Chicken Coop

If you were to look up cool in the dictionary, you might just find a photo of the Robbins family. And adding to their cool factor? Greg built his very own chicken coop... wait for it... so that they could raise their very own chickens and have fresh eggs. Cruella is pure deville with her peppered crown of feathers and Chick Chick still rules the yard! They even let Liam name one and he chose something to the tune of "pick-pocket" only for him to change it to "rocket" later. I totally forgot about these photographs and they still crack me up. It took all 4 men to carry the coop across the yard. I also love the working man's high five and the cousin drivers... aren't they just too cute?

A Sweet Supper

Did I mention before how thrilled I am to be a part of such an amazing supper club with an incredible group of friends? We break it up into 2 month segments which means you are only responsible for hosting once a year... that my friends is totally doable and way less intimidating if you ask me. Unless of course you have to follow the Robbins... wink...

Sayler is OLD

Okay, so not really... I used to think that 30 sounded so old, but as I stated previously, I cannot wait to turn thirty. Don't get me wrong, I have loved my twenties, but it just seems as though you are not really taken seriously until 30. I feel like thirty gives you some rights. Some rights to not care what others think, some rights on motherhood, some rights on no longer being the "green" one at the office...

Sayler entered into her thirties with grace and beauty. We have such a special friendship and I absolutely love her to pieces! She is just plain fun to be around. Period. She has such a positive attitude on life and our friendship seemed to have happened instantly. Not gonna say love at first sight, cause umm that would be a little weird... but really... we totally bonded. She is a true friend and I am so blessed that she is a part of my life. Happy Birthday sweet Sayler... even if we celebrated almost 2 months ago!

Supper Club

I always wanted to be a part of a Supper Club... I remember thinking my parents were a part of some really cool group and when I was a "grown-up" I wanted to gain this elite status. I have officially become a grown-up! And I could not be more excited about being a part of such an incredible group of couples. Our very own supper club. I absolutely LOVE this group! We had our first dinner forever ago... that is just how far behind on blogging I am, but it was a blast. We had a babysitter that took over the kids so that the adults could engage in grown-up conversation. It was the perfect setup and I cannot wait until our next dinner. I was enjoying myself so much that I completely forgot to take pictures... yes, you heard me correctly. I got one of Sayler and Greg and an end-of-the-night shot of Meredith and Liam on the motorcycle - none of which capture the evening. I promise to do better next time. Robbin's, Mraz's, Clarke's, Conner's, Riley's and Kerr's.... thanks for being such fabulous friends and we look forward to many more amazing evenings with you!

Robbin's Fall Festival

The Robbin's put on one incredible Halloween Party Fall Festival. Let's just call it what it was... a total Fall Festival complete with onsite Taco truck for a made-to-order meal, party tables, bounce house, playground, photography setup, balloon clown, pumpkin patch, craft section, and the list continues. It was the very best Halloween party I have ever attended! We had a blast!

Robbins Playdate

I am officially giving up my membership to Gymboree and enrolling in Sayler's Playland.

Big Bang Birthday

This year we wanted to do something really special for Bill's birthday because he totally deserves it. Because he would have nothing if it meant that his son and his wife could have everything. It is his selflessness and his giving heart that makes me want to do even more for him. And we found the perfect gift to let him know just how amazing he is. A very special gift to say how much we love and appreciate our husband, daddy, son, brother, son-in-law, and grandson! A present with a Big Bang, just in time for dove season! A voucher for an over-under shot gun, which he has already turned into a beautiful Berreta!

Homerun

Cold beer, peanuts, the wave, cracker jacks, cotton candy, icecream out of a hat, seventh inning stretch, "take me out to the ballgame." You guessed it... baseball!

Ways to Get Wet

It is Hot. Houston Hot. This means we are in the water alot. And we are always looking for ways to cool off and get wet! Luckily there is a close by splash pad and we tagged along with Ashley and M'Lee to check it out! The kids had so much fun running through the shooting water.

Uno Dino-Rita

Wondering what we have been up to? I took a new job as the family pharmacist and have been extremely busy. The line-up included a cough suppressant and amoxicillin for our dog, Tucker's cold (yes, apparently dogs can also catch a cold... who knew?). Phenergan and bacterial antibiotic for the nasty stomach virus my poor husband caught and Augmentin plus drops for Liam's ear infection which has prompted the scheduling for tubes. To say I am stressed about that would be an understatement, but more on that later. I am pretty certain that the pharmacist has not slept a full night since last Saturday and after a pretty awful cinco de mayo and even more horrible week, I am ready to put in my notice and return to my current job.

Please stay with us as I try to catch up on blogging as I have only posted 1 post in May. What is all that about? cause we have certainly been busy!

Saturday, May 7th we celebrated a first birthday of one very special little boy with dinosaurs! I have spoken a lot about the Robbin's family as we are so grateful for their friendship. I can hardly believe that Sam turned one!

