Great Wolf Weekend!

We are back from our mini-family vacation and let me say... we had a blast!

We arrived late on Thursday night because we were getting a much needed A/C unit installed, so we did not arrive until 8:30 p.m. The water park closed at 9 p.m., so we took that time to walk around and get acquainted with the hotel.

It truly is a kid-resort hotel, with various restaurants, an arcade, a spa for both kids and adults, craft area for kids, gift store, and interactive "quest" game throughout the hotel. This place is made for kids!

We arrived in time to see a show geared toward little kids - with singing mechanical animals, etc. After about 5 minutes, the girls were done with it and wanted to move on, but this would have been cute for younger kids.

Our room was great! It had a microwave, a small fridge, coffee maker - all the necessities! Plus, our room had a sitting area with a pull out sofa bed. We did not get the fancy room with the bunk beds, etc., because we knew we'd be spending little time in our room and for the extra money, it was not worth it.

The water park opened at 9 a.m. and we were at the door waiting to be let in. The water park is awesome! There were 7 indoor water slides, an older kid playscape area, a young child play area, a wave pool, lazy river and open swim area with cool stuff like lily pads to jump across and basketball goals. There is also an outdoor area, with two slides and a water play area.

There is a height restriction on two of the slides (48" and up) and Elisan and Kyla were not able to ride those slides, but that did not stop them from having a ton of fun. (By the way, the slides they were not able to ride were so much fun, but I can see why they were not able to go on them... they were fast and kind of scary!)

Elisan and Kyla's favorite attraction was the wave pool. They loved crashing in the waves!

This was one vacation that I would definitely repeat!


Here are few of my personal recommendations:

1. Bring your own food! The food at the hotel was expensive. We ate breakfast, lunch and snacks in our room and went out to eat in the evening. We found a great local restaurant via the GPS and thoroughly enjoyed it.
2. Go on a weekday! We spend all day Friday in the water park and it wasn't nearly as crowded as Saturday morning. I would assume most weekdays are not nearly as crowded as weekends.
3. 2 nights and/or 1.5 days is plenty of time at the park.
4. We did not buy into the "quest" interactive game. It was extra to purchase the quest game 'wand' and my kids didn't even notice that the ENTIRE population of kids were playing the quest game. They were more interested in the waterpark.
5. Next time we go, my girls will be 48" tall and a bit older. Because they were so young and not tall enough, Randy and I had to accompany them on all of the larger slides. That was fine and we had fun, but I would have preferred to have allowed them to go off on their own a time or two... I'm not as young and full of energy as they are! But, there is plenty of stuff to do for younger kids too! I'd just prefer next time we go, that they be old/tall enough to do everything!

So, there ya have it! I hope this helps anyone who is interested in booking a trip to Great Wolf Lodge!

A/C? Why has thou forsaken me?

Yep! You guessed it! Our A/C unit went out upstairs! But, thankfully our house has two units - one upstairs and one downstairs... so we all piled downstairs to sleep last night.

Randy brought down the girls mattresses and put them on the floor in his office area and he and I slept in the guest bedroom. The girls thought it was like a sleepover and were especially excited to be able to stay awake until 9 p.m. Oh, the little joys of life!

After calling 4 air conditioning repair places yesterday morning, I was able to get someone who could come in today. Thank goodness! The other places couldn't schedule an appointment until Monday! Apparently when you have temperatures topping 105 degrees, air conditioners tend to work on overdrive, thus break down more often... or so I'm told.

So, now I'm waiting for the a/c repair man. The hottest ticket in town!


UPDATE: We are getting a new a/c unit. Can you say $8K?

I've been a busy bee...er, um... frog!

Elisan finally settled on a birthday party theme for her August birthday sleepover party.

Frogs. Yep... that's my girl.

After scouring the internet for cute frog stuff, I decided I'd have to make all of the stuff myself, because seriously, most frog stuff is too boyish or the frogs have a silly crown on top (a.k.a. kissing the frog to find the prince...)

So, here's what I've been up to.

• Made pillow cases for each invitee
• Bookmarks for the goodie bags
• Ordered custom stickers from Walmart (very neat, but kind of pricey!)
• Ordered a custom stamp so I could stamp the napkins, envelopes, etc.
• Made a custom banner that says "Happy 8th Birthday Elisan"
• Made Kyla and Elisan frog glass tile pendants to wear for the part
• Made a custom game poster "Pin the Frog on the Lilly Pad"
  

It's been fun making all of this fun stuff. We don't go out and spend a fortune on their parties, so I don't mind going the "extra mile" to make it special for them.

