That Mama-Gut Feeling

If you are a mom you know what mother's intuition is. Its just that feeling you get. Its crazy, and huge when it comes to your babies.  Mine started going off about a month ago with E's daycare.

E is in daycare so much more during the day than I would like, but with two working parents, it is what it is.  So, finding a good place for her is a must.  When we first started looking I was still working in Dallas and leaving at the butt crack of dawn so our options were limited. We needed someplace that was open by 630 and pickup was around 6ish.  Those places are few and far between or you pay a premium (to the tune of $1450 a month).

But we had heard great things about her daycare so we took a place on the waiting list.  Her school is ok. But the more she was there the more it just did not feel right.

First, they do not divide infants by age/ability, they just stick them in there willy nilly (as in my 12 week old at the time with a 9 month old and an 11 month old).  Mamas know that my 12 week old is not match for those older babies.  She requires complete different care.  Also, it so loud in there.  They have 4 infant rooms that are all connected so that equals constant chaos and no quiet for naps.  Add in finding my LO in the same place every time I pick her up and the fact that she gets shuffled around three times in one day and I just knew it was not a good fit.

So, I started the hunt for some place better.  Talk about a wait list.... She is on the wait list for the place I really love, but not til June 2016... yes people June of next year!

But after some more looking and constant calling she is moving to a new place Monday. Not the school of my dreams, but another place that I have heard some great reviews about.  I visited it and admit it left a little lacking, and then I heard the review from moms.  Talk about glowing!  My Mama heart beamed.  I had several moms reach out to me and texted, called and chatted to ease my fears!  And the best part, its Christian-based.  They can go to chapel, have music class every Tuesday (even as infants) and surrounded by loving Christian women!

So, say some prayers for our transition (mostly for worried Mama bee). But like they tell you, trust your gut because Mama knows best!

You Know You're A Working Mom...

 

 

It never quite hit me until last week. There I was telling my husband that I was just going to cancel our child's doctor appointment because we were "too busy."  Call CPS now. (we took her, she had an ear infection, call me Mom of the Year!).  My point is, I simply did not have enough time in the day to do it all.

 

See, I am a working mom.  I am up by 5:30 am to shower and get ready (so is Hubs by the way) so I can wake the baby, who has probably been up since 5...., feed her, change her, dress her... dress myself, place baby in front of cartoons for 20 minutes (call the authorities) so I can make sure the dogs potty, eat some breakfast (me not the dogs, although I do have to remind myself to feed them), load baby, load baby bag, load my work bag and head out the door.

 

I drop the baby off by 7/7:15. (And yes I loathe the stares of the daycare lady who thinks I am horrible because I do not put on the shoe covers and bring my child into the room, no I hand her over to the girl, two kisses and gone! ain;t nobody got time to spend 30 minuets dropping her off) Then grab coffee and get in the office by 7:30/7:45. Work til 5:30/5:45 ish and head home. I arrive in time to play with the baby if she is not taking a late catnap, bathe her, feed her and put her down around 7:00pm.

 

Then I conjure up something for dinner for the grown-ups.  Then I normally do about an hour of work, and try to head to by 9:30 p.m. (normally more like 10:00pm).

 

I say a prayer than the baby sleeps through the night and doesn't cough herself awake, or get stuck on her tummy and need to be rolled over (seriously a problem these days).

 

And this is a normal day. Lately, add in spending at least an hour a day at the rent house fixing something, or driving to Dallas for some kind of hearing.

 

So, you know I am a working mom because....

• my child is the first to dropped at daycare and the last to be picked up
• she never has a bow or headband in her hair
• her bib never matches her onesie
• there are no photos of her all dolled up or out on cool adventures during the week
• I arrive at hearing with drool on my shoulder
• I request the first appointment of the day and oh by the way is that at 7:30am?
• I can grocery shop, run errands, and get my oil changed only during lunch
• we eat a lot of turkey tacos at home because its easy

 

 

Kudos to all the working moms out there! And to the SAHM as well. Either way you choose, both jobs are tough!

Giggles and Sunshine

This weekend we....

