Beau's Birthday & Mother's Day All Wrapped Up Into One

First, I'll start with Beau's 2nd birthday. We decided on a Texas Ranger Baseball theme on a Thursday night. We cooked out hotdogs and had ball park nachos, peanuts, popcorn, sunflower seeds and bubblegum! It was a great time with great friends.

An amazing 4 days it was. Even though Brye had a Bachelor party to attend to almost the entire weekend, he still managed to pull off a great Mother's Day for me. We just planned to go eat lunch together and just spend the day together. I was putting a load of laundry in and Bex walks up to me with 4 tickets to a Rangers Game!! It was so fun and the best present.

And we're out!

A Run to Remember

Four months ago I would have told you, I don't run; never have, never will. But I was given a challenge and took it. My oldest sister is a runner. A very good one. She found out about the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and saw that there is a marathon relay. She gave us the challenge to run the relay. She told us about it in October of 2010 and we registered to run in November. At that time I immediately grabbed the shortest leg of the race, 3.1 miles, knowing good and well I was the least athletic of all my sisters. Of course, I procrastinated the workouts until early January. I started out as slow as possible running only for a minute or two at at a time. Surprisingly, those minutes extended rather quickly and I was able to run 3 miles within a short two months. I signed up to run a 5K in mid March to get a feel of what a race was like. I shocked myself to pieces when I ran that 5K in 32.32 and came in fourth place in my age division beating out my most athletic sister! I continued to run and got up to 4 miles in April!

Oklahoma City Marathon is here! Julie and I drove up to meet my dad, sisters and Whitney on Saturday, April 30. We picked up our packets, had a nice dinner and went to the hotel. First and foremost the hotel was NOT what we expected. We picked it off Expedia.com and was a dump. It wasn't dirty really, it was just old and not kept up to date. The noise barriers were non existent. We decided since we needed to be downtown with 25,000 other people by 5:45 the next morning a cab ride was our best bet.

The weather forecast for OKC on race day was not exciting. 50 degrees was the high, windy and 10% chance of rain. We prepared ourselves with sweatpants to keep us warm prior to our legs of the race. We all had matching t-shirts made for the race and the cutest red and white striped knee high socks!! We were the cutest team in the race!

The cabbie picked us up at 5:30 am and drove us to the First Methodist Church, where a free pancake breakfast was being held. We were standing outside the church, getting our bibs on when it started lightning and sprinkling. We decided to go inside the church for a minute and lucky thing, it starts pouring rain. And it did not stop. The marathon was postponed 30 minutes due to the lightning. We sat inside, drank a cup of coffee and waited. When it was getting closer to race time we got ready. Jodi went to the starting line and the rest of us went to try to watch the race begin. We counted down to the start then took off to find our bus.

Each leg of the relay was to catch a bus to the exchange point. It was still raining at this point, but not as badly. But it was still very cold. I found and got on my bus and waited in the nice warmth of it before heading off to our exchange. By the time we reached the relay exchange point it was 7:50. I knew Jodi's goal to finish her leg

of the race was an hour; so hopefully she is about finished and Julie is next. My exchange point was at the edge of a lake in a park. There was little to no shelter. The marathon committee had set up two canopy's with tables of food and water and our only shelter was to squeeze all 900 of us underneath them. My guess is only about 150 at a time fit. Lucky for me, I found a spot, but it was still freezing cold and I was in no way dry. I kept checking the time and realized around 9:15 I was going to have to brave the cold and rain and get out from underneath my shelter and look for Jennifer who was the third leg of the race. God smiled down on me and stopped the rain about that time. I kept looking for Jenn and praying for her to hurry. I looked up and just out of the corner of my eye saw her run right past me! I had to c

hase after her yelling her name, knowing she couldn't hear me because she had her headphones on! I hadn't yet taken my sweats off or got my iPod ready, but didn't have any time. She finally saw me and we made our exchange and I took off. It did NOT rain the entire time I ran! It was awesome. The people lining the streets cheering for us were amazing. I didn't feel tired at all. I did however have some cramping in my right quad muscle, but I pushed through. I also felt very slow. Lots of people passed me and right about the time I was finished running I realized these people are marathoners, they run a lot faster than me, who cares!

