glory be

we went to church.  a church that i think fits us quite nicely.  i just wish john cusak had been there.

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he would feel right at home (on a pew right next to me, of course).  i'm sure of it.

greatest hits

things are changing around here.  for one, i have been running (three times this week, to be exact) and my baby is on the move.  we are accomplishing big things around here, friends.  

here is a peek at my week:

1) best friends.

 2) breakfast with grandpa and pawpaw.  

by the way, crosby adores pawpaw.

 3) a first big boy playdate without the other mommy.  

somebody's growing up.

 4) a gorilla has taken over our house.  he growls at everything, beats his chest, and requests his picture taken while perched atop the furniture.

 5) there are two things on crosby's agenda: 

a) showing me who's the boss.  by the way, it's not me.

b) he is going somewhere.  anywhere.  specifically straight to ruby's bed for a dog hair snack or to her bowl for a quick bath.  the blurry pictures illustrate the speed at which he moves.  good thing i started running.

looking forward to hanging with some friends and going to church for the first time in way too long.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time,

xoxoxo

the many faces of crosby

there's the pay-attention-to-me-NOW

 then the i'm-coming-for-you-momma

 the say-it-ain't-so

 here we have the put-the-camera-down-please-pleeeeeaaaaaaasssse

 and the shock-and-awe

 this one is called, i'm-staaaaarving

 then what i like to call, BUSTED!

 and just so you have a clear picture of what a little nut he is, he shakes his bottle and milk squirts all over his face,

 and he doesn't care one bit.

songs for you

here are a couple of songs i cannot get out of my head this weekend.  enjoy (by the way they are both totally appropriate for you to listen to at work...unlike the ice cube song i posted yesterday.)

xoxoxo

the middle east- blood

beirut- santa fe

it was a good day

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hot damn, i did it.  i ran.  i didn't die.  i made a friend.  i enjoyed myself.  and now i can't get this song out of my head (pardon the language).  i hope you have a triumphant weekend, friends.

me, myself, and i

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in college i gained the freshman fifteen.  which was to be expected, i guess, considering my diet of chick-fil-a, pizza and beer.  then i gained the sophomore fifteen.  did you know that even existed?  me neither.  then there was the junior five.  and the senior pound or two.  it bothered me at the time, but i wasn't willing to give up having the time of my life to get healthy.  eat healthy?  give up booze?  in college?  no thanks.

then i graduated and the ball dropped.  i was expected to be an adult and i had plenty of time away from my college family to evaluate things.  i was a mess, people.  i wasn't happy with my career, my relationships, my weight, and i mourned the carefree life i just left.  after a couple of years of feeling sorry for myself, i was fed up.  i needed a change.  and the only thing i had control of at the time was my weight.  nothing else, or so i thought.  so my roommate and i marched our big butts into weight watchers and lost forty pounds in a matter of months.  it was the first time i took control.  and it felt good.  things started falling in place for me, not because i lost a bunch of weight, but because i was fed up.  i wanted something better for myself, and it just so happened, that on my journey, losing the weight helped me achieve that.  i stress, i do not think that losing weight is the key to happiness.  the key, i think, is wanting something more for yourself and going for it.

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so here i am, a husband, two children, and what feels like a lifetime later, and that forty pounds that disappeared nine years ago is back.  it's gradual reappearance had nagged at me for a while, but not enough to do anything about it.  i. have. been. busy.

what is back is that feeling of restlessness.  i am ready for something new.  this time though it is less about the weight and more about my boys having a momma that values her health.  i am the lone lady in this testosterone fueled house, so the responsibility to teach my boys about women lies squarely on my shoulders.  i want the boys to appreciate women that love and provide for their family, that nurture their friendships, that value their independence, that love the arts, food, travel, that take care of their bodies.  this time around there is more to it than losing some weight, it is about taking better care of their momma.

so i joined a running club (bwahahahahahahaha!)  it is very basic, geared toward beginners, with the end goal being a 5k.  i know this is not that big of a deal.  but for me it is.  i have always said i'll run if i am being chased.  but if i am being totally honest with myself, i am not sure if that is even true.  i would more than likely surrender, sit down and get caught.  haha.  so we shall see!  the first training "run" is tomorrow morning.  i am scared shitless.  this is waaaaay out of my comfort zone. but i need to prove it to myself, and my boys, that i can do it.  or at least try.

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can i get a medal for trying?  that would be awesome.

wish me luck.

greatest hits

i made the mistake of working out tonight on an empty stomach.  i am bone tired.  like, don't-have-the-energy-to-type tired.  but today is thursday.  and thursday is greatest hits day.  i aim to please, people.  just excuse the typos.

1) a sunday funday date that involved bloody marys, patios and a pitcher of beer.  we felt 25 again.  except for the hangovers we had the next day despite the full night's sleep we enjoyed.  

then we felt 32 again.

