The Nutcracker

On Saturday, my Aunt Raini treated the girls and me to the Houston Nutcracker. I don't think they have ever seen it. hannah might have seen it a long time ago, but didn't remember it. My cousins, Jacque and Courtney, went with us. We started by having lunch at this really nice restaurant inside of Saks. The pianist invited the girls to come sing. Hannah and Abby jumped at the chance and sang Jingle Bells at the top of their lungs for our dining enjoyment.

After lunch, we headed downtown to the Nutcracker. It is so neat to see all of the little girls dressed up with their Moms and Grandmothers (and Aunts!) in anticipation of the Nutcracker. The show was fabulous. I cannot believe how much the girls loved it. They have been dancing and twirling all weekend. We bought Nutcrackers for souvenirs that even went to church with us today! What a fun day!

Meet My Turkey

I would like to introduce you to my turkey. For the past 2 days, I have been washing, brining, turning, brining some more, rinsing, rubbing and pretty much playing with this turkey. It was a monsterous 23 pound turkey that I wanted to cook for our Sunday School class party. I used the William Sonoma turkey brine and William Sonoma turkey rub. When I walked in my door today after it had been cooking for several hours I could not believe how good my house smelled. In fact, I called my friend Leslie and told her she had to come smell my turkey. After telling me that sounded funny, she came right over like a good friend. I practically pushed her head in my oven so she could see my beautiful feat! This turkey was the most beautiful, juciest turkey I have ever made! The white meat was as juicy as the dark meet. The skin was a golden, juicy brown. The rub was delicious. I love it when I spend this much time on something and it comes out just the way you want it!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Well, the weather outside IS frightful. I cannot believe I am posting about this, but it is SNOWING today in Houston. The kids are SO excited. They have been outside running around in it. We are expected to get an accumulation, but it is still fun. They haven't had snow in 4 years. They hadn't had a hurricane in 20 years before Ike. I guess we brought all the weird weather with us!!!

So Much to Blog About...

Man, do I ever have a jam packed week of activities to blog about...Let's start with the actual day itself, Thanksgiving. What a fun day of family and food! We are blessed to have so much family on each side. We started the day over at Daniel's parents house. Both of his brothers were there with their families, as well as some extended family. It was a beautiful day outside. The kids enjoyed a game of football and red rover outside while they waited on the meal. We had the chance to enjoy a meal with both of his brothers at the same time...which rarely happens since we all live in different cities! The picture you see here is of Daniel's parents with all of their grandkids.

We then went for meal #2 over at my parent's house. Only one of my sisters was able to be there this year, but it was still fun. Her teenage girls were excited that they got to be promoted to the "big table" since Allison and Scott were with Scott's family. We ate until we couldn't eat any more. In fact, I had to put on elastic waist pants just to do the dishes...those workout pants came in handy after all!!!

I don't want to miss this opportunity to list the things I am thankful for: my husband's job in this economy, healthy kids, new friends, old friends, the grace of Jesus Christ who forgives me each time I mess up, and many other blessings that are too numerous to count. Oh, it's a tradition at the Carona house that each year one of us says we are thankful for Coach Bob Stoops, and this year is no different! Boy, we love that man!!!

We headed back on Friday, which was really nice. We had Friday evening to unpack and do laundry and get settled so we could enjoy our Saturday, before settling in to watch OU beat OSU!!!

Obnoxious, Bragging Mom Alert!

Ok, this is really obnoxious, I know, to brag about your kids, but it is, afterall, my blog soooo.... Hannah is on a gymnastics team. While we were in Tulsa she had some private lessons at her old gym. We absolutely LOVE the coaches at SSB and highly recommend them! Anyway, she mastered her back tuck on the floor and can now do a full twist on the tumble track. She was pretty excited. I think I am so excited because I was such a terrible tumbler. I did what I could to get over safely on my backhandsprings in order to make the cheer squad, and really never improved after that. My poor parents shelled out thousands on that backhandspring. Luckily, this comes more naturally to Hannah. I am attaching a couple of videos...very short...they just show her tumbling passes. Thanks for humoring this proud Mama!

The Game!

When we found out we were moving this summer, one of the things that bummed us out the most was missing OU football games. We decided then and there that we would come home early for Thanksgiving and go to the OU Tech game. We knew it wouldn't be a huge game, but thought it would be fun--well, boy, were we wrong! We would have never dreamed it was THE GAME of the year. My whole family went, which is unusual. Allison and Scott hardly ever get to go because of Jack's football schedule and the fact that their kids are so little. We had a GREAT tailgate party. Dad smoked brisket and pulled pork. I got to see my cute niece, who is now a freshman at OU. Daniel got to wear that lovely parka. I got to spend time with the family. AND, we got to watch the best football game ever!!!! What a blast! Hoping for a repeat this weekend!!!

Mother Knows Best

We got in VERY late Friday night after driving all day from Houston to Tulsa. Saturday, we loaded up and headed out to the big OU Tech game. (More on that later!) As we were walking out the door, Daniel's Mom asked him where his coat was. "I don't have one, but I have on several layers and this big sweatshirt." To which she replied, "Here, take this lovely parka with you. I saved it from your high school swimming days. It's really warm. I used to put it on you when you got out of the pool." Daniel said, "Mom, I don't need that". I advised him to make his mother happy and take the parka. It turned out to be pretty cold and although not at all fashionable, the parka provided warmth. It also provided for lots of laughs!!! Check out my little cookie monster below!!

Careful, we can hear you laughing!!!!

Things I Wish I Could Check Off My List

Going to the grocery store- we always have to go back

Laundry- there's always more

Exercise- why can't we ever be "done" with this?

Cleaning- Erma Bombeck said housework is like stringing beads with no knot at the end. As soon as you put one on another one is falling off

What do you wish you could check off your list? Would love your comments on this one!