- found out Evie had an ear infection to go along with her RSV, but got some meds and she was all giggles and sunshine this weekend.

- played it lowkey Friday and Saturday nights, well because we can.....

- Evie and I attended a baby shower for a church friend and she did so well! She played and laughed and enjoyed all the attention

- cheered on the Frogs... OMG! the game nearly killed me!

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:13748615

Seriously, watch this play.... I died and went to Horned Frog heaven. And then Tech made an incredible almost comeback.... We dropped in the polls, but hey a W is a W!

Sunday we went on a family walk. Our new house backs up the walking/running/biking trails that follow the Trinity River. We managed to get in a good 2 mile walk before it hit 90 degrees.  J and I walked and Evie slept. We are trying to make this a weekly thing since we live so close.  Maybe some day we will venture out with baby and both pups.

The Sunday afternoon Evie and I went for her first twirling lesson. Ok, we went so mommy could practice before the TCU Homecoming game this weekend and Evie, well she just laughed and used a baton as a teething toy. We also caught some great pics of her, that are forthcoming.

All in all, it was a good weekend.  Now this week we are awaiting the arrival of Aunt Holly and Uncle Mikey from Florida!

Thoughts on a Thursday

This week has blown by, like whoa! Here is a snippet of my week thus far:

Major rent house issues, as in called the godmother in tears, don't want to be  grown up problems.  Foundation people  had to add three more piers to the side of the house, to the tune of $275 a pier in addition to the other two plus the reshim of the house.

now I have to get a brick mason to fix the exterior

And... we have another plumbing leak! This time in the wall of the guest bathroom. So  good news, home warranty will cover it. Bad news, they will not cover the cost to tear our a hole to get to the plumbing or to put the wall back together... whomp whomp. So, J and I tore our tile and drywall last night so we could save $450. And then a contractor is going to come in after the plumber and hopefully patch it back together. I do not have photos of the giant hole at the moment, but let's just say this house has got to go!

Good news? We enjoyed another meal from Blue Apron. This one was chicken cacciatore and yum yum.  We have had so much fun cooking these meals together and adding to our recipes. Blue Apron is a subscription service that sends you all you need to cook meals in your home in about 30 minutes. Fresh produce and protein and some meals I would never have thought of. I am in no way being paid by Blue Apron nor was I provided free stuff, I just love the service and wanted to pass it along!

And... Evie has a ponytail! She has had so much hair since birth and with her DocBand it hard to keep it under control, so this morning momma put a pony in it!  I cannot wait for her to be done with her DocBand so I can add some bows and headbands again and give her some piggytails! (still hoping those locks turn blonde). And... please disregard the random furniture in our formal living room. Cause you know, dog crates are the in thing this season in home décor.

Happy Thursday all!

And its Tuesday

So, when you have court or a conference in Dallas on Monday, you do not blog until Tuesday. It's like a rule, right?

Yesterday I was at the Women in Trucking Conference. Yes, you heard me correctly. Why, you ask was I at said conference? Well, because I represent trucking companies and I am a woman. Period. Enough said.

So, this weekend, we.... went to the Rangers game. Went to the TCU/SMU game. Hello Frogs, little too close for comfort. Went to infant urgent care. Evie has RSV (poor baby has crust in her yes and nose).

And.... I finished step 2 of my table re-do. Yes I have been hiding a project from you ladies.  I have an antique dining table that was given to  me by my aunt after my divorce and to help me restart my life. It's been in our family for ever, but was looking a little worse for wear.  The veneer was flaking off and the chairs need some TLC. So, I scoured pinterest and the interwebs and decided I could refinish it myself.

I am not totally done, but here are some before and after photos of the table top.

before

veneer removed

stained original wood

Now I just need to varnish it and pain the chairs. This will be the only DIY project for a while as trying to fit it in with Evie is cray! As in I was sanding and staining at 6pm on a Sunday night, neighbors thought I was nuts putting second coat on at 9pm.

Happy Tuesday ya'll!

