Good Try, Rangers!

Dear Rangers,
You may not have won the World Series this year…but, in my opinion, you gained something even better…THIS PRECIOUS FAN!

And, I have a feeling he’s going to be a fan for life! Get ‘em next year, Rangers. We’ll be cheering!

It’s The Great Pumpkin…

I must admit that I’m a sucker for anything “holiday!” And, come October, I’m ready for celebrating the fact that the temps are getting cooler! Trust me when I say that I DO NOT LIKE THE HEAT!!!! 

And, with the cooler temps come all things Fall. And, this sucker has picked up quite a few pumpkin/fall items at the store over the past few weeks! Having an excited 4 1/2 year old in the cart doesn’t really help things…but, we’ve enjoyed it ALL…so you won’t hear me complain! 

So…take a peek into our pantry…and pick you up some of these yummy items the next time you’re out…


CANDY CORN
The Brach's kind are just better. They're buttery-er and GOOD!…Quinn is loving a few of them sprinkled into his “trail mix” lately!!…

PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER
I’m on my second one of these…How can I resist! I love it so much better than the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks.

PUMPKIN PIE POP TARTS
Are you kidding me? They're oh so bad…but oh so good!

PUMPKIN SPICE COUNTRY CROCK
This is so good on my bagel.


CANDY CORN M&M’s
When I heard that these existed, I looked everywhere and only found them at Wal-Mart. And, they were worth the search! SOOO yummy!

And, now I’ve become a huge fan of these yummies! It’s the EASIEST recipe of all time…and oh so pumpkin-y!

And, last but not least, I had some fun making Q’s class some pumpkin snacks for school this week. I heard they were a hit!

Now we’re just waiting for the grand finale…costumes are ready and waiting!….
Happy Pumpkin Day!

Say Cheese…or pickles…or Boogers…

September 19, 2011 was picture day for my big preschooler! And, what a love. I seriously adore this little man more than words could explain…and am so thankful that school is a place that he loves to be!…Not bad for school pics, right?!…Whatever silly word they made him say totally worked! :)

Being Spoiled (& Surprised) is FUN!

Matt has Fridays off. We always start the day with this song (I’m not kidding…we really do!) and then spend the whole day together! This past Friday was no different. We woke up to do a little bit around the house and then headed out to be together. We grabbed some lunch and then spent a little time shopping at the hot spots around our new home.

Then, around 6, we made the decision to go home and have leftovers for dinner. But, when we pulled up to the house, Mammer and Slickpaw were at our front door! I had no idea they were coming…and, when I looked at Matt he smiled and said, “go pack your bag!”

What?!!? I was shocked! Matt rarely successfully surprises me…
But, I was ECSTATIC that he pulled it off! It had been WAY TOO LONG since we had gone on a real date…and, our last night away was our BabyMoon!  So, I packed quickly and we said our goodbyes to our littlest loves.

In a short amount of time, we pulled up at the beautiful Gaylord Texan. We had stayed there once before and loved it…and, I was so excited to spend the evening with my TGTBT!

After stuffing ourselves at the Mexican food restaurant and taking our sweet time eating it, we headed back to the room to rent a movie. And, when it was over, I was THIRLLED when I remembered we had NO monitor and NO alarm! When we woke up, we walked down to the coffee shop to get some yummy “breakfast” and then came back up on our room to enjoy spending time together on our balcony. We read, wrote our “goals” (we always do this on our getaways) and just talked! It was perfect!!!

Then, a little after 10, we walked around the hotel for a while before heading to the spa for our AMAZING couple’s massage! This guy just kept racking up the BONUS POINTS with me! It was SO nice and such a special treat!!!
 

After leisurely getting ready, we packed up and went shopping for the rest of our time together. Matt wanted me to pick out a pair of boots…and more! We had so much fun taking our time at the mall (even though I did miss having the stroller to carry our bags!)
and finding lots of great deals!

Overall, I’d say that the theme of the weekend was SPOIL BRITTNEY! I was so thankful for the way my sweet husband went out of his way to make it so special for me…and, it’s not even my birthday or anniversary! I am one lucky lady!!! He truly is TGTBT!

And…these two didn’t get short changed on the spoiling…

Thank you, Mammer and Slickpaw for coming in town so that we could getaway and never once worry about these two sweet faces!

Rock Star in the Making!

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of helping host a shower for my friend, Amy. After her two girls, we all had our fingers crossed that God would give her a sweet little boy! And, He did! We are so excited to meet her first little ROCK STAR very, very soon!!!…and to find out his name! :)

And, I can’t wait for her to experience the Mommy/Son love that I hold so dear…she’s going to be so very good at it!!!
 





 

Charlotte’s Web

Quinn loves bedtime story time…he always has! Sadly, we rarely take the time to read during the day. (unless it’s one of Nash’s little books)…But, nighttime is ALWAYS the time that we are  intentional to spend time cuddled up in bed reading together. I love snuggling with my squeaky clean boy under the covers in his cozy bed…

And, at the beginning of September, I got the idea that he was ready to listen to some chapter books. He has such an amazing imagination and I felt that his attention span could handle it! And, after reading this article about reading aloud to preschoolers, I couldn’t wait to make it a new practice around our house!

