april-may ~ week 18 {life's a beach}

sometimes, i get so caught up in the logistics of what needs to be done before we can leave our home - even for a few nights - that i'm tempted to think it's not worth the effort.

our schedules have been a lil' on the hectic side, especially hub's.  he doesn't get paid enough for what he contributes to his team.  there.  i said it.  i shall leave it alone now.  i'm sure that was a bloggy sin.  anyone else tire of all the unwritten rules of blogging?  anyone else maybe in need of some chocolate?

needless to say, we yearned to get away.  don't get me wrong.  we love a good stay-cation as much as the next person, but sometimes a person needs to escape the projects at every turn, begging to be finished, in order to truly relax.  our house is feeling like that about now.  things are beginning to fall apart.  dishwasher, anyone?  things need to be organized, painted, and repaired.  mama needs a new {to me} vehicle.  something dependable, while hubs is out of town, you know?  whine much?  pass the chocolate, please.

hahhhh... things are looking better already. ;)

so this week started with school.  again, i will say that i wish that i'd been educated like this.  we are continuing to breeze through the middle ages in history.  we love learning about this time period, but so much of it was flawed... and, dare i say, still quite barbaric?  eek.



relaxed learning. 
totally.
at home, or on the go.

i've been listing older curriculum to sell online to help pay for our much anticipated curriculum, sonlight.  the girls are chomping at the bits to order.  makes me happy to see them eager to receive books for school.  i plan to go through the house to see what else we can part with to raise funds.  wish me luck!

beau's favorite spot?  under my feet. 
right in front of the oven.
waiting for turkey bacon to fall from heaven?

 

theater.  dance and piano lessons.  

you know, the usual.

singing do-re-me harmony with my lil' maria.
dragging my child to the gym.  she has book in hand, snack and ipod within reach.  clearly, she was suffering, while not pedaling.

post-juice veggie massacre.  best multi-vitamin evah.
long-legged jasmine.  she fits in our family, yes?
gracie singing the sound of music upside-down.

a pic of my headboard.  because my 'must-do-before-we-leave' chore-list made me feel overfatigued... and old.  it's where i collapsed.  long enough to instagram a picture, that is.

on our way out, we picked up chili's.  because mom didn't put "cook dinner" on the to-do list. oops. {note sarcasm}  but you should have seen my list! 




when younger, i was a fish.  you couldn't get me out of the water.  this trip, i only craved time spent in a good book.  gracie craved email at the end of the day.  sometimes, she makes me desire an amish lifestyle.  it could be good for her.

we packed food for our three free nights in the condo on the beach.  hubs made most of the meals. lord bless him.  why does a grilled turkey and cheese taste better when someone else cooks it?

he was also the parent that was first to go in the water with the girls.  and build sand castles.  he's pretty awesome at it.

no worries.  mom got her feet wet, too.  searching for shells is what i like to do.  gracie and i collect them.




our closest beach is normally quite murky. brown water. brown sand.  but we're thankful for it.

even if we happen to pick the time of year during the annual seaweed invasion.  it's for the health of the beach, so i guess we can't complain. 



except when a huge batch of it wraps around your leg and you think the loch ness monster is about to eat you alive.

however...
if you stay out of the water to read a good book,
listen to the sound of the ocean, 
enjoy your kids nearby digging to china in the sand,
soaking in the salty breeze,
in the shade,
it's heaven on earth.  
or as close as we'll get to it where we live.

then, all of the work it took to get here, 
suddenly seems worth it.



until you get pinched by a crab.

