Fall Bucket List

I'm not a "bucket list" person normally. There are so many other lists in my life that adding one seems a little daunting.

To Do List - Home
To Do List - Work
To Do List - Fall.

I suppose if I look at it like a way to ensure fall memories with Logan I will feel a little better about making another "List." The fact that fall is very short here in Houston may also cause a little hesitation.

First up: Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Say what you will about this drink and the craze around it, but my first sip each year always makes me excited for the three days of fall weather we get to enjoy here in Houston.

Next Up: Boots and Leggings/Jeans.
I usually have to wait for this day until late October but I certainly enjoy pulling my boots out from the back of the closet, dusting them off, and pulling them on over some comfy leggings. I'm pretty addicted to leggings from WhitePlum.com.

Decorating Pumpkins:
I found this little article with ideas on how to decorate without carving and I really want to make the Mummy pumpkins!
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/209135976421375276/ 

Making a Halloween Costume:
I am NOT crafty. This year I wanted to merge making a costume with buying one. I bought Logan a knit hat of Toothless the Dragon from How to Train Your Dragon and then I will make him a cape with a tail on it. This way, he can wear the hat when it is cold and it's a bit of a double duty "costume."

Finally, the one thing that lets me know that Fall is here is opening all the windows in the house - and maybe still needing a little sweater...

Here is hoping I can open those windows before October ends...

Relax

After traveling to New York and then coming right back into a busy work week, we really needed some down time.

This started with Logan sleeping until almost 7:30am Saturday.

I almost bought him a car for that.

He then laid in our bed and watched cartoons until after 8am.

I almost bought him a boat for that.

I made breakfast and we laid around watching various forms of electronics and then topped all that off by swimming before lunch.

Then Logan took nearly a 2 hour nap.

I called the Porche dealership after that one.

After a trip to the store, Logan and I made cookies and again laid around doing nothing.

He went straight to sleep at 8:15pm and I called the boat dealership for him.

Sunday we went to church and Logan was upped to the Tiger room!

He was a little confused because Sunday school is the same hall as regular school but he is in a different room.

We have a wonderful sermon series going on about Modern Families. This sermon really spoke to me:
Share Your Lives

Then, once again, it was a whole lotta nothing while it rained and we watch football. My fantasy team won this week, which was cool.

We needed this restful weekend and it really set us right for this busy week where Lee is traveling and I am single momming it.

I hope you had a nice weekend and what do you know - another one is only a few days away!

Observation

You know how they say you can tell how big a puppy will get by the size of it's paws?

Well what do you suppose this means for Logan?

His foot is 2/3 the size of mine and he is almost 4 years old.

*gulp*

Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day, we didn't spend our time laying around the pool.

We spent our time traveling to Stephentown, NY for a wedding of a friend of Lee's from Middle School, Tommy Curi.

The Farm where Tommy and Teresa live

It was a beautiful drive from Albany and I was in awe of the countryside. The weather that day was pretty fab as well.

We stayed at Jiminy Peak ski resort.

I'll just say... not so much a resort. I really thought half the time I walked down the hall that the twins from The Shining would be standing there.

The next day, after 13 hours of sleep, we didn't have to be back at the farm for the wedding until 4 so we drove into New Lebanon and had a charming breakfast at Blueberry Hill Cafe. The best part of this was when I went to fix my large iced coffee on the way out the door and tumped the whole blasted thing over. So I go running over to this sweet 16 year old chick saying "Ma'm? MA'M?!" and she turned to me like "WTF?" After that I followed up with lots of "y'all". They looked at me like I was from another planet.

Then it was off to the wedding.

Taking Photos. The groomsmen all wore seersucker suits!

Hooray for finding this dress last minute and ON SALE!

Ben and Katie, he was obvs a groomsmen.

Katie and I with Tommy, the Groom.

Hello, Bee.



Signature drink - something with bourbon and honey and lavendar and I had 5...Bartender owns/runs This Bar.

The dinner tent.

Several courses - all chef made as Tommy himself is a chef.



Tommy and Teresa! That dress... I die.

The travel was overwhelming but worth it in the end. We had a great time and hope to go back with Logan and let him play with the chickens on the farm and cook with Tommy.

Only if he sends me that drink recipe...

This summer..

We had a bit of a lazy summer. Lazy in the sense that we didn't travel or do anything glamourous.

On the other hand we were busy. Busy in the sense that weekends were packed with keeping Logan occupied and entertaining friends.

Logan took swim lessons this summer:

YMCA

Twice:

Our House

Still can't swim. Though he recently got brave enough to jump in off the side (in floaties).
Maybe next summer?

I have been working my tail bone off doing stuff like this:

We cook a lot. Eat a lot. Swim A lot.

And Love.

A Lot.

And the winner is....

Yesterday was a rare day for me.

I won.

I won at life for just one day.

