. She couldn't make it. My sister and I have daughters 3 months apart and sons 1 month apart. We also have a cute nephew, Jackson, that we never get to see because they live in CA.
The cake! I have used the same cake lady in Grapevine several times and have never been disappointed. Her prices are pretty close to retail in stores, feed the same amount, but are just way darn cuter! The cake was kind of a jungle background with the large cookie tree. I added Diego and Baby Jaguar!
The jungle rescuers singing the birthday song. Here is where I am hoping someone got a picture of Luke's face! We had to do the birthday singing and candle blowing first b/c I was experiencing technical difficulties with the cake due to the humidity. I had the party at 10:30 at our park, but we still didn't beat the heat. But no rain!
Luke and his friends were helping Diego rescue jungle animals. They each brought a rescue backpack and then we let them choose the picture of the animal they wanted to rescue. We had hidden the animals around the park for them to rescue. Everyone also got handmade telescopes to help them find their animals. They loved it! I had already done all the goody bags weeks before and was just going to have them rescue another picture animal to match their first one. Then, on my balloon run, I ran into these adorable stuffed jungle animals for $.99/ea. Another party favor and so worth it!
Our menu included Jungle Worms (boiled hot dog strips), Dried Ants (raisins), Snake Eggs (grapes), Beetle Wings (chips), Crocodile Teeth (cringe-cut apple wedges), and Jungle Juice (juice boxes). As you can imagine, some of them were less than thrilled with the idea of eating animals, but they were good sports. Can't say I really blame them on the Jungle Worms (see up close pic by cake!).
The present thing is always a struggle for me. Like my children need anything. In fact, for Anysa's 4th bd, party guests brought a book to donate and she opened family gifts. She may have been a bit young to understand, but with a January birthday, sometimes she gets a little greedy! The other struggle is the mob-like thing that happens every.time! They can't help themselves, they love the thrill of what they give and what is being received. I know that, really I do, but I am a picture person and it is all about my kid at the time! Anyway, only twice have I remembered to put my kid up higher than the fans. It makes such a difference.
Saying "thank you" and "good-bye" to all our jungle rescue partners!
HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY LUKE!
Monday, June 11, 2007
A Blog Carnival!
disclaimer- I have TRIED and TRIED to get the links to insert and KEEP FAILING! Sorry and HELP!!
Chilihead over at donttryit.com is hosting a "get to know your fellow bloggers" kinda thing! It sounded fun and maybe less overwhelming than the Blog Party, so let's join in! I am sure all 5 people that read my blog will enjoy more insight into my life!! Right!
How did you start blogging?
Deep breath aaaand GO....Ok, some time back, I started reading a friend's blog. I had heard about them, but was totally in the dark and frankly knew I had no time for one myself! And besides, we did even own a digital camera which made me feel really out of the loop. Also, I finally started checking out a celebrity blog type site my friend raved about (and we were always amazed at how tight she was with all the celebs!). Somehow, admist all my clicking, I ended up on a site of a local photographer at sugarphotography.blogspot.com I LOVE to see other people's pictures and then try things myself! The funniest part really is that I work with (and adore!) her assistant's SIL-way small world! Well, clicked onto Big Mama over at bigmama1.blogspot.com and I was so hooked from there! Even at that point, I had no intention of actually doing my own but the lure of prizes and visitors from the Ultimate Blog Party had me hastily put one together. I had just written an article for our ladies' church newsletter and received good reviews, so I copied and pasted as my first blog post!
Did you intend to be a blog w/a following? If so, how did you go about it?
Well......I would not in any way consider myself a blog with a following. But thank you to those who do stop by faithfully!! I am trying to write not only to share with family and friends, but also to engage others like me. I tried to visit a lot of sites from the Party and will leave comments occasionally on other sites I read.
What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog?
World fame! No, not really, but apparently it is possible by the looks of others' sites! I hope to share, learn, laugh!
Have you been successful?
