Casa del Suerte

Oh what a wonderful weekend!  Our friends, the Luck's just bought their first home.  They planned a housewarming party for next weekend that we are unable to attend due to a prior engagement.  I really wanted to see the house, particularly before Mila is born, so we made the trek to Austin this past weekend. 

We originally wanted to leave Friday after work so we would have all day Saturday to hang out, but as the day approached, we realized that neither of us were capable of staying awake that late (it's a 3.5-hour drive).  So instead, we woke up and got on the road first thing Saturday morning.  We arrived right at lunch time.  Logan and JR were on their way back from Logan's teeball game, so Sara gave us the grand tour.  They had the home built almost to their specifications, but left a few details to change themselves in hopes of saving some money.  They were hoping to finish everything before we arrived, but ran out of time.  It was okay though because the place looks great!  I think they've done a great job with everything.

JR got home before we got to the second floor so he joined the tour.  After we had seen everything, we headed out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  Everyone partook in a few spirits.  I was very jealous of Travis and JR's beeritas.  I want to try one so bad.  It will have to wait a couple more months though.  I am sure if I drink one of those soon after having Mila I will be severely plastered with just one.  The food was good, and the kids entertained themselves with Aiden's toys.

After lunch we went back to their house and a couple of their friends came over.  The guys went off to play disk golf in the gale force winds while the ladies stayed behind with the kids.  At first I was annoyed at the prospect since I thought I would have Travis around to help me with Aiden.  I am just SO tired lately.  I have no energy.  But!  It turned out great because Aiden had Landry and Logan to play with - and all of Logan's toys.  In fact, that was such a relief all weekend.  I didn't have Aiden constantly hanging on my leg.  He always wants me to play with him, or he wants to show me something.  All of which I appreciate and I do not ignore, but sometimes it's nice to just sit.  Particularly when you are 30 lbs heavier than normal.  Yes 30 lbs.  I'm probably going to hit the 40 mark in the next month.  Poo.

One of Sara's friends has an 8-week old son.  He reminded me so much of Aiden.  He was so sweet.  It really made me look forward to having Mila.  Though things will be a little different this time: 1) We have a better idea of what we are doing.  2) We're having a girl this time, so the clothing situation will be different.  Ahhh!  I can't wait!!  Well, I'm not particularly looking forward to the birthing process, but the end result will be awesome, I'm sure.

For dinner, we went back out for Mexican food with everyone.  That meal turned out to be a little stressful.  Aiden didn't take a nap that day AND we left for dinner when Aiden would normally be going to bed for the night.  Sara, Landry, Aiden and I ended up leaving before everyone else.  I got Aiden to bed as soon as we got home and he passed out immediately.  Sara and I stayed up chatting until the guys got home.  Travis passed out immediately as well.

Sunday I slept until 7:15.  Travis and Aiden got up around 7:45.  I would have preferred to sleep later than that, but it was way better than getting up at 5.  Blech.  Travis and JR got us donuts and kolaches for breakfast, then we went to the playground.  After the kids had played on everything for a bit, we walked over to the community pool.  It was so nice.  I really appreciated having other kids around for Aiden to play with.  There was a kiddie pool that didn't get any deeper than a foot and a half, so I didn't have to get in and hold up Aiden the entire time.  The water WAS freezing though.  We eventually had to force the kids out because they were all turning purple.

For lunch we went to Steak 'n Shake - a favorite of mine from Illinois.  I ate SO much.  It's no wonder I've gained 8 lbs in the past two weeks.  It's just that I'm SO hungry ALL the time.  It never seems to go away!  I didn't have any trouble losing weight after Aiden, so I'm not horribly worried about it.  I'm just worried about not being able to get around because I've gained so much.  Meh.  Only five weeks left now.

We decided to just head home after lunch instead of sticking around for Aiden's nap.  Aiden and I slept for two hours on the drive home.  It was AMAZING.  I was exhausted after a weekend of doing nothing.  I guess I'm just tired all the time.  We got home just after 7, so we fed Aiden dinner and unpacked.  Aiden went right to sleep with only a couple hiccups.  Then we laid in bed and watched The Rum Diary.  I didn't really like it, but it was nice to finish the weekend with more relaxing.  A thunderstorm rolled in before we fell asleep and it persisted through the night.  I've started using a sound machine and the only one that helps put me to sleep is thunderstorms.  That means real thunderstorms = sleepiness. 