Deck The Halls

Sunday after my parents left we dragged out all of the Christmas stuff to start decorating the house. I know, you are thinking this is ridiculously early. It is, but since we are leaving town Friday for a week, this was really our chance to do it. It's kinda tricky decorating in a new house. You have to find "new homes" for all of your decorations. Most everything has found it's place and the house looks very festive, but I do have one last box and a few items on my dining room table. This is quite a bit of work for 4 weeks worth of decorations!!!

The fun part was finding several things that we "lost" when we moved. I think the packers just stuck some random things in the Christmas boxes so it was nice to reclaim those items (i.e. the shelf that goes above our toilet!)

Oh, and I promised my friend Karen that I would decorate my tree in my I love Tulsa tank top...sorry Karen, I failed you!!!

Gold Medals

Hannah had her first gymnastics meet of the season on Saturday in Victoria, Texas. Daniel, being the great husband and dad that he is, agreed to take her to the all day meet so that I could spend the day with my parents. She is on a tumbling and trampoline team. You might not know, but trampoline is actually an olympic sport. And, if you are laughing at that, go outside on your kids trampoline and try to bounce without moving all over the trampoline. Throw flips and twist in the mix and it's really tough. She LOVES it. The girl can go for hours jumping and tumbling and never wants to stop. She was so excited, she got first on the Double Mini (it's basically like a spring board and your run, jump on the board and do some sort of twist down) and she got 1st in females on the tramp. (a boy beat her!) They didn't compete on floor this time. She was super excited and even wore her medals to school today.

A Dining Marathon

My parents came in town this weekend. We had such a great time, but all we did was eat! No wonder I can't lose weight!!! Friday night, my Aunt had us over. She promised she would keep it simple, but she managed to work all day and come home and throw together a wonderful meal of prime rib, homemade mac and cheese, salad, and asparagus. It was delicious.

Saturday morning we went out for a great breakfast and then headed out to The Nutcracker Market. Now, for those of you who live in Tulsa, this is like the Holiday Mart times 1000! It is HUGE!!! And that's an understatement. We got there about 10:15. The doors opened at 10:00. The line to get tickets was at least a quarter mile long. Crazy! It was so packed when we got inside that you could hardly shop. Now, some women love this kind of crazy, deal finding, fight with stranger shopping, but not me. In fact, I can't stand it! We lasted about 2 hours before heading out to much less stressful shopping.

Saturday night I had invited my good friend Leslie to go have drinks with us before dinner. Her hubby was out of town so she came solo. My Mom wanted to meet the gal that saved me from my loneliness here. I guess they passed the test because we were able to convince Leslie to go to dinner with us. As luck would have it, it was her birthday so I'm glad she had a night out.

We went to a great Italian Restaurant called Amici's in Town Square here in Sugar Land. It was absolutely delicious. My Mom was quite smitten with the Maitre'd, Bruno, pictured next to Fran. I was quite smitten with the food!!

This morning they went to church with us and then we went out for a HUGE brunch at the club. Seriously, all we did was eat! It was a great weekend and I am thrilled they came!

Blog Award

I have been tagged with a blog award. This might be my first and only blog award ever!!!

The rules of the award are as follows:

1: Post the award on my blog
2: Link to the person who gave it to me...http://paperdolldesignsblog.blogspot.com/
3: Link to the originating post - here
4: Pass the award on to 5 people.
5: Post the rules for the recipients

So, I am awarding my sister, Allison, who gave into peer pressure and started a blog. Number 2 goes to my friend "P", who has two great blogs. The third award goes to my friend Annie, who was part of my inspiration for starting a blog. Fourth goes to my friend, Alethia, another one who gave into peer pressure. And last, but not least, my childhood friend, Lori, who is in the process of adopting from Ghana.

Pass it on, girls!!!

Hormones

Being the mother of 3 girls, I have been bracing myself since the first birth for the day the hormones kick in. Poor Daniel, surrounded by 3 daughters, 1 wife and 2 female dogs. The other day I heard Hannah crying in her room. I went in there to check on her and she said, "I don't know why I am crying!" Oh brother..not this. The other day, when we were on our way to College Station, she started crying and said, "Mommy, it's happening again." To which I replied, "what is?" and she said, "I'm crying and I don't know why!" Oh goodness. Puberty is going to be long and rough. And, Hannah, if you are reading this, please don't cry!!!

The Real Tailgate Party

Saturday we drove to College Station to watch OU and A&M play. It was an easy drive...only about an hour and a half. I was really excited about this because my Uncle Larry is infamous for his tailgate parties and we invited ourselves!! His daughters both went there and he now has a son there and one that's a senior in high school. Kristen, his oldest, couldn't go to the game, but Kelly, Josh and Jason were all there. It had been so long since I had seen them. They have grown up so much, and Kelly is just beautiful!! Anyway, I mentioned how excited the kids were about this. When we were getting close I announced that we were 5 minutes away. Ellie Grace asked "5 minutes from what?" I replied, "the football game". To which she said, "Oh, man! When are we going to do that thing where we sit in chairs?" Too cute!!! They absolutely LOVED the tailgate party. He puts on quite a spread. They get there the day before the game to set up the tent and claim their space right across from Kyle Field. He brings in a whole set-up. We feasted on brisket, shrimp, sausage, corn on the cob, pasta salad, cole slaw, dips, cookies, brownies...you name it! They even had some little games set up like horseshoes, etc. The kids didn't want to leave. We did make it to the game. Football speaking, it was a blowout, which was nice because we were sitting in the sun and it was hot! We stayed to watch the bands. The A&M band was AMAZING and the kids loved watching them. It really made the OU band performance seem a little high school! We stopped back at the tailgate party and stayed for awhile. It was just so much fun. We are going to go back next season and not even go into the game!!!