 2) my helper.  all ben wants to do lately is help me feed his brother (btw look at the size of that baby).

 3) a little art therapy.

 4) i bought a pouf!  the name makes me laugh. 

 5) this weather.  unreal.

 (this is his i'm-afraid-of-heights face.  instead of helping him down, i snapped a picture.  shame on me.)

(remember when i blogged about my friend's two-year-old that ate soup.  with a spoon????  well, she also rides a bike.  my kid cannot steer and pedal at the same time to. save. his. life.  is this normal?  if not, at least he's enjoying himself.)

looking forward to new running shoes and stepping waaaaaay out of my comfort zone.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until then,

xoxoxo

8 months old

with my first baby, i was impatient.  i was ready for the next milestone.  i couldn't wait for him to sit up, talk, crawl, walk.  i was so anxious to find out his little personality.

with crosby, i pray for it to slow down.  i don't want him to get big and push my kisses away.  he could stay like this forever and i would be one perfectly happy momma.

 he smiles from the moment he wakes up to the second he goes to bed.  the only time he cries is during the thirty seconds between his baby food and his bottle.  he seems to think we are starving him to death.  as you can tell by the size of his cheeks, we clearly are not.

 he has two teeth with another well on it's way.  he pulls up to his knees and is damn proud of himself when he does.  he is almost crawling.  we are just waiting for that right leg to get with the program.

 he hasn't met a food he doesn't like.  the tongue is always going.  he drools constantly.  he says two words.  both first spoken on the same day: ma-ma-ma-ma-ma (me), and bub-bub-bub (ben).  chris is only a smidge jealous.

i am not bragging or sugar-coating.  this momma is just speaking the truth.  he is perfection.


p.s. i just realized that i already posted the last two pictures on a previous post....he's just so dang cute.

on the bandwagon

i know that it is waaaay too late in the season for a gift guide, but i have to share this little gem just in case you need a gift idea for valentine's day or upcoming birthdays.

have you heard of pinhole press?  i read about it all the time on blogs (cup of jo and nienie for example).  this little company has exploded, and for good reason.

last year, i ordered these notepads for mother's day gifts.  they are reasonably priced and the quality is by far better than other photo products i have ordered from other companies (other than ruby june, that is.)

the pictures don't do them justice.

this year i ordered desk calendars for christmas.  they printed promptly, shipped and arrived on my doorstep well before the big day.

the best part: they send a handwritten note with every order, plus special discounts for returning customers.  so using my discount, i ordered us our own personalized calendar for the fridge.  

it. is. awesome.

it makes my paper-nerdy heart flutter.

check them out and order something!  it is money well spent.

greatest hits

hello friends!  last weekend marked the third anniversary of marcy's thirtieth birthday.  and considering she loves her birthday more than any kid i know, we celebrated all weekend.  we have had a sleepy week around here recovering from all the fun.  here are some highlights:

 1) friday night marcy and i had plans to grab dinner and go see the comedian kathy griffin live.  little did marcy know (or did she?), i planned for us to be joined by robin, leigh, kelly and her sister anna (in town from okc).

 we spent the entire night laughing.  first, at kathy griffin.  and then at these two clowns laughing at themselves.  good times.

2) chris took ben to home depot for their monthly saturday morning FREE kids workshop.  if you haven't taken your kids before, i highly recommend it.  this month they made a piggy bank shaped like a house and last month they made a snowman napkin holder (which will grace my christmas table for years to come).  he got his face painted like a gorilla on saturday.  fierce.

 3) lunch with anna and marcy at the always delicious pecan lodge located in shed 2 of the dallas farmers market.  i switched my order up this time by ordering the "hot mess", which consists of a baked sweet potato, cheese, barbacoa, bacon, and creamy goodness.  i could only eat half of it, but man was that half delicious.

 this gorilla patiently awaits his order.

 the hot mess

 crosby thinks long and hard about ice cream.

 my pretty city.

4) a birthday brunch at a new-to-us restaurant in the charming bishop arts district, oddfellows.  i had a bloody mary and a smoked salmon goat cheese scramble.  enough said.

 5) did you know that a double bath-time is double the fun?  that's the word on the street.

 6) lazy mornings with the boys on my days off.  this particular morning, ben "fell" into crosby's crib while trying to kiss him good morning.  the crib is now referred to as the gorilla trap.  can you guess who named it that?

 7) dinner at stackhouse, another new-to-us burger joint on the cusp of deep ellum.  pretty tasty indeed. 

other things that made my week: a letter from my nieces and nephew, a family dinner at nan's, and a baby shower date confirmed and on the calendar.

looking forward to a sunday funday date with my handsome husband.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time,

xoxoxo