I'm K.I.S.S.'ing this Friday (that's keeping it simple stupid) - mainly for myself!

I have a new buddy I met a few weeks ago who had this posted in her profile section. Friday's should be fun, so I'm going to share some rather unique tidbits about Austin. Enjoy! :)

1. First, it's pronounced AWS-TUN. It doesn't matter how they say it in other places.

2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Austin has its own set of traffic rules. There's no book about them. All you can do is get in your car and hope you survive to learn them.

3. All directions start with "Go down Mopac...'cause you don't want to get on I-35." MoPac is short for Missouri Pacific, the train line that runs down the middle of it.


4. Burnet Road, Braker Lane, and Lamar Blvd. have no beginning and no end.

5. It is impossible to go around a block and wind up on the same street that you started on. The Chamber of Commerce calls this a
scenic drive.

6. The 8:00am rush hour is from 6:30am to 9:30am. The 5:00pm rush hour is from 3:30p to 7:15pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.

7. If you actually stop at a yellow light, then you cannot be from Austin. You may only apply your brakes when the end of a yellow light and the beginning of the red light create a burnt-orange hue. This is Longhorn Country, after all.

8. If you like being an individual, don't even think of working for Dell. You'll be branded like cattle and made to walk all over town with your Dell Tag around your neck or clipped on to your belt loop. Ninety-eight percent of the people within a 200 mile radius work for Dell. When someone says "Michael Dell", Dell employees are trained to face Round Rock, hit their knees, put their face to the ground, weep, and rock back and forth.

9. Just remember that Mopac IS Loop 1; Capital of Texas Hwy IS 360; and U.S. 183 IS Research Blvd., Anderson Lane, Ed Bluestein Blvd. and Old Bastrop Hwy; 2222 IS Northland Dr. or Allendale Rd. or Koenig Lane. Don't try to figure it out. Just accept it. If you question the intelligence behind this naming convention, people will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you.

10. If moisture is determined to be rain, and not sweat, all traffic must immediately come to a screeching halt; ditto for daylight savings time, a female UT student applying eye-shadow across the street, or a flat tire three lanes over.

11. DO NOT attempt to access any road after an apocalyptic event like snow or SXSW (South by Southwest Music Convention). Construction on I-35 AND U.S. 183 is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment. Get used to it!

12. Attn: All telephone solicitors... DO NOT correct my pronunciation when I say I live in Manchaca, TX. It's pronounced
MAN-shack (just like a man living in shack). Also realize that the city of Manchaca (MANshack) is in Hays and Travis Counties, and there is also a very long street in Austin named Manchaca (MANshack)! The city of Manor and Manor Rd. are pronounced 'MAY-ner'. We don't like corrections on that either. And, for goodness' sake, DON'T pronounce the 'E' at the end of Guad! alupe. It's Gwada-LOOP and we like it that way!

13. Burnet Road is pronounced BURN-it, not Bur-NET. Koenig Lane is pronounced KAE-nig not KOE-nig. The old airport (Robert Mueller) is pronounced Robert Miller and is on Airport Boulevard. The new airport (Austin-Bergstrom) is no where near Airport Boulevard. It's in the city of Del Valle pronounced Dell Valley!

14. Keep in mind that the sloppily dressed 'hippie' in worn-out sandals and earrings is probably the latest IPO millionaire around here.

15. Stay away from the Congress Ave. bridge at sundown if you do not like the thought of being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. (Largest Mexican Free Tail Bat Population in the US)

16. And, yes, we all know that there's a man in a teddy and a tiara on Congress Ave. It's Leslie and he probably makes more money than you do. (Surely, you have a homeless, celebrity drag queen that likes to run for Mayor where you live, too, right?)

**And you wonder why there are so many bumper stickers that say 'Keep Austin Weird'!**

ETA (edited to add): the Keep Austin Weird campaign is really about buying from local vs. large companies. So, if you had to choose between your local grocer and Wal-Mart, you'd go local grocer to keep the money in Austin. Hmm, makes me wonder about Whole Foods since it was started down on Lamar here in Austin. I have memories of going through that old store with the wooden floors, no intercom system at all so they'd be yelling at each other from the front to the back.

Just when you think you're safe...

