Amazing Daddy

My husband is an amazing father and husband. The first week of February we got a major ice/snow storm and I HAD to be at my office. He was home all week with the kids by himself and then I went away on my annual scrapbook retreat for the entire weekend. When I got back, the kids were not only on their best behavior, but I came home to a clean house, and projects done, Not only had he cleaned the house, done all of the laundry, changed the sheets, he had also installed my scrapbook room tv, installed a light in the study and was excited to see me! I have such an amazing husband! Thank you God for that gift!

At Least He Won't Laugh at me When I Cry

BG is once again hunting this past weekend. Actually, the weekend after Thanksgiving is an extended hunt. I realized on Saturday that I had a Blockbuster gift card that I have had for about a year! I decided that the kids would love to go pick a couple new movies to watch, so off we went. While we were there, we had a little issue with SD taking something that we didn't pay for...but that is another story. Since my gift card was for $10, we were able to get 5 movies! The kids got 2 that were only 99 cents, a Hello Kitty Movie and a Curious George movie. We also got a Christmas movie, to kick off the season. I decided since BG was gone, I would rent some chic flicks, so I got Love Happens and Letters to Juliet.

After the kids had gone to bed, I curled up in my bed with my glass of wine and popped in Love Happens. I really like romantic comedies and it was the perfect scenario, wine, sappy movie and my electric blanket. Of course, it was sappy and it made me cry (this is something that has become more prevalent since having kids). I sat there thinking...the best thing about watching a movie like this without BG is that he can't make fun of me crying. I actually started boo-hooing, not just a couple of tears filling up in my eyes. I am glad that I could cry in peace without having to hide it from him :) Of course, it could have been the wine making it worse, either way, it is a cute movie!

Run Forest, Run

BG went on a run over the 4th of July weekend.  He always goes when it is so hot outside, I don't see how he does it.  Anyway, this particular run happened actually on the 4th fairly early in the day and when he got back, he had a whopper of a story for me.

Turns out, his route goes by the park in our neighborhood.  As he was entering the park to go on the trails, there was a man sitting on the curb that looked a little out of sorts.  BG started asking the man if he needed help.  About that time a lady who was standing by her car told him "No, he is just drunk!"  I guess that she was his wife or something and he had partied a little too much the night before and was about 15 sheets by this time!  The guy went on to mention that he had only had 3!  Not 3 beers, but 3 cases!!!  That is a LOT of beer!  The lady got so aggitated by this point that she just drove off because he wouldn't get in the car.

BG continued on his run, but decided he would run back by there just in case the man was still there and needed help.  When he ran back by he was gone, so I guess he decided to get in his old lady's car and go home to sober up!

Cookoff

For 5 or 6 years now BG has been participating in a local cook-off. It has become an annual tradition and even prompted him to purchase his very own smoker on a trailer. I have strict instructions that nothing is to be planned on that weekend! I almost messed that up one year, the year SD was born. It was so hot out there and I stayed out there pretty much the whole time. The cookoff just happened to be 3 days before SD was due, so we were chancing it to begin with. As they were giving out the awards, I started having contractions and was miserable. I downed a bunch of water and we raced to my inlaws house where I could take a cool shower and try to relax. We decided it was time to head home, but weren't sure if we should go home or to the hospital. By the time we got close, the contractions had calmed down and all I wanted to do was go home! Turns out SD didn't come for a couple more days and she only came then because they forced her out!

All that to say that this cookout is integrated into our family life. The kids go up there now and we really look forward to it. It is kind of the beginning of our summer, it means that summer is really here. Well, this year was the last year for that. They are moving the cookoff to April, which will be nice for the weather, but it will be different! If you are in the area, you should come check it out, it is some good people watchin'!

My Husband Rocks Friday

My husband rocks, because he is such a good sport. He totally does not understand my love of running. He runs to stay fit and pretty much hates it, but it works for him. The thing is, this does not stop him from supporting me in my crazy adventures. This past half-marathon that I did, in true BG fashion, was out there cheering me on! He even brought SD, who LOVES watching races and kept her entertained for 2 plus hours!

He has done this from the beginning! My first marathon, he even ordered the plaque and the picture and had it put in a huge shadow box that now hangs in our hallway!

My Husband Rocks Friday

My husband rocks because when I got in my car on Monday morning to go to work, I realized that it was all clean! He had taken it to work on Sunday and had evidently vacuumed it and cleaned the interior. It desperately needed that because we have moved the carseats to the minivan and I still hadn't cleaned the debri that had been left behind! I am not really a car person, so I don't take that great care of the way it looks. But I love having a clean car! If I could afford a monthly pass to a carwash, I would do it in a heartbeat!!

Feelin' Good

I am actually starting to feel good in a bathing suit! Don't get me wrong, I still have 10-15 pounds that I want to lose and a flabby tummy that needs some toning. But I actually don't look that bad, especially after having two kids and gaining over 100 pounds between the two pregnancies. I was super excited when we went to my Brother-in-law's house for May/June birthdays and BG told me that I looked better than my SIL, who I think has a really good body! Points for him!!!


