2 PRIZES, MY FLOWERBEDS, AND A SWIMMER

Well, where to begin....


I guess the first thing to post is my little swimmer. Clare began swimming lessons when she was 9 months old and immediately took to the water. She is doing fabulous and now swimming without us in the class. Her teacher this spring has been Miss Monica and is absolutely wonderful.

On Sunday, April 19th, Chris and I (and Clare) worked in the flower bed in the front yard and transferred some shrubs to the back yard. I think it all turned out very well. Would it be outrageous if we nominated ourselves for the Yard of the Month???

One of my most favorite things is getting mail. I don't know why, but it ALWAYS excites me. I guess it's because it is an unexpected surprise. When I checked the mailbox today, I had recieved a package from a favorite ETSY store-Details, Inc. Thanks to I blog I follow, Mo'Joy, I found these darling hair clips that are made of felt. You can have your child's initials or name put on them. So, with the package was the cutest wrapping. Then the perfect clips were inside.

My other prize was at my front door. I rarely check the front door because it is actually on the side of our house. But, since the hail storm, we get tons of advertisements by roofers. So, I decided I should probably clear them out. There was a wonderful box delivered by the Postal Service that contained a spring scrapbook kit. Another favorite ETSY store (Mo'Beads) and blog (Mo'Joy) had this kit that I had to have. I missed getting the fall kit and kick myself frequently for not following through on getting that one. But here's a picture of the goodies that Melanie put together for the spring kit.



Well, that is alot of excitement for one day. I'm off to a scrapbook crop where I can work on my new spring kit. I can barely wait to dress Clare tomorrow with one of her coordinating hair clips. I hope the plants survive....thank goodness we have gotten alot of rain lately. And my little swimmer will keep it up through the summer. Thanks to those who check on us and comment.

My day so far....

It's been a while since I posted something. Last Sunday, we worked in the yard all day. I will have to take pictures to post, since the plants have lived a week and look pretty good.

I woke up early today to try out a boot camp with a friend of mine from work. Sara's been doing this for 8 weeks and today was bring a friend day. She's been raving about it, so I thought I would try it out.

I stayed in the back of the pack the whole time, but did all that was asked of me. We starting with jogging 1/2 a mile, which was awful because I hate running. After we did some weight to work our arms, this wasn't that bad. Then we started an obstacle course...involved all kinds of different things. I was one of the last ones to cross the finish line, but at least I did it. Then we finished up with abs and leg workouts. These were hard, but felt so good. I think I will sign up for the next one, which begins in 2 weeks. This one is only 4 weeks long.

After that, I had just enough time to go home, get Clare and the dogs. I dropped both Scotch and Annie off at the groomers and Clare & I went to the Little Gym. Then we came home. After 30 minutes, I left for a facial. It was awesome. I highly recommend Patty at Terrace Retreat in Southlake.

The rest of the day was spend being lazy. Tomorrow involves lesson plans and parent newsletters along with a trip to Walmart. Next Saturday I am going to a scrapbook crop in Collinsville, which is north of Denton. It's a great time to catch up on all my projects. And I am taking a stamp class taught by my friend, Mindy. I can't wait to learn new tricks!

Below is a picture of Clare from April, 2007. She's gotten so big. And she's swimming all by herself now. We just sit and watch. She sits on the step and wait for her turn with Ms. Monica and Ms. Abby. She wears flippers now and we just got her some goggles to start wearing. Chris and I will have to take some recent pictures of her swimming. People are impressed that she does so good for her age.

Clare's Bling

So, at Clare's Easter party at Premier Academy, she recieved clip on earrings as a party favor. She loves to put them on and shake her head as the earrings bounce off her face. She's not into wearing them for long periods of time and really enjoys ripping them off much to my dismay.

What you have been missing...

So, I haven't blogged in a while, so here goes.

Clare's 2nd birthday party was a huge success. She had all her family and friends from school there. We had it at the neighborhood park and the weather was perfect!






We just got back from a great visit in Colfax, LA with my family. Clare had a blast dyeing eggs, hunting eggs, and playing with all of her cousins. The weathear was nice on Saturday and it turned out to be a great day for a fish fry at my aunt's house.

As DW says, "LET'S GO RACIN' BOYS!"

WOW! That's about all I can say about the race. Despite the terrible wind, we had a really good time. It's amazing to see the speed that these cars go-it's hard to keep up with it in person. You can feel the speed in your body; the sound of the engine vibrates your blood. I highly suggest that if you get a chance to go (whether you're a fan or not), GO. It's a great experience. Also, the headsets are a must so you can listen to the broadcast and keep up with all that goes on. And to hear the drivers talk to their pit chief.

Jeff Gordon won....broke his winless streak and won at TMS for the first time ever. In my opinion, his pit crew won it for him. They did an excellent job. He won the race off pit road pretty much every time.

Again, it was alot of fun and I will post pictures soon. By the way, tomorrow (4-6-09) is my wedding anniversary. Chris and I will have been married 7 years (and together for a total of 11 years). We've had a great decade together and I know many more will come.

Samsung 500

I am so excited to hear the famed words, "Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES!" I am lucky enough to attend the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday. Not that I am a huge NASCAR fan, but I think it will be a wonderful time full of adrenaline. I've heard that once you see those cars race off turn 4 for the first time....you will never believe that they can go actually that fast. One of those you have to see it to believe it moments.

I hope I am feeling better by Sunday. I've been feeling bad for several days and stayed home from work on Thursday. I sucked it up and went to the doctor. Got some meds and a shot. But the shot didn't help like I hoped it would. Maybe it was filled with a saline solution instead of medicine?!?

Last weekend was great. I watched Twilight, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Man, they did a good job casting Edward Cullen! Then, I awoke to snow flurries on Saturday morning. After a long meeting at work, I was off to Denton to a scrapbook crop hosted by my new friend, Mindy (see her blog at Flamingo Boulevard). I feel like I've known her forever....she's a riot. She taught me this new stamping technique that I am so excited to learn about. Saturday night I fell asleep on the couch listening to my iPod and slept around 2 dogs and 1 cat. I woke up at 8:45, took out the animals, crawled into the bed (so I could finally stretch out my legs) and slept until 11:30. It was so nice. Then, it was back to the real world....laundry, Walmart, lessons plans, etc.

I hope this weekend, especially Sunday, turns out just as nice. And that Jimmie Johnson does not win the race.

I'll post about Clare's birthday soon.....she had an absolute blast.