Earlier in the day I was complaining about having to drive home later that night all by myself. My dad looked at me and said I wasn't going to have to, that my best friend was coming to surprise me at the finish line. I almost started crying right then and there. And there she was, Jammi was standing at my finish line when

I crossed it! She said she was so proud of me and she just had to see me finish. I honestly wouldn't have been able to do this without her. She had watched Beau for me every Tuesday and Thursday for the past four months so I could run. She has been an angel.

So I hand my chip off to Whitney and head to the bus to get back to the finish line to watch her. By the time the bus took off it had started pouring again. When we reached downtown I just took off running again. I had spoken to Julie on the phone and she said they didn't want to wait for me any longer and just to head to the bleachers. I was trying to call her when I looked up and there they were right in front of me. Jenn was no where to be found! She didn't have her phone on her so we just had to watch Whit without her. As so

on as Whitney crossed the finish line; it was now 42 degrees, raining, winds 15-20 mph; we ran after her. Lo and behold, Jenn's right there! We grab Whitney and head to the church, our saving grace. There we get dry and warm and meet up with Aunt Susie and Dennis.

As we sit there we look up of chip times. My leg of the race ended up being about 3.5 miles. My goal was 35 minutes, my time was 34.59!! Our total time was 4:09. We unofficially placed 10th out of 72 teams in our division and 87th out of 900 overall! We are so proud of ourselves. Dennis and Susie have the Expedition so they drive us to the hotel so we can change clothes and go eat lunch.

This experience was a very challenging and emotional experience for me. Although my mom was not a victim of OKC, we still did this run for her. She would have been so proud of us and no doubt our number one fan. I love her and miss her terribly.

I'm not gonna stop running. My next goal is a 10K. Ev

entually I'm going to run a half marathon. I know I can do it and want to do it. Thank you, Jennifer for pushing me into this race and now this lifestyle. Love you!

Work Hazard

Who would have thought becoming a stay at home mom would result in "workman's comp". I am proof. I have recently been diagnosed with de Quervain's Tenosynovitis. My husband will tell you I'm crazy but it's verifiably true. I woke up one morning in February with a terrible pain in my wrist/thumb. I assumed it was beginning arthritis given my family history, but after three to four days I called my doctor. X-rays were clear and I remained on anti inflammatories. When that didn't work I googled "wrist ligament pain" and came up with the above diagnosis and called none other than my dad. I went and bought myself a wrist/thumb brace with the advice of my semi doctor "daddy" in hopes that combined with the anti inflammatories it would go away.

Of course, when you wear a wrist brace people are going to ask questions. So in explaining my symptons one day to a good friend she simply said, "I bet you have de Quervain's Tenosynovitis! I told her that's exactly what google said!! She strongly urged me to go to a hand specialist as did my PCP who I originally saw. So I did. He confirmed the diagnosis. It is very common in women who are mothers to young children! It is due to the repetitive lifting of the the kids!! Who would've thought? He said 90% of the female clients he sees have this condition. It is simply corrected with a steroid shot. Go right ahead, doc. I've been in pain for 6 weeks and am ready to be better. So on Friday I got the shot. I'm 90% better but during the night I still have a lot of pain. Doc says to wear the brace at night and continue the anti inflammatories; call back in two weeks. Gosh I hope this works because surgery is not on my calendar!

The Joys of Boys (and I've only just begun)

I got my first soccer ball in the face today and it made me realize it won't be my last . I am raising two boys after all. Funny thing is, it was my husband that did it. I love having boys. I'm sure the list below will get longer as the years go by and some of the things I love; I may grow to hate and some of the things I hate; I may grow to love.

nakedness

dirt

sword fights

pillow fights

food fights

running everywhere

anything can become a sword

pirates

cowboys

superheroes

pro athlete heroes

discussions about (pardon me) penises

hating girls

matching clothes (for now)

sharing a room

wrestling

swinging

cowboy boots

hunting

fishing

skiing

golfing

baseball

football

hockey

The Sandlot

The Little Rascals

busted lips

black eyes

snuggles

hugs

kisses

I could go on and on. I'm truly blessed by two wonderful, beautiful little boys. Thank you, Jesus and Brye!

