Apartment Life...

...is getting old. Yes, almost 3 weeks in to our exciting rent-free apartment stay, we are SO very ready for a house. I really can't complain about our apartment, as it really is great space. The biggest downfall would be not having a yard to throw my 2 rugrats in every morning, mid-morning, afternoon, and late afternoon. They really thrive on running and playing. Even my taking them to the playground (with all the other apartment kids--another story) for an hour every day doesn't wear them down enough. A yard will never EVER be taken for granted in my house.

I guess the next issue would be the fact that even when I had a house, I usually forgot at least one thing every single morning after I had backed down the driveway. It was a scene from Groundhog's Day if my neighbors ever took notice. So, imagine the scene when I have walked downstairs with 2 kiddos, lugging every backpack, napsack, lunchbox and my daily trash, usually having to return halfway up the stairs to retrieve JLS because he insists upon walking alone and then cries for me when he gets too far behind. We get everyone buckled in, including myself, and I forgot my phone, or my sunglasses (can't go without!), or better yet, the address of where we are headed. Yes, I run at high speeds these days locking my kids in the car (in plain view, I promise) as I race to my second floor apartment to retrieve my forgotten item. This happens at least once every morning...sometimes twice.

The mail. WE LOVE MAIL. I get so excited for Christmas cards anyway, you should know how excited I get to receive cards now being away from home. It is the highlight of my day and it has become the highlight of JBS's day. "Mommy! I see the mailman!" He wasn't with me yesterday when I got the mail and as he went to bed he gasped, "Mommy! We almost forgot the mail!!" He is so precious. The mail comes religiously by 3pm every day and every day we make the trek to the main building to check our mailbox with the rest of the complex...Head tucked with no social interaction. I have become such a hermit.

The last would be the trash. The trash can in our kitchen is the size of a bathroom trashcan. I kid you not. So, the better part of the day, the trash bag sits in our kitchen after it has outgrown the trashcan, but not yet full enough to throw away. Then, it moves to right in front of our front door waiting to be taken a mile away by US whenever we have the spare hands. Since Babe leaves at 5:30am and gets home by 5:30pm, I don't usually have spare hands. So, on my porch our trash sits and builds. Gross. I know. What can you do?

The woes of apartment life really aren't THAT bad, but it certainly makes you appreciate even the smallest things about a house....oh, a house to call home. sssshhhhh! Don't tell anyone, but the thought has crossed our mind and it might be determined in our very near future. I will keep you posted on that issue.....very posted.

3816 Hanover

When we arrived in Dallas for our shopping trip, like clockwork, we drove by the house I grew up in....the house I was born in! The house where we all heard "the whistle" every night. The neighborhood where I knew the ins and outs of every bush, fence, driveway and hiding place within half a block. The yard(s) where we played spot-light, ghost in the graveyard, red rover, and hide and seek...I have such fond memories of that house and have dreamed about it many times lately. It's weird.

Well, the surpirse of a lifetime... It was on the market! ...and we were able to walk in the front door of 3816 Hanover one last time. It was a stroll down memory lane for each of us.

This is the living room. Vin and I used to laugh about this room because it was chocolate brown with tan corduroy couches in the 70s. Styles have come full circle, as I would LOVE to have a chocolate brown living room with a version of corduroy couches! Note that the tile around the fireplace AND the mantle... hasn't changed. We roasted many a marshmallow in this fireplace!

This is the adjoining dining room...which was chocolate brown with a chocolate brown and white floral wall paper. In hind sight, again, it would be in style all over again. I practiced piano for HOURS in this room and celebrated many birthdays (9 to be exact) right here.

They have remodeled a bit in the front, but do you see that paneling on the walls? EXACTLY THE SAME. This was a great room. It was attached to the master as a baby room or study. It was MY baby room.

They have changed the kitchen around a bit, but that long hall way.....every day our precious little dog, Annie, would run run run and skiiiiiiiiddd into the door when the mailman dropped the mail in our door. Every single day, like it had never happened before.

Right before we moved to Oklahoma, we had added on to the back of the house. With the exception of paint/draperies, it looks exactly the same as it did in the 80s.