FABULOUS WEEKEND.  Thanks so much Sara and JR!!

T-day in Galveston

Thanksgiving was so easy going this year, it was amazing.  We went over to Ariel and Robert's house in the morning to help them clean and cook.  Since it was nice out, Ariel decided to do the seating outdoors. 

Hostess with the mostess

We ate around 4 pm, an hour later than planned.  Not too bad, considering how things have gone in the past.  We invited our friend Scott to dinner since he doesn't have any family nearby.  Ariel's roommate Bettye and their friends Brandon, Blake and Christy came as well. 

Dinner was FANTABULOUS.  I couldn't believe it, but none of my green bean casserole was left at the end.  I don't usually feel like that's a popular item, but apparently everyone liked it the way I made it with fresh green beans.  The canned mushy green beans gross me out.

I also made a new sweet potato casserole this year.  I don't generally like the sweet potato casserole, so I took control of it it this year.  The bottom layer is mashed sweet potatoes, the middle layer is a pecan crumble (basically it's pecan pie) and the top layer is toasted marshmallows.  The toasted part was an accident, but it turned out really great.

Ariel and Robert fried a turkey and roasted a turkey.  The fried turkey was more firm and really hit the spot.  Travis and I heated up the honey baked ham he got from his boss.  It turned out really great as well.  Thankfully we were able to reheat it right before the meal.

Christy and Blake

Aiden LOVES Brandon.  Brandon is so good with kids, so I know that helps.  Aiden sat in this hammock with him for a good 20 minutes and held on while Brandon rocked the "pirate ship". 

After dinner we ate pie: pecan, pumpkin and apple.  I made the pecan pie because I was hell-bent on getting it right.  For some reason I am only capable of making pecan soup.  The stinking thing never firms up.  Of course it was pecan soup again this year.  We still ate a quarter of the pie.  I took the rest of it home and baked it for another 35 minutes.  That did the trick.  FINALLY.

As we were eating dessert, the Luck's stopped by to say hi!  They were in town to visit family for the holiday.  Logan hung out with family while Sara and JR brought Landry over to visit with Aiden.  They colored with crayons and played with a magnet set that was Robert's when he was little.  Too cute.



I hope everyone had a great holiday!  I enjoyed my 4-day weekend and was quite reluctant to come into work this morning.  If only every month had a 4-day weekend...

Wait, what did we do this weekend?

I sat down to write this post about the weekend and could not, for the life of me, remember what we did.  That is ridiculous as it is only Monday.  But, I am tired AND busy.  Not that great of a combination.  After some thought, I remembered what we did.  LOTS of stuff. 

Saturday we went to Landry's second birthday party at the Children's Museum in Houston.  The last time we went was in January, when Aiden was a year and a half old.  We stayed in the Tot Spot, which if you couldn't deduce, is a spot separated for babies and toddlers.  This time we ventured into the world of big kids on the first floor.  It was pretty chaotic, but it was interesting to watch Aiden play next to the big kids.  He got knocked over several times, but handled himself well. 

His favorite area was the water play.  I had no idea there was a water section.  He was soaked.  Luckily we had a mismatched pair of clothes that were too small for him in the bottom of the diaper bag, so he looked pretty cool after the water play. We sat outside at picnic benches to open presents, then we headed up to the Tot Spot for a little while.  After that, we headed outside to eat cupcakes before tying our sugar-rush children in their car seats.  Aiden also enjoyed a box of Nerds, so he was pretty wired by the time we made it to dinner.

For dinner, we met Travis' mom Brenda at Freebird's near our house.  Her plane got in around noon and she is here for the week.  Aiden was SO excited to see her.  I think he likes to say "Grandma" because he just says it over and over.  I wonder if he knows this is a different grandma from the one he talks to on the phone?  LOL! 

Aiden was SO good at dinner.  He has been miserable the last few times we went out to eat, so honestly I was dreading this meal.  I don't know if it's because Grandma was there, or if it's because he was hungry and still riding a sugar high.  Either way, I enjoyed it. 

After dinner we headed home and chatted in the living room.  We let Aiden stay up a little late so Brenda could see him and to increase the chances of sleeping in a little Sunday morning...

