Conversations in the car...on the way to school

In our household there isn't any topic of conversation that is taboo or off limits, and generally the worst of the topics is brought up at dinner time, around the table. Or when we are in front of friends and other family members.  Isn't that how it always is?  :)

Briley is my inquisitive child, she's the first one to 'google' something, after me.  I am notorious for telling the girls to go look it up or 'google' it.   Anyway, there's really no rhyme or reason why Briley brings up topics and when; this morning on our drive to school was no different than any other time....  Mirror Neurons... the topic of our commute.

Seriously?  Mirror Neurons?  What goes through that head of hers' at 7:30am?  What happened to middle school girl drama?  What happened to sister drama?  What happened to 'Hey I need lunch money'?  Oh noooooo, I have to listen to a long (well as long as it takes to get from our driveway to the middle school drop off lane) dissertation of how and why this occurs. 

For the rest of the world that like me, you have no idea what mirror neurons are, here is a brief explanation from... where else.... Google...and Wikipedia...

A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another.^[1][2][3] Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons have been directly observed in primate species.^[4] Birds have been shown to have imitative resonance behaviors and neurological evidence suggests the presence of some form of mirroring system.^[4][5] In humans, brain activity consistent with that of mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, the primary somatosensory cortex and the inferior parietal cortex.

 

Apparently, Briley had watched some sort of documentary on Netflix or YouTube, or where ever she gets her information and wanted to enlighten me about this topic.  Of course I continued to listen and interject the usual 'oh' and  'uh huh' the ENTIRE 8 minutes we were in the car, but in all honesty I had no idea what she was talking about.  Well that's not entirely true, I understand the premise of this topic, but really???? 7:30 am???  My brain is barely functioning enough to get us to work and school and she wants to discuss neurons??? Oh my...I think I've lost too many brain cells over the past 20 years to do her justice in daily conversation. 

 

I will gladly listen to her neuron conversations over so many more topics. I'm very thankful that she is so inquisitive and always stretching her brain and mine to learn new things. 



 



ICEMAGEDDON in Texas - 2015

Yep, it happens... about once a year we get ICE!  Not soft fluffy snow that sounds and looks like fun in all of the movies.  You know...the ones where the family gets outside together, bundles up and has a great time building snow men and having snow ball fights?  Uh... yea... that's not going to happen in the metroplex of Texas!!!  ~ Sigh~ 

However what we will have is layers of heavy and unforgiving ICE and sleet.  Why do people get on Facebook and talk about their drive into work on these days, as if they expect an award?  As if they have accomplished the impossible!  Well... let me tell ya'... my life and that of other innocent idiot drivers is much too important to risk it for a day of work.  There's a reason I am not employed in the medical field or as a first responder.  It's because I am WEAK!  Very WEAK, I tell ya'!   When the DFW metroplex gets lucky enough to have a legitimate day or two of ice/snow, I am going to be curled up on my couch in my pj's watching the news reports of all other idiots that felt they needed to prove how well they could (or couldn't) travel on SHEETS OF ICE!  People, we are not talking about snow, slush, or just freezing rain; we are talking about hard core inches of ICE!!  Ice, Ice BABY!

Not to worry, just about as quickly as the ice piles up, it melts away.  Just give it a few hours and we will have sunshine and warmer temps to bring us back to the reality that there is nothing romantic or even remotely fun (other than a day off of work/school) about the ice. 

Back to the office and back to school to make-up the missed time and remember how great it was to sleep in for ONE day or to sit around drinking hot cocoa and watching mindless TV.  It's great family time because no one can get away, and it's great time for catching up on movies, closet cleaning, shrink dink making, or household projects.  (Briley and I made quite a few fun Shrinky Dinks yesterday...just because.) :)

You'll notice the finished pillow, while it's not a big deal and it took me less than an hour from start to finish, but it had been a thorn in my side for months.  Bailey lost her first pillow like this in the bus crash and I had made it to match her dorm bedding.  (Since the accident she has been very OCD about putting all of her pieces back together.) So like any good mother, I assured her that I could make another; after all I have plenty of material left.  Well...almost 5 months later and I still hadn't completed my 'easy peasy' pillow... until Icemageddon 2015!! I sat down, cleaned off my sewing table and just whipped it right out.  You can't imagine the feeling of accomplishment; it's quite pathetic that such a small thing, requiring very little skill, could feel so good to finish!! 