Fri-Yay

It's Friday night and I'm feeling... oh wait its only Friday morning, but its glorious!  Hubs and I are headed to see the Rangers play this evening, TCU take on their rival SMU in the Battle of the Iron Skillet tomorrow and well its just a glorious day. But first, here are few highlights of my week:

 

I chopped off about 4 inches of hair and I'm feeling flirty and fabulous.

 

I have been struggling for meal ideas as of late, so I got a trial of Blue Apron.  Its a fab meal delivery service that send you all the ingredients for three meals, plus the recipe. I will do a full review next week, but hint hint, we loved it.

 



 

 

Little miss is digging her exersaucer these days. She hasn't quite figure out she can jump up and down, but she loves the toys that light up, especially this one since she has figured out she can get the toys across the bar.

 

Evie took her first ride in the big girl stroller! She was zonked out in about .5 seconds into our walk last weekend.



 

And... melt my heart, this little girl loves her daddy and he is rather smitten with her.

 

Have a fabulous Friday day ya'll!



Brows for your Face Shape

As I promised, this week we will look at the perfect brow shape for your face shape. If you missed the post about how to find your face shape, check it out here.

Also, linking up with the ever lovely Jenn for What's Hap-pinning Wednesday!

Now that you armed knowledge about your face shape, let's talk brows. Brows are basically the way to define your face and really give set the boundaries for eye make up. So, according to your face shape, here is how you shape your brows.

But what does this actually look like? Here is a more visual of the dos and don'ts of brow shape.

And lastly ladies, once your have the perfect shape, show it off! Brow powder is your friend. Say goodbye to the ole eye pencil and look for softer product like Brow Powder  or my favorite wax/powder combo. I live by this product and if I do nothing else, I do my brows and mascara!

Once I learned the importance of the brow, my make up changed forever!

Next week, we talk about haircuts that flatter your face shape!

There She Is

And with that another year of Miss America has come and gone. The new Miss America is Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell!

So, in case you missed it, I competed in the Miss Texas organization for many years. I have a love/hate relationship with pageants. Yes, it helped pay for law school, but it can become more of an obsession for some girls that healthy way to subsidize college. I have made so many good friends from the pageant world, but I have also seen the decline of the system in the past. So, this was a year to talk about.

First, we had the fateful return of Vanessa Williams, Miss America 1984. She resigned from her post after 10 months of her reign due to some not so nice photos of her that surface in Penthouse. Miss Williams returned to the stage, sane beautifully, and was publicly apologized to.

Do not let the video fool you. This apology was so planned and she knew it was coming and in fact pretty much demanded it before she would return to the Miss A stage. But, it was wonderful to see her sing and get some good judging for once.

The Top 15 (er 17) yeah we had to throw in a people's choice and a judge's choice along with the actual top 15 whose composite score got them there and we were down to

Miss Tennessee Hannah Williams Robison, Miss Iowa Taylor Wiebers, Miss West Virginia Chelsea Jean Malone, Miss South Carolina Daja Dial, Miss Florida Mary Katherine Fechtel, Miss Oklahoma Georgia Frazier, Miss Virginia Savannah Lane, Miss Alabama Meg McGuffin, Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson, Miss Louisiana April Nelson, Miss Texas Shannon Sanderford, Miss Nebraska Alyssa Howell, Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell, Miss Mississippi Hannah Roberts, Miss Arkansas Loren McDaniel.

These ladies competed in swimsuit. Oklahoma second from left, was robbed of a prelim swimsuit win, but Iowa, below in blue. I mean Hello Oklahoma!

Then we moved onto evening gown.

Evening gowns have moved into the fuller skirted realm this year. And again lots of white. Kudos to Miss Georgia for the two-piece gown.

Other standouts

Colorado (on right end) red.

I, for one, am not a fan of a white dress on a blonde... so Texas' gown just did not do it for me.

And then there was talent, or a lack thereof. Miss Georgia was the only one who had talent in her beautiful operatic piece.

And then you had the infamous Miss Colorado's Monologue about being a nurse.

 

I know the nurses loved it, but people this was not a monologue. This was a speech.

