Spring

Wanted to show you guys a little of what we've been up to since the weather has improved lately.

 Inspecting the wisteria.

 Inspecting the ginormous bumble bees that buzz around the wisteria. Turns out they're kind of scary!

 Blowing bubbles with Daddy.

Catching lizards!

Lazy Sunday

Just having a relaxing day at home after church. Working Man of course had to work last night, and is working again tonight so we just kept things simple. Homemade chicken fajitas (question: why can't I successfully make fajita meat?) and out of the box Spanish rice, I'm slowly winning Working Man over to Mexican food but I don't think meals like today's will further my cause.
We need more days like today. All of us home at the same time, for at least part of the day and no huge items on the to-do list. Just bubbles in the yard with Wild Man and afternoon naps.
Just wanted to share a picture I found the other day...

Doesn't he look just absolutely at peace? This is the image I try to see in my mind on days when he's being especially wild. This peaceful baby is still in there, somewhere.

Toodles for now, hope to have a real post for tomorrow.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today: March 25, 2011
Outside my window... a breezy sunny day.
I am thinking.... that although I dislike working Saturday, I really enjoy my monthly Friday off.
I am thankful for ... Elmo's World. That fuzzy red monster is the only reason I'm able to blog right now, bless him!
I am wearing... OLD jeans, black v-neck shirt, maroon undershirt.

I am remembering...my bachelorette evening, fun ladies fun times.
I am going... to paint my bedroom sometime during the month of April.
I am currently reading...Last Words of the Executed by Robert K. Elder.

I am hoping ... that change is on the way.
On my mind... the list of things I did not accomplish that were on my to do list for today. Oh well.

Pondering these words... nothing. My mind is a total blank on this one.

From the kitchen... breaded baked porkchops in the oven. Still in my mind and intentions: chicken fajitas, turkey meat loaf, weight watchers cake, cookies of some kind. Don't know if all that will materialize.
From my picture journal...

No story, I just love this photo.

The Unfortunate Incident

First of all, I'd like to say that there are no pictures to accompany this post. You can all thank me now. I've mentioned that there was an unfortunate incident with Wild Man and some candy while we were on vacation and the sad truth is that it was 100% my fault. (Wait a second, technically the Working Man (WM) bought that candy. We'll go with 99.99999% my fault) It started out innocently enough. On the way to Houston on Friday we stopped at a gas station, and WM came back to the car with a box of chocolate covered mint candies. Just a small treat for us to share with the boy while we were on vacation. We didn't know what Wild Man would think about the mint flavor, but he seemed to really enjoy the few pieces we gave him that evening.
On the following day, we arrived at the acquarium early because we wanted to secure tickets for the "penguin experience" and they are sold on a first come, first served basis. So, after we bought our tickets and toured the acquarium we still had several hours to kill before it was time to mingle with penguins. I suggested that we drive over to another area of the island to visit a few stores and maybe let the Wild Man catch a power nap in his carseat. When we went to get in the car I somehow ended up holding that box of candy while trying to wrangle Wild Man into his seat. It wasn't working, so I set the candy on the back dash area to free up my hands for child wrangling. (You now all know where this is going) We then got into the car and made the 15 minute drive across the island, nothing but the sounds of silence from the backseat. We parked and exited our vehicle, WM went to pay for our parking and I opened up the back to get Wild Man out. The following are my thoughts as they occurred, in sequence, as best as I can remember...
"What?"
"Oh no! He threw up, poor baby!"
"Wait a second...What is that??!!"
"Its chocolate... Where did he get chocolate??!!!"
"AAAAAAAAGHHHHH...NOOOOOO, the candy!!!!!!"
Friends, he ate about half a good size box of chocoate mint candy. Except for the few pieces that he sat on and melted into his carseat (his new carseat) and the one piece I found later in his diaper. He threw up again on our return to the acquarium, and remained a rather unpleasant shade of green for several hours.  It kind of spoiled his mood and enjoyment of the penguin meet and greet.
Valuable lessons were learned from the unfortunate incident
1. Wild Man learned that a few chocolates are yummy. But 20 chocolates consumed in the span of about five minutes, is too many. (I might benefit from this lesson also)
2. I learned that when I have to choose which to secure in my vehicle first, the child or the candy, choose  the candy. Every time.
3. The Working Man learned that my memory cannot be trusted with mundane, yet important details.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today: March 23, 2011
Outside my window... all is still.
I am thinking.... about how God's mercies are never ending.
I am thankful for ... answered prayers.
I am wearing... flannel pajama pants and matching (miracle of all miracles) long sleeved shirt.
I am remembering...this past Christmas. How my baby still looked like a baby, but now he looks like such a little boy.
I am going... to give my house some much needed attention before I go to bed.
I am currently reading...Last Words of the Executed by Robert K. Elder. Please don't judge me, its fascinating.
I am hoping ... to be able to keep up with this blog. I think I'm really going to enjoy it.
On my mind... the list of things I need to accomplish on Friday while I'm off work.
Noticing that... this house is completely silent. This is a rare, but most enjoyable, occurrence.
Pondering these words..."it is like mothers are the mortar of our families and we make up the bricks"  - quote by Susanne Alexander at simplemarriage.
From the kitchen... threw together a quick homemade stroganoff type dish so the Working Man will have something to eat tomorrow. Other than that, things are pretty bleak in there.
From my picture journal...

The Working Man pointed out that yesterday's post included no pictures of me. So here is proof positive that I went on vacation with the rest of the fam.

Vacation

Last week our little family of three took a quick trip to Houston/Galveston. It was the Wild Man's first vacation ever, and the first vacation for the Working Man and me since 2008. So, we were long overdue for some relaxation and fun. Unfortunately, although I spent about a month planning this little trip I overlooked the fact that many schools were on spring break last week. The Houston Zoo was literally a ZOO! However, we had a great time in spite of the crowds. Friday afternoon we fought our way down I-45 to Galveston and spent a lovely evening at Moody Gardens. Saturday, we visited the acquarium there and Wild Man got to meet a penguin up close and personal! Aside from an unfortunate incident with a box of Jr. Mints (another story for another time) a fabulous time was had  by all.

 Seeing the birds at the zoo.

 Caught him in mid-sqwauk. The other people in the bird area thought one of the birds was making that noise! He just likes birds a whole lot.

 The baby elephant that my son did not get to see. Stupid crowds!

 Wild Man playing in the hotel room.

 Why yes, that is my husband acting out the throwing of my son into the hotel fountain/goldfish pond. And, no, now that you mention it, the hotel desk clerk did not find this as amusing as we did.

 Wild Man had so much fun at the acquarium Saturday morning. He was running around like, well, a wild man.

 Sadly, the penguin experience came after the Unfortunate Jr. Mints Episode of 2011. Wild Man was not at his best.

The penguin was adorable and very aware of her cuteness.

First Post Ever

Okay, lame title. I know. But, it is my very first post ever and the pressure of trying to come up with something witty was making me twitch. It may actually have been the coffee, but you know I'm not giving that up, so we'll blame it on the pressure.
I'm starting this blog after spending the past year following the blogs of others. Family, friends, complete strangers, the friends of complete strangers... I read them all. Now, I want to try it for myself. I want to be that friend of a complete stranger that someone else is following. My lack of basic knowledge as to how blogging actually works should make this fun for me and for you. So...
Welcome! Come join me, because I have no idea what I'm doing and confusion loves company.