The calm before the storm

Things here still continue to drag on pretty slowly. I think we are trying to appreciate the down time before school starts. T minus 15 days, 23 hours, 32 minutes and 36 seconds, not that I'm counting or anything. I am pretty excited to have six hours per week to myself. I am also very excited that the cubs will be receiving direction from someone other than myself. They really need the socialization and structure that preschool will provide. I am a little worried that I will receive that phone call on the first day asking me to come pick up my wild cubs. Please, please, please don't get expelled from preschool, my little ones!!

Emily and Zach are doing well. They are getting over the cold/allergies that brought us to a halt a week and a half ago. They are getting bigger everyday...and more stubborn. Emily is displaying the redhead temper and Zach must have a little red in there too, because he can throw a fit with the best of them. The cubs are officially in the "terrible twos". Double the fun, right? They both babble but I still have trouble making out anything. People tell me they are saying words, but apparently I need a translator. Hopefully preschool and speech therapy will move the talking along. I've been trying to work on potty training with Emily but not having much success. It would be easier if 1) we were home more and 2) she could tell me when she needed to go. UGH!

We are working on decorating. We've been in the house since April and I finally ordered curtain rods. They should be here tomorrow. It will probably take us another five months to get them installed.

We are tossing around the idea of getting an inground pool. Since we are planning on living here a long time, we thought it would be fun for the cubs. Doesn't every kid want a pool? Plus, with the cryptospiridium issues at the local pools, this would be a much safer alternative. Who knew there would be so many options to consider? Diving vs. play, slides vs. waterfalls, saltwater vs. chlorinated, on and on and on. Then we have to deal with our HOA. It shouldn't be too much of a problem since it seems like everyone here is getting one put in, but leave it to us to have an "issue". We are planning on having several companies out for estimates and if we don't pass out from the price tag, we may have a pool for next summer.

Steve has been trying to get in some golf on Wednesdays. I still have my Nights out with the girls. I went out with the girls from THC last Thursday to Buttons ("food and music for the soul"). I always enjoy good food and good company (and good wine).

I've been pretty lazy on the picture taking. It's just been a boring couple of weeks around here, but look for tons of pictures next month. We will be very busy here at Cub Central!

Mom feels the love

Emily loves to go "bye-bye". LOVES it. She often brings me her shoes, or she puts them on herself, and stands by the garage door chanting "bye-bye, bye-bye" because she wants to go somewhere. When Daddy is at home, if he even attempts to walk down the hallway that leads to the garage, Emily has a FIT. She is so afraid that he is going someplace without her. By fit I mean tears, red face, on the ground kicking and screaming FIT. I had a dinner date with several girlfriends at Coal Vines last Thursday. As I was leaving I told the Cubs that I was going "bye-bye". I thought Emily would get upset, but instead she walked to the garage door, opened it, and waved to me and said "bye-bye". Steve asked Zach if he wanted to come tell me "bye bye", so Zach came to the door, looked directly at me, and then proceeded to slam the door in my face. OUCH! Mom feels the love. Dad certainly doesn't get this reaction when he goes somewhere. I pretty much got the "don't let the door hit you on the way out" reaction. Yep. I feel SO loved.

Slow goings

Not much has been happening lately here at Cub Central. Dad has been working, Mom is STILL trying to unpack when time allows, and the Cubs have been going wild. Nothing out of the ordinary, just taking it day by day. Even picture taking has been slow. One of my favorite parts of this blog is to share cute pictures of the cubs with everyone, but we haven't even been doing that lately. Maybe it's the Texas heat.

The cubs have been suffering with some allergy issues so they have been a little fussier than usual but that hasn't slowed them down very much. We've gone to Paradise Pond a few times. I also took the Cubs to McDonalds and let them play in the indoor playground, and amazingly, they did a really good job. They even ate at a table like big kids. Mom was very impressed. Of course they showed their gratitude by NOT taking a nap that day. UGH!