Maybe I should implement a 'snow/ice day', at least one Saturday out of each month... for no other reason that to get caught up on projects and family time.  I doubt I could get anyone else to go along with my idea, but I might consider allowing myself one Saturday a month to sew or do a craft project without any guilt for not scrubbing toilets or mopping floors. 

Returning to life, as we know it...

Yes, I know I say this every week, but seriously does Monday have to roll around twice as quickly as the weekends?  I'll forever be wishing my life away, I suppose.


Life is slowing returning to our normal pace of hectic and always running behind; or as my grandmother would say, "A day late and a dollar short."

Bailey has returned to college, is living in the dorms, and getting back to being the fun loving kiddo we all know and love.  As much as it pains her to be stuck on the side lines and in the dugout this softball season, there's so much to be said for the power of prayer and her miraculous recovery. 

Just this weekend she was giving her dad and me a full life-size example of how she 'thought' she could just stand on the mound and pitch a little step pitch, to help her team win a few games.  This explanation came with complete body movements of hips, arms, and legs. Who cares if it was on carpet in our house, it was full body movements?  (Secretly I was thinking to myself..."wow, she's gotten so much  mobility back in such a short time.")   The predicted recovery time is a full 2 years, however there's a strong possibility that she will be released to play ball again in the upcoming 2015 Fall Season.  We will see... I believe in miracles and know that nothing is impossible for her to accomplish. 

Now seriously, is there any mother in their right mind that would allow a 19 year old recovering from a full pelvic break and knee reconstruction surgery (4 months ago) get back out in the field to pitch, throw, potentially need to jump out of the way, or just duck and cover to avoid being hit by a fast moving ball?  Uh... NO!!!  :)  But then again, not all softball players are as determined and passionate about the game as Bailey.  However, this is one mom that isn't going to allow her to step back on the mound in a full on college softball game... not yet anyway...I'll probably be chewing on those words sooner rather than later!! Geesh....

While the fear of what could have happened is slowly fading, I'm not at all ready to see her step back in front of a ball yet or step into any dangerous physical activity for several more months. It also doesn't help that the PT at the Dr's office was quick to tell her than her handy knee brace could follow her in life in all kinds of sporting activities.  Such as snow skiing, water skiing, wake boarding, etc.  Uhm... ok, can we not give her any ideas and can you please reiterate to her that this is future activities... far... off in the future, NOT in the next couple of months activities.  ;)

At this point, watching her drive off in her jeep is still cause for concern.   Those 18 wheelers don't discriminate and she's already beat the odds once, I see no reason to risk her luck.  (Wink Wink)   Life goes on, God continues to provide and protect us, and all three of my girls are healthy and happy.  There's just not anything more I could ask.

Look Out... She's got a new ride!!!

At last.... the girl finally decided it was time to park the dying mustang and just go for it!  Brit purchased her own Honda Accord this weekend.  Ahhhh, she's growing up!  I have to give her all the credit, well okay... there was a little motherly nudging going on because I have been having some really strong gut feelings lately that her mustang was a time bomb ticking and just waiting for the right inopportune moment to explode.

Her poor pitiful mustang has over 175,000 miles on it and has been driven hard!!!  I've made jokes that it has more bondo holding it together than actual sheet metal, but sadly it's probably the truth.  Brit's been giving that car heck for 5 years, so when I started getting that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I knew it was time for her to step up and take action to buy herself a new car.   I just had horrible impending feelings of doom that she was going to be left stranded or something horrible was going to happen while driving it.  All mothers know that feeling, and it's not one you can shake until you fix the problem.