 

And then we had the "edgy" aka really weird dance from Miss Alabama.

 



 

And the only good thing about Texas' talent was her outfit.

 

 

 



 

Lastly, we had onstage question. We had the Ellen DeGeneris should be US money answer...

 

And then the great deflate gate question that Miss Georgia, kinda answered.

 

 

So, all in all, not a bad night. Miss Georgia was not my pick I had Miss South Carolina until she sang.

 

But my real point here is how relevant is Miss America these days? The ratings have been down year after year, no matter what happens it becomes the butt of jokes the next day and talent, well its declining.

 

But I truly believe in the organization. It prepares young women to speak eloquently, champion a cause and you truly make lifelong friends.

 

Your thoughts? Relevant? Not? Should be just get rid of it now?

There She is

I intended to do a full Miss America recap, but life got in the way. Come back tomorrow for my recap and why Miss America is still relevant.

9/11 & 5 Months

14 years ago the world changed. In a couple of minutes the safety and comfort of the USA came to a crashing holt. We are not immune. Never forget.

But this Friday let's also rejoice in all the good things. Like... Miss Evie is 5 months old! Yes, you heard me baby girl is 5 months old.

I'm not sure how much she weighs (but pretty sure we have hurdled over 16 pounds). You are 26 inches long and a bundle of joy!

This month you started solids and love some sweet potato. You have tried green beans, prunes, peas, pear and banana. We have had to cut back on our fruits as they tend to stop you up (if you get my drift).

You continue to roll and roll, but despise tummy time. You are almost sitting up on your own! Evie Ray you love to put your hands in your mouth and you drool for days (teeth must be coming at some point). Seriously girl, you produce enough drool to feed an army of licking dogs.

You have been in your DocBand for 4 weeks and we have seen so much progress. You flat spot is slowly rounding out and your forehead is less lopsided. Your little ears and jaw and becoming more in line as well.

Evie Ray you also love some bath time. You just find joy in kicking the water and splashing it out of your tub and all over mommy and daddy. You also think the hair dryer is pretty cool and love the warm air.

This month you are so much more aware of your surroundings. You watch as mommy and daddy come and go from a room and can spend minutes just watching Chloe and Sophie run around the room playing chase.

You are just growing so fast. You are in size 3 diapers (we went ahead and changed since the 2 are still fitting but we order in bulk and didn't want to get stuck with none) and we are at the tail end of wearing 3-6 month clothes. I have been putting you in outfits just so you can wear them!

We are so excited to see what this next month holds for you and relish at the fact that it will be half a year! Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon Peanut!

And now for the outtakes!

And just for daddy....

Face Shape 101

Ever heard you should tailor your eyebrows and hair cut according to your face shape? Well, you're correct! But, how on earth do you know what your face shape is? Well, you can look at your face and then compare it to the diagram below.

Or you can get mathematical and do some quick measurements. I opted for the measuring since I tend to think I am oval, but could also be round.

So, you simply take a regular ruler (not a tape measure) and measure the entire length of your face from hairline to chin tip. (A) Now divide that number by 3 (B).

Next, measure from underneath your nose to the tip of your chin (C)

Results:
- If B is greater than C, then you either have a long or a square face.
- If B is less than C, then you either have a round face or a diamond face.
- If B an C are equal, or close, then you either have a heart shaped face or an oval face. If your chin is pointy, then you are heart shaped. If your chin is round then you have an oval shaped face

Pretty simple, huh? For a great tutorial, check out this video.

Now that you know your face shape, choosing a brow shape or a hair cut will be so much simpler! Check back next week as I explore the nest brows for your face shape.

Hump Day Hair Blues

As I stare out of my office window, its dark, gloomy and the reflection staring back at me is in need of a hair make over.

I have not had my hair done since I went back to work. Yup, last hair appointment was sometime in June. My summer blonde highlights have long grown out, the light layers are a hot mess and the length in somewhere between annoying and medium. I have decided I need a hair intervention.

here is what it looks like now

So.... here are some looks I am pondering.

Curly, straight, I am loving Kelly Ripa's short cut these days.