I got my son off to his first day of preschool and there were no tears on his part and he had a FANTASTIC DAY complete with sand in his shoes from the playground.
Bonus: He ate all of his lunch. *fist pump*

Did I just lose all my bonus points for the fist pump?

I successfully kept my sick ass at work all day and managed to get work done and answer coworker questions without falling asleep at my desk. Complete with an 8:30am meeting.

Then, after I picked up my sweaty sand covered child, I drove home to a complete kitchen that I laboriously picked the finishes for.

And it's Awesome.

This is while cooking dinner last night. I couldn't wait!

I love the all white kitchen and I wanted to achieve that look with a little depth and a few unique touches. My favorite part? The sink. I need to borrow a baby to bathe in it! Don't worry, I'll give it back clean and happy.

I cooked 2 chickens with veggies and drank wine and was happy as a pig in.... dirt.

This morning I enjoyed making Logan's lunch in a clean and happy kitchen.

Let's raise our glass to having that one day where we feel like we really can do it all.

Summer Time is over...

Unless you check the weather report for Houston, it seems as though Summer is over.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. Pumpkins. Fall colors. Boots.
Pumpkin. Spice. Latte....

However this year... there is something that has happened that made Fall feel like it came too fast.

My baby started Preschool Today.

Worst/Best part of it? He waltzed right in, found a cool toy, and was done with me.

Don't worry, I waited until I was in the car to blubber and call Lee and whine about how my child doesn't need me anymore.

I have to pack a lunch at this school and here was my first Bento attempt:

I froze the drink to act as an ice pack and I was OCD enough to place the cookies on the opposite side. When I pick him up today we will see how much he liked it.

This school will be much more structured and focused on independence. They even have DROP OFF starting mid-September where I get him of the car and send him off with a teacher into the school. After my shenanigans this morning I don't know how to feel about that!

In the midst of all this, we have been renovating our kitchen. I will post photos tomorrow of before/after. I feel a little silly about remodeling an already remodeled kitchen but it was just not me at all and this is our 2nd home - with the hopes of it taking us far into our life - so we decided to jump in and make it our own.

I have one hour before I am leaving to pick him up at school and I am so anxious to see how he did.

Back tomorrow! Hope you are still out there after my hiatus. I was inspired by Kelly that this is for ME. I love that people read and comment but when I focus only on viewers and content being just so - I get bogged down and stop posting. Now that Logan is almost 4 and starting new adventures I would like to put them on here for memories.

Bonus points if you guys enjoy the ride with me :)

Big Boy Room

The time has come. The time to retire the baby bed and upgrade to a new one.

I am waiting a few more weeks for my cousin to take the crib/toddler bed before we put the new bed in the room. This is hard because I am one of those people that once I am ready to do something I want to do it NOW!

I didn't really want to pick a "theme" because I already did that a little with his nursery. That being said, I saw a really sweet pillow at Pottery Barn Kids that I loved the colors on, so I got that and went from there.

Logan loves tools, and it was on sale, so I decided to start here.
I got a pillow case from this line but went looking around for solid sheets and comforters that interchanged with the colors on this pillow. I still have to think about window coverings and I am considering simple roman shades because drapes seem bulky. His room is already 3 full walls of shelving!!

Speaking of, once we put the twin bed in the room, I won't even have room for a dresser. I ordered 12 multi-colored bins to put on some of this shelving to house his clothes and I am actually looking forward to this. There is so much shelving in this room that I have no idea what to do with it all. At least this will get a few shelves taken care of!

The only thing I am thinking hard about is whether or not to get a safety rail to put on either side of the bed. I am so scared he is going to fall out. Thoughts?

In about a month we will be done with the transformation in his room! I just need to get the rug and the shades and get it all put together. Pictures will follow!

Valentines Day for Toddlers

First of all, as I start the hunt for a more education-related daycare, I realize Toddler is not the word for Logan anymore. He is Preschool Aged.

I'm sorry - what? PRESCHOOL? Meaning he is getting prepared for school?

This guy?

I perhaps need to take a moment to gather myself.

Back to my original purpose here.

Valentines Day.

Surely I am not the only parent who dreads going to the school and hauling off a giant bag of CANDY that my child has been given. I don't understand it, really. My Valentine gift to the kids was playdoh, bubbles, and goldfish! Why all the chocolate and crap?

Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those "my kid only eats organic" parents. He has his fair share of nuggets, mac-n-cheese, and corn dogs. I seem to have drawn the line with Candy. I hated giving it to him as a potty training tactic. My husband and I don't eat candy.

Maybe it was getting in the car this morning and seeing the large plastic sack of candy (which I threw away in the parking garage at work. Not ashamed). I kept the little paper valentines so Logan can look at them and we can talk about his friends. To me that is the important part.

Ok - Rant Over. I need coffee.