The rest of the weekend

Aiden screamed for the first 10 minutes on the drive home from Gatti Town. The last part of our drive was scream-free, since he fell asleep. In the car! Isn't it amazing?

We let Aiden sleep right up until it was time to leave for dinner. We attempted to go to a BBQ place that they said was amazing, called Salt Lick. Turns out, that place is hoppin' on a Saturday night. There was a two hour wait. Just looking at that parking lot, I cannot believe that the wait was only two hours. There was a constant steady stream of cars pulling into what seemed an endless parking lot. It was so thick with cars that cops were directing traffic.

The restaurant looked really cute. It's in the middle of nowhere, so the surrounding area is beautiful and green. They had a band playing and it's BYOB. If we didn't have cranky kids in tow, we probably would have stuck around for the wait.

Since we DID have cranky children (and by this point, cranky Nikki), we headed back towards Sara and JR's house. We tried another BBQ place (our mouths were watering for BBQ after the aroma from Salt Lick reached our cars), but they were packed for Crawfish Night. We finally found a place a couple blocks away that looked like a giant warehouse. There was only one table of people when we walked in the doors. I've decided that these hole-in-the-wall places can be the most gratifying.

We pushed a bunch of tables together so we were seated like you did in the cafeteria in grade school. The food was awesome, and this was another BYOB place, so we popped open a bottle of wine and the guys cracked open a beer.

I INHALED my chipped beef sandwich. After trying Travis' brisket, I was bummed I hadn't gotten that. I didn't grow up around brisket, so I always forget it exists. Aiden happily ate away on the other side of Travis, over by Logan and his cousin Isaiah. We went outside when a train went by, since Aiden's current obsession appears to be trains and large trucks.

After dinner, we all went back to Sara and JR's for a game of Apples to Apples. We had 11 people playing. I'm pretty sure that's a record for largest group for me to play with. We still had a great time.

Travis, Carol (JR's mom), JR, Wheldon and Casey (Sara's parents)

Kyle (Vanessa's date), Vanessa (Sara's sister), Isabella, Sara and Brittany (JR's sister)

The only person not shown is Sara's other sister Randi Beth because she left the party early. The next morning, they made us breakfast and we hung around drinking coffee. Aiden got up at his normal 7 o'clock, so I was pretty exhausted by this point. We stayed up late every night, got up early and had full and active days. I was WORN out. This was the first time that it was just Logan, Landry and Aiden, so it was cute to watch them interact. Aiden followed Logan around, examining all his big boy toys. Landry and Aiden played with some foam letters together and then we let them run around outside for a bit. Of course, Aiden's ears seem to be tuned in for trains these days, so he loved it when a train went by somewhere in the distance.

For his birthday, Logan got a new bicycle with training wheels. Aiden really loved this bike, but he was entirely too small for it, so we had to help him on and off.

We had the car loaded and were on the road at 11 that morning. We had seen a Steak 'n Shake the previous day. That restaurant was all over the place when we lived in Illinois, but we have never seen one in Texas. Since it was lunch time, we decided to make the short detour north to eat there. It was interesting to see the slightly different menu, although the staples were still there. They offered a Guacamole Burger and a Chipotle Burger. Both of which are not available in Illinois. Travis got the Chipotle Burger and I got the Frisco Melt. We had enough food to just share with Aiden.

Of course, we both got shakes for the road. It was amazing. I was STUFFED. Actually, writing about this is making me hungry. Travis drove halfway home, while Aiden slept. I drove the last half, after Aiden woke up. Aiden was ready to be out of that car, so the last 30 minutes were pretty stressful for me.

It was good to be home after such a busy weekend. But it was worth it!

Logan's first T-ball game

This past weekend Travis, Aiden and I piled into the car and drove to south Austin for the weekend. Logan celebrated his 4th birthday. Friday night, we ate dinner after work, then got on the road for the three and a half hour drive. We hit some traffic in west Houston. Thankfully it was in an area of town that Travis knows, so we were able to quickly maneuver around the mess.

We got to the Luck's new house a little after 10. I fell asleep at 9 and I was told that Aiden finally fell asleep at 9:30. I felt drugged when it was time to unload the car. Aiden was ready to climb into his travel crib as soon as we brought him in the house.

We sat up for an hour doing a little catch up before heading to bed. It was nice to see our old friends again! And I was impressed with how much weight JR has lost. He's been on a diet for a little over a month now (Sara?) and he's lost about 40 pounds. It's amazing what just a change of diet can do for somebody.

