Why me?

Want to know something about me?  I never really planned on working after I had kids.  I had spent my whole life up until then trying to avoid work at all costs and I figured, why start now?  I'm so good at being lazy.  I can just raise a child and sew and paint when I want to and life will be good. 

But now I am starting to think that some force in the universe wants me to work, because people keep offering me jobs that I don't ask for.  "Can you manage our storage facility for two weeks?" Sure!  "And then every weekend after that?"  No problem!  When we moved here, I casually mentioned to one girl that I would like to babysit, and the next day she had a job lined up for me.  (That was actually pretty awesome.) And the day before my last day of that job, I randomly get offered a tutoring job while I am at the park with Violet.  (Yes, that was last night.)

Okay, I'm really not complaining about any of this.  They have all been great jobs that have allowed me to bring Violet with me.  And let's face it, we need the money.  But I'm starting to wonder what it is about me that makes people offer me jobs.  Do I just seem like I would be a hard worker?  Because if they think that, they obviously don't know me very well.  Or maybe it's something much less glamorous, and I just seem like the kind of person who has nothing better to do.  Whatever it is, I guess I should be thankful for it.

Violet's first bike ride

It was a big hit.

Why Wednesdays are the best

Today we had an Easter egg hunt at playgroup.  There were so many cute moments that the only way I could get them all on was to make a collage. After that we went to TCBY, and Violet and I shared a waffle cone.  It was so precious that it could only be recorded in black and white.

 And last, but not least:  I caught Violet sneaking some food from off the counter.  Can anyone guess what's in the tub?  It'll make you laugh.

Being a mom is officially the BEST JOB EVER.

Thai festival

This weekend our friends invited us to a Thai festival in Houston. I was crazy about the food. Violet and I shared an enormous plate of green curry, and it was only $3!!! I was pretty excited about that. You could pay $10 for something less authentic at a restaurant. And can I just say how proud I am of Violet for liking spicy food?

Sexy picture of me, I know.

My favorite things were the kabobs. I don't know what they put on that meat to make it so good. Probably LSD or something. Anyways, they were amazing.

We had a great time with our friends, and Violet had tons of fun running around. And we never lost Violet, because her blonde head stuck out like a sore thumb. It was great.

I don't normally blog about food....

But this week I was feeling especially inspired. I took a chicken breast, stuffed it with cheese and salami, and wrapped it in bacon. It was too pretty not to take a picture.

Much better now

Okay, I am done being sick. Phew. This weekend turned out to be much better than the week. I finished making Violet's Easter dress, and besides being a couple of inches too short, I think it turned out REALLY cute.

On Friday, Violet and her friend went to the zoo. Actually I went to the zoo with my friend, and our babies came along for the ride. Either way, it was fun. They really enjoyed the petting zoo.

On Saturday we went out to Asher's birthday party, which was a blast. Violet felt so big getting to eat at the kids' table.Later that night I threw a panini party for our friends that were in town. Sunday was not as fun, however, because Brandon had class and meetings from 8 AM to 8 PM. Yes, class. I was not happy. But at least I'm not sick anymore.

Sick days

This week has been pretty disappointing. The weekend was fun-- we got to go to lots of parties and watch conference-- but Violet developed a 103 degree fever on Sunday. Which I got a few days later. And Brandon has been working nonstop on a poster that he has to present on Monday. Miserable.

Guess what we had for dinner?

Brandon's department had their huge annual crawfish boil. And by huge, I mean 900 lbs of crawfish. We got to help sort the live ones from the dead ones, which involves sticking your hand into a kiddie pool of angry crawfish in attack stance, picking up the ones that look dead, shaking them to make sure they're dead, and throwing them into a pile. It's a lot more fun than it sounds.

At first, Violet didn't want them around her. She was a little scared of all the people and loud music. After awhile she warmed up and had a really good time. She even got a strand of beads just for being cute.

Ta-da!

You may have heard me mention that my sister and I are starting a sewing blog. Well, it is finally up and running! It's still a work in progress but we have tons of ideas, so we will be posting more soon. Check it out and follow us!

pintucksandruffles.blogspot.com

Trapped

Yesterday morning, just after baby #2 came over for the day, our management informed me that they would be replacing our stairs. Then they told me not to worry, because they would put replacement stairs in place while they were working. And here is their idea of replacement stairs: Anyone want to carry 2 babies down this? These stairs are literally the only way to get to my aparment. So I was inside, all day, with 2 babies. And I had to send baby #2 home in our hiking back pack, because that's the only way her dad would take her down that ladder when he picked her up.

Luckily, I have no problem scaling a ladder with a baby. I went to say goodbye to Bradon for the night, because he was staying in a hotel for his competition the next day. And after that, I had the best time ever with Jennifer. We ate awesome barbecue, shared a seriously enormous slice of chocolate cake with Violet, and watched a movie at my house. I almost invited her to sleep over but she needed to spend some time with her boyfriend before she moves. Crap. I'm going to miss her.

Bluebonnets

This weekend we went out to Mom and Dad's to try to find some bluebonnets. The ones out there weren't spectacular, but Brandon got to come, so it was fun. Last night I stopped at a bluebonnet field at Rice that was much fuller. The sun was going down, so I had to hurry and snap some pictures of Violet.

Totally worth it.

How to be crafty (freezer paper style)

Since Bexie asked, and it's St. Patrick's day, I thought I'd post the shirt I made for Violet. Being a non-Irish, non-Catholic, non-drinker, my relationship with St. Patty's day is strained at best. But I am a lover of the color green. And last night when I went through Violet's wardrobe, I didn't find a single green thing. So for today, I skipped the four-leaf clover and did a green Celtic knot on her onesie instead. And if that's not Irish, then I'm not Mormon.