Tailgating

This weekend we had plans to go to the A&M vs. OU game in College Station. My uncle Larry tailgates there every game so we made plans to tailgate with them. The girls have never tailgated. So...I described what we would be doing at a tailgate party. "We sit in these chairs, eat lots of food, visit with friends, listen to football on the radio..." The girls had a precious idea of having a "practice tailgate party". We got out the chairs and set them up in the driveway, they brought the cd player outside and we rocked out to High School Musical 3 while the girls cheered with pom pons and danced in the street, waiting for Daddy to come home with Chik-Fil-A. We had our very own block party! It was super fun!!!

Electric Houses

Today Daniel and I had the privilege of going to school to view the 4th Grader's electric houses. This was something they have been working on in science. They had to start with a shoe box and wire the house using a battery to make the house "work". They had light bulbs and ceiling fans (miniature, of course). It was really quiteimpressive. They then decorated their rooms for fun. Hannah was assigned the game room. She did a great job and she loved having us at school to show off her work. She also loved that we brought her Chik-Fil-A for lunch. I have attached a picture of Hannah with her BFF from school, Sarah. Sarah is a darling girl that we met at Meet the Teacher and they have been inseparable ever since.

Trick or Treat

We started off our Halloween at a friend's house. She had a little get together from 4 to 6 which was just great. We would have been sitting at home asking how long till it gets dark. They had dinner, arts and crafts, a pinata and cupcake decorating. It was a lot of fun and a great way to pass the time. When it was time for trick or treating, Hannah went with several friends in the neighborhood. I was thrilled for her that she was included, but the Mom in me was kinda sad we got dissed. Daniel and I took the girls to church for a carnival. It was fun..they had lots of inflatables and games. We topped that off with trick or treating in the neighborhood. The weather was absolutely perfect. Abby and Ellie Grace both dressed up as different versions of Gabriella from High School Musical, and Hannah was a gymnast. Oh, and I guess I should mention it was Daniel's birthday. Poor Dad! He always gets the short end of the stick. We will be celebrating this weekend!!!

Scooby Doo

I know you probaby figured I would be posting pictures of my kids, but first things first. Daniel and I were invited to an awesome Halloween party. We dressed up with our friends, Leslie and Phillip, as the gang from Scooby Doo. I cannot believe I actually got Daniel to get into a costume, but he really got in touch with his inner Shaggy. He did a great voice to boot! The party was at this beautiful house complete with buffet, full bar, and d.j. When we walked in the door, we received applause and the d.j. immediately started playing The theme from Scooby Doo. It was really hilarious!

More Pumpkin Fun

Today I had the privilege and pleasure of helping in Ellie Grace's class. They were carving pumpkins. It was a great science activity for the kids. They got to feel the goo inside the pumpkin, observe it's characteristics (whether or not it had a stem, the size, smooth or bumpy), and do a little math sorting and counting of pumpkin seeds. Ellie Grace was thrilled that I was coming to her class today to help. It is so much fun to watch your children interact in a setting other than home and watch them interact with other children. The kids were precious and had a great time.

Pumpkin Carving

Last night was our annual pumpkin carving. The best part about it for me is that all of our homework, baths and reading had to be done in order for it to start. No arguments from anyone. The girls each took turns doing the carving and pulling out the seeds and goo. Abby mostly enjoyed playing in the goo. Mom washed the seeds and cooked pumpkin seeds. I am a little embarrassed to tell you that we have never cooked pumpkin seeds before. The girls actually liked them. We held a few seeds out that they plan to plant in our flower bed in hopes to grow some of their own pumpkins (I'll keep you posted on that one!)

On a side note, as we were discussing who made the pumpkins (God did, of course!), it dawned on me how awesome it is that God gave us the pumpkin. What fun it makes for Halloween. We couldn't make a jack-o-lantern out of an orange or apple. What a fun tradition every year to stick your hand inside a gooey pumpkin and toast pumpkin seeds. As I told my kids, "Thank you God for pumpkins!"

BBBRRRRR!!!!!

I SO wish I could have taken a picture of my kids today, but it would have sent Abby over the edge. (she is extrememly sensitive) The temperature when we left for school was 38. I know for most of you reading this in Tulsa it was in the 20s, but 38 is now FREEZING for us. We have adapted very quickly to the warmer climate. My kids all had coats, gloves and Abby even put a Jacqueline Kennedy style leopard print hat on. It was really cute. We get REALLY excited now for cold mornings so we can wear all of our cold gear. Keep in mind, the temp is going to get up to 67 this afternoon. I don't think we will be needing those gloves, but it was sure fun this morning.

It's A Small World

Last week at church, we met this couple that had just moved from Tulsa earlier in the summer. As I was looking at their nametags, her last name seemed really familiar. It then dawned on me. I said, "Did you by any chance teach at Metro and have my nephew Jack in your class?" She said, "Yes, oh my goodness!" Can you believe that? What are the odds that we both moved during the summer to the same city? We went to lunch that day eager to exchange stories about our moves and find out how the other was adjusting. Our kids are close in age and we had a good visit. Come to find out, they are also huge OU fans. So, Saturday, we had them over to watch the OU football game. We really enjoyed their company and had lots of fun and we are just so thrilled to have another family with whom we can watch the games!

By the way, the song playing right now is my new favorite song. They sang it at church yesterday. A lady shared that she sang this song over her children as they slept through the hurricane. The lyrics are perfectly beautiful for such a situation and I wish I had known this song back then!!

Loose Tooth

Well, Hannah lost a tooth this weekend. It's funny, it's her 10th tooth to lose, but it doesn't seem to diminish the thrill. She was seriously excited. I went to sleep before Hannah. Evidently, she was up typing a letter to the tooth fairy. Below is her letter and then her response:

Dear Tooth Fairy 10/25/08
I just lost my 10th tooth. (Double Digits.) If you could get me a My Mebas that would be great, but if you can not it is okay. Can you get me a stuffed animal that is a bunny, monkey or a webkinz that is new.
One day I called your assistant when I was in Destin, Florida. I told her that I wasn’t home.
What is your email address? What is your real name? Please write on the back the answers. You can use my pencil or pen.