A little bit of P.M.S. goes a long way

Are you the kind of blogger who writes your title first and then molds your blog entry to fit the title, or do you write up the entire entry and then decide on a title?

Me? I write the title first, but I am not necessarily apt to mold the story around the title. Hmmm, that's the way I roll I guess...

So, yeah... what is it about P.M.S. that makes me creative and contemplative AT THE SAME TIME? That's a weird combo, I suppose. Maybe it's a left brain/right brain thing? Maybe for at least 10 days out of the month I'm using my whole brain!


So, this month, it's been mainly contemplative. Wondering the who/what/where/why/when's of my life. Who am I? What am I doing with my life? Where do I want to go? Why does it matter? And when will it happen.

Lately, I've been so fickle with my life decisions. One minute I want to do _________ (fill in the blanks with something... anything) and the next minute, I'm changing my mind. I'm so fortunate I have a husband who puts up with me and supports my decision(s) whatever they may be that moment.

He does wonder though how/why I (can be/am) so fickle. I think that is a man thing. He lives and breathes black and white (..."yes or no") and doesn't see gray (..."maybe") like I do.

A few posts back, I ranted about how everyone's life seems so much more fabulous than mine... maybe I meant to say... everyone else seems to have figured it out, which in my mind, seems fabulous. Yes? I will readily admit I don't have it figured out and wonder if I ever will. I guess the only thing to offer is that I am a child of God first, a wife second and a mom third.

And while I can't do anything particularly well, except care for my family, I have been the most contented when they took priority in my life. Maybe it's time for a self-examination and realign my priorities back to what's important. What does that mean? I'm not sure. But, it most definitely means I need to be more thoughtful and reflective on what matters most to me.

Maybe by this time next month, when my brain is working as an entire unit, I'll have it all figured out!

By the way, if you have it figured out and want to share the secret of your success, please do us all a favor and share the wealth!

Hello Blog

How are you? I haven't seen you in a while!

The girls have been gone for an entire week, and although I wish I could say that Randy and I have been going out every night, eating out and having a blast, sadly I cannot.

My week has been filled with a dental appointment (refilling old silver [or mercury...whatever!] fillings, an appointment to the eye doctor and general business.

I am happy to report that Randy and I did go out to eat on Wednesday night and then did a little shopping, but that is hardly what I would call having a blast!

My trip to Houston was great last week. I was so excited to see my friend Cyndi (and family)! We always pick up where we left off - no matter how much time between visits - and I think we barely stopped talking the entire time I was there. It was so much fun and I sorely miss having a friend like Cyndi that lives close by.

On Saturday, I brought the girls to Orange and later that day, we went to visit my brother and his family. We had pounds and pounds of crawfish to eat and it was so yummy! Tim and his family are moving to Boerne (today!) and it was good getting to see them again. They will actually be closer to us now - about 90 miles - versus the 280 miles they were previously, so hopefully we'll see more of them! I hope so!

(BTW, That's a picture of my 15 year old nephew, Brandon. He's 6'4", wears a size 15 shoe! That's crazy! He sleeps all the time - probably so his body can catch up to all of that growing he's doing. At this rate, he could be 6'8" by the time he stops growing! Amazing! )




My folks are meeting me "half-way" tomorrow with the girls. I miss them and can't wait to see them. I think Kyla is missing me a lot more than Elisan because she calls me every day... sometimes twice a day! I'll be glad to have our family back together again!

And finally, this week I made a HUGE first step in accomplishing something for myself that I have gone back and forth with for at least a year or more. I am not ready to give the details away yet... that is, unless you want to call me, THEN, I'll tell you... But, I am excited, scared and excited. I am not sure what will come of it, but at least I made the first intentional step. For that, I'm proud of myself!

Okay, so that's all for now!

P.S. - Crazy about Michael Jackson. I have to say that I really liked his early music. I'm sad that his life turned out the way it did and ultimately his untimely death.

Mummy Made

I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my good friend Agnes who makes these incredible crochet creations!

Agnes is a fellow soccer mom friend with two sweet boys and one sweet girl. She is from Australia and is one of the sweetest ladies I know.