The hardest part was accepting the fact that YES, indeed she could afford a new car!  YES, indeed it is time that she take on this responsibility!  YES, she is an adult, with an adult job and she can do this!!!  After a couple of days of searching on-line and researching she decided that this cute little red Honda was the car for her.  I gotta admit, she makes up her mind much more quickly that I do.  I would probably still be thinking and rethinking my choice. 

So after a few hours of haggling with the dealership and re-haggling, she got the deal she wanted and the deal she could afford.  I think they probably just gave in and let her have it to get rid of her bossy self!   Irregardless, she's on the road and we are all happy with her choice.

Proud Momma Brag

What blog post would be complete without a proud momma brag moment?  So.... with that said....I'm going to brag shamelessly on Bailey who is entering her Sr. year in High School.  As many of you know, she has played select softball for many years and is a fierce competitor with most anything she does.  She pitches approximately 65mph and bats as well as anyone, with her fair share of hits to and over the fence lines.

This summer has been a phenomenal season of softball for her.  Bailey has been very fortunate to play on a team with wonderful coaches that have encouraged her and recognized her true talent and heart for the game; one coach in particular has been her own personal cheerleader with college scouts that have come to the college look tournaments.  She has pushed Bailey to step up and become a team leader as well as a more responsible individual. I have been so impressed that this coach preaches the 'bigger picture' about long term goals and success in life - not so much about the here and now, but more about how softball and college are merely a tool to help you achieve success in your life and long term goals.  (I've been saying the same thing for years, but of course I'm just mom, so it falls on deaf ears!)

We really are so very blessed to have been associated with this coach and could never begin to thank her enough for all that she has done for Bailey and for us.  Now with all of that said, Bailey was offered not one, but two wonderful college scholarship opportunities playing softball.  One was at a Division II college in the metroplex and the other was with a Division I college in East Texas.  After much prayer on my part and lots of talking it out and list making of pros and cons between Bailey and her dad, we decided to go with the Division I college.

I must admit that I am probably as excited as Bailey is about this opportunity!  By no means is this going to be an easy ride for her, she is going to have to study and study hard.  There are definite expectations that she is going to have to uphold, but I'm certain that she realizes the importance of this opportunity and definitely appreciates the faith that the college coaches have placed in her and her abilities. The challenges ahead of her are many, but so are the opportunities.

I just have to brag a little....

As everyone knows... it's almost time for school to be out and we have been busy with all sorts of school activities that are standard for this time of year.

First on the list of accomplishments is my precious little nerdy girl (she knows I call her a nerd) has been inducted into the National Elementary Honor Society.  The best part is that she is the first one of our girls to receive this honor in Elementary School - it's always great to be the first at something when your the youngest of 3!

 I have to admit that I didn't know such a thing existed in Elementary School, but obviously it does and we have a certificate to prove it!  :)

The next night of Awards was for Bailey's athletic accomplishments. This year Bailey has been awarded "Pitcher of the Year" for District 13-3A. She has worked very hard this year in Softball and helped her team win the Bi-District Championship for our area and they advanced on to

Area Play-offs. 

Just for the record, she throws a mean fast ball, among 5 or 6 other different pitches!  I can guarantee I wouldn't want to face her at the plate, much less have to catch her!

Here she is all cleaned up and ready for her Sports Banquet.

Of course the one time she's interested in having her picture taken and looks nice, the weather is overcast and gloomy and less than the best picture-taking weather; as usual my iPhone pictures are never as good as with my 'real' camera!  

Alright, there you have it - my shameless motherly bragging blog post!

Come on summer, it's getting harder and harder to raise the dead each morning!

County Fair Time of Year

Yep.... you guessed it!  It is that time of year again when we haul the piggies to the Fair Grounds and hope they make the weight we want, follow directions in the show ring, and  do well enough to make the Sale and win a top spot in their Class.  Oh I know, the excitement is almost too much to handle, isn't it? :)   Just imagine how stressful it is for those poor piggies;  on a side note...if they don't make the Sale, they will promptly become ham and bacon in my freezer!