Sincerely Hannah

response letter:

Dear Hannah-

What a nice letter. Thank you so much for writing for writing me a letter. I usually only pick up a tooth when I work, so it was nice to get it.

I am sorry I didn’t get you a stuffed animal or a My Mebas. I had lots of boys and girls loose their teeth tonight and I was very busy. I hope you can save up to something you really want.

I don’t have an e-mail address b/c I am very busy. As for my name, I can’t give that away! It’s a secret- and Santa Clause only knows my name.

You are such a sweet girl. Say hello to Abby and Ellie Grace. And say hello to your mommy and daddy to- do you know that I have all of their teeth too?

Love
The Tooth Fairy

My Little Disciple

Abby is so sweet and has the sweetest heart and she has made it her mission to make sure EVERYONE knows about Jesus. Today, she comes home and says, "Mom, I told Michelle about Jesus. She wants to have Him in her heart, but her Mom doesn't believe and won't let her. I told her 'it's ok, your Mom doesn't have to know" (CRINGE) "She said her Mom is Jewish, so you know what that is Mom?" "Yes, Abby, I know." "Anyway, do you have to be baptized to go to Heaven or can you just believe?" "You can just believe" "Good, b/c I don't think her Mom will let her be baptized. Anyway, me and Kyra and Megan are starting a club at recess. It's a telling people about Jesus club. We are going to go around and talk to everyone until they all have Jesus in their hearts.

What a sweet girl! I'm sure the little Jewish parents aren't liking us much right now, though.

Be Still

Last year on the last day of my Bible Study, we had share day. One of the ladies shared that she was stepping down from leadership because she just felt like she needed more time. Time to enjoy her kids, time to play, time to be a wife, just time to rock her babies. I remember being so envious. I have spent the last few years being so busy with church, Bible Study, school, volunteering, etc. that I think I missed out on just being. I remember as I was listening to her thinking how sad I was that my kids would all be school aged this year and I could not take time off to rock babies and be a wife. It's funny how God took that small desire in my heart and made it come to fruition, even though I had never dreamed it would be a move. When we decided to move, I made a promise to myself that I would not commit to anything for the first year. No leadership positions, no PTA positions, no volunteering commitments, etc. I am in absolute heaven. Even though my kids are at school all day, this has freed me up to just "be". When the classroom needs a reader, I can go because I am not busy. When my husband calls for lunch, I can go because I am not busy. When a friend wants to go shopping, I can go because I am not busy. I know this time will pass quickly and soon I will need to step up to the plate, but for me and this school year, being still has been a gift.

Boo

To my fellow friend blogger, I promise I did not intend to copy your blog today. It just so happens that we were booed last night. If you don't know what it means to be booed, click on the link above and read my friend's post. After school today, we went to Walgreens and gathered up our booing treasures and set out to boo some friends. Now, our boo instructions said we needed to boo 2 people, but we just could settle on 2 people so we went for 4. Oh my goodness did the girls ever have SO much fun. I drove the getaway car and they would run to each door, leave the "goods" and ring the door bell and run!!! A ding dong ditch with your Mom driving the getaway car. How cool is that? At our first stop, we were busted by the barking dog. Their Mom came out, but she has kept our secret and not told the kids who did it. The next house we were safe. Abby was so cute, she left the stuff on the doorstep and ran all the way to the car as fast as she could. Um, Abby, I think you forgot to ring the doorbell. "Oh, yeah!" LOL. The next house the Mom spotted us off and the last house we were safe. The girls were laughing so hard and it was quite inexpensive fun to be having with my girls. They absolutely loved it.

The Stars At Night...

Are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. This may sound goofy, but this morning I got up early to go for a run. It was about 5:30 and I was jogging along, something prompted me to look up and oh my goodness, what a sight. The stars were beautiful. We live kind of out of the city. There are no businesses around us, only houses. So, not alot of city lights. I'm not used to this. We could not see stars from where we lived in Tulsa. And, when I say I saw stars, I didn't just see one or two. I saw the Big Dipper and many other stars. It was absolutely heavenly. The air was crisp and cool and the stars were shining and it was just a glorious way to start the day.

Aunthood

I have the world's best nieces and nephews. I also happen to have the world's best Aunt. When I was a teenager and in my 20s, I would come to Houston to visit my Aunt. She always spoiled me. We would go do fun things and when I had kids, she would spoil my girls. I have learned from the best. I would have never dreamed that someday my nieces would be coming to Houston to visit me. I'm so thankful for the role model I had so that I can try to be that great of an Aunt.

What a wonderful visit I had with Kaylee last week. I feel so honored that a 15 year old would want to spend her days off from school with an old housewife, but for some reason she did. We had fun shopping, going to museums, eating out, and movie-going, but my favorite part of my time with her was talking about the Lord. She is a teen that is on fire for Jesus. She really has a good head on her shoulders and I am the one who was blessed by her visit. Thanks for spending your week with me, Kaylee. I look forward to many more fun visits!

The Facts of Life

Well, you take the good you take the bad....and the good this week was going to my ladies' night at church and listening to Lisa Welchel give her testimony. I dragged my 15 year old niece, Kaylee, who wasn't even real sure what TV show I was talking about. We decided to be dorks and sit on the front row. We got to meet her and visit for a minute. Kaylee ended up having fun though. Lisa, aka "Blair", was adorable. She was so sweet and down to earth. She really had a good message to share. She really liked Kaylee and gave her a free book. I even bought her autobiography and she autographed it for me. I got to take my picture with Blair!!! Hey, what can I say, I am easily impressed!!!

Cold Weather

A cold front has come to town. Not the kind most people are used to, but a cool 74 degree day. Kaylee and I laughed at people (sometimes to their face) as we went about our day. People were dressed in tall boots, sweaters, and we even saw a little girl wearing gloves. (meanwhile, I am in short sleeves and open toed shoes) It was really hilarious. The best part came when we went to lunch and I predicted my Aunt would show in a sweater. She was in a sweater alright. It's so funny how everyone here thinks it is cold. I bet they pull out their ski clothes when we hit the 60s!!!