Agnes opened up an Etsy shop called Mummy Made to showcase her beautiful items. Take a moment to peek into her shop and if you feel inclined... buy one of her one of a kind items!

She's located right here in Georgetown for all you locals!

Do you ever wonder?

Do you ever wonder if other people are living fabulous lives and you are the only one who is not?

Maybe it's the "are you braggin?' or "are you bloggin'?" philosophy that keeps me second guessing my own fabulous-ness.

Whatever the case may be... I'm convinced that my life ain't nearly as fascinating as yours.

Convince me otherwise before I crawl into a hole.

Summer Staple - The Tank Top!

So, I downloaded this coupon online from JC Penney's. It's a $10.00 off a $25.00 or more purchase.

I had tank tops on the brain... b/c you just can't have enough tank tops in 100+ degree weather. It's a necessity.

What a surprise to find these tanks on sale for $4.99/each. I bought five of them and used my nifty coupon! (I threw in a pair of earrings that were on sale for good measure!) I walked out of the store with 5 summer tanks and a pair of hoops for less than $21.00!

The coupon ends today, so if you can, run into JCP and cash in on this deal!

Who am I raising?

In true Texas fashion, we had early evening (severe) thunderstorms pop up over the hill country on Thursday night. In fact, Randy instructed me to clear out the closet underneathe the stairs, just in case we needed to take shelter from any tornadoes. That's just how we roll here in Central Texas... ready for inclement weather at the drop of the hat.

So, anyway, because of the impending weather moving our way, the girls stayed up with us to watch the news. No use putting them to bed with the off-chance that we'd be getting them up again to take cover.

One particularly close lightening bolt scared Elisan so much so, that she bolted off the couch ready to take cover... but not before she hollered out this phrase... "I better go get my money!"

Not only was she afraid of the storm, she was afraid a tornado would blow in and sweep up her $7.00 profit from last week's garage sale.

I said, "Who are you? Mr. Crabs?" (And if you are familiar with Spongebob Squarepants... you know what I'm talking about!)

Anyway, Randy and I got a good chuckle out of that one!

BTW, this is my 700th post! Yippee for me!

Sprouting Tomato!

Anyone want to plant some tomato spouts?

Glass Tile Pendants

Oooh, my inner crafty self is longing to try my hand at these nifty little glass tile pendants!

Anyone made these before? Do you have some wisdom to impart?

I found this blog entry from thehybridchick.com with steps on how to make these little cuties!

Anyone up for it?

They survived!

Monday was the first day with the nanny... AND, they survived. And, they loved having her here... AND, they can't wait to see her today!

Whew.

And you know what? Work wasn't as bad as I envisioned it being knowing my girls were at home enjoying their summer break without me.

I think hiring a nanny was the THE BEST choice for our family this summer. Thank you Lord for your wisdom!

Just in case you're wondering...

This is what we'll be doing all summer!

Just say no!

I just have to shout it to the rooftops! I said "No." And it felt good!

In my quest to be super mom, I rarely say "No". In fact, I usually say, "Sure. I'll do it (bring it, provide it, pay for it, volunteer for it, etc.)"

Oh, sure, I say no to my kids all of the time. In fact, my first answer is usually no, then I stop... think about it, then sometimes change my answer to a yes or 'what does your daddy say?'.

Sometimes when I am asked to do something that I don't want to do, I sometimes take the passive approach and allow others the opportunity to step up. It doesn't always work out... but I tell myself in the end that if no one offers, I'll step in and help out. It's my little way of helping others say yes some of the time. Wish it worked more.

Some people don't have any problems at all saying no. I am not one of them.

Recently I was asked to do something that I did not want to do. I had no desire to do it! And you know what? I straight up said "No." I was not "No WAY, forget it!" I just politely said, "You know what, that just doesn't work out for me and my family." And you know what? It felt good! Oh, baby, it felt good!

So, my question is... are you a yes'er or a no'er?

So close...

I can feel it coming... we're almost there... 3.5 more days til school is out! What a relief it will be.

• No more 12 mile = 30 minutes commuting in horrendous traffic... and that's just one way!
• No more out the door at 7:25 a.m. and not returning home until 4:00 p.m.
• No more homework!
• No more emails from the room moms (although, the room moms so totally rocked this year!).
• No more school related events to try to keep up with.
• No more lunches to make, backpacks to keep up with and school uniforms to wash!
  