First step: draw (or trace, I won't judge) your stencil pattern on to the papery side of freezer paper. You can get this at your grocery store-- it has a plastic side and a paper side. Then cut it out. This is where an X-acto knife comes in handy.
Step 2: Iron the stencil, plastic side down, onto the onesie. The plastic will melt and stick to the shirt. Make sure all the edges lay flat, because they can get caught and cause problems. Then dab tons of acrylic paint on the cut out part. Check that you aren't missing any spots.

Step 3: When it's dry (or before, if you're impatient like me), peel up the freezer paper and see how cute it is. Then put it on your kid, because it looks even cuter that way.

GRRR!!! Why does blogger mess with my pictures?

This semester I have been making a big deal out of day-to-day things. Because maybe, if I occupy myself with enough trips to the zoo, and visits from friends, and craft projects, I will forget about the missing 1/3 of our family. Too bad it hasn't worked. But who am I to complain; I'm not the one going to school on Saturdays, or waking up at 4:30 to do homework. Brandon has been nothing but a hard worker; I have been nothing but a hard whiner. I totally don't deserve him.
Moving beyond my frustrations, this "keep busy" mentality has resulted in a couple of fun things. First of all, we now go to the zoo so often that I made Violet an official Zoo shirt. And for some reason, blogger decided that the picture needed to be vertical. Drawing the stencil was easy, cutting it out was a different story. It was also supposed to be purple, but I guess the zebra wanted to be anatomically correct and it came out black.

And let it be known that I took my punk rock husband and baby to a country music concert at the Rodeo. Thanks for taking us, Mom and Dad.

That kind of mom

Because of my job, I often have to tote around 2 babies. And because I'm cheap, I'm not always equipped for 2 babies. (Sorry, I just don't want to invest in a double stroller so that I can use it on someone else's kid.) I'm pretty sure I'm the kind of mom that makes other moms feel good about themselves, because I always end up being the mom that no other mom wants to be. Yes, I'm the mom that uses a shopping cart as a stroller. I'm the mom that ignores a tantrum while I shop for groceries. I'm the mom who holds a baby and eats an ice cream cone while the other baby runs wild through TCBY. I'm the mom who leaves her wallet in the car when she's about to buy $5 worth of clothes and comes back from the car with a wallet that's obviously not hers and makes everyone think she's on welfare.

This whole experience has taught me a lot about not caring what people think of me. What they think about me probably isn't true, anyways. I actually don't have 2 babies from 2 different dads. Only one of them is mine. When I do have another one, I will get a double stroller so that I don't have to use a shopping cart. I will care a little more about the behavior of my child when he/she throws a tantrum. I can afford $5 of clothes, and the wallet I used was Brandon's. I didn't stick someone up in the parking lot so that I could buy Violet a dress. And most of all, I'm really proud of the fact that I am able to take care of Violet and contribute to our income so that we don't have to get loans.

Yep, I'm proud to be that kind of mom.

Herding cats

That is the best metaphor I can think of for what I did today. My family was all together for the first time in more than 3 years. Our photo session scheduled for this morning was cancelled due to inclimate weather, but I was not about to accept defeat for a family photo. And guess what I learned? 2 grandparents+ 6 siblings+ 4 spouses+ 9 grandkids= 1 overwhelmed Shady. But you know what, considering we did it in a backyard with my camera on a tripod and a 10-second timer, I think it turned out pretty well. (Of course, only after we re-shot because the first round was blurry and I almost cried. Do you know how hard it is to tell if something that far away is in focus?!?!) Thanks for cooperating, everyone!

Funky time

My sister and her kids came into town a couple of days ago and we have been having a blast. We went to the Rodeo and got to see baby animals and pet bunnies. Here are some of the cousins having fun at the fair grounds. Today we went to the park and the zoo. Uh oh! Is that Graham touching something pink?

He and Devin were more interested in the floor than the animals.

Caroline and Devin got a little crazy in the tunnel. Seriously though, look at the reflections of their faces. Hilarious. Everyone had fun on the carousel.

Single mom

Here is what Brandon's schedule has been like:
Last week: at school till 7 or 8 almost every day.
Last weekend: on a field trip
Sunday night: I thought he was supposed to come home that night, but I found out that he wasn't coming home until Monday at 9 or 10 PM.
Monday (well actually Tuesday): Comes home at 12 AM.
Tuesday: Off to school at 10 AM, still not back. And this week is spring break.
I hate this semester.

Capturing the moment vs. living the moment

I am becoming one of those annoying camera ladies. You know exactly what I mean. The one that has a camera glued to her face and is always yelling, "Look at the camera! Look at mommy! Do that cute thing you were just doing again but this time do it slower!" Yep, that's me.

Well, today I was taking a walk with Violet and Baby #2 (no, I'm not pregnant, that's just what I call the girl I babysit for privacy reasons) and the most amazing thing happened-- the Rodeo riders marched right in front of our complex on their horses. And my first thought was, "Oh, I have to go get the camera!" Then I almost slapped myself in the face. Seriously? Was I going to tear Violet away from a literal parade of animals so that I could take a dumb picture of it? No way. So we walked to the street and Violet waved at the horses as they walked by, hyperventilated the entire time, and cried when they were all gone. No, I didn't make that last part up. As it turns out, we caught the tail end of it, so if I had gone all the way back to the house to get the camera, we would have missed the entire thing.

I guess cool hair just runs in our family.

Brandon's hair is now even longer than this. Maybe he will style it like this for Mom's family pictures in a few weeks.