Kaylee

My niece, Kaylee, is in town for a few days celebrating her fall break. I am so thrilled that she is here and so honored that she would spend her fall break with us! I picked her up last night at the airport and we came home to a block party. It was fun. The kids were all playing outside and we cooked out. Today, Kaylee and I went to the Holocaust Museum in Houston. I was puzzled as to why Houston had a Holocaust Museum, but we learned that alot of the Jews escaped to Galveston so the story told in the Museum is about the Houstonian Jews. It was very interesting and really sad. If you are ever here you should go see it.

After the museum, we met Daniel for lunch at a Mexican restaurant here called Escalante's. We caught him off gaurd by having the waitstaff sing Happy Birthday to him. He was a good sport. He even let us treat ourselves to pedicures after lunch. We have 2 more fun filled days planned and I am loving every minute of having her here!

Praise Music

I love to start my day by listening to praise music. I am not very good about taking the time to sit down and read my Bible, but listening to praise music and getting my heart and mind set on God is my favorite way to start the day. This morning, this is the song that was playing and it got me off to an extra good start. Turn your volume up and enjoy!!!

Weekend In Dallas

Friday morning we headed to Dallas. Of course, one of our kids woke up with a fever and sore throat. Why does that always happen when you are heading out of town??? Daniel's parents were here to care for the kids so we headed up to big D. We were so excited just to have some adult time with no kids. When we got to Dallas we did some shopping and then checked into the hotel to get cleaned up for the night. We were so excited to see our good friends, Mike and Sheri, who moved to Dallas in May. They had some other friends coming in for the weekend so we were getting together for drinks before dinner. Their house was amazingly beautiful, as I suspected it would be, and it was so fun to be with them again. We miss them!!!

After drinks we met my parents for an excellent steak dinner in honor of Daniel's birthday. (His birthday isn't until Halloween, but this was our chance to celebrate together!) Dinner was delicious, and not to belabor the point, but it was GREAT to have adult time.

Saturday morning we headed off to the fair for the big OU Texas game. The game was a lot of fun. It would have been more fun with a win, but we were just happy to be there cheering them on. Last year, when OU beat Texas, we ding dong ditched Daniel's brother and wife and left some "Texas Sux Beer" on the doorstep. So, although we are hundreds of miles away, we know they are planning something so I will let you know when we get harrassed. We did have to listen to their family sing "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You". So, David and Amy, this post is dedicated to you and your big win!!!!

Grandma's Cookies

I remember when I was a little girl, my "Nenaw" always had a package of M&Ms waiting for us when we got to her house. We couldn't wait to get there and go look in her drawer and sure enough, there were always M&Ms! Well, Daniel's Mom, Grandma, has started a similiar tradition with chocolate chip cookies. She always has homemade chocolate chip cookies waiting when they come to her house. Sometimes, she would even bring over personalized containers of homemade cookie dough for each child.

My Mom, Juju, has heard about these cookies. So, not to be outdone, she has tried her hand at the cookies. She made a big batch, and the girls didn't eat them. "Too crispy", they said. So, Juju made another batch. "Still not like Grandma's", they said. Juju is getting frustrated at this point. She is not about to let Grandma get the upper hand on the cookies. She made another batch, this time consulting Grandma. Finally, Abby said "So so so so close".

Hannah has been doing creative writing at school. She had a sheet that she used for brainstorming. One of her story ideas was about Grandma's cookies. I'm telling you, Grandma and cookies are synonomous at this house. Well, Grandma and Papa came to town today. And, wouldn't you know, Grandma and all 3 girls are in the kitchen making cookies.

New Wheels

I've mentioned that we ride bikes to school every day. Well, Ellie Grace has literally worn out her bike. Her current bike has training wheels and one of the wheels is eroding. I have tried taking the training wheels off, but this stress her out because the bike doesn't have a kick stand. She won't have anything to do with it. So, in hopes of getting her to ride "a big girl bike", I surprised her with new wheels yesterday. She loves it. Her favorite feature, "the kick stand"! LOL! She did pretty good on it. Hopefully it won't be long before she's proficient enough that we can ditch the old bike.

10 Good Things About Our Move

Since I have listed off numerous things that I miss about Tulsa, I thought I would make a top 10 list about things that I like about our move/Sugar Land. These are in no particular order.

10. Walking the kids to school

9. Swimming Pool in back yard

8. The weather (yes, as much as people told me I would hate it, I am loving it!)

7. The shopping

6. Small town feel (and I thought Tulsa was a small town :))

5. The friends I have made

4. The club we joined...tennis, workout, social, etc

3. The church we joined (I miss our old church, but am glad we were able to find a new one)

2. The lush green landscape. Everything is green and tropical and inviting

1. Cheap Labor!

Boomer Sooner!

Friday after school we headed to Waco, TX to meet my parents for the OU game Saturday. It dawned on us that this was EG's first OU football game. The kids were all pretty excited. Of course, we could check into the local Holiday Inn and they would be excited. Anyway, we stayed at the Hilton Waco, which is where the OU team has stayed in years past, so we were hoping they would stay there again. It was the team hotel alright, for Baylor! That's ok. They were all very nice.

It was a beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately, in a football stadium, that can be HOT! And, hot it was. The fun for the kids lasted about as long as their snow cones. Ellie Grace played it cool for her first game. Daniel asked her what she thought about it and she said, "Daddy, I have been to Sam's (her 9 year old cousin) games before. I know what these are all about!" LOL...Sam's games are just on a little smaller scale than OU games.

I tried to get a cute family pic for a Christmas card, but it didn't work. We tried and tried, but getting 5 people to smile and look decent at the same time is an arduous task. By the way, Ellie Grace has been playing OU cheerleader ever since. I think she enjoyed her first game!!! Next stop, Dallas, TX for the big Red River Rivalry!!!

