I've been a busy bee...er, um... frog!

Elisan finally settled on a birthday party theme for her August birthday sleepover party.

Frogs. Yep... that's my girl.

After scouring the internet for cute frog stuff, I decided I'd have to make all of the stuff myself, because seriously, most frog stuff is too boyish or the frogs have a silly crown on top (a.k.a. kissing the frog to find the prince...)

So, here's what I've been up to.

• Made pillow cases for each invitee
• Bookmarks for the goodie bags
• Ordered custom stickers from Walmart (very neat, but kind of pricey!)
• Ordered a custom stamp so I could stamp the napkins, envelopes, etc.
• Made a custom banner that says "Happy 8th Birthday Elisan"
• Made Kyla and Elisan frog glass tile pendants to wear for the part
• Made a custom game poster "Pin the Frog on the Lilly Pad"
  

It's been fun making all of this fun stuff. We don't go out and spend a fortune on their parties, so I don't mind going the "extra mile" to make it special for them.

A little bit of P.M.S. goes a long way

Are you the kind of blogger who writes your title first and then molds your blog entry to fit the title, or do you write up the entire entry and then decide on a title?

Me? I write the title first, but I am not necessarily apt to mold the story around the title. Hmmm, that's the way I roll I guess...

So, yeah... what is it about P.M.S. that makes me creative and contemplative AT THE SAME TIME? That's a weird combo, I suppose. Maybe it's a left brain/right brain thing? Maybe for at least 10 days out of the month I'm using my whole brain!


So, this month, it's been mainly contemplative. Wondering the who/what/where/why/when's of my life. Who am I? What am I doing with my life? Where do I want to go? Why does it matter? And when will it happen.

Lately, I've been so fickle with my life decisions. One minute I want to do _________ (fill in the blanks with something... anything) and the next minute, I'm changing my mind. I'm so fortunate I have a husband who puts up with me and supports my decision(s) whatever they may be that moment.

He does wonder though how/why I (can be/am) so fickle. I think that is a man thing. He lives and breathes black and white (..."yes or no") and doesn't see gray (..."maybe") like I do.

A few posts back, I ranted about how everyone's life seems so much more fabulous than mine... maybe I meant to say... everyone else seems to have figured it out, which in my mind, seems fabulous. Yes? I will readily admit I don't have it figured out and wonder if I ever will. I guess the only thing to offer is that I am a child of God first, a wife second and a mom third.

And while I can't do anything particularly well, except care for my family, I have been the most contented when they took priority in my life. Maybe it's time for a self-examination and realign my priorities back to what's important. What does that mean? I'm not sure. But, it most definitely means I need to be more thoughtful and reflective on what matters most to me.

Maybe by this time next month, when my brain is working as an entire unit, I'll have it all figured out!

By the way, if you have it figured out and want to share the secret of your success, please do us all a favor and share the wealth!

Hello Blog

How are you? I haven't seen you in a while!

The girls have been gone for an entire week, and although I wish I could say that Randy and I have been going out every night, eating out and having a blast, sadly I cannot.

My week has been filled with a dental appointment (refilling old silver [or mercury...whatever!] fillings, an appointment to the eye doctor and general business.

I am happy to report that Randy and I did go out to eat on Wednesday night and then did a little shopping, but that is hardly what I would call having a blast!

My trip to Houston was great last week. I was so excited to see my friend Cyndi (and family)! We always pick up where we left off - no matter how much time between visits - and I think we barely stopped talking the entire time I was there. It was so much fun and I sorely miss having a friend like Cyndi that lives close by.

On Saturday, I brought the girls to Orange and later that day, we went to visit my brother and his family. We had pounds and pounds of crawfish to eat and it was so yummy! Tim and his family are moving to Boerne (today!) and it was good getting to see them again. They will actually be closer to us now - about 90 miles - versus the 280 miles they were previously, so hopefully we'll see more of them! I hope so!