This was the back of the house, after we added on.

And this was the driveway. HOURS of big-wheeling and bike riding...tricycle to training wheels to big-girl bike. I remember the day I asked Big Daddy to take my training wheels off my bike. This was the drive-way Gigi would pull into every Friday after work in her blue Volvo (with a sun-roof..oh so cool!) to pick us up for our Friday nights.

This is the kicker. In 1973 my parents bought this house for $37,000. They added on to it in the early 80's making it just over 3000 square feet. When they sold it in the 80's it was somewhere around $350,000. Today, it is on the market for....... $1.2 million. And that's the painful truth.
The memories are fantastic. I was a little disappointed in the choice and quality of changes, but it was still 3816 Hanover. I still remember the phone number. Isn't it funny how when you are a child, 9 years feels like a lifetime. How quickly nine years goes by...

And His First Word is...

As I have mentioned before, JLS doesn't have many words, but he has a LOT to say. Really, he grunts and moans non-stop. "Ah-ah-ah" as he points to the refrigerator. "Uh-uh-uh" as he hands me his shoes. He does say, "Ma Ma" but it is not specific to me. He calls Babe, JBS, AND his Momma, "Ma Ma." Every grunt a body can make, JLS has mastered. This is our only way of communication...sort of like cave man speak.

Until yesterday. He said, "Hola!" I kid you not. We have been in Texas among the fluent Spanish speakers for 2 weeks and he has learned Spanish quicker than English. At first, I thought I had surely heard it wrong. "Babe, did you hear that?" "What?" (of course, Babe missed it. He doesn't hear much.) JLS just said "Hola!" We were in the car and JBS was saying, "Hola, Hola, Hola" (he does have a native Spanish speaker for his Spanish class and I love it!) So, out comes "Hola!" from JLS's mouth. And he hasn't stopped.

So, take it from me. If your child is slow to speak, just move to Texas. He'll be speaking Spanish in no time.

Dallas

My trip to Dallas seems like months ago. In reality, it was only 2 weekends ago. My mom and sister and I have started a wonderful tradition of driving to Dallas every year before Christmas to shop. The idea originated so we could do our Christmas shopping, but we usually shop more for ourselves than anyone else. We chose Dallas and do every year because that is where we are from. We moved to Oklahoma from there, but have never given up going back to shop in our old neighborhood. We have everything down to a science as to when we go where depending on store hours and favorite mealtimes in order to maximize our shopping time. The only big store that we shop would be at our favorite Crate and Barrel on Knox Street....oh! and the Container Store, of course. Every other store that we visit is a fun, one-of-a-kind boutique. We always hit Northpark to see the Christmas decorations. You wouldn't believe it without a picture, but the decorations they put up at Northpark are the exact same decorations they put up at Northpark when I was a little girl. It is a huge stroll down memory lane.

We eat the the same revolving places every year or every other year depending upon our mood. Friday night is always El Fenix at Northwest Hwy and Hillcrest...always. Saturday morning is La Madeleine while lunch is at Ball's at Snider Plaza...always. So, I guess the only variable meal ends up being Saturday night. This time we chose Mi Cocina at Highland Park Village....delish! Our one new spot that couldn't have been missed this year was......................Sprinkles Cupcakes! Oh, so sweet, but oh! so good.
Food is what we look forward to most, but this trip was unique. This year we had a big surprise waiting for us.

God Bless......Oklahoma!

I am experiencing this ice storm second hand, but I still have an iron in the fire, as we still own our house....that is in the middle of the ice storm. I have talked to so many friends and my family and everyone says they don't know whether to laugh or cry. Not having any power now since Sunday, they are now leaning toward crying. It is like a war zone. The grocery stores don't have power, so all the cold food is ruined. They are only selling non-perishables. Gas stations are out of gas, ATM's are without power, so no cash for those who didn't already have it. Only one hospital is able to perform surgeries. No chainsaws are available for purchase and the news reported that absolutely every "C" and "D" battery is sold out in town.

