Margarita Monday

I decided to give Margarita Monday a try about a month ago when I fell off the WW wagon. I couldn't find anything that measured in ounces so that I could put the right amount of mix and tequila in the blender. When I was just about to give up and experiment by sloshing it all together without measuring, I saw one of George's bottles which was conveniently measured out in ounces.




I'm not saying this is the best way to go, but it worked out just fine. Despite the efforts, I gave up on Margarita Monday that night. There are just too many calories and it is a pain in the ass. Champagne Thursday is way easier because you just pop open a bottle.

WW Update

-.4

It's time for me to fess up. I gained .6 last week. So, I'm only down a total of 3.2. I totally bitched about it at my meeting today and, of course, the leader was very supportive.

The worst part of my week (and I've been bitching about it since) was last Thursday when Chuck and I went out to eat. The menu was steak. We both chose the petite filet. I ordered a baked potato with everything on the side and grilled vegetables. Chuck just got grilled vegetables. I put only a teaspoon of butter and salt and pepper on the potato. We didn't touch the bread basket. We both had salad with very little dressing. No dessert - Chuck had a cup of berries.

I got home and calculated the points in my filet and it was . . .

14.5 POINTS!

I only get 21 points. I was pissed! Anyway, that's that. That week is over and I'm moving onto this week. I'm going to try to work out a few times this week - the missing key to my weight loss I think (aside from giving up alcohol - don't even mention it to me).

There's the full update on my damn weight loss endeavor. Pretty sucky, but I'm going to stick with it, particularly since Chuck keeps taunting me by saying things like, "Are you going to give up now?" Uh, no.

That was a surprise.

I accidentally put Evie's princess toothpaste on my toothbrush this morning.

Let me assure all of you that bubble gum flavored toothpaste is disgusting - especially if you aren't expecting it. I went ahead and brushed but decided to brush again with my adult, mint-flavored toothpaste. It definitely woke me up!

I'm *that* mom.

I've turned into "that mom" sitting on the sidelines of her 6-year old son's soccer game yelling random things into the open air without regard for the other parents, players, and coaches around. Things like, "Stop leaning on the goal!", "Luke! Pay attention to the ball!", "Luke, stop picking your nose!" followed by "Ugh! Don't eat your boogers!", and "The ball! Luke! The ball is coming your way!", and my favorite, "No hugging! Stop hugging! There's no hugging in soccer!"

I'm a freak. I know it. It might be justified if he was actually a star player or if my comments were helpful in the least little bit. Instead, I just distract him from his daydreaming just barely in time to get him focused on the ball that just rolled past his feet into the goal. Oh well.

Movie Quote 57

Busy day today, so just a movie quote for you guys. This is a new movie, but it is already a classic.

Phil, we're not gonna leave a baby in the room, there's a fucking tiger in the bathroom!

If you have not seen this movie, I recommend that you go to the store and buy it RIGHT NOW. It is so damn funny.

Weekend

Hey there Peeps. (Yeah, I know I can't really get away with that kind of slang, but I try anyway). Nothing exciting going on these days. Just trying to keep muddling through with my three cute kids and three cute dogs. Half the time I'm just so tired from a long day of work, chasing kids, and herding dogs, that I just fall asleep and press the snooze button over and over again in the morning until I realize I have to get up or else Luke will be more than just a little late to school. So, y'all have a great weekend. I'll catch you on the other side.

Until then, here are some cute pics of my babies. I love the one of Evie!

Happy Thursday

I got these today with a note that read, "Happy Thursday!" Isn't that just the sweetest? Oh that Chucky Love.

Hope you all have a Happy Thursday too! I wish I could send all of you flowers, but instead I'll just have to share mine with you.


Don't forget your champagne tonight!

Update on the Kids: Not overly exciting

So, here's a little update on the kids. A lot of you read my concerns about the kids and their educational progress. We've adopted some subtle changes in our lives to help them out. Luke's attention span is getting better. He's really working hard on concentrating and finishing his work in class. Since the last debacle where he was required to finish a huge stack of work at home (which took almost a week of evenings to complete), he has only had one or two other things sent home. He even told me that he is getting used to concentrating. That was a relief to me. And he received a report card last night that indicated that the concentration is at least improved from where we were a few weeks ago.