It is weird, it pretty much takes my body an entire year to get over having a baby. About this time two years ago, I was feeling this way, I guess I was feeling hot enough to get pregnant again! :) So, here is to swim suit season and feeling confident!

Zip Code

When we moved two years ago, I had the duty of changing all of our information to our new address. Among those things, was our credit card that we use for gas. I had everything changed before we moved. The funny thing is that BG went to get gas one day. He ended up at a gas station that required you to put in your zip code before you can get gas. So, he put in our then current zip code and it didn't work. He remembered that I had already changed our address, but he didn't remember our new zip code, so he had to get back in his truck and go to another gas station!

I don't know why, but everytime I am at a gas station and have to put in my zip code, it makes me laugh because I think of this story!

My Husband Rocks Friday

My husband rocks because he is such a great dad! Last summer Amy told me about a summer movie deal where you pay $5 per person for a total of 10 movies! The catch is that the movies are during the day. Since BG is self-employed, he has that flexibility. I took the kids while I was on maternity leave last year, but BG picked it up once I went back to work. This year, he decided to do it again. It started this week and he suffered through Space Chimps! The awesome part is that he is even willing to take SD to see Kit Kitridge, eventhough I offered that maybe his mom could take her! A great dad and a very blessed little girl!!

My Husband Rocks Friday

And another edition of why my husband rocks!

My husband rocks because he took it upon himself to install timers on all three of the lamps in our front room. I love having lamps on in the house, but I often go to be before he does and forget to turn them off! So, he put timers on all of them and because he is extra awesome, he varied there times. The main one stays on all day, then in the evening the big one turns on and then the small one. Then the small one remains on all alone for the late evening!

It makes me so happy that those lights are on (and off) and I don't even have to think about it.

My Husband Rocks Friday

My husband rocks because when the Great Flood of 2009 happened, he didn't even call me until it was all taken care of! Gotta love that man!

The Great Flood of 2009

On Monday afternoon, I received a call from BG saying that he had received a call from his mom that he never wanted to receive. She called him and said, "You wouldn't happen to be on your way home, would you?" He made the decision, that although he wasn't on his way home before the call, he was now on his way home. This is how the story was recounted to me...

My MIL was taking SD to the bathroom and after she flushed, she was helping her get dressed and wash her hands. SD said, "Nana, I wet" that is when my MIL realized that she too was wet. She turned around to see water POURING out of the toilet. We still don't know exactly what happened or what caused it, but basically, the hall toilet was overflowing!! She quickly put SD and Linus down for their naps and started trying to get it under control. She wasn't able to turn off the water to the toilet and the tank was not filling up, so the water was continuing to pour out of the toilet. She finally stuck a role of toilet paper in the tank so that the water would stop.

By that time, I think BG was home and they started the task of cleaning up the flood. Basically, the water was all down the hall, in Linus's room, in the kids bathroom, in the front hall and flowing out onto the front porch from under Linus's window! I now have 3 rugs that are still drying out and I am pretty sure that they used every single towel in our house. I ended up doing 6 loads of towels!!!!!

Thankfully, as of right now, there is no damage to our beautiful wood floors or anything else. We still have fans blowing in all the affected areas to help dry them out and the rugs are still a work in progress, but we were very fortunate. As soon as the rugs get dry, I will be using the rug cleaner (that I almost gave away!) to get them all nice and clean!!!

"My Husband Rocks" Friday!

One of the many blogs that I subscribe to had this on it today and I think it is an awesome idea! Click here to read about it! So, here it goes!

My husband rocks, because this week, he read me like a book! When Linus was sick and his fever had soared to 103, I was panicked. Not wanting SD to get sick, I was thinking that maybe we should send her over to my in-laws for the night. Before even mentioning it to him, he looked and me and said, "Do you want me to take SD over to Mom's house for the night?" Yes, Yes and Yes!! It was so great that he just flew into action and could read the worry on my face. Not only did he suggest it, but he packed her bag (with minor supervision - what can I say, I am controlling), got everything together and took her over to his parent's house. The next day he went over there to check on her and called to see if she could stay there another night, just in case. Although I missed SD terribly, it was such a huge relief that I could focus on Linus and that she wouldn't be at as big of a risk of catching whatever he had!

So, that is why my husband rocks!

Priorities in Practice

Sunday night I had a ton that I needed/wanted to get done. I need to make my MIL's birthday present and I was behind on ironing. So when I got done putting the kids to bed and BG had a game board out and two glasses of wine, I was a little less than enthusiastic. But, I chose time with BG over my chores, because he does come before them!

We ended up playing 80's Trivial Pursuit for almost 2 hours and had a great time! He was the trapper keeper, and I was the Care Bear. It was so nice to be able to spend time together uninterrupted by the kids or by the television!

He is such an amazing husband and I am so blessed to have him! I am glad that he instigated the evening and I am glad that I listened to my heart and put my priorities in practice!

Tour de Pastor

BG usually previews homes for his clients before he takes them. This allows him to weed out some homes that he thinks are going to be a waste of time. So the other day he was doing just that. While in one of the hopes he noticed a picture that was out and felt like he knew the guy in the picture. So, he got a little closer and turns out, it was our Pastor's house! He said it was so weird and he almost felt like he shouldn't be there for some reason! It really is a small world!