(BTW, That's a picture of my 15 year old nephew, Brandon. He's 6'4", wears a size 15 shoe! That's crazy! He sleeps all the time - probably so his body can catch up to all of that growing he's doing. At this rate, he could be 6'8" by the time he stops growing! Amazing! )




My folks are meeting me "half-way" tomorrow with the girls. I miss them and can't wait to see them. I think Kyla is missing me a lot more than Elisan because she calls me every day... sometimes twice a day! I'll be glad to have our family back together again!

And finally, this week I made a HUGE first step in accomplishing something for myself that I have gone back and forth with for at least a year or more. I am not ready to give the details away yet... that is, unless you want to call me, THEN, I'll tell you... But, I am excited, scared and excited. I am not sure what will come of it, but at least I made the first intentional step. For that, I'm proud of myself!

Okay, so that's all for now!

P.S. - Crazy about Michael Jackson. I have to say that I really liked his early music. I'm sad that his life turned out the way it did and ultimately his untimely death.

Mummy Made

I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my good friend Agnes who makes these incredible crochet creations!

Agnes is a fellow soccer mom friend with two sweet boys and one sweet girl. She is from Australia and is one of the sweetest ladies I know.

Agnes opened up an Etsy shop called Mummy Made to showcase her beautiful items. Take a moment to peek into her shop and if you feel inclined... buy one of her one of a kind items!

She's located right here in Georgetown for all you locals!

Do you ever wonder?

Do you ever wonder if other people are living fabulous lives and you are the only one who is not?

Maybe it's the "are you braggin?' or "are you bloggin'?" philosophy that keeps me second guessing my own fabulous-ness.

Whatever the case may be... I'm convinced that my life ain't nearly as fascinating as yours.

Convince me otherwise before I crawl into a hole.

Summer Staple - The Tank Top!

So, I downloaded this coupon online from JC Penney's. It's a $10.00 off a $25.00 or more purchase.

I had tank tops on the brain... b/c you just can't have enough tank tops in 100+ degree weather. It's a necessity.

What a surprise to find these tanks on sale for $4.99/each. I bought five of them and used my nifty coupon! (I threw in a pair of earrings that were on sale for good measure!) I walked out of the store with 5 summer tanks and a pair of hoops for less than $21.00!

The coupon ends today, so if you can, run into JCP and cash in on this deal!

Who am I raising?

In true Texas fashion, we had early evening (severe) thunderstorms pop up over the hill country on Thursday night. In fact, Randy instructed me to clear out the closet underneathe the stairs, just in case we needed to take shelter from any tornadoes. That's just how we roll here in Central Texas... ready for inclement weather at the drop of the hat.

So, anyway, because of the impending weather moving our way, the girls stayed up with us to watch the news. No use putting them to bed with the off-chance that we'd be getting them up again to take cover.

One particularly close lightening bolt scared Elisan so much so, that she bolted off the couch ready to take cover... but not before she hollered out this phrase... "I better go get my money!"

Not only was she afraid of the storm, she was afraid a tornado would blow in and sweep up her $7.00 profit from last week's garage sale.

I said, "Who are you? Mr. Crabs?" (And if you are familiar with Spongebob Squarepants... you know what I'm talking about!)

Anyway, Randy and I got a good chuckle out of that one!

BTW, this is my 700th post! Yippee for me!

Sprouting Tomato!

Anyone want to plant some tomato spouts?

Glass Tile Pendants

Oooh, my inner crafty self is longing to try my hand at these nifty little glass tile pendants!

Anyone made these before? Do you have some wisdom to impart?

I found this blog entry from thehybridchick.com with steps on how to make these little cuties!

Anyone up for it?

They survived!

Monday was the first day with the nanny... AND, they survived. And, they loved having her here... AND, they can't wait to see her today!

Whew.

And you know what? Work wasn't as bad as I envisioned it being knowing my girls were at home enjoying their summer break without me.

I think hiring a nanny was the THE BEST choice for our family this summer. Thank you Lord for your wisdom!

Just in case you're wondering...

This is what we'll be doing all summer!