So, less than a month ago we had a mountain lion scare. Last night, in a weak moment and completely frustrated, I rolled Drew out of our room in his pack 'n' play and into the office (the sacrifice was not being able to be on the computer past 8:30) where I fed him and put him to sleep. Just before falling asleep and being the true girl that I am, a million and one things ran through my head. As a side note, I just want to say it'd be nice if I could be like Neil (i.e. all men) and just knock off to sleep! But noooo, our office is a front room and our room is in the back, both on the main floor. I couldn't keep my thoughts from going to a dark place, wondering if he'd be ok all by himself in that room. 'What if someone tries to break into our house?' Would we hear it? We didn't hear it when someone destroyed our front hedges. I don't know how we missed it since we seem to hear every other little non-eventful noise in the house. Click here for pictures of that fiasco. We heard the officer bang on our door, but nope we didn't hear what was most likely a 250 truck (read: huge-o truck) launch our bushes, take out a tree and total two cars. Seriously.

So, I wake up to this e-mail from a fellow MOMS club mommy who sent everyone this link. This neighborhood is less than a mile from our house. We all want to think we're safe, but the reality is you just never know what's lurking around corners.

FW: [WBCHOA] 3 armed suspects in Cat Hollow
Follow link to FoxTV for story:

Click here for the news story.

Watch out! It's a Drew-nami!

I'm falling a little short today in the topic department and I know it. I'm going to have to keep a journal with me to jot down some ideas. In the meantime, enjoy a small tsunami courtesy of Drew's famed hair and partner-in-crime sis Ashley who these days seems to have more inspiration than I do. How much of this will come back and haunt Drew? I'll try not to lose too much sleep over it...I promise.

I sometimes wonder what he's thinking about...maybe it's 'i REEEEEALLY wish you guys would leave my hair alone!!

'you again? yeah, my hair is all 'done up' - got it. it was only funny the first forty times...
and you see my sister in the background? is she laughing?...sigh...well, i'm not.'

I don't have a cup of Joe, but could I interest you in a cup of Drew?

{how much sugar would you like? one lump or two?}

a little toying around with the photo per an online request

Well, he's officially six months old and you know what that means? It's time to reminisce in how quickly our littlest guy is growing up. Six months ago today at precisely 2:30 in the morning, Drew made his grand appearance a la roadside delivery in a library parking lot. Though it was neither mine nor Neil's best three minute adventure (due to the stress), the result was amazing. A healthy baby despite the dramatic and somewhat traumatic unfolding of that event...his birth. If you've never read the story, click here to find out the details. I apologize that it's so long, but when I wrote it, it was with the intention of journaling for my own personal memories. I think by this time Saturday morning we were still kind of in that 'what the heck' happened mode. Somewhat tired, a little confused, running on empty and adrenaline at the same time. I am *so* thankful that despite the circumstances the birthing center saw fit to send us home in time for breakfast. I remember looking at his little triangle shaped feet thinking 'yup, those were very uncomfortable all shoved under my ribs'. They were long and wide. He never really "dropped" - at least at any of my visits just before he was born. How he defied gravity as a fourth kid, I'll never know.

So, for today I thought I'd scavenger the message boards in the hopes of coming up with a cute idea for his six month photos. Some months are easier than others. Last month it was less than ten minutes of pictures and lots to work with...this month, not so much. I mean, I got some cute stuff, don't get me wrong. And the blog header (the pic at the top of the blog) was done a little differently this time - I let Neil pick his favorite to put in for his six month photo. Let's go through the rest of the pics together, shall we?

boys in tea cups can still be 'macho'...right? lol
why this photo didn't work: random toes popping out - makes
ya think he's all crammed in there ;-)

i love his hair in this one

this was my original front runner, but upon first glance you
don't really *get* that he's in a tea cup, so I passed

my other prop that I thought I would like better...nope...

loungin'

the original in color

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, DREW!

The redeeming Paige post...

...here are two Paige videos to showcase her 'cuteness'. That and she learned how to draw people with legs and arms!

Ashley said "dad" looks like a Pop Tart. Watch to see...



SOOO proud!

Well, we found that mountain lion and let me tell you...

...boy were we surprised!!

first, you have to be veweey sneaky and get up behind him...

uh oh...we weren't very quiet, i guess - 'uh hem, can I help you?' the lion asks after being disturbed while playing in his jungle gym

our little lion in the wild with the bunnies and other strange lion toys

ahhh, our little lion is happy playing

How do I love thee? Let me share the ways...