Most of the people I have spoken to are in mid-town. This is the older part of Tulsa, therefore lots of trees. They said it's not unusual to drive by houses with trees on top of their cars. Trees are on and THROUGH houses, cars, blocking the streets. It really is a dangerous area to be in, for fear that you will hear that next "pop" and large limbs or trees will follow. My sister said they are driving down major streets with bulldozers clearing the streets of all the tree debris, just so a lane of traffic can pass.

(My sweet and handy father, who drove down from his icey town to take care of my trees that were laying across the road...although he wasn't so happy when he couldn't find a flashlight with working batteries in my house--oops! We are never fully prepared for a visit from the Check-List Man.)
Shelters are full and people are being turned away. Not only are the homeless looking for warmth and food, but those with homes are looking for warmth and food. For many people, all their family lives in Tulsa and they are in the same position. There is no place to go. It is a scary time in Oklahoma. It is the largest power outage in the history of the state! Please keep those folks in your prayers. Power is not supposed to return for at least another week...and that is hopeful. Once power is on, it will take a long time to clear all the beautiful trees, all the ENORMOUS trees that have uprooted and fallen over.

This is my backyard. Dad said the tree you see standing, is only standing about 12 feet high, the rest of it is in my neighbors backyard.

This is our back fence. I was never able to see the sky in the upper left...not sure where my neighbors' trees fell...it was HUGE. My front yard. What used to be a huge pecan tree....and we had such a bumper crop this year!!

Both my Dad and sister, who are taking care of my house for me, said, yes, our house is bad, but it doesn't compare to how bad the rest of mid-town is. For all of you Okies who don't have power now to read this blog, know that we have been thinking and praying for your warmth and safety.

JLS's Christmas Program

Yesterday, on JLS's second day of his new school, they asked me if we were coming to the Christmas program tonight. It was the first I had heard of it, but we really don't have many plans here....They said JLS had rehearsed and knew what he was doing. Do 1 year-olds REALLY know what they are doing?

It was precious. They were all in their jammies singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. Which is kind of funny, as the only words JLS utters are "Ma-Ma" and "Ahhhh!" While my boys have never been the most advanced in the speech/language department, they somehow got the height. The doctor always tells me he is over the 100 percentile, but this was my first real chance for comparison. JLS is the youngest in this class....how did he get so tall? (It is certainly NOT from eating a diet filled with healthy fruits and vegetables!) Pride exudes from Babe when I point these things out. He starts seriously discussing Final Four moments and All American awards....seriously!

When JLS first walked on stage, I thought he was going to break in to tears....he was terrified. Eventually, he spotted me and JBS and gave one little sideways smile, that I missed on camera, and resumed his moment of fame.

It's amazing how a child so precious to look at can be filled with so much....hmmm....spunk.

A Sharp Contrast...and Another

Today is Babe's first day of work. Now, to most people that means, the first day of work at a new job. To us, it's his first day of work in a really long time. Let's go back to when I first met Babe in May of 2001. He worked at least 12 hours a day and it was full on stress. I was lucky to get to see him at the end of the day for dinner or a "hello" and "good-bye". That was back when the trading floor was bustling like it would in New York or Chicago. It really was quite impressive for a small town like Tulsa. Then "Enron" happened in June...those dirty rotton scoundrels. That really jolted the trading business nationwide. As if that wasn't enough, 9/11 happened. In a matter of 3 months, the trading floor went to pot. It was a risky business and the high-ups didn't want the liability. Lay offs began and that was the end of the trading floor as we knew it. So, since 2001 things with Babe's job have been shifty. Rumors flying about buyouts, takeovers, layoffs....there's nothing that wasn't rumored. Trading really slowed down, thus Babe's job slowed down and by May of 2007, it nearly stopped. May is when the trading floor was sold and since then, if Babe went to work, he was home by 11am. There was nothing left to do but wait.

We can really appreciate that the slow times have conveniently been during our boys early years. Babe has been available to me and the boys in emergency, for doctors appointments, home for lunch. It has been a nice life. However, a man needs to work. Babe needs to work. He needs to use his brain and feel like he is accomplishing something. I get that. He is ready to get back in the game and in the game he is. We will now return to long hours and lots of stress. But, really, that's what Babe is made for. He is good at it and in that environment, he thrives.

