First Day of School AND remembering my grandma...

This day definitely calls for a play by play, but here's a quick overview of this multi-post!

*Today I am missing my grandmother. It would have been her 85th birthday-

she is missed more than words.

*Today was Jacob's 1st day of preschool

*Justin has had diarrhea for most of the day :(

So, today we woke up early, packed his lunch, ate breakfast together as a family and were headed to his FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...Yayyyyy!!

Lookin' handsome and ready to meet some new friends!
Happy to have his new backpack and pose for a few pics!

Justin dressed and standing in the kitchen waiting to EAT!

Awwww, giving brother a hug before we head to school :)

Jacob: "Ok, Mom seriously ENOUGH pictures...I'm annoyed!"

100% FREAKED OUT...he would not touch his play doh, would not speak to ANYONE, including the teachers and Mommy. Said he wanted to go home right away, and guess he wasn't a big boy, because he wanted Mommy to go to school with him, and then...

Mommy: "Ok Jacob, Mommy is going to go...have fun!"

Jacob: THE MELTDOWN BEGINS! It took two teachers to hold him back, he was screaming, yelling and crying all at the same time, biting his nails(never seen him do that before), holding his stomach like he was going to barf...it was B-A-D. We've changed schools(still 2 days a week) because this one is closer to the house and came highly recommended by parents from the school where I used to teach.

This boy has had to be in daycare since he was 8 weeks old, its not like he's sheltered!

Any suggestions?? Tips?? Pointers??

I know that he's shy, my husband was shy growing up too...so will he grow out of this??

PLEASE say YES?????

Here's hoping that Thursday is a MUCH better experience!

On a more serious note, my grandmother's birthday would have been today. We would have called her, sang to her and probably brought her something that the boys had made for her. I think about her every, single day. I wish I would have listened to more of her stories, written down more of her recipes, taken more pictures with her, cherished every SECOND I spent with her. I know she had fulfilled her time here, but I can't help but wish we had MORE time with her. She asked to be buried in the dress she wore to our wedding. She loved that dress. She looked beautiful at our wedding and even danced a bit too! She always looked beautiful and her cooking...nobody can come close. It was amazing and I think it made her feel good to cook for all of us and have us all together. She loved family. Jacob and I used to go visit her weekly and he'd go running down to hall to greet her at her door EVERY time. She used to know when we'd get there and come outside her door to watch him run to her. I loved seeing how happy that made her. I still can't drive by her assisted living home.

You can see her picture and what I posted right after she passed away, HERE,

and lastly, Justin has had diarrhea for most of the day...not sure why. No fever. No other symptoms but has been teething and drooling like crazy for the past four days??

Hope it gets better soon, my poor little guy!

there's nothing quite like family!

Last week, my cousin and her sweet little girl, Isabella came to visit from Dallas. They are originally from New Orleans, and I remember most of my childhood trips to NOLA to visit! Oh the fun times we had-Mardi Gras stands out the MOST! My mom and her mom are cousins(their dads were brothers), but also best friends and have been for as long as I can remember. Now that we have kids, its nice to see the traditions carry on

and let me tell you, these kids played GOOD together!

Right away Jacob said, "I like this girl"...Ha! My little ladies man, for sure :)
After lunch and back to our house to play, it was only about 20minutes of warming up, that these two found some shades and had a dance party right in our kitchen! HILARIOUS!!
There is nothing quite like family! We are taking a trip to New Orleans this year to see all of them, then possibly a spring break trip to Destin...
but we definitely need to see MUCH more of them!

Today is Jacob's first day of preschool-we have moved schools, so I am hoping he adjusts well?! I know I'll be a wreck if he starts crying...

best buds

...brothers or BOTH??

They may look NOTHING alike(Jacob looks like Mommy and Justin is ALL Daddy) but...

These boys are buddies!

Justin has a room full of toys, but at any time of the day, he is in big brothers room instead! When Jacob has a toy, Justin wants it and that goes the other way around too :)

They laugh,

they play,

they sometimes argue,

but one thing is for sure...

these two boys LOVE each other and they are definitely BEST BUDS! I guess being an only child, their brotherly bond fascinates me because I was never able to share life with a sibling.

All I know is that I LOVE to watch their relationship grow each day...

Children's Museum of Houston

My friend, Tarah and I decided to take our four boys to the Children's Museum of Houston, since preschool will be starting soon, AND it would be less crowded with school back in session!! Once again, her camera seems to capture THE best pictures of my children!!

They would NOT smile like this for me AT ALL :)
Mommy and Jacob pretending to work for the local news station...
I think we're reporting the weather??! Oh what fun!

Doing a little grocery shopping...he's pretty good at this!

OH and little man had to show off his new walking skills!

Look at him go!! Can you see the dirt all over his legs?

He kept walking straight to the puddles to splash!!!

This is Justin's little buddy, Hudson. Do they look comfy or what?! Hilarious!

