Anna Bear Grylls

In honor of her adventurous spirit, we have decided to rename Anna, "Anna Bear Grylls: Woman v Wild", for those of you that are familiar with the Man v Wild series on the Discovery Channel

So today was Anna's second time at gymnastics class and my first time to go with her since dad took her last week. Anna has been desperate to do the mommy and me gymnastics class that is taught at the same time as John's class. Lately she's not content to sit on the sidelines and just watch like we had been doing. The mommy and me class is actually for 18-36 month olds but the teacher, Ms. Sarah, noticed Anna's desperate longing from the bleachers and said she would love to have her in the class since she seemed so interested. So I ponied up and paid for 2 classes for Anna. It was a great investment. The child is in her element.

Anna was so excited when we got to the gym. She kept trying to rip off her shoes and run to the baby gym area. Finally we started class and Anna ran around the stations like a pro. She had no fear. Then trapeeze time came. Oh, boy, the first time around she was so hilarious. She got to the trapeeze and paused for a moment to acknowledge her audience and smiled a huge smile as if to say "Behold I am Anna. I am on the trapeeze. Everyone watch me". Wish I could have captured it on camera. Everyone was laughing at her precociousness and marvelled at her freakish strength in how well she held on with it only being her 2nd class.

This is video of the second time around....notice her rippling biceps.....



God is good. I think if John would have been a rambuctious, rough and tumble little fellow I may have never fully recovered my wits about me but since he is so chill and cautious I can actually appreciate the activity and spirit of Anna's little personality this time around. She is so different than John, personality-wise, and it doesn't freak me out as much as I think it may have with John.

A wise person once reminded me that "God knew and created the personality of your children and gave them to you in the exact order and spacing they are supposed to be in your family with precise purpose". So true....so true....

Featured!

Well, today I was delighted to discover that my little hutch redo was featured on The Shabby Nest's blog!




Although I have no aspirations of becoming a decor blogger like the dedicated women who blog the sites listed on the right column of my blog, I do LOVE LOVE reading these blogs for inspiration and ideas. And I am constantly amazed by all the people that share my same crazy thoughts and love for anything made with a little sweat equity.
So when these bloggers have "show and tell" days like Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday Parties sometimes I throw in my little project and hope others can be inspired, as I am by their projects. So imagine my surprise when I noticed some major traffic to the blog today and realized Wendy had picked me as one of her favorite projects!
Wheeeee!

Click here to see her feature

Birthday Weekend Recap - Part 2

So then came the next part of my birthday--Kyle had planned a surprise for me a few months in advance and wouldn't tell me what it was. Not a huge fan of surprises because I like to plan things but he finally told me a few days before that we were going to see......

.....Lady Gaga

Ok, a lot of you might have puzzled looks on your faces. Most people look at me a bit shocked and say "do you like Lady Gaga?"

I do like Lady Gaga's catchy dance songs as much as the next person who listens to the radio. I mean, you'd have to be comatose if you can't tap your foot to "Just Dance", "Poker Face", or "Bad Romance". I was as surprised as anyone I was going to the concert but Kyle was able to get really good seats for a very good price so he went for it. We made a whole day of it and stayed at a hotel downtown near the Toyota Center, enjoyed a yummy dinner at Mia Bella, and walked to the concert.

She is a little (ok, a lot) crazy but it was definitely a fun, loud, interesting, and entertaining experience.

This is how Kyle spent the whole concert

Lots of anticipation and build up for LG to make her appearance. This screen was the entire height of the Toyota Center and showed images of her jumping and turning in slo-mo before she came out. The audience was going wacko. All those little lights at the bottom of the picture are people holding phones and cameras up. It was craaaazy

This was one of her famously weird costumes....

....that sprouted wings and then she was lifted up on a platform....

Here is another weird outfit

There were a ton of other weird outfits. I spared you pictures of the fire-spitting bikini number.