{due to our science lesson, we were able to determine that this little guy was, indeed, a boy crab.  just thought you should know.}

the end.

march~week 11-12/366 {catching up-instagram edition}

hello.  remember me?  hmama here.  things have been a tad busy here these past two weeks.  if it weren't for instagram, i'd have no bloggy post to speak of.  let's catch up - shall we?



we made a roadtrip to the beach to help the sea turtles.
did i mention it was raining?  that should double our community service time, right? ;)

doll play... on the go.

learning.  the fleur de lis.  when you come from who dat nation, this is a must, you know.  and please don't get me started on the crazy media frenzy surrounding the saints.  i might just go on a tirade.  ugh.

was trying to decide if sonlight curriculum takes american girl debit cards? hmmm... ;)

juicing.  going strong & loving it!
we introduced the girls to it.  it was mostly fruit. i thought they'd need a soft introduction, even though i don't recommend fruit juicing. 

i might recommend starting with something more bitter, like hubs and i did. that way, everything else is uphill. ha!



i'm continuing to pass along my slight ocd germ cleanliness routine to my children - when it comes to public restrooms, that is.  as a mom, i've made 9,862,800,742 trips with my girls.  *shivers*  give or take a few.

and also, important sibling conversations happen in the toilet paper aisle at tarjet.

we have a younger pic of gracie sporting a ball of a baby bump.  should go hunt for that.  her comedic side helps balance out her spicy side. ;)

juicing.  have i mentioned it?  you should hurry over to watch hungry for a change.  (free online till march 31st) great info!



road-trip!  we were off to meet granny and deliver the kiddos.
why, you ask?  so mama could catch up on soaps and eat bon-bons?  excuse me while i laugh uncontrollably.... 

okay.  i'm back.
this trip was about girlie room makeovers.
a nice way of saying that mama needed to go through things without said girlies pleading to keep every piece of fuzz mama threatened to throw in the trash.

let's just say that it was turning into an episode of hoarders.  i wish i were joking.



some of it was not so bad.  finding treasures.  a mask. a priceless journal page. old photos.  a dirty sock bagged with cross-stitching. wait, huh?  born in a barn, i tell you.

meanwhile, the girls were livin' it up at granny's house.  eating some junk-food and getting completely spoiled.  next time, i get to stay at granny's house, while the kiddos re-do something in the house.  sounds good, yes? ;)   oh, and i'll be sure to facetime them every 5 minutes, hoping to catch a glimpse of their hard work. *ehem*



at least they shared pictures of their ice cream.  
sweet, yes? ;)
daddy and i worked our fingers to the bone.  around the clock.  we totally underestimated the time this project would take.

i tormented them with sneak peeks of things that would be going into their rooms. i'd convinced gracie her room might be orange.  i had to have some fun. you know, other than playing in paint.  i'm still trying to rid myself of these calloused man-hands.  trying to uncover what's left of these feminine hands.

our printstagram photo arrived!  woot!   next time, i shall order pix in book form.  recommend any companies?



jazzy was my shopping partner and paint companion.  watching me work made her tired.

the girls have shared a furniture set of mine from when i was a little girl.  i gave it a face-lift.  also painted a toy-chest my step-dad made when gracie was born.  finally putting it to good use. 

hmama totally rocked the paint smeared pants on a few errands.  she was too tired and sore to care what others thought of this.  at least i didn't pair it with red suspenders.  just sayin'.  

and just when we were trying to really down-play santa... guess who the girls met?  *sigh*

up till 3:30 a.m. the night before {without one single date-night to speak of}, we hit the road early to make the 10+ hour round trip to pick up the girls. couldn't remember the last time i'd been this sleepy, tired, sore... plain old exhausted.

back to our regularly scheduled routine.  ready or not.  we are trying to recover.  i think i heard my hands and feet cry.  yes, that sore.  i'll stop whining now.

pix of the room re-dos are coming soon. we all pretty much love them. ;)

little hands, big dunes

we've been exploring creation with swimming creatures this year.  i have to confess...  *deep breath*  when the mama homeschool day is feeling the exhaustion  of a dense schedule, science is easy to put on the back-burner.  i'm learning that it's okay.  if need be, we've even gone at least 2 months off of history before *gasp* to explore other things.



i confess my shortcomings to make you feel better about your day.  you know... as a friend would leave her house messy before a visit - to make you feel better about your lil' mess.  ummm... yeah.  i like a lil' notice. ;)

{please don't tell me that you are always on par with schedule and your house would pass a white glove test.  i might just crack under the pressure.  i kid.  maybe.}



where was i going with this?  oh, yes.  sea turtles.  this homeschool field trip was an excuse to take a road-trip to the beach about rebuilding the dunes for sea turtles to lay their eggs.  this area is still rebuilding from a previous storm.  it's come a long way! 