At Luke's school the report card has three options: Developed ("D"), Still Developing ("S"), and Area of Concern ("C"). Luke is apparently still developing his ability to follow directions consistently, complete tasks, and work independently. However, he is Developed with regard to his ability to talk at the appropriate time, which was a great thing in my mind, because he never seems to speak at an appropriate time at home. So, things are better but not perfect. We'll keep working.

As for Evie, she is still enjoying school and we are doing our best to incorporate letters into each day. She can identify more letters these days and tell us words that start with certain letters. There's still a lag, but at least we're working on it. While we were at the lake, she was sitting at the dining room table eating some goldfish on her own while the adults were talking. She called to me in the middle of a conversation and pointed to the table. She said, "Mom! I made an 'E'!" And she had! Perfectly! All by herself, she made a capital E out of goldfish on the table. I was thrilled and proud. It was a great thing to see her embracing her education.

We are still going to have her tested. We met with the doctor at the Child Study Center last week to describe our concerns and inform her of Evie's history. The doctor seemed not particularly concerned, but agreed that it is better for us to have her tested and then we will know for sure where she is and the best ways to teach Evie. Evie will be tested the week after next and then we will get the results two to three weeks after that. I'll let y'all know.

Domestic Goddess

In case you had any doubt, here is evidence of my status as a Domestic Goddess.

I can bring home the bacon . . . Fry it up in a pan!

Movie Recommendation

Okay, I know this is lame and I'm telling everyone something that they already know, BUT . . . we watched "The Blind Side" last night and it was AMAZING! Loved it! Two thumbs up! Go see it, go see it, go see it!

Maxine & Flat Stanley

Everyone remember when I mentioned that I have a pen pal from the 4th grade? No? Well, I do. Her name is Maxine. George's middle name, Maxwell, is for her. She was in her 30's when she came to speak to my class about living in Alaska. She was visiting friends who happened to have a son in my class, and she agreed to speak to my elementary school's entire 4th grade class, just because she's that kind of person. We all had to write her a thank you note and she offered to write to anyone if they kept writing her. Well, I kept writing for over 20 years now. She doesn't do email. I don't have her phone number. I'm not sure I would even know how to get to her house if I had to. I've met her twice. Once in 4th grade, which doesn't really count and once in 1998 when we lived briefly in Louisiana for Chuck's job and she was visiting her husband's family who lives in Louisiana.

She's beyond special. She always sent me neat articles and books about Alaska. Every year she sends us a package of Christmas goodies. She collects teddy bears. She has no children. She is an artist. She has sent us two framed pieces of her own art. She makes miniature quilts (usually about 12" x 12" with approximately 250 pieces hand sewn together. I'll have to find a picture to show you all sometime. She's simply amazing. And everyone in my house when I was growing up knew about her and read her letters. She was there for me when my father died. She sent Chuck and I a very special gift when we were married. And she never forgets a birthday - even Chuck's and the kids'.

I, on the other hand, suck at writing letters. It could be months between letters. Sometimes just two or three a year letting her know what's going on with us. I have a package sitting under my desk addressed to her that has been sitting there for almost two years. I'm terrible about getting things in the mail. Just terrible. But she is perfect in every way.

So, when Luke was sent home with Flat Stanley, I knew exactly where we should send him. Luke and I addressed a letter to Maxine and sent Flat Stanley to a person who would definitely take care of him.

This is what came back yesterday.


Luke colored Flat Stanley before he left. Maxine said that she had to make him a coat because it was so cold in Alaska. He came back wearing this.



The box was HEAVY. And no wonder. It had all of this in it.