 I must give her credit, the girl dances in at LEAST 4 inch heels the entire 1.5 hour show wearing non-breathable materials with only a few breaks to change redonkulous costumes and maybe to a rest during 2 or 3 slow songs where she played the piano and sang. Otherwise her energy was intense.

Thanks, Kyle! You definitely surprised me and I enjoyed getting to spend a fun evening with you!

Birthday Weekend Recap - Part 1

So my 32nd birthday was on Saturday and my parents and my friend, Anne, and her parents came over for a low-key dessert celebration.

I'm a girl who loves dessert!

The best pictures we could get with two squirmy kids

 

Hunter Graves (1997-2010)

Hunter, you were a part of my life for almost 14 years (nearly half my life). I brought you home in college, a teeny weeny puppy, and you spent that first night in my bed with me ( I think my mom was appalled-she wanted to send you back). But you grew on us all so you stayed. You were always a little crazy but definitely a gentle giant. My faithful jogging partner during my single years, we used to explore the trails of Terry Hershey Park together. Even though my parents ended up taking care of you after I married and moved out and moved on I always called you my "first baby". My mom says it was annoying to clean up all your shedded hair but I know she secretly sneaked loving strokes on your head. But I think you preferred my Dad because he gave you treats and took you on long walks and let you lead the way. Thanks, Dad, for taking such good care of the big furry baby. I know you'll miss your faithful and constant companion. Hunter, you will be missed, good friend......

Sanding & Painting & Glazing, OH MY!

So a month or so ago I declared to Kyle that I was "getting antsy and needed a project" So that sparked the new curtains which were followed by the pillow and tree canopy for John's room. Then I was perusing Craigslist furniture online (because that's what crazy me does for fun -- it's like going to a thrift store/garage sale from the comfort of my own home) when I stumbled upon this:

"Cute", I thought to myself. I don't know if you can tell but it's a little blue--in person it was a little too blue for me. But I loved the curvy lines and the detail and the CHICKEN WIRE doors and it was the perfect scale for our small dining room, only about 15" deep. I told Kyle, "I could do something FANtacular with this and it's whispering my name...listen....". It's at this point Kyle shudders as he sees the stars coming out of my eyes as I am hypnotized by yet another project. Thankfully my husband trusts my vision--I think?

So after mandating an act of Congress to get this thing transported to our house (it took about 4 days, multiple attempts, and the generous use of our friends' truck) I got to work

I get very caught up with my ideas so I failed to take note that it is July. Ever work in a garage in the summer--oh, wait! I did this to myself last year, not once but twice, did I learn? noooooo. My vision is stronger than the summer heat--I SHALL PRESS ON!

I spent a few days worth of the kid's nap times in the garage working on this thing. Man, those masks are no joke. Sweat Shop was a VERY literal term at our house this past week.

Well, to make a long story longer, the facelift included:

-Taking off the 2 middle doors because I decided there was chicken wire overdose and I wanted to see my purty things sitting in the hutch

-Sanding the blue life out of this thing

-Painting the big sucker with 2 different coats/colors of paint

-Adding a curvy wood piece to frame the top of the new open part of the hutch, thanks to my dad and his jigsaw. Thank heavens for jigsaws and dads! This made the piece brand new! thanks Daddy

-Adding an antique-y glaze to all the detail/molding parts

-Adding fabric to the back of the hutch because the wood was just too UGGG-ly to bear

And here she is now.....

Still playing with my decor options but I just couldn't wait to take pictures!

Linking to:

  

Anna's Post

Now it's Anna's turn. I have written a lot about John lately because he's just so darn funny in what he says and does at this age but I am rediscovering the fun a 15 month old (I guess I started this post a while ago??) brings to your life again.

I remember John at 15 months was a turning point in his understanding and development and personality and Anna is no different. I have seen so much change in her the past month and it is exciting.

She understands so many things now, I feel like it all snuck up on me because I keep seeing her as a "baby" and John as the "big kid" but Anna is starting to grow up and assert her independence.