Can you tell I'm so excited to finally catch a break? Ahhh, I can't wait!

Of course, with me working this summer, we'll have to adjust to a new summer schedule, but working 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monday - Thursday will be a cinch. Plus, the girls will have a nanny this summer, so I'm relieved that they will only have to spend a nominal amount of time in childcare this summer!

So, aside from giving 1/2 of my paycheck to the nanny... I think it will be a great summer!

End of School Teacher Gift

Who doesn't love personalized note cards? I know I do!

Sunday, I began looking around for ideas for notecards. This is "inspiration" note card that I found on the world wide web...

Here's my version:

I'm going to format 4/page and bring them to Kinko's. It costs $1.25/page (or .$32/each). I'll probably make 16 note cards for each teacher.

I'll then wrap them in a pretty cellophane bag w/matching ribbon, enclose the gift card and there ya go... simple, pretty and fun!

Running!

I'm so proud of myself! I actually left the confines of my home and ran around the neighborhood as my form of exercise. And, I did it twice!

For those who don't know me... I loathe running! But, I loathe more the fact that my jeans are snug... so, I've hit the pavement to try to slim down a bit.

The first time I ran, it was for 25 minutes (or 2.2 miles). I burned 200 calories. The second time I ran, I ran another 25 minutes (a different route - I need to calculate the miles) and burned 260 calories! I kicked it up a notch on the second run and only walked to recover my heart rate down to 160 bpm and then I would start running again. My friend Cyndi would be proud!

Since my gym membership expires at the end of this month and I won't be renewing my membership until September, I'm needing find alternatives to working out, aside from lifting weights - which I can still do at home.

I've also purchased Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred". However, after looking at the DVD, I'll be honest... I've done all of those exercises before in gym classes and I wonder if the level three format will challenge me. (I know... roll your eyes Anna...) But, I'm still going to do the 30 day workout. I mean, it won't hurt and at least it will give me something to do each day. (I haven't tried it yet... I plan on doing that today... I'll keep you posted, Anna!)

The girls have 7 school days remaining. They are getting excited to be off for the summer. We've hired a nanny to come everyday to care for the girls while I'm at work. She has babysat for us on various occassions and my girls love her! I work with her mom too. She comes from a great family and is heading to Texas A&M in the fall to study pre-med. She wants to be a criminal pathologist. I think what sold her on the idea of working for us this summer was this comment from me, "Seriously, all we want you to do this summer with them is feed them, make sure they don't burn the house down and take them to the pool every day." What 18 year old could resist that? Making money AND laying by the pool?

How do you know?

"God did not make me a mother to fail as a mother." - Christine Caine

Ever since I found out I was pregnant with Elisan, I questioned God about his choice to give me a little girl. I have not always been the ideal daughter and wondered what God saw in me, to give me a girl. Then, Kyla came along and I really thought, "Wow, God must really be trying to show me something here!"

It's no secret that I feel incredibly blessed to be the mother of two beautiful little girls. Yet, there are times when I wonder if I am the mother that God set me out to be. Am I making the right decisions... Am I making the most of my time with them... What kind of role model am I for them?

Just like most moms, I am so in love with my children, it hurts! It hurts me because I hope I am doing 'right by them' and oft times wonder if I will ever know. It hurts me because I wonder if I am equipped to raise them up to be Godly women, because truth be told, I haven't always been such a Godly woman myself. It hurts because I fear my choices today, will affect their forever. It hurts because time is quickly slipping away and I know that I will never get this time back.

And honestly, will we ever know? I seek God for the answers, but sometimes His voice just isn't clear enough for me. I do know that God has equipped me with wisdom. James 1:5 says that all we have to do is ask for wisdom and God will freely give it to us. And I do know that God doesn't intend for us to fail.

As I am heading into (nearly my eighth year of motherhood) I realize, that yes! God did know what He was doing by giving me girls. My prayer is, that as I navigate this life, God will be alongside of me, imparting spiritual wisdom and understanding. That He will pick me up when (not if...) I fail. That He will give me the energy to be the mother (wife, friend, daughter, sister, volunteer, employee) that He intends for me to be, because it is not with my strength, but with His strength.

God did not make me a mother to fail. Thank you God, for trusting me with your daughters.

Mother's Day Tea!

My girl and me!

Look at the sweet smile!

