Houston Rodeo

so, here's the dealio

last summer the husband and i went to the beach

for a little anniversary get-a-way

and it was uh-maw-zing

but what it made it so great

was making a couple of new friends 

{hi janean and monica!}

at the swim-up bar

who just happened to be on a
committee for the Houston Rodeo.

we kept in touch through facebook

{i love social networking!}

and when it came Rodeo time

they asked if we'd like some prime-time, cheapie tickets

for any of the nights

uhhh YES PLEASE!

and while checking out the entertainment line-up

my.heart.stopped.

why? 

because Reba McEntire was playing!

i tried not to get my hopes up

i mean, what were the chances?

 but the stars aligned and we got.the.hook.up

maybe not front row, but dang sure cheaper!

who doesn't love a good photobomb

singing Fancy

blurry, but those two ladies made the  night into awesome

despite it raining cats and dogs

we had a wonderful time

i got to see my aunt, uncle & cousins

{thanks again for keeping lillie!}

and we were snuck into member-only clubs

on the rodeo grounds

by these two amazing ladies!

Janean & Monica

so, thanks ladies for making this little country girl's dream come true!

we can't wait to do it again

and maybe this time

we won't get our knees bruised from sliding across the dance floor.

oh, who am i kidding?! you know we will!

Am I Crazy?

so, at the end of january i talked about
how i pretty much died after running a 5k

and that i thought i was some sort of badass

and had already registered for another one in March

well, honeyballs, that time has come

and it has gone.

in 40 freaking minutes

that's right, i ran it 9 minutes faster than i did in january

which may not sound like a lot to you

but to me, i'm shouting it to the world!

because it means all the running i've been attempting

has been worth it.

i didn't set a specific goal time

{other than just beating my time by even a second from january}

and instead of killing myself trying to run fast

{i'm pretty sure i saw a turtle pass me}

i taught myself to just run at a pace i was comfortable with

and guess what i found out?

i.like.running.

weird, right? 

emilie and i sporting our finisher medals

so, i'm training for a half-marathon

yep, i actually had my husband follow me on my run

the other day in the golf cart with lillie

and i ran another 3.1 miles easily

it was in the moment that i saw lillie's eyes light up 

with her little hi! and a wave of her hand

as i passed the golf cart

and another little wave bye-bye! as alfred passed me

that i knew it was do-able

because for crying out loud, 

a.baby.came.out.of.my.vagina.

so, running 13.1 miles - piece of cake.

{but not vagina cake, because that would be weird}

 prior to making this decision, but after the 5k

we went and saw The Hunger Games

i'm sure you've heard about it

{or not, if you've been living under a rock}

if you've read the books
and are a stickler that books made into movies 

should be exactly the same

then you should like this, there are a few minor changes 

but nothing that will make you go WTF! NO! 

and if you could care less about the books

it's still a good movie
win/win either way
just like this last weekend
win-freaking-win

Edible Fingerpaints

it's spring break here.
and working at a university 

most people assume everyone is off.

well, sure, if you're a student or faculty

but i'm staff.

so, i've had to make the long trek to work all week.
while the weather was beautiful

{sigh}

but with no sitter yesterday

and an amazing boss

i was able to take the day off to spend with the lillie.

and being the pinterest whore that i am

i decided to make some...

recipe via easie peasie

ingredients:
•1/2 cup cornstarch
•2 cups water
•3 tbsp sugar
•1/2 tsp salt
•adorable containers
•food coloring

total cost: about $3.00
(i already had food coloring, sugar & salt)

step 1: place water, cornstarch sugar and salt in small pan and bring to a boil

{stirring frequently!}

this part actually only took about 8 minutes for me

and at first, it kind of clumps together and you're like 

wtf is that?!

but by the end the consistency smooths out

and it kind of resembles hair conditioner.

step 2: dump contents into adorable containers

remember - it will be hot, so don't put your finger on the spoon to scoop it off.

{uh, not that i know from experience...}

i think the little containers held somewhere around 4-5 oz

and i had enough leftover to probably fill up one more.

