A few more new things...

On Sunday, we left our kids with a babysitter for the first time. We've always left them with family in the past, but this time we left them with our 13 year old neighbor. They were so excited when she came over and she said they were good for her. She is watching them again tomorrow night so I can go to a Parents Council meeting at Gracie's school. (Doug will be working late all week.) Once they get a little more used to each other, we'll be using her to go out on dates more often.

Last night I went to my first book club. I've been reading a lot since we moved up here (55 books already this year) and was excited to be able to discuss a book after reading it. The book club had about 15 people and we had some great discussions about Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. I recommend the book, but it is almost 1000 pages, so be prepared to take some time to read it. Next month we are reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, which I've heard great things about and was planning to read in the future. The best part of it all was browsing the bookshelves afterwards. I never get to go to the libary by myself and it was so nice to not be hurried or distracted by kids.

Today, Gracie went to the dentist for the first time. A couple days after knocking out her tooth last week, something started to come through the gum. It didn't look like a permanent tooth because it was too small, so I made an appt for her to get it checked out. They did an x-ray and everything is fine. The dentist said sometimes after trauma, a tooth comes through the gum a little bit and then goes back up when everything firms up again. Whew! What a relief! I was so worried that she had broken her big tooth in the fall. And I'm so proud of her because she did great. I picked the dentist because he is the parent of one of her kindergarten classmates from last year, so he was familiar to her. I think it paid off. I made her an appointment for Nov to go in for her first cleaning. Hopefully that goes as well as today did.

Oh, and it feels like summer today. It's getting up to the low 80's and we're loving it! I know the cold is right around the corner, so I'm enjoying this nice weather while it lasts.

A big first!

Gracie lost her first tooth today!

It had been loose since April or May and was loose enough to wiggle with her tongue, but it did not come out gently. She tripped and hit her face on the steps at the playground at school and it came out. She bled a lot and was hysterical (I think because of all the blood, not so much from pain). We had walked over, so we had to walk home (I pulled both kids in the wagon at a much faster pace than usual) and by the time we got home, she was calmer and the bleeding was almost stopped. She had a popsicle to help it feel better and is now all better and looking forward to her first visit from the tooth fairy. :)

Eating the medicinal popsicle.


Her new smile minus the tooth.

Haircuts and blackmail

Here is a before pic of Bradley. He has badly needed a haircut for some time now.


Last night, Daddy cut his hair. He hated it at first and wouldn't be still, but then he relaxed and did quite well for the rest of the cut.


After:


Yesterday, Bradley was having a fit because Gracie didn't want him playing with her Ariel doll. After having a talk about sharing, she let him play with it. He wanted his picture taken with her, so I took it knowing that in 16 years or so it will be great for blackmail. ;)

Picture catch-up

I've been taking some pictures, just not posting them, so here are some to catch you all up.

Gracie had to decorate a bag and fill it with things about herself for 'homework'.


Bradley, of course, needed some 'homework' to work on too.


Last week, an amazing thing happened. Bradley napped twice! He hasn't napped since early this year, so it was a rarity. I guess Gracie going back to school has messed with his schedule enough that he needed a couple snoozes to help him adjust.




Yesterday, walking to school. They are always so cute in the mornings, but I never remember my camera to capture the moment.


Gracie had a field trip yesterday. Here she is on the bus ready to go.


It was so warm yesterday (low 80s) that the kids were in shorts and had popsicles for a snack!

Ike and Bud Selig can bite me!

Warning: foul language ahead!

While I would have preferred for the Astros/Cubs games to be played at Minute Maid Park, I would not be complaining if the replacement park had not given the Cubs home field advantage. To call it a 'neutral' site when it is an hour and a half from Chicago, is complete bull shit. What the hell was MLB thinking? There were many ballparks sitting empty that could have housed us for these games without being so close to Chicago. Why couldn't we play in Atlanta? Or Tampa? They were both sitting empty. Dell Diamond in Austin offered, why couldn't they have played there? That would be a HOME field for the Astros. It is a complete joke to call us the home team at Miller Park. I didn't see a single Astros fan there. It was a sea of Cubs fans. I'm so pissed off, I cried out of anger after the last out last night. If mother nature and stupid MLB decisions cost my boys the playoffs, I'm going to be one majorly pissed off fan. Hell, I already am.

We heard through the grapevine...

My parents and Doug's parents are all fine. That's all we know. We assume their power is out since it seems to be that way for most of the city and surrounding areas. We haven't been able to get through to any of them on the phone, so we don't know anything about damage to their houses. I hate being so far away. If we were still at our old house, we would have been a half hour away from them and could drive over to check on them.

Update: My sister finally got through to my parents. They don't have power, but that was expected. They were very lucky because both next door neighbors had large trees uproot and fall over, but neither of them landed on a house. One of them did fall in the street though, so they are trapped until the tree is removed. Doug talked to his mom yesterday afternoon and they made it through with no damage also.

GO ASTROS!!!!

Imagine my surprise and glee when I woke up this morning to see that the Astros are now tied for second in the Wild Card race in the NL. Doug doesn't think they can do it, but I BELIEVE!!!

GO ASTROS!!!

She made my day...

Last night I went on a beer run after the kids were in bed and I GOT CARDED! I'm 31. How many 31 year olds get carded to buy beer? I told her with a huge grin that she made my day. :)

Time for the snake to go...

My brother had a buddy in the army who bought a snake. When said buddy was sent overseas, the snake could not go, so my brother took it. When my brother was sent to Korea, my parents took it. When my sister went to Wisconsin, she took it with her. Several months ago, the snake bit my sister, so now she keeps her in her 'cage' all the time except when she lets her out to eat. The snake stays in the basement with the door closed when she is not in her cage and my sister doesn't handle her at all anymore, but just waits for her to go back in her cage on her own. Today, my sister's kitten slipped past her into the basement and the snake attacked him. When my sister got down there within seconds, the snake had her teeth in his paw and was wrapped around him. I already wanted her to get rid of the snake after she got bit, but now that the kitten is lucky to be alive, I'm insisting that she get rid of it. Doug and I are trying to think of humane ways she could 'put her down' without having to remove her from the cage.

This is called peer pressure. I know several people who live close to my sister read this blog. Please help me convince her this is what needs to happen. Her idea right now is for my parents to take the snake back. Yeah, what a great idea. So she can go after the cat at my parents house or even better my kids the next time we are there visiting. Ticia, you are Doyle's mommy and you need to do what is best for him. I know it's hard, but it's the right thing to do. (And please don't hate me for putting this on the internet for the world to read.)

School update

Gracie loves school. She loves her teacher. Several of her best friends from Kindergarten are in her class, so that worked out well.

Bradley is doing better than I thought he would being home with me all day without his big sister to play with.

I was stupid not to expect it, but I was not prepared for Gracie to be so tired in the afternoons/evenings. She has been SO grumpy the last two days. Last night, we got ready for bed almost an hour earlier than we usually do. Maybe her bedtime will have to be permanently moved up to make sure she gets enough sleep to make it through the day. Here's hoping this evening is better than the last two...

Our first grader

Gracie is a first grader now! How did it happen so fast???

We got to the school early to check the lists and see which class she is in and find out who some of her classmates are. We were both very excited that three of her very good friends from last year were in her class. I walked her in to the school and helped her find her desk and then Bradley and I left. She was quite happy, which makes me happy because she was very nervous over the last few weeks. Her teacher seemed nice too.

We had bought a cute short-sleeved denim dress for her to wear on her first day, but since it was 40 this morning, we decided long sleeves were better. Here she is getting ready to walk out the door. (In Texas no one ever wears a JACKET on the first day!)