I am successfully trying to improve at all this! I need to spend some time over at Blogging Basics 101 cuz I so need help! But even then, some of the words seem way over my low-tech brain and I feel silly asking for help! I am constantly looking to other bloggers' sites for inspiration and guidance. And boy, can you learn a lot about so many different people!
Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
Not sure I have one focus and feel too much of a blog baby to really feel anything has changed so far.
What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
Everything!
Do you make money with your blog?
Not yet and maybe never. I have looked into it, but with no serious attempts yet. Again, it seems a little overwhelming and I am good to stay current with my posts!
Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it?
As far as family, only my brother and sister know about it so far. I really don't think they read it. Initially, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the blog and wanted to be cautious since parents and in-laws can have a different perspective of my life. Which probably isn't fair at this point because I do post a lot about the kids and include pictures. Guess I need to let the secret out! A lot of my friends know about it. And of course, a few strangers!
What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
Um, well, on the chance that I will sound like a broken record-or scratched CD-again, I feel a little underqualified to be dishing out advice!
1. Read, read, and read some more other people's blog sites. It is just a great learning tool and darn good medicine most of the time!
2. Don't be too hard on yourself in the beginning. And by "beginning", well, that could mean for a long time! You will have second thoughts, wish you could have a do-over, really wish you could be as insightful and/or funny as your blog idols. Be yourself, as much as you can while hiding behind the keyboard, and it will work itself out.
So if you blog, go on over to Chilihead, sign Mr. Linky, and start sharing!
Enjoy!
Stacey
Chilihead over at donttryit.com is hosting a "get to know your fellow bloggers" kinda thing! It sounded fun and maybe less overwhelming than the Blog Party, so let's join in! I am sure all 5 people that read my blog will enjoy more insight into my life!! Right!
How did you start blogging?
Deep breath aaaand GO....Ok, some time back, I started reading a friend's blog. I had heard about them, but was totally in the dark and frankly knew I had no time for one myself! And besides, we did even own a digital camera which made me feel really out of the loop. Also, I finally started checking out a celebrity blog type site my friend raved about (and we were always amazed at how tight she was with all the celebs!). Somehow, admist all my clicking, I ended up on a site of a local photographer at sugarphotography.blogspot.com I LOVE to see other people's pictures and then try things myself! The funniest part really is that I work with (and adore!) her assistant's SIL-way small world! Well, clicked onto Big Mama over at bigmama1.blogspot.com and I was so hooked from there! Even at that point, I had no intention of actually doing my own but the lure of prizes and visitors from the Ultimate Blog Party had me hastily put one together. I had just written an article for our ladies' church newsletter and received good reviews, so I copied and pasted as my first blog post!
Did you intend to be a blog w/a following? If so, how did you go about it?
Well......I would not in any way consider myself a blog with a following. But thank you to those who do stop by faithfully!! I am trying to write not only to share with family and friends, but also to engage others like me. I tried to visit a lot of sites from the Party and will leave comments occasionally on other sites I read.
What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog?
World fame! No, not really, but apparently it is possible by the looks of others' sites! I hope to share, learn, laugh!
Have you been successful?
I am successfully trying to improve at all this! I need to spend some time over at Blogging Basics 101 cuz I so need help! But even then, some of the words seem way over my low-tech brain and I feel silly asking for help! I am constantly looking to other bloggers' sites for inspiration and guidance. And boy, can you learn a lot about so many different people!
Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
Not sure I have one focus and feel too much of a blog baby to really feel anything has changed so far.
What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
Everything!
Do you make money with your blog?
Not yet and maybe never. I have looked into it, but with no serious attempts yet. Again, it seems a little overwhelming and I am good to stay current with my posts!
Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it?
As far as family, only my brother and sister know about it so far. I really don't think they read it. Initially, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the blog and wanted to be cautious since parents and in-laws can have a different perspective of my life. Which probably isn't fair at this point because I do post a lot about the kids and include pictures. Guess I need to let the secret out! A lot of my friends know about it. And of course, a few strangers!
What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
Um, well, on the chance that I will sound like a broken record-or scratched CD-again, I feel a little underqualified to be dishing out advice!