{i bought mine at our local H-E-B
grocery store for about $2}

step 3: add food coloring 

i only put two drops from each bottle

but based on how the final product came out

i wish i would have made them a little darker now.

step 4: wait for them to cool

{i put them in the fridge to hurry up the process}

we had to finish eating our ketchup with a side of corn dog

 then we made a quick trip to wal-mart

and then there was a nap

so, really no point.

 but it did give me time to set up her work area.

which she scrambled too
just as soon as her little eyes spotted it.

it was kind of windy outside
so the husband suggested
i use these orange rubber squares he has

{i have absolutely no idea what they're really used for}

and i taped down a poster board for her

step 5:  get your edible paint on

{oh, i did actually try the paint.
it didn't taste bad, it didn't taste good,
it pretty much tasted like a side of nothing
with a sprinkle of sugar on top}

 

i think more than anything she just liked the way it felt

which was kind of like old hair gel

(or gak! 90's representin'!)

it clumped together and was pretty sticky

so we'd end up just picking up chunks of it and then spreading it

but after it was all said and done

picasso baby, am i right?

 

she still went after the rocks

 nothing compares to rocks, nothing i say.

but on the way back to the house for a snack

she did manage to sit still and take a picture with me

{please disregard the the unkempt hair,
texas humidity is in a word - evil}

i think she enjoyed herself

{i know i did!}

so, definitely something we'll be doing again!

i hope everyone else is enjoying their spring breaks

whether it's just one day or a full week!

Walking in Mama's Shoes

last year i posted about my ginormous feet

and that i hoped one day i'd have someone 

with giant ski's to share shoes with

{i am somewhat of a shoe whore}

and how that someone may end up being 

my daughter, Lillie

but i, in no way, thought it'd be so soon

i remember growing up

and actually competing with my best friend, Janna

on whose feet were bigger

{i know, we had an awesomely weird relationship}

but i think at this rate, Lillie has definitely won

eleven-fold

Dill-doh

i recently wrote a post detailing

how my daughter called me out for farting

and near the end i wrote

"God help us all."

but i didn't really mean it

because, what are the odds at her age

that out of all the conversations

and all the words

and all the inflections

i use that she'll pick up on a bad word.

right?

and especially if it's not a typical bad word,

not one you'd normally throw a quarter in a swear jar for?

but one said in a moment

so quickly that you almost don't even realize you've said it.

is your reaction indicative of the type of parent you are?

because sweet baby Jesus, i hope not. 

otherwise, my baby has classified me as..

a dildo.

yep, it's true. 

she heard me say it in passing, 

and that's all i took.

{actually i was calling someone that in jest...kind of.}

{{don't judge me, you know you've said it too!}}

emilie, lillie and myself were on our way 

to enjoy some very tasty italian cuisine

and not even 2 seconds after 'dildo'
was removed from my mouth

{ha, that's what she said!}

we heard an almost angelic, completely confident

and wonderfully precious repeat 

coming from the backseat.

if it were possible i'm sure we both would have had rock star abs by the time we finished laughing.

but seriously, i've been trying to teach her
to say milk for months

and she chooses dildo instead?

sometimes you can't win for losing.

and so is the story of parenthood.

sigh.

The Things Kids Say

it's too soon.

this shouldn't be happening yet.

she's still a baby.

i know, i'm lucky, nobody was around

to hear her, much less hear me...

but..

fine. i'll just come out and say it

i fart.

i am a girl. 

and i fart. 

uh yeah, saying that aloud - still not helping.

i guess i should start from the beginning.

not that it's a long story,

but that's where stories start at..

the beginning.

so, lillie-kins has been talking more

she's got a good supply of words

{pup-peeee, coo-keyy, tank yew, bayyy bee are a few}

and learns things so fast i'm often left with a
confused look on my face stuttering,
did..did..did you just say shit..oh, no, that was tick

sweet baby Jesus thank you!

{again, i should probably clean up my language...}

and as any new mom is, i'm optimistic about...

potty-training.

my plan so far has been to help her realize
when she's gone poo-poo or pee-pee in her diaper
{another word she's picked up!}

by asking her if she's gone poo-poo or pee-pee

and lately she'll point to her diaper and say poo-poo

{even if there's none}

i also explain what i'm doing
when she sees me on the toilet

{yes, she's already gotten to that stage
where she opens the door and sits in front of me
while i'm trying to do what needs to be done.}

so far, so good, right?

well, if she happens to fart, or toot

i also ask her then if she's gone poo-poo

i'm sure you can see where this is going.

a few days ago, as i'm getting things together for work

she's sitting in her high-chair

eating her curds and whey

{fine, it was a graham cracker and some goldfish - 

i was running late, don't judge me}

i did it.

i farted.

and we had our first 

the things kids say

moment

she pointed her little finger at my butt and said

exactly what i've been teaching her

"poo-poo"

 you would have thought she'd discovered electricity

with the smile she gave me

and what do you do in that moment?

i mean, what can you do?

you smile and say,

yes, honey, mama went poo-poo.

the embarrassment of what kids say,

it's started.

and we can never go back.

God help us all.