This year will be Briley's first time to show her pig.  The past 6 months have really been challenging for her, because she's had to put a lot of time and effort into the feeding and care of her pig.  All the while she's had to endure her older sister yelling at her for not doing 'it' right...whatever 'it' happens to be at the moment.  Oh let me just say, we've had our fair share of screamfests in the pig barn! 

After all of the trials and tribulations of raising pigs, Briley is mostly excited about wearing her new boots.  Oh yes, we had to go buy her a pair of new boots to wear in the show ring.  Afterall, what was all of this for, if not to get dressed up in the latest cowgirl gear and be blinged out in the show ring?

Here she is modeling her new boots... and yes, she is wearing her night gown... in the kitchen... in her boots! What can I say?  Nothing is sacred in our house! 

Here's a close of up shot of the boots - which by the way, took all afternoon to pick out! Apparently Briley has some real issues with the shape of the toes, the color of the tops of the boots (even though noone will see the tops)... and the list goes on. 

I'll check back in and let ya' know how the piggies and the girls do after the Pig Show!  I'm sure after Briley gets a taste of chasing after her pig in the Show Ring, we probably won't have to worry about her doing this another year.  I just don't see her persuing this much further, and quite honestly.... I am not going to be too disaapointed.  There are too many other options that she can participate in with the 4-H, besides PIGS!  Oink  Oink!

Spring Break! Let the fun begin!

Are you new here? 

You should have realized by now and after reading so many of my random posts that there was going to be very little spring breaking going on! :)

Oh sure... school is out for the week, but soccer, softball and pig feeding continues.  The only difference is that we don't have homework thrown into the mix this week.  For that, I am grateful!

Every day this week, I still have to figure out a way to get Bailey to and from soccer and softball practice during the middle of the day.  Because you realize she doesn't drive yet, and I work all week... so??? I'm relying on the patience and kindness of other kiddos that have their drivers' license.  JOY JOY!

Every day this week, we still have to dredge down to the pig barn and feed those nasty creatures - twice a day - with a concoction of feeds that is as precisely measured and monitored as if we were making a cake for the Queen.  Unbelievable!!!  Each day I remind myself  that raising pigs for the FFA or 4H groups is most definitely a labor of love for our children.   These little jewels are all about teaching responsibility and I get that, really I do.  HOWEVER, I didn't need to learn responsibility... I have three of my own little reminders of my everlasting responsibility!

My task at hand for this week is to clean out my car!  Oh, I'm sure you can imagine the little flakes of pig poop that have made their way into my car are starting to really stink as the temperatures in the car rise... yes.... you get the idea!  Not to mention the bits of pig feed that have spilled out of the buckets and now it smells like a grain barn in the back of my car. 

Remember... this is a labor of love!  Or else I would be considered stark raving mad to allow this craziness to continue!  (See how I have to keep reassuring myself of this fact?)

Anyway, it is Spring Break and that means all of this nasty cold weather and long gloomy days are surely about to end.  Bring on the sunshine!  I need to feel the heat of the sun and smell the flowers blooming.  (Pardon me, while I sneeze my head off.)    Spring time is great!  (sniff... sniff)

Softball season is starting and I am all about sitting in the stands watching Bailey pitch their team to a District Win.  I'm also all about sitting in the stands and listening to Briley whine at me about being hungry, which direction the wind is blowing, and how she is BORED!  Oh yes, the joys of spring time!  (I need to remember to stock up on sunflower seeds to keep Briley entertained!)

Believe it or not, this is my favorite time of year.

Events of the Weekend

This past weekend Bailey had her turn at the Ft. Worth Stock Show.  She and her heifer did very well in the show ring and placed third in her Class.  After all of the poop was scooped...

the cows were washed and blown dry this is what we ended up with...

Another year in the books!  As always, this has been a fun and educational experience for all of us.  Bailey works very well with all of the heifers and continues to step up to the challenge and responsibility that it takes to make it work.  Now on to the pigs and getting them ready for the County Show in March.  The fun just never stops!