1. Read, read, and read some more other people's blog sites. It is just a great learning tool and darn good medicine most of the time!
2. Don't be too hard on yourself in the beginning. And by "beginning", well, that could mean for a long time! You will have second thoughts, wish you could have a do-over, really wish you could be as insightful and/or funny as your blog idols. Be yourself, as much as you can while hiding behind the keyboard, and it will work itself out.
So if you blog, go on over to Chilihead, sign Mr. Linky, and start sharing!
Enjoy!
Stacey
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Galveston 2007
Well, we did it. Our first real family vacation. Another adult in our family, who shall remain nameless, is somewhat of a homebody compared to the other adult, who loves to travel and experience new things. And it didn't help the second adult's case that we had 2 children, 5 and younger which made convincing the first adult to travel an even harder sale. So...... with free hotel in hand and 2 children who were both essentially potty-trained, the trip was a go. I will go ahead and say now that while Galveston certainly would not have been my first choice in terms of a beach vacation, free hotel does tend to have it's influence. And my friends, as many of you may already know, Galveston IS.NO.FLORIDA! I was completely spoiled by living in both Florida and Alabama, enjoying many great beaches including Key West. But luckily, the kids have no other reference point and both had a great time.
The pictures are in reverse of our stay because I didn't have the energy to move them around after I realized I had put them on backwards!
On our final day, we hit the beach for a few hours in the morning, then quickly cleaned up and checked out in order to make it to Moody Gardens for one of their 3D shows. Although Luke really thought he wanted to see the dinosaur movie, we chose the ocean one. And glad we did since he freaked out during the advertisement of the dinosaur movie. The kids were so cute in their 3D glasses but the picture did not turn out. It was a first experience for both, and except for Luke getting a little nervous several times, we all enjoyed it.
Curtis and I had been to Moody Gardens before for a 1-night stay with friends, but it has grown so much and really is a great inclusive vacation spot for families. We told the kids we would come back for sure!
These are some shots I got of Luke feeding the seagulls. Which we learned later is highly discouraged, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, he had a great time doing so and the last shot is of the sea gull catching Luke's cracker in mid-air!
Anysa by a painted store front on The Strand.
Luke by a painted store front on The Strand
On our last afternoon/evening in Galveston, we took the free ferry ride across and back to another island before eating dinner. After dinner at Salsa's, we headed down to The Strand to look at the big ships and eat ice cream. Of course, there were cute shops! The kids did great on our walk and enjoyed seeing the horse pull the carriages.
These are pictures of Curtis out in the water with both kids. Luke always took more convincing than Anysa to get out there, but had fun most of the time as long as the water stayed out of his eyes. In the last picture, you can see Anysa on her cheap, blow-up boogie board. We probably should have rented her real one after seeing her out there the first day, but we didn't.
Yes, Anysa volunteered herself for this activity. And, Luke was happy to oblige!
Luke realizing his Twizzler had a bit of a salty crunch to it!
Anysa with her Daddy in the water. She has her cool orange goggles on! The girl lived in the water while we were there. She really loved the waves which were always strong and big later in the day. She truly is my water baby compared to my land-loving son. Luke did have fun in the water, but enjoyed being on the shore more.
Beach buddies!
Sand castle artists hard at work!
Galveston Summary:
* We stayed at The Commodore on the Beach. I would label it a decent place to stay, but certainly not fancy in anyway. Rooms were not very big, but big enough for a family of four for the time you spend in them. More than that, would require the suites they had. Free continental breakfast which wasn't too bad-no protein, but other than that, it did the job. Free cookies in afternoon. Hotel is located (like many others) directly across from the free beach. I think summer rates are between $109-$170 for the time we stayed.
* We ate at 2 restaurants while there for evening meals. Both were on our inexpensive list I got off a website.
Guido's, which was a short walking distance across the street from our hotel. It is part of a hotel of the same name. When you walk up, it looks like you are eating at Casey's, so I am a little confused, but our bill did say Guido's. Prices are really reasonable, especially considering the enormous amount of food you get. The kid's meals seemed pricey at first ($5.99), until we saw that they got almost the same sized portions as us. I had the grilled fish taco salad which was very yummy. The kids had chicken nuggets and fish nuggets. Curtis had some fish and shrimp dish.