The Western White House

This weekend we went to Waco to go to the OU game. More on that in the next post. The highlight of the weekend, was traveling 20 miles outside of Waco to go see the town of Crawford, Texas. Crawford is home to the Bush Ranch, sometimes referred to as The Western White House. Daniel commented on the way there that he heard he was going to the ranch this weekend. We knew we wouldn't be able to see the actual house, but thought it would be a neat place to go see. The town is really cute. Very vintage western Texas. There is one gas station, which is also a restaurant, and a little souvenir shop. There really isn't much besides that. When we were at the gas station, Daniel asked a local where the Bush ranch was located. He gave us directions and told us we wouldn't be able to see anything, but if lucky, we could see a secret service agent blocking the gate. There are signs all over the road that read "no parking", "no standing", etc. That was our clue that we were getting close. Our next clue came with a slew of helicopters. Oh my goodness were we excited. Our kids thought this was so neat. The helicopters were landing. Holy cow, we were in the presence of the President of the United States. There was one helicopter that looked different. Most of the helicopters were black, but one was white on the top and black on the bottom. We were certain this was the Presidential helicopter. (When we got home we looked it up on the internet and this was confirmed). I took pics of the helicopter, but you have to look long and hard to see it.

When we rounded a corner, we came upon a police guarding the entrance. We slowed down, I asked if I could take his picture (I didn't want him to think I was pulling out a weapon or something). He relented before scolding us and telling us to get a move on. We went a little further down the road, but we really didn't know how to get out of there so we turned around on a dirt road. When we went back past the gate, a black helicopter swarmed in on us. We were laughing because we knew by this time they had run a check on our license plate, knew exactly who we were and every ticket we ever had. (I wonder if they found my blog??!!) They were very obviously checking us out because after some time hovering our car, they must have realized we were a nobody because they flew off. We turned our radio to Fox News and they were reporting live from the Western White House because the President had just arrived. How exciting! We saw it all!

This may sound really silly reading about this in a post, but it really was fun. The kids were thrilled. We decided right then and there that we need to plan a trip to Washington, D.C. The kids were so excited and into it that they would love to see D.C.

A Good Move

As we try to evaluate our move through each person's eyes, we make a judgement on whether this move has made our life better or worse. (You know, the old "are you better off than you were 4 years ago?" question). For each of us, there are definitely pros, but some things that we miss about Tulsa. However, 2 members of our family haven't even looked back. Their lives are so much better and they are so much happier. Sadie and Coco, our beloved labs, LOVE Sugar Land. There are trails and sidewalks everywhere. We are outside all of the time on walks or bike rides. They get so much attention because we are outside all of the time. Coco is my new running partner. Sadie walks with me everyday to take the girls to school. They have definitely prospered from this move!!!

Yellow Hair

When our last child was born, we were surprised to see that she had blonde hair. Over the last 5 years, the blonde has turned into brown. She still thinks of herself as a blonde, even though it really isn't that blonde anymore.

Friday Ellie Grace was "Queen" at school. When you are the queen, you tell about your family, your favorite colors, activities, etc. The other children listen and draw a picture about you and something you have told them and the teacher compiles it into a book. Ellie Grace LOVED being queen. Matter of fact, she was still wearing her tiara this afternoon. She was so excited to get her book on Monday. We talked about it all weekend. When she came home she said "Mommy, everyone in my class colored me with brown hair. Isn't that silly? They don't know I have yellow hair!" Don't worry, Ellie Grace, we will get that yellow hair back when you are older!!!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Sometime in the middle of the night, a burning hot Abby climbed in bed with us. Now, if you are a Mom, you know I didn't get much sleep. I finally got out of bed, took her temperature, gave her some motrin and settled her back in her own bed. An hour and a half later when the alarm went off, I was exhausted. I put some breakfast in the oven, went upstairs to wake the other 2 girls, made lunches and climbed back in bed. My sweet, darling husband made sure they got off to school safely while Abby and I slept. You can imagine my surprise when a friend called to tell me that she had forgotten picture day. Oh my!! How could I not remember?? I don't even know what my kids looked like when they left for school. I called Daniel and asked him, but he's a guy...he doesn't know. I wish I had taken a picture after school. The clothes were fine, not picture worthy clothes, but at least they matched. However, Ellie Grace's hair was priceless. I asked her if anyone helped her with her hair before pictures and she said, "no, I fixed my own hair today!" (as if I couldn't guess) I wonder when retakes are???

Sooner Football

One of the hardest things about moving to Texas is missing OU football. We LOVE it (and that's an understatement)! We have season tickets, we tailgate, we have watch parties...we plan our Saturdays around OU football. Daniel's younger brother lives in Katy and he assures us that he has seen every OU game since 2000. "Don't worry, they are all televised". Well, the first one, on Labor Day Weekend, was pay per view and Comcast had issues with their feed so we missed that one. The second game we saw, but after 2nd quarter the local station here switched to a different game. The third game we were really excited for. It had national coverage on ESPN. What could go wrong? Well, maybe a little thing called "Ike". No power, no cable, no OU game. Bummer! This weekend, the game was scheduled to be on Fox Sports. We had a wedding reception to go to and my parents were in town. So, being the loyal fans that we are, we DVRd the game and turned off our cell phones. We decided we would watch it in "real time" after the party and we didn't want to have any score updates so we could enjoy the game. We came home, got in our comfy clothes, pressed start and watched the Astros play baseball....are you kidding me? The local station pre-empted the OU game for the Astros game. The OU gods must have it out for us. They did replay the game later that night so at least we got to see part of it, but this has been a bummer of a season for us. We are taking the kids to Waco this weekend to watch OU play Baylor....wonder if we will actually get to watch the game???