WARNING: long post to follow...proceed at your own risk

I've decided to do lemons to lemonade this time. I just don't know what it is about Mondays and rather than bore everyone with another "Mondays are hard for me" post I thought I'd share all the hardships I endured yesterday - and HA! if you thought you'd skate by w/o a Monday whining post, lol. Photography may well be my saving grace these days. I'm thinking differently, a little more creatively that is. I used to see events and milestones as really the only blog-worthy topics {although I may have some readers that agree and want me to stick to that, lol - to that I say HA!} But even the most mundane of all daily events can find a way into my blogging, and maybe - just maybe - make some of you out there laugh or shake your head thinking 'oh, I've been there, done that and got the t-shirt too!' Motherhood is certainly challenging, I won't lie to ya there.

Neil came home yesterday and asked if I had blogged and when I said I hadn't he called me a slacker.

**In his defense it was in a loving way ;-)**

I started trying to find the good in the day (a real challenge in and of itself). It's hard to find the good when every time I'd turn around, Paige was literally into something all day long. Talk about tested. She's like my boy in girl skin. What do I mean by that? Let's see...things she's gotten into in the past:

• nearly poured hot cocoa on herself
• nearly sprayed herself in the face with febreeze
• wrote on the carpet with a Sharpie
• wrote on the piano bench with Sharpie
• wrote on her then brand new pink hippo chair with...what else? yup, Sharpie
• used ball point pen and in the span of a literal minute wrote all over the arm of my brand new sofa and wall (I was standing next to her - this is how bold she is! - and talking with someone on the phone at the bank at the time)
• found a pair of Ashley's scissors and cut her shirt (her BRAND NEW SHIRT)
• we're pretty sure she's responsible for burning out the motors on two swings - breaking one and causing us to send back the other to the company b/c it's still under warranty. Even though we can't prove she did it, it's the easiest explanation based on her weedily ways.
  

Needless to say, you can't turn your back on her. Exasperated, Neil looked at Drew last night and said to him, 'Paige is into everything and soon you'll be crawling everywhere...grrrreat, that'll be fun...'. Now I'm not one for spur of the moment purchases, but for five minutes yesterday a brand new super duper expensive playscape crossed my mind as a possible deterrent to Paige's non-sense - then I snapped back to reality. I didn't really just think a $4K playscape would fix things, did I?

So, now that you have an idea of what she's done in the past, let's get started with what she got into yesterday and heck, let's just lump in what she did Saturday & Sunday too - makes it that more interesting:

1. we found her wandering around the house late at night eating ice cream pops from the freezer...her hair was all sticky and her jammies were caked in dried ice cream.
   
2. Sunday morning she decided to finish the job by starting in on Neil's mint/chocolate Drumsticks (ice cream). I found her eating one in the pantry and threw it away only to find two others she had started on. She was only eating the top and throwing away the rest. Sound like the muffin episode from Seinfeld? Did I just date myself there?
3. She smeared toothpaste on the floor in the closet.
4. I found the Icee ice cream pop (later, not the same day) dried and smeared in the carpet at the top of the stairs and I'm staring at one right now on the floor next to me in the office. Yeah, did I mention we spent (what I consider to be) a fortune on cleaning all of the carpet in our house less than a month ago?
5. She takes most anything she can find in the fridge and takes it upstairs to eat and store away like a little squirrel. Her bed is like a hodge podge catchall for all her finds. I haven't figured out how she sleeps on top of everything!
6. She used her little Radio Flyer ride-on toy to put one of the last two Keurig single cups into the coffee maker, leaving coffee grounds all over the counter.
7. She rammed her other ride-on toy into one of the cabinet doors causing the paint to chip off the door - a *lot* of paint...in fact, prior to that, I had been wondering what was causing all that black paint to chip...grrr.
8. She climbed up the playroom bookcase with me standing right there!! Thankfully, Neil and I had it secured to the wall when we put it together!
   
9. She drew all over one of the cabinets in her room (see pic below)
10. I frequently find her paw prints all over my bathroom sink. She has figured out how to undo the child locks and likes to get under the sink and find my nail polish and paint her nails...herself.
    
11. And the pièce de résistance - a simple (and usual) evening poopie diaper turned into a full-blown smear job, thus requiring (what I call) a business bath before sending her back to bed...yet again.