Anna at 15 (or 16 months)

-She loves wrestling with John and rolling on the floor with him. John is taking a gymnastics class where he practices his pike, tuck, and roll positions and recently Anna has started to immitate him! She tries very hard to do a sommersault. And yesterday she attended her first mommy and me gymnastics class with daddy! Kyle said she had a huge grin on her face the whole time and loved jumping in the ball pit, the trapeze, running, balance beam. We might be following in our Aunt Teen-Teen's footsteps....

-She gets very offended when she is verbally scolded or when she thinks people are laughing at her. The tears come on like a faucet.

-She walks everywhere but is wary of cracks in the concrete like they will swallow her whole.

-She loves to shriek and scream for no reason. I think she's just happy and talking (although sometimes the shrieking is directed at John).

-Lately she has become more of a picky eater but I think since she's on the move now, the world is way more exciting than wasting time sitting around eating.....unless it's a birthday cupcake...then I'll take a moment to chow.

 -She's kind of a mama and daddy's girl. She has a hard time with new faces and people but we're working on it.

-As much as I've tried to get her to call me "Mama" or "Mommy" she calls ME and Kyle "Da-deeee!"

-She gives high fives and open-mouthed slobbery kisses on command

Anna, you're so much fun and we are loving seeing your personality come out!

 

The Love

I meant to post this on the 4th of July with the matching PJs and all but here they are in all their sibling love. Anna was being gracious in freely offering her trademark slobbery open-mouthed kisses

Wait, let's take a closer look at that crazy pair.....HELP!

 

The Day Has Come....

.....John can sing the Aggie War Hymn on his own. He's ready for Aggie football season 2010!

He spontaneously broke out in song at lunch time and actually did the entire song with out any help the first time....notice at the beginning he very seriously says "you ready mom? ready?" while I get the camera ready...haha

John's Room Makeover - A Tree Canopy

So the other day I mentioned (and showed off) the new curtains I made for John's room....what a difference some fabric makes! I like that with a few yards of fabric you can change the look of a room.
I also made a little burlap pillow for John's bench with an embroidered border on the letter.

My first try at that. It's fun....need to think of something else to do that on....
I also did something else to John's room. Call me crazy, I'll show you the inspiration picture first......

......because when I described this to a friend recently and said "so I hung tree branches from John's ceiling...." I don't think the mental picture was there (DEE!)....hee hee

I saw this picture one day while browsing the 'Net and mom was sitting next to me. It's 100 degrees here in Houston but I decided that I needed to do this NOW so I grabbed a saw and marched out to a conveniently dead tree in our backyard and started hacking branches off. Seriously, within 10 minutes of seeing this picture I was in action. Here is the final product in JT's room

Yes, I hid the bed rail and made John's bed for you....hope you appreciate it.

Wish I had a tree with more awesome and curly branches like the inspiration picture but this will do just fine. When you lay in his bed it looks like you're napping under a tree. So fun! At first, I was nervous that I had this fantastic idea and John would decide the branches (or worse) the shadows they cast with the nightlight were "scary". So I knew I had to sell this plan to him in a BIG way. I really talked up the project and his role in helping me. He advised on branch placement, handed me tools, and suggested star placement. He was just as excited as me and there was no mention of the branches being scary. Phew!

A Rainforest Experience

Ah, what to do on a Sunday afternoon/evening?? The kids woke up pretty early from their naps and we were facing about 4 hours of "what to do now" time. The last few evenings have been rife with refusals to eat dinner and potty training regressions. Kyle and I needed a break from the inevitable power struggle so we loaded up the kids and headed to the Galleria. They just opened a new play area so we decided to check it out.

It was a hit. The kids loved climbing and crawling and creeping all ove the place. It is just right for Anna and John's age. My only gripe is that it is not closed in with a gate. There is just an opening that any little one could wander off or, heaven forbid, be whisked away if not closely supervised. But it redeems itself with a nice little changing table where you can change a diaper and a odor blocking pail to throw away dirties. It's very thoughtful to have that area so you don't have to pack everyone up and leave the play area when you have to take care of some bidness.