Maps, books, a bookmark, several stuffed animals, one stuffed bear for each of the kids, pamphlets about Alaska, books on the Northern Lights, books about wild flowers, bears, the Iditarod, Native Americans, fishing, oil, Mount McKinley, Mount Redoubt (which erupted and "ashed" her home), and much more. She gathered 100 postcards, including one with a picture that she took herself of moose in her backyard, and put them in an album. She trimmed each one so it would be easy to pull out and read about the pictures on the front. She circled places on her map that Stanley went. She sent another map of the peninsula she lives on. She drew pictures of the different kinds of animal tracks Flat Stanley saw in the snow while he was there. And to tell Luke about everything, she "helped" Flat Stanley keep a journal of his trip to Alaska (100 pages long).


She did everything and it was beyond AMAZING. She is so very special.

Her first crush

We discovered this weekend that Evie is boy crazy. We spent the weekend at the lake with three other couples. There were 11 children there altogether - insanity! Evie swooned for Luke's friend Alex and his older brother (4th-grader) Ethan. It was adorable! This picture pretty much sums up the entire weekend, although the boys were somewhat more responsive than you see in this picture. Ethan was especially sweet and patient.


This is the "shack" where we stayed.

From the Front
(That's Evie standing there)

From the Lake

We had a great time just being away from the house with some fun families. Unfortunately, the weather only cooperated the first day. We at least got have a short little boat ride to gawk at the super-rich homes. Lindsey, Evie and I went out with 6 other kids and 5 other adults. Oh, and a dog named Frisco who may well be the best dog in the entire world.





I hope we can spend more time at the lake this year. I forgot how much I enjoy it.

WW

Forgot to mention:

-.2 last week. Obviously, not a stellar week, but at least it wasn't a gain.

However, I could have a devastating gain this week because all hell broke loose with my diet with Chuck's birthday and a weekend at the lake. However, I've got Chuck on board with WW now, so maybe it will be a bit easier. Cheers to all of you strong women out there who are kicking my ass on this weight loss thing. You inspire me. I just wish you could be there at 5:30 a.m. to inspire me to get my ass out of bed and work out.

Movie Quote 56

Dig it, Ms. Wade. You're the President's girlfriend!

Green!

"I love beer!"

"How do you open this damn thing?!"

Chillin' with the Irish tunes and Irish lady.

Green beer and green milk.
The kids were amazed!
They asked how I did that and I told them I called a
Leprechaun and he made all the drinks green.
They totally bought it.

Peace!

College 2022
(My favorite picture EVER!)

That girl is precious!

All for the love of Saint Patrick!

Working during spring break sucks. Can I get an "Amen!"?

Love Song

Have you ever seen such a sweet, precious girl? I love this little one.


One of my favorite things that she does is sing. All. The. Time. (I must admit that it can get annoying).

She asks, "Mommy, do you want to hear a love song?"

Me, "Well, of course!" The first time I was so very curious to hear what she was going to sing.

She started singing her own high-low-lacking-rhythm song in which she sang over and over again one single word: "Love." She got me. It certainly was a love song.

Love, lu-huuuuv, luhuhu-vve, love, love, love, luhuve, love, lu-huuuuv, luuuuu-huv . . .

And she went on and on until I interrupted by saying, "Wow! Evie, that was just beautiful!" She beamed and asked, "Do you want to hear another song?" I mentally cringed, but responded, "Yes! I'd love that!"

My town is better than yours?

I saw this today in downtown Fort Worth.



Ahh, just look at what we have to offer!

Irish Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Chuck's birthday which is a day after Saint Patrick's Day. It was a smallish affair with only a few friends over to the house to celebrate. I slaved in the kitchen making "authentic" Irish dishes such as Irish Lamb Stew, Potato Soup, and Kerry Apple Cake. I was pretty impressed with myself. Lindsey made Irish Soda Bread, sausage rolls (different from our sausage rolls, and a chocolate cake). She also prepared our Irish playlist for the party. She rocks!

Kerry Apple Cake

Stew

Potato Soup

Party Favors

Green Jellybeans

A classic Irish Drink (Chuck's choice)

Plenty of Guinness

The Chocolate Cake a la Lindsey

Hardworking Lindsey

The Birthday Boy with his magnum of Champagne

We all had a great time, but I was exhausted at the end of the day. Damn time change always screws things up.