Back in the Saddle Again

We are back in Houston and back to the grind. We walked in last night to find that we did have water damage and mold growing on a wall in the master closet. We have cut out the sheetrock and are trying to dry out the wall while we wait for an inspector to get around to us. The city is starting to look back to normal, although reminds me more and more of the ice storm we had last year in Tulsa. There are bundles of branches waiting to be picked up on curbs, people still without power and schools and offices still closed. Daniel's office building sustained quite a bit of water damage...he said his hallway just looks crazy, although his office is in good shape.

We had a great week, and one of the highlights was that we were able to sign a lease on our house in Tulsa that hasn't sold. There were 19 houses for sale in our neighborhood and the ones that were selling were taking such a hit. we feel so blessed that we were able to find the perfect family who wants to live there for a year. I know this lifts a great burden off the CEO of the Herrold family!!!

The Bucket List Part 2

I was supposed to stop eating when we moved. I was supposed to be lonely and depressed and workout all the time. Instead, I meet wonderful people who take me to lunch or set up lunches to introduce me to people. Along comes Ike, and no power, so out to eat again. And, now I am back to Tulsa only to eat out again and again and again with friends and family. 6 weeks straight of pure eating pleasure. God bless elastic!

Evacuees

Yes, that's what we are--hurricane evacuees. You know, I had been begging God to bring me back to Tulsa, but this wasn't quite what I had in mind. :) Nonetheless, we had a great day today. Daniel was productive in the Tulsa office. He honestly wouldn't have gotten one thing accomplished in Houston. His office was closed due to no water, cell service was rare and no power at our house. The kids had a great time visiting old friends. I was driving them all around, just like old times. Hannah and Abby are spending the night out and Ellie Grace was so tired she passed out here. Daniel and I stopped by to see some great friends tonight. Linda (remember, my BFF that is 20 years my senior) ran errands with me today.

We still have no power at home, no school through at least Wednesday so we are in our new favorite vacation spot.

Oh, and this is the funniest story. We put our dogs in our backyard of our Tulsa house that we still own. Somone showed the house today and she called me frantic and said "Amanda, you have 2 very big dogs in this yard"!!!! I laughed hard. I guess I should have warned people we were back and so were the dogs!!!!

We're Alive!

Yes, PTL we survived. It was a LONG scary night during Ike. The kids all slept in our room, but around 2 .m. the winds were so strong we were afraid something would fly through the window and if glass hit any of our precious babies we would never forgive ourselves. So, we moved the to the closet at 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. We lost power at 2:15 and of course the girls were scared so I was in the very small, hot closet with them. We truly are so blessed. Our house didn't sustain any damage, but we lost our fence..completely gone except for 1 section and we lost one tree. The power has yet to be restored so yesterday afternoon we decided enough was enough and we headed for T-town. We made it home at 1:30 a.m. One of the problems with staying was that we were running out of food, and even if you were lucky enough to find a grocery store that was open, they were virtually out of food. It will be days before they restock the shelves. Our neighborhood looked like a war zone. I wish I would have taken pictures to show you, but you are probably seeing enough on tv. I will never forgot the roaring sound of the wind for hours on end. We will not be staying through one of those again. I can't imagine if it had been a Category 4.

As we left town last night, we noticed all the small towns without power. It took us 2 hours out of Houston before we even stumbled on a town with power. 2 hours! That's amazing. When we saw gas stations that were open the cars were lined up 75 deep to get gas. We had filled up before the storm so we had enough gas to make it to Dallas, thankfully.

We brought the dogs with us and dropped them off at our "winter home" last night. It was very bittersweet. I miss my house. I miss my neighborhood. I miss my Tulsa life. But, no tears!!!! Daniel was able to go into the Tulsa office today, so he will actually be more productive in Tulsa than in Houston. The girls school is cancelled for the next few days so we will be here indefinitely.

Thanks for all the texts, calls and e-mails during the storm. We really appreciate all of the prayers for safety.

12:45 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 13

The winds are now in the 50 to 60 mph range...consistently. We now are experiencing bands of rain. The kids all woke up, but have gone back to sleep. Snoring hubby is awake. My cousins in Houstin lost power about 45 minutes ago. We still have power and cable, which is a miracle. I am so tired, but don't know if I can actually fall asleep while in the middle of a hurricane! The worst part for us is supposed to be at 5 a.m.

11:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12th

We have 40 mph sustained winds and 50 mph gusts. It is SUPER windy and constant. It is hard to even describe. Kids are asleep. Hubby is snoring. Dogs are scared. Mom is awake. Still have power...stay tuned!

10:00 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12th

Still no rain. Wind is getting stronger. Daniel is outside reinforcing the tarps with duct tape (he would not participate in another Geraldo skit) and I am inside, in my robe (we are keeping it cold so when we lose power...) with a glass of white wine in one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. Kids are sound asleep in our bed. Oh, and if you are going to keep checking the blog the LEAST you could do is check out some of my google ads and make me some money. I may need it to rebuild! JK. We still have power and I'll update again in an hour if I do....

8:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12th

Ok, we had a request from a friend in Tulsa to see the girls...so by popular demand here they are. Fort Bend County is under curfew from 8 p.m. tonight until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. They don't need to worry, we aren't going out for donuts during a hurricane. Oh, and the weatherman just said for the Houston area the worst of the storm will be from midnight tonight until noon tomorrow....yIKEs..that's 12 hours!!!! The power is now blinking as I publish this post so this might be the last one. I will post again in 30 minutes to an hour if electricity is on.

8:05 P.M., Friday, Sept. 12

We still have power. We have not had rain. The winds are 28 mph with 41 mph gusts. Residents in Katy and a section of Houston known as Bellaire have lost power. They say we will lose power for at least a week....Stay tuned

New Video on Ike

We decided to do a little of our own reporting on the Hurricane...turn the volume up on your computer so you can hear the sound of the wind...