Saturday morning we got up for Logan's first T-ball game. Logan's team consists of three- and four-year-olds. I was so excited to see a bunch of little kids play an organized game like that. It was HILARIOUS. I laughed so much. Every time the ball went into the field, every single kid out there would run after the ball. There was an adult at every base and placed sporadically around the field to coach the kids on what to do. All in all, I was pretty impressed with these kids' abilities. They seemed to grasp the basic concept, although there was the occasional batter that ran towards third before an adult could redirect him or her.

Logan's team is called the Purple Lil' Wranglers. All the teams are called the Lil' Wranglers, but each one has a different colored shirt. It worked out well for the referee. Before he placed the ball on the tee for each kid, he would yell "Lil' Wranglers, are you ready?!" in his booming baritone voice. Of course, that would get the attention of all the kids since they all fell under that name.

Here's JR, getting Logan's team shirt on. (It was their first game, so he didn't have a t-shirt yet.)

The bats seemed to be half the length of a normal bat. They made me chuckle. Sara gave Logan some batting tips.

Aiden was pretty interested in the game. He was also really interested in the dugout, in general. I think he wanted to get in there and play with the other kids. He also found that it was fun to scale the chain-link fence. That was scary for me, but we just let him do it. We figured that if he hurt himself, he'd hopefully learn from it (he never got higher than two feet). But then he never fell down or hurt himself! That kid constantly amazes me.

Aiden and Landry spent much of the game playing the red dirt. Everyone looked like they had bad spray tan with orange hands and feet by the time we headed home.

The guy in the cowboy hat and red shirt is the referee. He would show each batter the ball and ask them which picture they wanted to aim for on the ball. Then he would set up the ball with that photo facing the batter. He was really good at luring them into what they should be doing. Some of the kids were reluctant to get up to the plate. The picture decision on the ball helped distract them. Logan's a lefty, so if he sticks with the game, he'll have one up on his opponents later in life.

After the ball was set up, the ref yelled at the "pitcher" to throw the ball. The pitcher then made the hand motions like he was throwing the ball for the batter. (Lol!) After Logan hit the ball, he knew which base to run to first.

I don't know how they decide what to do, but sometimes the kids run just to first, sometimes they had home runs. It didn't seem to matter how many times they got tagged with the ball. I guess there are no outs or strikes or balls in T-ball. It totally makes sense to me, but man was it humorous.

Landry's ONEderland

Landry's first birthday party was this past Saturday afternoon. We decided to leave first thing in the morning, instead of rushing around to leave after work Friday. We arrived at their house, between Austin and San Antonio, around 1 pm (~4-hr drive, with a lunch stop). I had to run to the store for a couple things for Aiden, which worked out because Sara was running party errands when we got there.

I got back just in time to start eating the food before the rest of the guests arrived. It was mostly Sara's family, but there were a couple friends as well.

The birthday girl

Opening pink presents

Eating birthday princess cupcakes

Landry and Aiden played with her cousin Isaiah

Logan passed out on the couch. He sleeps with his eyes open.

I made a joke, asking if anyone had checked to see if Logan was alive. He was looking a little pale, and the open eyes were a little freaky. Sara had a moment of panic when she looked closer, but he was okay. Just panicky parents!

After the family left, we played a game of quarters. That is a BAD game. Results in hangovers. We thought about going to the local carnival, but after quarters decided that it would be best to stay off the roads. Instead, we ordered a pizza and moved the party outside. It was nice and cool out. People started dropping like flies, until the last three of us decided to call it a night at 1:30 in the morning.

The next morning I was EXHAUSTED, but it didn't matter because Aiden was ready to get up at 7:30 and he was MAD. He did okay for a little while, but then decided he wanted out of the bedroom. Since everyone was sleeping in the house, including on the living room couch, Travis took him to the store to get donuts. I stayed home and tried to sleep, but just couldn't get myself to fall asleep. By the time he got back, Sara and Landry were up, so we all went outside to eat breakfast.

Sara and I chatted while Travis and Aiden went to the park. After a few hours, it was time for Aiden's nap so we got back on the road for home. We stopped at a farm on the way home, but I'll have to get to that tomorrow...

Happy birthday Landry! I can't believe how fast time flies.