September is going to be packed with things to do. Both sets of grandparents will be visiting (at different times) and we are very excited about that. Preschool will be starting (two days per week -- Mommy is VERY excited about that). The Cubs will also be participating in a speech program at TWU twice per week as well. I think I am WAY busier as a stay-at-home mom than when I was working 50 hours per week. WHEW!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa John!

Today is Grandpa John's birthday and we are sending tons of hugs and kisses his way. We had to dig in the archives for photos since we haven't gotten to see Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John since last November, but we are really looking forward to their visit in just a few weeks! Happy Birthday, Grandpa John!

Chew Chew (as opposed to "Choo Choo")

I've been very hesitant to write about this because as soon as I do, I will jinx it....but I am so excited that I decided to risk it anyway. Little Man has finally figured out the art of chewing! He still isn't tackling crunchy foods yet but at least we are seeing progress. The big event happened last Thursday at lunch. I made Emily some Eggo french toast sticks. I gave one to Zach simply to entertain him while I finished making the cubs' lunch. Twice he took big bites with his back teeth and CHEWED it. One bite was big enough that I was worried that he would choke on it, but he chewed it up. He even fussed when I tried to take it away from him. Amazing. That evening he ate several small french fries...and taking bites, not just the microscopic nibbles that we are used to. He now eats rice and scrambled eggs too! Woo hoo!!

A little kitchen decorating.

We celebrated Steve's birthday on Tuesday by grilling shrimp and Filet Mignons (from Omaha Steaks - thank you Auntie Leslie and Uncle Craig!!) on our new grill (thank you Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John!!). Dinner sure was yummy.

After dinner I decided I would do some organizing in the game room upstairs. I had a stack of things to move into the attic. Things were moving along smoothly until I lost my footing and punched a delightful hole in our kitchen ceiling with my size 8.5 shoe. Lord knows it couldn't have been in a closet or the pantry where it wasn't so noticibly visible. So, Happy Birthday Steve, I hope you enjoy the personalization I added to our kitchen.

I didn't take a picture of my "decorative touch" because it made me sick to look at it. On the bright side, I was able to get the contractors over yesterday (how's that for service??) and I did take a picture of the lovely patch that we will be taking time out of our "family weekend plans" to paint.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

Today is Daddy's birthday. Even though he spent it working, we still hope he had a wonderful day!! We are planning on spending some quality family time together this weekend to celebrate your big day. We love you!!

All around good dog!

He even fills in as a pillow when needed.

Fun in the sun...and sand and sea.

Auntie Leslie and Uncle Craig sent this really cool Sand and Sea table to the cubs for their birthday. They love it!

Emily adjusting the umbrella. July 26...it was really hot this day. Good thing the pool was close by to cool off in.


It was much cooler this morning so we were able to play in the shade.

Goodbye Alli-gator, Hello new pool!

Grandma Shirley and Grandpa John sent the cubs a replacement for Alli-gator and this pool has all the bells and whistles. What fun!! The slide was a big hit! Huge thanks to Grandma and Grandpa!

First time in the new pool.

Deciding who gets to try the slide first.

Chivalry is not dead. Ladies first.

Open season, fighting over the slide.

Zach may be scrappy, but it looks like he won this round.

Reversed roles

Last Saturday my LCMOMs group hosted a pool party. I thought Zach would love it. He loves water. He loves to wash his hands and take baths. He loves to play in the pool and with the water hose. He's a fish. Emily doesn't like any of those things as much as Zach does. She's getting there, slowly but surely. However, on this particular Saturday, Emily did far better than Zach. She went right into the pool with Daddy. She even fell into the water face first, which I thought she would have come back up screaming, but she just wiped her eyes and kept going. Zach screamed the whole time. He did not want to be there. I really think it was just too cold for him. The party started at 10am and the water was really quite cold. I think if it would have been an evening pool party, Zach would have loved it since the water would have been warmed by the sun. I am not discouraged. I know he loves water and will eventually love the big people pool. Right now he's perfectly content with his little people pool.

Emily in the big people pool (I can't believe she left her hat on!!):

Screaming Zach:

The best part of the day for Zach....anywhere OUT of the pool.