{the lovely bookcase she wrote on}

{the pink hippo chair that, let's be honest, never stood a chance}

{nail polish on the carpet}

Her saving graces, though not as many, by far outweigh all that I listed. And they are:

• her doe eyes
• she says "I love you" a LOT...and means it!
• she made her first successful outing as a potty-trained girl today
• she's genuinely affectionate
• she has the best little kid run and makes the funniest horsie 'neigh'
• her current phrase 'I was living the day of the park of the city' is adorable
• and when she crosses herself, the Father is almost always the back of her head and on her crown, lol

Sharing the not-so-fun parenting stuff isn't always fun...but I like to think of this blog as my online diary and I know I'll look back and forget all the stuff she did to aggravate me to no end. This post will help me remember how I tried to find the good despite all the (ok, not bad) ridiculously challenging aspects to parenting...Paige. At the end of the day, and even as I sit here, I know I'm forgetting like ten other things she did, but you know? It's no big deal anymore. It was what it was and it's time to move on. I love my Paigey Waigey puddin' 'n' pie. I think I'll keep her, lol.

If you've made it all the way through, find a sticker and put it on your hand. You deserve it!

It's Tuesday and I got nuffin...right now anyway

**So, enjoy some more footage of Drew working on being on all fours and scooching. Oh yes, and some toy eating. You'll have to excuse his 'morning hair'. Good stuff, indeed. :)

Babies can look ugly?

Apparently so if you get right in their face! I decided to get some film of Drew mimicking me. He's been doing this for a few days now on his own, but recently started doing it when we initiate it. WARNING: ugly face starting in THREE, TWO, ONE

Hip Hip HOORAY!

It's official! My baby boy is officially a hip baby. Ok, I guess I could be talking about how cool he is. And he's definitely cool. But this time around I'm talking about how he sits proudly on my side (or in this case, Ashley's). Since he turned five months old he's been more active; crawling, wanting to sit up on his own, babbling and squealing with delight. He's feeding off the kids' laughter and adding some of his own humor in the process. Soon I'll be doing a post about his six month milestone. I'm not going to whine about how time flies by - I'll save that for May 24 ;). In the meantime, enjoy a quick pic of my newest hip baby. And now that he's screaming, I guess that's the end of this post. Happy Friday to everyone!

{excuse the diaper action and off-centeredness - we were in a hurry with losing light}

What's your name? Mine's Dorfus Gizzardhump!

I woke up to find this funny e-mail and thought I would share it with everyone. This definitely makes for a lighthearted Friday and who doesn't need one of those? Leave me a comment with your new name!

Neil - Dorky Gizzardhump
Ashley - Farcus Gizzardhump
Jonathan - Sloopy Gizzardhump
Paige - Dorky Gizzardhump (jr.)
Drew - Crusty Gizzardhump *or* if we go by
Andrew - Cheesy Gizzardhump
Templeton (our cat) - Sleezy Gizzardhump

MY NEW NAME IS IN THE SUBJECT LINE.....DON'T LAUGH UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOUR NEW NAME IS.

We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute.

Please don't be a bore and ruin it. Send it on to everyone you know including the person that sent it to you.

Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. If we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not.

Here is your dose of humor...

A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.

B. Once you have your new name, put it in the subject box and forward it to friends and family and
co-workers.

Don't forget to forward it back to the person who sent it to you , so they know you participated.

And don't go all adult - a senior manager is now known far and wide as Dorky Gizzardsniffer !

The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants And the Perilous Plot Professor Poopypants, by Dave Pilkey, in which the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names...


So:-

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your New first name:

a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
I = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:

a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = bu rger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n = rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = lickin
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = girdle



3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:

a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin
o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes
r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is: Fluffy Chucklefanny.

Now when you SEND THIS ON...use your n ew name as the subject.

And remember that children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh an average of 4 times a day. Put more laughter in your day

Second Grade Shopping Day

I got this e-mail from Mrs. Haji:
Dear Parents, .......We are going on a tiny field trip, to Second Grade, tomorrow. We are invited to Mrs. Benavides' classroom to shop at their Annual Shopping Day! Second Grade provides the "real money" for us to count at each little shop. Then we get to keep the items or services that we buy. I talked to my Honeybees about the possibility of some to the shops selling tattoos, face painting or polishing nails. I told them to check from home for permission to do these activities.

So, Jonathan came home all excited about his day 'shopping day' and agreed to let me get a few shots of his finds from today. He said one boy was peddling huge hats. See if you can find it!

'I got this one for Brother', Jonathan says

The gift every mom needs - ok, mom's family needs

So, I said I would post a picture of the gift Jonathan gave me, but first let me give a quick rundown of the gifts I got from everyone else. Neil gave me a gift card to Barnes and Noble - one of my favorite places to frequent while Jonathan was in CCD. Neil and Ashley both picked out a nice sports watch for me to wear for volleyball practices/games. Jonathan got me the gift below and Paige picked out a small purse-sized book filled with anecdotes called
"It's a Mom thing".