Mom's Day Photos

Sara and I at the beach

Travis and JR


Sara and Landry at Salsa's


Aiden and I during our picnic


Daddy rocking a cranky Aiden to sleep


Mother's Day gifts

My First

This was my first Mother's Day as an actual mother. Last year at this time, I was pregnant and that felt real. BUT, I did not yet know my son, or the extreme sense of connection that I would feel for him. This Mother's Day had an entirely new meaning to me. It makes me sad to think of all the years that I did things for my mom on this day without understanding the extent to which she felt about it the holiday. I guess that is just the cycle of life. I don't doubt that Aiden will love me (or already does), but I don't think he will understand the breadth of the feeling I have until he has children of his own.

This year it was a weekend long celebration and I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. I made plans to meet the Luck family for a potluck barbecue at the beach with JR's family. That morning, Travis decided to fit in blowing the attic with insulation. Chris R. came over to feed the machine, while Travis crawled around in the cramped quarters of our attic space with the hose. There were a few hiccups (the originally rented machine did not work, one hose got severely clogged, etc.), so Travis was not ready to leave when we needed to. I would have waited, but since I figured Aiden would not last long, I wanted to get out there before his afternoon nap.

Fortunately, Travis was able to meet us down there just an hour or so later. The location they chose to have the BBQ was right on the beach, so we parked right next to where we were sitting. I will DEFINITELY be going back to this location next time we visit the beach. It was so much easier than attempting to cart everything with you in one trip from the Seawall down to the water. We were able to go back and forth from our car with ease.

Since the last trip to the beach with Aiden was not very successful, I did not have confidence that we would stay longer than a couple hours. I was sure to put sunscreen on Aiden before I even got him out of the car. I, on the other hand, decided to forgo the cancer-prevention. I thought, eh, just a couple hours, I should be fine without it. Well, two hours turned into ALL DAY. It may have been cloudy and windy, but don't let that fool you! I AM FRIED. JUST in time for our trip home. Through the airport. With our luggage for two adults and a baby. With shoulder straps. Ahhh! Stupid me. I really should have applied sunscreen once Aiden fell asleep for his afternoon nap. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Anyway, the day was wonderful. I think the lack of full-exposure sun helped keep Aiden from getting cranky. We ate lots of food, while Travis and I passed Aiden back and forth. We played horse shoes and bags, but did not get in the water except for our feet.

After the beach, we went home to shower, then came back to meet everyone for dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we haven't been to in a long time. Aiden was such a trooper. He made it all day long without breaking down once. I'm sure it helped that he never got any sunscreen in his eyes! It was really great to catch up with Sara and JR and to see how much their kids have grown. I took a bunch of photos that I will get up later.

Sunday was a fairly laid back day for us, just the family. Travis got Aiden up, grabbed his bottle and laid him in bed with me, so he could run out to grab us kolaches and that horrific gas station cappuccino that is my guilty-pleasure. During breakfast, Travis gave me my Mother's Day gifts. Expensive gifts have never been a part of our relationship, so I was shocked to find my gifts came in two small gift bags: Victoria's Secret and Jared's. Aiden and Daddy got me new perfume, Sexy Little Things Noir with a cute little aerosolizer, and blue topaz earrings. The blue topaz is because that is my favorite stone, not because it is Aiden's birthstone.

While Aiden took his morning nap, Travis worked on replacing our hole-filled aluminum screens with nylon solar screens. Travis is taking off our storm shutters, which has been a source of anxiety for me. On one hand, they are great. The one time we have had to evacuate for a hurricane since living in this house, I was able to walk around to each window and turn the knob to close the storm shutters.

On the other hand, if there is a fire, we have no alternate escape route. I was also worried about the direct sun light affecting our electric bill, but Travis solved that problem by purchasing screens that block out 90% of the sun's rays. It has changed the ambiance of our house dramatically, as we have switched from warm daylight to a cool blue light that filters through the screens. I also believe that the storm shutters are an eye-sore. They make the house look extremely dated.

I already feel secure in our decision to remove the shutters. The house looks SO MUCH better, meaning it should be a little easier to sell the house in a year. I can't wait to see how much the combination of attic insulation and solar screens will affect our electric bill. It's been a green-weekend at our house!