2nd Annual Halloween Party (from Hell)

Last year my good friend, Angie and I decided to have some friends over to paint pumpkins with the kids. We really had so much fun that this year we decided to go all out and have a big fun Halloween party. Thanks to Martha Stewart and Disney Family, we found really good looking and tasty foods for the party. We also decided that each kid bring a pumpkin to paint and wear their costume. We had bobbing for apples and other games as well. It took Angie and I almost the entire day before to prepare our food. Menu as follows:

Witch Cupcakes

Mummies

Eyeballs

Bones

Swamp Juice (add lemonade)

The agenda for the day was all planned out. A game first, pumpkin painting second, snacks, apple bobbing and making of their own caramel apples.

All the kids wore costumes so we gathered them up once everyone had arrived for a group photo. They were all so precious and actually cooperated well for the picture.

After the photo we instructed the kids to head outside for a game. They went and sat around the base of the tree in the backyard. Unknown to anyone there was a rather large fireant bed right at their feet and bottoms. I happened to be the first adult outside and noticed the ants all over Korbin, Bexley and Case. I grabbed the kids away from the ants and began to tear off socks and shoes. By this time they had all been bitten and were screaming. I didn't realize at this point that Maddie had sat in the fireant bed! Angie ran inside and got Calamine lotion and immediately put it on the kids bites. Then all of the sudden she said, I've got to take Maddie to the ER and left!! Left me there all alone with with 17 kids. Granted the other parents were there, but they had no clue what to do or what we had planned.

So at that point with the kids deathly afraid to go into the grass, we went inside for snacks. This seemed to calm everyone down; except for me. I was a wreck. I was running around not knowing what to do, shaking, trying to get food plates and drinks ready, etc. Thanks to Gil, Angie's brother for helping with the drinks or no one would have gotten one. After the kids ate we were able to go outside again. The girls began painting pumpkins while the boys bobbed for apples and vice versa. After everyone got their apple, I dipped them in the caramel for them.

Once the pumpkins were all painted and apples coated with caramel we played one more game (that did not end up so well). It was a twist to musical chairs. We had a ghost figurine that the kids were to pass around to music. Once the music stopped whoever had the ghost in their hands was eliminated. Should have thought about the consequences of eliminating 3 and 4 year olds from a game before we started. Gracyn ended up winning with Bexley in second along with a tantrum because he wanted to win. Ugh!!

All in all I think the kids had a great time. Dalton said the bobbing for apples was the funnest part of the party! Next year, dads are coming and there might be vodka in that swamp juice!!

Oh and Maddie, she was given a shot of epinephrine and prescribed an epi pen!

What a Summer

I really wish I could keep up with this blog I started, but I can't. I can't keep up with laundry either, just ask my husband. We have had a fabulous, lazy summer. It was full of swimming, soccer, good cookouts and lots of friends.

Bexley played soccer for the first time this summer and had a blast. He is a fairly good soccer player and I can't wait until he's a bit older and can be more competitive. He received the award for "the most fun player" from his coach because no matter what, Bex was always having fun!

Bexley also learned how to swim this summer. He can actually jump off the diving board and swim to the side with NO HELP!! I am so proud of him, especially since we didn't even spend any money on lessons. He learned it all on his own; with a little help and coaching from mommy of course. Beau is also going to be a good swimmer. He loves the water and with floaties on in the baby pool, I can let him go and he can handle it on his own! The boys also enjoyed time on the slip and slide and water park with their besties.

Brye and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary this year! Thanks to Rob and Jo for coming to spend the weekend with the boys we were able to get away. We left on a Saturday morning (after soccer, of course) and went shopping; which we never get to do alone anymore. We bought fancy clothes for our night out. We then went and checked in at The Mansions on Turtle Creek. A beautiful old hotel in uptown Dallas. Brye made reservations for us at a wonderful restaurant called Nick and Sam's. The manager found out about our special occasion and treated us to caviar, champagne, and a wine tasting. It was fabulous! We have had a wonderful 10 years together and I can't imagine my life without Brye and the two precious little boys he has given me. Brye has literally shown me the world and I have enjoyed every minute of it and can't wait for more!!