The Wii

For Christmas this year, BG and I decided that we would get a Wii as our gift to each other. Since there is not much else we needed or wanted, we thought it would be great! The only stipulation was that we get a Wii Fit as well. We have loved doing it and it really is good exercise! Well, BG was doing it one morning and SD decided she would join in. They are doing the running "game" and she was standing next to him saying, "I runnin too!" It was so cute.

She has since also learned how to shoot all sorts of animals on BG's hunting game! I think we have Annie Oakly on our hands!

7 years...

Today is my 7th wedding anniversary and I can't believe it! It seems like it has passed so fast and yet, it seems like just yesterday. So, here are some fun facts from my wedding day...

1. We got married in San Antonio and the weather, a toss up, you never know what it is going to be in Texas. Ended up being a little chilly, but not too cold to be miserable in my strapless wedding dress, even when the "get away" car is a convertable!

2. We had a full open bar, even liquor, which lends itself to the following...

3. My friend Darla (aka Carla) fell leaving the reception, she swears it was the shoes, but... The funniest is that Tessie's at the time boyfriend and one of her exes (who was in the wedding) both helped her up, thankfully someone (I think it was Carla's now husband) had the right mind to take a picture!

4. One of my favorite pictures from the wedding is of Carla and Tessie running to the bathroom in their bridesmaid's dresses. The picture was taken from behind them and they are turning around mid-run looking at the camera.

5. We were talking about our wedding last night at a family Christmas event and reminiscing, My SIL had just had a baby 7 months before and hadn't regained her tolerance, and BG's cousin was finalizing her divorce, lets just say they both had a really good time!

6. Texas Tech (BG's Alma mater) was playing in the Alamo Bowl, the day of our wedding, and he and his groomsmen all wanted to go. This is where I became Bridezilla and asked them oh so nicely to refrain, then threatened BG that if he showed up lit to our wedding, I might just walk down the aisle the other way!

7. And one from the rehearsal, Tessie, although only 5 feet tall packs a mighty little punch! Shannon's husband was nice enough to get the rehearsal and all sorts of other things on film with our camcorder... thankfully, he got Tessie on film making quite the face to the wedding coordinator, who more than deserved it. If I can some how figure out how to get that in an electronic file, I will post it!

So, Happy Anniversary BG! I love you!!

This is like Rocks

That is what BG said as I walked out from giving SD a shower. He was talking about the cereal that he had just made for Linus, and tried to feed him. He asked where the powder stuff that we had given SD was.

Let me explain, he was talking about rice cereal for babies. I have made all of the baby food for our kids, which I started with SD. But the rice cereal seemed too complicated and since a box was not that expensive and they didn't eat it that long, I just used that. Well, when Linus came along, I already knew how to do all of the other food, so to make it interesting, I thought I would try out the cereal to see if I could. So, I went to Sprouts and got some brown rice kernels. Then I took it home and ground it all up into little pieces and stored it in jars. BG unfortunately thought that it was just like the box stuff, and you just mix it with water. But no, you actually have to cook it! I had cooked some earlier in that day and it was in the fridge, and that is what I was referring to when I asked him to give Linus cereal! Oh well, you live and learn!

It did give us a good laugh though.

Mini-Vacation

BG and I just got back from a much needed mini-vacation! We escaped to the deer lease on Thursday night. We went hunting all day Friday and Saturday morning and then left for Texas Tech. This is where BG went to school and we had football tickets and plans to hang out with some old college friends. The game was amazing, but unfortunately, being outside for in the cooler weather really didn't help my cold. We drove back Sunday night and were very glad to be home. I think the kids were happy to have us home as well. SD could barely contain herself and was trying to show off. Linus, well he just snuggled up and was content as can be!

Although it wasn't a glamorous vacation, it was amazing and fabulous for our marriage, which is also good for our kids!

Who is Watching the Kids?

When you go on a trip after you have kids and they are not with you, the first question is always, "Who is watching them?" This of course happened to me when I went to Lubbock and every time I told them that their Dad was, I got the same reaction, "Oh, I bet he will be glad when you get home." Someone actually asked me if his mom was helping him. It got me thinking about how great of a dad BG is. He is super involved and knows most of the day to day details without me having to say anything. The only thing that I had to do to prepare for being away, was write down Linus' schedule and how much he was eating. BG probably could have figured it out, but we had just changed from a 3 hour to a 4 hour schedule and I keep it on the fridge, mainly for his mom, who now that I think of it doesn't really need it either! And as far as SD goes, he needs NO instruction. That is the fabulous thing about my husband. He is very involved, probably does just as much (if not more since he works from home a lot) of the day to day stuff as I do. Come to think of it, a lot of my friend's husbands do the same. I am so thankful for both of my kids that they have a dad that not only provides for them from a monetary standpoint, but is also a very active part of their lives! Sure, he probably needs help remember the details, like what size diapers they wear, or how many ounces to feed them, but I know that if something happened to me, he could carry on with only minor bumps in the road as far as they are concerned.

I love you BG! You are a fabulous Dad (and husband of course)!