Anyhoo, when Aiden woke up from his nap, we grabbed his lunch and a blanket and headed to the park. We stopped at Wendy's on the way for an easy-on-the-go picnic food. I do have to say the meal itself was very disappointing, but the time by the pond was worth it. Aiden had a good time crawling around the blanket with Travis, tinkering with his toys. We only stayed for an hour and then headed back home.

Travis worked on the screens some more during Aiden's afternoon nap. Another plus about taking off these shutter is we now can reach the outside of the windows to clean them. They were bad. I feel like it is so much easier to see out of our windows now. During the day, the windows just look black from the outside. At night, they are like any other window. I was amazed to notice just how tall our neighbor's pine trees are, now that we can see without the shutters. Travis replaced five out of fifteen of the screens. I think the rest should go pretty smoothly.

For dinner, we grilled the rest of the fish Travis caught weeks ago (we had frozen half of it) and steaks. The best part, is Aiden ate what we were eating. He tried speckled trout, Parmesan rice, green peppers and onions. This new level of eating is SO EXCITING as a mother. I love giving him new things to try. I never would have thought to offer him onions, except that I read it recently in a magazine. He took it on like a champ!

Aiden had some trouble falling asleep, so Travis ended up rocking him to sleep in the hammock. We rounded the evening off by watching the movie Sherlock Holmes (probably would have been better if we hadn't needed to pause the movie several times) and eating Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. I couldn't have asked for a better day with my boys!

Little Landry

Sunday afternoon we headed up to JR and Sara's to see the new house and spend more time with the new addition to the family. I still cannot get over how small Landry is! We brought dinner over because I know how much I appreciated it being done for us.

I'm sure it was a combination of the busy weekend and the glass of wine with dinner that kicked my ass. I was fighting sleep the whole hour-and-a-half ride home (they moved to north of Houston just before Landry was born). I would have loved to just pass out, but I wanted to help keep Travis awake since he was driving. It's the little things.

Sara and her little girl

JR and Logan

Landry and Logan

This morning on my drive into work I noticed about 3 million grackles covering the power lines and trees. Creepy really. Not sure if it's supposed to mean anything, but I am glad they aren't crows! Do you see all the black specks on the tips of the branches in this pic? Those are all birds. I think you should be able to click on the photo to blow it up a little. I took it with my phone, so it's not of the best quality.

Since the Murano is back in the shop today, I had to drop Travis off at work. He goes to work at 7AM. I don't usually leave for work until 7:30AM. That equates to me arriving at work when the sun was coming up. It's a peaceful time really. Unless you take a million cackling grackles into consideration. Eesh.

So this past weekend Travis and I went to visit Landry (and of course Sara and JR) in the hospital. I cannot get over HOW TINY that little girl is. I know Aiden was not even a pound heavier that she is when he was born, but man I cannot believe he was that small!! After holding Landry, I went out to the waiting room to feed Aiden. When I picked him up out of his stroller I could not get over how absolutely monstrous he was compared to her. I might as well have been lifting a medicine ball out of that stroller.

Anyhoo, I'm an idiot and left the camera's memory card in my computer at home, which means I was unable to get any photos except for this one with my cell phone. I'm hoping to visit them soon at home and I will bring a fully functioning camera.

Landry looks SO MUCH like Sara. It's crazy. In the first photos I saw of her it seemed like her hair was more red than it was when I visited. Although, that could be because of the low lighting in the hospital room.

Maybe it's because she is still so tiny and I don't have a good photo with me of Logan when he was first born, but I expected Landry to look more like Logan. Maybe it's because she looks more like her mom and Logan looks more like his dad? At any rate, she is precious!

Side note: The spell check does not recognize Aiden's name, but it does accept Landry's. LOL!

PS - Happy Birthday Stephanie!!!

PPS - I threw up another website in the side bar I like to check occasionally. You may have heard of it: People of Walmart.

Welcome Landry!

Landry Bell Luck

6 lbs, 15.8 oz

20.5 inches long

Born at 9:39am on October 15, 2009

Red hair and the word is she looks like Mommy!

Congrats JR and Sara!!!

** Update **

Mom and baby are doing great. Here's a better photo of Landry's face:

Ashley & Scott's Wedding

Saturday after the baby shower we drove an hour north to attend our friends' wedding. It was an outdoor ceremony at a yacht club, and then the reception was in the club house. We met Sara and JR there and sat with them during the ceremony. The sky looked like it might be tempted to sprinkle on us, but luckily it only spit out a little just before the ceremony started. The bride stayed dry!