Beau got to enjoy his first "fishing" trip with daddy this summer too! Bex got to go with Brye a few times and even got to reel in some fish. We only caught two on this particular occasion, but they were big ones and I can't wait to eat them!

Beau has really taken on a wonderful personality. He is so funny and does this little nose crinkle when he smiles! He learned how to use a fork on his own and no doubt will take his brother down very soon. He has had a few black eyes and even chipped a tooth, thanks to Stella. He will be my rough and tumble, but me sweet one too. Man does he love to snuggle.

The rest of our summer was spent with our dear friends. We played in the park, fed the ducks and I got reunited with sorority sisters and their kids I hadn't seen in years. I cannot believe it is already over, however I look forward to seeing what the school year brings for Bexley and getting to spend some quality alone time with Beau. Welcome Fall!!

Florida

Finally, a family vacation. A REAL one. Thanks to Brye's job, he gained enough Rapid Rewards to get us three free airline tickets to anywhere in the continental USA. So we took advantage and booked a flight to Florida! We figured a shorter trip would be better for the boys so we flew out from Dallas to Ft. Lauderdale on a Thursday morning. We spent two days in Ft. Lauderdale just beachin' it up then drove to Ft. Myers and Sanibel Island on Saturday.

The flight to Florida went great. It happened to be timed right at naptime so Beau was tired and slept almost the entire way. We enjoyed shrimp at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. the first night and just strolled along the beach on the way back to the hotel. We spent the next day on Ft. Lauderdale beach, just enjoying each other. Bex loved swimming in the waves although they were pretty high and he couldn't get very far. That night we went to a wonderful restaurant for dinner and on the way home Brye and I spotted a guided fishing boat. We checked out the prices, "just to see" and it so happened the boat was expected to leave for an eight hour tour "right now". It was only $65, which was really cheap. I told Brye to go for it as I knew he'd never get the chance again. So he did! The boys and I strolled back to the hotel and had an early night. Brye didn't get home until around 4:30 AM!! The boys were up on their normal schedule at 7:30. I tried so hard to keep them quiet, but was commonly unsuccessful. Brye eventually got up and took a taxi to the airport to get us a rental car and then we headed to Ft. Myers.

Bex in Ft. Lauderdale

Beau

Bex and Brye building Sand Castles

I had never been to Florida so the drive from Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Myers was really amazing to me. The Everglades is not exactly what I expected. I don't know why I always pictured more tropical scenery than just vast grass and what I call swamp lands. I was corrected on the last day of the trip that The Everglades is not swamp. We spent the day driving and taking in the scenery and sights of Florida and Sanibel Island. We got checked into our hotel and strolled the beach. On Sunday, we had a wonderful day on Ft. Myers beach. The weather was really great. It did rain for about 2 minutes, but that did not stop Bexley from swimming. The ocean waves were not big, so Bex was able to really play in the water. Beau even enjoyed it a lot. We could hardly keep him out of it.

Bex running along Sanibel Island

Bex playing in the Gulf at Ft. Myers Beach

After our day at the beach, the boys took a nap and I scheduled a Pirate Cruise for us to take. It was so much fun. Bex was very apprehensive at first and even began to cry at one point because he was scared of the pirates. We bribed him with a real pirate sword and he was good after that. He even got to have one of the pirates paint a Jolly Roger tattoo on his arm. He got to pick out "treasures" from the treasure chest, and play games with the other kids and pirates. He was even brave enough in the end to take his picture with the Captain. It was well worth it. After the Pirate Cruise we met one of Brye's old co-workers for dinner. It was so nice to see him again. He was such a dear friend when we were living in the UK. He kind of "took care" of us, showed us around London and really made us feel comfortable with living 5,000 miles away from home. We had such a great time in Florida. The flight home was not as great as the flight there. Beau was just exhausted and didn't want to sit still. He wasn't screaming so much as just constantly moving, which made me and Brye exhausted as well. We were glad to be home.