Salsa's was the mexican/seafood choice. It was voted best margarita's, but I have had better. Prices were decent and food was good with reasonable portions.
* We only saw one show at Moody Gardens, but there are many attractions there. Even if you don't stay there, you can buy day passes for the whole place or pay per attraction if you are only there a short time. There are tons of discount coupons available around town.
As a fun wrap-up, I thought I would share some do's and don'ts in terms of family travel, beach vacations, and Galveston in general.
Do:
* Waste 90 minutes of your life if it means something significantly free in terms of a vacation. In other words, go share a meal with strangers and while listening about something you probably won't purchase. Remember, we also had a cruise but had to decline due to timing.
* Take plenty of food and drinks for the car, hotel, and beach. We chose to eat what we brought for lunch and snacks and only eat out once in the evenings.
* Do have an afternoon rest time. Can you believe that both kids practically begged, or at the least did not resist, taking afternoon naps. Neither did the adults! What was funnier, it that they both wanted to go to bed each night as well.
* Rent at least an umbrella (if you don't bring one) if you are going to be at the same beach all day. The rentals were quite reasonable I thought. Umbrella and 2 chairs were $23. Boogie board was $5 for an hour or $10 for all day.
* Get larger goggles (the scuba size) that fit for younger kids if they love to be in the water.
* Assure your children that, yes, there are beaches where the sand is white and the water doesn't look like you had diarrhea when you are taking off your swimsuits.
* Know that you will be finding sand in everything you own that went with you (whether it was on the beach or not!)for a VERY LONG TIME. Even if you think you cleaned it out!
* Consider taking a vacation with a girlfriend and her children, along with a responsible teenager that will stay with the kids while they watch movies in the hotel room and you enjoy the evening together.
* Watch either the sunrise or sunset, or both at least once!
Don't:
* Worry you will be lacking in people-watching opportunities!
* Buy a white or light-colored bathing suit right before you go to Galveston! No worries, mine was brown already!
* Even entertain the idea that you will be the largest person in a swimsuit on the beach. Or even close to! You won't EVER be the largest person. EVER! We were entertained by the number of considerably (I am NOT talking pudgy) larger people on the beach. Or more so at what they were willing to wear in terms of swimsuits. Now, before I get myself in trouble. Maybe they love their body and I say more power to them if they don't struggle with body image issues. Maybe they just say "scr*w it, i am here to enjoy.". Maybe they are hating every minute of it and hating people like me who are hating their own bodies in a swimsuit at the same time. Who knows! I just found it fascinating!
* Waste your money on a Power Body Wrap right before you go thinking the miracles that will happen. (I promise a separate post JUST on that alone!) Enjoy a good massage and mani/pedi instead!
* Expect to eat on the beach and not have sand in your food!
I could probably think of even more, but this post has taken me forver already!!
Happy Summer!
Stacey
The pictures are in reverse of our stay because I didn't have the energy to move them around after I realized I had put them on backwards!
On our final day, we hit the beach for a few hours in the morning, then quickly cleaned up and checked out in order to make it to Moody Gardens for one of their 3D shows. Although Luke really thought he wanted to see the dinosaur movie, we chose the ocean one. And glad we did since he freaked out during the advertisement of the dinosaur movie. The kids were so cute in their 3D glasses but the picture did not turn out. It was a first experience for both, and except for Luke getting a little nervous several times, we all enjoyed it.
Curtis and I had been to Moody Gardens before for a 1-night stay with friends, but it has grown so much and really is a great inclusive vacation spot for families. We told the kids we would come back for sure!
These are some shots I got of Luke feeding the seagulls. Which we learned later is highly discouraged, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, he had a great time doing so and the last shot is of the sea gull catching Luke's cracker in mid-air!
Anysa by a painted store front on The Strand.