Won't be long until they'll be in on all the fun too :)

Oh I'm such a DORK! I was running the check out at the "pretend" grocery store. These boys know how to shop-sad, but true. They spent a fortune in here!!

Do you see all of the groceries piled up??!

I love watching this boy discover new things.

He cracks me up when I stop and watch how his little mind works!
He would have been perfectly fine running in circles in this place,

but he enjoyed checking out some of the cool exhibits too!

We sure had a good time! Tomorrow we have Meet The Teacher,

and although he's only in the 3 year old class...

pretty soon, he'll be heading to "real school" and I'll be crying like a baby!


Have a great weekend :)

a cherished time...

To some people its just lunch, but to me it is a cherished time with my boys :)

When I was teaching, I used to sit at my desk working on lesson plans, snacking on whatever food I could feed myself in the 20min. break that we had, and I could NOT stop thinking about what Jacob was doing at daycare. Oh, this broke my heart like you wouldn't believe(makes me cry just thinking about it). Picturing him there, sitting, eating his lunch that his Mommy was unable to prepare for him, wondering...was he happy? Did he miss me? Oh these thoughts went through my head all day long, and although I LOVED teaching, there is NOTHING like being at home, sharing these cherished moments with my boys :)

Thanks to my MORE THAN WONDERFUL husband,

I no longer have to wonder what they are doing because they are right here with ME!
and there's nothing like a good 'ol PB & J for lunch with Mommy!
Here's hoping your day is full of cherished moments too!!

BuBbLeS!

how can something SO simple bring THIS much joy??!Ready?
here they come...

BuBbLes!!!!

We spent our weekend relaxing and having fun as you can see...

hope you had a great weekend too :)

Future Golfer?!

We shall see... Daddy and Pop are taking Jake golfing for the VERY, FIRST time today! Yes, he's had his own clubs since Christmas, but we've only attempted playing in our backyard, hitting balls. NOW is the test...do we have a future lover of golf the way Daddy and Pop L-O-V-E this sport??!
He sure looks excited in our front yard while Mommy takes super cheesy photos to document this day! I've never seen him smile so big when his Daddy asked him to go to the course with them!! Wow, he was SHOCKED and EXCITED to say the least!!

Now, we'll see what happens there today...will he Love it? Hate it? Want to go again and again? We will see VERY soon and while the big boys are golfing...

Justin and I are going shopping :)

Afterall, it is tax free weekend, and who doesn't love fighting the mall crowds??!(I really hate it, but might as well give it a try!)

8-15-10

...is the day you started walking and you haven't stopped yet!!! You love to hold things while you walk around :) You are 15 months old and we were waiting for the day
that your little legs would get the hang of things and you'd LET GO!
Daddy was walking with you and all of a sudden, he let go and you KEPT GOING!!
The best part: Mommy, Daddy and Jacob were all there to witness your very, first steps :)
You look absolutely precious walking all over the house,
usually holding Mommy's cell phone saying
"Daddy?...hello?...Daddy?" over and over!
You also carry your fridge dj singing the ABC's as loud as you possibly can! Don't worry, Mommy has it ALL on video!!
You have been in our lives for 15 months, but I know I've loved you forever sweet, little man!
You still sleep like a champ! (13-14 hrs a night!)
You are SUCH a picky eater, Mommy is trying to find ways to sneak healthy foods into your meals and I've had to get VERY creative to say the least.
You L-O-V-E milk more than anything!
You'll drink water, but you'd MUCH rather have your "mik".
Favorite words are "daddy, puppies, this, pee boo(peek a boo), baff (bathtime), eyes, rose(nose) and much more precious words that we can't make out just yet!
You love giving kisses, but do NOT like to be held(good thing I cherished those moments while they lasted!) and "high fie" (high fives) between you and your brother are adorable, melts Mommy's heart each time!
SO PROUD OF YOU, BIG BOY! We love you "way up the moon and back to our hearts"

Wordless Wednesday...

Move over Ralph Macchio AND Jaden Smith...

THERE'S A NEW "KARATE KID" IN TOWN!!!

Just Like Daddy!

Couldn't resist sharing these hilarious "dress up" pics of Jacob this week!

(Not the greatest pics, they were on my phone)

On SEVERAL occasions, we have found him in our closet,

finding something of Daddy's to wear around the house...

this time it was some cowboy boots, and don't worry the gun is NOT real! and this time Daddy's work clothes
...and boots! Oh dear, guess he's going to be
"Just like Daddy!" and that's alright by ME!

I'm on a ROLL

Seriously, I need to take a trip to Vegas TODAY

because I am on a giveaway winning roll...

Let's break it down, shall we?!

WOOHOOOO!!

Win #1: M.O.T.B hosted this giveaway for a super cute pendant!

Win #2: M.O.T.B hosted this giveaway for a Dad/Son silhouette!

Win #3: Daily Dose of Fitness hosted this giveaway for a Polar heart rate monitor!

(yes, this would be the watch I was going to ask Santa to bring me for Christmas!)