{the mom mood monitor - click to buy}

Use your thumb (or any warm part of your body that fits) to see what color you are and ultimately what mood you're in, thereby warning everyone w/in strangle distance to keep their distance. ;-)

Turns out I'm red this go around - that means...

I'm apparently optimistic today...or right now anyway. I guess that means I'm thinking dinner will actually get done and that I might get a load or two of laundry done. Yeah...that sounds about right, lol. Thanks Jonathan! You've saved the family!

Calgon - take me away...but not for too long

I have to admit when I have a good day, it's a really good day. Scratch that. It was a good weekend highlighted with a day designed just for gals like me, AKA moms. I woke up to hugs and kisses and "I love you" from all the kids today. Neil asked me if I wanted to go to 9:30 or 11:30 mass (translation - did I want to lazy around on 'my day'). We went to 9:30, like usual. The kids were really good and the church was just abuzz with lots of kiddie noises. After mass, the kids were invited to come up and grab a rose for mom, so I got a pretty red rose. I *love* roses, especially red ones. Somehow, to me, they just smell sweeter. Then we went to eat at Baby A's afterwards. It was supposed to be my choice, but the kids pretty much had it made up in their mind that's where *I* wanted to eat. Now, how could I argue with that? Baby A's it was. We had a great time, good company and I opened up a few of my gifts there. I'll have to post the picture of the one Jonathan gave me. I think *every* mom needs one of these. The only request I had of Neil today was to get at least one picture of me with the kids together. Afterward, it was time for quiet time in the house, so Paige settled down with some t.v. in our room, Jonathan played some video games, Ashley was...well, I think she was just around and Drew just hung out playing on the floor, swinging in his swing and sleeping in the arms of a total stranger, lol. A total stranger to him, that is. I had forgotten we had invited some friends over to play Euchre, so when Ashley reminded me, it was like a nice surprise all over again! They were thoughtful and brought over some chips and a new recipe for jalapeno ranch dip - it was really good. It was good to play Euchre again too, even though the cards weren't in our favor. Oops, Neil corrected me and said we won the third game. Woo hoo! And you know what? It was probably the best Mother's Day's I can remember in a good long while. I have never felt so surrounded by love and that's the best feeling. And the day got even better...get this. Neil let me escape to a nice hot bubble bath. I seriously didn't want to get out!!

Is it incredibly horrible to brag on a good day? If it's Mother's Day, I sure hope not! I had a good one and I hope all the moms reading this did too.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Mr. Squealers

He loves him some good squeals!

Sometimes you just have to counter the bad with the good...

So, that's exactly what I'm going to do today. As heartbreaking as yesterday's post was, I thought the best way to move forward was to do just that...move forward. So, in dealing with the grief yesterday, I decided to bail on the usual hump day hum drum routine and I had the kids pack up their towels, grab their suits and a happy attitude and we went down to the water park and enjoyed a grand total of five minutes before the water stopped...completely. Ugh. Oh well, good thing I broke out the camera just as we got there and captured a *few* shots, lol, of our time there. Can I just say how much I *LOVE* my camera! So, here are those 'few' shots for you to enjoy. Maybe next time our visit won't be cut short!





and the end of the water...even the drain can be fun!


catch her dance!

Saying goodbye to loved ones

I debated posting this because it's not all roses around here and while the blog is focused on a lot of our happy highlights, I thought it might be equally important to share in some of the sad moments too.