Pizza, Pizza

After hosting the trunk show, we emptied the machine contents into pitchers. No margarita was wasted! Bill and I invited several couples over to help us drink up and order pizza for a casual, low-key evening. Which as you know from my earlier, 15 month post our Friday was anything but low-key. So, after Wyatt's photoshoot, we met up at the house with the Robbins family for a do-over!

Wyatt and Sam are only 4 days apart and Liam is a little over 3 months ahead. I am not sure why I had not realized it before, but this puts our boys in the same class! This was such an exciting discovery!

Would you like Sprinkles?

After receiving and responding to many of your questions ranging from work to diapers to birthdays to photos I have finally decided to act on a new blog project I have been kicking around. Please bare with me while I take on this new challenge and work to turn this blog into an adventure that I hope you will all want to take with me. Stay tuned.

As for today, let's discuss the "Mommy Brain" which can be translated into "I have totally lost my mind," "I think I am going crazy," "How am I supposed to take on one more thing and keep everything straight" or sometimes just the excuse to get out of something!

Ever let your child play with your keys and shut the door just in time to hear the beep beep? And then bounced around like a frantic monkey trying to get them to press the 'other' button so you did not have to break a window? Or maybe you took the locking mania to another level like yours truly and in an effort to keep the boogie man out while you are at home by yourself with a little one for the first time. Maybe you too locked yourself outside of the house while peering inside at your son from a nearby window with the constable waiting on your sister-in-law who lives across town to come to your rescue. Tip: Make sure someone within a 5 mile radius has a spare key to your home and your car! Victim of mommy brain. And I know... You would NEVER lock your kid in the car or God forbid the house because you are super mommy, but neither would I.

Last weekend another mommy fell victim to the effects of the mommy brain. While trying to get the house clean, setting up the perfect play spot with all the right toys, filling the cooler with drinks and juice, setting out an array of appetizers for all age groups, grocery shopping, and in true Martha Steward fashion baking sugar cookies for decorating... she lost her car keys. How in the world could you lose your keys? Not like you had a million things going on at once. This is when we have to stick together as moms because no one else truly gets it. Because not only were there a million tasks to juggle there was also a time clock ticking in the background. Ticking for nap, ticking for daycare, ticking for shopping... for cookies in the oven... for the playdate to begin and who knows what other ticking clocks were going off in her personal and professional life.

So, after a car rescue and pickup the crew began to show up and just like the perfect mom everything was right on time and ready for a playful afternoon.

Reggae Banana

Every good friendship has a story and ours is no different. The story of the Robbins and the Robinsons goes somthing like this...

Bill and I were two weeks into the whole parenting thing when my parents suggested that we get out of the house for a couple of hours. So I finished feeding the baby and we dashed out knowing that we had about 2 1/2 hours before the next round. With those free 2 hours we went where? Babies-R-Us. As if we were not totally consumed enough, but I will say that we needed some supplies and it was meant for a quick dash in and dash out kind of thing. On with the story...

On our way out Bill recognized someone he had hung out with at several work events... pregnant wife in tow. A simple Hi and nice to meet you would have been fine I am sure, but she had that look in her eyes. The one that puts you into tears in the bottle aisle because how the hell are you supposed to know which is BPA free, which nipple size and shape to choose and which brand for that matter. I remember that look. The very same look that walked me out of Babies-R-Us just a few months prior. The look of complete defeat! Open the flood gates of discussion. I am sure that I would have freely given mommy tips that I had learned from my other girlfriends, but let's be honest... I had just come off of 13 weeks bedrest and 2 more sleep deprived weeks with a newborn so I was ready for human interaction. I was full of "I wish someone had told me" moments! In fact, I think that so many moms have selective amnesia after giving birth. They simply choose to forget. Two weeks is the perfect time to get mom information. To manage proper expectations. Although I am not sure that I helped with the look of fear. I am pretty sure I scared Sayler half to death.

They don't tell you that 3 days after you give birth your boobs swell to watermelons, get hot and stand straight up under your chin. Just call me Pamela! They don't tell you that you might have baseballs as ankles so don't walk around so much or that hemorrhoids are just part of the package along with a blown-up donut "Booby prize." They don't tell you to eat or drink before you go to the hospital if you go right before a meal because ice chips just don't cut it or to bring your own pillow with color case so they don't get mixed up with the white hospital ones. They forget to mention buying pampers wipes but one package of huggies for the box because the Huggies box is better as it has teeth to grab the wipes but pampers are much softer. You end up wasting time and money on the wrong damn wipes!

They do tell you about how it is all worth it. How that amazing little life fills you with so much joy and so much love. And really, in the end all the other stuff doesn't matter. It gets forgotten as it should. We ended up spending 2 hours laughing with the Robbins in the Babies-R-Us aisle. The more we talked, the more we laughed. You know how some personalities just mesh? And you can talk to some people like you have known them your entire life? That is how we feel about the Robbins. The fact that Sayler's favorite is cotton candy and that she didn't eat blue m&ms because they turned her mouth blue probably set the friendship over the top, but so our story began and we have been good friends ever since. We could not be more blessed that our paths crossed that day and when they gave birth to their son, Sam we were so thrilled for them.