Ike Update

The wind is 20 mph right now with 30 mph gusts and I have attached a video from our backyard for you to see. We are supposed to get up to 100 mph so see what 20 looks like and imagine 100 mph. The electricity has blinked a couple of times and we don't even have rain yet. The dogs are now safely inside. The laundry is all clean and the dishwasher is running. This Mom is trying to be as organized as possible!

The Wise Man...

Well, the storm is coming. I went to bed last night praying it would dissipate or head a different direction, but that didn't happen. It's starting to get windy outside. The rain has not started, but neighbors are boarding up, and quite frankly, it's nerve racking to watch them hang plywood and for us not to even have any. So, we decided to cover our windows with tarps. Our wind is supposed to come from the North, which is the back of our house. Daniel has been working on nailing tarps up just to help prevent rain from pouring in our house in case our windows break. Some people are doing more and some are doing less. We decided we wanted to be like the wise man in Proverbs who was ready when the wind and rain came. It would be really difficult to cover our windows AFTER they break when the wind is blowing 100 mph. I wanted to show you a picture of the back of our house. This is just so surreal. The kids don't have a clue. Our windows are covered and they are just busy playing, which is great. We did open the door earlier and EG said "oh, it's windy". We will be having a big slumber party in our room tonight. I want everyone nearby. I will post pictures later, as long as we keep power. PLEASE continue to pray for our safety and for a sense of peace. (oh, and don't worry, the dogs will be inside when the rain comes!)

Ike

Today I experienced a first...preparing for a hurricane. Hurricane Ike is now headed towards Galveston which is just about an hour from us. Gas in the car- check, withdraw cash- check, water bottles- check, bread- check. Wait a minute, I have done this before, only never in shorts. This feels strangely like preparing for a big ice or snowstorm.

I have no idea what to expect...I'm guessing lots of rain and wind. I probably should be more concerned than I am. Right now we are feeling concerned we might lose cable and therefore not be able to watch the OU game Saturday. Seriously, I am somewhat concerned. I guess if it's bad it will provide lots of good blogging material!!!

Blind Date

I feel like I am dating. Only, I'm not looking for a boyfriend, I'm looking for girlfriends...and lots of 'em. Seriously, I work up the nerve to call someone, get their voicemail and then wonder if they will call back. Honestly, it's like waiting for a boy to call.

A mutal friend "hooked me up" with 2 ladies that live here in Sugar Land. She "hooked" them up 3 years ago and now we were all getting together. We met for lunch. Oh, and big news, when I walked in the door, I saw another friend that I have made here. God is so good! He knows how much I need friends and is providing abundantly. I miss my friends from Tulsa terribly, but I am so thankful to have lunch plans and dinner dates. Valerie and Barbara are dolls. They are each married to pastors. (from different churches) They both have great stories to share and I had a great time. I am looking forward to beautiful friendships with each.

Thanks, Jan for the hook up!

My Sugar Land Mentor

Over Labor Day weekend I received the sweetest voicemail. I was so stunned I even had Mom and Daniel listen to it. On the message was a girl I had never met, but she had heard that I was new to Sugar Land and wanted to introduce herself and just see if there was anything I needed. How thoughtful!!! I called her back and she was so friendly and we planned to meet at a PTA event at the school. (I feel like I should add that EVERYONE here is so friendly and has been so warm...it just so happens Leslie is the one I am posting about today!). I asked her if she was going to a Ladies' Event at the Club and she said yes and offered to pick me up. She sat next to me and made notes for me the whole lunch: hairdresser, doctors, restaurants, you name it. There was a whole 'nother side to town I had been missing out on. She invited our family to dinner with her family so our husbands could meet. I seriously feel like she has taken me under her wing. Behind her back, I have fondly been referring to her as "my Sugar Land mentor" because she is showing me the ropes. She now knows about my blog so I guess she now knows her new nickname. I downloaded a picture from our luncheon so you could see how darling she is. She is the brunette and the blonde is my neighbor across the street, Pam, who is also a doll! Thanks, Leslie! (oh, oops, I'm not supposed to thank you anymore!)

Family Song

So, today, my precious Hannah was reading my blog when she came flying down the stairs and said "Mommy, there's music on your blog." And I said, "yes, I know, I put it there." And she said, "you should put our family song on there". What a great suggestion. One thing you should know about our family is we LOVE to sing. Now, we aren't talented singers, we just all LOVE to sing. When our kids have friends over they laugh because someone is always singing. A few years ago one of my friends told us that they had a family chant. I thought it was so cute. They would do it and all cheer. So, we came up with a family song. Our song is to the tune of "We are the Champions" only it's "We are the Herrolds". We love to sing it, especially when there are friends in the car because it can really embarrass the girls.

This summer, when I was at camp with Hannah, I was talking with another counselor who was musing about how much her family loves to sing. And the conversation went something like this:
"We love singing so much".
"No, we love to sing".
"No, really, our family loves to sing."
"Well, do you have a family theme song?"
STUMPED HER!!! When we left town they were working on their family song!!! Every time you hear We are the Champions (and you will hear it often if you listen to Radio Disney), think of us and sing loud and proud!

Labor Day

We had a fun cookout this weekend. Ali and Scott and the kids were here, along with Mom and Dad and we invited my Aunt and cousins over too. Dad and Mom worked like dogs to help get everything ready. Mom spent hours in the kitchen. One upside to the move is that I am scoring new items in the kitchen. Every time Mom cooks something she decides my kitchen items aren't up to par and replaces them...one by one. Thanks, Mom. Dad smoked brisket and turkey and gave me a little training session on the smoker. It was delicious! Jacque even surprised me with a birthday cake!

Yesterday, after the Foster crew left, we headed to Galleria. This was my first time to get to shop since the move. Although Daniel was a pretty good sport, next time I plan to leave him behind. We finished the day with some Mexican food from Pappasito's.

The kids were not thrilled about getting out of bed for school this morning, but I am looking forward to a routine. I'm looking forward to watching the new 90210 tonight and watching the Republican National Convention! I'm easy to please!!!