I know Ashley had been waiting for several years to get her proposal from Scott, so when the minister pronounced them man and wife, she put a fist in the air and let out a celebratory whoop. Ha! Scott also seemed excited...

The bride and groom took all of there photos together after the ceremony while the guests herded into the club house to begin the reception. There was an open bar that Travis took advantage of while Sara and I hit up a few of the servers with appetizer trays. Ashley decided on a beach theme for the wedding. There were seashells and sand everywhere. The cake was covered in seashell candies (oh and the cake was delicious). The groom's cake was chocolate and had a picture of Scott holding a gigantic fish he caught offshore somewhere. Underneath the photo were the words "The Perfect Catch". LOL!

We sat at a huge table with Sara, JR, Mary and TJ. A cranberry-spinach salad and rolls were served for our appetizer and filet mignon and chicken for our meal. As Scott would say, it was a great weekend for a variety of "free" food for a pregnant lady.

Mary and TJ

Travis and I left the party around 10 or so. I couldn't handle much more than that. I was fed and tired and ready to lay down. Travis was supposed to work the next day, so he didn't want to stay out late either.

We caught the bride and groom for goodbyes and extra congrats on our way out of the building:

Scott and Ashley

It was a busy weekend already, and it was only Saturday!!

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. JR Luck!!

See the last few minutes of their wedding in Vegas here:

JR & Sara's Wedding video

Grilled Caesar Vegetable Salad

Travis and I had Sara and JR over last night for dinner and I wanted to try something new for a side. Whenever I get on this kick, I flip through all the various Betty Crocker cookbooks that I have picked up at the cashier in the grocery store over the years. This week, I came across a recipe titled Grilled Caesar Vegetable Salad. Normally I would have skimmed right past it for two reasons: One, it contains mushrooms, which I generally hate (I like the flavor, but not the consistency). And two, it requires Caesar dressing, which I have only started to like within the past year.

I decided what the hell, let's do it. If I don't like it, there's a chance that three other people might. It seemed worth the risk. Well, it was a huge hit. Even I liked it. I think that is the first time I've taken a bite of a mushroom and not immediately spit it back out. My mom always said that if I ever liked mushrooms, it would be portabellas. I think she was right.

It always seems funny to me to take vegetables and smother them in some calorie ridden sauce. Then I was thinking, we are still getting the nutrients, right? That's what I'm worried about most right now. Not so much calorie or fat intake as I am worried about getting enough of the vitamins and minerals I need to grow a human.

I didn't really measure everything out exactly, so here's my slightly-different-than-the-original version of Grilled Caesar Vegetable Salad:

• 1/3 cup Caesar dresssing
• 2 large fresh portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 medium bell peppers, but into 1/2-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat grill for direct heat.
2. Brush mushrooms, yellow squash and bell peppers with oil. Place vegetables in grill basket.
3. Cover and grill vegetables over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, shaking basket or stirring vegetables occasionally, until crisp-tender.
4. To serve, place on serving platter and sprinkle with tomatoes. Drizzle dressing over vegetables and sprinkle with cheese. Serve at room temperature.

Long post... hope it's not too much for one sitting

Travis and I had a fairly random weekend. I used to always plan my days off down to the last second because I didn't want to lose one minute of entertainment. This weekend was different. At the last minute, we invited Chris, Alexa and Blair over for dinner on Friday. They haven't been to our house since Blair could walk, so that was interesting. Travis and I got a taste of what things might be too dangerous when we have our own little one roaming our house. I did attempt to pull things off the coffee table that were not baby-friendly, in hopes that Chris and Alexa wouldn't have to spend the entire evening chasing Blair around. Although I do have to give them props because when they said 'No', Blair was a very good listener.

There were a few time were you could tell that he was testing his boundries. For example, see the lantern lights behind Chris in this photo?

Blair loved them. And who wouldn't? Alexa told him no (not a good idea for a one year old to be playing with electricity) and he stopped! He made a pouty face and walked away. But just a few minutes later he walked back to them. Before he touched them, he looked at his mom to see what she was going to do, and then he touched them again! LOL! He is so funny. After a couple tries, each time being torn down by mom, he finally gave up on the lanterns.