A moment to brag...

I have to brag on Elisan today!

On Monday, she ran up to me after school wearing two medals! She could hardly contain her excitement when she told me why.

She won a 1st place medal for "best story" for a book that she wrote at school. She also won a 2nd place ribbon for best illustration of the same book.

(I say book, because it actually is a book. The school had a fund raiser event where they sent the stories to a publisher to be published in a hard bound book. The parents had the option to purchase books, etc.)

She is also in an advanced class called "Discovery" and they wrote a story in this class as well. In this class, she won a first place medal for the illustration of the her story (which is also now a book!)

I could not believe my eyes! She won two first place medals and a second place ribbon for her work. I'm so proud of her!

I'll post pictures of the books when I get them. The first place book for "story" will be on display until the end of school. I haven't even read the story yet! I can't wait!

Ever had one of those days... weeks?

I am in a bit of a funk... slump... whatever you want to call it. And it's been going on for days now... perhaps even a week by now.

It's not PMS... well, it isn't PMS this week...

Anyone know how to get out of funk that doesn't require working out (I'm already doing that), eating ice cream or spending money?

Um, Yeah.

And so, it begins...

Sibling rivalry. I am surprised it is coming on so soon.

The story? Read on...

I am proud to say that Kyla Mae is now a full-fledged reader! Randy and I could not be more proud of her. Her, and the fact that her PreK teacher is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! She is a fabulous teacher and we could not be more pleased with how Kyla has progressed this year, much in part to the efforts of her teacher Mrs. Fleming.

She is reading so well, that I brought out Elisan's kindergarten (Abeka) books to give to Kyla to begin reading. She is doing well with them. So, I got out Elisan's first grade (Abeka) books for Kyla. She is able to sound out a lot of the words and is doing really well, considering the amount of time that she has been reading.

Well, Elisan is NOT happy at all. She is upset that Kyla is reading her first grade books because according to Elisan, "Kyla hasn't learned all of the phonic's rules yet!" I can't help but giggle just writing that sentence!

And to add injury to insult, Randy and I began teasing Elisan by saying that we thought Kyla Mae should skip kindergarten all together head straight into first grade! Elisan about had a cow! Seriously! And because we are cruel parents, we began teasing her even more telling her that we thought she should begin sharing her current collection of Junie B. Jones books with Kyla. Elisan said, "Mom, there are words in there like 'appropriate'! She can't read the word 'appropriate!'".

Randy and I backed off. Seeing how much it upset her. But, it was just too good to pass up.

See? The deal with Elisan is that she is a rule follower. To the 'nth' degree! She can't even play a made up game with bouncy balls unless she incorporates so many rules and regulations that it isn't even fun anymore. We have to tell her, "Okay, no more rules, let's just play the game" more often than we care to. She is a black and white thinker. No gray area allowed. (She is soooo like her daddy it is just wrong, wrong, wrong!)

Anyway, back to the reading... Elisan began reading in kindergarten. When she entered kindergarten, she had just turned five in August. Kyla turned five in October, a month into PreK. So, you see? They both learned to read at the same exact time in their lives... The difference is that Kyla was in Prek and Elisan was in kindergarten.

Of course, you can't tell that to Elisan. It makes no difference to her. She only knows that Kyla will soon be encroaching on her territory. -sigh-

(At least Elisan hasn't figured out that Kyla is better than her at soccer!)

Red Poppy - more pictures!

Here are our super cool motorcycle riders! I love this!

Red Poppy Festival!

This past weekend was the 10th Annual Georgetown Red Poppy Festival! Our church had a booth set up at the festival giving away candy, nylon backpacks, and of course balloons!

We had such a great time!


Here's our booth at the beginning of the festival! I love the balloon arch! Which, by the way, I learned how to do a balloon arch, if anyone is needing one!

Here's Kyla Mae ready for the parade!

Still waiting for the festivities to begin...

Here's our group! The Celebration Church Motorcyle Connect Group!

Because I'm so cute...

Last Friday, I picked up Kyla Mae from school and I needed to go into work to finish up some last minute stuff before the weekend.

She was greeted by all those who she came into contact with and everyone was very nice and excited to meet her.

As we were gathering our things to leave, she said, "Mommy, everyone is very nice to me at your work." And I said, "They sure are nice to you, aren't they?"

And she said, "It's because I'm so cute."

I kid you not.