Afterwards we headed to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. It was great. The atmosphere kept the kids entertained enough so we could have a decent meal experience. The food was ok and the service was a little crazy (we were seated at three different tables before being served) but overall I would give the expereince an A- and I'll tell you why in a minute.

I was concerned the giant animals, particualrly the enormous elephants with flapping ears we were seated under, along with the thunder and lighting that happens every 10 minutes would freak little Anna out. But after the second cycle she could care less about the elephants and was chomping away on her ribs. Which brings us to another story....
Anna certainly takes after her dad in preferring BBQ fare. It was hilarious watching her take a bite of ribs from my fork. She would shut her eyes tight, take a bite with gusto, clench her teeth and smile, then smack her lips and go "Mmmmm....mmmmm....mmmmmm"


So the experience reached "A" status because of the Volcano dessert. I forgot to take a picture of it but I snagged this bad one off the internet

It's basically a thin brownie with a pyramid of 3 or 4 pieces of chocolate cake on top and vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel and chocolate sauce inside the pyramid with a sparkler on top. YIKES!

This is John after eating his share of the Volcano

This is the Anna-mal

 Score one point for Dad! Sunday evening disaster averted with cheese pizza, ribs, brownie and ice cream!! WAHOO!

John the Helper

John has become quite the little helper. One of his favorite things to do is help me cook. The other day I made a new salmon recipe (side note: salmon with a red wine butter sauce, it was delish). Anyways, I was chopping the shallots and John was standing at the island with me. Ever the safety concious little boy (must take after Grandpa--safety first!), he would seriously tell me "don't touch that pan, it's hot" and "be careful that knife is very sharp, you might hurt yourself". Where was John when this incident occured?! Good thing I have someone to remind me knives are sharp these days....

Sadly, despite his enthusiasm in helping he still refuses to eat most anything "we" make together. However, he did help me make my annual Flag Cake and (surprise, surprise) decided that one was worth a little taste test

John is also very interested in doing "hard work". Whenever Kyle includes John in yard work or pulling weeds they talk about the importance of "hard work". It's funny to hear John say in his serious voice "Mom, I'm going outside with dad to do some hard work!"

When John is with me, he aids and abets me with my crazy projects. He is my compadre in crime. And he has lots of opinions and suggestions. I usually ask for his opinions only to be amused by his funny feedback but sometimes he makes surprising sense. Recently I made some new curtains for John's room. I was checking out fabric options and asked John about this red ticking stripe. We put the swatch up against the pillow on his bed and I asked him how he liked it. He studied it, twisted his lips, then said "um, it doesn't go with the other pillow". Indeed, it was not the best fabric choice but his candid response was really amusing and made me laugh. Once we decided on the appropriate fabric (with his approval, of course) he helped me pin the fabric in place to sew it. He handed me the pins then put them back in the pin cushion after I removed them. I know, should I let a 3 year old be handling pins?? but he really is so careful....and I was closely supervising him.

Here are our curtains:

ahhh, light and bright! Ignore the white sheetrock patches I need to paint over. YIKES! I'll also point out that when John saw the completed curtains hanging he made a surprised face and said "Mom! The colors of the curtains match my bed!" Point noted, little man....check!

Well, lest you think John is a perfect angel all of the time, a virtual mini adult helping us here and there, cooking, weeding, and sewing at our command,  I must be real and let you know that scattered with the good stuff is our fair share of disobedience spells, selective hearing, back-talking, crazy tantrums, and delayed response when asked to do things. We have had our share of power struggles the past few months. But I guess since John made it through the two's fairly easily I can't get off scot free without the three's being a bit more trying. But as all parents know, the sweet moments far out weigh the bad ones so we'll focus on the good here!