So…this Momma got excited and quickly went to the book store to get Quinn’s FIRST chapter book…Charlotte’s Web! And, after we completed the first chapter the first night, he was hooked! I loved how I could see his mind working and I loved the questions he asked about the vocabulary in the book.

For the next few weeks, we read a chapter a night…and he ALWAYS begged to read more. Before starting to read, we’d recap what had happened the night before and we’d guess what could happen next.

My favorite prediction was when we learned (at the end of a chapter) that Charlotte was going to do something in her web to help save Wilber. When I asked Quinn what he thought she was going to do, he said…”I think she’s going to put a BOMB in the middle of her web. Then, when the farmer comes and wants to kill Wilber, she’ll drop the bomb on him!” Not a bad guess, if you ask me! Such a boy!!!

After 22 chapters, I must admit that I was sad it was over. What a precious memory with my sweet boy! I look forward to reading MANY more chapter books together.

But, to continue the fun, the morning after we finished the book, I gave Quinn the original movie of Charlotte’s Web. He was ECSTATIC! (the boy LOVES a show!) As he watched it, he would (unprompted) tell me the things that were different between the movie and the book! I was SUPER impressed!!!

Then, we had a special lunch…complete with Wilbur, Charlotte and some farm animals! :) He LOVED it!!


And, for the icing on the cake for our little Charlotte’s Web read, we went on a special date to the Majestic Theater in Dallas to see the LIVE production of Charlotte’s Web by TheatreWorks. When I was teaching, we took our 1st graders to Theatre Works productions a few times, and I even took Quinn a few years ago to see If You Give a Pig a Pancake! When I saw that Charlotte’s Web was showing, I couldn’t wait to go with my sweet love! (and his baby brother, too!) 

So, we got all dressed up and headed downtown! We had seats in the VERY front and the boys were PERFECT. Quinn loved seeing the characters come alive and Nash sat in my lap and watched the whole hour long production!

 


 

In the midst of the crazy move, I loved our little Charlotte’s Web unit…and I loved how much Quinn appreciated every part of it!…Made his first grade teacher Momma so very proud! 
 

home is…

In my 31 1/2 years of life, I’ve heard these things…
Home is where the heart is.
Home is where your story begins.
Home is where your stuff is.
Home is where you start from.
Home is what you make it.

And, I must admit, all of those hold quite a bit of truth.

But, in the last few months, my sweet little family has made transition after transition.
Both of my boys have met new teachers at church.
My big boy has started at a brand new school.
My husband has learned to work with new colleagues in a brand new office.
I have tried my best to start making a rent house a home for a season.
We have all looked for new people to form sweet bonds with…new restaurants to frequent…and new grocery store isles to learn.  

And, this Momma has tried to not loose her mind in the midst of commuting and packing! I’m exhausted and unsettled!

But, in this crazy season, the thing I have realized more than I ever have before is…
Home is where your family is.

It doesn’t matter if we’re laying on the floor of a rent house or all piled in a car between here and there…wherever we are all together…THAT is home!

I am SO very thankful for my precious little PoeFam! They make me smile…they are my comfort and my constant!!! And, EVERY day, I thank God for the blessing that they are to me!!!

***

And, after tomorrow, we’ll all be TOGETHER a little more often. Tonight we’re packing up the final (ok…let’s be honest…we still have LOTS of packing to do) boxes, sleeping in our first home for the last time and then we’ll be welcoming 2 trucks and 4 movers in the morning. I’m ready, but I’m not. I know I’ll be EXTRA sappy and probably wear the “ugly cry” as we drive away, but I KNOW it’s going to be so nice to all be a little closer all day…everyday!

We’re still waiting on a final close date (and praying LOTS about it), so we’ll get to come back and see our house a few more times…

It has been such a perfectly happy place…with millions of memories that will NEVER be forgotten! But…a house doesn’t make it a home…my sweet family does!

I interrupt this regularly scheduled PACKING…

We are ALL worn out around here! This move has totally proven why people shell out the big bucks to let people pack AND move them! THANKFULLY, we are having movers, but you’re lookin’ at your number one packer right here!

And, let’s just say, we have SOOO much stuff. I seriously don’t know how it’s possible for 2 grown ups, 2 kids, 2 puppies and 1 frog to have SO much stuff!

Anyway…I need to get back to packin’…and bubble wrappin’…and tapin’…and LAUNDRY so that we can at least have something to wear when we pack! Mercy.

{This happens a lot more than it used to due to our crazy busy life and commuting…}


{Thankfully, we’ve been able to move some stuff into our temporary rent house for a few weeks now! And, after church last week, we tried to “do nothing” for just a little while! I think we all needed it!…}

{I will apologize ahead of time to the movers before they pick up these boxes full of pics, scrapbooks and photo albums! And, I swear I haven’t printed pictures in almost 4 years! I need a room JUST for shelves of photo albums!!!}

{Did you know they made PINK bubble wrap!!? It has made packing a little less painful!…}

{No time for a Garage Sale! The Salvation Army truck is coming today!…}