Many of you were aware (through the prayer request post) of my Aunt Josie's declining health and ultimate passing. I am sad to report that my dear childhood friend, Resa, lost her mother, Kathy McLaughlin late Monday night to lung cancer. I'd love to say that we had enough time to grasp the concept of her losing this battle, but the reality is that within three short weeks, she went from going in to see about blood clots in her legs to being diagnosed with what must have been aggressive late stage lung cancer. The online journal her son, Chris, set up to keep friends and family up to date, started April 18. I believe this was the date the cancer was diagnosed. Within days, she went from a fighter, staying strong and positive to completely consumed by the cancer. Last Thursday Chris wrote in the journal, and one sentence he wrote just absolutely got me: 'I have never seen someone deteriorate so fast.' No e-mail alerts all weekend long. Even in prayer, my heart was preparing for the worst. Sunday rolled around and I thought to myself 'ok, I should just check into the website and see what the latest is' - turns out Chris had *just* updated the journal to include that she was too weak for chemotherapy and that she was given just six weeks to live and sent home on Hospice.
***
She died Monday evening at 11:15 p.m.
***
I am very sad for a lot of reasons. My friend, Resa, just lost her mother and I don't even have the words to express my sorrow for her. If I could take the anguish and heartache from her, I would. Her mom was just so incredibly generous - she was the "give you the shirt off her back" kind of generosity. She hosted the baby shower for me in her home when I was pregnant with Ashley and even let me borrow their family cradle for her. I'm sad because death has been very close to me in such a short time. It's hard to wrap my head around all of this. It's easier to ignore it all and not deal with it, but the reality is (when it *does* hit) life is short and it makes me miss the family members who are currently not in my life. I spoke with my mother-in-law on Monday about Kathy and she mentioned that it was a blessing in ways that she was declining so rapidly. A blessing for Kathy, but a total blindside for all those left behind. It's true that if you have to die of something so incredibly painful, that our merciful God will let you go quickly. The aftermath for her family is something they have to work out themselves. But I know He knows they are strong enough to do it. It's just hard wrap our heads around thinking about things like 'a month ago she was fine' or the fact that this Sunday is Mother's Day. It's surreal...that's for sure.

Here's to you Kathy Mac. You are loved. You will be missed.


{this was taken five days after Ashley was born, April 30, 1996}
Kathy is kneeling in the front, along with Shelvie and me in the back

{this is a picture of me with my great Aunt Josie (right) and my great Aunt Nicky (left)
with Ashley (four months old) in Waco on our way to Austin so I could finish my degree at UT}

What a smile!

I did two takes of Drew doing his army crawl. The first time I realized the lens was dirty (uh hem...Ashley) and stopped 'film', but not before I caught a really cute smile from Drew. I just couldn't bear the thought of wasting such a great smile, so enjoy!

To Alice and Chris - thank you :-)

I am so utterly horrible with my 'thank you's', but Aunt Alice & Uncle Chris gave this outfit to Drew just after he was born and when I looked at the size, 3-6M, my immediate thought was whether the weather would prove to be an obstacle in his getting to wear it. My kids don't typically have a track record of being large babies and the weather here in Austin can be a bit goofy. This year it proved to be goofy enough that we were able to put him in his super cute cords and waffle shirt for church twice and I thought I would share what a handsome guy he is in his Sunday getup. These were taken just this past Sunday - proof that even in Texas, you can still get "chilly" weather in May - at least in the mornings! Enjoy!

THANK YOU ALICE AND CHRIS!

Making a mountain lion out of a mole hill?

**Additional information**
This is from a fellow mom from my local MOMS club:

This is wild! My neighbor's friend has one of the homes with and iron fence that backs up to the greenbelt. Four kids were playing in her backyard, and they came running inside saying they saw a cheetah in the greenbelt! This happened before the news clip.

It was a big cat. Mountain Lions can cover a huge distance in one day. Hopefully they will catch him (they set traps out) or he will just leave on his own.


Be careful out there.

**THE ORIGINAL STORY**

According to this news story, a "big cat" was spotted ONE BLOCK from our house!! Those of you who have been to our house before know that we have a lot of greenbelt type areas and with the new construction going on not far from our house, it's feasible that they've disturbed the wildlife in our area, but a MOUNTAIN LION?! That had me up worried about the kids going to school on their own. At long last, I decided I was making a mountain out of a molehill...rather, a mountain lion out of a molehill.

Oh, and by the way, if you can see the tail the caption says is supposedly in the picture? Let me know because Neil and I both struggled to see anything that resembles a tail...just lots of grass and leaves and one tree trunk. I'm stumped, to say the least, lol.

***

If I have to give credit where credit is due, you'll have to go to Kevin's blog (ok, so not really *Kevin's* so much as it's Aria's blog) to see where that tail ended up being. I feel sheepish now, not seeing that tail in the first place!! How did we miss that?!

Oh, what passes for entertainment in the Kreitzer house!

So...I finally found all the videos (of poor {ok, scratch that, lesser} quality) and I figured it was time for a trip down memory lane. A lot of these are taken by Ashley - i.e. what happens when you leave your camera laying around.

So, I'll start recent and go back a bit each time. This one showcases Drew in the bathtub doing his calisthenics. You'll have to excuse the doodle shots.