The Baby Pigs Have Arrived

As usual for this time of year, we are the proud owners of two new baby piggies, to be fattened up and taken to the County Fair in the Spring.

This year Briley is going to show a pig for the Jr. FFA in our District.  This is her first year to actually get in the ring and show by herself.  To say she is excited, is quite an understatement.  Briley has already named her pig Hershey; yes, the black one is hers! :) 

Another change we've made this year is that we are keeping the pigs at the school's barn, so we will be closer to them and it will make the care and feeding of them easier than driving down to our friend's barn in the next town over.  So far, the girls and I have to get up about 30 minutes earlier each morning and we stop by the school barn to check on these little oinkers.  Bailey is shoveling poop each morning before school and Briley and I are taking care of the feeding and watering them.  I don't know how long I'm going to be up for the morning pig duty?  Obviously I didn't read the fine print somewhere? UGH! 

Every other evening, the girls will be going to the pig barn with their dad to start working with the pigs to get them use to taking directions/orders when told to move or whatever it is they teach them.  All of this effort is in hopes that when the pig gets into the show ring, they don't act like a completely wild animal -which of course they are?  Go figure?

So far this has been the extent of Briley's participation...let's just say she's gotta step off of her bale of hay pretty soon and get dirty! LOL

This morning when we went to the barn, Bailey quickly announced that her pig had the 'runs'!  Oh lovely!  This year of pigs is off to a good start - NOT!  Pig Runs - Pig Diarrhea - JUST LOVELY! 

Stay tuned for more pig adventures...

It was a pumpkin carving fiasco....

(I love the picture because Briley looks like she has horns coming out of her head... The rolling pin lined up just perfectly with her head.)

The girls spent one evening designing and carving their own pumpkins.  It really was quite entertaining to watch their different levels of interest and commitment.  Needless to say, there is always one the bunch that really couldn't care less if the pumpkin got carved or thrown out the back door.  That one in my bunch is Bailey! :)

She did put forth the effort, but in the end she was fine with just chucking it in the trash!

 Even Briley dug the pumpkin guts out all by herself!

After a couple hours of trial and error, we did end up with four pretty scary (in a good way) looking pumpkins and the evening was capped off with a yummy bowl of roasted pumpkin seeds, seasoned with ranch dressing.

Of course I forgot to take any pictures of the finished pumpkins!  That figures!

15 Years Ago Today - during my Soap Opera...

Bailey was born!  Yes, her arrival into the world happened right in the middle of The Bold and The Beautiful!  I gotta tell ya, I was a little irked with her for a while, especially when the Dr. told me that I had to turn the TV off so I could push!   Well... I guess it all turned out for the best and now 15 years later, I've got a beautiful young lady that I couldn't be more proud of and the drama between Brook and Ridge still exists in the world of daily soap opera drama. :)

Ironically, Bailey was born on my sister's birthday and those two definitely share a few of the same character flaws traits! When no one else seems to understand Bailey, I have no doubt that my sister will totally get 'it' or completely understand Bailey's way of thinking...that's just how they are?

So Happy 15th Birthday to my sweet girl - and yes...we will be having  a double decker chocolate cake with chocolate icing - just the way she likes it!

Oh I almost forgot - I must get busy and order the driver training manual thingy - you know she's going to be nagging the life out of me to get her learner's permit.  OY!  I feel a need for more Xanax!

I have such good intentions...

Really!  I do!! 

I have all of these great pictures on my camera from Bailey showing her heifer at the State Fair to carving pumpkins in our kitchen.  Now where do you think that camera is?   NOT WITH ME!  It's hanging on the linen closet door handle!  UGH!  Good intentions, I tell ya' ... I really do have them!

Honestly, I can't be blamed for my forgetfulness - I've been feeling puny the past few days and I've been awakened in the middle of the night from all sorts of noises.  I've discussed this issue with you before -the stuff that goes on in my house after I go to sleep - well I just can't be held accountable for it!  If you're new to my blog, you can check out the after hours activities here.