it was quite complex.  dig. pour compost. place plant. cover root.  rocket science.  

the challenge was doing said rocket science in the down. pour. ing. rain.  cats and dogs - on and off.  every time the moms took out their cameras - it began to pour.  so much so, that i began to call my camera the rain-maker.   oh, how we could have used that over the summer in our texas drought.  thankfully, it was not freezing.  so, we sucked it up... for the turtles.



in this stretch of beach, the only thing cleaned is man-made trash.  gotta love a natural setting.  most of the rain cleared.  the children played.  we were already drenched, so a splash in the water did no harm.  matter-o-fact, it was good for the soul.

just before leaving, gracie found a plastic bag in the water and quickly snatched it up to throw away.  "mom, this could hurt a sea turtle!"  yes, gracie, great job.  so proud of my girlies.

thankfully, it is not my nature to leave my littles in the sand dunes.  you know - like mama turtles.  i wrapped my wet fish in towels and made the road-trip back home.  ignoring their pleas to drive all the way home, find swimsuits, and trail back to the sand.  because i'm a good mother {repeat to self}.

we did manage to squeeze in a lil' math, too. ;)

march~week 10/366 {ships-twin friends-juicer}

this week started with a road trip, as we made our way to visit the nina and pinta.  the most historically accurate columbus replica ships ever built.



we caught an artist painting an amazing picture of this floating treasure.

the nina was built completely by hand, in brazil.  later, the pinta was built a bit larger to scale to accompany the nina on her travels.

the boat hanging below is a miniature. {not the ship's boat built by the 14 yo apprentice.}

it really made me stand in awe of just how insane brave these explorers really were; sailing across the ocean, in boats such as these.  the size of the ship.  making room for people, animals, and supplies.  

these ships are always recruiting new shipmates, but i declined.  with a minimal 3 week commitment, my family would have missed me, i'm sure.  besides, mama needs more personal space. ;)


 
silly gracie gets creative with a post-haircut strand of hair - side bangs, mustache, uni-brow, and even chest hair.  too funny!

piano lessons. jazzy hunts for squirrel through the window.  ruff life.  sorry.  couldn't help myself.

we received unexpected, exciting news. the girls will be playing lead roles in the upcoming theater production.  i will forever kick myself for not filming their reaction.  tears of joy.

fun with friends.  twin-friends. although the kids do most of the playing... why does it tire me, too?  hmmmm...  after company leaves, we all fall into a post-sleepover slump.  under the weather. 

the new rule... if anyone from friend's family is ill, they cannot sleep over. ha!

soup, rest {beau is great at that, when he's not pouncing on anything that moves}, vitamins.




gracie was determined to feel better for her hip-hop class.  nator patiently waits for gracie to finish dance lesson. 

toward week's end, our homeschool included beakmans' world.  like i said... mama needed rest, too. ;)

the juicer arrived.  hubs turned into the juice master this weekend.  he is much better at drinking veggies.  i get the drink down, but it is not as appetizing as simply eating veggies, imho.  i'm on the hunt for palatable juice combinations that only include a lil' apple to sweeten... gotta watch the fat-inducing-insulin spikes, you know.


oh... and last but not least, nator.  reading national geographic kids.  our lil' spider-monkey, as her uncle affectionately nick-named her when born.  just so happened to look back and catch this chimpanzee face over hers.  funny, eh? ;)

{insert witty christmas title here}

trusting everyone had a wonderful and restful holiday season.  restful and holiday.  that almost made me giggle.  we are still in the holiday season here.  that sounds better than saying recovery, right? taking it slow.  as possible.  enjoying the christmas lights.  still.  easing into routine.

our festivities looked a lil' bit like this...

cookies {oatmeal chocolate chip, to be exact} were made for christmas-light-ridin' and santa. 

it's all fun and games till gracie takes a pic of mom, playing with the new lens.  50mm.  lovin' it!  the lens, not the pic.  no make-up and a 3 second bun are musts for cooking, yes? ...yes?