Luke by a painted store front on The Strand
On our last afternoon/evening in Galveston, we took the free ferry ride across and back to another island before eating dinner. After dinner at Salsa's, we headed down to The Strand to look at the big ships and eat ice cream. Of course, there were cute shops! The kids did great on our walk and enjoyed seeing the horse pull the carriages.
These are pictures of Curtis out in the water with both kids. Luke always took more convincing than Anysa to get out there, but had fun most of the time as long as the water stayed out of his eyes. In the last picture, you can see Anysa on her cheap, blow-up boogie board. We probably should have rented her real one after seeing her out there the first day, but we didn't.
Yes, Anysa volunteered herself for this activity. And, Luke was happy to oblige!
Luke realizing his Twizzler had a bit of a salty crunch to it!
Anysa with her Daddy in the water. She has her cool orange goggles on! The girl lived in the water while we were there. She really loved the waves which were always strong and big later in the day. She truly is my water baby compared to my land-loving son. Luke did have fun in the water, but enjoyed being on the shore more.
Beach buddies!
Sand castle artists hard at work!
Galveston Summary:
* We stayed at The Commodore on the Beach. I would label it a decent place to stay, but certainly not fancy in anyway. Rooms were not very big, but big enough for a family of four for the time you spend in them. More than that, would require the suites they had. Free continental breakfast which wasn't too bad-no protein, but other than that, it did the job. Free cookies in afternoon. Hotel is located (like many others) directly across from the free beach. I think summer rates are between $109-$170 for the time we stayed.
* We ate at 2 restaurants while there for evening meals. Both were on our inexpensive list I got off a website.
Guido's, which was a short walking distance across the street from our hotel. It is part of a hotel of the same name. When you walk up, it looks like you are eating at Casey's, so I am a little confused, but our bill did say Guido's. Prices are really reasonable, especially considering the enormous amount of food you get. The kid's meals seemed pricey at first ($5.99), until we saw that they got almost the same sized portions as us. I had the grilled fish taco salad which was very yummy. The kids had chicken nuggets and fish nuggets. Curtis had some fish and shrimp dish.
Salsa's was the mexican/seafood choice. It was voted best margarita's, but I have had better. Prices were decent and food was good with reasonable portions.
* We only saw one show at Moody Gardens, but there are many attractions there. Even if you don't stay there, you can buy day passes for the whole place or pay per attraction if you are only there a short time. There are tons of discount coupons available around town.
As a fun wrap-up, I thought I would share some do's and don'ts in terms of family travel, beach vacations, and Galveston in general.
Do:
* Waste 90 minutes of your life if it means something significantly free in terms of a vacation. In other words, go share a meal with strangers and while listening about something you probably won't purchase. Remember, we also had a cruise but had to decline due to timing.
* Take plenty of food and drinks for the car, hotel, and beach. We chose to eat what we brought for lunch and snacks and only eat out once in the evenings.
* Do have an afternoon rest time. Can you believe that both kids practically begged, or at the least did not resist, taking afternoon naps. Neither did the adults! What was funnier, it that they both wanted to go to bed each night as well.
* Rent at least an umbrella (if you don't bring one) if you are going to be at the same beach all day. The rentals were quite reasonable I thought. Umbrella and 2 chairs were $23. Boogie board was $5 for an hour or $10 for all day.
* Get larger goggles (the scuba size) that fit for younger kids if they love to be in the water.
* Assure your children that, yes, there are beaches where the sand is white and the water doesn't look like you had diarrhea when you are taking off your swimsuits.
* Know that you will be finding sand in everything you own that went with you (whether it was on the beach or not!)for a VERY LONG TIME. Even if you think you cleaned it out!
* Consider taking a vacation with a girlfriend and her children, along with a responsible teenager that will stay with the kids while they watch movies in the hotel room and you enjoy the evening together.
* Watch either the sunrise or sunset, or both at least once!
Don't:
* Worry you will be lacking in people-watching opportunities!
* Buy a white or light-colored bathing suit right before you go to Galveston! No worries, mine was brown already!