Last night was no different than any others unless you consider the awakening I received at 3:00AM when Brit announced to me that she heard a MOUSE in her closet! UGH... Seriously!!! It's 3:00 AM - live and let live.   So instead of jumping out of bed and rushing to her closet to capture the intrusive creature, I suggested she close the closet doors and sleep on the couch - sorry, but at that time of night I really don't care if the boogy man is moving around in your closet.   

My rational thinking mind knows that it's Fall, the temps are getting cooler and the creatures are all looking for a place to snuggle down for the winter.  I also have to remind myself that we live in the country - on a hill - in what was once a cow pasture.  We are still surrounded by live and active cow pastures - mice are gonna happen!

However, my frantic irrational mind is telling me to get home quickly with as many rat traps as I can find and clean out the closet until I find that nasty little pest! Luckily we've only had ONE enter our sacred people space in the 8 years we've lived here and now there's another unfortunate one!  I guess the old mice didn't spread the word to this young one that DEATH happens in our house!  Usually it's death by a cat, but now it's up to Mama and I won't stop until I find the squeaky little nasty creature! 

I'm also motivated by the fact that Brit will not return to her room again until I bring out a carcass of some creature to prove that it's dead and gone! :)  None of us want her taking over the living room and sleeping on the couch  -

it just wouldn't be a good thing.

Anyway, back to my good intentions...I'll share with you a couple of pictures that I stole from Brit's Facebook page of the pumpkins she and her sweetie carved.

This was a first for both of them, and they used one of those cheap little pumpkin carving sets from the big W store.   I'm really impressed with how easy it turned out to be and that it actually does look like the picture.  So of course you can imagine that now Bailey and Briley want to do one too, I guess I'll be stopping off to buy a couple more pumpkins, but NOT before I take care of the squeaky mouse in the closet! UGH!

Totally Awesome Tie Dye

Nothing in my life is ever easy or according to plan! The only thing I can predict is total chaos - Always! Last night was no exception!

Here's a brief recap of what's been going on this week ---All week long Briley has been singing and rehearsing a song that she and her class were going to perform this morning at school for their assembly. The song was for a pep-rally of sorts before the TAKS tests next week at school. All week long we've been serenaded by the tunes of "I Will Survive" and different words! It really was a cute rendition, but I was ready to see this morning get here and the practice singing to stop!


Now lets jump back to about noon yesterday.... I suddenly remember that we have to be at the High School for Bailey's FFA Banquet at 7:00pm. Okay, not a problem...it's nothing that she has to dress up for and we'll get dinner out of it, so I consider that a win-win situation.

Oh but wait ---this is where the chaos starts building--- around 2pm yesterday I received an email from Briley's teacher reminding the parents about the Friday morning assembly and NOW they are asking the kids to DRESS UP in 70's attire! (UGH!!!)

You know what this means don't you? It means I have to scramble around to find something that will pass off as a fashion statement from the 1970's! That really wasn't my generation and the only fond memories I have of dressing in the 70's were wearing my matching Geranimals!!! Needless to say this required a bit of conversation with Briley, the minute she stepped off of the bus and called me at work.

The good news is that she already had her own ideas of what she wanted to wear; as far as she was concerned anything tie dyed would work and something with a peace sign would be good too. Hmmmmm? I might just be able to pull this off???

Soooooo.....on my way home last night I stopped by the Big W and grabbed a white t-shirt and a box of Tie Dye stuff. (Oh yes... another $20 excursion for a whopping 10 minutes of wear!) I'm not a fan of Tie Dye... I've never been a fan of it and I've never even attempted it, but what the heck? I like to live dangerously!!