keepin' it real.  you're welcome. 

the important thing is that they were proud of their creations.

santa realized santa wouldn't be able to unload someone's christmas present and have it wrapped under the tree before picking up a certain someone from the airport.  who could?  i mean... when two muscle men had to grunt while loading it in the sleigh.  wowzers.

a certain someone was texted {that's a word, right?} to say merry christmas... and hoped a certain someone and their boss didn't have much luggage to add to the vehicle.

he loved the toolbox!  yay.  now it's time to finish organizing that garage.  fun... sarcasm.  check.

a sibling christmas eve gift exchange is a much anticipated tradition.  nator received the 3 in 1 cabin legos.  gracie, a stuffed pinkie pie... which resulted in a happy-hug-tackle. chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast may need to become a yearly tradition.

the girls gasped with excitement at their much coveted {and retired} american girl dolls.  nator received samantha and kirsten {thanks to mama finding a few great deals on ebay over the summer}, and gracie received felicity and elizabeth.



we cleared away {most of} the mess and started our road-trip.
arriving at granny's, just in time to share christmas evening with 19 total.  roger that.  then we met the rest of the fam further down the bayou.

a little time with family...

distance makes it a challenge to stay close.  sometimes, i really don't like that part... but the kiddos warmed up to each other again, just fine.

before we left louisiana, we watched brees set a new record.  woot.  {if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?  i'm starting to get into this football thing.  maybe.}  gracie's favorite part was watching granny get excited, raising her voice {kicking a leg or two} at the action on tv.  granny loves football.  just a little. ;)

i'm signing out of this novel now.  maybe by the time february rolls around, i'll have you up to date with january.  and christmas decorations will be down.  one can hope.

remembering {the alamo}

{finally} the end of our thanksgiving vacation.  you know... so we can blog about reality our current life.

one cannot go to san antonio without walking through this piece of history.



we opted to make a day of it.  
our traditional walk through the alamo itself.  no pictures allowed inside.

a trip to the disney store.



a ride through the riverwalk.
riverwalk + christmas lights = a great way to ring in the christmas season. 

end of the day celebrated at the hard rock cafe'.



this year, we threw in a little education torture.
we made our way through the wax museum and...

ripley's believe it or not.  i guarantee that's a stop our girls will remember for years to come.  the girls were mostly eager to find the exit sign.  i don't blame them.  they really should post signs for parents of what's around the corner. ;)

my favorite room was dedicated to the titanic.  the picture below shows a demonstration of the leak that took the titanic down.  unbelievable. 

we rewarded the girls with a lil' ice cream.  we're cool like that.



after we said goodbye to our room, it was time to make a mad-dash home.  just in time for theater rehearsal.  that's how we've been rolling lately.

i wanted to remember these circles in the carpet.  gracie walked on these {only} getting to and from our room.  seeing life through a spunky 9 year old is always exciting.



souvineers in hand, we had to say good-bye.
or see you later.  back to reality.

until next time...

a traditional {thanks}giving

if you follow my instagram, you already know we didn't have a "traditional" thanksgiving.

it seems we've developed a different tradition 'round here.
thanksgiving = shamu.

we bought passes to sea world and fiesta texas last year that were to expire the weekend of our trip.  that, combined with hubby's hotel points made it a fairly budget-friendly family vacation this year.



our room{s} were quite posh.  yes, plural.  hubs booked the girls a room {with 2 double beds} that adjoined to ours, via a sitting room.  i told you it was posh.  down-right swanky, if you will.  i mean, i finally got to try a 'rain shower'.  in 3.5 seconds, i realized it wouldn't be at the top my list in dream home necessities.  kinda like showering under a waterfall? {not that i've ever done that} but i like to breathe. 



our first day was spent driving to our destination, then getting re-acquainted with sea world for a few hours.  we {heart} sea world.



day two, thanksgiving day, was spent watching some of the macy's day parade in our rooms, then we headed out to black-eyed pea for their thanksgiving menu... with all of the other families who didn't cook. ;)  the only down side is that you can't snack on leftovers later.