We got in several hours of fun before it was time for Blair to head to bed. Alexa brought over a few items that she had been borrowing, along with a few more baby things that I passed on to Nadya (her and her husband Alexey are expecting a baby girl just five days after our little man). They also left behind a gigantic box. It was originally for Blair to play with, but when they left I sprayed it with catnip and it became the cats' box. They had a good time before it was time for their 37th nap of the day.

Saturday turned out to be a fairly gloomy day. Travis spent all day with the guys celebrating JR's Bachelor Party Day. The had a tee time of 11:30AM and spent the whole afternoon on the golf course. Then they headed to Hooters for dinner. They all planned to head to a bar after dinner, but Travis ended up leaving the party early. He had some weird, scary blackout moment. He said he only had a few drinks throughout the whole day, so it can't be explained away by too much alcohol. Travis said he started to get hot and his heart was racing. He excused himself from the table and then woke up almost half an hour later laying down in his truck.

This really freaks me out. I feel like we are so close to having the little family that we want that every little thing that goes wrong scares the living daylights out of me. He called to say he was coming home early and asked if I could have some chicken soup ready for him. As excited as I was to have him home with me, I didn't like the circumstances. JR said that he just disappeared and they didn't know where he went to after he excused himself from the table. That means he never passed out while standing upright.

We still have no idea what happened to him. He felt fine when he woke up Sunday morning and has not had an incident since. I hope it was a one time thing. It does seem like every time he plays golf, he comes home feeling like crap. I always thought it was a combination of too much sun and too much alcohol, resulting in dehydration. I guess that could still be the case, despite not drinking as much as he used to. Eek!

Sunday was another random day for us. We got up and Travis made me french toast and bacon for breakfast (that pre-cooked microwavable bacon is my new favorite). We decided to take Callaway for a walk, but were disappointed to find it was pretty chilly, with a significant breeze. We made it about half way down the block when some guy comes out of his garage asking what kid of a dog we have. Turns out, he has a Catahoula Leopard dog that looks a lot like Callaway. He and his wife were just about to head out on a walk themselves with their 9-month old son, so they joined us. They seemed like very nice people, so we exchanged phone numbers. They said they like to grill out a lot - maybe we'll get an invitation soon. =)

After the walk, we took it easy for an hour and ate lunch. Then we headed to Galveston to help Nadya and Alexey move. Now that they are expecting a little one of their own, they decided it was time to get a bigger apartment. It has worked out great being pregnant at the same time as Nadya. I know so many people who have had babies within the past couple of years and we have been offered so much stuff. We are ending up with two of some item, so I have been offering the "extras" to Nadya and Alexey. Yesterday, we were able to set them up with a free dresser and crib from a friend of Travis'. Having a baby makes it very easy to fill up any extra space you may have had in your home. I think they will easily fill out that new apartment.

Since they didn't have much to move, we spent only a few hours with Nadya and Alexey. Then we made a surprise visit to Ariel and Robert. We have been trying to meet up with them for weeks, but our plans kept falling through. This time we just dropped by and didn't give them a choice. We lazed around with them all afternoon watching movies and catching up on our lives. We had Pizza Hut take-out for dinner and watched The Legend of Bagger Vance. It was a little slow for me - not sure I would recommend it to anyone.

All in all, we had a good weekend. Although I'm not ready for the week to start yet. Oops. Too late...

Roni Lips

JR and Sara came over Friday evening with Logan. We had beer, pizza and played a little Liverpool Rummy. Since everyone but me had to work that evening or the next day, we ended up cutting the game short.

Logan didn't quite seem sure about pepperoni.

It kind of reminds me of that thing you can do with Pringles to make duck lips...

Friday in Photos

David, Stephanie and Wednesday got to our house Friday evening. Shannon, Chris, Sara, JR and Logan all came over to visit with them. Nothing too crazy - I just made a frozen lasagna and Shannon brought over a cranberry-walnut salad. Pretty laid back.

Logan's impression of JR. And a good one at that.

A very excited Stephanie. Lol!

Travis, a booger bulb and a beer.

Wednesday and the boys

CrAzY haired Wednesday

Wednesday was absolutely terrified of Travis the first time she saw him on Friday. We think she was just tired and freaking out a little because she went to sleep in a car she knows very well and woke up in a strange house. Poor kiddo! She did a little better once Travis took off his hat. By the end of the weekend they were old buds again. Phew!