It is now 6:15pm...Bailey has just gotten home from softball practice and is jumping in and out of the shower to get ready for her FFA thing, Briley is running around the house whining about not wanting to go to the FFA thing, my husband is standing in his underwear ironing his clothes (what the heck?), and I'm in the kitchen wrestling with a shirt, rubberbands, and this tie dye mess.... that is all over my hands, dripping down my arms and staining my newly manicured nails - because NO I don't have any plastic gloves? (ROLLING EYES)

I finally convince Briley that she wants to go to the Banquet because they are having her favorite, Bar-B-Q and if she stayed home all she was going to get would be a corn dog on a stick!! :) Now the battle is to get BRILEY dressed in something that we all agree upon - which just so happened to be something that needed ironing! (HANGING MY HEAD IN DEFEAT!) .....remember I'm still standing at the kitchen sink with dye dripping all over me.....

Now it's about 6:30 and I've decided to just call the tie dye shirt DONE! I seal it up in a Ziploc bag and begin my efforts to clean myself up and wash the dye off of my hands. UH... it won't come off??? So I pull out the Clorox Cleanup and start spraying my hands....all the while I'm planning on wearing what I have on from work, to the Banquet! YES and I'm squirting bleach all over myself - and my shirt was black? Well what do you think happened???? LOL

Ahhhhh, I tricked you!! NOTHING happened - no black shirts were harmed in my hand bleaching episode. I really don't know how I pulled that off, but I'm just going to go with it!

Ever so quickly, we all appear dressed and ready for the Banquet. OK really...it's not much of a Banquet, but I guess that sounds better than saying a Bar-B-Q dinner with FFA Awards? Off we go to the High School, my hands are still a little purple in places.

After 2 1/2 hours of FFA fun, we headed home - it's now 9:30pm and I still have another 2 hours of waiting up before I can wash the dye out of the shirt and throw it in the dryer. Finally...the time has come and I can wash this dye mess out and figure out if the shirt will work or if I was going to need to make another run to the BIG W for another white shirt; I had already started digging around in my closets looking for another white shirt that might work in a pinch!

Surprise! Surprise! The shirt turned out better than expected and I was once again a totally rad mom! (ok, so that's my opinion?)

Brit was able to contribute a peace sign necklace to the ensemble and Briley was happy with her 70's outfit. WHEW...another meltdown averted!!!


After I fight the crazy wet-road traffic to get to school this morning and race to get there with my camera in hand, I noticed that not everyone was dressed up in the 70's attire. Actually, there were only a few kids that even bothered? UGH???? Why do my kids have to be 'the ones' to do everything their teachers tell them?? HA HA HA!

The good news is that I SURVIVED it all and only have a slight nervous twitch this morning!

A Sunday Afternoon Jaunt

Hoping to beat the Sunday afternoon blahs, Briley and I struck out on a road trip! We are just so exciting and spontaneous like that! Two wild girls on the move... I'm sure every 40 year old is jealous that I have an 8 year old as my best friend!NOT!!!

So where did we go? Well Briley and I ended up at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. This was really a very nice little afternoon drive and quite a pleasant experience. The wildflowers were starting to bloom along the highway, the dogwood trees were budding out
and the azaleas were well on their way to their full burst of color
...all of these thing I have missed due to living in the middle of a cow pasture!

The most impressive part of all of the Zoo's greenery was the massive wisteria covering a walkway - not only were the blooms gorgeous, but the aroma was wonderful!

Moving along with our zoo visit, Briley insisted on petting the goats, now obviously she didn't get 'goat petting' out of her system, the week before when she spent several days at the County Fair petting all of the livestock she could ever want to touch and handle. Oh well... whatever makes her happy!





It really was a lot of fun to be able to get so close and personal with the animals. This zoo experience is much different than what I remember as a kid, when there were fences and glass between you and the exhibits.





Briley's favorite part of the entire trip was going through the Bird Walkabout exhibit. She could feed the birds with a seed stick and really get close and pet them.



Who Knew??? A popsicle stick smeared with peanut butter and bird seed could offer so much entertainment?? :)


If you ever find yourself in the Tyler area, you should definitely check out the Caldwell Zoo. The admission is very inexpensive, the parking is easy and accessible (free parking) and there weren't large crowds hoarding the viewing area of the exhibits; we actually got to see all that we wanted to see without some pushy fat kid jumping in front of us! LOL