* Even entertain the idea that you will be the largest person in a swimsuit on the beach. Or even close to! You won't EVER be the largest person. EVER! We were entertained by the number of considerably (I am NOT talking pudgy) larger people on the beach. Or more so at what they were willing to wear in terms of swimsuits. Now, before I get myself in trouble. Maybe they love their body and I say more power to them if they don't struggle with body image issues. Maybe they just say "scr*w it, i am here to enjoy.". Maybe they are hating every minute of it and hating people like me who are hating their own bodies in a swimsuit at the same time. Who knows! I just found it fascinating!
* Waste your money on a Power Body Wrap right before you go thinking the miracles that will happen. (I promise a separate post JUST on that alone!) Enjoy a good massage and mani/pedi instead!
* Expect to eat on the beach and not have sand in your food!
I could probably think of even more, but this post has taken me forver already!!
Happy Summer!
Stacey
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Luke's Surgery Highlights
I am trying to catch up on sharing thoughts and pictures, so I thought I would backtrack at least to this! From previous posts, you know we scheduled Luke to have his tonsils and adenoids removed due to various reasons. We had previously experienced all this with Anysa, so knew what to expect roughly.
He was not scheduled to arrive until 9:30 am, so we had time for Luke to gather all the necessary items he would need to take along. Let's review! Superman pj's with cape for heroic endeavors. Hat and sunglasses just in case the paparazzi were waiting for his arrival. Scooby Doo slippers to sniff out Popsicles when necessary-I think one is in his mouth because his hands got too full. A book. And of course, his "gun" in case his super powers don't do the trick.
His favorite trick to make Mommy laugh. And a sure sign he really has no idea what he is in for!
After the "silly juice" but before being wheeled in. He wasn't really goofy like Anysa was-she cracked us up! He was more restless than anything. He was so brave going through those double doors. Much braver than Mommy!
Hanging out with Papa and Gigi and Anysa during his 2 hour recovery wait. He was fussy and crying briefly when I first held him, then really just wanted a Popsicle and a blanket. He did not like the IV in his foot one bit, but that soon came out. He was really ready to go after about 30 minutes but because he was under the age of 3, he had to stay 2 hours for obs. Nothing kills time like a movie and 5 double Popsicles!
Here is the biggest difference we noticed right away between the two surgeries. While Anysa pretty much looked like the next picture for at least 3 days, Luke took the opposite route. Carefree, playful, and hungry from the time we got home. He even wanted some of our pizza! Here he is enjoying a little yogurt. Personally, I think he still had a good bit of O.R. drugs (steroids, narcotics, etc) in his system plus we had to give him pain meds every 4 hours which really just made life great for him. The crash is coming!
The next 2 pics are really out of order. Literally, we would have had to physically restrain him from riding his new bike along with sister if were to keep him from "excessive physical activity". So instead of fighting it, we just minimized how long.
He did spend quite a bit of time on the couch in between medicine times. However, if he was awake, he was usually up and about.
We had already scheduled their grandparent trip and Mommy-oops, I mean the kids, were not going to miss it for anything. So they went as planned with a pharmaceutical arsenal in tow. He did OK taking meds because it wasn't his parents forcing it upon him. However, he was feeling pretty lousy unless he was drugged. Drugs made him happy and allowed him to do all the fun things he loves to do there. Grandparents were troopers for taking that on!
We watched the progression of the scabs coming off in his throat-BLUCK!!! And of course, the most painful for him. But overall, he was a true "Superman"!! After 2 weeks, he is fully recovered from the surgery except for a little gurgly sounding voice still. Now, I thought they were going to remove his "I am almost 3, moody,I am the boss-not you" attitude but somehow it is still here. Hopefully that comes with many more nights of easy-breathing sleep!
And just because, I would like to throw kudos to Dr. Murray, his office staff, and the staff at the children's surgery center. If you live in DFW area, I would highly recommend either his office in Coppell or Dr. Biavati in Dallas. They are both part of a group which has pediatric surgery centers in Plano and North Richland Hills. They are the best and both my kids had great experiences!!
Thanks for thinking of him and us!