Work, work, work. Another trial coming up.

Champagne Thursday Additions

The kids asked to participate in Champagne Thursday last night. I was more than happy to oblige. They even made sure to clink glasses!


That's milk. Now, if we could just find a champagne-glass-shaped sippy cup for George.

-2

Lindsey & Rosie

You guys are not going to believe this, but Lindsey has been here almost 8 MONTHS!


She's such a part of our family and we adore having her around. She has a one year commitment with us, which means that she's done being our au pair on July 20th. I guess I didn't really realize how imminent her departure was until the au pair service emailed me a reminder that it was time to start considering whether we were going to get an extension for Lindsey to remain as our au pair for a second year or if we were going to find a new au pair. I was surprised to realize that her time with us was really going to end.

Despite our desperate requests that she consider staying with us for another year, she has decided that she is ready to pursue her education and get started on a career. I completely understand her choice. I remember working my ass off to try and keep up with all my friends who were graduating from college before I was. (getting married at 19, while wonderful, put a couple of semesters of school on hold). She has been such a blessing to our family. She's so full of life and smart-ass comments - a perfect fit for all of us. Plus, and most importantly, the kids adore her. And for me, it is like having a cross between a great girlfriend and a teenage daughter living with us. I know she will always be a part of our family.

With all that said, we've been through some emotional times in recent weeks as our family proceeded to interview a new person to take Lindsey's place. It was hard to accept that she would be leaving us and that a new person would take her spot. The bright spot of light out of this is that we've already found a fantastic English girl named Rosie who will be a perfect fit in our family. You never know how long it will take to find the right person and you need about two months lead time for the au pair to get all the paperwork completed, so I started looking right away. I was amazed that we were able to find someone so quickly - but that's how it worked with Lindsey too. I guess you just know when you've found the right person (it's just like dating, over the phone - weird). She's talked to us on the phone twice and we've been emailing back and forth. In an effort of full disclosure, she and her family have already seen the blog so they are fully informed of the craziness of our family, plus Lindsey sent her an email that revealed the good, the bad, and the ugly. Despite that, she's still willing to come over and join in all the craziness at our house. What fun! And here she is!


So, while we are super sad that we're not going to be able to see Lindsey's bright shiny face everyday after July 20th, we are thrilled that this super-cute, sweet, and energetic girl named Rosie is coming into our lives. She is from a town that is quite close to Stonehenge. She has two older brothers and lives with her mom and dad. She plays tennis, rides horses, and enjoys vacationing with her family in Spain - which is where she'll be just before she heads over to the U.S. (I'm so jealous). We hope we can give her a wonderful home away from home. It's an amazing feeling to come to know these amazing people who join the fabric of our family. We are so blessed.

She's Amazing.

My sweet, beautiful, intelligent, philinthropic twin*, Caroline, is being honored as the Tarrant County's Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year. Congratulations girl! I'm so proud of you, and honored to call you my twin!



* We have similar build, coloring, and disposition. She and I graduated from the same undergraduate university at the same time, we graduated from the same law school at the same time, we held the same position in law review, we clerked at the same firm together, and we started our careers at the same law firm. I am blessed to have spent so much time with such a wonderful friend/sister.

The Central Preoccupation of our Lives . . . FOOD!

We're cooking a lot these days. Lots of yummy food.

Lindsey made a roast dinner.

And Yorkshire Pudding.

I made chicken and homemade noodles.

But my all time favorite is Lindsey's Tikka Masala. Ahhh, yummy. I'll have to dig up a picture of it. She uses Jamie Oliver's recipe. We're now a Jamie Oliver (aka The Naked Chef) household since probably over half the recipes we cook are from him. I didn't even know who he was until Lindsey told me about him in one of our first phone interviews. Now, we have two of his cookbooks in the household (both Christmas presents, one for me from Lindsey and one for Lindsey from my sister Mary).

Lindsey's Book

And mine.

We love to cook out of them. Delish!