Last week Tulsa, this week Houston. We are ready to take it on.
Another SHARP CONTRAST:
This week Houston "unseasonably warm" they say at 85 degrees.

Today, Tulsa. No power, no airport, barely hospitals....and my house---gulp!

The Aquarium

We are already enjoying the fun things Houston has to offer. On Saturday we went to the Houston Aquarium in downtown. It was really amazing. We saw lots of fishies and rode the ferris wheel and carousel, but the highlight was the train, of course. The train actually went through the shark tank! It stopped in the tank and we got to see the sharks swimming all around us.



Afterwards we went to the Original Ninfa's. Now, I have lots of memories from college going to Ninfa's in Ft. Worth. However, I have never put any Mexican food in my mouth that tasted as good as this. My taste buds are still tingling. It was amazing. Of course, it was a total dive, which made it taste even better. Something about the grease on the floors....
















The view of Houston from the ferris wheel...















And, yes, there was a tiger exhibit at the Aquarium...

Houston, We've Landed!

We are here! It has been a blur of a week. I was able to squeeze in my annual shopping trip to Dallas with my Mom and Vin, but it made for a hectic Monday and Tuesday. I will post more about the Dallas trip soon. I returned home Sunday evening and immediately started packing boxes. We loaded our U-Haul of complete necessities on Monday and hit the road Tuesday morning. Everything moved so fast that I didn't have time to be sad until, of course, Dad said good-bye. His voiced cracked when he said good-bye to the boys and that rendered me speechless. Somehow those tear ducts are connected to my mouth because when I am on the verge of tears and I open my mouth, my tear ducts flow forth. I got nothing out when I hugged Dad good-bye. My voice just didn't work. My mom rode with me and the boys while Babe and Toley pulled the U-Haul in his truck. We had our walkie-talkies, which made for some good entertainment along the way.

We finally arrived in Houston in full chaos mode trying to get the boys fed and to bed and prepared for their first day of school the very next morning. They were both champs. I am completely amazed with JBS, and JLS for that matter, with how they just jump right in to a new environment. Both their teachers raved at their obedience, but as I told some friends, I think they were just completely exhausted and very confused. (JBS loves school and I was so surprised (and thrilled) when he begged to go to school today.) So, then, I had to drop Mom off at the airport, which was sadness all over again. I do fine until I have to say good-bye to my mom or dad, and then all the braveness and game faces go away....it just becomes the ugly cry.

Soooo, our apartment is much nicer and more spacious than I had imagined. We are quite comfortable and are really enjoying living in our small space. We are always right here together and it is sort of refreshing. We all agree that our beds are more comfortable here than at home! It's sort of a pseudo-hotel environment with maid service and linen changes, etc. The best part is (and I feel guilty for loving this) that my closet here is bigger than my bathroom and both of our closets put together at our house. BUT, we are living in the burbs now. That's the trade off, I guess.

Thank you for all your calls and emails. We are hanging in there in this 83 degree weather in the middle of December....sweating every day. I am taking lots of pictures!

What is a Mental Breakdown?

What really is a mental breakdown? You used to hear about people having them all the time back in the day. Having a medical background, I should know this, but it's really not a medical term. I know every abbreviation in the books, ORIF, NPO, AAA, CVA, yada yada, the list goes on. But I don't know what a mental breakdown is. I wonder, because I wonder if I am close to having one. Actually, Babe, too. I know the move and everything that is connected to a move and a new job is stressful, but that should be manageable. If you can believe it, we have more on our plate of stress than just the move that is getting us down. All of it together is affecting us and our family and somedays I just have to manually pull my feet out of bed and get them going.

