our day of love

Roses are red

Fun Dip is blue

Cupid stopped by with Valentine's, it's true. 

Shirley Temple is black and white (but still a huge hit!)

New pillow cases for boys and dolls are pink

Rhett and Kate are headed for marriage I think. 

 As for us: the married, romantics of the house....

Doug was lucky if he got a kiss.  

He took my advice and bought me face creams for all my wrinkles.  

All those midnight/ 2 am/ 5 am/ runs to the potty and then not being able to fall back asleep is really taking a toll on my face.  :) 

Only 19 more days...

that is until the real party all night starts.  

doug's rockin [literally] 29th!

We rang in Doug's 30th year with some serious awesome tunes thanks to Brandi Carlile (and her twins) and one awesome sister who flew in just for the birthday (and maybe the concert too.) 

So, so good!  Thanks Deedee. 

The douger got a lot of love and was more than spoiled in my opinion....especially that one present that was flat and 46 inches... thanks to his year of saving and all his loving benefactors. :)    

 Our other favorite highlight of the week was finally making it out to the Sam Houston Raceway to see the live Thoroughbred horse races.  I think it is a must see for all Houstonians.  We all loved it, especially our little future Jockey, Cal.  But then again racing horses is in his genes.  My mom grew up with a race track as her backyard and has such wonderful stories of  her dad giving her old race horses and then the horse forgetting that is was not a race horse anymore... and taking off with little Cindy on its back, her falling off the horse, and her and her Dad hiding the broken bones from her Mother.  :)  

(ps. March 10 is Thoroughbred, Ostrich and Camel races for those who can go!  I am supposed to be birthing a baby on that day so we may not make it...But if you want a little Callin excitement for the evening, he is looking for a ride.)  

two: the perfect age I wish I could freeze my baby

I love this little monkey.  He is sweet. Really cuddly.  The best eater.  So good natured.  Independent.  And keeps us smiling and laughing all day. 

 The 2nd annual joint Lewis/Packard family birthday celebration in Arizona!

The actual birthDAY celebration:  Martin Luther King parade  (which he loved and waved and clapped like a professional), picnic at a park downtown. 

That night we had a fun joint celebration with a friend who turned 30....hence the pink birthday cake.  But then again...Rhett did get a purple stroller for his birthday to go with his pink baby doll he got from Christmas.... he is pretty secure with his manhood even with the long locks.  :) 

the magical life of a 4 year old

 My sweet Cal has a very specific way to do everything in life.  Bed time routine, playing with horses and barns, cleaning up toys, quiet time routine, etc.  Learning to ride a bike was no different. And having help from Dad was not in his plan.  But luckily he was a natural and it only took about 5 or 10 "dad minutes" until he was grinning ear to ear in the proudest smile I have ever seen on his face.    

  And from that moment on, he was independently roaming the neighborhood with his favorite Aunt Lindy by his side.  

Oh, to be 4 years old again and be absolutely sure you are the coolest person in the world.   

2011 was the year I...

watched all 7 seasons of the Gilmore Girls
taught preschool for the 4th year
read 25 books
found out I was expecting a baby twice
only wrote in my journal 4 times
bought a electric sander and got great use out of it
gave up running, almost
started scrabooking again, MUCH simpler
discovered Hershey's Bliss Raspberry hot chocolate
didn't win the new car discussion
let my garden turn to weeds
learned a lot about parenting
was blessed in many, many ways

happy 2011.
it was a goodie.  

Ode to Christmas Memories

 It is so fun reflecting back on December....

the nativity plays...

the sugar cookies...

 singing around the piano Christmas eve...

the Classy nativity...

setting out the reindeer treat...

baby dolls, hats and cats, penguins, and horses and wagons...

my favorite painting...

but most of all...

it was all the game nights, shopping, hiking

eating, playing, talking, snuggling...

with our MOST favorite people that we enjoyed the best!

Interview fiascos, part 2.

One of the MANY recent car projects Doug has taken on- new shocks for the Contour.  Got to love his guy.   

If you read my recent post about the way Doug has been interviewing lately, you will appreciate this post a little more.

5:50 am the phone rings.  I don't even have to look at the caller ID.  Doug is in Georgia for an interview.  I already know it is him and I seriously can't believe he has the nerve to call me after I roasted him so good on the blog just last week.

He asks me not to be mad and says he is really sorry for waking me up again. Apparently he snoozed for 1 hour through his alarm clock (not a shocker if you have ever shared a room with him....) He was running late and dropped a contact and it absolutely could not be found.  He was driving around Atlanta with one eye open, one eye closed trying to find a pharmacy unsuccessfully and needed me to look one up for him.

The long story short is he was late for his interview. 

He learned pharmacy's don't carry generic contacts.  

He is beyond blind w/o his contacts and spent the day pretending to be normal. 

He forgot to pack black socks on top of it all.  

White ankle socks and suits always did look good. 

And I could not fall back asleep. 

Grrrr...when will interviews be over!  

(I think I am figuring out why his Mom still thanks me for marrying him.)