Stacey
He was not scheduled to arrive until 9:30 am, so we had time for Luke to gather all the necessary items he would need to take along. Let's review! Superman pj's with cape for heroic endeavors. Hat and sunglasses just in case the paparazzi were waiting for his arrival. Scooby Doo slippers to sniff out Popsicles when necessary-I think one is in his mouth because his hands got too full. A book. And of course, his "gun" in case his super powers don't do the trick.
His favorite trick to make Mommy laugh. And a sure sign he really has no idea what he is in for!
After the "silly juice" but before being wheeled in. He wasn't really goofy like Anysa was-she cracked us up! He was more restless than anything. He was so brave going through those double doors. Much braver than Mommy!
Hanging out with Papa and Gigi and Anysa during his 2 hour recovery wait. He was fussy and crying briefly when I first held him, then really just wanted a Popsicle and a blanket. He did not like the IV in his foot one bit, but that soon came out. He was really ready to go after about 30 minutes but because he was under the age of 3, he had to stay 2 hours for obs. Nothing kills time like a movie and 5 double Popsicles!
Here is the biggest difference we noticed right away between the two surgeries. While Anysa pretty much looked like the next picture for at least 3 days, Luke took the opposite route. Carefree, playful, and hungry from the time we got home. He even wanted some of our pizza! Here he is enjoying a little yogurt. Personally, I think he still had a good bit of O.R. drugs (steroids, narcotics, etc) in his system plus we had to give him pain meds every 4 hours which really just made life great for him. The crash is coming!
The next 2 pics are really out of order. Literally, we would have had to physically restrain him from riding his new bike along with sister if were to keep him from "excessive physical activity". So instead of fighting it, we just minimized how long.
He did spend quite a bit of time on the couch in between medicine times. However, if he was awake, he was usually up and about.
We had already scheduled their grandparent trip and Mommy-oops, I mean the kids, were not going to miss it for anything. So they went as planned with a pharmaceutical arsenal in tow. He did OK taking meds because it wasn't his parents forcing it upon him. However, he was feeling pretty lousy unless he was drugged. Drugs made him happy and allowed him to do all the fun things he loves to do there. Grandparents were troopers for taking that on!
We watched the progression of the scabs coming off in his throat-BLUCK!!! And of course, the most painful for him. But overall, he was a true "Superman"!! After 2 weeks, he is fully recovered from the surgery except for a little gurgly sounding voice still. Now, I thought they were going to remove his "I am almost 3, moody,I am the boss-not you" attitude but somehow it is still here. Hopefully that comes with many more nights of easy-breathing sleep!
And just because, I would like to throw kudos to Dr. Murray, his office staff, and the staff at the children's surgery center. If you live in DFW area, I would highly recommend either his office in Coppell or Dr. Biavati in Dallas. They are both part of a group which has pediatric surgery centers in Plano and North Richland Hills. They are the best and both my kids had great experiences!!
Thanks for thinking of him and us!
Stacey
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
It's Official!
No sillies, not that kind of "it's official"! Officially, I am back! Back from using my "get a week without kids" card, back from picking up the kids with lots of hugs and smiles, back from visiting hubbies' roots, and back from our trip to Galveston. Lots to share later! But just to make all you other mommies proud, after pulling in around 6:30 pm, I managed to unload and put away all the kids' stuff, do 2 loads of laundry (including pre-soaking due to nasty brown water), unload and clean the cooler and beach bags, eat, fold a mound of about 4 loads of laundry left over from my special week, give the kids a tour of their new clean home (along with new rules), put kids to bed, and catch up completely on all the celebrity gossip, email from 3 email accounts, and favorite blog reading before posting here by 11:20ish! And just for the sake of what I like to call wife humor, let's compare to hubby who managed to unload the car, open the mail, feed himself and the kids weiners on fake buns, check the computer, and go to bed by 9:15 pm. Ahem!
I will try to catch you up some more tomorrow and will get pics developed for a future post!
Stacey
I will try to catch you up some more tomorrow and will get pics developed for a future post!
Stacey
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