Digging the layers of this look so give my fine hair some oomph

Again, the layers in back and longer to frame the face, and the color is pretty nice as well.

I think we see a common thread... shorter, wavier, layers.... and now to stay way blonde or go more a la the last pic?

What do you all think?

Labor Day Review

Tis Tuesday, which can only mean yesterday was a day off and this is a short week! Can we all say yahoo!

Friday we stayed in and enjoyed some take out from Chipotle. Saturday morning we were up early a la the tune of 5:45 am since Evie is awake by then. So much for sleeping in these days. We then put E down for a nap so she would be well-rested for her first class at The Little Gym. Yup, we signed the Peanut up for some baby gymnastics. We are hoping it will help with her fine motor skills and well, she will learn to like tummy time. Girl HATES tummy time. I mean put her down screaming as if I were murdering her hates tummy time. Which is why she will seldom roll over. She can roll over and we have witnesses this momentous occasion, but she just refuses to because she knows she will end up belly down.

I keep telling her that tummy time leads to so many more things, but she just wants no part of it. Oh well I guess, she may never crawl or walk, or sit up for that matter.

After Little Gym, we pretty much just lounged around and did some much-needed house work. We finally hung out some décor in the family room and our bedroom. And I ordered all the things I need to re-furbish the antique dining table I was gifted by my Aunt.

I also did some cleaning since our wonderful housekeeper is off for a month or more with her 4th baby. I did not realize how much I leaned on her coming every other week to keep our home somewhat in order and cleaned.

Saturday night J and I headed out for date night. We went to a local joint called Bonnell's which is headed by a pretty famous for our parts chef and features lots of Texas fare.  We dined on lamb and tenderloin and then had a banana sundae for dessert. Then we headed to J's fav, World of Beer. We witnessed the demise of the Texas fans as they saw their team lose (rather badly I might ad) to Notre Dame and then we called it night.

Sunday I woke up with the worst sore throat and well no rest for the weary. J went flying with  "Uncle" David while E and I got ready for pool time. We then joined V&D at the pool and well, E slept most of the time. It was so hot and muggy and baby girl did get a little pool time. We were all beat when we got home so we all napped. After we got E to bed, J and I enjoyed a little wine and a movie. We still have wine from our Napa trip that we took last year so late night wine it was.

Monday I woke up with the same sore throat and just felt like crap all day. E was ready for some Ohio State Football though, and I admit I did not make it through the first half.

Other than that, we pretty much called it low key and played inside all weekend since its still way too hot here. E enjoyed a new lovie from her grandma and grandpa and mommy dosed up on the Sudafed.

Hopefully this week will fly by and Miss E will be 5 months old! Where has the time gone? Happy short week all.

Fri-Yay

Its Friday night... or Friday day and The Frogs had a win last night! Not a pretty win, but a win so I'll take it. That being said, I had one cute Horned Frog yesterday (who did not make a sec of the game).

rare shot without her DocBand

Today she is sporting some Texas Tech red and Monday will be some Ohio State crimson. Yes, little lady has some college choices and lots of people who love her and want to shower her in college love.

This weekend we had no big plans other than a birthday party for one of my best friend's one year old and a date night. And.... we enrolled Evie in The Little Gym. She will start classes tomorrow! We are hoping this will help her development while she meets some friends and has some fun.

And in other news.... the rent house. So, here is what the subfloor looked like once all the engineered wood was removed. This is actually the original wood floors to the house.

Hard to see, but imagine a wavy lays potato chip for a floor. It all had to go.

And now this is what's left.

I did ask J if he saw any dead mouse bodies while he was it was exposed. So... now we are having the joists treated for any surface mold, and then having a new subfloor put in, new hardwoods and then re-tiling the guest bathroom. Then... we will have the foundation reset and reshimmed, have two exterior piers put in, brick mason to fix that shifted brick and get the front porch fixed.

Ya know just rebuilding a house I do not live in anymore!

So... if you need me this weekend I will be planting that money tree I ordered on Amazon. Lol. Happy Labor Day all.