Today has been a tough day. Everything is just mounting up. So, I am sure it happened for some reason I don't know, but as I was taking this cute picture of JLS, I dropped my dadgum camera and it broke. This is my tee-niny camera and I love it. I completely bent the lens. I took it straight to the camera lady and she is not sure if it is cost effective to fix it. On my way to the camera lady, I almost nailed Babe's truck...within millimeters, as I was backing out of my driveway. (thank goodness for the alarm in my car that beeps LOUDLY when I get too close to something. This would be its first official save!) And, as I type, my normally easy to put to sleep baby JLS is screaming at the top of his lungs after trying to rock him for 2 hours.

When does it end? I just refer to my verse on the left from James and know that God is in control and until I can do it without thinking about it, just keep manually pulling my feet out of bed. So, know that I am here, but until I can at least get this move out of the way and we can mark off one stressor, I might be a little detached. Unless I can't sleep and I just happen to write at 2am...which is very possible. As for the rest of it, you can just include our family in your prayers. Thanks! I need to go rock a baby.

Stocking Caps

So, I am still here. I am supposed to be packing boxes, but I just can't seem to put one foot in front of the other to do it. I used to be such a task master and so organized. Organized in the way that I had my sock drawer color coded Roy G. Biv (Red, Orange, Yellow....) when I was a little girl. I am a kid in the candy store when I go to the Container Store or even just down the organizer aisle at Target. I get excited about re-organizing the pantry or my closet...even the refrigerator. Not today. And not yesterday either. I am stuck.

So, I took the cute picture of JLS this morning as we were getting ready to head out the door for school. The part that makes it so cute is that even a week ago, JLS would throw a knock down, drag out fit if we came close to trying to put a hat on his head. However, his idol, older brother JBS, loves to wear a stocking cap and he wears it all the time. So, guess who wants to wear a stocking cap now? Inside or outside, JLS is wearing a hat....and he cries to get it! What a difference a little peer pressure makes...

It's Time

Yesterday was the last day of school for both boys. I new it was going to be hard (for me). JBS LOVES his teacher and his school and so do I. I dreaded picking him up and for just cause. When I arrived a little early to gather all his things, all the children were blowing JBS kisses and saying "Good-bye". My heart melted when his teacher came out and said she almost cried because the kids sang JBS a "Good-bye" song and on their own, each child gave JBS a hug. They made him this cute sign and each child put a sticker on it. It broke my heart. Mostly, because he doesn't really get it. He has no clue as to why he was getting so much attention....but he likes it! It was so hard to leave...Then, we picked up JLS. While we love JLS's teacher and school, it was a little easier leaving because he hasn't really developed any bond with a specific teacher. However, they had made him this wonderful book of his pictures up to now. It was amazing.So, the time has come to fight the tears and try desperately not to say "Good-bye", but "See ya later." sniff sniff. I can't take it.

I Got a Cool New Header!

I am so excited! I finally have a cool title to my blog! Do you like my new header? A very old and dear family friend of mine (so old that I used to babysit him and now he is married with a child--yikes!) and his wife have started their own business of making blog headers. I just love how they incorporated my "Home on the Range" with a double meaning. I love it. I have always wanted something creative up there, but I never knew how to go about it. Plus, I still haven't recovered from the pain of re-writing the template to get 3 columns on my blog. That still gets me itchy and wanting to break out in hives. Funny I should say that, as I HAVE acquired hives in the last weeks to add to my stress of moving on top of the stomach spasms and cracked teeth. I just love how my body handles stress! :) Where's my cane?

So, I must put a plug in for my wonderful friends, David and Alli Penuel at Loudmouth Logos. They were so great and fun to work with. They listened to what I wanted and used their creative heads to pull it all together! If you were thinking you might want a catchy header, I would highly recommend them and suggest you go check out their website...now! They will customize, like they did for me, or you can choose from some of their great pre-designed headers as well. It was also very inexpensive. So, go check 'em out! http://www.loudmouthlogos.com/