Win #4: M.O.T.B. hosted this giveaway for 4, 8x10 sports framed artwork!

Yay! I am SO thrilled about all these great giveaway wins!

I follow their blogs and check their posts AT LEAST once a day,

so I consider myself a loyal follower

-but a lucky one too :)

Vegas, here I come!!!!

Please check out their blogs...they are fabulous and worth reading!

And, I am being featured in a FABULOUS way over at

Current Metamorphosis.com -thank you SO much!

She is a blog buddy that found my other blog, Lets Move It Momma's! She is on a weight-loss journey and I have promised to make this journey easier for her by giving her motivation and tools she'll need for success! Check it out, it is definitely worth it!

there's nothing like being OUTSIDE

...and gettin' DIRTY! Justin discovering the water faucet...I swear he thought this was cooler than the sprinkler!
Yep, our little man is walking now too! He is 15 months old and now NOT our little baby anymore :( He's taking off and all over the place, which keeps Mommy VERY busy!

I could watch these two guys together for HOURS...practicing their baseball skills!

He looks SO tough in this pic, but really he's just a little Momma's Boy

...at least I like to think so??!

This was one of those great summer nights!

After dinner, we headed outside and stayed there for hours,

the boys were filthy- my husband and I were TOO,

the boys were soaking wet,

but we all had F-U-N!

Have a great weekend :)

Check out Lets Move It Momma's here - I started a "comment question friday" and answered all of my WONDERFUL followers, questions of the week!

just a little off the top, please!

Little man was in desperate need of a little trim...yes, this would be his FIRST haircut, but Mommy figured if she's been cutting big brothers hair for 2 years now, she might as well give this guy one too! Mommy did get a little emotional because this is such a milestone in a baby's life, but I got over it when I saw the end result...take a look!

BEFORE: DURING:

...and AFTER:
looks handsome, huh? I sure think so! He did SO good, just sat there lookin' cute! Then we spent the afternoon playing the backyard, the boys ended up shirtless and soaking wet-needless to say, it was a good afternoon too...I'll post pics soon!
I never thought I'd be cutting both boys hair, but our older son REFUSES the barbershop, it's no pretty when we attempt it, so we just invested in some nice clippers and I think I'm gettin' the hang of it TWO YEARS LATER! Ha!
I know if we had a little girl, this would NOT be an option but with boys there's not much to it, I guess!

Don't worry, even though it was a haircut by Mommy, we still took tons of pics, saved a lock of hair for the baby book...all the same hoopla that goes along with the first haircut :)

Wordless Wednesday-

"Mommy, we love you so much...""But please stop taking our picture while we're eating!!"

P.S. Check out my, Lets Move It Momma's post today-

click HERE!

I have shared my weight loss story with all of YOU!

our first tball season...came to an end!

Jacob's first season of TBall came to an end tonight at the end of season pizza party!

And the best part...this trophy right here, baby!! I don't think I've ever see Jacob this excited! He told me,

"Mommy, I didn't know that we get trophy's in baseball...now I love baseball!" HILARIOUS!!!
Jacob with Coach Chuck!

Baby brother was SO proud of Jacob, he had to be there in support and this kid ate some pizza...I think two slices and two cinnamon rolls to be exact :) This pic is a blur because he was so excited when I went to snap his picture, he started jumpin' up and down in his high chair! Ha!

We are SO proud of you, Jacob! and...

GO TIGERS!!!

Jacob has decided he's ready for another season and I think the sign up is in one week

...so here we go again!

Maybe this season, (since he knows there's a trophy at the end!) he'll want to play in the dirt LESS and play some ball MORE??!! Hmmm, it's a nice thought :)

Momma's NIGHT OUT!

Last week our cousin, Jenni and her family came to visit from Fort Worth, TX and we were SO happy that they did. Yes, we are all cousins and have grown up sharing memories FOREVER! They have always treated me like immediate family, even though our connection is that our grandmother's were sisters. Now that we are older, we thought it would be nice to have our hubby's watch the kids and have a Momma's Night Out!!

Pappasitos was nice enough to snap several photos of our night out!
We laughed A LOT, we talked and shared stories about EVERYTHING! It was great!

Most of us have children, most are married and we are so happy that our children are carrying on the tradition of lifelong friendship the way we all have!

These women are more than family, they are great friends and always have been...most of my childhood memories have these ladies in it and
our hope is that our children share the same as they grow older :)
Thanks ladies, for a great night out!

GOTCHA!!!

First of all, let me start by defending myself and the fact that MOST pictures I post on here...my 15 month old is NOT wearing pants! This does NOT happen often, he is usually fully-clothed, however I guess when its a camera opportunity, they are nowhere to be found??! Justin's new trick is to push his chair up to the crib, and attempt to climb in

...so, now Mommy knows when things get "too" quiet

(or big brother screams!!!),

Justin is climbing or up to NO GOOD!

I GOTCHA, LITTLE MAN!