we did our go-'round-the-table-and-tell-us-what-you're-thankful-for tradition.  basically, everyone is thankful for everything.  gracie made sure to let us know that she was least thankful for... having to eat a few bites of turkey. we're such mean parents. ;) 



we spent the rest of the day at sea world.  again.
gracie trying to eat over-sized candy canes. 
seeing faces in trees.  do you see it?
meeting mistletoe-man.
waiting for shamu, while enjoying christmas tunes via saxophone... played by tobey mcguire. at least that's what i thought about him.  who doesn't love a good saxophone?  *sigh*



we had to visit our friend from last year.  the king penguin.  i love their waddle.  and bad hair days {you know, when they lose their feathers} *giggle*  nator has a thing for penguins.  all birds, really.  i have a thing for her.  she's a cutie.  and oh so smart.

then there were the sea lion pups.  oh. so. adorable.

we watched a handful of shows.  shamu being my fave, as always.  thus we watched it twice. {i love when the animals decide they want to play in the big tanks near the audience... instead of rotating to the back pens during the show.  it's a show-stopper. literally. cute. well, when the babies do it, that is.} 

drank hot chocolate late in the evening when it cooled off. listened to christmas music.

gracie's faaaaavorite was feeding and especially petting a dolphin.  you would have thought she had met justin beiber in person.  her dolphin's name was nikki.  full of adorable personality.

now she wants a dolphin.
we told her we'd put it right next to that horse she wants.

it would be easier for them to {one day} work at sea world.
that's always something they dream of when we visit.



who knows... when my day-job changes, i may send a resume' to sea world myself. i'm used to working with animals, you know?

day 3 of our trip to come...
see.  traditional, right?

a break

it was well over a week ago, but since we hit the ground running,
it feels like an eternity ago.

i was going to get my hard drive situation cleared up before i posted, but...
photoshop won't let me edit,
much less save anything new on the hard drive.
mama's computer is officially maxed out.
but the days are turning into weeks, so here are several pix.
mostly unedited.
oi.



on saturday, after the girls finished theater auditions {the second round},
we hit the road.  minus daddy.
*sigh*
ironically, he's been working crazy hours here at home.
as his office is in transition, changing their physical address, merging with other offices.
a huge project.
so leaving with us is out of the question.

the girls and i met up with granny and the fam in louisiana.
then loaded up our 2 cars to complete the trip.
orange beach.
less beach, more pool.



a lovely, relaxing week.
lazy river.
breakfast on the patio.
complete with panera bagels we picked up on our way there.
hazelnut cream cheese.
mmmmmmmm...
lazy river.



reading the help.
lazy river.
fun card games.
and the lazy river.

i made one trip to the hotel's gym, for good measure.
but swimming in the lazy river was much more fun.
and can be quite the workout when going against the current. ;)



the girls had a blast on the slide.
but we had to share with the adults, too.
right, uncle b? ;)

we ventured out very little.
to eat...
lambert's cafe and the hangout {next door to the beach}.
and shop...
gracie picked a feather for her hair, t-shirt, and a fashion designer notebook.
nator picked a small space shuttle, t-shirt, and an owl bank.

we also found a great sale on books at books a million.
nator spent some time gasping to the point of nearly depleting the room of oxygen.
too cute.  so fun to see kids excited about reading.



hubs flew in on friday to join us.



2 full days with everyone there.
before we hit the road for the long trek all the way home.
which, thankfully, didn't feel as long as we thought it would.
road trips induce great conversation.



there's video, too...
but the hard drive is not ready for that download.
soon.

all of the memory capturing, uploading, burning of dvd's, dumping of old files, etc... is stressful.  am i the only one who worries about that chore?
mine may have something to do with having lost a whole year of our lives in pix and videos,
due to a hard drive crash years ago.
since then, i have issues with deleting pictures.
even though they are now saved on dvd's.

confession:  i currently have 3,779 pictures in my iphone.  non of which i shared in this post... because of the can't-upload-to-hard-drive-issue.

just call me h-mama, the bagel-eating-lazy-river-riding-beach-lovin'-picture-hoarder.
*hangs head in shame*