Sneak Peek

Well, I haven't been so good with pictures lately, so I will give you a sneak peek at our Christmas card pictures. In the past, I have stood firm on the fact that I want Christmas cards that include pictures to include the WHOLE family. I want to see my friends, not just their children. For many friends, this is the only way we keep in touch and I love to see their pictures. For the first time, I will be going against everything I have stood for in the past. We could not get 2 kiddos to look at the camera at the same time, let alone 4 of us. I was either wrestling JLS or Babe was saying "No!" or "Come here!" in the pictures. One or the other of my perfectly mannered boys was sliding on their belly down our short hill or sticking their chubby fingers in the dirt and rubbing it on the other, or just hiding behind the bushes. Of 50 plus pictures taken, not one was "perfect". So, this year, it will be just the boys and with that, only JBS is looking at the camera. This too shall pass. Someday my boys will be big and obedient and smile for the camera all together and I will wish they were still crazy little kids that got grass stains on their nice clothes while taking the family picture. So, here is a taste of the family photo op. Thank goodness Paulie (who is creating my cards this year) is a graphic artist, as he has a lot of work to do for our 2007 Christmas card.

Thanksgiving Party

Today was the Thanksgiving program at JBS's school.
JBS was a pilgrim... They sang precious songs... And were altogether precious. Happy Thanksgiving!!

I Buried Joseph

I kept hearing from my good Catholic friends that I needed to bury Joseph face down in my back yard in order to sell my house. Babe and I were both a little hesitant about it because it felt so superstitious. In the midst of one of my days without sanity (those are happening more and more often), I stopped in the Catholic bookstore and I found this. A complete package, including a plastic St. Joseph, to help sell my home. Someone has really capitalized on this. I felt better about it after I talked to the man at the bookstore and read the box. He emphasized that it has everything to do with prayer and faith. I did this about 2 or 3 weeks ago, so go to work Joseph! I have complete faith that God will sell this house in HIS perfect timing....it's just nice to have St. Joseph on your side!

School Pictures are IN!

JBS had his first official school picture this year. There was a spot for notes to the photographer, so I asked him to make sure JBS didn't squench his nose and eyes....like he always does. He did a good job...but you can tell he is trying really hard not to!

JBS is on the back row in the blue shirt...the tallest one. And, of course, he is doing his cute little scrunching of the nose and smiling. The little girl in the pink sweakter on the front row is his favorite friend. :) She might be taking the place of Miss Z. (say it isn't so!!)

Meet Me in St. Louey

My decision to apply to graduate school in St. Louis was made so quickly and so easily. I don't think I ever really thought it through, as I never really thought I would be accepted to the program. I left TCU after my junior year to enter a 3-2 program at Washington University in Occupational Therapy. I held out until the last possible moment to leave. I was at TCU one day living the college life surrounded by all my friends and started my first day in St. Louis the very next morning. It felt tragic at the time. I was having the time of my life in Ft. Worth and overnight I was thrust in to a very competitive program, far from home and I didn't know a soul. Each time I would talk to my friends at TCU, they were living their senior year with ease, calling me as they were headed to a party and out with friends...I was always headed to the library. The first month or so was rough. I cried every night as I layed on the couch of my high rise apartment watching the airplanes circle the city to the airport. I will never forget listening repeatedly to the song from the "9 Months" soundtrack..."This is the Time of Your Life" (sniff sniff)

It sounds like I was miserable, and I was at night, but all the while I had made wonderful friends. I had friends from Chicago, New York, Indiana, Minnesota. For a girl from Texas/Oklahoma, this was quite a change. We had so much fun together, as we came from such different backgrounds. They had never heard of Chile con Queso or Frito Chili Pies, fried okra! (Are you kidding?) The funniest conversation I had was with my friend Becky. Somehow she brought up a flask and why in the world is there a curve in the side? Well, everyone knows its so it fits more comfortably around your leg when you stick it in your boot! I don't know which was funnier to her, the fact that people wore boots where I came from or that I (who didn't drink) was telling her how to use a flask properly.

I learned so much about myself while I was there. I learned to trust God...a lot. I made lifelong friends and, in hind sight, I know it was the best decision I made without knowing what in the world I was doing. God has a perfect plan for each of us. One that we often don't know how great it is until we look back months, even years later. After all, I would never have ended up in Tulsa (where I met and married Babe) for my internship if I hadn't left my perfect and comfortable life in Ft. Worth and gone to Wash U.

So, Houston, here we come...on a wing and a prayer.